Hello again. I must confess I´m not such a fast writer, the story is finished and I just need to do a final review and translate it into English. I hope to be able to post one chapter a day until the last one, the 15th.
Thank you, 1-Phoenix-Feather-1, I like your review a lot, and it is on the right track. I also wish you a good day.
Chapter 4. At the bank.
Snape approached the Evans' house shortly before ten o'clock in the morning. He saw that they were preparing to leave. He used a charm to disguise his presence and got close enough to hear them.
"We'll take them both and no more talk."
"But the boy can stay here working in the garden." Petunia said.
"No, I'm not going to leave him alone. Who knows what he can do or who he can talk to. I told him to clean out the attic and found him loafing around. He'll come with us and stay in the car while we solve the issues at the bank."
"All right." she reluctantly gave up.
The four of them got into the car and Snape hesitated for a moment. Finally he decided to add a locator spell to the vehicle and follow them. He wanted to know what they were up to, because he had always believed that when the Evanses died the house had been sold, and only now had he learned that in fact the family who had inhabited it for the last seven years were Petunia's tenants.
From the coordinates marked by the spell Snape knew they had headed downtown, so he concentrated on the spot where he usually appeared, where he had placed a muggle-repelling charm that he renewed periodically. From there he looked for the car and watched as Vernon parked it in the sun. Everyone got out except Harry, who stared out the window.
"Don't you dare speak to anyone, do you understand?" said Vernon to the boy.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon."
The family made their way to the bank, followed closely by Snape who decided to use a disillusioning charm again. There were two people in a queue.
"Mum. Are we going to be long?" the boy protested.
"You'll see we won't, sweetheart. Sit in that chair and play with your Game & Watch while we wait."
The child grunted unhappily, but did as his mother told him.
"How slow these clerks are!" Vernon complained. Petunia added nothing.
Twenty minutes later it was finally their turn. Vernon turned to the bank clerk.
"We're here to get my wife to authorize me on an account in her and our nephew's name."
"Please. The account number?"
Petunia pulled a bank passbook from her purse and handed it to the clerk, who keyed the figures into the computer and consulted the result on the phosphor screen.
"Just a moment, please." he said. He got up and spoke to another clerk, who went into an adjoining room. Meanwhile, Vernon had picked up the account book and was inspecting the figures one by one.
"They're bringing me the paperwork right now." the bank employee informed them.
A few minutes later the other employee brought a folder which he handed to the clerk. After reading a couple of documents he turned to the Dursleys.
"It says here that the account is in the name of Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter."
Petunia went to say something, but Vernon interrupted her. "Dudley is our son, and Harry Potter is our nephew, of whom we have custody."
"Excuse me, but the papers say that custody is held by Mrs. Dursley exclusively, which is rather peculiar, but in this case I can't authorize you on the account."
Petunia had to hold back a sigh of relief. Vernon didn't notice, but Snape, who was watching them intently, did.
"That's absurd. I want to speak to the branch manager."
"As you wish, sir." the clerk said in a somewhat dry tone. He got up and knocked on the door of the manager's office.
"This mousy little clerk doesn't know who he's talking to." Vernon growled.
Another fifteen minutes later the manager invited them into his office. Snape decided not to follow them, because it didn't seem to him that such a conversation would be relevant. Instead he headed for the exit. On the way he could hear Vernon shouting followed by pauses where he assumed the branch manager was telling him something he didn't want to hear.
Between all the running around, more than an hour had passed, and the temperature had risen considerably. Snape looked back at the car, in the bright sunshine, and realized that Harry was no longer inside. He looked around for him and saw him a few feet away from the car, in the nearest shade, which made him think that the boy had a healthy sense of survival, the inside of the car must have been over 40 degrees by now.
He was about to head for the alley he was using as an apparition point when he heard Vernon's voice protesting again.
"This is an outrage. You'll be hearing from my lawyer!"
He turned and saw two security guards escorting a furious Vernon out of the bank. Snape's expression changed to a sneer.
"Where's the boy?" shouted Vernon as he looked inside the car.
"Calm down, look, he's right here." pointed out Petunia.
Vernon walked over to Harry and grabbed him by the arm to drag him into the car.
"I told you not to move."
"I got out because it was too hot inside. I didn't talk to anyone, I promise."
"You're not capable of following even the simplest instructions. How did you get out? Your door is locked."
"I went out the front door." he replied.
Vernon unlocked the car and threw him inside. Snape couldn't help a little grimace, for it seemed to him that Harry was going to hit his head on the door frame, but fortunately the boy had managed to avoid it by ducking at the last moment. Snape added good reflexes to the boy's list of skills that explained how he had survived so far.
Finally they all got into the car and Vernon started it up. Snape headed for the apparition point to return home, planning what he was going to do next.