Chapter 8 - Remember Tomorrow

Peter returned to the Folly after his trip to Grunnigs to run some people through the PNC and see what came up. Mike Rowberry was clean, as was the secretary. Vernon, on the other hand, had more than one flag against his name. From a clearly misspent youth there were historic convictions for breach of the peace, drunk and disorderly and common assault. The assault charge was made when he was 17, meaning whilst it was on the record, it wasn't counted, and considered spent when he turned 18. That said it was still on the record. Once you find your way onto a police database, it's a hard task getting back off. What also made Peter's spidey-senses tingle was the SFO flag which was against one of the records on Dursley's file. For the Serious Fraud Office to show an interest was not a good thing. Clearly Dursley wasn't aware of this.

That there was no record of a Harry Potter didn't surprise Peter, the kid was clearly clean, no record, no POI (person of interest) notes, nothing. He turned to the local registries only to be surprised that there was no record of anyone called Harry Potter being born 17 years ago, although there was a school register for Manorfield Primary School in Horley, which covered the LIttle Whinging catchment area amongst others which caught Peter's eye, with the Dursley's registered address being Privet Drive in the same hamlet. It showed a Harry Potter's enrolment at 5, but no transfer details for a high school. Another alarm which went off in the back of Peter's mind.

He looked at his notes.

* Magic killed Gillian Boyle

* Absolute absence of any vestiga in the area near the body

* Vernon Dursley mentioned wizards and a school in Scotland

* Does this tie in with the information provided by Nightingale

* Why did Dursley have such a reaction to the occult

* Where is Jacob Robinson

* Who is Harry Potter

* School in Scotland (this was struck out once he noticed it was a duplicate)

* Only school of this other magic?

Peter had given the briefing pack Nightingale provided a cursory once-over a couple of days ago when they had their talk, he supposed it was now time to read over it in more depth. He was hitting a brick wall when it came to thinking about the murder of GIllian Boyle and the disappearance of Jacob Robinson, he sometimes found that letting his mind wander from the case in hand helped. Much to Nightingale's chagrin, Peter often found himself relying on instinct as much as evidence. Having a distraction sometimes helped kick start that instinct.

As he read through the pack, learning the limited amount of information which was provided about the wizarding world and the Statute of Secrecy, a couple of things caught his eye. First was the reference to Hogwarts, the magical school set in an unplottable area of the Scottish highlands. Second was the notes surrounding the events of Halloween 1981 which told him that the dark lord known as Voldemort attacked and killed James and Lily Potter before somehow being banished by their 15 month old son, Harry.

Harry Potter.

Peter reached for his phone and hit the speed-dial for Nightingale. As always, three rings and it was answered.

"Boss, I'm pulling together my notes from my meeting at Grunnings, I stopped to have a read of the briefing pack you left me and there's a name which appears in both. Harry Potter."

"Interesting. Who mentioned the name at Grunnings?"

"One Vernon Dursely, grade a piece of shit and sales director. He's also the uncle of this Harry Potter, although he clearly hates the kid. Dursley has a sheet, he's also attracting SFO attention, when I made a tentative enquiry to see if the missing Robinson had ever been heard talking about anything occult, Dursley went off on one, screaming about freaks and the going on about his, and I quote, "fucking freak nephew" who he says goes to some special school in Scotland…"

The phone was silent a moment as Nightingale processed this. "It could be a coincidence, or it could be serendipity. Maybe our missing salesman has been dabbling in the occult, maybe that's what caused the death of Ms Boyle…"

"Or maybe that's what attracted whatever or whoever killed Boyle. In any event, I think we need to speak to this Harry Potter, trouble is there's no record of him other than a single primary school enrolment notice."

"Gather together your notes from your interviews with Durlsey and everyone else in Grunnings, I'll make my way back to the Folly and we can discuss."

Peter hung up and got back to the pack, making notes as he went along. He went back to the notes he had made following his visit to Leatherhead and added two more:

* Voldemort (connection to Harry Potter)

* How were the Potter parents killed

Before he knew it, Nightingale arrived with Molly gliding through minutes later with the usual cup of tea.

"Thank you Molly. So, tell me what happened in Grunnings and what else you have found?"

Peter picked up the notepad. "Well, the fleet guy, Rowberry, nothing much to talk about there, more interested in the motors. The secretary I spoke to was distraught at hearing about Boyle's death, but the star of the show was Dursley. Breach of the Peace, D&D, assault, he's a piece of work. I saw a bit of that temper when I mentioned the occult, he's not good at staying under control when he's pissed, must make sales meetings with him fun."

"So, this common name…"

"Harry Potter. Your briefing pack mentioned him. 17 years ago, this Voldemort vanished after murdering Harry Potter's parents. The report says he was banished when trying to murder the kid. Doesn't say how the parents died, I'd be interested to find that out, and I'd be interested to know how he wound up with Dursley. Nothing on the system, nothing in Child Protection, nothing in the council registers, nothing at all. One reference to primary school enrolment but no exit notification."

"I can answer one of those questions, it was mentioned during my meeting at Number 10, death was caused, apparently, by a 'killing curse', although no further details were offered. What are your thoughts?"

