[DDC] A frightening reunion [Michael]

Her life had become boring and stagnant. Working as a sales clerk was certainly not her cup of tea and to be honest this girl wanted more. She wanted fame and glory and being in a part time job in a small alley of the wizarding world wasn’t going to be how to do it. She needed a new job, but where? She could take up her mother’s career as an actress, but that wasn’t going to be lucrative enough for Elizabeth’s expensive tastes and she was not about to become a waitress or a mixologist like her father. No she would have to work hard for her life to be as rewarding as she thought it should be and as much as it disgusted her that meant working for the ministry.

She had known a bit of the job openings for the ministry and the difficulty it took to get into some of the fields. One of which was the Auror position which Elizabeth had just barely missed the grade for that with her herbology newt. Still she decided she would try for any position she could and since they were going to have an open interview application process today she would be there. There were a few department openings and if Elizabeth was honest she didn’t care much which one she ended up in, but she would talk her way through the interview and make sure she spot was guaranteed.

Wearing a nice ensamble she strutted down London though the bustling crowds of people. She had been told she would need to take the guest entrance today if she was to be allowed in the ministry as security was a bit tighter now than usual. Upon reaching the phone booth she found she would have to share it with a few other people as many others were making their way through the guest entrance. She was towards the back of the booth when she was handed a pin by a small man and the booth began its decent towards the main foyer of the ministry. Once out of the booth Elizabeth fixed the newly formed wrinkles of her outfit and put the pin upon her jacket and headed towards the wand registry.

@Michael Evans

[hope this works if not just let me know and I will edit]

Michael was not a hiring manager and he was not paid nearly enough for this. They were having an open interview process at the ministry for the department of Public Information Services, and somehow the Slytherin Alumnus was roped in to sit the interview with his boss and ask questions of the fresh faces.  The power that came with this was pretty interesting, but Michael liked his current job. He would rather have the power to fire Nathalie than the power to hire on some new no-nothing nitwit to try to work for the department. Of course, he was really only there to observe and provide some details about the work environment. He was there in a supporting role to the manager, as someone who had done the job. At least, that was what was supposed to happen.

As soon as Michael got in that day, he received an memo from his boss stating that he had urgent business to attend to and would need Michael to sit the interviews alone. Alone? He told Michael he trusted his judgment and would look forward to reading a detailed description of the interview for each person, so he could make the final decision at a later date. This was not protocol, but Michael liked his job and didn't want to lose it by disobeying him, so he went downstairs, dressed in his suit to meet the interviewees in the lobby of the ministry.

He felt a bit like a clown, forcing smiles and laughs at their inane jokes. He wrote harsh criticisms about everyone he met and by the time it was nearing lunch time, he was half asleep and well beyond bored. He hoped someone would come in and brighten things up a little. He could hear the tick tock, tick tock of the clock behind him. He was a tree, growing roots. He needed someone to come dig him out. During the current interview, he was daydreaming about Rose giving him a striptease. She'd never done that, not really, but he could imagine it pretty vividly. He got caught staring off into space and wrote down a definite no on that guy. He coughed and shook hands and said he'd hear in a few days about the position.

He had time left for one more. One more, then freedom. He came out into the lobby, reading the name off of the card. “Elizabeth Hamilton?” He asked, looking around. That name was familiar. Did he know her? He thought that he might know her.

After completing the wand registry check-in, which was done by a boring bowlike bozo, Elizabeth tucked her wand away and began strutting her way to the interviewing area. She sat herself in a seat away from the mass crowd of people gathered for their chance to make it into the ministry. “What a bunch of fools,” Elizabeth said to herself though a bit loud enough for a few figures to give her a glare of defiance to which she gave a title smile to. They had nothing on her and if they made a show of it they would only cause themselves to forfeit their interview. She would weed them out by testing their patience, but she would have to do it in a way without causing a scene. This is going to be fun, Elizabeth thought to herself as she waited her turn.

