•••
"So we let your friend stay over, we make him breakfast and now you want me to take Regulus into the Ministry with us?" Nelly repeated for the fifth time, almost dropping her spoon in her cereal.
Georgie, rocking a bedhead and flannel pyjamas, gave a sleepy smile and nodded, "That would be brilliant!"
"You can't just do this so unexpectedly."
"Why not?" She sat down on one of the chairs sideways, "You're the Head of the Department, Mum, you don't have a boss."
"That's not quite true. There are still many people higher than me."
"And you can do it, I believe in you!" She said enthusiastically, "What did you say about Mr Lewinsky's bringing tarts into the office yesterday? If he can do that, then you can get me and Regulus in easy peasy."
Nelly sighed, "Georgie, you ask too much which I do not need especially with everything going on at the moment. I am up to my neck in work, we all are."
Suddenly overcome with a wave of guilt for stressing out her mum, Georgie stood up, her arms folded, "If it's a lot of trouble, we could always do it another day. Me and Regulus can just spend the day at home - ooh! We could go up Primrose Hill, it's got such a pretty view! I don't mind - "
"No!" Nelly's spoon clattered into the bowl, sending a tidal wave of milk onto the table, "You agreed to come in today, this has to happen before you change your mind."
"But I only want to go if Regulus goes!"
"Then... then he can go," Nelly sank down into her chair, "I am Head of the Department. I... I'm sure I can arrange someone to watch you for the day."
Within seconds, Georgie's eyes had been lit up by the beaming grin across her face, "Brilliant - I'll go get dressed!"
And just like that she dashed out as Ernest entered the dining room, a tired smile on his face, "I have to hand it to her, she could turn out to be quite the negotiator in the future. Maybe there is hope yet."
"Yes, I do agree although sadly I don't think she quite knows she's doing it," Nelly replied with a sigh which would have been helpful advice had Georgie been there to hear it. Sadly, she was already halfway up down the upstairs corridor on her way to tell Regulus the good news.
"Regulus!" She slammed open the door to the guest room. He was thankfully fully clothed but looked startled nonetheless, "Sorry, did I make you jump."
He lowered his hand from his chest, straightening his shirt, "No, not at all ... so what did they say?"
"You can come with us!" She grinned, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet excitably, "This is so exciting! We're going on a day trip!"
"Very exciting. Now Georgie, I think we need to have more of a plan - "
"Yes... ooh, we need to look professional too," Georgie realised, stating it firmly, "That will be fine for you, you always look a bit like a businessman because of your shirts - "
"There's nothing wrong with a crisp white shirt."
"I know, I didn't say there was," She replied sincerely, "But it makes you look professional whereas I really like my floppy jumpers - not so professional - oh wait!" With a gleam in her eye, she held up one finger, "I think I've got it. Stay here."
She was off again, slamming the door and making a beeline for her wardrobe. Soon the floor was a sea of discarded dresses until she found the one she wanted. It was a strange garment, a neat red dress with buttons on her that her Grandparents had bought her a year or so back as it was 'very her' apparently. Honestly Georgie couldn't think of anything less her but had been grateful for the gift nonetheless especially now it was coming in handy. Paired with the black, strap heels, Georgie was sure she'd never seen anyone look so professional in her life.
Clearly Regulus had got bored of just chilling alone as he was already on the landing when she stepped out. Giving him a twirl, she quickly put her arms behind her back in a pose she'd seen her parents adopt many a time, "What do you think? Professional?"
"Yes... definitely," He replied, looking a little stunned, "Georgie, you look wonderful."
She grinned ear to ear before heading for the stairs, slower than usual thanks to the heels, "Shall we go then? My parents will be eager to head."
Regulus's compliment was still ringing in her ears so it came as a shock when her parents didn't quite agree.
"Those heels are a bit high, don't you think?" Nelly tutted disapprovingly.
"You're the one who bought them for me," She pointed out softly.
"Yes, for parties or perhaps a fancy ball if we were lucky enough to be invited, those are not work shoes."
"But... they make a really nice tapping sound as you walk down the hall."
"Just be glad she's not wearing those awful scuffed trainers, Nelly. Anything else is a blessing if you ask me," Ernest cut in, the pair laughing a little as Georgie hung her head.
"Well... I think I look very professional," Georgie piped up swiftly, making them fall into silence swiftly.
"I agree," Regulus stepped forward from behind her, "The one time my Mother and I visited the Ministry, she wore heels twice as high as that I don't think I've ever seen so many frightened Ministry officials in my entire life."
Giving him a grateful smile, she stood a little taller, "See? That's gonna be me today ... except maybe a bit less scary."
Not wanting to argue, Nelly and Ernest exchanged a rather irritated look before pursing their lips and forcing smiles. The four stood in silence as Georgie and Regulus quickly prepared breakfast, Georgie gobbling it down whilst Regulus ate slowly with the manners of an eighteenth century gentleman. By the time they'd finished, an impatient Ernest had left long ago and Nelly appeared eager to follow suit, her foot tapping on the carpet.
