As you pass through the golden gates, you see a row of a dozen lifts that can take you to the levels of the Ministry. Watch your head as you board so you don't hit any of the interdepartmental memos!

OOC: All Ministry of Magic employees, regardless of their assigned department, are welcome to create their own roleplay in this thread.

DAMN! The darkened eyes of Cygnus Kieran Ethan Matteo, Jr. darted to the left and then to the right. How could he be such a fool? That was it! Milo couldn't know and he wouldn't know and...where was Vans when he needed her. As the tall Ethan made his way past the golden arches/gates/whatever you want to call them at this point he headed straight for the elevators while still carrying Antigone in his arms.

"Come through! Coming...through," he spoke slightly harsh towards a group of people that were obviously in his way As soon as the doors closed he leaned against the wall once again making sure to not make eye contact with her what so ever.

"I'm more than fine," he spoke slightly calmer than before. Another deep breath should do the trick or so because this was NOT the Ethan that he knew. Ohhhhh no! This was someone else. "I'm just trying to get you to your office." Because I won't tell you a stinking thing! YUP! Get you right back to where that little letter on your desk was laying.

Antigone had a wicked little glint in her eye as she saw the bothered state the man was in. Oh yes, fun times. "Ethan, it seems to me that you are lying, sir. What is it that bothers you so? That you care? That I am so close to you at this moment?" she taunted as she snaked her arms around his neck, taunting the man mercilessly. MWAHAHAHAHA. Weakness revealed.

He wasn't going to give in, not this time. She was playing a nasty game even he'd never played before. As soon as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling her in closer, Ethan tried his hardest to pull back. "I do believe we are out in the open, in public, need I remind you, and you are my boss." Now where was that crazy office of her's.

"Seems I've never told you anything much before, why would I start now?" Bad, evil woman. Never before had anyone ruffled his feathers before and he really didn't want to start now but...it was bound to happen at some point.

Antigone smirked to herself as the man got more and more agitated. "Why, yes, Mr. Matteo... I do realize that I am your boss. Seems to me like you continue to forget that little fact, not I. Why are you so worked up? You are the one carrying me in your arms like some sort of Knight in shining armour. REally, you are just a boy in a tin foil suit, love," she said in a clipped tone as she rest her head against his shoulder. Her ankle really did smart.

"Oh, I don't know why you would tell me anything... I am just the wicked old lady that broke the rules with you... And whilst I am thinking about it... You should be sure to arrive early tomorrow.. you know what scratch that. You should be prepared to arrive early for the rest of the week. Seems you have been slacking with your work duties. YOu have much catching up to do, Mr. Matteo. Now get me to my office before I am forced to poke you in the eye with my wand, sir," she bit back. Oh nononononono he did NOT want to make her angry, not at all. She would be forced to play an even dirtier game than the one she was presently playing.

"Oh do pardon me, ma'am," Ethan smarted off in his best southern slang voice. "Yes, master. Let me get my bum in gear and get you to...where you need to be." And no he was not thinking of her office. Anything she told him would run right off of him from now on. NO more Mr. Nice Guy.

"What's wrong? Upset that you broke any rules?" He rolled his eyes and smirked as he continued walking at his normal slow pace just to make her even more mad. Yet under his breath he mumbled words that even he was sure she wouldn't hear. "Not that I believe I would be the first...nor the last."

Antigone smirked at him and said, "Well, I do like the sound of that Ethan. Feel free to call me Master any time you please. And yes, do indeed get me to where I need to go." If she had not been holding her precious Manolos she might have crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

She then kept her voice and expression as icy as her eyes and said to him, "Remember that you broke those rules right along with me, so maybe you should watch your attitude, Mister."

