A/N Sorry this chapter is so long, but I couldn't find a good place to break it up.
Arc 4, Chapter 3
The Dursleys were not quiet eaters. They kept bragging about how well the food tasted and what other things they had planned to celebrate Dudley's return from Smeltings. They talked about plans for the summer and trips they planned to take, all without bringing along a useless Freak to ruin their plans. They'd just begun eating their cake when there was a loud knock at the door. Vernon was just about to shout "Get the door, Freak," before he realized the boy was locked inside the cupboard. Vernon hefted his girth out of the chair and went to answer the door.
He opened the door long enough to shout, "Whatever you're selling we don't want, now quit bothering decent people during their dinner time!" and slammed the door. He didn't even take in the fact that these were uniformed police officers from the local constabulary and plain-clothed officers from Scotland Yard. This time they knocked louder. Vernon turned around and opened the door, ready to give them what for, only to find himself tackled to the floor and handcuffed.
One of the plain-clothed officers walked around to where Vernon could see him and said, "I'm Sergeant Stanley from Scotland Yard and this is Inspector Cummings from Inland Revenue. I have a warrant to search the premises. You and your family will remain in the living room under guard until we have completed our search. Do you understand, Mr. Dursley?"
Vernon was now far into his rage and was turning purple, "Now see here! You have no right to barge into respectable people's houses and act like we're common criminals. I'll have your badge and the rest of these blokes before the evening is out!"
"Mr. Dursley, feel free to believe that. Jackson, you and Meachem help Mr. Dursley up and set him in the living room. How many people are currently living in your house, Mr. Dursley?"
"Just my wife and son and I. Were you expecting me to be throwing a party for the whole neighborhood?" Vernon spluttered.
"No, I just want to make sure we have the correct information on the current inhabitants of the house," the sergeant replied.
Another officer was escorting Petunia and Dudley into the room and having them take seats. Dudley reached for the remote control for the telly, but one look from the sergeant made him quickly put it back down. The sergeant looked at his group and started directing people around, "Meachem, you stay here with these folks while we execute the search warrant. Inspector Cummings, you and Shacklebolt take the upstairs. You know what you're looking for. Jackson, you check the cellar first, then see me. I'll be working on this floor.
Vernon still couldn't keep his mouth shut, "You can't just barge in here with a piece of paper and start tearing my house apart! I demand you cease this instant and take these things off of me! Who is your supervisor? I'm going to call him and have him stop this nonsense at once!"
"My supervisor is Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison. She is currently having dinner with Sir Paul Condon. I believe you recognize those names."
Vernon did recognize those names and knew that whatever is going on must be coming from the highest levels. He wisely shut up.
The sergeant began his search in the kitchen area; finding nothing of consequence as expected. He went through the living room and noticed the pictures of the three-person family. He found that odd, knowing that a fourth person had been living here for the past twelve years. He then went into the entryway to check the cupboard under the stairs. The first thing he noticed was the large padlock on the door.
"Could you give me the keys for this lock please," the sergeant requested politely.
"Oh, there's nothing in there except dirty boots and mops. I don't think anyone's been in there since the last of the winter icing in March." Vernon was starting to sweat now.
"Mr. Dursley, please tell me where I can find the keys to this lock. Otherwise, I'll just have to get the bolt cutters and take it off myself. I don't think you really want me to have to go to all of that trouble, do you?" he replied.
"I'm not sure where I put the keys last. Pet, do you remember?" Vernon asked.
Unfortunately, Dudley couldn't keep his mouth shut, "But dad, I saw you put the keys in your pocket once you locked the Freak in!"
Vernon couldn't believe what his son had just said. Petunia just hung her head knowing whatever was going to happen would happen.
"Officer Meachem, would you please remove the keys from Mr. Dursley's pockets, please?"
"Gladly, Sergeant," the officer said.
