...Well... this hadn't been what she was expecting when she had got a job at the ministry... but Carrie wasn't one to bite the hand that feeds... and this one literally fed her. Without the job she'd starve. So she was going to have to get used to this... odd situation. But it was an office block, so that wasn't exactly out of the ordinary... But where was the Ministry?

Well... that was sort of her job to find out, right? Presumably it was where it had always been, but they couldn't get in... how strange.

As Carrie made her way into the third floor of this building, she noticed she was... well.. the first one here it seemed. Gosh, that was embarrassing. But at least she wasn't late on her first day. She carried her little box of brand new colourful stationery over to one of the empty desks and placed it down, unsure if they were going to be assigned spaces... but she didn't see any harm in putting her stuff here, at least until people arrived.

Now... should she go and say hello to her new boss? She didn't want to disturb him, but it seemed polite. ... ... Oh goodness she wasn't ready for such a real job.

Maybe Dmitry didn't know his way around London quite as well as he'd thought. He'd had to ask a Muggle how to get to work this morning. That had been fairly embarrassing, although the woman had been quite kind in pointing him in the right direction. It was just lucky that he still had his suits with him, because if he'd had to wear a robe in Muggle London he was sure that would have resulted in some strange reactions. He also had to wonder why they weren't in the actual ministry though. Obviously something was wrong, but what?

Dmitry had read the noticeboard before he walked into the office area and was debating on what to do. He was meant to meet up with his boss to discuss what to do if Muggles found them but he didn't know if he was meant to do that now or later. It was a dilemma because Gidyun also wanted to see another employee in his office... As he thought about what to do Dmitry removed his suit jacket and placed it on the back of a chair, putting his briefcase on top of the desk. Communal workspaces were strange. He was used to having his own office. He might have to commandeer one of the empty rooms if he could.

As he was looking around the room in which he would be working he realised that he wasn't actually alone. There was a woman in the room with him, one who he recognised. "Morning Carrie," Dmitry called before taking a sip of the tea he'd bought before work.

Cynthia didn't exactly know what to think. This was a muggle building, full of muggles. The muggles had stared at her in her beige robes, probably taking her for a nut job. She'd wanted a job at the ministry, but could she call this the ministry? However, she wasn't about to complain. She was new, so she pretty much had to do anything whoever wanted.
She was not used to being frustrated like this. Cynthia de la Rosa was the smartest student anyone at Hogwarts remembered, but she was stuck in this situation. Whatever. Trying not to show her emotions, she entered the room with a confident air.
It was a nice office, she'd admit that. Cynthia glanced at two other people, a man and a woman. She pretended not to noticed them, and sat down in her new cubicle. What now?

Charles walked into the new work area, looked around, let out a noise of disapproval and headed straight for one of the offices at the back. He couldn't work with all these people chatting amongst themselves and gossiping about each other. He didn't even ask, he just walked into an office, put his coat on the back of a chair, paused to look at the computer and then unplugged it. He'd had to use one of those things when he'd worked around muggles and he HATED them. Once it was all unplugged, he carried the computer into Gidyun's office, put it on his desk and went back to his own office. There. Much better.

He settled, content and started gathering his paperwork together and putting his supplies in his desk.

SPOILER!!: Dmitry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saiai

As he was looking around the room in which he would be working he realised that he wasn't actually alone. There was a woman in the room with him, one who he recognised. "Morning Carrie," Dmitry called before taking a sip of the tea he'd bought before work.

Carrie had sat down tentatively behind the desk she'd chosen and was sipping coffee from her flask - decaf, she didn't need any caffeine adding to her nerves today - staring out of the window. It was very strange suddenly working for the Ministry of Magic in muggle London... but here she was. So she acclimatising herself. She hadn't even noticed people had begun to arrive until she heard her name and turned around. "Oh! Dmitry, hi." she said, smiling widely at him. She was grateful that she could work with someone she was already familiar with... it made this whole situation less nerve wracking for her.

But then other people started entering...

SPOILER!!: Cynthia

Quote:

Originally Posted by HogwartsStudent11

Cynthia didn't exactly know what to think. This was a muggle building, full of muggles. The muggles had stared at her in her beige robes, probably taking her for a nut job. She'd wanted a job at the ministry, but could she call this the ministry? However, she wasn't about to complain. She was new, so she pretty much had to do anything whoever wanted.
She was not used to being frustrated like this. Cynthia de la Rosa was the smartest student anyone at Hogwarts remembered, but she was stuck in this situation. Whatever. Trying not to show her emotions, she entered the room with a confident air.
It was a nice office, she'd admit that. Cynthia glanced at two other people, a man and a woman. She pretended not to noticed them, and sat down in her new cubicle. What now?

