"Well, the rule is one dance. We dance one full song and then we leave." Yep, fair enough right? He NEVER got to dance with her, she always made excuses... Even at the wedding he'd had to practically beg to dance with her. Dang...just his luck she'd pick a fast song and just stand in the middle of the dance floor and stare at him as he danced. Then say ready to go? He probably should have specified... "Hey that wasn't my fault! It was Kingston!"

"Awww, but your rules suck." she whined at him. "What if I promise to dance with you in the morning?" she asked in a whiny voice. "You're not driving my car. It's not going to happen, okay?" Could they go yet? "Please can we gooo? You've shown your face."

Chuckling he nuzzled her "I just want to show everyone my beautiful wife and how proud I am to be in her life." Show her off, oh yeah! Too bad more people didn't know who she was or remember her from so many years back. He'd not even been around back in that time! Snorting he shook his head "Not yet love. Shall we get you your drink?"

"Shame no one cares or knows me." she shrugged. "Except those that are scared of me. Rightly so." Yep. "Fine, but only if I can sit in the corner and drink it." Bah.

"It is a shame. The ministry is nearly all new with heads and employees it seems." Even this time around, merlin they'd lost more than half the department head staff! He just hoped that Kettleburn didn't decide to replace him as well! "Yes, of course you can sit wherever you'd like to drink it."

"I told you to shower more. You're scaring them off." she murmured tiredly. She swore she'd gotten four times sleepier since she'd got here. "Good, you're welcome to join me in the corner." she kept her arms around him. "You owe me a drink."

Snorting he shook his head "If I did that more I'd never have time for anything else." he said blowing a raspberry. "Okay let's go get you that drink." he murmured guiding them to the doorway. He would get her settled then go on and mingle a bit and see if he could find his new employees.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be like me. Only I'm allowed to be mean to people." She shrugged, "Mmm, okay. Then I'll get out from under your feet and let you go and talk to people." Yeah.

A smile slowly spread across her face when he whispered into her ear, asking if she wanted to dance. Beaming, she turned to him and nodded eagerly. "YES! I'd LOVE to!" she squealed. Then realizing how excited and childish she was acting, she cleared her throat and smoothed out her dress. "I-I mean, yes. I would be delighted." she quickly said in a more normal voice, giving him a curtsy. That was lady-like, yes? Giggling, she linked arms with him once more and walked with him over to the ballroom.

Quinn looked around the hall excitedly. It seemed like only yesterday she had been standing here for the first time, worrying if she had lost her American accent fast enough and if she would be a good employee. She looked to see if she recognized anyone, and if they would say hi to her.

Allllllriiiiiiight, William was here, he was dressed in a blue black tie, and he was all prepared to be professional and meet his boss and get to work. He started weaving through the crowd, not really sure where he was going, but pretty sure he shouldn't just block the door. Huh, were any of these people his coworkers? He'd missed talking about dragons. Maybe there were other dragon fans here too? Maybe all his coworkers loved dragons! MAYBE, maybe he'd run in Alysson and January and perhaps his good ol' BFF who still worked down on level 3...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

Quinn looked around the hall excitedly. It seemed like only yesterday she had been standing here for the first time, worrying if she had lost her American accent fast enough and if she would be a good employee. She looked to see if she recognized anyone, and if they would say hi to her.

Willy was so caught up in his internal thoughts and crowd-weaving that he walked straight into someone from behind, nearly knocking her over with his tall frame. "Oops!" he fought back a laugh and put a steadying arm out for the woman. "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was walking."

The Minister for Magic wasn't on to make an entrance, in spite of the fact that an arrival at this point sort of screamed attention-grabber. The truth was more mundane - the Minister of Magic had trouble convincing his twelve-year-old that she didn't want to attend a Ministry function, no matter how posh, to the extent that she'd mussed his first suit.

He was now wearing a tuxedo, which was far too flashy for Albert's tastes.

Merlin, someone put a glass of something in his hand and point him toward the most boring corner of the room. He needed to recoup after the battle he'd just waged.

Bradley's eyes continued to scan the crowd. No Athena. No Haley. No Selene. No Jamie. Jeez. Was he really that early to this thing or were they all just going to ditch? If that was the case, they should have told him. But he knew at least Haley said she was coming. At least that's what he thought.

Brad looked over at the woman who'd addressed him. "Yeah. I hate dressing up." But he looked good at least. Then again, he always looked good. It was a blessing really. "I have not, but I wouldn't mind finding it." Food and drinks sounded good right about now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Kettleburn

The Minister for Magic wasn't on to make an entrance, in spite of the fact that an arrival at this point sort of screamed attention-grabber. The truth was more mundane - the Minister of Magic had trouble convincing his twelve-year-old that she didn't want to attend a Ministry function, no matter how posh, to the extent that she'd mussed his first suit.

