Being home a lot more than usual means much more time to read AND write fanfiction. :)
We've got some shorter chapters coming up in the near future.
14 Days After The Final Battle
His first days in his new job were...hectic, to say the least. The aurors were generally friendly to him, and patient with his inexperience in their office. There was a steep learning curve, but Percy found that he liked getting to do this work; answering Owls and interdepartmental memos, scheduling meetings, processing bereavement and recovery leave requests, filing muggle contractor requests, and diving into the paperwork required to get international law enforcement aid brought in.
Most of the auror force were scheduled in 3 days on, 3 days off rotations. A few of the more senior staff, plus Percy and Tonks, had the coveted 8-5 shifts. The support staff, mostly data analysts and researchers, were largely 8-5 staff as well. The dispatchers, hitwizards, forensic specialists, and a few other teams rotated similarly to the aurors.
And everyone, absolutely everyone in the department was busier than ever. Percy commandeered a few support staff to assist him with vetting the incoming offers of foreign military aid. They managed to get the American Magical Coast Guard into a rotation with the French aurors guarding Azkaban, and input the Canadian and Italian law enforcement into security detail and witness protection, allowing their own aurors to continue work related to Death Eaters and respond to normal calls from citizens.
Tonks was continuing to work on building the curriculum and recruitment for the incoming auror classes. Percy had sat in on a few meetings on her behalf for that, but it would be a while before it came under his purview.
One of the biggest surprises for Percy in his first week on the new job came when Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood all personally escorted Draco Malfoy up to Percy's office and insisted that Percy hire him immediately and offer him the Ministry's support and protection. The narrative unfolded clumsily as the three students talked over each other in their attempt to plead Draco's innocence and utility.
Apparently, Draco had been Neville's informant about Death Eater happenings within the school throughout most of the spring semester. Some of the information had led to saving more than a few students' lives. Luna, recently back from a week with the Scamanders to settle some business details with the Quibbler, also confirmed that Draco had snuck clean clothing, medicine, and food down to the dungeon she and Mr. Ollivander had been held captive in Malfoy Manor.
Additionally, at the battle, Draco had shoved an unsuspecting MacNair away from Dean and Neville and single-handedly blasted him off a parapet with an expulso curse so strong that Draco himself had nearly fallen over the edge. Having proven his loyalty, Draco had fought alongside the two boys for the remainder of the battle.
"Draco would be an excellent addition to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Neville concluded, and Luna and Dean nodded resolutely.
"As an auror?" Percy questioned. One of their (recently updated) background check requirements clearly stated that no one with a dark mark could work as an auror or have a security clearance higher than "secret" until the turn of the millennia at least. Draco wore summer robes, as did the rest of the teens, and his dark mark was clearly visible, although covered partially with an expensive-looking watch band.
"As your resident Dark Artifacts expert and Dark Political Analyst, actually," Draco hadn't spoken much before, allowing the others to advocate on his behalf. But his voice was clear, calm, and held only a hint of the snobbishness that Percy remembered from the arrogant little boy he'd known at Hogwarts, "I'm the only person you've got right now who is qualified for the job, especially as I committed no crimes during the war except either while I was underage and/or under coercion whilst at Hogwarts and in my own home." Well, that was a rehearsed answer if Percy had ever heard one.
Draco seemed to know it too, but he didn't waver.
"Our background check will tell us that for certain," Percy said skeptically, "But tell me more," Dean, Luna, and Neville had been shooed from the room, and Percy had poured a cup of tea for Draco.
The young man was determined, Percy would give him that. Draco's upbringing meant he was intimately familiar with both handling dark artifacts and navigating modern dark politics, two skill sets that Percy knew the DMLE and the ministry at large was lacking. With all of the asset seizing they were going to be doing in the next few months, there were sure to be plenty of dark artifacts and dangerous family heirlooms that would need to be catalogued, processed, and stored appropriately.
Draco wasn't a licensed curse-breaker like Bill was, but a few questions into his experience told Percy more than he ever wanted to know about how Death Eaters prepared their children for war. Draco could probably pass the curse-breaking exam at this moment, if it were being offered. All non-essential ministry sponsored exams had been postponed until August at the earliest.
