A/N: so i wanted to show the upcomming war from someone who wasn't in the Order or a Death Eater. I also wanted to incorporate some of the lesser characters, thus my OC befriending Percy who i think took a lot of flack for trying to find his niche in life. i am trying to make this a fully realized story, but wanted peoples opinions on it. all work is obviously unbeta'd

Disclaimer: i only dream that i owned Harry Potter. i do own any OC's though and the vague story ideas.

Arin sighed as she apparated into the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic, and took a moment to take in the early morning calmness that came just before the huge rush at 8 o'clock am when everyone was rushing to get to their work place at the same time. She looked around and grinned when she spotted a young man with bright red hair stepping out of one of the floo grates.

"Percy!" She called, walking calmly over to him. He looked up in surprise and gave her a curt nod, though she didn't take offence since she saw the slight upturn of the corner of his lips.

"Arin, it's good to see you again. How have you fared?" He asked politely as they both turned to walk to the elevators in unison. She grinned in amusement at his formal speech, but knew better than to tease.

"I've been well, I'm a general liaison in the Department for the regulation of magical creatures in the Beast Department. And you? I've heard that you're Barty Crouches assistant now, Congratulations!" She congratulated sincerely, she was impressed that he had landed the position right out of school.

"Yes, clearly Mr. Crouch can recognize a talented and competent worker when he sees one." Percy said as he puffed up in pride.

"Careful Percy, one might think you're being stuck up if you're not careful." She giggled, giving him a sideways glance to let him know she was just teasing. He made a sour face but didn't say anything, "So what are you working on?" She asked curiously. From the corner of her eye, she could see him hesitate very briefly, obviously use to getting a negative reaction on whatever he was working on, before he answered,

"I'm working on the importance of standardizing the thickness of Cauldron bottoms." He said. Arin nodded thoughtfully as she stepping into the elevator.

"That is important, even if no one seems to realize it. It causes a lot of problems and damage to both property and beings when cauldrons melt. Have you also taken into account the type of material used for cauldrons as well?" she asked, earning a surprised look from Percy that she ignored as she continued thoughtfully, "I know that Pewter Cauldrons are usually used in schools because it's much harder to melt them, but many potions are weaker, stronger, or altered by the chemicals it lets off, especially as it gets older, there's also Copper, which are obviously the best because of their ability to contain magic and keep the potions pure but often melt when used by unexperienced or poor Potion makers, and Brass isn't bad, but they melt really easily." Percy nodded enthusiastically,

"Yes, I've been looking into the thickness of imported Cauldrons and…." He was cut off when the elevator stopped at level 5. "Oh… Here's my stop." He said, looking disappointed. Arin smiled kindly at him,

"How about we meet up for lunch and we can discuss this some more?" She suggested. Percy nodded and stepped out,

"That sounds good, shall I meet you in the Atrium at 12:30?" He asked. She nodded her agreement.

"Perfect, I'll see you then, have a good morning." She said as the doors closed and proceeded to take her down one more floor to get to her department.

When it stopped she quickly exited and made her way to her cubical to start her tedious job reading paperwork, signing off on things and writing letters explaining why someone couldn't bring their beloved exotic magical creature into the country.

She had been working so intently that she was startled when a parchment message bird flew into her cubical when it smacked her in the side of her head. She blinked and picked it up curiously.

Karlson,

Be in my office by 11:00, sharp.

Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,

Carson Ables

Arin felt her heart stop, 'Why would I be called to the big bosses office?' she wondered, trying not to panic. She glanced at her stopwatch and noted that she had 15 minutes to be there. 'Might as well go now and be early, just in case I'm in trouble.' She thought, quickly grabbing her book bag where she kept spare parchment, ink and quills before quickly making her way down the corridor, greeting various others as she passed.

When she reached Mr. Ables door, she was surprised to see Amos Diggory, Joleen Stoddard, and Neil Milton all standing there. She knew that Stoddard and Milton were both also general liaisons and that Diggory was one of the more talented, established liaisons.

"Good Morning, Karlson!" Diggory said cheerily, helping to calm her nerves.

