11 am Meeting

The meetings had not been going well. Not at all. The adult meetings had been relatively more volatile that the student meetings, but Ana was glad to be back in Elijah's office, even if he was unable to make it. She really did need to ask what he had been up to as of late. Frankly, she knew it wasn't her business, but someone really needed to look into what he was doing with his spare time.

The second morning of the in-Ministry meetings had arrived and Ana was just hoping for one meeting to go well. Just the one. After that, at least she could say that one had been a nice success. The real question, then, was if the Ministry had paired of people who were already dating or together in some fashion. She could only hope they had. Other than the Transfiguration Professor and his student, who seemed to take it all quite well, the Ministry could only hope for a couple who could show that their choices weren't off the mark. An example, if you will. Or maybe Keiran and Melissa would be that couple. Ana supposed they would have to wait and see.

Ana was lucky to have Gideon helping her with meetings, now. As much as Ana would have enjoyed passing off most of the meetings to him, she knew that Elijah would either say something, or make some little comment about it. In the end, someone would get onto her about it, and she wasn't having that. Instead, she had chosen to take the majority of the meetings - at least for the time being - and then when she was needed at Hogwarts on the weekends, Gideon could take care of those at the Ministry.

Opening the door to her office, Ana made her way it, letting it close itself as she passed the chairs and desk to look out of the window. The office was set up so that the desk faced the door, and the chairs faced the window behind the desk. Sensible, Ana mused, for such an event as this. If one sat in the chair to the left of the desk, their match could walk in and see them if that person glanced over. Settling herself in her chair, Ana let out a small sigh, though it was more of a silent hope than of frustration, and awaited the first match of the day. Hopefully they would both be on time.

Ana noted vaguely that one of the people she was to meet that morning worked at the Ministry. Perhaps she would take Eli's example, if the meeting turned sour, and offer the woman a promotion of sorts. Ana could only hope it didn't come to that. The Ministry would be on her heels if they kept giving away compensation for complying with the law. 'Is not the ability to avoid Azkaban prize enough?' Ana imagined one of her superiors asking her as they looked down their nose at her. Rolling her eyes, she closed the woman's file and set it back down next to the man's to wait.

The end had come.

In the months that had passed since the marriage law had come into effect Robin had fallen into a trance of sorts - foolishly, blindly, and desperately forgetting that as a primary citizen of Ireland he was just as subject to its effects as every other wizard under the British Ministrry. Keiran's wedding had thrown the realities of the situation into a much clearer light but he still lacked the basic understanding that it could, and one day would, happen to him too. And that fateful day had come.

Last night Robin had received an owl from the Ministry to inform him that it was time to meet his assigned match. The already slightly intoxicated Ivanov boy had fallen deeper into a pit of non-sobriety (much, much deeper) with the news and passed out early on his couch. He had woken with a nasty ache in his head, taste in his mouth, and sinking feeling in his stomach. Glancing at his watch Robin was woken with a start at the time. He rushed about the house attempting to make himself look half decent (at least dressed) and not smell too terrible. Bloody Ministry. Not only did they have to ruin his life but they had to do it at an ungodly hour of the morning.

He made it out of the house in surprisingly good time and made his way up the street to a neighbors house that he let himself into for the floo. While this ride only further agitated his stomach he had only been given a single nights prior notice to a meeting the next morning and figuring out safer (and slower) traveling plans had not crossed his inebriated mind. Robin arrived at the Ministry much faster than he would have expected and had several extra minutes to dust ash off his face and jacket in the men's room before heading to the Ministers office.

Robin hoped that Elijah would be here. It would be better to see a friendly face. Even if that face was a complete and utter arse. Instead when he opened the door he found a middle aged woman with a harsh face and uptight hair. Ana Levski. Of course. Robin knew her husband quite well from Quidditch circles though he hadn't spoken too much with the wife. Upon her urging he took a seat in front of the desk, trying to relax back into the uncomfortable surface. His mysterious match had not yet arrived and Robin couldn't decide if this was a blessing or a curse.

"Morning." He greeted indifferently.

Robin was not a particularly patient man. He had never liked to be kept waiting or kept secrets from. It was like this was the ultimate secret and he hated being out of the loop. But at the same time it was almost better this way because the longer those doors stayed closed the longer he could hold on to the last shard of pretending that this was all some horrible dream.

