Edward noted the quick rush of color as he stepped back. He winked to her and smiled. He looked at the table to see what sorts of things they had decorated and then pondered whether he should remove the cape. It was rather heavy and he didn't expect he'd be able to dance much later if he was sweating like a 17th century prince. He hadn't quite powdered well. He glanced up to the head table. Looks like he's having a nice time like a normal person. Hopefully some dolt won't go up and start pestering him about ministry affairs tonight.

I think you look lovely. That's a very nice dress. It's a rather intricate pattern. How did you find it? I just went to a costume shop and tried to pick out something that was a little extravagantly silly. He took a sip of water and responded. I guessed you'd be here, so I didn't want to miss the chance to dance a time or two. I figured you'd be covered up with lads lining up to take your hand this evening.

Ainsley glanced in the direction of the minister. "It does look like it. I'm pretty sure I can spot if something is not going as planned by the look on his face." Having work with the man for two years, she was pretty well versed in all of his expressions and their meanings. "I'm close enough that I can politely step in and steer the conversation to a safer place if need be." Ainsley was not nearly as important as the minister, but she would hate the feeling of constantly needing to be babysat. "Besides my main job is to keep any kind of story that would make the ministry or the minister himself look bad out of the daily prophet." That was quite the task if she did say so herself. "He has personal advisers for everything else." So really she didn't need to do anything. For the most part she stayed on top of it though. It made for an easier job that way.

"That's very sweet of you to say. Thank you." this ol' thing? "I actually found it in a muggle shop in London. I picked it out before I even knew about the ball. I guess that worked out." You never knew when something would come in handy. Ainsley didn't really need an excuse to buy clothes or fashion accessories considering she needed to appear nice at all times for her job. More blushing ensued. Edward seemed to have that effect on her. "I'm sorry to disappoint you Edward, but I haven't been asked once tonight." Of course she had been busy, but still. Everybody seemed to be paired off anyways so there wasn't much chance in that happening.

He listened attentively as she described what she did in a nutshell. It was interesting learning what exactly she did. It was always hard to learn those things in direct questioning, but listening during conversations, little things tended to come up. Then you've got a busy job, trying to keep the Daily Prophet from writing about the ministry. I'll bet it was a challenge to keep much of the chizpurfle stuff out of the news. I'd only really read the one article. He looked for some tea and found the pot and the leaves. Would you care for some tea, or perhaps something else? He poured himself a cup and let the leaves steep some to deepen the flavor.

He smiled. I meant every word. Of course I'm surprised the lads aren't beating down the door. I wish now that I'd invited you to be my date, but I've been a bit off lately. I think all the Chizpurfle hunting and breaking into the Ministry really did me in more than I thought. He looked at the tea, and satisfied at the color dropped a couple sugar cubes in and took a tentative sip. Placing the cup back on the saucer he grinned. Well then, all the better for me then so I'll have a better chance of a dance or two. He winked at her and took the cape off and set it behind him on the chair.

SPOILER!!: Edward

He listened attentively as she described what she did in a nutshell. It was interesting learning what exactly she did. It was always hard to learn those things in direct questioning, but listening during conversations, little things tended to come up. Then you've got a busy job, trying to keep the Daily Prophet from writing about the ministry. I'll bet it was a challenge to keep much of the chizpurfle stuff out of the news. I'd only really read the one article. He looked for some tea and found the pot and the leaves. Would you care for some tea, or perhaps something else? He poured himself a cup and let the leaves steep some to deepen the flavor.

He smiled. I meant every word. Of course I'm surprised the lads aren't beating down the door. I wish now that I'd invited you to be my date, but I've been a bit off lately. I think all the Chizpurfle hunting and breaking into the Ministry really did me in more than I thought. He looked at the tea, and satisfied at the color dropped a couple sugar cubes in and took a tentative sip. Placing the cup back on the saucer he grinned. Well then, all the better for me then so I'll have a better chance of a dance or two. He winked at her and took the cape off and set it behind him on the chair.

It was nice hearing someone appreciate the fact that she did work hard at her job. Of course she didn't mind, but it was quite hard sometimes. "It was actually. I hate that the one story managed to get out, but there's only so much I can do." Sweet talking and homemade treats usually did the trick, but there was so much more to it than than. Thigns were bound to get by her. People talked too much if you asked her. "I try to make it a point to be on good terms with all of the heads to keep on top of the game." A heads up could go a long way. "Tea sounds lovely actually." Anything that would warm her up would be appreciated. Now that she was not moving around, the cold was more apparent.

