The Cookie Fairy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
alcesverdes) wrote2007-12-23 02:40 am
alcesverdes) wrote2007-12-23 02:40 am
Entry tags:
[The Dresden Files (TV)] Truth Be Told (3/8)
Title: Truth Be Told
Fandom: Dresden Files (TV)
Characters/Pairings: Bob, Harry, Justin
Rating: PG-13
Length: This chapter: ~2300
Summary: AU. Bob decided to protect young Harry from Justin as much as he could, Harry must figure some things out, and Justin finds a new angle for his plan.
Spoilers: For the episode 1x10 "What About Bob?"
Notes: Starting with chapter 2 I'm borrowing a couple of things from the books, but if you haven't read them, it doesn't matter. Well, it does (:P), but not for the fic.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
As soon as Justin heard the noise he had a suspect in mind.
He raised his hand as a way to tell the woman on the other side of the room to remain on her sit while he went outside to confirm his theory. Mere seconds later, he was sighing inwardly and shaking his head as a yellow, furry tail made its way through the corridor towards, hopefully, his master's bedroom.
Justin told himself he'd have to talk to Harry in the morning. There'd be no need to be too severe, though; this interruption could very well play in his advantage, helping him to look as a responsible father to his guest's eyes. Besides, Harry was working on a way to make the bell sound again, so this sort of incidents wouldn't repeat in the future.
Cats. They knew how to be a pain. A silent pain. Yet, they were better than dogs, main cause behind sullied carpets and bad smell in many houses he knew.
Nevertheless, despite of the problems this Mister caused, Justin had no intention of taking the animal away from his nephew; Harry's calm smile when he stroke the animal's fur was exactly Margaret's, and it took him back in time, it reminded him of the times he and his sister had played in the corridors and the garden of that same house. This was good in more ways than one, because there were times when there was too much of the father in the boy, and in those times Justin couldn't bear to look Harry's face without being invaded by rage. He couldn't help it, but he didn't fight it either. After all, it was logical; how else was he going to react?
Margaret had never owned a cat, but a guinea pig. A familiar out of the ordinary for an extraordinary woman; it fitted her style, even if most frowned upon her choice, of which she had never cared, as usual. Besides, to everyone's surprise, the guinea pig had worked well; it always was as loyal and vigilant as any known familiar.
Still, Justin felt somewhat bitter against the animal; it was because of the coincidental little successes of this kind of little experiments that Margaret had been led to believe her marriage with someone like Dresden could work.
Justin hated that man. He hated him even now. Killing Dresden once had not been enough; Dresden had taken Margaret away and Justin would never see her again. Ever.
And he had left too much of him on the boy.
That was one of the reasons Justin traveled so much.
The other one was represented by his visitor in the next room.
Ellen Russell, a warden's widow and a former warden herself, was sought by the High Council for the murder of her husband. She claimed to be innocent, to have been framed and, thing was, Justin believed in her innocence. More than that, he knew beyond any doubt she was telling the truth, for it had been him who had killed the man. Yet, he didn't have any idea of what evidence the Council had found that made her a suspect. Most probably the usual things, he thought: fights between husband and wife, accumulated rancor, the opportunity to find –or to construct– the right place and time...
The woman's predicament pleased Justin in several aspects. First, it was proof that his work had been flawless –as usual– and, second, he could use the circumstances to lure Ellen to his side, to convince her that the Council was obsolete and that it had to be replaced with something more fitting with the modern world.
She'd been a fine warden until she decided to retire to raise her son; she'd be a strong and reliable ally.
They'd known each other for years, and the fact that she'd turned to him in this her time of need was a confirmation of how much she trusted him; with the right words said with the right voice she'd be pretty very willing to help him.
Either way, if she were to refuse Justin's proposal, well, he could always turn her in to keep the Council's trust. There were always plenty of fish in the ocean and there was still plenty of time before Justin was ready to act.
Justin got back to the drawing room wielding his most charming smile. "My nephew's cat," he said, trying to sound embarrassed enough.
Ellen smiled back, relieved and sympathetic, just like Justin had expected. "You leave him have his own familiar so young?" she asked.
"Harry does a good job most of the time," he answered. "But you know how cats are."
She nodded and broadened her smile. "And how kids are."
Jokes now? Things were coming better than expected.
