"Which is why you were never our friend," Lester said. "No one wants a Prefect from back when they were First Years to join their revolution; it just puts a damper on things. Besides, you were already back at Hogwarts by the time we got started," he continued. "Either way, you're here today and it's a horrible way to die."
"The girl said she saw it," Minerva said to herself.
Lester felt punched in the gut, so much for trying to avoid the issue. Watching someone you love grow old was something was supposed to be done over the course of decades, not in the span of hours or days - or seconds as it was with Constance. The sight still gave him nightmares at times.
"How'd the husband take it?" he asked.
Not well, he was willing to bet. She and Lester had both known what was likely to happen when they destroyed their fiendish little devices. Constance would lose the child, they had known that, but delaying on her part would make the chance of death a near certainty, and perhaps they could have another if it hadn't aged them too much. His doing; it was all his doing.
"He's… coping, I think," Minerva said with a glance off to one side to a man in bright yellow robes. "But I don't know how well. If it wasn't for the girl I think he might have well and truly cracked. As it is, his… eccentricity is growing by leaps and bounds, and with him having a printing press-"
"-There'd be a risk to Secrecy," he finished for her. "Have you told the Ministry?"
"There's the girl to think of," she said with a shake of her head. "You know there's no support for children in need besides other family members, and she doesn't have any. Albus, for all his faults, has tried more than once to get them to do something but they simply refuse to consider it."
"If the Founders didn't do it then why should they?" Lester mocked. It was a stupid reason not to do anything. Most of the magic they could do today had never been dreamed of when the Founders had lived. "I'll come up with something."
Trying to divert himself from diving into a funk by doing something productive he said, "Check your books when you get a chance, there should be a tuition already paid under the name of Constance Lichfield - this was thirty-five years ago or more. I'm not going to be using it and it should be used for something good instead of just sitting there."
He nodded as he continued, a plan forming in his head.
"I could probably get him to sign something, thinking I mean to invest, using her tuition in lieu of hard currency, and slip in a provision that he have regular sessions with a Mind Healer - just to make sure he isn't unduly affected by muggle radial lazy beams or something," Lester finished with a wave.
"He would buy that, and it would certainly take care of her schooling - leaving me free to use what I have to see to Mister Creevey," McGonagall said, putting the pieces together. "It would only be for the year, but it may be enough to let his parents get their affairs in order or look into other options."
Minerva had a pleasant smile then. The older woman had never been his type but maybe the boy wasn't so crazy after all. Lester glanced at Harry before continuing.
"You know," he said slyly as he reached into his sleeve pocket, "a Deputy Head should be thinking more long-term than just the immediate concerns of the school. If you really wanted to get in good with some of the rich alumni, you might want to make sure they have pleasant memories of their time at Hogwarts. Now I have here a series of letters, written as bailiff on behalf of the Potter Estate…"
Pulling out the letters in question, Lester glanced at them before handing them over.
"This one's a cease and desist order telling Hogwarts to stop recognizing Albus Dumbledore as the boy's guardian in any way," he told McGonagall as her eyes grew. How she hadn't seen this coming he didn't know. "He's also not to have any contact with the boy. I've lied and told him the old man stands to inherit should anything happen to him - just to put him on his guard," Lester confided, "but you can never be too careful.
"As Deputy Head, you have to see that the current Headmaster has a conflict of interest with that one," he went on to say before passing her the next one. "This one should help clear your mind though, it authorizes the boy's Head of House to be the final arbiter for any punishments, detentions, or any other school-related matter having to do with him while the legal process is ongoing," Lester smiled.
The stunned Scot blinked at him like an overstuffed owl.
"It's still Hogwarts custom to arrange Hogsmeade weekends to take advantage of holidays, isn't it?" he asked quickly, seeming to change the topic.
"The schedule hasn't been finalized, but yes, it's still the custom. Why?" the confused and buffeted Deputy Headmistress asked.
"It just occurs to me this coming Halloween is on a Saturday," Lester said with a shrug, as if it were an idle thought before extending a third letter to her. "Now this one states that although our assertion is that Harry is independent, as his litigator, bailiff, and the closest thing the boy has to a de facto guardian, I am authorizing Hogwarts to extend the privilege-"
"-Of Hogsmeade visits to him a year early," McGonagall finished for him, finally catching up.
"It was just a thought," Lester said nebulously. "The school is rather indebted to him and Halloweens haven't been particularly pleasant for the boy, as I recall. Oh! I almost forgot," he said, reaching back into his pocket for another letter. "This one informs Hogwarts that I am the legal representative of Miss Hermione Granger as well."
Minerva gave him a look as if she didn't know whether to comply or send him to detention, so he knew his job was done.
"Now what can you tell me of these onion things?" Lester said, pointing to the odd sandwiches.
"Eat it," McGonagall said as she put the letters away up her sleeve. "They won't kill you. I've got to get things started."
....
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