InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "all the pumped up kicks"

Technically they were supposed to be here. This was work far better suited for his brother, and yet there were some things, especially now, that Rodolphus felt were better handled by his own hands. The Bellatrix situation was delicate. A fine dance that grated at him because he didn’t care for this public enemy number one nonsense. If she was going to burn, it would not be because he let something slip through.

In the past couple of days, the public or at least the media caught wind of exactly what sort of work the late Healer Arlo Mulciber was performing at the hospital. There was an outcry for a review, for retributions should they be due. Rodolphus saw an opportunity to further cast doubt around the actions of his wife, and he if got one last shot against Arlo in the process? Well, that was just a lovely bonus.

“Okay, I think I have the right cabinet.” There was a small comfort in the order and familiarity of a proper filing system. What Rodolphus couldn’t guarantee was what sort of protections might be on the records. “I believe this is where I wisely defer to your expertise.”

Narcissa wasn't as adept with devices as her husband, but then who was? That didn't mean that she didn't know how to use them. She removed the bony key from her bodice and pricked her finger on its end, hissing at the pain as it pierced her skin. The key drew her blood in, leaving no trace other than the wound itself on her finger, which she closed with an off-hand gesture with her wand.

The lock was straightforward; Narcissa simply put the key in. Rodolphus could hear the bones cracking inside as they morphed into the correct shape. "It's the best skeleton key," Narcissa told him softly, not bothering with qualifiers. Of course it was the best. It was theirs.

She reached into another pocket in the skirts of her gown and produced two pairs of silk gloves, one of which she handed to Rodolphus. The other she donned herself: standard procedure for magical insulation. "Now let us see how well it has done its work." The drawer started to open with a creak--

Rodolphus was at the ready to reinforce the silencing wards. Once that was sorted, he slipped on the gloves. So much of their magics were rooted in blood, wasn’t it obvious why family lines mattered? Although now was not the time for idle thoughts. “I suppose there is more sophistication here than a simple summoning spell.”

In the drawer was a neat row of hanging folders with patient identifiers on the tabs. It felt rather mundane. Rodolphus hovered above them looking for Bellatrix’s, mindful not to touch until Narcissa told him otherwise.

Narcissa had read enough files given her involvement with the hospital that she could easily identify her sister's. With the fingers of her left hand, she snatched out the folder. The drawer tried to snap shut on her, but she was too quick with her wand. The drawer found itself at full extension. "Behave!" Narcissa snarled at it. It made a pitiful little squeak of surrender.

“While you remind the cabinet who in charge, I’ll make quick work of this.” Rodolphus took the folder over to the nearby table. There was a moment’s pause for as much as he knew Bellatrix, he didn’t know every detail etched into this record. Although he was far past concerns of privacy. He withdrew the false records and consult notes from his robes. Those were a fine forgery, it was not just a matter of integrating it seamlessly into her record.

If the running narrative was a miscarriage sent his wife into crisis, why not give them a more obvious villan? All he needed to do was add brief consult back in February, ever so slightly outside of Arlo’s scope of practice. Then to create a backtrail of Arlo going into her record, reviewing things, maybe even changing a few things along the way. With most of the work previously completed, it took a solid five minutes to implement and then another two to review and ensure it would hold up to cursory review from a legal standpoint.

“I think that will just about do it, however, a second review wouldn’t hurt.”

Narcissa was more familiar with the sorts of things healers put in their notes for breeding women than Rodolphus. She personally wouldn't have let Arlo Mulciber handle anything to do with her health; nor would Bella have in better days. But she at least knew what the records were supposed to say and what Mulciber's quill looked like. A couple of small adjustments and--"That's good enough for Ministry work, which is as good as it has to be. Unless you think there's more to add."

“The simplest lies are the easiest to believe.” All they needed to do was plant a seed of doubt, of suspicion. “Let us see what our intrepid friends at the DMLE might discover with only a little prompting.” Rodolphus closed the file. Now, just to put replace it and exit, while not letting any hubris win.

Narcissa took care of refiling the documents and closing up shop, petting the whimpering drawer with a gloved fingertip when she finally let it close and removed the skeleton key. Stripping off her gloves, she took Rodolphus' back as well, and a few moments later there was no evidence that they had done anything they weren't supposed to have done. Except perhaps the drawer, and Narcissa had her bluff in on it. (It wasn't really a bluff.)

"Come along, brother-in-law. We have much to do, and be seen doing." It helped that Narcissa was on the board. She had arranged the opportunity. She'd also arranged for their alibi.

“And a sizeable amount of money to be separated from.” An anonymous donation, of course, because he would so hate to be accused of paying off the hospital for the actions of his family. “If I recall, Healer Kumar is expecting us shortly.”