Ali immeditiately felt an understanding pang in her chest - her recent ex had disappeared and suddenly broken it off with her via owl. It was not a good week for her that week. "Well, if you ever need anyone to talk to - I understand I had a boyfriend disappear before." She spoke quietly, kindly, she wasn't going to say the broke-up with her bit, because that didn't sound supportive at all. And she wanted to be supportive.

She gave Katerina an understanding and compastionate smile. Then she noticed she was looking for something - that was when she realized she was infront of the coffee. Ooops. Stepping to the side a large amount of coffee was visible - how could she have hidden thousands of cups of coffee - this was her place. She was going to make it through that day on coffee and coffee alone.

"Here you want one?" She asked handing Katerina a large cup of coffee.

Mason absently wandered through the room, looking for someone he knew. He had no success. He meandered to the buffet table, and holy cow that was a lot of food... He grabbed a cracker and nibbled on it, looking around.

A bored looking woman stood against a wall looking very glum, watching the people in the room. He glanced around, following her gazes. Until he felt her eyes boring into him. Mason looked away, and ate another cracker. He didn't know who this lady was.

But this was a party right? Parties were for socializing, right? He grabbed a glass of water and slowly made his way towards the dark haired woman who looked extremely annoyed.

"I see you're having a blast." He said casually. He leaned up against the wall a couple feet away from her and took a sip of water.

Snorting Alexander looked at the spread before him, all was lovely aside from some RUBBISH that that Sugarplum woman had placed on the table. He glanced toward her and that disgrace and made a mental note to talk with her later.

"My interest in the Ministry? Well that's the thing. I believe that the Ministry is corrupt, that is why Lord Borr has gone on board. To try and fix the things that are wrong with the system. Don't you think it is corrupt as well, Ryoma? And also, what is your view on the Wizarding Statute of Secrecy?" Alex said casually as he grabbed up a boiled shrimp and popped it into his mouth and waited for a response.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Wrekin

Snorting Alexander looked at the spread before him, all was lovely aside from some RUBBISH that that Sugarplum woman had placed on the table. He glanced toward her and that disgrace and made a mental note to talk with her later.

"My interest in the Ministry? Well that's the thing. I believe that the Ministry is corrupt, that is why Lord Borr has gone on board. To try and fix the things that are wrong with the system. Don't you think it is corrupt as well, Ryoma? And also, what is your view on the Wizarding Statute of Secrecy?" Alex said casually as he grabbed up a boiled shrimp and popped it into his mouth and waited for a response.

Ryoma pondered the man's words for a moment. He didn't really have an opinion on the Ministry outside of them being ruddy losers for not hiring him but he didn't like it based solely on his father trying to force him into working for it. There was also that, unfortunate, incident of him being fired from the Japanese Ministry for gambling on the job. That was pretty corrupt of them, wasn't it? "I'm afraid I do not know this Lord Borr," Ryoma said nodding his head in agreement. "But, I have not been a fan of the Ministry for more personal reasons." Then, Ryoma found himself a bit confused. Statue?! There was a statue somewhere in the Ministry? Ryoma wondered if it was like that muggle one in Odaiba that held a torch and book in her hands. Supposedly it was based on a much larger one somewhere in America. "My view? I think looking at it close up is best? It's a statue after all..."

He took another sip of his drink.

Good, good. He thought the Ministry was rubbish too. Good start. Nodding his head, Alex grabbed up a glass of something blue and sparkly and said, "Isn't that the thing though... they MAKE it personal. Like you aren't good enough for them or something." He even pretended to be a bit outraged by something that may have happened to himself... Heh.

Wait... really?! "STATUTE. Not statue. It is a rather old law put forth that keeps wizardkind from being able to even help Muggles that we could possibly do good for. It is what tells us that we cannot reveal our magic to the world. What do you feel about that, Ryoma?" Alex said in an inquisitive voice as he sipped the... whatever it was.

