The Wider Wizarding World discussion

-enter Friand-
Friand walked into the pub, worn out from all the work that he had done today, but very much so looking forward to having a drink or two with his colleagues, and maybe making a couple of new friends that he and his wife could go out with. He sat down and ordered a firewhiskey, waiting at the bar for more people to arrive.

-Enter Dmitri-

Dmitri entered in a flourish of snow and cloaks with some other wizards from the International Magical Cooperation department. He nodded stiffly to most of them, including Friand, pointedly ignoring some who had evidently got on his bad side. He sat down and quickly ordered a vodka cocktail. He sipped it carefully as he waited for more to arrive, particularily Imogen Lee. He wanted to have a word with her about the upcoming election.

Friand saw Dmitri come in, and he shivered involuntarily. He strongly disliked that man, and he disliked few people. He continued drinking his firewhiskey in silence, returning the nod that was sent his way in politeness, waiting for someone more pleasureable to come his way.

-Enter Uriah-
Uriah walked into the pub steadily. he smiled at everyone who looked his way and gave Friand a litle wave of greeting. He even flashed Dmitri a smile of pearl white teeth before he sat down and ordered a butterbeer, not wanting to drink anything harder than that tonight, seeing as he would be talking to people, and everyone knows that being drunk is not a good way to make friends. Once he got his butterbeer he made idle chitchat with other patrons of the bar that were sitting next to him.

-Enter Eva-
Eva walked in, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself. She nodded at a couple people, pointedly ignoring Dmitri and a couple other people. She walked up to the bar, exchanged greetings with Hannah and ordered a small fire whiskey.

-Enter Skye-'

Skye shuffled in, brushing snow off her yellow coat. She flashed a small, quick smile at Uriah, Friand, and Eva, and a terrified look at Dmitri. She muttered an indisctinct word of greeting and quietly ordered coffee. She hung around in the back, not making eye contact, blowing on and tentatively sipping her coffee.

-Enter Elizabeth-

Elizabeth walked in, avoiding the annoyed looks of the Ministry members that a Daily Prophet columnist had dared come to the Cauldron. It was a relatively free country. She ordered a firewhisky - nothing better- and sipped it, sitting down on the other side of a table containing Colin on the other side. She liked Colin. He at least wouldn't give her any trouble.

((Are we summarizing for Robin and Oliver and them as well?))

Aiyana, A PotterWhoLockian wrote: "-Enter Eva-
Eva walked in, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself. She nodded at a couple people, pointedly ignoring Dmitri and a couple other people. She walked up to the bar, exchanged greetin..."

Friand gathered up his courage and went over to Eva. He had always had trouble talking to women, even his wife. He wanted to make some friends though, and he remembered Evan being alright in Hogwarts.
"Hello, How's it going?" He said, sticking out his hand in greeting for her to shake. He hoped that she would so that they could strike up a conversation.

((Sorry for the late reply; didn't they talk to each other in the atrium before/after the announcement?))

((Well Oliver said he was assembling a team to go to gringotts so robin and Oliver went there, but litera hasn't been on for a while so I haven't been sure if I should just bring my characters to the leaky cauldron or not))

-Enter Robin-
Robin crept in, not sure how many of her co-workers would show up, but noticing a few, giving her some confidence. She removed her hood walked in the general direction of her colleagues. She greeted them warmly, even Dmitri despite his rudeness during the meeting that morning.
She got to the bar and ordered a fire whiskey before made her way over to Friand and Eva.
"Hullo!" She smiled warmly. "Did you all have pleasant day, I hope?" She inquired, rubbing her cold hands together quickly to warm them.

Alexis wrote: "Colin brightened at the sight of Elizabeth. "Afternoon, Liz," he told her. "Been keeping busy? How's that cat that got stuck in the tree last Friday?" He wasn't eager to pounce on the subject of th..."

"I dunno what you mean by a cat in a tree," Elizabeth mused, taking a hearty sip of firewhisky, "but what with everything that's going to be happening at the Ministry, I might lay low for a while." She smiled appreciatively. "I never liked the Ministry, especially not with all their politics and the like. Can't really column it either, I'm no reporter. But I figured I'd skedaddle down here anyway to see the horde." She loosely guestured around the room after a greeting wave to Nav, who she quite liked despite her violent mood swings. "I suppose your week is about to get a whole lot more interesting, hmm, Colin?"

Dmitri noticed Imogen come in and nodded politely. It wouldn't do to show direct dislike of such an important person - and a highly suspected to be runner in the election. He took another sip of his drink, ignoring most of those around him but making light, lilting looks in everyone's direction. After deciding on something, he stood up and went over to Imogen. "So," he said conversationally, his silver tongue already flapping. "I trust you are interested in running for Minister? If the rumors can be trusted, of course."

