banner by sweetpinkpixie

The large office reserved for the Department Head, hasn't changed much over the years and certainly not since it's extensive renovations conducted by Former Department Head, Evander Bole. On that occasion the office was stripped wall to wall and ceiling to floor, and extensively laden with security charms creating a net of impenetrability. These charms, hexes, jinxes, curses and a multitude of advanced spells cross over and intertwine in places making it impossible to get into and impossible to eavesdrop upon. Anyone who has tried have found themselves permanently without ears.

The office still contains its distinguished mahogany interior, though they have recently received a polish. There are two large wall-to-wall shelves spanning the back and side of the room occupied by thick tomes of various colours and sizes. A large world map has been fixed to the wall beside the door, with a deliberate tangle of coloured string and newspaper clippings fixed to the areas of importance. A collection of portraits have been stuffed into a box and left in the corner, only a few portraits hang on the walls, these are the most recent MLE Department Heads. The focal point of the room, much as it was previously, is the large desk and leather chair, though it is usually unoccupied. One of the more notable differences, is the lack of chairs for visitors, in the room; instead of the usual six, there are only two, and they doesn't look too comfortable. Emily doesn't wish to encourage people to visit and 'chat' for extensive periods of time, preferring to keep people on task and active in their roles.

The handsome fireplace on one of the walls has only a few direct floo links, and these are password protected – restricting those coming in and going out. The password changes every week but the links are always active. If anyone where to try to floo their way in or out without the correct password, they would find themselves in one of the holding cells on Level Two.

Passed down from Former Department Head, Wesley Ferguson, Emily keeps a monthly calendar engraved in the desk. It changes as the month turns and is only visible with a spell Emily would have to teach you herself, should she consider you to be significant enough to be privy to her plans.

There are no photographs in the room, and no personal items. In fact, if it wasn't for her name on the door, you would be hard pressed to find evidence of it being her space. Emily keeps her work extremely organised and secured, the only papers you will find on her desk when she's not present are those which have not long ago found their way into her in-tray.

Emily spends as little time in her office as possible, preferring to be out and about on business, or mingling with her employees, feasting in the food court or stocking up on coffee for the copious amounts of paperwork which will need to be done. For this reason, her door is always locked and well secured, so unless you know the password of the hour, and are exceptionally skilled in the art of survival, you could, avoid dismemberment and spontaneous combustion, and get in.

You are here.


OOC: Please read the thread description before posting here! This is not a public thread, but anyone is welcome to have their character knock on the door, assuming they have come through reception first. Emily probably isn't in, though, so it would be best to make an appointment first.

The office can be used, with permission from the Department Head, for division meetings if the conference room is in use, or if a smaller, more intimate setting is required.

There was something about the room she didn’t like. Perhaps it was the space, the privacy that she wasn’t used to, or even the ostentatious nature of the decor. Emily poured herself a glass of water, her eyes scanning the documents in the manila folder which lay open on her desk.

She was almost looking forward to this.

A quick check of her appointments for that day showed that she could be expecting her first any moment now ...

Josh walked in the corridor on his way to the boss lady's office. He always liked women as bosses because of many reasons. Okay, they were hard to deal yet he thought smart women like Emily and Evelyn had the ability to see what others could not see or spot and they could understand beyond the limits of the understanding of many. Yes, he was a man, yes, and he had accepted Evelyn's dominance long ago and never regretted it. He loved pleasing the young woman. So, Emily being his boss was relieving to him. Not that he had any problems with Wes. Wes was understanding too but he felt more comfortable when a woman was his boss.

The man stopped in front of the office and took a deep breath. He hoped she had already forgotten the brownie issue. He doubted it but at least she kind of told him that was okay while he did not repeat it. After taking a deeo breath, Josh knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

Was three times too much?

Closing the folder, Emily pushed it to the corner of her desk in time to hear the sound of knocking. Punctual, good. She strongly disliked tardiness.

Having risen from her seat - any excuse to get up in this stuffy office - Emily answered her door. "Carter, thank you for meeting with me.. please, come in," she welcomed, pushing the door open for him to enter. She didn't stand around for long before returning to her desk, gesturing with her hand for him to close the door on his way in, "have a seat."

It was not long before the door was opened. Oh...he supposed she would tell him to enter or something but she opened the door. Okay, that was not a big thing. Josh smiled a bit and gave her a nod before stepping into the office. Before closing the door, like she wanted him to do, the young man had a brief look around. Was this office any different from Wes'? It did not look like Emily has started to personalize it yet. He did not know if she would anyway.

