Campaign to discredit Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter

This campaign encapsulates the Ministry of Magic's attempts to discredit, as the name suggests, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. It was put in place on June 24, 1995 - after the Return of the Dark Lord and ended on June 17, 1996 - after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

This campaign was put into place when Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge denied the Dark Lord's return, a fact that would ruin the thirteen years of peace that the Ministry has worked so hard to build and maintain. Instead, due to paranoia, he believed that Dumbledore was trying to usurp his position of Minister for Magic, and not only used the Daily Prophet to make it look as though Dumbledore and Potter were liars and "nutters," but also stripped Dumbledore from many of his titles and statuses: Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the Order of Merlin, and eventually the Headmastership of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry, for supporting Dumbledore, also suffered from this campaign. Fudge planted Dolores Umbridge as the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and headmistress in order to further destabilise Dumbledore and Harry. Fudge also made it clear that anyone siding with Dumbledore can clear out their desks in the Ministry's office. Due to the great influence the Ministry had, the majority of the wizarding community ceased supporting Dumbledore and Harry and lost a chance to prepare themselves against Voldemort. The campaign also pressed the position that Harry was a deluded attention-seeker that could not be trusted.

When Voldemort was revealed to have truly returned, Fudge was forced to accept it and to reveal everything to the world, by which time it was too late to prepare. The campaign, along with all the Educational Decrees and Daily Prophet articles that were crafted to fuel it, were all retracted, and Fudge was subsequently dismissed in disgrace.

Background Information
Beginning in 1994, a series of odd occurrences began in the Wizarding world. The first of which was the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins in Albania during the early summer. These incidents continued throughout the following months and included the casting of the Dark Mark at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, the scuffle at the home of Alastor Moody, and the mysterious illness and disappearance of Bartemius Crouch Sr. All of these incidents culminated with the events of June 24, 1995. During the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, the fourth Champion Harry Potter and Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory tied for the Triwizard Cup. When they both touched it, the Cup which had be made a Portkey, transported them to the Little Hangleton Graveyard. Once there, Cedric was killed by Lord Voldemort's servant Peter Pettigrew.

Harry was forced to watch as the Dark Lord was reborn before his eyes. Once the potion had done its work, Harry witnessed Voldemort summon the Death Eaters by pressing Wormtail's Dark Mark. Once he had watched as Voldemort berated his Death Eaters for their betrayal and spoke of his future plans, he was forced to Duel with the Dark Lord. Harry only escaped because the Priori Incantatem effect protected him. As he was running to escape, Cedric's echo asked Harry to return with his body which Harry did.

Upon returning to Hogwarts, Harry continued to clutch Cedric's body refusing to let go. Once Dumbledore had pulled Harry to his feet, he instructed him to remain there. When Alastor Moody removed Harry from his presence, Dumbledore realised something was wrong. Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Severus Snape rescued Harry from the impostor Moody. It was revealed that Bartemius Crouch Jr. was using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Alastor Moody in order to perpetrate a plan for Lord Voldemort. After hearing Crouch's story and Harry's account of the events in the graveyard, Dumbledore could come to no conclusion other than that Lord Voldemort had returned.

"You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore..."

