Oh,itseemed he right peaved one ofus co-workers, wonderful, he turned to the person addressing him and responded, "There is no need to lock the door, just to close it cause none of the creatures in free reign can open it. The door locks from the outside, not the inside, just in case something happens where one of us looses our wand or forgets to take it in with us. No one wants anyone to end up stuck in a room like that while handling dangerous creature for whatever reason, I hope that clarifies things a bit for you.", Jack responded trying not to sound too belittling.

It was interesting Clarissa couldn't help but muse to herself how Erica's leaving the door to holding rooms open could cause so much commotion amongst the employees. Maybe their head should do that more often. The blond woman whom Clarissa vivdly remembered was called Aila and Jack got into a bit of a tiff. Jack wasn't exactly being nice as he explained the routine for the creatures holding room in an almost belittling tone. Sensing the tension and possible quarrel hanging in the air Clarissa got up from her seat and closed the door to the holding room saying to the room at large in a neutral tone "There, now i've closed it! Can we reamin civil amongst ourselves Aila and Jack? We all have work to do let's get on with it."

Clarissa oblvious to the fact that the door to the creature holding room hadn't closed itself fully since a creature of unknown description had sent out and tentacle to stop it.

Ren'Ai mentally shook her head and smiled attentively at Miss Radley. "You. Are. An. Idiot, Ren'Ai. Sakura. Kirai. her "inner" screamed mentally. "I understand. Thank you" she said, and muttered "Arigato" in her mind. She couldn't just forget her first language, now could she? Exactly. She smiled a bit wider at the playful wink Miss Radley gave her.

Ren nodded. She did have a few papers from the Japanese government she had to deal with. But she could fill that out later, alone. "Yes, Arigato--I mean, thank you, Miss Radley" she said, nervously chuckling. "What did I just say? You're an idiot, Ren! Pull. Yourself. Together!" Her "inner" shouted at her in her head.

Like she would listen to her true self. Psssh.

---

Ren watched from the corner of her eye as a green lizard-type thing ran out. She shifted her feet a little, glancing back at the floor. O dear. Great, now she sounded like Callum. Or Justin. Or both.

for Nordic Witch; Herminny & Snape'sGirlThr&Thru

Her temper was dangerously high as she listened to Jack. She said in a calm but firm voice. "I'd consider it a big deal. What if, now maybe I'm being paranoid, but didn't we recently get a pay rise? I don't feel like that getting lower once again because some magical creatures escaped." She dug her nails into the palms of her hands.

The Alia was telling him off...kinda. She sent an apprietive flash of a smile at her. As they bickered she stood a little off, listening intentively as she twirled her small braid around her forefinger. Then Clarissa had decided to put an end to it. The door was closed. That was a good thing right? What if Ms. Radley had left it open on purpose. She relaxed her fists and sighed as she stared at the the moon shaped bright red marks on her skin.

With a small glare at Jack, she walked back to her cubicle and sat down, taking a deep breath. Lucy's temper had been boiling. If Alia hadn't interupted that couldn't have ended well. She'd have to learn to control that as well as magical creatures...hehe. She opened her cabinet and ran her fingers through files and pulled out her case. Someone had tipped her off that some jerk was trying to import a chimera. A CHIMERA! She ran her long, delicate fingers through her dark hair as she re-read the letter. "...Would've been helpful to say where he's meeting the guy sellin' em..." she mumbled as she began to write back to him.

Erik smiled and bowed graciously. "Of course, Miss Radley. Thank you." He raised his head up again and watched his boss leave the room to another one. Erica didn't close the door and he wondered why. He knew it was the holding room, where creatures were kept... Surely, she knew what she was thinking, entering alone and leaving the door ajar... right? After all, she was the Head of their department.

After a while of going about his work, Erik stood up from his desk and checked the other people. Clarrisa, Jack and some others were speaking in constrained voices. What was happening, he did not know. But clearly one of them tried to close the door where their Head just entered because of the thud he heard from his place.

