"Come on you'll do fine," Maggie reassured me from her place on a bench.
"How am I supposed to do fine if I don't even know what I'm getting interviewed for!" I replied sharply.
"Well what did the lady say?" She asked calmly as she watched me pace.
We were currently in the waiting room outside an office in the Ministry of Magic waiting for my interview to be called.
"That there were several jobs available," I said running a hand through my dark hair, "And that she would decide which one would be most suitable for me."
"That is a bit weird…" She trailed off, "But you had brilliant grades back in Hogwarts I'm sure you'll get a good job."
"But what if I don't like the job?" I asked sitting down beside her.
"Then you'll stick to it for a while," She replied, "You said yourself that you didn't know what kind of career you wanted yet. Maybe a few different jobs will help you decide."
I turned to look at her.
"And since when were you the reasonable one?" I asked her.
"Since the first reasonable one started to lose her mind over a simple interview." She said pointedly as she grabbed a magazine off the table beside her.
I let out a soft groan but left her to her reading.
"Rigel Black," A stern looking lady finally asked coming out of the office.
I stood up quietly and walked over to her trying to look somewhat confident.
"Have a seat," She said motioning to the inside of the office.
I walked in and sat down in one of the chairs across from a desk and I heard the witch shut the door behind me.
"Fourth in your class for top grades and an active member on your quidditch team," She said walking over to her desk with my résumé, "Quite impressive I suppose, too bad it wasn't first in your class and captain of your quidditch team. Then you would have had a very important career available for you."
That was kind of rude, but I remained silent.
"Tell me Miss Black," She said, "Where would you like to see yourself in five years?"
"I'd like to have a stable job that I like, and be able to buy my own flat or house." I replied.
"I see," She said sitting down in her chair and tossing my résumé on her desk, "So where exactly are you living right now?"
"I'm staying at my guardian's place at the moment," I replied, "But I'm waiting for my offer on an apartment to be accepted."
"How far away is this apartment from the ministry?" She asked.
"Close enough to walk."
"Alright well," She said, "I've already gone through your résumé and contacted your references. So now that I've seen you I think I know exactly where to put you."
"That fast?" I asked disbelievingly.
"The Ministry has been busier than late with the Tri-Wizard Tournament coming up," She replied airily, "We don't have time to spend hours interviewing people like you."
"Tri-Wizard Tournament?" I asked ignoring the insult, "I thought the tournament was banned years ago."
"They're re-opening it now if you don't mind my two o'clock appointment will be here any minute." She said motion with her hand for me to leave.
"Wait, what about my job?" I asked her hurriedly as she was dismissing me.
"Your job?" She asked quizzically, "Oh yes, right, Rita Skeeter has wanted a new assistant to do her errands for her. Someone like you with nothing too special about themselves should be good for her."
"Rita Skeeter?" I asked my heart slightly falling, that woman is the biggest busybody in the whole Wizarding world.
She wouldn't be that bad though if she'd at least get her facts straight.
"Yes, now go on with you," She said and she tossed a paper on top of my résumé, "Take this down to the news floor and find Rita, she'll tell you all that your job entails."
"Um, thank-you," I replied, I think.
I took the paper and walked out of the office and back into the waiting room.
"So?" Maggie asked me.
"Well I got a job," I said.
"What kind of job?" She asked rolling her eyes.
"Rita Skeeter's assistant." I replied looking at the paper I was supposed to take down.
Her eyebrows raised, "Well it sounds interesting."
"Mhmm," I mumbled before we both walked out of the waiting room, "Hey did you know about the Tri-Wizard Tournament?"
"The event that use to take place like a hundred years ago?" She replied, "It was in our history books in school."
"Yeah but apparently they're starting it up again this year." I told her as we walked down a busy hallway to the elevators.
"What? I thought it was banned."
"That's what the lady in there told me."
"But didn't people use to die in that thing?"
"That's why they banned it in the first place; I can't imagine why they'd start it up again."
"No kidding," Maggie replied and we headed into an elevator with four other people.
I nodded, "Yeah, so anyway I have to take this paper down to the news floor but why don't we meet up later?"
"Actually I have to see Paula at Witch Weekly about working under Simone Dame," She told me, "But maybe I'll come out to the World Quidditch Cup to see you and Oliver in a couple of days."
Maggie had just gotten signed on with Witch Weekly with the fashion section so she was waiting to see if she could work under this Dame woman.
"Okay well thanks for coming with me," I told her as the elevator stopped on the main floor.
"No problem," She said leaving the compartment, "And good luck with Skeeter!"
