Lost & Found ~ A George Weasley Love Story

14 ~ Misfortunes

Tuesday 18 August 1998
Hogwarts

Waking up the following morning Aino found herself being even more stressed about the upcoming school year she had thought was possible. Before the discussion with headmaster McGonagall, she had thought Hogwarts would be the ideal place to be if she wanted to discover the truth behind the picture of her mother among death eaters. Now she was not so sure if she had enough time to investigate the past of her mother with the new responsibilities that lied on her shoulders.

She sighed and stood up from the bed. She went to her trunk and grabbed a noticeboard. She had spent the couple of weeks after seeing the picture of her mother by gathering a timeline of her mother's life finding it extremely hard to focus on anything else than discovering her family secrets. Now she just needed to fill the gaps on the timeline, which there was a lot. 

The noticeboard included all the pictures she had of her mother as well as pictures of the other members of her family. As shocked as she had been the night she came across the picture, investigating the case had brought something new into her life. She had noticed that she had cried and worried less. After all, she never really knew her mother. The most hurtful revelation had been that her father had clearly kept some important information from her. But after McGonagall's request, Aino had, however, found herself again worried. 

Aino attached the noticeboard to the wall in her dorm. The dorm ended up being in the dungeons of Hogwarts. The lack of windows made her a little uncomfortable, but she tried her best to make it feel like home. Over time, she would perhaps start to enjoy the environment underground. At least it was cold down there which Aino preferred to hot.

McGonagall had put some old robes that had belonged in previous Hogwarts professors in Aino's wardrobe. They were all too big for her but with a little shaping Aino was sure they'd turn out fine for her. Luckily she had brought a sewing machine along with her. Back in Finland nearly no one used robes. While at Durmstrang she had had a school robes but that would be way too small if they were still somewhere saved.

A knock on the door interrupted Aino's unpacking. Behind it was the headmaster who offered to tour her through the school so she could get to know the place.

Aino agreed it being a good idea and they started to explore the hallways. She was soon aware one tour would not be enough for her to remember every place in the castle.

"The upper floors are still under renovation, but the owlery should be finished", McGonagall started to lead Aino one more floor up.

Aino's breath had grown heavy from all the climbing. She had already started appreciating that both her dorm and the classrooms she would teach in were located in the dungeons.

McGonagall seemed not notice her being in bad shape as she continued, "You have no owl of your own, yes?"

"No, I've never owned one", Aino answered sheepishly. She had realized that it could be challenging to keep in touch with all her friends and family without an own owl. Maybe she should consider getting one.

They reached a polished wooden door with ornate handle. It was carefully made to resemble the door that had probably been there before the battle but Aino could immediately tell it was new comparing it to the doors in the dungeons. Headmaster McGonagall opened the door revealing a rather big stony room. Aino felt shills going through her body noticing there was no glass on the windows of the room. It was surprisingly cold day considering it was only middle August. 

"Hogwarts have owls that can be used to deliver letters. However, if you're sending one to Finland, you have to find another way, they only operate within British Isles for safety reasons", McGonagall briefly explained.