Harry Potter: Redemption in Time

The cruise ship had also reached Oz but this had unleashed a new set of problems for the Dursleys. Petunia currently couldn't take her eyes off the new gown she'd bought, she'd also been sweating buckets while she'd waited for the credit card transaction to clear. They had began to max out their cards but it was imperative she had something new to wear for the Christmas Eve Ball held on board the ship. Their new friends still suspected nothing and they needed to keep it that way, a new ball gown became a necessity. Dudley would just have to survive with fewer presents this Christmas, Marge could deal with the fall-out back in Britain.

A knock on their cabin door had Vernon moving to answer. They suspected it was some of their friends but they were very wrong. In the doorway stood the ship's chief purser, accompanied by two uniformed Australian police officers.

The trio entered their cabin before the chief purser spoke. "Mr and Mrs Dursley, if that is your real names, your little scheme has been discovered."

At the back of his mind, Vernon had been wondering when the kick in the stones would be administered. Things had been going a shade too well for the Dursleys and the usual downturn had been overdue. Petunia though was clueless and wondering why the police were here. "Excuse me sir, there seems to be some mistake here."

It was one of the policemen who answered, "Yes, and you made it. One thing we Australian's hate is con artists. Did you really think you could get away with it?"

While Vernon felt the feeling of dread begin to overtake his body, Petunia answered in all honesty. "I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about. We won this cruise fairly and squarely."

It was the chief purser who answered. "We never disclose the circumstances that led to our guests being on board, it's entirely up to them if they wish to share it with the other passengers. You took that to the most extreme case it has been my misfortune to witness. It has come to our notice that the company you supposedly won your holiday from is nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Perpetrated no doubt by yourselves."

Vernon was now half expecting something like this to be the case since the police were involved but Petunia exploded with righteous indignation. "Why the hell would we want to do something like that?"

The other policeman now looked at the couple in disbelief, "You expect us to believe someone went to all this trouble to play a prank on you? If you weren't in on this then someone must really have it in for you two."

Vernon and Petunia shared a quick glance, they instantly suspected the freaks were behind this. If that little girl could turn their table into a living, moving pig, forging a few documents should be child's play.

It was the chief purser who informed them just how deeply in the shit they were. "This cruise package for this grade of cabin costs thirty thousand pounds."

Vernon knew at once they were screwed, no wonder their friends had money to splash about if they could afford to spend that on a holiday. Their annual trip to Brighton hadn't really prepared them for this experiance.

There was worse to come, "While all food is included in that price, drinks from our bars isn't. Your bogus holiday scam had your bar bill covered and you have been very generous in ordering drinks for your friends. Since we left Southampton, you have managed to amass a bill of over ten thousand pounds." This figure surprised everyone in the room. Both policemen knew they couldn't afford something like this cabin, far less being able to spend ten grand at the bar. It began to look as if these two here couldn't afford it either and had scammed their way onto the ship. They would be experiencing a severe downgrading in accommodation and catering very shortly.

The chief purser continued. "It was only the size of the bar bill that led to us performing further checks which uncovered the fraud. Had you just quietly went about your business, you would probably have pulled it off." After giving this a few seconds to sink in, he had to cover himself in the very slight chance they had made a mistake here. "If you can pay the forty thousand pounds you now owe us, these gentlemen can leave and no one aboard ship need be made any the wiser. If not, the company will press charges of fraud and these gentlemen here will arrest you."

Neither the purser nor the police had any doubt to where this pair would be spending Christmas. Petunia was desperately searching through her folder for the documents from the company they won the holiday from. Unfortunately, it was now full of illustrated menus telling her where to get the best kebab's in Little Whinning. Vernon knew they were done for, he couldn't pay a tenth of that at the moment. A police conviction for fraud would cost him his job, the house would have to be sold anyway to pay off their debt to the cruise company and their credit card bills. Anything left over from the house sale would disappear into the hands of the lawyers. Vernon so wanted to rant and rave he could almost taste it but these weren't British police, their Australian counterparts had guns instead of truncheons. His only wish now was to avoid significant jail time.

The Dursleys were led off the ship in handcuffs as all their new friends watched. When several of the ladies raced back to their own cabins, loudly proclaiming they were going to ensure none of their jewellery was missing since the Dursleys had been in there, Petunia began to cry.

These were not the kind of memories she had hoped to brag about at her bridge club. Then again, with the house gone, so would her club be. It would probably be a council estate for them now and she doubted many of them played bridge. A stay in jail would soon help Petunia Dursley set her priorities right, there were more important things in life she should have been worrying about. Both Dursleys were so lost in their own thoughts they never even noticed the small press contingent that was waiting at the bottom of the gangway. The photographer's flash added another level to their pain.