Chapter Seventeen
Harry pulled awkwardly at his collar, feeling very hot in the formal office robes.
They'd been planning the trip to the Daily Prophet Offices for weeks now, they couldn't put it off any longer.
They'd taken hairs from three random people they'd met during a busy shopping day in Aberdeen. Hermione had stayed hidden under the invisibility cloak until she could get the hairs needed, thankfully it hadn't taken long.
The Daily Prophet was having interviews today, most of which were going to be with Dawn Selwyn herself. Hermione had helped them with their applications, she seemed to have a knack for knowing what to write as all three of them had managed to be given interviews.
Harry was now Joshua Lynch, a thirty-four year old photographer. Draco was a columnist named Daniel Crosby who was twenty-five and was a good half a foot taller than normal. Hermione was now blonde with blue eyes, just nineteen and applying to become an apprentice journalist named Dayna-Abbie Johnson-Maxwell.
The hardest part of their stories had been to make sure they all had ties to pure-blood families. It wasn't normal for the Daily Prophet to be recruiting nearly twenty new employees all at once, and was clearly due to the new anti-muggle born laws.
Hermione had suggested simply stealing hair from people who already worked there but Draco had pointed out that they would have to get rid of those three people for the day some how. They also didn't know what was going on in those peoples' lives, it was just too risky.
"Wow." Draco said, looking Hermione up and down, "You look so weird."
"I look like a Malfoy." Hermione laughed, putting in her earrings and brushing her pale hair up into a low bun at the nape of her neck.
Harry pulled at his collar again, "Hermione I think you need to loosen my collar a little more, it's still digging in."
"I can't make it too loose." Hermione said, running her wand around the collar, "It needs to look smart."
"That's loads better, thanks." Harry grinned, taking another swig of the polyjuice potion, forcing himself not to grimace.
"Ready to go?" Draco asked, "I'll pack up then."
Hermione finished applying her make up and smoothed down her figure hugging trouser suit. Draco tucked the tent into his bag, tucking the bag into his robes pocket.
Harry handed out their briefcases. Draco had brought one with him, which Hermione was now using, as it was monogrammed. Harry and Draco had two used ones that they'd gotten from a charity shop and used magic to do up a little.
In the briefcases were their resumes, a few personal knick knacks to make it look real, samples of their work and, almost most importantly, family trees proving they had the right to practice magic.
They all looked very smart, and looking over them it would be perfectly believable that they were simply looking for a job at the well respected newspaper.
They apparated separately. Draco had managed to Confundus Charm the wizard in the office so that all of their interviews had them all arriving at the office by half passed nine rather than spread out over a few days.
Harry apparated last, clutching his briefcase and trying not to look too ungainly as he adjusted to the different length his legs currently were. He pressed the smart doorbell and the door swung open, showing a slightly confused wizard dressed in navy robes and looking over a very shiny clipboard.
"Name?" he asked, looking Harry up and down.
"Joshua Lynch… how do you do?" Harry said, holding his hand out for the man to shake.
The wizard shook it gingerly and smiled, a very plastic smile, "Glad you could make it. You might have some waiting to do, our useless third level secretary booked three of you in the same ten minutes."
"Oh, well I'm in no rush. I'm free all day in fact." Harry said, "I'm just really looking forward to showing Ms Selwyn my photos."
The wizard nodded, looking Harry up and down again, "Yes… well, enthusiasm is always a good thing. I'll need see your blood records before you can come in. This is a magic thief free zone, as I'm sure you're aware the Daily Prophet has always been a huge supporter of the Ministry."
Harry thought back to the days of the Prophet printing nothing but lies about him that turned to how brilliant he was last year, and now they were back to lies.
He dug out his faked family tree that showed he was related to the Potters' American branch as well as the Browns.
"The Potters are not a popular family right now." The wizard sniffed, "What with Harry Potter running around as a terrorist!"
"I have no relation, directly, to Ha… that wizard." Harry explained, making sure his voice was firm, "The family moved to America generations ago. And the Browns are a good family. Are they not?"
The wizard looked over the family tree again and visibly softened, handing it back to Harry, "Sorry to be difficult but there are so many stories. My sister-in-law told me that she had a friend who's sister lost all of her magic because a mudblood worked in the same office as her."
