Disclaimer: Charmed is the property of Constance Burge, Brad Kern, and Spelling Entertainment. The Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. All other characters, places and plot twists that are not easily recognizable are imaginary and belong to me. Also, the case scenario could happen in the real world, but it is a product of my imagination.
Chapter 4: New Friends
Chester University
Clayton Hampton School of Law
Dr. Sutton's class
San Francisco, CA, USA
August 29, 2031
8:00 am
"Good morning, class! Please form groups of three or five students," Dr. Sutton says.
"Hey, Emily! You can work with me," Amanda says as she pats the table in front of her.
So, Emily carries her chair over to Amanda's table and places it on the floor so that it faces Amanda.
Next, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes walks over to Emily and Amanda, while dragging a brown-haired, brown-eyed young man and a black-haired, black-eyed young woman with him.
"Hi! May we join your group, lovely ladies?" the man asks.
"It depends on who you are," Amanda says with a hiss.
"You must be friends with Melinda Halliwell because nobody is as suspicious of everyone as she is or maybe you are taking lessons from her," Albus says with a laugh.
"How do you know Melinda Halliwell?" Amanda asks in a cold whisper.
"Her parents and my parents are friends. Considering how close our families are, I wouldn't be surprised if she considers me as her honorary older brother," Albus says as he puffs out his chest.
"You still haven't introduced yourself," Emily says in order to diffuse the tension in the air between Albus and Amanda.
"What do I say? I cannot use my real name in the muggle world or people will make the connection to Dad or the wizarding world, despite my glamour." Albus thinks.
"My name is Al Evans," Albus says as he takes Emily's hand, bows and places a kiss on her hand.
"I am charmed," Emily says as her cheeks turn pink.
"This woman is dangerous. You don't know how closely your statement mirrors the Halliwells' secret, Emily. You just have to substitute Melinda is for I am and you have the Halliwells' secret. At least, you don't know what it means to be Charmed, Emily. " Albus thinks.
To take everyone's attention off her blush, Emily asks, "Who are your friends?"
"Rick is the brown-haired man to my right and Meena is the shy, black-haired Indian woman on my left," Albus says as he points to Rick and Meena with his index finger.
"You can join our group," Emily says, despite the glares Amanda is throwing at Albus.
"What do you have against Al, Amanda?" Emily whispers into Amanda's ear.
"I don't know. I just don't like him. Be wary of him," Amanda whispers back into Emily's ear.
"I think you like Al and you are too stubborn to admit it," Emily whispers into Amanda's ear.
"I do not like Al," Amanda whisper-shouts into Emily's ear.
"He is very handsome. You could do worse," Emily whispers into Amanda's ear.
"Raise your hand if you are not in a group," Dr. Sutton says to the class as she turns around from the whiteboard and effectively stops Emily's and Amanda's conversation and the conversations of the students around them.
Nobody raises his or her hand.
"Choose one person to write down the question and your group's responses to the questions I have written down on the board. Please make sure that all of your names are on the paper. Furthermore, please make sure that the person who records your answers is not the same person who shares the answers. Also, make sure one person in your group is timing how long it takes you to complete the task and is keeping you motivated to complete the task. Don't rush. Take your time and think about it. I just want to know how much you already know about analyzing a case," Dr. Sutton says and sits down at her desk.
Dr. Sutton watches as the students decide on who should do what and smiles at the way Amanda, Albus, Rick, Meena and Emily decide the tasks of each group member.
Amanda, Albus, Rick, Meena and Emily stare at each other until Emily says, "I can record our thoughts."
"I will share our thoughts," Albus says.
"I will keep us motivated," Meena volunteers.
"I will time our work," Rick says.
"What should I do?" Amanda asks.
"Look up any evidence that might support our claim in the textbook," Emily says.
Next, Emily pulls out a sheet of notebook paper, writes Emily Blake on it and passes it to Meena.
"Please write your name on this paper and pass it to the next group member. Then pass it back to me and I'll write the date and the prompt on it." Emily says to the other group members.
Meena passes the paper to Rick and Rick passes the paper to Albus, but Amanda refuses to accept the paper from Albus.
"Give me the paper," Emily says to Albus.
When Albus hands the paper to her, Emily writes Amanda Clark on the paper and August 29, 2031, underneath Amanda's name. Then, she looks up at the board and writes down:
Susan has been working for "Janice's Flowers," a florist. She manages the store for Janice. Susan's job requires her to open and close the store and count and document the money in the cash register at the beginning and end of the day. She dutifully counts and records the cash in the cash register.
However, One day, Susan gets a letter from the Internal Revenue Service that says that she owes $2000 in taxes and if she does not pay within the next 30 days, her car or house will be seized. Susan doesn't have the money, but she knows that "Janice's Flowers" does.
