Fixing Evidence

[Padril Crennent]

Padril stood outside of Crennents clutching a brown paper parcel under his green cloak, debating whether he should bring Tim into the situation with Flintock or not. The parcel had the tape recorder he had used in his meeting and was evidence he needed if he was going to stop Gordon from passing the death sentence. As far as he knew, he was the only one who had any clue what the Head of the MLE planned and was therefore the only one who could even slow the man. As times grew worst, Shacklebolt might buckle and that would be the end of the freedom of life. But if Tim got wrapped in this, it could spell the end of his career.

Deciding the risk was worth it, Padril pushed the door open and ducked inside the shop.

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim had been completing the week's order, standing in front of the bookshelves with a clipboard and quill in his hands, looking kind of bored with himself. Usually he would be completing this sort of work during his downtime at the Ministry, but he hadn't gotten much of that over the past three days. It was around the time of the end of the war, and, as his Accidental Magic Reversal Squad co-workers had indeed warned him they would, wizards and witches were causing more 'accidental magic' around the place than usual. It was a good thing Tim enjoyed his job at the Ministry, or else the impact it had of late on his work at Crennent's would have been unbearable.

The store being quiet helped too, leaving Tim to complete the order without interruption. That was, of course, until Padril entered, and Tim turned, ready to feign his 'customer service smile'. When he saw it was his brother, his grin grew much wider as he rushed to the door to meet him.

"Padril! It's been awhile, mate..." He closed his approach with a firm handshake. It had been 'awhile', but not man-hug-worthy 'awhile'. As his eyes swept over their hands he couldn't help but notice the parcel that Padril had concealed beneath his cloak. "Whatcha got there, present for your baby brother?" He turned and moved towards the counter where it would be more comfortable for them to talk.

[Padril Crennent]

"More like a favour," Padril said with a grin, returning the shake. He was a little overwhelmed with Tim's enthusiasm, it must of been really quiet today. He walked over to the counter and placed the package down on it. "It's a tape recorder but I think I broke it or something. And since you know those muggle things..." He shrugged.

It was a field of knowledge that Padril had surrendered to his little brother early on in life, really finding it rather dull. So, whenever he had a question on something muggle or broke something muggle, he came to Tim (after consulting his books, of course).

[Timothy Crennent]

"A tape recorder?" Tim asked, suddenly curious and jumping at the hint of adventure. "So you've been keeping busy then. Or are Quick Quote Quills just too expensive for struggling reporters these days?"

He removed the device from it's packaging, and turned it over in his hands, taking a cursory glance. He recalled seeing one before, whilst browsing through a Muggle 'two-pound-shop', but that was some time ago. This one seemed fairly bulky and was made of a familiar old off-white plastic, the kind that turned yellowy after just a few years. It seemed like Padril had just taken the first or possibly the cheapest one he saw. Tim wondered where exactly he got it, or how much he paid for it, but those were the least pressing questions.

He looked up expectantly, hoping Padril would answer his half-question. "Well, what have you been using it for?"

[Padril Crennent]

"Err..." Padril scratched the back of his head nervously. "Just stuff, y'know. Boring, work stuff. Is it broken? Can I get it to play again right?" He was desperately trying to change the subject. "Did I buy right? I wasn't sure of the converters to muggle money."

He looked around the store quickly, noticing a few changes since he left. Some updated models. Nothing definitive though. Nothing truly different. "How's the store been holding up?" he asked. "It looks great."

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim knew Padril was trying to avoid the conversation, but he couldn't help himself. "How much did you pay for it? It looks rather old, I hope it wasn't much." He turned it over several times again, searching for a microphone.

"Surely you'd have gotten something better for something so important..." he added. It was a cheap shot, he knew, and wouldn't expect Padril to give up an answer quite that easily, but he had to try.

[Padril Crennent]

Padril raised his eyebrow at Tim, "I paid a little. Like, ten pounds? How much is that? Was it worth it?" He was aware of what Tim was trying to do and was avoiding it. He didn't seem that determined so it was probably just a light curiousity thing.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

[Timothy Crennent]

"Oh, nothing, I was just..." Tim seemed to snap out of his little trance and put the object down on the counter, with both of his hands laid flat on top of it so as to resist the urge to fiddle with it. He was sure ten pounds was a lie, it seemed too much to Tim.

"What do you mean when you say it's broken?" he asked, looking Padril directly in the eyes now. "What were you trying to use it for? And it matters. This runs on batteries, which means it's going to be affected by the presence of magic." He turned the tape recorder over - though it wasn't running it was best to remove the power source while they were in their store, which was heavily altered and protected by magic.

[Padril Crennent]

"To record a conversation with a wizard in a muggle restaurant. He used a couple of spells around it though," he told Tim, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Just recording an interview. Nothing special. He began to wonder whether he had taken the tape out or not. Could Tim listen to it?

"When I try to play the tape back it's rather jumbled," he explained. "Is it the tape or the recorder?"

[Timothy Crennent]

"Well that depends," said Tim, staring again at the recorder. "Probably the tape, but it's difficult to tell. Either way, if it's the recorder then it wouldn't have recorded it properly. After it has known magic then it would be affecting what's coming in, not just playback. I don't think just putting it into another tape player would work."

Timothy opened the tape compartment, it popped open without power, and tried to remove the tape, but was surprised. "Erm, the bronze ribbon inside has wrapped all around the spindley thingies. That shouldn't be a problem though... I mean I think I can fix it... I mean learn how to... y'know."

[Padril Crennent]

"How long will it take?" Padril asked. "What needs to be done?" He was jumpy, afraid Tim would listen to the recording. What would he think? Would he ultimately decide to tell the Ministry? Heck, the fact Padril was planning to go against Flintock could cost Tim his job at the Ministry, he hadn't thought of that.

"The spell the guy used, it was used on a muggle. Subtly. I think she couldn't hear us or something, apparently it's a spell floating around the MLE or something." He had started talking then abruptly stopped himself, afraid he had given away too much. He had to trust Tim wouldn't pry.

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim raised an eyebrow at his brother. Floating around the MLE? Who was Padril TALKING to?! He decided not to say anything - once he fixed the tape he'd be able to hear for himself and Padril seemed reluctant to give answers.

"It should... The tape just needs to be rewired." Tim said, confident that he sounded confident even though he wouldn't really know what he was doing until he did some research. It didn't seem too difficult though. "And then it should play again. I'll have to pick up another recorder that hasn't been damaged... and then if I can get it to play safely I can probably charm an object, transfer the sound..."

"Give me a week or two." Timothy said finally, now to Padril rather than just to himself. "Is that fine? It's nothing urgent is it?" He had a sinking suspicion that it was.

[Padril Crennent]

"Oh no no, not urgent at all," Padril smiled unsteadily. "It's just the sooner, the better, you know?" He couldn't write his article without the tape and the larger the time difference between the event and the first report, the less likely the chance of a front page story.

And he needed a front page in order to shatter Gordon's reputation and career. The man had made it damn well personal. Arrogant prick.

[Timothy Crennent]

Tim nodded slowly. "Riiight. Yeah, well, I'll get on it." He took the tape recorder and put it into his backpack stowed behind the counter. "Anything else then?"

[Padril Crennent]

"Nope, that's it," Padril stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly and gave Tim a sheepish look. "I guess you'll send me an owl when it's done, right?" Why were their conversations always like this? So awkward and to the point. It was, to be certain, quite annoying. They couldn't talk about anything. He couldn't talk about anything to anyone. Nothing of importance without sounding mad or rude.

Social rules suck.