Chapter 2:

Harry gets a job...and Other Things

"Three kidnappings," were the first words out of Remus Lupin's mouth at the emergency meeting in the teachers' study.The teachers' study was really a large comfortable room, brightly lit and covered with armchairs and tables, where teachers came to grade papers and talk about their students. Now, it could have been the coldest and creepiest dungeon in the castle and no one in the room would have cared.

"What!" said a shocked Professor Mcgonagall, who was now the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was sitting as stiffly as ever, but her eyes described her exhaustion; being Headmistress during a war when she was not as young as she used to be had obviously taken a toll on her.

"Three kidnappings," repeated Remus, "And I don't know why I'm so shocked. It was the same way last time Voldemort disappeared. Killing and torturing left, right, and center. His followers either searching for his whereabouts or trying to get a few more murders in before they were captured. Though, I think that the abductions do have some sort of connection, since all three victims were kidnapped on the same day."

"But, who was abducted?" asked Ginny.

"Tom, the barman of the Leaky Cauldron; Phorth Aberlyn, the barman of the Hog's Head; and Ollivander, the wandmaker."

"The only connection I see between them is that all of 'em were old," said Ron, trying (and failing) to inject a little humor into the situation. Every face in the room carried a grim expression.

"Two barmen and a wandmaker? I don't see much of a connection. But what would the Death Eaters want with them?" asked Hermione.

Remus shrugged, "Your guess is as good as anyone's."

They talked for a long time about the kidnappings, but no one got any further in solving the mystery of even why they were abducted. All in all, everyone was glad when lunch finally came.

Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Mnemosynie, and Ginny all sat a little apart from everyone else at lunchtime, glaring down anyone who dared approach them on the subject of the night Voldemort was murdered or where Harry was. After the seventh person (a fourth year Hufflepuff) ran away with fright, Hermione exploded.

"WHY CAN'T THEY LEAVE US ALONE!!!"

"Shhh, Hermione, or the Daily Prophet tomorrow'll have the words "Hermione Granger Murders Fellow Student" over the front page," muttered Ron.

"Oh, shut up!" Hermione answered, though in a calmer voice.

"No, its true, we're almost as famous as Harry these days," whispered Mnemosynie.

Everyone was quiet, and Ginny broke the silence, "I miss Harry."

It was around six o' clock in the morning, and Harry Potter was sitting on his couch, eating a bagel with a cup of coffee, watching the muggle news. A few seconds later, Fawkes appeared in a burst of flames. Harry was so used to this that he didn't even spill his coffee.

"Good morning," whispered Harry, running his fingers through Fawkes' thick, glossy feathers, "I need a job," he said abruptly.

This wasn't entirely true. He had written to Gringotts to get all of his money changed to U. S. dollars and tranferred to a bank in New York City. His parent's and his godfather's fortunes were enough to keep him living well all his days, but he just wanted something to do to get his mind off of things.

Fawkes gave one of his musical cries before flying over to a window that overlooked the street below. Harry abondoned his couch and followed. He pushed the curtains aside to look at what Fawkes was trying to show him. Outside, he saw the muggle road lined with cars and padestrians on the sidewalk. On the other side, there was a small shop that had a 'Help Wanted' sign on the front.

A half an hour later found Harry thanking Gary, the elevator operator and making his way out of the lobby and across the street to Waldman's Bookshop.

The inside of the rather small shop was crammed with shelves (which in turn were crammed with books), a few tables and a counter at the front. Behind the counter stood a busty blond girl with a name tag that said "Rochelle Waldman."

"May I help you?" she asked

"Er-no. I was looking for a job," answered Harry, indicating the sign in the window.

"Oh!" said Rochelle, her entire facial expression changing, "That's good, I've been having to run the shop myself for a few months, after my dad died."She showed no sadness as she stated this. "Well, the work's easy enough. All you have to do is shelve the books and run deliveries."

They talked some more, Rochelle taking out a a little booklet and writing down his name, which he gave as Clemence Taylor, his address, the agreed salary and a few other things. (A/N: I have no idea how the hiring process works, so if anyone knows, can they send me a review containing that information? I'll edit this chapter accordingly!)) A few minutes later, she snapped the book shut and stowed it into a drawer, from where she also took out a feather duster.

"Ecxellant! You're hired. Now, you can go and reshelve the books in the back, there's a pile, you'll see it."

With that, Rochelle began shaking the duster over the shelves. The duster wasn't all she shook, but Harry tried not to notice.

A/N: Know this chapter's short. Excitment (sp?) starts in third chapter. Please keep reading. Please keep reviewing. Thank you!