Chap. 25: Welcome home, The NSC meeting and the big reveal, the other report, let's go home, and a little company.
Monday, May 8, 2000, 12:00 PM
Today was the Potter's official return to Britain, and back to the grind of work. Harry had left instructions with the Wizarding Wireless Network (WWN), and his friend, Lee Jordan, to play a special song at noon. George Weasley was to help in this endeavor, as Seamus had taken a special mirror to him, and a special spying snitch.
"Hello everyone, this is Lee Jordan, and it's now twelve o'clock, as everyone is heading to lunch. I'm bringing you the Wizarding World's greatest hits from WWN at the top of the hour. After our last song, a new single by Celestina Warbeck, called 'Limp Wands Don't Wave,' we now bring you a welcome home song for none other than Sir Harry, and his lovely wife, Lady Potter, who have just returned from their official honeymoon in Venice. This song was originally written by a popular muggle band. However, our good friends, the Weird Sisters, recorded this new modified version as a welcome home present for the Potters, and we are proud, today, to bring it to you, our listening audience. This song is titled, "Eye In The Sky," so enjoy it everyone!"
Just before Lee had went on the air, and announced this, two loudspeakers that had been hidden by George in Diagon Alley, started broadcasting the WWN at 11:59. People stopped to listen, and even walked out of the shops and onto the street. Nobody saw the disillusioned spying snitch flying about, which George was controlling by a mirror from the roof of the WWW. When the first notes of the song came from the loudspeakers, a giant glowing golden eye, approximately six feet wide, appeared over Gringotts Bank. It was an illusion being projected by the disillusioned snitch, which seemed to stare down at the assembled wizarding populous. Next, the eye turned to the right, then the left, and blinked.
.
Don't think sorry's easily said.
Don't try turning tables instead.
You've taken lots of chances before... ,
But I ain't gonna give anymore,
Don't ask me,
That's how it goes,
Cause part of me knows what you're thinkin'.
.
Don't say words you're gonna regret.
Don't let the fire rush to your head.
I've heard the accusation before... ,
And I ain't gonna take any more,
Believe me,
The sun in your eyes,
Made some of the lies worth believing.
.
I am the eye in the sky,
Looking at you... ,
I can read your mind.
I am the maker of rules,
Dealing with fools... ,
I can cheat you blind.
And I don't need to see any more,
To know that,
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind.
.
(Just after the song started, the golden eye zoomed along the length of the alley, as if looking at everything, and at everyone. It came to a sudden stop, and turned to look at them from the Leaky Cauldron entrance, where it paused momentarily, blinked, and shot back toward Gringotts, and down Knockturn Alley, causing the dark witches, wizards, and hags to flee into the shops to hide.)
.
Don't leave false illusions behind.
Don't cry, I ain't changing my mind.
So find another fool like before,
Cause I ain't gonna live anymore, believing,
Some of the lies, while all of the signs are deceiving.
.
I am the eye in the sky,
Looking at you... ,
I can read your mind.
I am the maker of rules,
Dealing with fools... ,
I can cheat you blind.
And I don't need to see any more,
To know that,
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind... , (looking at you),
I can read your mind.
.
I am the eye in the sky,
Looking at you... ,
I can read your mind.
I am the maker of rules,
And I have the tools... ,
I can catch your kind... .
And I don't need to see any more,
To know that,
I can read you mind... , (looking at you),
I can find your crime..., (looking at you),
I can stop it with time..., (looking at you),
I can stop the crime.
.
Many of the older adults looked uncomfortable, and a few were downright scared, especially in Knockturn Alley, but the younger generation, those that went to school with the Potters, were clapping and whistling loudly. The loudspeakers went silent at the very end, the eye disappeared, and everyone went on about their day, but it was with whispers, discussing what the song meant.
"What did it mean," an old wizard whispered to his wife on the way to Gringotts. "You heard it, 'I can read your mind!"