Officer Meachem pulled Vernon up off of the chair and then proceeded to empty out all of Vernon's pockets. Two sets of keys dropped out. One set looked to contain car and house keys while the other had several smaller keys on it. He handed the smaller keys to the Sergeant who flipped through until he found the right one for that lock. He knew there was an undercover agent in the house, but hadn't seen him yet. He unlocked the door, and then grabbed his flashlight to see what was in the cupboard. While he was somewhat expecting to see a person in there, the reality still surprised him a little bit.
Sergeant Stanley said, "Well, would you look here? There's another person here after all. Alright you, come out real slowly like. No sudden moves."
Tonks came out slowly as instructed and kept her hands where the officer could see them. The bruises where Vernon had hit her were turning a deep purple.
Sergeant Stanley asked, "And what is your name, son?"
"Harry Potter, sir," Tonks replied.
"Why are you hiding in a boot cupboard," he asked.
"That's where Uncle Vernon sent me when he brought me home from school earlier."
"Are you saying that you live here?" the sergeant was getting very suspicious.
"Yes sir. Ever since my parents died when I was a toddler," Tonks was doing a good imitation of a poor orphaned boy.
"And how old are you? Eight or nine?" he asked.
"No sir. I'll be fourteen next month," said Tonks.
Vernon looked about to explode, but he knew it would just cause more problems.
He turned to look at Vernon, "Would you care to amend your statement as to how many people live in this house, Mr. Dursley?" asked the sergeant.
"Well, three normal people live here. He's just a freak we give houseroom to. Lived here ever since his freaky parents got themselves killed," spat Vernon.
"And what is your relationship to these people, Harry?" Sergeant Stanley asked.
"Aunt Petunia is my mother's sister, sir," Tonks replied.
"Mrs. Dursley, do you think it's appropriate for a young man to be locked in a boot cupboard?"
Petunia looked at the officer and at Harry and just turned her nose up.
"When was the last time you ate, Harry?" he asked.
"I had breakfast this morning before I left school and some snacks on the train."
"What about dinner? Why weren't you at the table with your relatives?" he was very interested in the answer to this question.
"Because Uncle Vernon said I wasn't allowed to eat for several days," Tonks replied contritely.
"What could you have possibly done wrong to be subjected to such harsh treatment?"
"I came home, sir."
"You. Came. Home. Where else were you supposed to go if not home when school is over?" Sergeant Stanley was ready to pull out his phone and call for the NSPCC to come and take this boy away now.
"I don't know, sir. Uncle Vernon warned me not to come home, but the headmaster at school said I had to. He wouldn't let me stay there over the summer."
Just as he was about to call the NSPCC, Inspector Cummings and Officer Shacklebolt came downstairs. Shacklebolt was carrying a computer while the Inspector was carrying several evidence bags.
Dudley saw the computer and jumped up, "Hey! What are you doing with my computer? Give it back!"
Before anyone could stop him, Dudley ran towards the other officers to try and wrestle his property away. Just as he got to where Tonks and the sergeant were, Tonks surreptitiously stuck her foot out and tripped him before he could really get himself in trouble. Dudley went down with a thud, then jumped up faster than anyone thought he could move and went to slug Harry/Tonks, but was stopped by the sergeant.
"I don't think you want to do that. You should be thanking Harry for stopping you. Had you tried to remove the property that Officer Shacklebolt was carrying, we would have had to arrest you for interfering in an investigation. I don't think you'd want to spend the night in custody, do you?"
"No, but it's MY computer!" Dudley wailed.
Before the situation could escalate further, there was a knock on the door. Since Inspector Cummings was nearby, he opened it up to find a woman dressed in a business suit with a folder in her hand.
"Good evening, I'm Amelia Bones, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister. I've been assigned to take custody of one Harry Potter, from the Dursleys. May I come in?" Amelia flashed a badge of office quickly and was let in. Tonks wanted to sigh in relief at her boss' appearance.
She and Sergeant Stanley stepped into the kitchen to confer.
