- Yes, sir! I'm ready. This is more than I expected.
"Hector, are you married?" Richard continued. "Do you have children?"
"No, sir," Proudfoot shook his head from side to side. "I haven't thought about starting a family yet."
"Well, I'm satisfied with your candidacy," Richard stated, turning his gaze to the flustered Nymphadora, whose hair had turned a light green. "Miss Tonks..."
"Sir," Nymphadora said nervously, "I'm eighteen, I graduated from Hogwarts a year ago. I was in Hufflepuff."
"Oh, dear Hufflepuff!" Richard's lips lifted involuntarily. "I'm a Hufflepuff myself. Miss, what's wrong with your hair?"
"Mr. Rich, I am a metamorphmage," Nymphadora replied. "I can change appearance, take on the appearance of other people."
The girl immediately demonstrated her talents. She changed her hair color to black, her eyes to brown, grew a huge hooked nose with a hump, and narrowed her eyes. In this appearance, she resembled a middle-aged witch.
Richie was surprised by such a magical talent, he had never heard of shapeshifters and was impressed by the demonstration.
"Amazing!" he said honestly, admiringly. "Can this be learned?"
"I don't know, sir," Nymphadora shook her head. "They say you have to be born with the gift. My parents are both wizards. My father was a Muggle-born, and my mother was a pureblood with a maiden name of Black. But she ran away from home because she didn't share her family's racist views, which were against having relations with Muggle-borns."
"Black..." Richard drawled thoughtfully, turning over the information in his head. "I remember several Blacks. Narcissa Malfoy had that name as a girl. Bellatrix Lestrange also had that name before her marriage-one of the terrorist Riddle's closest supporters, now in Azkaban. And Sirius Black-also a Riddle supporter, and he's in prison."
"I'm ashamed to admit it, but they really are my relatives on my mother's side," Nymphadora said, changing her hair color to ash-gray and returning her nose and eye shape to their original form. "Our family doesn't share their views at all."
"Okay, miss," Richard said, not noticing Tonks's lie. "What's going on with your personal life? It's not like a huge amount of money will be spent on your education, and then you'll suddenly get married and go on maternity leave, leaving you out of shape for a long time?"
"No, Mr. Rich," Nymphadora shook her head, this time revealing her pink hair. "I'm not planning on starting a family in the next few years; I want to build a career. But if I..." the girl's hair flushed red, as did her cheeks. "If I get pregnant, I'll try to get back to work as quickly as possible after the birth!"
"Okay," Richie rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on the girl's hair. "Miss Tonks, can you control your ability? I'm often in public. It would be strange if my bodyguard demonstrated, say, a hair color change at a press conference, right in front of the cameras."
"Sir, I can control it," Nymphadora said, a note of uncertainty in her voice. "Or I could wear a headdress."
"Excellent," Richard said. "You're both on probation."
Nymphadora beamed with happiness. Her eyes turned bright green and her hair pink.
Proudfoot breathed a sigh of relief, although he had been told earlier that he was accepted, but Hector could not quite believe it.
Nymphadora couldn't help but ask:
- Sir, excuse me, but what will the probationary period consist of?
"You'll be accompanying me in shifts this summer," Richard began to explain. "One day, Miss Tonks, the next, Mr. Proudfoot. Naturally, as bodyguards. I'll get to know you, you'll get to know me, and you'll get to know the job of personal security in general. During this time, you'll be paid your full salary. If everyone is happy by the end of the summer, you'll attend bodyguard school and complete the best six-month course. You'll also need to learn how to drive a car and fly a light aircraft. You'll also continue to stay in shape with hand-to-hand combat and magic training. You'll be paid a stipend of half your salary during your training. Upon completion of your training, you'll begin work with a full salary. While I'm at Hogwarts, you'll be guarding my father, the Duke of Westminster. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Yes!" Proudfoot replied eagerly. "Sir, I'm delighted to be able to further my qualifications. Frankly, at first I thought I'd have to live off my savings while I was training. That's an excellent offer, sir!"
"A Duke?" Nymphadora was taken aback. "Excuse me, but are you really a Count?"
A quiet laugh escaped Richard.
"Yes, Miss Tonks," he replied. "Earl Rich."
"Merlin!" Nymphadora exclaimed. "I thought it was some kind of joke. I'd heard of the Rich Workshop and thought you were the owner's son."
"No, Miss Tonks," Richard nodded. "This is my business. My father is an ordinary man, if you can call a duke and a billionaire with royal connections that. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you. Come tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning to 69 Rich Street. It's not far from here in London. I'll invite a wizarding notary, and we'll sign a magical contract."
"Good day, sir," Proudfoot rose from the bench.
"Goodbye, Count," Nymphadora said.
"Scott, we have to go too," Richard said.
"Yeah..." Detective Potter, silent throughout the entire conversation, set aside his nearly empty mug of beer with an indifferent expression and stood up. "Come on, lad. I don't like this place, but I have to use it for meeting with wizards."