The night before Eleanor was set to start her internship, she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep. At first, it had been because of nerves, she was nervous and excited at the same time, wondering what she would be doing and learning during her time with Amelia. But then as she continued to toss back and forth in bed, she had heard the sound of Buckbeak, otherwise known as Beaky, coming up to the front door of her home, and using his rather strong talons, scraped them against the door to garner some attention from Sirius and Nixie inside.

The couple had been trying to figure out the best place to hide the massive hippogriff, but it was proving to be challenging as Buckbeak did not wish to be apart from them very long. Apparently, during their stay in the cave, he had come to appreciate his time with Nixie and Sirius and didn't want to continue hiding out in designated sections of the nearby forest. And while Margaret had been very understanding of everything, it would be asking far too much to have a hippogriff inside of her home.

Eleanor heard Nixie's voice first, complaining that if someone had interrupted her sleep that evening, they had better be dying or already dead.

The front door opened and Buckbeak squawked happily, the loud fluttering sound of his wings flapping seemed to only reiterate his joy. At first, Eleanor expected Nixie to tell Buckbeak to head back to the forest and to never interrupt her sleep again, considering Sirius had given everyone a fair warning to 'never wake a sleeping mermaid.' But instead, Nixie attempted her best to soothe Buckbeak, telling him that she knew it was hard on all of them with the given situation, he just had to hold out a little longer and everything would turn out fine.

Sirius arrived shortly after, telling Nixie to go back to bed, insisting that she needed her rest and that he would keep Buckbeak company for a short bit. They seemed to argue back and forth before Nixie gave in and wished Sirius and then Buckbeak goodnight before heading back inside.

"Trust me, Beaky, it's either you stay hidden in the forest, or you end up at the Grimmauld Place, I don't think you want to experience the latter. It's bad enough Nixie won't listen to me and stay away from there."

Buckbeak squawked, apparently in protest.

"I'm telling you; you don't want to go in there. That place is hell and if it were up to me, I wouldn't let anyone I cared about go in there. But I can't really argue with Dumbledore, can I? And we don't have a lot of options. Don't look at me like that, we don't have a lot of options right now! Alright, alright, listen, tomorrow I'll see about bringing you to Grimmauld. There's a nasty Doxy infestation and plenty of rats, I'm sure you could hunt them out. Maybe you could even hunt down Kreacher and make it look like an accident. But you'll see, you're not going to want to stay there."

In such a short amount of time, Eleanor had listened to Sirius lose an argument with a hippogriff before he wished Buckbeak goodnight as well and headed back inside. There were no more scratches at the front door and the night became silent again.

With a grunt, Eleanor pulled her covers over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself asleep.

It seemed like a lengthy process, trying to tell her mind to stop projecting memories from years ago that played no relevance to the time being, just a way to force itself to stay awake. But finally, she could feel her body start to relax and sleep was finally coming to her. Eleanor was just about to doze off when a loud sound woke her up in her bedroom causing her to sit up abruptly in her bed.

Part of her wanted to be angry over the idea of her sleep being interrupted once more but that was quickly forgotten when she was faced with a shadow of the stranger that was suddenly present in her room.

Reaching for her wand, Eleanor was aimed and ready, however, the stranger lit up their face with the use of their own wand. There was a haunting glow that caused Eleanor to let out a small yelp until she recognised her intruder.

"Marnie!"

Quickly tossing her duvet aside, Eleanor was on her feet instantly and made her way over to her best friend, who stumbled towards her with a wide grin.

"Ellie Belly!"

Marnie's arms wrapped around her tightly and almost instantly, Eleanor was hit with the strong smell of alcohol that burned all the way up to her eyes.

"For Merlin's sake, Marnie," Eleanor grunted as Marnie wasn't supporting herself very much, nearly going completely dead weight. "What are you doing here? Have you been drinking?"

"Maybe," Marnie replied with a giggle, "maybe not. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask? Are you serious right now?"

"Uh, no, I think he's with Nixie right now. Honestly, Ellie, all these questions- "

Eleanor was going to continue her interrogation when she heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps starting to approach her room. Without hesitation, she pushed Marnie onto her bed and covered her with the duvet.

"Not a sound, Marnie, I mean it. You stay quiet!" she whispered, watching as Marnie placed a finger to her lips.

There was a soft knock on the door and the sound of Margaret's voice calling to her daughter. Making her way over to the door, Eleanor checked over her shoulder to make sure Marnie was out of sight before she opened her bedroom door slightly, just enough that her head was able to poke out.

"Need something, Mum?"

"I thought I heard you stumbling around in here," Margaret said, attempting to look into the bedroom, "are you alright? I thought you would have been long in bed by now."

