tell me

did you fall from a shooting star

One without a permanent scar

She hadn’t really thought that they were all being serious, until it had started to sound more and more like a possibility. Of course, Oralee knew that talking to Kingsley about it had been important. She had mentioned not working at all after the end of the term, and staying home with Audrey, and with their son. But she couldn’t deny that that really wasn’t who she was. None of them could deny that. Oralee wasn’t a sit back and let everyone else do kind of person. She wasn’t the kind of person that just did nothing. Not when there were strides being made to make change.

And so, when this had become something more than a figment of her imagination, she had talked to Kingsley about it. The pros, the cons. What it would mean for her every day. What it would mean for their family. And she knew that her mother was going to be less than thrilled at the fact that Oralee was taking on more hours instead of cutting them back. But this was something that she thought that she could do. She could be this person and going back to the Ministry meant that things were changing.

The blonde hadn’t worked in the Ministry since she had been Kingsley’s Undersecretary, and there was no way that she could have taken that position back. It was open, she was well aware of the fact that Andromeda didn’t have one. But what the Minister Lestrange did in her own office was not Oralee’s problem. Not now that she had gotten in there, gotten her meeting, and come out with the job that she wanted. There was no Head of the Department of Magical Education, and without one she thought that the office was just coasting. They couldn’t afford that.

There could be no coasting. Not now that they had gotten the muggleborns back in the building to start with. Not now that they were starting to put things to rights. Isolde Macmillan was someone that her husband trusted, and that was good enough for Oralee. She trusted the new Headmistress, but Magical Education dealt with more than just Hogwarts, and it was time to start thinking about getting them all back where they belonged. They couldn’t regulate private institutions completely, but they could ensure that there were some over encompassing policies that tried to secure equality.

Just being let back in this building was a step in the right direction. The next step was getting the rest of the people that they needed here. They would. They would get people like Hermione back in these halls. But that was not her first step. Her first step this morning was to send an owl to Gràinneog. She had a light class schedule this semester, purposefully, since she hadn’t known how handling a pregnancy was going to go this time around. But she still had some, and that meant that her Teaching Assistants would have to cover the exams, and she could balance both, at least until they could find someone to take over the lectures too.

Right now, she had to find her office, and get acquainted with her staff. It was still early, she knew from her husband that Andromeda was in the office before the rest of the Ministry even seemed to wake up, and she had had no problem scheduling her meeting as soon as the witch could take her this morning. That had meant that eight o’clock, on the dot, she had been ushered into the Minister’s office, and now it was nearly nine, and she was headed towards her own.

Stepping off the lift on Level Six Oralee turned towards the Department of Magical Education. Hoping beyond hope that everything that had even the trace of Eleanor Bulstrode on it was gone from this place. She had asked Adaline for her new assistant’s name before she had come down here, and she smiled when the girl’s desk came into view in front of her, “Good morning, Ms. Levinson.” She had no idea if Adaline had somehow gotten a memo down here before she had arrived, or if she was going to have to explain just who she was, and what she was doing here.

@monroe • 711 • oralee's outfit - no flowers

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

Monroe was not naive as people first thought when they looked at her. Yes she was blonde and she yes she did dress well but there was more to her than looks and she was proud of herself for breaking the stereotype. It made her feel like she had some purpose. So what if she had put her degree on hold for the time being. She was determined to get back to it soon and she would complete it and she could add it to her CV but at the moment it didn't look like her CV would get a look by anyone else. She wasn’t planning on changing careers yet but then again, she knew that not everything was set in stone at all time. By nature, Monroe was open and she knew that she had be open to change and accept it when it happened. Her days as a badger at Hogwarts had set her up well.

Hearing that Oralee Shacklebolt was now the head of Department of Education had seen Monroe getting to office as quickly as she could. She wanted to be as prepared as much as she could for her new boss to arrive. She had read over the memo that Adeline had sent down to her so she knew the woman would be arriving this morning. It was far too early to say in which direction the woman would take the department now or if she would bring about any drastic changes. SHe had not worked with her before so she didn’t know she operated or what her preferences were. But Monroe would be sure to learn them quickly.

