"Thank you for asking her! I'm sure my graunddaughter would be pleased. She could write my grandson, as well, if she wanted- but I doubt they'd have as much to talk about. He's at the age still where he thinks girls are gross and doesn't have much interest in getting to know them. He's also much more shy."

"That sounds like a good internship to have though," Herschel said. "It is something for her to do, and options within the ministry for someone lacking magic are not going to come around very often." He identified with her concerns though, and gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "We can only hope the best. I'll admit I find that educating wizard children about muggles to be a bit silly and superfluous, but if it better enables our muggleborn children and their families, then I am in full support of such a departments existance. I know it is very difficult for those who do not come from a magical background to fit in, and even more difficult for them when they go home and it just isn't the same."

"I hope that the opportunity is good for her," he said. "And that she is able to continue going. I mean no insult to your parents but it would be foolish to squander such a great chance for her to have a life in our world that is relatively normal." Squibs were usually only afforded the lowest rung on the ladder of success, and many did not even make it that far. A great deal of jobs in the wizarding world demanded some form of magical talent, even if the talent was only mediocre at best.

"Have you any children of your own?" Herschel asked. He had been out of touch with the family, and mostly outside of the realms of pureblood society for so long that he wasn't sure what his niece had been up to. He had noticed that she did not wear a wedding band, but that did not mean as much as it used to.

Aileen was rather surprised that Herschel's words were so similar to her reasons for agreeing to let Abby try for the internship in the first place.

Abby would likely never again get the chance to work in the Ministry, to be involved as an actual intern in a department. It could open up connections for her, give her something steady yet exciting, and she'd be working to make things better for herself, not just muggles. Aileen could not argue with that, despite her lingering prejudices and worries.

"My thoughts exactly," she nodded, looking relieved.

Then came the uncomfortable question. Aileen hadn't been prepared for it, and her shoulders stiffened, a polite, neutral mask settling on her features again. She couldn't fault him for asking, but it was a touchy subject due to the pressure she faced.

"No," she shook her head. "When I was married," she hesitated, hoping he knew enough about her and Oz not to ask about that. "We were both young enough and the relationship was new enough that children weren't quite a possibility yet." At least, she was speaking for herself. At 18 she hadn't wanted children yet.

"Since then, I've not remarried, and I wouldn't want to raise a child on my own."

Vague, and semi-truthful, it was typically the answer she gave when people asked. Most understood not wanting to raise a child on her own, and assumed if she had the choice, she would remarry and have children. The truth was a little murkier for her. She had never really felt that maternal urge for a baby, and couldn't tell if it was just how she was, or if she was afraid of becoming her mother. Likely a bit of both.

Herschel nodded in understanding. It was hard to raise children on your own. After his wife had died it had been difficult with his own- even when though his son was far from young whenever his mother had died. Herschel had found without two sets of eyes and hands that things just weren't the same. Even so, Byron had turned out well, and was a successful, well adjusted man. He could not imagine having to raise a a child alone since it was a tot- that would be far too stressful and demanding. Aileen was smart to be careful about that.

"You have plenty of time for all of that if it is something you want," Herschel assured Aileen. "My wife was almost forty-seven when she gave birth to our son. A bit old, I suppose, but things with wizards go much more smoothly than such things with muggles."

"And if it is any consolation, I haven't remarried either," he added with an amused smile. He knew the situations were very different, and his comment might come off as a bit humorous, but he was trying to put his niece at ease. "But I suppose when you get to be almost seventy years old, romance isn't all it used to be. I loved my wife very, very much and I still do." His eyes grew a little misty as he glanced at their wedding photo perched on the corner of his desk. She might have been nearly twenty years his senior, but she was a beautiful woman with so much to offer.

"My wife always said that she was glad she waited until she was older to have a child," Herschel pressed on- not wanting to get too lost in nostalgia, tearing up in front of the staff (even if she was family) was hardly appropriate. "She said she got to enjoy her life while she was young, and was able to devote herself to our son because of that."

"Patience is a good thing to have," he further assured her. "Besides, teaching at Hogwarts seems to turn many off from parenting. Having to take care of an institution full of children and not-quite-adults can be quite exhausting. Though the experience is quite beneficial. You hear all of the excuses and learn all of the lessons before you have to apply them in real life."

At Herschel’s show of support, Aileen struggled to hide her surprise. She was accustomed to polite platitudes, disapproving glances, judgmental remarks. Not genuine understanding. Coming from family, it seemed even stranger.

But because he was family, she found that she didn't resent the comparison, and was interested in hearing how much he'd cared about his wife. She offered him a small, sympathetic smile. Perhaps things would have been different if she had heard that kind of support earlier, and she wouldn’t have been so angry - angry at herself for hurting Oz, with Oz for hating her, and everyone else she’d felt slighted by. Or perhaps, at the time, she wouldn't have been able to listen.

