Oh. Poppy giggled then let out a sigh of relief and placed her hand over her heart. Crisis averted. If anything the Ministry should go pink and sparkly, not green! But apparently they weren't concerned with beautifying the Ministry, they were concerned with making it more eco friendly. Poppy pursed her lips and rolled her eyes as she slouched on her hair. That was not her expertise, and, in spite of what others might think, Ministry Maintenance members were not the maids of the ministry. "Oh, no. I do not. Carry on." She finally spoke. Now that she had nothing to worry about she would spend the rest of the meeting curling her hair with her finger as she half listened to everyone's suggestions.

First day of work.

First ever meeting...of his life.

And he got late? Not good. Those cookies Helena baked for him are to be blamed because those babies were literally begging to be demolished and seeing how sensitive Blake is, he couldn't deny. Wiping off the teeny-tiny cookie crumbs stuck to the side of his mouth, Blake cracked open the door to the meeting room and very silently slid through the closing door without touching it. Score! D'awww Helena missed it...again! She never gets to see him pull off such a heroic stunt.

Toning down his excitement, he gave a cursory glace at the not-so-scary faces and waved at them, brainstorming an excuse for being so late. "Is it me or is the line at the coffee shop growing longer every day? Pheww.." He let out a nervous chuckle and proceeded to sit next to a random person who he didn't know. "What did I miss?" He turned to the person next to him, a small smile playing on his lips.

Mason looked up when a young man walked into the meeting. Well, slid in was more like it. He cocked an eyebrow and eyed him. Great. Another nutcase in the Maintenance department. Was he the only normal one?!

Line at the coffee shop? Pathetic excuse. He didn't have coffee cup in his hand! Not to mention there was a coffee maker in almost every room in the building. Mason had to refrain from jabbing his eyes out with a pen when the bloke sat next to him. And asked him a question. He turned to the guy slowly and eyed him for a moment before answering. "We were discussing how to liven up the Ministry; make it more green." He said dully before returning his attention back to the group.

Mason never liked meetings. Never.

What a cold, cold stare to give to your new colleague. Whatever happened to being welcoming? But Blake somehow sensed that his foolproof excuse for being late didn't work out. "What?" He questioned the guy who looked as if he was about to collapse or....die. "I...I drank the coffee on my way to work." Now that he had cleared the air, it was time to focus on work, work that he did not understand.

Green? He didn't mean the color green, did he? If yes, that made no sense. "Hire more Slytherins." He joked even though it wasn't a very good one. Clearing his throat, he reminded himself to be professional like Helena asked him to. "On a serious note, I have a couple of ideas." He spoke, looking at the faces which were now staring back at him. For a moment, he felt out of place, as if he didn't belong here. Shrugging off the weird feeling, he suggested the first thing that popped in his head, "A policy of purchasing only recycled paper and parchment sounds good."

Amaria nodded at the man. He seemed a bit of a joker. Seriously hire Slytherins. So stupid. But he did seem much more intelligent when he mentioned recycled paper. "I agree very much with only purchasing recycled paper," Amaria said very calmly taking a sip of her coffee. "I would also think we should promote recycling more. Perhaps have big posters and such demanding employees to recycle used parchment and such."

"Oh, I have an idea!" Poppy screeched all of the sudden. "How about we don't and pretend with did? Huh?" This was basically what she did to every task assigned to her, but it worked most of the time and when it didn't she always blamed it on her age or someone else. Let's face it, Poppy was way too fabulous to do any sort of work. Existing was her main occupation. Plus, she didn't like this going green garbage. Who cares if you toss one too many pieces of paper in the garbage can? Sounded more like a Muggle problem to her.

Were there any biscuits? She looked around. Boo, no biscuits. Maybe they should think about feeding their employees before anything else. Oh, she saw something. No, it wasn't a biscuit, but he was just as delicious looking as a biscuit. It was that Mason man, and he was sitting all the way across the room. There was no way she could discreetly scoot her chair all the way across the room, so she just waved at him and winked.

