It doesn't take very long for the seventh floor to become innundated with paper airplanes, and ,while she knows the response is a good thing, Aruna is already tired of being poked by planes in the lift by day three of applications being opened. 

Applicants are being divided by Mrs. Morgan based on their specialization and are then forwarded to the Head of whichever Office or Office Division they'd be best suited for. Unfortunately for Aruna, this means that every single law-related person ends up sent to her, as she's the only person currently involved with what will eventually become the Law Offices of the Muggle Relations Department. Occasionally Willow will help her sort during their Saturday mornings, but the prosecutor has made clear she had no intention of joining the Office herself.

The worst part, Aruna thinks as she reads through yet another cover letter, is that Aruna herself isn't entirely certain that she wants to stay on past September first. Her therapist, mother, and friends have all encouraged her to join the new Department - it's a familiar environment with work she's already comfortable with, after all, and it's a permanent occupation. It seems perfect. Aruna's hesitance arises almost entirely out of the fact that, should she stay on, she won't just be an employee of the Law Offices - she'll be the Head of the Law Offices. And that's a level of responsibility and expectation that she's pretty confident she can't handle yet.

She hasn't spoken with Mrs. Morgan yet one way or another - during their brief meeting the week before the older woman had accepted Aruna's statement that she needed time to think about her next steps, and Mrs. Morgan hasn't asked her about it since. Aruna is glad for that, because she still really doesn't have an answer.

Most of the applicants are recent nonmagical law school graduates who are obviously just tossing their hat into whatever rings they find in hopes of landing whatever job will take them. They tend to blur together, but a few have popped out enough for Aruna to set them aside for further consideration. What's particularly interesting to her, however, is the fact that there have been very few applicants from the magical end of the spectrum, and she isn't quite sure what to make of it. So of course she asks Willow at their next Saturday meeting.

The woman chuckles. "Honestly I'm not so surprised to hear it - there aren't many of us in the magical law field, and the big goal for every young prosecutor or defender is to one day be appointed to the Wizengamot. This Department is still new, so there's hesitance about whether or not it can successfully further those goals, or if it would turn into a dead-end job that puts them years behind their same-age colleagues." She chuckles. "In short, a lot of politics, stubbornness, and clinging to tradition. Most magical law folk are either Slytherin or Ravenclaw, which are the Houses most wary about rapid change. And as a former Ravenclaw I'm allowed to say that." She adds with a grin.

Aruna attempts a smile in return, but she obviously does a piss-poor job of it because Willow frowns and sets down the book she was perusing. "Is there something more to this?" She asks after a moment. "No pressure to share if there is, but it can help to have a new perspective on things that you've been pondering for too long."

Aruna huffs out what could be a laugh, if it wasn't so exhausted. "I feel like I've heard that before." She says ruefully. "But maybe later. This isn't important right now, anyway. We should stay focused on the task at hand."

It's a pretty obvious avoidance maneuver, but it's also completely true. Willow and Aruna are trying, in this final month, to finish up everything they've been doing over the past year: determining how lawyers from both sides should be trained and what the transparency situation ought to be on cases that only impact one of the worlds. Especially if Aruna does decide to leave, she wants whoever is taking her place to have a solid foundation to start on.

Willow rolls with it, and this is why she's the only person who Aruna is still regularly meeting with a year later - the woman respects boundaries. "True. Did you go through my proposals on curriculum adjustment for the magical training program from last week? I starred the areas I felt were weakest, but if you saw anything in addition to those I'd like to discuss that now so I can spend some time this week reworking aspects of it."

From there they fall back into their usual routine, occasionally swapping notes or ideas but mostly staying focused on their individual tasks. Aruna lets herself lean into the familiar rhythm, trying to empty her mind of everything but the task in front of her (but she can't help thinking that if this was what the job would keep looking like then she'd really have no qualms about it at all). Willow stays later than she used to - with only a month left the woman has completely set aside her Saturdays to work with Aruna, which the latter greatly appreciates considering her own available time to work on this has been cut short due to the applications pouring in. Having one day fully dedicated to her actual work does manage to somewhat mitigate her stress levels concerning the entire operation.

However, when they enter their last hour of the day, Willow breaks her usual habits by putting down the book she'd been perusing and leaning forward to stare at Aruna intently, waiting until the other woman reluctantly puts down her own reading material and returns the gaze.

