There is no dirt tracking across the floor, no puffs of humidity rolling through the room, and portraits of magical plants don't cover the walls, though your lovely department head as placed some live ones here and there for a pleasant work environment. The smell is a stark contrast to that of the Environmental work rooms on the other side of the wall, more of creatures than plants and the faint hint of sandal wood leaking form Ms. Skylark's office. The expansive room has cubicles scattered all about, clustered together by teams under each division. Those with larger more worn desks mostly work from the office and can be seen with more comfy chairs. While those that work solely from the field and never spend more than a few hours in the office have smaller desks though equally as comfortable chairs for them and for assisting the public.

All workers have lockers against the far walls for storing personal belongings and a needed extra set of work robes. There's a large enchanted window to provide some semblance of sunlight along with portraits of magical creatures, the occasional informative poster of dangerous creature can be found on the walls as well.

The Department Head's office can be accessed through this room, as well as the creature holding room. Up the short hall is the Registration and Support Offices as well as the shared areas with the Environmental Department. Don't mind all the barking echoing down the hall, that's just the pack of albino bloodhounds kept by the department.

.................. This is not what she was expecting. As soon as January entered the work area, her hand flew to her nose to cover it from the awful smell that was in the air. The desks were messy, there was crap all over the floor (literal crap, too). It looked like a back alley of London had found itself inside their level.

Pulling out a handkerchief, January looked around for other employees. She covered her nose with the cloth to keep out most of the stink from her nose. Then she took out her wand and began vanishing all the poo off the carpet.

Ugh. They needed air fresheners in here. Welcome back to the Ministry.

Where others might be wrinkling their nose at the animal droppings, Harmony was taking them as a sign that whatever had been destroying offices was probably creature related. As the droppings were bits of evidence to her, the red head was not going to let the chance to get a proper sample pass her by. And so the department head was crouched down in a corner of the offices, taking samples of the droppings for testing. Surely the lab could process these now that they'd returned to the ministry. She'd need to get a hold of Aron promptly to find out what they were dealing with but from the size and sha-

Oh, someone else was here!

"A bubble-head charm might work better!" Harmony wasn't as bothered by natural smells but if her employees were going to have trouble, they might as well make use of the charm until they could get this place cleaned up.

Well this was... different.

William covered his nose as soon as he stepped into the office. Stinky! And yet... also a good thing! Because they were BACK TO WORK and back to working WITH CREATURES! And these were definitely creature droppings his feet were crunching upon as he walked in.

Still, he had to dig the hanky out of his suit pocket and cover his nose and mouth with it. Breathing the stink through a filter was somehow better than breathing it through your nostrils unfiltered. Or whatevs.

"Hello?" he called out as he moved on into the work space. He'd thought he'd heard someone when he first walked in... oh! It was Harmony. And January. "Ladies." William gave them both a small half-bow from behind his hanky. "Good to see you... here." Grin!

Jose made his way to this new office. So far everything had been a lot better but of course now he couldn't walk to work, he had used the toilets that he had helped fix. Level Four here we come.

Stepping off the elevator he saw the doors and opened them, a big smile on his face. He didn't have to clean and there were work stations set up. "Assombro" he said in Portuguese for he couldn't think of another word in english to express his feelings. Finding an empty work space he sat down, waiting to see if he could see Harmony, maybe she had something more for him to do. So far things he had been pretty busy transferring here but if any one knew Jose he liked to do a lot of things at once.

And how lovely, William and Jose were here now too! Their presence added some much needed eye candy to the destroyed office space and Harmony simply beamed at them, happy to have people back in the offices and ready to work. It was groovy, man.

"Why helloooo!" The red head straightened up, dropping sample in hand, and sauntered over to the men. She was clearly not bothered by the destruction around her, seeing it more as an opportunity to get to the bottom of whatever was going on inside these walls. "It's so nice to see people back here. I've missed it so."

"Now I suggest we start doing a bit of freshening up, don't you? I've got some incense in my bag that'll work wonders to clear the smell from the air." Though to a trained nose, the odor would give clues as to what the creature might have been digesting and expelling from its body. "I've already bagged a sample for testing too!" See? She was ON the case. Not to worry!

"I think we take anything we see here that can be repaired and set it aside. Anything too damaged can be discarded." PAUSE. "Or better yet, recycled!" Always recycled. "I'd like someone to go and check on the kennels and someone else on the creature holding room. Just do an assessment of damage, okay? We want to know what we're dealing with. Please repair what you can."

...

