Another day at the office [Charles]

[TEMPERANCE JOY FAIRCHILD]

Paper work was tedious, and it was the one thing she hated about her job. She secretly wished she could be at least helping train the new incoming aurors, but of course that job belonged to someone else so she was stuck in the office doing paperwork. She didn’t want another war, or anything like that but maybe something that would get her out of the office for more than a couple of hours. But she guessed that it would be a matter of time before things got at least a bit interesting, plus it wasn’t like she couldn’t have fun outside of work. There were always people willing to go out for drinks, even if she didn’t get drunk herself because she didn’t want to deal with the whole mental filter thing. Well she allowed herself some exceptions but the last thing she wanted was to have no mental filter when she was out with her coworkers. Her gaze focused on the papers in front of her, and finally she put the quill down. She was not focusing right now and well that was starting to get a bit annoying. Deciding that she needed a little bit of fresh air, maybe a bit of a break she pushed away from the desk.

Normally she would have preferred to wear something a little more comfortable. But there was this unspoken dress code at work, where even though it was good to feel comfortable you had to look nice too. She also knew that part of the reason she bothered dressing up, was to show up Charles because he wore suits to work. It was silly, and she was pretty sure it was juvenile too but she really couldn’t help it. They had always been very competitive, even before they had been Aurors, since they were at Hogwarts. She always strived to be her best, and to outdo him and even though there had been instances when he had beat her. Obviously those weren’t times she didn’t like to think about, because she hated to be outdone by Charles Hartley. But you couldn’t always win, and she knew that. But at least she had the satisfaction of knowing that she had done really well in Auror training and even though he was the one training them now, she still had done really well. She brushed a strand of hair from her face, as she left her jacket on the chair. She wouldn’t be outside long, and she knew that given her attire she wouldn’t want to be outside for too long a time anyway. She had her wand on her anyway, so she was good. She walked away from the office, towards the elevator that would take her to the main floor so that she could get some fresh air. It was crowded, as the ministry usually was, as she made her way to the visitors exit. She hated using it, but it would be pointless to travel by floo powder, and she would have to go back in for the other stack of papers she had left. It was only a couple of minutes when she was in the fresh air, it was midday so the streets in the muggle world weren’t all that crowded. No one would think it was odd she was standing there, at least she hoped not. She leaned against the wall momentarily, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

“Stupid paperwork” She muttered to herself as she let out the breath.

[charles]

Charles Hartley was a dedicated man. He loved his job, he loved being in the office and loved training the new recruits. Unlike many trainers before him, Charles took a new way of training them. He wasn't strict, unless the occasion called for him to be. So on this day, he was doing his usual thing, messing around with the trainees.

"Now, remember, William, never let your guard down." Charles was at the moment, teaching them about defensive spells, something most of them had trouble with. See, these guys were young, they liked to believe they knew everything. However, they often didn't think of what they were about to do, they liked to just attack and not think about the consequences of being open to attackers from any direction.He watched as young William Marsh faced his opponent, a young lady by the name of Katherine Wilson. Katherine seemed like a fragile girl, most wondered why she would even consider this a profession, but Charles could tell that this girl meant business. She was able to concentrate and execute her mission.

William had a big ego, he smirked as he watch the young girl raise her wand. Charles took a step back, behind William, joining the other recruits. He had given them specific instructions not to use any spells that would cause great harm, he didn't want anyone sent to the hospital, at least not during their first week of training. He gave the signal and both Kathy and William flicked their wands.

"Ascendio!" Kathy's spell went shooting toward William.
"Expelliarmus!" As always, Williama was a second behind.

Expelliarmus! Charles didn't even have to say a word as the sparks flew out of his own wand, pointing straight at William. The young man was hit with Kathy's spell, making fly up in the air, hovering there as the rest of the recruits looked at Charles.

"As I said, William, never let your guard down. You never know if someone is waiting in the shadows, ready to attack." He said stepping forward, nodding to Katherine, letting her know she should let William down. Charles grinned, patting the boy on the back when he was on his feet. "Alright, I say we all take a lunch break now. When we return, you'll be paired up in to groups of four. If I were you, I'd get her on my team," he whispered to William as Kathy walked off.

Charles didn't even bother getting a jacket and ran off, taking the elevator to the main floor. He took a minute or two to stop and talk to receptionist, it just wouldn't be like every other day if he didn't. After that, he walked to the visitor's exit, soon he was outside, breathing in the fresh air. He looked to his right, finally noticing Temp there. "Hand-cramp?" he asked, clearly rubbing in her face the fact that she was stuck doing paper work.

[TEMPERANCE JOY FAIRCHILD]

She let out a small sigh, and then she inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. Not that there was anything wrong with their offices but sometimes it was nice to just get some fresh air. She was debating on what she should have for lunch, she could very easily just go to her apartment and make herself something to eat. She had muggle money so she could even go to that little place by the corner that she liked. Both options sounded like good ones, and she was hungry that either one was going to be appealing. But of course she didn’t get a chance to even get an inch away from her current spot before she heard footsteps approaching. She hoped that whoever it was, they were friendly because she was too hungry to deal with anyone. But of course her hopes were crushed given who she saw approaching and the only thing that allowed her to keep a straight face was the fact that she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he annoyed her as much as he did. She had no idea why they had to choose the same career path, and how on earth he had managed to get to train people while she was stuck doing paperwork. Then again she had more opportunities to go in the field, because she was in the office ready to go.

“Not that it’s any of your business but I got hungry” she said, “What did your trainees get tired of you, and run?”

Normally Temperance was of a very sweet disposition, she tried to be nice to everyone but for some reason Charles had rubbed her in the wrong way since she had first met him during their first year of Hogwarts. And for the next seven years, and even into their adult life, she felt that they were constantly in competition to one another. Sometimes she won, sometimes he won, and neither of them would dare lose the opportunity to rub it into the other’s face. She had gotten her first assignment in the field before he had, but he got to train the incoming Aurors, while she was stuck doing paperwork in the office. But of course she got called first if something went wrong, they both had their accomplishments and they both were ready to rub it in. She wasn’t even sure what had started their rivalry all those years ago. All she could really remember was feeling that she had to beat him, and his smug little smirk all the time. She was pretty sure that was the thing that made her want to beat him the most. The fact that he could get this really arrogant look on his face, and all she wanted to do was strangle him to death. Of course she was a little more controlled than that, so normally she ignored it. She had often been teased during their school years that their competition was just an attempt to deal with the sexual tension, but of course Temperance didn’t believe this theory.

“I wouldn’t blame them if they did” she added.