"The business will flourish without the $2000," Susan thinks.
So, the next day, Susan counts the money in the cash register and documents the correct number. She even looks at yesterday's closing amount to make sure that it matches the amount she counted this morning. Next, she takes out $2000 from the cash register in lane three and places the $2000 in a black wallet in the back pocket of her black slacks. Then, she helps customers out at the service desk and takes over the cash register in lane three in Tia's place since Tia sprained her ankle from a fall and will be absent for the next six weeks.
At the end of the day, Susan counts and documents the money in the cash register and closes the store as she usually does and nobody suspects anything. She figures that when Janice checks her calculations, Janice will think that they sold $2000 more in flowers than they really did. When Susan gets home, she places the $2000 in an envelope and sends it by registered mail to the Internal Revenue Service.
Two days later, she receives a letter from the Internal Revenue Service saying that they have received her payment and that they wish her a nice day.
"One crisis is averted," Susan thinks.
However, her dreams that night plague her.
"You did a wrong thing by taking that money," a ghost dressed like an angel says.
"Another ghost who is dressed like the devil with a pitchfork says, "Don't listen to the angel. You were desperate. You would have lost your car or house if you didn't take that $2000."
The angel and devil ghosts argue with each other until Susan says, "Hold it! I'll find a way to pay Janice $2000 to make up for the $2000 I stole.
Satisfied, the angel-ghost disappears, while dragging a reluctant devil-ghost with her.
Questions:
1. Who are the principal characters in this case?
2. What actions would you have taken if you were in a similar situation to Susan?
3. If this case went to trial, what questions would you ask and what evidence would you produce to prove that Susan stole the money as the prosecution and what questions would you ask and what evidence would you produce if you were the defense counsel?
"Rick what is the time?" Emily asks.
"8:10 am," Rick says and Emily writes 8:10 am under August 29, 2031, on the top of the notebook paper.
"So what do I write for the first question?" Emily asks.
"The principal characters are Janice because she owns the store, Susan because she committed the crime, the Internal Revenue Service for forcing Susan to steal the money, Tia for being absent but she might be blamed for the missing $2000 upon her return and the angel and devil ghosts who lead Susan to a conclusion that will free her conscience," Meena says.
"Does everyone agree?" Emily asks.
"Yes," Rick, Albus and Amanda say.
So, Emily writes down Meena's answer.
"Now let's tackle the second question," Emily says.
"I would have called my dad and asked him for the money," Amanda says.
"Would he have given it to you?" Emily asks.
"Yes, because I am his princess and daddy gives me whatever I want," Amanda says.
"Your dad sounds a lot like my dad. Whenever my younger sister, Lily, asks him for something, Dad usually gives it to her. Mom usually stops him and explains to him why Lily cannot have everything she wants. So, Lily doesn't get everything she wants, but she gets some things. Whenever, Lily gets something, Dad always buys James and me something to make up for it. Dad would have the $2000, but I think he would make us work for it like mowing a neighbor's lawn or cleaning the attic. However, Chris, Melinda Halliwell's real older brother, would probably get the $2000 whether or not he asked for it and wouldn't have to work for it," Albus says.
"Why is your dad so partial to Chris?" Amanda asks.
"I don't know. I guess it is just the way their relationship works. If Dad had it his way, Chris would be an Evans and a Halliwell," Albus says.
"Al, that doesn't answer the question in the case, although Amanda's original answer makes sense," Meena says as she brings the conversation back to the task at hand.
"However, I would probably take out a bank loan or ask one of my friends for the money and pay them the money back plus the interest," Meena says.
"If it was me and I didn't have the money," I would explain my taxes issue to Janice and ask her to give me the money now and take it out of my paycheck later," Albus says.
When Emily finishes recording Amanda's, Meena's and Albus's responses down, she asks, "What do I write for the third question?"
"Start with Prosecution and underline it, skip a few lines and write Defense and underline it," Rick suggests.
Emily follows Rick's suggestion.
"The Prosecution could ask what duties Susan has and if anyone is present to supervise her. For evidence, they can present the documents that tell how much cash is in the register at the beginning and end of the day and present the sales receipts. Then, they can mention the $2000 difference between the sales receipts and the amount in the cash register at the end of the day," Rick says.
Emily writes down Rick's response.
"What should the Defense say?" Emily asks.
"Nothing," Albus says.
"Why?" Emily asks.
"The Defense does not have to prove Susan's guilt. That is the Prosecution's job," Albus says with a smile.
"It will look as though the Defense doesn't even care about the case or Susan's fate," Meena says.
