A few obscenities flew forth from Fudge's mouth until he managed to get control of himself. Snape watched the show with great amusement. "Perhaps you should explain to us what those parchments mean, Minister." Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
This seemed to make Fudge angry again and Snape spotted a bit of foam coming from the man's mouth. He just waved the papers around and made some sort of squawking noise. Finally, Percy just took the papers and started with the first one.
"The British Ministry of Magic is hereby expelled from the Island of Azkaban . . . all Aurors are to be removed . . . prisoners and Dementors will remain . . . necessary force will be used to see that this is carried out . . . the British Ministry of Magic will pay the House of Polairix the sum of ten million Galleons for the use of the Island of Azkaban and the use of the Fortress of Azkaban. If the Ministry refuses to pay said sum, they will be charged with trespassing. For the sum of an additional fifteen million Galleons, the House of Polairix will gladly administer Azkaban Prison and any prisoners Britain may wish to imprison there for the next one hundred and fifty years."
Signed- Lord Polairix
"He can't just do that!" Fudge said weakly, once Percy had finished summarizing the document.
"I think he just did." Snape said snidely. Potter certainly deserved a round of applause for this.
"It's highway robbery!" Fudge screamed. "We could administer Azkaban for the next five hundred years with fifteen million Galleons! I'm inclined to find another prison and transfer the Dementors and prisoners there."
"You can't do that." Dumbledore sighed. He was deeply shocked as well. "Anything that is on the island at this point in time is the property of Lord Polairix. Prisoners and Dementors included."
"We can just tell the Dementors to come away."
"I'd like to see you try." Snape said, barely hiding his amusement. "The Dementors are magically bound to obey Lord Polairix. Even if they were inclined to be loyal to you, Polairix has a certain amount of power over them. Might I suggest that you accept the offer? If only for the fact that the Dementors will be forced to return and stay on Azkaban."
Dumbledore nodded and made his own suggestion. "Yes, you might as well pay up. You could always try to meet with him and negotiate a better price. I could help in the negotiations if you wish."
Fudge was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but he could still see through Dumbledore's tactic. "You just want an excuse to meet with him, don't you? Well, you don't need one. Weatherby, read the last document in the pile."
"The Board of Governors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is hereby disbanded on grounds of violation of their functioning regulations. The House of Polairix, which outrightly owns the school, castle, grounds, and Forbidden Forest, will take direct control over the school and reserves the right to make any changes necessary as soon as the current term ends. . . etc.
Signed- Lord Polairix."
For the first time that Snape could remember, Dumbledore was utterly shocked. His blue eyes widened and then he became pale. "Eh. . . can he do that?"
"Yes, he can!" Fudge yelled. "He just did, as a matter-of-fact. I looked it up in the records. Rowena Ravenclaw turned Hogwarts over to the House of Polairix shortly before her death."
"I certainly hope that Lord Polairix is amiable to you two." Snape said. He stood up. "If you'll both excuse me."
As soon as he got out in the hall he began to laugh hysterically. He quickly stifled it however, it would be embarrassing if a student spotted him. He then made his way down to his office where he found a letter on his desk. It was from Potter.
He quickly read it and smiled. Potter wasn't angry at him at least. Not only that, he had hinted that he might get an invitation to come over to wherever they were. He set it aside and began to draft out some lesson plans. I wonder what Lupin will think when he finds out that there is now a Mrs. Potter, he thought.
....
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