The first thing you see when you walk through the large double doors is what looks like a highly polished waiting area. Pale coral and black sofas, chairs and tables are arranged accordingly and are all facing a large black desk with yet another coral coloured seat behind it. The sleek desk is where members of the Administration team can be found if they're not working in the Work Area.

Past the Lobby are the Front Desks, which is a place where other employees and the like sit while they wait for the Junior Undersecretary, the Senior Undersecretary, the Minister of Magic or any of the level 1 employees. White seats can be found here and are arranged in a similar fashion to the lobby, complete with smaller coffee tables.

If she’d had her way, she would have been on the opposite side of the front desk. But Amethyst knew that taking a bit of time off wouldn’t hurt her, and she’d be back to work in no time. Nobody could complain about just a little visit, though. Especially since there was only so much she could do at home, with Jemma off at school now. It was way too quiet, and that had made her decide to take the trip to London and up to Level One, Julia asleep in the carrier she was carrying so very carefully. She was rather proud of the almost two-month-old, that she wasn’t too fussy or anything. Jemma hadn’t been half as easy at the same age, but then they’d been in an entirely different situation then. So much had changed since then, not only the fact her firstborn was nearly five now.

The lobby area was quiet, but she decided to wait before she went to see if anyone was there. Odds were, someone was on the floor right now, if just the Minister in his office. She knew better than to just check there first though. First place she went if no one showed up would likely be Delphine’s office, but she could wait a few moments longer. As long as the baby didn’t wake up, she could wait as long as she liked.

Lex wasn't on patrol--no really, she honestly wasn't. It had been over a year of sneaking around and pretending she wasn't on patrols and for what? Legend still wouldn't remove the ban consequently she couldn't record anything she saw on patrols which meant it was all for*nothing. The former Gryffindor would have preferred to spend her time more constructively. Right now? Now she was just walking. Why? As YATI she was confined to training and patrols. With patrols banned it was just training. With there currently being no training set, she was left with NOTHING and hoped Legend Chosen could sleep well at nights.

She wanted to pay another visit to Rainey and MAKE him make Legend remove the ban somehow but it didn't seem like the man was in the office when she checked and Merlin knew she was getting stir crazy so waiting around for him was a non-option.

In all her walking, the young woman found herself on...Level 1...?

Huh. Nothing ever happened here. Lex walked up to the only other person currently in the room...with a baby. Why did EVERYONE have one of those these days? "You wouldn't happen to know if the Minister's in his office, would you?" Might as well while she was here. Alice's grandfather ADORED her. Ahem.

After another few moments, Amethyst had started to feel as if waiting there might not have been the best idea. At the very least, she knew most of the action on Level One happened elsewhere. Most of what happened here at the front desks was involving her and a lot of memos, and obviously that wasn’t happening right now. Had anyone asked, though, she could have handled a few. Julia was still asleep, although she’d set the carrier up on the desk for the time being just to rest her arms. She’d have to pick her back up if she chose to investigate further onto the floor, yet before she could even take a step someone had appeared. Someone who she’d rarely seen, if she was to tell the truth. Aside from at the last orientation, and even then they hadn’t spoken much.

“Alexa, correct?,” she said softly, even as the girl in question had spoken, asking the same question she had been wondering. Or nearly enough to the same that it was almost spooky. But then, she was familiar enough with MLE to know that spooky wasn’t exactly unusual with them, especially when it came to the Aurors and Aurors-in-training. “I’d imagine he is,” she began. The Ministry wasn’t on break, so there wouldn’t be much reason for him not to be. “I was just about to see if Delphine was in.” Or Zacharias, for that matter. The Undersecretaries should know for certain who was in or not.

It wasn't until the woman said her name that she remembered why she seemed so familiar. She was the lady with that was at the table with the eaily butthurt guy during the orientation! Merlin wasn't that an experience. If she could, she'd opt out of being on security duty next time...but then again, she was about to enter her final year of YATI-ness. If she started turning down assignments Rainey would never take her seriously then he'd probably make her repeat the year despite obviously being his most promising pupil. "I don't think I caught your name during that little run in." She confessed. It'd been a busy afternoon that one. So many people walking in, giving their wands and their names that even if she HAD caught it, it would have been lost in the sea of everyone else.

