Chapter 1
A handsome young man, roughly 25 years of age, stood in front of his mirror as he quickly adjusted his tie. He was just over six feet tall with dark brown hair that often fell into his eyes. If you asked him, he wouldn't be able to tell you how many times he's cursed his hair, although he always assured you that the number was exponential, to say the least.
He reviewed his wardrobe again. Dark blue pants, white shirt, emerald green tie, with a dark brown belt and shoes. Upon reaching his head, he cursed his untamed hair once more. Mentally giving it the okay, he grabbed his matching blue blazer and head out of his room, preparing to start his big day.
An owl flew in through his window, dropping off a newspaper before flying out again. The young man barely paid attention as he quickly gathered his papers together and sorted them neatly into his briefcase. When he finished, he shut his briefcase and placed it by the door. He walked briskly towards the kitchen, one hand reaching out to grab the newspaper as he passed the table.
He quickly started the coffee maker and leaned against the counter, opening the newspaper. The steady "drip…drip…drip…" of the machine continued in the background as he softly muttered, "Three….two…" as if counting down to something, "one…now." He smiled mischievously as he heard a shout coming next room.
"JAMES!!" his roommate Draco yelled as he stormed out his bedroom into the kitchen.
James continued reading his newspaper as he "innocently" asked, "Yes?"
"Did you do this??" Draco shrieked as he stormed out of his bedroom into the kitchen wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.
James raised his gaze over his newspaper only to see a head of hot pink hair and a pair of steel colored eyes glaring at him. He simply remarked, "That color actually suits you quite well, Draco. I don't see what you're so upset about."
"GAH! Change it back! NOW!"
James laughed, "Would you chill out, man?"
"CHILL OUT?! MY HAIR IS PINK! WE HAVE A HUGE MEETING TODAY! AND YOU WANT ME TO CHILL OUT!!!"
A "Ding!" rang out, informing the two men that the coffee was ready. James shut his paper, placed it on the counter and reached for a coffee mug. "Yes, Draco, I want you to chill out," he laughed, "It's not permanent or anything…it'll go away in like five minutes. It's no big deal." He poured the fresh coffee into his mug, grabbed the newspaper, and sat down at the table.
"So what if it goes away in five minutes?! It's the principle of the whole thing! You…turned…my…hair…PINK!!"
James chuckled, "Then perhaps it would be wise of you to cast a protective charm on your shampoo bottle. This entire thing can be prevented quite easily, you know."
"JAMES!"
"May I suggest that you stop griping at me and finish getting ready since we're leaving in about 10 minutes?"
"What? No, we're not," he looked at the clock mounted over the sink, "We have over an hour," he said, confusion coming over his face.
James laughed again, "You forgot about Daylight Savings again? 'Spring forward,' and all that?"
"Crap!" Draco yelled as he ran back into his room, holding onto his towel to ensure that it wouldn't fall.
James snickered again as he softly said in a sing-song voice, "April Fool's!" He opened up his newspaper again and quickly skimmed the headlines looking for something that interested him.
"'Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley, renews search for Harry Potter!'…. Oy…when will they figure it out? He's not here anymore…..'Weasley Twins Headed to the Top!' Haha, good job, guys...'Harry Potter Spotted!' ….Jeez, give it a rest, Rita…no one believes you anymore."
He continued like this until one particular headline intrigued him, "'Uh-oh! Is Hart, Malfoy, and Co. in trouble?'" He muttered, "What the…?" as he opened up to the page containing the article. He read it silently to himself.
"Yes! It's true! Another is on the rise! James and Draco had best watch their backs against this feminine duo! Carey and Weasley, or as they're fondly known, C&W, are becoming wildly popular! All I can say is…Hart, watch out!"
He looked at the picture showing Mia Carey and Ginny Weasley posing…back to back, both faces smiling at the camera, and arms crossed over their chests.
James thought to himself, "Hmm…this Carey girl seems familiar…but I don't remember meeting her…" Then another, bigger, thought struck him, "Crud!"
He abruptly stood up, taking the newspaper with him as he yelled at his roommate, "Malfoy! Get your butt out here! We've got trouble!"
The door opened and out came a very confused, albeit well-dressed, Draco; his hair back to normal. "Huh? What? Trouble?"
"Yup…we've got competition," he replied, handing Draco the newspaper for him to read and then reached for his briefcase.
After a minute, Draco looked back up at Harry and said, "Crap."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ginny Weasley! I need to see you in my office…NOW!" James yelled as he passed by her cubicle.
Ginny rolled her eyes and quickly hid her smile as she immediately got up to follow James and Draco into his office.
As she entered the door, James said, "Shut the door behind you."
She did what he asked and then turned to face him. He was standing behind his desk with a fierce gaze directed at her. The newspaper clinched tightly in his right hand and he furiously asked, "What the heck is this?"
