to be professional is to be dependable is to be predictable [frida]

He hadn’t ever really learned professionalism. Not that he’d wanted to; quite the opposite. There’d been an effort when he worked in sales, but he learned schmoozing and functional alcoholism there more than anything. And then he’d started working for friends who didn’t give a damn. He’d never liked interacting with people who minded whether he brushed his hair or he said whatever came to mind. In hindsight he should have probably tried harder to avoid legal trouble.

Anyway, it hadn’t fully sunk in how unorthodox it was for him to bring his dog to his final meeting with his probation officer until he walked in and she gave him a funny look. Bert came to work all the time, he hadn’t really thought about it. Some days he was just more susceptible to those sad eyes, looking all hurt when he tried to walk out the door early in the morning and wouldn’t be back until evening. And those pathetic little whines, it was terrible. But he thought the occasion on his mind today was mostly why he’d had a hard time leaving him. After all, the bender that had ended in him hexing a man’s mouth shut in a muggle pub in Edinburgh had also kept him out of the house for almost three days without thinking to leave Bert food or water.

He’d often wondered since then what Oscar had been thinking, handing him a living being whose life was completely dependent on him being responsible. He hadn’t really considered the consequences before. It had just been a standard effort to cheer him up and give him company. But it seemed unfair to gamble with Bert’s health and happiness like that, now that he’d betrayed him once already. Maybe his brother had meant to force him into shaping up. It had been a pretty poor bet, though. He’d made strides, that was for certain, but sooner or later he always ended up off the rails.

It would probably have been better to give the dog up after that, but Robin loved him too much, in a selfish, lonely way. Maybe it would help him stay better. He tried to put the idea that it wouldn’t out of his mind.

Thankfully, Bert had always been pretty agreeable. He didn’t bark at anyone as the officer inspected Robin’s wand for the last time, and rested his golden head in his lap as they spoke. Robin himself was also agreeable, most of the time, which he thought had worked in his favor. He knew he tended to come off sort of unfocused and weird and it maybe made him seem less malicious. The whole process had seemed to reflect that effect. The heavy fine had been the most brutal part of the thing. Lauren Fairley, his jaded and businesslike officer, had lived up to her name and seemed generally understanding, apparently considering him pretty low-risk. He couldn’t say he would miss her, though, now that his year was up: even though necessitating the obliviation of thirty people wasn’t even the stupidest thing he’d done to date, it would still be nice to be able to put it behind him.

The meeting ended and he had some time before he was due for rehearsal, so he stopped in the Atrium for a cup of tea. He might miss hanging around the Ministry a little, though he’d have to find a better reason in the future. It was interesting, watching all these VIPs of the wizarding world run to and fro.

“Freedom feels good,” he said, "huh, Bert?” Bertie’s tail was rhythmically slapping the wooden floor, causing the witch reading the newspaper at the nearest table to scowl at him. Robin slipped him a biscuit under the tabletop, wiped slobber off his palm on his knee and scratched the top of the dog’s head.

Another woman was also eyeing him from several yards away. She looked more intrigued than bothered, though, and as he looked back it became apparent that she was ogling his dog rather than him. Robin smiled—he was that sort of person too. Setting down his teacup, he caught her eye. He considered mouthing He’s friendly, but wasn’t sure whether it would be comprehensible across that distance, so he just waited to see if she was inclined to come say hello.

@Frida Trickett

What a month July was! The league playoffs meant only one thing for Broom Regulatory Control and the Broom Regulation Office; complete and utter chaos. The office was going absolutely nuts and the Head of the office was loving it! So many things to do, so much excitement! Frida was immensely proud of her subordinates. They were all so committed and responded very well to her enthusiastic commands. Her people were all in a flurry of productivity and despite the massive demand on them, they were meeting everything that was asked of them, perfectly. On time and with no errors. When the month was over, the Trickett decided she'd have to get them all a present as a reward for their hard work. They all deserved it, every single one of them! Maybe some cookies, or a meal out on her, she mused.

