Chapter Twenty-three
Doctor K.
Monday March 4, 1996
Hermione asked her mum, "Who's scheduled to come in today?"
"Guys from two construction companies, some drain repair/unclogging company, a big auto repair company and Teen Witch Weekly. I remember you showed that to me once."
Hermione talked to Sharpeye and the magazine people were all called in at once. There were twelve people. She stated, "I'm Hermione Granger. My boyfriend and business partner, Harry Potter and I own the Wand Shop. The Wand Shop, its owners, or its employees will not be the subject of any articles, nor referenced, inferred, quoted, or photographed for a period of five years."
She flicked her wand and the backs of their purchase permit cards were modified to reflect her change. "That is a condition for the purchase of your wands. Should those terms be violated, all twelve of you will lose your wands. Does everyone accept the terms?"
There was a bit of hesitation and after concluding that they had no wiggle room, the editor replied, "We accept."
"OK. Five galleons each. Sign your cards and have a seat. How long was your old wand?"
"Ten inches."
"OK. Give this one a wave."
Sparks flew from the end. "Excellent. Next in line."
… - …
Meanwhile at Gringotts;
"You wanted to see me, Director?"
"Yes, come in, Mr. Wick. I've got a task for you. Are you aware of the financial situation at the school?"
"Yes, I saw the report. Minerva shared it with me. It is dismal how the funds were diverted for so many years. Albus drained the capital fund over many years. I have no idea where it went."
"He used the money to fund his pet projects and political schemes after he had drained the Potter fortune just before the Potters' demise. Here is a folder on Fudge. Intel on how he accumulated eight million gallons in his vaults on his ministry salary of 35,000G a year. Ethics aside, the magnitude of graft that flowed his way is truly impressive. Umbridge helped in building his wealth and covering their tracks. She kept very detailed records."
"My task?"
"The school needs money for capital improvements and to launch the primary school. Persuade Fudge to make a significant donation to the Hogwarts recapitalization fund."
"Any restrictions?"
"Sooner the better."
"I'll get right on it, Director." I love it when he gives me so much latitude to do a task," smiled Wick as he left.
… - …
At the Ministry, Greta was giving her report. "Sales tax climbed a bit from 34 to 35 thousand. Estate was 4,000 from the Moody property. Expenses were 72,000G."
Amelia mused, "He saved my life several times."
"Who?"
"Master Auror Alastor Moody. He deserved better than to die of thirst, trapped in an unlit box for the better part of a year. How did the wand shop do?"
"They fitted 3,675 just like they stated that they would. They plan on the same number for March."
Amelia observed, "Half of the country should have wands by the end of the month."
… - ...
Wednesday March 6
By 11:30 pm, Wick and his subject were in the same cell that had formerly housed Edgecombe for her interrogation. He tossed back a potion and he grew to a little over two meters tall. He donned a mask and a cloak.
"Enerverate!"
Fudge struggled to open his eyes.
"Good to see you awake, Mr. Fudge."
"What's the meaning of this? Who are you, where am I?" asked Fudge of the tall, cloaked figure before him.
The figure turned on a radio and smiled as he recognized the song by Hank Williams; I'll never get out of this world alive.
"You are in the Citadel my esteemed rich friend. Do you like American Country music?"
"You, you, you can't do this to me," sputtered a white-faced Fudge. "I'm the Minister of Magic!"
"No, you used to be the Minister. Don't you remember the old saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going? I don't believe it suggests that you resign the moment times get tough and run away, abandoning your responsibilities, inept as you are."
Fudge looked widely around. He saw what looked like claw marks in the door with dark red stains in the deep groves. He gulped. "What do you want from me?"
"You know under your ministry tenure, Hogwarts depleted its capital funds. A look at the accounts shows withdrawals but never any deposits. You wouldn't happen to know why the contribution from the annual Ministry Yule Ball never made it to Hogwarts school, would you?"
"You would have to ask Dumbledore, he was headmaster," sniffed Fudge. He'd almost forgotten pocketing that 20,000G in December.
"Now, now Mr. Fudge, don't try to divert blame. I know you had your hand in it. You had Umbridge help you. She kept perfectly detailed records, would you care for a look? You took from here and took from there, sales tax money, business permits, an occasional estate tax skim, you accepted bribes for anything and everything you could influence at the Ministry like voting on cauldron bottom bills."
"I never took a bribe! They were, uh they were uh, campaign contributions!"
Wick laughed. "Keep deluding yourself, Mr. Fudge. Mr. Cuffe tried to make a campaign contribution and ended up in Azkaban."
"I had nothing to do with his troubles."
Wick smiled and a long thin highly polished straight razor appeared in his hand. It reflected the light onto Fudge's face as he calmly twirled it in his hand. Fudge's face got even whiter as all the blood drained out as his eyes tracked the blade.
