Matilda, Child of Fire

TSoT/HMV: Hacy on the Hiring Committee

20 TSoT/HMV: Hacy on the Hiring Committee

"I know what I know, what I know, what I know, what I know..." -Kimbra, song "Human"

6:50 am, Saturday, Morgana's Kitchen, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico Neighborhood

Harry stared at the sheet of paper Morgana passed him and Macy for technical editing. He hadn't imagined, five years ago, that Morgana's demands for retirement were to come to fruition in such an odd manner, and at so early a weekend hour. The last obstetrician she vetted had, once again, disappeared, this time for good it seemed, according to the note left at Morgana's doorstep the previous morning. Harry's former position as Hilltowne University's Chair of Women's Studies and Macy's scientific and Charmed One background warranted enough of Morgana's interest as to have her place them both on her three-person obstetrical hiring committee.

--------------------------Magical Obstetrical Hiring Committee: Azores Islands: Antes morrer livres-------------

1—Qualifications: board certified (magical and mortal), advanced certification in maternal-fetal magical medicine, a subspecialty for women with high-risk magical pregnancies (holistic experience welcome)

2—Doctor's Background: length of time practicing (magical realm/dimension taken into consideration), extra field training if any (century, country, time period), whether he/she performs C-sections, number of births attended in career (succubus births a plus though not necessary), number of births attended in average month

3—Labor and Delivery: contingency plan if unavailable, hospital magical point-of-contact(s) (mortal contacts if no other option)

4—Standard Prenatal Care: nutrition, birth plans (discussion of magic dampening safety techniques)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Er, Morgana—" began Harry, as Morgana plunked down piping-hot cups of Earl Grey tea for Harry and herself, and a cup of strong coffee for Macy, "you might not want to affix the Azores Island motto to the hiring committee emblem—"

"And why is that?" Morgana's emerald eyes flashed indignantly, as she snatched the piece of paper from his grasp.

"Because," interjected Macy, just as bleary-eyed as Harry, "'Antes morrer livres' literally means 'Rather die free than subjected in peace.' The obstetrician's job literally is to bring new magical life into the world. Is this the message we want to send?" Morgana's shoulders slumped as she shook her head.

"I thought it sounded unique," she said, crestfallen. Macy patted Morgana's shoulder sympathetically.

"I know," replied Macy.

"Also," Harry spoke up. "I'd recommend renaming the hiring committee."

"Why, pray tell?" Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"Magical Obstetrical Hiring Committee's acronym is MOHC. Too similar to "mock," no? Can't have future interviewees thinking we lack accreditation standards or, heaven forbid, don't take our job seriously—"

"—Because, of course we do—" inserted Macy, attempting to stifle a yawn. She had been up late the previous night waiting for Matilda to come home from work, in addition to centrifuging her latest 5000-sample set of Cyclops ocular protein back at Vera Manor. Traveling between multiple time zones was certainly exhausting.

7:30 am, Morgana's Kitchen, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico Neighborhood

"So—this piece of paper—is it for—" Macy paused, scrutinizing its contents, "designing a job application for magical obstetricians?"

Morgana shook her head. "More for our awareness when we interview the candidates."

Harry leaned forward, switching on his academia mindset. "And just how will we find said candidates, exactly?"

"LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, and other scouting techniques," responded Morgana. "The magical obstetrics specialty is hard to come by, but we can't create an ad. It'd mean risking exposing non-magic mortals to our realm."

Reasonable enough. "What do you suggest, then?" asked Macy, taking a sip of her coffee. Ooh, nice and strong, she thought to herself, as she peered over at Morgana.

"Same's what I did before," Morgana produced her own phone with the various scouting websites and muttered a few words in Portuguese, a language common to the islands:

"Ajude-nos a procurar um obstetra mágico,

Ajude-nos a encontrar uma flor especial com talento."

Instantly, the profiles and corresponding electronic resumes from each of the three websites were drawn forward onto a new fourth list, displaying qualified medico-magical practitioners in the relevant field.

"Impressive!" Harry exclaimed. "Absolutely brilliant!" Morgana beamed, unused to such praise.

7:50 am, Saturday, Morgana's Kitchen, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico Neighborhood

"And our job is...?" Macy trailed off, glancing at the sheet in front of her coupled with the fourth list, and back up at Morgana.

"Your job is to filter through the fourth list, deciding who to interview based on the criteria on the sheet I gave you. Later, you'll both help me interview the candidates. Be my extra pairs of eyes, if you will. The interview itself will go based off a set of Q&A scenarios, which I'll create once we complete the first set of tasks."

Harry and Macy nodded as they each took another sip of their respective beverages. They certainly had their work cut out for them.