Harry tried desperately not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, "That's awful. I'm… I'm glad the Ministry is working so hard to stop those sorts of things happening again. Makes it safer for our children."
"Exactly." The wizard agreed, "Do you have children?"
"No, not yet." Harry sighed, shaking his head, "But my wife is pregnant and I've always wanted a big family. Hence the looking for more work, I want them to have the best. You?"
"Two, a boy and a girl." The wizard smiled, "They're two and four."
Harry smiled and told him how cute the two children in the crumpled photo he showed him were.
"Well, good luck." The wizard said, gesturing to the seats lined up against the wall, "Take a seat and you'll get called through soon."
Harry slid into the free seat next to Hermione, who was repeatedly running her hand over her hair, unused to having hair that laid so flat.
"Mr Crosby?"
Harry looked up to see one of the prettiest witches he'd ever seen.
Everything about her oozed elegance and although logic told him that she must have been at least forty to be running the Daily Prophet, she looked barely thirty at most. He wondered if it was a family connection that had gotten her the top job rather than working up the ranks.
She was perfectly dressed, from her six inch stiletto heels, with bright red soles, to her picture perfect 40s curls that stopped just after her shoulders. She fitted pinstripe suit showed off her curvaceous figure and her very long legs with black seams running up the backs of her stockings. She looked like something out of an old pin-up picture.
Most importantly, the locket sat around her neck, glinting in the light.
"Yes, how do you do?" Draco said, shaking her hand.
"I'm very well, thank you." she smiled, her bright red lipstick drawing a neat curve over her symmetrical face, "And you must be Miss Johnson-Maxwell and Mr Lynch?"
Harry and Hermione also nodded, shaking her hand. Harry could feel the edge of her bright red finger nails against his skin and wondered for a second if she was going to let his hand go, but she did, still smiling at the three of them.
"It's so very nice to meet you all." she smiled, "I'm Dawn Selwyn, editor of the Daily Prophet, as I'm sure you know. We all run a very tight ship here, but we're also a family. We need to make sure that anyone we hire fits in with our values and work ethic. As I think you've been told, there was a mix up with your interview times unfortunately, so this might take a little more time than normal."
They all said that it wouldn't be an issue and smiled nicely.
"Excellent." Dawn grinned, she seemed like an unendingly happy person, "You've all handed over your blood status proof?"
"Yes." Hermione nodded, "We showed it to your assistant, who let us in."
"Brilliant, if you could just hand it to my PA here as well, we can get those double checked for you. Sorry about the extra hassle, but it is the law now. And really, isn't it better for everyone?" Dawn said, giving off a tinkly laugh, "So… Miss Johnson-Maxwell, you first? Mr Lynch, Mr Crosby, Eric will give you a quick tour and Mary, my PA, will get all of the paperwork sorted out with you."
Hermione stood up nervously and smoothed her suit before following Dawn Selwyn up a polished set of metal stairs and into a large office. Huge windows covered one wall, bathing the modern looking office in light.
Dawn sat on one side of the white desk in a large leather chair, gesturing for Hermione to sit on the opposite side. Hermione slid into place and tucked her briefcase by her feet.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" Dawn asked, lighting a cigarette and blowing out a puff of smoke before Hermione could answer, her speech pattern dropping its formalness now it was just the two of them, "Stress at the moment is insane. We're four journalists down and everyday there's more info coming from the Ministry."
Hermione wasn't sure what to say, the strong smell of the cigarette was making her feel slightly sleepy. All she could think about were the four people who'd been let go, who were facing almost as much uncertainty as she was.
"That… you must be so busy." Hermione said, grimacing at the painful awkwardness of her answer.
Dawn ignored it though, it was normal for people to be nervous at job interviews, "They were all great people but… I mean this job is hard work, it's just not a good fit for a muggleborns, you know? We need hard workers here. I mean that's all the Ministry is trying to do, they just want to preserve our culture. We're just very different people. Are you pure-blood or half-blood, sweetie?"
"Umm both my parents were magical but one of my grandparents was muggle." Hermione said, forcing herself to look slightly embarrassed at the idea.
"Oh you'll do fine then." Dawn said happily, "As I said, it's just a lot of work for some people."
