For Maeve, those few minutes while Victor reviewed her file dragged on endlessly. The whole situation unnerved her, yet at the same time, she was consumed by intense curiosity: what exactly was written in there?
Suddenly, Victor froze and looked directly at her:
— That man who voiced his dissatisfaction the loudest during our first meeting... is he your husband?
Hermione, who had been snuggled up comfortably against Victor this whole time and watching his focused face as if hypnotized, finally snapped out of it and turned her gaze toward Maeve as well. She remembered that stubborn wizard all too well.
Maeve flushed slightly:
— Yes... That's my husband, Cassian.
Victor nodded understandingly:
— And how is he doing? Still hasn't changed his mind?
Maeve shook her head with a soft sigh:
— He's far too proud to give up that easily. But lately, Cassian has been taking out his wand more and more often—and for him, that's already monumental progress. And it's all thanks to Astrid.
Astrid, who had been sitting on the couch the entire time and watching the proceedings with unhidden curiosity, trying to figure out why her mum had been called in, was genuinely surprised:
— Because of me?
Maeve looked at her daughter and gave an involuntary chuckle:
— Who else? He started teaching you magic at home only because you keep praising Mr. Moss around him! It's just fatherly jealousy kicking in: he feels like someone is trying to steal his little princess away.
Astrid blinked in confusion:
— And here I thought he just didn't want me falling behind the others at school...
Victor listened to them with a smile, gave an understanding nod, and returned to reading. A couple of minutes later, he closed the dossier for good and set the folder on the edge of the desk.
— I don't know, Hermione... Of course, the choice is yours, but I don't think she's quite the right fit: her personality is too gentle, — Victor noted calmly.
— That's nothing! — Hermione countered. — What matters is that I trust her completely. Plus, she commands great respect among the potioneers. All that's left is to make a proper impression on the alchemists. And as for a gentle personality... Don't forget, I felt terribly uncomfortable at first too, but I adapted quickly and got used to it!
Victor pondered for a brief moment, then nodded in agreement:
— Fair enough. — He turned his direct gaze back to Maeve. — Starting tomorrow, you stop brewing potions and...
Maeve's face instantly turned pale, and she cut him off, unable to hold back:
— Wait! Are... are you firing me?! Is it because of my husband?!
— Maeve, just hear him out first! — Hermione reassured her gently. — Nobody is firing you. You're being promoted!
Maeve let out a ragged breath of relief. The heart in her chest finally stopped pounding frantically. She loved this job far too much—it gave her the joyful feeling of being a full-fledged witch in the magical world once again.
However, right after that wave of relief, the true meaning of Hermione's words caught up with her.
— Uh... Wait, Hermione... Promoted? Meaning... I'll be brewing more complex and rare potions?
Victor shook his head with a faint smile:
— No, like I said, you will stop doing basic brewing. Naturally, if you enjoy it that much, you can continue brewing in your spare time, but only after fulfilling your primary duties... Namely, the duties of the new manager of this workshop.
— Manager?.. Meaning... — Maeve looked back and forth between Victor and Hermione in utter bewilderment.
Victor gave a firm nod:
— Yes, you understood correctly. You'll be in charge in Hermione's place. More accurately, you'll be fully replacing her while she's studying at Hogwarts or busy with other matters. But you will continue to report directly to her on all key issues.
— But... why me?! No, I'm sorry, I'm not cut out for something like that! Can't you choose someone else? — Maeve asked frantically.
— No! I want it to be you. I trust you completely! — Hermione argued. — And being a manager isn't really that hard. You just need to review the daily reports sent in by Daphne or whoever she leaves in charge at the shops: they'll list what's selling best and what's in short supply. Then you look at what materials or ingredients we need, calculate their cost, place the order, and draft a financial expense report. After that, you properly divide the workload among the workers: who brews or crafts what, and in what volume. Next comes monitoring their work and ensuring the finished products are delivered to the warehouse on time—by the way, there's a separate squad of mages there who will report to you on what's in stock, how much arrived, and how much left. Wizards who crafted or brewed something complex that takes days or weeks should be sent on break and issued a bonus—I'll leave you a detailed table with payout amounts and days off for each type of work! Then, at the end of the month, you add that bonus to their salary, compile the final accounting sheet, and send it off to Gringotts. But you must be extremely careful with load distribution so you don't burn out too many wizards, otherwise...
— Stop! Stop, stop, stop! — Maeve held out her palms, cutting off Hermione, who was rattling on without pause. — What... what did you say at the very beginning?!
