Back in the Office (Open)

It was a typical weekend, the third years and up were at Hogsmeade and the younger students were either asleep or playing Quidditch. Ella, however, had a ton of paperwork to do. She wasn't necessarily behind, but she hadn't had a lot of time to really do anything either, not with being there for Emma and taking care of Hogwarts.

She wore her typical [Only admins are allowed to see this link]. The usual leather jacket and jeans, the coloured cami, the riding boots and the long braid down her back. However, she no longer walked into the ministry with a large belly or a newborn. She walked in with a toddler.

As Ella unlocked the door to her old office and walked in, the stale smell of an old room filled her nose. Turning on the light, she'd noticed that what had once been a crib in the corner of her office was now a [Only admins are allowed to see this link] She let Emma down to play and sat at her desk, staring at the piled up paperwork that had accumulated. She was sure she'd be there for the next three days constantly filling out page after page until someone walked in. She didn't bother to look up, if it was important, they'd start the talking and close the door. The sounds of Emma's laughter filled the dull, tiny room with happiness.

Norman made his way through the halls of the labyrinth that is the Ministry. He wasn't one for carrying papers himself--let alone for another department--instead delegating that responsibility to one of his many minions or simply flying them. But he'd been feeling restless lately and the walk would do him some good. So it was, that he arrived at the office of one of their trainee aurors with a few papers she probably didn't need to fill out but protocol demanded that she do so and nobody had the time to change protocol these days. With a sigh, he knocked lightly on the door frame.

He surveyed the tiny room, less than half the size of his own office, but then she was only an auror, and a trainee one at that. His eyes settled on the child playing in the corner of the room, blonde hair and bright eyes. Before he could stop himself, his lips twitched up into a small smile. Children were so full of potential, clean slates ready to be filled with knowledge. Realizing he was probably standing there staring at a child like an idiot, he smiled charmingly and held out the papers, "I do apologize for adding to your work load, but I'm afraid I have a few more papers. They're nonsense really, like most papers in this place."

(OOC: I realize it's a bit unusual for someone from his department to be in hers, but the Ministry is an insane place, and really, anything could happen)

As the voice filled the room, Ella looked up. Apparently, without her realising, Emma had already stopped and looked to the man that was now staring at her and smiling. Her motherly instincts took hold of her and she slowly began to reach for her wand, ready to put this fool into misery if he dared touch her child. However, she never got the chance, because he spoke. Turns out, he was a Ministry worker, probably new or something and he was here to drop off some more papers for her.

Ella just about flipped shit. It seemed like Ministry workers rarely did anything except for filling out paperwork. The only time she'd actually done anything related to being an Auror was when she killed her grandmother, and that was on her own time. Ella sighed as she began to get up, ready to grab the papers and get back to work. Before Ella can move, Emma had already crossed the room and waved at the man. "Hiiii!" she drew out a long hi. The ones that everyone fell for because she scrunched up her face and grimaced through clenched teeth. Ella freaked. Emma was entirely too friendly, putting her auror training to use, she practically jumped over her desk and ran across the room until she swooped the toddler into her arms.

"Thank you Mr. uhh..." she said, suddenly realising she doesn't know this mans name. She looked up at him, half expecting him to hand her the papers and leave, which would've been fine if she hadn't have looked into his eyes. His stunning blue eyes trapped her. They trapped her in a world she didn't belong. A world where she'd begin to fantasize thoughts she needed to keep away, for Emma's best interest. Emma already lost her father, even though he was still alive. She didn't need to get entangled with another guy, no matter how pretty they were.

The sound of Emma's voice woke her up. "Come play." the young girl said, grabbing at him with her hands. Ugh, Ella thought. This man probably needs to get back to work. She was quite sure he didn't have time to play with a child and she kinda didn't want him to, but did all at the same time.

Norman couldn't help chuckling lightly when the young girl greeted him enthusiastically, "Hello to you as well, young miss," he replied with a genuine smile. He sighed when her mother scooped her up and sent him a skeptical look. Not that he blamed her for being protective of her daughter in the least. "Humphreys," he offered when she hesitated at his name. "Norman Humphreys, at your service," he added with a perfectly executed bow. Admittedly, he might have been a bit thick with the charm, but she was a lovely lady and her daughter was charming as well.

She had a stunning pair of blue eyes that he was sure held a great deal of intelligence in their depths. Dark locks were woven into a braid, and he almost wondered what she'd look like with her hair left down and natural. He cleared his throat. Those were hardly appropriate thoughts to a workplace. All the same, he made a mental note to learn more about the woman before making a move.