"Potential suspect? Kid's parents murdered by magical people, brought up with Dursley means he will have seen the mean streak, turned him bitter and twisted? Gets older, finds out more about magic, maybe works out he can use magic himself, decides to get retribution for his parents' murder?"

"Harry Potter wasn't mentioned by name during the meeting, which having read the pack surprised me, but I understand how things get missed. However, the pack deals with Voldemort, and doesn't make any suggestion that this Potter is one of the bad guys. Your hypothesis is not without merit, but I can't see it. If Potter was to go after anyone, surely it would be Voldemort, not a random sales executive."

"But he's not random. There's the uncle connection. Ok, say then that this Potter has been abused by the uncle. The impression I got was that work was pretty much all Dursley cared about, so stands to reason he'd talk about it at home. Robinson was mentioned more than once as being his top salesman, so Potter thinks that he can get some revenge on the uncle by offing him? Makes it less obvious than going after the uncle himself."

Nightingale sipped his tea. "Again, not an unreasonable suggestion. I'd certainly like to speak to him if we can find him, but there's no evidence other than supposition to tie him to any of the crimes. If what you say about the uncle is true, I'd be more concerned about Potter himself." Nightingale read over the rest of Peter's notes. "I think I need to see if I can arrange another meeting with Minister Scrimgeour. I was hampered last time by not having the chance to formulate some questions, now that I have had the chance, as it appears have you, I'd very much like to have some answered."

"How are you going to do that? I know you said that you were to report back to the PM, but I don't presume that you have sent him a Facebook request!"

Nightingale looked confused. "A what? I have a number to call which is staffed by one of his private secretaries, saying that the call is in relation with Operation Wrathchild will see me able to arrange an appointment."

- oOoOoOo - Crossing The Frame - oOoOoOo -

The wheels of the political machinery of the UK spun more quickly than Peter imagined. The next morning Nightingale announced that he had a meeting arranged with the PM. Moreover, Peter was to accompany him. Nightingale had provided the PM with a precis of initial investigation into the death of Gillian Boyle and the disappearance of Jacob Robinson. It would appear that mentioning the name of Harry Potter had the same power to open the PM's door as did abracadabra.

Peter and Nightingale found themselves in the same office that the elder police wizard had strolled into less than a week ago. "Do try and keep yourself under control, Peter" said the elder. "And remember this will be top secret. If you have anything pertinent to add however, anything substantial…" Peter couldn't help but notice the subtle emphasis on the word… "then feel free to contribute."

Peter went back to idly reaching out with his magic and seeing what kind of vestiga was present in the hallowed halls of Number 10. It was odd enough for Peter as he and Nightingale were shown through the gates of Downing Street upon flashing their police ID (the boogie badge, as Peter had taken to calling it) and their Whitehall pass. Odder still to see the famous black door open, as if by magic, letting the two enter. As he reached out, Peter got the sense of a subtle power. It was like the building itself knew that this was a powerful place, where power was centred. There was a musk at the back, possibly a remnant of a periwigged age gone by. Wafting through it all though, there was a thin, but constant, line of fear. It made sense he thought. With so much power comes all types of fears, fear of being usurped, fear of being threatened, fear of letting the power own you, fear of allowing the power to control your decisions. Fear of the power itself.

"Officers, you can go in now" Peter was snapped out of his reverie by the announcement from the private secretary, the same one Nightingale saw the last time as he opened the door for the two.

In the room the PM sat at his desk as before, Rufus Scrimgeour sat in the same desk as last time, but there was a third person already in the meeting. A young woman, not unattractive in Peter's estimation (although no Beverley), she looked as nervous as Peter felt. What was most striking about the young woman however was her hair. It was neon blue. And then it wasn't. It was black. Then red. It took all of Peter's restraint not to offer the "what the fuck" that was running through his mind.

The PM wasn't one to stand on ceremony. "Chief inspector, thank you for coming at such short notice. I presume you are detective constable Grant?" Peter nodded his agreement that he was indeed, DC Grant. "I'm sure the chief inspector has told you about Minister Scrimgeour?" Another nod. The other minister didn't rise or offer a hand, so Peter didn't offer his.

It was Scrimgeour who spoke next. "The Prime Minister has made me aware of the case you have picked up and of your initial investigation. That it mentioned Harry Potter was of immediate interest to me."

"May I ask why, minister?" Nightingale this time. "DC Grant has made some enquiries into this Harry Potter and has found very little. It appears he has vanished off the face of the earth, making him both a person of interest and an object of concern."

"You have nothing to be concerned about Chief Inspector, Harry is fine. I spoke with him a few days ago. The reason you will find no records is because he was born to wizarding parents, so his birth will have been recorded at the Ministry of Magic, not in the muggle system."

"How then do we have records of his enrolment at a local primary school?" Peter couldn't help himself, and could feel the eyes of his boss fall upon him.

