Back in Business

The room was rather sparse. It looked far too much like a place of business. Just because it was one, didn't mean it had to look like it. After all, how did people survive without even the mirror illusion that they were free.

It really had been a while since he had set foot in there.

Bennett Cooper, running a hand through his hair, his clothes still distinctly Muggle in nature - a pair of nice pressed jeans, and a clean white button up shirt - took a quick turn about the space, wondering briefly if anyone even bothered to show up in here, before promptly seating himself at a desk, grinning as he leaned back, placing his feet upon the table in front of him.

Oh yes, he could certainly get used to this. He looked at his watch, already ten past nine - time was wasting.

"Look out world," his bright teeth flashed as he placed his arms behind his head, "Coop is back."

The door slammed open, revealing a rather small teenage girl. A scowl etched onto her face as it lived there, she crossed her arms as she gave the man there a dark look.

"You stole my mother's job, you know."

Bypassing security had been easy enough. The Lerran name seemed to carry some weight around the Ministry, even if her mother seemed to have been demoted.

"She used to work here," the Gryffindor added, giving the room a disparaging sniff. It'd looked better when her mother had been here. "Up until you showed up." Her gaze flicking back towards the man, she frowned, "Now, why's that?"

Eleazar head shouting from next door as he looked over some paper work from one of the situations in the Aurors office. He knew that the second Deputy possition had been filled, as Lerran was demoted. He got up from hid seat, standing very tall as we walked out of his office to the next one. His eyes widened at what was going on. His eyes darkened as he looked at the small girl.

"Mademoiselle Lerran, how dare you speak to Deputy Cooper like zhat. You Mother waz demoted for zhe reason. Ask her why she waz, it pretty. Please leave, before I get zhe security to force you out." He warned ar he pointed out of the door way.

Bennett's expression was startled as he looked up at the sound of a slammed door, to find a glaring child in the door way. Instead of responding in anger, or annoyance, Coop only grinned.

"Well now, its nice to meet you too," he didn't straighten from the lazy position he had taken upon sitting down. "Can't say I know. Didn't ask for this job, some people just decided that I could do it. Between you and me, I think that our dutiful Minister is reaching a bit on this one."

Swinging a hand towards an empty chair, his invitation for the child to sit was interrupted as one of his fellow deputies arrived. He glanced at the man, as he scolded the girl for questions Bennett himself found perfectly reasonable. After all, he himself had found it a wonder to receive his first placement at this job - he certainly didn't try - and was surprised yet again to still find the opening there for him upon his return

"Now, now Renard, no need to be like that, the child has her rights to be disgruntled. Everyone does," he beamed again and turned back to the girl, "As I was going to say, if you wished to have a chat, by all means sit down. I was hardly going to pretend to do anything better."

Frowning over at the man who entered behind her - she recognized him vaguely. French Deputy Minister? - Savannah crossed her arms. "Security let me in in the first place. They obviously saw it fit the first time. Do you think you can do their job better than them?" The Gryffindor raised an eyebrow, shaking her head slightly. "And I can talk to him however I want. There's no law that I can't speak my mind. Freedom of speech and whatnot, right?"

She returned her steady gaze to the man in the chair. Well, he seemed reasonable. But still, he hadn't gotten that job from niceties. Wasn't his job built upon empty and fruitless lies?

Still, she took the offer, flopping down in the seat. "Exactly. It's my mother. And I like my mother having her job." My mother always liked her job more than me. And here I am, fighting for it, she added silently, a grim smile spreading across her face.

Bennett watched the girl for a moment as she sat down. He straightened himself out so instead of leaning in his chair, he was resting forward upon his desk, looking at his new guest. There was something... he felt like there might be more to this than just the job. The mother herself hadn't come to yell at him.

He was curious to say the least to figure out what was driving this.

"Bennett Cooper," he held his hand across the desk, "Does Ms. Lerran have a first name? Or am I going to be subjected to formalities?"

Savannah watched the man in front of her, the man behind her already beginning to fade from her memory. If he wasn't going to talk, than she wasn't going to pretend to care about him. But the Deputy Minister for Britain was why she was here, and he was at least getting attention.

Her blue gaze flitted down to his hand, and she slowly extended her own, shaking the larger hand. "I'd say it's nice to meet you, but under these circumstances...." she shook her head. "It'd be a lie. And I've heard that lies are bad for the soul." Her lips tilted upwards into a slow smile, but the action was hardly pleasant.

"Savannah. Savannah Lerran."

"Well Savannah, I can call you Savannah can't I? Or would you pefer Ms. Lerran? Personally I'd think the later would make me feel old, but then again I'd always had a hang up about being old."

He gave a soft laugh and a wink.

Although their conversation was serious in nature, he couldn't help but grin. The girl simply amused him. There was just something about her... well he was both touched and confused that she was so hung up on her mother's lack of job - though he was quite sure the person who he took the place from still had some sort of job.

"Ah, Honesty, it is a good policy, they do say - though there's always been the argument for white lies," he shrugged his shoulders pulling a quill of his desk and spinning it in his hand, "Me, myself, I always throw a lie out now and again - can't seem to help myself. Maybe it would be better if I didn't who knew."

He let out a breath, set the quill down and looked at the girl, "But you aren't here to talk about me, are you? You want to accuse me of stealing your mothers job. Personally, I think the accusation is slightly unjust - I don't know anything about the woman. I merely know, about two years ago now, I held this position, for reasons I don't understand it was given to me. I left fully anticipating it to be filled although I did promise the minister herself that I'd be back at some point. I came back, and for some reason she still wanted me to take it."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"That's the story from my point of view. What charming additions do you wish to tell me Savannah?"

