The ministry was the last place Bryant Tomás wanted to be right now.

Sike! That was a joke. Although it shouldn't come as a surprise that he had a party with his work friends to attend to tonight—which he DITCHED by the way, so you're absolutely welcome, Jessica—Bryant also didn't want to miss his sister's first "official" day as a big bad foreign relations officer for the ministry. He knew how much this meant to her and even when he'd moaned a lot about it when she invited him as her plus one, there's not a thing in the world he'd drop to be supportive for her. Yes, even if it meant wearing something much more formal than his usual.

Also contrary to his sister's belief, he could actually appreciate plants. Well, some of them at least. He'd gone backpacking through Asia during his gap year before starting uni, and Bryant had encountered both mundane and magical flora of the most interesting kind. Rafflesia, anyone? That's only from Southeast Asia! He was admiring how well-maintained the flowers and shrubs were when he came across the...

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH.

"No kidding," he told himself. A Corpse Flower in the flesh! Jessica wasn't joking around. The twenty-six-year-old had taken a step back to properly bask in the presence of the giant flower, before finding his sister and joining her again. He's not lost, don't worry about it.

Would you look at that? Jessica's made friends already. Bryant could only imagine that wipe-tear look on their dad's face at this. He was gonna have to report back at their old man just so he could actually see that look on his face for real. "Glad I didn't lose you," he said, easing into the conversation Jessica was having with a couple (Genny and David) and another lady (Chloe). "Hello. Bryant Tomás, her brother." He didn't have a cool ministry position attached to his introduction, sorry.

Genny was grabbing two sparkling drinks for them when David had a small meltdown over his..."Cousin? Where?" She handed one glass to Davie and followed his eyes line to see a heavily bearded guy. He looked quite old. Since when did Davie have older cousins? Eh. She didn't have time to reply to that, because Airey was Davie's new boss? Genny grinned, "Oh you'll have fun! He's the best. I kind of envy you right now." Granted she didn't have a boss per se, so that could be even better, but their coach could be mean sometimes. Also, she noticed the blushing, he was cute, just like Sam, they both blushed easily. It made her like the teasing.

... hmm? Genny's eyes sparkled at the sight of not one, but two, women approaching them--Davie. WELL WELL WELL. Genny shook Jessica's hand happily with the hand that wasn't holding the drink. "Oh, very nice to meet you. Genny Tate. Davie's friend." She confessed immediately, not wanting to block any chances he had tonight. She could add she went with Davie WAY BACK to when they both had diapers but Genny actually didn't want to score one over Jessica. She thought Jessica was cute! And funny! The woman attempted to tease which in Genny's book was a good quality in women.

Chloe was cute, too, actually. Genny nodded smiling, "Genny Tate, I play for the Holyhead Harpies. Davie here generously agreed to take me on a ministry opening!" She batted her eyelashes at him, placing a gentle hand on his back before taking a sip from her drink. Mkay. "How come y'all met four months ago?" Was this a joke? A serious timeline? Genny wasn't really the smartest cookie in the box...

"No, thankfully it wasn't," she chuckled, answering his question about the one she saw back in Norway. Did he know that it was the most awful smell of all 'flowers'? He seemed to be knowledgeable in that regard. "Let's just say I would not be standing here close to it when it blooms," her smile came out more relaxed now. "Nice to speak to you," she answered to his introduction before slightly nodding at the ambassador next to them. "And you, ma'am." They seem to be of higher importance in the position ranks. "Uhm, I specialized in medical hybrid herbology when I did my degree in Oslo WU, I am quite open in what I am needed in the research department."

... hmm? Eureka turned to the new woman who joined them. "Thank you." She called her a herbologist which inexplicably made Eurie slightly blush, "I know a little, yeah," she answered humbly. "It remains in blooms for approximately twelve hours, females remain open longer." And to keep their distance as humans because wowyyyy the smell was going to ruin everyone's appetite for food.


Oh, so the girl wasn't asking him a question, because another woman joined the conversation. "Oh, the flower? I don't know if I still find giant flowers beautiful after.. ya know.. a few years ago." He chuckled lightly and tsked a little. Anyway, though. "I was just going to grab a drink, do you ladies need some too?" He could bring them some on his way.

Holiday was over and now it's time to go back to work.

Ava had such a delightful holiday by spending Christmas with Reed and his family, despite the cold family drama but she could feel her first time presence in their household (even though they have been together for like three years) was good. Was she ready for another new year in ministry? Well, she was. The thing with Azkaban escapes weren't done and there were some prisoners on the loose and that means she had to stay vigilant.

Why this event had to be held at the Greenhouse, the auror had no idea. Ministry Hollingberry usually do the orientations in a fun way, such as doing picnics or bowling and etc. Perhaps there was no budget on that or other reasons that she didn't know (not that she cared). Grabbing her drink, Ava noticed some familiar face who seemed new to the ministry like David, her first duel pair back in first year and his lady friend who was a Gryffindor and a year younger, then Healer Reed plus her former transfiguration professor. Why this felt like a Hogwarts reunion? Hehe.

"Auror Toussaint." Ava nodded and gave a polite greet as she saw the woman.


----------------------

Shang Wu didn't really have a Christmas break, honestly. End of ministry year was the busiest time for Human Resources officer because they had to prepare for new employee recruitment, reviewing their KPI and evaluation, not to mention they're also preparing for training and other stuffs, phew. Not that he minded, he didn't really like joining his family's extravagant Christmas dinner with the arrogant Chinese cousins who still made negative comment about how he's leaving his old work at one of the biggest accounting firm for this. Well, at least he could do his job and all the HR control better in here than there.

Forget about his old job, this was his third year in Ministry now. Shang Wu remembered there was a new HR officer but where on earth that person is? The 29 year-old just looked around with a drink on his hand, notices his new boss (Fletcher) with his plus one and just gave a polite smile to the man. The minister wasn't here yet, hopefully he's doing fine since that guy was rarely being late for this.

Jonathan eyed the woman next to Fletcher, he is not familiar with her(Jessa) but from the looks of it she is his plus one "How rude of me, hello I'm Jonathan Kim" he introduced himself to the woman as he gesture his hand.

Clink. Jonathan toasted to that then taking a small sip of the bubbly that looked really refreshing and delicious. He gave Fletcher a soft smile when he congratulated him as well. He was honored to be given this position and knowing that Fletcher trusts him "I will do my best" he replied with a smile and then again taking another sip of the cool beverage.

He should get seconds.




