Dree walked in, her hair flaming red hair hanging down in ringlets around her face. She had a nice midnight blue dress on, that in Dree's discomfort, was tight-fitting, and sleve-less. Dree was praying in her mind that she didn't fall in her matching sparkly, midnight blue high-heels, and make a huge fool of herself. Looking around, she noticed that no one was there yet, so she sat down, tapping her foot with the rythem of the music. She looked quite pretty, sitting there, and waiting.

Zanna walked iin to the lit room wearing a stunning red dress that complimented her firm, curvacous figure. Her 5 foot 10 inches rocketed to 6 feet 3 inches in her 5 inch heels. She walked over to the refreshment table and poured herself some Butterbeer. She looked around her at the practicly empty room.

Alina walked into the party room, and noting the other two women there smiled at them both. They were both a bit more dressed up than her, but she didn't really care. She'd had too much other stuff to sort out before coming out, and had essentially grabbed the nearest thing - her favourite midnight blue robes, that she'd dressed up with silver jewelery. The simple look was good.

She brushed her curly blonde hair back from her face, and headed over to her Patents employee. "Hey Dree," she said with a smile. "Gorgeous dress."

Liam walked into the room and smiled it seemed like he was the only man in the room so far. He saw Alina in a nice dress. He went upto her and smiled. "Nice dress." He smiled. He was wearing a black suit. He had put it on in a rush since he had been busy with some work.

Benjamin stiffly walked into the room wearing his tuxedo. Although he felt perfectly comfortable wearing a tuxedo (in fact, more comfortable than when wearing "casual clothing," which consisted of a suit and tie), he did not feel comfortable in any sort of party scenes. An opportunity to don his tuxedo was bittersweet. There was no room for fun in the workplace. Although, Benjamin could probably stand to make one exception, should a slow song come on.

He approached his fellow division heads, whom he knew the best out of everyone present, which wasn't saying much considering he hardly knew them. "Good evening Alina, Liam," he greeted, nodding to each of them.

His hands were clasped together rather professionally in front of him as he simply stood there, not swaying at all to the music any normal person would describe using words or phrases such as "delightful" or "requiring a lovely jig."

Zanna walked over to Liam and said, Hey Liam how are you? She glanced at the other atendees.

Chloe hurried down the seventh floor corridor as fast as her slim, knee-long black dress and high-heeled silver sandals would allow. She stopped in front of the door to the Sports Department, took a moment to catch her breath, then entered and greeted the room at large with "Hi! Am I late?"

How frightfully rude it was to be late for one's own party! Jessica had been tied up with paperwork for the past three hours, and when she'd finally signed the last letter and checked her watch, there had been a mass amount of flurrying and flailing. She was fashionably late; no worries. Unpinning her golden mass of curls, she opened the door and stepped into the room. Ah. Clearing her throat, she pressedher wand to her neck, to magnify her voice. "Afternoon everyone!" She cooed, beaming at them all. "As most of you know, dearest Theodore Newtington recently left us. There have been two recent appointments in the Department; myself, Jessica Peaches, as your new Department Head. And Mr Benjamin Darcy, Quidditch Division Head," She announced, smiling around at them all and especially Benjamin.

"So let's all get to know each other, and have fun." Jessica returned her wand to her pocket, and went to mingle.

Benjamin unlinked his fingers and waved to the crowd when his new boss introduced him. He hated being up in front of crowds like this, but he decided to just grin and bear it. Or...bear it, rather. He took a quick bow before quickly stepping out of everyone's gaze.

Perhaps he could find a nice wall upon which he could lean.

Zanna smiled and clapped with the rest and listened as the new head finished. She quickly turned away and walked the other direction.

Alina smiled as Liam entered the room, a flush of colour spreading across her cheeks as he complimented her outfit. "Thanks," she said, beginning to feel slightly more comfortable in the room. It was strangely weird not having her husband by her side, and it made her feel overly conspicuous. Especially since she still felt guilty over his decision.

"You're looking very suave in that suit," she said, a small dimple appearing in her cheek and her eyes twinkling. She turned to pick up some nibbles, as she noticed someone heading in their direction.

