"Well I was originally hired into Misuse of muggle artifacts." Zoey said. "But I can really work anywhere."

"Ok, that'll be fine" Blackstone said.

"Now if I could call everyone's attention, there are a couple things we'll need to cover over the next couple weeks. In addition to 'Business as usual' we have the Quidditch World Cup coming up." Blackstone took a sip from his cup of coffee. "And as usual, whenever there is some major event going on, everyone has more work."

"For us, that means we need to be prepared. There will be a lot of stuff going on and it will be best if we get ready in advance. The Cup is still a ways off, but the more we do now, the smoother things will run later. I've met with MLES and the Auror offices, and we'll be working with them on safety pamphlets for the event. We'd especially like a focus on underage magic."

Blackstone hoped he wasn't being too long winded, but he had just gotten this information that morning and wanted to get moving on it. "So, while this particular assignment falls under our 'Improper Use of Magic'' half, feel free to join in if you are in the 'Misuse of Muggle Artifacts' portion of this division."

"That just about covers it... oh, except that there's a trip to Fortescue's in it for the person who can make the best pamphlet" Blackstone added with a smile. It was rather silly, trying to motivate his staff with ice cream. But Fortescue's Ice cream was very good.

"Any Questions?"

ooc: If you'd like to actually make a poster/pamphlet, please do so! It's not required, of course, unless you'd like some ice cream

The department was alive and bustling with activities when Anne entered. She peered around the unfamiliar office, as this was her first job in the Ministry. It has always been Anne's dreams to work in the Improper Use of Magic and Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office; she always found Muggle Artifacts fascinating.

"Erm...can someone tell me what to do..." muttered Anne under her breath.

When she realized that everyone is too engrossed with their work to notice her, she decided to just pay the Division Head a visit.

Blackstone noticed another person walking into the office. Skimming through his mental filing cabinet, he tried to place her... As if to answer his question, an interdepartmental memo came, alerting him of a new person coming in today.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met" Blackstone said, extending his hand, "I'm Blackstone." Beckoning her in, he stepped back to his notes. "We were just having a small meeting if you'd like to join." He scanned his notes and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm sorry, Anne, can I get you some coffee?" he asked, conjuring a mug.

"I've just gotten word that there is a man who has bewitched muggle cars to fly... some sort of taxi service for the Cup, I suppose. I'd like a few of you to see which regulations this is breaking, if we could get a list that would be great. Also we need to generally start training for the cup. Crowd control, improper magic use and all that."

"Any questions so far?"

[OOC: I am leaving tomorrow for a week. I will try to check SS but I'm not sure if I will be able to. If you have any immediate concerns, Pharoman18 is the department head, and he should be able to see to that, as well as any other division heads in this department.]

Anne smiled shyly and mumbled,"No coffee for me, thanks anyway." She was still full from all that pumpkin juice at the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate her first job at the Ministry.

Anne swiftly took a seat in a cushion chair across the table. She did not wish to disrupt the meeting in any way. As Blackstone explained Anne's first assignment to her, Anne listened in rapt attention and nodded her head at appropriate intervals.

"Any question so fair?" Blackstone had asked politely. Anne shook her head and took a deep breath. With the Cup coming and everything, she's sure her new job at the Ministry would be anything but relaxing.

"So" Blackstone continued "Between digging up charges on this taxi guy and making safety posters for the cup, we should have a good deal of work on our hands. Finally, when not working on these we can train with the other departments for crowd control."

"I will have to attend a meeting concerning the cup, so I will be out of the office for a couple days. I wish I could be here a while longer before leaving like this, but things are quite busy these days. I should still be available by owl, though."

"So if anyone has questions, feel free to ask. If not that just about wraps things up." Blackstone finished. He then noticed Anne's alert attentiveness. It wasn't that long ago that he was in that position, trying his best to take everything in. In fact, he was still taking stuff in. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her: she seemed pretty focused and that was always a good quality.

Blackstone leaned back in his chair and stretched when a small paper airplane on him. Sitting up he read it. He stood up, he had been expecting this. He had already made a bunch of speeches in his short time here, but once again he stood and cleared his throat to the office.