"I have already sent it off," said Dmitri smoothly. He didn't add that he'd had it ready for years. "It should reach your office soon enough. He guestured around the room with a wave in his hand. "I daresay half the Ministry came here today. I suppose we all need a drink, hmm?" He gave a small, soft, yet unnerving laugh.

"Except he doesn't work on the Law Landing," Dmitri muttered underbreath. He sat back down, and when he caught Imogen's eye he gave a snarky glance that quite plainly said that he did not believe her.

-Enter Rhoda-

Rhoda pushed open the door the pub and scanned the bustling room for any sign of Navdeep, whom she had agreed to meet. She spotted her towards the bar stools and made her way over. "Woah, that bad," she said eyeing her firewhisky. "I know staying in a room full of a bunch of uptight politicians was going to be a nightmare, but you can't have missed me that much, Nav."

-Enter Charles-

Charles came through via the Cauldron's fireplace, not one of the most professional ways to turn up, but right now he couldn't care less. If it were up to him, he would have given his resignation letter to the Minister, but the fact that she still wanted him there and two top spots left vacant would cause absolute chaos. Although, he couldn't imagine anything worse than this. He needed a drink. Now. He walked up to the bar, running a hand through his hair. "A Bilshen's Firewhiskey," he said to the bartender, draining his shot. "Better make it a double."

Litera wrote: ""Yes, no doubt. Actually, Mr Balakin, you'll have to excuse me. I need to discuss the state of the Law Landing with Mr Hartford, over there," Imogen lied smoothly - she couldn't remember the first ..."

"Hello there, Imogen. Quite an announcement that you had there this morning. caused quite the kerfuffle." Uriah said, offering his hand in greeting.
"Uriah Hartford. I heard you mention my name before when you were talking to Dmitri. I couldn't help but overhear, so I was wondering if you wanted to talk to me about something?" He leaned back on his chair, flashing her a grin of white teeth.

DragonDreamer wrote: "-Enter Robin-
Robin crept in, not sure how many of her co-workers would show up, but noticing a few, giving her some confidence. She removed her hood walked in the general direction of her colleagu..."

"Yeah, I guesst that it was alright, but that announcement has me very shook up. I must say that I wasn't expecting something like that." Friand said, drinking some more of his firewhiskey, nodding as he did so, as if agreeing to his own comment.

"Well, then I assume that you didnt' come for the marvelous company, because as you can see, I'm all alone." He gestured around him, smiling good naturedly still.
"So there must be something about me. I saw that you were talking to Dmitri. I can't stand that bloke." he shivered, frowning a bit.
"He gives me the willies, if you know what I mean." He drank some more butterbeer and rested his elbows on the table, his smile returning.

((see ya!!!!))

Eva looked up, "hello Friand, Robin, Oliver." She said, smiling at the three of them. "My day was good, and yours?" She added, taking a sip of her drink. She glanced around the room, not really paying attention to the people.

Ethan {Hardcore Whovian} wrote: "DragonDreamer wrote: "-Enter Robin-
Robin crept in, not sure how many of her co-workers would show up, but noticing a few, giving her some confidence. She removed her hood walked in the general dir..."

Robin nodded. "That announcement was troublesome... I wonder who is all going to run for Minister. I'm sure Imogen will be in the running. She's a really hard worker and so organized." She took a hearty gulp from her mug of firewhiskey. She sighed as she felt the burning liquid roll down her throat. It was nice in its own way. "And have you decided if you are going to run or not?" She asked Friand. She recalled him mentioning it earlier in the morning.

"My day wasn't too bad. I enjoy getting out in the field more than being suck in my office doing paperwork." She smiled, recalling with fondness the times she got to actually remove someone's memory and tamper with another person's.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that I will, partly because I really don't want that Dmitri guy to win, and partly because I want to be minister, because I think that i might be good at it." Friand said thoughtfully, his eyes coulding over for a second as he thought about who of all the people might actually vote for him. He made it a point not to be rude or mean to anyone, so he hoped that there would be at least a couple of people that voted for him.
"ANd I don't mind doing paperwork so long as it's not terribly monotonous, like doing employee reviews, where you're doing the same thing over and over. Do you know what I mean?" He was getting more and more comfortable with these people observing them to be fairly nice and not rude at all. He drank some more of his firewhiskey, emptying it to half full, sighing with contentment as it burned it's way down his throat, finally residing in his stomach, whenre it smoldered for a while. He loved the stuff, but he never drank more than a few glasses a night for fear that he might get drunk and make a fool of himself.

