Two girls stood outside the AID office; both looked nervous about stepping inside. Both had gone to grab the doorknob just to back off at the last second.
"What do you think he called us for?" asked one girl.
"I don't know!" replied the other, sounding a little snippy, "If I knew why he called us, I wouldn't be pulling my hair out here."
The first girl sighed and leaned against the wall. "That girl Luna.. . she just handed us the letter and then skipped. She could've told us something."
"Yes, even that letter was just an invitation," though it felt like summons, "the reason was given inside."
"Do you think we did something that he didn't like?"
"I-I hope not. You know what they say about the older students who got called in by him. They —"
The second girl cut her off. "Yes, yes, I know what they say. You don't have to repeat it. I prefer not to think about it."
"I-I think we should leave," suggested the first girl, "we can talk to Cedric; he might be able to help us out."
".. . Yeah, that isn't a bad idea," nodded the second, "we should leave and return with Cedric or just send Cedric to see what he wants to talk about."
The girls reached a conclusion and nodded. They straightened themselves up and were about to leave when the door opened and stood there sighing was Quinn West.
"I've been waiting for you two to enter for ten minutes. How can you two spend so much time out here doing nothing — I'm assuming you were doing nothing. Step inside, I have a lot of work to do, and you aren't doing me any favors standing outside."
Quinn turned and walking back inside the office.
The two girls looked at each other with expressions of worry. They were just about to leave. They should've gone quicker, thought both of them. With no choice remaining, they entered the office, closing it behind them.
"First of all, you have no reason to be scared or anxious," started Quinn as all three sat down, "You aren't here because you made a mistake or anything — someday, I'm going to get the guys who're spreading misinformation about me."
'You're the one who is doing it by calling older students left and right like they mean nothing,' thought the first girl.
"I'm not that bad," said Quinn smiling at the first girl.
"Huh?" uttered the girl, confused. 'Did I speak that out loud,' she thought. But no, she didn't say her thoughts out loud.
Quinn's smile grew a tad bit wider before he clapped his hands once. "Now, we're already working a few minutes behind my schedule, so I would like to move on immediately."
He gazed at the two girls, one brunette and the other a strawberry blonde.
"Ms. Bones and Ms. Abbot," he addressed them, "I've actually called you two here because I'm in need of assistance. I have a lot of things to do for the quidditch tournament, and as such, there are some things that I simply can't devote. Unfortunately for me, those unattended tasks can't be ignored, so to combat my little problem, I've called upon both of you to inquire if you would be willing to help me."
The Hufflepuff girls' first reaction was to exhale a sigh of relief. They weren't called here because of something that displeased Quinn — hearing that had lifted the stone off their chest.
"What are these tasks that you talk about?" asked Susan Bones, the strawberry blonde and a fourth-year Hufflepuff.
On her side, Hannah Abbot, the brunette, a fellow fourth-year Hufflepuff, raised the same question.
"The upcoming quidditch tournament is going to be held at a much larger scale than our typical quidditch tournament. There will be a lot of fanfare around the tournament — seeing that AID has decided to sell tournament-exclusive merchandise to anyone who would like to buy them."
"What kind of. .. merchandise, was it? What kind of merchandise?" asked Hannah.
"Ah yes, I guess showing some samples would be clearer for everyone," said Quinn nodding in agreement. He pulled out two objects from his pockets and placed them on his desk.
"These are?" muttered Susan picking up an object; Hannah did the same.
As Hannah stared and studied the object in her hands, she questioned, "Is this Cedric?"
In her hands was a small figurine of Cedric Diggory, decked out in Hufflepuff quidditch gear, flying on the broom, which wasn't connected to the circular base and suspended in the air with magic. Similarly, Susan held Victor Krum's quidditch action figure. This one wore Bulgarian national quidditch team and rode a Firebolt, chasing a miniature golden snitch.
Both action figures were enchanted with the animation charms. Cedric's robes and hair fluttered as his broom moved above the circular base. Similarly, Krum's figurine chased a tiny golden snitch, and when he caught it, the figurine celebrated.
"There will be many more things like team-specific lapel badges, banners, flags, hats, jumpers, and player cards when the final teams get decided," said Quinn listing things that he was planning to sell. "I'm planning to sell all of these among other things at the games, and I need your help regarding this — only if you're willing, that is."
"You don't want us to make these, do you?" asked Hannah. Transfiguration wasn't her strong suit.
"Oh no," came the reply immediately. "Of course not. There will be too many of each object for a student to complete with their timetables. I will be making some of these things myself —," his efficiency-aspect occlumency was coming along splendidly, enabling him to multitask production tasks, "— the rest I've already outsourced to professional businesses."
"Then?" asked Susan.
