Sophia wondered if the Minister had been waiting on her arrival judging from how the meeting started soon after she got settled. And to thing, she didn't even had time to fix the nail that chipped on the lifts!

Oh. Introductions. Well that was always a good way to start the meeting. Nodding idly at all the other names, she smiled proudly, raising her chin only slightly at the mention of her introduction. Of course she was certainly not least; she was after all Sophia Anne Vivaldi. Though not quite famous, she should be.

Ah Reagan was quite the joker; the one who signs their paychecks. Original and funny one she was, Sophia sighed, deciding it was going to be a long meeting. Recent events at Hogwarts school though? Hmm, she hadn't the slightest what happened there but since Anastasia Bunbury worked there now, then there was little surprise in her mind that something happened. That woman was always a nutcase.

Questions before beginning? Would asking about instating a dress code be highly inappropriate? Undoubtedly, yes, Sophia decided, averting her eyes from the Creatures Department Head who she eyed for a moment disdainfully.

Turning back towards Reagan, she blinked when she thought Brian Lee's idea of them mingling was a good idea. If it meant social time with Tetrus, then she would definitely have to sit that social event out. Oh, more meetings? Well that was just lovely. And for matters of her liaison, well let's just hope it was a he and he was quite eye-pleasing. Because she wasn't sure she could handle much less than that. Oh yes, Sophia Anne had most definitely high standards.

Listening their new minister sharing her views over his question, Brian nodded finally. "Thank you for considering my idea Ms. Reagan. And I'm up for organizing this socializing events." he paused and looking at others reactions for few seconds. "I've some ideas already and I do really hope and looking forward everyone's contribution about this thing. " he put a full stop for his short yet positive response and sat down on his chair to listen the following proceedings.

More meetings, Utilising laisions more...etc..everything sounded good. But the only problem was implementation. Brian leaned back on his chair, hands folded across his chest, listening.

The idea of social events for the department heads themselves was mulling over in Liliana's head. She pushed it to the back, not quite able to get rid of it, since she thought it was a wonderful idea, it would give her a chance to get to know some of her co-workers a little better. Maybe she should talk to Brian about it. She's never actually met Brain before this, but if her thoughts were correct, he was Iains best friends husband. She hadn't been able to join Iain for their wedding as she had been away, but she'd have to talk to him about helping organizing that.

She focused her thoughts on what Reagan as saying. More meetings. Okay she could deal with that one. As for her liason, Lili thought she'd only met then once, maybe she'd have seek them out so she knew who it was.

Pleased with Brian's acceptable of the role as social coordinator, Reagan smiled and nodded in his direction before further discussing the liaisons. "For your reference, and you should probably all jot this down, the names of your liaisons are as follows: Education - Cornelius Copernicus and Blackfire Star. Law - Tonya Springs and Selena Meller. Accidents - Cambell Robinson and Katy Weston. Creatures - Abigail Reynolds and Sarah Lee. International - Clay Killian and Claudian Slughorn. Transportation - Chad Stryker. Games & Sports - Ethan Belden. Mysteries - Amber Thatcher and Amatril Myrthundlin. The assignments change from time to time, so if you're looking for your liaison and you're not sure who it is, check the assignment board in the Minister's Office."

Once the scratching of the quills died down, Reagan continued with her next change, "It has come to my attention that some of our larger departments have had trouble recently maintaining their efficiency. I think it is time we restructure those departments so that we are utilizing our employees to the fullest potential. With that said, consolidation of divisions will be occurring in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"Mr. Wordsmith, as per our private owl, we have already decided upon how this change will be implemented. I'd like to see that occur as soon as possible.

"Mr. Santana, I'd like for you to either remain at the conclusion of this meeting or owl me privately about the consolidation of your department, as well."