Kiko helped herself to a cupcake and a glass of juice. Startled when the man(Luther) next to her spoke, her eyes glanced at him. Uhhhmmm... Is he from the same division as hers? Kiko froze up a bit trying to think if the man looked familiar but he wasn't. He must not be from MLE, yeah? She takes another deep breath and then smiled at him- trying her best not to look awkward or weird at all. "I-" she glanced back at the flower.

A woman joined their conversation. Kiko was quite intrigued at how easy it was for adults to mingle- she's not very good at it but it was a good thing these people are. She feels much better than having to start the conversation herself. She tried it before and boy was it a mess. She smiled at the beautiful woman(Yasmin) who complimented the flower "I think so too" she agreed. "Do you like plants?" is that a weird question to ask? Do people ask this as a follow up question? Is she failing as an adult?

Baby steps, Kiko. Baby steps.

Kiko shook her head at the man's question. Her hands are full already. Oh right, speaking of which, she turned to the two and offered her small plate with cupcakes "Do you want some?" she said. She can share.





Kiko froze in place when someone called her by her last name. Drinking the entire glass of juice to calm her nerves before facing the man who called her. Oh hey, it's from someone in her department. Good thing she has a good memory with names and faces of people. Ryder Medina, right? She gave him a soft smile and faced the flower again "Corpse Flower..." she hummed before glancing back at Ryder "makes sense" Her knowledge with plants are very little to nothing and it shows. "I'm not a big fan of plants. Plus, it's too colorful for my taste" she chuckled.

Not bad, she's starting to mingle. Weird.

She can actually mingle.

"No you don't," David quietly retorted to Genny, but with a light, almost teasing tone. She definitely didn't envy him for wORkInG like every other human out there. Did Genny even have a boss? He accepted the drink from her and tossed back half of it without even looking at it. He also... didn't bring up his second cousin again, because why ruin a fun evening with discussions about family? That, and as he glanced around, he was noticing a load of other people from back in the day, including... Ava Burton?! from Dueling Club?! and... was that Head Babe Evangeline Shacklebolt?! What in the name of Merlin's pink bathrobe was going on here?!! Did EVERYONE work at the Ministry now????!?!

David's bright blue eyes also widened as not one, not two, but three people also came up to speak to him. Or were they here for Genny? This crowd only approached him because Genny was with him, he was sure of this. She was striking, and maybe even considered famous by those who followed Quidditch. Wasn't he so lucky to have a beautiful friend who could make him look good? He also felt slightly more comfortable to have a friend by his side because he really, really didn't like small talk like this.

"Ah... Jessica, hi," he greeted her quietly, watching as she shook hands with Genny. And then Chloe was asking questions, and... and Bryant? Jessica's brother? was introducing himself. David's brow furrowed slightly at this... odd choice of date for her. He still didn't know how to handle this many interactions at once, and immediately started thinking of a way to excuse himself. "Y-yes," he stammered at his small audience. "I'm in Mysteries. The Department of Mysteries. Just starting." Well duh, David. He was fudging this already, he could tell. It was because if this group of people he had to speak to grew any larger, he would start sweating like he was doing public speaking, his WORST fear. He also completely neglected to introduce himself to Jessica's brother. Good job, Truebridge.

"Genny...." Davie tried to take a breath and gesture to the women around them in particular. "I met Chloe and Jessica at the... Beauty and Brains contest you entered me in." Was she happy about that? She would be amused, no doubt, that the contest was haunting him now. "Jessica and I were partners for the event." As short-lived as it was. They would have won the thing, surely, if the event had finished. He had told Jessica so when they'd met for drinks after the first round.

SPOILER!!: Chloe, Genny, Bryant, David

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Chloe arrived solo, as per usual although she was half tempted to bring a nine year old as a date, but decided against it. The redhead hadn't been sure what to even wear to a greenhouse party, as creatures and herbology had never been her forté, so she settled on a floral printed dress and boots.

Not seeing anyone from her department in immediate vicinity, Chloe instead headed toward a cluster of familiar faces in time to overhear the woman telling the other woman about her and David. "Jessica! David! I didn't know you two were coming to work at the Ministry!" Ah this was going to be a great new year, Chloe could just feel it. "And Jessica and I go back a whole day further than that," she grinned, before realizing she ought to introduce herself to the woman (Genny) she didn't know yet. "Chloe Adara. Master Portkey General."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimothy

The ministry was the last place Bryant Tomás wanted to be right now.

Sike! That was a joke. Although it shouldn't come as a surprise that he had a party with his work friends to attend to tonight—which he DITCHED by the way, so you're absolutely welcome, Jessica—Bryant also didn't want to miss his sister's first "official" day as a big bad foreign relations officer for the ministry. He knew how much this meant to her and even when he'd moaned a lot about it when she invited him as her plus one, there's not a thing in the world he'd drop to be supportive for her. Yes, even if it meant wearing something much more formal than his usual.

Also contrary to his sister's belief, he could actually appreciate plants. Well, some of them at least. He'd gone backpacking through Asia during his gap year before starting uni, and Bryant had encountered both mundane and magical flora of the most interesting kind. Rafflesia, anyone? That's only from Southeast Asia! He was admiring how well-maintained the flowers and shrubs were when he came across the...

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH.

"No kidding," he told himself. A Corpse Flower in the flesh! Jessica wasn't joking around. The twenty-six-year-old had taken a step back to properly bask in the presence of the giant flower, before finding his sister and joining her again. He's not lost, don't worry about it.

Would you look at that? Jessica's made friends already. Bryant could only imagine that wipe-tear look on their dad's face at this. He was gonna have to report back at their old man just so he could actually see that look on his face for real. "Glad I didn't lose you," he said, easing into the conversation Jessica was having with a couple (Genny and David) and another lady (Chloe). "Hello. Bryant Tomás, her brother." He didn't have a cool ministry position attached to his introduction, sorry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magical Soul

Genny was grabbing two sparkling drinks for them when David had a small meltdown over his..."Cousin? Where?" She handed one glass to Davie and followed his eyes line to see a heavily bearded guy. He looked quite old. Since when did Davie have older cousins? Eh. She didn't have time to reply to that, because Airey was Davie's new boss? Genny grinned, "Oh you'll have fun! He's the best. I kind of envy you right now." Granted she didn't have a boss per se, so that could be even better, but their coach could be mean sometimes. Also, she noticed the blushing, he was cute, just like Sam, they both blushed easily. It made her like the teasing.