It was important that she do so they worked well together with as much harmony as possible. She would have to learn what the woman liked to eat and if she liked coffee. There was no telling how different she would be to Eleanor Bulstrode. She hadn't even met the woman before. She didn’t know if that was acceptable by her or not. Monroe would be paying particular attention from her first day, today. She wondered if the woman would be pleased with her or if she would request a different assistant. As much as tried not to think like that, she couldn’t help her Hufflepuff tendencies that snuck up on her at times. Monroe just wanted to please please people, at least when it came to her professional life.

Her personal life was another story but it didn’t matter now. It was important that she set the right impression with her new department head from the get go. She figured it was important to do that. Of course she was not perfect but she was not about to show that to Oralee Shacklebolt on the first day. She would just be normal meticulous self today and hope that nothing snuck up on her unexpectedly. However, if that was the case at least she could show her new boss that she was capable of handle ad hoc issues when they arose.

She was glad she had dressed the part today. She had been filing a few things before she returned to her desk and had just resumed her seat when she heard someone address her. Looking up she saw a tall woman make her way over. Getting to her feet and smiling broadly she held out her hand knowing that this would be her new boss. Why else would she call her by her surname? ”Hello, you must be the famed Oralee Shacklebolt, please call me Monroe….” She did prefer to be addressed by her given name if that would be okay. ”Can I get you tea or coffee or some water?”

tell me

DID YOU FALL FROM A SHOOTING STAR

ONE WITHOUT A PERMANENT SCAR

The possibility of her actually taking this job had come about suddenly and in the beginning, she had been kidding. It had sounded like a fanciful idea. Going back to the Ministry without Kingsley being there too was… Odd. It was something that she didn’t quite know how to process. And it wasn’t that he wasn’t here at all. He was. But he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He wasn’t the Minister, and while she didn’t think that she actually hated Andromeda Lestrange, she didn’t trust her. She didn’t particularly like her either. Her choices were… Poor. That was a good word for it.

Oralee knew what it was like to make decisions based on how you felt about someone. She had killed someone for Kingsley before they were even together. She knew what it was like to be driven by your heart. She understood that sometimes that happened. But she also thought that there was a time when you were driven not by what you felt for yourself, but by what was best for your children, and she thought that they were all in a place where that was the only thing that they could really think of now. The future that they were going to be leaving to their children.

And she knew that the baby that was hidden beneath her dress would not remain that way for long. They were going to have another baby, and there was a part of Oralee that was sure that it was this round of children, the children that were being born now. Her own. Hermione’s. Even Andromeda’s. They were the generation that was really going to inherit this mess. Their older children were in the in between stages. They were the group that weren’t really going to be the first ones to reap the benefits of change. And these babies were.

They were the ones that would inherit a stronger world, if they could figure it out now. And Oralee was aware of how optimistic that sounded. But there was something about just being back in the Ministry. There was something about being here, and knowing that she had a voice now. One that they could use. That made her feel like maybe they could do just about anything if they were going to try. And they were going ot try. She could see it in Kingsley’s eyes. She could hear it in Hermione’s voice. And as much as she didn’t like the woman, she thought that tehre was some inclination of it in that office upstairs as well.

She had let her in. She had let Kingsley in. Oralee knew that Adaline sat outside the Minister’s door. She knew that Harry was back in the Auror department. They were going to do this. They were going to be here, they were going to start making the difference that needed to be made. And Oralee thought that it was simple enough. That they were going to start taking the steps that they needed to take forwards, and then they would have to see where they went from there. One step at a time.

One day at a time. And today that meant that she was coming down to her office and meeting her new assistant. “I don’t know about famed, but yes, I am.” There was no denying that her name was one that got recognition. She had been the Minister’s wife and his Undersecretary for years. She had fought in the war. She had been one of the notable names attacked by the Death Eaters in the raid on Diagon Alley. That thought caused her to flex her left hand, even if she knew that she couldn’t feel it. “Monroe. That’s a lovely name. You can simply call me Oralee. There’s no need for any Ma’am’s, or any of that.” She had a feeling that she would get that from enough people now, she didn’t need it from her assistant too. “Water would be lovely, and then maybe you could catch me up on what’s happened since Lady Bulstrode left?”

