So a family member of mine came up with the original idea for this story, and I decided to write it from there. For readers of any of my other HP fanfics, this story doesn't relate to any of them. (Though they are all included on my profile, for anyone who wants to read them.) By the way, this symbol: G~G will represent scene changes. This story takes place about three years or so after the Battle of Hogwarts, so there will be spoilers for the end of DH. Anyway, with that in mind, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters used in this story.
Workplace Rumors and Mayhem Chapter 1: The Job Interview
Draco Malfoy didn't have anything to do after the war. No one would employ him due to his Death Eater past, although he didn't need the money; he just needed an excuse to get out of the house. So when his mother came up to him holding the Daily Prophet one morning during breakfast while his father was sleeping off a hang-over, he looked up from his food and paid attention.
"Draco, do you remember Daphne Greengrass?" His mother asked, taking a seat next to him.
Draco nodded. "Yes, why?"
"Did you ever meet her sister?" Narcissa enquired.
Draco paused for a moment. He seemed to remember Daphne talking about having a sister before, though he didn't recall ever speaking to her sister, and didn't remember what her sister looked like, that was if he ever even met her. "Not that I remember."
"Well, as you may know, the Greengrass family is one of the few pure-blood Wizarding families who remained essentially neutral throughout the war. However, I do get on rather well with Mrs. Greengrass. I was talking with her recently, and she mentioned that her husband is retiring from the landscape and design business he runs: Greengrass' Greengrass. Their daughter Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's sister, will be taking over the company. Mrs. Greengrass said she would be willing to recommend you to her daughter to become her personal assistant. There's an article in the Daily Prophet with more information, and I truly think this would be good for you, Draco."
Narcissa handed Draco the newspaper. "I honestly think that this would be good for you Draco; you don't have many opportunities now because of our involvement with the Death Eaters during the war, and I know that you don't need the money, but I know that neither of us likes being cooped up in the house with your father. I can handle that Draco; I can find good enough reasons to leave the house when I can, and people are slightly less judgmental of me than they are of you, due to my never officially getting the mark, as well as my assisting the other side at the last moment, and thus aiding Harry Potter win the war. "
"You, however, need to escape from all of this Draco, and the first step towards doing that is by getting a job, and becoming a little more independent. The Malfoys have lost their social standing in society it is true, however I am certain that in time, if we take the right steps, we may very well regain some of our standing."
Draco was silent for a moment, before deciding, "Very well, Mother. I'll look into it."
G~G
Draco learned from the article that Astoria Greengrass was two years younger than him, which partially explained her never meeting him prior, as well as her being Sorted into Hufflepuff, much to his surprise. During his seventh year and her fifth year,-the year Voldemort took over Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic- she and her sister Daphne had been transferred to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, where they both completed their magical education, which explained why Draco hadn't seen Daphne in school during his seventh year. From the article Draco could gather that she had been a rather bright witch at school, though that was more or less about it.
G~G
The day arrived when Draco was to attend the job interview with Astoria Greengrass. He decided to wear a green tie for the occasion, partially as a habit from his Slytherin days, and partially due to the fact that the company's name was Greengrass' Greengrass… well; it had seemed rather witty at the time. Draco reasoned that he would want his boss to be under the impression that he was on the right side after the war, and though in his mind it was rather foolish, he figured that if he appeared to have a sense of humor, this might make him more appealing for the job.
The job interview was to be held on the Greengrass estate. Greengrass Manor was on the same estate as Greengrass' Greengrass, just in a different part of the grounds, all of which were exceptionally green and there didn't appear to be a single blade of grass out of place. The difference between Greengrass Manor and the Greengrass' Greengrass building was that the company building was connected to a greenhouse, whereas Greengrass Manor was not.
Draco Apparated in front of Greengrass' Greengrass, where before he could even ring the doorbell, the door swung open and out stepped Daphne Greengrass.
Daphne hadn't appeared to change much since Hogwarts; she was still only about five feet tall, and still had the same matching chestnut colored- eyes and hair that she wore in pigtails. Her fashion sense had not changed either. She wore baby blue dress robes, but had the tailored so that they fit rather loosely over her petite frame, had short and puffy sleeves, with a hem that went just above the knees, white stockings, golden buttons at the top, white lace along the hem and collar, and finally, in each ponytail she had two sky blue ribbons tied into exquisite bows that kept her long chestnut mane in place.