"Savannah," she repeated, running her fingers across her robes, straightening them out nervously. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea. But she couldn't cop out now. No, that'd make her look weak.

She'd never hear the end of it.

"Just call me by my first name." She punctuated her words with a small shrug. It didn't matter to her. Though, being called Ms. Lerran seemed so odd to her.

She raised an eyebrow at his words, unable to stop herself from shaking her head. "Isn't that the problem with people in power? They lie." Savannah leaned towards him, blue eyes flashing. "And eventually, people get sick of those lies. And you wonder why there's a mafia? Look at yourselves. You might find the answer."

The third year sat back in her chair, a scowl flitting across her face, but she stayed silent and allowed the man to speak. "So what you're saying," she said slowly once he'd finished. "Is that the entire time my mother held this job, she was nothing more than an interim for you?" She tilted her head, considering that idea before sliding her gaze back to the man across from her.

"Then prove it."

"I suppose that would be a problem, probably is a problem, thought I'm pretty certain the minister is the lying type - and I suppose that's the most important thing," he gave a half smile, "I certainly don't lie on the important things. Just if someone asks if they look bad in something." He laughed again.


He frowned thinking that over, "I gave up all connections to this job Savannah, I have no control over what happened while I was gone, and did not mean to sway in anyway what happened when I returned. However unfortunate what happened to your mother may have been, I am a man who needs work just as much as the next person - when given a good job, I won't turn it down, even if I'm not entirely sure how I got offered it."

"What do you wish me to prove?"

What was wrong with this man? Couldn't anything be serious with him? How in the world had he gotten his hands on this job with that attitude? Her mother was at least, for all her faults, a very serious woman.

Her face stayed completely impassive as the man in front of her laughed. She only raised a single eyebrow, giving her head a small shake.

She nodded along to his next words. She had to admit, that did make sense. But there was one thing that was bugging her... "Then why'd you leave in the first place? This -" she gestured around them to the office she'd been in many times before, "-is a lot of people's dream. Why give it up, even for a little while?"

Savannah shrugged a shoulder, "If this is all true, there have to be papers on it. This is the Ministry, after all. Isn't paperwork half your job?"

Paper? She wanted papers. She was certainly a persistant child. Giving a light shrug, Bennett wheeled his chair back, pushed himself up, and wandered off to see what he had in the room.

"I don't live a normal life Savannah Lerran," he spoke seriously perhaps for the first time since she had entered the room. "If I could have stayed here the first time I would have. Truth be told, I shouldn't have even stayed at all, maybe I shouldn't have even come back, but there comes times when you have to consider chances of reward over the risk."

Frowning a sheet for a moment, he pulled it out to look closer, "I have to keep on the move, not that its any of your business. I've spent many years of my life moving from place to place so my childhood will not catch up with me. Sometimes, however, that lifestyle gets tiring." Finally deciding this was the paper he needed, he put it down and met the girls eyes, "We all need to feel like we belong somewhere from time to time. This is the only place I've been able to allow myself to do that."

Sitting back down he slid the paper across to her - a form of his employment, explaining when he was first hired, the time he took off, and the recent return had even been added. It appeared, much to Bennett's surprise, he had never even been taken off the 'payroll' so to speak. They had used some sort of loophole around that - he thought it said he was on sabbatical.

"I believe that is what you were asking for."

She followed him with her eyes as he walked, a satisfied smirk crossing her face. Now they were getting somewhere.

Tilting her head, she raised an eyebrow at his words. "You make it all sound like you were some sort of criminal, constantly having to move around." She placed her elbows on his desk, holding her head up passively in her hands, emotions flickering through her face.

What if he was a criminal? That'd be a terrible ministry scandal, would it not?

Eyes scanning the sheets he handed her, she looked through each one carefully, making sure they all proved his story. When she was finally done, she slid them back to him, meeting his gaze.

"That seems to be it," she said begrudgingly, twiddling her thumbs.

[OOC - Oops, television really is distracting, isn't it? Sorry? *Cheeky and attractive grin*]

Her question amused him; leaning back in his chair once more he raised an eyebrow and grinned at the girl.

"You seem like a smart young lady Savannah, do you really think that were I running from the law, that I'd seek a job in just that? Do you really think your Minister is one for being deceived that easily? I'm good, but I'm not that good."

He almost felt bad for the young lady. She seemed to have been trying so hard to defend her mother, that he almost wished he had been able to prove her right instead of wrong. There was, however, nothing he could do about it. The facts were the facts and neither of their desires were going to displace them.

"So, it does. Did you need anything else, or will you be on your way?"

"Thank you," she grinned, her face lighting up at the compliment. They were few and far between, and she'd take them from anywhere. Shrugging a shoulder, she hummed softly, twirling a strand of hair in thought. "Maybe. After all, you know practically everything that goes on in the Britain. You'd know if anyone was on your tail." She flashed a cheeky little grin.

"But you could be, right? Working your way up to the top has to take some deceptive skills." The knowledge that he really hadn't replaced her mother wasn't necessarily one she'd wanted to hear, but she knew when she'd lost. And wasn't it better to lose gracefully?

Savannah shook her head, "No, I think I'd better leave. Don't want to waste anymore of your time." Nodding her head, she offered a tiny smile and a wave. Standing up, she gave a slight nod to the French Deputy Minister. Sweeping the room that her mother had worked in for the last few years with one last, almost defeated look, she turned on her heel and left, no intention of ever going back again.

(All is forgiven )