"I want you to be in charge of sales," said Quinn, "I don't have the time to man the sales of these merchandises; as such, I want you two to take care of it, and of course — I will provide you with appropriate compensation. What do you say?"
Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot were well-established Hufflepuffs, and the duo ran in many circles — social butterflies if one were to attach a word to it. Quinn had judged them to be his first choice for his sales team — well, he wanted to hire the girls who handled the sales for his Lockhart merchandise, but they had already graduated.
"Let's say if we take the job," asked Susan Bones, the niece of Head of DMLE Amelia Bones, "Do you think we will be able to handle it? I'm not sure if Hannah and I are.. . prepared for this. We haven't sold anything before."
"You don't have to worry about that," smiled Quinn, "there is a first time for everything. And I don't want to brag, but I'm really good at sales, terrific even. A crash course from me is all you need to get started. Also, it's not like I'll be leaving you, leaving you alone without supervision — no, I'll be there to help, but you two will be handling most of the stuff."
The best friends looked at each other and communicated with their gesture skills which bordered on telepathy. Quinn watched them with a smile, confident that they would accept.
"What is the compensation that you talked about?"
Quinn grinned. It was time for their first lesson. He was going to sell the job to them.
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- (Scene Break) -
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Hiring a sales team wasn't enough. Quinn had more departments he wanted help in, and it was high time he got to hire more people. So he got to it and started with people close to him that he trusted.
"You know what, we haven't sat down like this and talked in such a long time," he started with a smile, "what happened? It's like you two have gotten so busy to make time for us."
Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis sat in front of his desk; both girls sported deadpan expressions, not feeling Quinn's amusement.
"Would you like to reframe that sentence?" asked Daphne.
Quinn awkwardly chuckled. He knew that he had once again messed up his work-life balance.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he spoke, "I got caught up in work, got busy, and wasn't able to hang out."
"And?" asked Tracey, raising her chin slightly.
".. . you warned me that this would happen," muttered Quinn, looking at them with his chin down and upturned eyes.
"Yes, we did, and what did you say?"
Quinn mumbled something that the girls missed.
"Pardon, I didn't catch that," said the blonde.
".. . that you were worrying about nothing it won't happen," replied the boy, lightly pursing his lips.
"And here we are," said the bubbly brunette smugly.
Quinn twidled his thumb over his desk as the three sat in momentary silence before Quinn spoke up.
"Well, you know the saying —"
But Daphne cut him off with, "We will help you."
"Eh?" uttered Quinn with a loss of words.
"You called us because you wanted help, did you not?" she asked.
"Yeah, I did, but how did you—"
Again he was cut, this time by Tracey, "Just like you, we have our means."
Quinn's mind turned into a wide 'O' as he stared at the girls, moving his eyes from one to the other.
It took him a couple of seconds before he realized what he was doing.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and spoke in a voice a tad bit deeper than usual, "well, that saves me time from convincing. Thank you, I really need all the time I can get."
"Uh-huh, so what do you want us to help you with," grinned Tracey; the brunette was back to her bubbly mode.
"Did you two see the construction going by the quidditch stadium?" asked Quinn.
The girls nodded.
"Do you know why?" When they shook their heads, he continued, "This year, the students wouldn't be the only ones to see the games.. . This year! The quidditch tournament is open to the people outside. Anyone with a ticket would be able to see the tournament. Of course, every student will get a guaranteed seat, irrespective of attending or not. Only the remaining seats will be sold to outsiders."
"I need someone to corroborate the tickets and seats," he then pointed, "Tracey, I want you to help me that."
Tracey tilted her head in confusion. "I'm confused; what do I need to do?"
"Don't worry, it's a desk job. You just need to authorize tickets and mail them to the buyers. Any ticket that isn't authorized by you will be deemed fraudulent. The only maybe tough part will be that the job will get repetitive, and you'll have to keep extensive records."
"I see.. . I still don't understand, but I'll do it."
"No worries about that. I'll give you a rundown of the entire process and will be there with you every step of the way."
Tracey gave a thumbs-up, so Quinn moved on to Daphne.
"Daphne, you will be handling communications with the team," said Quinn. "Any and all communication with the teams will go through you. They won't come to me but to you. You'll answer their questions and solve any problems they have. When you come along with a problem that you can't solve, you'll come to me. You'll also keep me up to date with what's happening with the teams; everything from recruitment to logo, name, and jersey creation, you'll update me every day."
Daphne and Tracey both stared at Quinn.. . They were confused. One job didn't involve interaction with other people, but the other was primarily a communication-heavy duty. They were okay with the nature tasks, but.. .
"Quinn.. . are you sure you don't want to switch our tasks," asked Daphne, "Tracey will be better for this one. Are you sure you aren't making a mistake?"
Tracey nodded; she also thought that Daphne would be better at the ticket task. From what she understood, it was a task that required attention to detail and precision; it was right up Daphne's alley.