At the sigh, Aliceara got a bit concerned. She'd apologized, but not everyone always thought accidental collisions were truly accidental. It seemed this was one of those times she needed to try and gauge the man carefully, but she smiled as he seemed to accept the apology. Not to mention leaned forward again to snag that shrimp, along with a deviled egg and a few black olives. Still a lot of vegetables, but it was a start. "I didn't want to be responsible for depriving you of your salad," she said lightly, as he'd seemed to right the plate without much damage done.

His return of her introduction was graced with the slightest of raised eyebrows, mostly in reaction to his obvious intent of disguising his name, or possible embarrassment. She oddly understood that, even though her name actually was just known. It wasn't because it was the same as someone else's, and for that reason she didn't actually say anything about the whole situation. "It's nice to meet you, Milton," she said simply. "You know, you're the first shopkeeper of Madame Primpernelle's that I've met while they've actually still had that position," she added with a little laugh, thinking of the encounter with David in her shop from years ago. Completely oblivious to the fact it seemed yet another person had ended up feeling a bit out of sorts at encountering herself.

Idly munching on a baby carrot from her plate, she turned to let her blue eyes scan the rest of the setup as he brought up seating. "It seems seating is pretty open. Except for when it comes to the students," she observed, eyes flickering past the obviously younger guests, some of whom she recognized from earlier summers. She wasn't exactly sure why there seemed to be a delegation from Hogwarts, as that brought her back to her misgivings about this whole event. "Well, and the official table. But it seems any of the others are free to claim," she concluded, her gaze coming back to her fellow shopkeeper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Wrekin

Good, good. He thought the Ministry was rubbish too. Good start. Nodding his head, Alex grabbed up a glass of something blue and sparkly and said, "Isn't that the thing though... they MAKE it personal. Like you aren't good enough for them or something." He even pretended to be a bit outraged by something that may have happened to himself... Heh.

Wait... really?! "STATUTE. Not statue. It is a rather old law put forth that keeps wizardkind from being able to even help Muggles that we could possibly do good for. It is what tells us that we cannot reveal our magic to the world. What do you feel about that, Ryoma?" Alex said in an inquisitive voice as he sipped the... whatever it was.

"Sorry man," Ryoma said frowning a bit and patting Alexander on the shoulder. "Did they fire you too?" He certainly didn't seem like a rule breaker from what Ryoma could tell, but, he never was a very good judge of character.

Ryoma smacked his forehead feeling like an idiot for mishearing what Alexander had asked him. "Statute, right, not statue," he chuckled nervously. Why couldn't Alexander be a pretty lady with nice legs? He always was more alert and on top of his game with them around.

Taking his time with his next answer, Ryoma wasn't really sure how he felt about the whole not being able to help muggles when his final memory of his mother jumped into his head. Sure, the circumstances had been a bit different, but it had technically been the Ministry's fault she had been confined to a muggle hospital for his birth and it had been their methods and medicine that didn't save her. "Alexander, if I may call you that," he said waking up from his train of thought. "This is the same Statute that says we cannot use magic in front of muggles, yes? To be honest, I do not know how I feel about saving them...but..." He swallowed hard as he tried to think of how best to word the next bit. "I don't think hiding our magic at the cost of our own kind is an efficient way of doing things."

Medea saw a boy; no surely it was a man. He wasn’t at the student table, so he must be an adult. His face was very young looking. She examined him closely; apparently it made him uncomfortable because he looked away. After looking at him closer he was certainly of age, but by how far she was unsure. She’d be shocked if he was a day over 20 – and that was stretching it.

She saw him scan the room and then for some reason he decided to head towards her. GAH! Hadn’t she made it obvious that she wasn’t to be bothered. Some people!

He spoke, and she tuned he head slowly toward him. Medea had a single brow heading dramatically towards her hairline. Her expression was very annoyed. She wanted him to see this. Typically she would not show emotion, but she wanted this to be very clear. The man had taken up residence on a wall only feet from her.

For a few moments she stared at him with blank annoyance. Finally she spoke with such thick sarcasm is could be cut with a knife. ”Was it my party had that gave it away?’ Medea was obviously not wearing a party had. Nor would she ever.