Ethan {Hardcore Whovian} wrote: ""Yeah, I'm thinking that I will, partly because I really don't want that Dmitri guy to win, and partly because I want to be minister, because I think that i might be good at it." Friand said though..."

Robin nodded as she listened, nursing her firewhisky easily. "I wish you luck then." No everyone is up to the task, but I think it's great that you are. Finally one of us, the humble, human workers." Her words began to flow more easily as her inhibitions eroded away.

"I could never do that. I like my job. I get to work in the field a lot and remove bad memories. It's like giving people a chance to have blissfully ignorant lives." She smiled fondly and took another drink.

"I bet Dmitri's going to run." She thought out loud. "I'd rather you won than Dmitri. He doesn't like me."

-Enter Laurel-
Laurel bounced on into the Cauldron, her dark brown hair bobbing up and down as she stepped. Her smile was bright like it was christmas or something and she was dressed in a cute orange sweater and a lovely floral skirt that screamed springtime even though it was winter. Luckily she had on some warm stockings and boots appropriate for the weather.
"Hello Everyone!" She addressed the crowd of work colleagues. She absolutely loved gatherings like these and thought they really should have these more often. She ordered water only because she wanted to remember every bit of tonight. Who said what, who kissed who, who started the fight, anything of interest really. Such things delighted Laurel to no end.
She looked around, deciding who she would talk to when she noticed the sweet Skye girl sitting all by her lonesome. That just wouldn't do. She made her way over to Skye's corner.
"Hullo there! Mind if I join you, Skye?" She asked, smile still as bright as fireworks.

Litera wrote: "Imogen almost choked on her Gillywater as she took a sip. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth wavered in between a condescending smile and an unimpressed line. She set down her glass loudly. "'There..."

I've been trying to figure that out myself, Imogen. But you are welcome to stay and talk, I do enjoy the company." He said, taking a napkin and wiping up the messt that Imogen's Gillywater had left when she put it down.
"So, word around the Ministry is that you're running for Minister. How true is that?" He asked, his face turning serious for a moment.

DragonDreamer wrote: "Ethan {Hardcore Whovian} wrote: ""Yeah, I'm thinking that I will, partly because I really don't want that Dmitri guy to win, and partly because I want to be minister, because I think that i might b..."

"Thanks for that, It's good to know that there are some people who are rooting for me. Or at least, someone like me." Friand said gratefully. One of the reasons that he was here was to see if there were any people here that would vote for him, because if people wouldn't, then it would just be embarrasing if he ran.

Litera wrote: ""Oh, it's always that bad," Nav replied with an eye-roll and a smile of greeting. "It was hell! They all smelled of Primpernelle's; it was disgusting. It would've been so much easier if I'd had som..."

Rhoda laughed. "Okay, that I agree with." She managed to pull an affronted at Nav's next comment. "Hey! Lay off the gingers!" She said indicating her own hair. "Yeah, I guess we can make an exception for her, she's absolutely vile." Rhoda laughed again. "Another anonymous message? I'm surprised they haven't called you out, but then again the gossip column print anything they here. I bet they're having a field day with what happened with the Minister's son."

"Oh, hi Laurel," said Skye, a bit taken aback by Laurel's vibrant attitude. She didn't know her very well - frankly, she didn't know anyone too well - so she was exceedingly surprised. "Um, sure. I wouldn't mind at all. Er, how's your day been? I daresay the announcement this morning threw everyone into a tizzy."

"I heard about all that business, but I didn't think much of it," Elizabeth drawled. "I'm a columnist, not a reporter. I don't tend to stick my nose where it doesn't belong." Her glittering eyes seem to say exactly the opposite, however. She sniffed slightly, taking another sip of her drink. "I never liked much of the Ministry. I worked there for a few years, but it was always a bit too hectic and not at all organized. Not that I expected much from the honchos these days like Balakin and Lee out there. Bloody politics. A huge part of why I chose the Prophet. Good for gossip, of course, but it does put a damper on the day. Just last week we had a bunch of news - would have made a fantastic story if I weren't a columnist - they won't let me become a bloody reporter, say my brains have gone to the bogies. Insolent prigs."

Litera wrote: ""Well, what would you imagine to be my reasoning?" Imogen replied, still unsure about his manner, though jovial enough. "Ah, the rumour mill at work, I see," she rolled her eyes with a small sigh...."

