The Hogsmeade Wars

The Hogsmeade Wars

~I~

Cole Pawloski sighed as he peeked out at the four teenagers sitting in the front room. They all looked relatively nervous. The problem with summer, he had learned long ago, was that all the little Hogwarts students looking for an extra pocketful of galleons made a beeline for Zonko's the second term was over. Summer jobs, Pawloski thought ruefully. Oh, how I dread them.

Two of the hopeful applicants were girls, who overall tended to work better behind the counter as cashiers, while the boys were good for stocking all of the high shelves. Pawloski had two positions available.

As he stepped forward out of his office, all four of the teenagers looked up and smiled an identical smile, trying to give their best first impressions. One girl, who looked to be the youngest of the lot, was gnawing her nails so earnestly that Pawloski winced. The other girl had red hair and seemed rather bored. The two boys both wore Gryffindor colors; sixth years if Pawloski had to guess.

He motioned the closest boy forward, and the rest of the applicants watched them disappear into his dimly lit office.

"Name?" asked Pawloski as he strode around his little desk and took a seat. He didn't bother looking at the application.

"Uh, James." He looked like he might say more, but seemed to lose his nerve.

"James...?"

"Potter."

"Nice to meet you, James. And you're hoping for a summer job?" Pawloski tried to sound pleasant, but it was obvious that conducting job interviews was not one of his favorite ways to spend time.

James merely nodded.

"Hmm." Pawloski glanced at the application and chuckled. "My form seems to have disagreed with you."

The boy blushed a bit. "Uh, well, it seemed to think I was lying about my age. I swear, I'm sixteen, sir."

Pawloski looked back down at the form, which of its own accord had blotted out the number 16 with red ink and written beside it in bold print the number 15. James stared at the floor as Pawloski searched for any more red ink on the form, but he found none. Personally, he was willing to hire a 15-year-old, but he would have to consult with Mr. Hoppe, the founder of Zonko's. Still, Pawloski liked this boy. He had a knack for realizing the potential of people, and James Potter seemed sociable enough.

"Well, James," he said finally. "There are a few things I have to see to before I can hire you. I need to meet with your friend out there too, because, frankly, I can't hire both of you."

James visibly slumped. "Oh."

"And there is the matter of your age, of course, which I need to verify."

"Oh." Then, under his breath: "Stupid form."

Pawloski smiled. "I think I've seen all I need to see. I try not to worry myself too much over these trivial jobs, so if I choose you, you'll get an owl by tomorrow."

"Right." James smiled and stepped forward to shake hands. Pawloski hoped the next applicant was distinctly worse than James, because he could see himself working well with this boy.

Pawloski fiddled with a quill on his desk. ""Well, thank you, James, that will be all. Send your friend in when you leave, please."

James nodded. "It was nice to meet you, sir."

"A pleasure to meet you, too, James. Goodbye."

***

Sirius Black leaned against the wall, wondering how James might be doing. Sirius sort of wished that he had been able to go first, just to get it over with, but deep down, a very selfish part of him thought that he would have the job no matter how well James did.

He nodded at Lily, who ignored him. She hadn't yet warmed up to the Marauders, and apparently the thought of working with two of them wasn't sitting well with her. She sat quite still and chewed her lip, but Sirius knew that inside she was relishing this chance to be so near to him. He had always had a feeling that she fancied him, for there had been a strange but distinctive awkwardness between them for many years. He had decided long ago that it must be one of those daft schoolgirl crushes.

But he left her in peace and didn't speak to her. Instead he exchanged a few jokes and sarcastic remarks with her friend, a Ravenclaw girl named Ann Marie Carraway. She was a sweet girl, but Sirius couldn't stand to look at her nails, or lack thereof.

After a few minutes James emerged, looking just a little confused. Sirius wondered if this boded well.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

James shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. You're next, mate."

Sirius got to his feet and theatrically brushed himself off. James took a seat next to Ann Marie and sent a charming smile Lily's way, but it went unnoticed.

"Pawloski's nice," said James. "He's normal, but... in a weird way."

That was all he would say on the subject. Sirius nodded as if he understood, and trotted happily into the office.

Pawloski nodded as he entered. Sirius bounced toward him looking disconcertingly gleeful and held out his hand.

"Hi, sir." Sirius grinned and glanced around. "Nice little office here. Dark. Private. Enclosed. Yep..." He let out a content little sigh. "It's my dream to end up in a place like this."

Pawloski didn't realize at first that he disliked Sirius. After all, Sirius hadn't done anything wrong. But there was a carelessness about the boy that made Pawloski feel a bit doubtful. It was odd, but then, Sirius can be unbearably buoyant.

"Oh, here's my form." Sirius handed over an ink-splattered sheet of parchment.

Pawloski glanced down at the form, which had red scribbles covering every single line except for the name line, and even that had a red question mark where the middle name ought to be. In fact, the application form actually seemed angry. It crumpled itself up and hopped onto the floor.

"Aw, it committed suicide," said Sirius mournfully. He didn't seem the least bit phased by the fact that he was making an extremely bad first impression.

Pawloski cleared his throat and folded his hands on the desk. "So," he said with feigned cheer. "Sirius... Black. Ah. Is your mother Pelusa Black?"

"She might be," replied Sirius, but his face had lost all good humor. "Did you know her?"

"We were acquaintances, yes."

Sirius grimaced. "I'm so very sorry."

If Pawloski found it strange that Sirius seemed to think very little of his mother, he didn't show it. Sirius didn't seem to want to talk about Mrs. Black anymore, and, truth be told, Pawloski was quite fine with that. He had questions to ask. Very official questions.

"Ahem. So, what kind of jobs have you had in the past?"

Sirius paused, pretending to think. "I did spend a few weekends with my uncle Alphard in Alaska. He paid me two galleons for every fire-owl I killed."

"Fire-owl?"

"Well, see they aren't so much owls as they are great flaming balls of feathery evil who like to burn down protective totem poles around tiny Alaskan villages. I tell you, those Eskimos adored me for the work I did."

Pawloski nodded politely. "Is that all?"

"Noo," said Sirius, sounding insulted. "My friend Remus and I once made ten-galleons each at the school selling these little orange sweets that made you get horrible fat for a full half-hour. Novelty sweets, you see. Haha, I tell you, Narcissa Black nearly dove into the lake when she woke up two-hundred pounds heavier than when she went to -"

Pawloski coughed, cutting him off.

"All right, I get the picture, Sirius. Now, moving on... Are you good with people?"

"Good with people!" Again, Sirius geared up for some fast talking. "Why, I'm the friendliest person you could meet. I mean, between you and me, not even werewolves can resist my charm. Ahaha. Er... never mind. Anyway, I could sell an ice cream cone to an Eskimo."

Again with the Eskimos.

Pawloski pondered everything he'd learned during this interview. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach about Sirius Black. There was a weird conflict in his head. If hired, Sirius would be a hit-or-miss, whereas James would be a proper employee with a normal sense of humor and less chance of scaring customers away. Still, there was something about the situation that made it a little less than a no-brainer.

"Okay, Sirius," said the manager brightly. "I've got a decision to make. You may go, and send in one of the girls."

"Thanks, sir," said Sirius. "Er... which girl am I sending in?"

"Uhhhh, the one with the atrocious nails."

"'Kay."