Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Prime Minister sits alone in his office, awaiting a call from the head of another country, contemplating the difficult week he has had: the collapse of a bridge, two nasty murders, and a freak hurricane, among other things. Suddenly, a portrait in the corner announces that Cornelius Fudge would like to urgently meet with him.

The Prime Minister had first met Fudge the evening he took office when the portrait had similarly announced that the “Minister for Magic” (10) would like to meet with him; to the former’s utter shock, Fudge had appeared in the fireplace and gone on to reveal the secret existence of witches and wizards all over the country. He had promised the Prime Minister they would have very little reason to see each other again. However, throughout his tenure, the Prime Minister had been visited by Fudge multiple times, each time looking increasingly flustered and with worse news than the last time: the escape of a dangerous prisoner from Azkaban, the wizarding prison; an attack on Muggles (non-magical people) during the Quidditch World Cup (wizarding sport played on broomsticks); finally, a mass breakout of prisoners from Azkaban.

Fudge appears, looking “distinctly careworn.” He explains that they have had the same bad week: