Edwin had some new robes tailored for his first day in office. Smart, formal deep grey pinstripes with a silver thread detail. He offset it wth a fine red silk tie. His hair was neatly trimmed. It had been a whirlwind few days, making sure Quill was entirely happy with everything on Level 3. He’d taken her out for dinner, assured her his greatest confidence in her skills while trying very hard not to patronise the witch who would have led the Department earlier had she not taken a break. He was a little sad to leave behind the Department which had been his for a decade, but it was more than time to move on to greater things. He’d also spent fleeting time with Zephyr, the outgoing Minister who had already moved on to the Confederation.

Finally, after a short formal ceremony with the wizengamot, where Edwin had been sworn in[1], Edwin made it upstairs to meet the staff of Level One. They were the same staff who had served Zephyr, but now they were his staff, and he would have to know them as well as he had known his Department team to keep their allegiance and ensure they worked their hardest.

The lift gate rattled open onto the thick plush carpet of Level 1, and Edwin took a deep breath, flanked by wizengamot support staff who had accompanied him from the swearing in.

“Good morning,” he greeted in a raised voice to the assembled staff in the hallway, gathered in teams around their offices. “We have many challenges already facing us, and I am sure many to come. It is imperative we stand together, hold firm our Ministry. I very much look forward to working with you all.”

Had that been alright? He was having a moment of self-doubt. Someone introduce him before it got awkward.

1.	As Minister is the magical community’s Member of Parliament, more or less, it’d be similar to this

Since the day Zephyr had told her old friend and assistant that she had been elected as Supreme Mugwump and would therefore be stepping down as Minister for Magic, Eva had dreaded who their new leader would be. Persepolis had been a decent boss, someone who showed respect and held very similar beliefs. There was little telling just what their new minister would be like.

The candidates, Eva had encountered in various guises. She’d known very little about Prewitt before the announcement. Glass, she’d met before at meetings for Heads of Department. He’d tried flirting with her in private as well. Storm, she’d never met face to face. For the past few weeks, Eva had done her own research into the candidates, eager to have some sort of preparation for when the day came that the new Minister for Magic wandered onto Level 1 to take up office.

The morning of the fourth had been spent preparing Level 1 for the arrival of Edwin Glass. Undersecretaries remained in their offices, preparing files and reports, continuing to push through their daily work load. Holmes rallied the junior staff while Kuester had been sat in her office, a pile of parchment overloading the desk.

She’d soon found herself in the purple carpeted office of the minister, straightening things, organising the parchment and directing the young junior assistant to set the tea things on the coffee table near the comfortable seats. With the office now silent, Eva was sat in one of the armchairs, taking a moment of silence, perhaps mourning the short time she’d spent working with Zephyr. The excitement of working with Glass was rather non-existent and she needed to get herself into the correct mind set.

A quick check of her pocket watch late in the morning signalled the short ceremony would be done; Glass would be on his way. Reluctantly, Eva slipped her feet back into her heels and rose from seat, making her way to the double doors of the grand office. She pulled them open and stepped outside into the main space to see their new minister approaching, adorned in a crisp new pinstriped suit.

Expectant faces stared at him from around the room as he greeted them all. Then there was a momentary silence. An awkward silence. Eva decided to step forward, having closed the door to the office.

“We are all very thrilled to welcome you to Level 1, Minister.” she offered her hand to the wizard. “Evangeline Kuester, senior assistant.” In case he was one of the rude people that didn’t bother to learn names. “Would you like to make introductions now or later, Sir?”

“Ms Kuester.” Edwin greeted respectfully, shaking her hand politely and nodding once slowly. They had met before, and he was glad Evangeline had chosen to remain in post even though Zephyr had moved on. He had observed their closeness as a Department Head. “Well, as everyone is assembled…” It would be rude not to address them all, and work hard to commit names to memory.

He was sure he might get a few wrong as they made it into Zephyr’s - no - his office. The sea of faces had quickly found their way back to the offices along the corridor and back to work. Even though their Minister had changed, the Ministry was a big machine and didn’t stop.
“Right. Thank you Kuester.” Edwin spoke as they crossed the plush purple carpet, her red velvet heels threatening the fibres far more than his beautifully polished Oxfords. “I thought Agatha Crone was going to try and keep hold of my hand all morning.” He remarked with a smile, bemused at the oldest member of staff on Level 1 who had seized his hand to shake but held on to it while telling him earnestly how she’d served more Ministers than he’d had hot dinners at Hogwarts. Given her wrinkles looked like an ordnance survey map of a mountain range, Edwin supposed it was entirely possible.

“There is undoubtedly much to brief me on, but would you care for a cup of tea, coffee, first?” Edwin asked, sighting the coffee table with the teapot. He was more of a coffee drinker, truth be told. But as Kuester would undoubtedly be doing the majority of the speaking in the short term, his hands were more than able to pour.

“She’s been looking for a new husband since her last one left her for a younger, seventy-one year old witch,” Eva allowed her lips to twist into a small smirk. “Just don’t make eye contact for too long, Sir, and you’ll be fine.”