She then noticed he slowed his pace up just to get a rise out of her certainly. Turning her face up toward his she glared at him and in a low strained voice said, "You need to get me to my office before I get extremwly angry with you, Ethan Matteo." Oh and then the mumbling. That was it! She drew her hand back and started thwacking him in the arms and chest with her Manolos and screeched, "If you have something to say to me you coward, SAY IT ALOUD! And I am sure that it was a derogatory remark hence your mumbling in the first place. I swear to you that if you insult me I will reap so much Hell on your life you will regret the day you ever walked into my Department." THWACK THWACK THWACK! She finally gave up the attack and turned her face from his as the silent tears slipped from her eyes. He was special to her... how could he think poorly of her? They had shared something special... Oh he was the reason she hated me so much. They are only good for opening jars and fixing things as far as she was concerned.

Ethan paid no attention to the rest of the things his boss was saying...doing. Her shoe hitting him, smacking him a bit and yet there was a part of him that knew he deserved ever punch she gave him. He'd done the very thing his father would have done meaning, he was acting just as his father would, taking every bit of the bait she was offering him and turning it against the two of them.

He only winced at the flying shoe as the heel caught him in various places. She had made him angry. He caved. "We'll be there momentarily," he spoke rather gently as the door to the elevator opened and once again he stepped inside. This time he kept to himself. He knew instantly that he hurt her, but deep, deep, deep down inside, it was really his only way of fighting back from the very letter he read on her desk.

Dan sighed as he walked in the elevator. It was another day at work. Another day with his annoying brother. At least boss man was rather amusing and fun when he wasn't putting them in time out. And there was that hottie. He wondered when he would see her again.

"Hold that elevator door!"

Samuel McDean's voice could be heard as he ran across the corridor of Level 8, heading towards the elevator that would take him to Level 3. He continued to run until he made it to the elevator, and then he stopped for a brief second to catch his breath, and then he walked inside. It didn't take the man long to figure out just who was going to be sharing the elevator ride with him. IT JUST HAD TO BE DANIEL!

"Dan," he greeted his brother.

This elevator ride better not last long!

Dan was just about to push for the doors to close when he heard someone calling out for it to be held. So he waited... to be confronted with his brother.

"Sam," he spoke through gritted teeth. This was not good at all. He didn't want to be stuck with his brother even for a few minutes.

This elevator better be fast.

Sam kinda got the vibe that Dan was NOT happy to see him, but that wasn't bothering him since he wasn't too cheerful about seeing him either. It was a shame his brother had to come back from China, because it was soooo much more better in London when he wasn't around. He didn't get annoyed that much. Well, actually, he did. His stepfather annoyed him.

Without speaking another word, he pushed the button in the lift, and then backed up a little bit as the doors of the lift closed. And then they were off!

"So..."

He was NOT sitting in silence during the ride.

"So.." he replied slowly as he watched Sam push the button to close the thing. And he had a feeling that his brother would now be trying to make idle chit chat. And he wasn't sure how he felt about all that when Sam just was a really annoying and stupid person in general.

"Slow elevator, huh?"

And as soon as he spoke, there was a big jolt and suddenly the thing stopped moving.

You have to be kidding me...

Sam leaned himself up against the side of the lift, humming a tune as he looked around the little area. It was a shame that Dan had to be in the elevator with him, because he's ride would be so much more enjoyable if he didn't have to look at his brother. Ah, well. He couldn't get everything. He would just have to live with the fact that he had to be in a 2 minute elevator ride with his brother.

"Very slow," he agreed. This was the slowest two minutes of his LIFE.

He toppled over a little bit when there came a big jolt, but caught himself before he actually collapsed onto the ground. And when he noticed things had STOPPED moving, he looked over at Dan. This wasn't happening. This was NOT happening.

All of a sudden, his nightmares have come true. He was stuck on an elevator with Dan until someone came and rescued them, or until it started moving once more...and who knew how long that would take!

"Uhh, maybe we should send a patronus to...someone," he suggested.

Dan was not a happy cookie right now.

He scowled and leaned against the back of the elevator, ignoring his brother. "Yeah, send a Patronus." He couldn't believe it. Why couldn't he be stuck here with a sexy woman? He'd trade his brother for Lexi any day.

Lexi took one final glance around the Atrium then decided it was time to head back to level one. She'd been on a tour of the area in an attempt to get herself familiar with as many areas of the Ministry as possible. The eighth level was one of the few remaining levels she had yet to explore. Now all she needed to do was go to the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, and tenth levels. Eek. That was a lot exploring than she'd thought.