"Now let's make a deal. You make a significant donation to replenish the school capital fund and you get to return to your home in Brighten. Shall we begin, Mr. Fudge?"
Fudge gulped. "How about a 1,000 galleons?"
Wick replied, "Mr Fudge, perhaps I should just cut your throat." He pulled an apple out of his pocket and tossed it in the air, as it came down his hand flashed so fast the eye could not track it and the apple settled into his hand in eight equal pieces. He picked a slice off and popped it in his mouth. He walked behind Fudge and put his hand on his shoulder and dragged the dull side of the blade across his ear. Fudge cringed.
"Try again. For a man who has almost eight million galleons in his vault and a million in muggle banks to boot, you offer only enough for me to slowly feed you to the dragons."
"How about a million Galleons?"
"Perhaps for two million, you might leave here alive. You would be carrying your legs when you were wheeled out but you might be breathing. Prosthetics were the best you would fund for Master Auror Moody. You might get used to them, in time."
Fudge gulped. "How about three million?"
Wick laughed. "For three, you can leave here able to walk. But you may not remember things."
"What things?" squeaked Fudge.
"Oh, where you live, the fact that you have money, I don't know, maybe how to talk or use the toilet? You could go to the Janus Thickery ward and keep Lockhart company. Help him do finger painting. I hear he really enjoys that. Just imagine the newspaper article about it? Rita Skeeter would love to do that one."
Another Fudge gulp. "How about four million?"
Wick paced back in forth cutting another slice of his apple. "I tire of this, Mr. Fudge. You wife could find out about the mistress you have in an apartment she doesn't know about. You know what they say about a "Witch Scorned". Yes, I could let you leave with both of your hands still attached and useful…"
"Now see here, you need to leave me something for retirement, to get by on. Five million and it's my last offer!"
Wick chuckled. With steel in his voice, he announced, "Mr. Fudge, you are correct; I believe we're done here. Would you prefer to close your eyes or watch?"
"Wait! How about six? Will that do?"
"For six I'll let you walk out of here remembering your name. Your wife and mistress will face their fate. Goodbye, Mr. Fu..."
"OK, OK I'll give you seven million. Leave me the remaining 750 thousand. Don't punish my wife, she's not responsible."
"Seven million and the million pounds deposited in the account at the Barclays bank. I think the Martha Fudge Primary School has a nice ring to it, don't you, Mr. Fudge?" grinned Wick.
Fudge fainted.
Wick smiled and sprayed water from his wand into Fudge's face. "Mr. Fudge, wake up. Sign these forms to transfer the money and I'll send you home in one piece." After he signed, Wick said, "This potion will relieve your stress." It was a half-dose of the potion that he'd given to Basil Debit. Flitwick thought it would take a month this time.
… - ...
Thursday March 7
Flitwick returned Fudge to his home just before 4 am. He had been gone for just over four hours. Flitwick had used the same sleeping vapor on Fudge's wife as he had with the others in the past.
He made certain that Fudge's wand was still on the nightstand. Fortunately the two slept on separate bedrooms. Within a day, the dementia potion would be untraceable should he go into St. Mungo's.
Flitwick did a quick search and found 4,000G and twice that in muggle currency, making it highly unlikely that Fudge would need to go to the bank lobby in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Rockcrusher was carefully inserting a history of withdrawals out of Fudge's accounts over the last ten years and magically replacing any copies that had previously been sent out. When he had finished, it still appeared that Fudge had received 8.5 million galleons in bribe money but the gold had systematically been withdrawn between two and ten days later.
… - …
Sirius took a third look at the list of estates, given the new information that that Connie had been able to gather.
Estates with no living beneficiaries included;
Nott, Carrows, Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, Rookwood and Parkinson.
Estates with no wills included;
Twycross, Thicknesse and Macnair.
Amelia looked at the list and remarked, "Given that there are so many issues with the Parkinson estate, please push that out a few months, say early July."
"The priorities will be Thicknesse, Twycross, Macnair, Nott, Carrows, Flint, Crabbe and Goyle. Of those, please place Flint, Crabbe and Goyle last as there are widows who weren't named as beneficiaries. Snotnose will send them paperwork stating that they need to vacate within thirty days, at which time he'll do a walk-through to develop an estimate sheet. In the mean time, I'd expect that the widows will attempt to sell everything that isn't nailed down, if they haven't already. The net estate will likely only contain a vault and the property. That's the best that we can do for them."
Sirius silently vowed that they would do a thorough poking into the grounds at each property, given what they had found with Umbridge. He silently kicked himself that they hadn't thought to do so at the Lestrange property before it was sold.
Amelia continued, "Those estates without wills or beneficiaries start their disposition the same with respects to taxes, discounts and estimate fees. The difference is that the ministry and your group split the net proceeds. That said, please start with Thicknese, Twycross and Macnair."
Sirius agreed and replied, "I'll request the summary sheets on those three when we're done here. If you have time, I'd like to talk with you on a related matter."
