The boistrous sounds and bawdy atmosphere of Signature assulted the elder woman’s ears. She wasn’t the woman she was twenty years ago when the blasting noise coming from the night’s entertainment would have put a genuine smile on her face. Actually, now the best she could manage was a sort of grimace as the clamor drilled deep into her already aching skull. Perhaps going out tonight wasn’t her best idea as of late, but she hadn’t been out at all in months. It seemed like one thing after another until she couldn’t stand it anymore and had to get out.

One thing was certain, she wasn’t going to hear noise like this stuck in the bowels of the ministry. She might have heard noise similar to the racket heard in the club at Hogwarts, but she’d rather have an unliftable tickling charm placed on her before she ever returned to that pestinial school. The entire place was a madhouse of mediocrity and insanity. Children showed no respect for their staff and after that silly little infirmary incident, Jacqueline swore she would get out of the teaching business for good.

She liked where she was now, back within the Department of Secrets and Lies. It’s what she was good at, where she thrived. She didn’t like being an underling to a man much her junior, and she didn’t enjoy the crazy crackpots that worked among her, but she could deal with all that. She absently tugged at the gold chain around her neck. It was a new addition to her wardrobe, and she could proudly say that she was one of a handful throughout the entire world to be wearing one. Not the chain, they were pretty commonplace, but the small attachment hanging from the chain was not. Timeturners are tricky little beasts and it was her job to make sure they didn’t fall into the wrong hands. Actually that was only one facet of her endless job duties.

If she allowed it, her office would keep her held well into the night. Without windows, and the hours she worked, Jacqueline hadn’t seen daylight in months. It wasn’t healthy, so as she sat, grimacing in pain, she looked somewhat eagarly around, trying to spot someone she knew. She was so out of touch with the wizarding community it wasn’t even funny, and she simply couldn’t allow that to happen. Jacqueline, though she would never admit it, was a total gossip. She loved to know the juiciness that flooded the streets and alleys of London. At least at Hogwarts there were kindred spirits, all the staff gossiped among one another. Most of the other unspeakables were just that, unspeakable. It seemed to her that they would rather cut out their own tongues than even think of speaking to her. Ugh. What kind of mess had her life become?

It was not unlike Griffon Manley to troll Signature (or other clubs) in the search of a young lady to woo. He never took them home, never took advantage of them, but it definitely did something for a man's ego to know- that even though he was middle aged- he still had it. In the case of Griffon it was certainly true that the apple did not far fall from the tree- his father often did the same thing, and he was eighty-four years old. But the head of the beast division prided himself on the fact that he did it for company and not for sex- it made him better than most, and it made girls feel like they had to be special if he wasn't just after a chance to get in their knickers.

Things had been rather boring as of late in his own ministry department. He was itching to get back in the field, to do something other than paperwork and supervising. A desk job was a far reach from wrangling yetis in Tibet, and Griffon felt lazy, sluggish, and bored most of the time. He really needed to find something to do to make sure he kept in shape. Perhaps he would pester the aurors about helping him with a workout regiment. At least one of tem had to bite. Maybe the pretty Miss Raynor would oblige him.

He was surprised, however, on this current evening excursion to Signature to spot a very regal looking older woman. She looked familiar, causing Griffon to believe he must have spotted her around the ministry though he had never formally met her. "Unusual place for such a classy woman," he commented to her with a smile. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Looking around, Jacqueline saw many familiar faces, though none that caught her eye. Most of the people were much too young to be of any interest to the elderly witch, and the ones that weren’t were much too outlandish and outrageous for Jacqueline to pay them even a passing glance. Then there were the others the people much too enthralled in their own partners to even take the time to break their passionate embraces for even a gulp of air. Those people sickened her. She remembered a time when that look was plastered on her face, the look of sheer bliss. The grimace quickly turned into a scowl.

Feelings were starting to resurface, feelings she had hidden from the world for years. Feelings she had hidden even from herself. Perhaps it was being back within the department that did it, or maybe it was the February air. Either way it made her nauseous. Maybe a drink would help. She savored the warmth and sheer oblivion that the alcohol promised. She knew she would regret it in the morning, but for now, what was the harm? Even if she ended up calling in sick tomorrow, what could anyone possibly do?