Reagan gave no time for interjections just yet. They had lots of stuff still to cover! "Lastly, in terms of changes, I intend for the Ministry to dedicate a fairly significant part of the new budget toward renovations at St. Mungo's Hospital, which means that I need to pull the money from somewhere else. While we may raise taxes a bit, I'd really like to see what cutbacks we can make within the department. Please each develop a budget report for your department, listing what you need in the coming year for equipment, supplies, etcetera and have them delivered to my Undersecretary no later than three weeks time.

"Any questions before I move on to the recent event at Hogwarts?"

Bella leaned back in her seat and simply listened as the Minister and a few of her fellow Department Heads discussed matters such as social events and liaisons. Social events were definitely right up Bella's alley. She smiled at Brian and gave him a discrete thumbs-up sign. She'd never guessed that one of the men would be the one to bring up such a topic, but hey, who was she to complain? She had to admit that the idea was a great one.

She'd also recently met her liaison, Mr. Chad Stryker. He'd paid her a visit just in time to be witness to the works of a madwoman, aka Darla LaLa Puff. What an impression the department had given him, eh? He seemed very polite and understanding, though, and Bella was eager to work with him. She'd honestly love nothing more than to have Stryker come and permanently join her on level six. He wouldn't be able to, of course, but that didn't stop Bella from thinking highly of the man all the same.

Budget reports, though? That was definitely something Bella wasn't exactly skilled in. Maybe she could work on them at home and have Alexander...or Anna...give her a helping hand. She very well could be selling herself short, though. After all, she'd done a fairly good job as Department Head so far. Or, rather, at least she thought she had. She sat up straight and tall in her chair and jotted down a few additional notes on the parchment in front of her.

Syd nodded and took notes in his own version of shorthand. There were lots of abbreviations and symbols strewn about on his legal pad and he merely pointed the tip of his pen to the Minister when she mentioned him. He underlined the word BUDGET and circled it a couple times to make sure he remembered.

"If I can jump on in here a sec," Syd said, looking up from his pad. "I've got everyone headin' to their new posts. There'll probably be a little bit of confusion, but most people will be doin' the same or similar job. They should get used to it purdy quick. And I'm waitin' on a few new division heads so I think I may have to put my budget on hold until I can get everyone's take."

Ben scribbled notes on his pad furiously, jotting down the names of his liasions first. He had already met Katy, as she had taken it upon herself to come have a meeting with him within the first couple of days after her hiring--such a nice young woman! He had yet to meet this Cambell person, however, so he jotted down the name as well and underlined it so he would remember that he hadn't met with Cambell yet. He also wrote down a quick note reminding himself that these positions could change--it would be just his luck to go wandering around the Ministry looking for Clambell or Katy only to find out they were not working for him anymore.

He sat back and listened as she talked about combining more divisions--he thought about how he had recently done that on his own level and it had worked out sooooo nicely. Levels 2 and 4 really DID have a LOT of divisions, now that he thought about that. Those poor Heads down there must be scrambling to keep tabs on all of them!

Ben tapped his chin with his quill as he tried to think of a good budget for his level. Was there really anything he DESPERATELY needed? Perhaps a couple of new quills and inkwells for his Experimental Charms committee--all had been lost in the fire--but other than that, he was pretty sure he was set. After the meeting he would definitely have to do rounds to see if anything was needed. Hopefully not--the more money they could donate to St. Mungos, the better.

Once again, he shook his head indicating that he had no questions and was ready to move on.

As making a mental note of Liaisons names, Brian stopped collecting datas and wondered. No liaison for his department? Oh..wow. He had no clue about this. Did she forget to allot one? When Brian was about to ask this, Syd, the department Head of Law Enforcement placed his doubts. Brian waited for him to finish first.

And about this Law department. Brian already heard some stuffs through Becca so basically it was not new to him now. Expected one. Then the budget. He had already a list in hand to submit to his higher offcial. He rolled up his sleeves a bit and rested his hands on his thighs, making sure that he had no doubts or questions to ask besides this Liaison thing.

Lili scrawled down the names of the liasons for her department as Reagan listed off all of the names for the various departments. She thought she had met one of them, but she wasn't sure about the other one.

