Evil Incorporated
Chapter 4
"Boss?" Harmony's voice called immediately as soon as Draco and Angel appeared back through the office door. "A letter came from, like, one of those birds?" She held up a parchment envelope. Angel took it and blinked in shock at the front of it. Standing off to the side, Draco schooled his features and looked around the lobby. Lorne was gone and Charles Gunn was talking stiffly to a Muggle woman with brown hair and a stylish, short skirt. By the desk, Angel had ripped open one side of the envelope and looked up at Gunn and the woman.
"Hey Gunn, you want to, uh…" He trailed off and tilted his head minutely towards Draco.
Gunn looked up in surprise. "Wow, definitely didn't take you two long." Angel gave a noncommittal noise as he read the letter intently. "Well then, Mr. Malfoy, we can talk in my office." He extended an arm towards the door behind him. Draco nearly missed a quick, but tense glance between him and the woman, and she stepped back to allow Draco to pass towards Gunn's office. The woman's eyes were on him with a clearly superior look as she began to turn away. Appraising her in his peripheral, Draco kept his face neutral as he tried not to react to the same thinly veiled power that radiated from this woman as he'd felt with Holland Manners.
Just as Draco stepped into Gunn's smaller and more…eccentrically decorated office, he made note of Angel's excited, almost desperate tone in the lobby.
"Harmony, write her back. Just something quick and casual, ask if she can come by today or something-"
Gunn quietly shut the door behind them and smiled as he gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Now, let's get this thing started."
The man had various artifacts around his office, small, brightly painted humanoid creatures that appeared to be made of interconnected boxes of glossy material. Had these things once been alive? Had the Head Counselor trapped them here for a purpose? Draco nodded cordially, if tightly, and forced himself to rearrange his views of this smartly dressed Muggle.
"So, you've already had Angel rail on you for what happened during the war." Gunn sat heavily in his chair, one elbow up on the armrest.
Draco nearly didn't know what to say. Sure, they'd discussed what side he'd been on, but as for the things he'd done at the Dark Lord's whim… "Yes, if briefly. I'm hoping this position will be a new beginning for me."
"I'm assuming he was pretty blunt, and he probably already told you that I'm the one endorsing you for this position." An eyebrow lifted sardonically.
Draco smiled gratefully, making sure not to border too close to ingratiating. "He mentioned, and I'm very grateful." Draco had the sudden vision of one day taking Gunn's position as Head Counselor and he smiled wider.
"Whatever Angel says, you're definitely what we're looking for. You wouldn't believe how many clients we have to reevaluate, I mean, the paperwork alone-" He glanced up at Draco and stopped himself. "Just take my word for it; it's not for the faint of heart."
"I've heard…demonic counseling can be rather delicate." Draco chose his words carefully. He'd heard no such thing, but could safely assume it, of course. Not all demons would be like Lorne, and there had to be some redeeming qualities about this place if his father would have anything to do with a company so decidedly Muggle.
Gunn barked a single laugh. "Delicate's one way to put it." There was a pause and Gunn sighed heavily, swinging his feet up to the desk. "Look, we know you don't have much experience dealing with demons, especially in demonic counseling, but there's not exactly a pool of people out there with that kind of experience either." He tiredly raised his hands to indicate the rest of the building. "Everyone who knows what they're doing is either a client with too much to gain from this kind of position, or already working here. And promoting a bunch of people isn't exactly going to bring any new blood in here."
"It certainly sounds like a challenge." Draco supplied vaguely.
"And don't think nobody's noticed-" He paused to push a folder organizer further in on the desk with his heel. "That you don't have a lick of legal experience." Draco blanched and quickly fought to keep himself from betraying his sudden panic. Granted, he'd had some experience lately with taking over his father's legal dealings, but it wasn't much to go on. And yet they still wanted him for the job. "To be honest with you, I never thought I'd be doing this sort of thing when I started here." He grimly tapped the side of his head. "Wolfram and Hart takes care of all that."
