Hello Again, Marcus
Thanks for all the reviews.
Hphphp
The next morning Vic did something he had never done before; he looked a number up in the phone directory. One Marcus Black. It took a while to figure out how to use the index. There was a great deal of Blacks in the book. And quite a few of them were named Marcus. It was only because Arcturus knew about where he lived that Vic found the correct one.
He rang the number and said, “Hello, I’m looking for Marcus Black.” He waited with bated breath to see if he got the correct number.
“This is he,” the voice said, cautiously. “Who the hell is this?” the man barked, like he was very upset that a stranger was calling.
“I am a friend of Arcturus Black. Harry Potter’s Steward as a matter of fact. I’d like to retain your services,” Vic said, looking to the portrait of Uncle Arcturus who was giving him a queer look.
Arcturus knew Vic wanted to call Marcus for help, but the man hadn’t told him why. Only that he needed him to do things that only a muggle could do. He did tell him that it was something that the new Prime Minister had suggested, so he knew it was legal, so there was that.
“How did you get this number?” Marcus asked, knowing that wizards were ignorant of muggle things. Arcturus had always used owls, and hadn’t that been fun to explain. The neighbors would talk up a storm whenever that happened.
“I looked it up in the directory,” Vic said, proudly. He felt quite accomplished about it.
“Bully for you,” was the curt reply.
“Look, can you come to Arcturus’ old house? It’s Harry’s now and I have a job for you,” the new Minister of Magic said, getting impatient with the surly man. “It’s not illegal, but it might take some doing and Arcturus highly recommended you,” he added, hoping the praise would get the man to come. It was true after all.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Marcus stated and slammed down the phone.
“He’s not a pleasant fellow,” Vic said to the portrait.
“You wouldn’t be either, if you were treated like scum by the rest of your family,” the old man said, reading one of his many books. At least he had plenty to read in his painting. And most of it he had never read before. He’d made sure of that.
He’d thought about putting the full Black library in here, but there had not been enough time or room. So, he had to pick the books that he had never laid eyes on. They were all obscure and forgotten. He had found them in the dark reaches of the library and ordered them to be placed in his portrait. Perhaps he might learn magic that would be helpful to his nephews, or future generations.
“I guess. Then again, I was, and I’m not an arsehole,” Vic said, going to the door and yelling up the stairs, “Harry! Come down here a moment!” It might be pertinent for Harry to meet the man. Who knows if the boy would ever need the man’s services in the future.
Arcturus was adamant in keeping such dealings within the family if possible. There was a loyalty factor as well. He just hoped he could soften the man’s disposition a bit. Perhaps, working with the Potter side of the family might do that.
There was the sound of running feet and Harry appeared a few moments later. He looked like he was in the middle of getting dressed in a suit. His white button-down shirt was half tucked into his trousers and his black tie was loose and hanging askew. “What’s up? I have to get ready for my spying class soon,” the preteen asked, not even out of breath from running through the house.
“I have someone coming over that I want you to meet,” his uncle said, going over and straightening the tie out and fussing over the collar of his shirt. “He’s an old acquaintance of your Uncle Arcturus. He used to do odd jobs for him. I’m going to see if he can get phones installed in the Ministry. However, I want you to meet him in case you need him for anything I can’t do for you in the non-magical world,” he explained, so the boy would know who the man was and why it was important to meet him.
Arcturus was interested in knowing the fact that Vic was going to put phones in the Ministry and wondered how he was going to get around the Statute. He agreed Marcus would be the man for the job. He settled back in his painted chair to listen and observe. He’d let Vic handle this. He wanted to see how he handled himself without his interference.
“When will he be here? I have class in an hour,” Harry said, straightening his tie some more so it wasn’t so tight. Uncle Pads always tightened it too much. He hated ties, but for some reason the spy classes made them wear suits. How he was supposed to blend in with other kids wearing one, he didn’t know, but they insisted.
“About ten minutes,” Vic said, looking at his watch.
“Okay, let me go and do something in my room and I’ll be right back,” Harry said and shot out of the room, and they could hear him running up the stairs. The sound of his dress shoes echoed off the stairs.
“I see you made the stairs stop moving,” Arcturus stated, just now noting that feature was gone. He never realized it until now that Harry made quite a bit of noise going through the house. It was actually nice to hear. It made the house seem alive.
“I didn’t want Harry to get lazy. We don’t need the moving stairs anymore. It was fun while you were around, not to mention necessary, but now…” the younger man said, snapping his fingers.
