Chapter 32

There were sixty-three applicants who had passed the preliminary interviews.

And all sixty-three arrived early for the second part, no one was late.

Such enthusiasm was worthy of appreciation.

Sixty-one brought their mirrors back and handed them in, only two did not.

"I'm so sorry... really terribly sorry... The mirror you gave me broke. It was all my fault." The middle-aged squip looked down contritely as he approached Draco and confessed to him, while everyone else was still gathering in the spacious sales room.

It was a little tight, but the sixty-eight people, including Draco, Narcissa, Andromeda, Ted and Kreacher, comfortably found space there.

At least it was comfortable for Draco and his family...

"How did you manage to break the mirror? It's enchanted to be unbreakable." Draco asked, hiding his disbelief and his amusement.

"The Unbreakable Charm isn't actually really unbreakable, only as long as the magic doesn't run out. Unfortunately, I wasn't careful enough, and my mischievous Pegasus, Mars, got a hold of it. Disappointed that it wasn't eatable, Mars let it fall to the ground and stepped on it. Then it broke really quickly." The man explained it sincerely, as if Draco only had a little superficial knowledge of the Unbreakable Charm.

This squip had to think wizards were idiots.

The fact that he survived and thrived, using the wizarding world for his success in the muggle world, with this way of thinking... this didn't paint a good picture for Draco's fellow wizards.

"Where are the broken pieces?" Draco asked.

The squip hesitated, "Um... I threw them away."

"Every last piece? Why didn't you use a Reparo? You could've brought the mirror back, maybe the enchantment could be fixed too. And even if not, it could still have been used as a regular mirror. Or the material could have been recycled; that is definitely still worth something... " Draco retorted.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't think of that. I will pay for the mirror, of course. But please don't fail me on this, I really want this job. I can be a great addition to your sales team. If you test me, you will see." The man begged.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Interested in learning what the guy was thinking, since he still wanted the job even though he had already stolen a mirror, Draco kept a close read on his surface thoughts the whole time.

Apparently, through the wizards he hired for his repair business, he had connections to a gang of magical counterfeiters.

He planned to get them a model even before the official release so the winnings could be maximized, and subsequently his share.

He came back and still tried to get the job in case the counterfeiters couldn't crack the enchantment fast enough on their own.

If he could help a second time with insider knowledge, his share would even get bigger.

And truth be told, or more accurately, truth be thought, the man was a little excited at the prospect of having his claws inside such an important business in the wizarding world.

If his business motto wasn't 'sure profits always come first', he would've maximized his chances of getting the job by bringing the mirror back, risking that he could lose it if he wasn't hired.

But that was only his pessimism talking, he was confident that he could still land the job with his charm and competence, even though he didn't bring the mirror.

Unfortunately for him, he had miscalculated.

It was already quite enough for Draco that the squip had pocketed the mirror.

Hopefully, this would lead Draco to his home base and to his friends.

Draco didn't want a thieving and spiteful squip who looked down on wizards to be part of his business.

This business was much too important for the future for that.

The squip was naturally upset when he found out Draco wanted to dismiss him without letting him participate in the tests; he had imagined it going differently.

"Why do I have to leave just because I made a mistake and the mirror broke? Maybe the enchantment was faulty, and that's why it broke so easily...?" The squip gave his best performance of acting pitiful.

To his chagrin, Draco didn't even bat an eye.

Neither did Narcissa or Andromeda, only Ted looked over with sympathy, but he didn't say anything either.

"No, not because the mirror broke. That isn't the main reason. The main reason is that you just tossed the broken mirror without thinking. I expect more common sense from my employees. If you want me to give you another chance, bring me the broken pieces. But before that, please give me fifty Galleons as compensation for the magic mirror." Draco explained, never losing his friendly smile and his friendly tone of voice.

Draco was curious to see if the guy would come again later with the broken pieces of some random mirror...

"Fifty Galleons?" The squip snorted. "You are never planning to sell these things for this much gold. I don't believe it, you are more clever than that. And the material costs are only a tiny fraction, I reckon."

The man already wanted to turn around and walk off...

"I can always set the price any way I want. My business, my choice. I could cite a different price every day of the week if I so desire... Who will tell me I can't? You? Do you really dare not pay me what I demand? You dare steal from me?" Draco still wore his friendly smile, but his tone of voice was unmistakably dangerous now.

The squip froze where he stood.

He cursed.

Then, with visible reluctance, he handed over the money.

Afterwards, the squip left the tower as fast as he could.