This was it. Lorelei’s first day on the job as the American Ambassador at the British Ministry of Magic. It was a task she had been looking forward to undertake. This was the next step in her career and she was as ready as she could possibly be. The President was going to be proud of her achievements and she envisioned him smiling with delight  at her return. Not that she knew when that would be.

She stretched her shoulders and opened the door to her new office. For a moment she just stood there and observed, wondering if this might truly be the right office. It was small - smaller than she had ever expected. Luckily her predecessor (Tanner Merriman had retired and was now spending his days in Hawaii) had had taste, and the small space was delicately furnished with a mahogany desk and bookshelves covering two of the walls. When she saw a window with the morning sunlight shining through it, she was for a second very confused. Weren’t they underground? Then she remember the enchanted windows.

She walked in, around the desk and sat down in the chair. As much as she had been looking forward to the move, it was still a daunting experience. She didn’t know anyone at the British Ministry of Magic. She didn’t even know anyone in the UK as far as she could recall. She was moving here on an entirely new slate. It came with the job. Luckily if there was anything Lorelei was good at, it was to focus entirely on her work.

She reached over to her tray of incoming mail, one already resting there, waiting for her. It was a welcoming letter from Merriman, plus a list of where he stored documents concerning what. Lorelei gave a small smile - she liked people that were organised - and sat back to read the letter. Best to start right away.

Johann emerged from the Dutch Ambassador's office down the corridor, a green quill sticking out of his hair, and he consulted a wedge of papers in his left hand, another quill in his right, marking off items from a list over the top.

Although it was first thing on Monday morning, he'd been at work for two hours already - the languages team were always overburdened and he was trying to maintain a low profile after the last month and a half.

As he passed the doors, he noticed the name on the American Ambassador's office plaque had changed, and more noticeably, the door was open, after it had been closed since Merriman's departure. In the grand scheme of things, he'd not had too much to do with the former American Ambassador to Britain, but curiosity always got the better of him.

He peered curiously round the doorframe, keen blue eyes taking in the new occupant - a witch this time, and she was already attending to her inbox. Would be rude to stare and not introduce himself now he'd gawped, so he reached out and rapped on the door politely, poised in the doorway.

"Good morning," he greeted brightly, "Welcome to Level 5." He smiled broadly. "Not the official welcome - just was down the hallway with Van Schoorl and noticed the door open." He was still paused in the doorway, not sure if he was going to be grumpily dismissed, and awaiting a visual cue.

"Johann Storm, linguist, work out in the big open office," he thumbed over his shoulder, "lovely to meet you, Ambassador Wong."

A small rap on the door made Lorelei look up from her papers. She wasn’t expecting any visitors this early on her first day, so she was a little surprised to see a tall, lean wizard standing in the door. She hadn’t seen him before and couldn’t place him. Not that this was surprising - she hadn’t really met anyone working at the Ministry before.

“Good morning, Mr. Storm,” Lorelei answered and rose from her chair. The height difference between the two didn’t really shrink as she stood up and walked around the desk - she barely reached the wizard’s shoulder. She reached out to shake his hand.

“It is nice to meet you too,” she said and smiled. “A Linguist? Well, I’m not sure we will work a lot together, but we might still come in handy for each other one day.”

She walked back to the desk and picked up Merriman’s letter, glancing over it again. No mention of a Storm as far as she could tell, but she knew Merriman. He would be one to get acquaintances all over the Ministry. She looked back up at Storm with another polite smile. She thought she could place him instantly - hard working and an early bird, though with a tendency to be a bit messy with his work. He looked like he would have one of the messier desk at the department. Her eyes flicked briefly to the quill sticking out from behind his ear.

“Did you share any work with my predecessor Merriman? I would love to know how he usually worked.”

Johann gladly shook Ambassador Wong's hand, enjoying her accent, and not batting an eye at how short she was in comparison to Johann. A lot of people were considerably shorter than him, including a number of friends. They had the advantage of fitting in places a lot more easily.

"Quite, Ambassador." He agreed, on his best behaviour, "But always good to have a connection should international politics take a volatile turn, or one need the menu at the Department social events decoded."