An elf popped in. “What can Tibbers bes doing for yous this morning?” he asked, looking around the room as if to anticipate what was needed. There didn’t seem to be any spills, and it was too early for tea.
“I’ll need some refreshments soon, I have a guest coming over, though I’m not sure what kind. Coffee, probably. So, be on the alert for my call,” Vic said, thinking Marcus seemed like the coffee type. If not, then Tibbers would have hot water for tea. He’d drink the coffee that the elf made. It was his free day; he could drink it all day.
“Yes, sir, Master Vic, sir,” Tibbers said and popped away to go and heat the water for whatever might be needed. He’d make sure there were cakes as well. The pantry was full, so it wasn’t a burden to accommodate a guest.
Harry came down eight minutes later and was sitting on one of the chairs when the proximity alert went off. The map showed that one Marcus Black was making his way to the front door. Vic went to greet him and show him into the study.
“Introductions are in order,” Vic said, looking around the tense room. The only person not alert was Arcturus, but he was a painting, so he didn’t count. “I am Vic Potter, the new Minister of Magic, friend, and cousin to Arcturus. I’m also Steward to Harry here. This is my ward, Harry Potter, also the new Lord Black. You know Arcturus,” he said, indicating each person as he spoke.
“I am Marcus Black,” the man said, in a sharp tone. “Why did you call me here?” he asked, his eyes were cutting around the room like he was going to be ambushed at any moment. He didn’t know these people, and they were related to the Blacks. That didn’t give him the warm and cuddlies.
“Before we get into that, would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea?” Vic asked, hoping to cut the tension. He really didn’t like that the man was wound so tight. It was putting Harry at unease too.
“Coffee would be nice,” Black said, relaxing just a little bit. The old man never offered coffee before. Well, he never offered anything. He had always had to get his own drink and that was usually from the bar. It was too early to drink alcohol and there was a kid here.
“Tibbers,” Vic called, and Tibbers popped in. “Coffee for two,” he said, nodding to Marcus and pointing at himself. “Harry has to go to class,” he explained to the other man at his confused face.
A tray appeared with an ornate pot of coffee, two large mugs, a delicate jug of cream, a bowl of sugar, and an assortment of sumptuous cakes. Something that was a bit too lavish for the likes of Marcus Black, but he brushed it off as rich folk showing off and grabbed a mug and poured a black cup of coffee and took one of the cakes. There were some thick napkins, so he grabbed one of them too.
“You were related to Uncle Arcturus?” Harry asked, taking one of the cakes. He was excited to meet one of his uncle’s old friends/family. He did wonder why he hadn’t met the man before. Had his uncle been ashamed of him, or was there a secret that needed to be kept? He didn’t know and he hoped to find out.
“Yeah, he was my great uncle,” Marcus said, sipping the rich beverage. It was a fine cup of coffee. Better than what he could get at home. It was smooth going down and not as bitter as his home brew.
“He was my cousin, but I called him my uncle. That means we’re related too. That makes us cousins, a few times removed,” the preteen said, happily. “I don’t have much family, so I’m happy to call you mine,” he added, getting up and holding out his hand to shake.
“Yeah, whatever, kid,” Marcus grumped, but shook the hand. He knew the kid was too young to understand the pureblood politics that would keep them apart in the end. He looked to Vic Potter who didn’t seem at all bothered by Harry Potter’s announcement that they were family.
“Family is family,” the older Potter stated, smiling at the man. He lifted his mug in a friendly gesture. Hoping the other man didn’t crush the boy’s feelings.
“Hey, I’ve got to go, but we should talk more later,” Harry said, seeing the time on the wall clock. He shook Marcus’ hand again and then ran from the room yelling, “It was great to meet you.”
“He’s set up quite the schedule for himself,” Vic explained, sipping from his own mug, smiling proudly at the doorway the boy had disappeared out of. “Now as to why I’ve called you here, besides to get to know a bit about you. I need phones installed in the Ministry,” he said, putting his mug on the table near his right elbow. There was a smirk on his face, like he was pulling a great prank on someone. He knew it was going to throw the other man for a loop.
“What now? I must have heard you incorrectly. Phones in the Ministry?” Marcus said, trying not to spit out his coffee. “What next, computers?” he asked, sarcastically.
“No, you heard that right. And I need it done as soon as possible,” the minister said, smiling like a kneazle that ate the snitch. “If we can get the phones to work, the next logical step would be computers. Well, if we can get people to work them. I know I can’t. Maybe I should get one for the house. I know Harry needs one for school,” he said, mumbling the last few parts to himself. He was already going over how to do that, when he looked at the man in front of him speculatively.
