"He's almost found us. It may be too late."
"What do you mean? Too late for what???"
Aileen woke up as the voices in her dream were replaced by yell outside her door. She tried for a few moments to recall them, feeling that somehow this was important. Unable to do so, she sat up, looking around. Wondering what the commotion was about, she strained to make out what was being said. Lune, who had come to get his usual morning cuddle, was pushed aside impatiently as Aileen did not want to miss a word that was said.
"She can't stay here! We do not have time to spare on a child right now!" a stranger's voice was bellowing.
"Oh, and where else do you suppose she should go?" Aileen heard Cassandra reply angrily. "We definitely can't send her back to the muggle world. First of all she would be terribly unhappy in a muggle orphanage and second of all she could be dangerous out there - you saw what she did to that other girl! Even Dumbledore was reluctant to let her stay in an orphanage! She needs further education and we need to be able to keep an eye on her until she gets it! She is one of us – we can't deny her access to our world in times like these!"
"Dumbledore is losing his touch! Don't tell me that you indeed believe his story of You-Know-Who returning! Envoys to the giants . . . remove the Dementors from Azkaban. . .the old man's gone mad! She is not staying here!" the stranger said, vehemently refusing to consider the issue.
"Cornelius, you're stubborn! Do not let out your anger on that poor girl, she's suffered enough! She is not even remotely connected to the issue you're speaking of. And you know very well Dumbledore is NOT losing his touch. You just don't want your beloved position endangered!" Cassandra replied, trying to reason with whoever Cornelius was.
"So you DO believe it. I thought you had better sense than that and - "
"What I believe is not the problem here." Cassandra interrupted. "Right now, it's important to find a solution for Aileen's future. I do not understand why you are even bothering to get involved in this! If we send her to Hogwarts, you won't have to worry anymore! It does not concern you anyway - I would think the minister of magic had more important matters to attend to!"
"OF course I do! That is why I cannot have a curious teenage girl snooping around everywhere! And she is keeping you from your work!" the man named Cornelius kept pressing.
"She is not keeping me from my work! I work in the office of underage magic, and she is one of my cases!" Cassandra replied exasperatedly. "Like I told you before, the incident of a few days ago could easily repeat itself, causing us more work. Don't you think it would be better if we just got rid of the problem now?!?"
"Do what you see fit, just GET HER OUT OF HERE! We've had enough trouble this past year, what with Reeta Skeeter and her articles about the ministry. . .we can't have this girl mess anything up now! Excuse me, Cassandra, I have more important matters to attend to."
Aileen quickly lay back down as she heard the door opening.
". . .which is what I was saying five SECONDS ago. . .ignorant man, he is. . ." she heard Cassandra mumbling.
After a few minutes, Aileen thought it was safe to get up. She didn't want Cassandra knowing that she had overheard everything, and perhaps it would have been safer to wait a bit - but Aileen was getting bored. Lying in bed all day was not one of her favorite occupations - especially when she was so curious and thought her mind would burst with questions.
"Good morning, Ms. Wellington."
"Cassandra for you, dear. . . Good morning." Cassandra replied absentmindedly.
"So, what happened last night?" Aileen asked offhandedly, trying not to seem too interested.
"Dear, dear. . .I'm not sure I should be telling you. . .at least not here. Cornelius wouldn't be too pleased, no he wouldn't. . ." Cassandra replied, still not really paying attention. She kept looking through a pile of papers on her desk, mumbling to herself.
"Who IS Cornelius?" Aileen asked, wondering why he was making such an issue about her staying at the ministry.
Cassandra finally looked up. "Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Didn't your grandmother tell you who he was?" she replied, somewhat surprised.
"She might've mentioned him once or twice. . .I don't know. . .so are we doing anything today?" Aileen said, still trying to hide her curiosity about what "the issue" was that she was not even remotely involved in. She was also hoping that she would be getting out sometime soon.
"No, dear, I'm afraid not. . .too much work trying to sort out the mess of last night. . . I'm very sorry. Perhaps you should find another book that interests you, because I don't think you're allowed to leave this room unaccompanied by someone from the ministry right now."
Sounds like fun. . .another day spent reading. . . I don't want to be stuck in this stupid room anymore! But then again I don't have to go to muggle school anymore. . .maybe not ever again! I just hope I'll fit in at Hogwarts. . . Aileen thought to herself, mentally sighing.
Still worrying, Aileen strolled over to the bookcase and put away the book on potions, which she had finished last night. She wasn't very keen on staying put all the time, even though there were several books that sounded appealing. She skimmed through the titles and found another one that interested her somewhat - "Wizard Life during the World Wars".
She put the book down on the couch and made her way to the bathroom in order to shower and get dressed. Half an hour later she came back out again. Lune was immediately there to greet her, hoping that perhaps her mood had improved. It had, and Aileen swept him up in her arms, planting a kiss on his head. At least there was someone who really cared about her. . .
"Hi Lune. . ." she said quietly, trying not to disturb Cassandra who was still sitting at her desk. She flopped down on the couch and started reading, so that the only noise in the room was the occasional shuffling of paper.
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