Hermione kept her fingers clamped on her lap and nodded along, "Well, I've always been a very hard worker."
Dawn smiled, "So… in the position you're applying for you will be shadowing a full journalist. There will also be small bits that involve working with layout and stuff but mostly you're just learn. Nothing you write will be going into the paper for the first year at least, we only print the best. Now I know I talk quickly so any questions?"
"No, I'm following." Hermione said, forcing another smile, "Oh… umm… do you have an idea who I'd be following?"
Dawn grabbed a folder and looked over it for a moment, "John Flint. Our 'latest politics' writer. That will involve working closely with the Ministry and writing up news and interest pieces on any policy changes the public need know about."
"Sounds like fun." Hermione said, giving a little giggle at the end.
"It is something you'd be happy to do?" Dawn said, flicking ash into a silver ashtray, "I hate to ask, you seem like an intelligent young lady but we had another interviewee that got all funny about it, said we were being discriminatory, which we're not. I mean, is it wrong to be protective over your culture and keeping children safe?"
Hermione bit her tongue, trying not to snap back how insane it was to shut people out for something they couldn't control, "I'd be happy to do the job. That is such a lovely necklace you're wearing."
Dawn touched the cold metal instinctively and nodded, "Yes, it's pretty isn't it? I got it off some antique seller, I suspect it's an old family heirloom."
"It really suits you." Hermione said, with another plastic smile.
Dawn nodded and thanked her before going through a long list of mundane interview questions which Hermione answered as best as she could and handed over a few roughly written articles her and Draco had come up with, all the while trying to bring the topic of conversation back to the locket.
Dawn raised from her seat and smoothed down her skirt before escorting Hermione out of the door, "Thank you for coming, Miss Johnson-Maxwell; we'll be in touch soon."
Hermione gave a worried look to Harry and Draco, she'd not come close to grabbing the necklace.
Draco was the last to be interviewed and was rather dismayed to see the locket still firmly in place when he walked in. He was their last hope; they weren't going to get another chance with out much more violence being involved.
"So, Mr Crosby… we've not had many male applicants for the 'Dove Love' column, what makes you think you're suited for the job?" Dawn asked, giving him the decency of not laughing.
"Well… I've got a lot of experience with love and I feel that I could give a more insightful view on what men want, being… male." Draco kicked himself mentally for his awful answer and hoped his really job interviews in the future weren't going to be so nerve racking.
Dawn nodded, taking a deep puff on her cigarette and scribbling on a pad. Draco could see Harry's photographs sitting on the top of a large pile on the desk, they'd taken them one day of random things, a couple of them were slightly more risky, taken of Diagon Ally and were slightly fuzzy having been taken under the Invisibility cloak.
"So, my boyfriend wont cook dinner, what should I do?" Dawn said, looking closely over to Draco.
Draco gave her half a smile, "Well, I'd say why is it a huge deal? Compromise is the best way. Look at cutting back your hours at work if he's struggling to cook for you, or just get a house elf. Talking is key, make sure he knows how you feel but remember, a woman's first duty must be to her family."
Dawn made a few notes and nodded, "Very good. People forget the importance of the traditional family unit. We all have a choice to make! I wanted a career, which is why I've never married and shirked my duty."
"I completely agree. Of course I'd dress it up a little more for publication." Draco assured her.
"Oh, of course." Dawn said, nodding. She stamped out her cigarette in the ashtray which automatically emptied, leaving it spotless, "Now, with the current climate, people finally acknowledging the elephant in the room, you might get some questions about muggles and muggle borns. We need to make sure that you are on the same page as the rest of the paper."
Dawn stood up quickly and walked over to a locked draw under the huge windows. She pulled out a thin, pink leaflet and walked back over to the desk, sitting back down and crossing her long legs.
"You won't have seen this, and you remember you've already sighed the non-disclosure policy about any materials you see in here?" Dawn double checked.
Draco nodded, "Yes, of course."
"We've just gotten this in from the Ministry and it's rather exciting we think. It's only a prototype but, here, have a look." Dawn handed him the leaflet.
Draco took it, composing his face so that he wouldn't react before looking down at the paper. It had a large, beautiful red rose on the front being strangled by a fuzzy and angry looking dandelion, printed in the ugliest shade of yellow possible.