Carrie smiled at the woman who walked in next... she seemed to know what she was doing, though Carrie wasn't sure how anybody really knew what was going on here. Still, smiling could make friends, right? So smile she did...

...

Well... that was... unpleasant. Carrie didn't like being ignored... it made her feel like she'd done something wrong. But she couldn't have... she didn't even know this woman. What could she have done?

SPOILER!!: Charles

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

Charles walked into the new work area, looked around, let out a noise of disapproval and headed straight for one of the offices at the back. He couldn't work with all these people chatting amongst themselves and gossiping about each other. He didn't even ask, he just walked into an office, put his coat on the back of a chair, paused to look at the computer and then unplugged it. He'd had to use one of those things when he'd worked around muggles and he HATED them. Once it was all unplugged, he carried the computer into Gidyun's office, put it on his desk and went back to his own office. There. Much better.

He settled, content and started gathering his paperwork together and putting his supplies in his desk.

Oh, but no time to dwell on being ignored, because someone else had come in. Carrie composed her smile again and got ready to greet her colleague... but...

Oh.

That wasn't exactly a pleasant noise. "Well that was just plain rude..." Carrie murmured under her breath, looking back down at her desk and taking her stationery from the box, arranging it carefully. Might as well get settled in... hopefully she could make a good impression at the boss at least.

Layla got the memo, she heard she knew, even, that it would be rough going coming into work with things how they were, but she turned up anyways. Not that she hadn't thought about jumping unto some international project in one of the magical lands where she'd actually have an office to work from, but meh.

Muggles...meh.... She walked passed those with not so much of a good morning though she acknowledged them with her eyes. That was enough right?

She scowled as she arrived unto her level. This was...she couldn't work like this. Empty office to the back? Yes please.

She looked at everyone, new and returning and offered a 'good morning', then it was straight to the empty office, whose door she shut behind her.

NO interruptions, she was decorating.

Charles left his office just as Leila was claiming her own. He gave her a nod of mutual dissatisfaction and then headed out to the work areas. He supposed he should say hello to all the new people and let them know that Gidyun was incompetent but had a really scary, mean wife so don't mess with him. Also that Charles was the real boss his name.



Charles approached the new people while straightening his shirt and tie. Then he stood in the middle of the three and spoke up. "Hello everyone. I'm Charles Taylor. I'm the Liaison to the Minister's Offices," He'd leave out the 'magic' part. They knew that much. "And I'm one of the two Ambassadors to other Countries. I speak thirteen languages and am in the process of picking up my fourteenth. If you have any communication issues or questions while Gidyun isn't here, ask Layla or myself." he gestured to the two now occupied offices. "We'll be happy to help." he didn't smile, but he did bow his head to each of them. Now to get to know them.

"What are your names?"

Elizabeth came in and glanced around, giving a small frown. What the heck happened to the ministry building? Eliza didnt have a clue and felt out of place. Elizabeth nodded to each of her fellow co-workers, "Morning." Nope, it wasnt a good one so there was no need to say the word good in the greeting, Eliza fixed her hair so that each hair was perfectly in place and adjusted her clothing. She glanced around, not sure what to do at the moment.

Heading for the work areas, he saw most of the employees already there. "Morning everyone." Where was Layla...he was positive he'd seen her walk in! Hmm, he'd find her later. His gaze went over the entire room and didn't see any missing computers and that peeked his curiosity even more. Where had the computer come from? Leaning against one of the empty desks, he gazed at each of them "I know this isn't what any of you expected in any way, but for now this is where we are unfortunately stuck for our location. Please remember not to use...you know, as you have probably noticed, there's others coming and going from our floor. We can't prevent that at this time, and even the receptionist in the lobby..." Merlin he couldn't even talk properly.

"Anyway, we need everyone's help for thinking on how we might be able to retake our normal location. I'm not going to lie. We cannot get into the building." Rubbing his head a little "Believe me we've tried." Painfully. "So if anyone has ideas, or even comes up with something in the testing room, let me know. Each of you has a memo on your desk explaining how to unlock that room."