"Did you share any work with my predecessor Merriman? I would love to know how he usually worked." Wong asked, after consulting something on her desk. Johann shuffled his feet in the doorway, one ear keenly listening for movement in the corridor should he need to vanish and stay out of the way. He had been meaning to keep a low profile of late, but he could rarely resist meeting someone new - especially an Ambassador.

"Regrettably little, though did enjoy his tales of Madagascar at the Christmas party." Johann admitted, a hand going to rearrange his paperwork so he wasn't folding over the bottom corners as he grasped the pile to his chest. "He had a good send off from here, well respected. Been here a long time…" He paused, realising that it might sound like the new arrival would not be as well loved,
"Your neighbour, Ambassador Collins, for Canada could probably tell you much more." Johann took a step into the hallway, glancing along, to spot a memo circling above the closed door.
"Not in yet, by the look of it." He gave a shrug as he stepped back into Lorelei's doorway.

"Been in Britain long?" He asked, feeling awkward to depart so promptly without at least showing some interest. With any luck, the welcome party or even better, Gabrielle would be along soon.

Their department head, much like the linguist before Lorelei, had been to work for every bit since seven opposed the usual eight this morning. The quick read of the Prophet, double checking off final letters that would be sent to the respective Ministries that had allowed their schools to participate in the Tetrawizard Tournament, observing the upcoming weeks and their respective agendas, including any memos from Maurice and the Minister, possibly smuggling a purple shade memo off to another department asking about lunch, and finally reading up about the American Ambassador who they recently acquired. Most impressive, indeed, she had mused as she headed out of the office heading towards the ambassadors' offices.

Hamilton, as per fashion, passed the pair, eyebrow raised and smirks a plenty given towards Johann. Sure, the man was due to be afforded a little sympathy - after all, the scandalous talk of what was going on in Level Two regarding the Storm family had been heard after all. "Welcome to the family and its insanity, Ambassador Wong. Kadyn Hamilton. A pleasure. Mr. Storm..." were his only words as he headed off, passing Gabrielle along the way. The pair met eyes momentarily, Hamilton ducking his head, excusing himself from her as Gabrielle's brow rose in a manner of 'what are you up to?' towards him.

The brow fell when she approached Johann and Lorelei, a smile appearing in an instant. "Good morning to you both, especially you, Ambassador Wong. I'm Gabrielle Murray, the department head. We're quite pleased to have you join us -- myself included," she replied, offering a hand to shake as well. Her eyes did look to Johann, smiling warmly at him. Godric knew he needed support, work and family alike.

At the mention of Collins name, Lorelei peered down at the papers again. Yes, there was a mention of a Joseph Collins of Canada. Of course Merriman would’ve had the intelligence to include him. She made a mental note to walk over to his office and introduce herself as soon as he arrived. After all - the two of them would probably share countless notes over the coming years.

“Been in Britain long?”

“Not at all,” she answered and looked up at Storm with a smile. “Arrived this Saturday, so I haven’t had that much time to familiarize myself with Britain. Or even London. Though I am currently renting a room at the Leaky Cauldron, so I did manage to see a bit of Diagon Alley yesterday. Quite quaint.”

A man in his forties turned up behind Johann and gave a short introduction. Lorelei only managed to get a small “Pleasure to meet you too” in before he was off again. Curious. He hadn’t even introduced what he did at the Ministry. She was just about to ask, when Murray entered her office.

Department Head Gabrielle Murray was one of the few people Lorelei actually knew of. Before travelling to Britain Merriman had sent her a small file regarding Murray. Nothing secret or damaging. Just a file on the things she had to know before arriving at the Ministry. Smiling brightly, she reached out her small and perfectly manicured hand to shake Murray’s.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms Murray,” she said as she let her hand go. “I am looking forward to working with you. I hope I can live up to Merriman’s reputation.”

"Not at all, arrived this Saturday, so I haven't had that much time to familiarise myself with Britain. Or even London." Ambassador Wong explained, "Though I am currently renting a room at the Leaky Cauldron, so I did manage to see a bit of Diagon Alley yesterday. Quite quaint."

He nodded in agreement,
"Yes, it is isn't it? Good place to start..."

Although proficient in awkward smalltalk, Johann was a little relieved to see Gabrielle appear and gave her a warm but modest smile in greeting.