Edward definitely had a way with word. She couldn't help but to grin from ear to ear. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, and knew right away that her cheeks had to be rosy. "No worries. I'm sure you will get more opportunities." Merlin... she didn't expect that to come out of her mouth. Biting her bottom lip, she turned her gaze for a moment to gather her thoughts. Looking back at Edward she nodded in agreement. "I think that did all of us in." She could only hope that this year would be smooth sailing. "I may be able to help you there." She really did enjoy dancing.

Edward smiled as he poured some water in a cup for her and then added the leaves. Milk or sugar? he asked to find out how she took her tea. Continuing his thoughts about her job, Either way, it was a masterful piece of work to keep those reporters off the story. Could have had a disasterous effect in the magical world if the ministry is seen as weak, even if I don't agree with all their policies.

He winked at her when she told him he'd get opportunities. Splendid. Shall we start off with a dance while we wait for our tea to steep? He stood, after removing his cape and offered his hand to the lovely Ainsley.

"I'll take both please." She didn't like too much milk or sugar, but she needed a little bit of both in order for the beverage to taste just right. "You flatter me, Edward." It was a extremely nice thing for him to say, and she appreciated it very much so. "Yes. At that point I don't know how much damage control one could do." She would still try of course, but there's no use crying over spilled milk.

The blush was as prominent as ever. She decided to accept the reddening of her cheeks as a part of who she was. It didn't look like it was going to stop, so she would own it. Or try to anyways. "We shall." Edward was such a gentleman, and she couldn't help but to feel a few butterflies. Ainsley reached up and took his hand.

Edward returned to the table with Ainsley and took a moment to hold her seat out for her as she went to sit. It was a rather fun time he was having. He hadn't been sure it would be so when he decided to come. Of course he'd expected to be a wallflower with no real excitment from the event, but Ainsley's presence took all that away.

Slowly sliding the chair in as she took her seat, Edward took his seat and went to taking the tea leaves from the finished tea. He was grateful that the tea didn't seem to have cooled too much. I hope I did a good job with your tea. I've rather grown accustomed to how I like it and I'm not terribly good assessing how others like their tea. He took a sip and looked over the rim of his cup to see how she was doing.

Her chair was being held out for her and everything. Talk about major internal swooning. This was nice, and she could definitely get used to to it. "Thank you kindly." Ainsley was very thankful that Edward had decided to show up.

Taking the tea from Edward, she took a sip. The temperature was perfect. Not to mention Edward had done a nice job of getting her tea the way she liked it. "It's pretty spot on actually." The blonde took another sit, and then placed the cup back on the table. "So, how have you been?" It had been a little while since the last time she saw him.

His brows furrowed a bit as she asked how he'd been. Well. I've been ok really. It's been busy since we saw each other in the ministry trying to get rid of those blasted chizpurfles. I've been trying to figure out exactly it is that I do there as well as get our workspace back in tip top shape. It's awful that the ever-locked room got in that shape, really. He took another drink from his tea. What about you? How are things going with you, other than the occasional need to block the prophet from blasting out ALL the ministry's secrets?

The chizpurfles had been a headache. Ainsley shivered as she thought of them. She nodded as he spoke, and took a few sips of tea here and there. The warm beverage was really hitting the spot. There was one thing that really caught her attention in the conversation. "So, you don't know what your job description is?" Still? She knew that he worked in the department of mysteries, but that was a bit too mysterious if you asked her.

"I haven't had much going on other than the fiasco at the ministry." She hasn't had much of a life outside of work lately. "I've been doing some baking." That was something that she loved to do, and didn't always have time for. "I'm actually thinking of starting a garden." What was better than fresh veggies. Why was she talking about baked goods and vegetables? Edward probably didn't care about either of those things.

He shrugged at her question. Well, research is always a bit of a quandary. I've worked out some of what I'm doing, but it's a challenging thing we study so it's hard to really describe it. My chief duties are to research and learn new things. As he began speaking of his job, he reminded himself he was an unspeakable and so he spoke in as broad terms as he could. He really didn't enjoy the research aspect of his work, though it was frustrating sometimes.

He smiled as she spoke about baking. I remember you bringing baked goods to the woman at Madam Malkin's. I believe you mentioned you might share some of your baking skills with me. He winked at her. Maybe they could get together soon and she could see his cooking prowess as well. He'd recently been working on some pasta dishes. He really was excited about using vermicelli and a creamed spinach. [b] What sorts of things are you going to grow in your garden. He couldn't imagine trying to grow things in the moisture rich atmosphere of London.