The first Tuesday of the return from the holidays always showed a spike of heavy-laden work for all Ministry officials & workers within the building. Usually one or two little issues arose but it seemed that 2009 was going to be much different indeed. Murders, mischief, mayhem, & malice all were compounds mixing with the magical equation.

The day before, Monday the fifth, had been from Hell & still was for Level Five - papers had been flying & well, the department head was beginning to believe she was going to  lose her mind. She applauded on how Raynor was able to keep it all straight laced amidst insanity. Gabrielle had not much rest in her (only five hours Monday night, she counted), as she was still recovering from the flooding of information due to the British Museum incident. A break was well needed & deserved but it seemed it would likely never show.

That was, until a rapping knock pulled her eyes away from the reports she had obtained from undercover workers from her department & a few from the Aurors. "Enter," she said in what sounded like a growl but was more derived from an exhausted sigh. Her secretary stood there with a worried look for her head in command - the dark circles were a little hard to not miss. "It's almost noon, ma'am. Your appointment with Mr. Whitman is in five minutes. Are you still planning on seeing him or need we to reschedule?"

Shite. She had forgotten that the Wizengamot youngling was coming today indeed - Gabie feigned a smile as to mask the truth. "Let him in, but make sure we look presentable. I need you to make sure Dragulia & Ahmed know they have a meeting at three too. Oh, Elias too - thank you, love. That'll be all." The door shut & Gabie began cleaning the entire room, leaving herself mere moments to freshen up before Oscar showed himself to her office. Mere blinks of an eye & the room looked as though pandemonium had never existed here - papers were organized, the ambience set with music & pleasant scents replaced dischord. She was ready. She hoped so.

Oscar toyed with his tie as he sat at his desk, swiveling his chair in back and forth jerky motions, mentally preparing himself for his morning. But the return to work following the holidays had not been as exciting as he thought they would be. For some reason, when he had accept the position of Wizengamot member, Oscar imagined that it was going to be more glamorous than it was. Certainly more glamorous than his previous position as an aide to most of the Elders of which that he had been  insanely envious.

But no. Now Oscar was nothing more than a glorified aide. Because he was the low man on the totem pole, he was by most standards, considered a lackey to the other members of the Wizengamot, specifically, the Elders. As much as he hated it, there was little he could do about it for the time being. He would simply have to work his way up to notariety, much in the same way he had done so to secure his place to begin with, despite some thinking he only got where he was because of his family name.

Sighing heavily, the usually hard working Oz could not get over how uninspired he felt on this particular day. Luckily, when he noted the time, he was reminded of his meeting with Gabrielle Harker-Murray, who belonged to the group of Elders that he routinely assisted.

Pressing himself up from the chair, he pulled his suit jacket straight and headed out of his office. It wasn't long before he was waiting outside of her office right on time for the scheduled appointment.

When he was escorted inside, he glanced around at the eerily spotless office and then his blue eyes settled on the woman. His voice cut into the silence and he carefully asked, "I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?" His lips curled into a smile and he motioned to the door. "I could come back later if you wish...."

Of course the room had to be prim & proper - it was not very ladylike to be all messy, now was it? Then again, she was hardly for one being a smartarse too. She was nice enough as allowing Oz to enter & then quickly snapped her wand at the door. It slammed with a loud bang as it shut, no doubt causing the workers nearby in the department to jump. No one would hear next what she was about to bark. "Wipe that damned smile off your face, Whitman. Sit down & shut up - you were the one who asked to be here." Oho, Gabie was in a righteous mood indeed as she looked at Whitman. For a bloody non-relative, he sometimes felt like a nagging little brother (oddly, Johann was one at times too) who really wanted to push buttons to see how far he could go. Oiy.

"So. What brought you to me, Oz? I am flattered, mind you, love, but why not any of the others? I am quite certain that you could have picked Jason, Knox...any of those & they would've been willing to be okay to talk with you. But you picked me - how quaint." She knew that he was flattering her, toying with emotions which one didn't do often because Gabrielle was an unpredictable land mine. Either she was harmless like a dud one or she blew up in your face, which was often in her past. "Tea, coffee, sparkling water, riesling?"