"Morning Diggory," She turned to the others, "Stoddard, Milton." The other two both nodded their greetings before falling silent, so she turned back to Diggory, "Do you know what this all about?"

Diggory just grinned. "You'll just have to wait and see! I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised, we just need to wait for the other two before we go in." Arin blinked and looked to the other two, only to have them look at her blankly. "and here they are." Arin looked and smiled when she saw Maddox Ash and Deven MacCleirich, cousins who actually had a since of humor.

Before anyone could say anything, Diggory knocked twice and opened the door,

"Everybody in!" He said, ushering them all in. Arin slipped into the door and slid to the front corner of Carson Ables, the bosses, desk.

"Is everyone here?" Ables asked, his eyes roaming over the group critically.

"Present and accounted for." Diggory said, coming to stand just behind him. Ables nodded.

"What's this about?" Milton asked, his tone was flat and if she didn't know better, almost bordered on sounding rude.

"This year, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard tournament…" He was cut off as everyone started talking. Arin would have if she hadn't been so stunned.

"But sir! It was done away with because of the high death rate, why bring it back now?" She finally managed to stutter out. Ables nodded seriously,

"Very true, Karlson, but we're all taking extra precautions this year." He explained as everyone quieted down. He handed a stack of papers over to Diggory who held on to them, overlooking them curiously as Ables continued to address the group. "Now, as I was saying, you all, including Diggory, are a part of the planning committee for bringing in the creatures on the lists for the tournament. You are to split the work while working together. This will also be an evaluation on all of you to see which two of you will get a promotion. You've all been recommended but we only have two positions open." Arin felt her heart leap in excitement. She'd been working hard to get a promotion, and now was her chance.

"Your all dismissed." Ables said, looking down at the papers on his desk. The group filed out before turning to look at Diggory who cleared his throat, glancing down at his watch.

"Lets break for lunch, then we'll meet back up in the break room to discuss who is doing what. Sound like a plan?" He asked everyone. They all nodded and watched him leave. Arin turned to grin at the group.

"Well, I'm going to go eat. See you all after lunch!" She said cheerily before heading to the Atrium. She bounced impatiently as she waited for the elevator to arrive and had to refrain from sprinting out as soon as it stopped to get to Percy who also looked quite excited.

"So you heard?" She asked.

Percy nodded "about the tournament? Yes, Mr. Crouch will be one of the judges so I'll be involved. How do you know about it?" He asked.

"Me and four others have been brought in to secure any foreign magical animals that will be brought into the country, not only that but we'll all be evaluated to see which of the two of us will get promoted. I'm really hoping for that promotion!" She exclaimed, grabbing his arm and with almost no warning apparated the two of them to the Leaky Cauldron. Percy staggered a moment in surprise before shooting her a glare.

"Thanks for the warning." He snarked. Arin just smiled innocently back before dragging him over to a table.

"Your welcome. Now, you must be really busy this year, what with the Quidditch world cup being hosted here in a few weeks and then with the tournament coming up. How are you handling all the work?" she asked as they got settled. Percy pushed his glasses up in thought before replying

"It's been really busy and we've had a lot of paperwork to go through." He paused, looking at her closely for a moment, he must have found what he was looking for because he then admitted rather reluctantly, "It's been difficult going through training while having so much to do at the same time."

Arin smiled kindly at him, "It's always difficult when you're trying to learn something and everyone's attention is split seven different ways. But for as long as I've known you, you've always been a quick learner and your ability to stay organized and remember a lot of different things at the same time will only help you. When I first got my job I was so overwhelmed by how many different rules for different creatures or even the same creatures but different countries there were. You'll find a rhythm fairly quickly though. It helps if you can make a friend or good acquaintance in your department that you can turn to when you need it though." Percy smiled back tightly,

"Thank you, I appreciate the confidence boost, but I've never really been good at making friends, even in school. I only befriended two of the boys in my dorm and that was because we shared a room for seven years."

"Can I get you two anything?" the barkeep, Tom, asked the two, startling them.

"Oh, I'll have a shepherd's pie and a butterbeer." Arin ordered, turning to Percy.

"I'll have that as well please." Tom nodded and ambled off, leaving the two alone again. Arin put her chin in the palm of her hand.