"I'm sorry I'm late Gene, but I got held up at the Ministry. I've got the paperwork here to take full custody of Harry Potter and remove him from the Dursleys forever. What have you found so far?"
"They had the Potter boy stuffed in the boot cupboard under the stairs and had locked him in. Looks like he was roughed up a bit. I was just about to call the NSPCC and have him removed from their custody. Looks like you've saved me a call. These folks are a real piece of work. Whoever is responsible for leaving the boy here should be brought up on charges. I was going to have the NSPCC take him to casualty to document the injuries. I don't think these are the only ones," he said.
"No, they aren't. We already have full documentation of previous injuries. I didn't want to send the lad back to these folks but I still had some additional paperwork to get through. His godfather is unavailable at the moment, but once he was made aware of the situation, he appointed the Tonks family as temporary guardians. You know how the Ministry is. Some things have to be done on the sly. What else have you found?" Amelia asked.
"They'd just come from downstairs. Let's get them in and see what's what," he replied. He stepped out of the kitchen long enough to motion to Cummings and Shacklebolt to join them.
"What did you find?" he asked.
Cummings went first, "There was a safe hidden in the floor of their wardrobe. In it, we found about £350,000 and passports with three different names for Vernon. I didn't find anything on Petunia. In the Dursley boy's room, we found the computer, but there was a hidden stash of marijuana packaged for sale, along with a couple of miscellaneous pills. Looks like some are anabolic steroids and some speed."
"What do you think is on the computer that had the boy so worked up?" asked Stanley.
"Well, considering he was so upset about us confiscating it, I'd guess he's got information on his supplier and/or his customers. No telling what else is on there. Could be porn. You never know with young boys," Cummings said.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, you need to come upstairs and see this. There's a room that's got eight different locks on it. Shack was going to open it magically, but I told him to wait. The keys had to be somewhere nearby."
"Yeah, that's probably what these other keys are on this ring," he said, holding up the key ring he'd used to unlock the cupboard. Shacklebolt placed the computer on the table and joined them as they ascended to the next level. They took a quick tour to see what the other rooms were, then stopped at the suspect door.
"Man, I hope they've got something valuable in here and not what I'm thinking," said Shacklebolt.
Sergeant Stanley asked, "Did you get good pictures of this door?"
"We sure did," said Cummings.
After unlocking the numerous locks, they opened the door. Instead of seeing untold wealth or anything else that would warrant that type of security, all they saw was a broken-down bed, a pressed cardboard wardrobe, and a desk that was falling apart. The rest of the room was filled with an assortment of broken toys.
"I take it this is where they kept the Potter boy?" asked Stanley.
Amelia replied, "Only after he received his Hogwarts letter. He said that after an incident two summers ago, Vernon put the locks on the door and the cat flap, as well as bars on the window."
"We didn't see any bars when we arrived," said Cummings.
"That's because some of Harry's friends came and pulled them off and then took him to their home for the rest of the summer," Amelia said.
Sergeant Stanley said, "Take lots of pictures of this room and toss it for any possible contraband, not that I think you'll find any."
Amelia and Sergeant Stanley descended to the lower level.
Amelia said, "I think I've seen enough, Sergeant Stanley. I'll go ahead and take Mr. Potter with me and leave you to finish up with these folks. The Prime Minister is expecting a copy of your report. Harry, where is your trunk?"
"Still in the boot of the car ma'am," 'Harry' said.
Officer Jackson handed her the set of keys with the car keys on it. She and Harry went out to retrieve his property.
At the Sergeant's words, Vernon turned deathly white. If the Prime Minister was involved, then he wouldn't be able to find a job anywhere, assuming he was free to search for one. Maybe taking that position in Brazil isn't such a bad idea.
Sergeant Stanley said, "Vernon Dursley, you are under arrest for suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, child abuse, and animal abuse. Yes, we're aware of your involvement with your sister's dog breeding business. You are entitled to legal representation. Further charges could be added pending the final results of our investigation. Meachem, take him to the car."
