"Indeed it is. I must say that I have been quite enjoying it so far. Excuse me for my ignorance, but what exactly does the security department do, other than run the front desk?"

"Well we basically do the desk job of letting visitors and new comers to the ministry through. Besides that we alert the people at the top if theres danger in the atrium that we can't prevent" replied Richard, he had worked there for a year and it was still a bit vague.
Richard tried to recollect what he had done in over a year here and continued "also if theres something within the ministry that needs extra security we get stationed there and we're on hand to come and collect any unwanted people from offices and escort them out. Thats it really, not as much glamour as beast division or mysterious as the unspeakables but its not bad"."Get to meet a variety people if nothing else" Richard added. Then he asked "So you're a hands on worker are you?"

Edward smiled up at his boss with a twinkle in his eye and stood. "It would be my pleasure. Do you take anything with it?" He asked

"Oh, no. Nothing, please," Delilah said.

Then, as Edward went away, the Department Head slipped her wand out of her pocket again. She pointed it towards the radio in the corner again. Earlier, when talking to Attica, Delilah had turned the volume down a bit. But now, she realized that she couldn't even hear the music. After a light flick of her wand, the radio's volume returned to a hearable level.

Delilah tapped her toe quietly on the carpeted floor as she waited for her coffee.

Attica nodded her head as Richard spoke, then laughed, a pleasant tinkling sound that filled the room. "Well, you could say that." she said glancing down at her rather sloppy appearance. "I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and I absolutely love tinkering with things. One of my hobbies is working on Muggle car engines. It's quite fun, although it does get pretty messy sometimes. Do you have any hobbies outside of work?"

"Ah, you know about muggles aswell do you? Amazing achievements, always interest me" said Richard deeply interested. He had alot of experience with the muggle world and understood most of it but they were fascinating. "Well I sort of enjoy tinkering myself though not with as big a machine as a car but magical gadgets that sort of thing. Travelling used to take a large part of my time up but I'm here to have a break from that. Thing is I think if I messed about with a car the travelling could've been easier"he said thoughtfully then added with a small laugh "... or not. Oh, cricket and music are always something I love. Did you grow up in a hands on sort of family then?"

Edward returned to Delilah and handed her the steaming cup. "Be careful with that. It's just brewed, so it might be quite warm."

As he sipped his own, now full cup he asked her. "How did you find yourself as the head of 2 departments?" He thought that she was a little young to be the head of one, much less two ministry of magic divisions.

"Thank you," Delilah said, smiling as she took the cup. She waited a bit to take a drink. The woman didn't need Edward's warning to realize that it was hot; she could feel the heat seeping through the cup.

"I've always been heading Maintenance," Delilah started to explain. "And I acted as an assistant head to ol' Maxwell Wood before he decided to quit last week." She laughed quietly. "The man had been working in Ministry Security for thirty years. And then one day, he came in and decided that he was tired of it. Quit and moved to some island somewhere." Finally, Delilah took a sip of her coffee. It was still hot, but bearable.

"So instead of hiring someone new, I just got promoted. And, now I'm running two Departments."

Richard could hear Delilah and Edward's conversation.
He had thought since he had been hired by Wood a year ago that he hadn't seemed that enthusastic though still an amirable head. Delilah however brought a feeling of casualness coupled with discipline. He cleared his throat and adressed his boss "errm, Ms Carter do you know if Mr Wood got another job, I mean when he left it wasn't clear whether he was quitting or retiring" he enquired curiously, then added "Well considering how long he had worked for."

Edward nodded as he listened. "I suppose it would help if I actually paid attention to those who are much higher level than I. At the security desk, weighing wands, I didn't get much opportunity to interact with Mr. Wood. He wasn't very approachable, at least for me. I appreciate your desire to be more so."

"I'm not sure, actually," Delilah said, shrugging. "We were never real close; he didn't share many details when he went.

"The monetary aspect of simply quitting wouldn't be a problem for him, though," the department head said. "Not many people knew how wealthy his family was. Hard to understand why he was working here..." Delilah trailed off, taking a sip of her still-hot coffee.

"No," Delilah agreed. "He never seemed too interested in getting to know anyone. Maxwell didn't really start talking to me until I became his assistant."

The woman blushed a bit; she took another drink of her coffee before answering. "I like to think I'm at least slightly approachable," Delilah joked.

"Well, let me offer you congratulations on becoming the Boss of the Security Department. Certainly I don't know much about you, but I am pleased to have the opportunity."

He noticed her blush a little and smiled without thinking of it. "How does being a Department head impact your family life? If I'm not being too personal. I couldn't imagine the responsibility. I feel pressed enough to keep everything straight with what little I have to do."

"Thank you," Delilah Carter said. There had been nothing in the job description about overwhelming the boss with compliments, but she wasn't going to put a stop to it. Everyone needed an ego boost every now and then. Even if it was from an employee who's stretching the truth a bit in hopes of a promotion.

A quiet laugh escaped Delilah's lips at his questions. Her family life. "It's exactly the same, to be honest. I live with my younger sister; I hardly ever saw her before I started working here, and it's the same way now. I have an older brother, and ever since I got out of school, we only see each other on holidays." The young woman shrugged as if this wasn't a big deal to her. Honestly, though, she wished she was a bit closer to James.

