As long as the Ministry supported her, or she supported the Ministry (I'm not sure to this day which was the puppet and which the puppet-master) she was going to stay, and between my age, my Muggle ancestry, and my relative lack of wealth, there was no way in the world I could get Cornelius Fudge on my side. Had I seen a chance, I'd have set about seducing Fudge, either to wrap him around my finger or to blackmail him, but I never was near him. Thank Merlin for small favors.