Paying so much attention to delivering her sarcastic comment she flicked the wrist holding her cheese and crackers. Consequently a few pieces fell to the floor. Instinctively she bent to retrieve the now soiled food, as she did her stupid blue shirt pulled up ever so slightly to reveal eight legs and a fat black and red body tattooed on her back. It wasn’t a large design but you couldn’t miss it either.

Standing quickly she pulled the stupid ill-fitting shirt back down. One-size-fits-all my butt! This shirt fit about as good as sweater on a flobberworm.

With a swoosh of her wand the napkin and food were flying toward the nearest rubish bin. Looking away, she glanced at the people just making it through security.

Milton shrugged lightly. "Ah. Well, having to get a new salad wouldn't be the worst thing to have happen." At least he hadn't tripped and lost his food that way. That would be embarrassing.

"Oh. I could imagine the turnover would be high." he commented. If he was a shopkeeper at heart and not a potioneer he probably would have quit too. But, he was doing what he loved, he just had to specialize in beauty products... and interact with people... which wasn't bad considering it singlehandedly funded his potion experiments.

"Is it... err... the same way at Madame Malkins?" he asked in a lame attempt to make small talk. What was that even supposed to mean? Did people quit a lot? Err... how could he best recover that statement?

"I mean... erm... you must get a lot of business...?"

Wow. Brilliant save Milton, absolutely brilliant. He knew he should have read a conversation book before just showing up here.

He quickly turned toward a table in an effort to hide the embarrassment on his face. He really needed to get out more if he couldn't even tackle small talk.

Fire him? Alex gave a snort and shook his head. "I would never work for such a corrupt association, my friend," he said quietly. Still shaking his head he moved along the buffet table looking over things. Ugh. Could these lackeys get nothing right? Alex had wanted stuffed crab... not crab legs. Grrrr.

Alex nodded his head as he listened to Ryoma speak. Yeeeees. Come to our side. Not that Alex CARED about the statute, he just wanted to shake up the Ministry, but the cause needed more people backing it everyday. "See, that is what I mean. Our NOBLE Ministry refuses to rewrite or abolish an antiquated statute that could save lives... if we were allowed certain freedoms. Don't you agree? You know... there are a few of us, that share like interests, like ideas about the Ministry and it's inaction. I think you would be a perfect fit for us. We want to make a difference, shake things up... " Alex said just as softly and trailed off as he picked up a piece of candy and inspected it with a look of distaste clear on his face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Wrekin

Fire him? Alex gave a snort and shook his head. "I would never work for such a corrupt association, my friend," he said quietly. Still shaking his head he moved along the buffet table looking over things. Ugh. Could these lackeys get nothing right? Alex had wanted stuffed crab... not crab legs. Grrrr.

Alex nodded his head as he listened to Ryoma speak. Yeeeees. Come to our side. Not that Alex CARED about the statute, he just wanted to shake up the Ministry, but the cause needed more people backing it everyday. "See, that is what I mean. Our NOBLE Ministry refuses to rewrite or abolish an antiquated statute that could save lives... if we were allowed certain freedoms. Don't you agree? You know... there are a few of us, that share like interests, like ideas about the Ministry and it's inaction. I think you would be a perfect fit for us. We want to make a difference, shake things up... " Alex said just as softly and trailed off as he picked up a piece of candy and inspected it with a look of distaste clear on his face.

Oh well, good for him for not being fired from a job. Ryoma, technically, had been fired twice if you wanted to count that unfortunately incident with his school's Quidditch team in his final year. It was the other bloke's fault and he deserved to have his nose broken in several places.

Agreeing, Ryoma nodded at Alexander's words. He popped a large piece of fried shimp into his mouth as he thought for a few more minutes. "Shake things up," he repeated grinning. "I am a bartender. It's one of the things I do well." That, and it would drive his old man insane, which, he was always game for.