Better late than never, though. Maybe one of these elevators would let her to a level she still needed to visit. From the outside, she pressed a button to open the elevator then patiently waited for the doors to open. A little light sort of lit up for a split second, making her think the doors were about to open, but the light died out a split second later. She frowned then pressed the button again. Nothing. Not even the smallest flicker from that little button. "What in Merlin's name?" she muttered.

Samuel was going to pull his hair out if he didn't get pulled out of this lift, but who know WHEN he was going to get out? HE ran his hand through his hair, his eyes kept looking back at the door of the lift, hoping that it would open any second from now. But it never happened.

When Dan agreed on sending a patronus, a whole lot of stress was pulled off of him. If they sent a patronus, someone would be here and rescue them...and then he wouldn't be a goner. He reached inside of him wand pocket, and when he didn't feel his wand, his reached inside his other pocket, thinking it might just be in there. Nope, it wasn't there. And then the guy remembered that he accidentally left it inside his office overnight.

HE WAS OFFICIALLY A GONER.

He looked over at Dan, not really wanting to say that he didn't have his wand, but his brother would find out sooner or later. "I think my wand is in the office," he told him. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. He began to pace back and forth on his side of the lift before getting this idea that maybe someone could hear them if they banged on the lift door. Maybe, just maybe...

"I got an idea," he announced. He walked over to the door of the lift, and then said in a rather loud voice, "Can anyone hear me?"

He rolled his eyes. Of course Sam would be stupid enough to do that. Only he would leave his wand. "I always told everyone that you're an idiot. And I was right." Because seriously who does that?

It was a wonder Sam pasted his first year at Hogwarts.

"Oh, so you don't think I can send a Patronus?" he asked cooly as his brother started shouting for help.

Realizing the elevators were currently in need of service and wouldn't actually open anytime soon, Lexi turned around in search of another way to get her back to the first level. She was no more than two steps away when she heard a muffling yelling. It sounded like someone was in trouble!

Puzzled over this, she froze in tracks to try and figure out where the yelling was coming from. It sounded like it was...behind her? But that would mean...ahh, so that was why the elevators wouldn't open! Some poor unfortunate person was trapped inside!

She whirled back around and approached the elevator door. "I can hear you! Don't worry, I'll have you out in a few seconds," she called out. As she fumbled for her wand, Lexi heard a second voice, and that's when she realized both voices sounded sort of familiar. "This is Lexi, the Senior Undersecretary. Who's inside?"

....

Samuel straightened up his posture when he heard Daniel mention that he always told everyone that he was an IDIOT. He rested his hand against the door of the lift as he slowly looked over at his brother, his facial expression changed from sorta calm to agitated. "Really? What a coincidence! I always told people you were an annoying person," he responded. "And I was right, too." Now Dan just needed to shut up.

He began to pace in front of the door until he heard Dan's question, and then he stopped pacing. "I don't trust you sending a patronus," he responded. He didn't trust Dan at all. Even though Dan really couldn't mess up sending a patronus for help, Sam knew Dan would find a way to screw things up. He always did.

And then he heard someone's voice. It most definitely wasn't Dan's voice since it sounded feminine...oh, wait. It might actually be Dan talking! He looked over at his brother, opened his mouth to say something, and then he heard the girl introduce herself as...

"LEXI!" He suddenly exclaimed. The hot secretary had come to rescue him! He was SAVEDDDD. He turned back towards the door and replied, "It's Sam McDean...and Mr. Annoying McDean. We just kinda got...stuck."

Dan was about to reply to Sam when he heard Lexi speak to them. So the hottie was here after all. Now if only she was the one in here with him. Then things would be a lot better. Maybe some other time.

"Please get us out before I go insane!" he called out to her.

There wasn't much time.