... hmm? Genny's eyes sparkled at the sight of not one, but two, women approaching them--Davie. WELL WELL WELL. Genny shook Jessica's hand happily with the hand that wasn't holding the drink. "Oh, very nice to meet you. Genny Tate. Davie's friend." She confessed immediately, not wanting to block any chances he had tonight. She could add she went with Davie WAY BACK to when they both had diapers but Genny actually didn't want to score one over Jessica. She thought Jessica was cute! And funny! The woman attempted to tease which in Genny's book was a good quality in women.

Chloe was cute, too, actually. Genny nodded smiling, "Genny Tate, I play for the Holyhead Harpies. Davie here generously agreed to take me on a ministry opening!" She batted her eyelashes at him, placing a gentle hand on his back before taking a sip from her drink. Mkay. "How come y'all met four months ago?" Was this a joke? A serious timeline? Genny wasn't really the smartest cookie in the box...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

"No you don't," David quietly retorted to Genny, but with a light, almost teasing tone. She definitely didn't envy him for wORkInG like every other human out there. Did Genny even have a boss? He accepted the drink from her and tossed back half of it without even looking at it. He also... didn't bring up his second cousin again, because why ruin a fun evening with discussions about family? That, and as he glanced around, he was noticing a load of other people from back in the day, including... Ava Burton?! from Dueling Club?! and... was that Head Babe Evangeline Shacklebolt?! What in the name of Merlin's pink bathrobe was going on here?!! Did EVERYONE work at the Ministry now????!?!

David's bright blue eyes also widened as not one, not two, but three people also came up to speak to him. Or were they here for Genny? This crowd only approached him because Genny was with him, he was sure of this. She was striking, and maybe even considered famous by those who followed Quidditch. Wasn't he so lucky to have a beautiful friend who could make him look good? He also felt slightly more comfortable to have a friend by his side because he really, really didn't like small talk like this.

"Ah... Jessica, hi," he greeted her quietly, watching as she shook hands with Genny. And then Chloe was asking questions, and... and Bryant? Jessica's brother? was introducing himself. David's brow furrowed slightly at this... odd choice of date for her. He still didn't know how to handle this many interactions at once, and immediately started thinking of a way to excuse himself. "Y-yes," he stammered at his small audience. "I'm in Mysteries. The Department of Mysteries. Just starting." Well duh, David. He was fudging this already, he could tell. It was because if this group of people he had to speak to grew any larger, he would start sweating like he was doing public speaking, his WORST fear. He also completely neglected to introduce himself to Jessica's brother. Good job, Truebridge.

"Genny...." Davie tried to take a breath and gesture to the women around them in particular. "I met Chloe and Jessica at the... Beauty and Brains contest you entered me in." Was she happy about that? She would be amused, no doubt, that the contest was haunting him now. "Jessica and I were partners for the event." As short-lived as it was. They would have won the thing, surely, if the event had finished. He had told Jessica so when they'd met for drinks after the first round.

Oh look...it was Chloe Adara. She remembered the redhead from the game show as well. She had been undecided on how she felt about her, and it was a secret blessing that now she'd have the chance to formally decide. How lucky.

However, she did smile. "Chloe. Nice to see you. I remember you saying you worked here...Level Six, correct? Transportation." Jessica's memory was spot on, it was. She chuckled a little at the woman's joke as she hooked her arm around Bryant's elbow. Nice of him to rejoin her! "Everyone, yes, this is my brother. He is my date because I tend to chase men away," she joked. "And he's my roommate. So. Why not? Plus HE IS SINGLE ladies, and looking."

Time to embarrass her brother, apparently.

Wait a minute! Jessica's face lit up as Genny began to speak. "Oh wait! I know you! Well..I know of you. I used to be a publicist for quite a few quidditch blokes..." She smiled diplomatically. "Nice to officially meet you. I wasn't aware you had famous friends, David," she shot him another coy grin, trying not to chuckle at Genny Tate's joke about being JUST A FRIEND. Well, that answered her question. AND she was going to explain how she had met him when David did that for her.

Lovely.

"Yes, we were partners. And I agree...we WOULD have won. But we discussed that enough over drinks afterward, didn't we," she commented as she looked back at Genny. "What a nice little reunion we have here, don't we?" She smirked, noticing Evangeline Shacklebolt, too, someone she had met through a former client.

Heck, he was a friend, now, Cassius was, but yeah.

There was a bit of a smirking going on from Sachin after Conley threw him that amused look. Soon enough though, he was distracted because of a topic Conley had raised that greatly interested him. “I don’t believe you have. Care to give me all the embarrassing details?’’ While he waited for the narration to get started about the cabbage issue, Sachin once again found himself admiring the flower. In that moment, he hadn’t taken notice of Eureka so he replied to Conley. “No. But I bet it’s rather pretty when it blooms.” The yelp had him questioningly looking over to the Mysteries Head. “Didn’t he read the sign?’’ Still, the Ambassador did feel somewhat sorry for the man’ obviously he had been hurt in some way. Registering the female voice {Eureka} beside him and Conley, Sachin was just in time to register that she was introducing herself. He offered her a friendly smile but said nothing as she and Conley were doing the talking for now. Well, not until he was introduced. “Hi Eureka.’’ Sachin extended a hand. “It’s great to meet you. So, you travel a lot for Herbology purposes?’’ That’s when he happened to look past her and see Valentin. Remembering what Winnie had told him about the other Ambassador, Sachin pretended not to see him.

But, wasn’t that Kaiser? Sachin remembered him from when the then Hogwarts student had been interning for DIMC not so long ago. “I’ll be right back,’’ he told Conley. Hands jammed in his pocket, the man strolled over to Kaiser, wondering if the boy remembered him. “Kaiser. Good to see you again. Interning for DIMC had an impact on your career choice then?’’

So this was an interesting place to hold the event this year. Intrigued, Regina was actually looking forward to attending.

For the most part. Crowds could be kind of a mixed bag for her. Sometimes they were fun, and it was a good way to be around people while also being able to blend in and not attract too much attention to herself. But also sometimes they could be overwhelming, and when that happened, she wanted to get away as soon as possible.

But hopefully this event would be more like the former, not the latter. And at least she had the plants to occupy herself with too. She'd never been in the greenhouses on this level before, so it was all new and interesting. The Corpse Flower was especially interesting, even if it had an unappealing name, but she'd wait until later to get a closer look at it. For now she'd stick to the ones along the sides.