"So what's really going on? I know you don't want to talk about it, but I can also tell it's distracting you - you're not as efficient as you were even two weeks ago." The lawyer says firmly, "And if this is impacting your work with me, then it's my business. I'm still not asking for details," She adds, raising a hand before Aruna can even think to protest, "But I am informing you that whatever this is you need to get it under control sooner rather than later so that you can put in your best possible work in the next few weeks. After that you're back on your own time and can be as distracted as you like, but so long as we're working together I want you to be on point."

Aruna nods mutely, shame welling up inside her, and Willow softens slightly.

"I don't mean this as an attack." She says, and Aruna knows that, isn't upset about that. She just wishes she was able to compartmentalize the way she used to, so her worries wouldn't so obviously impact her ability to do her dang job.

Maybe it would really be best for her to just leave in September - she can't keep dragging everyone else down that way. She glances up at Willow, who's turned back to her work, and decides that maybe the woman who's been her one constant pillar in the past year might just be understanding of her situation. She won't share everything, obviously, but maybe Willow will have some insight on the problem of whether or not to stay on. At the very least, hearing a different perspective could be useful.

"Actually, there is something I've been thinking on a lot recently." She admits, and Willow's eyes flick back up from the book, though she otherwise shows no indication that she's listening. Aruna takes a breath, trying to figure out how to say what she wants to without sharing what she doesn't. She eventually opts to just go simple. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to be the Head of the Law Offices here."

Willow hums, putting the book down entirely and eyeing Aruna carefully. "I think you're fully capable of it," She says after a moment, "But only if you're able to give your full effort. I get the sense you're not sure you can at the moment?"

Aruna frowns. This is the part she doesn't want to talk about, but Willow is waiting for an answer so she tries to think of a way to say 'yes' without inviting any invasive questions about why she's so uncertain.

Willow eventually rescues her from her rising panic. "I'll take that as confirmation." She says wryly. "It's alright if you're not able to for whatever reason, I know it's been a rough year." She pauses, clearly weighing something, before speaking again. "I get the sense it's something from even before this year that's hampering you, though. Don't feel the need to say anything." She adds quickly, which is good because Aruna probably would have freaked out if Willow had demanded answers. "But I might be able to offer some advice. You of course know about the war from twenty years ago?"

Aruna nods mutely - it's impossible to have been with the Initiative this long and not know about it, after all. Willow nods as well, in a deep breath.

"When it was over, nearly three quarters of the Wizengamot facilities were either wounded, dead, arrested, or otherwise indisposed, but it was also the busiest I've ever seen it - there were up to fifteen criminal trials a day, prosecuting Deatheaters and Deatheater sympathizers for their part in the conflict. And with so few people available, everyone was covering every aspect of the trials. I've always been a prosecutor, but I took up defense on a few occasions, and even served Jury on some of the higher profile cases.

"I handled at least five cases per day, and I was one of the few people who weren't just putting in token effort - I genuinely wanted to help some of the people I was representing, or even opposing. It was normal to be exhausted back then, and a lot of people commended me for not falling into monotony." She smiles bitterly. "But I wasn't doing it for any altruistic reason."

She sighs, obviously considering her next words for a minute. Aruna lets her, entirely unsure of where exactly this is going. Willow's high work ethic seems to directly contradict Aruna's current situation, so how any of this applies is still a bit beyond her grasp.

FInally Willow sighs. "Look, honestly? I was doing it because if I didn't throw myself face first into endless cases and paperwork I would have fallen apart. I'd just broken up with my boyfriend despite neither of us really wanting to, but more importantly... I lost my sister. In the final battle - my boyfriend was actually with her when it happened, and I couldn't stand to even look at him. Laurel and I didn't always get along, but I love her. And if I had stopped working for even a moment the grief and misery I was feeling would have completely overwhelmed me, and frankly I'm not sure that even my little sister could have kept me from falling over the edge of despair." She exhales slowly, and Aruna feels a deep dread rising in her as the story continues. Does Willow know? How could she?

Willow either doesn't notice or isn't concerned by Aruna's clear discomfort. "So I guess what I'm saying is that, working was my coping mechanism. Once things settled down I found myself back in a routine. My sister had a baby. I reunited with my boyfriend years later - we're married now. Two kids." She smiles faintly. "And I'll always remember how everyone kept telling me I needed to rest, I needed to mourn and take time for myself, but... that would never have worked for me. I get too into my own head about these things, and I would have probably torn myself up from the inside out.