"A newspaper, sir?"
"I know it's a newspaper, Ms. Weasley! I want to know why the heck they are reporting that you and some Carey girl have started your own company!"
"Maybe because we did, sir."
"You're telling me…that in spite of the fact that I hired you as my secretary 4 years ago…the fact that we work well together…and the fact you signed a CONTRACT…you went and started your own business?!"
She looked at him, and then at Draco who was silently sitting on the couch in James' office with a questioning look on his face.
"Well?" James asked impatiently.
"I suppose that's true, sir."
"Well, if that's true then you're fired!"
"Okay," she said simply, not giving a fight, and then turning to walk out the door. But just before she turned the handle, she looked back and asked, "Can I just say one thing?"
"What?"
At this point, Ginny smirked, opened the door, and said, along with the entire company who had been eavesdropping, "APRIL FOOL'S!!"
James stood shocked, his jaw reaching to his chest as the beginnings of a smile twitched on his lips. He started to laugh, "It was a joke?"
Draco stood up and walked over to James, laughing as he said, "We finally got you, mate!"
The sound of laughter, applause, and whooping from the entire company was heard in the background as James exclaimed, "YOU! You were in this?"
"The whole time."
Ginny said, "I can't believe you fell for it! Do you actually think I'd leave the company like that?"
"Well," James said, defending himself, "You are a Weasley."
Ginny laughed, "Good point."
"But man, am I glad you didn't start your own company."
"So does this mean I get my job back?"
"No."
"What?" Ginny screamed.
He laughed, "It means you never lost it."
"Well, thank God, I'd hate to sic my brother Ron on you."
"Ron?" he questioned, deftly putting on an act.
"Oh, that's right. You've never met him yet. I can't believe I've worked for you for four years and you still haven't met him."
"Well…I am busy."
"I know, but still."
Draco butted in, "Maybe it's a good thing he hasn't met him, what with his being a weasel and all?" He grinned, awaiting her reaction.
However, Draco's grin was quickly wiped off his face, "Excuse me, Malfoy?" she retorted, "And who's the one who got turned into a ferret?"
"Hey, that wasn't my fault!"
She laughed, "Maybe not, but it still happened! And my brother has never forgotten it!"
James was smiling at the memory before he realized that he was never there…so he quickly asked, "What are y'all talking about?"
Draco looked at him and said, "Oh, nothing. It's a long story."
"Draco got on the bad side of our DADA professor one time and he was turned into a ferret."
James laughed as Draco asked, "Are you going to tell everyone that story?"
"Anyone who isn't a muggle and who's willing to listen."
"Okay, enough of this bickering! I've had my filling of you two," James interrupted, "And I have a question, Ginny. Who's Mia Carey?"
"Oh, finally! I was wondering when you'd get around to asking about her. She's one of my roommates from college. Very smart…I was thinking that she'd be a great addition to the company…she's got a lot of talent, not to mention guts."
"So, you want me to interview yet another one of your friends?"
"Yes, I do. But this time is different, I really think she'd be good."
"That's what you always say."
"Come on, James! I owe it to her, she helped us with the prank!"
"Which is precisely why I don't want to interview her! She might lead to another one of my downfalls!"
"James…" Ginny begged, giving him her best puppy-dog look.
James felt his heart melting and him reluctantly giving in, "Oh, fine. Call her and set up an appointment!"
"Don't have to! She's already here!"
"What?"
"She's here! Just wait right here and I'll go get her! Thanks, James! I knew you wouldn't me down!" she said as she rushed out the door to go get Mia.
James looked at Draco helplessly, "What did I just get myself into?"
He replied, "I don't know, mate…but I sure don't wanna stick around to find out!" And with that he left James' office.
"Oy, vey. What have I done?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"He said okay! Come on, let's go!"
"Whoa, calm down, Ginny!"
"Come on, you have got to meet my boss! I don't care if he even gives you a job, just meet him!"
"Wait! So there was another reason you wanted me to come here?"
"Oops, did I say that out loud?"
"Ginny! Are you wanting me to go out with your boss?!"
"Oh, come on! You haven't even met him yet, Mia!
"And I have half a mind to keep it that way!"
"Mia! Come on, he's perfect for you! He's handsome, smart, nice…did I mention handsome?"
"Well, if he's so perfect then why aren't you going after him?"
Ginny blushed and stammered. As Mia watched her behavior, she came to a realization, "Oh my gosh, it's Draco isn't it?"
"Oh, fine, whatever, I like him! Now let's go get you a man!"
"Okay, okay…I'm going! But only because I really need this job, okay?"
"Uh-huh, whatever…would you stop stalling!" she said as she pulled Mia along beside her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As the two women entered James' office, he stood up to greet them.