"Go ahead."
"We've done a fair bit of research into the Parkinson estate. He has 171 rental buildings. He specialized in four and six unit properties. As far as Sally and Anna were able to research so far, all of the current tenants are witches and wizards. Our vision is that the individual buildings be turned into co-ops where the tenants collectively own the buildings and their own units. These arrangements are fairly common on the non-magical side. Tonks lives in one.
"On the average, the buildings are worth about 60,000G, depending on where they are located. In the nonmagical world, it would be easy enough for a buyer to go to a bank and get a home loan. On average the payment would be comparable to what they were being charged for rent.
"For a magical, getting a loan is harder, due to a lack of documentation – proper birth certificates, wage reporting, tax reporting and the like aren't generally available. Also, to my knowledge, Gringotts doesn't currently offer mortgage loans."
She asked, "So what are you recommending? I honestly find it difficult to believe that Gringotts has never considered the idea. Their business model tends to be short-term loans at a higher rate of interest."
He commented, "Sally Daily has recommended that a department of the ministry be designated be put in place to create legitimate documentation for magicals to be able to walk into a Barclays or similar and get a loan if they would normally qualify."
Amelia thought about it for a minute, weighing costs and benefits, Clearly the idea was more about functioning in the nonmagical world than simply benefiting the 1,000 or so people associated with the Parkinson properties. Currently, when they needed documentation for someone; for instance when Harry Potter needed a passport, she had Michelle contact someone in MI5 and they took care of it. This was essentially a program to service 5,000 people a year.
She remained hesitant to add new staff but recognized that the ministry share of Parkinson's estate would fund the program for decades. On top of that, Flint and Nott were reported as also having smaller quantities of similar properties. She asked, "What would typical terms be?"
"Ten percent down, five percent interest per year over fifteen years."
She replied, "The need for proper documentation grows on a daily basis; that's indisputable. I believe in the spirit of goodwill, your team – specifically Sally and Demi as well as you and myself should make an appointment with the account managers and pitch the idea and at least give them the opportunity for the business. At the same time, I'll make an appointment with the PM and discuss the need for legitimate documentation."
Sirius asked, "Who would administer the documentation? That seems to be as worthy a task as any. Are you thinking of contracting the task to the goblins?"
Amelia admitted, "I was for a moment, yes but we have the authority to issue them. The only complication that I could see would be age and employment verification. Marchbanks is what, 140?"
Sirius replied, "The only other issue would be Inland Revenue tax forms. Lily showed them to me once. Then there's the reality that very few magical people have a telephone number. Those are on your side of the fence. I'll get started with Thicknesse, Twycross and Mulciber."
"Thank you."
… - …
Saturday March 9
Jean Basset brought his badly cracked wand to Felix Badeaux's Wand Shop in Marseille France, hoping that it could get fixed. His oldest son accidentally sat on it and it was cracked lengthwise along the shaft. Felix accepted the task and told Basset to come by the next day.
After the customer had left, Felix carefully completed the split. When he carefully took the two pieces apart, he was flabbergasted - "Impossible. There is no core!"
After testing it, he glued the two halves back together, carefully clamping the wood. As it dried, he considered the possibilities. Perhaps the wand itself had been enchanted. The glue and wood had been on one of the halves. Before gluing the halves together he had tried waving the wand. He produced several gray sparks. He tried the other half – nothing. Felix erroneously concluded that the British wandmakers had discovered or been instructed in the means of enchanting the glue.
… - …
Back at Hogwarts, Katie Bell couldn't believe it. She'd flown with Harpies chaser Wilda Griffiths for twenty minutes. Wilda had told her that Gwenog Jones had heard that she was an excellent flyer and would be coming to some of her games to see for herself!
Apparently Hermione's offhand comment made to Gwenog Jones that Katie was easily the best chaser currently at Hogwarts, made while fitting her wand carried some weight.
… - ...
As it was a warm afternoon in Marseille, Felix was having a glass of wine with his brother in a sidewalk cafe. At the table a few feet away were two pretty girls who were quietly chatting. Felix's brother asked, "How is the wandcrafting business?"
Felix replied. "I was repairing one of the British wands this morning. It had no core! The glue had been enchanted and once I reglued the two halves; it worked as good as ever. What a clever idea. The enchanting technique must be a closely guarded secret."
His brother replied, "Magnificent."
The girls got up a few moments after Felix and his brother. When the two brothers departed, the girls followed Felix and the noted which building that he lived in.
… - …
Monday March 11
The telephone rang. "Cyprus Wandshop."
"Dr. K, this is your niece, Zina. My sister, Naska and I are in Marseille. We have news."
"Go on."
We were having lunch at a sidewalk cafe in Marseille on Saturday, and the French wandmaker Felix Badeaux and his brother were sitting at the table next to us. Someone had brought in one of the new British wands to be repaired. It had cracked lengthwise. He took it apart to reglue it and saw that it had no core! He reglued it and it worked perfectly. He said that the glue had been enchanted."