It wasn’t like they were paying her well. Her salary was meager at best, and with her having to pay her own housing, her budget was a little tight. Tight for Jacqueline anyway. Of course she still had her ‘retirement’ fund saved, and a large mound of gold in the bank, but Jacqueline was a lavish spender. She required the best, and the best also meant the most expensive, she deserved it! Another drink couldn’t cut too deep into her pockets, so why not?! She was well on her third when someone’s voice carried over the din.

"Unusual place for such a classy woman, Can I buy you a drink?"

UGH! She recognized the man from the creature department. She rarely ventured from her halls, but it was the job of an Unspeakable to see and hear but not to be seen and heard, she fit the title well. She loathed the man’s department so much she avoided it at all costs. When riding the lift she covered her nose when it passed by the creature floor, she wouldn’t even allow interdepartmental memos from the floor into her office. She claimed they had an off smell. The vermin they let in their offices! She wouldn’t have things like that in her floor unless she needed them for an experiment, and even then she’d be skeptical and have them restrained and blindfolded.

Her nostrils flared, as if she smelled something foul. He was right in stating that she was classy, and he was also right that it was unusual for her. “One more can’t hurt,” she said rather curtly, not even catching the man’s eye. She wasn’t one for idle conversation with someone she didn’t know. If he wanted to talk he needed to make the effort. Maybe if he had an honorable profession, an Auror maybe, she may be more persuaded to chat, but it was all up to him now.

It was quite an unlucky ting for the unspeakable to be faced with Griffon. He was incapable of picking up on most social clues. He had, after all, just spent more than ten years in Tibet wrangling yetis. Any change in her body language after she had realized who he was went unnoticed by the head of the beast division. Instead, Griffon just saw it as a challenge- and assumed that the woman must think he was there looking for barely-legal tail. Let her think what she wanted, though, her opinion was of no consequence to Griffon.

He motioned to the bartender. "Another for the lady on me," he said.  But she hadn't decided to attempt conversation with him- and Griffon knew that conversation was difficult in such a setting. Plus, the man had no idea how to strike up a conversation with someone who wasn't half his age. This woman was older than him- at least by ten years if not more. Not that he had a problem with more experienced women- he definitely appreciated them. He wondered idly if his father had ever flirted with her. Argyle was eighty-four- but it didn't stop him from chasing women at the ministry.

"So why not choose a quieter, less obnoxious place for the evening?" he finally asked after ordering himself a beer. He settled in- definitely letting the woman know he wasn't about to go anywhere. She had caught his eye. Not necessarily because she was beautiful (she was nice looking, but he'd certainly seen better), but because she was out of place. It was interesting- and going out to places like this rarely put Griffon Manley in touch with interesting people. She should have just told him to bugger off if she didn't want to talk to him. It would have been a blow to his ego, but he could have found someone willing to lick the wound later on.

So, obviously Jacqueline’s hard exterior and snobbish attitude wouldn’t shake this one from her. She felt like telling him to find some other helpless damsel to pester, because Jacqueline certainly didn’t fall into that category, but then she realized that she actually did. Manley probably wasn’t the first person on her list of conversationalists, but he could do. Plus, he was the one buying the drinks, and Jacqueline was a miserly old woman, if someone else wanted to buy her a good time, she’d be a fool to not let them.

"So why not choose a quieter, less obnoxious place for the evening?"

“You know, It’s usually polite to introduce yourself to someone before starting to pry into their private lives.” So Jacqueline was a little edgy. She was very touchy about her job, well, she had to be, and she was sick and tired of quiet, less obnoxious places. After about ten seconds in Manley’s company, however, she was practically screaming for her cubicle in the office. Plus, though he looked like he was getting pretty comfortable beside her, Jacqueline wasn’t totally sure if the man was trying to pick her up or not. The last thing she needed was a man. UGH!

“I’m a member of the Department of Mysteries, I’m around quiet all day, and sometimes that’s not what you need. Sometimes, even if the music is crude and overly shrill, and the crowd is less than pleasurable,” She eyed the man suspiciously, “sometimes you just have to get out.” Maybe it was the booze talking, but Jacqueline was NOT the kind of person to be spilling her emotions like she was, especially not to a dirty, icky man like Manley.  Plus, she had an extreme passion for etiquette and people who observed it, and Manley seemed to be oblivious to manners and the like.

