Laurie had managed to free herself from the uncomfortableness that had become being close to Dorian and was now in search of a place to sit. She wasn't sure why but being close to him had left her feeling oddly but...it had and now she needed a breather. Finding an empty seat at last she sighed and made a line straight for the chair. Seeing some woman near it she sighed again. Figures. Though maybe she wasn't going to sit. Worth a shot at least. "Excuse me but is this seat taken?" See she could be polite when she wanted to be.

Tam was smiling in Cadewyn's general direction when she heard a woman's voice... Turning she caught sight of the woman and then glanced at the chair she was standing beside. "Oh no. Please. Go ahead. I was just contemplating whether or not I should go over and speak to an old acquaintance... so in short: No it's not yet taken," she said with a chuckle at her own incessant chatter.

Stepping aside she pushed the chair ever so slightly in the woman's direction and then pulled up one for herself. Before sitting she glanced at her and asked, "Would you mind terribly if I joined you for a moment?"

Laurie looked at the woman and nodded, raising an eyebrow slightly as the woman chuckled. Riiiiiiiiight. "Thank you. My feet are just about done for I think." Who knew how long her and Dorian had been dancing and that bothered her too...along with how easy it had been to relax and let her guard down a bit.

Sitting down in the chair that was pushed her direction she watched the woman sit next to her. "No I don't mind. Don't believe I've met you before. I'm Laurie Henderson," she said extending out her hand with a smile. Yup time to be friendly.

After Nicole's nice dance with Robert and stopping by to get another drink, she finally found Elizabeth and Adam sitting down a little nearby. Nicole looked to see Adam standing and Elizabeth sitting down looking a bit tired. Smiling she said, "Hello again."

Elizabeth lazily waved and muttered in a thick french accent that shows up very strongly when she was tired, "Hello."
Adam glanced at Nicole when she showed up, "Hello again, Nicole." He smiled but glanced again at ELizabeth trying to figure out what he was going to do.

"You're quite welcome. It's a nice break from the pressure of getting ready for our France trip." he said softly to her before his gaze flickered around the room. He had a real hard time trying to relax, though his tie wasn't as tight since she'd fixed it nicely he still tugged on it out of nervousness. Most likely by the end of the night it'd be in such a knot it'd never come out!

"Nah, I've been to a few, I just..." leaning in close grinned "Try to avoid them as much as possible. Leaning back in his seat again he chuckled "Not to keen on them, gets me nervous really."

"It is beautiful in here," Fletcher agreed, settling back in his seat and stretching out his long, long legs. He chuckled but shook his head. "You really want decorating advice from the Magical Maintenance department?"

Scoff. "We can do better." They WOULD do better. Their wedding would be the BOMB.

Nicole smiled at Elizabeth and Adam. She turned to Elizabeth and asked, "Are you doing okay?" Elizabeth did look very tired. Nicole even hear her french accent a lot, which never really happens.
Robert smiled and waved to the two, and let Nicole go off to talk to Elizabeth. Walking up to Adam he asked, "So how did your dance go? Elizabeth seems a bit tired.."That was one of the things he noticed with Elizabeth's some what lazy wave.

"Just extremely tired and sore." Elizabeth laughed, "It feels like im carrying a boulder." She smiled.
Adam went and got her some coffee without any hint or suggestion of doing so, "Drink this, Iza. It might wake you up some. No buts though or that you hate coffee." He smirked. To Robert, "It was ok and yeah she does...." Adam nodded.
Elizabeth wrinkled up her nose at the coffee. She hated coffee and rarely drinked it, she preferred tea. Elizabeth was too tired to get into an arguement with Adam or even to get annoyed at being treated like a child by him. She moved the cup up to her mouth and she smelt a spell, she glanced at Adam.
Seeing the glance that Elizabeth sent him "Don't worry it is just a simple wake up spell that will help the caffeine." He laughed.
Elizabeth took a sip cautiously but soon discovered that Adam was telling the truth. She straighten up her posture and had on a smile again, "Merci Adam." Her mood was bright now. "So how was you two dance?" She smiled at Nicole and Robert, not noticing her French accent gone away again.

Katrina nodded her head. "Very true. Although I do believe you're the one doing most of the paperwork." That was one thing she hated, paperwork. So tedious and boring. She smiled as he still tugged on his tie.