"I was," Eleanor answered, "but Dermot came to the window and wanted to be let in after he stretched his wings for a bit. Sorry if we woke you, I'm just going to head back to sleep. Big day ahead of me tomorrow. Night, love you!"

Without waiting for Margaret's response, Eleanor closed the door over and waited for a moment until she heard the sound of her mother's footsteps retreating to her bedroom. As soon as Margaret's door closed over, Eleanor called over to Marnie.

Marnie's head popped out from under the duvet in seconds and grinned over in Eleanor's direction.

"Ellie, lying to your mother, for shame, and using poor Dermot."

Glancing over in the direction of Dermot, who had been nestled up in his cage, at peace with the world, he looked like he didn't give a feathery ass that she had used him as a scapegoat. However, her attention returned to her friend as she made her way over and sat on the edge of her own bed.

"Why did you lie to your mother about me being here? Are you ashamed of me too?"

Eleanor smacked Marnie's foot in sudden irritation. "Don't say something like that, you know that's not it at all. I'm just trying to figure out why you're showing up to my house in the middle of the night, completely pissed. Are you in trouble? Do we need to make an alibi-"

"No alibi needed; I take all responsibility for what I did."

"Oh no, what did you do- "

"I told my family that they could go fuck themselves."

A silence fell over them in the bedroom as Eleanor lowered the light of her wand and stared at Marnie in shock. Of course, anyone who knew Marnie's situation with her parents and siblings would have known that they had it coming for a long time. Marnie seemed proud of herself for a moment after she confessed to Eleanor, but quickly began to fade. Eleanor moved closer to her and grabbed one of her hands to squeeze in comfort.

"Marnie, what happened?" she whispered.

"I got your letter earlier about Amelia sending you your robes and I was so excited for you; I don't know what I was thinking. But I told my mother about it, next thing I know, she's all up my arse about how you were doing things with your life, and how Cedric was in the Triwizard Tournament, so what was I doing besides being lazy all summer? Then my father comes in and he just joins right in with her, saying that I have no goals in life and he didn't understand because my oh-so-perfect siblings are just so successful. I couldn't listen to them anymore, so I grabbed a bottle of wine, and went to my bedroom. You would think they would have taken the hint, but did they? No!"

Eleanor flinched at Marnie's suddenly harsh tone but released her hand before rubbing Marnie's shoulder.

"My father comes up a little while later to continue spouting the same shit, telling me that I don't leave an impression on the world and that's when I had it. I told him he could fuck himself, Mum could join him, and everyone else who has constantly put me down in that household. Told them they were shit parents and I hoped their perfect family would blow up in their faces. And then I came here and now I'm telling you everything...and...and..."

Marnie started heaving, leaving Eleanor to direct her off the bed as fast as she could, and within seconds, Marnie had vomited on the bedroom floor.

"And now you're here, vomiting on my floor," Eleanor said under her breath with a chuckle as she reached over and pulled Marnie's head back. "Well, I'm glad you finally let it out, Marnie, emotionally and literally, I guess."

Seeing as Marnie had not committed a major crime that required an alibi, Eleanor was able to relax and helped Marnie get comfortable for the rest of the evening. She grabbed some pyjamas from her wardrobe and helped Marnie to the bathroom to wash up.

Once Marnie was cleaned up, she climbed into Eleanor's bed and the two were able to finally get some sleep.

The next morning, Eleanor awoke to Marnie kicking her slightly and glancing over at the clock on her nightstand, it was clearly time to get up. Leaving her friend to continue resting, Eleanor made her way over to her wardrobe to figure out what she was going to wear beneath her Ministry robes. She settled on a simple white long-sleeved blouse and a black pencil skirt, unsure of how hot or cold it would be. She would bring her jumper just in case she grew cold.

Once she had finished up in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and combing her hair, Eleanor made her way downstairs when she spotted her mother, father, and her grandfather in the kitchen sharing breakfast. As soon as they spotted her, their faces lit up and Margaret and Lyall seemed to share in the same level of excitement.

"Oh, look at you!" Lyall clapped his hands together. "Dressed to impressed. You look lovely, sweetheart! Are you excited?"

"I'm more nervous than anything really," Eleanor admitted as she sat down next to Remus. "I keep worrying that I'm going to end up doing something wrong."

"You get that from your father," Lyall told her, "Always worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet."

Remus flashed a look in his father's direction before his facial expression softened as he turned back to Eleanor. "You don't have to be nervous, Eleanor, Amelia is going to take good care of you and show you everything you need to know. Besides, it's your first day, what could you possibly end up doing wrong?"

Eleanor didn't answer as Margaret set a plate of breakfast in front of her, however, she didn't find herself very hungry at the time.

