Crouch's mouth was hanging open as he looked at Dumbledore with a betrayed expression. Dolores Umbridge, who worked at the Improper Use of Magic Office, was surprised too. Fudge had told her that Dumbledore would be his recommendation.
The entire hall was laughing. The people were getting a lot of amusement from the situation.
He stood up reluctantly and walked to his seat, amid the laughter of the crowd. He looked nervous and embarrassed, and he avoided eye contact with anyone. He knew that he had made a mistake by running for the minister, but he had been persuaded by Albus Dumbledore, who had clearly abandoned him.
He had given up his pride and acted like a faithful dog in front of Dumbledore, only to be stabbed in the back by him.
'Arthur Weasley, really? Weasley? He could have asked any other pureblood family, but he chose them,' thought Fudge in frustration.
Dumbledore was ashamed of his conduct too. He had just gone back on his words. He had betrayed Fudge.
Millie was surprised as well. She thought Dumbledore would support Crouch or Fudge, but he didn't. She then looked up at Agustus, who smiled at her mysteriously.
'My student has grown up,' she thought with pride.
Dumbledore came out of his head and embarrassment. He looked at the four candidates and said, "These are the candidates for the Minister of Magic. The candidate with the majority of votes will be declared the new Minister of Magic."
The entire hall was silent. Everyone was calculating. Lady Millicent Bagnold came as a surprise for the light and grey families, especially the grey families who owed money to Agustus's houses. The voting was about to begin.
Ancient & Noble Houses had 10 votes each.
Noble Houses had 5 votes each.
Certain Ministry employees could gain 1 vote whilst in office.
A reserve of seats was held for holders of the Order of Merlin, who each had 1 vote.
Dumbledore then continued, "So, members of the Wizengamot, voting time has arrived. First, we have Lord Tiberius Nott. People who vote for Lord Nott, raise your wand."
Immediately, the dark families raised their wands.
Avery - 5
Malfoy - 10
Mulciber - 5
Parkinson - 5
Rosier - 5
Zabini - 5
Goyle - 5
Blair - 5
Douglas - 5
Maxwell - 5
Yaxley - 5
Conway - 5
Flint - 5
Gibbon - 5
Carrow - 5
Crabbe - 5
16 families voted for Lord Nott. Total - 85 votes.
Dumbledore then used his wand and transfigured a leaderboard in which Lord Nott's name and votes were written. He moved on to the next candidate, hoping that the voting would end soon. He had a feeling that things were about to change in the wizarding world, and not for the better ( for him).
Dumbledore then said, "Next, we have Lord Bartemius Crouch Sr. People who vote for Lord Crouch, raise your wand."
A dozen families raised their wands in support of Crouch.
Abbott - 5
Bagman - 5
Beery - 5
Belby - 5
Bletchley - 5
Blishwick - 5
Burke - 5
Longbottom - 10
Ogden - 5
Shafiq - 5
McGuire - 5
McLaggen - 5
Smith - 5
12 families voted for Lord Crouch. Total - 70 votes.
Crouch's name and votes appeared on the leaderboard. He was a little disappointed by his loss to Lord Nott, but he was not discouraged. He had lost to him admirably.
Dumbledore then said, "Next, we have Lady Millicent Bagnold. People who vote for Lady Bagnold, raise your wand."
A dozen families raised their wands in support of Lady Bagnold, including some of the most influential and ancient ones.
Bones - 10
Greengrass - 10
Ollivander - 10
Selwyn - 5
Slughorn - 5
Travers - 5
Marchbanks - 5
Peverell - 10
Drakul - 10
Ashwood - 10
Reynolds - 5
Wynn - 5
Fleamont - 10
12 families voted for Lady Bagnold. Total - 100 votes.
Lady Bagnold's name and votes appeared on the leaderboard. She was at the top of the leaderboard.
Even though fewer families had voted for her, the accumulation of Ancient and Noble family votes had given her a big lead over the competition. She looked confident and composed, as if she knew she had the upper hand.
Dumbledore then said, "Now, the last candidate, we have Lord Cornelius Fudge. People who vote for Lord Fudge, raise your wand."
Fudge wished he could just go home and hide his face. He had been working in the ministry since he was young, and he had never suffered so much humiliation. He was sure this election would go down in the history books as a disaster for him.
He looked around the hall, hoping to see some friendly faces, but he only saw indifference or contempt. He knew he had no chance of winning, but he still had to endure the final count.
He saw a two wands go up in the air, but they were far too few to make any difference.
Umbridge - 1 ( due to her office)
Weasley - 5
1 family and 1 office worker voted for Lord Fudge. Total - 6 votes.
No one, not even light families voted for him.
Fudge's name and votes appeared on the leaderboard, at the bottom of the list. He felt a surge of anger and resentment towards Dumbledore, who had betrayed him. He wondered how Dumbledore could be so blind and foolish.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, trying to maintain some dignity. He knew he had lost, and he had lost badly.
As Fudge's name appeared on the leaderboard in the last place, the people knew who the new minister of magic would be. Well, they already knew before the voting for Fudge even began.
Lady Millicent Bagnold was announced as the minister of magic by Albus Dumbledore, who didn't like her becoming that, but he couldn't voice that out, could he?
Dumbledore then stood up from his seat and adjourned the meeting. Many lords were surrounding the minister of magic, congratulating her for the win.
Agustus walked down to congratulate her, but what he didn't expect was her leaving the lords behind and hugging him.
"Thank you for everything, Agustus."
Agustus, who was surprised, smiled and said, "Oh, why the thanks? It was a transaction after all. I look forward to your new term as minister, Millie."
She smiled and let go of him. Meanwhile, Lady Greengrass approached them and said to Agustus, "Long time, Heir Peverell. Thank you for replying to my daughter's letters. She gets excited whenever you reply back to her. And congratulations, Lady Bagnold, for an outstanding win."
Agustus greeted her back and said, "No worries, Lady Greengrass. Well then, ladies, excuse me, I have to go back. See you, Minister." He had a poor phoenix to take care of.
He waved them goodbye and apparated with Skadi on his shoulder.
This surprised everyone who saw him apparate. Only Dumbledore, as the Supreme Mugwump, was allowed to apparate there due to the wards. Some people thought it was the phoenix that made him apparate, but the people standing close to Agustus knew better. Lady Greengrass and Minister Millicent Bagnold just stood there in a daze, and thought, 'Just how many secrets does this guy have?'
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Sup people, point out the typos I didn't had time to edit this chapter properly.
Question:
If given the choice, what would you choose, 1 Billion dollars or to become Most handsome man/women ( whatever you want to be, I don't judge) in the world?
My exams starts in 3 days wish me luck.