Magic and Marcheti

The Leaky Cauldron was fairly empty when a redheaded girl tumbled out of the fireplace. The few regulars who sat nursing their drinks nodded at the teenager. Such was a fairly common sight, as Vivianna always took the same route on her way to work. The student would walk from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, and from there floo the pub. It was only a short walk from the Leaky to Marcheti's Wands, and Vivianna made the best of the fresh air.

Strolling down the cobblestone street like she owned it, the witch plastered a sneer on her pale face. The combination of a sneer and what she like to link of as her Slytherin Strut, always ensured that the young lady wasn't approached.

Opening the door to the shop that was her destination, Vivianna breathed in the scent that was just as much home as any potions lab. Calling out to alert the other staff member that she was there, the witch automatically went to organize the messy shelves.

Practically everything that she did in the shop was second nature to her. Not for the first time, the teenager considered not going into Potions upon her graduation. It was difficult, to choose between to equally fascinating and wondrous things. So many magical beings took wands for granted, but how so many could not even think twice about such an amazing object was beyond her.

Aaron rolled his wand in between his hands as he sat in his office. How much easier it would have been to escape from that wretched place if he had his wand. He was a powerful wizard, or at least he had been, and he would have easily been able to fight his way out of there if he had not been caught off guard when he had been arrested. His blood began to boil a bit when he thought of being betrayed by one of his own. He would find them and he would kill them in the most horrible way possible.

The door to his shop opened and he heard a voice he had not heard in some time. Vivianna was a worker who he had hired before he had gone to Azkaban, and a good one at that, she showed fascination in wands that rivaled even his own. He remembered when he had been her age and he became obsessed with wands and everything they could do. He enjoyed it when someone took an actual interest in something and wanted to know more about it, which was why he hired her on the spot, and she had not failed him yet.

Standing to his feet, and ignoring the pain in his back, he hobbled out of his office and sought the young girl out. He was sure she would be surprised he was back, no one else seemed to care, not that it mattered. It was what he got for associating with a bunch of sadistic killers, no one cared when you were put away. He turned a corner and he found her in a hallway organizing the shelves.

"Too busy to even say hi?"

Vivianna whirled around, startled by a rough voice from behind her. The girl wasn't used to being surprised like that, as she was a tad obsessed with being aware of her surroundings. Eyes taking a single moment to process whom the voice belonged to, a smile spread across the student's face.

Not thinking and allowing her teenage emotions to take over, the redhead rushed towards the man and practically threw herself at him. Arms wrapped around the male, Vivianna squeezed once before letting go and taking a step back. The employee had never done such a thing before, and truthfully wasn't one for tons of contact. She had missed the man though, so a hug could hardly be considered an inappropriate greeting. As far as she was concerned, anyway.

"Glad you're back," the young witch said lightly, before spinning around and heading back to the shelves. She didn't want to turn her back on the man, but it was necessary to hide her blush. Exactly why she was embarrassed, the Slytherin wasn't quite sure, but she had never been fond of other people seeing her doing something like blushing.

Vivianna respected the wand maker, in a way that she respected very few people. Aaron Marcheti was powerful, and dark, and brilliant. The way that the ex-prisoner dealt with wands, talked about his craft; it was hypnotizing at times. Smile curling at her lips, the student continued with her mindless work.

The girl leaped into his arms and he had to think fast to grab onto her for fear of falling onto his bum. His back seared with pain when she embraced him, but he did not yell out, he just let out a light chuckle at her excitement. Honestly it was the most refreshing he had felt since he had been out. So far the only reactions he had received were about how terrible he looked or evil glances from people who thought he was going to murder them where they stood in the street.

"I suppose it's good to be back." She turned and went back to her work and Aaron continued to stand where he was, watching the obviously blushing girl go back to her work. It was the little things he missed such as small conversation, showers, a good meal, or just being around other people whose soul purpose was not to suck away at your very soul.

"The shop looks as good as the day I left it, and I hear sales haven't dropped at all, and maybe even gone up a bit. You've been taking care of my pride and joy well I see."

"Thank you," Vivianna said, pleased. Turning around, the Slytherin became all business, even if she didn't quite drop the smile upon her face. "If I may make a suggestion, you need to make some serious staffing changes," the witch told her the ex-prisoner. Glancing at the wall where a chart was stuck with Spell-O-Tape, the girl insured that she was the only employee on staff at that time.

"Your current manager, you need to get rid of him," the teenager said bluntly, "he's a mess, lazy, and almost blew up the store a few weeks ago. Granted, he definitely kept things going during my school hours, but now that you're back, he's not needed around here anymore."

Adding a firm nod a few seconds after she was done talking, the witch was satisfied that the wand maker would at least look into it. Practically prancing across the room, Vivianna went to grab a wand box that had been left abandoned on a desk. Placing something between a pat and a gentle tap on Mr. Marcheti's arm as she passed, the girl scooped up the box and went to put it away.