They pushed into the office and Eva closed the door behind them with a click. Some of the matters to discuss now were not for all ears. Ministry staff were, by nature, nosy. Level 1 staff thought themselves the elite, getting to work so closely with the Minister for Magic. Eva saw it as a pay check and a chance to do what she did best. She only hoped Glass would let her.

“Tea, thank you Sir.” Eva wasn’t going to offer to pour. That would set a precedent. Instead she took a slim folder from the minister’s desk and brought it to the cozy seating area, lowering herself into an armchair and crossing her legs.

“I’m not sure what Zephyr went over with you before departing office so please stop me if I’m repeating her.” She smiled at their new boss, trying to seem at ease in an environment she was far more familiar with.

“I can start with what roles are, if that helps?”
“By all means.” The new minister agreed, starting to pour drinks.

“Right. I won’t insult you by explaining what our interns do. More importantly, Holmes, Maurice. He supervises junior staff on the Level. He’s your walking diary, any arrangements you need for trips, he’s probably already sorted them. Most communication in or out of this office, unless private, goes through him.” Her bright blue eyes glanced over him as she tried to read the new minister.

“I’m essentially your public buffer, Sir. My job is to make sure that the Minister’s reputation is squeaky clean and we have no legal issues arising within the office. Zephyr hired me as confidant, advisor and…” Eva paused, remembering fondly with a small smile. “bulldog.” The file was momentarily placed on the coffee table and Eva allowed herself to make firm eye contact with Glass. “If there are any skeletons in your closet that might come out during your term, Sir, I advise sharing them with me so I can tackle them fully aware.”

Edwin filed that tidbit of information in his mind alongside Agatha Crone dressed as a fairytail crone cowering over a gateux. He wasn’t going to forget that name now, and his thick lips turned into a brief smile at Kuester’s humour. First impressions were rather positive so far. He let her go ahead as he poured two cups of tea. He nodded at regular intervals, and settled back into the armchair opposite her. Holmes was known for his staggering efficiency, he was bloodhound.

“Bulldog?!” Edwin remarked quietly, Kuester was far too easy on the eye to be compared with those wrinkly faced dogs.
“If there are any skeletons…”

“A man doesn’t serve through an occupied government without a few,” Edwin acknowledged, his expression was humble, gaze on the teapot between them as he spoke, but he righted them to her as he continued. “None that should trouble us in the short term I hope, Kuester, but thank you for making me aware.” Edwin sipped from his teacup and placed it back in the saucer.

“How have you found dealing with the dementors for the past couple of years? The Prewetts last March[1], for instance…”

1.	9 March, 2010 Dementor Encounter in Northumberland

Eva considered explaining why exactly Zep had thought her a bulldog but she decided to save that for another discussion when she was perhaps more comfortable with the new minster. Instead, Eva took up her teacup and lifted it to her lips as Glass responded. Even if not completely upfront with his possible transgressions, he was honest that there were some. Those would soon need to be shared should she be able to do her job correctly.

His question, however, took her off guard and Eva lowered the teacup to the table, frowning. From being the confident professional, Eva suddenly felt like the rug had been pulled from beneath her feet and she was lay sprawled on the floor for all to laugh at.

“I’ve only been on Level 1 since October.” Perhaps she could sidestep the question. Was it wise to?
She took a pause, contemplating a more serious response.
“In all honesty, Sir? The Dementors is a matter Persep…Minister Zephyr and I disagreed on. You’ll find much of the office is divided. I have an idea how dangerous they can be.”

But he probably wanted facts, reports.
“The provisional manifestos are on her…your desk, reports and plans, if you want me to sort them out for you?”

“Time flies,” Edwin remarked softly to her correction about the time she had been on Level One. He studied Eva carefully when she expressed a history of disagreement with Zephyr over the dementors, and that Level One as a whole were split too. He would have his work cut out to unify them as best they could, towards a common goal with dementors if they were to sort this issue. It had gone on far too long. He did nod once at her remark on their danger. They were dangerous, and they were not to be trivial and accepted parts of society.

“Thank you,” Edwin replied to the manifesto mention. “It is one of my priorities to tackle the dementor situation head-on. Dealing with it on Three has felt more like firefighting, and it is clear from recent events that Nine has had its head elsewhere.” Edwin sipped his tea again before setting the empty cup and saucer aside. He had been more thirsty for all the greeting and ceremony than he realised.

He retrieved the first from the coffee table, studying neat lines of figures, overleaf, a enchanted drawing of a shifting cloud over Britain indicated the changing dementor swarms. The lines of his brow deepened. It was not encouraging data at all.
“I would like to see the most recent reports on Project Retiarius please, Kuester.” Edwin asked, though his eyes did not leave the page, he added, "This afternoon.” He had a lot of reading and questioning to be done. He lowered the file, “And will you ask Holmes to schedule a meeting with Devereux and her leads on the project this week. I want to understand exactly where we stand and why there has been no visible progress.”

