Success (Open)

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Surveying the office carefully Evangeline couldn’t help but have a smug smile on her almost flawless face. The large room was circular, with a wall of one sided glass at the back so one could survey the lobby below. The walls were a rich bronze colour and the glass wall was draped with scarlet curtains. The matching scarlet carpet was soft and springy under her feet. The portraits of former (good) Ministers hung the walls, reminding her very much of the Hogwarts Headmaster or Headmistress’ office. Each portrait was smiling down at her, clapping in congratulation. She stepped towards the mahogany desk, feeling the smooth and shiny wood beneath her fingertips.

It had been a long and arduous election campaign. Her opponent had been ruthless and for the past twelve months, the slander that had come out about her and her team had been a big blow to her own campaign, but her colleagues and the greater Wizarding people had seen through it and had elected her in a total regime change. She had promised a more democratic government, a less corrupt government and one that would look out for the good of their society.

She crossed to the glass windows that looked out over the Atrium of the Ministry. People were milling about, occasionally looking at the construction going around the fountain in the middle. She smiled to herself, thinking about what was to replace the large plinth with the Ministry Logo. A more appropriate Fountain of Magical Brethren, showing how she felt all magical races should be: equals. A new banner over the Atrium showed her campaign’s slogan:

“A Greater Magical Community”

She sighed in content and turned back to her desk, pulling aside the large leather office chair and sitting down, straightening her black pencil dress and adjusting the blue blazer she wore over the top. She pulled towards her some papers which had required some immediate attention and dipped a phoenix feather quill into a pot of black ink. She glanced sideways at her beautiful snowy owl, Artemis and grinned as she opened her bright, inquisitive eyes and hooted softly.

“Well my dear Artemis. I think we did it.”

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

"Cant speak for the bird but I say you did a damn good job" Nathaniel stood leaning up against the door frame of the new ministers office. Throughout her campaign he had stood beside her with his good name among the people backing her 100 percent, he had even become rather fond over his boss, might even go so far as to say considered the woman a friend.

Of course if his obsession with blood purification and his evil daughter who was in fact intended on a blood war ever came out that friendship would be short lived. But for the time being he wanted what she wanted, the people to be calm and happy, trusting in there government to do whats best for the community. And when it comes to it they will follow there leader into what ever they lead.

Nathaniel had high hopes for Evangeline, she could lead the people into an new era, his daughter the fighter and her the leader. It would be an unstoppable force. But enough of those thoughts, one slip up and he could kiss his position goodbye, and that would be devastating.

"So do I bow now?" He asked jokingly as he walked into her office.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Evangeline turned her attention from Artemis to the man lounging in the doorway of her new office. A smile spread across her face at the sight of her colleague and number one supporter throughout her campaign.

“Why Nathaniel!” She said, measuring her voice as to not sound too overtly confident. “We did a good job, the whole team. There’s no “I” in government or whatever that muggle saying is. You know I couldn’t have done it without your support, and indeed some of your contacts.” The small grin could not leave her face. It felt like an age of campaigning, debating, press conferences and photographs. And now it was over. They had won. She had won.

“Yes I do think that bowing would be appropriate Nathaniel.” She said with a slight laugh. “But I think that a celebration is in order do you not think? The bar owner of the Three Broomsticks sent over a beautiful bottle of oak-matured mead, do you think it impertinent to open it and toast to our success?”

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

Nathaniel took her praise like any true gentleman would. With his hands up encouraging the woman to continue. Of course he wasn't that serious, maybe slightly but not enough to come of vain. He was proud of her. The road was long and less then smooth. The whole team had come under some very serious scrutiny, even Nathaniel had his personal life plastered in all the papers. How his wife had left him and ran away with his daughter that he had at the young age of 16. The papers had been truly unkind.

Yet the next week they would proclaim Evangeline Delacroix to be the unsung hero of the magical community, saving us all from underlying evils that await the opportune moment to spring forward and grasp the people's perfect world. How dramatic the papers made it all out to be. Anything to make money.

Toast to our success?

"Bless your heart, you know just what to say to a man" Nathaniel smirked and leant up against her desk, of course there were perfectly good chairs right there but they seemed so...comfortable.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Nodding, Evangeline pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out the bottle of oak matured mead. The barman was a family friend of her grandparents and the gift was definitely appreciated. She made a mental note to send a gift, or at least a thank you card back to him. Waving her wand in a tight circle two glass goblets appeared out of nowhere and she uncorked the bottle, pouring just a taste of the mead into both glasses. She handed one to Nathaniel and took one for herself, smelling it first to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. She stood, raising the glass to her colleague.

