An office is a place where dreams come true [D I N G L E S]

Elias and a middle-aged man wearing navy-blue robes walked down a corridor somewhere outside the ministry's owlery. Elias had his arms locked in an L-shape, carrying his own pair of navy-blue robes and a badge precariously hanging on for dear life plopped on top.

"So.. You've got the uniform, your badge, keys..." The middle-aged man briefly looked down at the stuff in Elias hands and noticed the distinct lack of keys. The head of magical maintenance never did understand why they needed keys, but some of the doors were charmed to only open with a key, or some other long object that turned the locking mechanism. "Ah.. It seems I've left your keys at my office..." he admitted rather reluctantly as they reached a door at the end of a short hallway.

The older man opened the door gingerly, and quickly beckoned Elias in, "Best you come in quickly, Mr. Deyer.. Wouldn't want owls getting loose in the ministry!" Elias popped through the door, as did the Head of Magical Maintenance shortly there after. "One of my other employees is going to show you around while I go back to my office to get your keys." Elias cocked an eyebrow, and as if in response, "They know the ministry layout better than I do, quite honestly."

Shortly thereafter Elias was left alone while the older man searched out the employee. The ministry owlery was quite a bit bigger than the Hogwarts one, probably at least the size of the great hall, if not larger. He wondered if he would be working in here or if he'd be working throughout the building. He hoped that eventually he'd be able to be transferred out of this department and into another one, like Magical Accidents or International Cooperation.

Elias shifted on his feet as he set down the robes and badge on one of the desks in the middle of the room. He slowly unfurled the set of robes and began putting them on over his white shirt. As he did up the navy-blue robes he could see the head of department come back with a younger, maybe early 20s man. There was something about his face that was familiar, like he knew him.

His eyes widened as the pair came closer and dread filled his gut. Danny Willbond was here, in the Ministry of all places. Well this job was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

@Danny Willbond

It was a typical day for Danny thus far. He had gotten to work a few minutes late, but always kept an extra jacket on his chair at work so that it looked like he was in and breezed into the office, carrying a tea cup he had nabbed from another department's kitchen, mentioning loudly how he had been 'catching up with the blokes up in Games & Sport' just in case his boss was listening in. It would have looked like he had been here, just making a few early rounds.

Then he and Jeremy had harvested the external memos and letters that had come in that morning from the ministry owls, but luckily they were not in charge of owl upkeep. Merlin could only imagine what sort of damage him and Jere would do to the poor creatures if they were in charge of their care. Nevertheless, it was off to a good day and Danny liked to keep busy so he was getting ready to track down a parcel that had suspiciously gone missing for someone in International Cooperation.

His boss came in looking round for someone and spotting him had tasked Danny with showing around the new hire. "Ohh, fresh meat. This should be good," he snickered to Eddy before stuffing his wand in his pocket and going to find the new recruit. He followed old Reg and his eyes widened in shock as he saw who it was. "You've got to be shittin' me," Danny said as he took in Elias Deyer standing before him in a crisp, new uniform. The memories of their sordid rivalry sprang to mind and he couldn't quite believe the misfortune at it. "So you're my new intern, right?" he asked, recovering slightly with a smirk.

Like a scorned lover come back from the dead, there he was in all his smirky, mussy-haired glory, Danny "Ictching Powder" Willbond. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, and as Danny came swaggering up to greet him, Elias heart must have skipped at least two beats. Perhaps they'd be professional, but again, this was the wonder twins. As in, wonder how they got this gig, wonder twins. Elias feigned a smile as they stopped where he was standing.

Reg shook his head at the suggestion that Elias was an Owlery intern under Danny. He explained that Elias was a proper Magical Maintenance employee, and wouldn't be working within the Owlery. However, Reg explained that they were to at least show him how to properly send an inter-office memo. Reg ended his explanation with saying he'd be back in an hour to retrieve Elias and in which time Danny could possibly show him around the rest of the important chambers.