All in all, although she was Draco's age, she only looked as though she were about twelve or thirteen years old. Draco was used to this, although he had expected her to look at least slightly different after all this time, yet here she was, as youthful looking and bright eyed as ever.
"Hi Draco!" She greeted happily.
"Hello Daphne," He gave a curt nod, feeling suddenly out of place.
"Please come in, my sister will be ready to see you in moment!" Daphne dragged Draco in through the doorway before Draco could even walk in himself. "I'm going to be working here to, you know," Daphne informed him; evidently her endless amount of energy and friendly personality had not changed since Hogwarts either. "I'm one of the designers here for the company."
"Oh yes, I seem to remember that you tended to draw a lot when we were in school,"
Draco recalled.
"I made my own jewelry too," Daphne added.
They had entered a grand green hallway with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and wood benches on the sides of the hall. Several doors were aligned the sides of the hall as well.
"Take a seat right over here," Daphne pointed to the benches. Draco sat down. "I'll go see if Astoria's ready for you yet," Daphne told him as she disappeared behind one of the doors. As Draco waited, he started wondering what his interviewer would be like. He had dressed in his best clothes for the occasion, so he wasn't too concerned about his appearance. What he was concerned about thigh was if she would really hire him despite his past. Moreover, he did not even know what a PA was supposed to do. He was just pondering this when the door opened. Daphne came out-no, skipped out, that was the way Daphne walked- and chirped, "She's ready for you."
Draco walked into the room where Astoria Greengrass was waiting for him. She appeared to be several inches taller than Daphne, -by at least half a foot even without the slight heels attached to the bottom of her shoes- and wore a flowing white sundress that went just below the knee, an open elbow-length yellow sweater with a matching rose sewn onto it like a corsage, and wore her hair in a honey-blonde bun held in place exempting a couple of loose strands that hung against the sides of her face by silver hair pins, and had blue eyes.
She smiled at him when he walked in. "You must be Draco Malfoy," she said."Please, sit down." As he sat down in front of the oak desk, he noticed that she had on a rather nice pearl necklace, and her shoes were marigold colored, open-footed, and actually had marigolds sewn on the sides of her shoes.
"So Draco I was looking at your records and I think you might be good at this," Astoria said. "But I just have one or two tests you need to pass to get the job."
She thought he might be good at this? What records was she talking about?
"Draco it appears my desk is on fire," Said Astoria. Draco stared at the desk.
"It's not on fire!" It wasn't flaming at all.
"Oh really? Well then-"Astoria lifted her wand and waved it at her desk. "Incendio!"
The desk went alight in flames. Draco jumped from his seat and waved his own wand at the desk now. "Aguamenti!" He yelled and a jet of water sprayed from his wand. The fire was immediately extinguished; the only evidence of its ever being there was the desk looking slightly charred.
"Are you out of your mind?" Draco shouted. He knew this was a job interview, but really, he didn't want this job if he was going to work for someone insane.
"I'm just as sane as you," Astoria replied, although this didn't console Draco much. "I was just testing your magical abilities. Could you now perform a spell that will get rid of the burnt appearance on my desk?"
He waved his wand and the charring vanished. Astoria beamed. "Good, I looked over your grades from school, and you appear to be a very talented wizard Draco. I wanted to make sure you could use these skills in your job. Oh, I've heard about the bad things too-you know what I'm talking about- but I believe you have reformed Draco. You told me that I was being out of line; you know the difference between right and wrong now."
"I think I've always known that setting objects alight was not a good idea," Draco informed her.
Astoria shook her head. "What I meant by that Draco was that if You-Know-Who had done that, you wouldn't have stopped him. You stopped me even though it meant you might not get the job. I've heard rumors about you Draco," Astoria said, voice gentle. "I've heard people talk about all the things you've done, and I know that you've done things in the past.
"However, I don't believe that you would join You-Know-Who- again if- God forbid- he somehow was revived from the bed and came back to power. I've heard people say you're still a criminal at heart, even that you're still up to illegal activities. But I don't believe any of that Draco. Not from what Daphne's told me about you, and from what you're mother said, and from meeting you could I believe that. "
"It's been nice meeting you Draco."Astoria stood up. "I'll let you know about my decision by sending you a letter in the mail-ma few other people have applied for this job- but, and you better not let this go to your head- you might actually have a good chance of getting this job."
And with that being said, Astoria stood up and shook his hand. Draco nodded, and left the office, feeling confused and light-headed.
Please review!