Ana looked up at the first person's entrance, knowing immediately that it was Mr. Ivanov. Who else would it have been? He looked either upset or vastly tired, though Ana didn't dare try to guess which. At this point, she couldn't tell much about anyone. He sat at her suggestion and she smiled lightly at his greeting, though it wasn't really much of one.

“And to you, Mr. Ivanov.” Ana replied with a small smile. She had a strange feeling that this meeting wasn't going to be anything like she expected.

--

So her time had come, had it? Avery stared down at the letter in her hand. The owl had tapped at her window late the night before while she had spent an evening in with Mira. Unfortunately, the mood had not been one of excitement. After Mira's less-than-pleasant time at her meeting, Avery was rightfully terrified about the meeting at the Ministry. There was no getting out of it, though, lest she had a desire to spend time in Azkaban or wherever else they saw fit to send her.

Frowning, Avery pushed herself out of bed, setting the note on the nightstand as she stood. The night before, she had picked out something that was simple yet hopefully attractive. It was her newest dress, and Avery supposed she had best look at least remotely decent. It wouldn't do well for her to walk in looking like a complete mess the first time – well, maybe – that she met her future husband.

She sat on the edge of the bed to slip her shoes on before pausing with a frown and staring at the wall. This was happening. Like, actually happening. In a month she was supposed to be married, and in a couple years she was meant to have at least one child with some man she may not even know. Why did it have to come so soon? Sure, she had pretended to be a brave, excited best friend for Keiran on his day. But that did not mean that she was prepared for this.

No, she had planned on working at the Ministry for as long as possible, and if she happened to meet someone who wanted her, she would hope to want him in return. This didn't feel like real life. Mira's call from the living room woke Avery from her thoughts and she rushed to grab her things and rushed to the floo to head to the Ministry.

The elevator seemed to move far too slowly, Avery noted, her foot tapping. She was nearly late. That wouldn't do at all. Ever the punctual one, she would hate for her future husband to think she didn't care or that she was lazy. When the doors opened she let out an audible sigh of relief and made her way down the hall. Lifting a hand, she allowed it a brief moment to rest against the closed door before she turned the handle and swung the door open.

Avery paused for a moment, decided she was unable to look at the man in question, and instead strode forward into the room to greet Ana with a handshake and a tight, forced smile. As desperate as she was to look at the chair in which he sat, Avery couldn't bear to look and be disappointed. Instead, she would wait. Hope he spoke, or Ana requested that they introduce themselves.

Mrs. Levski, however, simply looked between the two of them before gesturing for Avery to take a seat at her leisure. Turning to look at the chair left for her, Avery closed her eyes for a moment before nodding to herself and moving to sit down.


((OOC: I forgot. The old set. http://www.polyvore.com/ravery_meeting/set?id=98384339))

In what felt like seconds after his own arrival he heard the door opened again and Mrs. Levski gestured for the woman to take a seat in the chair beside him. As she took her place Robin glanced over but his gaze was only met by the side of her head. He turned back to the older woman momentarily but then did a double take back to his match, a shocked smile of wonder growing on his face. Elijah Krum (the sneaky bastard) was good, good man. The smile released in a quiet laugh, waves of relief sweeping over the Russian man's heart and stomach. Far from nausea, he was feeling incredibly light as for the first time Robin considered that maybe this meeting wouldn't be a complete and utter disaster.

From what he had been hearing he was the first one to actually be matched with the person he had requested (not that he had meant it at the time). If he had known there was a real change that he would be paired with someone like her.. If he had actually considered his match would be decent (if not desirable).. Well, then he would have woken up to make himself look more presentable. A girl like Avery Bishop? The thought had never even crossed his mind. But she wasn't looking at him and from her still posture he could feel the same worry that he had been experiencing emitting from her now.

"Come on, dear. I'm not that ugly, you can look." Robin couldn't help the smile that continued to lick at his lips. Suddenly the worst day of his life was feeling terribly lucky. It wasn't as if he wanted to get married (now or possibly ever) but if it was required there were very few people he would be more willing to have a union with. Robin barely knew Avery but even when their interactions became difficult they were never unpleasant. She could handle her drink, was quite gorgeous, and got along with his friends. When it came to a forced life partner it didn't get much better than that.

It was safe to say he had won the bet. If she would have him that was.

A shockingly familiar chuckle sounded from the other chair and Avery paused in her steps towards the chair meant for her. It wasn't possible. There was no way that she, a dragon trainer who had never been graced with any sort of luck, was given the person she had asked for. When the form had come in, he was the first person that had come to mind – Avery couldn't well put down Keiran. The guy had been given half of their lives to say something so Avery had assumed she was right in thinking he wasn't interested in that way.