Aaron listened to her complaints about his manager and he admired how the girl was very blunt about things. He had never been too sure about Will, his manager, he always seemed to suck up to Aaron and he received a lot of complaints. Aaron hated being sucked up too and he hated complaints so it only seemed natural he got rid of the man. But he noticed the girl seemed to have a natural affinity for how things worked, and if she ever wanted to be anything in her life, she needed to step up sometimes. Maybe this could be a time for that.

"Honestly," Aaron started, looking around the wand store, still trying to adjust to being out of the wizard prison. "I am not a big fan of him myself." He smirked and he approached the girl and he lowered his voice. "So, as my newest manager, your first job is to go and fire him." He smirked, he wondered how she would handle it, but she seemed capable. She had proven herself by working hard while he was gone, and holding her complaint in until he came back, which he liked.

"Don't take it easy on him either." He winked and he stood there for a few moments, letting her know he was serious.

Vivianna was shocked. The teenager who prided herself in expecting the unexpected, was shocked. Eyes narrowed, browed furrowed ever so slightly, and head titled just the smallest fraction to the left, she regarded her employer. Narrowed eyes flickering around his face and body language, the student quickly surmised that the wizard was indeed serious.

The redhead was almost temped to remind the store owner that she was just a Hogwarts student, but it would take a rather pathetic Slytherin not to take advantage of such a situation. Closing her lips that had been slightly parted in surprise, Vivianna smiled at the wand maker.

Throwing her head back, and then rolling it quickly to the side, her neck made the loud crack that the teenager had been searching for. The witch was sure that it wasn't healthy, but the back of her neck had a tendency to ache if she didn't crack it. "It would be my pleasure," Vivianna replied smoothly, a smirk automatically taking place of the smile. Out of the corner of her eye the girl watched the door, knowing that Will should be arriving any minute.

Aaron watched her closely seeing how she would react to him promoting her to manager. Honestly the position did not mean much, at least to him, but he was sure it would at least boost her confidence a bit. Who knew, maybe she would become his apprentice, and then he could teach her everything he knew about wands. Well, maybe not everything, Aaron knew more than most wand makers because he studied some of the..... darker aspects of it. Very few people knew the true power a wand could have, but with power came consequences, and Aaron had never been a fan of consequences. Having a conscience was for the weak.

"Just don't let me down or else you will wind up like William. I have no use for you if you do not produce exactly what I want." Aaron loved to make people feel expendable, it made them work harder when they thought they were always walking on ice, he really did not care for anyone besides himself so if the girl did not work out for him, so be it. He had a feeling about her though, she seemed like a hard worker and loyal, but that was exactly the feeling a good Slytherin knew how to produce.

The bell rang at the front door and Aaron turned his head to see Will. He put on a fake smile and he spread his arms wide, he was going to enjoy this. "Ah, young William, so glad to see you again." Will seemed surprised, he did not expect to see Aaron, but his surprise vanished and he replaced the look with that of happiness.

"You are out of Azkaban? Welcome back!" He rushed forward and shook Aaron's hand profusely.

"You seem surprised? Do you really think a bunch of Dementors could keep me prisoner?"

"Of course not, it is just good to see you, Vivanna! What are you doing standing around? Get to work! There is a new shipment of cores in the back that need to be sorted. Sorry about her Mr. Marcheti, she has been a burden since you left."

Aaron smiled.

Vivianna narrowed her eyes at the man. One second he was praising her, the next threating her. Well, at least she'd be kept on her toes. Still, the Slytherin hated being used. She also hated being tossed around like a naïve little girl. Far too many people did that, she loathed when people treated her like a child who should automatically bow down to the word of her elders.

Of course, she knew Mr. Marcheti, and respected him. So the witch didn't mind nearly as much as she could have. The teenager still grew tense to this very day whenever thinking of her old potions teacher. The idiot had talked down to the students like they were five. When it came down to it, Vivianna was pretty sure that she was more skilled with potions than that teacher ever would be. The teenager had been so glad when that fraud was fired.

The Slytherins expression smoothed out into a blank slate when Will walked in. The girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the man instantly began sucking up to his boss. If Will was half that polite to the customers, perhaps the sales would have been even better. Then again, there was no use worrying about that now.

Unsurprised that Will automatically began attempting to order her around, the teenager just turned to the man with an overly-forced smile. "Will, it's great to see you," the witch said with fake smile still in place, and tone sickly sweet, "But I'm glad to say that you won't be needed at work today. You see, Mr. Marcheti and I just had a little chat, and both agreed that we really don't like you. Not only that, but you're terrible with the customers, and at times have been a flat out safety hazard. So, and you must understand how painful it is for me to say this, you're fired."

With that, she took the necessary strides forwards to reach her once-superior. Looking up into Will's face, eyes wide and innocent, she placed a hand on the males arm and added, "my condolences." Oh yes, revenge was sweet.