HOW IT ALL BEGAN

The Potters always made the headlines, almost every day. Everybody always knew what was going on in their lives.

Draco Malfoy sipped at his morning coffee tentatively. The news that James Sirius Potter was caught with his new girlfriend on a drive was front page news and the attempted robbery of the Ministry of Magic's Treasury only covered half of the second page.

He had to stop his subscription to the Daily Prophet but none of the papers were much better except the Quibbler but he would never be able to plough through the crazy nonsense about Snorcacks and Humdingers.

Now if he came across the Potters he didn't know what to ask them, he already knew what was happening it made everything very awkward.

And since he headed the stupid Daily Prophet he couldn't really ignore the issue.

Astoria joined him at the table "So what's the news with the Potters today?"

He looked at her wounded by her taunt "What I'm just asking?"
He sighed and passed her the paper "I'm going in to work early today, there are quite a few changes to be done to this excruciating paper"

Astoria rolled her eyes "The only reason your paper sells Draco is because of the Potters I think you should be grateful to them"

He spluttered "But this is atrocious, there is world news out there that should be making headlines why do people want to read gossip every morning?"
Astoria sighed "I think you're just jealous you're not on there"

He said petulantly "I don't want to either, thank you very much"
She snorted "The one time you did make front page you were quite proud weren't you?"

He glared at her "This is not about me, the Potters are people just like us…I wonder doesn't it bother Harry this much?"
Astoria smiled "Draco I hate to tell you this but Ginny told me the other day that the Potters don't subscribe to the Daily Prophet except for the Qudditch section"

Draco gaped comically, he had no whim of this news and Astoria began clearing the table grabbing his empty coffee mug too he whipped around in his seat watching her disappear into the kitchen "But Ginny works for us!"

He heard dishes clanking in the sink and she replied "Yes but only for the Quidditch department not for the rest of it? You might want to review her contract"

He made up his mind, Daily Prophet was going to change.

Later that morning Draco had called for an emergency board meeting in his office. All the work was halted and the top journalists rushed to the board room afraid that there was going to be a big problem.

Draco Malfoy stood at the head of the long glass top table with sixteen hopeful wide-eyed investors and journalists staring at him like he was going to kill one of them.

"So….." he rapped his fingers on the table his grey eyes clouded over "Who writes the information on the Potters? I want to know exactly who this magnificent human being is"

They all exchanged looks of relief mingled with fear and suspense.

A lady wearing a red blouse and a grey pencil skirt stood up hesitantly "Sir….I can call him in if you like?"
Draco stroked his chin and nodded, she left as quickly as possible.

While she was gone, a pudgy faced man asked "Sir….Why are you interested in the writer is there a problem?"

Draco looked at him and the man almost ducked under the table "Yes, yes there is a problem….our newspaper is relying on gossip to make sales. It is a problem"

The journalists wiped their brows, their mainstay in the market was gossip and if they didn't have that they didn't have much to offer.

The woman who had left returned with the culprit.

Draco watched eager to see the fool's face and then almost burst an artery.

The vein in his forehead twitched threateningly when his eyes landed on his own flesh and blood who looked quite confused and bored with the conference.

The journalists groaned mentally prepared to flee if the situation required it.

Scorpius Malfoy stood confidently before the room then said "Good morning, I was asked to come in immediately is there an issue?"

The nonchalance in his voice made Draco want to strangle him "Mr. Scorpius are you the one writing the articles on the Potters? Under a pseudonym?"
Draco picked up that day's copy and shook it vigorously reading the name of the journalist "Mary Higgins my foot!" He threw the paper across the room at his son's head and the said boy caught it in time "Uh…yes"

Draco wanted to leap and wring his neck "What is the meaning of this?"

Scorpius answered unconcerned "I thought it would increase the sales of newspapers and it has"
Draco groaned "All of you are dismissed until further notice, Malfoy I need to have a word with you"

Scorpius stayed back as everyone filed out of the board room eagerly looking over their shoulders to watch the family drama.