But this.. What had she done to deserve this wonderful yet terrifying arrangement? The thought of Keiran made her slightly nervous, but at least the folks she considered her real family knew Robin already and understood that no matter his flaws he was a good man. And that no matter her flaws, she needed someone to accept them and take care of her.

Avery's curl fell from her shoulder as she turned to stare at him in a sort of awed way. As she met his gaze, the corners of her mouth finally turned up into a grin, accepting that it was really true. Something in Avery told her that she should just walk right up and kiss the man sitting before her, but they had not seen each other since the Hayes wedding – not alone at least.

Avery's eyes drifted to Ana and she bit her lip to keep the smirk from showing in full as she turned and walked over to Robin, sitting in his lap and grinning at him. It was Mrs. Levski's fault that the wizarding community was forced to marry whomever the Ministry decided. The woman surely deserved to feel awkward like everyone else did. At least the horrid woman didn't have to sit about waiting to find out who she was stuck with for the rest of her life.

“Well, this is rather curious. What will Keiran think?” She teased, knowing if anyone would understand it would be her best friend. If he didn't, they would have words.

Ana let out a quiet cough of surprise as she stared at the two seated in front of her. Looking down at their files, where the forms were kept, she lifted her eyebrows in surprise. As far as Ana knew, that hadn't really worked out. Although she wasn't in charge of matching people, she would admit that most people didn't get the match that they had wanted.

“Let's go ahead with the proceedings, yes?” Ana began after clearing her throat again.

Avery nodded, glancing at Robin to await his approval before giving Ana a sarcastic smile. Clearly her attempts were working. Ana frowned and started her now-practiced speech. “Today we're going to go through what you can expect in the next month. In this meeting we'll perform fertility tests-” Ana ignored Avery's choked sound in response to the idea of testing such a thing “-and answer any questions you have. After today you'll have two weeks to get to know each other before a follow up meeting provided you haven't married by then. After that meeting, if it is needed, you will have two weeks to marry before we check in on you. So, all in all, you should be married and have your living arrangements and the like figured out by the end of four weeks. Any questions before we start?”

She moved over to him and Robin grinned wickedly, wrapping an arm around her waist as she sat, his hand lying across her slender side and stomach. Yes, this was the Avery he had grown to appreciate over the last few months. She commented about Keiran and Robin couldn't do anything but smirk. He was much too aware of exactly what the older man would say to him - they had been having this conversation since the night he had met the blonde girl. The whole situation was so terribly funny that Robin wasn't quite sure what to feel. All he knew was that if it had been anyone else he would have walked strait back out of those doors.

Mrs. Levski gave a prepared sounding speech, emotions quickly disappearing from her tone. Avery turned to him, almost as if to seek his approval, and he winked. Both of their attentions focused back on Ana as she continued. Avery made a funny noise when fertility tests were mentioned and Robin's smirk deepened, though he was no longer sure who it was directed at.

Only a month? Of course he knew of this time limit thanks to Keiran's experience and his blow-by-blow description of the meeting. But somehow he was still unprepared for it. The knowledge was impossible to really sink in right away - in less than a month he would be a married man. This was enough to make him squirm but he ignored the impulse and focused instead on the warm body on his lap. This was all shit but at least he had someone to go through the shit with, right? Avery's closeness made the pill a bit easier to swallow and he kept the relief in his heart as he listened. This was all luck. Amazing, pure luck. If he told himself that the bad parts would go away.

Robin twisted so he was facing Avery. His face showed a genuinely happy grin which only grew as he looked upon the woman who would soon be his wife. "I'm all set if you are, darling. Ready to go and plan the greatest wedding England has laid eyes on? We can show Keiran and Melissa up easily." He laughed at the prospect, still trying to wrap his brain around the idea of an actual wedding. For years Robin had mentally assured himself that he would die a bachelor and the storybook image of a girl in a white dress and boy in a tux had long ago left his mind.

It startled Robin how easily he could picture it all. Almost as if he was seventeen again, simply replacing one blonde Bishop with another.

Robin's responding grin gave Avery proof that she wasn't the only one okay with this match. There wasn't any one else she could see herself with at that point anyway, so it didn't feel so wrong, as some other matches had apparently been. She couldn't speak for those others, of course, but Avery had a feeling those folks were strangers. She was lucky to be matched with someone she knew, nonetheless had a serious interest in.

