April 16th, 1890 — Ministry Canteen

It was a big morning! Her first interview for the ministry! And it began with the department of international magical co-operation. She had applied for a few other areas – magical law enforcement where she had interned, and magical beasts where she had had an interest in school and which seemed like a very interesting area of work.

She had arrived in plenty of time – more than 2 hours before she need present herself to the secretary. Nerves and an eagerness to not hash out the same argument with Ana again had saw her slipping out of the house with an abundance of time. It did feel like throwing Ana’s kindness back in her face somewhat but she couldn’t pretend anymore. She needed to do this – for herself.
She was killing time in the canteen nursing the same cup of tea that she had ordered 30 minutes before, staring at the dregs of tea in the cup and wishing she had been better at divination and could read the tea leaves when she became aware that someone was speaking to her.

wearing

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Bragi's first week at the Ministry of Magic — the Department of International Magical Co-Operation, no less — had been as rich and eventful as he'd hoped. It was not yet clear if this was the norm or if there were even grander things to come, but as a Danish national, and one with rather low self-esteem, Bragi was just glad to be here. Extremely glad. He'd arrive in the morning, prompt beyond prompt and immaculately dressed, then leave in the evening still buzzing after a day that felt three minutes long.

That first week was almost at an end already, and he would mourn it if it weren't for that fact that it would restart all over again on Monday. He smiled to himself as he pondered this at the canteen at lunchtime, carrying his big garden salad to... well, he wasn't sure where. Most of the tables were already taken up by Ministry workers in the thick of conversation.

His eyes fell upon a slip of a girl who looked hungry but had nothing but a rather sad-looking cup of tea. She was smartly dressed but looked ever so lost. Bragi could not help but approach and ask gently; "hullo, miss...? Would you like me to fetch you something to eat?" he offered kindly. She seemed too lost in thought to do much else at the moment, and now that Bragi worked here (!) he felt an inkling of responsibility.

  

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’Oh’ Maddie exclaimed a little surprised at being addressed. ’Oh no thank you’ she recovered, ’I have an interview soon, I couldn’t possibly think of eating before it.’ she finished, ’I wouldn’t want to get sick on Mister Crouches desk’ the last bit was slightly mumbled. Madeleine was a bag of nerves – she had never had to do an interview before and there was something about Mister Crouch that she found incredibly intimidating. In school she had interned in the department of magical law enforcement and the wizengemot respectively. She had attended a ball with the head of the wizengemot, as his plus one, but somehow this made her nervous.

Maddie glanced over the canteen and none of the tables were free, so she gestured with her free hand and invited the gent to take a seat. ’Please’ she directed, ’take a seat, which department are you with?’

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Bragi smiled shyly as the nervous stranger invited him to join her, though he was more interested in her than he was in his salad — after all, she had just mentioned Mr Crouch! Luckily, Bragi had missed the bit about the vomiting. But he could certainly appreciate having nerves before an interview; it seemed only yesterday he'd been in this precise situation.

"I work for Mr Crouch, in fact!" he revealed. "Not to worry, he's very nice. He's not intimidating or anything. Well", he corrected himself sheepishly, "he doesn't mean to be intimidating, I think. And that's the most important thing."

Bragi hoped that was helpful. But, er... it probably wasn't.

  

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Well that was Kismit! To find someone who worked for the man she hoped might offer her employment. In all honestly she wasn't sure about this decision, she did wonder if she was trading one type of cage for another, if by passing up the chance to marry per her grandfathers will, she was giving up what little freedom she might achieve? Or would working for the ministry be its own trap? But no- it couldn't be worse than another season of being trotted out like a show pony by Ana.

So Mister Crouch wasn't the terribly intimidating being he seemed - well that was something. She was sure she could adept to just about anything when dealing with it every day, but it was this first initial interview that terrified her. 'Are you an intern or a translator in his office?' she asked, noting the hint of an accent that spoke of somewhere beyond England as this mans homeland. 'Do you know if there is much difference in the work?' It might actually count as cheating to be conducting an interview of her own ahead of her meeting, getting the inside scoop. 'I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners, Madeleine Backus ' she offered her hand.

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Bragi Holm

  

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Bragi found this coincidence quite meaningful, and felt it important that he try to make the best of it. Not just for the sake of a young woman who seemed really very nice, and worthy of a good job, but because the department could always use strong, enthusiastic newcomers. And he already had the impression that Miss Backus might fit the bill.

"Bragi Holm, at your service", he introduced himself pleasantly, shaking her hand. "I'm an intern. And to be honest, Miss Backus, this is my very first week, so I'm not best-placed to answer your question. But I should think the responsibilities of a translator are far more specific, whereas my role is more along the lines of general assistance", he clarified brightly.