When the room had emptied Draco asked him "How can you be providing inside information to the firm on your best friend and girlfriend's family? Aren't you a least bit ashamed? You are using them without permission to further your career! This can be potentially destructive!"

Scorpius smirked and picked up a paper weight examining it "Oh Dad, you worry too much, Al's in on it, after all he works here too, he helps me. We're both Mary Higgins, if you notice the writing style it changes when you come to the middle of the article"

Draco felt his thoat go dry he had no idea how his son could be more of a Slytherin than he was and still end up in Ravenclaw, well he supposed being sneaky did need intelligence.

Scorpius continued with that ever present smirk "Relax it was all Al's idea, we needed a really big front page head liner something the people were dying for and it came to him…..gossip!"

Draco had always known those two boys were ambitious, always a cut above the rest. Queer in their manner of going about things, yes but very up to the mark.

Al the heart breaker who worked purely on coffee and brains and never indulged in much of a social life except for the library was a plotter and instigator right from the start. Given a choice he'd marry his own intelligence if the opportunity came his way.

Scorpius was the suspicious and witty one but always calm and collected, his need for perfection far exceeded his need to please people.

Morally they were both severely lacking, they had no love for rules and norms, they bore no shame in stooping to the lowest level and never apologized, never apologized.

Scorpius looked at his father amused by the older man's gob smacked expression "Tell me you're not happy with the money rolling into your pocket"

Draco said indignantly "We are not a Gossip magazine!" He slapped the top of the table and Scorpius sat down in one of the chairs his aristocratically done up hair falling into his steamy grey eyes and slim fingers playing with the engagement ring on his left hand "We could be, if you pleased, there's no shame in it. Real news is real news but gossip is something else, people thrive on gossip…..don't you feel a little shocked when you hear of a scandal inside the ministry? Or your own workplace? It's what people are looking for…..More than fifty per cent of the population loves news on celebrities, men and women. If we widen our gossip pages we can fit in more of it"

Draco considered this "We can make a separate magazine, a separate set that only talks of the gossip and remove all of it from the main paper"

Scorpius's grey eyes glinted like their entire gossip set up was a plot for getting farther in the publishing world"That's what I am talking about, problem solved, it's what we were pushing for"

Draco asked his son "But isn't it dangerous?"

Scorpius laughed "Of course not, Al and I will figure that out, you just get us the resources Dad and the people"

Draco nodded still doubtful "But on the condition that it's big, I will not have my investment run into losses"

Scorpius winked "Mary Higgins is here to stay and she is going to go international"

Draco was slightly terrified of his son's mind he had been quite proud on producing a genius when the healer had pronounced his towering IQ but soon he realized how his son could be an evil genius in the making, uncontrollable too.

Scorpius looked at Draco "Is that it then? We'll work out the details soon enough Father. Al and I will meet you in your office tomorrow at this time with our contract"

Draco could hardly say a word before Scorpius strode out the room.

Next morning Draco was continuously wiping his brow with his hanky while scrrutinising the wall clock hung in his office.

He didn't get much done in his worry about the contract.

He'd had nightmares of two youngsters taking over his life.

When a knock on his door resounded through the room he jumped gripping the armrests.

"C-Come in!"

In came two startlingly good-looking men in crisp suits and styled hair, all corporate and professional.

Draco felt shabby in comparison.

They sat down without Draco's permission and the black-haired one with a firmer jaw and a silent emerald stare that dissected any being in front of him pushed a scroll towards him.

Draco put out a shaky hand to accept it he said "Good morning boys"

Scorpius "Good morning Father"

"'Morning Mr. Malfoy" said Albus Potter.

Draco read through the contract, nothing out of the ordinary much to his relief until he came to the bottom of the scroll " 'Forty percent of the sales will be credited in favor of the Daily Prophet Group and sixty percent will be transferred to the Mary Higgins' Magazine'…What?! Surely we must get more than that?"
Al said "I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy but our magazine will need sixty per cent, you will see that for yourself. The contract will be reframed in three years and until then we implore that you allow us our way"

He made it sound completely innocent but Draco wasn't a stranger to their minds he'd seen them in action and he knew that if he didn't get out of this now he'd be bound for the rest of his life.