"Why doesn't the Defense ask who had access to the cash register in lane three and suggest that the money was stolen, while Tia was working there?" Meena suggests instead.
"I'll write down Meena's response for the questions the Defense should ask and for the evidence portion, I'll write down Al's response," Emily says.
"Is that all right with everyone?" Emily asks.
"Yes," Rick, Amanda, Meena and Albus say.
Emily quickly writes down Meena's and Albus's responses as she promised and says, "We are finally done."
"What time is it?" Emily asks.
"It is 9:00 am," Rick says.
"Has everyone completed the assignment?" Dr. Sutton asks just as Rick tells Emily the time.
"My group needs more time," a girl who has long, wavy, brown hair says.
"I'll give you 15 more minutes. If you are done, please place the assignment on my desk. I'll read your responses tonight and return the assignment to you tomorrow," Dr. Sutton says.
Then, Albus takes the notebook paper from Emily and places it on Dr. Sutton's desk.
One by one, other students from other groups place their group's responses on Dr. Sutton's desk.
"I hope we did well," Meena says.
"Of course, we did," Albus says.
"How can you be sure, Al?" Meena asks.
"I write reports of criminal activity for a living," Albus says as he refers to his auror training.
"Are you a police officer?" Emily asks.
"Yes," Albus replies since the closest muggle term for an auror is police officer.
"Why are you in law school?" Rick asks.
"I needed a change of pace," Albus says.
"It is not a lie," Albus thinks.
"Truthfully, ever since Voldemort's death in the wizarding world and Ailin Callahan's defeat at Wyatt's hands in the Wicca world, there has been relative peace in the magical world. There are some rogue elements as there always are, but they are so few in number that aurors can defeat them easily. That leaves a lot of time for me to twiddle my thumbs at my desk," Albus continues to think as he remembers the day that his dad gave him an application to go to a muggle university.
Flashback begins.
Auror Headquarters
Ministry of Magic
Somewhere in England
February 4, 2024
10:00 am
"You are bored, already, Auror Potter?" Harry asks as he walks to Albus's desk.
"Hi, dad!" What are you doing here?" Albus asks.
"Call me Boss like everyone else here," Harry says as he places a folder on Albus's desk.
"What is this?" Albus asks.
"It is an application for you to attend a muggle university. I have charmed it so that it turns into the application for whatever muggle university you choose," Harry says.
"Thanks, dad," Albus says as he gives Harry a hug.
"I really appreciate it," Albus says.
"I know you do. You have been asking for this ever since you participated in that exchange program with Magic School," Harry says.
Flashback ends.
Chester University
Clayton Hampton School of Law
Dr. Sutton's class
San Francisco, CA, USA
August 29, 2031
9:05 am
"Al! Earth to Al!" Rick says as he waves his hands in front of Albus's face.
"What?" Albus asks.
"Al, you spaced out again," Rick says.
"No, I was just remembering the day that dad gave me the application for Queen Victoria University. It was the best day of my life because it gave me an opportunity to explore my horizons and it gave me an opportunity to meet Rick and Meena," Albus says.
"Tell us how you met Rick and Meena, Al," Emily says.
Flashback begins.
Queen Victoria University
Cricket Pitch
Devonshire, England
September 8, 2024
4:00 pm
"Hello, man! We are one man short today because Henry has the flu. Come bat in his place," Rick shouts to Albus who is passing by the cricket pitch on his way to the bathroom so that he can apparate home to Potter Manor.
"Are you talking to me?" Albus asks as he looks around him.
"Yes, you," Rick shouts
"I don't even know how to play," Albus shouts back.
"You are English, right?" Rick asks when Albus walks toward him.
"Yes," Albus says.
"I never knew an Englishman who didn't know how to play cricket," Rick says.
"Tell you what, I'll teach you if you bat for Henry," Rick says.
"If you are talented, I'll put you on the cricket team," Rick says.
"You can do that?" Albus asks incredulously.
"Of course! I am the captain of the cricket team," Rick says.
"It cannot hurt. I'm decent at Quidditch even though James and Lily got all of Dad's talent," Albus thinks.
"All right, I'll bat for Henry," Albus says.
"Stand over there," Rick says as he bowls the ball.
Albus hits the ball and scores as many runs as he can.
"You are pretty good," Rick says.
"I'll put you on the team. You can play whenever someone is absent and at the practices until the rest of the team gets accustomed to playing with you," Rick says.
"I'll even teach you the game," Rick says.
"Thanks," Albus says as he picks up his book-bag.
"By the way, what is your name?" Rick asks.
"Al Evans," Albus says.
"Welcome to the Cricket team, Evans!" Rick says.
