The invitations had gone out a week later than they had when Mrs. Ross had been the wife of the Minister but things were otherwise on schedule. Roman had been through a change in Ministers before and each time, it was a learning curve for him to compromise his need for productive efficiency with their own nature when it came to such things. So long as they respected his own method of doing his part of things, he could respect theirs. It remained an undisputed fact that he had been born for this role despite his younger dreams of being Minister of Magic himself.

For the night, however, he was determined to simply enjoy the evening. He had danced with his wife but she had since gone off to chatter with friends. He took a glass of champagne from a passing footman and smiled as someone made to approach him. "I hope you are having a lovely evening," he said in greeting.