Avery couldn't tell if she was imagining it, but she thought she could feel Robin's eyes on her, and could practically hear his smirk at her reaction. She would have to work on covering up anything that could embarrass her. Somehow, Avery had a feeling that Robin could see right through her, and that this would just get worse over time. Well, better for him, worse for her. But at the same time, she found that she wasn't too very upset by it.

In the back of her mind, as Ana gave her introduction to the meeting, Avery did her best to absorb the information while other errant thoughts flickered in and out of existence. It was lucky, a voice that sounded rather like Mira noted, that her name went so very well with his last name. Another, one that reminded her of Bridget, suggested that their required children would be beautiful. She stopped her train of thought immediately at that one, avoiding the idea. Was she ready to have children? Avery wasn't so sure. Kids were wonderful, but what did she know about being a mother? She hadn't really had one for two-thirds of her life. The idea that she was meant to take over was frightening, but Avery had a feeling she knew what not to do just as much as she knew what she wanted to do for whatever little ones she might end up with. Needless to say, Avery would refuse to settle for just one child – being alone had been miserable.

Avery felt Robin move as she turned to look at him, and was nearly taken aback by his grin. How entirely cheesy she felt thinking it. For a moment, before he spoke, Avery had a nervous feeling that he might just lean in and kiss her. Her eyes searched his but hid her slight disappointment when he spoke instead. At least he hadn't done anything in front of Ana she mused.

A particularly embarrassing giggle left her at his own laugh and Avery glanced down at his arms where they wrapped around her rather than at him directly. Ana rolled her eyes at them, but secretly was amused with their apparently ease with the match. She hadn't had one that went over this well so far, and wasn't about to ruin it.

“Yes, I think you and I likely have more taste.” Avery joked, leaning in and smiling conspiratorially. “Mrs. Levski, please go ahead with whatever we need done.”

“I'm afraid, then, Miss Bishop,” Ana began, ignoring Avery's quiet intake of breath at the name (it hardly seemed like it went with her person anymore), “that you'll need to stand.” Ana's smile was small and didn't extend to her eyes. The Ministry official was clearly confused by their closeness, wondering if the two were already a couple.

Avery smiled and stood, albeit reluctantly, and joined Ana where she stood beside the desk. Waving her wand in front of Avery's torso, Ana watched as the lights floated between the two of them, telling the elder of the two women that Avery was indeed able to have children.

Glancing at Robin, Ana nodded. “She's just fine. I can tell you, if you want, what your first child will be through your test, Mr. Ivanov.” Avery's eyebrow lifted and she frowned. She definitely didn't want to know what it would be. Why ruin the surprise or the joy of imagining a little boy or a little girl who looked like the two of them? Or the joy of imagining what names they would give them? If Robin wanted to know, though, Avery would have to accept it.

Avery leaned in closer and Robin's eyes held hers. He genuinely considered kissing her but Ana spoke again, ruining the moment and pulling Avery up and away from him. Robin's hand dropped to the arm rest as he watched with the test being preformed with some interest. The lights that swirled around meant nothing to him but from Ana's expression and her response she explained. They could have kids. Mrs. Levski turned to him now and asked if he would like a test done to determine the gender of their firstborn. Instantly, before considering for himself, he turned to look at Avery.

Their eyes met and Robin arched his eyebrows in a question. He read her expression and nodded, giving her a small smile and hoping he was interpreting correctly. He turned back to Ana and shook his head, "We like surprises."

Truthfully, Robin wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not. Knowing would make all of the planning and preparations a little bit easier. If it was a boy he could calm his father about the marriage with the promise of a firstborn son and if it was a daughter he would please his aging mother who had always wanted a girl. But at the same time if Robin learned the gender of their unborn child it would make real that they were going to have a child. He was sure that Avery would be a good mother but questions remained if he would be a good father. The Ivanovs seemed to have less than stellar abilities with raising happy, normal children and he had no reason to think he would be any better. Maids and his older siblings had practically raised Robin, leaving any childhood memories of his own father less than wonderful.

Robin still wasn't sure what he was going to do about his father. Roland still only mentioned Claire's name in a hostile tone and used her as a scapegoat for all of his favorite sons faults. Everything from Robin's moving to Dublin to sporadic unemployment could be blamed on Claire's moving to America. Not that he would have been over the moon about them getting married either. The Bishops were a half-blood family with no wealth to speak of and no connections. It was far from the match that Roland had dreamed of and when Claire had left he had at least been pleased that it was the end of it. Robin could only imagine what he would say when he brought her sister back with a ring on her hand.

