First Day on the Job

Eve was an experienced secretary, but this was not a job she had dared to dream of getting--the executive secretary to the Minister and Deputy Minister of Magic. She had arrived hours early for her first day on the job, well before daylight.

She had dusted and vacuumed and cleaned both offices until they sparkled. She had gotten rid of the trash, but she knew better than to mess with the paperwork on the desks without permission. She had gotten some written notes from her predecessor about the Minister's preferences and his punctual arrival times, etc. She had noticed where her predecessor had scratched out Earl Grey about his morning tea and had penned in French Roast coffee, extra strong. She had brewed it so that it would be ready just moments before his arrival. She didn't know what the Deputy Minister drank, but she brewed a pot of the traditional Earl Grey anyway--just in case.

She double checked the men's schedules for the day, reset the all clocks so that they agreed and were properly precise with Grenich Mean Time, and then, when the delivery men arrived, she had attended to putting out the fresh flowers that made the office look like it was paying attention to detail. It was a small thing, but it was something Mr. Lupin had started a long time ago in order to set a more efficient tone to the office. She opened the blinds in both offices, as the morning routine dictated, in order to start the day with sunshine.

Her predecessor had told her that the Minister liked signs of life around him, so she had purchased a little Betta for her desk in a contemporary crystal bowl. She had found a handful of colorful antique marbles in a toy shop and had put it in the bowl with a little green water plant. The fish was a bright sunny yellow color. Unusual for a betta. She had named him Sushi because thats what her cat, Paisley, thought the fish was--sushi. But what if the Deputy Minister thought Sushi was mere foolishness? Well, it was too late now. The little fish was here.

Once all her preparations of the Ministers' offices were complete, she had a few minutes to recheck her appearance. Hair, makeup, nails, efficient Khaki colored shirtdress with a sharply tailored stylilsh edge, tiger eye earrings and beads. Khaki heels. A single large tortoiseshell barrette that struggled to hold the fullbodied blond hair in a ponytail out of her way.

She began to tend to the morning mail, separating out Minister Lupin's from Deputy Minister Elldir's. She had already completed and checked off the tasks that took her predecessor well until 10 am to complete, And the clock had yet to quite strike 8 am. Impressions were important, she knew.

Thaor checked his watch, one till eight. Shit, I'm going to be late again. He thought to himself. This would be the third morning in a row. He quickly grabbed his Ministry Robes and apparated to the ministry. He headed into the hall between his and Roberts offices when he realized there was a new secretary. Oh my God... Thaor thought to himself. The new secretary was beautiful. This was quite possibly love at first site.

Once he dragged his eyes off of the secretary, he noticed a couple changes about the office, firstly, there was both earl grey, and french roast, and the bright yellow beta. Interesting choice of a fish. he said, finally breaking the silence. I'm sorry, Robert didn't tell me we were getting a new secretary, your name is? Thaor asked politely.

She heard a man rush in, and it made her look up. He seemed a bit rattled, checking his watch. He wasn't late yet. She smiled when he spoke to her.

"I'm Eve. Eve Bostwick. I'm the replacement for Mrs. Moody. She sends her regards from Belize, by the way. She's enjoying her retirement already she says. Oh, and this guy?" she pointed to the bowl. "His name is Sushi. Because that's what my cat tried to make him. And you must be Deputy Minister Elldir. When you get settled, I can go over your schedule changes for the day. Your copy of the Daily Prophet is on your desk, and once I find out if you prefer Earl Grey or French Roast, I'll be happy to get it for you."

It was 8 am. Robert breezed in just as the clock struck the first chime to strike the hour. He saw the two in the office. "Good morning, Eve. I hope you're finding your way around. If not, I'm sure Thaor or I will be happy to help you get aquainted here."

"Yes, Sir," Eve said, standing to her feet. She knew Mrs. Moody was very specific. The faster Robert moved in the mornings, the quicker he needed the French Roast. And he seemed to be almost jogging today. She went to the coffee pot, filled the cup and handed it to him. "Your paper is on your desk."

"Thank you, but I already read it," he told her. "You may have it if you want it." He took the coffee cup and went into his office. She looked back at Thaor, not sure what to make of her new employer. He seemed authoritative, but like he had something on his mind that made him a bit distanced. A man on a misssion.