"I'm not telling you this because I think you should stay on. What I want to emphasize is that I had to approach things my own way. People told me how I should be feeling - I sometimes told myself I was being horrid and heartless - but if I hadn't done what I did..." She shrugs. "Who knows where I would be now? Working served as an effective way for me to cope with everything that had happened - it helped me process and recenter myself. I think the question for you, then, isn't so much if you're ready to be the Head of the Office - trust me when I say no one is ever ready for that sort of responsibility. The question you need to ask yourself is if working here will help you cope, or will make things worse. And answers aren't always so black and white - remember that, too." She shrugs and glances at the clock. "But it's five, so I've got to head out. I'll see you next week Aruna."

Aruna watches the other woman pack up and leave, her mind whirling with everything she'd just been told. Help her cope... her therapist has talked about coping mechanisms before, but she'd always thought they were a bit silly. But she also hadn't thought about work as a coping mechanism - she'd always thought that being able to keep functioning was a sign she was mourning improperly.

She sits there for another hour, mind slowly sorting through the past year in light of Willow's words, sorting through her own actions and assumption, her ups and her downs. At six o'clock she stands from her desk and packs up for the evening before turning and heading for Mrs. Morgan's office

The woman in question is still in the office, despite most of the others having already vacated. She glances up wearily at Aruna's knock, waving the lawyer in.

"How can I help you Ms. Kandasamy?" She inquires, and Aruna takes a deep breath.

"I've thought it through." She says, and sees the moment Mrs. Morgan realizes what this conversation is going to be about. "And I'd like to stay on with the new Department. However, I'd like to take the first few months to train a magical lawyer to co-head the Law Offices with me, rather than running them on my own - I feel that will be best for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Office."

Mrs. Morgan blinks slightly, and then smiles. "Of course Aruna, that's no trouble at all. Actually, Undersecretary Weasley and I may already have someone who would be willing to take on the job - we were going to ask him to take the role solo if you wanted to retire after August, but it's wonderful to know we'll still have you on board. We can have him come in on Monday so you can meet him - if that works for you?"

Aruna nods. She may not feel completely stable yet, but she wants to give this a real chance.

Willow had said she loves her sister - present, not past. And Aruna wants to try that too - to keep loving Christopher, but moving into the future as well. And she may as well start here.

Fergus always knew he wasn't staying with the Initiative past its initial one-year mandate, and now that they're in the final month he can practically taste his freedom. If it wasn't for the fact he'd been pressed into service by Finn and Yurina (a fact that has thankfully been kept quiet due to his full cooperation with Finn's trial) he would have never even joined the Initiative, and despite the overall positive outcome of the entire endeavor he's quite excited to get back to work in the Port Key Offices come September.

The final challenge he still has to overcome - and really, it's infinitesimal compared to literally every other challenge they've had this year - is finding someone able and willing to take over as the Head of the Transportation Offices for the new Muggle Relations Department. Considering the fact he'd always been rather isolated, even at work, he decides to consult the one person who's literal job is to know everyone in Transportation's jobs and capabilities.

Percy Weasley is surprisingly not actually working when Fergus knocks on the Transportation Head's office door on Monday morning. He is seated at his desk, but the chair is turned away from the neat piles of parchment laid across it and towards the side of the room instead, where a familiar teenage girl is sitting on the floor surrounded by pamphlets.

Mai Weasley looks up as Fergus cracks open the door and grins brightly. "Good morning Mr. Bell!" She greets him. "Daddy is helping me narrow down what I want to do after Hogwarts."

Percy smiles over at Fergus, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair and smoothing a hand over his barely-tamed curls, shaking a few of them loose as he does. "Oh, Fergus, good morning. I apologize, I seem to have entirely lost track of time. Do sit down," He flicks his wand and a chair appears across the desk, "I'll be with you in just a moment."

Fergus nods back easily, not to bothered - it's honestly a rarity to see Transportation Head Weasley doing anything but work, so Fergus is taking it as a compliment that Percy so obviously trusts him to see this side of the older man. It's an even greater compliment considering Percy almost certainly knows of the role Fergus unwillingly played in Yurina's plotting.

