"So, I can get here through those?" Jacoba asked, glancing over her shoulder and gesturing back towards the fireplaces lining the wall of the Ministry's atrium. "I can floo straight from Diagon?"  Jacoba couldn't deny the appeal of avoiding the rigamarole of the brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron. 

Of course, there was another solution to that.   

Edwin Glass was leading the way down a rather fancy, elaborate corridor to a set of what appeared to be lift gates.  She'd only just arrived but, even so far, the whole process had left her both delighted and awed.  In the short time since Jacoba had first planted herself in the wizarding world, she'd seen a fair bit.  Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and even a few corners of wizarding Germany.  But, with the exception of her few brief visits to St. Mungo's, what she'd seen of the wizarding world had been decidedly rustic.  Old world.  Juxtaposed on the old, wooden signs up and down Diagon, the elaborate fountains, golden gates and polished floors seemed surprisingly fancy and modern. 

Just as the lift gates slid open, Jacoba chanced a quick glance down at her shiny, new identification badge and grinned.  Who would have thought?  Her.  A government employee.  It was a little more complicated than that, and part-time, but it was still an official government job. 

But, she should be paying attention to the process of getting to this government job lest she find herself wandering through the building, completely lost, tomorrow. 

"And, there's nothing special I have to do with the buttons, right?" she asked as the lift lurched into motion, on its way to Level 3. 

"Yes, from Diagon, from most places actually, and once your face is familiar to those here on guard, you'll have no trouble." Edwin assured Jacoba, nodding and smiling to two of the maintenance staff who were wandering past, one of them drenched.

"No," Edwin smiled kindly again, "wonderful thing is magic."

The lift hung open a moment waiting for two more lavender memos to zip into the space above their heads.

"You may want to hold tight, it's not quite the full chauffeur experience." Edwin gestured to the golden ropes hanging from the ceiling, just in time as the grille rattled shut and off they shot.

The disembodied voice called out:
"Level 3, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, incorporating the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters, Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee and Magical Maintenance…"

They stepped out into the corridor and the grille rattled back into place, the lift trundling back off on its journey. Edwin gestured to the enlarged copy of the statute of secrecy printed onto the wall nearby.
"What we strive to uphold, the Statute, or to give its proper name, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. First signed in 1689, established officially in 1692. This important piece of wizarding law from the International Confederation of Wizards safeguards our kind, yourself included," he gave a wink, "from Muggles and hide our presence from Muggles around the world." He fixed Jacoba with a firm stare and added, "I will be testing you later."

The intensity of the gaze lasted moments and then he smiled broadly, clapping her on the arm.
"No, it's alright, not today, anyhow. Let me introduce you to the Department." He beckoned her up the corridor which opened into the broader Level 3. The main office was mostly open plan, clusters of mismatched desks roughly arranged in teams. Around the edge were doors leading off to offices, storage etc.

"You'll be working with the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee to begin with, at least, though I'm quite keen if you would help us review things like the emergency wardrobe, as I think a few rogue things have slid in to say the least."

Matters had been quiet for once. Aisling was grateful for that, for a chance to get a bit of review settled, to clean up some paperwork and generally finish everything that got pushed aside when everything was stressed.

With any luck it'd remain quiet. And Abigail would be starting soon, with any luck. More assistance to keep everything in order.

Speaking of new blood, it seemed that Edwin had just appeared with some. Jacoba Schlagenweit joining Level Three was surprising, to say the least, and Aisling expected that there was more going on behind the scenes when it came to that. But it wouldn't do to pry.

So she set the paperwork she'd been skimming down, stood, and started over towards their new arrival. "Welcome to Level Three. I've heard we'll be working together." She offered the other woman her hand and smiled.

Despite considerable temptation, Jacoba managed to step off of the elevator without trying to strike up a conversation with the disembodied voice, just to see if it did more than announce the floor, or intercepting one of the ominously circling paper aircrafts.  In fact, aside from a stray amused comment about how muggles were prone to being nervous about low-circling airplanes, Jacoba managed to complete the trip without an obvious tourist-y faux pas. 

