Aileen bolted upright and was suddenly wide awake. "Lune! You've brought Lune!". The silver cat jumped on the couch, purring loudly. Aileen started petting him, overjoyed. Cassandra watched them quietly, smiling at the girl's unrestrained show of affection.
"Here, you must be hungry." she finally said, motioning at a basket of muffins on the coffee table.
"Thank you." Aileen said, without paying much attention to the woman.
Cassandra sat down at her desk while Aileen finished her breakfast. She couldn't help but wonder at the girl's relationship with the cat - was it really normal to love an animal that much?
"Aileen? Are you done? Why don't you come sit over here." Cassandra finally said, not looking up. Aileen carefully picked up the cat and sat in one of the chairs in front of Cassandra's desk. When Cassandra looked up, she was momentarily surprised at how fragile the 15-year-old girl looked. She was sitting in the chair with her legs pulled up, holding the cat and looking at Cassandra with a questioning look. Cassandra tried to shake off the feeling of protectiveness that had come over her and said:
"Aileen, you must understand that I'm trying to help you. Your grandmother is dead, and as far as we know you do not have any living relatives. This puts us in a difficult position. I would not like to see you put in a muggle orphanage, and I don't think you would like that either. I have sent owls to several families, asking whether they would be prepared to take you in over the summer. I have also sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, asking whether it would be possible for you to start studying there. I understand your grandmother has been training you privately?"
Aileen merely nodded. She had never met any other wizards apart from her grandmother, Cassandra and herself. She was somewhat frightened of having to go to a school full of other wizards and wizards around her age. However, anything was better than going to a muggle orphange. And she would be able to continue her training as a witch.
"You'll have to take some tests to determine what grade level you should be in" Cassandra continued, "and you should be prepared to take classes with people younger than you. Dumbledore has already given his consent, and he has voiced some concern about you going to a muggle orphanage. He seemed to think that it would not be safe for you, but I do not know why. He has even proposed to take care of you himself if nobody else can be found, which is very surprising. However, I am still waiting for the replies of the other families I have written to. In the meantime, you will stay here under my care."
Aileen nodded again, taking in all of the information she had been given. She did not mind staying with Cassandra - she had started liking the older witch. As Cassandra bent her head over her papers again, Aileen put Lune on the floor and started walking towards the bookcase. She skimmed through the titles until she found one that looked interesting - "Potions of Africa". Aileen had always been interested in potions, and her grandmother had gone to great pains in order to foster that interest. Aileen went back to the couch, not looking where she was going as she was already immersed in the book. Lune followed her and settled down on the carpet next to the couch.
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Aileen fell asleep on the couch, but she was woken up in the middle of the night by loud noises.
"Hello? Who's there?" she called out into the darkness of the room.
"Oh, that gave me a fright. It's just me sweetie!" Aileen heard Cassandra's reply from somewhere around the desk.
"Is anything the matter?" Aileen asked, now wide awake.
"Urgent call. . .something happened down at Hogwarts. Absolutely ridiculous story about You-Know-Who returning. Don't see how that could be possible. . . however, I'll see for myself when I get there. Stay here, I'll be back by tomorrow. If not I'll make sure someone else takes care of you."
Cassandra said all of this very quickly, all the while scurrying around, getting her cloak and wand and some papers. "Not to worry dear, we'll have all of this cleared up soon." she added, noticing that Aileen hadn't moved.
Voldemort. . .back! No that can't be! Aileen thought, a shiver running down her back.
Though she had only been two years old at his downfall, Aileen still remembered a faint fear when thinking of the time. Her surroundings had been buzzing with it, and even as a baby she had perceived some of the panic. It had been enough to make her feel a chill whenever anyone mentioned Voldemort's name.
Aileen couldn't get back to sleep. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about her life. How much easier it would have been if she had had parents who loved her! But she didn't. Aileen didn't know how her parents had died. Perhaps they had been killed by Lord Voldemort. . . but she simply didn't know. Sometimes when she concentrated very hard, she saw an image of green eyes. . .but it blurred quickly, especially when Aileen tried to look closer. Aileen closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.
Lune was now sleeping on Aileen's stomach. She welcomed his weight, it took away the feeling of loneliness that threatened to wash over her whenever Cassandra wasn't around.
. . .Maybe all is not lost. . . Aileen thought sleepily before sleep finally overcame her.
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