OOC: Gid says no magic, but we encourage it hehe. Slip up, have fun, send memos like in the ministry. Play muggles between yourselves noticing magic and demanding to know how you did that! Don't play the receptionist, Constance will be around

Cynthia slid out of her office cubicle. She supposed she had to introduce herself, though it wasn't in her nature. She was still disgruntled from her experience in the Testing room. She'd been asleep for about ten minutes (Cynthia was a light sleeper) but it put her in a bad mood. It would never happen again, because when she went home she was going to strip her apartment of anything related to coffee. In the meantime, she'd play it cool.

"I'm Cynthia de la Rosa," she said stiffly to the circle of people just standing around. "Call me Cynthia." She was too used to being referred to as Cindy, and she wanted to make it clear she hated the name.

Layla caught the nod as she was entering 'her office'. She could approve of Charles, he really was good people, someone she had found little fault with in her time in this department.

It took her very little time to get her new office in order, she even put up pictures of her family on her desk and did curtains, flowers and the works. It was like stepping into a whole new building.

She emerged from her office when she finally finished and stuck a makeshift sign on the door.

Quote:

Office of Layla McLaughlin

That's right. That was officially her office.

She came out in time to catch what the department head was saying. "What or who exactly are we taking back the building from?" Layla asked folding her arms. That was quite an interesting request.

Cynthia returned to her cubicle. She hadn't had much experience with muggles, but she knew what a computer was. Kind of. She turned it on briefly and then pushed it aside. She had work to do.
Cynthia was determined that they would get back into the ministry. Remembering what her boss had said, she made a list of things that could help them. Before thinking about it, she scratched everything out and dropped her quill. This would take a lot of thinking, but hopefully she thought, that is something I'm good at.

Looking up as Layla appeared he stared at the sign that she stuck to her door. Did... He had thought... Glancing around the cubicles, it was obvious Layla had chosen one of the offices rather than a cubicle. Okay then... Hmm, perhaps he should lock the other two offices and maybe try to persuade her to take a cubicle instead? Maybe she was the one who dropped the computer into his office.

"That I can't tell you. I mean I would if I knew, but we have no idea why we cannot access the m...building." he said shaking his head his hand dropping down again from his head. "We've tried flooing, painfully. Even ap... err, the l...well the other one just gets our feet wet. Nothing is letting us inside."

So flooing and apparition were out. Those were the two most logical options. She restarted her list:

Ways to Get Into the Ministry:

1. Portkey
2.Check Testing Room...

That was all she had. Even her boss seemed completely baffled. Or maybe that was just his personality. Either way, she thought she should suggest portkeys. And if that didn't work...well, this assignment was going to take imagination. Something that wasn't all that easy for Cynthia.

Dmitry smiled back at Carrie before turning to the Computer on his desk. He wondered if anyone would mind if he played Solitaire. Because he really didn't know what else he was going to do without instructions from the Boss. He turned it on just as other people came into the room. He would have greeted them but none of them looked friendly.

He left a well paying job, where he was practically the boss of his own little division, to come work with prats apparently. Lovely. Just lovely.

When the computer had booted Dmitry went about creating an account on it and password protecting said account. Hopefully they wouldn't be here too long but while they had the use of muggle technology Dmitry was going to take advantage of it. Although he might bring his laptop from home since it seemed to be better quality than the computer in front of him. Oh well. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

When 'Mr I can't be bothered with niceties' came out of his office and introduced himself, offering for people to go to him or the lady who'd also taken one of the back offices, Dmitry only returned the nicety because professionalism would force him to do so. "Dmitry Konstantinov, Security Council Member. You can call me Dmitry or Mitya," he replied, voice slightly clipped. He didn't know the man but he already didn't much like him. He also wouldn't be going to him if he had a problem. Basically he'd go to anyone except the man in front of him. He did however manage to keep that off his face, making sure it was a mask of professionalism. Having been a lawyer and previously a liaison himself stood him in good stead now as he'd often dealt with people he normally wouldn't associate with. The last, about what people could call him was mainly for the benefit of his other colleagues, the ones who were still sitting in the communal area.

Oh good. The boss was here. No more conversation with employees he didn't want to get to know. Dmitry listened to what Gidyun was saying and while it was a tricky situation it wasn't one Dmitry had ever had to deal with. The Russian ministry had never had any of the major drama's that this one seemed to have almost yearly. Should make things interesting though.