But... there was something else there. A plastic sort of thing keeping the door from closing fully. Erik squinted and slowly walked to the door. It was as if the object was growing in size, pushing the door ever so slowly. How can a piece of plastic grow and have a mind of its own? It couldn't be enchanted-

"Petrificus Totalus!" he said in a firm voice with his wand pointed at the object as he split-secondly realized that it was a tentacle of a creature. Must have escaped from its confinement or something. Hm.. he better check the whole holding room first, even if it wasn't really his job.. as Dragon Research Head Officer. But it would mean the safety of the whole Wizarding world.

Completely oblivious to the fact that she had left the door open, Erica wandered out with a cage that was covered with a large sheet, big enough to completely obscure what lay beneath it. She placed it down on an empty desk and glanced around at her employees. "Don't touch it. I'll explain all later" she replied, leaving it there as she wandered out towards the break room leaving her employees to speculate.

-------------------------------------------

Some moments later Ms Radley returned through the door, obviously looking a little frustrated at what she had just seen. She leant against the desk with the covered cage and coughed to get everyones attention. "I have recently recieved a memo from Lord Borr, asking us for plans on how to decorate the Ministry. I was meant to hold a meeting about it but it seems our neighbours have decided to beat us to it" she spoke a little spitefully. "I have overheard some of their so called plans and quite frankly, I am not impressed. They are planning to COVER the Ministry in a load of plants and completely obscure the fine paintwork that cover our walls." Not. Happy. She pushed away the cage, forgetting its existance for the time being.

"Now me KNOWING that this is the finer of the two departments, I would like to hear YOUR ideas on how to improve the Ministry. Then when we are ready we shall divide into two groups and show the Tree Huggers Environmentalists how it is done." She took up a quill and and a peice of parchment and charmed it to work magically, taking out the memo from Lord Borr with her other hand, reading it out to her employees.

Quote:

Department Heads,

Are any of you having as hard a time breathing as I am? It's stuffy in this Ministry and I aim to rejuvenate our spirits and oxygenate our halls. I want you and your departments to brainstorm ways to liven up our work areas. Proper work areas result in proper working.

I, for one, am going to put a potted tree in my office.

Have your ideas on my desk asap.

Lord Berty Borr
Order of Merlin, First Class
Acting Minister of Magic
VIP

"Now we want to keep Lord Borr happy" Well she did anyway. "So go ahead, give me your ideas to improve the horrific ideas coming from next door.." she waited for a response.

Ren tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and thought hard. "Well, we could get stautes of different magical animals. My twelve-year-old godsister makes them in her free time" Ren dug in her bag and pulled out a palm-sized figurine of a wolf running. She offered it to Miss Radley. "I could ask her to make some larger ones" she said.

Erica nodded and smiled. See. Her Employees could come up with some FANTASTIC ideas compared to the infestations that were going on next door. A full forest as a Department, she didn't think so. There was no way she was allowing the place to be covered completely in vines and block out the very little natural sunlight that they had.

The Head stepped forward to look at the intricate detail of the wolf, glancing momentarily over at one of her employees and then back at the figurine. "I think that would be a lovely idea, however the smaller the better I think" she stated.

------------------------------------------

She then turned to everyone to talk. "I heard an idea next door, about a windchime, perhaps we could decide on a few creatures that could be mounted on top of these, more friendly ones maybe, something quite welcoming. But we might want to add a little excitement as well. Outline the dangers that we in this Department face" she paced back and forth once, allowing herself to be seen by everyone, despite her very small size. "We want to let everyone know how important and how skilled everyone is here but we also want to make it a lot better environment to be working within. Make you all feel comfortable and certainly improve the hard work you have all put in for me" she leant back onto the desk once again. "So has anyone else got any ideas? Elaborate on the ones already said?" she asked, scanning her eyes over her employees.

"What about painting on the wall all the different types of magical creatures" Katalin said as she put hand up.

Ren smiled and nodded, setting the wolf beside the picture of her godsister. "Next time I see her, I'll ask. She'll be quite glad to help" Ren said.

Ren tapped her desk lightly in thought. There were many ideas running through her mind. Then it hit her. "A small fishtank-slash-aquarium, and put safe, small marine creatures in it? she offered, hoping that wasn't too much to ask for.