Anyway, back to Ministry matters. Let's pretend they matter and we try hard to please this man for a raise or a promotion or biscuits. "Okay, okay, so how about we replace all plastic cups with reusable ones." Was that actually a good idea? Merlin we will wait and see.

"Your department already supplies us with welcome witches and wizards, I'd like to focus on just making the place more environmentally friendly for now." He considered the other suggestions. "Well have to see what areas would first need more portraits, but I like the idea."

She was rather dramatic, wasn't she? Rafa sighed internally. "When you do, feel free to join the conversation." And absorb all the information being passed around, of course. She would be working with them on implementing these task's later.

The department head arched an eyebrow as this one attempted to sneak into the meeting late. Did he really think he'd be unnoticed? And he was chatting. Sigh.

These maintenance workers...

"We have coffee here," He inclined his head towards the tray in the center. No, he didn't buy that lie at all. And his expression showed it. "We're tossing around ideas right now, listen in first, then contribute."

... And then there were jokes.

Rafael would have sighed audibly this time had the man not actually suggested something worthy of being added to there list. Speaking of lists, he glanced over at the quill, making certain it was preforming it's task. "That, is an excellent idea."

"Posters are a good idea as well," He glanced at the man. "We can also have posters made of the new guidelines we plan to establish."

This time he DID sigh.

Rafael glanced over at the woman with a flat expression. "I didn't join the ministry to pretend to better the environment." What was the point of that? "And I didn't call all of you here to waste our time. If you feel that improving our environment is a waste of your time, then please, leave." Because she had yet to prove herself useful to this meeting.

Looking away from the woman down to his parchement, he listened to her ACTUALLY speak something of value. "That we can do. Any other suggestions before we move on?"

OOC: You guys are awesomeee. I'm gonna give this brainstorming a few more days before we move on.

Hire Slytherins. Oh yeah, that's a funny one.

REAL FUNNY.

Mason didn't even know why he was so on-edge. Oh wait, yeah he did. He worked with a bunch of air-headed idiots. Duh.

Recycled paper, wasn't such a bad idea. Neither were reusable cups... "The thing we have to consider with recycled paper, is that because it's 'green', it will be more expensive." Mason added, hoping he wasn't sounding too negative. He usually left all the negative thoughts inside his mouth.

Grabbing his cup of water, Mason went to took a sip. But just as he got a little in his mouth, he looked up to see...

POPPY PRICKLEPOT.

And she was waving. And winked!

Water sprayed from Mason's mouth when he caught sight of her. That woman scared him so much, the waving and the winking just made it 287923874 times worse. Choking slightly on the water that tried crawling down his air pipe, he covered his mouth with his arm, trying to somehow lessen the sound.

Amaria sighed. Why did some people have to be so negative. It bugged her so much. Really negativity just made her feel sad. Cheerfullness just brought her day up. Amaria turned to face the man.

"Really, must you be negative," Amaria sighed at her co-worker. "Yes it will be expensive at first but if we recycle our own parchment. Well we are witches and wizards I am sure most of us can remove the ink stains so it will look brand new."

Amaria thought except for maybe that silly Poppy lady most people would be capable enough. "There could even be a special recycling crew, perhaps of maintenance workers, that could be in charge of making sure people recycle and reusing the recycled parchment." Amaria said very thoughtfully.

Elias was snapped out of his daydreaming as he heard the Department Head ask if they had any more suggestions before moving on.

. . . Whendidhegethere?!

He didn't even remember walking in and sitting down, much less being in a conference room all afternoon! *FACEPALM* He must've been on autopilot or something. He had zero idea what the freak they were talking about. Oh well, they'd be moving on soon. He really did need to get his head out of the clouds more.

Damon listened to everyone's ideas, trying to ignore Poppy's comments since honestly he didn't understand why the woman was even there in the first place. Clearly she didn't care about being green.

"I agree with the comment about the money, but I also agree about it possibly being expensive in the beginning, but after a while the recycling process become a natural thing around the ministry. Also, perhaps we could do some kind of fundraiser event that would allow us to bring in some revenue for the project as well as promote awareness. Perhaps a bake sale, or a plant sale...something of that nature?"

