As you enter the break room you are hit with the smell of the holiday foods that have been made and set out for the event.
Grab a plate and fill it up, don't forget the Christmas cookies at the end of the table, Jorge had those specially delivered from Spain. Once you have your plate find one of the many seating places that have been set up for this event.

As like the other rooms, the music is festive and so are the decorations. Enjoy the eggnog, the food, and the fun.

Drew Chae missed home. Although he was enjoying the snow a LOT. He loved that it actually felt like Christmas, and looked like the Christmas he had grown up hearing about in carols. Los Angeles was just too damn hot. The weather was so much nicer here. He was meant for cooler weather, he was sure of it.

He wasn't TOO into the whole party thing, but he did want to get to know people more around here. He needed to build a social life. He had never really done so at school soooo, why not start now? He was still young!

She thought she remembered there being some eggnog around here. But she had been through reception and the work area (checking on her chocolate balls and maybe taking one while she was at it) and no dice. This was the last place it cou-BINGO!

Kara was so happy about finding the eggnog that she almost missed Drew standing over by the food by himself. "It doesn't do to stand over here by yourself during a party, sweetie," she commented with a friendly smile, grabbing a cup and pouring herself some of that sweet white drink. She herself was going right back out, but she'd needed a quick break from the crowd.

As fa as ways to spend the days leading up to Christmas went, this happened to not be the worst. With De La Garza's stint with the blokes down in Knockturn Alleya few years ago Lex wasn't surprised the man would request some amount of security even for a such a lowkey event. To say she preferred the jobs that saw her scaling walls and trudging through trenches would be an understatement, but free food wasn't so bad either.

The Head Auror moved through the room, making a beeline for the cookies. Some went onto her plate and some into her bag for the little ankle biter she'd left back at the Manor. They tasted like the sort the 2 year old liked...though to be fair, anything with sugar was what the 2 year old would like.

Cookies piled high, Lex moved to a section of the wall. She'd stay leaned here for a while, just watching for now and wishing she'd dragged Fox along too. 'Least there'd be a better chance of her having a good time then. As it stood, this was debatable.

Jorge Cristo De La Garza was never one to be nervous,
no, he wore his confidence very well, but tonight he was on edge. He hadn't been too thrilled at first to open the doors of the Daily Prophet to the public.
He had been attacked by someone in that public once, but that had been years ago and even though the thoughts were still there and the memories still in here he wasn't going to allow fear hold the prophet back. He had wanted this position since moving to London and now that he had it he was going to see great things happen.

Keeping to his office for a little bit and waiting for his wife to floo over he finally made his way out to greet anyone who had come yet. As he looked around and checked his watch he felt his stomach growl, had he skipped lunch today? The food drew him towards it and he was grabbing a plate. "Good evening Miss Cambridge, thank you for joining us." He knew she was there for work, but hoped she would have a good time.

Seeing his own employees he smiled at them, "Evening Kara and Drew,
how is the food?" Maybe he'd grab some eggnog as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

She thought she remembered there being some eggnog around here. But she had been through reception and the work area (checking on her chocolate balls and maybe taking one while she was at it) and no dice. This was the last place it cou-BINGO!

Kara was so happy about finding the eggnog that she almost missed Drew standing over by the food by himself. "It doesn't do to stand over here by yourself during a party, sweetie," she commented with a friendly smile, grabbing a cup and pouring herself some of that sweet white drink. She herself was going right back out, but she'd needed a quick break from the crowd.

Drew smiled politely at Kara as she walked in, wrinkling his nose a little at the eggnog she chose to drink. He'd never been a fan of it himself, personally. "I'm going out there, promise," he chuckled. It was more a promise to himself than anything else, really. "I just needed a moment to just...I dunno...think about him," he said with a shrug.

Really, the social stuff was just very draining, but he didn't want to sound any more like a party pooper than he already did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

As fa as ways to spend the days leading up to Christmas went, this happened to not be the worst. With De La Garza's stint with the blokes down in Knockturn Alleya few years ago Lex wasn't surprised the man would request some amount of security even for a such a lowkey event. To say she preferred the jobs that saw her scaling walls and trudging through trenches would be an understatement, but free food wasn't so bad either.