''Good day.'' he said sounding a bit awkward and closed the door. He supposed he knew what this meeting was about and the fact that someone knew he hardly had the money to look after the babies properly uneased him. He felt like he was a...bad father or something. Plus, it was embarrassing. Josh never liked the matter of money. But here now he had to deal with it. He sat down and looked at her. ''How are you?''

Emily didn't feel the need to respond to his good day, it was a good day, as good as any day could be... and seeing as she'd offered her own greeting, a second was hardly warranted.

It amused her that Carter took a moment to observe their surroundings. It hadn't changed, much. The only real difference was the missing chairs, a number of the portraits had been removed and of course, Wes' personal items were no longer present. Easy enough to adjust to, no?

"I'm well, thank you," she replied, offering a small smile before continuing. "Would you like a glass of water?" she asked, indicating the pitcher and some spare glasses on the cabinet near her desk. She took a sip from her own in waiting.

"I trust you know why you're here?" she asked rhetorically before picking up his folder again and rifling through it. She didn't wait for him to respond to that question. It wasn't necessary, it was more just to break the silence, to sound conversational. "You expressed your interest in a pay increase," she noted, placing the file down again, "and you're willing to work for it?"

''No, thanks.''

He was not feeling like drinking water or anything else. He was really ashamed because of his status, still he kept his head up and tried not to show anything of that feeling on his face. Emily was her boss and she did not need to deal with his private problems. So he had to find a way to convince her for a pay rise, which he needed badly, and the only way to do so was working hard. He had mentioned that as she stated.

He nodded. ''Yes, Emily. I want nothing that i will not work for. I do not ask for a favour. Not that the department would do a me favour. I just want an opportunity to be able to...gain more and i give my promise to do anything for it.''

No water, that suited her fine. Emily was quick to move on, pursing her lips in thought. The Auror was good, he was promising, he had a strong work ethic which made him an asset to the department... and he was a people person.

"Good... I don't believe in granting favours in the workplace." This form of charity she did not believe in. That being said, she wasn't against supporting her colleagues if they were in need, but there were other ways to go about it.
She paused here, looking up from her notes and making eye contact with the man seated opposite her. "I do believe in opportunities for growth," she added, continuing with her train of thought. "I have a proposition for you, one which doesn't require any additional hours, just additional responsibilities...how would you feel about taking on the position of YATIL?"

Emily closed the folder and placed it on the table, her eyes on Carter waiting for his response...

Yes. No favours in the workplace. Especially not any concerning money. That had never happened to him before yet Josh knew he would hate it. He did not like taking money from anyone or anywhere unless he really worked for it anyway. He would not take something he did not deserve. Hopefully, Emily was not the type to offer that...obviously.

Sitting in silence he looked back at her, waiting for her words to come out of her mouth. He listened carefully and his eyes opened a bit wider when he heard the word 'proposition'. She had a proposition for him? When she finally finished her question, Josh blinked a few times buying time to comprehend the full meaning of her words. ''I...'' he began. She offered him the position of YATIL. ''I would like to help the YATI with their training. Emily...'' There! It was an opportunity for him to gaining a bit more by working more and taking more responsibilies. And it had to do with the YATI trainees. He enjoyed the interaction of trainee and trainer. ''...i would be honoured.''

It didn't take too long for the realisation to sink in, but the look on Josh's face was enough to make her smile. "Good it's settled then," she declared upon his acceptance. It was an acceptance, right? It sounded to her as if it was, so all that was left now was to make it official.

"You're due for a minimal pay increase in a few months regardless, so I'm allowing for an advance on that five percent increase, you will also receive the five percent increase for the YATIL duties which will take your earnings to the next paygrade." At this she pulled out the top-most paper from his file and slid it toward him. It was the details of his pay. It was, fairly substantial, for the time being.

SPOILER!!: Paygrade Slip

FROM: Paygrade: Auror: E (800 Galleons a month/9600 Galleons a year)
A - Base + 40%
B - Base + 30%
C - Base + 20%
D - Base + 10%
E - Base
F - Base - 5%
G - Base - 10%

TO: Paygrade: Auror (YATIL): D (880 Galleons a month/ 10560 Galleons a year)
A - Base + 40%
B - Base + 30%
C - Base + 20%
D - Base + 10%
E - Base
F - Base - 5%
G - Base - 10%

"If you're happy with that, I'll get you to sign your new contract so I can report the changes to the payroll office..." as she spoke, Emily removed a second parchment from the folder and pushed that toward Carter along with a self inking eagle feather quill. "Just sign on the bottom line," she indicated with her finger.

Peering at her schedule, Emily noted the time. There was not hurry.
"Did you have any questions?" she asked, having given the Auror the opportunity to read the documents and process things.