((sorry for the short reply and long wait. Got a little busy))

Griffon couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't the first time he'd been chastised for being less than polite. It was one of his less attractive habits. But when you were living in Tibet wrestling Yetis on a regular basis, the need for pleasantries was not very common. Not only was it uncommon, but it was unnecessary. And many of the people who worked in his department had no time for it. They weren't all crass or crude- far from it- they just weren't accustomed to dealing with people who deemed such a level of propriety.

"I find introductions to be pointless in a place like this. Chances are that you don't care to know my name anyway. Nobody really does. I could be a variety of different people depending on what suits you best for the evening... But since I try not to make it a habit to deceive women who have little tolerance for bullshit, I happen to be Griffon."

Ah. The Department of Mysteries. They were all a very aloof bunch. Even the head of their department- Ward- had a stick up his arse. It was one of the job requirements, he supposed. At least Ward could appreciate a nice whiskey now and again though.

"Sounds like a good reason to me," he told her with a grin. "Sounds like a more interesting job than mine, too. Magical creatures for me. Always has been. Before I came back to the ministry a few months ago I was living in Tibet, wrangling yetis. Most beneficial job I ever had. Apparently when you work with an international task force of wizards you learn a few languages along the way."

"I find introductions to be pointless in a place like this. Chances are that you don't care to know my name anyway. Nobody really does. I could be a variety of different people depending on what suits you best for the evening... But since I try not to make it a habit to deceive women who have little tolerance for bullshit, I happen to be Griffon."

Jacqueline’s lips tightened, a pure sign of her lacking patience. Manley was right, she had very little tolerance for bullshit and on first impression he seemed like the kind of guy that was full of it. Jacqueline wanted to call him out on a number of reasons, not the least of which being his overt lack of observational skills. Had he paid any attention at all, he would know that Jacqueline was much more than just a casual purveyor of clubs and bars. Perhaps with a little more observation he would have realized that she worked just a few floors below him and after a supercilious and fleeting encounter the two would notice each other quite a bit more often than before.

“I’m Jacqueline. Jacqueline Lumpkin.” She said, extending her dainty hand for the man to grasp. Even though she didn’t care for the man in any way, she felt no need to make enemies right off. Plus, what was the harm in giving her name? Half the wizarding world knew her name, and those that didn’t at least knew her reputation.


"Sounds like a good reason to me, Sounds like a more interesting job than mine, too. Magical creatures for me. Always has been. Before I came back to the ministry a few months ago I was living in Tibet, wrangling yetis. Most beneficial job I ever had. Apparently when you work with an international task force of wizards you learn a few languages along the way."


“At least the most problems you have are reliving memories in your mind. I physically analyze every little detail of the past.” Jacqueline absently wondered if the man could speak mermish, but then quickly brushed the thought aside, it really wasn’t important. “And you find Tibetan yeti to be…” She struggled for a word to describe yeti wrangling, “…fun?” That wasn’t quite right, maybe suicidal, insane, or just plain stupid, but fun didn’t really fit into the equation.

Griffon took the hand that was extended. He considered for a moment giving it a lavish kiss, but settled for a gentle shake instead. "Certainly a pleasure, Miss Lumpkin." Chances were that she was the sort of woman who prefer him not to jump into calling her by her first name. Some women were weird about that. His father had taught him that before he'd taken up the job as the head of a department in the ministry. "A very elegant name for an obviously elegant woman."

"No bad memories to relive, really. People got hurt, yes, but it was just part of the job." Griffon had learned early on not to get overly attached to inexperienced newbies on the force. Some people couldn't cut it. Most of them went home, but some of them ended up a snack for a yeti.

"Fun isn't the word- more like challenging. It's a hard job, but it's invigorating. Exciting, never boring. Since I've been back in a desk job I get restless sometimes. I like to get out in the field a lot, much more hands on than a lot of the other department heads in the magical creatures division." He also liked to get involved in departments that weren't his own. People often got agitated at his meddling, but he didn't mind (or notice most of the time). "Only part of the job I never liked was obliviating muggles. I don't think it's a wizard's job to protect a muggle stupid enough to try and chase a yeti. Things changed, I didn't like how they were running the force, so I came back to take this job and try to make a difference at home."

"I bet you come across some pretty interesting things in your line of work. Anything that isn't totally classified that you'd like to share?" he asked. Griffon figured it would be a pretty resounding no. "If not, you could always favor me with a dance, I'm pretty decent at cutting a rug if I do say so myself... Though not in the general way," he motioned toward a couple who was bumping and grinding. "Too animalistic for my tastes."