"Well, personally I think that you would be a wonderful minister, much better than Dmitri, that's for sure. I heard that he's running as well, so you know. If you ran, I would most certainly vote for you." Uriah smiled again, raising his glass as if to toast her.
"To you, and your soon to be career as Minister for Magic." He said it quietly enough that only they could hear it, for fear that he might offend someone.

Laurel smiled. "My day has been fantastic, thank you! Yes, that bit of news was rather sad. I hope they find her son soon. I wonder if he perhaps simply disapparated once he realized he was in the hospital and had no idea why. I imagine it would have been rather confusing, but I suppose we shall see once the investigators solve the case..." She thought about it a moment, not really caring to bring that negativity up.
"I don't want to focus on that though. I am so happy everyone is getting together tonight! It seems like it's been a while since we've all done something. I wonder what's going to happen tonight. What do you think? Who is going to kiss who? Will there be a fight? These gatherings really do excite me." She giggled, blushing a bit to herself.

Robin smiled back at Friand. He was a really nice bloke. She wouldn't be surprised if he got the popular vote. Though Imogen might still give him a run for his money. She was always so driven and dedicated to her work. Robin was surprised Imogen even came tonight. It didn't really seem like her kind of scene.
She realized her mug was empty and unconsciously ordered another. She was fairly sure that 2 was her limit. Or was it 3?
"Your wife would be proud, yeah? Have you told her you're thinking about it?" She asked as she received her second drink for the night.

"No, I actually haven't told her that yet. I just decided that I would do it tonight. I'll probably tell her in the morning." he smiled, finishing off his firewhiskey and ordering a water. He drank some, then put it down on the table.
"Are you thinking of running?" he asked, thinking that she might be.

Litera wrote: "Imogen

"Flattery, Mr Hartford, will get you anywhere," Imogen said after a surprised laugh, smiling - surprising both herself and anyone that knew her. "It's nice to hear that someone'd vote for m..."

"Do what? Talk? I don't mind that at all. Go ahead and talk as long as you want, I'll just close my eyes and listen to you. And as for the stuck up snob thing, I see right through that facade. I don't believe for a second that you're like that. If you were, you wouldn't be talking to a lowly underling such as myself." He laughed a bit, glad that she was too. Seeing her loosen up a bit was nice, and he notced that for what seemed like the first time ever, he saw that she was wearing her hair down.
"I like what you did with your hair. You should do it more often." He realized what it sounded like after he said it, but he decided to let it sit and see what her response was. He hoped that she didn't think that he was just sucking up to get a promotion, because he wasn't, he wasn't that kind of person. If he was going to get a promotion, it would be because he deserved it, not because he gave puppy eyes to his superiors.

Dmitri watched Imogen carefully as she laughed with Uriah Hartford and also at some others. He allowed the thought of them perhaps winning. And at that thought, only one emotion coursed through his being: Hate. He straightened in his chair. He could not let them win. He could not let his father look down on him as he always had. He could not allow the wizarding world to look down on him as they always had. It wasn't going to happen. He downed the rest of his drink and ordered another, this time a firewhisky. He would do anything for the position. Even unlawful things. The firewhisky burned down his throat as he gave a small, knowing smile in Imogen's direction.

Robin giggled a bit and shook her head.
"I could never be Minister. Too much pressure and publicity. I get chills just thinking about it." And she did, in fact, shiver at the thought of standing up in front of everyone at the Ministry and giving an acceptance speech, then messing up for the world to see. No. That was one job she would never wish for.
"I don't think I could handle it." More drink. "What about you, Oliver? Eva? Would you ever try for Minister?" She inquired.

Litera wrote: "Navdeep

"I never said there was anything wrong with being ginger - I made the observation that she is ginger," Nav corrected with a small triumphant smile. "Whether you find being described as hav..."

Rhoda groaned. "Ugh, you know what I mean. I swear it's beginning to sound like it, it's either one dig or another. I can't separate the simple statements from the remarks now."
Rhoda grinned. "I knew that was you! But then again, I think everyone was expecting her to have one eventually, what is this her fourth husband? They sure are entertaining, have you ever just walked up to one of them, sat down, make a single comment and off they go!"

"I mean no disrespect at all. I was just using facade as a relative term to say that I know that you aren't like that at all. I mean, judging from teh fact that you are here, laughing and talking with coworkers means that you aren't like that." He noticed her blushing, but decided not to say anything, seeing as she looked downward to hide it. He returned the knowing look, smiling kindly back to her, trying to draw her out of her shell more.

DragonDreamer wrote: "Robin giggled a bit and shook her head.
"I could never be Minister. Too much pressure and publicity. I get chills just thinking about it." And she did, in fact, shiver at the thought of standing up..."

