Get Them Papers
Thanks for the reviews.
Someone suggested that I have a cameo of Spike from BtVS, and I did think about that when I named my forger Spike. However, I nixed the idea because I need the guy to do day work. But it was a great idea. That and I already gave Spike green hair. So, I made him Spike like.
Hphphp
The owl Arcturus had been waiting for, came the next day. He had an appointment with the Prime Minister tomorrow. Which was good and bad. They were not ready with the guardianship papers for Harry and the rest of the news in the letter said they needed to be.
The rest of the letter said that unfortunately the Dursleys had gotten away with the child abuse by reporting Harry kidnapped and hiding the evidence that he had been kept in the cupboard under the stairs. There was furniture in the empty bedroom upstairs and they claimed that it was Harry’s room. They weren’t as stupid as the group had predicted and the Dursleys had two days to get their story straight. Now there is a Warrant out on Arcturus for the kidnapping of Harry Potter.
He was now leery about meeting the Prime Minister under these circumstances. He thought about taking Harry in with Vic and just making them understand that the boy was with a relative. He would do that when Vic got his parchments, which he should do today. If the bloke Vic was meeting was as good as the goblins said he was.
“I need you to backdate those parchments and make sure you use judges’ names that are current in the muggle world. I need to make sure they pass examination there,” Arcturus said as they sat down to breakfast.
“Why?” Vic asked, serving himself up some eggs. He had planned on doing it today but hadn’t planned on rushing it. He wanted it done right.
“Marcus said the Dursleys have accused me of kidnapping. I want to show that you are his legal guardian,” the old man explained. He handed him the letter. It explained it all. Marcus was good at giving reports, even if he was blunt about it.
Vic read the missive and sighed. They really needed the PM on their side to get the MoM off their case. That, and it would put Malfoy in his place too. The one thing that the purebloods didn’t understand was that the upper chiefs of the muggle government were in charge. The Queen and the Prime Minister were the bosses of the Minister of Magic. He answered to them, not the other way around.
“I’ll do my best. I will see if he can get it into their records as well. It wouldn’t do if there wasn’t a paper trail,” Vic said, chewing on some bacon. He would pay as much as it took to get it done as quickly as possible. He was filthy rich; he might as well use it for good.
“Can I come?” Harry asked, spooning up some beans. He wanted to get out of the house more. They had done a lot of shopping lately, but he liked to go out. The Dursleys always made him stay home, or at Mrs. Figgs. She had an alarming number of cats. This house wasn’t much better, though it did have a bunch of cool doodads. However, there was little for young boys to do here.
“No,” both men said, making Harry frown as he continued to eat.
“There are hags in Knockturn Alley,” Arcturus reminded him. He smiled to take the bite out of his words. He didn’t want him to think they were being mean to be mean. “You will stay here with me,” he added.
“But Uncle Pads will protect me,” Harry said, innocently. He was bored and wanted to do something.
“You and I will be working on your schoolwork. You have been neglecting it,” Arcturus said, hoping that got his mind off his boredom. The boy was smart and liked to read, so it should be easy to distract him with history.
“What kind of schoolwork?” Harry asked, perking up a bit. He really wanted to get back to his math and English. He was falling really behind on that. “When will I be going back to class?” he asked.
“We can do whatever you like,” his new older uncle said, placatory. “You’ll go back to class when we have all your paperwork done,” he added. He really did need to get the boy back into school. It wouldn’t do for his heir not to have the best education. Perhaps tutors? He could introduce him to other heirs and have a class here at the house. That might be better. He would discuss it with him later.
“I’d better leave,” Vic said, finishing off his eggs and washing them down with his coffee. He got up and hugged Harry. “Be good for Gra… Uncle Arcturus,” he said, looking to the old man and winking.
“I will,” Harry said, hugging his Uncle Pads really hard. He was worried the man would get eaten by a hag. “Don’t get eaten,” he said, putting his fear to words. He had a nightmare about hags, even though he didn’t know what they looked like.
“Hags only eat children,” the dogman said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I’ll be fine,” he added seeing the worry in the child’s face. “I’m a healthy young man.” He puffed up and ran a hand over his hair.
“Okay,” Harry said, warily. Then he smiled. His Uncle Pads was a brave and strong man. “I’ll be good,” he promised, like that would keep the man safe.
“Uncle Arcturus, I’ll be back within two hours, hopefully.” He patted his pocket to make sure he had everything. He could feel his key in his breast pocket and that was all he really needed.
“See that you are,” the old man said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and sipping his tea. “If need be, use my vault,” he added, making sure that Vic knew that price was not an option.
“I will,” Vic said, not worried a bit.
He made his way to the floo room and flooed his way to the Leaky Cauldron. He then ambled down Diagon Alley to Knockturn Alley. The morning was clear and bright, which made for good walking weather. There were people running about getting their morning shopping done and children playing in the streets, giving their parents a hard time.
