Victor was the first to come to his senses. Looking dead serious, he slowly approached Perenelle, gracefully dropped to one knee before her, and respectfully kissed her hand, a fanatical gleam shining in his eyes:
— I am thoroughly conquered and awed by your magnificent mind! Please, O great goddess of wisdom, continue to guide this simple sheep!
Perenelle laughed elegantly and with genuine delight:
— Ha-ha-ha! Even Nick has never called me a goddess in all these centuries... And yet it is quite pleasant! And I will, of course, continue to instruct you. Believe me, after six hundred years of managing the Flamel family affairs and building my own secret empire in France, I have gathered more than enough experience in such matters!
— And how long do you think it will take to reach the final stage? — he asked Perenelle.
— Hm-m-m... Well, that depends directly on how quickly you gather people to fill the city. But I think in just a couple of years you'll have your own small army of loyal followers. The quickest ones to join you will be young wizards who recently graduated from school and are still full of hope to fit into the magical community. With their hot young blood and youthful idealism, they will become genuinely devoted to you very quickly.
Victor paused to think for a second:
— So maybe we should just focus solely on them from the start?
But Perenelle merely shook her head:
— Small steps, Victor, small steps. In any case, you will need people to help with administration and management. And it's better if those are mature, experienced wizards who have already tasted the harshness of life.
Victor nodded understandingly.
— To fill the city faster, I would also recommend hiring regular wizards, not just Muggle-borns, — Perenelle continued. — But keep a strict handle on the process: for your plan to work, over seventy percent of the population must still be Muggle-born. And Victor... you must be prepared for the fact that as soon as your numbers start growing, all of England will take notice of you. You will easily get along with the Ministry of Magic — I hear the current Minister is exceptionally greedy for gold. As long as he's lining his pockets at your expense, they won't bother you. But be extremely cautious with the pure-blood families. And not just those who supported Voldemort, but all of them — they certainly won't like you trying to take control of the market away from them, since almost all of them grow rich off Diagon and Knockturn Alleys, — Perenelle warned him gravely.
Victor nodded in understanding.
— So, where do we start? — he didn't want to waste another minute.
— You should start by finding a chief assistant to bring them up to speed in advance. Then you'll go to Dumbledore for the lists. Only after that will you move on to persuading the first capable Muggle-borns. In the meantime, we will buy up a few workshops and shops in Diagon Alley for them, — Perenelle set the priorities, gently stroking the back of Adele, who was sitting beside her.
Victor pondered and frowned: where could he find a fiercely loyal person capable of properly managing a huge collective? But then, suddenly, his face lit up:
— Oh! I think I have a great candidate! Alright, a thirty-minute break, I need to go somewhere. Missy!
Forty minutes later, in that very same living room.
Victor looked enthusiastically at a completely bewildered Daphne:
— So, how do you like my project?
Daphne sat helplessly in the armchair, blinking her eyelashes, in a state of utter shock. And one could hardly blame her! Just twenty minutes ago, she had been sitting peacefully at home: her parents were off at work, and Astoria was still asleep in her bedroom. Suddenly, a house-elf reported that some strange boy was standing outside near the fence. The moment Daphne stepped onto the porch to see what was going on, someone snatched her up, threw her over their shoulder — and here she was!
Now Victor, Adele, the legendary Flamel family, and some unfamiliar girl were all staring directly at her. And Daphne herself couldn't begin to comprehend what they wanted from her in the first place: what shops, what city, and what on earth was she even doing here?!
— Victor, I think she might not be suitable after all. She is too young, — Perenelle remarked gently, observing Daphne.
— No, she's a great candidate! My loyal assistant Daphne. She's the one managing almost the entirety of Slytherin House instead of me, even though I am the Snake King!
Meanwhile, Abigail quietly approached Adele:
— So that's the Daphne I'm replacing for Victor?
— Yes, — Adele whispered back.
Daphne, who had been listening to them openly discuss her the entire time, let out a heavy sigh.
— Forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, we haven't been officially introduced. Allow me to introduce myself, — she rose gracefully from the armchair: — Daphne Greengrass. A pleasure to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me, allow me to speak with Victor in private.
She looked strictly at Victor and, in a tone that brooked no argument, motioned for him to follow her. Victor blinked in surprise and silently walked after her.
Stepping away from the others and into the hallway outside the living room, Daphne crossed her arms and glared at him with a frown:
— Just what do you think you're doing?! Disappearing all of a sudden while the train was under attack, and not even bothering to let me know you were alright! Do you have any idea how much I worried?! Until Hermione wrote that you were safe, I was going out of my mind! And the others?! My house was flooded with letters asking about you, I got sick of answering them! And after all that, you suddenly show up at my house and kidnap me to France?! Do you think that's normal?!