Pulling the cup away from his lips, Mason glanced at the woman next to him. Oh. Yikes. She looked about ready to murder someone. Maybe standing next to her was a dangerous move. He watched her pointy eyebrow shoot across her forehead.

Mason awkwardly drew his attention to other people in the room. He could feel her staring at the side of his face. Glaring. Finally her ever-so sarcastic tone cut through the awkward silence. Heh. Party hat. Right.

WAIT. Since when did Mason back down from danger? Since fifth year when Rob Blicken threatened to hex him to the Sahara Desert. And since when was Mason afraid of females? Since he was seven and Elizabet Pawner slapped him in the face with all the might of the universe.

No, Mason would not let this woman glare him down. One order of really bad jokes with a side of sarcasm, coming right up. Mason shrugged. "That and the look on your face. You look absolutely thrilled to be alive." .... Weak, Everard. Weak.

As soon as he made his extremely wit-less comment, the woman's assembly of cracker-and-cheese dived to the floor. Mason was about to, politely, bend to help retrieve the food until she beat him to it and-

MERLIN'S UNDERPANTS. "Guuahh!" He said with a little twitch and small leap backward. S-s-s-spider?! On her back. TATTOOED. WHO WOULD DO THAT?! Mason wondered to himself, clearly bewildered.

Then realizing how much an idiot he looked like, he tried to compose himself while she sent her food scraps to the garbage can. No such luck. Mason hated spiders. He'd been scared of them senselessly since he was born. Even tattooed ones.

It didn't matter that Millie had lost track of her boss lady or that she hadn't a blimey idea what was going on... or who anyone was. Because she had found the one thing that she knew she could trust at that party. The Buffet table!!

Yup. That's right, it was official. Millie had found love at the party. Grabbing a plate, she piled on potatoes and tarts and Shepard's pie onto plate. She might not have had a clue what was happening way up there at those fancy chairs ... but at least she wouldn't be starved.

Sweet Merlin's Mother. Derrick was still incredibly nervous about this whole ordeal. Was he supposed to be with the minister at the party too? It was supposed to be his first day and all... This party came with horrible timing. Having seen no minister of magic yet, Derrick made his way towards the food table. Even though he knew he couldn't eat, if he was hungry or not, he decided to take a stab at trying at least a few finger foods. Next to him was a woman who was piling onto her plate like she was stocking up for the apocalypse. Meanwhile he was still fidgeting with his pockets trying to think of which he could stomach. "Any favorites I should try?" He said to the woman as to try and calm his nerves by talking.

Alicia walked over to the buffett area for the second time that night, she was in dire need of something to drink. She walked over to the coffee area and smiled. About to grab a large cup she realized coffee might not be the best thing for someone trying to give-up caffine...shrugging she turned and looked around the table.

She tapped a glass with her wand and made it fill with sparkling cider and one more tap it was at her table, infront of her now vacant spot. She smiled with herself - now she could atleast grab food and she needed that. She took a plate and looked infront of her, her expression blank with utter indecision.

"Ugh took much to choose from" she accidentally spoke outloud, hoping no one heard her but also hoping she could find a new pour sole to jabber to as well. She was being a social butterfly today - good thing she needed that.

Then she saw a large bowl filled with corned beef and cabbage, next to it sheppards pie - aah nice, more normal foods. Still, she grabbed a few mozarella cheese balls and placed them on her plate - which made it hard for her to place other things seeing they would roll around everytime she leaned forward to grab something. Rather annoying if the wet rolling sound got annoying to you.

MMM... Shoving a large forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, as Millie was about to walk toward the seating area, someone was speaking to her. Looking up awkwardly, with potato on the corner of her mouth, her eyes opened wide. OH for the love of Merlin, Artie hadn't told her there would be adorable work men there! Actually maybe she had, but Millie hadn't been paying much attention... Reaching for a napkin to wipe her mouth, some of the meat from the pie slid off her plate onto the floor. Whoops... Let's hope no one slips.

"Um prelll.." Clearing her throat and swallowing the large amount of food in her mouth, she smiled awkwardly. "The potatoes are tasty." Snort.