The Head Auror moved through the room, making a beeline for the cookies. Some went onto her plate and some into her bag for the little ankle biter she'd left back at the Manor. They tasted like the sort the 2 year old liked...though to be fair, anything with sugar was what the 2 year old would like.

Cookies piled high, Lex moved to a section of the wall. She'd stay leaned here for a while, just watching for now and wishing she'd dragged Fox along too. 'Least there'd be a better chance of her having a good time then. As it stood, this was debatable.

He glanced over at a girl who walked in and immediately made a beeline for the cookies. That wouldn't be totally out of the ordinary - it WAS a Christmas party, after all - but then she started putting them in her bag. Um. Ok. That was...weird.

He grinned at her. "Saving some for later?" he asked with an eyebrow raise. Someone REALLY liked cookies, it seemed...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

Jorge Cristo De La Garza was never one to be nervous,
no, he wore his confidence very well, but tonight he was on edge. He hadn't been too thrilled at first to open the doors of the Daily Prophet to the public.
He had been attacked by someone in that public once, but that had been years ago and even though the thoughts were still there and the memories still in here he wasn't going to allow fear hold the prophet back. He had wanted this position since moving to London and now that he had it he was going to see great things happen.

Keeping to his office for a little bit and waiting for his wife to floo over he finally made his way out to greet anyone who had come yet. As he looked around and checked his watch he felt his stomach growl, had he skipped lunch today? The food drew him towards it and he was grabbing a plate. "Good evening Miss Cambridge, thank you for joining us." He knew she was there for work, but hoped she would have a good time.

Seeing his own employees he smiled at them, "Evening Kara and Drew,
how is the food?" Maybe he'd grab some eggnog as well.

OH HELLO BOSS MAN! Time to be on alert!

"Oh, hey there Mr. De La Garza," Drew said with a smile. He had only been there a few months and was pretty sure he hadn't earned the right to call his boss by his first name yet. "Yeah, it's pretty good. I've just nibbled at it for now, though," he added.

He watched the other's a bit and looked around. Taking some food he turned as Drew started talking to him. They all had been working for a few months together, but Jorge still felt that he didn't know his employees all that well yet either.
He needed to do better at that, but time would give more opportunities.

"Well that's good. Don't want the public going and saying we didn't serve them well." He wanted the paper to get its reputation back and show that is part of the community and bad food wouldn't do them any good. "Have anyone coming to join us this evening?" He didn't know if they invited their families or whomever they were dating or married to, so he figured he'd ask.

Speaking being they were with, he loved being able to show off his wife at these types of things and knew that people were looking when she was in the room.

Drew felt like his siblings, Aurora and Beverly, had been staying at his flat for weeks. In reality, it had been two days. TWO. DAYS. Aurora's makeup took up all the counter space in the bathroom, Bev had packed enough clothes to stay for months (which was worrying) and they had INSISTED on spending a ton of time with him the past two nights. He'd come home to dinner waiting on the table, with wine, and they made him stay up almost until midnight catching up, grilling him about his life. They had, of course, spent the majority of their time talking about what THEY had been up to, and his siblings, and it was exhausting. Both in the physical and mental sense.

So he was making coffee. LOTS of it. Coffee and bagels. That was exactly what he needed right now.

It was hard to believe that this was Louise's second Christmas in England. Well, THIRD, technically, if one wanted to count when she was a seventh year, but that was Scotland and it was different. Different in that she was still dependent on her parents, but now she was an adult and didn't really feel like one. Yes, she had her own flat and had to deal with keeping herself properly fed. And she'd just turned twenty which felt both liberating and scary too.

Having had another exhausting weekend with Arabella, whom she adored by the way, Louise found herself in the break room to start her day. Because coffee, as she'd gotten older, was one of those substances that was necessary as an adult. "Drew, hey, good break?" She grinned at her fellow American, upon seeing she wasn't alone in here. "You just make that pot?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

It was hard to believe that this was Louise's second Christmas in England. Well, THIRD, technically, if one wanted to count when she was a seventh year, but that was Scotland and it was different. Different in that she was still dependent on her parents, but now she was an adult and didn't really feel like one. Yes, she had her own flat and had to deal with keeping herself properly fed. And she'd just turned twenty which felt both liberating and scary too.

