The Potter Chronicles

Chapter 11: The Webcam Meet

The Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Leslie Smith, sat in his office, talking to the person in front of him. It was he who usually conducted VIPs to the Prime Minister's office, but today, this important person had come to meet him personally.

The first negotiation message had been drafted and mailed to the wizards. Because of his great persuasive skills, Leslie had been chosen as the negotiator of any further meetings with the wizards.

It was highly unlikely that the wizards would reject his offer to negotiate. It was, after all, their Minister of Magic at stake. He knew that this could be the start of a war, but he too had no choice. His cell phone vibrated. It was his personal assistant.

"Yes?" Leslie said.

"Sir, the Chief Doctor of, umm... our recent covert operation wants to talk to you" the assistant said.

"Patch him up" Leslie said and the doctor's encrypted line was connected to his. He put it on speaker so that the person in front of him could hear it as well.

"Sir, we have a problem" the doctor said.

"What do you mean?" Leslie said, not liking the sound of it.

"Sir, umm the Minister of Magic's health is depleting" the doctor said, his voice tensed.

"What do you mean? Be more specific" Leslie said, worried.

"Sir, I hate to say this, but the Minster of Magic's mouth is frothing and his chest is blackening as we speak" the doctor said.

"What!" Leslie exclaimed, rising from his chair in shock. "What do you think is happening?" he asked. The person in front of him stayed unusually calm.

"I believe he has been poisoned, sir" the doctor said. "I'm afraid we'll lose him soon" he added.

"Now listen to me, doctor" Leslie said. "I need that man alive. Do you understand? ALIVE. Do anything you have to do to keep him alive. And keep me updated" Leslie said, exasperated. If the Minister of Magic died, they would practically have no leverage over the wizards.

"Yes... Yes sir" the doctor said. But he didn't sound that confident.

"I'll handle it, mistress" Leslie said, not daring to look at the elegant lady sitting in front of him. The mistress had planted him as a spy inside the Muggle Ministry long ago and now was his chance to prove his worth to her. He wasn't going to let her down.

"I have faith in you, my dear" the mistress said, her voice like the calming waters of a spring.

"I... I'll handle it" Leslie said promising the mistress.

***************

The following day, Neville Longbottom and the rest of the council sat at the Minister of Magic's office at 8:30 am. Neville's head was still whirring, but he had somewhat now, started to accept the bitter truth of Harry's death. The webcam meet with the muggles was going to take place in about thirty minutes. Jake Pokerface had volunteered to be the negotiator while the four others would remain behind the scenes.

Shabby Martin, the muggle technology expert was there, busy setting up the MacBook-Pro. Shabby Martin was one of those eccentric geeks who fawned over every piece of tech equipment they could get their hands on. He had long hair which badly needed combing and a thick stubble of beard. The last bath he had taken was a couple of weeks ago. With his looks and clothes so shabby, people used to call him "Shabby Martin".

But he was an expert in muggle technologies. He always had his blue-gold, green-winged, South African macaw with him wherever he went. He had named the macaw Mr Lennon (because he was a die-hard Beatles fan).