- Cornelius Fudge on Voldemort's return

When Dumbledore informed Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge of the events that had taken place that evening, Fudge believed them to be the work of one deranged madman. When he was taken to question Barty Crouch Jr., the Dementor that accompanied him subjected Crouch to the Dementor's Kiss before he could be actually questioned by Fudge. Fudge regarded this as no loss since he had "been responsible for several deaths!" When Dumbledore pointed out that this meant Crouch could no longer testify as to why he committed his crimes, Fudge stated that Crouch did them, because he was a madman. Dumbledore replied that Crouch's crimes had been part of a larger plot to revive Lord Voldemort. Fudge smiled and said that Dumbledore was believing the words of a raving lunatic. Dumbledore proceeded to point out that Harry's account of what happened in the graveyard jived with what Crouch was saying. Fudge smiled again and pointed out that Harry was not necessarily the best source as he was known to be unstable mentally. Dumbledore replied in no uncertain terms that Harry was sane. When the others present began to defend Harry and pointed out Cedric Diggory's death, Fudge shouted that Dumbledore and his staff were working to destabilise 13 years of peace. Dumbledore then proceeded to give Fudge a string of suggestions to ensure the safety of the wizarding community and to defeat Lord Voldemort. When Fudge replied that his ideas would get him (Fudge) thrown out of office, Dumbledore replied that Fudge loved his office too much and that they had reached a parting of ways. While there was no hint of threat in Dumbledore's voice, Fudge took this as a threat and stormed off telling Dumbledore that they would speak in the morning about his running of Hogwarts.

Against Albus Dumbledore
During the following summer, the Ministry of Magic began to make moves to discredit Dumbledore. After he made a speech to the International Confederation of Wizards announcing Voldemort's return, he was stripped of his title as Supreme Mugwump. It is implied that he was voted out by representatives selected Ministry of Magic. They used the excuse that he was going senile in his old age. Soon after he was removed from his post as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for much the same reasons. Fudge even threatened to retract the Order of Merlin, First Class, from Dumbledore. When he appeared at the Disciplinary hearing of Harry Potter, Fudge told him that he considered Dumbledore's views on the Dementor attack "bilge." When Fudge began to slander Harry in front of Dumbledore and the entire Wizengamot talking about Harry's misuse of magic at Hogwarts, Dumbledore pointed out that the Ministry has no right to punish students for what they do at school and cannot expel students from school. Fudge took exception to this remark indicating his want to influence the workings of Hogwarts.

He got his wish a few weeks later when Dumbledore could not fill the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. On August 30, the Ministry passed Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two. This established that in the event the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could not find someone to fill a position in his faculty, the Ministry of Magic would appoint someone instead. The following day Fudge appointed his right hand witch, Dolores Umbridge as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. This killed two birds with one stone to Fudge. First, he now had a spy at Hogwarts. Second, as Fudge believed Dumbledore was using Hogwarts as a training centre for an army to use against the Ministry, he could enforce a Ministry approved curriculum in Defence Against the Dark Arts preventing the students from learning any practical defensive magic.



Fudge further increased his control at Hogwarts on September 8th. This is when the Ministry passed Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three. This decree created the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor which was immediately filled by Dolores Umbridge. The reason for the decree was ostensibly to improve the "falling standards" at Hogwarts. In reality, it gave Fudge greater control of the teaching staff through Umbridge. Fudge continued to tighten his grip on the school throughout the school year. When Marietta Edgecombe betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge, Fudge's suspicions seemed to be validated when Dumbledore took the fall in an act to protect Harry. Dumbledore attacked Fudge and his entourage and made a hasty escape. Dumbledore was not seen again until the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

It appears that Dumbledore took this beating from the Ministry and Daily Prophet with his usual grace. He did not show overt anger or displeasure at his treatment. This may have been because he was acting against Voldemort anyway, and there was no way the Ministry was going to stop him.

Against Harry Potter
"Potter...regularly collapses at school...brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who"

- The Daily Prophet on Harry Potter, June 24, 1995

The campaign to discredit Harry Potter unofficially began even before he gave evidence about the Return of the Dark Lord. On the day of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter published an article with the title "Harry Potter Disturbed and Dangerous." Using sensationalist journalism and quotes from people known to dislike Harry, Rita painted a picture of Harry Potter as an attention hungry, Parselmouth who befriends creatures that scare normal wizards and flops around on the group loudly complaining of pains in his scar. She also stated that Harry might resort to using the Dark Arts in his attempt to win the Triwizard Cup. It was nothing if not effective. When Dumbledore indicated to the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge that Harry's story matched the account of Barty Crouch Jr., the Minister openly claimed that Harry was unstable.