“Cheers!” She said, clinking glasses with him and taking a small sip of the mead. It was fruity and warm on her tongue. Satisfied, she licked the taste from her lips and sat back down, gesturing to the chair in front of her.

“Do sit down Nathaniel, it feels to formal with you standing.” She said, surveying him pensively. He had copped a lot in the press of late, something she had shared in. Her own mother’s blood status had come into question during her campaign. But Evangeline had stood by her family. There was nothing wrong having a Squib as a mother, although the Prophet seemed to think that it was not appropriate for their future leader.

“You and me both have been scrutinized a lot these past months Nathaniel. But you wait until tomorrow, the Prophet will be all over us both like a rash.” She scoffed, reporters were almost as bad as politicians.

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

.

The thought of the reporters made him sneer slightly, headlines were fine when they weren't about him. ' department head leaves woman and baby to defend for themselves after passionate affair with unknown co-worker' thank you for that quibbler. How that story had been told so many times and each time a different version. 

No doubt the papers had gotten back to his lovely wife, working at hogwarts he heard. A teacher. No doubt to keep an eye on Celeste. She would hate for Nathaniel to come visit his daughter god forbid. Last time she attacked him verbally and magically. That woman sure as hell had no problems "defending for herself" 

Nathaniel sat on the leather arm chair and sunk in dramatically. It was so soft! Honestly what was it made of hufflepuffs? 

"these chairs have got to go" he mumbled to himself. 

"Not us, it will be you. You've such an innocent face, you'll be there angel until taxes go up or something. But me, I've such a dishonest untrustworthy face, I'm always plotting something. Ask any reporter they'll tell you" Nathaniel said taking a sip, it really was quite enjoyable to say the least. Probably one of the best meads he'd tasted.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Evangeline chuckled slightly as Nathaniel sank slightly in the extravagant leather chair, muttering that they would need to be removed. She nodded slightly in agreement. “Yes, you’re right. They will need to go. Too soft.”

She waved away the comment about being the angel of the society and raised an eyebrow when he said he had that sort of dishonest face people didn’t trust. She shook her head, he had the face of a politician, a man who knew what he wanted. She’d known Nathaniel for a long time, ever since she had begun to work in the Ministry, from her Auror training to when she took the job in International Magical Cooperation. She wanted to say that she knew him well enough, they had similar family trials. Her daughter’s father leaving her when Gabrielle was only three months old for another woman, her grandparents sending out slander about her own mother being a squib. All of this had been used against her at some point.

She leant back in her chair and took a sip of mead. “And your daughter, has your wife allowed you to see her yet? She asked. She couldn’t imagine what he must be going through. She knew that if it were her in his position she would do anything to get her child back.

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

Nathaniel pondered the question for a moment. He hadn't really tried since the last time, although he had sent Celeste a Christmas gift but there was no reply, he wasn't even sure if she got it. 

"hardly, the women thinks I've corrupted the girl, turned her into some form of beast!" Nathaniel hissed slightly at the last word, beast. He did and was no such thing. She simply believes in what he did, and he didn't push it on her she chose for herself. Melissa simply couldn't handle losing. 

"she took a job at her school just to stop me paying visits. If you ask me I think she's had one to many hit to the heads with a quiffler" talking about his betrays wife made his blood boil. He had loved her undyingly, he had it all. A beautiful wife an amazing child a reputation, in one night she took it all away from him. 

"Enough about my misfortunes this is a celebration!" he proclaimed holding up his now empty glass, not in request for wanting more as he has given up drinking, now only having little glasses once in a blue moon. He had gone through the alcohol stage once Melissa left, he refused to go back.

"I must admit though darling I thought we were going to lose after the first public poll came out, only 38% voted in our favor" he said in disbelief, but it had shifted after the media had found out about there rivals son who was a werewolf. How they found out well Nathaniel publicly called it luck but he knew alot of people.   

