A/N: Yep, it's me again with QLFC Round 10! *cue applause track* Anyways this time I had to write a scene in the Department of Magical Transportation. It's written in the perspective of my OC, Natalie Jaques, a young wizard who works in the department. Hope you enjoy and have a good laugh.
"I am extremely sorry, sir, we'll do our best," I said as I was finally able to put down the phone. I ran my hand through my hair, pushing back the auburn strands that had fallen out of my messy bun.
"So, Nat, what was that all about? You've been on the phone for almost an hour!" exclaimed my fellow co-worker, Eric Turner as he walked into my office, with two cups of pumpkin spice coffee, "Is it another one of those drunken flying issues? I hear the ministry is cracking down on those."
"I wish..." I replied, as I spun my chair around to face him. As he handed me one of the cups, I sunk back into my chair and let out an exasperated sigh, "Some idiot decided it would be a good idea to turn their chicken into a Portkey."
"So, what's the big deal? I know lots of wizards use their dinner as Portkeys." he replied, "You know, my sister even uses our old water bottles as Portkeys. We're trying to be more environmentally friendly."
"The chicken wasn't dinner." I explained as I got out of my seat and headed towards the parchment stand. I had a lot of paperwork to get done.
"Oh, so it was lunch." Eric said, following me out of my office.
"Nope, the chicken was a pet."
"Yikes!" he replied, "Chickens make awful pets. I speak from experience. I prefer owls or even cats over those pecking fiends!"
I rolled my eyes as I looked through the parchment, searching for the correct paperwork. "You're missing the point, Eric. The idiot charmed a live animal, so now not only do I have a ton of paperwork, I have to find a stupid chicken and whatever items transported with him."
Eric gave me a sympathetic look, "Well, if you want, I could help you Nat. I just finished up the Floo Powder mishap."
"You found the person who was trying to sell Floo Powder to Muggles on the internet?" I asked as we both turned around and headed towards my office.
He nodded, "Yeah, we did. It turns out that you can find a lot of information on the interweb. Those Muggles can really invent stuff!"
"It's internet, not interweb." I corrected, trying my best to suppress my urge to laugh. As a Muggle-born, I liked to stay on top of things in both the magical as well as Muggle world, but in my opinion, the internet is pretty magical in its own way.
"Remind me again where that chicken landed," Eric stated as he sat down on my desk, hovering over my shoulder to read the notes I had taken while I was on the phone.
Missing Portkey: Chicken
Description: breed- Rosecomb; responds to the name of 'Captain Cluck'
Personality: Chicken-ish?
Original Location: 99 Poultry Rd.
Final Destination: Diagon Alley
Caster of Spell: Jeffery Abbott (extreme idiot)
Extra Notes: The things I do to keep my job...
I could swear Eric was suppressing a smile as he said, "So, we're looking for a Rosecomb chicken named Captain Cluck, in the middle of Diagon Alley," with a completely straight face.
"Remind me again why we work here..."
He broke into a wide grin as he raised his hands in mock surrender, "I have but not a clue."
"You're hilarious, you know that," I said half-serious, half-sarcastic, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I grabbed the coat that was resting on my swivel chair.
He smirked, a playful twinkle appearing in his eyes, "So I've been told."
I chuckled as I shook my head, "So, off to find a chicken?"
"Off to find a chicken," he echoed, linking my arm in his.
Just as we were about to Apparate, the phone on my desk rang.
I untangled our arms and ran towards the phone mouthing 'just a second'. He responded with a slight head nod and a silent thumbs up as I picked up the phone.
"Hello? Natalie Jaques speaking. How may I help you?" I asked in the politest voice I could muster, considering the circumstances.
"This is Jeffery Abbott; we spoke earlier, Miss Jaques."
"Hi, Mr. Abbott. How may I help you? I was just on my way to find Captain Clucks," I said in the most honest voice I could manage. It was truly impossible to take this case seriously!
"Oh, I just thought I'd let you know, there's been a bit of a mistake. Turns out, Captain Clucks is safe and sound. I actually accidentally cast the spell on my watering can. Lucky mistake, huh?"
"Yeah, lucky," I said through extremely gritted teeth.
"So, with that said, I was wondering if you could find my watering can. It's my lucky one, and I didn't realize I turned it into a Portkey until is disappeared."
At this point, I was ready to tear my hair out. "I would be more than happy to help out."
"Perfect!" he exclaimed, giddily. "So, it's an old, sun-faded turquoise watering can, that belonged to my great grandmother. It's been passed through the generations, ya know..."
"Wonderful. Just wonderful." I said flatly, as I thought of hundreds of lovely names to call this man.
"Oh, and its name is Genevieve!" he added.
"You named your watering can?" I asked, trying my best not to sound rude.
"Oh, of course!" he replied, "Doesn't everyone?"
"Uhhhh, you know, that's unimportant. I'll be on my way now," I responded, digging my nails into the palm of my unoccupied hand.
"Thank you so, so, so much! I will be sure to report your good deeds to your advisers."
"Thank you, and good day Mr. Abbott."
"Goodbye," he responded cheerily.
After putting down the phone and regaining a calm composure, I headed outside my office.
"Well, judging by the vein ready to pop out of your forehead, you're slightly miffed," Eric remarked, rather amused.
I rolled my eyes, "Well, change of plans. We are no longer searching for a chicken named Captain Clucks, we are now searching for a watering can named Genevieve."
"What can I say? It's just another day working in the Department of Magical Transportation."
"You got that right."
"So, off to find the mystical Genevieve, the watering can of 99 Poultry Rd?"
"Damn, I really need a day off."
A/N: I hope you had a good laugh reading this, and enjoyed, don't forget to leave a review!
QLFC Info:
Title: Chickens and Watering Cans
Team/Position: Kestrels/Keeper
Word Count: 1,054 words (without A/N's)