Having had another exhausting weekend with Arabella, whom she adored by the way, Louise found herself in the break room to start her day. Because coffee, as she'd gotten older, was one of those substances that was necessary as an adult. "Drew, hey, good break?" She grinned at her fellow American, upon seeing she wasn't alone in here. "You just make that pot?"

Drew looked up and found himself smiling when Louise walked in. He had gravitated to her when he first started working here for obvious reasons - they'd both just graduated Ilvermorny, and were foreigners in a new country trying to make a go of it. But he actually liked hanging out with her, which was...rare. Drew had spent most of his time at Ilvermorny confined to his dorm studying, and he had made a vow that he was NOT going to just waste his life doing that again. So he'd been trying to be social.

He nodded and stepped aside to let her take some if she wanted it. "Freshly brewed. Help yourself," he told her with a grin. When she asked about his break he found himself chuckling. "Well, depends on your definition of good. Aurora and my sister Beverly are here visiting," he explained. She knew his sister - hell, she'd competed against his sister - so that might be explanation enough.

Even if he hadn't told her to 'help yourself', Louise probably would have poured herself some anyway. Because it was a public breakroom, at least to the journalists and the coffee wasn't his only. Since he had though, she smiled, "Thanks," as she found herself amused by his explanation he launched to of his break.

"Oh, pity I didn't know Aurora was visiting!! I'd have loved to have seen her again. This is her ... last year, right?" Louise tilted her head over him. She was fairly certain it was, but sometimes she got wrapped up in her own life overseas, she forgot about her younger acquaintances from Ilvermorny.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Even if he hadn't told her to 'help yourself', Louise probably would have poured herself some anyway. Because it was a public breakroom, at least to the journalists and the coffee wasn't his only. Since he had though, she smiled, "Thanks," as she found herself amused by his explanation he launched to of his break.

"Oh, pity I didn't know Aurora was visiting!! I'd have loved to have seen her again. This is her ... last year, right?" Louise tilted her head over him. She was fairly certain it was, but sometimes she got wrapped up in her own life overseas, she forgot about her younger acquaintances from Ilvermorny.

Drew laughed. "Well, she's still in town if you'd like to meet up. She's...different. More...caring, if that's possible. I think that IMPS competition broke her," he said with a shrug and another laugh. He was mostly joking, but she HAD...softened since the competition. Her certainty that she was going to win had been crushed and maybe, just maybe, it had instilled a bit of reality in her.

"What did you do over break?" he asked, taking another sip of coffee. He hoped they wouldn't just be talking about his sister this whole time.

Louise grinned, "I never found her uncaring. At least not towards me. Competitive yes, but I think that competition made us all competitive. We all wanted that glory." Truth, though. Sure, she could be a little rough around the edges, but she wasn't cold-hearted. She just wanted to win, which wasn't entirely unfounded. It wasn't as if she was ruthless. "But yes, I'd like that. If she was down for that, and still remembered me."

"Lately? I've just been going out regularly with Arabella. You should come out with us one weekend. We mostly dance and have a good time." And picked up guys, which Andrew didn't need to know about those details. "It was my birthday too, over the break. Can you believe I'm no longer a teenager? Though, honestly, I don't think I've felt like one since we graduated, but its official now." Taking a calculated sip of her coffee, she eyed him carefully. "What about you? You show your sister around or she mostly do her own thing?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Louise grinned, "I never found her uncaring. At least not towards me. Competitive yes, but I think that competition made us all competitive. We all wanted that glory." Truth, though. Sure, she could be a little rough around the edges, but she wasn't cold-hearted. She just wanted to win, which wasn't entirely unfounded. It wasn't as if she was ruthless. "But yes, I'd like that. If she was down for that, and still remembered me."