  

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’Oh wonderful to meet Mister Holm’ Maddie enthused brightly! It was meant to be surely! To have come here on a long shot and to have met someone she could be working alongside. ’I’m hoping to be an intern too, but thought he might put me in the translator pool – presuming I get the post of course!’ She had worried that her proficiency and the few that she knew might make her a shoe in for the translation service rather than where she was more interested.

’Forgive me mister Holm, but you sound as though you’ve lived elsewhere’ she remarked, ’I don’t venture to guess where for fear of offending you?’ she asked, setting aside her tea cup, the dregs, and her speculation of her future forgotten for the moment.

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Bragi was currently quite distracted himself, but later he would realise that his presence was actually proving helpful. Not because he was actually offering any useful intel or tips, but because he was friendly, relatable company. He recalled something very similar had happened to him before his first interview at the Ministry.

"Not offended at all", he replied with a smile. Bragi was quietly proud of being a non-Briton in the British Ministry; but also glad to find he wasn't the only one. "I'm Danish. What about you, Miss Backus? English?" He was good with languages, but not so much with accents. Not yet anyway.

  

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[post]’oh!’ she exclaimed, when he revealed his heritage, she had been lucky enough to have travelled a fair bit in Europe and could boast of having met people from across most of Europe, but she had never met anyone from Denmark! ’I was born here, yes’ she explained, ’But my mother is Russian and I’ve spent some time in Europe, but I am delighted to meet my first Dane.’ she breezed.

’What made you chose the English ministry?’ she probed, ’I’m sure your linguistic skills would have recommended you to a liaison position rather than an intern here?’
[/post

  

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"And my first Russian", he realised with a smile, when Miss Backus divulged that he was her first Dane. For a moment he thought she was asking why he hadn't applied for a slightly more senior job in the department (the answer being that he wasn't qualified), but then he realised she was talking more about locale. Why Britain and not Denmark?

"I've always loved the British Isles", he admitted. "Always, always. Something about its... well, its history and romanticism", he said, but didn't want to go into more depth than that. They'd only just met, after all — though he hoped this meeting wouldn't be their last as well as their first.

"What of you; why the British Ministry?"

  

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Maddie toasted her empty tea cup, as though it was champagne, to their various firsts. She could understand the motivations he recounted, like the dark Romance of her Russian adventure, Britains wild moors, dark cool forests and pastoral beauty held a Romance of its own – every book she had read in girl hood had supported the notion that the windswept natural world of England was where dashing men and damsels met and bonded over sprained ankles and muddy horse tracks.

Why the ministry? Oh that was a question, why was she joining the ministry? Because it was as close as she could get to what she wanted? Because despite the blazing row that she had had with Ana when she discovered that Madeleine had put in an application, she had grudgingly accepted that Maddie would go to the interview. If only so she didn’t offend some senior ministry type by not showing up and that would reflect badly on Ana.

’Because it is acceptable ish for a lady in my position to work for a department like magical relations without entirely shaming her family,’ she admitted with a half laugh, Telling a stranger that it was a way of escaping the tedium of a debuntates life was not perhaps a good move. ’And you can assure me that Mister Crouch isn’t as intimidating as he seems?’ she pressed again, ’I’ve seen him at a few events and I admit I’ve never wrangled up the courage to approach him- although it might have helped my application if he had known me from society’

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Although warmed by his new friend's uplifting attitude, Bragi's smile faltered a bit at Miss Backus's reasoning. That... didn't seem like a very personally agreeable reason to join the Ministry, but he appreciated her honesty, and she did sound like she'd wanted the job. If she wanted to appease her family rather than just not-shame them, she'd probably be interviewing for something far less interesting. Or nothing at all.

"Well..." Bragi responded slowly, wanting to be truthful about Mr Crouch without concerning her, "he is rather intimidating, because he's ever so clever and powerful and all that. But he's nice. He is. And he'll be on your side", he concluded. "I wouldn't worry about society connections either. I don't know Mr Crouch very well, but I am at least confident that he'll judge you on merit, not on your latest dance partners."

  

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She listened intently, trying to tell herself that the level of intimidation she felt did not necessarily equate to him being an unpleasant person. Maddie knew she was smart, her grades had supported that view, if his intimation was an academic one, she should be able to hold her own - she was a Hufflepuff by work ethic, but she could go toe to toe with ever Ravenclaw in her year. Perhaps that was her unique selling point, a poor girls work ethic with a rich girls graces.

Maddie laughed lightly, ’that’s something at least.’ She glanced at the clock on the wall, 20 minutes before her interview, it was probably time to present herself to the secretary at Mister Crouches office. She wanted to be a little early, enough to make a good impression. ’It was a pleasure to meet you Mister Holm’ Maddie said and meant it whole heartedly. ’With a spot of luck we may end up co-workers before too long.’

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"I do hope so, Miss Backus," he replied warmly, rising politely from the table — though he would sit down again momentarily to eat his previously-forgotten salad. "Very best of luck to you!"

  

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