Ren sighed and turned to Katalin. "But if we painted it directly on the wall, a lot of furniture would have to be moved and it would take forever and a day. It would also distract us from the work we're supposed to do" she countered.

Lucy listened carefully. She cleared her throat at Ren's counter attack at Katalin. "Mrs. Radley, Katalin's idea might make more sense. We could make the animals move around and stuff, like in Hogwarts School for Withcraft and Wizardry. ...And it wouldn't take that long." She gave a side-long glance at Ren, feeling a bit guilty but knowing what she was doing was right. "It'll probably be easier than getting a load of statues and fish tanks..."

Katalin smiled when someone agreed with her and was defending her, she waited for Mrs Radley reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugglemad

"What about painting on the wall all the different types of magical creatures" Katalin said as she put hand up.

Paintings would be a little difficult to do, and maybe slightly overpowering as well, Erica preferred more simple things, less elaborate. Things that would give the Department a facelift but not be too distracting for her workers. After all this decorating business was supposed to be enhancing work not taking their already brilliant efforts away. "Maybe. I like that idea but I'm not particularly keen on wall murals" she stated. "It would certainly look effective but we've got to remember that this is a place of work and not somewhere to just go crazy" which meant cream walls certainly did work best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dracosgurl

Ren smiled and nodded, setting the wolf beside the picture of her godsister. "Next time I see her, I'll ask. She'll be quite glad to help" Ren said.

Ren tapped her desk lightly in thought. There were many ideas running through her mind. Then it hit her. "A small fishtank-slash-aquarium, and put safe, small marine creatures in it? she offered, hoping that wasn't too much to ask for.

Ren sighed and turned to Katalin. "But if we painted it directly on the wall, a lot of furniture would have to be moved and it would take forever and a day. It would also distract us from the work we're supposed to do" she countered.

She smiled at Ren, nodded once in approval and then glanced down at the statue. "Don't ask her yet, we're just brainstorming ideas for the time being. I'm not entirely certain if this will all go ahead" Erica informed her.

And then along came her next idea. Effective but Erica wasn't sure it would be appropriate. "I like that but haven't we already got aquariums somewhere in the Ministry. Also we have the creature holding room for things like that, I'd be a little worried about their chances of escaping. I'll put it down though" Brilliant. Keep these ideas going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilyLunaGinnyPotter

Lucy listened carefully. She cleared her throat at Ren's counter attack at Katalin. "Mrs. Radley, Katalin's idea might make more sense. We could make the animals move around and stuff, like in Hogwarts School for Withcraft and Wizardry. ...And it wouldn't take that long." She gave a side-long glance at Ren, feeling a bit guilty but knowing what she was doing was right. "It'll probably be easier than getting a load of statues and fish tanks..."

MRS Radley

She coughed sharply as soon as she heard the name mentioned. "That's MS Radley thank you" she stated not in a harsh tone but certainly a reasonably firm one. "Once again I feel that would be a little too distracting. I'm looking for simple things. I know that next door has gone completely wild with their ideas much like their tree hugging department head. I've already spoken with them about the inappropriateness of their ideas. I like the idea, but maybe on a smaller scale" So therefore it wouldn't be as bold and imposing on the workers.

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She took out a quill and a very large sheet of paper flew in within her Phoenix Amadeus' beak. Catching it as the impressive creature swooped over and landed on his perch near the Department Head, Erica attached it to a wall where everyone could see it. Taking out her wand she enchanted it to write on the parchment without the use of her hands, forming a list of what had already been said.

• Small Creature statues
• Paintings depicting Magical Creatures
• Small aquariums housing Marine Creatures
• Enchanted portraits of Creatures

"So this is what has already been said, and I don't think it is quite full enough to show Lord Borr yet, don't you agree?" she asked glancing over everyone in the room. "Any further ideas? I'd quite like to showcase the clever ideas from this Department to our Minister, prove to him that we are the most important and certainly impressive" her eyebrow raised before she turned to pet Amadeus and wait for any more ideas.

Moving to another day...

