January 29th, 1891 - [starts at the] Ministry Atrium

There was a year and change (ish) left in Ross' term, and there were things he would like to do, having not decided yet whether he wanted to run again. But these required several moving chess pieces, which were not necessarily easy to move.

He was on his way out of the Ministry, down in the atrium, when he spotted Edric Umbridge. Edric was his new MA&C head, and things had generally gone well so far - in that there had been no major catastrophes, whispers of incompetence, weird conspiracies, or international incidents. (Yes. Yes, he was thinking about Magical Games & Sports.) Something sparked in Ross' mind and he waved Edric over; this was an Opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Umbridge!" Ross said, cheerfully. "Take a walk with me?" He gestured at the Ministerial side of the Visitor's Entrance; it would take them up into muggle London, instead of to wizarding London.

---

Edric Umbridge Holly Scrimgeour

  

The stress of being a department head was distinctly different from being a department assistant head. He less frequently dealt with the department's workers, instead working with other departments and department heads to ensure everything was going smoothly. It was more responsibility—and definitely more publicity—but somehow seemed like less work. He certainly spent less time behind his desk, as his days were consumed with meetings and conversations rather than obscene amounts of paperwork.

"Minister," he greeted, just moments after he'd just left his department's floor. "Of course." There were plenty of things Ross would want to talk about—new policies, goals for the department, conflicts with other departments, but none that required a walk through muggle London. He was intrigued.

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

"Excellent," Ross said. The pair stepped into the Visitor's Entrance and were shot up into Muggle London; Ross opened the door of the side building the visitor's entrance dropped them off in and stepped into the light. "How are you adapting to heading the department so far?" Ross asked, exclusively because they were still close to the entrance itself; he started down the street with the intention of creating some space between the pair and the Ministry. Besides, he trusted that Umbridge would know this wasn't his actual intention for the conversation.

---

  

Edric squinted as they were thrust into broad daylight and reached up to pack his visible Ministry badge into his robe's pocket. He had few reasons to gallivant around the streets of muggle London, and he assumed Ross was no different. There had to be a reason they were here and away from the watchful eyes of wizards.

"You know how I am with change," he said, remembering the days during the Irvingly fog crisis. He hadn't coped with with the changes in policies and responsibilities, but he'd managed. "But this is one I welcome." Now his days afforded him longer breaks to visit home and ensure his very pregnant wife was managing well, which was perhaps one of the best perks.

"Though I hope there are no magical accidents or catastrophes to handle here in muggle London?" he asked, a single brow raised.

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

That was the answer Ross expected, more or less; Umbridge was well-suited to MA&C, Brownhill was probably well-matched with him as an Assistant Head, and they would be fine. He hadn't asked out of any sense of actual foreboding, because MA&C was also a department where anything seriously wrong would have ended up on the Minister's desk sooner rather than later.

"Oh, not that I'm aware of," Ross said cheerfully. They had made it a block, now - they still needed a little space, but could likely start getting into the real meat of the conversation. "As I'm sure you're aware, there's an election next year," Ross said mildly, "And while I am always thinking about the Ministry, it's time to think some more about - legacy."

---

  

Now they were getting into the true purpose of the meeting.

"Legacy," he echoed quietly. It was one of those things every man thought about at some point during his lifetime, but men like Edric and Minister Ross had more reasons to think about it now rather than later. He'd naturally assumed that the Minister intended to continue to pursue a second term—it only made sense. None of the Ministry scandals had been directly tied to Ross, and Ross' family had remained—for now—out of public scrutiny.

Still, Edric wasn't sure why this was something the Minister wanted to talk to him about.

"You've done plenty good for the Ministry that you'll certainly be remembered for," he started, unsure of whether the Minister was asking or musing.

---

The following 1 user Likes Edric Umbridge's post:1 user Likes Edric Umbridge's post
   Justin Ross

---

— set by MJ! —

Ross hummed his agreement; there was progress in the Ministry, and they were on better terms with Queen Victoria's government, and he had accomplished much of what he wanted to. But: "There can be more, though," Ross said, "Regardless of whether or not I have a second term." He hadn't decided, whether or not to run - that was a conversation to be had with several people, including Ros. It was not necessarily for Edric before he talked to his wife.

"What do you think of the Wizengamot?"

---

  

There could always be more, Edric would have liked to say, but he knew there were no ideas or suggestions that he could offer to accompany that comment. In the past few years Edric had learned that politicians had to balance their public image with their private dealings. It was the latter that stuck around years after they were gone, and probably what Ross was getting at. Policy.

Except it didn't seem it was, because he mentioned the Wizengamot, which seemed... well, irrelevant to the subject of legacy.

"Hm... Well, it's a pain in the arse when they're not on your side, is it not?" he chuckled. Lucius Lestrange had held the position of chief warlock for a while—something he knew Ross was not a fan of without having to ask. "A bunch of old men with old ideals. Stuck in the first half of the century." It would be into the 1900s before the Wizengamot resembled any sort of modernized entity, but that didn't make it any less important to the structure of their government. "But the changes to its body in recent years have been promising. Why do you ask, Minister?"

