WELCOME TO VOLDE-MART ... HOW MAY WE HELP YOU?
CHAPTER 2
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Monday morning dawned cloudless and sweltering hot, as is the wont of a mid-August day. Muggles across the Death Eater's hosting nation slouched their way to their environmentally unfriendly vehicles, pondering the pointlessness of their existence. The Death Eaters awoke in something resembling the mindset of the average working American. Though, unfortunately, they did not have a single Hummer or SUV between them with which to contemplate their life within, so they would have to settle with the space of floor that they had slept on the previous night.
Lucius awoke with a kink in his neck and a dull ache in his lower back. He immediately regretted his decision in finding slumber across the counter in the adjoining restaurant to the store, using the cash register as a resting place for his head.
His grumblings were halted as he realized that he was not alone, for standing over him was a boy somewhere around his son's age. With a small shriek of surprise, Lucius moved away from the boy (who, it could be noted, was dangerously invading his personal space) and found himself on the floor on the opposite side of the counter from this mysterious adolescent.
As he rubbed his now-throbbing head, the boy leaned over the counter, gave Lucius an awry smile, and guffawed in a jovial matter. "Dude, you all right? Need a hand?"
The boy moved around the counter, but Lucius bounded off the floor before he could reach him. "No, I'm fine. I don't need your help."
The boy slowed in his advance, and Lucius was given a chance to examine him. He had long, clumped, unnaturally (probably bleached, he reasoned) blonde hair, and something stuck to his nose, which Lucius could not discern for the life of him.
The boy became aware of Lucius' intense stare. The awry smile returned, and he grabbed hold of one of the clumps of hair. "You never seen dreadlocks before, or something?"
Lucius lifted his nose in a dignified manner. "Of course I have."
"Never seen a nose piercing, then?" the boy flicked the ring attached to his left nostril.
"Is that what it's called?" Lucius narrowed his eyes in dislike of the bodily decoration.
To his surprise, the boy let out a loud laugh. "Old fogies like you never understand body piercings. I should have known that was what you were looking at."
"Excuse me?" Lucius hissed in outrage through his teeth. "Old fogy?"
To Lucius' further fury, the boy wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him towards the exit of the restaurant, laughing once more. "Aw, don't take offense to that. Though, I'd advise you work on controlling your temper, if you're working here - er, you are working here, aren't you? You didn't just wander in off the street?"
"No, I work here," Lucius quickly corrected him, not wanting to be mistaken for the common street folk that littered the area surrounding the entrance to the store.
"What's your name?" the boy asked as he let go of Lucius when they reached the pay tills.
"Lucius Malfoy," he muttered, eyeing his possible exits.
The boy extended his hand. "My name's Aiden. I run the till in the McDonalds here. Where do you work?"
Lucius avoided shaking Aiden's hand, waiting for him to put it back by his side. "I'm working in the - uh..."
"Don't remember?" the boy crossed his arms, grinned, and nodded in understanding. "That happens to me too, sometimes, when I get baked."
Lucius furrowed his brow. "Someone cooked you?"
Aiden laughed even louder than before. He clapped Lucius on the shoulder before moving back towards the restaurant. "I can tell that I going to like you, Pops. Hey, is it all right if I call you that?"
"No."
The boy didn't hear him. "All right then, Pops. See you around."
It took everything Lucius had not to extract his wand from the pocket of his robes and curse the skin off the boy before him. How dare he make Lucius look like a fool!
His hand twitched towards his pocket, but he was halted when he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw Barty standing near the entrance of the store, beckoning him over to him. Looking back once more at Aiden, who waved at him from behind the counter, he marched across the store towards where the Death Eaters were beginning to gather without a second thought.
"All right, so, we need to get ready for our first day of work," Barty spoke over the Death Eaters' grumblings. "Look, I know that most of you've had a rough first night sleeping in the store, but, believe me, it was better than the Dark Lord's first idea to buy the store out of its tent supply and join the street folk outside on the pavement.
"Now, before we begin, I would like you all to direct your attention to my blue vest," he spoke louder as the Death Eaters began to voice their various complaints about their sleeping experiences. "Since you are now employed in a Muggle store, it is absolutely imperative that you wear the required uniform. Wormtail here will come around with a t-shirt, vest, and a pair of dress pants. This is what you are to wear whenever you are on duty."
A loud cry was heard from the back of the crowd. Bellatrix pushed her way to the front, crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes at Barty and Wormtail. "I refuse to wear Muggle clothing, Barty. I won't hear of it."
"The Dark Lord has commanded it," Barty replied in a level voice, now that all the Death Eaters had finally fallen silent. "And, unless you wish to displease him, you'll wear the damn vest."
If looks could kill, Barty would have been six feet beneath the ground. However, though she was torn over her options of either serving her Lord and looking like a fool, or else disobeying her Lord and suffering the repercussions of her actions, she accepted the vest from Wormtail as he past her.
"Thank you, Bellatrix," Barty respectfully inclined his head towards her. "The Dark Lord will be here in a moment's time to address all the employees when the Muggles arrive, so I would suggest that you hurry up and get changed."
Bellatrix ran to catch up with her sister as they left for the change rooms in the Apparel department. "What do you think about this, Cissy? I find it very hard to believe that the Dark Lord would force his followers into this outfit. I think that this is all Barty's doing!"
"Now, now, Bella," Narcissa attempted to calm her down. "It's not that bad. Sure, they aren't the nicest things I've ever worn, but I'm willing to make due if the Dark Lord wants me to."
"Besides," Alecto spoke as she joined them. "Barty said that the Dark Lord would be addressing us once we're changed into our uniforms. We'll just ask him then if this is what he intended."
