Escaping level five meant escaping the department's lawyer who was currently driving him completely crazy.  If she dumped one more piece of paper on his desk demanding to know what he thought he was doing without offering constructive advice he was going to scream.  She was out to get him.  Clearly she had never been able to let go of school rivalries and he was quite certain she would never consider him a part of the same team.

Making his way down to Level Three he wondered if perhaps he should have taken a position in this department instead.  After all, this had been his father's department.  Many of his former coworkers still worked here and would have certainly been more welcoming.  He shook the thought aside as he exited the elevator, refusing the let his rocky encounter with Evangeline Kuester effect the work he had to do today.

He had a file in hand and he had been told Aisling Knight would be his liaison from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee.  Apparently an underage Witch from a Muggle family had managed to animate one of her stuffed animals the previous night.  It was found under the bed of a neighboring little boy who was apparently now convinced monsters really did live under his bed.

Approaching Aisling's desk he gave her a smile of greeting, relatively certain given his past encounters with her from when his father was a live and working at the Ministry that this would not be a hostile encounter.

"Good morning," he greeted.  "It seems there was a bit of excitement last night."

Aisling had, as usual, dressed[1] in a fashion appropriate for whatever interactions with Muggles might appear. A crisp black skirt and matching blazer contrasted against against a soft gray blouse. She'd read the  memo regarding a joint endeavor with the Muggle Affairs Office that morning, and had just finished reviewing a few reports on the sneezing incidents when Isaac approached her. She gave him the flash of a smile and a nod, then shifted the papers to an appropriate drawer. "We've had a host of excitement about these days, I fear. It's enough to make this case sound almost relaxing. But please, sit."  The chair she motioned at was clean, serviceable, and rather crammed into a small corner of what Aisling generously referred to as her office.

"Would you like anything? Tea? Candy? I am curious about your thoughts on the case. Other opinions can be most helpful in these situations." One of the drawers creaked as she pulled it open to remove a thin file, along with a small glass container of various candies. These were both set on a relatively clear portion of the desk, not far from a few battered mugs.

"I do hope it can be remedied without too much trouble." Something which rarely worked out as planned.

1.

Outfit

He gave her an understanding smile as he settled into the chair she had motioned to.  He had heard something about sneezing fits effecting Muggles.  It must have been quite the sight, and quite a stressful way to get a bit of excitement at work.  Somehow he was happy an enchanted teddy bear was a bit more mundane compared to what Aisling's department had just dealt with.

"I'm fine, but thank you for the offer," he said in response to her offer for tea and candy.  He opened the file in his hand, his eyes scanning the now familiar report once more.  Those dispatched to the scene had been able to explain it away as a short circuiting children's toy, but he doubted it would truly be enough to dispel the suspicions of the young witch's parents.

"I think this is one of those cases that can be used a prime example as to why we should be notifying Muggle families in a more timely manner when a child is identified as a witch or wizard," he said.  "Hogwarts has always done quite a bit to help families with the transition, but these parents really should have been prepared that this could happen."

Closing the file, he added, "There's not terribly much to go on as to whether or not the girl's parents suspect anything in the report.  I've considered trying to find out a bit more from those who were in contact with them before trying to take this any further.  I think perhaps if nothing else they're a prime example for those who make the laws as to why we're not doing enough to ensure the  families of Muggleborns can help fully support their children."

Aisling rifled through the papers she'd set on her desk while Isaac talked, and nodded in response to his words. "My parents were rather relieved once they were finally told. They'd started to believe that I was trying to terrorize them both into an early grave, and well, 'it just happened' tends not to be received well when it refers to the appearance of small fires."

She shook her head as she ran her thumb down one column of information before halting it next to one particular bullet point. "It may be a useful example, but until such an approach is changed we still cannot tell them too much." She tapped her fingers against the paper. "Though we should still be able to at least give them some method of contact should such occur again. Something regarding a theory about odd environmental or electrical quirks if nothing else."

