Oh she had this place memorized as far as getting to her husband's work area was concerned; and a few extra places on the side. Unfortunately, she couldn't get there without someone being with her. With Simon leading, she kept her gaze upon the auror, her neutral expression returning slowly. It wasn't a far walk, but she would indeed like her husband to be there, otherwise, what a wasted walk when she could've been having lunch.

He was there? "Thank you, Simon."

Now...where was that folder? Had he left it in the restroom or something? Well...he hoped he had not left it there since Emily would not have good thoughts about him leaving a folder related to a case going on in such a place like the restrooms. The good thing was that he didn't remember taking the folder with himself when he had decided to pay a visit to the loo.

Looking up from the folders, he started to walk back to his desk to see if the folder was there. It could be...possibly he couldn't see it at first look since it was not considered to be a tidy and organized desk at all. Yet...just when he was ready to set his bum on his chair, he realised someone walk in with Simon and...

"Evelyn!"

He stood straight right in the middle of the process of sitting down and started to walk towards his wife. If she had come all the way down from her floor, Josh supposed, there had be something she wanted to...say? Or not? Whatever the reason was, he was happy to see her. "My love..." he smiled as he approached her arms open. "What a sweet surprise."

Freedom from the healers.

They could prescribe anything they wanted but Simon wasn't about to follow through. And given how they had all seemed to act towards everyone, he doubted any of his fellow workers wouldn't agree with him about them being nuts and not to be followed. Hopefully Emily had some sway to cover them from escaping anything that came knocking. Or the healers would simply forget in their crazy haze of medical insanity.

Simon stepped into the office and crossed to his desk. "Stressful..." he mused with a chuckle as he unwarded his area and sat down. "Ha!" The check-up was more annoying and stressful than his job at the moment. And now so far so good, able to get back to it without too much trouble. He hadn't had to owl Josh, or Angelina or Jasper to try and rescue him from some locked ward. Again he shook his head before slipping a quill from its stand and leaned forward once again to see what was up on the folders on his desk.

"Talking to yourself. If you aren't careful, I'm going to turn you in," Genevieve took a seat at her own desk and pulled out a stack of warrants to flip through, although her attention was on Simon. Who was clearly losing it, by the way. He was just gone.

"We should get out of this place for a while. Come up with something genius and dangerous and undercover so Emily has a reason to send us away." So that she didn't have to get any more shots or treatment or having unhelpful healers shout at her for no reason. "Any thoughts?"

Simon faked hurt as Genevieve spoke up but didn't look at her at first. "Now you know you're supposed to have my back...right?" Not that he worried about her carrying out the threat. Unless she was taking a lesson from Aspen or even Legend in ways to try the patience of colleagues.

Listening to her continue, he couldn't raise a slightly curious eyebrow. Hmmm...could have some merit. "How about while the healers invade the ministry, we invade Mungos," he mused as he put down the folder. "Find out what kind of kool-aid they've been drinking." the auror added deadpan, glancing over at the younger woman.

"I have your back up to a point," Genevieve rolled her chair out from her desk and kicked up her boots to rest on the edge of her desk. The better to both peruse her file and her co-worker. "Like up to the point where your being crazy puts me in danger, and then I'm gonna have to turn you in."

But he didn't seem like he was a danger to himself and the team, so his talking to himself was allowed to pass. For now. Eyes on you, Bennett.

"I'd much rather go looking for the Dark Wizards that disrupted last year's Halloween shindig at Diagon Alley. The fact that they attacked kids... it bugs me. It's bugged me for a year now." And there was actual proof those guys had done something wrong, rather than just suspicions like they had with the Healers.

The auror watched her watching him, intent as she made herself comfortable at her desk. "I'm as sane as the rest," he defended. " Though I suppose that's not saying much given the department's history." They had their fair share of....interesting people. Though he supposed that was likely because of the nature of the job and the stress of the details. Probably a good thing the healers didn't focus solely on MLE.

Simon nodded in agreement at the mention of the Halloween debacle, sighing as he switched from thoughts of security to the dark wizards his other hat dealt with. "That would be an agreeable task," he admitted, not liking how that sat anymore than the cold trails of de Talone. Another attacker of kids.

"They do always have their annoying way of skirting around things." Most of what they had was the involvement of one Peverell, a persistent resident of Knockturn Alley.