---

Penelope didn't want to be here right now. She didn't dislike these events - she'd enjoyed a lot of them in the past - but she just wasn't in the mood for something like this, not with the way the last few months had gone. She was restless, and she wanted to be out doing something. Patrolling, training, searching Hogsmeade and the surrounding area, just something. She couldn't relax until every last escapee had been found, until Alexa had fully recovered, until she finally had her daughter back...

Christmas hadn't been the same this past holiday. She and Zeppelin had tried to make it as fun as possible for Sage with the current circumstances, but it wasn't the same for any of them without Ivy, and it was extra frustrating being unable to do anything about it.

Mulling over these thoughts, Penelope kept herself positioned so she could keep an eye on all the arrivals. Her attention was briefly diverted when a yelp sounded - from Flamsteed? But there were quite a few people gathering around him already, so her eyes turned back to the door as people continued to arrive. She spotted Toussaint, their new Department Head, and Burton, and they both received a polite nod if they happened to look her way.

Despite her linked arms with the bestie, Louise was very much aware of the eyes in the room and had even noticed the attractive wizard passing her and Arabella by. She gave a brief nod and smile at him before looking back to Arabella and whispering, "Him. We need to find guys like him." Mmhm. Where had all the good men gone?



It didn't take long before her department mates had filtered in shortly after her, and though Chloe was preoccupied at the moment with catching up on her two new friends, she did spare a glance and a smile at Yasmin and Grae, women she would need to catch up with later for certain. She had to admit she was relatively grateful to work in such a supportive and uplifting department. Women (and men) who had become dear to her.



Her attention was drawn back to the group at Bryant's introduction and she wasn't about to deny that the wizard was GOOD LOOKING. LIKE wow. Although Chloe really shouldn't be terribly surprised; Jessica had been a beauty contestant where they'd met and she let out a small grin of amusement when Genny inquired how they'd all met four months ago. It was really a chance meeting, which David was quick to inform his escort of their meeting.

And Jessica remembered where she worked? "Yup. Transportation. Good memory." So it seemed she was living up to the fact that she was more than just a beauty after all.

David's escort who was a famous quidditch player?? Truly a shame that Chloe was not more like her mother and father in their following and love of quidditch. She enjoyed the sport enough to know what was going on in a game and even knew how to play, but sadly the eldest child of Tancred and Amelia Adara did not follow the quidditch players. And yet.... "I'm quite sure my mother would love an autograph" she found herself admitting aloud. "If you don't mind, Genny Tate of the Holyhead Harpies." And David and Jessica were talking about how they would have won in the competition to which Chloe let out a loud HA. "Puhhhleeasee. Erik and I would have totally won." Actually probably not true, but even though she didn't know half the answers, she did have confidence.

Alsoooo HOW was Bryant still single and looking?? She looked between the siblings and made a quick decision, "Sooo single, huh, Bryant? and what is it you do for work?"

Apparently department heads did not have diplomatic immunity. Something he should have known and accounted for considering how his own efforts in the Chamber of Codes continued to be thwarted. Something they had not anticipated and something extracting answers to was proving to be difficult.

Slipping his hand into his pocket and feeling the framed object within it, the department head turned when a small crowd suddenly had descended upon him while offering varying degrees of concern and ridicule. "I saw and read the sign by the Corpse Flower, yes," he scoffed at the DERP employee. "And I was no where near said flora." She could be on her way now knowing that the enchantments were fully functional. "Nothing of your concern," he followed up with in response to the Games and Sports employee. In fact, he was going to depart this area entirely for now. "Perfectly," he huffed while passing by the the Magical Law Enforcement employee. And then another from the same department thought he was being clever with his questioning and the Mysteries department head did nothing more but shoot the man an unfiltered glare before dismissing himself towards the food table once again.

Thankfully the words from the new Senior Undersecretary went unheard, though the shout from one of the new Unspeakables did catch his attention. His mind quickly searched the information bank of faces and connections, noting the apparent age of the young man and his companion which placed them both in the former pupil category. The man lifted his hand once he had caught the young man's attention, the palm forward and the thumb extended while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring finger.

Perhaps he should seek out the Minister and see about getting himself dismissed since there was little to be accomplished here and all his work remained within the department itself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Minister Hollingberry had been held up in a business conference of sorts with the Muggle Prime Minister regarding the status of the Azkaban escapees and their threat level to the muggle population. Until recently, Charles felt confident in his thoughts regarding this...but news this evening had the man feeling as though his hairs were turning grey even more quickly. He would need a word with Evangeline as soon as possible, perhaps even here in the middle of their greenhouse soirée. Though for the time being, he would maintain a certain persona. The one necessary to get through the evening, even if his WWN broadcasts had their occasional slip ups with a quivering voice or awkward moment of clearing his throat while he collected himself to continue on. He had no doubt that Victoria would see right through the act.

Shaking hands with anyone who came close enough to him, it was his new personal assistant and Fletcher's that first caught his eye. Huggers! Boys after his own heart, truly. It was this kind of sight that restored the man's faith in the world and he wasted no further time approached them both and placing a fatherly hand on both of their shoulders. "Good evening, my boys," he greeted with his usual jovial tone. "GOOD to see you both. Kaiser, my boy. I hope you'll allow me the privildge of taking you out to lunch tomorrow. Perhaps we can make it a once a week occasion. Permit us to get to know one another a bit better seeing as your role as my personal assistant requires a certain level of familiarity." And Kaiser received a firm but gently squeeze to his shoulder. "Kodee. Best behavior. Remember," he added with a playful sort of wink.

Bryant was almost accustomed to the people Jessica mingled with, and he liked to muse himself with the idea that her type of clients were the narcissistic Quidditch blokes. It got him thinking...was this poor lad (David) a friend of hers? The lack of introduction from the other man did not go unnoticed, but Bryant let that slip for the meantime. That was until his sister mentioned that they were partners during that contest she signed herself up for. Ah! Now, that rang a bell. "Pleasure to officially meet you, David."

Bryant turned towards David's date, Genny, and no wonder she was a familiar face. "I've seen you play on the pitch before. Scarily accurate swings you've got," he mentioned with a polite smile.

And he was about to divert his attention elsewhere when Jessica—even Merlin would have spat his drink upon hearing that, because it was so uncharacteristic of her—started...well...whatever was going on in that head of hers. There was certainly a hint of surprise on his face when the mention of his recent relationship status was being thrown out there, free for anyone to hear. "Her favourite roommate, I'd say," he said while oh so casually patting her arm, now looped around his. That's enough embarrassment for the night, Jessica Mariel. Lucky for his sister, though, he isn't about to roast her about that chasing men away remark in front of her colleagues in a formal event like this.

