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beast of burden

[attr="class","reasonsmallzero"]I'll never be your beast of burden I walk for miles, honey, my feet are hurtin' and all I want...

[attr="class","reasonbodzero"]Zero had seen her name in the paper a few days back: an announcement that she’d taken a job here. Adaline Potter, the new Junior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic. Seemed prestigious enough, he supposed. But he hadn’t been able to gather his courage until now. He hadn’t been sure what he was going to do with that information. At least, not until today.

Zero didn’t even know what he was doing here. He had no idea if he should even be here. This was the freaking Ministry of Magic….not some stable where he belonged. Everyone seemed to sense that he was out of place. The boy with the jean jacket and the hiking boots walking through the Atrium did not belong amongst the men in business suits and the women with their flowing Ministry Robes. This was a place for people like Christopher Poole…not Zero Bailey.

He wasn’t even sure what he was doing here. It wasn’t like he’d been invited or even had an appointment. What did he think was going to happen? He was going to show up at her work and sweep her off her feet with his…what?

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he pressed forward anyway. Because it was at least worth a shot, wasn’t it? He wanted to take a chance on the girl that he couldn’t get out of his head. Because even though he hadn’t seen her in weeks, he still got caught up in his own thoughts about her. The brilliant girl from his letters…and the even more beautiful girl that had walked into Western Sky calling herself Adaline. One in the same, he thought as he turned quickly down a corridor, looking for some sort of sign.

Offices of the Minister for Magic & Support Staff. That seemed promising, didn’t it? Zero tried to blend in, but he was as much as Ministry junkie as he was a thoroughbred horse, he thought grimly. Still, he managed to avoid questioning until he reached the end of the corridor. A few desks were scattered around and his eyes immediately fell on the person that he was seeking: Adaline.

“Hey, big shot,” Zero leaned against the wall nearby, finally cracking a smile. Because he knew he didn’t belong here…but at least he didn’t feel out of place when he saw Adaline. “Long time, A,” he hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. Not since…well, not since she’d shown up at Western Sky. He hadn’t been sure what he was expecting, but when he saw her for the first time, Zero wondered if someone was playing a cruel trick on him. Because she was gorgeous. The sort of gorgeous type that was totally out of his league.

And yet, they’d spend months corresponding via owl and getting to know each other. He’d felt like he knew more about her than anyone. Still, it was different seeing someone face-to-face after all that time. That was probably the reason that he’d been avoiding the whole situation. That and he wasn’t sure what to do next. It wasn’t like he was an expert on dating, or anything. He’d only snogged a few girls over his lifetime and none of those had exactly turned into a girlfriend.

[attr="class","reasontagzero"]Adaline Lily Potter | 541| OUTFIT

[attr="class","credzero"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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Now write this down

I'll never be your BEAST OF BURDEN

My back is broad but it's a hurting

Infinite work. Adaline had infinite work. She loved it, though. So much. Working, going to school, training at the hospital--it all invigorated her. She felt capable and engaged. It was great. Working with Andromeda had been apprehensive for a handful of minutes before the pair found their familiar rhythm with one another. They had always worked fluidly in the kitchen when Adaline had been a child--and somehow that ability to work together, for her to easily learn and take guidance (even non-verbally) from Andromeda, it fit here, too. She had found her stride and she had her fingers in all the proverbial pies.

This role gave her access to so much information. She saw the memos that were coming across the desk of the Minister of Magic. She knew the status of the epidemic research the universities were engaged in. She knew the economic projections. She knew that crime was down. She knew the cases that the DOJ were working on. She knew all these things, because she was there for all the meetings--taking notes, marking down action items to be addressed, following up on those actions to ensure they did not get forgotten. 

Thank Merlin the magical medicine program had been designed for working professionals, her classes were late in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and over the weekend. So, she missed no work at the Ministry going to Bangor. Monday through Thursday she left the Ministry at three pm to go to St. Mungo's. She was there in training until seven. Those sixteen hours plus an eight hour shift on Sunday were fair less interesting than her classwork or her work at the Ministry. She was doing the healer training program only because she felt it was imperative to do so to try to help others in need due to the epidemic. With the way she was coming to love her work in politics, she would be inclined to let the healing fall away if the epidemic was to be cleared up. Most of what came into the hospital was just really dull or the product of stupidity. She was only interested in healing so far as she was interested in learning and understanding the world around her. She would never be satisfied in a role in the ER or Trauma. She wanted deeply complex problems to solve. She wanted challenges.

Challenges like breaking down this latest woe-is-me report from Lucius Malfoy to present the important high notes to Andromeda. The Head of the Treasury tended to be concise when he was speaking to the Minister, but when he was writing to her, he tended to be overly verbose. He over-explained certain things, and glossed over others. Adaline had noticed the latter in the first missive he had sent up during her first week at the Ministry. She'd pointed it out to Andromeda and when the Minister had questioned the man about it, he had given an explanation that made it very clear why he had not highlighted the situation before. There were actual tangible signs that the enslavement of the muggleborns was detrimental  to the health of the UK's economy. Subjugation was hurting the GDP--and Lucius Malfoy had admitted it. He hadn't used the word slavery, but had opted for more flowery language about workforce reallocation. But everyone in the room had known what he meant. She'd smirked all day after that.

As her eyes moved over the latest report from the Malfoy, a voice broke through the rustle of papers and office buzz that was ever present in the Ministry. Adaline looked up, with a smile on her face. "Hey yourself," she responded, much more confident and comfortable than she had been the first time she had met Zero. She had no idea what he was doing here, but it was kind of him to stop by. She assumed he had some type of business that had brought him to the Ministry. The witch would have never imagined that she was the sole reason. That would never even occur to her as a possibility. "It has been awhile," she agreed. The witch had not been back to Western Sky since that day--and she was not really speaking to Teddy at the moment. So, she had no plans of going back out there for fear of running into him. He was not thrilled with her decision to come work for his grandmother--and when he had told her that, she had told him she was doing it anyway and he'd gotten angry. She wasn't doing anything wrong.  So, he was going to have to come around. The ball was in that werewolf's court. When he was ready, she was here--until then, she was too busy with work to really miss him.

"So, what's up?" The witch asked, laying her papers aside, but only after using a little muggle sticky note to mark her place. "You need some directions? I know this place can be a maze." She wasn't even sure she would be able to help him. She had been here about three weeks, but most people came to the Minister. She knew her way to all the Heads offices, but she couldn't say where someone was to go if they needed a portkey beyond knowing that the office was somewhere on Level Six. 

@ Z  • 887 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0