Clarissa strolled into the cubicle area, dripping of rain water. Outside the rain had been dropping heavily ever since she had dropped Rebecca off at pre-school. Hanging up her rain coat on a pin in her little cubicle Clarissa bound her big furry red hair back with the use of a hair pin. The waiting memos in her inbox tray looked to be implying a long day's work. *Sigh* It would have to wait till later though since she needed to fix the paperwork for her latest case. Why did people think that breeding fire crabs and crossing them with another creature was okay? Just moving all the fire crabs to a better home was going to take the better part of her next day. Sitting down in her chair Clarissa took a report parchment and started working humming on a quiet tune as she got writing.

That meeting had lasted far too long.

Erica entered the work cubicles with a smile towards the employees that were already in there. "I apologize greatly for my absence. Lord Borr had an awful lot to say" Or shout rather. The woman picked up some paperwork and glanced down at it, raising an eyebrow at its contents.

"We're expecting some new employees soon" she stated simply. "I hope we can all make them welcome here and show them that this is the place to be". Because it was wasn't it?

"But for now we must continue with this Borr situation. He is most unhappy with the ideas some people have been coming up with, I assure you it is no one in this department but I definitely want to impress him. He has come up with the idea that each department shall plant a tree in Diagon Alley. We shall come to this issue later but we need some more ideas to show Borr that we can do so much better than the transportation lot" And so Erica could get back in his good books again.

"So. The air here is apparently stuffy, does anyone have any ideas to help improve the circulation? Original and creative ideas would be best" she grinned.

Clarissa looked up slightly bewildered as Erica entered and started apologizing for a meeting that had taken longer than expected. What meeting? Shrugging she pushed back hair red curly hair and finished her last notes. Standing up Clarissa walked over to hear what Erica more had to say. New employees, fresh people. "New employees sounds good. Any estimate of how many we will get?" she asked her dept head. The creatures department could definitley use a whole batch of employees but unfortunatley there were a lot more departments who felt the same.

Plant a TREE??

Clarissa made big eyes and blurted out "What kind of tree and why a tree of all things?" It sounded like something which would have been an idea that emanated from their level partners in environment.

They needed to come up with ideas to make the air less stuffy...Hm "Maybe we could invent a machine run by magic of course that filters and changes the air in each work space and corridor..But i don't know how such a machince would look... Or maybe we could find a creature, harmless of course that helps to freshen the stuffy air."

Katalin was sitting at her desk, she had just come back from maternity leave. She was missing her little boy but she had a new picture of her family on her desk.

Lucy smiled. New employees was always good. It meant less work... She wrote down a quick note telling herself (I MUST BE NICE TO NEWBIES!) and then tuned back into the conversation.

A TREE?!?!?!

"A tree?" She didn't mean to let it slip out - it just did. Lucy blushed. Dammit. "That's a..." she struggled to think of a word without having to lie to the boss. "...an interesting idea." AN INTERESTINGLY WEIRD ONE. But she didn't say that. She simply couldn't say that.

"I agree with Clarissa. A machine that filters and changes the air sounds good."

She didn't particularly want to expand on the tree idea. She hadn't come up with it and she herself didn't understand it either. "I do not know. I guess we could pick one between us. I'm not keen on the idea and it was probably invented by the tree huggers next door" she stated shrugging.

But this filtering idea, the prospect of FINDING a creature that could help with this FASCINATED her. Would such a creature exist? "Yes I LOVE that idea. Maybe a few of you could look into that, find out a creature that might be able to help with the circulation."

"Some others might want to look into the causes of the apparent stuffiness. Maybe some people could look into pests or possible creatures that are lurking around in the Ministry's ventilation systems. Then we could possibly work with the maintanence team to get rid of these or even search to see whether our suspicions are in fact correct" she smiled.

"Anyone that comes up with an idea come straight to me. I'll tell Borr and this could lead to a payrise" Bribery was good sometimes.

"BUT" she broke the pause with a clear of the throat. "I'm sure many of you have heard of the Carnival that has appeared in Diagon Alley. Exciting for some, but not exactly my cup of tea. What is interesting me most is the Petting Zoo that has arrived. Now a travelling circus aren't exactly the most.. Law abiding people. It is OUR duty to go out on a bit of a field trip. For those of you that show interest, I am taking a few of you, incognito, to the Carnival" she stated.