"I dunno Perce, I like to think I'm your friend, you didn't have any trouble approaching me after class." She said. Percy huffed,

"That's only because I was told to ask you for help in Arithmacy. I probably wouldn't have approached you otherwise."

Arin laughed at him, "That's not true, you might be a year younger than me, but we were both in Gryfindor. I think we all had to mingle at some point. I'm pretty sure I've had at least one conversation with each of your siblings before I left." She blinked in surprise when the younger by scowled. "Sore spot?" She asked.

"Yes! I don't get it, why do they always brush me off or try to embarrass me in front of others? It's like they have absolutely no respect for me even though I'm their older brother! They don't treat Bill and Charlie like this, so why me?" Percy huffed angrily, sitting back and crossing his arms. Arin leaned back in surprise at the sudden outburst before her eyes softened and she leaned forward to look him in the eye.

"I don't think there's anything you can do. Unfortunately, you got to be the middle child and while Charlie and Bill are quite a bit older than them which allows them to be seen as older figures, your close enough to their age that they still just see you as a kid, as one of them and they don't understand that you are their older brother and the fact that you sometimes come off as a stick in the mud clashes with your wilder younger siblings, especially the twins who I can't really see obeying any authority figure." She explained. Percy just scowled down at his hands that were folded on the table. Arin reached over and patted the top of his hand soothingly. "Don't worry Perce, if it gets to be to much and you want to leave for a bit, you're always welcome to come stay with me." Percy looked at her in wary surprise.

"I don't want pity, or to impose on you." He said, Arin laughed loudly,

"I don't pity you and you wouldn't be imposing. I live alone in Hogsmead and admittedly, my place is a bit big for just me. I get lonely sometimes. It would be great to have a roommate though, so if you or someone you know is looking, send them my way." She said earnestly.

Percy eyed her for a moment before smiling and relaxing, "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the offer."

Arin nodded and they fell into a companionable silence as they ate their food. Once they were done, Arin checked her watch and sighed. "We better be getting back. I have a meeting with my group for the tournament and I really don't want to be late. I'm absolutely determined to get this promotion." She said.

Percy laughed and stood as well. "I'm sure you'll get it. I need to get back as well. I have a lot of paperwork to get through."

Arin quickly paid Tom for their meal, doing so before Percy could protest and grabbed his arm, quickly apperating back into the Atrium. Percy once again glared at her and straightened his clothes.

"You didn't need to pay." He grumbled. Arin just grinned unrepentantly.

"Think of it as thanks for putting up with me for lunch." She watched Percy grumble for a moment before he grinned.

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad we got to catch up." He said.

"We should do this more often." Arin suggested, more than willing to rekindle their easy friendship. Percy smiled, looking relieved for some reason.

"I would like that. I'm really busy most weeks, especially with everything going on, but I'm sure I can free up some time a couple times a week." He added, sniffing to make himself look more important. Arin laughed and nodded.

"Okay, just say the word and I'll be ready. We should keep in touch in the meantime. It's nice to have a friend who doesn't expect anything from me."

Percy nodded in understanding as they got into the elevator, both were surprised to see Percy's father, Arthur, already there and he looked just as surprised to see them.

"Hello Percy. Just getting back from lunch?" He asked before turning to look at Arin curiously. "Is this a friend of yours?" Percy nodded and introduced the two,

"Father, this is Arin Karlson, she works in the DoMC. Arin, this is my Father Arthur."

Arin grinned cheekily at him, giving him a short salute, much to the older man's amusement.

"Pleasure to finally meet you sir! I hear nothing but good about you all the time." She added. Arthur beamed at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Miss. Karlson."

"Please, just Arin to my friends." Arthur nodded and smiled at her, looking curiously between the two.

"And how did you two meet?" He asked.

"Arin was my tutor in Arithmacy until she graduated two years ago. We bumped into each other this morning and decided to go get some lunch together." Percy explained. Realization spread across Arthurs face.

"Ah! So you're the tutor! Molly and I kept wondering who the twins and Percy were talking about. I'm glad to see you two are still friends." He said before looking to the elevator doors when they started to open. "Well, this is my floor. Have a good day, and see you tonight Percy." He stepped out and the doors closed behind him.

