Mischief | Fred Weasley

One

The war that ended at Hogwarts castle on May 2nd, 1998, with victory for the wizarding world and the defeat of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, left the world to bury their loved ones, reconnect with those who had been lost, and to pick up the pieces left behind. For many, that also meant going back to work, rebuilding businesses and starting new ones in the middle of the recovery. For those who graduated from Hogwarts just before the beginning of the war and the hiding, some were looking for jobs for the first time, and some were having a very hard time doing so.

"Elaine, is that you?" The young woman heard a voice call from another room of the flat as she closed the front door behind her, keeping out the late summer heat from following her in.

"It's me, Mum," she said, immediately making her way into the kitchen for a glass a water.

Her mother, a thin and somewhat frail-looking woman, smiled at her from where she sat at the dining table with a cup of tea in hand. "Find anything?"

Elaine let out a dramatic groan as she sat in the chair beside her mother with the glass of water.

"I'll take that as a no."

Elaine didn't respond until the glass of water was nearly empty. "No one seems to be hiring. All of the shop owners have told me the same thing, that they can't afford to hire help yet or they already have it, if they are opening at all."

"What about that one I saw in the Prophet?" Her mother asked. "What was it called? Wea-"

"I'm not working at the joke shop, Mum," Elaine insisted. "I remember them from school. They were nothing but troublemakers and I don't think it would be good for my future to get arrested for something they put me up to."

"I don't think its that dramatic, and a job like that is better than no job at all." She took another sip of her tea. "I hear they are nice boys, and if they aren't, you don't have to stay forever."

Elaine took a moment, knowing that her mother was only wanting what was best for her, for their entire family, and finally let out another dramatic sigh. "Fine, I'll go tomorrow."

"Go today."

"Mum-"

"Go," she said. "You're the one who insisted you needed a job as soon as possible, so what better time than now?"

Realizing, or perhaps even fearing, that her mother was right, Elaine left the glass of water on the table and left the house once again, apparating back to the same spot she just left in Diagon Alley.

Despite the few months that had passed since the end of the war, Diagon Alley was still unrecognizable. Many buildings that housed some of her favorite shops were still in ruins from the raids of Death Eaters, never to be opened again. The typical hustle and bustle of late July brought upon by early school shoppers was instead replaced by the occasional patron looking to make light of their situations and shop owners trying to rebuild. Most of the rebuilding efforts of the Wizarding World was focused on Hogwarts, still without news about reopening for the term, leaving the few shop owners who were desperate to get their businesses back in order alone.

When Elaine reached the shop, there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that she was in the right place. Unlike the other brick and shades of grey buildings that lined the main walk of Diagon Alley, this shop was painted in the bright signature shades of purple and orange. The windows were tall, allowing her to see that even this late into the afternoon, the shop was still bustling with activity, parents being dragged around by children wanting the latest gadget and teenagers looking for a new prank for the hopeful beginning of term that could be approaching soon. The bright building had not been spared from the disaster that became of the alley, but its owners were the first to rebuild all that had been damaged. Aside from the absolutely gigantic, moving statue with the likeness of the owners of the shop, the sign above the windows with the shop's name was obvious: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.