Elias watched Reg scurry off, back towards his office, leaving Danny and Elias alone in the Owlery. "Well, nice to see you again, Willbond." He smiled, though his rapid heartbeat betrayed his confident demeanor. He scooted along the far side of the desk as to be on the opposite end of it to Danny. His badge swayed as he skirted around the cluster of desks. "I'm guessing if you're here, then Edwards isn't too far away then."

He now really lamented not his father's suggestion to put him in Magical Accidents and Catastrophes immediately, and this would be a tough few months to work through until bureaucracy worked it's slow course and he transferred out of the department. The powers that be were really set to make his life one series of headache inducing situations, weren't they?

Danny glanced at Reg, nodding sagely, as his boss explained the new employee, agreeing cordially as he asked Danny to show Deyer around. But as soon as Cattermole left, Danny slid his gaze back to his old foe and perked a brow. "Guess the interview process isn't that rigorous anymore, eh? They're willing to accept just about any bloke off the street by the looks of it," he said with a hint of derision. He didn't loath the kid like he did when they had been stuck in the same dorm under the dome, but he definitely didn't like him.

"Yeh, Jeremy's here. He doesn't need another hair cut though so your talents might be wasted here," he said, smirking. As if the guy had talents. He wasn't quite sure what he had done to tempt fate into making this day worse than it already was. An owl had taken a dive bomb for him this morning and he still wasn't over it and now this? Merlin.

"Well, cmon then kid. We've got a lot of ground to cover and there will be a quiz at the end," Danny said as he turned on his heel and headed down the corridor. He passed a few witches and wizards in their department and he introduced Deyer as "his new intern" or "say hello to my new assistant" with each new person.

"Outta the way Gladys!" He said as he rushed past the little old witch who smelled (and kind of looked) like her seventeen cats. "Hot business happening right here." Jeremy said as he waved a piece of parchment up and down. He was headed straight for the maintenance employee break room and he was in a hurry. He had the latest in Fantasy Quidditch sign ups and even though he wasn't commissioner (no one in their right mind would trust him with such an honor after all) he was firmly dedicated to the cause. "New roster is out!" He hollered as he passed more offices, interrupting just about everyone in the department with his nonsense (it was just another typical Tuesday). He had a wild smile on his face, not his usual 'I just smoked a bowl and you look like a fish talking ' type smile, not even his 'I'm having cheese steak for lunch ' smile, no this was even more epic. It stretched ear to ear. And there was no stopping it.

Or so he thought.

Rounding a corner he screeched to stop in a comical fashion, stopping on a dime, his neon pink trackers leaving skid marks on the freshly polished marble floor. And he laid eyes on him.

"You."

He said, giving Elias a dirty look as he fought the urge to instinctively protect his hair region. He could still hear the sound of the clipping spell, he could feel the weightlessness as beautiful beloved strands of red hair fell to the ground. He shuddered at the thought and looked next to who he was standing with. "Danny. Danny why is he here?"

He internally sighed as he was practically paraded around and announced as Danny's assistant and intern. HA! As if! He just silently shook his head in response whenever Danny would say this. Was he really going to have to deal with the dynamic disasters that were Jeremy Edwards and Danny Willbond. Clearly, somehow they were able to keep their jobs, though he suspected no one would want to be cooped up in the Owlery for eight hours a day dealing with owl feces and taloned claws. Nonetheless, the rest of the Ministry seemed normal. As normal as a magical government could be at the very least. It was the typical hustle and bustle, paper-shuffling and water-cooler banter.

He really wished now he'd chosen nepotism over getting this job fair and square. He really hated that he would rather just not deal with these boys and rely on his father's good name. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... Fat chance! He had to resist visibly rolling his eyes in front of heads of departments and other important figures as Danny led him through departments. He thought this day couldn't get any worse until he heard the familiar cadence of a certain redhead and the screech of violently colored trainers.