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Evangeline nodded sympathetically. She knew that Nathaniel cared deeply about his daughter and the fact that she had been taken away from him was a sore point, but she did like to believe the best in people and had hoped that due to the success of the recent election the mother of his child would want him to see her. Apparently not. She ran a hand through her hair and corked the bottle of the mead. It would not do well for her to be seen drinking on the job. Placing it carefully back in its box in the drawer of her desk she settled back into her chair.

“A job at Hogwarts?” This was interesting news. “I’ve been keeping my eye on that school even before the campaign. Headmistress Scwartz has made a few interesting staffing appointments this year. In the past the Ministry and Hogwarts have had a relatively sour relationship. Perhaps it is time to amend that? Education of our youth and indeed our own children is very important.”

Evangeline pulled towards her a report of Hogwarts from the previous Minister and scanned it briefly.

“I agree with you, my predecessor had a rather unfortunate turn of luck in the early polls, nasty turn of events regarding his son. ” Her eyes sparkled with the knowledge of how that information came out, but she said nothing. Sometimes you had to play dirty and whilst she was usually above that sort of thing, her opponent had not exactly been fair himself.

“But he did have a little bit of sense. He’s sent a spy to Hogwarts. Mr. Stefan Acel, Head of Department of Mysteries, sent to teach Divination. Has two children at Hogwarts, Cicero and Candida.” She raised her eyes from the report and raised an eyebrow at Nathaniel. “What do you think?”

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

Nathaniel smirked slightly at the mention of the son, although the two had never spoken of how, he knew she knew. She probably wouldn't have done it herself but thats why Nathaniel was there. To do the immoral things she wouldn't, a politician should never play fair or they simply wont win. And thats all politics was, a game of power.

"A spy?" Nathaniel sneered slightly, he didn't doubt that the old minister did it purely his choice of people to do so. He was to obvious in his beliefs, he didn't play the game and that was his biggest mistake. "That Acel, I swear he will be the end of us. Mark my words if you don't pull him out of there before the people find out there will be an outcry"

It wasn't just common knowledge about Acel and his less then angelic behavior but if the people found out he was spying on there young, even if it was the old minister they would blame Evangeline. Nathaniel wouldn't be surprised if that was the plan all along, after all Acel was sent in so close to election.

That sounded like the good old minister. Dirty. Who knows who this Acel voted for, putting him in before there was any cause or reason purely to watch over the students wasn't good business and anyone knew that. Nathaniel was very paranoid, now with there accession into power he wasn't going to let it slip away because of a dirty trick.

"If you dont pull him out at least make it public who he is before anyone else does, it would be better coming from your lips then anyone Else's"

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Re-reading the report, Evangeline nodded, taking in what Nathaniel was saying. He was right of course. If the public were to find out about a spy at Hogwarts, parents and indeed teachers would not take too kindly to that. But at the same time she knew very little about this Acel person. He would need to be dealt with, or at least spoken to, find out what he knew and then decide the best course of action from there. She set aside the report delicately and pulled a brown package towards her.

“New stationary.” She said with a smirk. “Goodness knows that women love their stationary.”

She opened the package and took out a blank piece of parchment with her own letterhead: “Evangeline Delacroix, Minister for Magic” it read in fancy gold lettering, the Ministry’s logo emblazoned next to her title and watermarked on the page. Smoothing it she dipped her phoenix feather quill into the black ink pot.

“You are right of course Nathaniel. The discovery of a Ministry spy will not go down too well with the governors of the school, nor the headmistress, or indeed the parents and of course the public. He will be summoned here and we will speak to him before any damage is done.”

She wrote down the summons on the parchment and called Artemis over to her. The snowy owl spread her large wings and soared to her desk proffering her leg. Sealing the parchment with a tap of her wand so only the intended recipient would be able to read it she fastened it to the owl’s leg, gave her an owl treat from a small crystal bowl and stood, Artemis perched carefully on her arm, crossing the room and opening the door for the owl to fly out.

“Stefan Acel, Hogwarts. Make sure there is a reply Artemis.” The owl gave a soft hoot and took off.

Evangeline closed the door with a slight snap and turned, she strode to the glass wall and glanced down at the Atrium below, her arms behind her back, drawing herself to her full height. She wasn’t a tall woman, but she wasn’t short either, her thin frame gave her more height than she really had. Turning back to Nathaniel she had a slightly devious smile on her face, she was a politician now and she knew that her closest companion would be up to the task at hand.

“Tell me, what do you know about this Acel man? Or, what can you find out?”