He was now wearing a tuxedo, which was far too flashy for Albert's tastes.

Merlin, someone put a glass of something in his hand and point him toward the most boring corner of the room. He needed to recoup after the battle he'd just waged.

Speaking of knocking people over... man, WWW had just missed running into the Minister! Wellp, maybe if he jogged after him, he could still catch the guy. So he did just that, running straight up behind the man in a tuxedo and giving him a good thump on the back.

"MISTER MINISTER, HI," William hurried around to his front so he could see him. "HI, I'M ONE OF YOUR NEW EMPLOYEES!!!!" Sort of!!!!!! He wasn't sure why he was shouting, but GOSH. HI. This guy was like FAMOUS. If Willy's dad could see him now, he'd be SO PROUD!!!!!!

...wait, they weren't ALL supposed to be wearing tuxedos, were they? He suddenly felt underdressed.

Ah, yes. He'd been spotted, and it was impossible to tell just whether this was a pleasant conversation waiting to happen or about to become Albert's worst nightmare. He literally woke up in a sweat some nights, fearful of getting stuck in an elevator with someone who didn't respect personal space and didn't understand that employees and employers were never friends. Or shouldn't be.

"Welcome to the Ministry, Mr...?" He didn't know the man's name or department, which made this bit awkward. "I'm heartened by your enthusiasm for the work we have to do. What job have you taken on?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Kettleburn

Ah, yes. He'd been spotted, and it was impossible to tell just whether this was a pleasant conversation waiting to happen or about to become Albert's worst nightmare. He literally woke up in a sweat some nights, fearful of getting stuck in an elevator with someone who didn't respect personal space and didn't understand that employees and employers were never friends. Or shouldn't be.

"Welcome to the Ministry, Mr...?" He didn't know the man's name or department, which made this bit awkward. "I'm heartened by your enthusiasm for the work we have to do. What job have you taken on?"

"Mr. Williamson, William Walter Williamson, but you can call me Willy!" William laughed and hurriedly stuck out his hand for a handshake. "I'm a --- well, going to be a --- Senior Dragon Researcher on Level 4! It's a great job!" Or so he assumed from its description!

"Mr. Williamson," Albert repeated, now shaking the man's hand in earnest. It was different when a man had a name and an occupation. Only then could you really know whose hand you were shaking. Shake shake shake.

"It's a pleasure, sir. Our Creatures department is well managed, but I know we can always use skilled employees with a true passion for taking care of animals and figuring out how our world and the creature world collides." Although, to Albert's perspective, he was really more interested in keeping those worlds separate and safe. "Have you had anything to eat yet?"

Why did they have to make these shin digs a formal affair? Oliver hated dressing up, even though he looked totally smoking hot in the tux he was wearing but that was beside the point. He felt stiff and the tie felt too tight. He stuck his fingers down the collar of his shirt and gave his neck a little twist.

Yeah so didn't help.

He decided to head over to the food table. Maybe some food would take his mind off being slowly choked to death. Halfway to the food table his attention was diverted to the Minister of Magic, also dressed in a tux.

Hehe. Great minds.

And then his gaze fell on the guy the Minister was talking to and Ollie's eyes widened with surprise and he almost tripped over his feet. He recovered quickly and redirected his feet to the direction of the Minister and his BFF.

"WILLIAM WILLIAMSON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" The temptation to give his friend a wet willy was very strong but Oliver managed to refrain. That was the Minister standing there after all.

"Evening Sir." he said with a nod of his head. "You're looking pretty spiffy."

"Going to start working in transportation," Tasha repeated to herself. "That is a good department. I started out there when I first joined the ministry as well, in the apparition offices." She told Maya with a cheerful beam. After she had transferred out of there they’d had their share of department head switches but so had every department in the ministry. Lucky for her Aron was still around. She didn’t want to have to get used to yet another department head’s quirks.

Nodding she tried to count the years she'd worked at the ministry but quickly gave up. "I am a returning employee, yes. I've worked more years in this place than I can remember." Which was a little sad she contemplated. Shrugging Tasha asked "So where will you start working?"

"Oh, you did? What language was that?" she asked curiously. Charles worked in the international cooperation department she contemplated so learning new languages were probably in his job description. Tasha wasn’t going to criticize him for it if he had enjoyed himself which he seemed to have done. Eyes glittering and beaming all over her face she murmured. "My vacation to Scotland was amazing." Tasha trailed off gazing down at the floor. It wouldn’t feel right to talk about it when Dorian wasn’t even here yet.

"Oh, I learnt Giant, and I'm embarking on learning Japanese now." he gave her a polite nod of the head. When he saw how happy Tasha looked, he tilted his head curiously at her. "And this trip to Scotland, what happened there that pleased you so much?" he asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Though Charles didn't speak to many people as if they were good friends, he counted Natasha as one of those and he wanted to know what was going on in her life!