His eyes locked on Jeremy's as he stood a few feet down the hall from him. "Well, I work here." he told Jeremy flatly, his head cocking to the side, "What do YOU happen to be doing here?" his lips quirked as he talked, "This isn't the unemployment office, Jeremy. Its down the hall to the right." He disdained that they both couldn't believe he was here, as if they were smarter than him, or more worthy. "Please wipe the incredulous looks off your faces, please."

Yes, he really did prefer nepotism to hard work and determination. Elias was acutely aware he'd probably just insulted Jeremy, but honestly he didn't care at this point. Clearly Jeremy held on to grudges tighter than he rolled his blunts.

He heard Jeremy's loud voice coming down the hallway. Danny was surprised they had gotten away with any pranks in their school days because his friend could be one loud bloke. He smiled a bit as he saw the dislike and surprise all mixed together on Jeremy's face, but he just stepped forward and held out his hand as Jere protectively covered his hair. "New fantasy roster? Let me see," he said, glancing down at the parchment in his friend's hand.

Danny took the paper out of his hand when Jere wasn't moving fast enough for him and started looking it over, giving a low appreciative whistle at the quidditch stats. "Oh him?" he said after a moment, sparing a glance back at the newest employee. "He's my new intern. Good old Reg really knows how to recruit, doesn't he?" he said with a laugh, rolling his eyes at Deyer's comeback.

"Woah, there, rookie. Don't take that tone with your superiors," then he shared a look with Jeremy and shook his head disdainfully. "Kids these days. Just don't know how to respect their elders." So it was no secret that the rivalry and history they all had wasn't disappearing overnight. But at the very least, Danny could show him around so the kid knew where to get people coffee and all that.

He pushed Jeremy forward in front of him, separating him from Deyer so that he wouldn't be so paranoid about another accidental hair cut, saying, "Come on lads, this way. We gotta start the tour otherwise Old Reg will be on our case."

"Work here?" Jeremy asked him, a frown on his face the size of Texas, and then he shrugged his shoulders. "That sucks." Jeremy was normally a pretty easy going nice kind of guy. He loved to make friends, have a good laugh, pull a few pranks, each nachos, you know the important life stuff, and he was typically pretty forgiving too but there was one thing he just could not abide. Elias had cut off his precious lions mane back when they were in Hogwarts and for that he would be black listed for life. And naturally now they were going to have to share the same work space. It was inhumane really. He'd have to lodge a complaint with HR... if he could remember where the office was.

Folding his arms across his chest he was just about to correct Elias, telling him the unemployment office was actually on the fourth floor, but Danny's words (and the sign behind Elias' head that clearly noted they were already on the fourth floor) stopped him. "Intern? Hah." Jeremy broke into a smile and felt a strange sense of relief when he realized Elias was in no way their new boss. He wouldn't of put it past the Slytherin to find some way to skip the line and jump above them in the ministry hierarchy.

"Where do I get one?" He asked, a playful smile on his face. When he remembered why he had been yelling down the hall way in the first place he grabbed the list back out of Danny's hand and moved to follow them as they continued their tour. "How bout you Deyer, you look like you have enough sickles to lose a few on some fantasy Quidditch, you in?" He poked Danny in the back and pointed down the hall and to the right. "Tour the employee lounge next, gotta' put this up."

"Once again, Willbond, not your intern nor are you my boss." he glared at the back of Danny's head, hoping to stare a hole through it. He didn't really get why people found these guys likable? They were annoying, brutish, and crass. He hadn't heard a serious word out of either of their mouths in his entire time knowing them. They loved pranks, almost as much as they loved stroking each other's egos. If he didn't know any better he'd have sworn they were dating, god bless the women willing to date these two.

He scoffed as Jeremy asked where he could get one. As if anyone would trust Jeremy Edwards to train anyone, let alone be in charge of anything. Yet he was prefect somehow, he suspected it was done to maybe make Jeremy grow up quicker. Clearly, as he stared at the man beyond Danny, that had not been what was happening. It also recently just registered with him that they were doing a fantasy bracket for Quidditch, for money... He used to do those at the shop for bonuses. This would be easy money, and off these two.. It'd be the perfect revenge. Put them down a peg or two.