Oh! A ring! Robin hadn't brought one of course. Why would he bring a ring to an engagement he had never wanted? But Avery was different. She deserved a ring until they wedding. He wanted her to have a ring. No matter how untraditional, unconventional, and unplanned this wedding was going to be he wanted to make it as beautiful as he could for Avery's sake. After all, they were only going to get married once.

Robin stood and walked closer to where Ana and Avery stood. He extended his hand to her and when she took it the pair began to move towards the door. Before they got too far Robin turned back to face the older woman. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Levski. And send me regards to Krum. Give him a big kiss from me." Robin turned back to Avery and offered her another wink before pushing open the door and letting them out into the hallway. Their fingers intertwined and somehow the action didn't feel wrong. Robin had never been the type to hold hands but after her closeness in the office he was reluctant to let her go.

He understood. Robin may not have agreed with Avery in her fear of knowing, but he had accepted it and brought a huge smile to her face. Although Avery, in general, didn't always appreciate surprises like she should, this was one thing she knew would be a good surprise. But Avery wasn't quite sure she knew what to expect, or if Robin had even wanted kids. Or even one child. She hated uncertainty, but right now it was floating into her mind and didn't seem to want to leave. The idea of having her own family was more nerve-wracking than she realized last night in her ranting with Mira. She had grown up understanding that anything she loved was taken from her. Avery couldn't stand to believe it would happen again, but somehow it seemed inevitable. She just had the most terrible luck.

Ana nodded to the two of them, saying, “I still need to run the test for our files, I'm afraid,” before lifting her wand and performing the same spell on Robin. So they would be having a girl. At least one. Ana smiled to herself but kept her mouth shut, watching as Robin stood.

“I don't have anything else if you two don't have any questions. If you need the meeting in two weeks, you can always ask them then instead.” Ana offered lightly, noting how quickly Robin had stood to take his leave. This had to have been the easiest, most successful meeting they had encountered. Elijah was certainly hearing about this.

Avery could practically see the thoughts running through Robin's head before he stood to join her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Her eyes followed his movements as he neared and offered her his hand. Suddenly, her smile was weak – almost wan – as she took it and let him lead her out. So this was it. She was actually getting married, and to someone she felt she could grow to love (without too very much trouble, she might add). It didn't feel real.

Ana's look of surprise at Robin's good will and apparent happiness with the arrangement mirrored Avery's before the blonde hid hers at his wink. Sighing with relief, Ana sunk into her chair and pulled out the form she needed to fill to report the proceedings of the meeting. This one would be the most interesting, certainly.

In the hallway, Avery was quiet as her fingers slipped through his. Was this something he often felt like doing in public? All of the things she didn't know about him were suddenly revealing themselves at once and she couldn't hold back the nervous shiver as she looked down at her feet. Robin had certainly seemed okay with this. But was he the type to keep his emotions back to keep from making a scene? Or was he just glad they were friends and he actually knew her? Avery desperately wished she knew the difference.

The pair walked down the hall, stopping in front of the elevator that would lead back down to the main level of the Ministry. Robin pressed the button and in a matter of moments the golden gated door dinged and opened to reveal the elevator with only a couple other employees standing in it. The couple entered and Robin released her hand to press the button for the ground floor. "Where to?" he asked. "I heard there's a good Chinese place a couple blocks away if you're feeling hungry. Or do you need some time?"

The elevator had stopped at the second floor and one of the other people got out. The remaining man had a slightly trivial look on his face as if he was shocked that a couple coming out of the Ministers office could be looking so normal. Robin wasn't sure if Avery's comfort in their meeting had been an impulse response. It would be quite reasonable for her to want some time to herself to think and figure everything out. Robin knew he needed to calm down after the turns of events but at the same time he knew he didn't want to be alone. Being alone would only lead to things he would regret. Regardless of the luck of his match he was still not enthusiastic about the law and it's requirements.

Because he had been ignoring the law for so long he had never really made any plans, even internally. There were a thousand questions now. Where would they live? When would they marry? Would they avoid having a child or give in? His entire life had just been thrown up in the air and only Avery held the power to pull it down and put it back together. Robin glanced over to where the blonde, once again feeling the intense sense of relief that it was Avery who stood beside her now.

It was a cruel and wonderful joke the universe of playing. That he should marry the sister of Claire Bishop. And worse yet, that he felt joy at the prospect.