"Excuse me.. hey, everyone. I've just got word from department that we have the go ahead to take a look at this taxi guy. His car dealership is in Manchester, right here" he said , pointing to a map. "We're going to go down and take a look at things. Talk to him and basically close him up. He's breaking several regulations, which I trust we've gathered, it'll be best to solve this before the busy season comes up with the Cup."

"So, ready to do this?" he asked, somewhat inspiringly.

OOC: Go to the link posted, or look for the thread in 'outside the ministry'. Since we haven't brainstormed charges yet, you can make them up as they go or rp that here. We're a bit behind schedule, though. If you have any questions, just PM me. Oh, and I'm home from vacation, by the way, so I'll be able to check things here more often.

A paper airplane flies into the room and comes to a rest on your desk, unfolding and smoothing out to reveal...

Warren walked into the Misuse office. Newly refilled coffee in hand and looked around. Everything was different from the last time he'd been in here with Becky when she was..prodding. Sighing he walked toward Blackstone's office and knocked on the door. "It's Warren. I need to discuss the issues of your case before I set a trial date."

Taylor walked into the Improper use of magic and Misuse of muggle artifacts office not really knowing what to do. 'jeez that's a long name' she thought to herself as she walked around looking for whoever was in charge

Don't give into the injustice. Stand up and walk out for what you believe. Join the hundreds of Wizarding Workers who are opposed the Ministry's prejudice against those who are different! There will be a mass walk out on Saturday at 4 p.m. to show your support for those who have none. Take to the streets of Diagon Alley and stand up for what is right!

Zoey looked at the flyer that just came into the office, "Hmmm..." she said to herself. She had slight distaste for what the ministry was pulling with the World Cup but was she willing to walk out on work and risk getting in trouble?

Blackstone drained the last of a glass of water as he entered the office. So much to do. He vanished it and looked over the office. Noticing the paper airplane and responding poster, he sighed. Yes, all beings deserved rights, but it was probably a more complicated issue than that. And now he was really too busy to bother with that, however important it may be. Though Blackstone couldn't help but feel a little tug at his conscience as he sat down.

He scanned the checklist of things to do for the QWC lying on his desk. Just reaching the trial when a knock at the door startled him. "Um, yes? Come in" Blackstone said, standing. He summoned a cup of coffee and prodded it with his wand, heating it up. "Oh, Warren. I assume this is about Penney?" he asked, taking a sip. "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like some coffee?"

Blackstone then noticed someone he didn't recognize wandering around the office. "Um... Excuse me? Can I help you?" he offered.

Warren walked into the office when he was invited in and looked around out of habit, scanning his surroundings. Over his shoulder in the corner he saw someone walking around but still faced Blackstone. "Penney? I..don't..." shaking his head he sat down in one of the chairs across from Blackstone's desk not waiting for an invitation. "I'm afraid I need to know what your status is on that case of yours, the one that's to go to trial." Pulling out a small planner he flipped through the pages shaking his head at the offer of coffee, "No, thank you. Ah there it is. You see I am required to inform the Minister as well as department heads as to when the trial will start. Due to the QWC I need to do this as soon as possible or else people will not be available." Closing the planner he stuck it back in his pocket, "Make sense? Do we have enough to go to trial with this and get a conviction?"

Taylor noticed someone talking to he and turned to face them. "Umm.. yea i'm new here" She said not really knowing what else to say. "I'm Taylor Armstrong" She said as she offered her hand.

"Penney, that's the car dealer guy we're trying to get. Covington E. Penney." Blackstone said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty sure myself that he's guilty, based on research and" he he sighed "a bit of intuition. But the trouble is, he's going to be hard to get a conviction on, any way you go about it." Blackstone continued. He leaned in over his desk and pursed his lips. "He's covering his tracks very well, I still have people researching the matter. I know you can't try him twice for the same crime, so we need a conviction... But this isn't going to be easy. I don't know when or if we'll ever have enough...." He trailed off. First big case he had to handle and Blackstone was already failing... "I'm really sorry I don't have more for you. Oh you wouldn't happen to know anything about our current, shall we say, protocol on veritiserum usage and such? I didn't want to use force when we went to question him... too much messy paperwork involved. But if it comes to it... I'll put a question in with Syd." he took another sip of coffee and turned his attention to Taylor

"Nice to meet you, Taylor" he said warmly, shaking her hand. "I'm Blackstone Martimus. Please, come in" he said, motioning to a chair in the office. "This is Warren, he's division head with the law enforcement squad and wizengamot. We've just been discussing the latest case." he said, indicating him. "Would you like some coffee?"

