Chapter 32

I do not disturb the silence. Okay with just letting it be and allowing Andromeda Tonks to think things through. Sure, I could hurry her up and push her into accepting the offer and then use a magical contract to lock her into it, but that would not be good in the long term. I need someone strong, clever and loyal that will stick by me and follow my orders, and I don't get that being forceful and loyalty can be bread through time and actions.

"Ms Tonks, I will be honest with you. Right now, you are the favoured person for this position, the person with the best qualities, and I want to hire you. But I don't want someone who hasn't got the fortitude to follow through, someone that isn't willing to stick around." Andromeda looks up, pulled from her thoughts by my words. She is truly the one I want, but it is better I let her come to her own decision instead of forcing it. I don't want a reluctant worker. I want a passionate one.

"I need someone committed, Ms Tonks, someone that is willing to put in the time. Not someone that places their husband above all else and has looked after him as her top priority. I need someone with the will and drive to go out there and achieve greatness. So, you think if that person is you, Andromeda. I will wait one week for a letter from you accepting the post. If you do not reply, then I will-"

"I will do it." She mutters suddenly, and I find myself blinking, not having really registered what she just said.'

"Excuse me, but could you repeat that? I could have sworn you just said you would do it." I ask for confirmation because I in no way expected that.

"I said I would do it. I will take this position and help you run your new business to the best of my ability." I am bewildered by her response, not because of what she is actually saying but because of how quickly she said it. I was expecting her to mull this over for far longer, taking into consideration her overworked husband and her harrowing shapeshifter daughter, as well as all of her time spent being a housewife and nothing more.

"Ms Tonks, take some time t think about this properly. Go home and think about it, maybe discuss it with your husband. I don't want you to rush into this and realise you don't want to do it after a week because then I would have to do another search for a replacement for you. Make sure that you ar-"

"I am sure, Mr Lockhart. I do not need to discuss this with my husband or anyone else. I have had my family, and now I want to have a career. It is about time that I start doing things for myself now. So Mr Lockhart, what do we do next?" Andromeda states with firm conviction, and I can see in her eyes that she is resolute and will not back down. I don't even need my Occlumency to see that. It seems that I just got a new employee, and I am ahead of schedule.

"Very well, welcome aboard Ms, Tonks. Now that we are working together, there is no need to be so formal. Just relax." I say, relaxing myself. That is a weight off my shoulders. Now with this step done, I can move on to phase two, which is buying a shop in Diagon Alley, which I will have to figure out somehow.

"Alright, Gilderoy, you can call me Andromeda then. So, how do we make this official? Is there anything I have to sign?" She smiles, the warmth and kindness that disappeared from earlier making a reappearance, and I find myself wanting just to stay still and bathe in the feeling she exudes, but that would be weird. I don't want a sexual harassment suit so quickly, even if they don't exist in the magical world.

"Right, well, I will have a contract drawn up, and we will meet again so that we can both sign it. The location won't be here since I have only rented this space for the day. I will owl you the time and place. Another thing that I should mention is that I want all of our business to be private. For both our sake and our customer's sake, discretion is key." I tell her, adding on that last part just to clarify something before we do actually go through with this.

"Naturally. I will make sure all future business dealings and contracts are kept completely private. Only the clients and we will be aware of it." She assures me, and while I do appreciate that, she has missed the actual meaning of my words.

"And by that, Andromeda, I am talking about Occlumency. Unfortunately, there are those out there that are very skilled when it comes to mind magics. I have been unlucky enough to come across a few on my adventures, and it is not pleasant. These people will not hesitate to attack the mind and rip it apart for what they want to know, and if my business becomes as big as I hope for it to be, then we will be their targets." I clarify for her because Occlumency is a very vital thing for my new venture to succeed.

Of course, I didn't actually meet any actual mind magic users on those trips. Original Gilderoy would have been quickly sussed out if he did and probably wouldn't be here today. But still, I need to make it look urgent in her eyes and make the possibility of these people coming for our thoughts very real. Because Snape, Voldemort and Dumbledore, as well as their cronies, are lurking around every corner, and I don't want my business being exposed.