Knockturn Alley was dull by comparison. It was a dark alley and there were many shady characters there. It wasn’t a long alley, only about twenty or so shops, but they were all disreputable. Not to mention their clientele. There were the aforementioned hags, there were also werewolves, vampires, thugs, cutthroats, and other layabouts. No children were roaming the streets here.
About ten shops in, was the Melted Candle. It was a pub of ill repute. Where one could find all sorts of interesting people. Even ladies of the evening. It stood three stories tall and had a dark door for an entrance. There was a sign of two melted candles on a wooden placard. A hag was selling questionable meat pies in front of it.
He waved her off as he stepped in.
He was glad that he had dressed down today. He was wearing simple clothing of black slacks and a brown cotton shirt. His hair was simply combed and not styled in any way. He looked like Joe Average. His eyes skimmed the crowd looking for the tall bloke with the bright green hair.
He spotted him in the corner with a group of three other lads. He walked over and nodded to them. “I’m looking for Spike,” he said, staring at the man in question.
“Yer lookin’ at ‘im,” Spike said, sneering at him like he was not welcome. He looked just like Sharptooth said. Tall, even seated, and bright green hair. He was skinny to the point of gaunt. His cheekbones were poking out of his face. His hair was slicked back on his head and plastered to it. He had piercing blue eyes. His skin was so pale, that if Vic didn’t know better, he’d have thought the man a vampire.
“I have business,” Vic said, showing his Gringotts key. He knew that would show that he meant to spend money.
“Bugger off, you lot,” Spike told his friends. They would know that fun times were over for now, but to stick close in case there was trouble.
The group scraped their chairs as they got up and left the table. They only went to the bar, or nearby tables.
Vic noticed this and kept a wary eye on them.
Spike nodded his head to the chair opposite him and indicated where he wanted Vic to sit.
Vic sat and took out what little parchmentwork he had. He placed it on the table and waited. He only had what the goblins had given him and little at that. They had also done a blood test and it showed Charlus Potter as his father, James Potter as his brother, and Harry Potter as his nephew.
A disk was placed in the middle of the table indicating that business was about to take place. This meant that anything they talked about would be sealed by magic. Unless otherwise indicated. A handshake would seal the deal. It also created a privacy bubble, so they would not be overheard.
“I need some muggle and magical documents done up for a life story,” Vic started, glancing around to make sure the bubble worked. No one was paying attention to what they were saying. “The works. Birth Certificate, Health Card, Homeschooled Records, average grades, even Parking Tickets, if needed,” he continued, sliding the parchments over. “I need them to pass in both worlds. Oh, and I need guardianship papers for me and Harry Potter. I’m his uncle. There should be no problems there. His documents are on record. You should have no problems obtaining them. Or you can find them at #4 Privet Dr, Little Whinging, Surrey. Petunia Dursley is his maternal aunt,” he added, hoping that she had them. “Oh, and I need them backdated from a week from today.”
“Well now, that is goin’ to cost ya a pretty knut,” the man said, perusing the parchments. His eyes widened at the name on the documents. “A bastard huh? Didn’t know old Charlus Potter ‘ad it in ‘im,” he said, reading more on what they said. He looked Vic up and down, trying to see if he could see the family resemblance. He could see it. He remembered James Potter from Hogwarts, and this bloke looked a bit like him.
“Yeah,” was all Vic said, not correcting him in the slightest. The more people thought the story was true the better.
“Where is all yer parchmentwork from before?” Spike asked him, trying to get the real story. There was just something about the man’s story that was off.
“Fire,” Vic said, his face completely blank.
“‘lright,” Spike said, not believing that for a moment. It really wasn’t his place to question his clients. He was paid to get a job done and get it done right. He was good at his work, that is why he was the best.
“How much?” was the next question.
“I can do this for about 10,000 galleons,” was the answer. “It’ll take me four days,” he added, pocketing the parchments.
“Put a rush on it and I’ll give you 12,000 galleons,” Vic said, thinking it over. “I need the guardianship papers today.” They really needed those for the appointment tomorrow.
“Yer out of yer bloody mind,” Spike said, taking the parchments out and throwing them on the table. “That’s a tall order,” he added, rubbing his hand through his green hair. He could do it, but it would tax him.
“It’s vital or I wouldn’t ask,” he said, running his hand down his face. “I have an appointment tomorrow. If you can get them to me by the morning, I’ll see an extra thousand into your account,” he enticed.
“I ken get the parchments and papers, no problem, but it’ll take time to get ‘em into the system. Backdating ‘em will be an issue too,” Spike explained. “I need to go to the muggle world and do it manually. That, and there are those newfangled computers that I need to insert ‘em in to. That‘ll take days. Not to mention, ya don’t have Potter’s documents.” This was going to be a big job. It could make or break him. He might have to pay this Petunia Dursley a visit.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” Vic promised. “I’ll see that 15,000 galleon make its way into your vault by the end of the day when I see all the documents in my hand tomorrow morning,” he stated. He was good for it, and he was desperate.
“Done,” Spike said, holding out his hand to shake on the deal. He would need to get a few of his buddies to help, but they were up to it. He’d do the muggle world, but they could do the Ministry. He found that very few magicals could work on computers. Lazy bastards. They kept trying to magic the information into them.
