His new desk was the most impressive part of the office. It was a massive art nouveau piece of furniture which took up almost half of the entire space. Carefully opening a drawer, he slowly started emptying the contents of a box he dragged from his previous, much humbler office. While this was a nice change, he couldn’t help but feel slightly…intimidated by the space. It possessed a certain grandeur that would make almost any man feel maybe even a little uneasy or maybe it was designed to make its occupant feel unworthy. The woodwork on the black and gray floorboards was impeccable, the wallpaper was of the finest quality and the gilded doorknobs matched the colour of the ugly chandelier and the over-the-top frame of a relatively bland landscape painting. Smiling slightly to himself, Cameron Rosier wiped the dust from his new chair and sat at the Head of Department’s desk for the first time.

The last couple of days were messy and sleepless of course, and Cameron probably resembled an overworked old man more than ever before. Painfully aware that this was just the beginning, he pondered on the yesterday’s Prophet again. “The new face of The Magical Law Enforcement” they called him - well he hoped he will be able to keep his old face for a bit longer, the one without the black circles around his eyes and without those few extra lines on his forehead that made him look grumpy in all situations. He couldn’t complain though - he wanted this job for a long time now and thankfully he had powerful enough friends who helped him make it happen.

He almost emptied the box, painfully aware of how insignificant most of it’s contents were. He will have to bring the rest of his things here - the desk looked ominously empty with only a candlestick, an inkpot, some quills and parchment and a nice silver photograph frame (it was empty). Digging through the cluttered remains of the box contents, Cameron found an old, crystal ashtray and with a small smile he placed it on the desk. That will certainly come in handy.

But first things first! It was officially his first day as the Department Head and it would be inappropriate to sit in this lonely, cold place all by himself all day. He knew most of the people he will be working with, but not well. Some he knew only by name and reputation, some were his acquaintances…some will not be happy to see him.

He stood up, took his wand and put it in his pocket, glanced around the room one more time, then decided to leave. He realized they still haven’t removed the previous occupier’s gilded name plate from the door, so Cameron now felt even more like he was intruding someone else’s office space…It will take a while to get used to it - he decided and closed the door with a thud.

Putting a pleasant smile on his face he greeted a couple of witches and wizards on his way, stopped to greet an old business partner for a minute or two, then strolled down towards the Auror Headquarters. He couldn’t predict how they would react to his presence, but he was also ready to pretend he didn’t care. Straightening his relatively elegant, black dress shirt, he opened the doors and proceeded casually towards the first group of people he spotted.

Tarelin was stood near the door to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's office, talking with his supervisor Charlene Malone. Assigned to the experienced Auror since the beginning of his third year training, Tarelin had greatly enjoyed his time serving under her. Charlene was more than patient with her, and Tarelin respected both her skills as an Auror, and her attitude towards the rules that their profession had to deal with while working. Many of the Aurors that he had met while training were not like this, not nearly as serious about their work as Tarelin secretly felt they should be, deep down... He suspected he had learnt a lot more from Charlene than he might have done with certain other Aurors.

It was still early in the morning, and so Tarelin was checking what Charlene wanted him to be doing: As a trainee, he couldn't do anything without her express permission. Even though the two were briefly between cases at the time, it might be that Charlene needed them to carry out field research, rather than stay in the office. If not, Tarelin had a sneaking suspicion he might be sifting through old Daily Prophet articles again. He wouldn't complain, but he would much prefer to be in the field.

Glancing at the door they were stood by, a realisation suddenly dawned on Tarelin. "Hey, isn't it today that the new Head of the MLE starts?" He watched the door for a second, half expecting it to open there and then before looking back to Charlene, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He had heard all about Cameron Rosier from gossip flying around the ministry, as well as the articles he had read in the Prophet, and was eager to see the man for himself. It was at that moment Tarelin heard a nearby door open and his head swivelled on his shoulder, the direction of the sound alerting the trainee to the fact that it was Cameron Rosier's office door that had opened. Sure enough, the newly-appointed Head of the Magical Law Enforcement was heading towards them.