Justin shook his head lightly, sighed, and then got serious in a sequence he knew would look entirely natural under the circumstances. "Ellen," he began, "as I was saying before this little incident, you can't bribe me with information I already have."
She looked down and bit her lip, but she seemed less ashamed of herself than the first time she brought up the topic. "I wasn't trying to bribe you; I was offering it as a thank-you gift. For helping me."
"Many would define a bribe that way."
"I—I'm sorry I offended you, Justin."
Justin raised a hand. "My dear Ellen, stop worrying about it. I believe you, I really do. I've known you for years and I'm sure you would never hurt anyone, much less your husband." That was so true that Justin even dared to add, "I'm willing to swear it on my nephew's life."
Ellen gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Don't—" she began, but he grabbed her by the shoulders.
"I'm honestly willing to do it. That's how much I trust your word. How much I trust you, Ellen." He was very pleased with himself now, seeing how tears were forming in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said, blinking to hold back the tears. "You don't know how much this means to me. But—but there is no evidence, no clues that won't lead to me, and the Council wouldn't take your word only, even with that kind of oath attached to it..."
He nodded. "I know they won't." He held her hands. "But we'll find something, you'll see. I'm sure Bainbridge knows tracking spells currently lost in the mist of time; I'll have him help me to find the real culprit. While I take care of that, I have friends in New York that can help you disappear from the map for the time being."
"New York?"
"If you're worried about your son, you can take him with you."
She bit her lip again. "I was expecting you to ask me to stay here. I'd feel safer—"
Justin shook his head, slowly and meaningfully this time. "I can't do that. It'd be too obvious. Don't worry, my friends are excellent people; you can trust them as much as you can trust me."
She nodded slowly.
"I'll go there tomorrow to arrange things," he continued. "I'm sure you will be there within two days. On the meantime, you are welcome to stay here. Come on, I'll show you to your room. I'll go pick up your son first thing in the morning." Knowing he'd won the math, he led the way out of the room. She followed, of course.
Things were developing smoothly. She'd be in New York with Justin's associates while he did nothing but send fake reports of what he'd found and popping there now and then to help with the brainwash. Both for her and for the son. What was his name? He'd have to ask her before they went to sleep.
It was five o'clock in the morning when Justin went to Ellen's house to retrieve her son. There was only one warden at the door; obviously, the Council thought she wouldn't risk coming back for the kid when she knew he, as an unlikely accomplice in his father murder, was safer on his own than with her.
Getting into the house was a piece of cake for Justin. He toyed with the idea of killing the warden, but at the end he decided against it; it'd raise a too unnecessary ruckus, so it'd be best just to make him fall asleep.
Once inside the house, Justin found out Ellen's boy was an excellent caster of defensive spells for his age, which was around Harry's. Thus, as Harry, young Donald definitively had a lot of potential. He also turned out to be quite polite, cooperative, and diligent once Justin told him the secret word he and his mother had agreed as a way to distinguish friend from foe. Five minutes later, he had his most important belongings all packed up.
A fine child, all in all, Justin thought as they left the house. I've just found a diamond in the rough. In due time, this kid could become a great assistant for Harry, when Justin were ready to make his move.
Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to let both boys bond.
At that instant, Justin created a series of inconveniences to delay Ellen's trip to New York for the rest of the week. Also, he began thinking what exactly he'd say to Ellen when he claimed his boy back from New York. Perhaps that he'd get a better care and an excellent education in the Morningway state.
Furthermore, Justin made plans for what he'd do if she had to end up in the Council's custody. Who was Donald's next in kin? A crazy old woman in Florida, if Justin recalled correctly. She certainly wasn't qualified to take care of herself, much less of a child; everybody knew that. Justin, on the other hand, had it all to prove he was a good and responsible father for more than one child, specially if his own loved the other one as a brother. Therefore, all he needed to do was to pull a couple of strings and presto!
Justin's smile when he showed young Donald's the way to his mother's room was absolutely sincere; he was feeling entirely satisfied with himself.
Two hours later, Justin knocked on Harry's door.
There was some agitation on the other side for at least ten seconds before it finally opened.
"Good morning, uncle Justin," a half-dressed Harry said, a little too cheerfully. As he looked straight at Justin's eyes, there was a forced grin on that too young, too Dresden face of his. Behind him, on the bed, there was the cat, who had been licking his paws until he saw Justin; Mister then hissed and jumped away to hide somewhere.