The Cornish witch loved her job at the best of times, but she loved it the most when she had so much to do. As the head of the office, she had a meeting in the morning and then an interview immediately after, new 'recruits' (as she put it) to look after, paperwork to fill out and sign for and brooms to inspect, companies to regulate, rules to advise on... and that was all on the same day! Fri felt like her day thus far had been such an adventure! She was almost sure she'd been on every level in the Ministry, she hadn't stopped moving since she came in for her shift.

After having some 'on-the-go' lunch with her second-in-command, Frida soon split tasks between them and began having another adventure around the Ministry once again. Leaving Broom Regulatory Control with a literal flying paper trail behind her (some interdepartmental notes, some bits of paperwork she couldn't be bothered to carry, and a few pieces of paper containing doodles she hadn't finished yet), the brunette first stopped off at the head of Magical Transportation, where she said goodbye to some of her paper trail and somehow ended up leaving level six with an even bigger trail of flying papers. Then, it was up to level seven to pop in and talk about Quidditch! And... pick up some more paperwork. Afterwards, the Hufflepuff alumna headed up to level ten for the very exciting courtrooms (she was always disappointed when she wasn't actually allowed in them), where she lost half her papers and then gained twice as much.

Realising her next stop was all the way down on level two, the Ministry employee got out of the lift at level eight, the atrium. Surely, if she stopped for a cuppa for ten minutes the Ministry wouldn't collapse around her... It was, alas, not a cup of tea that stopped both the high-spirited witch and her paper trail dead in their tracks, but rather a furry friend made from pure happiness. It was a Golden Retriever, Frida's favourite breed of dog as well as the corporeal form of her Patronus. The sunny woman's smile grew and grew into a wide beam and she almost squealed in delight. She never saw enough dogs in the Ministry! It was so cute! And fluffy! The owner of the adorable furball caught her eye and Frida smiled at him, requiring no other invitation before flicking the interdepartmental memos away to go to their respective destinations before she (and the rest of her papers) swooped over to the pair without any hesitation.

Pushing her flowing robe behind her, the Trickett sat on her shins so that she was level with the dog before holding her hand out (surprisingly patiently) as he sniffed it. "Hello, gorgeous, " she cooed at him, a warm smile on her face as she completely fell head over heels in love with the dog. Stroking his fur gently, she wrapped her arms around him lightly in a hug before finally acknowledging his owner and grinning at him before asking, "What's his name? How old is he? He's so cute!"

The woman descended upon them, looking delighted, and knelt to give Bert some gentle pets. “This is Bertie,” said Robin. “He’s—“ He hadn’t really ever thought about it. “Oh, about fourish, I guess?” He’d been trying to keep better track of the passage of time lately, but he still had to do the math from that date he remembered clearly. The answer he came up with sounded weird to him. It felt like it had been both much longer and much shorter than that. “And I’m Robin, by the way,” he added as her eyes returned to the dog. “But I won’t get between you two.”

He watched them and grinned. “Tell him he’s cute some more; he responds very well to flattery. That, and food.” Rummaging around in his robe pocket, he produced another dog biscuit and held it out to her above Bertie’s head. “You can give him this, if you want. He might try to follow you home if you do.” Every time he made that joke to someone he was tempted just a little to just tell them to take Bert home, for serious. Maybe they would be just the sorts of people who liked to pet furry things despite their own irresponsibility like he was. But maybe they would be better equipped for this than him. He’d fallen for Bert about as hard as he’d ever fallen for anyone, not to mention he was much better about managing his impulsiveness lately, so he’d never done it and probably never would. But the thought recurred all the same.

“Wow, Bert, at least let her buy you a drink first,” he scolded lightly as Bertie rolled over onto his back. “Have to play hard to get, mate.” He looked back to the woman and caught her eye again. “Do you know a lot about dogs?” Robin asked her. “I’m no expert; all I really know is enough to keep him happy.” If he couldn’t leave Bert to her completely, maybe she had tips.

