He was back in the auror office, and he was not at all pleased about it. For the most part, Isaiah was having a very successful month. His unit in the beast division had caught a werewolf on the full moon—not an easy feat, and had even been able to do a number of experiments throughout the night while it was still in wolf form. Upon the rising of the sun the next morning, they had found out that the bint was unregistered, which gave them enough cause to keep her longer. Yes, the past weeks had surely been informative since then, though he had heard that the woman’s husband had come into the auror office looking for his missing wife… that was made it all the better for him that these tests were kept under wraps. The man would get over his missing wife and find someone suitable anyhow. It wasn’t like he was safe married to the beast in any case. No, he would be much better off after the bint was disposed of. She was quickly losing purpose, after all.

Isaiah had also been incredibly focused on his next move as far as the Death Eaters were concerned. He thought it would be sufficiently effective to make them work for some families that were affected by the war more greatly than others. It almost made him wish Lestrange were still alive—if the bint was there, he would certainly force her to work for that Longbottom bloke. He was sure that Bellatrix was rolling around in her unmarked grave as he thought through the idea. So much the better, though, as he thought a punishment wasn’t really good unless it pissed off the parties it was affecting. But that was a process that he needed to work through slowly, even if he did know that rumors were already spreading about the idea.

But he found himself in the auror office between it had been over two weeks since he had told that prat, Duncanson, to drop the ridiculous stalking case that he was wasting resources on. As he had gotten busy, Isaiah hadn’t been able to verify that the man had done as he was bid, only finding out earlier that morning that he absolutely hadn’t. Merlin, he needed a new head auror and he needed one right bloody now. His eyes scanned the department, finally finding the gaze of @harry. “Potter, come with me,” he stated, tilting his head toward @benjamin's office without slowing his pace. Not even bothering to knock this time, as respect was clearly something this man didn’t understand, Isaiah entered the office, waiting for Potter to come in as well. “Duncanson,” he said, before turning his gaze back to Potter, “Don’t know if your boss told you this, Potter, but I wanted that stalking case closed or dropped by last week. So you can imagine my surprise to hear that it hasn’t.”

The stalker case had been at the forefront of what Harry had been assigned to do, knowing that it was a personal case for his boss. He supposed if it had been a case for anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have spent as much time on it, though he was getting frustrated that he kept getting put one step behind the perpetrator. Harry wanted the woman to be safe as well, he supposed, not just doing it out of a favor to his supervisor. Mr. Potter had been reviewing the notes for another case before he looked up to see the very irritable Minister. Honestly, it seemed like there would never be a good Minister around, as frustrating as that was. They were all power hungry savages, not a care in the bloody world, it seemed.

Trying to appear super busy apparently hadn’t worked as the Minister specifically called out his name. Silently groaning, he dropped the file down on the desk before stalking over to wear Benjamin’s office was. With the Minister involved, there was no way that this meeting would be pleasant, and he certainly wasn’t about to greet the Minister politely if he was already barking out orders like they were dogs. His eyebrow raised slightly at the Minister barged into Benjamin’s office, slowly entering in afterwards. Harry listened to Durant’s words, knowing that the case was asked to have been dropped a week ago. “Not sure I can ever imagine your surprise, sir,” Harry responded, shrugging lightly.

Benjamin found himself, yet again, piled in paperwork, rushing to get it finished. It was going to be another long day for him as his mind bustled about with the various cases on his mind. The two that was heavy on his mind was the stalker of his girlfriend and whoever it was that was writing one of the auror’s nieces. That case remained off the books as he was certain Durant would not appreciate it very much if he found out that Benjamin was working on yet another case that had a pureblood as the victim. Somehow, it would be Isabella writing the letters to herself in some sort of delusional state to keep sane despite the great tragedy that she faced. He hadn’t been at it long until he heard the door banging open.

He glanced up briefly, noticed the Minister, then looked back down to his report, finishing a thought. Putting the quill down, he leaned back in his seat and looked between the Minister and one of his Auror’s. “I did not tell him that, no,” Benjamin answered honestly, smiling at the Minister. “I’m surprised it has taken you long to arrive here,” Benjamin replied, his smile growing, though it was forced. “Please, have a seat,” he offered, pointing to the open seats. “Would you like something to drink? To eat?”