Despite his irritation, Justin couldn't help feeling a little amused seeing how both master and familiar acted like if they had everything to hide.
The man folded his arms. "Did you know what happened last night?" he asked, dryly.
"Uh... I don't think I'm sure what you mean, uncle."
"Five of my most expensive vases were broken last night. By your cat."
Harry winced. "I—I'm truly sorry, uncle."
"I asked you to be responsible for that animal. I know, you're doing your best, though, and all in all you're not doing it that bad. But I need you to try harder, do you understand?"
"You aren't going to throw Mister away, then?"
"Why would I do that? It would only make you cranky and miserable. I don't want you cranky and miserable; one Bob is enough, don't you think?" he added winking an eye while he chuckled at his own joke.
"Yeah, maybe... Um, uncle, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"Eh, thing is... Why is Bob a ghost? I asked him and he only said 'Well, Harry, I'm dead' and nothing else and then he changed the subject. And, well, there's not only that; he's trapped, right? In that skull. Why?"
Justin nodded. He knew he'd have to tell Harry about Bainbridge's punishment some day, since his nephew would inherit the skull to become its next guardian. But, right then, Justin didn't have the time. "Listen, Harry, that is very complex and I have to leave on a very urgent business trip in about one hour. I promise I'll tell you everything when I come back, all right?"
Harry tilted his head; he looked quite disappointed, but also so much like Margaret that Justin couldn't help but pat him on the head.
"All right, I guess," the boy said.
"You're a good boy." Justin made a pause just to look at him and then added, "There's this other thing I wanted to talk you about: we have guests."
Harry's eyes widened. "We have what?"
"And old friend of mine and her son are visiting us for a few days. He's your age, more or less."
"Wait! Didn't you just say you were leaving on a business trip?"
"Yes. They'll be staying in the manor while I'm away."
"Well, that's... new."
"While I'm gone, I want you to display your best behavior and to be nice to them."
Harry nodded enthusiastically; he was obviously excited at this change in the routine.
"You won't be excused from your classes," Justin added, just in case.
"That's okay."
"And I hope you've finished that spell for Mister's bell when I get back."
"Yes, yes."
"Now get dressed and come down so I can introduce you."
"I'll be there in the blink of an eye!" Harry replied. Within the fraction of a second he'd turned into a miniature version of his father, which prompted Justin to turn around and go away quickly.
Chapter 4.
Fandom: Dresden Files (TV)
Characters/Pairings: Bob, Harry, Justin
Rating: PG-13
Length: This chapter: ~2300
Summary: AU. Bob decided to protect young Harry from Justin as much as he could, Harry must figure some things out, and Justin finds a new angle for his plan.
Spoilers: For the episode 1x10 "What About Bob?"
Notes: Starting with chapter 2 I'm borrowing a couple of things from the books, but if you haven't read them, it doesn't matter. Well, it does (:P), but not for the fic.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
As soon as Justin heard the noise he had a suspect in mind.
He raised his hand as a way to tell the woman on the other side of the room to remain on her sit while he went outside to confirm his theory. Mere seconds later, he was sighing inwardly and shaking his head as a yellow, furry tail made its way through the corridor towards, hopefully, his master's bedroom.
Justin told himself he'd have to talk to Harry in the morning. There'd be no need to be too severe, though; this interruption could very well play in his advantage, helping him to look as a responsible father to his guest's eyes. Besides, Harry was working on a way to make the bell sound again, so this sort of incidents wouldn't repeat in the future.
Cats. They knew how to be a pain. A silent pain. Yet, they were better than dogs, main cause behind sullied carpets and bad smell in many houses he knew.
Nevertheless, despite of the problems this Mister caused, Justin had no intention of taking the animal away from his nephew; Harry's calm smile when he stroke the animal's fur was exactly Margaret's, and it took him back in time, it reminded him of the times he and his sister had played in the corridors and the garden of that same house. This was good in more ways than one, because there were times when there was too much of the father in the boy, and in those times Justin couldn't bear to look Harry's face without being invaded by rage. He couldn't help it, but he didn't fight it either. After all, it was logical; how else was he going to react?
Margaret had never owned a cat, but a guinea pig. A familiar out of the ordinary for an extraordinary woman; it fitted her style, even if most frowned upon her choice, of which she had never cared, as usual. Besides, to everyone's surprise, the guinea pig had worked well; it always was as loyal and vigilant as any known familiar.