"Almost done!" Georgie shouted before raising the cereal bowl aloft and drinking the chocolatey flavoured milk.
"Georgie!" Nelly swooped forward, licking her thumb, "Oh, would you look at the state of you, you've got a milk moustache."
"Suits you, very noble," Regulus replied deadpan which made her snigger despite the fact her Mum was savagely dabbing her face right now.
Still fussing, Nelly sighed, "And your hair is all over the place - "
"It's in a ponytail just like yours!"
Georgie got her hair from her mother, the same light blonde but the difference between the ponytails was evident. Despite the fact it had been put in less than twenty minutes ago, wispy flyaways had already escaped, giving her a sort of halo when the light hit. Nelly on the other hand was perfectly smooth and precise thanks to her excessive use of sleakeazy.
"No," She sighed, "No, it's not... look, there's no time, we're barely going to make it on time as is!"
The pair hurriedly followed her into the living room, carefully listening as she told them the exact location they had to go to, repeating it several times even though they were both perfectly capable of understanding the first time.
Floo powder never ceased to amaze her, how everything linked so perfectly. It was especially weird to think it was thanks to her Mum that it stayed so well maintained, sometimes she forgot how important her parents were. She was about to be swiftly reminded though as within a few seconds of arriving, someone already dropped their morning cup of coffee on the floor to avoid bumping into Nelly. Even though they weren't at fault, they still apologised nonetheless whilst Nelly merely stood there.
"Follow closely behind me, it's very easy to get lost," She said firmly.
They managed to stick together despite the brisk pace they were forced to maintain.
"Georgie, what exactly was your plan now?" Regulus whispered.
"Well ... it wasn't a plan, more like a collection of ideas. Mum's the most important one here so I thought we could just follow her and steal it along the way. I was just kind of going to wing it," She replied which made him stiffen a bit.
"Okay ... I can wing it. Although as opposed to stealing, I propose that we instead - "
Their conversation was swiftly interrupted by Nelly, "Keep up please! This place is a maze if you don't know it!"
"Sorry, Mum," Georgie mumbled, grabbing hold of Regulus' sleeve as they followed Nelly who seemed to have the magical ability to part the crowds.
The three remained silent the entire duration of the lift journey, only speaking once they were in the large atrium of the Department of Magical Transportation.
"If you two wait here - take a seat so you don't get in anyone's way please - what was I saying?" She put one head on her hand before shaking it, forcibly perking up as if she'd been recharged, "If you two wait here I'll have a quick discussion with some of my colleagues and see which one of them can take you around today."
Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and strode through some large frosted glass doors which opened and closed behind her.
"Well ... that's not good," Georgie whispered, slumping onto the chair, "I thought she'd be taking us round."
"I didn't," Regulus admitted, "She's the Head of the Department and appears to be a bit of a workaholic from what you said. I doubted she'd find the time, to get us in at such short notice in times like this is already ... an achievement."
"All it took was one conversation though."
His grey eyes suddenly seemed to cloud over, "I know."
Her cheery giggled echoed around the atrium, "Not that much of an achievement then, I guess," Leaning in a little closer and lowering her voice to match this new spy persona, she whispered, "So what's the plan?"
"I think we need to copy it not steal it."
"Oh... like by hand? Oh bugger, I think I forgot my quill!"
"I meant more with spells but there's the issue of underage magic..." His hands ran through his hair as he thought, "And there's always the problem of actually finding it. A map like that ... well it might not even be a map. If you were going to map the floo network it would likely span over multiple pages, books even ... Cordelia really got overexcited with this one."
"And so did I!" She beamed, "We're like spies!"
"Yes, I suppose so except they traditionally have a lot more knowledge of the situation - "
"Regulus, Georgie, come here!" Their bodies became rigid in time as Nelly's voice expertly ended their conversation. Next to her stood a younger, dumpy looking woman, probably barely older than the two teens themselves. Unlike Nelly who's suit looked like it had been perfectly tailored to fit her, this woman looked like she'd found it in the bottom of a 40s junksale. The elbows had numerous colourful patches on them and the shoulders hung low.
"Meet... what's your name again?" Nelly prompted.
"Um... Winnie Shacks," She adjusted her spectacles that had fallen off her nose at the smallest shrug.
"Grayson's new assistant after the whole Tati debacle," Nelly sniffed, "But for today, she's your tour guide," Artfully, she whipped a piece of paper out of her pocket, handing it to the woman, "I've planned a basic itinerary for the day, Georgie. It's very rushed since you told me yesterday and it was intended for one person but ... I'm sure it will cover the basics. You can come for a more extensive tour about jobs at the ministry another date with better planning this time."