He put down the scroll "What ensures the success of your magazine on such a great scale?"

Scorpius offered "Well for one thing when Mary Higgins articles began appearing in the paper the sales of the Daily Prophet shot up by a staggering seventy per cent, that should be enough assurance. In all honesty I worry for the main paper now that we're going to be a subsidiary"

Draco glared "You two talk big but I give you three years to show me results and after three years we'll see if the contract will be rendered mute or not"

Al smiled a slow smile "Then it's decided, isn't it? Sixty forty?"

Draco nodded sharply "For now and all decisions regarding your magazine pass through the person of my choice"

The smug expressions slipped off the youngsters' faces.

Scorpius said seriously "We are going to be the ones responsible for the subsidiary aren't we?"

Draco met his son's gaze "Of course there's no question regarding that but there will be someone overseeing you, surely I can't let two new joinees run an entire subsidiary on their own"
Scorpius gritted his teeth "But we don't need supervision, we are perfectly capable of handling decisions ourselves"

Draco pushed the contract towards them "Then I can't allow this, I must suggest that you look for an opportunity elsewhere"

Al looked at his aghast friend and then said "We agree to your terms, we're willing to have a supervisor. Whoever you choose"

Scorpius stared open-mouthed at his friend but Al didn't acknowledge him.

Draco smiled and lifted the quill to sign the contract "Congratulations boys"

Scorpius didn't have any words to speak while Al shook his father's hand.

Draco said "One minute…"

He stood up and then went to meet his assisstent.

When his father had exited the room Scorpius looked at his friend "You do realize why my father is doing this? He'll be able to micro-manage us. Al we can never be able to do what we please"
Al smirked "Scorpius….relax after all your father is going to put another human in charge of us and all humans have weaknesses"

Scorpius looked uncertain but sighed "You better know what you're doing"

Al nodded "Oh I always know what I'm doing"

Draco returned and sat down in his seat "Just a moment"

When there was a knock on the door, Draco said eagerly "Come in, come in"

The door clicked open and Draco's grin widened, the boys hadn't turned to look behind them but when they heard the click-clack of heels behind them and the feminine voice "Yes Mr. Draco, I believe you called me in?" They turned simultaneously in their chairs and before them was a girl not older than them, she had long brown hair and wore her collared shirt and trousers with style, she wasn't as tall as them but tall enough to impose her presence and with the high heels she could pack a good height. She was slim and well-kept. Her graceful neck and pale blue eyes made for a marvelous sight.

A light sheen of make up was all she needed and without it she would still look wonderful no doubt.

Draco said "Yes Ms. Carlson, I did call you. Remember the assignment I talked about it yesterday how you'd be the top boss of a subsidiary, well meet your juniors"

Al didn't like the sound of 'juniors' but kept his mouth shut.

The two of them stood up and a smile of realization took its place on Ms. Carlson's face "Vera Carlson, pleasure to meet you"

With brief eye contact she shook both their hands firmly as they introduced themselves.

Al was already calculating, but he couldn't read her as finely as he'd expected and he knew she was studying them too.

Draco said "Vera was your fellow student at Hogwarts, but she was a Gryffindor unlike you both"

They nodded, Draco clapped his hands "Very well, with the introductions done we can successfully begin the arrangements….."

And so the meeting began. The start of a new subsidiary . Draco looked at the three of them and he was sure when the subsidiary began things around the office were going to get much more interesting than they had been for a while.

Let the entertainment begin.

AN: I'm back with an epiphany! I just had a really cool idea and so I penned it down.

I have no idea where this is going to go as usual.

But this one is going to be way out of my comfort zone.

There's going to be less magic and more drama, also loads of humor, but the subtle kind of humor not the obvious goofy kind that I usually write.

Also I've given a new avatar to Al.

So tell me how you like it? And I don't mind people guessing how it goes, it might even help me.

Thanks for reading!

Sahitya Poonacha :)