Arthur Weasley was walking down the alley as the song played, and he was smirking at the commotion it made.
Rita Skitter had stared up at the eye, which seemed to pause over her, and she hissed. Bozo, a paunchy man who worked as the Prophet's photographer, took a photo of it.
A witch asked her husband, "What did it mean by 'I've heard the accusation before, and I ain't gonna take any more?'" Her husband looked at the Daily Prophet, scowled, and muttered "Fudge."
Another wizard, who had overheard the witch on his way to Scrivenshaft's, muttered, "Don't think sorry's easily said." He stopped, thought about the smear campaign against the young wizard, grinned, and entered the shop. Payback was a bitch, he thought.
"Legilimency?" Another asked his friend, walking into the apothecary. His friend shrugged. "He can do that?"
"What tools?" A young child asked asked his father, while on the way to Flourish and Blotts. The man grinned, and rustled his son's hair.
Cho Chang was walking back inside the Daily Prophet to write about the occurrence. She wiped her eyes, thinking about Cedric, and muttered, "Go get em Harry." Her article would use Bozo's photo, and it would make the headline.
Borgin looked out his window, and his hand started to shake, as the huge golden eye stopped in front of his shop, stared at him, blinked, and quickly made its way to Madam Dimples to give it a good stare down. When he turned around, Lucius Malfoy asked, "What the hell was that about?" Borgin grimaced, shook his head, and told Lucius that he was closing early.
Several of the johns inside Madam Dimples, who heard the song, and had seen the eye, fled out the back entrance, some half-dressed, and apparated.
George was cackling, thinking it the best prank to ever have been pulled on the public. This would make the papers, he thought.
However, it seemed that a majority were silently breathing a sigh of relief, finally believing that this administration was actively trying to root out the corruption, and bring law and order back to Wizarding Britain. It was a new day for them.
Kingsley had a chortle while listening to it, as he ate lunch at a street table, and under an umbrella at the Wands & Wizards Cafe at Carkitt Market.
Everyone at the DOCS was listening in, and Seamus let out a long raucous laugh as it played. Harry was smirking at Daphne over the commotion, as they ate lunch in the castle's small kitchen.
Last, but not least, this song had started to play in the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms, just as the students started to make their way to lunch. They all paused and listened to it. At the end, both houses applauded it, as it represented two of their own. It was the talk of the tables in the Great Hall, as everyone filled their plates, and started to eat. The professors, who actually loved gossip, would question the students about it just after lunch. It would become the topic in the staff room later that afternoon, and Minerva would fill Albus and Severus' portraits in on it once she arrived at her office.
At 2:00 PM, a silvery Lynx patronus loped into Harry and Daphne's office. It was Minister Shacklebolt.
"Harry, Daphne," Shacklebolt's voice said, "come to the conference room. The Security Council is meeting in thirty minutes."
Daphne quickly looked over at Harry. "Well, I'm pretty sure we both know what this is about."
"Yup," Harry sighed, scratched his head, and stood, making his way to the coat rack to retrieve his flat cap, and put on his jacket.
Harry waited on Daphne to fasten her new, petite, double-breasted, and lightweight designer peacoat that she purchased while in Venice. Once done, the two Potters made their way down to the floo room, and flooed to the atrium at the ministry.
The Potters made their way off the lift, and made a left, walking down the rich burgundy carpet toward the Minister's Office. Harry noticed that his great grandfather wasn't in his portrait today, so they made haste to the reception room. Here, as always, they found Marlene, this time, reading a trashy romance novel. Harry cleared his throat, as Daphne smirked.
"Sir... Sir Harry!" Marlene fumbled with her book, and it dropped to the floor behind her desk. "The minister told me to tell you to go on into the conference room, and that they would be there momentarily."
"Right...," Harry said, "and thank you, Marlene."