Arin smiled, "I like your dad, I really only hear good things about him" She said. Percy's face looked like he didn't know whether to be proud, or look disapproving.

"Yes, well, he should be working towards a promotion rather than tinkering with muggle things. But yes, he is rather well liked in the ministry."

Arin's eyebrow rose, "I think it's great he is where he is. His job is extremely important and it's obvious he loves what he does. I think that's worth a lot. Remember, it's not always worth having a high paying job if it makes you unhappy." She advised just as the elevator stopped at his floor. Percy looked doubtfully at her but wished her a good day and extracted a promise to keep in touch before leaving.

Arin sighed, shaking her head, apparently Percy had a lot of family problems. However, she couldn't think of that at the moment, she had an assignment to work on. She stepped off the elevator onto her floor and heading to the break room where she found Maddox and Devin already sitting, finishing off their lunches.

"Hey you two, are you about ready to get to work?" She asked when she saw them. Maddox grinned widely at her, throwing his trash away.

"Completely psyched, I can't believe I get to have a hand in the Triwizard tournament!" He exclaimed, bouncing on his toes.

"What kind of animals do you think they're going to use?" Devin questioned, leaning forward and bracing his forearms on the table.

"Dangerous ones, of course." They all looked to see Neil stride in, a sneer on his face. "They'll want animals that will challenge the champions." He expanded his answer. Joleen slipped in behind him, nodding silently.

"I'm sure they won't all be dangerous, some will have to make them think, not just react." Arin said calmly, "The tournament is not only about how brave someone is in the face of danger, but how they think and reason when faced with a problem and how skilled they are using the spells they know for situations they wouldn't normally face."

"Hahaha! That's exactly right Miss. Karlson!" Diggory cried as he strode into the room, glancing around to take count of who was there before clapping his hands and sitting down. "We're all here, excellent. Now, I have a list from Crouch and the three schools on what the tasks will be for, our job is to figure out the best creature for the job and to get all the paperwork done to get them to Hogwarts." He said, pulling out a list. Everyone else sat down and Arin quickly went to grab some parchment and quills from the counter to pass out to everyone.

"Wonderful, thank you Miss. Karlson." Diggory exclaimed as he looked down the list. "Now, the first two tasks will be timed and the second task has already been decided so none of us have to do anything because it will be in the Black lake. However, we do need to come up with creatures for the first and third task." He said, looking up at the others to make sure they were following him.

"What do they need to do in the first task?" Maddox asked curiously.

Diggory grinned as though hoping someone would ask, "They will need to get a golden egg. The egg will be their clue to what the second task will be. Now, it's also supposed to test how well they can keep a level head in the face of an unknown danger, any ideas?" he asked. The room fell silent as the five thought about it.

"They could fight a troll, or group of trolls to get the egg." Joleen suggested meekly. Arin jotted down the idea, even as Diggory shook his head, shooting down the idea.

"No, not dangerous enough, and we don't want them to accidently crush the egg."

"What about an Acromantula one of the really big ones? They're difficult to take down, but they would likely leave the egg alone." Devin threw out next. Diggory looked thoughtful that time.

"Maybe, it's a good idea at least."

"What about a Manticore? It's dangerous." Neil tossed out. The group stared at him.

"Far too dangerous, they're nearly impossible to control, even by trained professionals, let alone seventh year students." Maddox scoffed out. "We're not trying to kill the ones competing, just ruffing them up a bit. We still need the nurse to be able to piece them back together."

Diggory nodded his agreement, "Exactly, if we were doing this for older, more trained wizards, we might consider it, after all they don't have to kill the creature in order to finish the task, they just have to get the egg." He pointed out.

"In that case, why don't we have nesting dragons for the task. Dragons are fierce, but with experienced hands can be controlled, they wouldn't hurt the eggs because they'd be with their actual eggs and thus would also protect said egg, rather than leave it free for the contestants to get to. The three would just have to find a way to get around or distract the dragon long enough to get the egg as well as try to keep the true dragon eggs safe from harm. Suddenly facing a dragon would measure how well they keep their heads, how they get past the dragon will tell how well they can come up with an idea on the fly, and having to protect the eggs as well will show how cunning they can be. " Arin suggested excitedly.