Mai is soon bustled into a corner to look over her pamphlets and Percy is back to his impeccable, professional self. "You wished to speak with me today about the future of the Muggle Relations Department's Transportation Offices, correct?" He says briskly, and Fergus nods.

"I will be returning to my role as Head of the Port Key Offices in the Fall." He confirms, "And I would like to begin training someone as soon as possible to take over my role within the new Department so he or she will be ready by September."

Percy hums.. "Have you spoken to anyone on the Muggle side?" He asks, and Fergus blinks. He... hasn't, actually. He of course has received applications from Muggles, mostly mechanics and mechanical engineers, but he hadn't considered giving any of them the position of Office Head.

"Well..." He says awkwardly, trying to think of a way to explain without sounding like a bigot. "It is technically focused on Magical Transportation moreso than Muggle - I suppose I assumed, considering the extremely short training period available to us, that having someone already familiar with magical transport would be best suited to start."

Percy eyes him thoughtfully, then gives a small smile. "I doubt that, but it's a good point nonetheless. And I do happen to have a recommendation for you - a younger man who has big ideas but tends to get too caught up in the details. Given a proper team behind him, and careful training, I think he could do well as an Office Head."

And so it is that onlly minutes later Fergus is knocking on a different door in the Department, one that leads to a room he himself has never actually been inside despite how long he's worked in Transportation.

The door swings open of it's own accord, and Fergus steps into the Broom Regulatory Control offices. It's a lot neater than he'd actually expected - considering how much cross-legislating happens between the Control office and Magical Games and Sports he'd subconsciously assumed the two groups would be similar - and Games and Sports is notorious around the entire Ministry for being in a state of constant chaos.

This is nothing like that though - in fact, it's almost unnervingly quiet, with most of the employees not even glancing up at Fergus's entry. He strides past the rows of desks towards the Office of the Head located at the very back, and knocks politely once he reaches it. Once again, the door opens on its own, and Fergus steps through.

He coughs to get the woman behind the desk's attention, and she glances up briefly, before frowning and looking at him head-on.

"Mr. Bell? What does the Portkey Office need?" She asks, clearly confused but still polite.

Fergus smiles - Lola Abbott-Byrne is the relatively new Head of the Control, and though this is their first meeting he can already tell the glowing reports he's heard about her are definitely true. Despite the polite smile and professional demeanor, there's a sparkle of something mischievous in her gaze.

"Ah, nothing like that." He says quickly. "I'm actually here to inquire about one of your employees - a Mr. Terrence Boot? Department Head Weasley suggested he might be well-suited to take over for me in the new Muggle Relations Department's Transportation Offices."

Abbott-Byrne tilts her head thoughtfully. "That's right, I'd almost forgotten you were part of that." She says after a moment. "Terry is at a meeting just now, but I'll tell him once he's back to go up and visit you, if that works?"

Fergus is already nodding. "That would be excellent, thank you Mrs.-"

"Lola." She interrupts with a smile. "Just Lola is fine. We're equals, are we not?"

Fergus blinks, then returns the warm expression. "Of course, though I'll have to insist you call me Fergus, then." He points out, and she laughs lightly.

"Of course. I look forward to your being back in charge of the Port Key Offices next month. Until then, don't be a stranger."

Fergus agrees and heads back to the lift, taking it back up two floors to the Initiative.

Or rather, he reminds himself as he walks back to his new office space, the Department of Muggle Relations. Even if it isn't technically going to be called that for another month, they're all working to get used to refering to the floor as such since that is what they are now.

"How did it go?" Kylee asks, falling into step next to him. "Did you find someone to train?"

Fergus hums. In the past few days Kylee has been rather blatantly nosy, asking everyone about their hiring processes and how they're choosing future Office Heads if they aren't staying on. Fergus is guessing it's because her specialties have each been divided into their own Offices, and she can't exactly head all of them - she needs to train up two other people to cover for her in the areas she chooses to not ultimately take control of.

Of course, he thinks, as they continue to converse, it's possible Kylee won't be staying on at all, but he can't really see it. Kylee has been one of the most passionate people in the Initiative since day one, and walking away now when things are only just getting started would seem pretty out of character for her. Still, he does wonder as he watches her dart away towards Desmond if there's something else at play with her - after all, she's one of the few people who is yet to confirm one way or another if she intends to take up a position in the new Department. His assumption is of course that Kylee just doesn't know which of her three specialties she'll ultimately want to take charge of - that's certainly what makes the most sense.