He was going to take back that organiser he gifted her when they got home. She was the worst, taking this opportunity to mess with him.

Of course that introduction from Jessica caught the attention of other people, which Bryant did not mind at all if it were under better circumstance. However, he had promised himself he would be in his best not-ridiculous behaviour. He smiled and shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly at the mention of his status again. "Professionally an architectural technologist here in London. I also make vlogs of all kinds." That is when he's got spare time, at least. He had thousands of subscribers too. They should check his channel out, just saying.

"Would you like a drink, sis? And you...Chloe, is it?" the twenty-six-year-old inquired. The night was young, and a few glasses of sparkly drinks would do them no harm.

———

Holiday break, who?

The first thing Anya wanted to do the moment she arrived was to acquire a drink for herself. She may not have brought a plus one to the event, although she considered asking Hazel but she was aware that social gatherings just weren't his cup of tea, but she made sure that her outfit would garner attention. This shade of yellow was particularly lovely, and she knew it looked good on her given her early years of experience in the modelling industry. One would not look so stressed if they dressed a certain way, and that was a look she was going after.

"Hello, Mr. Flamsteed," Anya brightly greeted her boss as she passed by, on her way to the beverage table. She would be chilling there while she waiting for a familiar face to arrive. Perhaps Angelica, or any of her colleagues from level 9. They could hopefully talk about something that wasn't related to the Rheticus Vortex because Merlin knew how much Anya needed a break from that.

———

Kat had been particularly wary about having non-DERP employees in the greenhouses. While Greenhouse One wasn't as dangerous as the quarantined greenhouses, even the most mundane of plants would be vulnerable to the type of people who can't seem to keep their hands to themselves. It gave her mild relief, though, knowing they'd placed protective charms beforehand.

Work was work, even when she was extremely worried for both the plants and her daughter at Hogwarts. It had been a difficult holiday break in the Belrose residence. Everyone missed Cassie.

The enforcement division head walked around, smiling and nodding politely to anyone she made eye contact with. Those she personally knew, however, received verbal greetings. "Evening, Penelope," Kat said to the former Gryffindor, now auror. Then, she came across a familiar face she hadn't seen within the department for some time. "Welcome back to the Ministry and the department, Eureka." It's great to have them all returning, especially for someone who's been working here for nine years now.

She momentarily eyed Lucille and Mr. Flamsteed for their exchange. For someone who struck Kat as a very stick-to-the-rules person even during her Hogwarts years—of which she's aware that it's been a while—her former Astronomy professor was being quite odd.

Good to know their spellwork was effective.

Alphonsine supposed that an orientation was as good a place as any for herself to get acquainted with her new place of employment as well as get to learn who was most beneficial to know here. She did not bring a date, but she was dressed to impress and wore her most charming smile as she stepped into the greenhouse.

Her eyes immediately found the large corpse flower in the centre of the room, but that wasn't what she was most interested in tonight. But she did soon catch the eye of a man who seemed very popular both in the small crowd around him and the several people calling his name in greeting. A nearly imperceptible smirk in amusement crossed her lips at the odd hand gesture he gave in return to them and she continued on her path towards the refreshments.

Alphonsine reached for a drink of water and paused as she caught sight of a few tiny purple flowers belonging to a familiar plant, making a mental note, then turned to assess the crowd so she could mingle. Who to talk to first?

Arabella turned her head when she felt someone linking up their arm with hers. Ah. It was Louise! "Louise, hello! It's good to see you," she said, placing a hand on her friends arm and giving her a little squeeze. She was certainly delighted to see her here. Her smile faltered slightly when she motioned to the man who had yet out the yelp. "Ha, indeed. I was just concerned," she whispered feeling her cheeks heat up slightly at the jest. Had she been giving the stranger too much attention? She frowned. She had only ben concerned because he had let out such a frightful yelp. A smile gracing her lips, she glanced around the greenhouse momentarily before returning her gaze back to Louise. Arabella smirked at Louise's comment. "Only once, twice, or thrice you have shared that with me. Never fear with a Morgenstern as your wingwoman-- what could go wrong?" she admitted with a playful giggle. "Though I'm delighted to be here by your side as your companion this evening." She gave her friend a palfyul smile before schooling her features and noting her friend's jumpsuit outfit. "You look beautiful."

Truth be told, Arabella had her eye on a particular young man who was surrounded by a growing crowd. "I think he has a story to tell," she mentioned to Louise before overhearing Jessica's outcry. A chuckle escaped her lips. "We should make our rounds later," she said. There seemed to be a lot of interesting characters to talk too. There were a few employees who were nodding to each other which reminded her very much of her father's behaviour at such an event. Hmm... Quite respectable.

Her attention was distracted once more when Louise pointed out the man who had walked past them as a good catch. Arabella had noted his looks when he had walked past. He was relatively attractive but perhaps too attractive. She turned to Louise and offered a smile. "Well I think we should get a drink," she said with a knowing smile and a nudge. Here she would begin her wing-womaning duties.

Frankie did have to admit that he personally would have enjoyed bowling or doing karaoke again for the beginning-of-the-new-year orientation. Not that there was anything wrong with this year's setup, but a plant was not exactly high on the Auror's ranking of interests. But there was free food and drink, so he was more than happy to attend.

Accompanied by his wife, the blond entered the greenhouse. It was a miracle how they managed to get out of the house without one of their kids attached at the hip. "How long do you think we've got before a Patronus appears and says we need to go back home?" he jested as they walked further in the room. "I still don't know how we managed to get Cora to agree to watch them for the night."

He then gave the place a look over, more out of habit than anything. It always was good to be familiar with ones surroundings. Plus there were certain people Frankie wanted to mingle with, and he was certain Hady was bound to see some familiar faces as well. Speaking of a familiar face, he caught sight of the new head of his department. "Hey, Evangeline! Congrats on the promotion!"

---

Dante always found these Ministry orientations, as well as social parties in general, to be rather dull. Regardless of his personal feelings about them, he was always accounted for, looking prim and proper. He knew that ones attendance at such things was important. It was all part of life, the great chess game of moves and countermoves.

This particular orientation made him feel no different. He found it odd to house it in a greenhouse of all places, and the pièce de résistance of the event had no appeal to him. Nevertheless, the Frenchman was there to shake hands and appear like he was enjoying himself. He gave the plant a glance, mainly because of its positioning in the room, and feigned interest as he made his way over to the refreshments area.