SPOILER!!: Layla

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

She looked at everyone, new and returning and offered a 'good morning', then it was straight to the empty office, whose door she shut behind her.

"Good morn-... oh." Well... at least she'd said good morning and hadn't ignored them all... But Carrie got the feeling everyone was frustrated with the current work arrangements. She didn't see why it was so bad - yes it was inconvenient and yes it made working with other departments difficult... but at least they had an office and they could function relatively well whilst they attempted to get back into the ministry. ... Still, she did feel bad for those who weren't happy with it.. maybe she just wasn't as high strung because she didn't know what she was missing? Yes. That was probably it.

SPOILER!!: Charles

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

Charles approached the new people while straightening his shirt and tie. Then he stood in the middle of the three and spoke up. "Hello everyone. I'm Charles Taylor. I'm the Liaison to the Minister's Offices," He'd leave out the 'magic' part. They knew that much. "And I'm one of the two Ambassadors to other Countries. I speak thirteen languages and am in the process of picking up my fourteenth. If you have any communication issues or questions while Gidyun isn't here, ask Layla or myself." he gestured to the two now occupied offices. "We'll be happy to help." he didn't smile, but he did bow his head to each of them. Now to get to know them.

"What are your names?"

Oh... he was back. ... But he didn't seem as rude as Carrie had thought. She silently berated herself for judging so quickly, and hoped she wasn't picking up on all the stress circling around. Right... Charles Taylor. Carrie made a little note of his name in her notebook, not wanting to forget it.

.....

THIRTEEN languages?! That put Carrie's six or seven conversational languages to shame... she didn't think she could even call herself fluent in more than... two maybe. But if he could do it, she could definitely give learning them properly a go. Anyway, that wasn't the point. ... Layla must be the woman who had disappeared into the office - Carrie made a note of her name too.

"I'm Carrie, Caroline Rowlands, I'm a foreign relations officer." she said when it was her turn, quiiietly noting down each of her other colleagues names down as they said them. It wouldn't do to forget someone's name, that's not how you made friends.

SPOILER!!: THE BOSS! Duh duh duuuuuuuh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lizasaurus

Heading for the work areas, he saw most of the employees already there. "Morning everyone." Where was Layla...he was positive he'd seen her walk in! Hmm, he'd find her later. His gaze went over the entire room and didn't see any missing computers and that peeked his curiosity even more. Where had the computer come from? Leaning against one of the empty desks, he gazed at each of them "I know this isn't what any of you expected in any way, but for now this is where we are unfortunately stuck for our location. Please remember not to use...you know, as you have probably noticed, there's others coming and going from our floor. We can't prevent that at this time, and even the receptionist in the lobby..." Merlin he couldn't even talk properly.

"Anyway, we need everyone's help for thinking on how we might be able to retake our normal location. I'm not going to lie. We cannot get into the building." Rubbing his head a little "Believe me we've tried." Painfully. "So if anyone has ideas, or even comes up with something in the testing room, let me know. Each of you has a memo on your desk explaining how to unlock that room."

Oh, and there was her new boss... Carrie wasn't sure whether to stand or not, but everyone else was staying how they were so she remained sitting. "Good morning." She greeted the boss with a smile, hoping he wasn't quite as stressed out as everyone else... or at least, he was handling his stress...

Okay, so, ideas... well they needed to rule out everything that had already been tried... Luckily, Layla was listing them. Carrie made notes.

Not Working:
Apparition
Floo
Loos

Ideas:
Muggle ways? Ministry probably already protected against this


...

So far she had nothing.

Layla caught herself.

Sure she wasn't the friendliest person on the planet but if nothing else she was professional and there was new people and more importantly she was a diplomat, an ambassador so she knew how to fake a smile and a belly laugh even if she wasn't even the slightest bit amused.

"Pardon my manners, my name is Layla Dacosta-McLaughlin...." And yes she was married to the man who owned Ollivanders if the name rang a bell to anyone. "..And I am one of the ambassadors to the Magical Lands." There, introductions were done.

The man who introduced himself got a nod from her. "Pleasure Mr. Konstantinov." She'd be going by Dmitry though because his name was just too long.

Ah, they didn't know.