Budget. Three weeks. She added that to her notes as well, but there was one thing that came to her mind right away. And thankfully, Reagan asked if they had any questions. "Do you want us to budget for everything? Or what will we do if half way through the year we need something else. I'm new at this whole making budget thing, so I was just wondering. Maybe we could leave a little tiny bit of extra just incase? And if we don't use it, then that too goes towards St. Mungos?"

Samantha, being so new to her current position, continued to write down notes. They were still in the very early stages of this conference, but at some point she knew it would be her job to call the liaisons in so that they could join in with the Department Heads. Samantha loved the prospect of working with both the Department Heads and the liaisons more, realizing that she had been somewhat secluded in her time at the Ministry, she was now eager to have more contact and work with people and being the Undersecretary was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Reagan considered Syd and his comment, and though she didn't like the presumption with which he assumed he'd be putting his budget on hold, Reagan was gracious and acquiesced. "You get a one week extension, as you are two division heads short and you're undergoing a significant change in structuring."

"Account for everything you know you need and estimate what you think you might need for unforseen things that might come up. There will, of course, be funds for just that purpose for each department. Departments like Accidents & Catastrophes, which are very difficult to hazard a guess on the unforeseen, will receive a higher alotment of 'extra' funds than a department like Education, which is easier to forecast, but all departments will have some 'extra' funding, with the surplus being used for St. Mungo's."

_______________

Since it seemed that Lili's question was the last, Reagan continued, "Moving on to the next piece of business... I'm sure most of you, if not all, are aware of the unfortunate turn of events at Hogwarts School last term during a special assembly. What was meant to be an educational opportunity in which the students observed Professor Alessia Lupa transform under the influence of Wolfsbane potion, turned out to be a frightening and potentially emotionally scarring catastrophe in which Lupa, in her werewolf form, attacked Headmaster Bontecou, who is now... infected as well." Reagan's facial expression was very somber.

"Bontecou will remain as Headmaster, though there are many conditions upon which our agreement rests. I will not share them with you all, as they are private, but please know that I would not allow him to resume his post if arrangements were not being made to assure this doesn't ever happen again. Though this issue does not professionally involve many of your departments, I thought it important that you be made aware of the circumstances. The Law Enforcement Department will continue to investigate until the culprit behind the potion tampering is found and brought to justice.

"Also, I need to meet with the Department Heads of Education, Law Enforcement and Magical Creatures at the end of this meeting to discuss arrangements."

Samantha listened carefully, surprised that Headmaster Bontecou was remaining at Hogwarts though she thought that was fair. He had always struck her as a very nice man upon all her dealings with him in the past, and she was very sorry that he was now infected. She wondered if he was a werewolf as well, and wondered what Hogwarts was going to be like this term. She missed her old department in a way, but was glad in another way to be away from all of this craziness. Jake was going to have his hands full, she thought, giving him a glimpse and hoping he was up to all of this.

"We'll be on the case. Aaand any extra security you need will be kindly provided, ma'am. I know some of my team's itchin' to get out..." Syd said, twirling his pen with his fingers.

"And I think once we can get ourselves a few clues we'll be perfectly able to catch the culprit. Nothin' like a good investigation."

"Thank you, Syd. Please be sure you do catch him or her before they either get away for good or act again. Just be sure the investigation is thorough and when we send this person to the Wizengamot, they'll be put in Azkaban without question."

____________

Despite the somber matter they were just discussing, Reagan had some good news that might cheer everyone up. "Switching gears here... On a lighter note, I have a very important and exciting international event to announce, one that this very Ministry will be hosting... It is going to take months of planning and hard work, but I know this team is more than capable of making it happen. And it will be such fun entertainment once it is accomplished. So, without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our very own Ministry of Magic has been selected to host the next," pause for dramatic effect, "QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP!"

