Harry Potter and the Dovahkiin

What’s your name, kid?

"What's your name, kid?" Ben asked when the boy caught up."Thomas," he replied after a moment. "Thomas Avery, sir."

Ben glanced at him briefly. "You always this polite, Thomas, or am I just that scary?"

Thomas flushed with panic. "N—no, sir! I just— I don't like trouble."

Ben chuckled, watching him sweat like that, "Relax, Avery. I don't like trouble either, and this isn't a job interview."

"Y—yes, sir!" Thomas nodded, not relaxing even a bit.

Ben let him be. He'd just picked the kid on a whim. While he was looking for a werewolf to put his next plans into motion, someone this flimsy hadn't been on his agenda.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Ben stopped in front of what could generously be described as a shop. It was so narrow that it could barely even fit a door.

Located within a few turns of the entrance to Knockturn Alley, it was a small shop squeezed between two leaning buildings; the faded sign above it suggested it had once been a potions shop.

Thomas frowned. "Sir… I don't know anything about potions..."

"Good thing you won't be brewing any then, eh, Avery?" Ben chuckled, and with a flick of his wand, the sign changed into the shape of a wolf with the words written at the bottom.

The poor werewolf stood still like a deer in the headlights, as if his dirtiest secret had been revealed. Ben pushed the door open, inviting the trembling lad in. 

The inside was much larger than the outside suggested, but the place was mostly empty, with just a fireplace and cobwebs embellishing it. Ben got the fireplace burning with and dropped his small yet comfortable chair next to it. But instead of being impressed, the kid was busy panicking.

"Sir, the name—"

"You like it, eh? I just came up with it too." Ben smirked behind the mask.

"Sir, I—i'm not—"

"A werewolf?" Ben completed the sentence for him. "Relax, kid. I wouldn't care even if you were a wererabbit."

Thomas blinked, a bit stunned by the bluntness. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'Oh'," Ben said, dropping his ass into the chair, "Don't just stand there now, get to work."

"Work?" Thomas asked, stunned.

"Yeah, work. Why else do you think you are here?" Ben asked with an annoyance in his voice. 

Thomas looked around, still overwhelmed. "I—what exactly am I supposed to—"

Ben sighed and gestured lazily around the room. "Why don't you start with the obvious, like getting rid of these cobwebs. Last time I checked, Halloween was still months away."

Thomas nodded quickly.

"After that, conjure up some tables," Ben continued, pointing without getting up, "some chairs to go around them, put in a bar right there—"

"Conjure, sir?"

"Oh boy, don't tell me you don't know how to conjure stuff."

"I've only ever managed to conjure small objects...,"

Ben looked at him for a while, and Thomas squirmed under his gaze. 

"What wizarding school's so lousy that it couldn't even teach you to conjure up a few chairs?" Ben asked, finally, a bit annoyed. He had been hoping to take the rest of the day easy now that he had found an employee.

"I—didn't attend any schools, sir. My mother taught me everything I know," the boy said, lowering his head.

Ben finally understood why the kid felt so off. Not every unfortunate sod got lucky like Lupin.

"Right," Ben said. "Try not to make her look bad, then. Watch carefully."

He raised his wand, and with a sharp flick, the cobwebs vanished. With another, dust peeled off the walls like it had been yanked away. The smell of damp and mould instantly cleared away.

With another motion of his wand, rounder this time, tables and chairs thudded into place, materialising out of thin air. 

"It's all about intent and visualisation, Avery, just free your mind of its shackles." 

With a small turn of his wrist, a long bar counter grew along the wall, shelves rising behind it, lined up neat and ready. A final flick, and a few chandeliers blinked into existence overhead, with candles lighting themselves with a soft .

The place went from abandoned to lived-in in under a minute.

Ben glanced around, taking it all in. he thought.

There was a time he'd struggled to turn pebbles into anything useful. Now he was throwing together pubs on a whim.

"Alright," he said, dropping into the newly conjured leather armchair by the fire. "Your turn."

"Yes, sir," the boy concentrated hard and then swished his wand with conviction and finally managed to summon... a Tankard.

He looked at Ben, a bit embarrassed, but Ben just motioned for him to keep going. "We're gonna need a lot more than one, kid."

Thomas nodded quickly and tried again. Another swish and another tankard appeared. This one came out slightly bent, and Thomas winced a bit.

"Don't be scared of mistakes, Avery," Ben said lazily. "Just fix it."

The boy swallowed and adjusted it with a small flick. The dent smoothed out.

"Better," Ben nodded. "Again."

A third tankard appeared. Then a fourth.

Ben leaned back into his chair, watching. "Keep your mind on what you want, kid, not on what you think you can manage." He was fully enjoying this whole tough mentor act. 

Thomas nodded, getting more focused with each attempt. By the time he stopped, there were half a dozen tankards lined awkwardly along the bar, and none of them matched.

Ben glanced at them lazily and waved his hand. "Good enough. We're not gonna be hosting the Minister any time soon."

Thomas let out a small breath before asking, a bit hesitantly, "And the bar, sir?"

Ben glanced at it, then reached into his trusty old hat. He gave it a shake, like emptying out a bag...and bottles of ale and mead spilled out, clinking together as they piled onto the floor.

"Stock the shelves with these for now," Ben said, sounding a bit pained.

The cheapest of those cost him five septims. That was over fifty times the price of butterbeer.

He should've gone out and bought something cheaper, but he didn't particularly feel like stepping outside today. Not when he didn't have to. And he had more than enough money.

"You know how to brew beer, Avery?" Ben asked, pulling out an apple and tossing it to him.

"N—No, sir." Thomas clumsily caught the apple and shook his head.

"What about food? Can you cook?"

"I—a little bit, sir"

"Oh, what's ?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… stew, mostly, sir. And...roast meat, if I've got it. Eggs… sometimes with bread."

"That's plenty, you can handle the kitchen, and the bar as well, until we find someone else, and do a bit of cleaning too, what do you think?"

Despite the volume of work given to him, Thomas's eyes lit up. "I'll do it, sir."

"Good, here's your pay," Ben said, tossing him a Galleon. The boy's smile faltered...although he could manage on a Galleon for a month, it was going to be tough...until Ben spoke again.

"A galleon for a day's work, it's quite generous what I'm paying you, Avery, don't be too greedy."

In truth, it was more than generous; not even many ministry employees earned that much. Thomas quickly nodded in agreement. "Thank you, sir. I'll work hard."

"Hmm, get to work then, and post a note outside that we're hiring. I'll be upstairs if you need anything," Ben said, stretching his back and heading up. Yeah, there was an upstairs, and even an upstairs to the upstairs.

"Oh—and wear this." He tossed a wolf mask to the boy. "No one's taking you seriously in this alley with that face."

-To be Continued...