Medea laughed inwardly. She was completely satisfied with his reaction, which appeared to be scared to death. Eeeexcellent. Maybe he’ll go away. She really was very busy. The green eyed woman had a long list of ‘to-dos’.

The list included, but was not limited to, 1.)Stare angrily at people 2.) Watch everyone’s every move 3.) Judge any and everyone she saw 4.) Make fun of everyone 5.) Lastly, make at least one enemy. She didn’t need friends, they were a liability.

She learned that early on in her life. The few times she had gotten close to someone it ended up being disastrous. Because of this she had no friends – this included best friends and boyfriends. The 32 year old woman actually had grown accustom to being a loner – honestly she enjoyed it. And Merlin forbid she actually got lonely, she had a brother and sister she could call upon. And really they were only good for being the butt of her jokes. Neither one of them was all that witty…. Or smart.

The boy-man spoke. Awww, was that his attempt at a joke??! Too cute. Glancing back at him for a moment her expression told shown that she was judging him. Judging him and his stupid un-witty remark. Medea smirked, he assumed her. Much in the same way her siblings did.

Just as she stood from dropping the food he squealed like a pig. Yup that’s how she’d describe that noise. As her food went soaring toward the garbage she looked at the boy-man wand in hand. Something had obviously scared him yet she could not see anything that would typically be associated with fear.

…. Oh, wait. No way. Really?!

Realizing what it was that scared him she smirked again and slipped her wand back into its holster.

She leaned back on to the wall for a moment, eyeing him. He was obviously shaken. Oh this was good.

Medea moved slowly. Stopping when her face was directly in front of his. The dark haired woman brought her left hand to his temple and ran her finger tips through his hair finally resting her hand on the back of his head. Stopping to make eye contact for a slight momenet she gave a learing smile. She leaned very close to his ear now, mocking speaking ever so softly, ”You know it’s not real right...” Pulling away from him she returned to her spot on the wall and gave a hearty laugh.

Ok. This party wasn’t so bad. At least she had already completed a good deal of things on her list. And she was certain after that last little show this boy-man would not like her, and that would round out the list of to do’s very nicely.

ANita nodded as the man spoke. REally... Politics made her want to vomit and or pass out. Shut up about it already, she thought as she smiled and nodded. Yes, yes, keep talking.

"Oh you have a daughter? How lovely. I am sure there is a recipe that I could fix up for her so she can bake with the frogs. It is what I do all day anyway... make goodies and try new things," she said with a small smile and nod. OH he was going to show pictures? How cute.

Then...

Anita looked from Winston to Kaishu with a furrowed brow. What was this about... She simply stood, watching... waiting.

Charles looked back at Kaishu flashing him a look of appreciation. No telling what side Anita was on. He whole sweets thing could be an elaborate attempt to butter him up and get information from him. Maybe he was a little rusty with this whole undercover work. It had been nearly 20 years since he had last been requested to do so.

"I do, she is 12-years-old now and soon will be 13," he said taking his hand out of his pocket.

Alexander gave a smirk and nodded his head in approval. Yes, he would do nicely. "So glad to hear that. I guess we will be in touch. Very soon. It has been a pleasure, Ryoma," Alex said as he offered his hand again. MWHAHAHA. He didn't even have to set anything on fire... or call in Ren for... well what it was that Ren did.

Perhaps he would go set fire to a rubbish bin later... just to offset the niceness he had just displayed.

Aliceara smiled lightly as it seemed Milton either made a joke or just a statement that was way too true. Either way, it was slightly amusing, just that the statement needed to be made. "Well, there's always the possibility that the salad might disappoint you," she said, still with that little smile on her face, showing that she wasn't being entirely serious. She really would have felt bad if she'd made him need to replace his food. Of course, if it had landed on her shoes, she would have been disappointed as well, but for an entirely different reason. She was anything if not the typical girl, and her training had made her quite particular about her attire. Hence the decision to try and avoid being forced into the shirt she'd been given at the entrance.