"I'm glad to hear it. I was surprised it hadn't been mentioned." Draco nodded, offering as little as he could. Charles Gunn was more difficult to read than Angel. Draco inwardly frowned, but kept up his politely interested façade. Changes must have been very drastic if no one had realized that Gunn was obviously better suited to run the firm than the, in Draco's opinion, bumblingly blunt Angel.
"So, do you think you have the stomach for this line of work?" Gunn settled into his chair, hands folded behind his head. "Three of the four High Counts of Hell will need renegotiations in their contracts concerning their human sacrifice supply, the entire internment acquisitions department is getting shut down, and we're just starting negotiations with the head clan of the Grockslarg beasts to stop entering our dimension illegally to steal infants. They eat them." He mentioned nonchalantly, eyebrows rising as he tried not to laugh at Draco's incredulous face. "Not to mention, you'll be buried in paperwork most of the time and you'll have an entire department of morally…pretty questionable lawyers at your disposal."
"I…" Draco struggled for composure. Counts of Hell? Grockslarg beasts? And what exactly was internment acquisitions? "I think it'll be a challenge. That I'm up to." He added hurriedly.
Gunn gave another smile and half-laugh. "I hope so. It'll be less paperwork for me to do." Kicking his feet off the desk, he stood suddenly. Draco felt a rush to his head as he stood as well. Had this interview actually gone well? Did he really have the job? It seemed too good to be true and he was immediately caught off guard to the point of suspicion.
"There's plenty of perks too; good pay, company housing in a separate wing of the building if you don't want to pay like hell to get an apartment in the city, and the medical is great. Vision, dental, and accident protection against physical and magical injuries, arcane damage and acts of various supreme beings." Draco wasn't sure if he was joking, so he mirrored Gunn's wide smile as the counselor opened the door. "I think you'll fit in pretty well here."
Draco made to say something suave and confident, to make sure they wouldn't regret taking him on, but the second he looked out into the lobby, his words died in his throat.
I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I
Hermione heaved the stack of books up onto the shelf, pushing them in with her upper body. She had dragged out nearly every book she owned to research Wolfram and Hart, and unfortunately, her personal books weren't enchanted to return to their places like the ones at Hogwarts. But as for her parchments… She returned to the table and picked up her notes and the letter from the London office. Her research on the topic wasn't over; she'd sent off a cordial note that she'd meet with them at their earliest convenience, but she didn't exactly know where to categorize her research materials. It wasn't as though she could put it away with her Hogwarts class notes.
A clicking at the window caught her attention and she dropped the paper immediately. It was the post owl, returned already. It tapped at her window again, impatiently. Crookshanks, dozing in the windowpane, looked up irritably and lashed his tail before hopping down. Hermione watched with a small smile as he stalked across the floor into the living room. Heaving open her window, Hermione offered a treat to the owl, pulling the small envelope from its leg. Swallowing the rest of the treat, it hooted contentedly and took off into the overcast sky. She locked the window and turned the envelope over, frowning in surprise. Wolfram and Hart again? Already? They must have had some accelerator charm on their postage to get from one end of the world to the other so fast.
Ripping it open, she pulled out the paper, scanning the short letter.
Miss Hermione Granger,
We were delighted to receive your response and would enjoy meeting you at your earliest convenience. We would in fact, like to invite you to visit out Los Angeles office this afternoon if at all possible. Just an informal chat to get to know each other and see if Wolfram and Hart seems like a place you'd like to be a part of. We've attached the Floo coordinates that will take you to our London office, where a representative will be on staff to redirect you to our office building here. Feel free to drop by anytime, we'd love to talk to you in person.
Sincerely,
Angel
Head and CEO of Wolfram and Hart
Attorneys at Law
Hermione put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Underneath the signature and title was a handwritten signature, 'As Dictated by Harmony, Head Administrative Assistant'. At the foot of the page was another handwritten line, in the same girly script.
P.S. We totally want to hire you.
-Harmony
A law firm that dealt with demons centuries old and had fingers in every evil pot in existence didn't write letters like this. People who took over said law firm and were more interested in fighting the good fight than writing prim and proper invitations to afternoon luncheons, they were more likely to write like this. Especially if the aforementioned people were so desperately understaffed, as it was appearing they were. Folding the letter back up, Hermione crossed her arms and tapped the letter against her lip. Her mind was made up though; she'd already decided to at least visit.