There was a shuffling noise as she closed the folder again, and leaned back with a tired smile. "And we'll need to question them about any related odd incidents. If it can be shown that the child's magic has a high risk of creating further incidents, or potentially causing damage, more leeway may be allowed as a preventative measure."

"I'm sure most Muggle parents feel some sense of relief when they finally learn the truth, no matter how confusing it might be to them," he told her.  "My mother was lucky in a sense having learned about the magical community when she married my father.  By the time I managed to animate her compact mirror during a childhood temper tantrum she didn't think of anything of it."

Although that had resulted in an interesting conversation when his father had returned home.  He had a distant memory now of the little mirror spending several hours trying to escape from under the mixing bowl his mother had managed to use to contain it much like some would for a large insect or mouse.

"Perhaps we can arrange a visit with the parents in the next few days to get a sense of how often events like this are really occurring," he said.  "It can also give me a better sense of how my office can try to help them when the girl is of age and they can be told a bit more."

With a slight smile he offered, "Unless there's another incident it can probably wait until things settle down a bit from the sneezing affair.  Although I imagine breaks and quiet time can be rather difficult to come by in this office.  I can remember my father putting in a lot of late nights when things popped up."

"A compact mirror? I wish I'd had done that. I had several small fires and one flying barn cat. Rather hard to convince your parents you didn't do anything malicious with that about." Aisling could still remember the distinct look of disappointment on her mother's face from those years. Fortunately, she'd never managed to quite replicate it since.

"And a few days would be perfect." Aisling rubbed at her forehead a little in memory of the sneezing case. "It'd be nice to have an excuse to escape the office for a bit. Mine gets a bit dingy at times, and this seems a much safer excursion than my last."

The mention of working late brought both an exhausted smile and a bit of a slump to Aisling's posture. "I try to only stay late when Tarron is busy. It's easier to get distracted by work with the girls away, though. Especially with incidents like that."

Isaac gave a slight nod at the mention of the distraction of work.  When families were pulled in different directions by school and work it was easy to get lost in those activities.  How often had he used traveling on studies or working at the school to avoid returning to an empty cottage.

"How are the girls doing at Hogwarts?" he asked.

If he remembered correctly they would be in their first year, which meant it was likely a big transition for the entire family.  As the Muggle Studies profession he didn't have much interaction with students until their third year, but as a former head of Hufflepuff he had dealt with several homesick students.  He also had a vague memory of his own experience as a student, but he had found friends quickly and it had never been much of an issue for him.

"They seem to be doing well enough. We get quite a few letters." Some of which had been worried, these past few days. Her trip to St. Mungo's had not been that serious.

Aisling flicked her wand  about to start some tea, then turned back to her desk. Her fingers brushed over the handle to one small drawer. "Sometimes I wish that they had wound up in the same house, so that they could be together. But perhaps it's better this way."

There was always a bit of a smile when she thought of them. "It seems to be much easier for them than it was for me, at least. But that was rather a while ago." Long enough that she didn't wish to quite detail out the timing. Merlin, but she'd be fifty four in a month.

"Kids seem to always find their niche," Isaac said.

He was quite certain there was a part of him that would likely always miss the school and teaching.  Yet there was a chance if he could figure out how to deal with all the bureaucracy of the Ministry that he could do some good for students from Muggle families.  Perhaps in the future it be such a culture shock to be suddenly thrust into a world were magic truly existed and wasn't simply something that was part of stories and legends.

"I should probably let you get back to work," he said, standing.  "I'll check in with you on Monday and perhaps we can find a time for that visit."

"So I hope. Though at times it seems as if they are attempting to find a niche that will upset us." Rowena's interest in Quidditch being a particular example. The thought of her being hit with an errant ball or who knew what else did rather induce parental worry.

Aisling gave Isaac a nod as he stood. "I've still got a bit left from the weekend to deal with, and Monday sounds perfect. With any luck it will all go smoothly." She hardly needed anything else that might get someone fussing over her, yet again. "I will see you then." A brief smile, and then she looked down to start pulling files for yet another incident from her desk.

END