He gave a fond smile when the child asked him to play, "I'm a bit busy right now, young miss, but I'll try and make time later on." He turned his gaze to her mother, "If your mother approves, that is."

He was sweet. He was sure to address Emma as politely as possible and that made her smile a bit. As the man introduced himself, Ella smiled a little more. "Ella Vega." she stated in a quiet voice, "And this is Emma." She looked over to the young girl who flashed another smile and giggle as Ella introduced her.  "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Humphreys." her voice was a little bit louder that time, like maybe she wasn't as shy to be speaking to him.

Norman looked at her, as if he were taking in her features. She assumed she should be creeped out but she wasn't. How could someone be creeped out when a human this beautiful was taking them in. She made it her goal to learn as much about him as possible. She wanted to know him, she needed to know where he came from and what it was that captured her so well. He was intriguing.

He'd make time for her. She wondered if it was to actually play with Emma or if it was more so to be around Ella, either way, she'd approve. She was wrong, wrong in many ways. She shouldn't be this vulnerable around Emma, but she couldn't help it. "Well...okay, I guess. As long as you don't mind." Ella's cheeks had turned a little pink, she was unsure of what else to comment. It was at this moment, she wished he'd hand her the papers and leave. She needed to gather her thoughts back together. Emma smiled at him and responded with an, "Otay man." As she pushed Ella's arm wanting to get down, Ella couldn't help but smile and laugh a little under her breath. She was the cutest thing ever and no one could deny that. "I'm really sorry about her." Ella blushed once again, now able to speak to the man without Emma in the conversation.

Norman smiled warmly and offered the papers again, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Vega." He turned to Emma, "And you as well, Miss Emma." He really would have to make time to learn more about this woman, and possibly spend some quality time with her daughter. He was relieved to note that she wasn't wearing a wedding band or an engagement ring.

Merlin, she was an entrancing person. Norman mentally shook himself. No need to get sappy because of a pretty girl. Best to learn more about her mind and heart first before he made leaps towards romance. Still, it couldn't hurt to befriend her daughter. He chuckled lightly when the child agreed and wriggled her way free of her mother, obviously no longer interested in the adults. "No need to apologize," he replied with a fond smile. "She's perfectly alright as she is," he added sincerely.

He loved children. They were so open minded and willing to learn. Teenagers were less to his taste, though he's met a few that caught his interest; as a whole, they are stubborn and think they know everything. Adults were fairly set in their beliefs and had a hard time learning new things. It was why he considered most of them to be idiots. Still, he was willing to give Miss Vega the benefit of the doubt until he learned otherwise, though he doubted she'd fall into the category of Intolerable Idiots. It was his experience that the seemingly normal ones turned out to be extraordinary, and this woman appeared perfectly normal.

The more he spoke, the more intriguing he became. As he offered the papers again, Ella reached out and grabbed them. She immediately knew that Emma liked him. Emma was friendly to everyone, however, she didn't like everyone, but she liked him so that was a start. Maybe she should make it a priority to know him better.

Ella smiled as he said not to worry about Emma. This guy was a sucker for kids and it showed. He chuckled when she wriggled from Ella and left to play. She should get back to work, as should he. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out and grab a drink tonight after work? Just you and me, if that's okay?" She knew it wasn't right for a girl to ask a guy on a date, but she didn't care. She would leave Emma with Elita, since she was in town visiting. Emma loved playing with Lucas, especially now that he was a year old and a lot more playful.

As she waited for his response, she pondered the thought on what she would wear. The only way to even go out, would be to finish work, and to do that, she had to get back to work. Smiling at the man, she said, "I think we should get back to work before the Minister drops by." It was unlikely that Jeremy would pass by, but you never knew. She also, sort of needed the excuse so as not to show just how excited she was for tonight. "I'll see you later?"

A drink? With this lovely person? He smiled widely, "I'd love to," he replied. "Your daughter's not the only lovely face in the room," he added with a wink. Drinks would certainly provide a way to better learn more about her. Alcohol tended to loosen people up and reveal their true natures, and  he hoped hers was no different than the one she was currently presenting. Also, he hasn't been out for a proper drink in ages.

He nodded in understanding, "I'm not a fan of getting caught so far from my office, especially since I've a reputation for delegating the legwork to others whenever possible." He was glad he hadn't given the papers to someone else to deliver; if he had, he wouldn't have met this beautiful woman. He reached into the inner pocket of his suit and pulled out a business card. His name on one side in looping, gold script and his address and job title on the other. "If you ever need to owl or floo me," he offered the card with a friendly smile.

A quick check of his watch proved that he needed to be back at his office. Meetings to arrange and letters to send and all that.