Taylor walked in and took a seat. "Hello" She said to Warren. " So what is the latest case? If you dont mind me asking" She asked. "No thanks" she said to his offer of coffee.

Warren listened to Blackstone with a frown, "This is not good. I do not want to take this to trial without enough to get him convicted. This would be my first case and taking such a ludicrous thing to trial might get me fired from my position." A thoughtful frown came over his face as he leaned back in his chair, "Veritaserum? Last time I checked you need to have Syd present but I would check. I tend...not to use that form of interrogation." Cough. Well with his size who could blame him. There was a reason why he'd been an Auror. Turning in his seat he nodded politely as he was introduced.

"I was hoping to be enlightened on that myself." Turning back toward Blackstone he looked thoughtful. "Petition Syd to use it and I'll be present during. I need this wrapped up." Standing up he nodded toward Taylor, "Pleasure to meet you. If you need me I'll be in my office, Blackstone," and with that he left.

Zoey heard Blackstone and Taylor talking about the most recent assignment. She had been there trying to get the guy to talk but herself and Blackstone were the only ones there. "Sorry to interupt, but maybe it would help if we get more people down to the dealership. I will go with Taylor and maybe we can figure something out to get him to open up more." Zoey said with a smile.

Misha slowly walked in as another walked out. His faint blue eyes observed the man, he seemed self important, a bit too cocky. Perhaps he ran things around here. Shaking his head, Misha grinned wryly as he set foot into the office.

It looked, very different.

How long had it been, twenty years almost? Misha had worked in this very department long ago, and things had definitely changed. Like this blonde girl for example, piping up to this other man... he seemed rather proud as well. Something about this situation seemed out of control, something was definitely amiss. Or, at the very least, something was not going correctly on the current case. Yes, that much was obvious.

THUD!

Misha's heavy briefcase-like bag it the floor loudly and dramatically. It was almost like yelling HELLO, but it was the old man version. Not the young whipper-snapper one. "First day of duty, my friends." He muttered nonchalantly in his dried, weary tone. "I take it you have something for me to do?" He was not questioning, oh no, he was demanding that an assignment be given.

Blackstone nodded as Warren left, staring pensively into his coffee when Zoe arrived. "No problem" he said, looking up. "Yes. This one's been a lot trickier than I thought. Definately more people. At the same time we need to keep Covington comfortable, more likely to say something."

He motioned to Misha and Taylor to come over, summoning another chair to his desk. "Misha, good to meet you, I'm Blackstone." he said, extending his hand.

"I think it's rather obvious we've been a bit short on manpower here, shall we say, so I'm very grateful to have your help" Blackstone started. "We're currently trying to get charges on a Covington E. Penney. He's a car dealer in manchester who is offering enchanted cars as a sort of 'taxi service' to the cup. He's been flaunting all sorts of regulations, but he's covering his tracks well."

Very well, in fact. They hardly had a thing on him and they were past their deadline.

"So... what we need to do is find a way to get him to talk. We can't try him without some kind of evidence. And MLES and the Wizengamot doesn't want to try him if we don't have enough evidence. Preferably we'd do this undercover, but he covers up very well, so we may look into other options."

Why was it always a big speech? Blackstone didn't like being long-winded, but he had a lot to say.

"Additionally" he continued "We have the World Cup starting. Meaning we need to fulfill our duties there, making sure people aren't using excessive magic and keeping the campsites cleaned of things the muggles might find afterwards. Specifically, we're to do this- " he said, handing out the list that Syd had given him.

"I'll leave it to your discretion as to which of these projects you'd like to work on, but we need to make sure we are covering both the car dealer and the cup.

"So... Any questions? Thoughts on how to tackle these?" Particularly, Blackstone hoped, thoughts on Covington, because he was stumped.

Misha gave the smallest tilt of the head in recognition as Blackstone gave his name. So this young gun is my head, eh? The thought was relatively ridiculous, but he knew he'd have to bite the bullet for the time being. Nonetheless, Misha shook his hand and sat down.