Hamilton sauntered past, and Johann afforded him a cold stare before turning back to Ambassador Wong with his full attention. His Department nemesis dissuaded by the presence of their boss.

"Good morning to you both, especially you, Ambassador Wong. I'm Gabrielle Murray, the department head. We're quite pleased to have you join us - myself included."

Johann clasped his wedge of papers to his side and stood out of the way as the seniors exchanged their greetings.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Murray, I am looking forward to working with you. I hope I can live up to Merriman's reputation."

Johann gave a lopsided smile, thinking of her predecessor.
"I wouldn't worry about living up to his reputation, Ambassador." Much as Merriman had been jolly and upbeat in his role, he perhaps gave more ground in disputes than others might, which did give him the perception of being a little soft.

"Ambassador Wong was just remarking she's not yet had a chance to acquaint herself with some of the wonders of Britain past Diagon Alley. Travesty." He remarked to Gabrielle, and glanced to the Ambassador, "When word gets round you will be inundated with invitations."

Gabrielle would have agreed heartily with Johann's thoughts about Merriman had she heard them -- the man had been pleasant enough company in the end, a damn good worker t'boot. No doubt Wong would be a blessing and benefit to the department, not to mention another witch to have matters to speak about that a wizard need not be involved in hearing. Noting Hamilton's passing once more, her eyebrow rose -- Stop preening yourself; you're not a peacock....well, opinion there at best, but honestly. Can you not do this? she mused within her mind, her lips remaining a neutral expression before snapping back to attention in the trio's conversation.

"Mr. Storm's quite right about the invitations, you realise. Once he was adjusted to London's Ministry, I made sure to show him about. I would recommend in Diagon quite a few places, but I'm sure you'd fare well to investigate some as well. This said, if you need my services to show you around, I'll be glad to. Is there anything you need from us currently, my dear?" she replied, a mouthful and a half coming from her lips.

Lorelei was a bit surprised with the pleasantries her two new colleagues gave her. She had had this notion that British witches and wizards where an angry sort with a superiority complex. However, that might be from seeing some of the supporters at the Quidditch World Cup in 2006. The drunken bellowing and jinxing of the British supporters had made a lasting impression on her.

This was a breath of fresh air.

“That would be very nice of you both,” she said after the hints of invitations flew from the two. “Getting to know both London and my colleagues would be a great way to get introduced to this country.”

She smiled towards the Head of the Department as she finished.

“Is there anything you need from us currently, my dear?”

The ‘my dear’ part stung a bit in Lorelei’s ears, but she brushed it off. This was how people spoke in the UK, and she had to learn that for herself. And it wasn’t some elderly wizard who had used the term just to belittle her. That would’ve been a mistake.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said. “Or, well, a map of the premises might be helpful.”

She finished off with a small laugh.

"Mr. Storm's quite right about the invitations, you realise. Once he was adjusted to London's Ministry, I made sure to show him about. I would recommend in Diagon quite a few places, but I'm sure you'd fare well to investigate some as well. This said, if you need my services to show you around, I'll be glad to."

Johann maintained a somewhat neutral expression about being shown round - Gabrielle had indeed accompanied him on a few excursions while he had lodged with her, and pleasant trips they had been. He still had fun exploring the odd corners of Britain on the occasions he had a weekend. He fancied going to a place called Slandermouth just to see how on earth the place functioned with jarveys insulting the residents. It sounded like the least likely place anyone would want to go.

"That would be very nice of you both," Ambassador Wong replied, looking pleased, "Getting to know both London and my colleagues would be a great way to get introduced to this country."

He nodded, but was not forthcoming with an offer himself, aware that he might not be available in the upcoming days with the trial looming.

"Is there anything you need from us currently, my dear?" Gabrielle asked.

"Oh, I don’t think so, or, well, a map of the premises might be helpful."

"It's easy enough to navigate." Johann replied smoothly, but I will ask a welcome witch on your behalf to do so. From his inside jacket pocket he procured a pink memo, and scribbled a request with the quill in his hand. A moment later it had sailed from his hand and away.

"Apologies, Ambassador, Madam Murray, I must get on, need to brief my team. Do find me if I can be of assistance, Ambassador. Has been a pleasure to meet you." He gave a little half bow to her and a nod to Gabrielle before departing.