Tarelin quickly straightened his robes, almost knocking his wand from his pocket and clearing his throat as Cameron got closer. When he was within range, Tarelin gave him a nervous smile. "H-Hello, mister Rosier. How're you?" He was stammering over his words, suddenly a first year Hogwarts student meeting the headmaster. "I t-trust you're well?"

The news had spread like a band of Cornish pixies through the Auror Office.  The recent chaos throughout Level Two had proven to be too much, the purebloods on the Wizengamot had thrown their weight into the fray, and just as suddenly there was a new Head of Magical Law Enforcement. 

Gawain Robards' office had been left empty in the months since the former Department Head's assassination.  It had become almost an unspoken shrine to the man.  Before he had been murdered by an Imperiused Aberdeen Spencer, Robards had very clearly been one of Level Two's own.  He had risen to the rank of MLE Head twice, redeeming himself after his fall during the Second War, and there had never been any question that he had shared in the department's trials and tribulations.

Cameron Rosier wasn't a completely unknown quantity, but he was less known.  Unlike most other Heads of Level Two, he had never been an Auror.  Consequently, the regulars in the Corps didn't seem to know quite what to make of him.  The Wizengamot was still out; there had not been much discussion yet around the coffee pot, as each of the Aurors waited to see what their colleagues thought of their new superior.

Charlene glanced back as Tarelin spoke, masking her expression much better than the third-year trainee.  In the time she'd been responsible for training him, Faust had shown a clear knack for defensive magic and focused, intelligent thought, but his combat wandwork was still slightly lacking.  That hesitation apparently extended past dueling; he was still learning to think quickly when on his feet.

"Sir," she greeted the new Department Head, giving him a polite smile to cover for the stammering trainee.  Rosier was dressed nicely, as clearly befit his status and his new position, but his neatly-pressed shirt would make an obvious contrast with the usually informal clothing that was normal in the Auror office, particularly amongst some of the men.  Charlene could only hope that her partner was out of sight; Ed Pratt had gotten more and more scruffy since the murder of his parents.  "Welcome to HQ."

Into the office a few paces behind the new department head strode an auror clad in open scarlet robes,  grey suit trousers and a black shirt whose sleeves had as usual been scruffily rolled to the elbows. The blonde haired wizard had his head in an overstuffed case file and a self inking quill in his left hand as he walked and scribbled notes on the parchment in unison. A pair of bright green eyes shot up to see the gathering, or more, to settle on a dark brown tree of frizzy hair sprouting from his partner’s head before they fell back to the case file and he scribbled some more in his not exactly perfect handwriting.

“Bloody well left yer drawers on the bathroom floor again, Frizzy. And ye moan about my mess.” The heavily accented words were spoken quickly with a fair amount of volume as Edward Pratt approached the gathering near the cubicles.

“An’ I’ve got us a new lead, ‘ent I? Ye can thank me late-” The arrogant auror stopped as he looked up once more to see Malone wasn’t in fact alone. She was with company. She looked at him, brown eyes betraying the conscious thoughts of murder that her mind seemed to be debating. Apparently talking about a witch’s knickers, or undergarments with company around motivated a mildly murderous expression to grace their features. Ed had however seen the statement as necessary. Charlene would nag her partner on tidiness until the hippogriff’s came home but she didn’t seem to feel it suitable to practice what she nagged. This was an issue that her far more intelligent partner would have to sort out.

With the case file floating in the air before him, Ed reached his spare hand up to rub a mildly stubbled cheek. The auror’s alert eyes darted from the trainee that had been glued to Malone like a cyst for what seemed like forever. Beside Faust was a tall lanky fellow dressed far too well to work in this office. Ed had seen his face before but it took a few moments to realise who the face belonged to. When he did, a set of dark blond eyebrows rose and he stood up slightly straighter.

Pratt cleared his voice. “Sir.”