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

Ross chuckled; Umbridge was generally accurate, and his summation of the Wizengamot echoed Ross' feelings. "I would like to appoint more individuals to the Wizengamot, before the next election season," Ross said. "Who are reflective of what the Ministry ought to be - able to recognize the areas in which we need to achieve more, knowledgeable of the Ministry, whose positions are a product of merit-based advancement rather than of nepotism." Essentially: they needed more non-purists in the Wizengamot. Really they needed more halfbloods and muggleborns in the Wizengamot, but Umbridge was an exception here, rather than the rule.

"I would like for you to be one of them," Ross said. "If you are willing to join me in trying to combat the first half of the century."

---

  

He listened carefully, nodding in agreement, and then—Oh. This entire conversation suddenly made more sense than it had a moment ago.

Edric had always been the ambitious sort, but not exactly in the same way as Minister Ross or Lucius Lestrange. He didn't desire power for power's sake, nor did he hold the belief that his beliefs would solve all of wizard kind's problems. He wanted power for control's sake—not to control other people, but his own life. There was a freedom in power, and a responsibility that forced him to work outside of his comfort zone.

The Wizengamot was a whole separate type of power. They introduced legislation, oversaw criminal trials, and generally made the most longstanding impact on the ways of the British magical community. It was that sort of power that drew the old, wealthy purebloods of their time and of generations before, and that sort of drive for power left their government decades behind public opinion.

I was that sort of drive for power they needed to overcome, as Minister Ross had just said. After a moment of silence, Edric looked up and the Minister and nodded.

"Well, somebody needs to," he finally said with a smirk. "It would be an honor, Minister."

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

Ross waited him out; he didn't want to pressure Edric, who would either want to join the Wizengamot or would not, and there was little that Ross could say to talk him into it if he did not want to go through the process. "Excellent," he said, with a grin. He was excited to have Edric on the team; and with his blood status and Ministerial experience, Umbridge's nomination would not be the most difficult thing Ross had ever attempted. "I'll submit your nomination next week."

They had, in their walking and discussion of Wizengamot, made it a considerable distance from the Ministry's Visitor's Entrance and deep enough into muggle London that their robes were getting glances. This made Ross feel comfortable saying: "That wasn't the real reason I wanted to chat with you outside of the offices, though."

---

  

He would have to tell February about the nomination, of course, but he believed she would react the same was she had to any of his other promotions: with congratulations and pride. He would have to explain that he might have to be at work longer some days, though... but that wasn't something to focus on right now. Not when there was apparently something else, unrelated to a Wizengamot nomination, that Minister Ross wished to discuss.

The smile faded from his face and was replaced with a furrow of his brows. "What is it, Minister?"

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

Ross sighed. This was one thing to think about and another to verbalize, and once he said it to Edric, it was sort of out there. "I think that, in the interest of unity," Ross said, "I have ended up stocking my office with individuals who are not invested in the success of this administration - or of blood equality generally." Other than running against him, Ross didn't really have many qualms with Roman Crouch - the Crouches, if purist, were quiet about it, and Reuben Crouch had eloped with a halfblood.

"What do you know about Charles Macmillan?"

---

  

That was a tricky situation. Edric couldn't imagine being surrounded by men whose interests were in direct conflict to the job they were doing. In the auror office, any of the aurors who had conflicts of interests were removed from the case—but this was far from different. Edric nodded quietly until the subject of Charles Macmillan specifically came up, prompting Edric to shake his head.

"He's an ambitious one," he said, and no one could deny it. Charles Macmillan had climbed through the ranks of the Ministry before his thirtieth birthday, only to give up everything to be Ross' junior assistant. "And by that I mean, only men with political ambitions would do what he's done. He's hoping to gain influence, I'm sure." Edric was not particularly familiar with the Macmillan family, but they were purebloods and intermingled with the Pendergasts, known blood purists.

"Has he done something that's worried you?" he asked.

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —

"And I knew about the ambition," Ross said; it had made Macmillan eager to please, which was more funny than it was dangerous, and no one could say that the man wasn't diligent. "But now he's courting one of the Lestrange nieces, which implies he is likely to be... more purist than I anticipated." He had never trusted Macmillan, but now he distrusted him, and that was a different issue to contend with.

---

  

Courting a Lestrange—it seemed like something the second-born Macmillan might strive for. It wasn't necessarily the woman who made things worrying, but her connections elsewhere. "And it does not take a genius to see that Lucius Lestrange is not fond of your administration. That last thing you'd want is Macmillan... talking." Talking, revealing things, even if on accident. Government secrets had no place in private homes, especially when the residents in those homes had opposing political agendas. In the worst case scenario, it could lead to sabotage.

"And you haven't vocalized your concerns to him, I assume?" He wondered how Macmillan would react if the Minister did. Did he value his position at the Minister's side, or his future with a potential Lestrange bride? Edric was inclined to believe the latter.

---

  

---

— set by MJ! —