Her eldest children were five and her youngest almost one, and still Lorelai Stemp felt awful leaving them just for a few hours. She was okay with getting dressed up though, she didn't have many reasons for that. What with constantly having some sort of food in her hair or something utterly mumsy. Awful.

She took her husbands arm, and nodded her head craning just a little to kiss his cheek. "I know. Belle of the ball." Lucky Hubster was lucky, right?

"C'mon, let's go be awful in the corner of this place and keep each other company." Old. They were old now.

She was kind of hungry too, actually.

"As always."

Adam used his free hand to ruffle his hair, before leaning slightly into Lorelai's kiss. He really did think she was the most beautiful looking person here: she was anywhere, anyway, but still. It was nice to be dressed up for a change, nice to feel like his arm wasn't going to come out of its socket and his clothes weren't going to get splashed. Even if it was only for a few hours, it was a few hours more than usual.

Hey, maybe his coworkers would be impressed that he didn't have baby food somewhere on his person today.

Awful, in the corner, and company? Those were things Adam could do! He grinned at his wife before walking further into the building. "That sounds good. Food?"

That was where the party was at.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Kettleburn

"Mr. Williamson," Albert repeated, now shaking the man's hand in earnest. It was different when a man had a name and an occupation. Only then could you really know whose hand you were shaking. Shake shake shake.

"It's a pleasure, sir. Our Creatures department is well managed, but I know we can always use skilled employees with a true passion for taking care of animals and figuring out how our world and the creature world collides." Although, to Albert's perspective, he was really more interested in keeping those worlds separate and safe. "Have you had anything to eat yet?"

William shook the Minister's hand back just as enthusiastically, hopefully not gripping it too hard and whatnot in all his shaking. Merlin, his hand was pumping like his cruppy's tail during feeding time. BOUNCEBOUNCEBOUNCEBOUNCE.

"Well managed, sure sure, I bet the WHOLE MINISTRY is well-managed with YOU at the helm, sir." He grinned a little bit, but all in earnest. Wow, the Minister sure did know how to use long phrases. Willy almost got caught up in listening to him talk instead of paying attention to what the man was actually saying. Eat? Did he want to eat with WILLY?

"No...... there's FOOD here?!" Point him to the food and he just might let go of your hand!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Why did they have to make these shin digs a formal affair? Oliver hated dressing up, even though he looked totally smoking hot in the tux he was wearing but that was beside the point. He felt stiff and the tie felt too tight. He stuck his fingers down the collar of his shirt and gave his neck a little twist.

Yeah so didn't help.

He decided to head over to the food table. Maybe some food would take his mind off being slowly choked to death. Halfway to the food table his attention was diverted to the Minister of Magic, also dressed in a tux.

Hehe. Great minds.

And then his gaze fell on the guy the Minister was talking to and Ollie's eyes widened with surprise and he almost tripped over his feet. He recovered quickly and redirected his feet to the direction of the Minister and his BFF.

"WILLIAM WILLIAMSON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" The temptation to give his friend a wet willy was very strong but Oliver managed to refrain. That was the Minister standing there after all.

"Evening Sir." he said with a nod of his head. "You're looking pretty spiffy."

...or he might let go of your hand if he was startled into dropping it. William did just that when he heard his name being shouted halfway across the hall.

"OLIVER JENKINS!!!!!!!!!" Upon seeing the slightly shorter man, he forgot all about impressing the Minister and instead dragged his BFF into a massive bro-hug. "LOOKITCHOO! I'm HERE for the PARTY. HEY. Why didn't you tell me to wear a tux?"

Did William even own a tux? That was beside the point.

As always.

How right he was. What a catch she was. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. "They'll be okay, right? M-Squared were super clingy earlier." It was slowly becoming harder to not spend every waking second with their youngest. Neither were walking, or really attempting to, and Lori was taking them to work with her on a daily basis. Perks of being the boss.

"We'll see what they have and if I fancy it." Meaning, she was hungry, but she'd have to consider eating things properly. 'Allergies', and all.

Lorelai matched her husbands walk, and kept by his side, hand settled nicely at his elbow.

He smiled and nodded his head as a gesture of greeting as they passed by a few colleagues of theirs. He listened to her with full attention though. It sounded every much like her. She had always been ambitious. He was glad that she had done well.

"Ooh romance?" he teased. "Anything serious?"

He nodded in understanding when she mentioned how she missed her family. "Yes, that is always been a hard one - when I was traveling, my mom just did not rest until I left anything and came back to her," he told her, smiling.

His life? It had been quite uneventful, really. "Me? Oh nothing, my life has been quite uneventful," he repeated his first thought. "I have enjoyed the transition from being a Charms major to a Dragons guy, I admit," he told her. "And I think the highlight of my life since school has been that,"

Yep. He had been quite involved with his work.

As they reached the seating area, Cole pulled out a chair for her to sit.