Amaria sat calmly listening to everyone. "A fundraiser would be smart and we could sell nice eco friendly plants for employees to decorate their offices with. It could raise awareness for the need of being green and buying green plants and recycling all at the same time. Then the profits can be used to buy any expensive supplies we might need." Amaria was surprised by how long she spoke but she smiled anyways.

Okay yes, Hunter had to admit that he had zoned out a little. He was looking up at ceiling while he twirled his wand between his fingers and although his focus was on the roof and that he probably needed to get a crew in here and make some repairs to said ceiling, he could still hear the ideas being tossed around.

It wasn't until Poppy spoke that attention was brought back to the meeting and he tore his gaze away from the ceiling and rested on her. There was always one in every crowd but did it have to be one of his crew? Thankfully he didn't have to say anything because Rafael beat him to it but maybe he would have to pull her aside after the meeting and have a talk to her.

That aside though, the ideas were good. Except for the bit about getting the maintenance crew to do the actual recycling. Didn't they have enough to do already? "Perhaps we should put some containers or bins in each office and mark them appropriately. Paper, plastic and general waste. That way everyone is contributing."

He stood up and made his way over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. "As for the expenses. Surely the Ministry would be willing to fund such a worthy cause?" Yes? No?

A special rcycling crew? "No need, I already have a division set aside for such tasks." He motioned to his employees present in the room. Not many, but enough. Plus he was certain maintenance had their hands full with keeping the ministry in order when they weren't assisting him with tasks.

"Fundraisers are nice, but not necessary." He tapped the quill that was taking notes for him. "We are not short funded in anyway." Which meant he didn't have to put together any events to raise money, see? But he did keep the idea in mind for later.

They seemed to be stuck on the cost of things though for reasons Rafa couldn't fathom. He nodded his head at Hunter in agreement. "I'm positive that Minister Borr would happily fund all of the needed supplies," After all this WAS the reason the expensive department was added, and why he was here, to make the government more environmentally friendly. It wouldn't make sense to deny them funding. "So we don't need to worry about funds." That was mostly his problem in the form of paperwork.

"We'll also note your idea, Hunter." He leaned forward in his seat, and glanced around at the table. "Now, if no one has any other ideas, I'd like us to get working on what we've got." He turned his attention to the head of maintenance. "Hunter, if your guys could get started on checking the public areas of the ministry, making note what plants we have decorating these places and how many, and all the trash bins that would be great start." He turned his attention to his employees. "As for my guys, I'd like you to start working on gathering all the needed supplies from our closet to replace the trash bins. Make certain they're properly labeled so that everyone knows they're for recycling. I'd also like posters promoting recycling made and placed all over the ministry."

His eyes moved over everyone. "I'd like for us to gradually move towards a completely environmentally friendly workplace to make the transition as smooth as possible. But I'd like for this to be completed within a few months." Maaaaybe a year. All depended on how well they worked and how fast. "Any questions?"

Marina waved her wand and the quill dropped dead before her as she took a look-over. Yep, her own recycled quill never failed her. Smiling at as many people around her as possible, the young lady hugged her own pad and stood up. "Have a nice day." Addressed to everyone but her eyes met Damon's, her newly met coworker, and Rafe.

Damon gave a little nod towards his boss as he concluded the meeting. He was glad to hear that they wouldn't have any problems funding this whole process, although he had to admit he was slightly surprised with the Minister. He looked next to him as Marina said goodbye to everyone. "You too," Damon said with a smile and a little nod the head.

As he headed for the conference room, Atticus summoned the boxes and containers that held all the food and drinks he'd prepared for this meeting. As he entered, he directed it all into their proper places on the large conference table, evenly spreading out the placements of all the various kinds of donuts and bagels as well as the tea and coffee so that everyone could reach whatever they wanted. Hopefully they all liked at least one of the available kinds of food and drink - if they didn't...well, he supposed he'd just have to take suggestions if he ever had to bring food like this for a meeting again. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin their first impression of him or anything.

Once that was all settled, he stood near the door so he could greet his employees as they came in.