Eyebrows wrinkled with concern, Lexi edged a little closer to the elevator. She could hear a bit of mumbling inside, but she couldn't make out anything that was being said. The first word she actually understood was her name, and that was only because someone---Sam!---yelled it. "Sam? Oh, and is that you Dan?" she called out. Merlin, these brothers sure made things interesting around here, didn't they? "Don't worry! I'll have out in a matter of seconds!"

Or so she hoped.

Lexi hadn't had much experience in opening stuck elevators. She raised her wand and cleared her throat as she thought of the best possible spell to use. The only problem was that every spell she tried failed to work. With a sigh, she stuffed her wand back into her robe pockets and left to find a switch or something that might trigger the power.

"Ah ha!" she called out, spotting the switched lining a nearby wall. She studied them until she found the word "ELEVATOR" on one of them. Smiling, she reached up and flipped the switch...

...and what little light was left in the elevator died out.

Erm...

"Sam? Dan?" she asked. "Don't worry, I'm still working on this! Not too much longer..." She flipped the switch and the lights came back on. She flipped a few more switches until a loud noise erupted from the elevators and the doors began to open.

Wes hadn't read the Prophet in...a long time. BUT since he had gotten this job at the Ministry, he figured it was good to be up to date on current events and all that, so he wandered down to the Atrium to locate a copy. He had just rolled the paper up and tucked it under his arm as he approached the lifts and saw that...it was broken! BOOOOO. Ah well. That was why there were 11 other lifts there!

As he got closer, he noticed that Lexi was there trying to fix the situation...awww, how sweet! She was just so nice. SO NICE. As he heard the voices coming out of the lifts, however, he recognized that it was Sam and Dan who were stuck in the elevator.

HAHAHA! Talk about KARMA! He couldn't help but grin. They SO DESERVED THIS after all the trouble they had given him!

But then...the elevator started moving! Wes frowned.

"Awww, why did you let them out?" he asked with a small grin. He'd look like he was joking but...he was kind of serious.

Samuel rolled his eyes at his brother's comment. PUH-lease, he was the one that was going to go insane if someone didn't get him out of here. He kept his comments to himself since he KNEW if he opened his mouth and said what he wanted to say, they would get into an arguement of some kind. And then Lexi might here them if they argued! Though, it wasn't like she didn't know they fought.

He leaned himself up against the door of the elevator, listening for Lexi's voice. "Yes, it's Sam!" He responded. "And Dan," he added in almost a whisper. And when he heard Lexi said they would be out in a matter of seconds, he sighed in relief. YES! He wouln't be stuck in here for hoursss with Dan. It was a miracle! I just have to wait a few seconds, he kept telling himself.

But then, the only light they had in the lift went out.

Oh, great.

"Lexi, is everything okay down there?" He asked. He sure hoped this woman knew what she was doing. He looked over at Dan, just waiting for another saracastic remark to come out of his mouth, but then the lights came back on and...THE DOOR OPENED! Yippeee.

Though, it was only 'yippee' for a few seconds, because Sam fell to the ground once the door opened all the way due to the fact he had been leaning on them when he listened to Lexi. Next time, he needed to keep space between himself and the lift doors. After staring at the ground for a few moments, he said, "Thanks, Lexi!" What would he do without her?

And then he noticied Wes was standing there, and luckily he hadn't heard the comment from his boss. "Hey Wes!" He greeted his Department Head before standing up from the ground.

The sound of footsteps growing closer drew Alexandra's attention away from the elevator. Despite the current situation, a smile widened across her lips when she saw that it was Wes who'd come up. "Oh, hey, Wes," she greeted. She laughed lightheartedly when he asked why she let the two out. "I couldn't just let them stay in there forever. You know that." She knew Wes had only been kidding around, though, so she gave him a playful look before turning back to Sam.

"You're welcome, Sam," she remarked. She glanced over Sam's shoulder and looked at Dan. "You alright in there, Dan?" Hopefully he hadn't passed out...or been hexed by Sam. Alexandra's eyes flickered to the buttons on the inside of the elevator. Funny...there had supposedly been no issues with them before. So...why now? Come to think of it, though, this was Sam and Dan, here. If anyone at all would get stuck in the elevators, it'd be those two.