Samantha had been busy taking notes the whole time, making sure she got everything correctly. As she heard mention of the Quidditch World Cup she suddenly raised her head and smiled. The Ministry was going to have a chance to really show the entire wizarding world what they could to, to truly redeem everything bad that had ever happened in their eyes. How exciting! She looked from the Minister to the Head of Magical Education, eager to hear more and with her quill ever at the ready.

Lili must have to clean her ears. Did Reagan just say Quidditch World Cup?!?!?! She couldn't have. Lili's pen had been over the table, all geared to keep taking notes and her hand was frozen in midair as she went over and over what Reagan had just announced.

When she finally found her voice she said, "that is amazing! The Quidditch World Cup in Britain again! What do I need to do to help make this amazing!?"

Bella was certainly glad Lili had asked a few questions about the budgets. She was actually considering doing so herself until the level five department head spoke up. Quill still in hand, Bella looked towards Reagan and prepared to jot down any notes that would help her prepare a budget, as well. As the Minister talked, Bella wrote, and she started to think that making this budget really wouldn't be so difficult to do after all. So all she pretty much needed to do was plan out what she'd need, what she thought she'd need, and how much money all of it would cost. That sounded simple enough.

Bella remained quiet as Reagan discussed the werewolf incident involving Alessia Lupa and Reynard Bontecou. Anna, her daughter, had been at that assembly, and it still horrified Bella to think that Anna could have easily been severely injured. Thank Merlin she hadn't, but Bella was, above everything else, a mother, so of course her primary thoughts had been of Anna. The conversation was quickly turning to some big event they were to be a part of. Bella stopped writing, put her quill down, and turned to face her boss. Reagan seemed extremely excited, so Bella was, of course, completely intrigued.

A Quidditch World Cup? Oh, Merlin, how exciting! Those quidditch players were always really nice to look at fun to watch play! Anna and Alexander would have a fit when they found out! Cale, too! Bella would have gotten up and done a little victory dance, but this was neither the time nor the place. "Oh, that's wonderful! Exciting! Thrilling, even!" she replied. Now this would be one exciting event to plan for!

Ben was only half listening at this point. Ahhh budgets. A very boring job requirement indeed. And as bad as he felt for that poor Bontecou fellow, there was nothing they could do for the bloke. That was soooo sad and depressing!

But then, he perked up when he heard her exclaim the big surprise she had been saving for the end. EEEEP! QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP! "Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed, unable to think of anything else to say. This was fantastic! Terrific! It was so exciting! It was better than...than...ORIGAMI!

"When do we get started on planning?" he asked with interest, practically ready to dart out of his seat and run to Level 3 to begin all their work. Forget that he didn't even know what they were planning for on his level yet, he was ready to GOOOO!

Listening to the questions and answers that were tossed around the table, Sophia glanced upward at the mention of her liaisons. Amber Thatcher - a woman she met briefly, seemed nice enough. And another Amathrel? Mithlin? yeaaa.... Whatever!! She would have to learn his name at another time, pronunciation included, because clearly one of liaisons had to be the one with the most difficult name. Sigh. If he was cuteee though, then it'd so be worth it anyway.

Oh, consolidation of some of the larger departments? Sure her department had six divisions, but they were pretty close-knit already, so Sophia was thankful she wasn't one of the ones that needed further consolidation.

Perking up at the comment of Budget reports needed within three weeks, the brunette drew a deep breath. Math was definitely not one of strong points; she could do potions, but formulas and inventory ... forget it! Perhaps one of her division heads would be willing to offer some help with the numbers....

As the topic than moved to Hogwarts incident - one which she knew little about but assumed it had to do with Anastasia, she frowned when Reagan claimed it was an incident involving the Headmaster and Professor Lupa. Obviously Annie was behind it; who else would do something so manipulative? Shaking her head, she sighed and nodded when the Minister said the culprit behind the potion tampering would be found and brought to justice. She already knew the culprit though; it was obvious to anyone who ever knew Bunbury would know what she was capable of.