"And my parents," she laughed again. "They act as if I don't have an important job. Still just drop in whenever they please, insisting that I come out with them while they're in town." Delilah didn't elaborate; she'd already had this conversation with Edward.

This job thing was not working out for him well. HOPEFULLY he'd manage to get the hang of things before he ended up fired. Getting lost on the way to a room just. up. the hall was not a great way to be going. On his first day, of all things!

"I- I was here!" he said, nearly crashing into a table as he falled to stop after sprinting through the door. Note to self: Work shoes are NOT cleats. "Didn't miss anything, right?"

Edward listened intently as she continued to talk. It was good to know that she hadn't mentioned either a boyfriend or a husband and he smiled. That meant she would be here more often. He knew what was appropriate for office ettiquete and so would just enjoy her company.

"Sounds like you've got a full schedule. I've many brothers who work in private industry, quietly rising in their jobs. I just felt like this was the place for me. I like the work and I've wonderful people to work with and so overall, it's been good. The occasional trip to the pub with my mates for a little dart action and some lively chats and my life is pretty good right now."

"I understand the parent topic. My parents were hoping I would do more than inspect wands for a living. As if my brothers were somehow better than I. The one perk they think is that whenever they pop in from Scotland, that I can somehow get them some meeting with the minister."

Richard decided to try and see if he could get a group conversation going. He decided that the best way to start was to start with what people did before they started. "So, is the ministry people's first job then?" he asked politely trying not to interupt.

Jack frowned. Apparently no one was horribly distraught over the fact that he was pretty late. Clearly. Work was even more DULL than he could have ever anticipated. People just stood around and talked so much. Old people, no less. Of course, they wouldn't talk about anything very interesting.He listened to the ongoing conversation for a moment. Parents... I think I'll pass on that one.

He sat down, letting his back pack slide off his shoulder, onto the ground. He drummed his fingers against the table-top for a moment. So is the ministry people's first job? Well... it wasn't a conversation about parents. "Yes," Jack muttered.

Louisa decided to grab a seat in the breakroom, and walked over to one of the comfy looking armchairs. As she sat down, she took a long sip from her cup of tea and sat and listened to the conversations going around her. Sometimes it was nice not to take part, but just sit back and watch the world go past. She smiled to herself and took another mouthful from her cup.

Delilah took another drink from her coffee cup; it was cooling down nicely now.

"I enjoy working here, too," the woman mused. "Sometimes, though, I wish I had a job with a little less responsibility. I've never been an overly... organized person," Delilah laughed quietly. "So Department Headship is a bit of challenge. Especially when running two departments."

"Parents always seem to want different things for their children than their kids do." Delilah had experienced this when she was a bit younger. Right after graduating Hogwarts, when she decided to go to a muggle college, the woman's parents didn't seem to supportive of her goals. But now that she had a good, rather high-paying job, they seemed much more cognizant of what she wanted.


Delilah glanced around the room. Almost everyone seemed to be getting along well with their co-workers. They were making conversation, at least.
But the young woman noticed one person sitting alone, just watching, and decided to get her involved.

"Louisa!" she called across the room. "Have you met Edward?" Delilah knew they were from different departments, so most likely, they weren't acquainted yet. The young woman sipped her coffee again.

Louisa looked up when her name was called. She looked around and saw it was Delilah, her department head. She got up from the armchair and walked across the room to the woman and Edward.

"No, I haven't." She replied to Delilah. Turning to Edward, "I've only seen you when you're on the security desk. Louisa Booth." She said extending her free hand for Edward to shake. She always thought that this was the most formal way of meeting people, and once formalities were out of the way, relationships could build, whether business or personal.

"Really well it is a good place to start. Not working has its benefits though, free and easy you know?" Richard replied in an offhanded voice.He set down his empty mug and putting his hands in his pockets pulled out a note book. "So how are you liking the job" he asked looking up at Jack and then adding in an even voice "I suppose you like to get on with it rather than all this chit chat?". He opened the book and pointed his wand at it and some dates and names rotated round to different spots on the page.

Edward took the extended hand and smiled. "I too have noticed you as you go about your day. I suppose it would have been better if I had at least been cordial before today. That being said, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I should have done so also." Louisa replied smiling. She drank the last of her tea from her cup and put it down on a nearby table. She would throw it away later.

"So Delilah, how will the integration work then? Are we just going to stay two departments with one head?" She asked, curious as to how everything would work.

Jack shrugged. "I suppose. If you wanted to look at it that way." A good place to start had been Janet's choice of words as well. Apparently this was some type of common fact. Free and easy? Oh yes. He knew that. "At the moment, I think I actually prefer not working." He cracked a slight grin.

"Uh... I'm not really sure I can say whether I like it or not, actually. I haven't done any work yet." He shrugged again. "I guess I don't mind the chit chat. As long as I'm not stuck at home doing nothing." He stared down at the notebook. The figures were moving around, shuffling their places. "What are you doing?"

The department head sipped her coffee slowly as she listened to the two workers mingle a bit. She smiled then as the conversation returned to her. "Actually, I'd like to talk to the two of you about that," Delilah said, smiling slightly, as if she had some kind of secret.

Then, the woman began to walk slowly towards a more isolated corner of the breakroom. She beckoned Edward and Louisa to follow her, the mysterious smile still gracing her features.