She had known as far back as second year, when Lucius Malfoy had so easily and repeatedly twisted the school board and the Ministry to his own ends.  How else could it be explained that the Minister of Magic himself came to Hogwarts to witness the execution of a hippogriff?  Completely ridiculous. Voldemort hadn’t even been corporeal at that point in time, so it was not as if his presence had driven Fudge to act that way. Yet the integrity of the Ministry had been so weak as to be led by the worst sort of witches and wizards. 