Chapter 41

When Paul came back inside, his brother was already tucked in and sleeping peacefully.

Paul made sure his brother Frank was alive and 'well', before he turned to Draco.

Paul's face was pallid and looked exhausted.

It seemed Paul didn't know what to say, so Draco addressed him first.

"You did well. Your brother doesn't owe me anything anymore, you really got him out of a bind there... And you proved yourself useful to me. If you are still willing, you work for me now." Draco said.

"Yes, Lord. I'm willing. Thank you." Paul said seriously.

"Good. Take these twenty Galleons for now. Get yourself some new clothes and some proper meals. See if you can find some affordable enchanted artifacts that can help you with your work in the future. If you do, I will reimburse you, so don't hesitate to spend the money if it's something useful. I already have a task lined up for you, namely following and investigating someone." Draco handed Paul a bag with gold.

For starters, Draco planned to let Paul investigate and keep a watch on the suspicious middle-aged squip, the applicant who had pocketed one of the magical mirrors today.

Of course, it would be much faster, safer, and more effective if Draco took care of that himself, but he couldn't always do these kinds of things, and this was a good opportunity to train his new underling.

"Thank you, Lord. I will do that." As Paul took the money, he glanced at his pale, sleeping brother.

Of course, Draco knew right away what he was thinking. "Yes, you can also take some of the money to take care of your brother, but don't waste everything on him, and be careful that the money doesn't get stolen. The best thing for your brother would be if you took him to St. Mungos. They have a great rehab program there for people with potion addictions. The program is even led by a mind-healer." Draco advised.

If Frank got clean and became less of a burden, it would be a gain for everyone.

Paul hesitated to contradict the Lord, but he didn't have much choice.

"My Lord, poor werewolves like us are not entitled to treatment at St. Mungo's. Not unless we are in critical condition." Paul said carefully and even changed his address for Draco to lessen the affront.

The fact that werewolves with no money weren't entitled to treatment didn't mean that there were no compassionate healers in St. Mungos who sometimes treated them for free, but it definitely meant they couldn't get into such official programs.

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"Oh, right." Draco said in an afterthought. "I will take care of it. The Malfoy Family donates a lot of gold to St. Mungos every year..."

Paul thanked him sincerely, and his pallid face regained a little color.

Carrot and stick—the time-honored and well-proven method.

Only the axe came first in this case, and the benefits followed now.

"Before you go home, I still have an assignment for you tonight. Don't worry, it's not difficult. You just have to monitor the security personnel test tonight and make sure those who failed go home without making trouble. That's it. And your part only starts in a few hours, so you can still take a nap in the meantime." Draco considerately transfigured another cot for him. "Kreacher will get you when it's time and work with you."

Draco said goodbye to Paul and ordered Kreacher to remember to bring a magic mirror for his new underling later.

Then, Draco took Kreacher and left the two werewolves in the shack and went outside.

Draco stepped up to a patch of earth that nobody would be missing and started transfiguring.

"Kreacher, you can hop home and take a nap, too, if you are tired. Or just sleep in the tower, one of the floors is filled with bedrooms, and you are keyed into the wards. I will call you when it's time. Sorry to make you work again tonight. And thank you very much for your effort." Draco said without losing focus on his transfiguration for even a second.

"No! Master! Kreacher thanks you for all the work. It's great. Kreacher is so full of energy that Kreacher doesn't even want to sleep. Can Kreacher do anything for Master Lord Black now?" Kreacher spoke excitedly.

"Alright, you can get us some water. And then you can relax a little and watch me work."

Kreacher happily followed Draco's order.

A little later, Kreacher nursed his own little cup of spring water, relaxing on a lounger his Master had transfigured especially for him, and watched his Master transfigure batches of earth into a collection of skeletons.

They were all perfectly identical skeletons of a human male with considerable height and a scary-looking skullface.

When he had transfigured thirty-two skeletons, Draco started engraving their heads with a few simple runes for durability, magic conductivity, and a special effect.

Unholy lights suddenly shone from the skeletons' empty eye sockets, giving them an even more eerie appearance.

Captivated, Kreacher admired his Master's artwork.

This new Master of Kreacher's was really gifted, and Kreacher tremendously appreciated his style.

He was as caring as Kreacher's Great Master Regulus and as ruthless and terrifying as Mistress Walpurga.

If only Master Lord Black wouldn't care for squips, and mudbloods, and other undesirables...

But Kreacher knew no one could be perfect, not even Kreacher's Master.

Kreacher could arrange himself with Master Lord Black's flaw, as was his duty as the Master's good elf.

When Draco was satisfied with the thirty-two skeletons, he armed them with light bone clubs.

Afterwards, Draco used the same mass of earth again to transfigure eight monstrous gargoyles.

They turned out magnificent, each one more imposing and terrifying than the other.

Everything was ready for animation at midnight.

But Draco still wanted to let the remaining applicants get a little more comfortable with their patrols at this hour.

And even though Kreacher had excitedly admired Draco's work for quite a while, at one point the old house elf had nodded off in this for him so familiar ambiente.

The scary artwork had made Kreacher feel right at home, and the transfigured lounger was so comfortable that he couldn't help but nod off.

Draco also didn't mind letting Kreacher nap a little longer.

Cross-legged, Draco sat down next to Kreacher's lounger in the cool grass.

Draco closed his eyes and did his nightly meditation.