Welcoming a drink in his hand, he turned so that he could assess the area and make a move on who to go brush shoulders with. A woman nearby caught his attention, mainly because it appeared she was doing the same. "Anyone interesting out there?" he casually asked her.

There had already been jabs and jokes in his direction about his wife being promoted as if Angelo would somehow be threatened by that fact instead of proud of her. It was only mildly inconvenient since it meant they wouldn't be partnered in the field anymore, but that just meant he was now partnered with his own brother, so no real adjustment was needed.

He was used to taking orders from Evangeline after all, sometimes it was even fun.

Angelo knew she was nervous, it was obvious to him though he had assured her it didn't show in general and people weren't going to look at her and somehow know. He would stick with her with all the rubbing shoulders and obligatory small talk which even though it wasn't his preference it came naturally to him. It was a Toussaint thing.

Speaking of Toussaint things, his lip quirked a bit in amusement when Ava (who he really tried not to think of as Char's little friend now that they were all adults and colleagues to boot but it was sometimes difficult) addressed Evangeline as Auror Toussaint. Technically that only applied to him and Dima now didn't it.

Which at least had the benefit of there only being two who were 'Auror Toussaint' in the department now instead of three. He didn't correct her, Evie could if she wanted to, but he did shoot his wife a little smile, just the slightest proud curl of his mouth.

Department Head. His wife.

Alba was very happy to see that Vale had come. She knew he would in the end. He always showed up for her because he cared about her. Alba was ecstatic to have such a good friend. Coming up to him, Alba felt rather bold in her new black dress and made her move ... well the kind of moves you make on your into boys best friend. "Hey Vale." And she gave him a kiss on the cheek. She had not paid attention to if anyone else was around or if she had embarrassed him. It was her right as best friend to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you came!" And she truly was. "What are you drinking?" She asked trying to decide what she wanted to drink.

Yikes. Tough crowd.

As Flamsteed shot him a glare that would put his eldest - uh... second eldest... and third eldest... and, actually, the very first one as well, now that he thought about it - to shame (except not really), Jake's eyebrows shot up and he watched the guy stalking off. Guess someone had got up on the wrong side of the spaceship.

Jake continued to circle, and by now he was spotting more faces he knew in amongst the ones he didn't, though the unnerved sort of feeling didn't exactly fade. Which was probably why he was on edge enough to jump half a foot in the air when he heard a young man YELLING.

... Yelling a name he knew, actually, and one he certainly hadn't expected to see. Jake stared across at the hugging boys, wishing he'd noticed one of them earlier, but unwilling to interrupt. Later. He'd catch him later.

For now, Jake instead approached another young man (Tomasz), this one solitary and hovering at the edge of the room, looking a little... troubled? Or something. Perhaps that was what drew him over to him; it was sort of difficult to switch that mode off, even when he wasn't actively working in that capacity.