Eva looked up, "Me? Oh no... I do not want to be minister; I love where I am now." she said, smiling brightly at Robin. She took another small sip of her drink, reaching into her pocket for a random piece of chocolate that was in there.

-Enter Neala-
Neala walked in, glancing around at everyone before going up to Hannah to chat and order a Gillywater. When Hannah saw her, she hugged her, then started talking rapidly about something. Neala smiled and nodded, not really paying attention as she watched different people converse.

Alexis wrote: "Colin laughed. "Oh, the Ministry's organized," he answered. "It's just a study of organized chaos. You either get used to it, or you crash, I suppose. What bit of news are you talking about--someth..."

"Don't remember saying nothing about a bit of news bigger than the Minister and all that jazz, but the local gossip is usually worth hearing," said Elizabeth easily. She snorted. "Well-organized chaos indeed. Seems more like just plain crazy to me, but there you are." She sipped some more, lost in her own thoughts as she looked around the room. "So, seems like that Dmitri bloke is going to try and run. He's a right idiot, mind. I hope he's prepared to lose." She guestured with her ring finger loosely in Dmitri's direction.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I would pay good money to see Balakin in Weasley's," she said, still chuckling. "That Miss Lee is no joke, though. I hope it isn't down to both of them, however. They're both a bit too focused. Of course you need to be focused to be Minister, but we don't want a constant nose to the grindstone chap. That's why the old Minister was so good at her job." Elizabeth sighed slightly and paid for another firewhisky. She could hold her liquor quite well for an elder witch. "Anyone else you know who's running, Colin?"

Elizabeth waved her hand, shrugging. "I have a lot of connections around the magical world that keep me informed - dead useful when you're at the Prophet, mind you - but the trouble is figuring out what's true and what's not. I've heard earfuls here and there, some saying that it'll be Uriah Hartford, others say it'll be Skye Lerwick." Her mouth twisted sardonically. "You know how it goes. So I'm just going to have to wait."

DragonDreamer wrote: "Laurel smiled. "My day has been fantastic, thank you! Yes, that bit of news was rather sad. I hope they find her son soon. I wonder if he perhaps simply disapparated once he realized he was in the ..."

Skye, who really understood nothing of what Laurel was talking about because of the older witch's rapid speech, so she just nodded slowly while she digested the information, wondering what to say. Laurel was a wonderful witch, but bubbly people tended to throw Skye off balance. "I reckon the investigators will find him and everything will be fine," Skye said lamely after a long pause. "The gatherings are alright, I spose." She checked her watch nervously, because at this time she usually did her rounds around the department. The announcement had thrown everyone's schedules off and there would be nothing to check, and Skye was full aware of that fact, but her OCD self was struggling to realize that the regular schedule had been interrupted.

"I doubt she'll try, though," Elizabeth mused, looking over at the woman in question, who was talking with Laurel. It looked like a rather one sided conversation though. "Her schedule is planned to the last second. A Minister needs to be able to roll with the punches. Miss Lerwick, from what I've observed, loses it if she is five seconds late to anything. I wouldn't mind Hartford, though. Maybe I'll vote for him, if he's even running. What about you, Colin?"

Aiyana, A PotterWhoLockian wrote: "DragonDreamer wrote: "Robin giggled a bit and shook her head.
"I could never be Minister. Too much pressure and publicity. I get chills just thinking about it." And she did, in fact, shiver at the ..."


Friand's mouth turned up slightly as he drank some more of his water. "You know, I am happy with where I am now, but you know, might as well right? I mean, now I can be talking to my grandchildren and say'Hey,your grandpa ran for minister' or even'Your grandpa was the minister for magic'. and I think that that would be something that i would like to do. He finished his statement, nodding slightly at the end, then returning to his drink, humming a song slightly off tune quietly to himself, waiting for a response.

((Hello. sorry about my timing, was doing science homework.))

Alexis wrote: "Colin shrugged and sipped down some more butterbeer. "I'm not big on ideas," he replied easily. "I prefer watching other people come up with them, it keeps me out of the line of fire. I'll just wai..."

"Last election was brutal," Elizabeth emphasized. "Be glad you weren't in the Ministry to see it. I could practically see the sparks flying and the blood flowing. It was insane. Hopefully this year's will be more peaceful."

((DONE MY HOMEWORK!!!! I HATE CHEMISTRY!!!!))

((Well, I don't HATE it, but right now I don't like it very much. I just made a study package for a unit test, so I hate doing that. too much writing.