“You’ll make it legit here in the magical world too?” Vic asked, not shaking as of yet, covering that avenue as well.
“Of course,” Spike said, offended that he even asked.
“Just checking,” Vic said, shaking the hand and sealing the deal. Magic swirled around the hands and made it a done deal. They would have to do as they agreed.
Spike picked up the disk and pocketed it. He’d keep that until the agreement was done. “It was a pleasure doin’ business with ya,” he said, getting up to get started on his very lucrative arrangement.
“Yeah,” Vic said, feeling he got off a lot better than he thought he would. He expected to leave with a lighter purse. He made his way back home with a good feeling that things were going to be okay.
Hphphp
Meanwhile, at the Dursleys. Petunia’s day was a nightmare. Well, her week was. Ever since that man had come and taken the boy. They had done the smart thing and reported it as a kidnapping, but the investigation had almost gotten her Dudley taken from her. If there had not been furniture in the other bedroom, it would have done them in.
They had cleaned out the cupboard of everything that indicated that the boy had lived there. The stupid boy had even had a sign proclaiming that it was his room. What kind of freak did that?
Now, there was a man here from that freak bank looking for proof they had spent money on the freak. Like they would. They fed the brat and had given him a roof over his head. That was more than he deserved.
“I need to see something to take back to my bosses,” the man, Mr. Waters, said, shuffling some parchments, like paper was too good for them, around in his briefcase. They had been going over this for twenty minutes now, and Vernon Dursley had been hemming and hawing for all that time. The fat man was in hot water, and he knew it.
“We didn’t keep any,” Vernon told the man for the hundredth time as if repeating it would appease him this time.
“Then you need to show me something you purchased for the child,” Waters stated, looking around the house and seeing pictures of the happy family and none of the child in question. There was nothing in this house that said there was a fourth person living here. Just the three Dursleys. That and the look they got on their faces when they talked about their nephew. It was one of pure disdain.
“We, erm, threw it all out when the boy disappeared,” Vernon hedged, which sounded lame even as he spoke it.
“Are you not expecting him to come back?” was the follow-up question. That didn’t bode well.
“The man who took him seemed determined,” Vernon said, sweat forming on his forehead.
“You know what I think, Mr. Dursley? I think you spent all of that child support on your own child and didn’t spend a single cent of it on Harry Potter. If you don’t produce something for me in five minutes, I will be turning this over to Inland Revenue,” Waters said, shoving all his parchments in the briefcase and snapping it shut. He stood and started tapping his foot, his hand was casually laying on his wand in his inner pocket. “You received over £250,000 for his care. I don’t see any of that here. You will be paying that back, one way or another,” he added, his face firm.
“Now see here, you can’t just come in and accuse me of such things,” Vernon blustered, standing to his full height. He was rather tall. Unfortunately, he was also rather fat. And it wasn’t muscular fat, it was flabby. It didn’t make for an intimidating figure.
“I can and did,” Waters said, looking to the sweating man. Vernon and Petunia Dursley were as guilty as sin. They were both sweating buckets and looking around like divine intervention would come any moment. Petunia was clutching her throat and glancing nervously up the stairs.
Dudley Dursley was up there playing on the newest video game system. In a room full of toys that were all top of the line. Much like everything else in the house. These Dursleys knew how to live it up, but they didn’t know how to keep false records. They weren’t as smart as they thought they were. Sure, they got rid of the evidence of child abuse, but not embezzlement.
He had looked in the so-called room they said Harry Potter stayed in, which he knew was false. There was a rickety bed and a desk. There was a pile of broken toys and a large number of discarded books. It was not a room that anyone stayed in, it was a junk room.
“You have three minutes,” Waters said, looking at his watch. He knew they had nothing.
“Get out of my house,” Vernon said, pointing to the door. He was going to have to think of something once this freak was out of his house.
“On your head it be,” the auditor said, picking up his briefcase and leaving. He’ll tell the goblins and they would tell Inland Revenue. These miscreants will go away for a long time. The goblin mines would be too good for them.
“Vernon, what are we going to do?” Petunia asked, grabbing her husband’s arm. This wasn’t something they could just fake away.
“I’ll just…” Vernon said, trying to think of something. For this he was at a loss. He never thought he’d be caught spending that freaks money. It was from freaks; how did they keep track of it? How was he supposed to know they had an in with Inland Revenue? Did they have the freak to back up any lie he came up with? What if he passed Dudley’s purchases as Harry’s?
“What are the neighbors going to think? All these officials coming by this week?” Petunia asked, looking through the curtain and seeing the woman from two houses down pass by her house. She nervously waved at her and shut the curtain tight. She was going to be the talk of the neighborhood; she just knew it.
Just then there was a knock on the door. Petunia went to answer it. There stood a tall skinny man with green hair.
“‘ello, luv, I need all the paperwork ya ‘ave on ‘arry Potter,” the man said, as he pulled out a knife of all things.
Petunia screamed.