Griffon looked around his office. It was no longer the lush, outdoorsy environment it once was. When he had taken the post as the head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the first thing he had done was make his office more comfortable... by turning it into a forest. Now the room looked as it had before he'd taken his position- square, bare, and devoid of any comfort or personality. Sterile, like a freshly cleaned room at St. Mungo's. Griffon hated looking at it. Not as much, though, as he hated looking at the cardboard box on what was once his desk, filled with his various belongings.

He had tried- really tried- to make a good department head. He had been in the world of magical creatures since his graduation from Hogwarts. Even spending almost fifteen years in Tibet wrangling yettis. But things were a lot different now. It seemed that there was less concern in protecting creatures and more concern in protecting humans from them- even if that meant hurting the animals. Griffon believed all animals to be blameless and innocent. He had stopped with the yeti task force because their methods had changed. The yeti were majestic creatures who were being hunted out by the muggles, because of the legends. Instead of moving the yeti to safe places, keeping the humans away- they started killing them. It had been wrong. So, he had left.

But life as a department head wasn't glamorous. Not that Griffon had been under the impression it would be. But it didn't suit him well. He'd thought, back in January when he took up the mantle, that perhaps he just needed time to adjust. It was hard to go from adventuring all of the time to sitting behind a desk pushing papers and delegating responsibility. Griffon felt claustrophobic in the office, which was why it had ended up like a forest. He didn't like being confined to a building, having to follow such strict rules, becoming the sort of man that he'd always resented when he was younger. The upper echelons of management were always so out of touch with reality and how things were...

He was growing tired. Not the kind of tired that came with age... The kind of tired that came with boredom, that came with a soul who was ill at ease. This wasn't the life for him. He was the sort who needed to be on the front lines, be hands on. Griffon needed to be working with the animals, doing something to make a difference, protecting the dangerous and misunderstood. It was just a part of who he was. He could hardly do that from behind a desk at the Ministry of Magic.

Griffon had thought being at the helm would make the difference. He had a lot of real life experience. But things had not been good this year. There had been the influx of werewolf attacks, and the issue of werewolf rights. Griffon had never been able to take a stand on the issue one way or another. And then the problems with the goblins. A problem which instead of addressing head on- he had actively avoided. Finally had been the corruption he was beginning to uncover in his own department- one that almost got Margo Amherst fired. It was obvious many people in the office thought him a buffon. Perhaps their opinions were not wholly incorrect- perhaps he had been ill qualified for the job, and inept at performing once he had received the promotion.

This office had never really felt like home. The work had been more like work, and he lacked the excitement and vigor he once possessed. Perhaps Griffon Manley was not quite as young as he used to be- that was true, but he was far from old and far from used up and worn out.

It had been a difficult decision to make. But he had been searching for something new and different. Something that was exciting. And when Griffon was offered the chance to work with one of the largest dragon reservations the wizarding world had to offer... Well, something in him had ignited. A flame which had burnt down to nothing but coals and embers flared up again. And he knew what he had to do. Griffon knew that this was not the place for him. That he had to leave to save what little was left of his happiness. Find some fight and spirit before he lost it all.

He had chosen to make a quiet departure early on Sunday morning. Hoping to avoid most of his now ex-employees. He wasn't one for prolonged or heartfelt goodbyes. He would be gone. And tomorrow he would be learning his way around a dragon reservation. Just like that, he would be gone from the ministry and moving on to a new chapter in the exciting life of Griffon Manley.

But the last eleven months had not been all bad. He had learned a few things about himself. He had gotten the chance to be there for family when they needed to him, to show support for his god daughter when she had needed him. But he was filled with wanderlust- it had always been that way. He accpted the offer from the dragon reservation, and turned in his resignation from his position. Griffon had named a few worthy people among his department to replace him. He had expressed his appreciation for the opportunity, and had apologized for the manner it which it was all ending. Of course, Griffon had a feeling he would have been fired eventually anyway. His decisions were sometimes brash and questionable, and he had a habit of avoiding some of the more important problems instead of tackling them head on...

That didn't matter, though. Griffon picked up the cardboard box and tucked it under one arm. There was a small part of him which was sad to leave, a part which was dissastisfied with his performance- his seemingly obvious failure at being the head of the department. But that part was drowned out by opportunity and excitement for the future. Dragons were a part of those dangerous and misunderstood creatures. He liked them. And if he could handle yetis, he could handle overgrown lizards who breathed fire- right? And if not, well, he'd rather go down in a blaze of glory instead of slumped over a desk.