"That is very interesting, Zina. Are you certain that you heard him correctly."
"Uncle, the tables were so close, I could have touched him without leaning out of my chair. I heard him perfectly."
"Thank you Zina, I shall look into it. Don't mention this to anyone else."
… - ...
Friday March 29
At Gringotts;
"Hello Amelia, it is good to see you again."
"Hello Ragnok and Barchoke. It's nice to see you again also. What's on the agenda today?"
"We asked you here to discuss an issue that has arisen in Hogwarts that we feel needs to be addressed."
"What in particular do you want to talk about?"
"Your opinion on Minerva McGonagall."
"Great, right to the point. I appreciate that. She's a fine teacher..." When they didn't respond, Amelia sighed, "You don't think she's cut out for the job do you, Ragnok?"
"I asked your opinion, Amelia. I can see you have a sense of loyalty to your friend, which is admirable but not in the best interests of the school presently. We have received some intelligence that she is seriously thinking of resigning. She has had a tough time adapting to the new world and all its changes. Further, her hires for instructors have all been made on a temporary basis. We wanted to make you aware, so you had a chance to plan. I believe that it would be advisable to do so sooner rather than later."
Amelia paused and took a deep breath, again wishing that her own intelligence was half as effective. "I've known her a long time and I've never doubted her. Do you think she's not suited the role? Should I talk to her about staying the course?"
"That is up to you. But you should make an honest assessment. Something to think of is, where she comes from? She has been a staunch supporter of Albus Dumbledore for decades. She had ample opportunity to make a mark, yet she marched to Dumbledore's tune. For two decades she had access to the financial reports. She said nothing. Through all of the mysterious happenings in recent years, she said nothing as the endowment fund vanished over five years. Yes, it has been business as usual. You need to change much in the short and long term at Hogwarts. Is she the one to lead for you?"
He continued, "We believe that the school needs a visionary to lead the school, someone who can bring the school up to date, teach the students how to not only live in the magical world but live, work and interact safely for magical kind in the non-magical world. The school needs updating in everything it does."
Amelia and Ragnok sat silently for a full minute.
"No Ragnok, I don't think I'd be a good head, if that's what you brought me here for. I'm not the right person for the job, and I've got my hands full with being Minister. But I'll listen to you to help you and the children."
Ragnok started to laugh, pulled a small money pouch out of his vest, and slowly slid it across the desk to a laughing Barchoke. "No Amelia. We asked you here simply to give you a heads up of what Minerva is thinking about doing. We think it's appropriate for you to put together a search team to find the new head. We'd be remiss not warning you of what has come to our attention."
"Thank you, I appreciate that. Do you have anyone in mind for my search panel?"
Well, it's up to you who you use. I'd look for a diverse panel. Make it big enough to get a good result but not too big that it's unwieldy – five to nine people. Put different points of view on the panel. A student maybe; probably best if it's a new magical, a parent, possibly Emma Granger. I have found her to be insightful. Ted Tonks is a good lawyer and can be trusted but you pick your group. We can help you by advertising the role internationally and helping with transportation. You should cast a wide net."
"I guess the only thing to do is get started."
… - …
Saturday March 30
At nine that morning, Sally, Demi, Sirius and Amelia were shown into the silver room. A minute later, the account manager team of Sneerwell, Ironrod, Crackjaw, Rockcrusher and Barchoke followed them in. Barchoke was pleasantly surprised to see that they had prepared meeting folders and set them out for everyone.
After a five minute introduction presentation by Demi on home mortgages and how they were a vehicle that allowed ordinary people to grow wealth over time, she sat down.
Sally began, "Here is the comparable paperwork and terms from Barclay's, which has issued hundreds of thousands of these types home mortgages in recent years in Britain. Essentially, either before or immediately after the offer is made on the property, the buyer fills out the loan application. A credit check is performed, the property is appraised and inspected. The typical terms are ten percent down for a first-time buyer and the principle and interest are paid off over fifteen years by means of equal monthly payments. The buyer has the option to prepay the loan. They have the obligation to have insurance on the property, minimizing risk to the lender.. Should the owner sell the property, the outstanding principle is immediately paid as per the terms of the loan."
There was a pause for a minute after Sally finished her piece. Each side conversed quietly.
Rockcrusher spoke for the Gringotts group, "You explained the concept well, Ms. Greengrass and Ms. Daily. However, Gringotts is not in the business of loaning money at 6 percent a year. If the rate was set at 12 percent, we might have an interest."
Sally calmly replied, "In this case, Rockcrusher, the fault was my own. We currently have a viable alternative in Barclays at 6 percent. We were looking to improve in the terms available to magical property buyers by offering Gringotts the opportunity to issue the identical loan at 4.5 percent – saving the witches or wizards some money and equally importantly, keeping the money in the family, so to speak. On behalf of our team, I apologize for bringing the idea up. It clearly is outside of your successful business model. Further, the ministry cannot force an individual witch or wizard to do business with one institution or another. Again, I apologize for wasting your time. We shall be on our way."