He stepped just beyond to yank the page out of Danny's hand and read it. He scanned it and faced the two of them, a confident smirk on his face. "Yeah, lets do it Edwards. It says here you'll know where to find them?" He'd just shrugged as he folded the parchment into his back pocket. Strange times, there was no denying. The Ministry having a semi-illegal gambling ring was fun news his dad never told him about.

"That's not what I understood from Old Reg," he said doubtfully with a hint of sarcasm as Deyer refuted the new intern claim. "But no worries. I know you're a newbie and all. You'll get the hang of it soon, bud."

"We'll take to Old Reg to get you an intern too. Maybe Deyer has a minion that might suit you well. You know, as long as no hair cutting is part of the contract and such," Danny said with a grin as he slapped Jere on the shoulder. He glanced at the new recruit with perked brows. "Will your intern salary cover some extracurriculars like fantasy Quidditch?" he asked before stopping short and sticking his bum out so that Jere would run into him as they walked down the hall, just to be annoying.

"Righto. Employee lounge up next. You know, where you'll be getting us lots of coffee, making our lunches, participating in mandatory watercooler gossip to see which Ministry ladies are newly single and ready to mingle," Danny said with a laugh as he walked down the hall.

"Yep, sure do, that's what the page says. So you can trust me with your sickles Deyer." He said holding his hand out and wondering if the other wizard would believe him. In reality Jeremy was far from the leader or organizer, that honor had been bestowed on Michael, Jere was more of the mascot. Maybe even the scapegoat, if they ever got caught, but honestly he didn't have much to lose. He was already on the bottom of the ministry ladder. Well maybe not anymore, now that they had an assistant. He smiled at the idea just before he ran into Danny with a loud oof!

"Idiot!" He said to him, punching him in the shoulder and then starting to walk again. "Oh I want a minion," Jeremy said as the rounded the last corner to the employee break room and he rubbed his hands together excitedly. "When you've finished checking that out, hang it up on the board?" He asked Elias with a nod toward the bulletin board by the wizard refrigerator. He'd covered up the notice for a mandatory sexual harassment meeting last time he'd hung it up, whoops.

"Think Sanjay brought more of that dip?" Jeremy asked, opening the fridge and completely ignoring the sign on the front that said had the three rules of the break room. 1. write your name on your food. 2. don't eat anyone else's food. 3. throw your old stuff away or lose it on Sunday nights.

Without so much as a thought to the validity of Jeremy Edwards' statement about his trustworthiness, he took about 5 galleons, 1 sickle, and 11 knuts (about all he brought with him, save lunch money) out of his little satchel on his side, and discretely dropping them into Jeremy's open palm. He was being reckless and he knew it; he knew that Jeremy could screw him over. But he also knew that he had the opportunity to make money off of these two silly former Gryffindors.

"But any funny business with my money, and you'll have a new hair cut--" he said low to Jeremy, gesturing to his luxurious mane of hair, "--And this time I'll make it permanent." he mouthed quietly, with a smirk for battle. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd do to be honest, but Jeremy nor Danny needed to know that. However, shearing the lion's mane that was Edwards' hair, was a point of pride for the redhead, and he'd touch on that point every time to get a reaction.

His shoulders snapped back into place, walking stiffly behind them as they went towards the break room. He nearly rolled his eyes when Jeremy asked him to do something, "Edwards, I-" he started, watching as Jeremy walked away, rummaging in the refrigerator. Elias, for the fourth time this interaction, sighed outwardly, blowing out a breath as he walked towards the already cluttered board. He looked at the paper in his hand one more time, he thought he briefly recognized the hand writing, but dismissed it. He found an outdated Healthcare Benefits bulletin, and stuck the paper over it with a pin. He walked slowly back over toward Danny, furrowing his brows and shaking his head.