When she heard her name called she made her way towards the person who would be interviewing her only to find someone she knew. Now she didn’t know this boy personally, but she knew of him since the two had been in the same house and she heard a few rumors around the mix of the world that he was dating at one point, but if they still were she wasn’t sure about. Giving a sly smile she greeted the boy, “It’s a pleasure to see you again Michael. I see things have gone well for you after graduating.” She didn’t know if he remembered her or not, but that didn’t matter right now. She needed this job badly and being on her best behavior was something that needed to happen. Elizabeth was really good at reading people and if she was right he seemed to be bored of doing these interviews and frankly the sooner she was out of the interview herself the better she felt. Taking the initiative she said, “I’m sure you wish to get this over with so here is my documentation with my included N.E.W.T scores. Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have and I will answer them straight and to the point.”

Michael looked over her NEWT scores when she gave them to him. They were usually on the resume, but this was fine, too. They were better than his, which was good. His were pretty low. There were no strict NEWT requirements for his office, but it was always nice to have more than less. She seemed moderately intelligent, at any rate. He couldn't get over her face. It was very familiar, but he hadn't yet been able to place her. She was a Slytherin. By his notes, she was a year behind him in school, but also his graduating class. He should recognize he more. It would come to him, eventually.

He led her into the brightly-lit office, the florescent lighting buzzing audibly with magic, rather than electricity. He sat down at the desk, across from her, and looked her over. “So, Elizabeth, it looks like you graduated two years ago from Hogwarts. Your NEWT scores are pretty good. What have you been doing since then?” He asked. Two years was quite a bit of time to fill/ Did she have a career she was leaving behind, or was she unemployed the whole time? Did she go for a secondary education? He doubted it. Magical school wasn't like muggle school where kids finished high school and went on to University, but there were some places where a student could continue their education...

The more he looked at her, the more apparent things were. She was one of Rose's friends from school. That meant that she probably hated muggles and muggleborns too. She probably thought he was filth. She might have even been one of the people to pick on him at school. How curious. Now she was sitting there looking up to him, a muggleborn. How the tables had turned, hm? He wondered what she thought about it. She wondered if it made her uncomfortable to know that he had the power of her career life in his hands.

Elizabeth was lead to one of the many offices in the ministry where she took a seat opposite Michael. Then began the grilling of questions she knew was coming. Those two years off from schooling were mostly wasted space for her. She just flicked around doing nothing and enjoying her newfound freedom and only had her current job as a sales clerk very temporarily. She gave Michael a curt smile and responded, “Well at first I wanted to enjoy the world and the possibilities around me so I took about a year to just travel and explore. Not the most lucrative of options I know, but it was still nice to see parts of the world.” Yet after that time she couldn’t really figure out what to do as she never had an end goal in mind while in school. Elizabeth was just a girl who loved frivolous things and pampering herself so when she graduated she realized she had to quickly figure out what she would do with her time.

“From then on I looked at my life and tried to figure out where to go with it,” Elizabeth was probably showing her first real amount of vulnerability with this statement. She was a metal door who stood guarded most of the time so to be able to open up one of her faults was something she wasn’t used to. She instinctively placed her hands together in her lap before adding, “I worked for a shop in Diagon alley as a sales clerk for a few months to bring in a small income, but I knew it was going to be a temporary place of employment.” It wasn’t like there was something completely wrong with the job as it wasn’t bad, but she yearned for more and when she heard about this opportunity she knew she had to jump at the chance to take it. She was desperate for a chance to prove herself to the world for the mistakes she made over the years and despite still having the same views she knew she had to better herself or at least hide her inner darkness from others. So this interview with a muggleborn who seemed to be doing better than her was a bit disheartening at first, but she would follow her mother’s advice and act her way through life concealing her inner self into a character that would fool anyone.

Michael listened and kept a surprisingly straight face while she spoke about what she;d been doing for the past two years. Traveling, seeing the world. That sounded like fun. It also sounded like it wasn't productive and he figured her parents must have had money to support it. He couldn't judge her too harshly for that, as he'd grown up, himself, with a silver spoon in his mouth. Then she talked about her job as a cashier or whatever she was at a shop and he nodded as he listened. So she definitely didn't have any political experience, or writing experience, or public relations experience.