"How do you guys feel about sandal wood?" As the scent for the incense, of course.

Hearing footsteps behind her, January turned her head to see her Department Head. Not cleaning, but taking samples of the droppings for research, she assumed. That was a smart move, she supposed. This was why she worked with spirits, though, you see. They didn't leave droppings.

"Thanks for the advice," January replied, but she didn't create one. She'd survive without it, and assumed that they would get done cleaning up soon.

Oh, look. William was here! January's face lit up as he walked in and she gave him a smile. "Morning, Willy." It was certainly good to be back all together again at the Ministry, wasn't it? Even if it was smelly.

Speaking of smelly... January listened up when Harmony talked about cleaning, incense and repairing things. She nodded and listened carefully. "I can go check out the creature holding room," she replied with another firm nod. Before she went, though she heard Harmony ask about sandalwood. "As long as it smells better than this," she replied. Anything could smell better than this.

Jack felt awesome knowing the Ministry was now open again. He quickly headed to the Magical Creatures level and saw many of his co-workers had already made it back and his boss was already giving the spiel on what had to be done. He heard something about checking the kennels and creature holding room. He really wanted to get to those areas and see how they are after all of the craziness, was the place haunted, hmm. "Hey Miss Harmony, it feels great to be back and I would be happy to check the kennels and creature holding area, and any place else around here, who knows what may need a closer look or perhaps some fixing up, I'm on it", Jack said as he conjured a tool box.

"Hey Jose, isn't it great to back. Wanna come check out the kennels and holding area with me.

"Hey William, good to be back, eh", Jack said playfully jabbing the arm with Williams hanky in it and it was then he started to notice that everyone was covering their nose for some reason. He then realized it smelled like the great outdoors near a dragons or werewolves den with dead rotting animals. It sure was not a pretty sight but he was very used to it being an adventurer but he could understand others discomfort perhaps.

He then heard that January was planning on going to creature holding room though her thing it would smell better then the office area, that would be quite surprising. "Hey, January, I'll join you to the creature holding area, though I do suggest you try the bubblehead charm for there cause chances it will smell way worse then here.

Tasha should have brought a handkerchief or something to cover her face. The stench that hit her as she walked into the Magical Creatures, work area was so intense that she almost gagged. Changing the hold on the precious pesticide bottles the blond headed further in, doing her best not to walk on too many creature droppings. A feat not easy to manage when you were carrying precious bottles and the floor was literally covered in the stinky stuff.

Spotting Ms Skylark up ahead chatting with several level 4 employees Tasha approached giving them all lovely smiles. "Hello, Ms Skylark! I come from level 3 with a means to eradicate the infestation." Meaning the bottles she was carrying.

Harmony was pleased to see people jumping at the chance to get going. It was reassuring to her, especially because the department was currently in shambles. The red head had her own ideas about possible causes for the mess but wanted to get the samples checked before making any insinuations. Whatever the creature involved, there appeared to be a great number of them. "Yes, please do!" She addressed those volunteering to get to work and smiled genuinely. "Please report anything you find directly to me and remember, safety first!"

Once those willing to go to the other areas of their level to do inventory were on task, the department head continued her work. She'd placed the samples she'd collected off to the side, safely out of reach. She then summoned a clipboard from her office and assessed the damage. Well, that was until someone else joined them.

...

"Please call me Harmony." The creatures enthusiast paused to look up from her clipboard, noting the new arrival's aura was pulsating orangey-red. Good sign, this was. "Really? How funny, I was just thinking I should bring down a sample of droppings to the labs there. I take it Aron has discovered something we haven't, then?" Because Harmony still hadn't seen the culprit in action. "What exactly are we dealing with, here?" A pest, that much she was willing to guess.

Pulling the woman to the side, she eyed the spray bottles curiously. "Have you lot discovered the cause of all this, then?"

"Hiiiii Jan, Jack," William nodded to them both and slowly removed the hanky from his nose, particularly after Jack's nudge. He could bear it for a moment while his boss gave directives. And since Jack had volunteered to go with his redheaded friend, it looked like he was left to check on the kennels.

Not a problem. "I'll be looking in on the hounds," he informed the boss quietly, trotting off in that direction.

"Pleased to meet you, Harmony." Tasha beamed broadly. "I'm Natasha." It was nice to get the pleasantries out of the way so they could get down to business. Changing the hold on the spray bottles Tasha nodded. "Yes, Aron and our Lab technician Derek have discovered that we are dealing with a ministry wide infestation of chizpurfles." She pused to lick her dry lips, "The chizpurles are the source of the of all the ministry wide damage and not to mention the droppings that riddle all the floors."