Harry and Daphne walked through the huge double doors, and closed them behind them. Harry cast several privacy charms, and they took their usual seats, to the right of the minister, to wait on the council.
Daphne looked at Harry, and placed her hand on his thigh, as she was slightly worried. "How bad is it Harry?"
"Bloodbath bad," Harry said, just as the door to the Minister's Office opened, and in trouped the council, plus one. The plus one was Gareth Greengrass, Daphne's uncle, and the head of the DOIMC.
Once everyone was seated, with Gareth taking a seat beside Daphne, Kingsley tapped his finger on the table in thought for a few seconds. "Gareth," Kingsley said, "what do you have?"
"It came to my attention," Gareth explained, "that the head of the largest wizarding crime family in Montenegro, Philip Markovic, and three of his underbosses, were murdered last night. It seems as if an assassin, known as "The Dentist," also known as Karl Bronstein, who was from Geneva, was employed by Markovic. However, Bronstein turned on Markovic and his three underbosses. The evidence found at the crime scene was the assassin's empty pistol, three spent magazines, and a poisoned bottle of wine.
"The assassin had taken a hotel room close to the underbosses, and after the deed was done, he traveled to Markovic's home to finish the job. A business card, belonging to Anatoli Shevchenko, was found by each victim, and Shevchenko seems to have fled to Jamaica. Harry warned me about him the other day, so I warned the Jamaican Ministry. At the moment, the Jamaican PM is having him tailed. If I had a guess, some of the Montenegrins, the grunts, will be on their way to Jamaica, and Shevchenko won't last the night."
This set everyone off to whispering to each other, except two, which were Kingsley and Gawain Robards, who were watching the Potters.
Daphne closed her eyes, sighed, dropped her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"That is what Jay should have the Prophet to print," Harry smoothly replied. Jay McDonald was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and he quickly looked at Harry.
"Sir Harry," Gawain said, "what really happened?"
Harry gave Kingsley a look that everyone noticed.
Kingsley cleared his throat, and looked over everyone at the table. "Black operation."
Simon Croaker quickly stood, and started warding the room, which was much heavier than Harry had. Once done, he nodded his head at Kingsley, and took his seat.
"Your turn, Harry," said a smirking Gawain.
Harry reached into his inside jacket pocket, and retrieved a shrunken file folder, which, with a wave of his hand, he unshrunk. On the top of the folder, in large, red, block letters, it was marked TOP SECRET. He opened the folder, and removed the first two pages, which were stapled together. He quickly scanned the two pages, before he placed them back into the folder, which he lay on the table, and closed.
"Anatoli Shevchenko was behind the illegal potions racket here in the Wizarding UK. He was working with Antonin Dolohov while incarcerated at Nurmengard. It was Dolohov that had Theodore Nott Senior use his son to out the DOCS before the Wizengamot, over our investigation. He used fear, and a threat of death, to have young Theodore to do it.
"The NSC had ordered our team, which included both of our departments, to investigate the case. We did, and shut the ring down. The stash that was confiscated, and burned, was not the real stash; it was fake. I contacted our associate, a member of the underground that works with us, and had it smuggled back to Ukraine. He sold to a competitor of Shevchenko's in Ukraine, who has been selling it in their own backyard. I put the problem back on them. As a matter of fact, I just received payment for that, which was € 3,000,000.00, and I will deposit half of it in the DOCS account ASAP. The other half goes to the Potter Home for Children."
Here, the NSC nodded their approval.
"While in Jamaica, I destroyed a marijuana operation run by Tobias Higgins, which was supplying Shevchenko. They were also responsible for the first attempt at revenge, and it was an Obeah curse - a poppet used against my wife. I also destroyed the Obeah church connected to it, and stopped the curse. This was done with the cooperation of the MIA and MACUSA, and it was called Operation Sledgehammer. The Jamaican's girlfriend was the one to attack Daphne in Kingston. She tried to murder Daphne with a razor, which was the second attempt.