“Why?” Marcus asked, placing his cup on the coffee table in front of him. He needed it out of his hands, so he didn’t drop it in case there were any more bombshells.
“Well, for one, they are far more convenient than the memo-planes. For two, they keep me in touch with the Prime Minister better. And for three, I want them. I want to see if it’s really true that electricity doesn’t work around magic, and this will be the first major test. I have a phone here, and it works fine. We’ll call that the first minor test,” Vic said, ticking them off on his fingers and then waving to the phone by the wall.
“I had wondered where you had called from,” Marcus said, looking at the phone with a bit of shock. He pondered on who he knew who could pull this off, and who would love a job like this. He knew of at least three people, but would they keep quiet? That was the question. Most would love to bust open the Statute. There was one woman who was more discreet though. “Okay, I can get this done for you, but it’ll cost you. Not for me, but for her,” he finally said, looking at the man across from him. “Well, there’s still my fee, but it’ll really cost you for her,” he reiterated.
“As long as it doesn’t drain the budget,” Vic said, knowing that he had to account for every expenditure. “I can allot 2000 galleons, or £10,000,” he added. “Sorry, but that is as high as I can go. I expect you to start low and then bid as high as that. The lowest you can get the better,” he said, looking at the other man with a serious expression.
“I understand,” Marcus said, seeing that Vic was serious.
“Can you get me a computer for the house?” Vic asked, looking around the room as to where he’d set it up.
“Sure, it’ll be a bitch to get the internet here though,” Black said, thinking of the logistics.
“I can pay for that. I’m sure you can work it out. We’re not off the grid, so to speak,” Potter stated, knowing that they were hooked up to the power company even if they didn’t actually use much. It had been a pain in the arse to get it all wired in, and Arcturus had been pissed to have the construction crew in his house that long, but it had been worth it in the end. If only to get legitimate.
They had had to do that to be members of the community. It had to do with having a paper trail. They had a phone bill, a power bill and other utility bills. They ran one light bulb on the front porch to keep the neighbors from talking. They did this about the time they started cozying up with the PM.
They didn’t use anything like TVs, because they thought they would blow out anything that they hooked up. Electricity wasn’t supposed to work with magic. The light bulb in the front was away from any magic, but like the phone, it was in an area that wasn’t where magic was constantly used. Again, they ignored the fact that it was under the wards.
They thought if the wires just laid there in the walls everything would be okay. Like a sleeping snake.
Perhaps there was something to the idiom that ‘logic didn’t work on wizards’. Vic was beginning to feel foolish. Selby pointed that out to him many times, and he had always thought he was exempt from it, but now that he was seeing little signs, he was seeing that it applied to him as well.
“I’d like to talk to Arcturus for a while,” Marcus said, bringing Vic from his thoughts, looking at the portrait that had been silent during the whole talk. “I’d like to give my condolences,” he stated, a bit of sadness in his tone. He truly felt bad that the old man had died. Sure, Arcturus hadn’t treated him as more than an errand boy, but he still treated him better than anyone else in the family.
“Of course. I’ll put a silencing bubble around the area,” Vic said, doing just that and going to the other side of the room. He settled at the desk and picked up a book. He wasn’t going to leave a virtual stranger in the room alone. Arcturus may have trusted him, but Vic barely knew the man. That and he remembered that his uncle had told him of some of the shady things he had had this man do in the past.
“Arcturus,” Marcus said, nodding to the old man. “I didn’t find out that you were dead until a month after the fact,” he stated, picking up his mug and taking a drink of the cooling liquid. He had only learned about it from the word on the street. There had been rumor about a new Lord Black and that Malfoy wasn’t him.
“Sorry about that, I didn’t know who to tell to get in contact with you,” Arcturus said, looking over to Vic. “I didn’t even think of him,” he added, nodding at his nephew, knowing now that that had been a mistake. “I didn’t think you’d listen to a Potter,” he stated, tilting his head. “I know you wouldn’t have listened to a Black.” He might have had the Tonks’ tell the man, but… Well, to tell the truth he had forgotten about Marcus in the end. He wasn’t going to tell the man that though.
“Why? I have nothing against the Potters,” Marcus said, confused. “I am not one of those Blacks,” he added, like it was a curse. “You would do well to remember that,” he said, all but spitting on the richly carpeted floor.
“I forget that you were not raised to hate all things not Black,” Arcturus said, nodding his head in compliance. “Instead, you were raised to hate all things Black,” he stated, sadness tinged his tone. “There are times I hate your father for putting that notion in your head. I am just glad that he didn’t hate me,” he added, knowing that life would have been sadder without Marcius.