Anyone interested? Not only can they go to have a bit of fun but also be paid for it.

"I don't mind researching creatures that likes dark places" Katalin told her boss, she wanted to make up for her maternity leave.

Stupid tree huggers. Eco freakos. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Uhm...We could get like a minature oak or something... and get golden ornaments shaped like birds and charm them to fly around the tree."

"Uhm..Well, we could create a mechanical owl...or-or eagle that flies around the ministry and the power from their wings filters the air?" Lucy suggested. "The power wouldn't be strong enough to hurt or knock down employees or guests but enough to give a freshness to the air..?"

Payrise! Mmmmm. That sound gewd...

Damned carnies. A field trip? Well, she was the Officer of Import and Export of Magical Creatures and who knew what kind of animals these flippin' people brought into the beloved Diagon Alley. "I'd be happy to come along." She shuffled through some pieces of parchment for any information on the Carnival - past records with animals and that sort...

Besides, maybe they'd stop for CANDY FLOSS!!

James had been sitting concentrating on his pile of paperwork and not really listening to the Head of Department. This was VERY out of character for the young man who usually gave Erica his undivided attention. The strain of a late night was written all over the face of the blonde man who looked fragile at the best of times. He took a sip out of the china cup of mint tea on his desk and scribbled something down on a sheet of parchment.

The kneazle curled up under his desk at his feet nuzzled his ankle and he smiled slightly, reaching down a slender spidery hand to stroke Balthazar's head. It was only then that it sank in that the boss was addressing them. His cheeks pinked slightly and he turned his attention to Miss Radley.

The CARNIVAL was in town? Oh, how marvellous!

“M-Ms Radley, I..I would be delighted to help, ma'am.” He piped up in his stammered, nervous way. “L-licences will need to be checked thoroughly. I-I'd be happy to help. I have experience of such, working with werewolves. I a-also have experience of working with large magical creatures.” Hippogriffs to be precise. It said in his personal file which he had no doubt a woman like Erica Radley had studied closely.

And aside from that, James WANTED to go and check out the vibrancy and colour of the carnival! He may watch from the sidelines, but the young man loved such festivities.

"Brilliant" she smiled and nodded. "Thank you for offering" Well that was that looked into.

"I LIKE That idea" Erica smiled genuinely, contemplating it. "I shall ask our fellows next door for an oak and pass this idea on at our next meeting. It will definitely make our department tree original and interesting compared with our other departments" she jotted it on the parchment then moved on.

"Okay. I think your position will be beneficial when looking into this petting zoo. I'd like you to question the owner on where they got their animals from. Try to put it into conversation innocently, don't show them who you really are. We want to catch them off guard. Once you have discovered something, or noticed anything shifty please report it to us. I may be able to get MLE on our side" she stated shiftily.

Ah James. Nice of you to speak up for once.

"Thank you for offering" she smiled, jotting his name on the parchment too. "Once we have established for certain if this person is doing things illegally, I would like you to go in and enquire about their licenses. It's up to you if you put it casually into conversation or demand to see them. But without licenses for certain creatures, this person is looking into big fines or maybe even criminal punishment" Oh Erica loved getting justice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Anyone else interested?" she asked glancing at everyone else. There were lots of things that needed to be checked. Questions to be asked. She needed a whole team that were dedicated for this. Plus it meant being PAID to go to a carnival. It was FUN! But strictly business for the Blonde anyway.

Um, yeah, going to a carnival sure beat sitting in a cubicle, in her books. Though to be fair, it was about on-par with doing creature examinations. Either way, Morrigan scooted over to where her department head was offering a field trip to fun and wave-wiggled her fingers, "I am, for sure. What can I do to help?"

A carnival, hmm? Aila had always loved going to those with her family when she was little; they were always a load of fun. She'd have to take Fae to this one some time during the summer...when she wasn't there for work, of course.

"I am," she said, standing. Merlin, she didn't like sitting down for too long. It always made her feel so stiff. "What do you need me to do?"