This dog was so, so cute! Frida almost wanted to ask the man if she could keep Bertie forever. Speaking of, that was such a cute name! "Aww! Bertie! You have such a cute name, don't you?" Frida cooed at the Retriever, still stroking him lightly, rarely looking away from his adorable face. "And you are four years old! My," she exclaimed, as if she was talking to her nieces and not a pet, "you are a big boy, aren't you? Aren't you?" The Trickett giggled happily as Bertie's tail continued thumping rhythmically on the floor, clearly enjoying the attention. The Ministry employee unwillingly tore her eyes away from Bertie as the man introduced himself, and the brunette beamed up at him from her position n the floor, still petting the dog the whole time as she enthusiastically replied, "And I'm Frida. Frida Trickett. Pleased to meet you!" Her gaze returned to her new best friend and she chuckled as Robin spoke to her once again, quickly replying with a charismatic "well, thank you kind sir," and spoke to Bertie once more, "and it is a pleasure to meet you too!"

The impulsive and excitable woman laughed once more as she was told to flatter Robin's pet once more. "Well, I think I can manage that," she addressed to the man, before changing her tone so that she was clearly addressing Bertie as she chirped out "because you are the cutest, most gorgeous dog I have ever seen, Bertie!" The rustling sound of the man's robe caught the friendly Ministry worker's attention and she gasped in delight as he pulled out a dog biscuit and offered it to her. This was the best day ever! "Ooo!" Fri exclaimed, excited by the opportunity she'd just been given, "thank you!" The Trickett giggled once more, almost taking Robin seriously at his joke. "I'd love it if he did," she began cheekily, "I need some company at home. " At this, the Cornish witch held out the treat in front of Bertie's face, laughing at the funny sensation that Bertie's snout caused as it rubbed up against her hand when he took it. "Good boy," she cooed once again, giving him a little rub before, to her surprise, he rolled onto his back.

"You kidding?" Frida replied to Robin's fake scold, with a mischevious look in her eyes, "We are currently in the Ministry of Magic, I'll have you know. No drinks here." She shook her head lightly, snickering slightly as she gave Bertie a very vigorous belly rub, "Besides, they're way too expensive. I'm not one for being ripped off on my first meeting with a handsome boy." The Trickett gave her new canine friend another hug, grinning at his owner triumphantly. "I do! My brother is obsessed with them! I don't have any dogs myself at the moment, unfortunately. But I soon will!" Her eyes darted away hesitantly, showing that she wasn't too sure about it. "Probably," she tacked on as an afterthought. "Need some master tips?" she raised her eyebrow quizzically, before bursting out with "I know everything about Golden Retrievers! They're my favourite! Aren't you, Bertie?" Her attention turned to the dog once again, who was still very much enjoying his belly rub.

“It’s a pleasure, Frida Trickett,” said Robin with a smile. He liked to say names that weren’t as dumb and unwieldy as his own. Nudging Bert with his knee, he added, “Pretty sure he thinks so too.” Bertie wasn’t generally a distractible dog, which allowed him to visit places like the Ministry of Magic, but when someone showed interest in him it was hard to pull him away. “That’s a good boy,” Robin cooed as the dog accepted Frida’s treat. “Say thank you.” Bert did so with an enthusiastic kiss, and Robin laughed.

Their new friend was a fan of Golden Retrievers. “Really?” asked Robin, breaking into a wider grin. The idea of having a favorite breed of dog was sort of foreign to him. He didn’t have much experience with diverse sorts of dogs but to his knowledge they all liked to snuggle, so he didn’t see much difference. “Is there anything special I should be doing? He seems fine, but I’m not sure how I would tell, sometimes…” A number of fears of inadequacy and cluelessness had forced him to commit to childlessness, and dogs may have been somewhat less demanding but they were still harder to understand.

“Sorry—do you have any, y’know, work to do?” Robin asked suddenly. Most of his talents lay in distracting people, but before he did he liked to make sure they were at least consenting to it. “I mean, I don’t work here, I could probably keep you all day.”