Turning on her heel, she took wide steps to the bedroom and pulled out her formal robes. Looking at them, she hesitated a moment before putting them back. Pulling out a semi-formal autumn robe, she picked out a plain but tasteful blouse and slacks. She didn't want to be dressed to the nines, but she certainly wasn't going in her house clothes either. After dressing, she suddenly paused on her way to the fireplace. It all seemed so quick, as though there was supposed to be more delicacy to the situation. Blinking and frowning to no one in particular, she dismissed the idea. It wasn't like she was going to actually take the job, she just wanted to meet them. Crookshanks stepped out of the bedroom, languidly running his side along the doorframe. Hermione smiled down at him as she took one of her pre-packaged bags of Floo powder. If Crookshanks wasn't worried, she shouldn't be. Ducking into the fireplace, she threw down the powder.
"Wolfram and Hart, London office!"
There wasn't much about magical travel that Hermione actually liked; she despised broom travel and the sharp tugging behind her navel always made her feel like she had to use the restroom. But it was over soon enough and she stepped out of the other fireplace into a room lined with elevators. Blinking in surprise, she noticed a blonde woman texting on a cell phone, biting her lip. Hermione cleared her throat discreetly and the woman looked up in alarm. Flashing a bright smile as she put the phone away, the other woman waved excitedly as she moved closer.
"Hi! I'm Harmony. You're…Her-me-o-nee, right? It's great to finally meet you in person, we're soooo glad you wanted to meet today."
"Um, yes, it's Hermione, actually." Hermione gave an awkward laugh and waved back.
"Ooooh, ok, wow, sorry." Harmony laughed and flipped her hair back nervously. "So, um, yea, this is the London office. We're just going to go this way and the elevator'll take us right to the L.A. office." She pushed the button on the nearest elevator and grinned nervously as they stepped in. "We totally have this other guy usually meet people who have to go through another office, but he's like, totally shady. He gives everybody the creeps. I heard he used to be CEO or something, but something happened…" She trailed off, looking up. Hermione nodded and made a noncommittal noise, silently wondering exactly how long this elevator ride was supposed to take. The magical movement was already making her feel like she had to pee.
Luckily, the doors rang and slid open quickly enough and Harmony rushed out to giddily present Hermione to the lobby. A few people loitered nervously there and Hermione gave them all an awkward smile and wave as she stepped out of the elevator. A dark-haired man in a button up shirt, a single button undone at the top, started towards her, with the same awkwardly nervous smile as she was probably wearing.
"Uh, hi, I'm Angel. You must be-"
"Hermione." She interrupted quickly with a slightly more at ease smile, hoping to at least get pronunciation off on the right foot.
"Hermione, right. Well, uh, welcome to Wolfram and Hart." He paused and looked away. "Wow, it feels weird to be saying that." He commented more to himself than to Hermione, who tried desperately not to laugh. He certainly didn't look like the office type, nor like he was entirely comfortable heading up the firm, just yet at least. So far he seemed exactly what Hermione had expected, short of being a man of course. You simply didn't meet many men named Angel.
"Thank you, I'm delighted to be here." A door opened to her left and Hermione's gaze was drawn there for a moment. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest. None other than Draco Malfoy walked out of that office, following a dark-skinned man in a well-to-do suit. Their eyes met and for that one moment time seemed to slow down as pure shock registered on both ends. Then suddenly the eye contact broke and he was gone down the hall and she was shaking Angel's hand and smiling back at him. She tried to move her shock to the back of her mind, as though she hadn't just felt herself return to her second year at Hogwarts, staring across the Quidditch pitch at the one person who could make her lose every ounce of composure. As though she hadn't just returned to a crowded courtroom, staring into the eyes of a young man condemned.