Flashback ends.
"That explains how you met Rick, Al, but how did you meet Meena?" Emily asks.
"I took a pottery class with Al and he helped me fix my clay pot," Meena says with a laugh.
"What do you mean by fixing your clay pot?" Amanda asks.
"I mean that the pot was so bent out of proportion that it hardly resembled a clay pot," Meena says.
"So, what happened next?" Emily asks confused and a little bit intrigued.
"I knew that Mr. Tony, the stern pottery class professor, would fail me if he saw my clay pot and I couldn't fail pottery class. After all, it is an easy class. So, I cried. I guess Al can't stand crying girls. He came over to me and offered to switch his pot for my pot. I looked at his perfectly round pot and just cried some more. I couldn't let someone else take the marks I truly deserved. It wouldn't be right. Then, Al placed his hands on the pot and rounded the sharp edges. It helped a little, but not a lot," Meena says.
"I'll take your pot and work on it some more," Al told me as he returned to his desk and left his perfect pot on my desk.
"Mr. Tony walked by my desk after Al had returned to his seat and marked something on a piece of notebook paper. I couldn't watch what happened when Mr. Tony got to Albus's desk and saw the deformed clay pot. So, I closed my eyes. I am forever grateful to Al that he took my grade for me. I later asked him what grade he got on that pot, but he never told me," Meena continues.
"She is still so grateful to me. The truth is that I transfigured the deformed clay pot into a perfect clay pot before Mr. Tony came to my desk to examine my pot. Mr. Tony gave me an Excellent for that pot. If Meena had seen me do magic, I would be in Azkaban right now, regardless of Dad's influence. Thank goodness that she closed her eyes!" Albus thinks.
"You are such a sweetheart, Al!" Emily says.
Albus's cheeks turn pink. He is saved from embarrassment, since Dr. Sutton chooses that moment to get up from her chair and clap her hands to get the students' attention.
"It is now 9:15 am. Even if you are not finished, turn in what you have. Have a nice day!" Dr. Sutton says as the students gather their books and file out of the door.
Cole Turner's Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
August 29, 2031
4: 00 pm
"There's a young lady who wants to meet you, Mr. Turner," his secretary, a strawberry blonde-haired, 5'8" tall woman says.
"Send her in," Cole says as he stares out of the window to his office.
He spots the Bay Mirror and whispers, "Oh, Phoebe! After all of these years, I still love you. I know you love me because you didn't vanquish me all those years ago. I built a law firm, hoping that the work will keep me busy, but lately, I see your smiling face whenever I pick up a contract."
"Am I interrupting something?" Emily asks.
"Not at all, Miss," Cole says as he turns around to face Emily.
"It is Miss Blake," Emily says as she holds out her hand and waits for Cole to shake her hand.
"What may I do for you, Miss Blake?" Cole asks as he sits down in the chair behind his desk instead of shaking Emily's hand.
"I have to shadow you for Dr. Brown's class," Emily says.
"Return tomorrow at 4:00 pm and I'll have something for you to do. Now, go!" Cole says.
Emily walks out of Cole's office with her head held up high.
"You don't scare me one bit, Mr. Turner," Emily says before she slams the door behind her.
"That's one way to make an exit!" Cole thinks as he picks up another contract and tries to concentrate on the words on the page in front of him, but memories of Phoebe assail him.
Bay Mirror
San Francisco, CA, USA
August 29, 2031
4:10 pm
"Oh, Phoebe! After all of these years, I still love you. I know you love me because you didn't vanquish me all those years ago. I built a law firm, hoping that the work will keep me busy, but lately, I see your smiling face whenever I pick up a contract,"Cole whispers.
Phoebe hears Cole's whisper at the Bay Mirror, while Jane, Phoebe's red-haired assistant, hands her a stack of letters.
"Do you hear something?" Phoebe asks Jane.
"No," Jane replies as she looks at Phoebe as though Phoebe has grown a second head.
"Thank you for bringing in the letters, Jane," Phoebe says.
"You are welcome," Jane says as she leaves Phoebe's office.
"I must be hearing things or I am going crazy,"Phoebe thinks.
"Oh, please don't let Cole be back. He wreaked enough havoc in my life," Phoebe says.
"Cole, if you are out there, do not enter my life again!" Phoebe shouts into the air.
"Coop!" Phoebe shouts.
Coop hearts into Phoebe's office.
"What's wrong?" Coop asks Phoebe.
"Hold me, please!" Phoebe says.
"Why?" Coop asks.
"It's Cole. He's alive!" Phoebe says.
Coop hugs Phoebe and says, "I will do whatever I can to protect you from him."
"I know you will," Phoebe whispers.