“Soooo, you're basically telling me you did a whole lot of nothing for the past two years, eh? You're a clean slate.” He made a show of writing a note down on his pad of paper. He wanted to make her nervous. He wanted her to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. She seemed strangely vulnerable while she was talking about her lack of experience, and he was excited to exploit that.  “So, what made you want to apply here at the department of Public Information Services?” He asked. “It's a far cry from being a shop attendant, I'll tell you that. You work with people, but that's about the only similarity.”

He eyed her up carefully, eager to hear her answer. He bet himself five galleons that the real answer was that it was the only place hiring. Someone had actually said that when he asked. They were definitely not making the cut....

Elizabeth gave a slight smile at his comment about her doing nothing. She wasn’t positive, but she was certain he was trying to toy with her. He must have had a vendetta against her and playing with those who despised her was something Elizabeth loved. She wanted to give a short glib towards Michael for his remark, but she knew she needed to hold her tongue if she wanted this job. Instead she simply stated, “A clean state is a great canvas in which to build a magnificent worker though wouldn’t you say?” She relaxed her hands slightly after this as she was gaining control over her own inner feelings.

Then approached the questions she knew were eventually going to come. If she were honest with him she would simple say it was because she found the career a great opportunity for growth and development into other fields. Essentially she saw this interview as simply a stepping stone to greater heights, but she felt being this blunt might not be too beneficial to her getting the job. “Well despite how I may have come off during my school years I have grown to appreciate the world around me and the people I have known. From this my worldview has changed drastically and I find myself wanting to help those who have helped me in return. Now I know I can’t do everything in return as that would be almost impossible, but I do wish to help the community become something we can all become proud of,” Elizabeth took a small breath before adding, “I also wish to make sure I can help calm any leftover fear and panic from when the war had happened and rebuild the wizarding community.”

Mikey almost laughed at her attempt to save face. Build a magnificent worker with no experience? Sounded like a lot of work. No one wanted to put that much training into someone using the position like a stepping stone. She wasn't fooling anyone. She didn't want to be here. Hell, Mikey couldn't blame her. He didn't really want to be there either. She was also a Slytherin. Everything was a stepping stone.

He listened patiently to her bullshit about wanting to make the world a better place and giving back to the community. He grinned a little. She had rehearsed that, at least. It sounded great. To someone who didn't bullshit for a living, it might have even been convincing, but Michael knew better. He made another note to his list, but this one wasn't a bad thing. A good bullshitter would be an asset to the team, even though his wording could have been a bit kinder.

“That's... altruistic of you. Are you the same in the other aspects of your life, Elizabeth? So selfless and concerned with the well being of others?” He teased, though he stated it in a completely serious manner. He wanted to torment her a little bit longer, while he had the chance.”Would you consider that integral to your personality?” He almost laughed, but he somehow managed to keep a straight face.

She didn’t like that grin he gave her. In fact it quite repulsed her, but she kept face. She may have a bit of a temper normally, but right now she needed to control herself. She was not about to take her wand and curse that smile off him no matter how much she wanted to. Her wand practically vibrated in her pocket as it sensed her irritation, but she simply took a deep breath. She needed to remain as calm as possible. She could only imagine the horror her mother would have if she misbehaved so badly in an interview.

Then he began to question her character and she lost it. Her poise and her conspicuous nature went away in favor of her normal self. A scowl appeared on her face as she said plainly, “You know full well what I’m like.” She crossed her arms and placed on leg over the other in her chair before adding. “I also know full well what you are like so shall we drop the act and talk frankly now?” She raised her eyebrow at Michael before continuing, “Neither of us wants to be here nor do either of us really want this job. I just want to find something to let me live a life of luxury or enough to sustain my love of comfort and until I get to that point a job is what I need. I would have never pictured you for a desk job either so tell me what puts you here then?”

It seemed as though Elizabeth couldn't take any more of his sly jabs. It was a pity, because this was the most fun he'd had all day. She was right, though. He knew exact;y what she was like, and she knew him, too. He hadn't expected the girl to have balls so big, though. That was definitely a good thing. Her temper, though, was a little short. That could use some work.