"That's true," Bellatrix nodded, shutting the door of the changing stall behind her. "I'll be sure to do that. Where were you stationed again, Alecto?"
Alecto scoffed from the stall beside her. "Jewelry."
"That's not too bad," Narcissa added to the conversation from Bellatrix's other side. "I myself am working here, in the Apparel department."
There was a brief silence from Alecto's end. "Can you two seriously see me working in a Jewelry department? Honestly. Amycus even had to explain what Jewelry was to me, since my expertise on the subject is rather vague. And, not only that, but I'm being forced to work with a Muggle."
"So am I," Narcissa replied. "But I'm planning on making the best out of it. I think I might actually get along with whoever I'm working with."
"Narcissa, it's a Muggle," Bellatrix reminded her. "You will not get along with them. I will make sure of that."
"Where are you stationed, Bellatrix?" Alecto asked as she came out of the change room, putting the vest on over her shirt. "I didn't hear the Dark Lord when he told you."
Bellatrix let out a small growl as she too emerged into the small hallway. "Flowers and Gifts."
Narcissa did not try to suppress her laughter. "If I get a break, I'll have to come and see how that's going."
"I forbid you from coming near me!" Bellatrix exploded as she turned to return to the store's entrance. "If you do, I'm going to tell the Dark Lord that you aren't doing your job."
"Here we go again," Narcissa whispered to Alecto behind her hand as they trailed Bellatrix. "Whenever she doesn't get her way, she runs off and tattles-"
"I can hear you, you know," Bellatrix snapped over her shoulder, quickening her pace.
They arrived back at the entrance of the store to find that more people had joined their numbers. It appeared that most of the Muggle employees that had stayed on were elderly, spare the few teenagers that had managed to secure their positions when Voldemort went through the lists of people working there, firing those who would be replaced by his own workers.
Most, if not all, of the Death Eaters eyed each other warily, as though daring one another to say something about their own uniform, despite the fact that they were all dressed in the exact same way. The Dark Lord had joined them as well, dressed the same way he had been the night before, but with two noticeable additions to his outfit.
"My follow - my fellow employees," he spoke from behind the black fabric covering his face once everyone had quieted down. "I would like to introduce myself as your new CEO, but since names aren't really all that important to me, you will only call me Chief, or the Big Guy. Whichever you prefer. Now, the store is due to open in a quarter of an hour, and I want you all in your places at that time. I want this facility to be fully operational."
He wrapped himself in the cape that he had donned since the night before. "Are there any questions?"
A Muggle girl in her late teens hesitantly raised her hand. She seemed to be contemplating as to whether or not she should actually ask her question.
"Yes?"
"Sir, I hope you don't mind me asking," she nervously toyed with her hair. "But, why are you wearing a burka?"
The Dark Lord contemplated her, narrowing his eyes from behind the cloth, now established to be the same kind of material worn by Muslim women. "That is a silly question. Go on, now - all of you. It's time to open the store."
The Dark Lord left in the direction of his office, and Bellatrix watched him as he walked away. She had refrained from asking him about her uniform, for once she saw the non-magical employees, it became apparent to her that in order for His plans to go through as wanted, they all needed to blend in with the Muggle population.
"Oh no," she mumbled as three Muggle women approached her, Narcissa, and Alecto. Narcissa and Alecto saw them coming as well, and moved closer to one another, hoping that they would only pass.
The young girl that had questioned the Dark Lord's burka and two elderly women stopped in front of them.
The oldest looking woman smiled in a welcoming, yet fraudulent, way. "Hello, there. My name is Mabel, and I work in the Apparel department. This here is Blanche-" she gestured to the other elderly woman, who only scowled, "-And this is Sophia," she nodded towards the younger girl. "We understand that you three are new here, and that you've replaced our old partners. Which of you is it that's working in the Apparel department?"
Narcissa stepped forward. "That would be me. My name is Narcissa, this is my sister Bellatrix, and this is Alecto."
Mabel's smile widened. "I guess you're working with me, now. Shall we go? Our department is usually busy right when the store opens."
Narcissa nodded, following Mabel as she led her away. "All right, then."
With Narcissa and Mabel gone, the four remaining women looked between each other awkwardly, at a loss for words now that their speakers had left them alone.
The younger girl put her hand lightly on Blanche's shoulder. "Well, Blanche works in the Flowers and Gifts department. Which of you is starting there today?"
Bellatrix watched as Blanche glared maliciously at the young girl, compelling her to let go of her and cease all physical contact between them. "Me."
"All right," the girl smiled nervously, and then turned to Alecto. "I'm guessing that you're in Jewelry, then?"
Alecto nodded in confirmation, and the two of them left, leaving Bellatrix with the elderly Blanche. There were no words spoken between the two, only an exchange of looks of mutual dislike.
"What kind of a name is Bellatrix?" the woman snapped, her shrill voice causing Bellatrix's insides to writhe in immediate hatred.
Bellatrix put her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes at the woman. "What kind of a name is Blanche?"
Blanche mirrored Bellatrix's actions, and a tense moment went by where neither of them spoke a word. Finally, Blanche bust past Bellatrix into the opposite direction, knocking into her shoulder. For an old woman, she could still move at a fairly fast speed.
"Come on, then," she snapped. "I guess I have to show you what you're doing, since you probably haven't the faintest clue."
Bellatrix's hand jumped for her wand in her pocket, but she realized that she had left it in the pocket of her robes. Muttering under her breath, she began to mentally prepare herself for a day with her new partner. After much hesitation, Bellatrix finally began to make her way in the direction of the Flowers and Gifts department. She could already tell that she and Blanche was going to get along just fine.