The Daily Prophet began to regularly snipe at Harry over the following summer. He became a running gag. According to Hermione Granger the Prophet would say things like "let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next" if someone had a funny accident or if someone was telling an unlikely story it became a "tale worthy of Harry Potter." She said that the paper was trying to portray Harry as a "deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero."

On the night of August 2nd, Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley were attacked by Dementors in Little Whinging. The Dementors were dispatched to Little Whinging on the orders of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister Dolores Umbridge without the knowledge of Minister Fudge. According to Umbridge, the Ministry had been going on about discrediting Harry, but no one was doing anything about it, so she ordered the Dementors out to Little Whinging. She knew that Harry would have to defend himself with a Patronus charm. This would be a serious breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. The Ministry initially expelled Harry from Hogwarts and planned on confiscating his wand. Dumbledore was notified in time to prevent this from happening. Harry's punishment was changed to a hearing at the Ministry.

In an underhanded move to attempt to prevent Harry from attending his own hearing, the Ministry changed the time and location of Harry's hearing on the very morning it was set to be held. Harry thankfully arrived in time to make the hearing. The Disciplinary hearing of Harry Potter was tried in front of the full Wizengamot. It appeared to be nothing more than a show trial, but due to the intervention of Dumbledore who acted a a barrister for Harry, Harry got a fair hearing. Once evidence was presented, it was obvious that Harry was not guilty, but Fudge kept trying to deny this fact. When the court was polled for a verdict, the overwhelming majority voted for acquittal with only roughly six voting for conviction.

The campaign was much less direct once Harry returned to Hogwarts. The only overt control they had was through new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge. Overall, the Ministry had a harder time getting to him, but the effects of the summer campaign continued to haunt Harry. Other students continued to heckle Harry, but overall the student populace was split. A few who knew Harry personally turned against him though. A good example of this is when Percy Weasley sent a letter to Ron. The letter told Ron to cut ties with Harry and tell tails on him to Umbridge.

The noose tightened on October 7th, when the Ministry passed Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four. This decree was aimed directly at Harry, his two best friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and all those who had attended the first meeting of what would become Dumbledore's Army. This group was formed in response to Umbridge's method of teaching only theory based Defence. They hoped to learn practical defence knowing that Voldemort was out there. When the group was discovered, Fudge and Umbridge initially thought that they finally had a way of driving Harry Potter out of Hogwarts and marginalizing him in the Wizarding world. Dumbledore took the fall for Harry enabling Harry to continue his studies.

While it seemed that Dumbledore was taking his discrediting with his usual grace, Harry became very angry and had a tendency to lash out at his friends. Harry initially had no outlet for his frustration at the Ministry and Press and seethed with anger. When he read Percy's letter to Ron, it all seemed to hit home for him. Harry was terribly hurt reading those words. He had liked and lived with Percy, and now Percy was suggesting that Harry might become physically violent if Ron decided not to be friends with him. Harry finally found satisfaction in Dumbledore's Army. He relished the opportunity to resist Umbridge right under her nose. He poured all his effort into the D.A. as a way of making himself feel better when he was being constantly attacked.

Aftermath
"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on."

- Albus Dumbledore to Harry after discussing the Ministry's unhappiness at the duo

When Fudge walked into the Ministry of Magic Atrium after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and saw Dumbledore, he appeared to be of half a mind to have his aurors seize him, but he had also seen Voldemort with his own eyes. This confirmed the stories that Harry and Dumbledore had been telling the Ministry and wider wizarding world for a year. Umbridge was suspended from her positions at Hogwarts, Fudge was dismissed as Minister in disgrace, and Dumbledore was reinstated as Headmaster. Harry became the darling of the press who called him "the chosen one." The Ministry cynically now wanted Harry to be their poster child, a move both Harry and Dumbledore opposed.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince