 Conley, got any pancakes left?
Jane had returned very late last night (or early this morning, to be exact) from her trip to Europe over the holidays, and hadn't bothered to dress in anything special for this gathering (truth be told, she had forgotten it was being held until she arrived at the Ministry).
She was holding a very strong mug of coffee in both hands--not a custom mug, but the one her boss, Airey Flamsteed, had gifted her with last year as a token of appreciation for her work. To be honest, Jane thought it rather garish, but she was touched that he had chosen to acknowledge her achievement with the healing elixir, so she continued to use it. Besides, it held a satisfyingly large amount of coffee.
Portkeying overseas always made Jane a bit queasy and she was not really in the mood for a large meal, but she felt she'd better have something to avoid offense. It looked like the different departments had tables serving different foods. She looked around curiously, wondering if the Dept. of Mysteries had a table, and then noticed that Conley Singh-Phora was flipping pancakes at one of them. Jane smiled and walked over to try one. Somehow, from the man's harassed manner, she suspected he was not much into cooking.
"Good morning, Mr. Singh-Phora," she said solemnly as she arrived at his table. "I had no idea you were a chef. May I try a sample?" |