Chapter 203
"Bad idea," he drawled. "It's a set-up and a blow to your reputation, dear Millicent, and it's a blow to your reputation. They'll definitely remember your official appeal to the Muggle authorities later."
Millicent leaned forward and asked pointedly,
- And what about unofficial ones?!
Richie realized that the minister was hinting at his connections.
"No problem," he replied. "But that's not the answer. We need to come up with something else, something more effective. If Black isn't an idiot, which is highly doubtful, he'll lie low, and neither wizards nor ordinary people will find him. We need to lure him out somehow..."
"Lure him out!" Bagnold smiled sadly. "If only it were that easy... Investigators suspect Black will try to infiltrate Hogwarts."
"Why would he do that?" Richard asked, very surprised.
"According to Black's 'neighbors' in Azkaban," Bagnold began, "after the committee left, Black shouted, 'He's in Hogwarts! I'll kill him.'" There's speculation that Black wants to kill Harry Potter. After all, it was Sirius who betrayed the Potters to Riddle, as he was the keeper of the secret of the Fidelius-the concealment spell.
"Uh-huh-huh..." Richie drawled. "I didn't know such details. Why was Black the secret keeper?"
"Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend in his youth," Bagnold explained.
"I see..." Richie thought for a moment. He closed his eyes and ran his palm down them. Looking at Millicent, the boy said, "We need to pardon Black retroactively!"
"WHAT?!" Bagnold couldn't believe her ears. She looked utterly stunned. Her eyes widened in utter amazement.
"Amnesty," Richie repeated. "Retroactively... Although the latter isn't necessary. Amnesty is enough."
The minister's gaze was very telling. Previously, she had treated Richard as an equal, but now she looked at him as if he were a dumb boy who had blurted out an unrealistic stupidity. Choosing her words, she said:
"Richard, I confess, I thought you were a smart young man. I'd heard plenty about your genius. But are you seriously proposing an amnesty for a dangerous criminal who killed one wizard, Peter Pettigrew, and a dozen Muggles, betrayed his best friend's family, escaped from Azkaban, and is hunting Harry Potter?!"
"Yes," Richie replied shortly. "And don't look at me like I'm an idiot. I'm not actually suggesting you grant him amnesty. Just pretend it, leak the amnesty to the press. That way, you'll cover your own backside. The public will see that Black didn't escape, but was released. Can you imagine how shocked Black will be? He must be stunned by such a stunt. There's a very high chance Black will stop hiding. That's when the Aurors will round him up, and you'll tell everyone about your brilliant plan. Like, there was no amnesty. Black escaped from Azkaban, and the disinformation was a plot to catch him."
"No, Richard," Bagnold shook her head in amazement, once again beginning to see her interlocutor as an equal. The idea, seemingly insane at first glance, no longer seemed so. "If we're going to grant an amnesty, then we're going to do it for real. It can't be pretended."
"Then do it for real, and after he's caught, convict Black of escaping from Azkaban. After all, he escaped before the amnesty was declared, and that's a crime. In any case, it'll be easier to catch a criminal if he's careless than to try to find a wizard who's wasting all his energy trying to hide."
"Hmm..." Bagnold considered the idea seriously. "Come to think of it, it's better than trying to catch Black the usual way. But just in case, we should post guards near Hogwarts."
An encouraging smile appeared on Richard's face. He said:
"A new department for the protection of important magical facilities will come in handy. Hire wizards to guard Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, St. Mungo's, and my company. Have them undergo a short Auror training course. I think we should introduce a paid security guard license and divide the position into different ranks. Complete a two-month introductory course and you'll receive a first-rank security guard license. Spent another couple of months on refresher courses and you'll become a second-rank security guard. And so on. The higher the rank, the higher the salary. This way, wizards will gradually improve their skills to the level of Aurors; after all, they don't have to fight magical creatures of the highest danger classes and learn investigative work. So they won't have to undergo three years of training like Aurors, with the training fees deducted from their salary. This way, wizards will be tied to their job, since if they leave, they'll have to pay substantial compensation." And the Ministry of Magic will receive additional revenue from paid courses at the Auror training facility. You'll recoup some of the funds from the courses, and some of the guards will be paid directly by me.
The Minister gazed at Richard with admiration and respect. Not a trace of her former disappointment in the young man's intelligence remained.
"Richard, I admire you!" she said with genuine joy, and, like an experienced politician, she offered her interlocutor her usual compliment. "Could you share your secret: how do you make money from something that should have caused reputational damage?"
"Millicent, I had wonderful tutors," Richard said, a dazzling smile adorning his face. "The economics professor alone... And as for the business sharks from Rich Group who coached me... Well, I'd better keep quiet. This isn't about me. Millicent, can you handle it?"
"I can handle it now," Bagnold replied with relief. "Richard, thank you so much. I didn't think your visit would be so helpful."
- Feel free to contact me. I'll still send you a detective.
"What's your detective's name?" Bagnold asked.
- Potter...
The minister's eyes widened.
"Scott Potter," Richard added.
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Chapter 204
"He's not a relative by any chance..." Bagnold drawled in amazement.
"Harry Potter's uncle and his official guardian," Richard finished off the minister.