Still, Justin felt somewhat bitter against the animal; it was because of the coincidental little successes of this kind of little experiments that Margaret had been led to believe her marriage with someone like Dresden could work.
Justin hated that man. He hated him even now. Killing Dresden once had not been enough; Dresden had taken Margaret away and Justin would never see her again. Ever.
And he had left too much of him on the boy.
That was one of the reasons Justin traveled so much.
The other one was represented by his visitor in the next room.
Ellen Russell, a warden's widow and a former warden herself, was sought by the High Council for the murder of her husband. She claimed to be innocent, to have been framed and, thing was, Justin believed in her innocence. More than that, he knew beyond any doubt she was telling the truth, for it had been him who had killed the man. Yet, he didn't have any idea of what evidence the Council had found that made her a suspect. Most probably the usual things, he thought: fights between husband and wife, accumulated rancor, the opportunity to find –or to construct– the right place and time...
The woman's predicament pleased Justin in several aspects. First, it was proof that his work had been flawless –as usual– and, second, he could use the circumstances to lure Ellen to his side, to convince her that the Council was obsolete and that it had to be replaced with something more fitting with the modern world.
She'd been a fine warden until she decided to retire to raise her son; she'd be a strong and reliable ally.
They'd known each other for years, and the fact that she'd turned to him in this her time of need was a confirmation of how much she trusted him; with the right words said with the right voice she'd be pretty very willing to help him.
Either way, if she were to refuse Justin's proposal, well, he could always turn her in to keep the Council's trust. There were always plenty of fish in the ocean and there was still plenty of time before Justin was ready to act.
Justin got back to the drawing room wielding his most charming smile. "My nephew's cat," he said, trying to sound embarrassed enough.
Ellen smiled back, relieved and sympathetic, just like Justin had expected. "You leave him have his own familiar so young?" she asked.
"Harry does a good job most of the time," he answered. "But you know how cats are."
She nodded and broadened her smile. "And how kids are."
Jokes now? Things were coming better than expected.
Justin shook his head lightly, sighed, and then got serious in a sequence he knew would look entirely natural under the circumstances. "Ellen," he began, "as I was saying before this little incident, you can't bribe me with information I already have."
She looked down and bit her lip, but she seemed less ashamed of herself than the first time she brought up the topic. "I wasn't trying to bribe you; I was offering it as a thank-you gift. For helping me."
"Many would define a bribe that way."
"I—I'm sorry I offended you, Justin."
Justin raised a hand. "My dear Ellen, stop worrying about it. I believe you, I really do. I've known you for years and I'm sure you would never hurt anyone, much less your husband." That was so true that Justin even dared to add, "I'm willing to swear it on my nephew's life."
Ellen gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Don't—" she began, but he grabbed her by the shoulders.
"I'm honestly willing to do it. That's how much I trust your word. How much I trust you, Ellen." He was very pleased with himself now, seeing how tears were forming in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said, blinking to hold back the tears. "You don't know how much this means to me. But—but there is no evidence, no clues that won't lead to me, and the Council wouldn't take your word only, even with that kind of oath attached to it..."
He nodded. "I know they won't." He held her hands. "But we'll find something, you'll see. I'm sure Bainbridge knows tracking spells currently lost in the mist of time; I'll have him help me to find the real culprit. While I take care of that, I have friends in New York that can help you disappear from the map for the time being."
"New York?"
"If you're worried about your son, you can take him with you."
She bit her lip again. "I was expecting you to ask me to stay here. I'd feel safer—"
Justin shook his head, slowly and meaningfully this time. "I can't do that. It'd be too obvious. Don't worry, my friends are excellent people; you can trust them as much as you can trust me."
She nodded slowly.
"I'll go there tomorrow to arrange things," he continued. "I'm sure you will be there within two days. On the meantime, you are welcome to stay here. Come on, I'll show you to your room. I'll go pick up your son first thing in the morning." Knowing he'd won the math, he led the way out of the room. She followed, of course.
Things were developing smoothly. She'd be in New York with Justin's associates while he did nothing but send fake reports of what he'd found and popping there now and then to help with the brainwash. Both for her and for the son. What was his name? He'd have to ask her before they went to sleep.
It was five o'clock in the morning when Justin went to Ellen's house to retrieve her son. There was only one warden at the door; obviously, the Council thought she wouldn't risk coming back for the kid when she knew he, as an unlikely accomplice in his father murder, was safer on his own than with her.
