Whisper Courage

The Next Level of Espionage

She had been giving things a lot of thought ever since the world had gone to hell. She had been content to lie and tell Umbridge that the Finches were her family, though she had learned not so recently that this wasn’t true. She’d been back and forth to different orphanages and adoption agencies, trying to find the one that had handled her case. Here, she believed, she may have found the one. It was more important to her now that ever. If someone else found that she was adopted, they might also begin to investigate. What if she was actually a muggle-born? If someone in the ministry found out, her cover would be blown and her life in even more danger.

Aurora had been eighteen the first time that she had set out to find her parents, and now here she stood, twenty-one years old and feeling like she may have finally succeeded.

“What is your name, dear?” The old woman asked, the creases around her eyes deepening as she smiled.

“Aurora Finch,” she answered. The woman held up a hand and disappeared into another room. Aurora wrapped her arms around her waist securely, nerves making her stomach feel jittery. She’d been to different orphanages and adoption agencies, searching for the answers. As of yet, she had been turned away again and again and told that her name was not in any of their records.

“I’m sorry dear; your name was not in the old records,” the woman said, returning after a few minutes. Aurora’s stomach sank, feeling as though it had dropped straight through the floor. This was her very last option.

“Have you tried other agencies, dear?” The old woman asked now, probably noticing the crestfallen look that had taken over Aurora’s features.

“Everywhere that I could. I give up.” Aurora gave a frustrated sigh, covering her face with her hands.

“How old are you?” The woman asked now. Aurora took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Twenty-one,” she answered. The woman put a finger to her chin thoughtfully.

“There used to be another agency in London, years ago,” the woman began.

“Where is it?” Aurora asked,, a glimmer of hope igniting within.

“It was destroyed in a fire, more than fifteen years ago,” the old woman explained now. Aurora’s heart sank once more.

“So my records- they’re lost forever?” She asked hopelessly. The woman was silent for another moment before drawing her lips together in a thin line.

“Some of the records were copied before the fire began. If they haven’t since been destroyed, then they’ll be in the archives at the Ministry of Magic.”

“What do you mean, ‘if they haven’t been destroyed?’” Aurora asked, narrowing her eyes.

“The cause of the fire was determined to be arson.”

~

“How did it go?” Kinsey asked as soon as Aurora slipped back into their office. She sighed and sank heavily into her chair.

“If my records existed at all, they were probably destroyed in a fire,” Aurora remarked bitterly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too,” she agreed, sighing. Kinsey was silent for a moment.

“Did you ever think that maybe your sister, Lindsay, was lying? You said yourself there had always been a rivalry there. Maybe she wanted to make sure you would stay away and wouldn’t reconcile with your parents,” he suggested. Aurora shook her head vigorously.

“I was adopted. I know that. I’ve felt it somehow, like I never belonged in that family. It just makes sense. I know it’s true,” she insisted. Kinsey nodded slowly.