"Where are Nixie and Sirius?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Still asleep?"

"No," Remus answered, "surprisingly they were up early today. Something about taking Buckbeak hunting or something like that."

Smiling to herself, Eleanor had a feeling she knew exactly where they had gone, and one more glance at the clock, she was fretting that she was going to be late. Her parents tried to argue that she needed to eat something, but she brushed them off, grabbing her belongings to head over to the fireplace to use the Floo Network.

"Oh, and by the way," she said as she stepped into the fireplace, "Marnie's asleep in my room right now. She may or may not wake up before I get home, just let her come out on her own. I'll...I'll explain everything when I get back. Wish me luck!"

Stepping out of the fireplace that led into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic Headquarters, Eleanor immediately found herself being bumped into repeatedly as witches and wizards were hurrying off to their designated destinations. The last time she had arrived at the Ministry to get her Apparating License, the trip had been a lot smoother because Grandpa Lyall had no issue with taking the lead. However, each time she attempted to step into the traffic, she was pushed back, leaving her to become incredibly annoyed.

Just as she was about to push her way back in again, she suddenly felt someone's arm link with hers.

Glancing up, she immediately smiled to see Arthur Weasley, who was gently guiding her through the crowds.

"Sorry if I frightened you, Eleanor," Arthur said, his eyes remaining forward until he gave her a quick smile, "but navigating through here can be tricky business if you're not used to it. The key is to just push through and make it look like you know where you're going."

"Well, I guess that's part of the problem," Eleanor told him, "I'm not entirely sure as to where I'm going. I know I'm supposed to go to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but I don't remember where that is."

"Lucky for you, I've been working here long enough to know my way around here and it just so happens that we're going to roughly the same place."

Eleanor felt much more at ease with Arthur as her escort as he brought her over to the lift that brought them up to Level 2. Once they stepped out of the lift, Eleanor was met with a long corridor with a series of doors lined up on both sides.

"You'll be going through those double doors right there," Arthur told her, "And you'll see the Auror Headquarters, go past that and then you'll see Madam Bones' office. Oh, and before I go, I was asked to give this to you."

Before Eleanor could say anything, she was handed a small parcel and Arthur hurried off to get to his office. She recognised Fred's handwriting right away with her name written on the front of the top of the box, leaving her to grin. Noting she had a couple of minutes before she was expected in Madam Bones' office, she quickly tore into the parcel and pulled out the small card.

'You're going to do great today. But if anyone should mess with you, offer them this.'

Eleanor looked into the box and noticed a small sweet of sorts and knowing the twins and the products they had been brewing recently, it was probably not going to end well for whoever ate it. With a shake of her head, Eleanor placed the gift and Fred's little note in her bag and made her way to Madam Bones' office.

It took two knocks before someone answered the door and rather than it being Amelia herself, it took out to be a young gentleman that greeted her. Or rather, he opened the door and just gestured his head for her to come in. Eleanor walked in and wasn't sure whether to stand or sit, taking to awkwardly stand in the middle of the office as Amelia was nowhere to be seen yet. She looked over at the man and wondered if this was Nathaniel Wagner that she had spoken about.

It had to be if Eleanor remembered correctly. He looked quite similar to her classmate Judith Wagner, in a way that someone would be convinced that they were siblings. He stood rather tall, several inches taller than Eleanor, he was rather lanky or maybe it was the fit of his robes that made him appear as such. His expression was rather stoic, and it was clear that he was looking everywhere else in the room beside Eleanor's direction. His hair was dark similar to Judith's hair colour, although it was cut short and neatly brushed back. She prayed silently that he was going to be nice to work with.

"I'm Ellie," she introduced herself, holding out her hand. However, the man only looked at her hand with a rather uncomfortable look, leaving her to slowly retract her greeting. "Um..."

"Nathaniel," a voice rang out as the door opened again and Amelia walked in, "do me a favour and remind the Auror office that if they continue to leave me the bare minimum when it comes to their reports that I have no problem finding others that will actually perform their jobs properly."

"Yes, Madam," Nathaniel answered in a quiet voice before he left the office, closing the door behind him.

Amelia made her way over towards her desk and sat down before looking up at Eleanor. "I'm glad you could join us today, Eleanor. It's been a bit of madhouse around here, so excuse the mess."

Eleanor glanced at Amelia's desk, noting that every scroll seemed to be in place and there wasn't anything that seemed to be disorganised.

"I see that you also got to meet Nathaniel- "

"Well, I tried but- "

"Don't worry," Amelia mused, "he'll warm up to you. He comes across as rather closed off in the beginning, but once he gets to know you, he's very kind. Now come here, take a seat, I'll start filling you in on your responsibilities when we aren't in session."