He shakes off his thoughts and returns to the Transportation Office area (he refuses to call it his, since he won't ever officially be the Head here) to go through a few files and confirm a few appointment times. The Floo Network, thankfully, is going to be formally opened for Muggle use later this week, so they have one last meeting with Lydia from Muggle Transportation (as he's taken to calling it) to confirm there won't be any last-minute surprises or complications on the Muggle end of the project. Since the Parliamentary decision Lydia has become something of an advocate for Fergus and Lindberg within the walls of her Department. She's obviously still very low-level, but she has a stubborn tenacity that's currently serving them well. Fergus wonders if maybe she would make a good potential Head, if things don't pan out with Boot, but she's painfully young and inexperienced, so he's not sure how comfortable he'd be having her in charge.

Though, conversely, most of the other Departments are also being headed by pretty young people (Alex is only twenty and taking point on Outreach, which may only be a Division of the larger PR office but is still a far more advanced role than most wizards his age could hope for), so maybe Lydia would fit right in with the rest of the Department.

He sighs and closes the planner, rubbing at his forehead slightly. He does wish they'd known earlier about the department - one month isn't nearly enough time to get everything in order. Not that he thinks they really could have started any earlier - until last week no one was even sure the world would survive to the end of August, nonetheless that there would be a continued need to work on integration. Those facts don't negate his frustration with the entire situation though.

He's interrupted in his musings by a sharp knock on the door that startles him out of his thoughts.

"Come in." He says quickly, sitting up and folding his hands on his desk in order to preserve an air of authority.

An unfamiliar face pops around the door, looking uncertainly into the room. "Hi, are you Fergus Bell? Mrs. Lola said you were looking for me earlier - Terry Boot."

Fergus nods, waving the man in. "I was - I didn't expect you so soon." He admits. "Did Lola mention what I was inquiring about?"

Terry gives a so-so hand gesture. "She only mentioned it was involved with the Initiative. Or I guess the Department of Muggle... whatsits, Initiative is a lot easier to remember." He chuckles, and Fergus takes the time to look him over.

Admittedly, Terrence - or Terry, he'd called himself - Boot doesn't seem like the typical kind of person that Percy Weasley would recommend for a promotion of this magnitude. His robes aren't quite straight, his hair is a bit mussed, and his hands and eyes can't seem to stop moving. But at the same time Fergus trusts the older man's judgement, so he pushes on, trusting that whatever quality Percy had seen will become apparent after a bit of conversation.

"Department of Muggle Relations." Fergus fills in for him. "And that is what this is about - namely, I'm looking for someone to train as the new Head of the Transportation Offices in this Department and wanted to see if that was something you might be interested in pursuing."

Terry blinks at him, and Fergus can practically see the man's mind whirling through his eyes. After a moment, Terry's expression locks down, and Fergus nearly jerks back in surprise, though he manages to catch himself. He doesn't say anything, allowing Terry to take whatever time he needs to process the offer.

After a minute, Terry looks up again. "If I can ask... why would you ask me? We've never met before now, and I know in the past decade there's been almost no regular communication between BRC and Port Key. So why me?"

Fergus blinks, needing a moment to realize that 'BRC' stands for Broom Regulatory Control, and then smiles slowly. Far from the unfocused air he'd given at first, it seems Terry actually is quite astute, which would certainly serve him well in dealing with some of the obstacles Fergus and Lindberg had faced with the Floo setup this year (though with Lydia some of those difficulties should thankfully be somewhat eased from this point forward). Fergus still isn't quite convinced, but he's willing to talk.

"Honestly it was Department Head Weasley's suggestion. He said you'd be the best fit for this role out of everyone in our Department." He watches Terry's expression to see what the other man will think of this - and is surprised to see an almost shy excitement that once again is quickly clamped down on.

"He really said that? I always thought he found me frustrating." Terry says after a moment, a slight grin flitting across his features. "But he's always been good at calling who's work ethic best fits to which job, so if he says so then I suppose I'm inclined to agree with him. What exactly would you need me to do?"

Fergus hums and the two of them spend the next few hours hammering out a schedule in which Terry will be able to finish up or pass off his current work with the BRC over the next month, while also shadowing Fergus in his final few Floo meetings and generally learn the ropes and meet the rest of the Department while he does. The latter was of particular importance to Terry, and Fergus is definitely starting to understand what Percy meant when he recommended the young broom regulator for the role. He can't say he's completely sold on Terry when the other man bids him farewell in order to hurry back to his actual tasks for the day, but he thinks that he'll get there over the course of the next month.