"I've met the rest of the Aurors, remember?" Not to say he wasn't right... Simon was just as sane as Legend and Josh, a bit more sane than Aspen, but nearly as sane as Kennedy. She wasn't sure how he compared to her own sanity, but she thought she was the most sane of all of them.

"I don't know about agreeable, but it's something I want done. D'you suppose we could do a quick visit down Knockturn and see if we can chat with Peverell about it?" Just for a possible lead. "Or... maybe we should try to infiltrate his gang? He doesn't know you, does he? Wouldn't recognize your face?"

SImon simply shrugged at her words, acknowledging the comments. Yes, she knew all of the aurors and likely had ideas on each of their respective sanities. His own view held true to his own comment, he was one of the saner ones. As for her ideas on what to do about the Halloween case, the elder auror listened attentively to what his colleague had to say, noting some strengths within the younger woman and her thoughts.

"I'm not as reconizable by name and face perhaps, at least not like Josh with his constant desire to push his limits with his ilk," he mused, absently letting the quill still in his hand brush under his chin as he thought. " But I've had my fair share of visits down there." Dacs tended to lead him there when they worked together, the hit wizard teaching the young auror a fair set of things. And they were usually not broadcasting they were law enforcement.

"Okay...to be honest, both are plausible, but not without their own precautions and risks." Not that they would be afraid of anything that might happen...this was their livelihood after all...what they were trained to do. "Nudging Peverell, especially at the wrong time, could send ripples that cause more...complications, than our lack of leads. On the other hand, going undercover certainly needs some sort of green light from Emily. As well as some commitment."

He was probably too recognizable on his own, but that was the downside of being an Auror in this office. There was a finite number of them, they did regular rounds, and people came to know them just by sight. Genevieve was lucky to be new and under the radar, but it wouldn't last. "Disguises are easy enough, if we want them. Just a few charms to the contours of your face, some facial hair, a change of clothes. It isn't a deal breaker. If we want."

She didn't know what she wanted yet, but Genevieve was pretty sure she didn't want to sit around and let Healers poke at her any longer. Neither of Simon's scenarios worked well for her - she didn't want to force Peverell's hand when they weren't ready to charge him and she didn't want to set up a giant sting without knowing what they were going after. But maybe they were over-complicating things.

"We could just head down to Knockturn and hang out. Not a specifically undercover operation, but if we're not sitting there radiating Auror vibes, we might overhear something useful. It's essentially just doing our rounds in different clothes. D'you suppose that needs Emily's approval?"

Ah as much as he had enjoyed break, Simon was glad to be back. It always felt so weird not to at least be checking in on things from time to time. He had even checked the security office off the atrium on his way up to make sure things were a-okay for the start of the new year at the ministry.

Slipping through the waiting area into the office, he took in his surroundings glad to see no real changes around. The auror had noticed the notice on the noticeboard and quickly read through it, mildly surprised by the context that involved him within the words. A bonus AND a commendation score on his training activity. Two awesome things to start the day with as he made his way to the auror division, waving his charms off his desk and setting his bag down upon its worn surface.

Now where was anybody else?

Jory was simply stoked to be back. This would be his third year as YATI and he was looking forward to another year of training and stuff.

He practically bounced into the area containing all the desks. Very much unlike him. Meh. Must be the fact that he was pleased about his training score from last year too. But no time to think of that now. There was his favourite Auror- workaholic Simon.

"Hello, Simon.'' Where was everyone else, anyway?

First day at work and Tyler was here on time and ready. He was anticipating a grueling and limit pushing three years but for whatever reason, he started feeling less and less that auror training would be much of a challenge. That of course probably had a lot to do with the fact that he was greeted with flowers, ducks and a boat ride.

Didn't seem like this ministry had too much to do in terms of defence, so maybe..just maybe he'd spend most of his time playing cards.

Anyways...was he in the right place?

Simon had just casually sat down at his desk, grabbing the nearest current file to look over when he heard footsteps. Opening it up, he looked over the top to spot Jory coming towards him, the first coworker so far besides him. The YATI certainly had a good start to the new year of training. "Hello," he returned with a polite nod of acknowledgement.

"Great job on the training score." The younger man had made a merit attempt, putting him higher than two full aurors who might not even have finished judging by the grades. Simon couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

Speaking of young men, it seemed another had walked into the office after Jory. The auror would certainly peg him as a new trainee, the man trying to get a feel from his behavior. "Hello," he greeted standing up to his feet. He could be the guide for now. "I supposed you would be one of the new YATI."