Bagnold leaned back in her chair, exhausted. For a moment, she could only open her mouth, looking dumbfounded. But after a few moments, her body began to shake, and a moment later, a melodic laugh rang out.
"Oh, Richard..." Millicent brushed away the tears of laughter that had welled up in her eyes. "This is incredible! Harry Potter's uncle is a Squib and a detective... He couldn't be a better candidate for the investigation. He'll have a vested interest in catching Black. Yeah, Richard, I'm speechless. I can't wait to applaud you."
"Millicent, Detective Potter works for me," Richard explained. "He's a competent professional, but a bit rude and doesn't like wizards. I beg you to show him some leniency."
"No problem, Richard," Bagnold nodded. "Thank you for your support. I hope to see you soon."
"All the best," Richard said goodbye. "Keep me posted."
***
Richard had no memory of Sirius Black from his past life. He learned about him from a collection of materials on the Death Eaters.
After leaving the Ministry of Magic, Richard was haunted by Black. He fully expected this wizard to be a threat to the world. Since wizards considered him extremely dangerous, he could not be ruled out as a suspect. Bagnold was Minister during the complete defeat of Tom Riddle's group. It's worth noting that she was an extremely effective manager in her position and suited the Queen perfectly.
The potential danger posed by Sirius Black forced Richard to rack his brains and come up with a highly unconventional solution. It's worth noting that he didn't come up with the amnesty idea himself; he recalled a similar incident from a past life.
In the future world, people remained human, with all their vices. There were plenty of criminals, and the government had to deal with them. An entire planet was dedicated to holding dangerous prisoners. For a long time, no escapes occurred from there; it was considered the ideal prison, like Azkaban for British wizards. But one day, a prisoner finally escaped.
Catching a fugitive who had managed to escape from the most impenetrable prison planet became an obsession for the government. This was a serious blow to the authorities' reputation. But the galaxy is vast, and humanity has colonized many planets, including some where no one cared about a colonist's past. A similar story unfolded during the colonization of North America. Under such conditions, finding an escaped prisoner actively in hiding was impossible.
For two years, a fruitless search continued across the galaxy. Then one day, the news broke that the galactic government had pardoned an escaped prisoner. Less than six months later, the fugitive showed up in a major colonial city, acting casually. He went to a bank branch on an agrarian planet and demanded access to his account. That's when law enforcement officers apprehended him. Since the prisoner had been pardoned, there was nothing to charge him with-or so he and many others thought. But he was charged with escaping from prison before the amnesty. A trial was held, at which the fugitive was sentenced to a substantial prison term and sent back to prison.
Richard decided to use a proven tactic and hoped that he would not go wrong.
"It wasn't enough to deal with business, and now there's an escaped convict on top of that!" Richard thought irritably. "There are so many problems with the power plant construction that no shovel would be enough to clear them away. And this with Her Majesty's support! And we still need to figure out what to do with the Philosopher's Stone."
The situation with the Philosopher's Stone is strange. It seems to be there, but there's no way to use it. To know how to use it, one must study alchemy. But if Richie rushes to the store to buy alchemy books, or, worse, starts reading alchemy textbooks at Hogwarts, it will look very suspicious. According to Bagnold, Dumbledore has spies everywhere. It's foolish to think the Hogwarts headmaster wouldn't consider the missing Philosopher's Stone and Richard's interest in alchemy.
After much deliberation, Richie concluded that he should put his alchemy studies on hold for now. It would be best to completely forget about the existence of the Philosopher's Stone for five years. The Stone should be hidden so no one would find it. Only when the furor died down could he calmly begin studying alchemy. For example, after Hogwarts, he could hire an alchemist as a tutor.
***
On July 20th, two important events occurred. The Daily Prophet published an article about Sirius Black's amnesty. But Richard was more concerned about his upcoming meeting with a young American specialist in computer science, cryptography, and law.
Richie settled into the Rich Group conference room for the meeting. Everything was ready for negotiations. Then the crucial moment arrived: a young secretary ushered a guest into the room.
The young man, who looked to be about twenty-five, was tall and slightly nervous. His brown eyes were fixed on Richard. His black hair was cut short and unevenly. He had a small beard and mustache, the same dark color as his hair. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and an inexpensive dark two-piece suit. The collar of his shirt was unbuttoned, and there was no sign of a tie.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sabo," Richard said affably. "Please have a seat."
Sabo sat down in the offered chair opposite young Rich. He was somewhat surprised.
"Hello, sir," Sabo said, his voice hesitant. "You are the same Richard Rich I've been corresponding with, yes?"
"Yes, Mr. Sabo," Richard replied. "Don't let my young age fool you. I've been running my own business for several years now, and it's thriving. I hope you arrived safely."
"Yes, Mr. Rich," Sabo replied. "Thank you for the invitation and the travel expenses. I enjoyed the hotel. Um... If you don't mind, call me Nick. I'm not used to being addressed so formally."
- Okay, Nick.
Richard had stooped to the level of the Yankees. He believed that to achieve a goal, one had to speak to a person in their own language. What could you expect from a Yankee? They didn't know British manners. No conversations about the weather or polite addresses like "Lord," "Earl," or "Milord."
"Sir, I don't quite understand why you invited me," Sabo said.