That done, he sits back and takes a moment to just watch the rest of the Department as they rush about, chasing down paper airplanes and shouting rushed greetings as they pass him and each other.

Fergus can't help but smile - as much as he was forced into all this, he honestly can't say that he regrets the last year. He's looking forward to going back to the Port Key Office, there's no questions there, but...

Maybe he'll stop by to visit these guys every so often. He thinks he might just miss them.

Edward feels... odd, being back at work. But with Yurina and Finn arrested the Hunters had been dissolved, which means Edward and his team are back on desk duty until the next case comes up.

Honestly he doesn't mind the paperwork much - it's really not so different from what he was doing with the Hunters. Rather, he finds himself actually missing the oddities and strange new truths he'd had to learn about while working within the magical world, once he'd gotten his head out of his own arse, of course. He misses tea with Mrs. Weston, misses exploring the Archives and the maintenance tunnels.

Misses Demelza, and her smile, and how easy it always was to talk to her. He hadn't actually gotten a chance to speak with her before being pulled out of the Ministry entirely, and he's now unsure of how to get into contact with her outside of work. Jen has about it a few times, but he's somewhat resigned himself to the fact it probably wasn't meant to be, and there's no point trying to push anything at this juncture. Besides, they have more important things to focus on right now, like what their next steps are going to be.

He thinks his biggest frustration, more than the nostalgia and lowered workload, is that their bosses, on his reporting back for his first day post-assignment, had told him, Kevin, and Jen in no uncertain terms that they were no longer going to be dealing with magic - full stop. As one had put it, "Our governments and court systems are still separated, so our law enforcement will be as well. Leave the wand-wavers to themselves."

"I feel like wand-wavers is going to become derogatory slang given a year or so." Kevin muses. The three of them are gathered in Edward's apartment for what has become a customary weekly dinner - a holdover from the past year that Edward isn't going to complain about (even if he knows he'll probably be hosting most of these).

Jen sighs. "Probably. Which says great things about our boss's attitude about all this." She grumbles.

"It's not like the decision is going to instantly change people's minds." Edward points out. "The ones who were always on our side feel more confident being open about that now, but it doesn't suddenly erase the loudmouth arsehats who already existed."

"Hmm, good point." Jen agrees. "Wish they'd been louder sooner though - what is it with only the really angry, hateful people not caring about what others think? And then making everyone falsely assume they're the majority?"

"I don't even think the non-angry people were being quiet - they just weren't being loud enough. Now that the law is firmly on their side they're increasing their volume. They probably feel like they'll actually be heard now, whereas they weren't sure before." Kevin offers after a moment of thought. "It is unfortunate the Initiative had to do so much of the heavy lifting before, but I suppose decency and cooperation did win out in the end, so we can't be too upset at the outcome. Who knows if it would have been the same had people spoken up more?"

"It might have been better." Jen point out, and while he's normally one to be contrary Edward doesn't reply with the obviously 'It could have been worse' because he honestly doesn't see how that would be possible.

"There must still be something we can do." He says instead. "Just because the worlds are legally distinct doesn't change the fact that socially we're overlapping now, and that's only going to become more pronounced as the new Department settles in. And I somehow doubt criminals will care that they're supposed to only commit their crimes in 'their' world."

Jen grins, eyes lighting up with ideas. "You know, that's an excellent point. And even beyond that, it's not like witches and wizards haven't committed crimes in the Muggle world before now - we just literally didn't know they existed so couldn't even begin to develop the tools necessary to track them or otherwise identify those sorts of crimes. Now that we know, wouldn't it be dereliction of duty to not adjust our department accordingly with this new information?"

Kevin laughs. "Say it exactly like that to the bosses - they won't be able to say no without looking stupid or lazy." He says. "But in all actuality, that really is a fair idea. We ought to be ready to handle magical cases, or at least know how to recognize them so they can be given to the magical law enforcers to be handled properly. Which would mean we'd need a specialized team, or group of teams, trained to recognize and be able to work with magic if and when needed."

Edward grins at his friends. "Well I can think of one team who might be perfectly positioned already to take up that sort of task. One already very familiar with magic, and even able to use some ancient, self-regulating forms of it thanks to the wonderful Mrs. Weston."