"Evening Benjamin," Alina greeted their fellow division head. She noted the tuxedo and again felt slightly underdressed, though it did cross her mind how smart Benjamin usually turned up for work. It also reminded her of how Theo looked all dressed up for these sort of occasions, and she felt a pang of guilt. Here she was enjoying a department party, when her husband was stuck at home looking at Nathaniel. It was double edged. She needed some time to chill and lets her hair down - things had been stressful recently at work and at home - but at the same time this party was only on due to her husband's departure. Not that she could do anything about it, so she might as well enjoy herself.

With that, Alina let herself relax, and started to bob to the music. It didn't take much to noticed that Benjamin was doing quite the opposite and standing rather still. "Not your kind of music?" she asked with smile.
Alina swallowed slowly as Jessica arrived and went on to mention 'dearest Theodore Newtington'. She didn't exactly need reminding of the fact he wasn't here...that she couldn't just pop into his office, or spend lunchbreaks with him. She closed her eyes momentarily as Jessica introduced herself, focusing her thoughts on getting through this evening by herself. On reopening them, she flashed Jessica a small smile and turned to Benjamin was appeared to be trying to disappear.

"Not a fan of the limelight then?" Alina said with a small wink, turning towards him and away from the rest of the room. "How you finding it here then? I haven't had time to ensure you've been settling in okay and that so far."

"Good evening, Alina," he said stiffly. You uh...you look nice." Not only was he a work-a-holic and completely lacking in the social skills department, but he had NO idea how to compliment a woman,regardless of whether or not he was interested.

Not sure of what to do with himself, he simply widened his stance slightly and stood with his arms crossed, much like a sentinel or body guard. "I don't dance," was all he said in response to her comment about him not dancing.



"Again, no. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to do my job, and to do it well." He may have sounded rude to her in that very instant. In fact, he PROBABLY did, but he wouldn't have known it. Despite being somewhat of a wunderkind, being in a position of leadership at his fairy young age and all, it was obvious that his prefrontal cortex had not developed. Would it ever? Stay tuned to find out! *dramatic music*

Feeling slightly easier after her speech, Jessica made a bee-line for her Division Heads, who all seemed to be huddled together. "Hullo!" she trilled, beaming at the woman who had smiled. She seemed nice. Patents Head, she believed. "I'm Jessica Peaches, but please do call me Jessica. Not Jess." 'Jess' absolutely killed her for some reason, despite being told that it was such a cute nickname. 'Jessica' sounded much more professional, and she was indeed a professional woman.

Turning to the man who'd come to her office earlier, Jessica flashed him a dazzling smile. "Hello Benjamin! Terribly sorry about earlier," she apologised.

Liam looked at Alina "Thanks." He smiled then decided he might as well as if she wanted to dance. "Um...um...um." How was he suppost to ask her. "Um...um...um." He didn't seem to be able to get his words out. He was sounding like a little boy who just didn't know what to say to someone. "Do you want to dance?" He asked when he finaly got his words out. "Of course if you don't want to I'll understand." He added suddenly. He quickly got himself a drink to carm his nerves.

Jessica....not Jess. Jessica and Benjamin already seemed to have a thing in common. That was good.

Benjamin lost all control of his mouth when she flashed him that smile, though. He wanted to say, very nonchalantly, "Oh, it was not a problem. I understand that you are busy. I will come back on a later date. It was not that important, anyway." Unfortunately, it came out more like this:
"What? Uh. Oh. Yeah. Umm...do-don't worry about it because..umm..yeah. I'm not that important and, you know. You're busy and stuff."

DOH! On the inside, Benjamin was face palming his way into the record books.

Dree looked up and smiled. "Hey Alina!"she said, happily for she had been so close to dying because she was so bored. She blushed pink, and brushed some of her red hair away. "Thanks. You look nice too. I love your robes."she said, grinning embrassly. She wasn't quite used to complement's yet.

Dree listened carefully and looked at the man named Benjamin. He didn't look to bad to have to work with. Well close by how about that. Shrugging she poured herself some juice. She wished Riku was here. Then she wouldn't look like she had no one in her life. For she did, and it was him. Sighing, she looked at Jessica. She didn't look to bad either. Maybe all would be good.

Chloe clapped politely when Jessica Peaches had introduced herself and the new Division Head. So this was to be their new boss. She looked at him and found a) that he didn't look too bad in a tuxedo and b) that he seemed to feel thoroughly uncomfortable standing in the spotlight like that.
Mostly because she didn't know what else to do she decided to get herself something to drink. She crossed te room to where someone, the Ministry Elves probably, had set a table with different types of snacks and drinks.