Josh smiled back at Emily enthusiastically. New responsibilities were good. It was the best way to deserve any pay increase. He really was grateful as Emily gave him that chance. He was not going to disappoint her. He could not do that no matter what. After a second thought, though, the young man decided not to mention any of these as Emily probably did not want to listen to his banter about them.

He nodded at her words and examined the paper she had pushed towards his way. Minimal or not. He was happy with it as it was going to help him a lot. He looked up at her when she spoke again. Signing a contract...well...he could do that. ''Thanks, Emily.'' Yet he had always been told to, by his mother since the first time he had learned to sign, that he was supposed to read everything, even the smallest details and perhaps unseen stuff, before he would sign anything. So he took the second parchment and started to read it as fast as he could. The department and Emily would not try to make him put his sign under something nasty, right? So he glanced at everything briefly and picked the quill. He signed the spot right under her finger.

Questions...

''Well...do i start right away? Are there any orders from you about what i should focus on?''

Emily watched as the Auror signed his life awaynew contract. It was too easy, done and dusted. Her first time giving rather than recieving a pay increase and promotion. She could get used to it. “You deserve it,” she replied to his thanks.

“There’s little point in waiting,” she mused, so yes, yes he could start straight away. “Nothing in particular, perhaps refamiliarise them with protocal, emphasise the importance of comunication and... make sure they get the opportunities to work on their essential skills.” All that stuff they covered in the YATI program. Stealth, tracking, combat, takedown... “Train them as you see fit, but ultimately, guide them.”

Josh smiled yet this time it was a proud one. If his boss thought he deserved it, he did not need anything else from anyone else about this. So, yes, he was going to show and prove that he really deserved it. The YATI would be trained Josh-style from now on, perhaps, of course he would prepare tham a challenging enough and informative, profitable training schedule. Practice came before anything else.

After signing the paper, Josh listened to Emily's answer to his questions and nodded. Alright then, he was starting right away. He alsowas going to kept what she said in mind about the training. ''I will do my best. '' he said as he stood up. The young man supposed it was time to go now. Smiling at her one last time, he walked to the door. ''Good day...again'' and kindly left the office without turning his back to her.

Excellent. It was all going rather swimmingly and Carter's declaration of his best efforts only consolidated her resolve in his promotion. He was a hard worker, she knew that, it was all going to be for the best.. and the YATI seemed to like him, and he the YATI, that also helped..
"I'm sure you will," she agreed with a nod as the Auror rose to leave. "Yes, good day Josh," she added as she watched him leave.

Good. She hadn't needed to usher him out, she very much loathed doing such things. It was the reason why she got rid of most of the chairs... to stop people wasting time.

Speaking of time, she could be expecting the next to come through now. Taking the next folder from her pile, Emily placed Carter's in her drawer, secured.

Now, Bennett....

Simon had paused in his work when he saw the time for his appointment approaching, arriving at the door to Emily's new office early. However knowing someone was in there before him, the auror waited patiently outside for when it was his turn. And when door opened, and Josh back up out of the office, he nodded simply to his friend and stepped forward, keeping the door from closing exactly as he switched places.

He did however knock on the open door twice just to alert Emily to his arrival, waiting in place at the threshold for her allowance in case she wasn't ready for some reason. Simon was not about to burst in on any department head, much less she.

If there was anything that could irk her, it was people making her wait. Time was of the essence, and she expected MLE to run like clockwork under her watch. As it were, Bennett's quick succession into her office was pleasing. Glancing up from the file in her hand, Emily gave Simon a nod to close the door.
"Perfect timing," was her response. Emily leant back in her seat, the padded leather still a strange sensation on her back. Not an unpleasant one, just not one she was accustomed to.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," she said, gesturing to the solitary chair opposite her. Meanwhile, she flipped open the file, glanced and something and closed it. Fascinating.

He politely nodded in turn at her silent instructions and stepped further inside, closing the office door behind him. Perfect timing was good and that was something one would want at a gathering like this. To start off on the right foot and not get the person you were meeting in a bad mood even before you started.

Simon obediantly crossed the remaining room and took the offered seat. The young man briefly noting her attention on the file in front of her in the progress yet saying nothing, waiting for the woman to speak first since she was leading this meeting.

Bennett's silence amused her. Emily's smirked. Cat got the Auror's tongue, hey? Heh.

Emily fixed him with her gaze a little longer, but then indulged him in his silence and began their meeting... thing.... that she was conducting. Fun times. She could only hope that this would go as well as the last, if not better.
"Can you perhaps shed some light on the reason why you have waited until now to request a pay increase?" she asked, curious to know why the Auror, after so long, was only now interested in the money. She didn't care. The budget allowed for a multitude of pay increases, but it was his psyche she was interested in unpacking.