They of course don't immediately go to the big bosses with their proposal - for one thing, they need to set up a proper meeting, which takes a few days to process. For another, despite the obvious logicality of the proposal they still need to hammer out exact details, so that when they make their pitch they'll be able to respond to any and all concerns brought up by their superiors, and there's little doubt the three men will do their best to poke as many holes in the proposal as they can. Creating a new division in the Service, which is where this would inevitably, ultimately lead, is a pricey endeavor and one that would require a lot of cross-world cooperation, something the Service leaders haven't been very fond of from day one. If they want this to work, they have to go in about three steps beyond over prepared.

The next few days they meet after work daily, and Edward even drops by the maintenance tunnels on his way home one evening to chat with Mrs. Weston and see if she has any ideas on what they should focus on and whether there's anything specific to keep in mind when approaching magical crimes.

She just chuckles at the questions. "My boy, I'm a janitor - what makes you think I'd know anything about that? You're the bobbie, aren't you? I think you know the answers already." She's smiling knowingly the entire time, and Edward thanks her and prepares to leave. However, she stops him just before he heads back down the tunnel. "I will say that you may want to coordinate with the Aurors - if you're dealing with magic, you'll likely need some magical assistance." The knowing look grows, and Edward can only sigh and smile agreeably.

"I need to go to the Ministry tomorrow." He tells Jen and Kevin when he reaches the former's apartment. "See if I can set up a contact for our new team within the Aurors - we'll need one anyway."

"Was that Mrs. Weston's grand advice? Because I admit, I was hoping the all-knowing spooky lady would have more than something we already suspected." Kevin frowns, and Jen kicks him lightly.

"She's sweet, not spooky." She scolds and Kevin tosses his hands in the air.

"She spies on everyone constantly! That's a little spooky!"

Edward laughs and interrupts before the two of them can start sniping at each other. "That's her job. And anyway, she actually says we probably have this in hand - anything she could tell us we already know." He shrugs. "I think she also probably doesn't want to constantly have to answer our questions in the future, which is fair. We've taken up a lot of her and maintenance's time in the past couple months."

Jen grins. "Fair enough. Right then, we'll need to come up with an excuse for you leaving the office for a while tomorrow, but first I vote we hammer out exactly how large the initial team ought to be."

They spend the evening debating numbers, skillsets, and other minute details all in preparation for the future grilling by their bosses. It's not until the sun is long set and Kevin has to head out that Jen and Edward begin discussing how he could get out of work early the next day (Jen insists it's best that way - who knows how long negotiating with the Auror Department could take? Edward agrees with her reluctantly).

"I mean, food poisoning is always a solid fall back, if nothing else. Gets you out for the afternoon and no one questions your being back the next morning looking no worse for wear." Jen says, frowning.

Edward rolls his eyes. "We're a department of secret agents, Jen, everyone knows that trick."

She grins. "So? It still works - even secret agents haven't figured out how to effectively disprove the 'food poisoning' excuse without engaging in massive invasion of privacy. And no way anyone would be able to get a legitimized search warrant for you in time."

Edward sighs, chuckling slightly. "Fair enough. Still feels rather blandly simple."

"You only say that because you're used to literal magical excuses - sometimes simple is best." Jen replies primly, teasingly, and Edward shakes his head.

"Fair enough." He allows and Jen fist pumps victoriously.

The next day he calls in to the Departmental secretary after lunch begging off the rest of the day. She sounds amused, but doesn't ask questions, merely telling him to "take care" and "good luck", the latter comment which tells Edward she has a hunch about what he's doing, which doesn't surprise him. Marybelle Louis White may not be Mrs. Weston levels of tapped in, but she definitely sees more than he thinks most poeple care to realize - himself included, sometimes.

He doesn't worry about it, though - Marybelle has been pro-integration from day one, so even if she is suspicious of his sudden illness it's highly unlikely she'll report that he's faking. So, feeling a bit uncertain but with nothing to lose, he heads towards the familiar phone booth he hadn't thought he'd be using again (at least not so soon).

The new Ministry greeter (the old one turned out to be spying for Finn) gives him a curious smile - she doesn't know him, so obviously she's expecting him to walk up to her. She accordingly frowns when he moves to walk past.