I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I
Granger. Sodding Granger. He knew that face anywhere. And that hair. And those ugly, frumpy clothes. Draco mentally ticked off every one of her distinctly unflattering features as he followed Lorne down the hall with a neutral, pleasant expression on his face. Lorne chatted away amiably, waving his hands. Judging by the way Angel had practically bowed at her feet, just like the rest of the Wizarding world, they were trying to hire her too. Certainly not for Magical-Based Contracts though, he practically had the job in hand. Maybe he'd be lucky and the Gryffindor Golden Girl was just dropping by to give the place her golden seal of approval for…improving house elf bedsheet quality, or some other inane cause.
"So I told him," Lorne continued laughingly as he finally stepped into a bare office. "You may as well be putting a chandelier in a haunted house for all that anyone's actually going to see it!" Draco joined in vaguely with Lorne's laughter as the demon shut the door behind them. "Now, you just stand right there on this side of the table and I'll sit over here…" Flopping casually into the office chair, he opened a leather tablet with a piece of parchment inside and made an odd clicking noise with what appeared to be an abbreviated quill. "Now let's hear those pipes, sweet-cheeks."
Taking a deep breath, Draco decided at that exact moment that a nursery rhyme probably wasn't his best choice. They knew his past, and going for sweet and innocent was only going to make him look...well, creepy. He needed something calming, but not…childish. This job was practically in the bag if he could nail this last bit, and if he could just keep his anger at bloody Granger out of his aura, he'd skate through this thing. A song he'd heard while on holiday in France sprang to mind and he leapt on it, clearing his throat quickly.
La lune trop bleme pose un diademe sur tes cheveux roux
La lune trop rousse de gloire eclabousse ton jupon plein d'trous
La lune trop pale caresse l'opale de tes yeux blases
Princesse de la rue soit la bienvenue dans mon coeur brise
Les escaliers de la butte sont durs aux misereux
Les ailes du moulin protegent les amoureux
Pulling in another breath, he let it go immediately as Lorne nodded and closed the tablet, hooking the metal quill into the side. "Well." His red-tinged eyebrows rose briefly as he stood. Draco immediately wondered what that meant. Had his French been off? He hadn't spoken it extensively for a few years, but he liked to think he'd kept the language with him. Did Lorne even speak French? Despite the huge success 'Weasley is our King' had been at Hogwarts and the ingratiating complements from his fellow Slytherins about it, Draco wasn't even all that sure about his singing abilities. "You've got a few skeletons in your closet there, sweetie…" Lorne trailed off apologetically as he put his arm around Draco's shoulders, steering him back towards the door. "But trust me, there's hardly anyone around here who doesn't. You'll fit in fantastic." They moved down the hall towards the lobby, a shorter walk than it had seemed earlier. "And by the way," They stopped near Harmony's desk, Granger thankfully missing, and Lorne swept Draco's had into his own. "You two won't even be in the same departments, so you won't have to see each other." Draco tried unsuccessfully to keep his cheeks from coloring. He hadn't been able to keep the sodding Know-It-All out of his aura after all. "Unless you want to, of course." Lorne's wink made Draco distinctly uncomfortable, and only a strangled syllable of confusion made it out of his throat before Lorne sauntered off towards the other end of the lobby.
Swallowing heavily, Draco barely had time to recompose before Gunn started over with an awkward laugh. "Yea…he does that sometimes. You kindof get used to it." The older man offered in way of an apology. They both watched Lorne disappear around the corner, singing to himself.
"If it's any consolation prize," Harmony flippantly interjected, hands on her hips as she watched as well. "The girls in the steno pool are pretty sure he's straight."
Draco cleared his throat suddenly, desperate to be away from this madhouse. "Well, it's been a wonderful afternoon…" He trailed off suggestively.
Gunn blinked in surprise and smiled as he caught the hint. "Oh yea, you're probably desperate to get out of here. Can't say I blame you." They shook hands warmly, a pleasantly grateful smile firmly affixed to Draco's face. "If you're still interested in the position, we can have a corporate apartment cleared out for you immediately."