"Hi! I'm Mia Carey. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice," she said, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Oh, it's no problem. Ginny, why don't you wait outside?"
"Gladly!" she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.
James looked at her suspiciously as she walked out of the door. After she left, James realized he still hadn't let go of Mia's hand. He quickly let go and apologized.
She blushed, "It's okay."
"Err…why don't you take a seat and we'll get started."
"Okay, sure," she said. As she sat down she watched James move around to seat and a feeling of déjà vu arose in the back of her head. "Um, I hope you don't mind my asking, but have I met you before?"
"You know something? I was actually wondering the same thing…but I don't think we were ever formally introduced. Maybe we've just seen each other around?"
"Yeah, that's probably it," she agreed, although she wasn't entirely convinced. Shoving it to the back of her mind, she reached down into her bag for her resume.
"Oh, wow, I like you already! You actually have a resume!" he said, laughing, as he reached forward for it. He read it silently, occasionally saying something out loud. "Wow…graduated Magna cum Laude….impressive," he read on until something caught his attention, he asked, obviously intrigued, "You spent the last two years conducting an independent research project on…the Forbidden curses?"
"Yes, sir, that's correct. My goal was to discover exactly how the curses worked."
"Did you?"
She grimaced, "No…not yet. However, I firmly believe that I am very close to finding out the answers. Unfortunately, my financial backers didn't seem to agree with me."
"Ahh…I see," he continued reading, "Huh…it doesn't say what school you attended prior to the University."
"I'm aware of that," she replied evasively.
"Well, where did you go?"
"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information."
He looked at her with a questioning look and raised an eyebrow.
"I know that doesn't sound good, and to be honest, it's one of the biggest reasons why I can't seem to get a job. The only thing I can say is that I attended a top-secret institution that teaches everything a Magical school would. Please don't ask me to say more about it."
James seemed to understand her situation and graciously let it slide…much to her relief. He reread her resume again to see if there was anything else he wanted to ask her about. Finding nothing, he said, "Well…I must say I'm very impressed with your qualifications."
Mia felt her heart leap up in her chest to what he was implying.
He was quiet for a few minutes, thinking over what he would offer her, and then he said, "I'd like to start you on a 3-month paid trial basis. I would like you to continue your research on the Forbidden curses with a report on your findings every other week. I'm prepared to offer you a guarantee of 10,000 Galleons for the next three months and a budget of 500,000 Galleons for your research…more if I like how you are progressing. Do you accept?"
"Well, I don't know about my personal salary…ten sounds kind of low," she replied, and then feeling ambitious, she added, "Fifty."
"Thirty," James countered.
She smiled, "Deal."
James stood up and came around to shake her hand in agreement. As their hands touched, the two of them felt something akin to a jolt of electricity. They stood there in silence, looking into each other's eyes…their hands still holding each others but not moving. Finally, James realized what was happening and quickly pulled his hand away, saying, "I guess we have a deal then."
"I guess so."
Then he whispered, "You know…I would have given you fifty."
She smirked, and whispered right back, "I would have taken the ten."
Smiling at his apparent state of shock, she called out, "Ginny, you can stop eavesdropping and come in now!"
And come in she did. She threw open the door and rushed to hug Mia, "I told you!" she shouted, "I told you he'd come through!"
Mia laughed, "Yes, you did. And I have you to thank for my new job."
At this point, James interrupted as he walked back to the other side of his desk, "Ginny, I need you to draw up the contract with the terms we've agreed on. I trust you heard them…being outside the door and all…"
Ginny blushed as he smirked and Mia laughed good-heartedly. James picked up the phone, pushed a button and held the receiver to his ear as it rang. When someone answered on the other line, he said, "Draco…board room in five."
"I know, Hart," he replied, annoyed as he hung up the phone.
James chuckled softly as he put the phone back and picked up his suitcase. He walked over the two women, "As much as I would love to stay for the celebration, I'm afraid I have a very important meeting to attend.
Mia nodded, "Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Hart."
"Agh…please call me James," he begged, "I hate being called 'mister'. Makes me feel old."
"Okay then, Mr.H-…James."
"Much better," he said as he walked to the door, then turned around suddenly, "Oh! I forgot! We use a lot of muggle technology here…we found a way to prevent the disruptions that magic cause around them a few years back, but we haven't released the method to the public yet. Are you familiar with muggle technology?" he asked.
"Yes, my parents are muggles," Mia replied.
"Good…good, I'm glad to hear that. There's not nearly enough muggle-borns attracted to this field…which is depressing as some of them are brilliant," he paused a second, memories flashing up in his head, then broke the spell as he was so used to doing and said to Ginny, "Don't forget! By tomorrow morning!" then turned and walked quickly to the board room.
The two women watched as he turned a corner and disappeared from their sight.