"Muggle-Borns and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society." Draco read out, "I'm… I tell you what, I am so glad that the Ministry is finally taking a stand!"
Dawn nodded, "Exactly. It's for the good of everyone after all. You go ahead and have a read through that."
Draco nodded and started his eyes scanning over the words. It was mostly nonsense; with one or two actual facts thrown in for good measure and believability, which made the whole thing that much worse.
"Babies born from mixed blooded parents have a higher chance of death and deformities?" Draco read out loud, unable to keep his disbelief inside, "And those that do make it to eleven, which is less than 70%, nearly all develop serious mental health issues?"
"Blood can always tell." Dawn sighed, shaking her head, "Look at poor Narcissa Malfoy. She thought she'd made a good match and he turned out to be a blood traitor shacking up with a mudblood. They had huge amount of trouble having children. I just hope that their son learns the error of his ways. He's currently wanted, life thrown away because of that mudblood and her son."
Draco felt the leaflet slip from his hands and flutter to the floor, "Oh gosh sorry! Butter fingers. I just can't believe how far that… blood traitor's… disgusting-ness goes. The Malfoys were such a good family."
Draco took the time while his face was out of view, reaching for the leaflet to take a very deep breath and mutter a silent apology to his father.
"And they will be again." Dawn sighed, "The Minister has suggested he will go as far as arranged marriages to help pure-bloods."
As Draco was sitting back up, he spotted the open bottle of ink on the desk that Dawn was using to write her notes and felt a glimmer of a hopeful plan flicker inside his mind.
He slapped on a smile and reached over to hand back the leaflet, making sure his hand slammed into the open ink bottle, sending it flying over Dawn's expensive suit and pure white desk.
"Oh fuck…" Dawn shouted, jumping to her feet.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" Draco said dramatically, jumping to his feet as well.
He rushed over to her and grabbed a tissue from the desk, mopping up the ink, it ruined the pile of pictures and several piles of paper.
Dawn was using her wand to try and remove the ink from her clothing, as Draco dabbed at her, "I think it'll be best if you just leave." she said, with a very strained voice, before muttering something about even half bloods being useless under her breath.
"You're right." Draco nodded, he turned to face her, holding out his hand to shake. His missed hers on purpose though, ending up giving her an awkward, one armed hug.
With the free hand he pushed himself away, the hand behind her quickly slipped open the latch to the locket while the hand pushing him away caught it.
Dawn gave him a rough shove, "What on earth?! Get out!"
"Sorry… I just missed shaking your hand…" Draco said, trying to sound honest as he slipped the locket into his robes pocket, some how feeling the cool metal through the fabric.
"And it took you that long to move away?" Dawn shrieked, she took a deep breath, "Look I know interviews are nervous for everyone, but I don't think you're a good fit for such a high pressure job. Talk to Eric on your way out and he'll give you back any copies of your paperwork."
Draco nodded and hurriedly left the office. He didn't bother talking to Eric, all of the information was faked anyway.
He focused on the exit and turned on the spot the second he was out of the door, arriving at the prearranged spot in the middle of a huge forest.
Harry and Hermione popped their heads out from behind a nearby tree and wandered over, over the very uneven ground.
"I got it." Draco grinned, pulling the locket out from his pocket, "I don't think I'll be getting the job though."
Harry snorted a laugh.
"Your top is covered in ink, what on earth happened?" Hermione asked.
Draco filled them in on how he'd gotten the locket and rubbed his head; his hair line was itching slightly as the polyjuice potion wore off.
"Well done." Hermione smiled, "That was quick thinking. Where's your briefcase?"
Draco's face fell, "I must have forgotten it in the rush to get out."
"Was there anything in there that you need?" Harry asked.
Draco shook his head, "No. Just the paperwork stuff. It means they'll know that we weren't who we said we were, we had copies of all of our family trees."
Hermione shrugged, "I don't think it matters. We're already on the run, even if they do tie it to us. It'll just make it that much harder for them to hire anyone which I can't say is a bad thing. Some of the things she was saying were awful."
Draco nodded, thinking of the pamphlet, "Right, let's get out of here and get set up, I could do with the biggest cup of tea known to mankind."