@ monroe • 683 • oralee's outfit - no flowers

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

Appearances were important to Monroe. They went beyond just how she dressed and how she looked. She was a ministry worker and with her being a halfblood, she had to choose how to act. When she had been under Eleanor Bulstrode, she had always been sure to watch what she said or did. The same was going to go for her new boss. Even when they went past those initial meetings, she would see how the other person reacted to her and then amend her behaviour accordingly. She knew she didn’t necessarily have to change according to her boss was but she wanted to keep her job. She was going to be returning to Lufkin in Autumn and she wanted this job so badly. At the moment she wasn’t looking to move up the ladder, she was comfort where she was. Some may say that meant she wasn’t ambitious. Honesty, Monroe felt she wasn’t ready to move up and she didn’t think she was old enough.

However, she was more ambitious when it came to her personal life. For the longest time she had always seen herself as the party girl and it was something she was content with. However, in the past few weeks she had felt like she needed to do better. Maybe it was time she moved into a relationship. But the thought of doing that also scared her. Any attempts she had made with that in the past had failed miserably and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that path again. Monroe knew she could just take a big leap but she had never been that brave.

She also knew it was time for her to make some changes in her life.She wasn’t going to let her parents win completely. She would never changed when it came to them. Sure, she got along with siblings. But here parents dind’t accept her orientation and Monroe didn’t want to be around them. She would not give that satisfaction. Maybe she was being petty but she had to look after herself. She had her friends and he siblings to take care of her but she wanted to prove that she was able to do it on her own.

For one, her cooking skills had really improved and she had started to prepare meals at home during the week. it was a small step but it meant that she was growing up. Monroe was sure she was going in the right direction. The witch still went out and still slept around but also knew that she wanted something more solid. Right now she wasn’t sure if she would find it but was keeping her mind ope. She was excellent at keeping her work life separate from her private life.

At least she was ready for the arrival at her new boss. Monroe smiled politely at the older woman as she spoke. She had heard many things about Oralee Shacklebolt and so she saw it as an honour to be working with her. She nodded at being informed to call Oralee by her first name. That would take some used to since she had always her former boss as ‘Lady Bulstrode’. It wasn’t the most major of changes and she was sure she could manage it.

”You’ve got water coming up” she smiled as she opened the door behind her and lead the other woman into what would be her office. ”This is yours” she informed her with her smile still on her face. She left to go get some water and came back soon after and set it down on a coaster on the desk. ”I’ve managed to file all the paperwork from all the muggleborns returning to Hogwarts. Would you like to see anything relating to their return? Otherwise….I need to know if you want to see any of the examiners we have lined up for this year’s OWLs and NEWTs?”

tell me

DID YOU FALL FROM A SHOOTING STAR

ONE WITHOUT A PERMANENT SCAR

Coming in here and asking for a job had been something that she had had to do for herself. She knew that Kingsley was wary, but she thought that he would have been wary regardless of the fact that she was carrying their unborn son inside of her. She didn’t think his wariness had as much to do with the baby, and more to do with the fact that she was magicless, and handicapped. In a way that no one even noticed all that often. If she wore short sleeves, you could see the scars encircling her arm, but they didn’t tell the truth of it.

The hand still moved, still worked. It looked normal. She looked normal. But she was not. Far from it, in fact. She had burned her hand more frequently than she wanted to admit when they had moved into the new house, and she was still learning her way around the kitchen. There had been several trips to see Hermione, and begged promises that she wouldn’t tell Harry, or Kingsley, what she had done. She didn’t need her husband worrying about her any more than he already did.

Being in the Ministry meant that she knew he had assigned someone to watch out for her too. She was under no delusions that he hadn’t asked Harry to keep an eye on her whenever he could. But Oralee truly thought that she was going to be fine. No one here had seemed to hate her on first sight, and that was good. She had smiled at her niece and slipped into Andromeda’s office without too much trouble as well. And that was something that she thought could have been a lot harder if the woman on the other side of Kingsley’s desk hadn’t wanted her here.

She knew just how easily her way could have been blocked, and it hadn’t been. She had let her in, and she had given her the job that she had come in here asking for, and that was that. Now it was a matter of getting to it. She would write to Isolde first, just a quick note to tell her that she had done it, and that she would be up to see her as soon as she got the chance. Having a somewhat familiar face, and one that she knew her husband was well acquainted with, in Hogwarts was a good thing. They could make something work.