He slid the file back onto the coffee table and reached for the tea again, glancing to Kuester to see if she would take another too.
“I have many aspects to consider, besides Dementors, but in your capacity - from one Minister into the next - what else do you perceive as most urgent priority for us to address in my first few days?”

“Of course, Sir.” Eva responded to his requests. From her robe pocket, she took a small notepad and self inking quill, scribbling the request in French. Most of her notes were in French shorthand, her delicate cursive script covering most parchment on her desk. It was through habit that she still did this due to over a decade of working with French muggle lawyers. Habits were difficult to get out of.

A tiny shake of her head indicated no tea needed; Eva had barely touched the cup he’d already poured. This wasn’t a relaxing time for a chin wag and introductions. It was far more formal than when she’d started with Zephyr; her old friend immediately insisting on her using first names in private.

“It’s a long list, Minister.” Kuester’s brows rose before she set her quill down and looked across at her new boss.
“Corruption.” She didn’t need time to think. “People need to be able to trust the Ministry. Gamp stopped that.” A shrug later and Eva was glancing down at her parchment, considering. “You will want to meet the new Head of Creatures, Alexander Carter. Zephyr hired him before stepping down. He has very specific ideas for policy reform concerning werewolves and vampires. I wouldn’t know if they fit with your ideals, Sir.”

“Yes, but I need to meet with them all,” Edwin replied, dismissing Carter as anything special at the first instance. Quill Som would take up his old post in Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and do a fine job. Solomon Carstairs would probably not enjoy closer scrutiny, Gabrielle Murray was off on maternity leave at any moment and would be deputised, Flash Lockhart would just be, he rarely had anything useful to contribute in Edwin’s opinion. Alexander Carter, Jacqueline Devereaux, Quill Som would all be ‘newer’ to their posts with Edwin, and whoever replaced Murray with his blessing would be too. Ordinarily, Edwin would be dismayed at changes, but at this time he welcomed new faces to bend to his will.

“Did they fit with Zephyr’s then?” He asked, meaning Carter, his thoughts of the Department Heads internalised beneath his steady stare past Kuester’s armchair.

“Yes, but I need to meet with them all,” Glass told his new assistant as if she’d not considered it. He’d asked for her opinion of where his priorities should lie. She very much considered meeting someone new to the British ministry yet in a position of responsibility should be a priority. If their new minister didn’t agree, that was on his own head be it.

“Of course, Sir.” Very quickly, Kuester was making judgements on her new boss. Her lips were pursed as she considered the way in which she would need to approach situations with the wizard. It was hard to have to adapt to a new boss after having worked for an old acquaintance and school friend. Evangeline certainly wasn’t excited about the prospect.

The question caused the witch to have a moment’s consideration as she pressed her lips together.
“Mostly. I think he was mainly hired to give the department a bit of a change.” She gently shrugged her shoulders before allowing her gaze to fall past the new minister to his desk. “Alors…On your desk I have left the more prioritised documents and reports. They include some dossiers confidentiels mais after your inauguration they should be visible to your eyes only.”

A bit of a change. Hm.

Edwin was a bit of a change too. Kuester best get used to it. Edwin was well aware of her chummy ways with Persepolis, and he had no intentions to emulate it. Whereas he might have made a pass at Evangeline to provide some entertainment in his working day, now he had moved up here he had to knuckle down. It had been years since he’d had this much to learn, understand and control. He couldn’t go fucking it up now. Especially not literally, however attractive his legal advice was.

“Thank you.” Edwin gave Evangeline a respectful nod at her explanation that she had left details for him to read. “I shall review them next.” There was a pause, the new Minister both relishing his day so far, and also feeling he could do with a moment to collect his thoughts and orientate himself. He had no pressing engagements, only expected several interruptions as people came to congratulate and introduce themselves.

“If there’s nothing else, Kuester…?” Edwin asked, gesturing politely with both hands, and sitting forward in the armchair as if he might get up.

Eva knew a hint when it was given. The introductory meeting was done and Glass was telling her to leave in as polite a manner as he could muster. It had to be somewhat overwhelming, the influx of information being thrown at him and the mass of faces he’d just been introduced to. The wizard would have to learn fast and waste no time in getting to know his staff or he’d sink. Holmes could help with that more than Eva was willing. Perhaps to the wizard’s irritation, Eva saw Maurice Holmes as more of a house keeper, a matron to keep the office working smoothly. Eva didn’t have the patience for any of it.

A tight smile was forced onto her lips and the witch rose from the chair, smoothing down her skirt.
“I don’t think so, Sir. If there’s anything else, I am in the office to the left. Mr Holmes’ desk is just outside your office. If he’s not there he’s scaring a junior staffer.” Another polite smile was offered her new boss before she grabbed her notepad and quill off the coffee table and left the office, pulling the door to shut with a soft click.

It was less than a second before she was accosted by a few witches and wizards, asking about the new boss.
“After a five minute meeting?”
“I heard he’s a bit of a womaniser.”
“And that’s not something you’re going to repeat again. He’s your minister.”