Finally Blackstone got to the good stuff. A car dealer? Was this really what the Ministry dealt with these days? Twenty, thirty years ago everything was a bit more malevolent, a bit more sinister. But perhaps Penney had malicious intentions after all.

Misha's eyes narrowed and the crow's feet around his eyes stood out. "You know, years ago I'd have blasted my way in there and hit him so hard with a stunning curse he'd be blabbing all he knows within seconds." Fukshansky shook his head almost mockingly, "But you young guns are much more modest these days."

His weary blue eyes looked to his left at Taylor, that girl seemed young. Very young, not too far out of Hogwarts. Division Head... he couldn't have been much older.

"I'd hope that veritaserum isn't illegal these days, find his local pub... slip a bit in his drink. Hell, someone track him under a disillusionment charm. We need to exhaust all of these options. No wonder everything gets so backed up in court these days, it takes the Ministry nine Christmas's to even do anything." His scratchy, croaky voice was surprisingly powerful and loud.

Ah yes, the World Cup was coming up. "I can run things anywhere you put me. I'd be particularly fond of showing the young guns that populate the Hogwarts corridors a lesson or two. Kids these days, so ignorant." He smiled though, ironically, as when he was fifteen he'd been caught doing magic at that very world cup. Good times those were.

A smile slipped across Blackstone's face as he listened to Misha. He clearly was experienced and knew what he was doing, unlike Blackstone. Or at least that's what he said. Albeit a little old fashioned, but a comfort to have such... wise advice? ... If wise was the word...

Blackstone finished his mental survey. "I've asked the department head about force and veratiserum. It would certainly make things a lot easier, but there's a good deal of red tape around that kind of stuff." He said, twirling a pencil through his hand. "Mr. Fushanky, I'll let you decide which of these assignments you want to take. Of course, you can do both, but if you prefer, you can pick which you'd like more involvement in."

"I haven't heard much yet from the cup. The campgrounds are divided into four parts, north, south, east and west. Those of you working on the cup should divide it up, take one or two campsites each to monitor. We're looking for magical use, especially magic that stands out. Additionally, around all areas of the cup we're looking for minors using magic. I'm going to contact maintenance and see what we're doing on cleanup."

"Concerning Covington, I've had a couple ideas of my own, should we not get access to forceful methods. Covington is already suspicious, I'm betting, would you agree Zoe?" he asked "However, Taylor and Misha haven't been there yet, I assume. If going incognito isn't enough, we have to find another way to persuade him. What do you think of 'telling' on Zoe or myself, so he finds out we're working for the ministry? Should one of you say 'That's a ministry worker', you might get on his good side by 'proving' you aren't on ours."

Blackstone didn't know much about muggle things, but one thing he did enjoy was their notion of 'moving pictures'. He watched far too many of them.

"And, actually, I was also considering 'tracking him down' as you said, Misha." he added. "The point is we can either convince him we're friends and potential customers, or we can do our own research and force it out."

And before he knew it, Blackstone had given another long-winded speech. Why did he do that????

OOC: Can we try to finish the car dealer plot as quickly as possible? We're a tad... well, very behind schedule

Slumped in his chair by his desk sat a snoring Noah, his elbow leaning on the desk with his head resting on his hand. It was quite unusual for Noah Ackart to snore, he rarely did. But on this occasion he was so deadly tired that within ten minutes of sitting down to finish some paperwork he had dozed off like a baby. He had stayed up all night watching muggle reruns and eating ice cream. He had been fine then, but now the sleepiness hit him like a very large boulder. A stack of papers laid on the desk by his resting arm that he had been reading before he fell asleep.

Real smooth.

Estella pressed her lips together maliciously in the background, stepping forward to face Blackstone. She was new, but she still saw herself as a veteran. She naturally saw herself as the one in charge, no matter how low on the totem-pole she actually was.

"Well said, boss." She purred sinisterly, "Enough chit-chat." Her sharp features curled into a smile, "I'm ready to finish this case."

With a swish of the pony-tail, Estella turned on the spot and headed out the door. "See you over there Martimus, Ackart... Cambridge." She gave a final, condescending wink and shut the office door behind herself.