Tyler gave a nod to each man that he saw in the office. They looked totally settled so he was going to assume that they were not new. This was good news for him, because that would mean someone here in this room had answers.

"That I am." Tyler extended his hand to the man and introduced himself. "Tyler Bellaire...."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

Tyler gave a nod to each man that he saw in the office. They looked totally settled so he was going to assume that they were not new. This was good news for him, because that would mean someone here in this room had answers.

"That I am." Tyler extended his hand to the man and introduced himself. "Tyler Bellaire...."

"Welcome," Simon said, accepting the offered hand and giving it a polite shake. "Nice to meet Tyler, I'm Simon Bennett, full auror." Quite done with his training thank you. Turning to Jory, he figured he'd lead introductions. "And this is Jory Stonewall, 3rd Year YATI," he added, acknowledging his companion.

"If you want, you can probably claim one of the open desks," he suggested, briefly wondering where Josh was. He was the YATIL. "Be wary though of any one that looks owned," Simon advised. Aurors and MLE in general were very protective of their space and only the owner knew what spells were placed on them.

Victor had of course expected the London Ministry offices to be different from any of his previous workplaces. He'd expected it to be nothing at all like anything he'd experienced during his relatively long Law Enforcement career. Of course, no amount of expectation could have prepared him for that lift ride.

Running a hand through his hair and letting out a heavy, drawn out sigh of relief, Victor Sebastian LaCroix stepped out into the main foyer on Level 2 and hurriedly trudged down the corridor towards the Auror, Security & MLES work area. It had been years since he'd needed to deal with the stress of starting over in a new workplace, and he wasn't coping very well.
He stopped for a moment just outside the door leading from B&I to the work area, took a deep breath and adjusted his tie. It was time to meet his co-workers.

Stepping through the door, Victor was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't quite as crowded as he'd expected it to be. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a small group of employees who all looked friendly and approachable enough. To his dismay, they all looked like they knew exactly where they what they were supposed to be doing. 'Am I the only 'new guy' in this entire building?' He thought to himself, terrified that he'd be stuck with that label for a while. No, what was he thinking? Now wasn't the time to worry about things like labels. He needed to find his desk...

... Where was it again?

It was back to the ministry time early in the morning again. Maybe not so early as he had been up hours ago to groom the horses in his stables before he took a shower and made his way to the ministry. The shower was essential as he didn't want to smell like horses to the new MLE people. The old ones already knew he was a mess yet the new employees didn't have to smell him on the first day.

Josh Carter had never been a coffee or tea person yet since it seemed to be a habit with everyone while they were in the office, he was carrying a cup of coffee with milk in abundance as he walked in the place. ''Good morning!'' he said loudly, greeting whoever was/were in the room as well as making his presence known.

SPOILER!!: Victor and Josh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compootor

Victor had of course expected the London Ministry offices to be different from any of his previous workplaces. He'd expected it to be nothing at all like anything he'd experienced during his relatively long Law Enforcement career. Of course, no amount of expectation could have prepared him for that lift ride.

Running a hand through his hair and letting out a heavy, drawn out sigh of relief, Victor Sebastian LaCroix stepped out into the main foyer on Level 2 and hurriedly trudged down the corridor towards the Auror, Security & MLES work area. It had been years since he'd needed to deal with the stress of starting over in a new workplace, and he wasn't coping very well.
He stopped for a moment just outside the door leading from B&I to the work area, took a deep breath and adjusted his tie. It was time to meet his co-workers.

Stepping through the door, Victor was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't quite as crowded as he'd expected it to be. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a small group of employees who all looked friendly and approachable enough. To his dismay, they all looked like they knew exactly where they what they were supposed to be doing. 'Am I the only 'new guy' in this entire building?' He thought to himself, terrified that he'd be stuck with that label for a while. No, what was he thinking? Now wasn't the time to worry about things like labels. He needed to find his desk...

... Where was it again?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fira

It was back to the ministry time early in the morning again. Maybe not so early as he had been up hours ago to groom the horses in his stables before he took a shower and made his way to the ministry. The shower was essential as he didn't want to smell like horses to the new MLE people. The old ones already knew he was a mess yet the new employees didn't have to smell him on the first day.