The group thought about it for a moment before they started murmuring their agreement.

Diggory grinned brightly at her, "Excellent thinking Miss. Karlson. Since you suggested it, why don't you work on the paperwork legalizing their stay here, contact one of the dragon preserves and discuss with them what we need and what they would suggest."

Arin nodded her understanding, barely managing to keep a grin off her face for being the first one to suggest something good.

"Now for the third task, it'll be a maze with various traps and creatures in it, any ideas for the creatures?" he moved them along.

"What about the acromantula for the maze? It could be put about where the cup will be." Maddox suggested Devins idea again. Diggory nodded and put it down.

"anything else?" he questioned.

"a Sphinx?" Jolleen pitched in, sighing in relief when Diggory jot it down too.

"Fire crabs?"

"Boggarts!"

"A griffin."

"Pixies."

"A troll."

The group slowly started to spout out ideas faster than Diggory could write, but he wasn't complaining.

"That's good! That's good for now." He said after the list had reached nearly ten creatures.

"Miss. Stoddard, why don't you work on the boggarts, pixies, and troll, they'll be the easiest to do paperwork for, but hardest to find and store safely. Mr. Ash, you get the Sphinx, Mr. Macclerich, the fire crabs and Acromantula, and Mr. Milton, you get the Griffin. You will all be required to talk to people to plan for each of your animals. Now, you better get to it. We'll meet again in two weeks to see everyone's progress."

The group got up as one and started to leave. Arin quickly caught up to Devin and grabbed his arm lightly to stop him.

"Hold on Devin." She said. He turned to look at her in surprise.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked curiously.

"About the fire crabs and Acromantula. You should talk to Hagrid, the Grounds Keeper at Hogwarts about them. He's known for having various creatures like those and rumor is, he has a pet Acromantula, not that anyone's bothered to look into it. But he might be worth asking." She told him. He raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"I'm surprised you're helping me. Other than Ash, it seems everyone is out to fend for themselves in this." He told her. Arin scowled,

"We might all be competing for the promotion, but that doesn't mean we stop working together to help the tournament run smoothly. Part of what our promotion is includes working with others both in and out of the department. I don't want to see any of us fail because we all need to succeed for this to look good on all of us." She explained. Devin nodded slowly before grinning at her.

"Alright. I agree, for the Dragons you should contact the Romanian, Russian, and Brazillion dragon reserves. I believe all three of them had nesting mothersl. Vlad Romanof is the head at the dragons reserve in Romania, Natalia Cordova is the head in Brazil and Mishka Popov for the Russian reserve."

"Thanks! I'll go write them now." She said, smiling happily back at him before heading back off to her cubical.

She immediately pulled out some formal parchment and her good quill and ink before writing,

Dear Mr. Romanof,

I'm contacting you on behalf of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures for this Triwizard Tournament that is to be held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first task that is to be set requires Three (3) nesting dragons for the champions to face.

I am requesting some professional advice on which dragons would be best to use and what we will need to do to house the dragons. Just for your knowledge, the champions are to get past them, not try and kill them. I would also like to know if we could hire several handlers to accompany the dragons for the duration of their stay in Scotland before taking them back to the reserve.

General Liason,

Arin Karlson

Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, Beast Department.

Arin eyed the letter critically before making similar letters for the Russian and Brazillian reserves, duplicating them for reference. She then got them sent off before filling out the necessary, basic paperwork that needed to be done to bring some dragons and their eggs into Britain for the tournament so that it was done with before deciding that she had gotten as much as she could for the day done and left the office to go home.

Once home, Arin sighed at the thought of once again being alone in the large two story house. It had been her coming of age present from her parents, one of their many estates. This particular one was situated comfortably in Hogsmead, close enough to the stores that she didn't have to go far to reach them, but far enough away that when the Hogwarts kids came to visit she wasn't bothered much. However, she really didn't need the huge amount of space to herself as she often got lonely. She hoped that Percy would take her up on her offer to be her roommate.

She looked around her living room, trying to decide what to do for the evening before deciding to research various dragons so she would know what to expect if she had to choose.