The expression on her face should have also been confirmation enough that she had no idea who Delphine was. It was safe to say that Alexa didn't pay attention to the various Department Heads unless they held special interest to her--like Aron, she knew Aron REALLY well and liked stopping by his office. Lynnie was cool too even if she tried acting stuffy all the time but Delphine? Nope, wasn't ringing any bells. "Is she the lady I gotta talk to if I wanna say hello to Mr. Clarke?" They needed appointments for that sort of thing, yeah?

Occasionally her gaze would settle on the sleeping baby but she would bounce it right back to the woman. Babies freaked her out, no joke.

There hadn’t been too much surprise as she had said the MLEer’s name, which either told Amethyst she’d been right or that she had been recognized herself. Although she also couldn’t quite recall if her own name had ever gotten truly established at the time when she recalled Alexa’s name from. She couldn’t remember if Simon had ever said it, and she knew Gregory hadn’t. Before that whole incident had occurred, which had made things awkward. In fact, they’d slightly made things awkward now, even as Alexa had verified the lack of her name. Or at least that she’d never heard it if it had in fact been said. “Amethyst,” she’d replied, still softly. “Amethyst McCrae. Administration Supervisor here on Level One, but I’m on leave at the moment.” Not that the fact was obvious, save the presence of the sleeping infant in the carrier on the front desk.

It just proved she couldn’t really stay away from work, as did her nearly casual way of mentioning the senior undersecretary’s name. Upon second thought, as well as the look on the other girl’s face, perhaps Delphine wasn’t known as such outside of Level One. Although, the question once it had been asked eased her conscience slightly. “Of course. She’s Senior Undersecretary, so she does have influence over who gets in to see the Minister,” she replied, nodding slightly. It was entirely possible protocol would have her needing to see Zacharias first, and then Delphine, but she was going to assume MLE could skip that step.

Of course, she still wasn’t entirely certain either of the two were in their respective offices, either. It reminded her she’d been thinking of exploring past the lobby, if Julia stayed asleep a while longer.

Was this the uh, right place? William was still pretty cautious around the first few floors of the Ministry, mainly because all the evil aurors hung out on Level 2. He couldn't remember when/if he'd been to the Minister's level????? Uh?

"Hello," he wandered into the very shiny, coral lobby, his hand clinging to his backpack strap, and up to the desk. "I'm looking for the Senior Undersecretary..." Or so he thought.

For one reason or another, Julia had been fussier than normal that morning, so Amethyst hadn’t left her at the daycare. For the moment the baby was quiet, yet at the first sign of another problem she was prepared to head down to Level Five to leave her with Gregory. At least he had an office, so she wouldn’t bother as many people as she might at the front desk of the Minister’s Office. So far no one seemed bothered, that she was aware of, but then there hadn’t been many visitors yet that day.

Not until she heard a voice that sounded rather out of place. At the very least, lost, but then that was what she was there for. That and any memos, especially since there seemed to be few secretaries as of late. That hardly bothered her, since it was just busywork, and she’d glanced up at the man with a smile, one hand idly rocking the baby carrier next to her. “Ms. Cavanagh? Of course. Does she know you’re coming?,” she asked. She remembered seeing him at several of the orientations she’d attended, so she was sure he was an employee. Just not one she recalled speaking to much.

A rather stressful morning had led to a rather frazzled looking Senior Undersecretary rushing back and forth between various floors within the Ministry. There were a lot of tasks ahead and a lot of things to be checked which meant that staying cooped up in her office simply wasn't an option. So, naturally, it was hard to find her, unless you were very very lucky.

Which a certain employee was right now.

The woman was just heading out of the lift and towards her office when, out of nowhere, she heard her name. Just a simple Ms Cavanagh. She whipped around, blond curls flying out and looked over towards McCrae and...... someone else. Someone she had seen around but certainly not in her offices. So, she sashayed her way towards the two of them. She had some time for whatever this was, right?

"Oh me oh my, a strapping young man looking for MEEEE?" she said in her usual slightly dramatic tone, placing a hand over her chest, "Whatever must this be about?" Oh and McCrae. "Hello, Ms McCrae. I take it you're doing well?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTiger

For one reason or another, Julia had been fussier than normal that morning, so Amethyst hadn’t left her at the daycare. For the moment the baby was quiet, yet at the first sign of another problem she was prepared to head down to Level Five to leave her with Gregory. At least he had an office, so she wouldn’t bother as many people as she might at the front desk of the Minister’s Office. So far no one seemed bothered, that she was aware of, but then there hadn’t been many visitors yet that day.