Amelia had said nothing as Sally and Demi made their presentation. Clearly both women knew their craft and were excellent negotiators, It was a pleasure to watch their obviously rehearsed performance. Irrespective of Gringott's final response, the ministry would take on the task of issuing the documentation and other paperwork needed to conduct business in the nonmagical world. Today was but a goodwill gesture made to Gringotts.
On the other side, the account managers were not at all in agreement. Ironrod derided, "First they want us to loan them money for houses; next they'll want our gold to purchase those vile automobiles."
Sneerwell replied, "Perhaps their request does not fit our current business model, as Rockcrusher accurately pointed out. I believe that it is never a good idea to simply send customers across the street to another bank – especially as we don't know what else they may offer. I recommend that we ask for a week to study their proposal and invite them to return."
A follow-up meeting was scheduled for the following Saturday.
Just as the meeting was ending, Amelia's phone rang and the alarm sounded.
… - ...
One minute earlier, Hermione and Emma were finishing their tea when Winky ran into the breakroom to find them, shouting, "Leave now. Go home. Go. Now."
They did.
Seconds later, 400 elves appeared in the shop. Winky shouted, "Take everything to the Bright Moon Building. Harry Potter be calling Bones Lady. Bad men arriving to steal wand shop."
Ten seconds later, two things happened – the shop had been emptied except for Harry and 50 elves and there was a loud blasting sound outside the shop.
Then silence.
Behind the attackers, 300 elves cast elven magic stunners on the twelve wizards. It was over before they had slumped to the ground.
One hundred goblins were pouring out of Gringotts wearing armor and carrying wicked looking daggers. Rockcrusher followed.
Shack and four Aurors arrived a few minutes later. By then, the elves had removed the attackers' wands, bottomless bags and portkeys. Amelia and Ragnok were standing on the marble steps. He observed, "It was inevitable that some fools would have ignored the earlier warning. Would you care to arrest them and interrogate them, or would you prefer that we do?"
She walked to the lowest step, so she could get a better look at them, then walked back to where Ragnok was standing. She replied, "They appear to be Greek. As they were attacking a Nation building, perhaps it would be best if you interrogated them. We should discuss the results before their trial tomorrow. They could be all hired muscle, or hopefully the leader is among them."
Ragnok replied, "Give us eight hours to thoroughly interrogate them. Perhaps you could return at six?"
"I'll be back then."
… - ...
Harry stepped out of the front door, saw the guards on the ground along with the twelve attackers. He went to Redeye and cast Rennervate. His goblin friend woke up and he helped him sit up. The capable teen went to Blackeye and did the same. He helped them both into the shop, and had them sit in the Lazyboy chairs.
In the meantime, Rockchucker watched as the other twelve were portkeyed into the holding cells.
… - …
Harry called Hermione and explained that there had been a failed robbery attempt outside the shop. Hermione was upset, "Why did you have to fight them?"
Harry replied, "I didn't do anything except check on the guards and call Amelia. Come back in ten minutes. Maysong is just looking at Redeye and Blackeye."
Winky was supervising the return of all of the wands, supplies and equipment. Everything would be just as it was before Hermione would arrive.
… - …
That evening, Headcrusher, the usual interrogator, showed Amelia the depositions. Ragnok nodded a dismissal to the interrogator, saying, "Thank you for your help today."
After he had left, Amelia summarized, "All of this started because an under-qualified wandcrafter made a rookie mistake. He then made a bigger one, speculating aloud in a crowded restaurant. Two girls overheard him, then contacted their uncle with what they believed was a big piece of news.
"The wandcrafter, Dr. K, whose country, Cyprus, wasn't affected by the Great Wandout but who is perpetually short of core material took Felix on his second-hand word and arranged a half-arsed snatch and grab with the objective of capturing and abducting one of our wandcrafters. He had a secondary objective of stealing any core or wands that they could quickly get their hands on.
"The fact that the Wand Shop is just feet away from a brigade of elves and another brigade of your guards never entered their minds. From what Potter said, the Wand Shop elves had raised the alarm before the idiots had even arrived, sent Dr. Granger and Hermione home and had cleared out the place before the first spell had flown. Once they blasted the door and attacked the guards, a legion of elves stunned and stripped the idiots of any wands, weapons or portkeys.
"Your crew arrived seconds later and by the time that we walked out the door, it was over and the only task was crowd control. Shacklebolt should be back in a minute. I asked him to run the names by MI6 and see if they recognize anyone. What about the French Wandmaker?"
Ragnok replied, "He is in violation of his contract for the attempted de-engineering of Potter's wands, even if his conclusion was incorrect. Potter has now refused to send France any more wands as long as Felix Badeoux is the wandmaker. Additionally, he stated that he refuses to send Badeoux any wands or core material, irrespective of where he works."
