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British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters You walk into the Division after passing through a rather heavy wooden door adorned with a "British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters." Inside, it's a fairly simple room. The walls are grey, as are the dividers between each employee's cubicle. However, the grey says NOTHING about how lively this division is. People are always hustling and bustling about and there are constantly interdepartmental memos flying about. Currently, the office is still in restoration process after being attacked by rogue bludgers on two separate (possibly related) incidences. At the end of the rows of cubicles, there is a door that leads into the division head's office. Inside, the shades are open to let in the beautiful sunshine behind a large, oak desk covered in papers with referee contracts and schedules and other inquiries. Next to the windows is a list of all the teams in Britain and Ireland. On the other side of the team list, there is a giant calender on which Ian writes in meetings and matches. Unless he is in the break room, the cafeteria, or mingling about the office, he's in his office. Next to the division head's office, there is a large conference room filled only with a long oak table lined with chairs. The environment is very warm. You can tell by the way people smile that they enjoy their work here and enjoy the people with whom the work. It's a friendly atmosphere where people genuinely care about each other. Employees, come on in, take a seat and get to work! Feel free to mingle with your fellow employees as well! Just make sure you get your work done! British & Irish Quidditch League Division Head - Skander Beckett (Esme) British & Irish Quidditch League Division Employees Dani Campbell (LilyLunaGinnyPotter) Axel Hoover (Yusrieee) Rachel Rodriguez (Prongs.RJGirl) Elise Aldridge (DreamingOutLoud) Chloe Wormwood (LunaticLady) |
It was 6 AM, and Mr. Ian M. Ashby was already rolling into work. His gut, the result of not really being too physically active for quite a few years now, bounced jovially as Ashby swaggered (to his own theme song, of course) down the rows of cubicles. If anyone else had been around, he would have stopped to tell a story worthy of knee-slapping laughter, or a joke deserving of a short, but hearty chuckle. No one was around yet, though. Nevertheless, he could already tell that today was going to be a good day. When Ashby reached his office, he quickly unlocked his door, as he always did, and turned the sign on his door from "The Wizard is Out" to "The Wizard is In." As soon as his door was opened the slightest bit, the office was flooded with sunlight, and seemed to fill the entire department with the same feeling Ashby was feeling right now. There was just a welcoming feel to it. He rested his briefcase on his desk and removed his navy blue cloak, placing it on a cloak rack. Inside the room, there was a list of the British and Irish Quidditch teams and their current standings and scores. It updated itself after every match. Currently, the Appleby Arrows were in first place by the slim margin of 130 points, followed closely by (surprisingly enough) the Chudley Cannons. Ashby was upset that his old team, Puddlemere United was not on top as it had been when he was the captain, but he enjoyed quidditch so much that it didn't really matter this much (except for the occasional bet at the after-work relaxation session at the local pub). Anyway, instead of opening his briefcase right away, he sat down in his chair and simply propped his feet up onto his desk, his hands, laced together, atop his head, and leaned back in the most comfortable chair on earth. His door remained open for anyone who needed to pop in either just to say hello, or to ask a question. |
Shylo hurried into her office, and hour early as usual. She was never late, as her job was her passion. She smiled slightly as she noticed that Mr Ashby was already in his office, but she untucked her hair from her ear, creating a dark, silky barrier between them. She hurried past him, mumbling a quick hello, before disappearing into her cubicle. She switched the sign on the door, and settled at her desk. Once comfortable, Shylo pulled her hair back into a messy bun, and placed her reading glasses gently onto her nose. She stifled a yawn, and pulled a file towards herself. It was going to be a long day. Afterall, she had a night shift this evening. |
Ashby had his feet positioned on his desk so there was a slight crack in the wall his feet created. The crack was just big enough for him to see a blur pass by. Judging by the hour of the arrival, though, he guessed that it was Shylo. Unfortunately for Ashby, his mouth was currently stuffed with muffin - blueberry, to be exact. However, he had forgotten this, and managed a "Morning," through the oodles of bread crumbs that currently called his palette home. How he did it, we will never know. But the greeting was exchanged, nonetheless. Once he had finished his bite of the blueberry muffin of the gods, he pulled his legs off his desk (which took a great amount of effort, considering the size of his jello-esque gut). He dismounted from his chair (sticking the landing, of course), and left the chair spinning slightly in its place. He meandered on over to Shylo's cubicle, where he found a somewhat disheveled Shylo. "You know, you don't need to work forever," he said, jokingly. "Anyway, how are you on this fine day? Did you have a late night?" he asked politely. Ashby always made it a point to be on friendly terms with his employees. He didn't really see himself as their superior, but rather a more experienced team member. He wanted to be the kind of boss who could go out and have fun with his employees as friends. |