Not until she heard a voice that sounded rather out of place. At the very least, lost, but then that was what she was there for. That and any memos, especially since there seemed to be few secretaries as of late. That hardly bothered her, since it was just busywork, and she’d glanced up at the man with a smile, one hand idly rocking the baby carrier next to her. “Ms. Cavanagh? Of course. Does she know you’re coming?,” she asked. She remembered seeing him at several of the orientations she’d attended, so she was sure he was an employee. Just not one she recalled speaking to much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

A rather stressful morning had led to a rather frazzled looking Senior Undersecretary rushing back and forth between various floors within the Ministry. There were a lot of tasks ahead and a lot of things to be checked which meant that staying cooped up in her office simply wasn't an option. So, naturally, it was hard to find her, unless you were very very lucky.

Which a certain employee was right now.

The woman was just heading out of the lift and towards her office when, out of nowhere, she heard her name. Just a simple Ms Cavanagh. She whipped around, blond curls flying out and looked over towards McCrae and...... someone else. Someone she had seen around but certainly not in her offices. So, she sashayed her way towards the two of them. She had some time for whatever this was, right?

"Oh me oh my, a strapping young man looking for MEEEE?" she said in her usual slightly dramatic tone, placing a hand over her chest, "Whatever must this be about?" Oh and McCrae. "Hello, Ms McCrae. I take it you're doing well?"

Uh oh. The senior undersecretary's undersecretary had a baby with her. Did she know that? Er, did the secretary know that the Ministry had a free daycare? That might be a better question. William was starting to feel hesitant about his purpose for coming down here.

"Ms. Cavanagh, right," he blinked himself out of his thoughts. "Hmm, no, I just sent her a memo that said I might be in the offices. Uh. Is that your baby? She's adorable...." he pointed to the carrier beside her, straightening up as a high-pitched voice carried over to them.

Well well, there she was. "Hi, Delphine, right? I'm William Williamson, from Creatures. I had sent you that memo...." William took a few steps toward her, his hand out in a friendly way. His eyes slid briefly toward McCrae... Amethyst McCrae, right? The secretary's name was Amethyst, yes? Aheeeeeeeeeem. Back to the undersecretary. "It's good to finally meet you at last, Ms. Cavanagh."

William Williamson. What an odd name. Was his middle name William-esque as well?

But he mentioned a memo and it was as if a lightbulb had light up in Delphine's brain. Her mouth formed a simple 'O' once the memory of the memo sunk in before saying, "Oh yes, yes, I remember veeeeery well. It's good to meet you as well, William." She shook his hand, smiling at the man and watching as he was looking over towards Amethyst. Oh, should she clarify? Ahem. "I see you've met Amethyst McCrae? Valuable member of the level."

And speaking of Amethyst, holy moly was that a baby?! It was as if all sense of professionalism had ran away at the sight of the tiny bundle of joy! "Oh, Amethyst, isn't she the most gorgeous being you've ever seen? What a little doll!" Did she care that there was a baby on their level? Absolutely not! How many times had she brought her own son up here? "Oh, you're a little princess, aren't you?" she cooed in the direction of the baby.

Yes, it seemed Delphine was getting William's message well... and so it was with great regret but out of a sense of duty that he slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out a foam ball, gently tossing it toward Amethyst.

"It's very nice to meet you both, Delphine and... Amethyst!" THERE WENT THE BALL AH WHAT IF HE MISSED AND IT HIT THE BABY?!?! Good thing Delphine was distracting the little cutie-pie....

Delphine would have almost felt sorry for Amethyst because she had absolutely NO idea what was happening. To be honest, neither did Delphine as much as she should but she knew that William was here for a reason. And she was here to help as much as she could.

"Coooooo-wheeeeeee!" Yes, there was more cooing going on. And a louder cooing at that to keep Amethyst distracted as much as possible. All of which came very naturally to the thirty-three year old who was much too interested in the little baby present. Any mother would be, right? "Amethyst, we have to set up a play date!" Oh please, McCrae.

Speaking of the baby, she held up a hand and covered the baby's cheek, pretending that she was petting it when, in fact, she was trying to protect it from the ball that William had thrown. You're welcome, Williamson.

And just like that, the ball hit its target. Awwwww, poor Amethyst. William felt bad, and whipped out the handkerchief he kept in his pocket, in case the foam ball had messed up her makeup. "Sorry about that," he apologized to the undersecretary's secretary. "It's just part of the game, you know."

