Aileen Reid surveyed her office this early evening, happy with what she saw. It looked more minimal than usual, with shelves of neatly organized books, a few decorative souvenirs from her travels, a bare desk, and files stacked in drawers. Since May, she'd been clearing out her Cult of the Phoenix research and some of the artifacts she'd hidden in there, not intending to leave anything of value behind for an entire summer. If Snark needed help, she'd have to contact her directly.

Making one last sweep through the bookcase, Aileen smiled slightly as she scanned the titles, looking forward to going home for the break and doing what she wanted. No more administering exams, grading papers, handing detentions to Bilius, or sitting through feasts where Snark gloated and preened.

Though the Headmistress had not been looking well these past few months, Aileen noted smugly. Stress seemed to be taking its toll, and Aileen was all too happy to let Snark dig her own grave while pretending to acquiesce to her demands. She stalled, she made purposeful mistakes, she attempted shifting blame onto Joao. Making things easy for them was just not an option. She didn't trust Analiza's plans for the Department of Mysteries weapon, nor did she trust Joao's obsession with resurrecting the dead.

And people thought she had questionable morals!

Shaking her head, Aileen walked towards the door and paused in the entryway, taking one last glance around the office before stepping out. She patted her purse, which held one last artifact, and drew her wand, about to cast Nox on the lights, when she noticed someone appear from the shadows in the corridor.

"What are you doing here?" She said stiffly to the caretaker, startled and annoyed by his presence. "Don't you have laundry to fetch for the house-elves? Students to clean up after in the Great Hall? End-of-year feasts are rather messy. It'll be a long evening for you, I'm sure." Even the paintings down the hall could pick up on her mocking tone.

Aileen waved her wand to dim the room, then shut the office door firmly, ignoring him. If he had something to say, he had better say it now, because she was leaving for the summer!