Just then, Amelia's phone rang. She answered it, listened for a minute and said, "Thank you." She said, "Ratton and Andre – the so called professionals, are both wanted for robberies in Greece, Turkey and Italy. No reward was offered for either one."
Ragnok asked, "In the event that any of them are found guilty, what would you want done with them?"
She replied, "They all went to the Wand Shop with the intent to rob and abduct one or more of the wandcrafters, then steal their trade secrets. I doubt that they knew what they were intending to do afterwards – erase their memories on the light side, or killing them being the more likely outcome. My initial inclination is to offer them the chance of a lifetime cleaning the dragon pens, or shake them down and release the individuals who can pay. We could split the bounty between the wand shop, the elves, the Nation and the ministry.
He observed, "As for Felix, there is little that we can do to him. The amount that we could hold back from his outstanding orders is but a pittance compared to what he was actually reselling Potter's wands for. In hindsight, I misguided Harry by suggesting such a low price."
She remarked, "On the other hand, letting them go even after paying a decent amount of coins will not send the same deterrent message as the last attempt."
Ragnok said nothing. He wanted her to think about the possible decisions and likely consequences.
She observed, "The perpetrators in both cases effectively had the same intent. The difference was simply how far they got before they were stopped."
Ragnok replied, "The sentence could be death, or shovel dragon manure for a very long time. With the possible exception of Dr. K, they don't have any liquid resources.
She added, "Even if he lives, the ICW will revoke his license – probably Badeaux's as well. Do you really want to go to the trouble to house them for twenty years?"
He replied, "For as long as we would hold them, they would earn their keep or they wouldn't eat." Unsaid was the reality that if any of the robbers were released, it would only be after ingesting a dose of the dementia potion. The French wandmaker would suffer the same fate.
… - ...
A few hours earlier, Harry, the two elves and the Grangers were having roughly the same conversation.
Hermione asked, "When will the trial take place?"
Harry replied, "We can ask, I'd guess tomorrow morning unless the Goblins want something."
Dan asked, "Is there any real doubt as to the verdict?"
Dobby said, "Many elves saw them stun Redeye and Blackeye and try to blast door before sending them to sleeping."
Hermione asked, "Who is holding the trial?"
Harry observed, "If the Wizengamot was holding the trial and the idiots had a good enough team of solicitors, they might get off because there weren't any witches or wizards as witnesses. The goblins will absolutely believe the elves' testimony."
Emma asked, "So what's at issue?"
Harry replied, "Probably the sentence. If they could squeeze enough gold out of them, they might accept a huge fine."
Dan asked, "How big of a fine?"
Harry replied, "The last trial had a fine of ten million galleons. In this case, I reckon they'd split it three or four ways if they have a lot of gold. If not. It's moot."
Dan asked, "Who?"
Harry replied, "Wand shop, elves, goblins and the ministry."
Dan asked, "Would you rather have two million galleons or a dozen heads on pikes?"
Harry replied, "It's a tough choice. Ten million pounds would buy a lot of pizza whereas looking at twelve heads or more on pikes for a month or more would probably throw everyone off of their lunch."
Hermione gave Harry a playful frown and observed, "Twelve heads on pikes would make the international newspapers – everyone would believe that there's a bunch of stuff worth taking. We could change the the reality and store most of the core and finished wands in the vaults but what was it you said about perception, Dad?"
"Sometimes perception becomes reality."
Trying to avoid a circular conversation, Harry asked, "Winky, what do you think?"
"Elves say coins are more useful than stinky heads on sticks."
Dan asked, "Assuming all of this takes place, would the idiots be flat-broke or merely inconvenienced?"
Harry suggested, "If we get a say in the matter, I'd ask for an all or nothing amount rather than five for this guy, three for the other and twelve sickles each for the others. Otherwise the head guy is going to try and save a few quid and throw the other guys under the bus, so to speak. What if they don't have any money? If the newspaper article stated that the twelve idiots got their heads lopped off while breaking into a shop that stored most of the materials offsite and didn't keep any cash on hand, it could be a two-way discouragement. There's nothing to steal and the fact that these idiots were cut down before they even got into the building is pretty discouraging news for any perspective burglars or robbers."
Emma said, "I agree."
"Dobby does too."
Harry remarked, "At 2,500G a wand, the possibility that there would be 500 wands in here is an insanely tempting target. The next time, it could be 18 guys with actual military weapons. They might not make it out of the alley but 150 people could get killed along the way. We all were able to go home this time. My vote is to send the message."
"Winky agrees."
Hermione observed, "Long term, the only way that this is going to end safely is to make another 150,000 wands so they're back to being 25 galleons or whatever again. I agree."
Harry commented, "I'll go see Barchoke and find out what the arrangements are."
… - ...
