This is one of those stories that you read and think, yes, this might have happened. I wonder that there isn't more Scrimgeour fic, actually, but I loved the way you dealt with him here: he's uncompromising, arrogant and demanding, but never entirely unsympathetic (and I loved the glimpse of him as a boy!). Minerva strikes me as entirely spot on, and that last section, with the hint of other players (the widow) and potential blackmail, brings the story to a fascinating conclusion. Lovely stuff!