"You've read the pack?" Peter nodded so Scrimgeour continued. "Then you will know that his parents were killed in the first Voldemort war. They were key in the resistance against Voldemort, managed to outsmart him three times before they were betrayed by someone they considered a friend, that betrayal led Voldemort to them. Voldemort was especially interested in them for a specific reason which I am afraid I can't go into at the moment, but when it was discovered that Harry had survived the attack, a decision was made to hide Harry in the muggle world. The nature of the magic which saved him persuaded Albus Dumbledore, who was the headmaster of Hogwarts as well as the Chief Warlock until his recent death that Harry would be best placed with a blood relative, leaving the only option to be Petunia Dursley, his maternal aunt."

"I've met who I presume will be her husband" interjected Peter. "That's who gave me the name." Scrimgeour nodded. "I wasn't impressed." The minister nodded again.

"We know now that Harry had a challenging childhood." Both policemen saw through the language used. Challenging childhoods are generally abusive ones. "It appears he was socially maladjusted when he arrived a Hogwarts, with no understanding of the wizarding world. Potter however is nothing if not a quick learner, he's smart, much smarter than he lets be known, and he's driven. Potter will be key in the fight against Voldemort."

"How old is Mr Potter now?" it was Nightingale who asked the question. When the minister said 17 as the response, looked thoughtful. "Technically then still a juvenile, not deemed adult for another year."

"In the wizarding world, you come of age at 17. In our world, Harry is considered an adult."

"Regardless, we need to establish if there's a link between Mr Potter and the murder of Gillian Boyle and disappearance of Jacob Robinson."

Scrimgeour looked over at the woman who had thus far remained silent and nodded to her to speak. "You heard his name, figured he was a mystery character, couldn't figure out what the link was so had him down as a suspect?"

Peter nodded. "Pretty much. How did you work that out?"

"Because given the evidence that's probably what I'd have done."

Scrimgeour took over. "this is Auror Tonks, she is going to be my primary liaison for, what have you called it, Operation Wrapchild?"

"Wrathchild."

"Thank you. It's clear that we are going to have to work between the wizarding and non-magical worlds to an unprecedented degree. Auror Tonks has a better understanding of the muggle world than most aurors, her father's parents were both muggles and her father was keen that she not lose touch with her muggle roots."

The PM took over. "I've agreed with Minister Scrimgeour that Auror Tonks will work with you both. She has been tasked as being the ministry liaison on the street and just as you report directly to me, she will report directly to the minister, with a dotted line into their equivalent of the chief of police."

"She will still have to abide by the Statute of Secrecy" continued Scrimgeour. "She won't be able to do much overt magic on a day to day basis, but should your investigations encounter any dark magicals, her training and experience will be invaluable. She will also be your day to day liaison with the Ministry." He now addressed the young auror. "With the approval of Madam Bones, you have been promoted to Senior Auror for the purposes of this task force, if all goes well that may be made permanent."

"Really? Shi… erm… I mean thank you minister." Tonks looked shocked and glancing over at Peter who just nodded his congratulations turned back to the task in hand. "Madam Bones spoke with me before this meeting, she didn't mention that, but she did stress the importance of the Statute whilst encouraging me to work as closely as I can with the muggle police. Now that we think Harry is involved, that's even more important, and I will of course do my best."

This was Nightingale's cue to ask. "You said that this Mr Potter was key to the fight against Voldemort. Can you elaborate?"

"Not as much as you would like, at least not without exposing what are essentially state secrets, which I am under oath not to reveal without the express consent of Harry." Tonks eyes widened at the revelation, something not missed by Peter. "But, it's known that Harry has defeated Voldemort on now fewer than 4 occasions - as a baby, at 11, again at 12, then again at 14. It is also well known that Voldemort and the death eaters will continue to try and track him down."

"Sucks to be him!" the words were out of Peter's mouth before he could help himself, drawing a glare from Nightingale and a tight smile from the PM.

"It does, DC Grant, it does indeed. Can I ask your thoughts about this whole magical world?" When the PM asks a question, not answering isn't an option.

"Had someone said any of this to me a couple of years ago, I'd have taken them in under mental health legislation. I now know for a fact that magic exists, so I guess it's not too much of a stretch to believe there are two branches. I mean there's two or more branches of physics, of chemistry, so why not of magic."

"I can't lie, it's something of a shock to me too. I was all for calling security when Minister Scrimgeour first announced his arrival until I was given a demonstration of his magic. Lets just say I was persuaded to listen."

The two heads of government looked at each other and nodded. The PM continued. "In the spirit of cooperation and on the understanding that your Ministry liaison is now a senior auror, I think it's only fair that we do the same for detective constable Grant, or should I say, detective sergeant Grant, at least for the duration of the operation. I will speak to the commissioner and the paperwork will be cleared away."

This time it was Peter's turn to be astounded. "Thank you Prime Minister" At least his reply was a bit more coherent than Tonks.

There was one thing Nightingale couldn't pass by though. "Would it be possible to speak to Mr Potter at some point?"

"I'm not sure that would be possible, or indeed wise at the moment" answered Scrimgeour. "I am hoping to speak to him again soon though, or at the very least I hope Madam Bones will, if you wish to compile a list of questions and pass them to me via Senior Auror Tonks, I will see about getting them passed on." Nightingale wasn't best impressed, but just nodded.

The PM looked across his desk. "Well gentlemen, and of course, lady, we have work to do."