Sunday March 31
An hour before the trial, Barchoke went to see Ragnok. He stated, "Harry came to see me last night. All of the wandcrafters agreed that piking them is much more likely to discourage others. He pointed out that had the attackers been better equipped, there just as easily could have been 150 killed before they were subdued. He suggested that Lovegood's reporter be invited to attend and after the sentencing, he wanted to speak for a minute."
Ragnok replied, "It is difficult to find fault in his logic."
"He also had another idea related to France." Barchoke explained the idea.
Ragnok replied, "Delicious."
… - …
Harry read the Quibbler.
Last preseason
Quidditch Regular Season Starts Next week!
By Cheryl Whitehart
In the last game of the six week pre-season, the Harpies defeat perennial league doormat Chudley Cannons in a 420 to 60 bashing in their final pre-season game. Will this season be the same for them? They didn't win a single match in the six game preseason. The Cannons have only one holdover from last season in Keeper Eddy Le Tamis (The Sieve) as the new coach "cleaned house". Though with the change in personnel Eddy did play much better than last year. Other than the total domination by the Harpies, the only notable thing in the stadium was the higher than expected attendance. An estimated 2,400 fans were at the game.
New Cannons Coach Willma Montgomery said she was happy with the progress of the team, they had put a lot of work in and they had a lot of work to do and the regular season would tell. Regular season kicks off next Saturday with the first match between the Ballycastle Bats, and last year's champions Montrose Magpies.
... - ...
Miles away, having read the same newspaper, Ron was certain that this would be their year.
There was no mention that there had been an attack on the Wand Shop.
… - …
As with the trial for Mclaggen, the Account Managers who were interested to serve as jurors put their personal coin in the bowl. As two of their own had been attacked, it appeared that they had all put their name coins in the bowl.
The Elder directed Dr. K to choose three coins out of the bowl. He drew Barchoke, Whitefang and Sneerwell. The Elder said, "Your depositions shall be distributed to the jurors. Each of you are charged with conspiracy to abduct a person, conspiracy to rob, to steal company and trade secrets, damage to property and assault to members of the Nation.
"Should you collectively be found to be guilty of the charges, the punishment is extreme. How do you plead?"
Dr. K replied. "Not guilty."
The Elder asked, "Do you speak for the others?"
"Yes."
The prosecutor presented and read various sections of the depositions, as well as the signed statements from the elves that they witnessed the two assaults and the attack on the building. The documents noted that each of them was carrying a bottonless bag that could have been used to carry away the stolen goods.
The Elder said, "You may briefly present your defense."
Dr. K. stated, "We had heard that the wandcrafters had learned how to enchant wands and were being held captive. We were attempting to rescue them..."
As he was speaking, Amelia was thinking to herself, Two years ago, he'd have been released by now and Fudge would be hosting him for dinner, all the while, encouraging him to make a donation to his campaign fund.
After ten minutes the Elder asked, "Is that the nature of your defense?"
Dr. K made eye contact and stated, "It is."
… - …
While the depositions had been going on the previous day, Ragnok had sent Snotnose to the Cyprus office of Gringotts and to Dr. K's home. He had a modest amount of money and lived in a nice home on top of a hill with a great view but there was nothing to compare with the Malfoy estate. Snotnose estimated one and a half million in total. The was nothing to suggest that the two so-called professionals had any real wealth. There wasn't two million between the twelve.
… - …
Back at the trial, the Elder had called for a vote from the jurors.
White Fang stood and said, "Guilty."
Dr. K stood to say something but was silenced.
Rockcrusher stood and said, "Guilty."
Barchoke stood and said, "Guilty."
Ragnok stood and said, "You each have been tried and found to be guilty. The penalty is death. Does anyone wish to say anything?"
Harry stood and stated, "To the convicted, first, your information about our somehow making enchanted wands is totally wrong. We use core material like every other wandmaker. Second, there is very little to steal in the Wand Shop unless you're looking to steal tree trunks, or my bottles of Orange Crush drink. The guards are transferring the wand core and completed wands into and out of the Gringotts vaults as needed and the coins are deposited daily. You're not the first to try to steal our wands. The others ended up with their heads on pikes as well. Security is excellent at the shop and gets even better every month. You threw your lives away on a fool's errand." He sat down.
Cheryl Whitehart was sitting near Harry and agreed with every word that he'd said and her news piece would reflect it.
… - …
Monday April 1
Greta gave another favorable financial summary. "Estate was 990,000 from the Flint and Thicknesse estates. Sales tax edged up to 36,000. Expenses held at 72,000 and cash went from 657,000 to 1,611,000. The wand shop delivered on their commitments with 3,675 sold domestically and 4,000 internationally. Mrs. Granger stated that they're running low on materials and didn't offer projections for April."
Amelia expected that would be the case and replied, "At least Amos got his wand. Maybe he'll be more tolerable at the meeting tomorrow."