"Yes, Wolfram and Hart seems like a…wonderful experience. It will certainly be a…challenge." Well aware he was now recycling lies, Draco was practically inching towards the door. Despite the fact that he'd now have no choice but to see them everyday for the foreseeable future, or at least until he took over the place, he was tired of each and every one of them. And he could only pray to be well on his way before Granger got back. Dislodging himself, he was grateful the ele-vator doors opened before he got there, but nearly jumped back and vowed to fly a bloody broom back to London when he saw Holland Manners standing there, still smiling that cold double-edged smile. Keeping his own smile firmly in place, he stepped inside.
"So, Mr. Malfoy. Enjoy your afternoon?"
"Yes. Wolfram and Hart seems like a wonderful experience. It will certainly be a challenge." Draco knew the man, if he even was a man, would be able to see right through the promising words to the irritation beneath, but luckily, he didn't comment. That cold smile stayed in his peripheral vision and they both stared at the metal doors for the duration of the short travel.
Holland Manners presented Draco to the small room adjoined to the London offices much as he had the lobby. Draco nodded and moved quickly towards the fireplace, letting the ele-vator doors shut with a ring behind him. A flash of Floo powder from the ornate silver tray and Draco stepped once more into the main library of Malfoy Manor, feeling as though he'd been gone a week as opposed to an afternoon. He'd been just fine with the place until sodding Grander had shown up. And if Lorne was anything to go by, she hadn't been there on a social call. She'd be working there too. They'd be…colleagues. Competition. And if the CEO's reaction to her was any indication, Draco already knew which way the tide would sway when promotions and raises came around. She was a Mudblood too, even if Wolfram and Hart wouldn't care, she'd fit right in at such a Muggle-infested workplace. More was at stake here than his pride, it was his livelihood. If Lorne could have read his anger at Granger, how much of his time under the Dark Lord had he seen? Given his reaction, either he didn't see much, or Wolfram and Hart was much more of a lions den than Draco had estimated.
Turning to the empty fireplace, he smiled grimly as he recalled Gunn's additional warnings. Gryffindor or not, little Granger just may get eaten alive in a place like that. Malfoys had always succeeded by having the ear of the powerful, maybe it was time to draw power from the proletariat. "Kobble!" He called suddenly, his voice echoing off the library walls. The snap of apparition sounded behind him.
"Yes, young Master Malfoy?"
"Inform my parents I've returned. Are they in the study?"
"Yes, young master. Shall I fetch more wine for Master Draco's celebrated day?"
Draco smiled wryly, still peering into the darkened ashes of the fireplace. "Yes, you do that, Kobble." The elf instantly Apparated away, and Draco's smile twisted into a grimace. Memories returned, years of standing at his fathers desk, withstanding the verbal lashings of his father's displeasure at once again coming up beneath the grades of a mere Mudblood. They didn't need to know Granger would be working there. In fact, he could think of several things neither of them would be too pleased to hear about the place. A job was a job however, and his position would put him in a place of power even beyond the circles of Wizarding England. Draco spun on his heel and stalked out of the library, trying to feel the joy that he would finally be employed. They'd said they could have a corporate apartment cleared out immediately, maybe if he could get a jump on Granger in terms of start time, he'd be in a better position when he went head-to-head with her.
Metaphorically, of course.
I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I L I
A/N: Tada! Not entirely happy with a lot of the characterization in this one, but bear in mind everyone's putting on their nice-face to give a good impression. Still working on length, but as much as I had wanted to continue this chapter into the next scene, it would have made it significantly bigger than what I cared to write. Also working on catching my typos, as it seems no matter how many times I proofread I can't ever catch them all.
Constant Comment Tea: Thank you! Trying new line breaks with this one, hopefully they stay in. Thanks for reading!
Anon: Thank you for your very in depth analysis, I hope my characters' motivations live up to it. I've always been more fascinated by the 'gray area' figures in a story, like Draco, who aren't good, but aren't entirely evil either. This story's definitely a first for me in terms of being more interested in writing a male lead than the female. Thanks for reading!
AmyLisa: Thanks for reading, I hope this chapter lives up to the anticipated awesomeness!
And thank you to everyone who read (but didn't review), the pageviews are a big motivator in getting me to write. Though reviews do work better… *wink wink*