RP: First Steps Are Always Awkward
Date: 04 January 2005
Characters: Mafalda Hopkirk, Gawain Robards
Location: Auror offices
Status: Private
Summary: It's the first formal meeting of Mafalda's tenure.
Completion: Complete
( The best way to begin, is to do something. )
Characters: Mafalda Hopkirk, Gawain Robards
Location: Auror offices
Status: Private
Summary: It's the first formal meeting of Mafalda's tenure.
Completion: Complete
( The best way to begin, is to do something. )
She had the sense he wanted to keep their meeting quiet, and she did agree that circumspection was to be desired, although she did hope that any others of the remaining Aurors (and if their numbers were like so many other departments, that might be a painfully low number, but now was not the timeto dwell upon that) might be trusted to know of her presence anyway.
Still, one couldn't be too careful; it wasn't as though there hadn't been a convoluted and deliberate attempt to keep her from this place, and while she was fairly sure she knew how that had come to pass, it only reinforced the notion that particular care and attention were the order of the day.
As she followed him into his office, spotting a pair of files out, but closed, on the desk and several more discreetly piled off to one side.
He closed the door behind them, giving her a startled moment of shock, which she pushed aside just as she had the mud on her shoe. Of course he would close them in, and she had no reason to think he was a part of the plan to keep her away. And, in all honestly, if she couldn't trust him, she was rather decisively fucked anyway, so there was just no sense in being ridiculous. "I expect you have questions," she said to cover the moment of doubt.
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Starting to move behind his own desk, Gawain hesitated momentarily. It didn't seem quite right, sitting behind a desk while addressing the woman who was, by their own laws, their Minister, his Minister. Perhaps the office had been a poor choice, after all. He didn't like to waver so, but given her apparent discomfort and his own hesitation, it might be best in this instance to ask. "Is this quite all right with you?"
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She found she'd relaxed as she spoke, convincing herself as she told him she was fine.
"Right, but that's neither here nor there, so. Onward. I assume you've done your own research into the relevant law?"
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For now, he would leave that. Instead, he nodded once in response to her question. There was a copy of the law in the office, in fact, though she must have reviewed it many times herself, and it had been almost constantly on his mind since her owl. "Those who would have fallen before you have indeed been declared to be deceased." They were likely gone, then, though such accounts had proven incorrect in the past. As best they could discern for the moment, however, Hopkirk was foremost living figure on the list. It had been an interesting bit of research, really, seeing the order of succession, considering its implications.
"It has been kept rather unsettlingly quiet thus far." He looked at her levelly, wondering when she had discovered the passage, whether she had kept the information to herself for some time. Had this been discovered soon after certain, most unfortunate occurrences, it might have been more easily accepted. Given the current state of affairs, however, Gawain wasn't certain that the public would take kindly to the sudden thrust of a new Minister and an unheard law. Its address would take no small amount of care. "For how long have you known of this?" He kept his voice from taking on too much a tone of authority, speaking with some amount of deference.
It might be strange to think that this woman was the Minister, that despite all of this leaderless time, they had discovered a Minister scripted for them. Strange, and a bit unsettling. That didn't change her status, though, did it?
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She leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, then folded her hands on her lap. "Scrimgeour sent me off to make agreements with a number of foreign ministries. At first it was straightforward enough; I was in Brazil. My Portuguese, for the record, is utter rubbish. But then, owl after owl extended my assignment, sending me on to other places. The seal was legitimate, so it didn't occur to me the papers were forged. I must say, someone in my position--the former one, not the new one--doesn't spend a great deal of time concerning herself with intrigue. I I had it to do again..." She shrugged. "In any case, Griselda found me--you remember her?--just after Christmas, in Auckland. I thought she was joking. She convinced me she was not. I came home."
She lowered her voice. "Look. As I said in my letter, I never expected anything like this, and I am well aware my qualifications look rather ...lacking. I'm willing to learn, but I'm certainly going to need the advice of strong leaders."
Lest he misunderstand, she added, "And I don't mean that as some sort of code for trade of unsavory favors or anything of the kind. I mean, I will need people who are directly familiar with a variety of departments who can teach me what I need to know and handle what I don't."
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In considering to himself, Gawain couldn't deny that there had been a time or two over the past few days where he had wondered whether they might have been better with the passage of the year and the disappearance of the whole matter. It would have been a foolish way, however, and the more he had thought on the matter, the more this provision seemed quite necessary.
Whatever the public body or the constructed town council might think themselves capable of, they would require a leader, a figurehead before they could effectively build anything. The Ministry had been constructed with such a figure in mind. If they were to rebuild anything properly, they would need to find this figure. The law's provision would give them someone of experience--perhaps not of the most widespread sort, but of experience with the past Ministry's workings, nonetheless--and would negate the hideously costly arguments bound to break out in meetings. The public might not be entirely pleased with this development, but they could, or should, hardly bemoan the appearance of a figure they so required.
