The Other Minister Meeting

The Muggle Prime Minister is alone in his office, troubled by a series of inexplicable disasters: a bridge collapse, two murders, a freak hurricane, and the strange behavior of his Junior Minister Herbert Chorley. He is startled by a portrait that announces the arrival of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Fudge appears via the Floo Network and reveals that these events are the work of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Fudge explains that he has been sacked and introduces his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour, a lion-like man, takes a hard line, informing the Prime Minister that his secretary is actually an Auror assigned for protection and that Chorley is under the Imperius Curse. The meeting underscores the escalating war and the wizarding world's desperation.