The seeds were planted and they'd been watered for some time now, but fruits of her labor were still slow-growing. It was frustrating and the impatience was beginning to get to Alphonsine, but she knew all of their tedious and tireless efforts to this point would be well worth it. There had still been so much accomplished to this point and none had been the wiser. It was almost easy now and even this party was a testament to that.

Still, there was something missing, a very important something that should have been acquired by now. It was likely the source of the mild annoyance niggling at the back of her mind, even while she wore the sweetest of expressions as she mingled through the crowd.

Alphonsine was on the hunt for a specific department head....no, not that one. Behind her elegant mask, she cut side-eyes to the very loud and newest of the department heads. Did she really need to be at an 11 all the time? Even if Alphonsine preferred a more subtle approach in pretty much any interaction, Sian wasn't her concern today. Even if she did feel the start of a headache coming on. It was someone else she needed to speak to. Someone, she was starting to get the feeling, who was avoiding her, which was not something she was used to.

As her eyes casually scanned the crowd, she reached for a glass of bubbly and approached a couple engaged in conversation (Luther and Laurel). "It really is a shame that the Ministry floos keep malfunctioning, isn't it?" she said lightly, making small talk and shaking her head a bit before sipping her drink. "Seems like it's been ages since they've worked properly. It's really difficult for those of us who are unable to apparate." Really, what was going on with the transportation department that they couldn't get it fixed? But she did wonder if anyone else was having the same issues that she was since the floos and the toilets and even the lifts weren't quite functional these days.