FicFan.org

As they were finishing their lunches — Harry had retrieved fizzy drinks from her trunk kitchen — Hermione said, "You know, I can't help but wonder if the Headmaster and the other wizards understand just how dangerous it is to muck with modern constable procedures."

The boys looked at her questioningly. Harri blinked, understanding what the other girl meant. They had both watched modern police drama shows on the telly.

The bushy-haired girl quirked her lips, "Well, I'm sure they obliviated the Muggle doctors, but what about the x-rays and reports that the doctors gave the constables, the Muggle Aurors, as evidence? Nowadays, the constables enter their reports on computers, which means the information is no longer at the local station but in the main station. Even if the obliviators tell the constables they obliviate to destroy the evidence, they can only destroy their notes, not the reports they sent. Somebody is going to notice a case was suddenly stopped and reopen it."

At the blank looks from the two boys, she said, "Look, it's simple. Imagine that you're an Auror and you've just sent the Ministry a report from Hogsmeade on a crime at Hogwarts. The report is immediately sent to the Ministry Records Department, right?" The two boys nodded. "Now imagine that someone obliviates the Auror in Hogsmead." They nodded again. "What happens to the report at the Ministry?" Their eyes widened in understanding. "Right," Hermione nodded, "You could send the Auror to the Ministry to remove the report from the Records Department, but that could be hours later, or even the next day. And what if someone else has already seen that record but the Auror doesn't know that?

"The Muggle constables use computers to store the reports, so unless you understand how to use a computer, you can't remove the report! Your average constable doesn't know how to do that, only a special constable in the computer records division knows how to do that. Guess what would happen to a constable asking to destroy a record when he couldn't give a reason for it?

"And even if a constable did know how to remove the report from the computer, they make daily backups, um, duplicates of any new reports or new files, as well as any changes to any files, that are stored at a separate location in case of fire or other catastrophe at the main station. They routinely compare the backup records with the main records to make sure nothing has been lost.

"And once the report is in the computer, it's available instantly to everyone in the department. Eventually, someone is going to notice that the case for that record isn't moving and start asking questions. They'll just restart the investigation, won't they?"

"Oh, yeah, they certainly will!" Ron said.

"And when they ask the detectives about the case and find the detectives don't even remember it? Well, that's going to set off major alarms in the government regarding security. It's one thing to bribe someone to 'forget' a case, and another to actually modify someone's memory!" Her eyes got wide. "This could unravel the whole Secrecy Act! Government agents that the constables have never heard of, much less seen, would see the pattern of obliviations and realize a secret organization was manipulating their people." She shook her head. "All because Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't let Harri stay somewhere safe. Idiots."

"And Dumbledore won't believe anything we say, so we can't warn them," Harri added, then shrugged. "Nothing we can do then. How about a game of Exploding Snaps?"

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/10324040/19/