BACKDATED

[flowerpatil]

Date: 6 October 2000, Backdated
Time: 11am
Location: Alecto's
Characters Involved: Aurin Helm and Parvati Patil only
Rating: PG?

Parvati had been really excited about her job interview to work with the Helm brothers. The one she had met, Aurin, was really nice and sociable, and he seemed to really care for animals. It was odd how nervous she had been

Comments

[golden_armor]

((Sorry sorry! I was going to post this before leaving Saturday, but there was a snafu with the bus tickets! Thanks for taking the initiative!))There were a few customers at Alecto's, fewer than usual, but that was to be expected since Diagon seemed such a dangerous place lately, a fact that saddened Aurin. Toviel was minding the front counter as usual, and gave Parvati a friendly smile and nod as she entered the store. "You'll be the interviewee, right? Aurin's in back, near the reptiles." He indicated the general direction, where a large heat lamp was just visible above the rows of shelves

[flowerpatil]

((No worries! S'all good.))

Parvati returned Toviel's friendly greeting with a smile and wave of her own. "Oh, thank you!" she said, heading toward the back of the store. Reptiles, great. Snakes were her least favourite thing in the world, and her Boggart always took the form of a huge black snake. Don't act afraid, she thought, taking a deep breath. You'll have to work with these things.

It was a relief when Aurin noticed her and smiled, leading her to the office. She followed his direction and went up the stairs, finally entering into an office on the second floor.

"I want to thank you for giving me this interview," Parvati said as Aurin came in behind her. "I enjoy watching Oliver's daughter but I don't want to be a minder all my life." She gave a little laugh, still feeling the effects of the sight of the giant snake. Oh, please let this go well.

[golden_armor]

Aurin noticed Parvati giving the snake a rather sideways look, and made a mental note about it as they ascended the stairs. The office at the top of the staircase was spacious, the walls lined with bookshelves filled to overflowing with literature on all sorts of animals, both magical and non. The only space not occupied by shelves was across from the door, where a large bay window looked out over Diagon Alley. In front of the window was a large desk, made of dark reddish wood, which was also covered in books and papers. A pair of unoccupied perches sat to one side, one large, one small, both scored with talon marks. To the other side was a coffee table, the only cleared surface in the room, flanked by two comfortable blue armchairs

[flowerpatil]

Parvati took a seat and let her eyes flicker over the office - it seemed really comfortable and worn-in. It was a nice atmosphere; the Ministry was so formal and uppity that it was hard to relax. A babysitting setting was another quite different thing, and then again was Alecto's. There were a few books whose titles caught Parvati's eye, and if she were hired she'd definitely ask Aurin to check those out.

"Ah, tea, thanks," Parvati said. She neatly crossed her ankles. Alecto's seemed like a very relaxed, informal place, but she wanted to make the best of impressions at the interview. If she started working, she would become more comfortable. But for now, formal was best.

"Well you actually came along at the right time as well," she continued as Aurin prepared tea. "I really enjoy my minder job, but it's not something I want to do forever. I was trained in Magical Creature care and so on, and really want to get back into that field without returning to the Ministry."

[golden_armor]

Part of the reason that Aurin's formerly neatly organized office had devolved into a state of still-organized chaos was that, subconsciously, he didn't want it to feel like his office at the Ministry, which was really one-fifth of an office, the other four-fifths being taken up by the rest of his team. They kept their communal workspace painfully neat, as it was one of the few rooms other than the lobby in the MLEA building that could be shown to guests. The only other rooms in the building that weren't used for the more...unsavory...aspects of Ministry work were Central Records - which was off-limits to everyone except the highest level employees - and the courtrooms, where the trials held were sometimes public, sometimes not. Carson came through the office frequently under the pretense of pre-tour inspections, but it was really to harrass the team, bait Aurin and Allocen about politics, leer at Ose, and get validation from Blake, though he tended to avoid any and all contact with Darshan

[flowerpatil]

"Peach is fine, thanks," Parvati replied, taking the cup with a smile. It felt warm in her hands and she sipped it, letting it warm her mouth and throat.

Now they were down to business. Parvati wasn't quite sure how to answer the first question, as her hours with Oliver sometimes fluctuated depending on Quidditch.

"Well, normally I work from early morning, around seven, until evening just before dinner. The hours with Oliver are changing all the time depending on his Quidditch schedule, so there's not anything set in stone. I'd be willing to work as much as you'd need me to."

[golden_armor]

"Sounds about the same as our hours around here," said Aurin. "The shop's open on weekdays eight in the morning to six in the evening, with an hour lunch break at noon. We used to be open on weekends, too, but with me and Tove going back to the Ministry we've had to use our Saturdays for paperwork." He paused, a thoughtful look on his face, "Though with you on, we'll have extra help...would you consider a four-hour Saturday shift, after you're more experienced, if we offered double pay?"

[flowerpatil]

Double pay? Well, Parvati would have done it even if they didn't pay her extra, but she did need the money.

"Of course," she said. And four hours really wasn't that unreasonable for one person to be running a shop. Besides, it would help out the Helm brothers so they could still do their Auror work.

[golden_armor]

((Hey, can we kind of skip over the usual questions about pay, etc, (since those are outlined in my earlier journal post about Alecto's looking for some help) and move on a little toward the end? I'm afraid we'll never finish otherwise.))

"Excellent, that will really help us out."

Settling back in his chair a little, Aurin moved on with the interview. He was unsure how to phrase his next question without seeming prying, but he gave it his best shot, "Um...sorry in advance if I'm being nosy, but I couldn't help but notice you giving Gus a sideways look when you first saw him, so I thought it best to ask...are you afraid of snakes?" Realizing how the question might sound to a job applicant, he hastily added, "You should know now that it'll have no bearing on whether you're hired. I've already made the decision to take you on."

[flowerpatil]

((Yes, yes. I concur.))

Parvati felt herself tense up when Aurin asked her about the snakes. Her first instinct was to lie, but then she would have to deal with them for the rest of the time she worked there. When he said that she was already hired, she sighed audibly, relieved.

"Actually, my boggart is a snake. They... they just bother me a bit. I know not all of them are dangerous. It's a fear I've always had, I guess." Parvati grinned nervously. She probably sounded like an idiot.