Thinking about that went to the back of her mind as he spoke again, and she raised a delicate eyebrow at the question. He had to have been commenting on her bringing up his predecessor, but the wording seemed a bit odd. Almost as if he was unkowingly questioning her about if she was going to leave. "There has been, but not for a while," she replied finally, feeling some pity as he seemed to awkwardly backtrack into an attempt at small talk. "I'd imagine the turnover would be similar in any shop. But I have to admit the craziness that occurs in my shop over the summers can be hard for some to handle. I've gone through a few assistants since I've been there," she continued, another smile creeping ont her face at how much he was fumbling. Perhaps she should give him a bit of an assist, even as he turned toward a table to hide his obvious discomfort.

"So what do you like to do when you're not waiting for customers to frequent your shop?" Easy question, and somewhat better of an opening for conversation than stilted business talk. It remained to be seen if he took the opening, though, or stayed adorably speechless.

Milton looked sadly down at his salad. It didn't even occur to him that the food might not be good. He popped a little tomato into his mouth.

He then gave a relieved sigh. "It tastes fine." he said.

He figured she got the most business during the summer when everyone needed more school robes. "Oh." he said. Assistants? Some shops got assistants? He admitted he was jealous. Not that he had reason to, he didn't get enough business to afford an assistant.

Oh. Yay. Topic change. "I'm a potioneer by trade." he explained. "So I fiddle around with all the potions in the shop during my spare time." he said. "You know that wart remover paste?" he asked. "It works much better with a few drops of lemon in it." he said. "Plus, the lemon makes it smell a whole lot better."

Which was a good thing, he dropped a bottle once... his shoe smelled like sewer for a week.

"What about you?" he asked. He wondered if she made purses or something for fun.

Though the woman was looking down at the food table, Derrick had no idea what face he would be gaping at when she looked up. Who knew someone that still on food on her face could be so beautiful! This woman's eyes went all wide, and she slipped some food off her plate.... Was there something on his face? But Derrick smiled as she answered him, "Then potatoes it is.. " He said now grabbing a plate and spooning some potatoes on. "I'm Derrick... " He now said holding out his hand that wasn't holding the plate.

That. Was. Embarrassing.

Mason coughed and scraped his shoe on the floor, pretending to look busy. He looked up with a weird grin on his face. "What was that... weird noise? Sounded like a... Pygmy Puff." Pygmy Puff. Pygmy Puff? Did those furry creatures even make noises?

Mason scanned the room without actually looking at anything or anyone. And then he looked back at the woman. Because she was getting close to him. REALLY close to him!

Aw, come on! Now this was just cruel! Soon, the woman's fingers moving down the side of his face, and then in Mason's hair and now on the back of his head... Cruel. Absolutely cruel. Because he knew, he knew what she was doing. She was trying to freak him out to no end with a side of femme fatale.

He let her finish her business with her whispering in his ear and all and he just stared at her as she leaned back up against the wall and laughed like a maniac. Pff.

Gah, he was such a loser. No comebacks. No witty remarks. Nothing. Hopeless.

"Impressive." Was all he could mumble out and took another sip of his water.

Where was the alcohol?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Wrekin

Alexander gave a smirk and nodded his head in approval. Yes, he would do nicely. "So glad to hear that. I guess we will be in touch. Very soon. It has been a pleasure, Ryoma," Alex said as he offered his hand again. MWHAHAHA. He didn't even have to set anything on fire... or call in Ren for... well what it was that Ren did.

Perhaps he would go set fire to a rubbish bin later... just to offset the niceness he had just displayed.

Ryoma nodded feeling glad to have a another bloke to talk to. Not to mention that Alexander seemed to be well acquainted with the pretty blonde girl from the gift bag table. Ryoma reached and and shook his hand firmly, but friendly before glancing over at Marshmallow who was sitting on his shoulder looking a bit more pathetic than usual. Maybe he was hungry? "Thank you for your time," he nodded glancing back at the food table. He should get another shrimp for Marshmallow