Hermione paused, looked at her, and seeing the sheer panic on the woman's face, let out a soft, guilty sigh. It seemed she had overdone it and thoroughly frightened her.
— Alright, don't worry! — Hermione smiled gently. — It's actually nowhere near as scary once you calmly break it down. All this logistics stuff takes me two days a week, and the rest of the time I just give instructions and occasionally check to make sure no one is slacking off. I'll explain everything to you over the next five days. And after that, if any questions pop up, you can always write to me.
Victor clapped his hands together merrily:
— Settled then!
He said it with an easygoing smile, but inside he secretly wiped away cold sweat and mentally offered a prayer of thanks to Perenelle. If she hadn't suggested hiring assistants and properly delegating responsibilities back then, he would have had to deal with this infernal paper chaos all by himself! Had it come to that, Victor likely would have just fired all the mages to hell and burned his entire business to the ground.
With that thought, he looked at Hermione with genuine admiration: how on earth did she manage to shoulder this massive workload all by herself?!
— So does that mean Mum's salary is going to be higher? — Astrid chimed in, turning her gaze toward Victor with curiosity.
He looked at the girl and gave a firm nod:
— Naturally. Much higher!
— Yay! I'm going to get more pocket money! — Astrid bounced excitedly.
Maeve, still in deep shock from the sudden promotion dropped into her lap, slowly turned toward her daughter. The woman's eye twitched at Astrid's sheer materialism. It seemed she and Cassian had spoiled their little princess a bit too much.
Victor unhurriedly rose from the armchair:
— Alright, I won't distract you two any longer. Missy should be arriving at Diagon Alley soon to take us home.
— Missy is already here, — a quiet pop sounded, and the house-elf materialized out of nowhere in the office.
— Oh, Missy, right on time! — Victor leaned down and kissed Hermione gently on the cheek, then straightened up. — Abigail, let's head home.
— Yaaay! Home! — Abigail smiled and quickly walked up to him. Missy took both of them by the hands, and with a barely audible snap, all three vanished from the room.
Hermione watched them go, then turned her attention back to Maeve:
— Well then... Grab a chair and sit down next to me. I'll show you what the reports you'll be receiving look like and what documents you'll have to draft yourself.
Maeve looked at Hermione and let out a heavy, resigned sigh. Truth be told, she wasn't actually afraid of a huge workload—one shouldn't forget she was a Ravenclaw graduate, and alumni of that house were renowned for their sharp minds. The woman was simply terrified of making a mistake somewhere and causing trouble.
— Come on, Mum, don't stall! — Astrid nodded with an important air. — This position is very important for me... I mean, for our family!
— And why are you slacking off? — Hermione asked in a stern tone. — Have you finished reading those books I gave you yet?
Astrid froze instantly. She slowly turned her head toward the couch, stared at the three massive, intimidating books, and curled her lips in disgust. Reluctantly walking over to the couch, the girl picked up the top one, opened it to her bookmark, and whispered very softly under her breath:
— Why did Mum have to end up working under Hermione?.. Why not Daphne?..
— Did you say something? — Hermione narrowed her eyes.
— No! I was just reading out loud! — Astrid blurted out, hurriedly hiding her face behind the giant book.
In truth, the girl liked reading, but she wasn't nearly as obsessed as Hermione, for whom a book like that was considered mere light reading.
Hermione herself shook her head tiredly. When she first met the girl, she thought she had found a kindred spirit: Astrid was full of curiosity and eagerness to learn, and Hermione had happily set about sharing knowledge with her. However, that only lasted until Astrid simply grew tired of it. And now Hermione was left with no choice but to force her to study.
— Hermione? Are you completely sure I'm right for this position? — Maeve asked quietly.
Hermione looked at her and gave a reassuring nod:
— Don't worry. This role doesn't require extraordinary leadership traits. What matters most is deep knowledge and a strong grasp of numbers, and you have more than enough of both.
Maeve was still nervous, but not nearly as much. Having calmed down, she was able to soberly process what was happening: in essence, she was becoming something of Hermione's deputy, which was a major step up the career ladder. Had she refused now, she would have blamed herself for the rest of her life. Besides, it was a great opportunity to influence her own husband. Victor gave them a choice on how to receive their salary: it could be taken in Galleons, Muggle currency, or split in any proportion and received in both at once. If she started earning more than her husband, it would surely sting his pride, and he too would decide to join "Hydra."