She felt more like a bloody houseguest than a department head. Really. "I suppose you read about the British Museum incident?" Who hadn't. "I heard that a few of our own was there & that the poor Blake bloke being mistaken for Katsaros. A shame, really, but the resemblence is uncanny." A pause. "So what would you like & what do you need? I have you jotted in for about an hour & a half." Hopefully, they would be left alone - or so she hoped. She really didn't need more on her plate today.

Oz's brows arched up as he watched he Wizengamot Elder's swift movements with her wand, clearly showcasing her skill as a witch. Old and wise, he would never say to her face. For Gabrielle did not look her age at all.

Oz did his best to do as she commanded, steeling his face so that it did not look as offensive to her. Though it might be smart to ask how high when she demanded he jump, Oz slipped into the chair and very carefully crossed one tailored pant leg over the other. He reached out to straighten the fabric so that it fell perfectly and would not wrinkle. Even if it did, he could always perform some anal retentive spell to banish the kinks.

Oz then plainly set his hands atop his knee. He coolly responded to her demanding ways with a placated, "Yes, I did ask to be here. I chose you because I feel as though I get along best with you compared to Jason or Knox. No offense to either of them." This may well have been true. Oz probably would change his tune of he were sitting in front of either of the aforementioned men. It all depended on what played to his favor. For now, pretending that he worked best with a female Elder was his course. A bonus was that she was much more pleasing to look at then her male counterparts.

"Nothing to drink for me, thank you. Unless, of course," he paused for the dramatic effect. "It is a requirement for a moment of your time. In which case, whatever you are having is fine with me."

He flashed her a cheeky grin before responding to her next round of inquiries. "Yes, I have heard of the Museum incident. My aunt currently sits on the Board of Directors so I often am privy to the news there. Of course, it is a shame it is of the unfortunate kind."

Oz finally splayed his hands out before him, his face becoming more serious. "As for what I would like and what I need, that is not why I am here. I simply wish to know what it is I can do to be of service to you." Oz paused for a moment to consider what he should say next. "I am ambitious and hardworking. Put me to work. Afterall, that is what lowly members like me are good for, right?"

Oz was hoping that Gabrielle might throw him a bone. Perhaps there was a case she was working on for which she needed help with the preparation. He wanted as much experience as he could possibly get. And if he still wasn't considered more than a glorified administrative aide, well, perhaps then he could at least get to assist on some of the beefier cases, so to speak.

Or, she could simply continue to torture his egomaniacal self.

Vlad just 'happened' to stop by his daughter's office...as the first step towards paying his penalty for having cut out on yet another family dinner. He had left poor Gabie...and worse yet, Imp...to deal with Kabir and Gwydion, who at the time Vlad received the emergency Owl were just beginning with their verbal sparring. But yes...it had been a true emergency...a collision involving a Blast-Ended Skrewt, a tourbus  and a large group of German Muggle tourists. In other words, an international incident in the making...

Vlad rapped gently on Gabie's office door, and to his surprise it just sort of opened by itself . This was not a thing which regularly happened, so given recent events such as the Ministry lockdown and then what had happened in the British Museum, Vlad was alarmed. After all it was the door to his daughter's office.

He went on in...after all if the worst that happened was that it proved to be a false alarm, he might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. He saw that Gabie was there, along with that smart-alecky youngster whose attitude seemed to be that if you were over 40, you might as well shrivel up and blow away. Since Vlad was the oldest member of the Wizengamot, it was only natural that he should find this offensive. After all Gabie had inherited at least some of her youthful resilience from his side of the family...

And besides...he did not care for the way Whitman was looking at his daughter. It seemed downright disrespectful.

"Gabie," he said, a bit too casually. "Did you tell me that meeting with Kabir was...erm... set for three this afternoon. Or was it five?"

Of course he knew it was three; Vlad had an excellent memory.

But...if Whitman needed torturing and Gabie wanted a little help with that, Vlad would be most pleased to assist...