“Anyway,” Marcus said, waving all the emotional stuff off, “do you trust this man?” he asked, nodding towards Vic. “I mean, he’s the Minister of Magic. They don’t have a good track record,” he added as if that explained everything.
“I trust him with my ward’s life and money,” Arcturus stated firmly. “He’s family.”
“So’s Bellatrix,” Marcus spat, this time spitting on the floor. Tibbers came in, snapped his fingers, and cleaned up the mess, but glared at the man, who looked abashed. “Sorry,” he told the elf. Tibbers disappeared, and Marcus continued, “Family don’t mean shite.”
“This family I trust. As a matter of fact, I need you to do me a personal favor. Consider it a request from the grave. I need you to get a muggleborn bodyguard, with a gun, to keep him safe. Malfoy is plotting something, and he can’t plan around a gun,” the old man requested, the idea just coming to him.
Marcus paused at that. He did know a few retired government officials that still had their guns. They might be willing to take up a bodyguard position. He’d put some feelers out. The tricky part, again, was the Statute of Secrecy. Did he know any muggleborn in that position? That was the quandary.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he finally said, draining his cup of now lukewarm coffee. It was bitter now and didn’t taste as good as it did hot, but it was still better than what he normally drank. He waved his hands to attract Vic’s attention and waited for the man to come and drop the bubble. “I’ve got to go and start on these projects,” he said, standing and holding out his hand.
“Projects?” Vic questioned, shaking his hand.
“Arcturus has given me one as well,” Black said, winking at the portrait. “Your two and his, make for a busy time for me,” he stated, his mind going over how he was going to accomplish all this. Potter’s would be easy enough, but Arcturus’ would be a bit more difficult. For one, guns were involved. For two, it had to be a magical person that wanted to deal with the magical world. Those were some giant hurdles.
“Did he now?” Potter asked, laughter in his tone. “And how is he going to pay for that?” he wondered out loud.
“It’s a favor for a dearly departed relative,” Marcus stated, then thought about it. If he did find a bodyguard, then the ministry would be paying for her/him. So, it was only his fee that was free of cost. He really hoped the budget would support that. It would not be cheap.
“At any rate, it was good to meet you properly. You should come to dinner sometime. Bring the family,” Potter said, wondering if the man had a family. They never really got into that part of the discussion.
“I’m single,” the man said, bitterness laced his tone. There had been a few women in his life, but…
“Sorry,” Vic said, knowing the feeling well. They were both still young, but well over the marrying age. If either of them had living mothers, they would be hearing about it every other day. Maybe being an orphan was a blessing in this case. Well, given who his mother was, being an orphan was a blessing period. “Maybe we can go out and have a drink and commiserate our unmarried status,” he suggested, thinking the man could use a friend as much as Vic could.
“Maybe,” Marcus stated, not sure what to think of this laidback rich man. He didn’t come off like the usual popinjays. “Anyway, I’ll call and let you know how things are coming along,” he said, going towards the door.
“You have the number?” Vic asked, not knowing how the man could possibly have his number. He knew he hadn’t given it to him. He followed him to the door.
“Caller ID,” Marcus said, a smirk played on his lips. It was a relatively new invention, but it was well worth the money he paid for it. He vetted all his calls. He made sure to jot down all the numbers who called him in case they were needed for later.
“What?” was the confused response.
“I’ll explain another time. I’ve got work to do,” Black said, going out the door and closing it behind him. Vic could hear him laughing as he made his way down the pathway.
“He’s quite the closed off young man,” Vic said to Arcturus when he got back to the study.
“Yes, he is, but thanks for reaching out to him,” the old man said, closing his book and placing it on his desk.
“Of course, he seems lonely. Who knows we might find some birds while we’re out,” the younger man said, picking up his now cool coffee and reheating it with his wand. He took a sip and grimaced. It never tasted the same reheated. He put it down and snapped his fingers. Tibbers appeared. “Sorry, Tibbers, we didn’t really partake in your refreshments,” he said, waving to the barely touched tray. “I’ll take a fresh cup, though,” he added, knowing there was more brewed.
“That is being alright,” Tibbers stated, knowing most of the cakes could be saved for teatime.
“That’s all for now,” Vic said, sighing and leaning back in his chair. He was done with the day, and it was only midmorning. It was a good thing it was the weekend. Harry would be gone most of the day and he had all the time in the world to do nothing. Now if only he could figure out what Caller Id was.