Light in the Darkness

Chapter 47

Adelaide's first morning working at the Ministry was interesting to say the least. She arrived with Lucius Malfoy who had to tend to a few things. She first checked in with the Minister who insisted that she proof read his statement for the Daily Prophet about Dumbledore.

It was very convincing and well written. It highlighted his past and how he came to obtain his position as headmaster at Hogwarts. It also mentioned how he was getting older and less reliable. It even hinted that the teaching at Hogwarts might be impaired with him in charge.

She smiled up at the Minister, "It's perfect. Thankfully people are realizing that he is lying about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They are placing their trust in you."

He smiled and waved his hand to confirm the piece. "Now, we have a meeting in ten minutes with all the Heads of the Departments in the Ministry. Get acquainted with everyone, you'll probably be interacting with them frequently over the summer."

She was slightly nervous that she'd be meeting all the people in charge, but she was also excited. The more people she could put in her pocket, the more influence and power she could have to protect her in the long run. It was just like a chess game, she thought to herself. She knew if she treated it any differently she would crack under the guilt.

As they walked into the dark tiled room, she noticed that her and the Minister were the last people to show up. Everyone stood as the Minister made his way to his seat.

"Good morning everyone take your seats. Let's make this meeting brief so we can get started with today's tasks. First order of business, I'd like to introduce my personal intern Adelaide Burke, she'll be working by my side this summer and with the Department of Mysteries."

The people at the table began to look at each other with surprise. No one other than the Unspeakables were allowed to formally "work" in the Department of Mysteries, surely the Minister didn't think he could just place a fifth year student in.

"Forgive me Minister," a man spoke up, "You said she will be working for the Department of Mysteries?"

The Minister removed his glasses, "Yes, that's what I said."

Another man piped up, "But sir, you can't just let some girl into the Department of Mysteries. It's highly classified."

The Minister glared at the man, "She has proven to be an extremely capable young witch and I put my full faith that she will be a tremendous help in that Department. I will not speak on this matter any further."

Adelaide awkwardly smiled as she received a few glares from the Ministry workers. This wasn't a good start for her. She looked around the room and made eye contact with a man who had red hair and stared at her skeptically. She immediately recognized that he was Mr. Weasley and swallowed hard darting away from his eyes. He looked like he knew something about her, maybe something Fred or George told him.

The Minister spoke about a few topics, but she couldn't quite pay attention due to Mr. Weasley's pressing stare that made her feel like she was in a boiling hot seat. She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest and her breath was shortening. She prayed for the meeting to quickly wrap up so she could escape this awful tension.

"That's about all for today. Like I said, if you need to reach me, please go through either Percy or Adelaide here." everyone began to get up from their seats and shuffle their papers away, Adelaide's stomach lurched as she saw Mr. Weasley clear his throat and make his way towards her and the Minister.

"Cornelius, do you mind if I have a word with you?" he whispered, still glaring at Adelaide.

The Minister stood there, waiting for Arthur to say something, "Well? What is it?"