Outfit

Daphne, as usual, sat at her desk with a stoic gaze at the notes she'd prepared the evening previous. Everything was immaculate, in its own place, and personal decoration was kept to a minimal: the only photo being one of her grandparents that was dusted and cleaned every other morning. Besides a group of old school friends, they were the closest and most constant individuals in her life. The Auror's father had remained distant for the past fifteen years, and Daphne only ever saw the man at Christmas and on her birthday.

The usual mutter and humdrum of the office had become a backing track to Daphne's routine - finally, she'd been able to block them all out, and interfering pranks were a thing of the past. Yes, they usually kept well away from the French-born British witch, and the sparse comment was like water off a duck's back. It was only Chalmers that she had to deal with on a regular basis and he wasn't all that bad, not compared to the rest of the dregs.

Charlene exchanged words with the new trainee, a nervous little fellow by the name of Faust but a promising worker - he seemed eager to please. Glancing at them momentarily, Daphne's eyes caught sight of a rather handsome, well-dressed wizard entering the office. Cameron Rosier. The new head of the MLE. A minute, dreamy sigh escaped Daphne's lips, the type that wasn't too dissimilar to a schoolgirl catching a glimpse of Dominik Weidman or Ian Cuddyer. Rosier was exactly what this office needed: a Ministry man through and through, a staunch adherer to protocol, regulation and bureaucracy. She'd heard much surrounding the man's ascent to power on Level Two, and Daphne had been rather nervous about meeting such an excellent individual. Of course, she'd carried out her own research and it seemed that despite not being an Auror himself, Rosier had quite the impeccable record.

She got to her feet smoothly, dusting down her skirt before making her way to the small crowd that had gathered around the office. Checking her reflection swiftly in a nearby window, Daphne patted her honeyed locks delicately: everything was in place. It always was. Ignoring Malone, Pratt and the trainee, Daphne gave the new Head a warm smile and a deep nod of the head. "Welcome to the office, sir," she spoke, her tone distinctly warmer than the voice granted to her co-workers. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Daphne Depardieu, transfer from the French Ministry."

Her sweetly pronounced, perfect English accent and the hands kept politely behind her back would've let even the most unobservant wizards know that the woman was Beauxbatons born and bred, and a teacher's pet at that.

Of all the possible scenarios that played inside his head a couple of minutes ago, Cameron did not expect things to go this way. He didn’t quite predict such a positive, even warm welcome. Well, he knew it was their duty to be polite, but some of them at least seemed genuinely glad to see him. Somehow, maybe even just for a second, things seemed a fraction easier for him and a small, satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“I’m very well, thank you,” he replied to the young, stammering wizard, still keeping that small smile. He didn’t know the young man’s name yet, but assumed he was a trainee, however he was familiar with the witch who appeared next to him. They’ve never really spoken before, but he read some files and reports about her before. “Thanks, Malone,” he nodded in reply to her courteous welcome.

“Bloody well left yer drawers on the bathroom floor again, Frizzy. And ye moan about my mess.”

The smile vanished and a brief expression of puzzlement graced Cameron’s face before his eyebrows flew up. Well, to be frank…this was more what he expected. The Aurors  were not exactly the tamest bunch and he heard volumes and volumes about this particular one – Edward Pratt was certainly a class act. However, it was amusing to watch him suddenly turn serious (if Pratt could even do serious). “Pratt,” Cameron replied shortly to his schoolboy-like ‘Sir!’.

Just when he thought this couldn’t have gone any better, a young blonde witch introduced herself with such warmth and eagerness one could rarely witness on Level Two. Her impeccable manners instantly brought back a smile to his face. “Many thanks, Miss Depardieu, pleasure to meet you too.” Her name did not ring any bells, but he assumed it was because she was foreign, as she said herself.

“Now,” he started, giving them all a brief glance. “As you probably guessed by now, this is just an informal introduction. There will be a staff meeting soon,” he finished on a more serious note. “And I will naturally expect some of your reports.” Eyeing Pratt for a bit longer than others, he sighed slightly, not wanting to appear overly stern and cold on his first day. “Anything…anything you need, do not hesitate to ask me. You all know where my office is, it’s a bit hard to miss…”