[ad_1]
There’s a common Harry Potter question about what is each character’s boggart, which represents their greatest fears. While some of these are answered in canon by the books and their film adaptations, many are subject to speculation. In this case, former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge’s boggart was never revealed, except in the LEGO Harry Potter video game. And it might explain why he turned against Harry and Dumbledore, refusing to acknowledge the return of Voldemort.
The boggart was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a shape-shifting creature that assumes the form of whatever the person who encounters it fears the most. Given its nature, nobody really knows what a boggart looks like. In the same installment, during one of professor Lupin’s classes, wizard students learn spells to confront a boggart that is confined in a wardrobe. Harry’s greatest fear at the time is fueled by his first encounter with a dementor, so the boggart assumes a dementor’s figure.
What Is Cornelius Fudge’s Boggart?
In the video game LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, it is shown that Fudge’s boggart is quite straightforward — it is Voldemort himself. This may not be technically canon because it was never confirmed in the source material, but it would definitely explain why the Minister was so reluctant to accept the dark lord’s return in Order of the Phoenix. Fudge refuses to believe it and launches a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore, accusing them of trying to destabilize the era of peace that’s been in place since Voldemort was first defeated. He even starts to believe that Dumbledore is out for his job.
Also, in Order of the Phoenix, it is said that Fudge’s mind has been warped by fear. While it may not have been intended to be as literal as saying that Voldemort is his ultimate fear, it makes sense that Fudge wouldn’t want to believe that he’d returned, judging the evidence with an extreme degree of denial. As the Minister of Magic, after enjoying over a decade of peace, facing such a threat would mean stepping away from that comfortable era and plunging the wizarding world into a bleak time of war and death once again. He was just one of the majority of the wizarding world with a deep fear of Voldemort. The Dark Wizard could, in fact, be the boggart of many witches and wizards.
Why Fudge Refused to Admit Voldemort’s Return
As a politician, admitting the Dark Lord’s return would also mean marking Fudge’s political legacy — he would be the Minister who allowed that to happen. The mounting evidence of Voldemort’s return, with Azkaban mass escapes and wizard disappearances, is considered insufficient in his pursuit to sustain the peace and tranquility that came from Voldemort’s first downfall. Instead, he seeks to discredit those who oppose his own denial when he could be making preparations for the inevitable future confrontation with Voldemort’s evil forces.
Moreover, much of Fudge’s past in Harry Potter had been surrounded by a dubious demeanor. While, in a way, he was well-meaning and thoughtful, he was a blundered character, particularly in cases of crisis. His good nature was countered by a mostly pretentious way of being, which allowed him to be close to Albus Dumbledore but also to Lucious Malfoy, who ends up being quite the manipulative character upon Voldemort’s return. In Order of the Phoenix, fear fuels his prejudiced side by appointing Dolores Umbridge as a high inquisitor at Hogwarts to correct what he considers to be the falling standards of the school.
Fudge’s judgment becomes hopelessly hindered by his refusal to return to an era of war and death. Given his highest position in the government and having known what it was like to live in such troubled times, it would make sense that Voldemort could be his boggart. Fudge is later forced to recognize he was wrong when he sees Voldemort for himself and succumbs to the legacy he viciously wanted to avoid.
[ad_2]