"Lately? I've just been going out regularly with Arabella. You should come out with us one weekend. We mostly dance and have a good time." And picked up guys, which Andrew didn't need to know about those details. "It was my birthday too, over the break. Can you believe I'm no longer a teenager? Though, honestly, I don't think I've felt like one since we graduated, but its official now." Taking a calculated sip of her coffee, she eyed him carefully. "What about you? You show your sister around or she mostly do her own thing?"

Drew simply shrugged with a little chuckle. "Well, you weren't Valerie, so that probably worked in your favor," he added with a grin. He never really knew what it was between those two - and he didn't care, honestly - but Aurora and Valerie came close to cursing each other a few times. Thankfully before anything actually happened, they managed to cool off, but he had watched it all play out and his sister was far from innocent. Competitive nature or not, that didn't excuse some of the terrible things she'd said to her classmates. How she hadn't been run out of the school after all of that was beyond him.

"They're kind of doing their own thing, but they have been insisting I spend dinner with them and stuff," he explained. At least he hadn't been having to worry about food the last few days. "I think Aurora is thinking of coming here for university," he added. Merlin please don't let that be the case. He smirked a bit when she talked about not being a teen anymore and he nodded in agreement. "I don't think I've felt like a teen for a while either. I've got one more month to go," he added. He had his own place, a salaried job - he was an adult. TOTALLY an adult. It was weird to think that he hadn't even lived through two decades just yet.

Dancing? He laughed. "I may pass on the dancing - but I AM trying to be more social. Hang out with more people. I would like that," he told her. He WAS trying to be more social, it was true. He had done quite a good job of breaking out of his shell since moving here, if he did say so himself. He felt more comfortable around...everyone. Especially Louise, who had been an unlikely ally during his move and start of his new job. Maybe it was because of that - and also, his lack of sleep thanks to his sisters - that triggered his next response.

"I even think...I mean, if YOU think it would be fun, maybe we could...hang out...just the two of us. Sometime," he muttered, blushing slightly and staring down at his coffee mug. OHHHH MERLIN. He'd done it. HE HAD DONE IT.

That actually made Louise smile; truth be told she felt she missed out on much of tensions the other three female champions seemed to have by being the oldest champion selected from Ilvermorny. Oldest, but clearly not the best, as she hadn't made it to the final round. Not that she minded, as she tried her best and had fun and was just grateful for the experience of being chosen. "I think being older then them might have helped too." A respect thing, maybe?

"By spend dinner, you mean take them out for dinner and you pay?" You know, just curious. Because she really didn't blame them if that were the case. He had a job and an apartment, they were traveling on vacation. "Apparently London has more to offer for us American kids." It seems like every other day another Ilvermorny alum was moving abroad. Made her curious what Bridget would do when the time came, but the girl still had another year to go after this one.

Wait. What. Was he ...... did he just ... ask her out?? Sure she was comfortable with Andrew Chae; he was cute too and nice to look at, they had the Ilvermorny thing in common too, but she had NOT expected that at all. Considering she had invited him out as part of the group. She smiled, placed a hand on his that was on his coffee mug to get him to look into her eyes. "I'd like that Andrew Chae... But, just so you know, you're dancing with me." That came as part of the hanging out. No maybes from this Thunderbird when it came to dancing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

That actually made Louise smile; truth be told she felt she missed out on much of tensions the other three female champions seemed to have by being the oldest champion selected from Ilvermorny. Oldest, but clearly not the best, as she hadn't made it to the final round. Not that she minded, as she tried her best and had fun and was just grateful for the experience of being chosen. "I think being older then them might have helped too." A respect thing, maybe?

"By spend dinner, you mean take them out for dinner and you pay?" You know, just curious. Because she really didn't blame them if that were the case. He had a job and an apartment, they were traveling on vacation. "Apparently London has more to offer for us American kids." It seems like every other day another Ilvermorny alum was moving abroad. Made her curious what Bridget would do when the time came, but the girl still had another year to go after this one.