"Their third attempt was the bomb aimed at Kingsley. After this, I visited Nurmengard, and extracted the information I needed from Dolohov. While in Switzerland, they sent two thugs to tail us, but we gave them the slip, and we cost Shevchenko a lot of money over it. I had an operative to slip into Odesa, and sink Shevchenko's new yacht, while his thugs were following us around on a merry goose chase. That was Operation Sunken Duck."
This brought several snorts and chortles from those assembled.
"However, Shevchenko tried again; this time putting a sanction on not only our underworld associate, but on both Daphne and I. We stopped the assassin, who was in Venice. He had learned that our associate would be there for a bit of gambling. What they didn't know, was that he was there to deliver the "cleaned money" to me, which he had laundered in Monte Carlo.
"During the altercation with the assassin, I restrained him, and used forced Legilimency on him. Here, I found out that Shevchenko had went to Markovic to plead for our assassination. Markovic accepted, and ordered the hits just after the one on our associate."
Several looked dumbfounded, as they had no idea that this case was that complicated.
"Next," Harry replied, as he stared coldly at the wall, "I placed the assassin under the Imperious Curse, and the next morning, I gave him the poison wine and the counterfeit business cards. He traveled back to Montenegro, on my order, and did the deeds. He shot the three underbosses at their homes, and delivered the wine to Markovic. By tomorrow, we may be well shod of all of them, except one, a Mr. Peter Popovic, who is another underboss that the assassin was with, while gambling in Venice.
"By the way, I took about € 200,000.00 from Popovic at the Baccarat table, which is where the assassin saw Daphne and I. When leaving, the assassin followed me into the loo, where everything happened. That was his huge mistake, as I don't like pistols pointed at my head.
"The next morning, before I sent the assassin on his way, I called my captain, and had him inform Kingsley that a black operation was in play, and told him to have Gareth report anything that he may hear. This new operation was selected from our book of names, and it is called Operation Typhoon.
"Make no mistake, our underworld associate's grandfather will have Shevchenko killed, if the hoodlums miss. They may go after Popovic, too. They messed with the wrong Sicilian family. It will be a bloodbath, and it was all my creation from day one. I pitted them against each other, which is what I was trained to do. Why kill them, when I can set them up to destroy each other? It was my game of chess all along.
"One last note, Markovic is the CEO of the bank that Shevchenko uses. Something tells me that he'll have a sudden problem retrieving his funds, especially now that they think that Shevchenko had him assassinated. We should promote that idea."
One could hear a pin drop in the room after this, and several grimaced and squirmed in their seats. This was the nature of clandestine operations, and they gave this power to the DOCS.
Gawain looked at Harry and Daphne for a moment. "I wish we had you around when the Death Eaters were running amuck. I have to admit, your lot is very thorough in the chaos it causes."
The Head Hit Wizard, Tom Lagavulin, looked around the table and laughed. "They're going to cause our department to become obsolete!"
"All right," Kingsley said, as he looked at everyone assembled, "Jay, feed Gareth's version to the Prophet. All of you, be ready for damage control if this somehow leads back to us. Deny everything; this is top secret.
"Harry, put your main wand up for a week, and carry your Holly wand. If anyone wishes to inspect it, it will turn up clean. If you hear anything through the grapevine, let me know at once. Good job, by the way, both of you!"
Both Harry and Daphne nodded.
"Gawain, Jay, feed Gareth's version to the Wizengamot. Let it leak to them today."
"Gentlemen," Kingsley said, as he stood, "I call this meeting to a close."
Simon removed the privacy wards, and everyone started to leave the room. However, Harry had slipped a paper out of the back of the folder, before he shrank it back down, and quickly passed the one page report to Kingsley. He nodded at the minister, took Daphne's hand, and they made their way out of the Ministry of Magic.