There was so much about this job that she was going to have to learn as she went along, but years in the Ministry, and years as a professor had qualified her for this. Or at least she had made a compelling case as to why they had. She had read more reports out of every department in this place than she knew what to do with. The fact of the matter being that as his wife, and his Undersecretary she had had more than one job to do at all times. And she had kept herself well informed. Probably more informed than he had been about the day to day, when he was running the big picture.

It was a lot of work, and it was chaotic, but Oralee was ready for it. And she knew that the timing of the baby would make it annoying for the school year starting in her absence, but they would manage. She wanted to meet with all of them. The Deans she knew. One was her husband. Perenelle Flamel was currently running Bangor in the absence of their Dean. And she believed that there was a Longbottom at Lig-na-Paiste. The others she didn’t know as well, Braithewaite, Goshawk, Gráinneog at least she was familiar with. Locksley was the one she thought she would enjoy the least.

Hyperion Avery was not someone that Oralee wanted to have to play nice with. But she could be professional if he could. Besides, that had been a long time ago. “Thank you.” The Shacklebolt smiled as her assistant showed her into her office, and she looked around for a moment before the girl reappeared with the water that she had asked for. “All of it.” She chuckled a little bit. “I used to be the Undersecretary in this place. One department should be a whole lot less work. So, I’ll take it all.” She was a fast reader in any case. “And can you possibly pull a list of the current, sitting Governors for Hogwarts. And both primary schools.” They would start at the bottom and work their way up.

@ monroe • 763 • oralee's outfit - no flowers

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

Monroe was very accepting of change, she had seen so much of it during her time at the ministry. She knew that so many people had lost their lives here. She knew that with working at the ministry came with a lot of responsibility even if she worked in the Department of Magical Education. It had been active in the department in recent times with the opening of Pyxis and then the flu and then the close of the muggleborn school and then the muggleborns returning to Hogwarts. With a change in department head she had managed to work well and get her work done as needed. Now all she had to do was to learn what Oralee Shacklebolt liked and alter her ways of working according to that. Well, she hoped that was all that was happening for her this year.

Monroe didn’t mind change but she knew also knew that sometimes it was to much and there shouldn’t be so much change affecting one small department in a year. But at least she knew that her new boss would have the experience needed, after all she was the undersecretary. Monroe wondered what made the woman take on the job in this department. Surely it would be a demotion of some sort? But she wasn’t going to question that, she had better things to work on with Oralee. Maybe the woman just wanted some more time with her family. As far as she remembered the Shacklebolt did have children.

Monroe wanted children too one day but she was not a rush for that. There was still some time where that was concerned. She still had to find the right person to have a family with. If her track record told her anything, it was that she had to make some smart decisions where finding a partner was concerned. She had thought so many times that she had found the right one to only have the relationship end. Her siblings seemed to have more luck than her and she wondered what she was doing wrong. But maybe it was just fate teaching it was not her time yet.

She tried not to dwell so much on that no matter how lonely she felt. While she did like her space, she did earn for some company at times. The woman had realised a short while ago that her days of sleeping around and having quick flings were long over and she had to focus on what mattered. For Monroe, that had always been her work and it would be her degree once again. When Autumn Started she would be back at Lufkin. She wasn’t sure if Oralee was aware of that or not. But she had to make the woman aware of it. She would be doing her degree and working at the same time, of course. Education still cost and she didn’t have the ideal relationship with her parents so they weren’t going to foot her bill.

She had hoped that they would see the light and that not respecting her and her life choices were doing more harm than good. But she had given up on trying to contact them. Every time she had attempted to do so after coming out, had just left her disappointed. There was only so much rejection a person could take. It hurt even more from the people you loved.

Monroe didn’t want to alarm Oralee by showing she, at times wandered off in her thoughts. That was not going to be a good look for your manager. The woman wasn’t sure how observant her new head of magical education would be, so she would have to be on her best behaviour.

The younger woman nodded and made a note to pull up lists of the examiners after she collected the lists of the governors. Looking over her wand she waved her wand before backstepping slightly to catch two separate lists of parchments and placed them on Oralee’s desk. ”Here’s the list of examiners of Hogwarts, one in alphabetical order and the other ranking them by years of governorship” she smiled before continuing. ”Allow me an extra five minutes to get lists of the two primary schools?”

Words: 7-5