She giggled at his answer. "I've been to so many they're second nature, but they still make me nervous too." It was true. Every time her parents announced that they were hosting a ball, she got nervous at all the people that would be staring at her as she descended the stairs. One time she almost tripped in her heels.

Smirking a little at her saying he was doing most of the paperwork "It certainly appears to be that way." he teased. "Just need to know what you need and what you don't have yet. But that's enough about work I think." They were there to enjoy themselves, why bother talking about what they could talk about all day long?

Smiling at her giggle, he did like hearing that sound. It was very pretty, he thought "Really? You appear so relaxed!" How could you be nervous if you appeared to be at home during the ball. Well, they weren't dancing, so maybe it was easier to be relaxed if you didn't dance. Maybe she was waiting to be asked though...! "Did you want to dance?" he asked softly, unsure if that was appropriate for him to ask her that.

"Alright, I'll get back to you on that one." Katrina said smiling. Now he was teasing her, huh? Well, once she finds out something to tease him on she will just have to give him some payback.

Katrina shook her head. "Just knowing that at one point so many pairs of eyes will be on me, makes me nervous. When I'm dancing on stage or playing in an orchestra, I'm in a group so it's not as bad. But, descending down stairs and having someone announce your arrival is nerve wracking." She said. She smiled when he asked to dance. "If you're comfortable with it, then yes."

Now that the speech was beginning and all of the Department Heads had removed themselves from the crowd to be on the stage, Armen decided to head over to the Seating Areas where a majority of the Ball's guests were heading.

Looking up at the sound of Inez Grey's name, his replacement. He fixed an icey glare at her from where he stood. He should be sitting up there, not that woman from the German Ministry.

Floating from table to table he continued to pass out the champange.

From where he had placed himself at the edge of the seating area, Sabel had gained a good view of the center stage and its occupants. He recognized some of the department heads, but most were a mystery to him. Especially the woman giving the speech: he couldn't ever remember having seen her before.

More concerning than her words and who was to run which department and the etiquette of absent clapping that went along with it, was how Evander kept rising out of his seat. Every time he did it, Sabel had to wince a little. At least he could be assured that the man was stubborn and set: something that seemed to have served him well.

Letting out a heavy breath, Sabel shifted his weight on his feet, his eyes glancing about the gathered crowd. He froze and blinked. He had heard Recard hadn't been sent off for his involvement, but he hadn't particularly expected the man to be about serving champagne. He didn't look too pleased about his position either.

Sabel found himself hesitating, stuffing his bandaged hand into his pocket. While he could go to the former ministry adviser, he didn't think that it would exactly be respectable to have a conversation dead in the center of the seating area. If a conversation was to be had. So, he did the one thing he thought might work, and which he knew would grate his nerves if it was done to him, and attempted to motion the man over.

Really, he wouldn't be surprised if he was ignored.

Tamara took the other woman's hand and gave it a shake. As she released it she said, "Pleasure to meet you, Laurie. I'm Tamara Scamander. I work in the Minister's Office. One of the new Advisors." She gave a slight shrug and let her eyes wander back across the dance floor.

"I think some of these people must have gotten dressed in the dark..." she muttered and gave a sly smile.

His eyes twinkled in laughter as she said she'd get back to him. "Alright you do that." he said winking.

Nodding he could understand that. Being in a group definitely helps, but to be alone and introduced to a large amount of people, that would certainly be nerve wracking! "I understand." A smile flickered again as she said if he was comfortable, "Well, I'm not fancy at all, but I can get around a little." he said with a nod "Shall we?" he asked rising and offering his hand.

"Nice to meet you as well," Laurie said as the woman introduced herself. "I work in Magical Law Enforcement, Director of Prosecution." Hmm...one of the advisors? How many advisors did the man need? "Do you like it here so far?" Sure...small talk...why not.

Laurie watched the woman watching the dancers and chuckled at her comment. "Or perhaps they don't care?" Or maybe couldn't afford to be fashionable.... She took in what Tamara was wearing as she slid one of her heels off to rub her foot.

Katrina smiled and giggled as she accepted his hand. She stood up and linked her arm through his. "We shall!" she exclaimed. Dancing was something she could do in her sleep, something she didn't get shy about.

"Pleasure," she said as she directed her attention back to the people around them. "Oooh you are the second Law Enforcement employee I have met. My husband was in Magical Law... well not the department here. He was in the ITF." She was not sure what to say about Prosecution... she didn't know much about that aspect of things.