Quinn tilted his head. "Why?"
His expression, more than his words, caused the girls to be at a loss of words. There was something there that they couldn't put the finger on, but it stopped them from giving an answer.
"I want Tracey at tickets and Daphne with the teams," he said in a neutral tone, "Are you saying that you won't be able to do this? If so, we can stop right here."
".. . No, we can handle it," said Daphne, "Tracey will handle tickets and I the teams."
Quinn was enlisting them because he needed help. They weren't asking him anything in return, so he decided to pay them in a new experience. Tracey was an extrovert who could generally get along with anyone, so Quinn chose to put her into a position where she would've to be meticulous, something Tracey wasn't that good at. On the other hand, while she didn't have problems with communication, Daphne liked to remain in a small circle of friends, so Quinn put her into a position that would actively have her talk to other people.
In that way, he hoped that both would be comfortable outside their own comfort zone by the end of the year.
"Good to hear that," smiled Quinn.
"So, how are you going to pay us?" asked Tracey.
It seems Quinn was wrong; they were asking for something in return.
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- (Scene Break) -
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"Never thought that we would be called here by you —"
"— and that too because you want our help."
" "Now, that's a surprise!" "
Quinn watched as another duo sat in his office. This duo, unlike others, was in sync.
"It shouldn't be that much of a surprise," said Quinn, "In the years of our correspondence, you guys know that I have come to. .. like you two."
The Weasley twins laughed. " "We too like you." "
"I'm glad to hear that," smiled Quinn.
"So, what do you need from us," asked George Weasley, and Fred Weasley continued, "do tell because it really makes us wonder."
"The quidditch tournament, are you guys taking part?" asked Quinn.
" "We are." "
"Oh, have you guys decided on teams?"
"Yes, Gryffindor team is already divided —" "— we're going with Angelina —" "— while Harry and Katie are playing with Alicia."
"Any progress with the non-Gryffindor part of the teams?" asked Quinn.
" "Not yet." "
"Alright, then. Let's get to why I've called you here," said Quinn, "I think you both are going to enjoy with very much. It falls right up your alley."
The Wesley twins smiled. They have known Quinn for a while. Their correspondence had reached a point that seventy percent of items on Filch's list were made under the West-Weasley collaboration. The Weasleys designed their items from scratch: design, constructions, spells, and constructed prototypes. When they were satisfied with their creations, they would pass it onto Quinn, who would give it a look over and optimize to create the final item.
The Weasley got their items while Quinn got to use his magic knowledge, and from time-to-time get inspiration.
" "Tell us." "
"Gambling."
A single word from Quinn made the twins lead forward. " "You've got our attention" "
"Great. Every tournament has some sort of betting going on. Our regular Hogwarts tournaments also have it going. Students from all years of all houses. This year isn't going to be any different — no, it's going to be different, the bets will be on a different level this time. There are more teams, more games, more things to bet about and.. . a lot more money to be made."
"That's true —" "— we thought about it too —" "— what're you thinking about?"
"I want to keep all of the bettings under one umbrella — under my umbrella," said Quinn, "centralize the entire thing, create a framework that will eliminate the need of side betting."
"An ambitious project—" "— we didn't expect any less from you."
"But if I want to make this a reality, I will need promotion and enforcement," he continued, "I can provide great odds to eliminate any and all competition. But if we want to make it a regular operation that runs throughout the tournament, I need people who will work the field."
Quinn pointed at the twins and smiled, "And who better than you two. So I would like you two to work with me to set up the betting scene for the quidditch tournament."
"Hmm.. . let's just say if we join you —" "— what will we get in return —" "— because while this sounds mad exciting, it's also a lot of work."
"Hmm, as expected, I was right to choose you two," beamed Quinn, "I will give you something that both of you are seeking.. . I will invest in the joke shop you both are planning."
" ".. . How do you know 'bout that?!" "
Quinn gave them a silent look and gesticulated to them with a smile.
"Yeah, that was a redundant question to ask —" "— but are you serious because this is serious for us."
"I'm serious; very serious. Work with me, and I will invest all the money you'll ever need to set up the shop. The amount of capital I will give you will depend on the performance you show me. Do good, and you'll have enough resources to let those ideas of yours come to life."
"So what do you say," asked Quinn.
The twins didn't even look at each other as smiles split their faces.
" "We agree!" "
Quinn interlocked his fingers and nodded, "Merry cooperation, lads."
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-*-*-*-*-*-
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Quinn West - MC - Gathering independent contractors.
Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot - Independent Contracts (#1) & (#2) - Sales.
Daphne Greengrass - Independent Contracts (#3) - HR.
Tracey Davis - Independent Contracts (#4) - Logistics.
Weasley Twins - Independent Contracts (#5) - Entrepreneurs.