Switching gears though, Sophia's hazel eyes gleamed at the next topic. The surprise of the afternoon, no doubt. Checking the reactions of the other heads to ensure she heard the Minister correctly and she was not dreaming, her expression quickly changed from one of shock and surprise to one of pure happiness. The Quidditch World Cup. In Britain!! She knew she should have pursued a course in professional quidditch

"Wow! So a couple months planning, you said? When is the anticipated date of the cup then? Next summer?" Because these massive events, particularly when held in a well-known country such as Britain, were held in the summertime, right?

Reagan's eyes met with Samantha's, which reminded her that the liaisons needed to be present for this part. "Ms. Rose, could you please call the liaisons in to join us for the remainder of the meeting? Thank you."

Quite pleased with the level of excitement emanating from Lili, "Oh, we'll get to that in just a moment! We're going to go over details for all of the departments once the liaisons have arrived."

"Right away. There are certain requests that I must make of each of your departments and I will detail those for all of you just as soon as the liaisons are here. Then I'd like for you to inform your own employees and start planning!"

Reagan nodded, "Yes, next summer. Just under a year actually. But that is a lot less time than it sounds! We need to be extremely productive in our planning and execution of this event. I think the Quidditch World Cup will be just the thing to restore the confidences of our foreign counterparts in our Ministry! So it needs to be perfect!"

And that was Rex's cue to stand up. "It will be despite the naysayers who say that Britain is incapable of hosting such a prestigious event since the fiasco in the 90s. However we will prove them wrong," he began and started to walk around the conference table as he spoke. The tone of his strong voice was that of sheer confidence and rightly so - he knew what he was doing. He'd organized two world cups in the past fifteen years - no one had ever done that. "Those same naysayers claimed that Quidditch could never be played in the desert. But I proved them wrong. Death Valley in '62 was on a scale never seen before in the wizarding world and very profitable, too. The largest stadium ever built and it held a capacity crowd of 350,000. But we're not out to do one up on the Americans who obviously like to do everything bigger and better than everyone else." Rex paused and grinned. "It's all about class. We have class and a rich heritage - we are the home of Quidditch," he said as he returned to his vacant chair and thumped the table with his fist. "Together, we will organize and promote the World Cup that no one will ever forget. Let's put the fiasco of the past to rest and show the world that the British Ministry of Magic can rise to the occasion. We can do it!" Now he was acting like a coach who was giving his team a pre-game pep talk.

Syd sat back and nodded. Sports. Now his officers will be off running around to try and stop a bunch of rowdy kids and their jokes and yelling and... now he was starting to sound like an old man inside of his own head. He didn't even know what he had to do yet. For all he knew he'd be on locker room duty. That could be fun... getting to meet the celebrity players...

Maybe, just maybe.

"Certainly, Minister Taylor," Samantha answered, standing up and leaving the room. "I'll be right back," she told the group. She was tingling with excitement over the prospect of the Quidditch World Cup, but was able to keep her emotions in check. She had a feeling the other Department Heads were just as excited as she was, and was sure the liaisons would be excited as well.

When the door to the Level One Conference Room opened up again, a rather large wizard was standing on the other side of it behind Senior Undersecretary Rose and the witches and wizards with whom he shared a title and who came with him.

There she was. Claudian felt his throat tighten up from his nerves as he stepped into the conference room. The charm of a face to face meeting with Minister Taylor and the various Heads of Departments for the first time had its novelty, though he quelled his awe long enough to address clearly.

"Minister Taylor, Department Heads." He greeted the others in the room as he entered slowly and completely aware that they were surrounded by the top dogs as far as Wizarding Society could be concerned. "You wished to have us present for the Conference?" He was grateful. This would be a perfect opportunity to see how the different departments related to one another as well as to observe who was who and gather any information that might help them do their jobs more efficiently.

Brian leaned back on the chair, listening the proceedings relaxingly. Quiddit World Cup now back to Britain. It means Teams, Star players, fun...crowd and security measures too.

Brian started pressing the tabs to plan for this event. He knew it was a loborious work to control the massive crowd but still it would be challenging and fun.