"You two are awful, you know that?" he commented matter-of-factly, his smirk slowly sliding off his face before Danny. They weren't going to magically become friends overnight, and honestly he preferred it stay that way. These two were way too much to deal with on a daily basis. Probably why he liked more low-key people like Lionel and Peter... and Parker.

He watched the deal between Deyer and Jere unfold with interest. Even interns wanted in on their fantasy league. Classic. It was the one bright side of working here. Competing and winning (in his case) the league was all the bragging glory that he needed.

Danny laughed as Jere punched him, the sting fading quickly as he danced away from Jere with his fists up near his chin like a boxer, hopping on the balls of his feet and throwing a few jabs at the air. He was ready for a fight if Jere wanted one. That or he'd make his intern champion him and make him fight it out. For what reason? He didn't know. Probably just for fun. Or to break up the boredom. "Oh we can call them minions, I like," Danny said with a nod as they entered the break room. "And no, not after you ate all of it last time," he added rolling his eyes and then glancing over Jere's shoulder to see if anyone had brought grapes. You could always steal some of those without the person realizing. Free food, gotta love it.

"Go on," Danny encouraged his intern, waving his hand in the direction of the notice board, grinning wider as Deyer agreed. The sigh wasn't appreciated though. "Awfully what?" he quipped, amused. "Awfully handsome? Don't worry, we know. Awfully smart? Oh shucks, you're gonna make me blush. Awfully talented to be working here training interns like you? Yes, I was saying the same thing the other day," he said as he turned on his heel and headed back out the way they came. "C'mon, we'll show you the next floor, move it along," he said before turning the corner.

Jeremy froze when Elias motioned toward his hair. He was a Gryffindor, a brave lion through and through, but somehow along the way this particular snake had found his kryptonite and it seemed he would never forget that. It wasn't a cold kind of freezing, it was that stone solid stuck in your place sort of freezing. The kind where the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you feel like you can't breathe. It was fear. And he hated it. "Yeah, ... whatever man..." He shook his head sharply, quickly pushing all of the memories of when Elias had chopped off his hair out of his mind and as far away as possible.

They got to the break room and Jeremy found the fridge, his go-to when he felt weird about anything and started looking for snacks. All the dip was gone and those chocolatey shakes Dolores from floor three were replacing all of her meals with but Jere got his hands on some day old burritos and was not deterred by the some what soggy wrapping. He popped it in the enchanted box that heated things up, a blatant rip off of the muggle microwave but he wasn't judging and waited thirty seconds for the beep. When the smelly tortillas were done he followed them back out of the room and toward the next floor.

"You guys want some?" He offered, even though he'd eat all four of them if no one did.

Jeremy came back before Elias could retort to Danny. It seemed that the long-haired man had scavenged food from the fridge, some burritos he'd found, apparently. By the uninterested faces of those around him, Elias wagered that Jeremy did this all the time, and thus it wasn't a big to-do. However he did have to say it was a very self-preserving thing to do... Very Slytherin, for a former Gryffindor, with Lion's mane to match.

"I'm saving my appetite for lunch," he said, waving a hand dismissively at the offering, visibly revolted by the sight of the ill-gotten burritos. By the looks of those burritos, Edwards would reign on his porcelain throne, king of farts and stomachaches. At the thought, Elias chuckled to himself a bit, then cleared his throat as to disguise it. He sulked behind Danny and Jeremy as they guided him around the Ministry. He smirked as he saw Jeremy's mane swinging gently as they walked.

He grinned to himself, having noted the very slight drop in the Gryffindor's bravado when he'd threatened him just outside the break room. So, the brave Gryffindor did indeed have a weakness, and of all things, it was his hair? It was a real Samson moment, and he guessed he'd be Delilah.  "...Elias... Delilah... " He realized those names were pretty similar. He wouldn't actually cut Jeremy's hair off--- No, he'd just make him think that he was going to do it.

They'd ended up in a corridor that he'd didn't really recognize, not that he should have, so he piped up, "Where are we now?" He narrowed his eyes at the back of Danny's head, who'd been leading the "tour" up to this point.