Shy almost fell off of her seat as Mr Ashby poked his head around the cubicle. Hmm. Shy by name, shy by nature seemed to be the appropriate statement to describe her. She shoved a file over the piece of paper which she had been drawing love hearts containing the initials A.Y. Alexander Young. Ohhh, how she had fallen for him. Hard. "M-morning Ian. I-I mean Mr Ashby, sir." Shylo spluttered, managing to spill her coffee down her shirt. She flicked her wand over the mess, and the stain disappeared. "Forever? I...well...no one else is going to get the work done." She mumbled, placing her coffee cup upright on the desk, and turning slowly on her chair. She managed to keep her eyes on the floor. "I'm very...the same today, thank you, sir, Mr Ashby, sir. And yourself?" |
Lucrecia wandered into the office area a few minutes before she was supposed to be there. Luce didn't like being early but she didn't like being late either so nearly on time would be the words to describe what she was at the moment. Of course Mr. Ashby and Shylo were already in having a conversation. That happened frequently since Shylo was the girl who got there extremely early to start her work. Of course Luce would talk to the girl about this sooner or later because she wondered what her motives were but it would not take place around Ashby. "Mornin' Mr. Ashby. Mornin' Shylo." Luce gave the both of them a kind smile as she walked past them and took a seat in her cubicle. She got a file out and started reading it. Time for work. |
Cristoph walked into the office, checking his watch again. At least he was only a few minutes late. Eh. There weren't a lot of people around anyway. There was Mr. Ashby, though, whom he recognized to be his Division Head. Excellent. Better to make a good impression now and screw up later. "Mornin' Mr Ashby," he said, nodding his head, a smile on his face. He then saw the girl he was talking to. Apparently another employee, he nodded towards her as well. He looked through several cubicles, serching for his own. After a few 'oopses' and 'excuse me's', he'd finally found his own cubicle and plopped down on the office chair, automatically putting his hands behind his head. Ah, he was finally in the office. He kicked a drawer open gently, got out a couple of folders, and started reading through them. Finally. Work which involved Quidditch. |
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"No one? My, my. Shylo, we must restore your faith in people! Do not fret. Work always gets done around here. You needn't do all of it. That's what the others are here for." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, you are quite welcome. I'm quite well today. The sun is shining, and we've got a match to plan! I couldn't be better!" Quote:
He raised a hand to Luce in greetings. "'Lo, there, Luce. How goes it?" Quote:
Yes..he remembered his first day. He was fresh out of the league and was looking for an office job. He was still nervous, despite his extensive knowledge of quidditch. He had no idea what Theo was going to be like...but that was back before he knew the old chap. "Oh! People," he said, calling his other employees back. "I'd like to introduce you to a new addition to our team. This is Cristoph. He'll be working with us from now on, so I expect you to treat him like family." He clapped the young man on the shoulder, hoping to make him feel more at home. "Now then, we've got quite a task on our shoulders today. We've got to do all of the paperwork for the upcoming Appleby-Kenmare match. Now then, status update. What else do you need to do? Theo has asked me to take care of the official, so I will be sending out a few owls today. Does anyone have any ideas for people? Theo wants to have the official checked. We can't have a biased official, now can we? We don't want a repeat of the Tushtill-Ballycastle match, now do we?" He chuckled, waiting for the others' responses. |
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Cris looked around when Ian started calling for the other employees. Eh. Time to make friends already? He nodded at each of them, and extended his hand to anyone who would shake it. It seemed that most of the employees were women. Ugh. Not that it was a problem, but during school, he wasn't exactly keen on working with females, though he had a lot of female friends. "Nice to meet all of you. Looking forward to working with you," he acknowledged. So, they were like family here? That would be even better, then. Oh. Set to work already. He listened as Ian filled them in. "Huh. That Tushtill-Ballycastle match shouldn't have been valid," he commented, smirking a bit. "Biased officials," he mumbled with a shake of his head. |
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"I think we'll all get along great," he added, nodding. Ashby turned toward Cris. "Yes. The employee who hired him was promptly fired, and the department head and I are currently working on getting that official removed from the list of approved officials. Honestly! How could he even call cobbing when the players were nowhere near one another? And that snitch sure materialized conveniently close to the Tushtill seeker." He always got worked up over that match. Not one of his finer moments. Thank goodness that employee was fired. Ashby smirked. Since it happened, he always used that story to scare his new employees just enough so they'd respect his authority. "So, not that you'd need this, but let this be a lesson not to bypass me or Theo in making decisions." He looked sternly toward Cris, making sure the newbie understood. |