In general, Isaiah found himself irritated with a hell of a lot of people. There was too much incompetence in the world, and too many people with far more arrogance than they deserved to have. Duncanson and Potter were two men incredibly high on his list of wizards that he didn’t like or trust. They had no respect, and felt that they had earned this level of cockiness when really, they were expendable. They acted as if they were untouchable—as if even he, the damn Minister, couldn’t get them out of their positions at the Ministry. Smarter men had gone against him and failed, and soon they would be seeing what happened when pushing him too far. Today might be the last straw before he really had to put his plans into action in order to remove them from the Minister. They could work in Knockturn Alley for all he cared—hell, if he could find a way to get them into the work camp, he would. There had to be a way… he was the minister for a reason, surely he could think of something. “It’s a saying, Potter,” he snapped, irritated by the man’s words. When it came to being in a room with two people that he greatly disliked, his patience was already wearing thin.

Duncanson was incredibly secure in his position, Isaiah knew that. He thought that there was no chance in hell that he would be going anywhere. It was probably for that reason that he really didn’t give a damn about doing what he was told. Even the head of an office had higher-ups, and if he were smart he would have tried to avoid getting on his bad side. There were many people in the Ministry that Isaiah hadn’t placed there personally—that was obvious, it wasn’t like he could handpick absolutely everyone, and they’d gained his trust along the way. “Yes, well, I have other things to do than babysit the auror department into doing what they’re bid, or I would have been here sooner,” Isaiah replied, raising an eyebrow. The man really would find it wise not to mess with him today, as Isaiah was at the end of his rope with the man. He might not have enough to fire him yet, but he could get an inquiry going, and perhaps that could end with a suspension or some kind of probation. It was certainly a thought. Isaiah glanced at the chair, shaking his head. That would imply that he was on even playing field with these people, and not their superior. “No, I won’t be staying long,” Isaiah told him, “I want the files on that case, and I want it dropped effective immediately. You’ve been wasting office resources far too long already.” He decided that there was officially no more reason to mince his words with this man, who apparently wouldn't listen unless he was given a directive that he could understand.

Harry could feel the tension rising in the air, the animosity between the two older blokes. It was no secret to the Department that the two hadn’t gotten along, though that wasn’t much of a surprise. Anyone who held a different viewpoint than the Minister typically found themselves on his bad side. With Benjamin dating a person that Durant would hate by nature, it was only inevitable, though their hatred stemmed long before that. Harry quirked an amused eyebrow at the man’s attitude, not finding that to be very political. It was amusing that such a simple response had rubbed him the wrong way already, figuring that the bloke must have quite a lot on his mind about this meeting.

He listened to the two men converse, already bored of this meeting. He had other things to do than to sit in on mummy and daddy arguing. Harry wanted to sigh in relief when the Minister said he would not be staying long, but he kept his mouth shut. He narrowed his eyes slightly when the Minister said he wanted the stalking case closed immediately. It made no sense for the Minister to take the files on that case as it wasn’t his department of expertise. That certainly wouldn’t be following protocol and it wasn’t like the Minister himself would go solve it. Personally, Harry didn’t even know why he was in on this meeting since it was something he really didn’t have a decision on.

Benjamin had been expecting the Minister to stop by, though he hoped that by some miracle, the Minister would find something else to distract him with. Certainly babysitting the entire Auror Department would get old at some point. It bloody sucked having to work under such a corrupt man, especially when Benjamin knew that he had to kiss his arse if he wanted to stay in the department. This was where things got shady with trying to determine the best course of action when one was stuck between two difficult decisions. Either he leave and let the department be run by another minion that the Minister could bring in here who would probably be heartless, or Benjamin could do enough to make the Minister think that Benjamin was capable of being on his side, stepping over a few innocent people in order to help protect the majority. Before Benjamin thought too much on it, he already knew what he would be doing. This may be difficult on his subordinates to see, but it was something he was willing to do and it was why he had this position in leadership. He had to see the bigger picture.