Vernon hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth far enough yet, so he went for the full leg, "I will not! I'm a respectable citizen! You should be taking that freak in and not me! I refuse!"
"Jackson, you help Meachem escort Mr. Dursley to the car. If he gives you any problems, well, you have your tasers, right?"
Jackson patted the weapon on his hip and said, "Yes sir, and I just finished refresher training last week."
Vernon knew when he saw a lost cause and allowed himself to be escorted out of the house.
Inspector Cummings and Officer Shacklebolt descended the stairs for the last time. Cummings said, "We didn't find anything of interest in that other room other than some old blood stains on the floor," he said, giving Petunia an evil look.
"The boy is clumsy! He falls down a lot. Skins his knees and elbows all the time. I have to keep several boxes of plasters to take care of all of his scrapes," said Petunia.
Sergeant Stanley said, "Petunia Dursley, while we don't have enough evidence to charge you with anything at the moment, our evidence will be presented to the Crown for possible prosecution for child abuse. I suggest you find a good barrister for your family."
Petunia nodded in understanding.
Sergeant Stanley then turned to Dudley, "Dudley Dursley, you are under arrest for possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute and theft of property. You are allowed legal representation during all questioning. Officer Shacklebolt, if you would."
Shacklebolt went to take the young man by the arm and take him outside but Dudley let the boxer in him out and swung hard at Shack's face, breaking his nose and probably his cheekbone. As soon as that punch landed, he gave a punch to the gut and then an uppercut to the chin. Shack was down for the count. By then, Meachem returned and handed the car keys to Stanley then helped the other officer subdue the boy. They were none too gentle either. They all turned when they heard this loud clunk clunk clunk as another person with a horribly scarred face, wooden leg, and bizarre eye entered.
Petunia screamed, "Get out of my house, Freak!" and backed away from the scary man.
Moody said, "I don't think I'm the freak here madam." He then turned to Sergeant Stanley, "I saw Shack go down so I figured some help was needed. It looks like you've got things under control. I'll just send Shack to the hospital and take that chore off of your list." Moody reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver disk and laid it on Shacklebolt's chest. He tapped it lightly with his wand and said, "Activate!" and the body was gone in a flash.
Moody turned to Petunia and said, "You'd best be glad we're doing this through the Muggle authorities and not through the magical ones. If they found out a muggle had cold-cocked a pureblood auror, well, you'd get his body back minus his soul. So let me give you a little advice. You and your family take whatever deal the prosecutors offer you and then leave this country. The wards on this house are weak and with Potter no longer living here, they will probably collapse within a month. When that happens, any of Voldemort's old followers can find you. If they do, it won't be pretty. That boy's had enough done to him by you, but if he found out the Death Eaters had gotten to you and it was because the wards collapsed, he'd still feel responsible. Do I make myself clear?"
Petunia had to get in the last word, "You freaks have ruined my life! First, you took my sister and turned her into someone I didn't know. Then she gets killed and you drop her spawn on my doorstep like a wet newspaper. You expect us to take care of him, but we can't do anything when he has freaky accidents and we don't have any way to contact you. Now you're saying we're the monsters? No, you and your freaky friends are the monsters who prey on good, normal folks."
The officers who had Dudley restrained sat him up and then helped him off the floor, then out the door. Sergeant Stanley took the car keys and handed them back to Petunia, "I'm keeping the other keys as evidence. Your husband and son are being taken to the Northern Constabulary Station for processing. Your son will be held until you or a duly sworn barrister are available for us to question him further. I'll leave you to handle those arrangements."
As the door closed behind Sergeant Stanley, Petunia sat there stunned. Her whole world had crumbled before her in the space of an hour. It was the Freak's fault, she kept telling herself, but now she didn't believe it quite as much.
End Story Arc 4