"Hello," he greeted the boy, smiling pleasantly whilst also fighting the urge to glance at his watch - could he check in on the kids yet? "Are you new to the ministry? I've not seen you before."

~~~

Kaiser had made it all the way to the refreshments, but by then was sort of at a loss. As he'd already known, he had no appetite and nothing really looked very appealing. In the end, he just grabbed a glass of something-or-other, and took a long sip.

Hearing his name, Kaiser looked up and saw... someone. Someone vaguely familiar, though the details were escaping him. Just as he was thinking about apologising, explaining the the memory situation and asking for the man's name, he said something that jogged his memory. DIMC. The summer internship. Right. Right. This was S...ach...in? Maybe. One of the ambassadors. Best to avoid saying any name though, just in case he was misremembering it.

"Thank you, it's good to see you too," Kaiser replied, with a smile that was entirely forced but easily donned, like an in intensely uncomfortable but very convincing mask. He took a swallow of his drink, and then another, and glanced around at the room. The truth was that his job application had been something of an act of desperation, but that wasn't the sort of thing you slipped into casual pleasantries. "Yes, something like that. I will be working up in the Minister's Office this time, though." He took another... oh. Empty glass. Just going to set that aside.

Kaiser was just about to say something else, when again he heard his name, only much, much louder, and spoken (yelled) by the most unexpected voice. "Kodee?" Yes. That was Kodee Chosen, all but steamrolling towards him in that very Kodee Chosen way of his, and then... hugging him.

Kaiser had never been good at hugging, never sought this kind of thing out, but his utter relief that Kodee clearly didn't seem to hate him - that he'd come over here without hesitation and had not greeted him with a shove or a punch, which would have been entirely understandable - was enough that, after a moment's pause, Kaiser hugged him right back. Tight.

Luckily, before he had any time to fret about how he was going to get through this unexpected reunion without acting like a complete idiot in front of his new coworkers (listen, he was having a rough time of it), rescue came in the form of... the literal Minister for Magic. Kaiser really needed to start getting used to that.

Breaking away from Kodee, Kaiser looked up at Mr Hollingberry and smiled, which was suddenly easier than it had been a few minutes ago. "Good evening, Minister. I would... I mean to say, yes, that would be great, sir." In the meantime, he would try very hard not to openly squirm at the idea of familiarity with another human being, or to feel some type of way (read: emo) over that shoulder squeeze or just the many unexpected directions his life had recently led him, even though it was all choosing this exact moment to crash into him like a storm-tossed wave on the rocks. This was fine. Everything was fine. Look away.

Yeah no, sorry, Stella wasn't exactly excited about a giant stinky flower, no matter how rare and amazing it supposedly was. Here's the thing: you could watch things like that from the comfort of your own home and had been able to for over a hundred years. She didn't need the stink of it to make it more magically real or anything.

Also it wasn't even a magical plant so that was kind of ho hum too.

Unlike her last orientation, the first one she had been to a year prior, she had brought a date. Or, well, a plus one. Not exactly a date because she tended to find dates boring (it was more fun to skip to the after part), but more a friend who she honestly was looking forward to just kind of... unleashing on the room at large. If nothing else, James Summers would provide all the entertainment that the stinky giant flower (which was also, for the record, ugly as hell, unlike her date) could not. The French girl really didn't have the highest of hopes, but maybe it would beat the sober karaoke event of the previous year (the bar was low, so who knew?).

Food and drinks though, she could get behind. And after doing a bit of mingling maybe they could bounce early and go somewhere a little more entertaining. Maybe with James, maybe with someone else, but she was certain that her plus one was the most interesting prospect. She had her arm linked with his right now as they walked into the greenhouse area.

"Have you seen one of those before?" Those... corpse flower things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Yeah no, sorry, Stella wasn't exactly excited about a giant stinky flower, no matter how rare and amazing it supposedly was. Here's the thing: you could watch things like that from the comfort of your own home and had been able to for over a hundred years. She didn't need the stink of it to make it more magically real or anything.

Also it wasn't even a magical plant so that was kind of ho hum too.

Unlike her last orientation, the first one she had been to a year prior, she had brought a date. Or, well, a plus one. Not exactly a date because she tended to find dates boring (it was more fun to skip to the after part), but more a friend who she honestly was looking forward to just kind of... unleashing on the room at large. If nothing else, James Summers would provide all the entertainment that the stinky giant flower (which was also, for the record, ugly as hell, unlike her date) could not. The French girl really didn't have the highest of hopes, but maybe it would beat the sober karaoke event of the previous year (the bar was low, so who knew?).

Food and drinks though, she could get behind. And after doing a bit of mingling maybe they could bounce early and go somewhere a little more entertaining. Maybe with James, maybe with someone else, but she was certain that her plus one was the most interesting prospect. She had her arm linked with his right now as they walked into the greenhouse area.

"Have you seen one of those before?" Those... corpse flower things.

James had been a bit surprised when Stella had asked him to accompany her to a work function. The surprise had not latest TOO long because it was super obvious why he would be sought out for these shindigs: he was an absolute delight and entertaining at any function. Plus he was nice on the eyes and especially so in the new threads Dementria had helped him out with. Thank Merlin he had vetoed the zebra print.

While he was absolutely behaving himself, hence the gentleman's arm rather than his palm to her bum, he really couldn't help but take lingering glances at her legs whenever he got the chance. Stella had very nice legs, okay? Best (worst?) of all was how she knew it too AND knew just how to flaunt them and drive him absolutely insane.

Grabbing to glasses of something bubbly and offering one to her, he wished he had his glasses with him to add an air of sophistication to his look. Maybe that way he could actually look like he knew what he was talking about when he looked at this corpse flower ... whatever it was. He had a very specific visual in his mind as to what this flower looked like and, despite the sign RIGHT in front of them pointing to the large plant in front of them that that did not look like a corpse but totally like something that could be ON one. "Suuuuuuuuuure," he chortled lightly into his glass, getting a bit of the bubbly caught on his beard. "Just gotta look down."

HAH! She saw it too, right?!

Jessa, who tried her best not to look like a lifeless corpse (like the flower, geddit?), beamed when she was acknowledged by Jonathan. "Not at all." He wasn't rude, she understood that she didn't fit into this party technically. She was just here to support her husband and make him look as successful as possible, because let's face it, without her... he would be successful but with a poor taste of clothing. "Jessa... Fletcher's wife," she shook hands with the man. She didn't offer a last name because she hadn't decided yet. She wanted to take Fletcher's name, but... it was his name. It was weird.

Oh, the Minister is here! Jessa was fond of the man, he was a great fatherly figure as well as an authoritative one. Fletcher had a great boss from what she saw from his mental state when he came back home. She nudged her husband, still linking arms together, "We should go say hi." Duh.

Oh, she was in the middle of beauty vs brain reunion? Genny grinned as Davie explained further. "Wow." So, Davie was a brain, and Chloe and Jessica were beauties? Jessica must be a beauty if her partner was Davie, right? Also. "Davie, how come you never told me about your partner? She's gorgeous." Felt that emphasis Davie on the word 'partner'? Genny kind of hated him right now but also LOVED this.

Aww, shuuuucks, people were being so lovely & feeding her Gryffindor ego. Genny did get recognized some on the street but in a ministry party? This was some high profile stuff. Although she wasn't the type to blush, she looked a bit coy while answering Jessica, "Thanks, I'm happy I officially met you too." Ya know? Because being on a contest was not a common occurrence, so they basically were celebrities too. Genny's smile grew when Davie's other friend talked about her autograph. Chloe's mother must have great taste in sports heh heh. "She would? I would love to give you a signed something, then. Is she into Quidditch?" A signed napkin? Genny looked at Davie to solve this for her.

Bryant, actually, took the cake with his immaculate perception! /biased opinion. "I take that with pride, thanks Bryant!" Genny didn't mention how her perfect aim was a downside when you were on the other side of the object she was throwing in a fit of anger... ahem. Also, did everyone else see Chloe and Bryant hitting it off or was it just her? Cupid had some serious work tonight.

Eureka shook Ambassador Sachin's hand energetically. "Nice to meet you, too." Instinctively, the young woman pushed her shoulders back to stand up straighter. "I did when I was doing my degree in Oslo, but now I'm not sure. It depends on the ministry's needs." Her boss was so cool, though, so she didn't put it far. "Which country are you stationed, Ambassador?"