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

"There is always more to a man then his file" Nathaniel said shifting uncomfortably to face Evangeline even though her back was to him. "I haven't had the ... pleasure of becoming any more aquainted to him other then that file." Nathaniel was very paraniod about him, he held there future in his hands, one wrong move and they were gone.

It was very risking for Nathaniel to align himself with Eva in the first place, after all the old Minister was incredibly currupt and easily lead, but dispite his friendship with her he knew she would be voted in, although the people didnt know about the curruption, at least not to the full extent they were sensing something was wrong. Jumping ship was just good buisness.

"But what I can tell you is he is 37 pureblood, went to hogwarts himself, was a slytherin. He inherrited the gift of Parsel tounge" With that he paused, it was well known that very few people had that gift, and he was one, amungst the original founder of Hogwarts, and Voldemort himself. Very few people had the gift since and the thought of someone having it now was frightful. Not to Nathaniel but to the community. He was far to obvious in his allience.

"He's married" Nathaniel continued "He has two children that go to the same school as my daughter and yours. Candi and Cicero Acel. Both Slyhterin. The girl is a Fithyear the boy is a sixth" It would probably scare anyone to find out that somene knew this much about you, But nathaniel was head of security, he could tell you details on almost every single high ranking ministry worker and some lower workers.

"His Animagus is a dragon, and His wife Naldia Malfoy goes back all the way to the original Malfoy's. Both there bloodlines are followers of Voldemort" Enough said, he never should have been given a job in the ministry in the first place, Sadly when Nathaniel was apointed Head of the department he was already a little worker, you cant fire someone for there bloodline.

"To be frank Evangeline, I dont trust him." With this Nathaniel stood up and walked up slightly behind and to the side of her looking out over the ministry, her kingdom persay. "I'll do my best to find out more about him personally, of course. Lies are easily told and a man like that certainly knows how to whisper sweet words through gritted teeth."

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

(ooc: I just realized I called him geordi throughout an entire post. I'm sorry lol)

[Evangeline Delacroix]

((OOPS!!!! Oh and btw…who is your play-by? I keep trying to place his name!!))

Narrowing her eyes, Evangeline turned away from the window and walked slowly back to her desk. She ran her fingers over the back of her leather chair, her perfectly manicured fingernails digging into the tough black leather. She had undertaken a long and arduous battle to get where she was now and Nathaniel was right. This Stefan Acel could take away everything from her. Everything. And once the press got a hold of the fact that there were spies at Hogwarts under the Ministry’s orders…well, she didn’t want to think of what the headlines would be. She wasn’t a ruthless woman, but she liked her new position far too much to give it up.

She listened raptly to the information that was given to her. A pureblood with a family history. Great. That would make him even harder to deal with.

“If he is a pureblood with the lineage as you say, he will be increasingly hard to bully because, like yourself, he will be very well connected. We must approach him with caution because I, like yourself, have reason not to trust this man. Not that I trust most people, as you know.” She turned to face him, a small and slightly devious smile on her face. “I know you’ll do your best.”

[Nathaniel Drake Tempest]

(Billy Zane, the bad guy from titanic as most people know him lol)

She didn't need to say anymore, 'I know you'll do your best' was the invitation to sneak, lurk, poke and prod, like a true security officer. Of course any other auror could do it but it wasn't an official ministry order. Plus why send in a boy to so a mans job? 

"I'll certainly find out if he's planning anything" and Nathaniel would, even though they shared the same goal of a magical world were purebloods were at the top and mudbloods down the bottom -other then a few exceptions, Evangeline being it- Nathaniel would not stoop to little acts of vandalism, he was above it, any fool who blindly turned there back on the none purebloods community would never gain true power and that was Acels biggest problem.

"You know he is not the only teacher at that school who has a dangerous bloodlines" Nathaniel figured now would be as good a time as any "the school is crawling with them, teachers students. Rumors Eva, rumors are starting go spread" 

It was Nathaniel's job to know it all, and he did. He had been watching the school now since...well since his wife left him. Of course he knew the rumors to be true, his daughter was in most of them. Darcy Park's daughter Anna had even got off a charge of using an unforgivable curse. The distant relation to the Malfoy family was here, you could trace back at least 10 children to followers of the dark lord, there was something brewing in the air of hogwarts, and Nathaniel could feel it, like the calm before the storm.