“Frank talk? Okay, got it.” He said, finally. “Frankly, I don't know what you're doing here. If you can't handle a little friendly interview without getting your panties in a bunch, I don't know what kind of job you think you'll get in the real world. You're lucky that I'm as tired of doing these interviews as you are tired of being unemployed.” He explained.

“You were doing so good, too.” He offered. “I mean, it was all bullshit, your answer about why you wanted the job. I know you just need money, you know you just need money. I know that you're planning on using this as a stepping stone, and so do you. We're Slytherins, it's what we do. But, it was pretty good bullshit. For someone who doesn't do it for a living, you know? And it's part of the job, being able to take something that is shitty and make it would fucking beautiful. To lie and embellish and contort the truth. Welcome to Public Relations, Elizabeth.”

He shrugged, “but, you blew it. Your temper's too short to make it in this business if you can't handle me having a little bit of fun at your expense. You have to play the game, even when the game's hard to play.” He explained. He was still enjoying this, but it was different than before. “still, I have to compliment your absolute balls of steel to pull this in an interview. It just didn't work for you this time. Maybe next time you'll be better prepared. Work on your story about what you did the past two years, too. Lie or something. No one's going to check.”

Friendly? Is that what he called that? Elizabeth could laugh at the arrogance of that notion. “If this is your idea of a friendly interview you obviously need to go back to Hogwarts for some education,” she spit back at Michael. Yes she had a temper and yes she wasn’t the most patient of people, but she had fooled others before why was he so different? She didn’t like his attitude and in fact maybe she could use it against him. She had been able to fool people before with her lies so why not now? If she played her cards correctly maybe she could turn the tables back on him. Yes that would be a delicious turn of events she would love.

He wanted her to play a game then? He had no idea what she could do with the right motivation and right now he was giving it to her. She gave another one of her devilish smirks and straightened herself up and began another act. “Well this was certainly insightful of you. I’m sure the higher-ups will be sure to take a closer look at your evaluation and attitude in the work place,” She stood up and fixed her outfit a bit more before pulling out a muggle recording device. It had a blank tape in it, but it wasn’t actually recording in fact she knew the device wouldn’t work in this place. If she was right Michael probably knew a normal one wouldn’t work, but Elizabeth was going to convince him this one was magical. “You see this little trinket,” She gave the item a slight wiggle before continuing, “it just recorded our whole conversation and it will be played to anyone who wishes to hear it.” She gave Michael a wink before adding, “And it has been magically enhanced to work in these conditions.” She didn’t know if he would buy her lie, but anything was worth a shot at this point and frankly if she wasn’t going to get the job she had other opportunities to her outside of this dump. She placed the perfectly petite recorder back into her pocket. “Now if you will excuse me I have more important places to be,” Elizabeth said before leaving the room, but ended up stopping just before leaving the room. She called over her shoulder once more saying, “Oh and Michael tell your boss I said the reservations are for next weekend.” This was just to add insult to injury as she gave a slight chuckle and was out of the place.

[[out]]

Michael was not impressed, by her temper or her lie. If she was recording them, why would she openly state that all she wanted was to lie a life of luxury? Why would she throw a temper tantrum? She wasn't recording him, that was absurd. Of course, even if she was, what exactly had Michael said that he wouldn't have repeated in front of his boss? Perhaps the bit about lying during the interview was a bit dodgy, but he hadn't been openly scornful to her at all. In fact, he'd been quite pleasant. He teased her a little, but his tone was genuine if nothing else. She only knew it was teasing because she, herself, felt guilty.

Reservations? With his boss? Was she planning on sleeping with him to get the job? If that was true, she must have been desperate. He almost felt bad for her, but she ran out before he could say anything else. He supposed it was for the best. He decided not to get too worked up over her “recording.” He wasn't afraid of getting nagged by his boss about his language, when she herself lost her temper and started that line of communication.

He shook it off and wrote down a note that she wasn't getting the job, and looked back up at the clock. Perfect. Finally lunch time. He needed a soda and a bag of crisps if he wanted to wash away the nausea being in her presence had caused. He couldn't wait to tell Rose about it, either. She would probably laugh. She loved it when he was a jerk to people that weren't her... even if Elizabeth was an old friend.