Eleanor took a seat where Amelia had pulled up a chair beside her and started going over what felt like everything. She spoke about how most Wizengamot sessions were actually held in her office unless they were on the more severe side with how it should be handled. Many of the scrolls on her desk pertained to magical violations, whether it was an underage wizard or witch, performing magic in a muggle household or perhaps someone breeding magical creatures illegally.

There were court dates, fines, and names of witnesses written down. Just trying to take it all in seemed quite overwhelming as Eleanor learned she would be in charge of sorting such violations for Amelia and the rest of Wizengamot to review.

Amelia went on to explain that sometimes she would be pulled out for a session whether it was a case or law-making, Eleanor would be able to come to sessions with her occasionally, especially when a youth representative was called for. But in the meantime, Nathaniel would be around to help her learn the ropes.

"But it's just your first day," Amelia said in a softer tone once she had finished her long introduction, "don't fret over all of it right now. It takes practice and patience. And hopefully, you'll learn a few things while you spend time with us over the summer."

For the first half of the morning, Eleanor sat beside Amelia as the older woman reviewed several scrolls with her. Every so often, Amelia would shake her head, mumbling about how several departments within the Ministry were not handling their positions up to her standards. Every so often, Nathaniel would return, reporting some information to Amelia whether it was from the Auror's Office or the Witch Watchers.

"The Witch Watchers followed up on a lead involving Sirius Black," Nathaniel began at one point and suddenly, Eleanor started to violently cough on the breath she had just inhaled. Nathaniel gave her an odd look, unsure if he should keep talking or wait to see if Eleanor would be okay.

"And um...right...so the Witch Watchers, as I was saying, were following up on a lead regarding Sirius Black. It turned out to be a false lead, it was just a local muggle fisherman, who became rather hysterical when approached. He attempted to urinate on those at the scene and um...made some very...vulgar gestures with his genitals."

Thinking of telling Sirius about the story later on, Eleanor had to bite down on her tongue to keep herself from laughing, especially since Nathaniel was turning a slight pink after his report.

"Any word from the merfolk regarding Nixie Dover?" Amelia asked, not even looking up from the scroll in her hand. Suddenly, Eleanor was holding her breath to keep her from coughing out loud again.

"No, Madam, the merfolk have been rather uncooperative since the beginning, saying they don't owe anything to the Ministry. One of the reports stated that one mermaid said she prays every night that we all rot in hell."

"Well, the relationship between the merfolk and wizardkind has always been on shaky terms, now that the Ministry is hunting one of theirs, I'm not surprised at all that they aren't being cooperative. There's only one person I ever knew that could get on terms with them. Unfortunately-"

There was a knock at the office door, leaving all three to look in that direction. Nathaniel looked to Amelia who gave him a nod of approval to answer it.

As soon as the door opened, Eleanor tilted her head to the side in curiosity as a rather short and stout woman, walked right in, wearing pink from head to toe. It was rather overwhelming to see so much pink without any sort of relief. The woman wore a smile, the sound of her heels clicking against the office floor as she approached Amelia's desk. In her hands, she held a cup of tea that was still steaming. Eleanor could smell the strong flowery perfume that filled the room rapidly with the newcomer's presence.

"Madam Bones," the woman greeted in a sickeningly sweet voice, "how are you today? Oh, is this a new face, I see?"

Amelia leaned forward on her desk, nothing bothering to answer the greeting before. "This is my new intern, Eleanor Ross," she began in a very controlled tone, "Eleanor, this is Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary to the Minister- "

"Ahem, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic," Umbridge quickly interjected, putting extra emphasis on the 'senior' part.

However, Eleanor was paying no mind to any sort of title as the name of the woman sounded all too familiar. It only took a few seconds before it clicked in her mind. Dolores Umbridge was the woman who had drafted the Anti-Werewolf Legislation, all of which had made Remus struggle immensely with trying to find employment without facing discrimination for something he had no control over.

It felt like her whole body had been set on fire as Eleanor wanted nothing more than to attack the woman and to make matters worse, Umbridge was holding her hand out for Eleanor to shake. Doing her best to swallow her anger, Eleanor started to slowly lift up her hand to take Umbridge's, but before she could, chaos ensued.

The steaming cup of tea was suddenly knocked back, spilling all of the hot contents down the front of Umbridge's blouse. The woman let out a horrible screech as she was burned and as everyone else in the room went for their wands to assist her. Eleanor turned her head to grab hers from the bag, only to see something that made her freeze in place.

She could only watch as the sleeve of her jumper, that rested on Amelia's desk, slithered like a snake, back into her bag, out of plain sight.