RP: Centaurs and Other Creatures

[bth_patricias]

Title: Centaurs and Other Creatures
Date: September 13th, 1998
Time of Day: 9:00am
Place: The Ministry/Spain
Status: Private
Summary: Charlie accompanies Patricia to Spain
Completion: Complete

Comments

[bth_charliew]

"Uh, sure," said Charlie, vaguely embarrassed. The last time he had met with Patricia, things had not exactly gone well - and it had, Charlie knew full well, in large part been due to his behaviour. The prospect of working with her, especially under these circumstances, was not really something he was too enthusiastic about; but this was his first day back at the Ministry; his very first mission, and he was going to do it well. Kingsley's warning, though it had come more in the form of friendly advice, had been rather clear; and Charlie wanted nothing more but to prove the Minister that he could be professional

[bth_patricias]

Patricia lifted a delicate eyebrow, unsure if she was ready to forgive him for his behavior at their last meeting. She had known men like him, quick to judge and quick to snap. She never had respect for people like him, especially given his harsh words toward the Ministry. Yet here he was, at the Ministry's beck and call, only too eager to collect a pay cheque from an establishment he had blasted before.

"This is actually my first one," she admitted, her gaze sweeping along the tiny office impatiently. She knew the witch who worked in the department was slow in getting the proper Portkeys and Patricia was eager to leave. "I've never spoken to centaurs before, but I'm aware of their culture and behavior. I have all the files I need." She motioned toward the bag on her left shoulder. "The negotiations should be quite simple. I don't expect this to last more than an hour, perhaps two."

[bth_charliew]

Charlie swallowed several times. There were lots of things about that woman that annoyed him deeply. The first thing was probably that look of disgust on her face whenever she looked at him, making him feel like he was about as pleasant and attractive as a full grown mountain troll. The second thing, no doubt, was the way she seemed to have a natural tendency to order everyone around. She was, from Charlie's estimation, twenty, maybe twenty-two years old and, as far as he knew, she was not the Minister for Magic or even the Head of her department; yet she certainly acted like she knew all about everything, and like everyone else around was her subordinate. But the most annoying thing of all about her was that she appeared to be one of these people who thought they knew everything about magical creatures just because they had read about them in a book. That kind of people really tended to get on Charlie's nerves - know-it-alls who had never actually experienced any of the things they were lecturing everyone else about

[bth_patricias]

Patricia narrowed her eyes, her fingers tightening on the strap of her bag. "My textbooks? I'm no longer in Hogwarts, Mr. Weasley. I've had extensive training in the Ministry. Even if I'm not an expert in dealing with magical creatures, I have been trained for the possibility." Before she could reply, the Portkey witch, Martha, arrived holding a small tea canister.

"Take these to the proper coordinations," she explained, handing the memo to Charlie and the canister to Patricia. "It'll be a bumpy ride. Make sure you sit for a bit after you arrive. With this long a trip, you may feel dizzy."

They thanked her and walked in stony silence toward the lift to leave. Once they were inside the lift, Patricia found she couldn't bite her tongue any longer. She turned to Charlie. "Listen, I have my job, and you have yours. Let's stick to that, shall we, and we won't have any problems. Centaurs can be civil creatures, and I'm counting on them to listen and acknowledge that the Ministry is doing what they can to make things right."

[bth_charliew]

Charlie had managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes as Patricia had explained that she had been trained for the possibility, and he simply nodded at her last comment. "Let's stick to that, then," he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. He figured that things might go better if he and that woman actually didn't communicate, so he didn't comment any further. Patricia reminded him strongly of Percy in his first year at the Ministry, and Charlie couldn't say he had been too fond of his brother during those days.

"Well, looks like we are there," he said, pointing at the memo. "Shall we go then?"