"I am not sure if I like it or not to be quite frank. There has not been much of a welcome in the Minister's Office and well... no one seems very eager to get to know a new person around here. With the exception of a few, that is," she said with a slight shrug.

"Well that's worse than getting dressed in the dark, that is... I think everyone should WANT to look their best," she said with a nod.

She seated herself in the chair he'd pulled for her, and sat perfectly straight. Statuesque in her dress. "I want things to be simple... few people. Sierra, Ian, who will unfortunately bring his wife... Your sister and whomever she is seeing, if she is seeing someone at the time. I think we can ask Ian to leave his son home..."

...

"That's all..." Location... "I wouldn't mind a snowy wedding..." and then a thought dawned on her... "on a quidditch field. You think Alexandra could get on a broom? Ian I'm sure hasn't lost his ability..." Sierra could fly with them... and it would also force Pamela to be grounded.

Alexander shifted his position toward Hecate. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "You know, I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you. Out on a Quidditch field and on brooms--it can't get much better than that." Honestly, the thought had crossed his mind at some point, too. He'd just wanted to see what she had in mind first. He winked at her. There were many reasons he fell in love with her. That dress she was wearing being one of a billion.

"Alexandra," he went on to say, "is actually a fantastic Quidditch player. I don't know if I've ever told you, but she is. I tried to get her on the team a few times, but you know her--she's too independent for organized play. She always had to do her own thing." He leaned forward and took both her hands in his. "Consider it done--all of it," he said, "and I hope you know there's a billion reasons I fell in love with you."

"Oh, will you shut. Up." She said shaking her head with a smile. "You are soooo mushy sometimes." Or maybe she was just colder... either way. He was her mushy man.

She looked around and noticed the head of MLE with a cane and the old Hogwarts nurse... old as in she was no longer, not that she was in her 90s. "I'm glad someone else got hurt and not you..." She took a piece of something on his plate and popped it in her mouth. "... I don't know if I could deal with a crippled man..." She smirked... she was joking, obviously.

"Hecate," Alexander half-fussed, "you're going to give me a complex." He frowned and creased his eyebrows inward. "Telling you that I love you is not mushy. Fate threw us a bad hand early on--I think we deserve to be a little mushy now and then." He was quick to add, "I'm not being mushy, though."

He looked toward her, serious as he could be, and added, "I love you, Hecate. You make my heart beat strong. Your smile is brighter than a field of daffodils." He only held that straight face a second longer, and then he was tilting his back and laughing. "Oh, Merlin. That was horrid, wasn't it?" He popped a strawberry into his mouth. "That was mushy." He just had to go and prove a point.

He was just about to offer her a strawberry, when she gave him the line about not being able to deal with a crippled man. "So harsh, Hecate. So harsh." He brought the strawberry closer to her mouth, waggled his eyebrows, then said, "I like it." He'd always had a thing for her strong attitude. It'd been what attracted him to her in the first place.

As more and more of the Ministry employees and guests needed champagne or some sort of alcohol to dim their nerves to the awful cheeriness that seemed to be taking over the place, Armen found his tray empty and he needed to go get more glasses of the stuff.

He began to make his way over towards the makeshift kitchens located in a corridor beyond the Ballroom when he heard someone trying to catch his attention. "Sir, I am out of champagne I will be back momentarily if you can just wait a minute." Seriously, did he need the stuff that bad?

But something told the former department head this wasn't just some other man needing a refreshment and upon further inspection on his part, Armen saw that it was Sabel, the man from MLE he had dueled in the Atrium not long ago.

"Oh...it's you. How's your arm?" he said eyeing the guy's hand that was jammed into his pants pocket, a small sneer was forming on his lips.

So it was going to be like this was it?

With a sigh, Sabel drew his hand out of his pocket and fixed the smirking man with an unimpressed look. "Healing well, thank you for your concern. And your head?" His own tilted slightly as his eyes narrowed a little. "Still screwed on backwards I see."

Really, it wasn't the way to get in anyone's good graces. Not that he cared to be in Armen's 'good' books, but if he wanted a few answers he knew he was going to have to yield on one point or another.

"Do you have a minute?" His eyes flicked to the empty tray and then back up to the man. Seemed like he had more than one.