And now she was eliminated, bless her. He edged closer to the desk to peek in on the baby Delphine was kindly keeping occupied. "Hi babbbbbbbby!" he joined in on the cooing. "What's her naaaaame?" Who didn't like human babies? They were almost as cute as dragon babies.

Timing was everything, it seemed. At least, the sound of Delphine’s voice from behind her kept Amethyst from having to wonder if she was going to have to go find her. Also meaning the poor man would have to babysit for the few seconds it likely would have taken her to find the senior undersecretary, since she was hardly about to carry Julia around for a quick trip through the office. She doubted he wanted to be left with the baby, too, given the strange look on his face, as if he had never seen a baby before. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d had Julia at her desk with her, either, although now she was obviously older. A year in July, anyhow.

She’d nodded at the awkward explanation, though, as well as mentally noted the man’s name as more introductions had happened. A memo might explain Delphine’s appearance as well, and the other woman’s interjection saved her from having to explain Julia’s presence. “Of course,” she had said instead, more in relation to Delphine’s inquiry toward her wellbeing. “Julia was just acting fussy earlier, so I didn’t want to leave her with daycare…” The explanation had trailed off as her superior had literally started cooing over her daughter. At the very least, she would have been amused had Gregory happened to stop in like he occasionally had tried to, considering she knew he would have been ecstatic over all the compliments.

As it was, the odd emphasis over her name had gotten her notice, although her attention was torn between finding out the reason for that and making sure all the cooing wasn’t bothering her baby. She had noticed the foam ball, however, out of her peripheral vision. Oh, of course. She imagined she was lucky it had taken this long to get to her, considering this was hardly the first chance anyone had to get to her. She imagined it was at least something to be thankful over that it had only collided with the side of her head gently, before falling to the floor where she’d helpfully bent down to pick it up before handing it back to William. “No harm done,” she’d replied softly to his apology. Delphine had blocked it from hitting Julia, after all. “Nice to meet you, by the by.” However awkward it had turned due to the game.

“Julia,” she said again, as he’d asked for her daughter’s name, before she’d turned back to Delphine. “It’s too bad Jemma’s in school. I’m sure she would have enjoyed a play date as well,” she said with a smile. No offense taken to whatever involvement she’d had with the elimination either.

Greg went up to see his beautiful fiancee, soon to be wife hopefully if the could get their plans arranged, with grin on his face and lunch in his hands with a tin of cookies under his arm he'd made just for her. Hopefully she would be able to take her break. Maybe he should have asked. Hmmm.

He walked into the office and looked around for Amethyst curiously. She was usually always here. Well that was disappointing. Maybe she had already left for lunch. Sighing he looked at the elevator and back at the desk unsure of what to do.

Contrary to what some might think, Amethyst wasn’t always at the front desk. She’d been off taking care of some memos, making sure they were going to get delivered to the correct floors since there weren’t as many secretaries and such lately to do the job for her. Delphine and Zacharias didn’t count, after all, even if the word was in their titles. It meant more work for her, but she didn’t mind.

She did mind when people felt disappointed, however, and she could practically sense that as she’d returned to the desk to find Gregory standing there. “Did I forget something?,” she asked softly, looking at him a bit worried. She hadn’t remembered any arrangements as of that morning, but it was always possible she’d forgotten with all the work to do. It was just as possible that she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Greg had just decided to give up and leave the tin of cookies and the lunch on her desk in case she was just off working when he heard her unmistakable voice behind him. Stopping he smiled and turned around. "No, I came to propose that we have lunch together in the cafeteria," he held up the items with a grin. "If you aren't too busy that is otherwise I just came to bring you lunch," he chuckled and leaned against her desk looking at her.

"I made your favorite cookies," he said wiggling his eyebrows and setting the bags on her desk long enough to open up the tin. Yup. He was awesome. He knew it.

The answer she’d received as Gregory had turned around only made a bit of a quizzical look appear on Amethyst’s face. The bags seemed rather unnecessary if they were going to the cafeteria, unless he had an aversion to the food there that she hadn’t been aware of. That seemed like something she ought to be aware of by now, and the question had been on the tip of her tongue when he’d continued speaking, somewhat giving her an answer anyhow. “I always seem to be busy, yet I think I could be allowed a few minutes to have lunch,” she replied with a smile. Memos could wait a bit longer.

The eyebrow wiggle only made a soft laugh bubble up, along with more curiosity. “How do you know what my favorite is?,” she asked, moments before figuring that the culprit might have been Jemma. Either that or her Gran, since the woman did seem to like him quite a bit. Most of her family did, really.