the tea cup, the tea spoon (padma)

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Callisto had been working a lot at Hogwarts, of course, because of the Tri-Wizard tournament. Today was December the sixteenth and Callisto was set to meet her boss, Padma Thomas, at Madame Puddifoots in the tea shop while the kids were on Hogsmede day. Callisto had her briefcase, of course, and her purse slung over her shoulder. She was ready to get to work reviewing the tournament and how things were going between the schools. Callisto was all business, all paperwork, all serious, and she was ready to get down to business working out these Yule Ball details and the rest of the tournament.

She arrived at the Tea Shop ten minutes early, ordered her tea, and got set up at a table toward the back. Mostly people favored tables by the window but that wasn't Cal. She liked to do things in private without distractions. Not that many things distracted her anyway.

@padma

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The Yule Ball was coming. The workload was ridiculous and Padma was grateful she had an effective department to share the load. While the tasks of the Tournament were lead by Magical Games and Sports, the Yule Ball was her department’s time to shine, and Padma was determined to make sure they did. Callisto had been at the school getting things done, and they were meeting at Madame Puddifoot’s to work out the last-minute details.

She found her in the back of the tea shop, set up with a pile of papers. Padma ordered herself a mug of steaming chai from the cashier, then joined Callisto. “Good morning,” she said as she slid into her seat. “How have preparations been going?”

@callisto

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"Morning," Callisto replied, giving a short not. She didn't look up from her papers until her boss sat down, then she looked up with a soft, polite smile. "Well, I think," she replied, giving a short nod at lifting her tea cup to her lips to take a short sip before going on. "I feel like we have good representation of each schools countries refreshment wise, which I'm excited about. It means that the kids can show each other traditional treats and that should spark conversation," she said, flipping one of her pages around to show Padma. It was a list of traditional desserts from England, Scotland, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, France mainly but a few other countries had some mixed in at the bottom.

@padma

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Callisto always was straight to business, and Padma liked that about her, though she hoped the other witch took a break from time to time.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Padma said as she skimmed through the list Callisto had provided. It was hard to go wrong with sweets, but they all sounded good, even if she didn’t know what all of them were. “I can’t say I know all of these by name, but are there some vegetarian and vegan options? And what do we have for people who don’t eat sweets?” She couldn’t think who it was, but she knew she knew someone who couldn’t stand them, and there would probably be some dieting socialite wives who would appreciate the thought.

@callisto

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Callisto nodded and smiled politely as Padma looked over the least. At her next question, Callistos eyes widened momentarily before going back to normal, "we have some vegetables and fruits for those who don't like sweets," she explained, pointing to a section toward the bottom of the list. "As for vegetarian and vegan options I can honestly say most are vegetarian, but I will need to triple check what is vegan," she mentally chastised herself for not thinking of that sooner. Still, this was why they had these sort of meetings, and why Padma was the big boss in charge. She thought of everything.

@padma

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Padma nodded as Callisto explained they had vegetables and fruit for those who preferred savoury. But… “Possibly some cheese platters and crackers for something a little more substantial for people who need it as the night goes on. Certainly we can do the same thing theme-wise with a variety from different countries.”

She nodded again when Callisto said she would need to check what was vegan - there almost certainly would be something, they just had to make sure it was there and clearly marked. ”So the other refreshments are drinks, of course. I know the bartenders are being provided in coordination with the Leaky Cauldron and Neville Longbottom, but do we have the drinks themselves we need?” Again, there would be an array of expectations, and they would need to balance those and the practical limits of the event.

@callisto

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Callisto nodded, bringing the list back to write some notes on it for cheese platters and crackers, "that works," said agreed. "I'm sure dancing can burn a lot of calories. People will need something that won't make them... well, feel worse, like sweets might," she ssaid with an amused chuckle. She wasn't a dancer, so she didn't really know what people like that enjoyed as snacks. Or rather, what snacks were best for them.

"Yes, the drinks have been ordered and the bartenders hired and given their shifts," she confirmed. She had taken care of that first because people tended to get incredibly thirsty when in crowds, dancing, and probably flirting their little hearts out. She didn't want anyone to get dehydrated.

@padma

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Padma nodded when Callisto understood exactly what she meant about why the cheese platters would be a good idea. ”Precisely,” she confirmed. “Too many sweets can be sickening, and I’d really rather we avoid that.” She thought everyone would rather avoid that, when it came to it.

“Good,” she said again, about the drinks. “I’m glad to hear that - the refreshments sound well in hand. Were you also working on decorations, or was that someone else?” Rowena only knew that there was a lot of space in the Great Hall and courtyard to cover; there was more than one person on decorating.

@callisto

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Callisto took more notes and chuckled a little as Pamda mentioned how people could feel sick because of the sweets, "yes, that would be a whole other mess to clean up. However, the Hogwarts caretaker will be attending the ball and is on standby to help out should an accident occur," she reminded.

"Not decor, no," she confirmed. "But classical music selection, yes," she said, handing a different folder to Padma. "I don't know much about the upbeat dancing music people listen to, but I know a lot about classical so I'm handling that area only in music."

@padma

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“Yes, of course they will. Still better if it never happens at all, though,” she said with a smile. It was the kind of thing no one wanted, but if there was alcohol and dancing and food, it was a pretty safe bet. But no point in dwelling on it.

“Ah, okay,” she said when Callisto corrected her on what precisely she was working on. She looked through the folder at the music - names of tunes, and sheet music. She wasn’t musically inclined - it meant virtually nothing to her - but she knew it was what the musicians would need. And there was a lot of ¾ time signatures, which was good - there would be dance lessons for the students, if she knew her sister, but they’d almost certainly be just the waltz. ”Lots of waltzes, good. I’ll defer to your experience, as I don’t know music much at all.”

@callisto

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Business was going well, it seemed. "And how are things you're doing? Just out of curiosity," she didn't want Padma to think she was trying to make her report to her, rather that she was making conversation and wanting to cultivate her curiosity. She wanted Padma to know that she supported her and was always willing to help. She probably already knew that, of course, but Callisto was always looking to show her loyalty. She was always wanting to better herself, to improve, and to move up... granted, she hadn't moved up yet because she knew that if she did she'd have to choose between her jobs.

@padma

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"Oh, everythings been going well enough. Mostly making sure our guests have reasonable expectations. It's quite a lot of diplomatic talk. Not so much the actual event planning. Still busy." Padma simply had to listen to both sides and make sure that the people, like Callisto, she was relying on had the power and ability to deliver the best they could - because she knew their best would deliver what their guests wanted.

Padma had the best staff, she was pretty sure.

@callisto