Josh Carter had never been a coffee or tea person yet since it seemed to be a habit with everyone while they were in the office, he was carrying a cup of coffee with milk in abundance as he walked in the place. ''Good morning!'' he said loudly, greeting whoever was/were in the room as well as making his presence known.

It seemed the quiet time he had been having had ended once Jory had come with everyone following after. Another new man slipped through the double doors of the office, this one older and seeing as he was unfamiliar to him he supposed he was the new MLES officer. His name something French he believed. But he couldn't dwell on it too much. For close on his heals was another but this one he was quite familiar with.
Ah there was the best friend.

"Good morning to you, Josh," he returned with a polite smile at his fellow auror and the new guy. "And welcome," Simon added to the older man. "You would be the new MLES officer....yes?" he questioned for comfirmation, motioning for him to join their little group. They could certainly mingle on the first day.

First. Day.

Penelope wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she was a LITTLE bit nervous. Which was surely understandable. But there was also quite a bit of excitement mixed in with it too. On the outside though, she was focusing on not showing any of that though, just trying to be relaxed and calm. Didn't wanna freak her co-workers out with her nervous excitement or anything, y'know?

Entering the appropriate desk area, she was pleased to see that she wasn't TOO early so she was the very first one here but also clearly not late since there weren't a whole lot of people here yet. Not that she thought she'd be late anyway. She'd made sure she wouldn't be.

"Morning, everyone," she greeted with a simple smile. So...should she join that group too or look for her desk? Or was her desk over in their area so she could do both?

Victor had taken only a few steps into the room to begin his arduous quest to find his desk when he was addressed by a gentleman in the group of employees to his left. Not surprisingly with a workplace like the Ministry of Magic, this man seemed to already know more about Victor than Victor knew about him despite them never having met before. Then again, Victor hardly knew anything about any of his co-workers.

Stepping closer and adjusting his tie again, he offered the gentleman a hand to shake. "Yes indeed, that would be me. Victor LaCroix." He spoke with a smile and a polite introduction as he always did, his light Scottish accent barely showing any hint that he'd ever left Britain. He glanced over his shoulder at the man who had entered the room moments after he had and gave him a polite nod of acknowledgement. "And you are?" He turned back to the man in front of him. He sure hoped he wasn't shaking hands with someone who's face he should definitely have recognized. How embarrassing that would have been?!

There was Simon.

Josh grinned at his friend and fellow auror as he walked to his desk. He sat down comfortably on his seat and placed his cup on the desk after pushing some papers off his working place to make room for the coffee cup on the always messy desk. At least, it didn't look or smell like it had leftover food gone bad on it like the last time.

He leaned back and picked his cup to sip some coffee as he watched Simon talking to the new MLEr. A new MLES officer. Cool. Just when he opened his mouth to comment on it, a woman walking in and greeting them all took all his attention. He pushed himself off the seat and walked to the lady with a warm smile on his face. "Good morning." he said "Actually i'm not sure yet if it is a good morning yet that's a habit to say, right? I can't say i started a really good morning. I had to clean horse poo at firstlight...then an accident was going to happen and...."

What?

After the small pause, the auror laughed "...i don't think you'd like to know the rest."

It was so COLD outside, and Genevieve was thrilled to pieces that she now lived so far out of London that she had a reason to Floo in every day. Back when she'd been a city girl, she'd forced herself to walk or take Muggle transit, but now...? Now she didn't have to brave weather or wind unless she wanted to do it.

She entered the office and hung up her coat and scarf on her chair even while she took in the new faces. YATIs mostly, or so she'd seen on Em's announcement, and at least one face she recognized. Merlin, was it really possible that someone the same age as her brother was old enough to be here?

"Penelope. You've grown up. Good morning," she made faces at Simon and Josh before sliding behind her desk. "I'm Genevieve Branxton. New recruits get coffee for the rest of us. House rules."

SPOILER!!: Everyone

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

First. Day.

Penelope wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she was a LITTLE bit nervous. Which was surely understandable. But there was also quite a bit of excitement mixed in with it too. On the outside though, she was focusing on not showing any of that though, just trying to be relaxed and calm. Didn't wanna freak her co-workers out with her nervous excitement or anything, y'know?

Entering the appropriate desk area, she was pleased to see that she wasn't TOO early so she was the very first one here but also clearly not late since there weren't a whole lot of people here yet. Not that she thought she'd be late anyway. She'd made sure she wouldn't be.