I gave her a smile before the elevator doors closed again.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Can you tell me where I can find Rita Skeeter?" I asked a witch on the news floor.
"Uh, just go down this hall," She said looking up from her typewriter, "And her name should be on one of the office doors."
"Reporters get offices?" I questioned.
"Only the ones who bring in the most subscriptions," She replied reaching for a pen to write something down.
"Okay, well thank-you." I said leaving her to her work.
"Uh huh," She murmured already lost in her work again.
I walked past the busy wizards and witches in the hallway and read the names on the office doors until I came to the Skeeter one. I knocked on the door and entered when she called me in. She was working at her desk with papers scattered about her. She looked up as I entered the room.
"My name is Rigel Black," I introduced myself, "The witch for work recruitment sent me down to you about the assistant position?"
"Oh yes," She said giving me a smile that seemed fake, "I've been asking for an assistant for months now but everyone is too busy with the Tournament to listen to my needs."
"I see," I said slowly, "Well she said to give you this."
I handed her the paper and she took it sharply from me.
"Hmmm," Was all she said as she read it, "Well, you're job entails doing anything I ask you to do. And I need you to start right now so I can go out and get some of the juicy stuff going on."
"Right now?" I squeaked.
"A reporter must always be prepared," She said airily grabbing a green handbag off her desk, "And you will get certain holidays off but you will be on call so to speak. If you want days off I will need it in advance and it's most likely that you won't get them off but ask anyway."
"Um okay?" I said slowly, "I was invited to the World Cup with some friends?"
"I suppose but no more days off for a month after that, I need you here. So there's an empty cubicle right outside my office. That'll be yours, you'll be like a…" She said looking for the word, "Secretary for me. All calls will go through you first and you will forward them on to me. You'll start at eight thirty every day and end at three thirty."
"Sounds good," I said forcing a fake smile of my own.
"Alright well go organize your desk and should anyone phone, get their name, job status, and whatever they're calling about. Okay? Thanks sweetie. Got to go!" She said and blew me a kiss before hurrying out of the office.
I let out a heavy sigh as the door shut behind her. Just stick to it Rigel, it can't be that bad. I walked out of her office and found the cubicle beside the office. There were two pens and some sticky notes as well as a rickety old typewriter, beside the phone. I sat down in the chair and looked around the space. What exactly am I supposed to organize? There was nothing there. So the rest of the day was spent answering phone calls and writing messages down.
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Oliver had already gotten word back from Puddlemere that he had been accepted on the reserve team so he was now living in a building with a bunch of other players. So after I finished at the news floor I headed towards his place. I hadn't seen it yet and he had wanted me to come over and check it out.
"Wood, it's me Rigel," I said into the speaker outside the building.
"Rigel?" Came his voice through the speaker, "Here I'll unlock the door, do you want me to come down?"
"No, it's ok," I replied, "Just remind me what number you are."
"30,"
"Okay."
A second later a buzzing sound was made to unlock the door and I pushed it open and walked into the building. The building was fairly nice; the colours were blue and gold of course for Puddlemere. I used the elevator to the third floor and walked down the hallway. Oliver was waiting outside the door for me and he grinned when he saw me.
"So what do you think?" He asked motioning around him.
"So far so good," I replied with a smile, "But I want to see inside your apartment before I give you my final answer."
"After you," He said and held his door open for me.
I walked in and I must say I was impressed, the living space was very open, and it had a small but usable kitchen to the side.
"You know I think it's better than the apartment I'm looking to rent," I told him.
"I thought you would like it," He said still grinning, "So where's Maggie?"
"She had to go to Witch Weekly about her internship." I replied sitting down on his couch.
He nodded and leaned against a wall across from me.
"And how did your interview go?"
"Well," I answered slowly, "I'm working as Rita Skeeter's new assistant."
He raised an eyebrow, "Sounds… interesting."
"She made me start work the moment I got there," I replied sitting back, "But she's letting me take the World Cup off."
He simply listened to me talk and went to his fridge to offer me a butterbeer.
"You have anything stronger?" I half joked.
"That bad?" He asked.
"Not really I suppose," I said as he took out two firewhiskeys, "It's just for the time that she was there her nonstop talking was giving me a headache."
"I see," He said sitting down beside me and handing me one of the bottles.
"Thanks," I said and opened it up.
"To new beginnings," I said raising my bottle up.
"Hear, hear."
So the first chapter up! I'm so excited. :) That's the job I chose for her but don't worry she'll be at all the Tournament events. Leave a review if you don't mind :)