It was distasteful to hear that there may have been some plot to keep the matter silent, though he could not deny the possibility or even the likelihood of such an occurrence. There were those who were more than willing to take advantage of an unfortunate situation. Gawain had seen more than enough evidence of this in the wake of war.
"I am glad to hear." Glad to hear that she understood, glad that she seemed a more honest sort. Even her manner of speech carried a marked level of honest expression though, he could not deny, many a dishonest politician could learn to speak in a deceptively welcome manner. Earnest or not, her speech did ease him somewhat, and Gawain allowed himself a very small amount of relaxation, if only to keep from winding himself too tightly just yet. "Though I fear that, as you likely have discovered, many who held necessary knowledge are now gone. I shall certainly aid your understanding as well as I am able. I cannot say that I have extensive knowledge of every department, or even most departments, but I have worked in and with several, and my own information, such as it stands, stands for your use." He paused for a moment, considering. "We have a couple of Aurors who have worked with other branches, and I am certain that there are others around the town--Percy Weasley the most obvious of them--who hold much knowledge of procedure."
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She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward a bit. "I hope I haven't. I hope he's the sort of boy I recall. Not a boy any longer, I suppose, not that any of them got to be." She sighed. "It does seem that your department fared relatively well when the Ministry fell--probably because everyone was in the field anyway--no one about to have an unfortunate encounter with rapidly dropping masonry. Oh, that wasn't a criticism, mind; the Aurors should be out and about. However, from what Griselda said,and what I've observed, my word, some departments were all but obliterated, and others reduced to a handful of under-under-undersecretaries in charge of candle-procurement."
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The boy had indeed made a place for himself, whether he fully recognized this or not. He had been quite down on himself when Gawain had last spoken to him. Considering that most recent meeting, Gawain wondered what Percy had thought about this announcement. The boy had been forming his own plans, but perhaps this would not have come in an entirely fashion.
Gawain knew well enough that the Aurors had come out very well when compared to other departments. It was partly as she had said--they had been in the field rather than in the Ministry (or any other attack, including, he recalled with what may have been a perceptible twinge, that at St. Mungo's)--and partly, perhaps, because they had been trained to survive. It was also true that a number of their current Aurors had begun elsewhere in the Ministry, though they had adapted quickly enough to the change in department.
"We managed better than others. It was in our line of work to survive, in our knowledge to deal with dire problems as they arose." He could not believe that it was only by chance that they had survived. Though he might question his own continued existence from time to time--many a time, to consider honestly--the Aurors had earned their life, had lived through too many horrors and trials not to have learned.
As she had observed, most departments had lost their senior members. This was how she had come into her current position, after all, and how he had found his own situation. Yes, there had been undersecretaries left in many cases, but these had most often been insufficient to continue the departments. "Unfortunately, most departments that lost ranking members quite shattered entirely." Their junior members existed here and there, scattered and holding small bits of information that may or may not prove to be of any use. "We may be able to track down former members of numerous departments, and may even discover something of worth from them; in the main, however, they are likely to give little of the information that you appear to seek." He paused momentarily. "Should you think the effort worthwhile, we do have the means to find these individuals."
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She waited a moment, watching his response, then added. "Now, do tell me. What, exactly, do you think I must do first? Once I announce my presence, I mean." It wasn't a test; she didn't play that sort of game, and she actually did want to know. But then, she also realized that what he said and how he said it would be informative beyond just the words themselves. But he knew that too, she was certain.
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It was still a worrisome situation, but he wouldn't allow that to register across his face. He left his response at the nod. It was another matter for careful handling; that was all.
The question next posed was an unsteady one, and Gawain remained silently composed for a few moments after, considering the proper response. Did she mean, first off, immediately after, or did she speak of working in the office itself? Either way, he didn't know that what he might say could be of much worth. Some, perhaps, but his knowledge of such an office had never been entirely clear. There was much to be done and, it seemed, much that should be done, but would forever slip beyond reach. Where would one start?
That was foolish. Foolish, and slipping too far from the thoughts at hand, the pieces that had set themselves and could be rightfully dealt with. There was no need for specifics, not here, not yet. He couldn't say exactly what she wanted, but perhaps that, too, was of no great matter. She had asked a question. Now he must respond.
Gawain cleared his throat. "I believe that you would do well to assure the public of what you have essentially said here: that you've no intention of forcing them to suddenly accept a system of your choice, that you are willing to hear what they have to say. They seem wary of a return to what was, and the news that they do have a Minister is bound to come as a surprise, perhaps not an entirely pleasant one." For some; he couldn't have begun to guess at a number. This much, at least, he had gathered from the meeting, from words heard outside of the offices, from reports. "And if I have interpreted your own words incorrectly, I do apologize."