… - …
Tuesday April 2
As the Wizengamot meeting rolled on, Amelia could have predicted the exact words that Amos would utter. Augusta called. "Is there any old business?
Diggory stood and shouted, "The lines are too long waiting for wands. I waited three hours yesterday."
Rockcrusher asked, "Did you go to Marseille, as I suggested?"
"No, I heard that they charge 2,500G."
Rockcrusher replied, "So you were too cheap to go where there was no line and you would be served a good drink? What time did you get to the Wand Shop?"
"After breakfast, about 9:30."
"They fitted four hundred people there yesterday. Perhaps you should have gotten in line early, or waited until just before closing time? Perhaps you were hoping for a lollypop while you were waiting?"
Amelia bit her lip to keep from laughing while the odious man was getting shredded. The only thing better would have been if Snotnose had been set upon him. Finally he sat down. She presented her Early Intervention act. Surprising her, it passed without comment. Perhaps the opposition realized that it would pass. She was fairly certain that Ogden wasn't going to go on record by standing against it.
Augusta asked, "Is there any other new business?"
Sirius stood and said, "I'm passing my seat to my cousin Andromeda Tonks nee Black."
This wasn't a surprise, as she'd been involved in one of the planning discussions several months back. Left unstated was the fact that he was dissolving the patriarchal family structure, though it was in the paperwork that he'd filed.
Augusta called, "Change noted. Is there any other new business?"
Naturally, the attack on The Wand Shop came up.
"Were any wands taken? What is the secret core? Are wands being enchanted?"
Rockcrusher remarked, "Mr. Diggory, how are the answers any of your business?"
Diggory blustered, "The public has a right to know."
"I see. You brother runs an apothecary in the alley. Does he give out the recipes to all of his remedies? I have a passing interest in knowing how he makes the common cold remedy."
"That's different. He'd never give that out; it's a trade secret. Do you take me for a fool?"
After a fair bit of uncomfortable coughing from the other members, Amos finally sat down. No one had taken his side. The standard reports were given. The short of it was that life had largely returned to normal for those who'd received their wands and were able to adapt. Some of the shops like the green grocers would probably remain closed because they couldn't compete with the nonmagical grocery chains like Tesco. Based on Susie's shopping habits in December, it was unlikely that some of the clothing shops would fully recover either.
"Meeting adjourned."
… - ...
After the meeting, Augusta came to her office and asked, "How did you decide to staff the new department?"
Amelia replied, "It's a new department in name only. I'm assigning two of the finishing Auror trainees, Bob Sunset and Alyx to work it on an as-needed basis. I'd rather pay a few coins in overtime than have two people sitting in an office all day with far too much time on their hands. I refuse to re-implement having the spell detection monitors staffed 24 hours a day."
She knew that Augusta wasn't going to bring up a child's accidental magic, or lack of it, so the matter dropped. Susie had told her that the change in Neville since he began using a properly fitting wand was startling.
… - ...
Wednesday April 3
Black Clan Ends
Lord Black dissolves family, passes Wizengamot seat to Andromeda Tonks
By Cheryl Whitehart
Lord Black officially dissolved the Black family this week. It was one of the oldest in Britain; generally with a proud past. Sirius Black was quoted saying, "It's time to start looking to the future instead of desperately holding into a past that no longer exists."
The Wizengamot seat briefly held by Black was passed to Andromeda Tonks nee Black. Her seat will not be hereditary and will revert to the vacancy pool in the event of her retirement or death.
The early intervention act for new magical (Muggleborns) passed yesterday!
By Cheryl Whitehart
Yesterday the Wizengamot passed a bill that changes how new magicals are informed of their status as magic wielders. Previously the families were not contacted until just prior to their eleventh birthday. Beginning immediately, once the Ministry detects accidental magic, or by the child's fourth birthday the Division of Children Services will initiate contact and counseling for the new families.
Minister Bones said "It's another step in building a stronger magical society."
Mrs. McLaggen nee Ogden read the articles with disgust. The Ogdens had a proud heritage that spanned a dozen generations. She threw the paper into the fireplace and took some satisfaction watching it burn.
In this particular case, the information reported by the newspaper wasn't entirely correct. The so called Division of Children's Services was a side duty of the aurors. Since they weren't specifically looking for accidental magic, it was far more likely that they would hear of the child via Gringotts.
… - …
A/Ns
Tom wrote the quidditch newspaper piece, Fudge's interrogation and wrote the Headmaster search. It will be a part of several chapters.
I originally wrote the trial scene with another round of indulgences. Letting them go this time didn't feel right.
Thanks for reading.
A question - In your own opinion, is Britain's magical education system hopelessly broken or simply in need of a few tweaks?
… - ...
Short OMAKE
Sprout asked, "When will Apparition lessons begin?"
McGonagall replied, "I'll send an owl to Wilkie Tycross."
Flitwick didn't say a word and just kept walking.
… - …