Draco was certainly qualified for the job. Percy had to admit that finding someone else with Draco's unique skill set and a (mostly) clean background check would be next to impossible. And he knew that the DMLE really would need someone with Draco's expertise in the months to come. Contracting out independent curse-breakers was expensive and required far more paperwork than Percy wanted to deal with. He could already calculate the costs saved by hiring an in-house specialist.
"We've already established that I would be an asset to your department," Draco stated after a lull in the conversation, "But I have a few terms that I'd like to discuss before we draw up the employment contract,"
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that you are going to put my father in prison for the next 100 years and strip away 90 percent of my family's wealth,"
"Your father…" Percy stopped himself before he said something about the elder Mr. Malfoy that he knew he would regret, "The punishable war crimes, as well as the punishment standard, have already been approved by the Wizengamot,"
"Yes. I know. I'm absolutely in favor of my father going to prison for the rest of his life," Draco's face was blank, but there was an edge of revulsion in his voice. "But as for myself and my mother, who has also committed no crimes except whilst under coercion in her own home AND who has already been endorsed by Harry Potter as 'the woman who saved his life', we are going to require more than 10 percent of my family's assets if we are to continue to live comfortably.
Percy was skeptical; the Malfoys were easily the richest family in the Magical UK. Even 10 percent of their enormous wealth would be more than enough to live comfortably on for years, especially when paired with the salary Draco would receive working for the DMLE.
"I'd like to propose that 50 percent of my family's assets be seized. The remaining 50 percent would belong to me and my mother, and 20 percent would be placed in a trust vault for my future children," Draco proposed smoothly. A volley served, not unlike a tennis match. It was in Percy's court now.
"80 percent seizure, and 5 percent in a trust vault," Percy named, knowing what this was. Molly Weasley hadn't taken her kids to flea markets for nothing.
"60 percent and 10 percent" Draco responded.
"70 percent and 10 percent"
"If that 70 percent is exclusively allocated to the Hogwarts foundation, then it's a deal," Draco reached his hand forward. After a moment of consideration, Percy reached out and the two men shook hands. "Send me an owl when you've drawn up the employment contract and other details. I am available to start working on Monday,"
It was an obvious choice to hire Draco. Tonks was agreeable and Percy drew up an employment contract in no time at all. Though Draco's job would technically fall into the "support staff" category, a quick conversation with Support Staff Supervisors Ramon and Smoak revealed that his two support staff supervisors had plenty on their plates already. So Draco would be reporting to Percy directly for the time being.
On his first day of work, Draco arrived exactly on time, wearing perfectly tailored, practical robes in muted grey. Percy set Draco up in the office across from his own, and Draco spent the morning setting up his space. Percy had picked the Draco's office deliberately because it provided Percy with a direct view of Draco. Better to keep a close eye on him, for sure.
Draco spent his first day at work doing nothing remarkable. He had a desk and a filing cabinet, but over half of his office was dedicated to a workbench with a variety of magical and muggle tools, including a full set of muggle lock-picks, a fire extinguisher, and more than a few curse breaking books that Percy recognized from Bill's bookshelf.
It was an adjustment, for sure. Introducing Draco at the staff meeting was...well, no one rioted. But no one was warm and welcoming, either. The Team Leads and supervisors had been told ahead of time about Draco's hire, so at the very least, they all nodded and shook Draco's hand with civility, setting the tone for the rest of the office.
It took a few days, but slowly aurors began to trickle into Draco's office with seized items, and Team Leads began to request Draco to consult with them on a variety of cases. Percy eavesdropped occasionally, but the conversations were minimal, courteous, and short.
It was all he could hope for, at the moment. He understood where Draco was coming from, even felt a strange kinship with him. But Draco's walls were up; he arrived on time, ate his lunch at his desk, and left promptly at 5'o'clock. Percy's few sincere yet painfully awkward attempts at socializing were most always met with civil rebuffs. Draco didn't seem to want to make friends at work. Percy couldn't say that he blamed the man.