"Is he always like that?" she asked Thaor.

Thaor smiled as Eve told him about the fish. Eve, huh? That's a pretty name. Thaor said with a smile. And please, call me Thaor. he added, just before Robert walked in. Robert, you know I don't like surprises, this one, however, is welcome. He said with a laugh.

Robert rushed into his office. Thaor knew what was on his mind. He'd be leaving office soon. That would be enough to drive anyone crazy, knowing that you are about to hand over the ministry to grindlewald. Not always, but he is under a lot of stress, givin the current situation, I'd say it's understandable. Thaor replied to her question. He walked into his office and sat at the desk, taking a look at the prophet. More disappearances, no deaths this time. Which is always a good sign. I'll have some french roast today, and we can go over my schedule if you're not busy. Thaor said, holding down the intercom button.

"She's single, Thaor!" Robert bellowed back from behind his closed door, a note of playfulness in his voice, when he heard Thaor comment that Eve was a welcome surprise. He did not mean to embarrass Eve, but embarrassing Thaor just a wee bit was sometimes fun.

Eve raised an eyebrow at the Minister's closed door at his comment. "Thaor," she repeated, committing it to memory. "Alright. Thank you." That made things easier. When Robert hired her, he had asked her to call him Robert. She listened to Thaor say that the Minister was under a great deal of stress, and by the newspapers, Eve had an understanding of why. Or she thought she did. Gellert Grindlewald. Her parents had talked about him at home, when Eve was a child, as part of Eve's training about the history of the Dark Arts and why they were so necessary in such a lost and corrupt world. Her family believed only Dark Arts could save mankind.

Eve didn't say a word. She merely went over to the coffee pot and filled Thaor's coffee mug. She picked up a sheet of paper that held what had been Thaor's schedule and went to his office door. She knocked lightly and then went in. She put the coffee mug on the desk and opened his schedule book to the day's business. Beside it she laid the piece of paper she held in her hand.

"This," she said, regarding the paper, "is what you had on your schedule. Some of those events have been cancelled or changed. I took the liberty of updating your calendar but keeping a copy of your original dates so you could be mindful of what changed. And when possible, I made notes of why those events were changed. Oh, and Thaor, there is a small matter of the phone booth entrance? It does not seem to be working today for some reason. I've had several complaints come into my desk overnight and this morning. Someone mentioned they believed it was bewitched." That hadn't been the exact language the wizard had used when he had stormed upstairs and blasted Eve in the face with profanities. Eve had cleaned up his verbiage considerably for Thaor's benefit. "Is there someone I should contact to investigate it?" she asked.

Thaor laughed as Robert yelled at him that Eve was single. He would keep that in mind. She seemed, very much, his type. Thaor looked over his schedule changes. Good, the meeting with Jess was canceled he thought to himself. That was perfectly fine with Thaor, it gave him more time to deal with Azkaban reform, to put a plan together before the meeting at the Prison later on that afternoon.

The telephone booth, bewitched you say. Let Robert deal with that, I've got to focus on Azkaban for the moment, I'm going to need to you cancel my meeting with the Australian Minister of Magic, reschedule it for next week sometime, and make sure no one interrupts me for the next hour or so. Thanks. Thaor said, opening a drawer to his left, and pulling out several files, all containing information on prisoners at Azkaban who were up for parole meethings. The top file reading Elldir, Brent Nolan

"Yes, Sir. Oh, and don't forget your working lunch with the Minister. If you both give me your takeout orders, I'll have it delivered. Mrs. Moody mentioned he uses his standing account at Sparks for those, I believe. And if you need anything else, just let me know," she smiled, leaving, and closing the door quietly.

She went to Robert's office and knocked and went in quietly. She reported the phone booth to Robert who merely nodded. "I thought that thing was off this morning," he said. "It was like being stuck in a muggle phone booth for a bit. I'll have it checked. Thank you for the reminder."

"Shall I have Lizzie use the alternate entrance to deliver the lunch for the noon meeting?"

"Floo network," Robert replied. "Shut the phone booth down for now until I can get to it."

"Yes, Sir," she said, leaving to go tackle the rogue phone booth.