"Um, sorry sir, are you here to interview for the Muggle Relations Department?" She asks, raising her voice to make sure he hears her. Well, at least she's polite.

He turns to face her. "No, I'm not. I was a member of the Hunters, and I have business with a few of my former colleagues. I know how to get to the Auror's floor." He replies fimly, and the girl's smile strains in uncertainty, but she eventually nods.

"I can send that you're on your way, if you give me your name?" She offers quickly, before he can leave, and he has to hand it to her - she's actually pretty good at this. Most likely she's been trained to not let strangers into the Ministry if they aren't expected, which despite the easing tensions between magic and Muggle is probably fair.

So he sighs and resigns himself to wasting a few minutes longer in the Atrium. "Sure. It's Edward Clarke, with an 'E' at the end. You'll probably want to address that to Longbottom or Seo - they were my supervisors with the Hunters."

The greeter frowns. "Are you not expected?" She asks carefully, and Edward sighs again.

"I am, but I was unable to determine exactly when I would be able to arrive, so I was told that one of those two would be around whenever I was able to come." He explains, and the girl finally nods and folds up a paper airplane, sending it towards the lift before returning to her desk, eyes locked onto Edward as if she's worried he'll bolt should she break eye contact.

He can't help a small chuckle at that. "They're really teaching you all to be hyper cautious, huh?" He observes, and the girl tilts her head in unapologetic confirmation.

"With there being so many people coming through for interviews, we don't want less-than-kind characters sneaking their way in to plant bombs or something." She says bluntly. 

Edward blinks. "That... is fair enough. What was your name?"

She gives him an unimpressed look that tells him clearly she's still suspicious, and they wait in silence for the two minutes it takes for a plane to return, confirming that he's expected. The greeter frowns, apologizes, and then waves him through.

"It's fine, honestly good job." Edward says to her before finally heading up the lift to the Auror offices.

Despite knowing where they are, Edward hadn't actually been on this floor very often during his year working here, so he's not sure where exactly to go once he steps off the lift onto the second floor. Luckily, he immediately spots a familiar face - and she spots him too.

"Edward! Hi!" Demelza Robbins smiles brightly, hurrying over to him, carefully balancing an armful of parchment. "Hugo is in the third office on the left."

Edward nods, and then impulsively turns back to Demelza. "I actually have the rest of the day off - would you like to grab some tea this afternoon?"

Demelza blinks, and then laughs. "You know what? I think I'd enjoy that. My desk is near the back of the office - come get me when you're done."

The meeting with Hugo goes well, and the date (and considering she kisses him when they part it was definitely a date) with Demelza is even better.

Jen teases him about it that night. "Fun sick day I take it?"

He rolls his eyes. "Productive sick day. Hugo says they're already coordinating a team to assist with Muggle crimes  in the magical world, and that they'd be happy to work with a Muggle inverse should we set one up."

Kevin gives the other two a dangerous grin. "Well lady and Edward - I think we're ready to make our case."

The next day sees the three of them heading to the bosses' room, having already put in for a meeting several days before. Kevin had originally been worried they wouldn't solidify their case in time, but Edward had never had any doubts, and when the trio give their presentation no one would guess Kevin did either. In the end, there's not much their bosses can really say except for 'yes', though there is one point of contention that arises which they hadn't quite anticipated.

"Considering your bias, would it not be better to place someone else on point for this new team?" The oldest of their superiors asks, clearly a bit irritated that he can't come up with any other complaint.

Edward frowns. "All due respect sir, but that seems like a particularly stupid idea. This team is the only one in our Department currently familiar with magic, so we're the best equipped to run the team, at least to start. If you're truly that concerned then we can simply train up some new agents, but we'll need the time and resources to do so. In addition, our pre-existing connection to the magical world will also give us access to areas that wouldn't be available to-"

"Understood." The man interrupts irritably. "Fine, approved. Get the written proposal on our desks by-"

Jen interrupts by dropping three thick files onto the desks, and Edward swears he sees the middle boss hide a smirk. "Will there be anything else?" Jen asks sweetly.

They leave less than a minute later with their new official clearance, and Edward thinks that this is a very promising new beginning

Author's Note: I didn't totally realize it when I planned this chapter, but three of the four least social POVs are all here xD The Department is slowly coming together, and there are even external fources conspiring towards cooperation :3 Also Saturday has what is possibly my favorite POV conclusion, so look forward to that!