"Morning, everyone," she greeted with a simple smile. So...should she join that group too or look for her desk? Or was her desk over in their area so she could do both?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compootor

Victor had taken only a few steps into the room to begin his arduous quest to find his desk when he was addressed by a gentleman in the group of employees to his left. Not surprisingly with a workplace like the Ministry of Magic, this man seemed to already know more about Victor than Victor knew about him despite them never having met before. Then again, Victor hardly knew anything about any of his co-workers.

Stepping closer and adjusting his tie again, he offered the gentleman a hand to shake. "Yes indeed, that would be me. Victor LaCroix." He spoke with a smile and a polite introduction as he always did, his Cornish accent barely showing any hint that he'd ever left Britain. He glanced over his shoulder at the man who had entered the room moments after he had and gave him a polite nod of acknowledgement. "And you are?" He turned back to the man in front of him. He sure hoped he wasn't shaking hands with someone who's face he should definitely have recognized. How embarrassing that would have been?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fira

There was Simon.

Josh grinned at his friend and fellow auror as he walked to his desk. He sat down comfortably on his seat and placed his cup on the desk after pushing some papers off his working place to make room for the coffee cup on the always messy desk. At least, it didn't look or smell like it had leftover food gone bad on it like the last time.

He leaned back and picked his cup to sip some coffee as he watched Simon talking to the new MLEr. A new MLES officer. Cool. Just when he opened his mouth to comment on it, a woman walking in and greeting them all took all his attention. He pushed himself off the seat and walked to the lady with a warm smile on his face. "Good morning." he said "Actually i'm not sure yet if it is a good morning yet that's a habit to say, right? I can't say i started a really good morning. I had to clean horse poo at firstlight...then an accident was going to happen and...."

What?

After the small pause, the auror laughed "...i don't think you'd like to know the rest."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

It was so COLD outside, and Genevieve was thrilled to pieces that she now lived so far out of London that she had a reason to Floo in every day. Back when she'd been a city girl, she'd forced herself to walk or take Muggle transit, but now...? Now she didn't have to brave weather or wind unless she wanted to do it.

She entered the office and hung up her coat and scarf on her chair even while she took in the new faces. YATIs mostly, or so she'd seen on Em's announcement, and at least one face she recognized. Merlin, was it really possible that someone the same age as her brother was old enough to be here?

"Penelope. You've grown up. Good morning," she made faces at Simon and Josh before sliding behind her desk. "I'm Genevieve Branxton. New recruits get coffee for the rest of us. House rules."

Another new, young face.

This one female.

"Good morning," he returned, giving a polite nod acknowledgement. "I'm Simon Bennett and if I'm not mistaken you would be one of our new trainees. Welcome and join us." Josh could add anything else as the other full auror in the room.

Ah so he had indeed been correct, not that it had been hard with the limited list of new department members. Though Simon supposed he could have been from another area who had wandered in lost or needing help from them. "Simon Bennett," he said returning introductions and answering the other man's question as he accepted the offered hand to shake.

Simon listened as Josh sat down and explained the truth about his morning. The details cutting off and the auror deciding not to press for details. Hopefully the family was alright but surely his best friend would tell him if it wasn't. At least in private, "So we'll stick with hello and morning I suppose."

And finally another familiar face and technically a fully trained auror now in her own right. "Morning," he said, returning her greeting as she acknowledged the new girl that she obviously knew. Well they weren't that separated in age. "Just Earl Grey tea for me," he commented, going along with Genevieve's instructions to the newbies. Wouldn't have them waste coffee on him when he didn't drink it.

See now this is why Jory liked Simon so much. They were both the serious types. And liked their work very much. They were the first people there was proof enough. And Simon knew about his scores from the last training. Of course he did. "Thanks,'' Jory said. "Looking forward to the next one. Do you think you could be my partner?'' He was looking to pick up tips and stuff from the other fellow. Do say yes, Simon.

Simon and Jory were not the only two there for long. Letting the Auror take over the instructions, Jory studied the newcomer. "Hi,'' he said with a smile. That had hardly gotten out of his mouth when more people arrive. Two unfamiliar obviously new persons and YATIL leader Joshua. And Genevieve.

Jory dropped his work bag down on his desk which was situated next to his idol Simon. "Good Morning,'' he said in reply to Joshua but directing it to everyone there as well. "Jory Stonewall, third year YATI.'' Everyone knew who he was now.

And coffee sounded good.