"I know Occlumency, Gilderoy, as you yourself can attest, having experienced it for yourself earlier. Rest assured, I will be able to protect the secrets in my mind." So she says, very sure of herself, which is to be expected after she just repelled me out of her mind. However, she is severely overestimating herself if she thinks that was my best effort because it was not, not by a longshot.

"Andromeda, one of the requirements of this job is Occlumency. You and I will be training in it, and coincidentally Legilimency as well so that we can help each other to better our defences and detect intrusions. This is non-negotiable. If you work for me, then we will be doing this." I state firmly, unwilling to move on it.

Truthfully I cannot trust her defences to be stout enough for me to start trusting her with anything crucial, as it could prove to be detrimental in the long run. What if we somehow, someway, get taken to the ministry and tried under Veritaserum? Occlumency would help us to avoid answering truthfully. Also, I have only ever tested myself out against the mind of Digby. D. Digworth, a prisoner whose mental faculties no doubt deteriorated over the course of his imprisonment.

I used his mind to improve my technique, skills and versatility when it comes to my mind magic, but I do not have much experience, and I have no clue about the raw power I can bring forth to ravage an opponent's mind. Furthermore, all the victims whose minds I had to alter on my journey were primarily isolationist and alone, so I either waited for them to sleep or knocked them out and then rummaged through their brains. With this arrangement, I could kill two birds with one stone and improve Andromeda's Occlumency and my own Occlumency and Legilimency.

"Gilderoy, I do not know if I am comfortable with that. I assure you, my Occlumency is perfectly fine. It stood up against you, did it not, and you are a famous magical adventurer." Her face tightens, and while the smile is still there, it is obviously not natural. She has taken offence to me requiring her to practice Occlumency with me, probably thinking I am underestimating her or, even worse, that I want to take advantage of her and look into her mind for nefarious purposes.

"Andromeda, I have been looking into the minds of all the applicants that came today, and not a single one of them had any defences. So I have just been diving straight in, not taking the time to test their defences or anything. So I did the same for you, and that is why you detected me. I could have been very subtle and slowly but surely opened your mind up to me." Again, I see her smile slowly drop, but her face isn't cold this time. Instead, it looks contemplative. Thankfully she isn't angry.

"Understand this. I can pick one of the other applicants and teach them Occlumency from scratch if you refuse this position. However, you are the best applicant, and I want you. When was the last time you actually practised or learnt any more on the subject? I am assuming before you got married when you were still part of the Black family and were practising with your family. Or did you possibly practice it when you taught your daughter?" I question, trying to get my point across. There is no doubt she was taught Occlumency together with her sisters, and when she ran away, that stopped. At most, she has an adequate defence but nothing concrete, and I need to improve on it.

"I haven't practised in years, and I- I haven't taught my daughter... But, wait, how did you know I was a Black?" She questions, trying to side-skirt the fact that she did not teach her daughter such a crucial skill. Well, I guess she did not get around to practising it that much or learning about it or how vital it is, and she forgot its importance after years of married life.

"The magical world is a small place, and Wizarding Britain is even more compact. I know a lot about the people here, it pays to be prepared, and I did my research about people that could impact my business, like the Malfoys, whose matriarch is your sister. Now, I am sure it is a difficult thing to trust your mind to someone you just met. So how about we put it down in the contract we are going to sign and clearly outline the terms of your employment and how we are going to handle this training. Would that be okay?" I ask, trying to compromise.

"I suppose, but how would we stick to it. I am sorry, but I have just met you, Gilderoy. I- I need something solid that would ensure the terms and magically bind them." She speaks, setting her own conditions so that we can open up our minds to each other and better our mind magic. I understand, after all, that with my status in the world, I am seen as a powerful wizard, and she feels some hesitance to entrust her mind to me.

"Do not worry. I have the perfect way to make sure we do this in a safe and controlled way. And I know exactly how to magically bind us without it being harmful to us." Thankfully my research had picked up on this method which didn't really seem helpful for anything else, but for this, it is perfect.

"What is it?" She asks, wanting to make sure it is a foolproof method.

"A blood pact..."

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