Victor listened carefully, then simply gave a warm smile and wrapped an arm around her waist:
— So you were worried about me?
Daphne pressed her lips together and turned away stubornly:
— Not at all! Our faction was worried! And besides, don't change the subject! Why did you kidnap me?!
Victor laughed heartily:
— Ha-ha-ha! I didn't know you were a tsundere! And what do you mean "why did I kidnap you"? Weren't you listening to me at all?
— I'm not a tsundere! — even though she had no idea what that strange word meant, she had a feeling it was something insulting. — And yes, I wasn't listening! Everything happened so fast that I was... a little flustered!
— Ha-a-ah... Alright, I'll explain again.
A few minutes later, they returned to the living room.
— So let me get this straight: you're asking... — Daphne began, but Perenelle gently cut her off:
— Not "you," but Victor. Don't take offense, dear, but I still don't think you're ideal for this role.
Daphne nodded understandingly, not taking offense at all, and turned back to Victor:
— Fine. Victor, you are asking me to help you manage a chain of shops that will employ exclusively Muggle-borns. And all of this is so that, over time, we completely poach the customers from Diagon Alley to your new city, which you will build, and which is actually meant for recruiting your personal followers... Did I miss anything?
Victor thought for a second and shook his head:
— Nope, that's completely correct.
Daphne nodded, giving him a smile:
— Wonderful. And are you aware that my family — the Greengrasses — also invested heavily in Diagon Alley back in the day and still receives a stable income from it? In essence, you are asking me to help you deprive my own family of profits.
— Hm-m-m, I hadn't really thought about that... — Victor pondered for a bit, then clapped his hands together: — But what if we look at it from another angle? We can't be a hundred percent sure my project will succeed anyway — everyone is used to shopping in familiar old Diagon Alley. But if I pull it off, I'll give a few of the manufacturing setups or major stores in the new city directly to you. In the end: if I go bust, your family loses nothing, and if it works — you, meaning your family, end up in the green!
Daphne fell silent for a moment, then looked him dead in the eye with great seriousness:
— And if I refuse... you'll force me to do it anyway, won't you?
Victor burst out laughing:
— Well, naturally! I'm asking purely out of politeness. I made up my mind a long time ago!
Daphne merely sighed in understanding. Over her two years of working for Victor, she had already learned to deal with his willful nature.
— Fine. But I will have two requests for you.
Victor was genuinely surprised:
— Oh! Interesting. And what would those be?
— First, you will make Hermione do this together with me, — Daphne stated firmly.
— Hermione?! What for? I don't think she's strong in administration or business.
— It doesn't matter. I just don't want to suffer alone!
Victor smirked:
— O-o-oh, alright! And the second request?
Daphne was flustered for a moment, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks:
— I'll tell you that one later.
Noticing the faint blush on her cheeks, Victor simply smiled knowingly:
— Fine, I accept your requests. Now, a thirty-minute break. Missy!
The house-elf appeared beside him instantly, and in that very second, both of them vanished.
Nicolas sighed heavily, shaking his head:
— Is he going to kidnap her too?
— Absolutely, — Perenelle and Adele answered in unison.
— Forgive me, we were never introduced... Who are you? — Daphne asked, turning her gaze toward Abigail with curiosity.
— Oh, right, sorry! I'm Abigail Taylor — Victor's deputy, which makes me your temporary replacement for the summer. And also his personal psychotherapist.
— W-what?.. Deputy?! Replacement?! — Daphne froze in place. She felt as though she had just been betrayed. She was... replaced?!
She looked Abigail up and down once more and scowled gloomily: the girl in front of her looked so striking that only one word popped into Daphne's mind to describe her — "succubus." And that thought made her scowl deepen even further.
Thirty minutes later, everyone present was staring together at a bewildered Hermione, who was sitting in the exact same armchair where Daphne had been recovering just a short while ago.
Hermione could hardly be blamed either: she had been sitting peacefully in her room reading a book when Victor barged in unannounced along with her mother, easily threw her over his shoulder, and politely thanked Mrs. Granger on his way out — to which her mother merely waved them off with a smile! And now Hermione was here, listening to a list of her new "duties" as manager of a chain of shops.
— Victor, I still have my doubts... Maybe you should think it over one more time? — Perenelle asked, looking at the two girls.
— Nothing to think over! I don't have any better candidates! Don't worry, they'll handle it fine; both are incredibly smart for their age. And if anything isn't clear — you'll help them. Wait, I just thought of something even better! I'll kidnap... er, I mean, invite them here every day for the entire week, and you can give them a full course in management!
Perenelle thought about it for a second and ultimately agreed.