Alina smiled at his compliment, even if there had seemed something, well, slightly nervy about it. She had to admit, Alina was confused by this man's body language. He now seemed to be standing fiercely like a body guard. He couldn't really be more different to the last quidditch head, she thought to herself glancing him up and down. Ian would have been up for a laugh and probably would have asked Theo for a comical dance if both of them were here. Unfortunately though they weren't. She gave a small sigh.

"Perhaps later then," Alina said with a small smile. "It'd be a shame for your smart tuxedo not to have a turn on the dance floor." It was true, and Alina it was in Alina's nature to want people to feel happy and comfortable. However, his next comment reiterated her previous thoughts about Ian, and considering the type of occasion, seemed slightly rude. Not here to make friends? Wha? It seemed the once fun department was going to be all serious from now on. "I think its best to do both," Alina replied, clearly irritated by the man's comments. It was as if he thought it wasn't possible to have fun and do well. But that was how the department had worked since before she'd had the twins. "Some of my closest friends work with me, and I think because of that we all work better. But there we go." She shrugged, and turned t0 Jessica who was heading their way.

Thinking about it, the arrival of Jessica may have distracted Alina from her current annoyance with Benjamin, but the Head's presence served a constant reminder that Theo had left. She nodded as Jessica introduced herself (though Alina had caught her name when she'd just announced it to the whole room, and had also noted the name change on the Department Head's door) and noted about the 'Jess' thing. "Alina Newtington," she said simply, emphasising her surname. For some reason it made her feel slightly better. She flicked back the curls that had fallen in front of her face, and subconsciously fiddled with her wedding ring. "I hope you enjoy it here," Alina added, hoping being friendly would help make things easier. It wasn't Jessica's fault that Alina felt like this.
"You alright?" Alina asked Liam, as he appeared to stutter over something. She looked at him with a slightly confused frown, and she noted how his body posture had changed. He looked like a nervous little kid trying to work out how best to ask an adult something.

"Dance?" Alina questioned with a smile, checking that she'd heard him correctly when he had put a coherent sentence together. "Of could I would!" She replied quickly, wondering why Liam had appeared so nervous, and then so dismissive with himself. She took a sip of drink, and waited for him to take the lead. What a perfect way to remove herself from her current uncomfortable position. Spending some time on the dancefloor with a good friend and enjoying herself. Perhaps Benjamin would see what she meant...
Alina couldn't help but notice Dree's blush, and she could sense her employee was slightly embarrassed. Perhaps she wasn't used to compliments...either that, or had been unsure of the dress. It was true though, the dress was gorgeous, and it really suited Dree. If Alina was a tad younger, she'd have been quite jealous.

She smiled at Dree's words. "Thanks," she replied, glancing down at her robes with a sheepish smile. "Bit of a rushed job getting ready, so simplicity it had to be."

Liam looked at Alina. "I...I'm F...i..n...n...e" He smiled as he tried to calm his nerves. He hoped that he would be able to by the time they had finished dancing though he had this feeling that he would be even more nervous after the dance. He wondered if he would ever be able to look at Alina in the eyes again. He had just asked his ex boss if she wanted to dance, how could he.

He smiled when she said that she would dance with him. "G...r....e....a....t." He said trying to smile and sound normal. He was sure that she was thinking that he was crazy and who blaimed her. He had been so busy with work that he was nervous about getting the right result in that. He wanted to impress the new boss by working hard and doing the job correctly. He looked at Alina. "s...o shall we D..a...n...c...e then?" He grabbed a drink and drank it. Once he had finished he put it down and smiled as he went to the dance floor and waited for Alina to follow him.

Zanna watched from a safe distance as Benjamin stuttered at the Head of the Department. She sipped her drink and smiled slightly. She turned slightly and watched Liam dance with another woman. She laughed slightly at his akwardness.

There was an unexplainable feeling of pity that washed over Jessica as Benjamin began to blabber. Perhaps it was the fact that he was, ever so adorably, attempting to answer her question, or more to do with the fact that he was gawping like a fish out of water. She smiled at him softly, and patted his shoulder encouragingly. She didn't blame him for being nervous in front of his new boss, but she wanted people to feel comfortable around her. Otherwise her whole 'good boss' image wouldn't work too well, now would it?

