Negius: A Mussar Shmuz
For almost an entire year after the Triwizard Tournament, nearly the entire wizarding world, led by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, refused to acknowledge that Voldemort was back. This was despite the sworn testimony of Harry Potter, and, in turn, the staunch statement of Albus Dumbledore, both based upon the confessions of Barty Crouch, Jr., himself.
How could such a thing be? How could Fudge turn a blind eye to the glaringly obvious truth? Why did no one have the courage to make a Macha’ah? The repercussions of feigned ignorance could – and did – have catastrophic results!
We see from here the awesome power of Negius. Acknowledging the return of Voldemort would have meant the ruin of the omnipotent, glorious government that Fudge had strove to create. It would have led to many long years of difficulty and unrest. Fudge and his cohorts were so blinded by their own desires for tranquility that they managed to convince themselves that nothing was wrong, to the point of discrediting Dumbledore and Harry – the most powerful wizard alive and the Boy Who Lived!
Of course, predictably, they found out the hard way that feigned ignorance most certainly is not bliss. How much must we be on the alert not to fall prey to the Negios which confront us on a daily basis!