Wait. What. Was he ...... did he just ... ask her out?? Sure she was comfortable with Andrew Chae; he was cute too and nice to look at, they had the Ilvermorny thing in common too, but she had NOT expected that at all. Considering she had invited him out as part of the group. She smiled, placed a hand on his that was on his coffee mug to get him to look into her eyes. "I'd like that Andrew Chae... But, just so you know, you're dancing with me." That came as part of the hanging out. No maybes from this Thunderbird when it came to dancing.

Drew chuckled. "No, actually, Beverly is a really good cook and has been making dinner - I shouldn't be complaining, free meal and all..." his voice trailed off with a small smile. There were certainly worse things in life - for example, ALL his siblings could be crashing at his apartment as opposed to just two. He simply shrugged at her last suggestion. He was pretty sure Aurora just couldn't stand the fact that one of her siblings might be having more fun than her. Who knew what she would actually do, though. "We'll see. It's possible we might be seeing a lot more of Aurora pretty soon," he chuckled.

He hoped not. Ugh.

Time felt like it had stopped after he asked her out. OH MY MERLIN he should have never said this. He should just have just agreed to go out as friends and start there. There was no way - but then, he felt his stomach get all...WEIRD and jittery when she put her hand on his, and then she said YES and he felt himself grinning ear to ear before he bit this lip with a grin. "Ok, fine. It's a small price to pay I suppose if I get to take you out on a date," he admitted with a blush.

Louise grinned. "Ah yes, free meals are always good. And nothing like a homecooked meal..." That made her really miss some Louisiana Southern comfort food. She nodded simply with the mention of seeing more of Aurora soon. "Well, if she does randomly show up expecting free shelter at your place... Good luck? I guess we'll be seeing more of you here then."

Okay, so honestly this was a weird and unexpected turn of events. Like it wasn't that Andrew Chae was a bad looking guy; they'd gone through seven years of Ilvermorny together and barely acknowledged each other besides their names and houses. And somehow ended up working together. "Don't worry. I promise it won't be that bad," she smiled, rather appreciating the blush right now and finding it rather endearing.

Jorge had been having a busy day and hadn't had one cup of coffee, he knew that had to change because it was still pretty early in the day and he had a long list of things that still needed to get done. Giving his son some money to go across the street to the Cafe, Jorge figured this was a good moment to grab that coffee and sit for a moment.

He couldn't help but think about his nephew being at Hogwarts last term and his niece heading there. Talking to Ethan didn't seem to change the man's mind either. Did all parents brush off the weird things that went on there or were there parents that truly did not send their kids there because of the weird things? Where all schools that dangerous, he knew his wasn't hence why his children weren't going to that school.

Anakin still could not believe that he had landed a summer internship at The Daily Prophet. This was literally a dream come true for him.Writing was one thing that he had loved since… well ever since he could write. So of course journalism, was his ideal career although his ultimate goal was to eventually write his own book or maybe book series if he was lucky enough. But writing for the newspaper was definitely what he wanted to do.

He had been around doing the internship for a few weeks now and he was still in awe of offices, the people here and of course the way this place was ran. It was truly amazing to him. Even though he had just had lunch with Classia across the street, he was still in need of refreshments. As he headed into the break area to grab a snack and a soda he spotted Jorge…. Mr. De La Garza. ”Hello Mr. De La Garza.” He nodded, as he helped himself to a snack. He liked the editor fairly well from what he knew and was learning about him.

As he sat just thinking and looking out one of the windows he hadn't noticed that someone had come in, a problem for the editor and chief and something he didn't usually let happen, but he could see the alley just a bit and noticed his son on the ground picking up coins. Shaking his head he couldn't help laughing a bit, Alejandro had never been that graceful and it didn't surprise him that he dropped things.

Now that he heard someone though his focus turned and he gave an apologetic smile. One of the interns, he had three this summer, which he always welcomed the young minds who wanted to be a journalist. "Hello Anakin, please call me Jorge." He wasn't really into the formal things that came along with this job, though he loved it none the less.

"How is everything going? I hope everyone is being nice and showing you the ropes." He knew his staff would be nice and helpful, but he always asked to make sure.