"You can come back later if you'd like," Jessica replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. "Or we can just speak now if you'd prefer, unless it's something you'd rather discuss alone."

Being a rather observant individual, Jessica instantly recognised the aura of awkwardness that had immediately built up between the two of them. She was unsure why, until she introduced herself with a certain amount of self dignity when pronouncing her name. Ah. Theo's wife. Right. She could tell, within mere minutes of meeting Alina, that her employee felt that perhaps she was to blame for Theo's resignation. "Lovely to meet you Miss Newtington," she stated, in a desperate attempt to lighten to mood. She didn't want her party to become weird because of personal reasons.

"And I'm sure I will enjoy it," Jessica added, smiling brightly.

Riku walked quietly into the room, late as usual, his hair slightly scruffy and the shoelaces on his very appropiate black converses' undone. But despite all of this, he looked actually quite handsome, in his newly bought white suit with a black shirt underneath, and if his hair had been gelled down into a neat and most boring style and he'd worn proper formal shoes instead of converses, then it wouldn't have been him. It was his style, and it suited him, like nothing else could.

Sokka had been left out, wondering the streets of London. Riku hardly saw him anymore, but he knew it was time for his little fox cub to grow up. Soon enough the all grown up fox would move out into the big wide world and Riku would never see him again, but that was ok. All good things come to an end, and he knew that.

He blinked in the slightly dark room, his dark eyes and tanned skin blending into the backround. He no longer had his scar that used to take over half of his face. It had healed, and he was ok again. He scanned the room curiously. It suddenly occured to him that he didn't know too many people, but the ones he did know, were extremely close to him. He unscrewed the lid of his butterbeer, and took a sip, quenching his thirst. He lowered the bottle when he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. Dree...Boy, it had been too long since he'd last seen her face and her fiery red hair. He smiled to himself, and placed his half empty bottle onto a random table, then made his way over to her, his hands in his pockets. "Hey Stranger, long time no see"

Alina gave a slight nod of her head, and offered Jessica a smile. She really needed to get over the fact the Theo was no longer here, and it was his decision - even if it was only to keep his wife sane. "Same to you," she replied, now more sincerely than when she had previously spoken. Sure, it would take time to get used to a new head, but sometimes a change was good, right?

"Well," Alina said, after a bit of thinking and settling some doubts in her brain, "if you need any help getting sorted...or finding things, you know where to find me. And if you have any problems with the filing - I used to be Theo's secretary so should be able to lead you to the right place, though goodness knows how he probably managed to mess it up after I got promoted!" She chuckled, knowing full well what Theo's type of 'tidying' was - shoving things where they happened to fit.

She smiled, before looking at Liam. "If you'll excuse me, I have an offer of a dance to take up," she said to Jessica and Benjamin, eyes twinkling.

Alina's smile widened as she headed towards Liam. She hoped it would make him seem more relaxed - by the sounds of it he was quite nervous about asking his former division head to dance. Either that or his had watched Finding Nemo more times than Theo Junior and was practicing speaking whale. Nah, it was quite sweet really. And made her feel better about being here on her own. It was weird not having an ex quidditch pro getting all the attention by her side.

"I'll have you know I'm not the best at formal dances," Alina warned Liam as she reached him with a knowing twinkle in her eye. "So don't blame me for any bruised toes!"

Dree grinned. "Well it looks very nice. Simple, yet very nice."she said, still smiling. "If I would of known we could of been like that, I might not have worn this dress."she said, giggling. Then she hugged Alina all of a sudden, which was kinda random, even for Dree. Blushing again, she let go of Alina and smiled embarressly. "Sorry. I just felt like doing that. You look hugable."she said, winking.

Dree was just about to take a sip from her cup when she splattered it all out at the arrival of a voice she hadn't heard in a long, LONG, time. Blushing crimson and dabbing the juice away, she turned around and smiled, dripping slightly, and still quite red. Then she looked at him, cocking her head slightly to the right. "Riku? Is that you? Why, you look so.....different!"she said, still staring at him. She blinked and smiled warmly. "Not that that's a bad thing."she added, winking. She looked around, searching for someone else she loved to see. "Where's Sokka?"she asked, still looked around. Then she smiled back at Riku. "I haven't seen you in ages!"she said, jumping up to hug him tightly.