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She considered how that might have sounded--as some sort of indictment of his manner--and looked up at him. "That wasn't, for the record, a criticism of your suspicious nature. It was a fair question. Still, I expect it will be exhausting, re-defending myself over and over. Perhaps I'll need to have a bit of a speech prepared, be very public, answer the likely quesitons all at once."
She tried not to think about how that was probably going to involve some sort of "appropriate" formal clothing that would be uncomfortable and generally irritating, and writing a speech designed to be tactful, which was not exactly her forte. She was much better at straightforward than smooth. She grimaced at the thought, but went on. "But I do want to hear what's important to people. To you, at the moment. Are there things you've hoped to do for which you felt you lacked the authority? Are there things you've wanted other people to do? There are no wrong answers here, you know." She paused. "Well, not very many, anyway."
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Perhaps he had become less willing to trust than he had realized. There was the matter of what the law said, to consider; by this, he had no real choice in the matter. She was the Minister, and he was quite willing to accept and even welcome this. It didn't mean that he must hold complete faith in her.
Yet he would help, if possible. Hers couldn't have been an easy position, and she did appear to be doing all that she could. Certainly, he would be foolish, even harmful to work in any way other than with her. And again he recognized that as they spoke, his confidence in the woman rose. She was fair to listen to, excellent in expressing herself properly. And she gave none of the feel of a sudden impulse toward power.
"A public question and answer session might be advisable, yes. If you can assuage their doubts somewhat, you will have a better chance of addressing other issues." Speeches were nerve-wracking, questions a nightmare, if only because people tended to hear whatever they pleased, no matter how carefully chosen the words. "I cannot say I envy you this." There was only the vaguest hint of a smile, dry, to follow this; it was the truth.
He rather believed--or hoped--that her candid speech would appease some of them. "Many may prefer your more straightforward manner of speech, though, of course, there is no certainty of this." It wasn't the strongest show of support, no, but he wasn't about to dance around the truth that she must know: they couldn't predict public reaction, not to this, and would err if they anticipated too much acceptance.
The issue of the law itself was a shaky one, Hopkirk aside. He was still somewhat vexed with himself for not having heard it. Yet how many had known, or had heard at all of this? He'd heard no talk of it, but perhaps the very thought had been discarded as ridiculous. It was there, certainly, written into the structure of their system.
Again, a question of what was lacking, what might be desired. There were, he thought, far too many possibilities. "The most glaring difficulty has begun to resolve itself with your coming. I've only the vaguest picture of what Mister Weasley has been doing, and know little of any other Ministry business that might be about. We must have more coordination between branches--in whatever states they may exist--most especially as the Ministry grows." This, at least, gave reason to find relief in Hopkirk's arrival.
"There are times when I am uncertain of my own authority. Doubtless, I have overstepped bounds that stood before and even during the war, but without the greater department of law enforcement or a Minister, our barriers became somewhat loose." He had done what was necessary. If he had erred in doing so, he would doubtless find the price soon enough. "I would like to see some definition in our roles, though this may certainly wait until we've built a larger staff." He assumed that they would seek employees, after all. "Do you intend to see something of the same department structure built up?"
There were other questions, of course. Of his own personnel, of procedure, of how best to consider the public, but these he would leave for the time. Let her consider this much; Gawain didn't wish to say too much at once.
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She paused, and added, "But I do see your point about coordination. Perhaps that can be high on my list: developing better paths for that."
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"And your consideration would be most appreciated." He brushed a hand over his jaw, considering. "The majority of our current difficulties branch from this lack of communication. Once a basis of policy has been established, many of them will clear up... As clear as any issue of this nature can become."
There were other thoughts, certainly, but these were details, ideas that must only serve to clog the undoubted rush of information she was likely to receive in the coming days. He had information of his own to consider with this visit in mind.
A few more questions and comments, perhaps, if she would hear him. He wouldn't keep her longer than she wished. He needed to know, at the very least, whether he might discuss this with the Aurors, a few other details.
"If you've the time, I should like to ask a few more questions." Gawain left it open at this, awaiting the Minister's response.
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Another thought struck her as she started to get up. "It occurs to me that because you are concerned chiefly with order and security--not to reduce your office to that of the night watchman or any such thing, but I mean to say, you and your staff have a need to know when there are likely issues that might make for a safety hazard--you may have need to share with others amongst the Aurors at least that I am here." She paused. "I suppose I shall have to become accustomed to being a focus of attention in that way."
She nodded. "In any case, do what you must. I'm not entirely prepared quite yet to announce myself broadly, but I shall have to assume anyone who works for you must have some capacity to hold secrets, shan't I?" That would do, for now, and as she had a great deal to think about. The list in her head was beginning to take shape as she turned to go, and it was depressingly long.
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