“She must have been a wonderful person,” Aileen broke the silence when her uncle’s gaze lingered on the picture frame on his desk. It was a shame that their marriage had been cut short. In her experience, the oldest couples only clung onto life to further irritate each other (her grandparents, for example). Clearly that hadn't been the case with her uncle.

"That's true." She was getting more practice than she could ever want or need in dealing with teenagers. "Though once you think you've learned everything, they come up with new ways to test you, I'm sure."

Abby was proof of that.

"Thank you," she added with another soft smile. "For your understanding. I wasn't certain how this was going to be," she gestured between them. "I'm glad you're here and I hope you feel welcome. Despite any ghosts and quarrelsome portraits."

Aileen glanced up at the former Headmasters and Headmistresses looking down from their frames on the wall, and hoped to Merlin none of them would tell her uncle that horrible business she'd gotten into with Snark and Joao. 

"She was the most magnificent lady I have ever met," he told her. And it was true. Herschel wished he could sit and tell Aileen everything about the aunt she never got to meet. His wife had been warm, compassionate, caring, intelligent, beautiful, classy- every positive trait a person could possess, she possessed all of them. And even her negative traits only made her that much more endearing. Herschel had loved everything about the woman, and never once thought to change her. He was lucky, he knew that, to have felt such a total and complete passion for one person- and Herschel knew he would never be able to feel that way again.

He smiled when she thanked him for understanding, nodding in understanding. "Thank you for being open to entertaining the idea of getting to know more about an old man," Herschel said. "I was worried that you would want little to do with me, whether it was within or outside of the realms of professional interaction."

"And so far I do feel quite welcome. The castle has always felt like home to me. It is good to be here, to be a part of Hogwarts again. It always broke my heart to leave. For so long I've made the institution one of my priorities. It will be good to see my grandchildren growing up, and to be able to mend things with at least part of my family. It has always been hard to only have my wife's family to call my own."

He smiled when she mentioned ghosts and quarrelsome portraits. "Ah, but it wouldn't be the same without Sir Cadogan running amock and Peeves torturing staff and students alike. It would certainly not be the Hogwarts the I know and love at the very least."

"I hope an old man's reminiscing and love for talk isn't keeping you from anything important," he finally offered. "If you need to get settled in or get things for classes prepared, feel free to stop me at any time and go about your business. We've all year to catch up, no need to try to cram it all into a single night."

She shook her head. He wasn't that old! Not that much older than her father. It was strange to imagine her parents and family aging at any point, to be affected by the passage of time like mere muggles. But there was such a startling difference between old family photos and the way her mother and father looked now.

Unlike Herschel, she had never thought she'd end up at Hogwarts again. It seemed like a second home for some professors; an only home for others.

"Nothing important, no," she reassured him quickly, checking her watch. "Though I should head home in a minute or two. Abby expects a full report on the Feast and the Sorting," she smirked.

That wasn't the best excuse, but there were only so many good wishes she could manage without feeling weird about it. It would take time to trust him and talk to him openly, and she felt it best to leave on a positive note.

"Well, Headmaster Reid," she adopted a formal tone, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she stood and offered a hand to shake. "I'm so grateful we had this important discussion about class schedules and tournament challenges. We shall have to meet again soon to discuss the house points."

She gave him one of those joking, friendly smiles she'd sometimes worn when she'd been very young.

"Have a good evening, Uncle. Don't let Sir Cadogan challenge you to too many duels; his pride won't be able to take it. Peeves, on the other hand... a proper duel might do him some good," Aileen nodded at him before opening the door to leave.

Herschel stood when Aileen began to excuse herself. "I'm sure that Abby will appreciate even the smallest of details. Perhaps the song that young Hufflepuff fellow was shouting?" he suggested with a friendly smile of his own. Peeves would probably be singing it for at least another week or two before he found something more entertaining to shout down the hallways.

He took her hand and gave it a light shake. "I believe I might let Cadogan win if he keeps it up, I'd hate to bruise the old boy's spirits after he's been at it for so long. Have a good evening yourself, Aileen. And be safe on your trip home."

Herschel followed her to the door, closing it behind her as she left. He felt much better about things, knowing that his only relative at Hogwarts did not actually hate him. Herschel had assumed that she would- just as the rest of her family did. It would make the year a bit easier on himself and also on his grandchildren. He would never put the ability to torture younger years past any pureblood with a grudge against their family. Luckily Aileen did not seem to be one of those purebloods.

The headmaster returned to his seat and poured himself a drink, and lit another cigar. Yes, this year was going to be a very good one. He could feel it in his bones.