Gesturing to the spray bottles in her arms Tasha continued. "Derek has brewed up a time sensitive pesticide spray that you need to spray all over your department to kill off the chizpurfles with before they deal any more long lasting damage."

They needed to get spraying soon rather than later!

"And you, Natasha!" Harmony was in a pleasant enough mood considering what she was dealing with, something she attributed to her many laughing yoga sessions. Did wonders to create positive vibes, y'know. The red head went on to listen carefully and at the word Chizpurfles, she clapped her hands together as if she'd just heard good news. "Chizpurfles! You know, I bet that they could have come in on those Crups who had gotten loose!" Or on the mutants that had been roaming the ministry. So many possibilities, so little time. And Harmony guessed she didn't need to take those samples to Aron after all.

"Please send my appreciation to Aron and this Derek for their haste on the matter. I'll have my Pest Control experts hand these out immediately." And Harmony opened her arms, ready to accept the bottles.

"Jose?" He was still here, wasn't he? "Jose, I need your help over here!"

Jose was completely in his own little world, having his cup of coffee up to his lips he heard his name. His head peeking up he stood trying to find the source. Seeing that Harmony was looking at him he made his way over to her with his steaming cup right along with him.

"you said my name?" he said politely. He wondered what they were talking about.

"Crups? We had crups on the loose in the ministry?" If they had then said crups hadn’t found their way to level 3 because this was the first Natasha had heard of them even being on the loose. Mutants were a whole other story they’d been spotted everywhere. She winched just a little. They had caused serious damage just like the chizpurfles had done now. "The chizpurfles can't have been the cause of the lock out can they?"

Smiling Tasha handed over all the spray bottles to Harmony. "I'll gladly shower Derek and Aron in appreciation when I get back up there." It seemed like Harmony had everything under control and were going to make quick use of the pesticide. She lingered just a bit to see if Harmony or her Pest Control Experts had any questions about the pesticide.

"More so around Diagon Alley but they were brought back here so one never knows." They could have been the ones to transfer the little guys. The mutants were another group of culprits but Harmony wasn't going to speculate. "I can't say for sure but it could be a possibility." Again, Harmony wasn't giving away too much at the moment, mostly because she had bits and pieces of information and until she knew how to fit them together as a whole, she wouldn't offer her hunches to others.

Taking the bottles, the red head smiled and bowed her head in thanks. "We appreciate you bringing these up for us. I think we can take it from here." And with that, she turned her attention to Jose.

"I did, yes." Harmony wandered over and handed him the bottles carefully. "A Chizpurfle infestation has been discovered and the size of said infestation must be quite large what with all of these bottles going out." She eyed them curiously and then glanced back up at the man. "I'd appreciate if you would go around to each of our work areas and hand them out to those present, instructing them to spray every inch of each room so that we can get rid of the infestation as soon as possible." Harmony took a bottle for herself and smiled. "I'll get started here and if you wouldn't mind spraying any of the empty rooms, that'd be appreciated."

Because there was no time to waste, Harmony spun on her heel and cheerfully started spraying around the work area, humming as she did. They'd be rid of this infestation in no time with just a little bit of teamwork.

Jose listened for he wanted to make sure he got everything right.. "Chizpurfles…thats not good" he said while looking at the bottles and then the other person he didn't know… Smiling at them he took the box with all the bottles. "I can do that, yes. So spray all the empty rooms but if theres someone in there give them instructions to spray every crack and corners.." he just for his own memory.

"I'll let you know when I've completed my task Harmony." he smiled as she said she would take care of their current area. He made his to the other offices.

"Right, okay, I see. I should get back to level 3. If you need any assistance or have any questions about the pesticide then send us a memo. Good day!" Tasha said to Harmony with a smile and a wink. With that the blond turned on her heel and started to walk out of the creatures work area. Maybe she could stop by MLE and see if Dorian wanted to break for an early lunch in the cafeteria? Or they could meet up by the new gift and merchandise shop on the Atrium level.

Passing the pest control experts as they spread out to start spraying Tasha decided to take the stairs again. She didn't know if the lifts were in working order plus she didn’t want to potentially get stuck in one of them.

Well, she has smelled and seen worse before, but out of habit, Uli's hand flew to her face to cover her nose the moment she walked into the Magical Creatures work area. The place was a mess. The desks were in disarray and the place looked like a, what was the muggle saying, a bull in a china shop?