Finally a familiar face! Eureka's smile relaxed at the sight of Kat. "Hi, oh thanks. It's been a while, almost five years." Eureka extended her hand to shake Kat's hand. She would hug but she didn't think they were that close yet. "How have you been?"

Oliver was here to mingle and get acquainted with his new place of employment and an orientation was a good time as any to do that, but he was a little nervous. He did not come with a date, but he did however thankfully have his sister; Penelope on his arm. He was dressed up in a suit for the night, but the tie was already starting to irritate him. Raising a hand to loosen it, he grimaced a little as they stepped into the greenhouse. Oliver’s eyes went immediately to the star flower of the night. "What is that flower called sis? I know it starts with a c and sounds morbid." Looking around the room, he detected some good looking females as well as the refreshments table. "Penny, shall we go get ourselves some drinks and snacks before we take a closer look at the plants?" That was the point of choice of venue right? Starting to move across the floor Oliver fell in step behind two women (Louise and Arabella) with linked arms that were chattering like women do with their best pals in front of him and he couldn't help, but overhear what the black haired one was saying to the other one. Not being able to resist the urge to butt into their conversation he asked them with curious smile. "Why do you need to find a guy's? Don't you two beautiful ladies already have long time boyfriends waiting for you at home?"



Laurel headed into the greenhouse wishing that she could skip it all together but it was mandatory so here she was but not feeling the party mood. Dressed in a silvery dotted dress for the evening the blond unspeakable quickly scanned off the room, noting the giant flower. Her husband was nowhere in sight since she had lost him by the coats so Laurel headed towards the only familiar faces in the room meaning Airey and Anya off by the refreshments table. Coming to a stop near them she plastered on charming smile as eyed up the selection of drinks on offer. "Good evening Airey and Anya! I'm glad for a night without vortex talk arent you? Have you seen any cheese straws anywhere? Or some apple cider?" She had an urge for some, which was weird because usually she disliked them as much as she did brocoli. Turning to look at the giant flower or really all the flowers in the greenhouse she wondered if any of them were touchable.

"Well of course it was mini that helped you get your promotion." Victoria wasn't crazy and knew that wasn't the case, Feltcher deserved the promotion for many reasons and watching mini wasn't one of those reasons, but it was fun to joke. She turned to his wife "I see you are keeping him in line this evening." She smiled joking of course, "It is nice to see you. I hope you have nose plugs for when the flower opens." She was hoping to maybe sneak out before that had happened.

Her eyes turned when she saw Charles come into the room. A smile slipped bigger on her lips but paused a moment wondering if he was stressed about something. Who was she kidding though, he was the minister of magic of course he was always stressed. She gave a little wave of good bye to Fletcher and Jessa before heading across the greenhouse.

Her focus was distracted by Airey though for a moment. Was there always something going on with him? She hesitated if she should go see what was going on, but decided to leave it for now and headed to Charles. She greeted those around him and smiled towards him. "I'm glad you got to make it."

This morning she had woken up, taken a look at her two children and silently wished that Briar was Hogwarts age and that both of them had been at the castle right now. A few months peace would be glorious. Now if only she could have got the man on her arm to have taken up a teaching post at Hogwarts once again and thenb she would be able to breathe. To have glorious day after glorious day. Instead she was stress eating to keep herself from saying something horrible to one of the people she wasn't allowed to say something horrible to and... and so she ate anything she could get her hands on. Apples, pears, biscuits, 8 serving cakes, anything.

And coffee.

She was drinking it like there was no tomorrow. The more time a mug spent it's time at her lips, the more time she had to watch everything happening around her and again, not say anything mean. Ugh, trying to be nice was impossible.

The only downside to the amount of coffee that she was drinking was she couldn't quite focus on everything that was happening around her and she had stopped recognising when her foot began tapping or her hands began shaking. With a quick look at her plus one, she made a conscious effort to slip her hand into his for appearance sake and sighed. "Tell me you hate these events as much as I do?" Because she did. She hated a lot.

"Jonathan is the new junior undersecretary. I just promoted him," Fletcher added on to his friend's humble introduction. He wanted Jessa to know that he'd been busy all of December, hiring people, promoting people, all that jazz. See, he had a very valid reason he hadn't been able to help with all of the wedding preparations.

He caught her glance in the direction of the Minister AND two of his new hires. Oh, they were friends, huh? Perfect. Fletcher loved when everyone got along, and he started to guide Jessa that way. "Jonathan, come with us. I'll introduce you to two of our new scribes and personal assistants." He arrived to the hugging group in a few strides and positively grinned at the sight of them all. Didn't they just look so COZY and FRIENDLY already? Oh look, Victoria had made her way here too.

"Charles, Kodee, Kaiser..." Err, what was his first name again? It didn't matter to Fletcher, he supposed, since he also exclusively went by his surname. "Good to see you all here! Cheers to the new year?" He gestured that they should all clink glasses.

Oh wait, not everyone had a drink in hand. "Jessa," he turned toward his gorgeous wife and flashed her a winning grin, "would you be a dear and fetch us all another round?" And she could take Victoria with her to get those drinks, heh. Ya know, so the men could talk VIP business.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

"Pleasure to meet you too, Bryan," David replied automatically, almost robotically, as he had been taught to do. He did get the other man's name wrong, but it wasn't on purpose. Mostly he was distracted by Jessica calling out her brother for being single. Yikes. Big yikes for Bryan. Davie gave the man a sympathetic glance, or at least as sympathetic as he could manage, which mostly just looked like his regular facial expression with a slight frown in Bryan's direction. See, this was just another reason to appreciate being born an only child. Davie only had plants and books and the occasional odd artifact or brooch to compete with for his parents' hearts.

"Only the one famous friend, actually," David turned his blue eyes back to intently stare at Jessica. Funny; tonight he hadn't said aloud that they would have won.... was she a legilmens? Or just recalling their conversation from the bar after the first night of the contest? He stared at little more at his former partner until Genny decided to pipe up. PARTNER. What was wrong with Geneva, emphasizing the word like that. He again began to turn a bit pink, and hastily tossed back the rest of his drink while now GLARING at Genny. He'd...he'd just not comment on Jessica's good looks, alright? Didn't it go without saying that she was very, very attractive??! They were at a professional work function, for Circe's sake. The last thing he'd need would be to accused of workplace harassment before his career even took off. AND Genny should have known that his partner for the contest would be gorgeous; it went without saying when one was in a contest involving Beauties (like her) and Brains (like him). David clearly didn't fit into the Beauties category. He barely knew how to dress himself!

Hmmph. "For the record, Erik didn't know anything," he laid his icy eyes on Chloe now. "But it would have been nice to see how the contest would have ended."

Eh, anyway. "Anyone want a refill?" Yes, David was going to excuse himself now, thanks, since he was feeling a bit salty about all this PARTNER talk. He'd get a cocktail napkin or five for Genny to autograph, but first, he'd need a few more glasses of sparkly...juice. Maybe he could knock one back at the refreshments table before returning to this group. He headed that way and caught sight of Admiral Airey giving him the old three-fingered, webbed-hand salute. David didn't quite recall what Muggle program this referenced, but the hand gesture did make his face light up a little, and he did his best to wave back to the man with the same hand movement.

Penelope had looped her arm around her twin brother’s elbow as they made their way into the ministry event. Looking over at him she just watched as he tried to loosen his tie, her blue eyes flicked to the flower he was indicating and shrugged. “Chla...something” she paused looked again “clematis or columbine, I’m not sure” she shrugged and grinned at him. The venue was great, the flowers, the scent of the soil everything reminded her of herbology classes.

Penny looked at the girls for a moment, her eyes lingering on Arabella and Louise’ outfits. They looked so put together for this little winter garden party. It was nice, refreshing really. The young womans eyes did linger on the women before glacing around. Oh, there were a lot of attractive people here and she would loooooove to meet all of them. “Oliver,” she laughed as he asked Louise and Arabella if they had long-term boyfriends waiting for them. “I’ve told you its always fine to look, I mean I did when I was with that guy Carter back in school,” sure, Carter had eventually cheated on her but that made it almost better. Turning to the girls she smiled, “I’m sorry about this one, I’m Penelope, its nice to meet you two” she smiled at them.