Getting into the house was a piece of cake for Justin. He toyed with the idea of killing the warden, but at the end he decided against it; it'd raise a too unnecessary ruckus, so it'd be best just to make him fall asleep.
Once inside the house, Justin found out Ellen's boy was an excellent caster of defensive spells for his age, which was around Harry's. Thus, as Harry, young Donald definitively had a lot of potential. He also turned out to be quite polite, cooperative, and diligent once Justin told him the secret word he and his mother had agreed as a way to distinguish friend from foe. Five minutes later, he had his most important belongings all packed up.
A fine child, all in all, Justin thought as they left the house. I've just found a diamond in the rough. In due time, this kid could become a great assistant for Harry, when Justin were ready to make his move.
Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to let both boys bond.
At that instant, Justin created a series of inconveniences to delay Ellen's trip to New York for the rest of the week. Also, he began thinking what exactly he'd say to Ellen when he claimed his boy back from New York. Perhaps that he'd get a better care and an excellent education in the Morningway state.
Furthermore, Justin made plans for what he'd do if she had to end up in the Council's custody. Who was Donald's next in kin? A crazy old woman in Florida, if Justin recalled correctly. She certainly wasn't qualified to take care of herself, much less of a child; everybody knew that. Justin, on the other hand, had it all to prove he was a good and responsible father for more than one child, specially if his own loved the other one as a brother. Therefore, all he needed to do was to pull a couple of strings and presto!
Justin's smile when he showed young Donald's the way to his mother's room was absolutely sincere; he was feeling entirely satisfied with himself.
Two hours later, Justin knocked on Harry's door.
There was some agitation on the other side for at least ten seconds before it finally opened.
"Good morning, uncle Justin," a half-dressed Harry said, a little too cheerfully. As he looked straight at Justin's eyes, there was a forced grin on that too young, too Dresden face of his. Behind him, on the bed, there was the cat, who had been licking his paws until he saw Justin; Mister then hissed and jumped away to hide somewhere.
Despite his irritation, Justin couldn't help feeling a little amused seeing how both master and familiar acted like if they had everything to hide.
The man folded his arms. "Did you know what happened last night?" he asked, dryly.
"Uh... I don't think I'm sure what you mean, uncle."
"Five of my most expensive vases were broken last night. By your cat."
Harry winced. "I—I'm truly sorry, uncle."
"I asked you to be responsible for that animal. I know, you're doing your best, though, and all in all you're not doing it that bad. But I need you to try harder, do you understand?"
"You aren't going to throw Mister away, then?"
"Why would I do that? It would only make you cranky and miserable. I don't want you cranky and miserable; one Bob is enough, don't you think?" he added winking an eye while he chuckled at his own joke.
"Yeah, maybe... Um, uncle, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"Eh, thing is... Why is Bob a ghost? I asked him and he only said 'Well, Harry, I'm dead' and nothing else and then he changed the subject. And, well, there's not only that; he's trapped, right? In that skull. Why?"
Justin nodded. He knew he'd have to tell Harry about Bainbridge's punishment some day, since his nephew would inherit the skull to become its next guardian. But, right then, Justin didn't have the time. "Listen, Harry, that is very complex and I have to leave on a very urgent business trip in about one hour. I promise I'll tell you everything when I come back, all right?"
Harry tilted his head; he looked quite disappointed, but also so much like Margaret that Justin couldn't help but pat him on the head.
"All right, I guess," the boy said.
"You're a good boy." Justin made a pause just to look at him and then added, "There's this other thing I wanted to talk you about: we have guests."
Harry's eyes widened. "We have what?"
"And old friend of mine and her son are visiting us for a few days. He's your age, more or less."
"Wait! Didn't you just say you were leaving on a business trip?"
"Yes. They'll be staying in the manor while I'm away."
"Well, that's... new."
"While I'm gone, I want you to display your best behavior and to be nice to them."
Harry nodded enthusiastically; he was obviously excited at this change in the routine.
"You won't be excused from your classes," Justin added, just in case.
"That's okay."
"And I hope you've finished that spell for Mister's bell when I get back."
"Yes, yes."
"Now get dressed and come down so I can introduce you."
"I'll be there in the blink of an eye!" Harry replied. Within the fraction of a second he'd turned into a miniature version of his father, which prompted Justin to turn around and go away quickly.
Chapter 4.