“Of course,” Benjamin replied, nodding briefly in understanding, biting his tongue from responding in a less than favorable manner. “Unfortunately, you understand that I cannot hand off the files,” Benjamin stated carefully, not trying to piss off the Minister any more than he already was. The files were strictly forbidden to leave his protection as it had been for years. He could sit with the Minister and review the files, but handing them off would require a hell of a lot of paperwork. “The case really has been going on too long,” he sighed heavily as if he really didn’t want to admit that. He rubbed a hand through the thickness of his hair as if contemplating what the Minister was requesting. As much as he hated doing this, he must. He obviously would be working on the case himself, but away from the watchful eyes of the Minister who couldn’t care about anyone but himself. “I wanted to give a bit more time, which was obviously a mistake,” he agreed. “I guess it was nothing more than a false alarm,” he stated bitterly, though he didn’t believe that for a second. “Potter, you are to inform Ms. Fowler that our department is unable to continue working with her,” he stated firmly. “I do apologize, Minister. I had been distracted by a pretty face,” he shrugged, looking a bit irritated that that was the case, though it clearly wasn’t.

Duncanson made everything harder on him, irritatingly enough. He should know that the Minister wasn’t a person to get on the bad side of, but apparently self-preservation was a skill that he was lacking. The fact that he didn’t want to give him the files made him wonder just what he was hiding in them, as clearly there was something. The man needed to realize that Isaiah had the power to get just about anything he wanted to get, and do just about anything that he wanted to do without much effort at all. Of course, there were some ‘official’ channels to go through, always, but he was well versed in that by now. The political game was one that he was very good at, and that made getting his way exceptionally easy. If he wanted the files, he would get them, even if that meant going around the irritating head of the auror office. And it would be another strike against him, as well. He would give him one last chance to actually be cooperative, before it came to that. And he really didn’t mind what option was chosen. “Then make duplicates. My undersecretary will be by to pick them up by day’s end—unless you’ve something to hide,” he stated, raising an eyebrow. It was a win-win for Isaiah, really, no matter what route Duncanson chose to take.

At least the man agreed with him with how long this ridiculous case had been going on; although if he really did agree, he would have dropped it when Isaiah had first told him to. Instead, he had kept it open, further wasting resources for something that was not a good use of Ministry time. “Yes, it quite obviously was a mistake,” Isaiah said, also glad to see that Potter had taken a cue and shut the hell up as opposed to adding in other unnecessary opinions to this already unnecessary conversation. It irritated Isaiah that the bloke was now agreeing with him, because he could have simplified the situation sooner then, though he very much doubted that the head auror deemed the ‘stalker’ of his girlfriend to be a false alarm. He was still fooled, obviously, there was no reason to think otherwise. Isaiah nodded in approval at the words, glad to hear that Potter would be alerting the pureblood that the jig was up with her attempt to waste their time. “I did warn you that she would more than likely use her looks as a distraction,” he said, sharply, recalling telling him not to be distracted by a pretty face and now he was admitting that he had been. “And don’t let it happen again.” Isaiah added, since he obviously couldn’t have someone running the aurors’ office that couldn’t be trusted to keep his focus around a pretty witch. That would just be a poor choice to keep the office running smoothly, though it might work in the long run if he did let it happen again, as that would be grounds for some kind of action against him—an inquiry, perhaps, or a suspension. It was a thought to ponder for another time, surely.

He supposed getting on the bad side of the Minister had been a terrible idea from the start. Though, it wasn’t like he was willing to do anything too crazy to get on the Minister’s good side because that just sounded absolutely ridiculous. He knew that there were certain things that he had to do, but he wasn’t going to go rogue and kiss Durant’s arse while he was at it. It was a wonder, really, how Durant had even made it to office, though he supposed the man was awfully good at convincing others of his viewpoint, annoyingly enough. Things seemed to be coming together rather quickly and Benjamin knew that he couldn’t risk having his position given to someone that actually was wanting to suck up to the Minister. Although his position wasn’t terribly powerful, he was in a good position to do a lot of digging when he wanted to and where he wanted to. It helped that his department seemed to fall under his viewpoint and he would fight to keep it that way, even though it might look terrible to the Minister. He needed to play his cards right, and unfortunately sucking up was in his best interest at the present moment.