"Mum, is - "
"Lunch included? Yes, I've designated a whole hour for it in fact. I know my own daughter," Nelly answered, a fond smile flickering across her face, "If you need anything Winnie knows where my office is although I am very busy at the moment so please only bother me if it's an emergency."
"Yes, Mum."
"Okay," She put her hands together briefly, "Winnie, thank you so much for doing this. Georgie, Regulus, I hope this is an insightful visit!"
With a professional smile she turned on her heel, striding back through the doors and dissapearing out of sight. The three of them were left in awkward silence until Winnie remembered she actually had a job, unfolding the paper with one hand whilst pushing her glasses up with the other.
"Oh right, so Nelly Humphreys has planned the day ... oh wait, you heard that too..." She offered a nervous smile, her wide, owl-like eyes seeming to twitch a little every now and then, "Sorry, I'm a dolt sometimes."
"Don't worry. I think you're doing great!" Georgie smiled brightly.
"Right yes," Her hands didn't stop fidgeting, fiddling with the hem of her jacket now, "Okay so the tour ... I'm not too sure what Nelly meant ... maybe I should ask her ... oh wait, she said not to interrupt unless it was an emergency. I'll just ... just show you around."
"That sounds brilliant."
"Yes, terrific," Regulus added.
"Right, yes... well, follow me," Winnie ushered them forward as they followed her through the glass doors, "So the offices are separated into four ... four main categories: the ... the Floo Network authority, Broom regulatory control, Portkey office and Apparition division. Now ... now most people work for a branch specifically but ... but seeing as I'm an assistant to the people who oversee the entire department like your Mother ... well, I'm technically Mr Grayson's assistant technically but there have been ... been some staff shortages so at the moment, we all sort of ... sort of function as everyone's assistant a bit ... as you can see."
"Have you been working here long?"
"Not too long ... only since January. Tati ... Tati caused quite a stir. Everyone thought she'd been taken by well ... you know who and his lot but ... she'd just run away with an Australian Pilot. They wanted to hire someone fast and I've been here ever since," Winnie replied, "Now along this corridor are all the portkey offices. This bit's ... this bit's very easy to get lost in because they all look a bit the same really but they ... they separated the offices by borough and then there's another important one for the really special portkeys ... and occasionally they bring in a bunch of interns if there's something big like for the Quidditch Cup ... they ... they brought in some overseas specialist to transport everyone to Syria."
"It worked splendidly ... from what I heard," Regulus said, "We did go but not by Portkeys. My Mother wouldn't like that ... but I'm sure you did a fine job."
Winnie didn't quite know what to say to this, smiling awkwardly before holding out her hand towards another set of glass doors, "Now ... down here is the offices of the higher ups - "
She suddenly yelped as the slammed open, almost catching her arm. Standing in the doorway was a tall, slender, Japanese man. He was instantly intimidating, from his thunderous dark eyes to the large scar that stretched along the entirety of his face, so deep it was a wonder he hadn't been sliced in half.
"Have you seen Oisin Shacklebolt anywhere?" He practically shouted, "Anywhere at all - "
"Er ... no, no I haven't!"
"Why is it whenever I don't want him around that man is practically crawling under my skin and the one time I do - " He clicked right in Winnie's face, " - he's vanished into thin air just like that."
"Well, if I see him I'll tell him you were - "
"OISIN!" The man ignored her, charging past towards a stocky, black man wearing the most fabulous red robes Georgie had ever laid eyes, "There you are! Now there's been an emergency in..."
His voice faded away as the two men walked into one of the offices, dissapearing out of sight. Georgie stared after the space they'd been in with a frown, "Well he seemed rude."
"Mr Jay is ... well ... he's actually okay. Just a bit loud," Winnie replied, "He's got a very dominating and rich wife from what I've heard so ... so work seems to be the only place he can exercise his voice. But he's nice ... he got me a cake for my birthday ... well, he gave me the money out of the budget to go and buy it myself but it was still nice."
"Is my Mum nice?"
Winnie suddenly seemed to tense, a glint crossing her eyes, "I ... I think we should get on with the tour."
Both Regulus and Georgie exchanged a look. Although she was eager to follow the tour guide, Regulus pulled her back so they fell back a little - the suddenly oblivious Winnie didn't even notice.
"She didn't answer my question," Georgie hissed with wide, aghast eyes, "Does that mean my Mum isn't nice?"
"I hate to say it but from what I've seen, quite possibly."
"That's so sad! She's nice to me ... sometimes."
Regulus's face clouded over, "It was odd considering how chatty she was before ... all that stuff about Mr Jay and Tati sounded like things they'd want to keep hushed up."
"Hee hee, Tati and the pilot."
"Exactly," A sudden slightly predatory look crossed Regulus's face as he stared after the dumpy assisant, "But she seemed to freeze up when we mentioned Nelly ... as if she was scared of her. Georgie, maybe we could use this. It's not good but it could work..."