Felicity had followed their new head into the conference room along with the rest of her coworkers. It was her first day of work, her first conference, and she felt she had a right to be a little nervous. In the hallway she had fixed her hair and brushed down her skirt, before walking inside. Noticing their new boss by the door, she paused, torn between nodding and walking by.. or stopping. She decided to show initiative (or something like that) and introduce herself. "Morning sir, I'm Felicity, Felicty Mcloughlin." she said politely, extending her hand.

..You shake your boss's hand right? She had so much to learn, but for the time being she just kept a smile on her face and looked every bit as confident as she wished she felt. With a quick scan she noticed a table of refreshments, hmm it seemed quite casual, she liked that.

Just when Clarissa was about to head out on a house call to a local breeder their new department head had showed up in the work cubicles. Dropping all the case files down on her desk the brunette followed Atticus and her other colleagues to the conference room. It being an early morning and all Clarissa welcomed the chance to wake up well before going out. "Morning sir, I'm Clarissa Stimpson." she greeted him with a warm smile. Extending a hand she added as a supplement. "I'm the Cheif Comittee Agent and Minister's Liaison." Hopefully this was the right thing to say to make a good first impression on her new boss.

Olivia made her way toward the conference room. She was eager to know what it was all about, but it also interested her know who the new Department Head would be. She doubted it was anyone she's already met. As she stepped into the room she was greeted by all those treats. That was nice, or was the new Department Head just trying to win everyone over with food?

Hmm, she could be wrong.

She walked toward him and greeted him with a confident smile and said, "Hello Sir, I'm Olivia McCoy," and extended her hand toward the man. She wondered if he was new to the entire Ministry or just in being Department Head.

Caitlyn walked through the door warily. Is this what this room looked like. She had never previously been in here before. It was definitely interesting to see. Her eyes lit up when she saw that there was food. She eyed the chocolate glazed donut. She hadn't had anything for breakfast that morning because her Fiance made her late . . . again. She loved him anyway though. Even his mischievous ways. She spotted an unfamiliar face out of the corner of her eye. She walked over to him and held out her hand. She smiled kindly at him.

"Hello I'm Caitlyn Bergeron. And you are?"

Violet caught the door just as it started to swing shut behind a young woman, she she followed her into the familiar room. As she passed a man standing at the door, who could only have been the new department head, Mr. Aldgredge, she gave him a friendly smile. 'He must be nervous,' she thought.

A small smile crept onto her face when she spotted all the food on the table. This was a first. The new Department Head undoubtedly thought he could win the department over with donuts and coffee. 'This will be fun to watch,' she thought.

Violet went over to the seat that she had occupied in previous meetings, happy to find it vacant, and settled down into it happily.

She overheard a woman ask the new Head who he was, and suppressed a laugh. Even if he was new, Violet was surprised that people in the Ministry might have never seen him or heard of him. He was their boss now, after all.

...Come to think of it, Violet had never actually met him either. She glanced over his way again, but noticed hat there were four or five other people clustered around him waiting for a handshake. Best to wait a bit. Let him breathe.

Noah entered the conference room worriedly, he wasn't sure what to expect.

He greeted a man standing by the door in a barely audible voice. 'H-hello s-s-sir. I'm Noah- Da-Dawson.' He blushed as he hurried past, how dumb he must seem right now.
What if he wasn't doing his job good? He panicked as he sat down, his face as white as could be while he kept telling himself not to worry.

Violet glanced over at an unfamiliar man as he say down a few seats away from her. He was as white as a sheet and seemed as though he might start shaking any moment. And if he wasn't new, Violet was a purple spotted hippogriff. She leaned across the table in his direction.
"Hey," she said in a low voice. "First day on the job, huh? Look, there's no need to be so nervous." She smiled warmly at him. "I'm Violet. I've been working here for longer than almost anyone else and I can tell you, there's nothing to worry about. Everyone here is great." She would have patted him on the shoulder in a consoling sort of way if he had been within reach. But he wasn't, quite. And she wasn't sure how he'd react to a stranger trying to comfort him. So she settled for another friendly smile.

Anna walked in the room, it was full of people. She walked in and got some tea. It tasted lovely. She saw no one who looked familar so she looked for a seat and sat down with her tea.