Simon met her gaze as it rested upon him, not reacting on it which was expected. He wasn't exactly under her scrutiny because of being a suspect in the interregation rooms. The auror had seen Emily in that situation enough to know it wasn't pretty and not what she was giving him now.

At the question, he paused for a moment to gather his words. He had expected the possibility of a question as to why he thought he should, in case what he had wrote was not enough. As to why he had waited, well it was never fun for him to explain his actions. However he did have some strong reasoning. "Well if I remember correctly, the last official time it was offered was right after my completion of training and since my pay was already to be increased due to the status change, I felt no need to go for it. And it is not as if the increase in money is absolutely necessary so I wasn't inclined to make a pledge in between. "

Not to mention there had been plenty of other important things on his mind like what was going on in the department with the cases.

Boring. Bennett's response was boring. It told her nothing about him that she didn't already know. At any rate, it didn't matter. Pay increase motivations weren't particularly important... moving on.

She mused for a minute longer, lacing her fingers together and resting her hands in her lap. "You expressed interest in a promotion... what's your career objective? What are you hoping to achieve?"

Simon's response didn't readily see a response from his companion across the desk's surface. at least right away. He was silently attentive to even the littlest things in hope of finding clues so he could follow along the best he could. There was still a part of him that wondered the direction the situation might be headed given what was going on.

When his interest in promotion was brought up, the auror was assured they were still in reference to what he himself had mentioned. Her question a link to the nerves that had threatened to develop earlier...having to explain himself even if it was for good and not bad. "To do all that I can," he answered at first, gathering his words as he saw fit. "To be an auror has been my goal for so long and I am quite happy to achieve it. Yet over the time in the department as well as while I was working on my schooling in Law, I've realized it didn't necessarily have to stop there. That having reached one goal and doing my best there doesn't have to be the end."

Shoot, he had never thought of being captain back at Hogwarts but he wouldn't have given up the chance to be better if he had the second choice to make the decision to accept the position.

"So, no real direction then..." she mused, not asking, just stating. She took up his folder again and flipped open to the first page, scanning its contents. Auror training... Wizarding Law... he was versatile. Malleable, and in that regard he was a good asset to the department.

"Have you considered prospects in other divisions?" she asked, remembering something on his pay increase application which ruled out those possibilities. However, considering Bennett's lack of direction, perhaps it wasn't out of the question.... entirely. Her line of questioning was shorter, sharper than she had intended, then again... full blown conversations were never her style.

"No," Simon confirmed, "just the desire to do my best wherever I'm at." Hopefully that didn't sound too bland or contrived. But it was how he worked. Like being a bookworm in the house of the brave rather than the knowledgeable.

Have you considered prospects in other divisions

That was another tough question but not entirely unthought of. After all he got along with Dacs and her area of expertise with the hit wizards and held his own at times with Cade when the department was training together under all the leaders. Not to mention his degree could have leant to the prosecution side of things. "Not to any great extent, but I've always been aware of the possibilities."

Emily nodded her understanding. If anybody could understand wanting to be the best they could be - no matter the task, then she could. Could it be they actually had something in common? More so than an occupation (or former occupation in her case). "You know what I believe?" she asked rhetorically before continuing, "There are two ways to be successful... the first, is to indeed be the best... the second, is to be everything else.. experience makes us stronger, makes us versatile, able to adapt..."

Pausing for a moment, Emily took a sip of her water... then realising her manners, or lack there of, "Water?" she offered, indicating the pitcher with her hand.

...

Nevertheless..

"Ministry Security is under scrutiny... I need someone to step up. Is this something you might be interested in?" Emily didn't offer any further details at this stage, no point wasting her breath if it wasn't of interest to the man. It was that blasted de Talone incident that was making her life difficult. Go figure, Wes made a good decision getting out when he did.. now, the mess was hers to clean up.

That response got a nod which set Simon somewhat at ease, even if it appeared he wasn't showing much unease. Listening to what Emily had to say on the matter herself, he couldn't help nodding in understanding as well. After all he had started the law degree actually before his training, using it to make sure law was where he had wanted to be and wanting to know all he could from all areas.

The momentary switch to a mundane topic made him blink before shaking his head. "No thank you."

\And then the other shoe dropped and the department head showed what she had to offer. Ministry security. Could he stand switching away from the area he had been specifically trained in? The position he had strived for Merlin knows how long. It took him a few moments pause to let the idea sink in before finally nodding again. "If that's where I'm needed then yes I would be interested in stepping up."