It was good to be back though. Back to work and the thing she loved most, working with creatures. She heard a crunch as she stepped onto some of the animal droppings that were left behind and she gave a long sigh. There's one of things she really didn't miss. Her long jacket whipped around her calves as she went further into the room, her hand that covered her nose now at her side and she saw a few of her coworkers already here. A smile graced her lips as she said "Hey" and gave a half-hearted, two fingered wave.

Laughter escaped his lips when Willy mentioned that the boss should have mentioned that he was the floor’s official greeter. Tancred rolled his eyes, shifting the box he had brought with him slightly. "I do hope you're getting paid extra for doing the secretary's job too."

He had been there for four years already? Wow. The man was about to comment on how long his friend had been an employee at the Ministry when, out of the blue, a young woman asked them if they were coworkers. His eyes widened slightly, observing just how hyper this one was. Were most new hires this excited for their first day at the Ministry? Or did someone drink a whole pot of coffee before coming to work? After Willy introduced himself to her, he said, "Tancred Adara. Dragon Commissioner."

He would have offered handshakes to Miss Hyper and the other women that had shown up at the reception area, but Willy had moved on to the next room. Tancred followed suit, giving each of the women a friendly wave before heading toward the cubicles.

"So this is it, then?" he asked, looking around the place. He could definitely get used to this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe

Laughter escaped his lips when Willy mentioned that the boss should have mentioned that he was the floor’s official greeter. Tancred rolled his eyes, shifting the box he had brought with him slightly. "I do hope you're getting paid extra for doing the secretary's job too."

He had been there for four years already? Wow. The man was about to comment on how long his friend had been an employee at the Ministry when, out of the blue, a young woman asked them if they were coworkers. His eyes widened slightly, observing just how hyper this one was. Were most new hires this excited for their first day at the Ministry? Or did someone drink a whole pot of coffee before coming to work? After Willy introduced himself to her, he said, "Tancred Adara. Dragon Commissioner."

He would have offered handshakes to Miss Hyper and the other women that had shown up at the reception area, but Willy had moved on to the next room. Tancred followed suit, giving each of the women a friendly wave before heading toward the cubicles.

"So this is it, then?" he asked, looking around the place. He could definitely get used to this.

"Getting paid extra?" William let out a short, not too happy, laugh at that. "Yeah, sure I am." Security schemurity. He knew a few people on Level Two who would get a laugh out of him being security.

When they were a little ways away from the reception, William glanced over his shoulder and leaned in toward Tanc a little. "These new ones though... huh. Either they get younger and younger every year or I get older and older." Pretty soon he'd have former students working with him if he didn't watch out!

So, this was it. "Yep." Willy glanced around with a nod and wandered over to his own desk, propping his bum against it. "This is mine. I think you can probably pick any one... unless you get a fancy desk, Mr. Dragon Commissioner?" Had he heard that title right? Of course he had, William wasn't dumb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

"Getting paid extra?" William let out a short, not too happy, laugh at that. "Yeah, sure I am." Security schemurity. He knew a few people on Level Two who would get a laugh out of him being security.

When they were a little ways away from the reception, William glanced over his shoulder and leaned in toward Tanc a little. "These new ones though... huh. Either they get younger and younger every year or I get older and older." Pretty soon he'd have former students working with him if he didn't watch out!

So, this was it. "Yep." Willy glanced around with a nod and wandered over to his own desk, propping his bum against it. "This is mine. I think you can probably pick any one... unless you get a fancy desk, Mr. Dragon Commissioner?" Had he heard that title right? Of course he had, William wasn't dumb.

Tancred gave Willy a look when he made that not-very-happy-sounding laugh. Security was a touchy subject, eh? Deciding not to press the matter, he gave his friend a smile and continued walking alongside him. Magical Creatures work area, here they come!

A laugh escaped his mouth at Willy's comment about the young hyper woman that they had briefly met at reception. "She sure seemed excited about working." Hopefully the women's outlook would stay like that, minus all the hyper activity. "Oh, gosh. Don't even talk to me about getting older. My kids remind me of that on a regular basis." He chuckled and rolled his eyes. 35 (going on 36) wasn't that old, right? Nah.

Noticing Willy propping himself against a desk, Tancred assumed that they had finally arrived at where they would be working together. Setting his box on a random desk, he gave the area a quick go-over. It was obvious that this was the dragon section of the department. And then he heard something about getting a fancy desk? "I don't see why I would need a fancy desk. This will do just fine."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe

Tancred gave Willy a look when he made that not-very-happy-sounding laugh. Security was a touchy subject, eh? Deciding not to press the matter, he gave his friend a smile and continued walking alongside him. Magical Creatures work area, here they come!

