the_debt_of_time

even begin an investigation against a member of the Wizengamot?" Kingsley laughed
bitterly, adding an extra lump of sugar to his tea. "Lucius Malfoy had to be caught red-
handed in the middle of the Department of Mysteries, overheard by three Aurors and
several other witnesses shooting curses and threatening Harry's life before we could
actually arrest the bastard. Never mind the hurdles we encountered actually getting him
into Azkaban."
She glared across the table. "Funny, Sirius got thrown in just fine."
Kingsley frowned, looking guilty. "Yes, and that was because Crouch and Fudge
combined the efforts of both of their departments and skipped over every bloody lawful
step."
Mia felt bad. She knew it had not been his fault. Kingsley had only been a regular
Auror at the time. Even Moody—if he had felt like it—would not have been able to single-
handedly fight back against what Crouch and Fudge had done when Sirius had been
arrested.
"Including a trial."
Kingsley nodded. "Including a trial. It was corruption at its worst."
"Fudge and Umbridge are still on the Wizengamot, Kings. They've also been on a
very long list of mine that's getting shorter by the day. In fact, only two names remain.
Theirs."
"You want to have them arrested, I understand―"
"I want them buried alive! I want everything taken from them."
"Can you do it legally?" he asked her. "My platform as Minister is to correct the
problems my predecessors left me. To eliminate the corruption. Since Fudge did everything
during his time as Minister with the Wizengamot's approval, there's nothing I can do about
him. As for Umbridge... If she were a branded Death Eater, that would be different but,
as it is, Dolores Umbridge doesn't have the Dark Mark.
"Did you check the bitch's soul?"
Kingsley grinned at her. "You're much more entertaining than Hermione, did you
know that?"
She glared at him. "I'm still the same witch, Kings. Insulting Hermione is insulting
me. I am Hermione. I'm very well aware that when I was a child, I could be―"
"An uptight swot."