"I think maybe we should call in the curse-breakers." And not the ones who worked with Gringott's either...really really renown ones. "Maybe those with experience working tombs and such. Those guys can get into anywhere."

When Elizabeth came in looking grumpy, Charles frowned at her for a moment. "Morning, Elizabeth. Did you have a good holiday?" Charles' eyes went to Cynthia when she introduced herself in a way that clearly said she wasn't pleased to be here either. The only voice that seemed cheerful spoke up and Charles gave the woman a respectful bow of the head to greet her. "Carrie or Caroline? Which do you prefer?"

He looked to Dmitry who was stiffly introducing himself and was about to apologise to the man for apparently offending him when Gidyun interrupted him. He turned to look at Gidyun, biting his tongue so he wouldn't give the man a lecture on manners. The man was rude. Just like his wife.

He narrowed his eyes at Gidyun's pathetic attempt at conversation and when he mentioned they couldn't get into the actual Ministry, he internally suggested maybe letting his wife try. She could probably scare the doors open. "I'll think on it in my office." he told Gidyun, his tone just as clipped as Dmitry's had been when greeting him. Layla's question had him tilting his head though. Obviously she was asking all the right questions. Her newspaper background would have her doing that. The attempted response had Charles wanting to leave again, though. He just couldn't be bothered with people who couldn't talk around muggles. Layla's suggestion made Charles give the woman a respectful nod. "I agree with Layla. Cursebreakers may be one of our best options. Is this all related to things going missing last time?" he asked, frowning. Because that might be important information!

Cursebreakers seemed like a good option to Cynthia. She overheard the conversation as she came back to the work area, and quietly slipped into the little circle. Some of these people had been here for so much longer than her lousy day, so they knew what to do. And Mr. Taylor spoke thirteen languages! That put shame to her fluent eight.
"Is there a curse?" Cynthia asked. Layla's previous question had made it seem like there was an "it" stopping them from entering. But this was different...

He caught the greetings between them and wondered if someone had said something or done something to upset another person or persons but wasn't about to get in the middle of it. He smiled when he noticed a few people actually writing things down but looked to Layla when she mentioned curse-breakers. Hmmm...had that been tried? "I will pass on that idea to the appropriate level. I don't know if it has been tried already but I definitely will pass that on so they can send someone or a group out there to try and see if that'll work." Merlin he hoped so! This was ridiculous with trying to get into the ministry!

Wait, office? He looked towards Charles curiously and glanced around to see if he meant cubicle. Hmm, interesting... He hadn't done what Layla had...had he? "Let me know if you think of anything else." he said nodding. They needed to solve this problem soon, or who knew what they'd enter the ministry and find! Looking to Cynthia as she spoke he shrugged "I wish I knew. That could be a good thing or a bad thing if there is a curse."

It certainly could. If it was a curse, maybe they could try Finite Incantatem to reverse it. But she wouldn't be suggesting it until after the curse-breaker thing was sorted out. Cynthia added it to her list and erased number one as much as she could:

Ways to Get Into the Ministry:

. o l
2.Check Testing Room...
3. Finite Incantatem

In the meantime, she'd visit the ministry entrances. She needed exact information. And she'd have to be more and more social. This made her uncomfortable.
"Yes. By the way, what exactly happens when you try to enter through the toilets and phone booth?"

Constance moved along the hallway towards the work areas, staying out of sight. Something was odd about these people. Weird names they called people, places she'd never heard of before. Who were they and what the heck was a Muggle? And getting in where? By the toilets???

Layla turned around when she felt eyes burning into the back of her head. Now really? She was just going to openly eavesdrop? She frowned at the woman and folded her arms.

"We are trying to have a private discussion here." She did little shooing motion for the lady to get back to what she was doing but silently casting the muffiliato charm. Nosy muggle.

Someone had yet to answer Cynthia's question, and she tried to wait patiently. She couldn't help but feel that Layla did not like muggles. Cynthia didn't quite know how she stood on that.

In her opinion, there were different levels of muggle like/dislike. There were people who adored muggles, there were those who were indifferent, some who abhorred them, and many in-between. Cynthia was fascinated with their technology and way of life, but when she found herself in their world, she got overwhelmed. It was too much to not be able to talk about anything and have to conceal her identity.

However, Cynthia questioned people who didn't like muggles. She didn't see why they did.
"Was that necessary?" she asked tentatively.