A laugh escaped his mouth at Willy's comment about the young hyper woman that they had briefly met at reception. "She sure seemed excited about working." Hopefully the women's outlook would stay like that, minus all the hyper activity. "Oh, gosh. Don't even talk to me about getting older. My kids remind me of that on a regular basis." He chuckled and rolled his eyes. 35 (going on 36) wasn't that old, right? Nah.

Noticing Willy propping himself against a desk, Tancred assumed that they had finally arrived at where they would be working together. Setting his box on a random desk, he gave the area a quick go-over. It was obvious that this was the dragon section of the department. And then he heard something about getting a fancy desk? "I don't see why I would need a fancy desk. This will do just fine."

Like a good friend, Tanc didn't comment on the security... thing anymore. Atta man.

"That's how you can tell she's new. She's still excited about working," William let out another chuckle. Right.... kiiiiiiiids! He had kids. And a wife. William knew that. "How old are they getting?" he inquired curiously. Tancred was not old, just... if he was old, then William was OLDE with an e on the end. Like really, really old.

Yeah, alright fancy desk. "So what made you come to the Ministry?" Willy was just FULL OF QUESTIONS today. "Did Wales kick ya out?" He grinned a little bit. Only joking, mate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Like a good friend, Tanc didn't comment on the security... thing anymore. Atta man.

"That's how you can tell she's new. She's still excited about working," William let out another chuckle. Right.... kiiiiiiiids! He had kids. And a wife. William knew that. "How old are they getting?" he inquired curiously. Tancred was not old, just... if he was old, then William was OLDE with an e on the end. Like really, really old.

Yeah, alright fancy desk. "So what made you come to the Ministry?" Willy was just FULL OF QUESTIONS today. "Did Wales kick ya out?" He grinned a little bit. Only joking, mate.

He smirked at Willy's comment about the young woman. Yes, she was very excited about working. That was necessarily a bad thing, though. Work could be worth getting excited about (especially when it came to dragonology). Maybe not that excited, but Tancred had a hunch that there was a lot of coffee in that tiny body.

"Chloe is thirteen, and Robert and Spencer are twelve," he responded, reaching into his box of belongings. It was time to unpack and get settled in. "They're all back at Hogwarts now that the holidays are over. So Amelia and I are back to having a quiet house again." Now they could clean up the place and take a bit of a breather while the school had those little rascals until Easter.

Out of the box and onto his desk came a pile of dragon books, followed by pictures of his wife and children. "Oh, yeah, they totally kicked me out," Tancred said sarcastically, setting a picture of the twins being complete goofballs down. "But no. I actually just wanted a change of scenery. It just felt like the right thing to do after being at the reserve in Wales for thirteen years." Now he was here. Tada!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe

He smirked at Willy's comment about the young woman. Yes, she was very excited about working. That was necessarily a bad thing, though. Work could be worth getting excited about (especially when it came to dragonology). Maybe not that excited, but Tancred had a hunch that there was a lot of coffee in that tiny body.

"Chloe is thirteen, and Robert and Spencer are twelve," he responded, reaching into his box of belongings. It was time to unpack and get settled in. "They're all back at Hogwarts now that the holidays are over. So Amelia and I are back to having a quiet house again." Now they could clean up the place and take a bit of a breather while the school had those little rascals until Easter.

Out of the box and onto his desk came a pile of dragon books, followed by pictures of his wife and children. "Oh, yeah, they totally kicked me out," Tancred said sarcastically, setting a picture of the twins being complete goofballs down. "But no. I actually just wanted a change of scenery. It just felt like the right thing to do after being at the reserve in Wales for thirteen years." Now he was here. Tada!

Holy Merlin's Beard, Tanc's kids were TEENAGERS already?! "No waaaaaay," William stared at his old friend a bit. He watched as dragon books and pictures of the family were unpacked, and moved from his desk over to his buddy's to pick up said picture. "That's crazy! Those are YOUR kids?" He pointed at the fame and then at Tanc and then back to the picture before setting it down again. "Well they definitely got their looks from their mother......."

JUST kidding. Hehe. But when did they all get so old?! No wonder he wanted peace and quiet...

"People get kicked out of countries all the time." Or was that just him? Willy shrugged with a small grin, returning to his desk to properly sit down and check over some paperwork that had come in today. "I'm glad you're here though. There's never enough dragon lovers at the Ministry!" But now they had a good start.