Heath sat in his cubicle with a broad grin on his face. He was so pleased to finally be working for the Ministry and in his chosen field! He pulled a file towards him ready to jump right in. |
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Ian was about to continue with his morning briefing when he heard a rustling a cubicle or two away. It was then that he realized it was Heath. "Oye! Heath, come join us! We'd love for you to grace us with your presence. We've got some important stuff to cover, too." He motioned his hand for Heath to come join the crowd. "Did you hear all the tasks for the day?" Quote:
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However, as Mr Ashby...er...Ian mentioned planning a match, a grin spread across Shylo's face. "Oh, super!" She exclaimed. Quote:
"Which ground will the Appleby match be on?" She asked. "Appleby, or Kenmare?" |
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He nodded at Ian's acknowledgement. He seemed to be nodding a lot at that time. When he was commended on his grip, he chuckled a bit. "Ha... Well, thank you sir," he told him, tilting his head. "You can most definitely count on me. I've got years of experience," he added confidently. He didn't know if 7 years of travelling and exploring Quidditch counted as experience, but that's what he thought of it. Cris took a few mental notes as Ashby continued to speak. There was obviously a lot to learn from this man. "Goodness. Some people just don't know their limitations," he commented. When the man smirked and sort of warned them (well, more of him, since he was new and all), he nodded in understanding. "Yes sir," he muttered. Quote:
"Uh. I don't really know what the exact requirements are for officials, but I've known a lot of officials from my many years of travel. I could probably owl one of them, too," he said, thoughtful. "Or, I could give you his address and you could owl him, sir?" he asked, directing his question to Ian. |
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"You're quite right there, Cris. I'm glad you understand." He nodded seriously (even though he was chuckling on the inside). "Well, first day on the job and you're already an all-star! Quite a good addition to the team, methinks." He nodded and smiled widely, his eyes squishing, revealing his crow's feet and graceful wrinkles. "How's about you owl him? I like my employees to establish ties outside the Ministry. I think it's very important for business." Quote:
And then she went on about how she had...reminded...another previous employee NOT to call her Lucy. "Now, now, Luce, let's not scare the newbie TOO much. We want to keep him for at least a week." He chuckled again. Oh, how he loved his employees. They always joked with each other, and he loved that. The office was a place for work, sure, but Ian was a firm believer in making work fun. |
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"So, Chris." She asked, slightly timidly. "Where did you work before here?" As she asked this, Shylo scribbled a note to the Kenmare's captain, requesting that they use their ground. She attacked it to the tawney owl's leg, and it flew off. |
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Ashby turned to Cris and said, "Oh yes! Do tell us about yourself." Quote:
"I think a week is pretty generous. If we don't like him, we'll send him to the Centaur liaison division." He chuckled at his own joke, regardless of whether he had stolen it from Theo or not. "Luce, you're quite the party-animal, aren't you? I'm thinking the next one will be once we get this next game all planned and underway. You know what? I'm taking you all to the game - my treat. I'll get us one of those nice boxes. Prime seating." Ian was always so good to his employees. :P |
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When Ashby commented on him being an all-star, he gave another shrug. "Aww. Stop it, Ian. You're gonna make me blush," he said jokingly. He then nodded at the instruction to owl the person, and took out a piece of parchment from a nearby drawer. He scrawled a brief note on it quickly. No need for formalities. He knew the man well enough to send him a friendly letter. "Send it to Charles." And that was all he needed to tell the owl before it flew out of the window. "So... how is everything supposed to work around here, exactly?" he asked casually. Quote:
He gave a smirk. A respectful smirk, though. |
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Cris watched with amusement as Ian and Luce talked about the party, and about sending him to the Centaur division. Centaurs scared him a bit, but not entirely terrified. They fascinated him... sort of. "Fear not, Luce. I'm sure I'm going to last in this office for years to come," he told them. "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily." When his other co-worker, Heath, apeared, he gave him a grin and waved at him. "Hey," he greeted him simply, then overheard Luce talking about aparty again. He smiled. "Parties? I love parties! Especially those Victory Parties the Quidditch Teams have held," he gushed. Ugh. He sounded like a girl. And yet, he was proud that he was able to at least experience a couple of parties with those Quiddtich Players. |
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