"Should I be taking notes?"  For a moment, Jacoba bought Edwin's threat of a test until the man returned to his usual casual air and finally led the way to the midst of Level 3. 

It was a familiar face that approached first and Jacoba grasped the offered hand.  "Yes.  I'm looking forward to working together.  I'm sure there will be a bit of fumbling at first but I'm usually fairly comfortable with diving head first into things."  Obviously. 

"You have an emergency wardrobe?"  Jacoba glanced at Edwin with a curious grin.  "Are there strategically placed phone booths around the city?  I'd be happy to take a look. 

"When you're ... assimilating with muggles, is there a particular role or class you try to portray?  Is it usually business attire or do you ever have to blend in with the footie or goth crowd?" 

"Of course we have!" Edwin exclaimed to Jacoba's curiosity, though it wasn't clear if he was being sarcastic.

"You and Aisling will be able to bolster our Muggle liaison terrifically in coming months I am sure, and will be one of the few here who will be best to show you the ropes. I'm afraid I've meetings this morning, including one with the Minister, so will have to depart in a little while."

He introduced a few other faces, passing from Magical Maintenance.

"It does depend rather on the situation and the locality. A smarter appearance does lend itself to being respected and raising less eyebrows in the Muggle community for roles of authority shall we say."

Aisling smiled a bit at the mention of phone booths. If only. There was a reason she usually wore fitting clothing to the Ministry, after all.

"It's also a bit easier to manage business attire, there tend to be less cultural issues. We've had a few issues involving shirts bearing internet memes, as then our employees are assumed to know the meaning of them by the public. Makes for some very awkward situations. Let alone trying to explain roflcopters." That had been, well, dreadfully awkward seemed a bit of an understatement.

She shrugged slightly. "And it's easier to keep up with fashions that don't change too swiftly as well, keeps us from having to replace our collection every six months." Her hand smoothed her white skirt, pressing out invisible wrinkles.

Ministers.  Magical Maintenance.  All of these were words and terms that Jacoba had encountered in the past though almost exclusively on an abstract level.  Minister of Magic was something read in the Prophet.  Magical Maintenance...well, that was one she had yet to come across and with a smile and a wave, Jacoba watched them pass, momentarily fascinated by what they might encounter on a daily basis. 

But, Jacoba's attention returned to Edwin and Aisling as they explained the emergency wardrobe.  That answer seemed to provide more insight to the Ministry's role when interacting with Muggles than any of the more academic discussions before. 

"So, we try to take a more official role when out and about and in disguise.  More ... business-like governmental officials from an unidentified Ministry than grassroots blending in."  It made sense, especially if they were trying to sweep in and tidy up a magical mess. 

"Thank you," Jacoba offered Edwin, remembering he had meetings to get to.  She was as appreciative of the opportunity as he was of the time he'd taken that morning. "So I follow you, now?" Jacoba asked, turning back towards Aisling. 

Ack!  So sorry this took so long!

"Not at all. Good to have you with us." He clapped Jacoba on the shoulder heartily and nodded to Aisling.

"I will leave you in Aisling's capable guidance for a while, and catch up with you later. I shall be most interested to hear what your first impressions of us are." He smiled and gave them both a little dip of his head as he retreated and left them to things.

Aisling returned Edwin's nod, then turned back to Jacoba. "Well, we are government officials. And it does prevent a certain quantity of...attempting to portray behaviors that our employees might not be properly familiar with." Merlin, but the things they tried.

She waved for Jacoba to follow her. "It's difficult enough to arrange for acceptable clothing without trying to follow changing trends. Though you might be able to manage that better than I could." One of the unfortunate realities of spending so much time in just one world.

"I'll show you what we have. Shouldn't take long. A few charms help a great deal with fitting." She started to walk, slowly at first, but picking up her pace as she went on.