Once Shacklebolt was settled in his office, and after he sat down at his desk, he read the report. It contained what was not said in the conference room, and he knew that Harry didn't want Daphne to hear this. The report was about the eastern mafioso group's pederasty, and the blackmail racket that they were running on the wealthy elite and politicians, using underage children. It named names, and once Kingsley read it to the end, he quickly burned it. It made him feel dirty, and he wiped the hand, which had held the report, on his robes.
My God, Kingsley thought, what some people are capable of. It was also tied to the pederast ring just exposed in Germany, which Harry had received a call about in Jamaica. He actually knew two of the so-called blackmail victims, both politicians, but they both willingly did the deed. He'd never look at them in the same way again, and as a matter of fact, if they were to visit the UK, he didn't want them in his office.
Just as Daphne and Harry walked into the entry hall at DOCS HQ, Harry made a quick left into the huge parlor. He made his way over the the sideboard, beside the knight's armor, where he pulled down the lid, and made himself himself a JB on the rocks. Once finished, he walked over to the ornate Victorian sofa, had a seat, and took a huge drink. He sighed, swirled the alcohol around in the tumbler, and stared at the ice.
Daphne sighed, too. She made her way over to Harry, and sat down close beside him. "Want to talk about it?"
Harry looked at her, and grimaced. "I didn't want to burden you with all of that. It could be stressful on you, with your condition."
"Harry," Daphne said, in a soft tone, "you know that this is our job. I knew a lot of it, mostly by guessing, but after what they tried to do to us, I don't blame you, and I'm not allowing it to bother me, okay?"
Harry quickly downed the rest of the drink, and sat the empty glass on the table. When he looked over at Daphne, she gave him a soft kiss. "Want to call it quits for today?" She looked at the clock, and it was near four.
Harry nodded, stood, and held his hand out for Daphne. She took it, and he helped her up, then both walked back out of the castle, and apparated to Potter Manor.
Seamus walked into the bullpen carrying several newspapers, which he tossed upon his desk, and looked over at Tracey. "Ta Boss still gone?"
"They came in for just a bit," Tracey said with a sigh, "but left not long after. Harry's upset."
"Wha'?" Seamus couldn't imagine Harry being upset. He had an iron will when it came to this stuff, he thought. "I brought the papers, an' it ain't good. Big hit in the wizarding mob, and it was the same people we were targetin'!"
"It's Daph, Seamus," Tracey explained.
"Wha' about 'er?"
"She has that glow, Seamus," Tracey whispered. "You know, a mother with child kind of glow?"
"She's?" Seamus looked gobsmacked at this.
"I think that she might be," Tracey said. "I watched her this morning, and she kept laying her hand on her stomach when we were discussing the cases, especially the violent ones."
"Hmmmmm," Seamus replied. "Could be, I guess, 'specially with all the traveling they've been doin'. I know tha' Harry's always wanted a family. Several kids, he's claimed, but they've already got Teddy."
"You know, we should go over there, and you should take Harry out for a bit. You know, for a few drinks. He's not been out in a while, and I could take Daphne out, too, and have a girl's night out."
"That's not a bad idea come ta think of it," Seamus said, and grinned. "I guess I could drag him up ta da Three Broomsticks and have a few. Madam Rosmerta would be glad ta see him, I imagine."
"Now, you're getting it," Tracey grinned. She knew that Daphne couldn't drink alcohol, if she was pregnant, so that left a nice place to catch supper.
"Might even get the lad to visit the Hogshead for a few, too," Seamus muttered. "Abe's gettin' old, an' we oughtta see him more than we do."
"Wanna do it?" Tracey was eager to go.
"Yea, why not." Seamus stood, as it had just turned five. "Come on!"
Tracey followed Seamus out to the fountain, where she took Seamus by the arm. However, before he could apparate, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He grinned, turned on his heel, and apparated them to Potter Manor with a slight pop.
-=QE=-
AN: The song can be found at youtube dot com forward slash watch?v=56hqrlQxMMI