“The duplicates will be ready in an hour,” Benjamin replied with a nod. It was tempting to not duplicate the entire folder, but he would…for the sake of pleasing the man temporarily. There was nothing suspicious in those findings, though he was certain that the Minister would somehow believe that Tatiana was still in the wrong. Luckily, Benjamin hadn’t put in the file that she had escaped from his apartment, or he was sure the Minister would not look favorably at that in the slightest. “Obviously,” Benjamin reiterated, hoping this conversation was almost over. It was never pleasant having the Minister visit as he was certain none of the Minister’s visits were bloody useful in his mind. “Absolutely not,” Benjamin agreed with another nod. “But yes, you will have the documents by the day’s end. Is there anything else that you need?”

He was glad to hear that Duncanson wasn’t going to argue the point on the matter of making duplicates. It did occasionally appear that the man forgot that he may be the head of one office in the Ministry, and it might be an important off, but that didn’t meant that he didn’t have to do what he or others superior to him in position said to do. Fighting them at every turn was simply irritating. If he had dropped the case when Isaiah had first told him to, then he obviously wouldn’t be in this position now. “An hour,” he repeated, glad to hear that the man could follow orders. “She’ll drop by then to get them.” There was no way to know if Duncanson was hiding any information out of the files or if he would even duplicate them all, but Isaiah more than likely would have his undersecretary come by sooner than an hour to oversee the duplication.

It always felt like Duncanson was doing everything he could to get him out of the office as quickly as possible. There were several ways that Isaiah could take this, and none of them were good. Either the man simply didn’t like him, which was clear, or he was hiding something. Or, more than likely, it was a combination of the two. He did not trust this man in a position of such import, nor did he trust the majority of the aurors that had been hired there. Potter had been around far too long, riding along on the fame that he had received nearly two decades ago. Yes, everyone should be grateful for the boy that defeated Voldemort. But now that boy was a relatively useless and ineffective auror and that meant that he would not be spared from Isaiah’s watchful eye or the potential of getting sacked. After all, he planned on going through every auror and insuring that they were doing all that they could for the department. If they couldn’t, then there was no use for them to even be around. “Good,” he stated, nodding. The fact that he was no longer arguing about this case was at least a small victory for him, though it looked minute in comparison to everything else that Isaiah was focusing on. “Yes, actually. Your office has been doing… passably at your interrogations, thus far,” Isaiah began, which was almost an over exaggeration. He wasn’t at all pleased with their results, finding their methods to be too tame to gain much insight. “But I noticed you haven’t brought in Davina McCrae yet.” Now seemed to be as good a time as any to see if he could take that interrogation off of his hands—that woman would need far harsher methods than what their office provided. “If you are concerned that you can’t adequately question her, I can call her in myself and take her off of your hands.”

Harry was so bored. He still wasn’t certain why he was even called into the office and was finding it very difficult to even focus on the conversation at hand, knowing that it wouldn’t matter what he thought on the matter in the slightest, obviously. This was all clearly just a power struggle between the pair and it certainly was going to continue for however long was needed. It made no sense to Harry why the Minister was even here, but he just wanted him out of the office as soon as possible, finding it irritating that he was in the same room. It was like with every word spoken, the man was proving himself to be a bigger prat than Harry had originally believed. Luckily, he had learned to zone in at appropriate times, hearing his boss tell him to inform the woman that the case was dropped. He quirked an eyebrow at the statement, about to open his mouth to object when his boss turned back to speak with the Minister. This conversation was irritating already and he hadn’t even been listening to the half of it.

“Well, I’ll be off, then, to go speak with Ms. Fowler,” Harry interrupted as the two men continued, seeing absolutely no need for him to remain in the room. If he stayed in while they were discussing interrogations, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from speaking back to the Minister, questioning his capability of interrogation and wondering if Harry himself could interrogate the Minister to show him an example. When dismissed, he exited the room with a nod to both the Minister and Mr. Duncanson.