SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK || Minister Visit para
The feeling of being completely inadequate had followed her all night long. The Minister was visiting, and for months now, Astoria had been hiding. Hiding from the Minister, hiding from her passion, hiding from who she was supposed to be. The fear was probably the worst part, she had been scared for such a long time, but she had finally decided to do something, anything, to get back to writing. Without a quill in her fingers, she didn’t feel like herself; had hadn’t felt like she was being herself for months. The announcement that Lowell was visiting had been the final nudge that she needed: it was now or never. It was time to make a decision on what she was meant to do - keep rebelling like she had done, risking her career, and the careers of her family, or fall in line with the Minister’s commands. Or, as Lennox had suggested, pretend to fall in line. And that was what she was going to do, she was going to pretend to fall in line, go back to being an actual journalist, writing for both sides, all sides. Which included the view of the werewolves, of the rebels, of the Ministry.
Astoria was going to start writing again. Today.
She had been up most of the night, jotting down notes on what she wanted to ask the Minister, if he would allow for her to do an interview with him. It was the first night in months that the reason she had stayed up all night was to get some actual work done - not because she was tossing and turning so much that she couldn’t get to the point of relaxing. It was a relief, to be writing again, even if they were simple questions, about the Minister, about his rise to power, about general politics. There might even be some personal questions in there, but somehow, Tori doubted he would actually answer any of them. The subject in an article could always refuse to reply to a question, it was their right. But Astoria still had hopes that the Minister would allow for her to write an article about him where people could get to learn more about him than what he had allowed previously.
It was almost time for breakfast, and Astoria was just finishing getting dressed. A smart shirt, black jeans and a blazer was what she had decided on wearing, clean and respectful. A deep breath escaped her as she put her notepad and quill into her bag, placing the strap over her shoulder. It was with determination that she left her dorm that morning, getting ready for what would be her return to the world of journalism.
Students seemed anxious to have the Minister there, for various reasons, but surely some of them were anxious partly for the same reasons as Astoria. She took a seat on the Gryffindor table, hardly eating, picking at her food with a fork. She was watching the Minister as he was deep in conversation with the Headmaster. It was no wonder he had been elected to be Minister. Lowell was charming, he knew how to play the game and get people on his side - it was what he had done ever since he was in the running for the election. Astoria saw it now, the easy smiles that didn’t quite reach his eyes, the way his gaze crossed the room every now and then, keeping an eye on everything that was happening around him. He was smart, charming. Everything that was to be expected from the Minister of Magic.
A loud voice erupted in the Great Hall, and Astoria clamped her hands to her ears, removing the worst sting of the voice. It was loud, painful, but once she had her ears covered, she could actually listen to the words. Someone had rigged this, and she was honestly impressed. They were important words, words that needed to be heard, and Lowell probably needed to hear them too. Still, as the voice ran through the hall, Astoria couldn’t help but watch the Minister. How he was smiling, as if amused by the act of rebellion. A cold shiver passed through her, shuddering down her spine. His reaction was everything she had expected from him, to be amused when put on the spot like he was, it was just what she had anticipated from him. Still, seeing it happen almost had her back away from her plans to talk to him. Almost. Lowell seemed to simply shrug off the words, as if they had no effect on him.
They probably didn’t.
As breakfast came to an end, students started filing out of the Great Hall, Astoria remained seated, waiting for the right time to approach the Minister. She watched as the last few students left, and it was only then that she got to her feet, straightening out her shirt, that she approached the teachers table. It didn’t take long before an Auror stepped up in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. “I was hoping to get a word with Minister Tegus. My name is Astoria Dahl, I write for the school paper, Draco Dormiens.” Her voice shivered just slightly as she spoke, the Auror looming over her, forever Lowell’s shadow, his protector.
He simply stared at her, and she just about lost her nerve when Lowell spoke up.
“It’s okay, Callow, you can let her past. Miss Dahl and I are old friends.”
The Auror stepped aside, and Astoria hesitated for only a second before she stepped up to the table, smiling cautiously.
“Good morning, sir,” Astoria said with a charming smile, hoping to be convincing. “That was quite the welcome you received, wasn’t it?”
“It certainly was,” Lowell said, his usual charming smile in place, and she felt nervous all over again.
“I was hoping that you might be open to do an interview for the Draco Dormiens. The Minister visiting is certainly newsworthy.”
The Minister nodded. “Why not? Why don’t we step aside, give us some privacy.” He gestured towards a small room off the Great Hall. She had been there before, years ago, while having a meeting with one of her professors. She couldn’t remember just who that professor had been, but that wasn’t important. “Stay right here, gentlemen, Miss Dahl and I won’t be long.”
The two of them made their way to the room, and he closed the door behind him and immediately took a seat by the table, straightening out his shirt.
“It’s not often that I accept interviews. You must be special, Miss Dahl.”
Astoria gave a nervous glance as she pulled out a notebook and a quill, turning over the page to all of her questions. But before she started the interview, she wanted to talk to him, make sure that he knew where she stood.
“Before we start, Mr. Tegus, I wanted to talk to you about our last conversation.”
Lowell nodded, and again, flashed that charming smile. “I seem to recall you weren’t quite pleased with me the last time we spoke. Have you given any more thought to what I said?”
And the truth was, she had, it had been all that she had been thinking about for months. What she was meant to do, how she was meant to do it. She had considered writing anonymously, but to those who knew her writing, they would be able to tell that it was her. And she didn’t want to hide.
“I wasn’t. And I want to apologise for my behaviour, I was very unprofessional.” Inhaling deeply, she moved on to what she wanted to say the entire time. “I want to be a journalist, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. So I need to be unbiased in my writing. I want to write the truth, whether it be beneficial to werewolves, or to the Ministry. And I’m hoping that you can be okay with me wanting to write from all sides, all perspectives.”
Astoria was meant to find the truth. And the truth was; The Ministry had too much control, some werewolves were dangerous, others weren’t. And she wanted to write about all of it.
“I’m hoping that you will be okay with me writing from all angles…” She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked up to him, seeing the curious look on his face, almost amused. “I’m hoping to be able to write my articles… Without fearing my own future, the future of my family.”
It was risky, Lowell might as well say no right then and there, he might just tell her to write things only beneficial to the Ministry, tell her not to keep digging into werewolf business. But that would be untrue to her and who she was, and who she wanted to be. And she was hoping that he might just respect that. Besides, she was just a student, a nobody in the bigger picture. Her articles surely wouldn’t be able to do all that much damage. Not unless she unearthed something terrible about Lowell, or the Ministry. Lowell smiled at her, his fingertips pressed against each other on the table, his gaze powerful enough to burn right through her. And then he spoke.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Miss. Dahl. If only every journalist aspired to such high goals, I suspect the news would garner more respect than it does.” He shifted, hands clasped in his lap, face open. “Feel free to take your notes, with or without a charm - whatever’s most convenient for you. Begin whenever you’re comfortable.”
“Thank you, sir,” Astoria said, unable to keep the smile from stretching across her face. The relief she felt right then was overwhelming, to be able to write what she wanted to, when she wanted to - without fearing consequences. It was everything she had needed, wanted, for months. This was what freedom of speech must feel like, something that she had been seriously lacking for the longest time. But now was her chance to get back to the person that she was meant to be, the person that she had not been able to be since their last conversation. And her comeback would be an interview with the Minister himself. Astoria took her quill in hand, tapping it against the first question she had written down for the interview.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
