"Very good, thank you. I shall make certain that the Minister receives this," Samantha said. Before she had finished speaking, the man had already left her office.

She turned to the other visitor, the new liaison for Magical Cooperation. Yes, Samantha had remembered seeing him from the recent conference in the Minister's Office, she was sure of it. What was his name? Ah yes, Mr. Slughorn. That was a name she wasn't likely to forget.

"How are you, Mr. Slughorn?", Samantha asked, smiling softly at the liaison, a man who was several years younger than herself. She paused a moment as she thought back. "I do remember when that incident happened. It's been a while, and I was Head of the Department of Education at the time. I've only been Under Secretary for a short while, but now that you mention it." Samantha had heard nothing more about that case, it was almost as if the whole matter were being swept under the carpet. Now she was becoming curious about what had happened herself. "Hmmmm," she said thoughtfully, pondering things. "I wonder if Law Enforcement has any information on this, for I truthfully have no information at all. Though I would be glad to try and research the matter for you if you like."

How strange!

Claudian smiled, flattered and pleasantly surprised that Under-Secretary Rose recalled his name (no easy feat in a department the size of that of the Liaisons). He gave a quick nod. "Slughorn, yes. Claudian Slughorn." He said, correcting himself and offering his name in full.

He raised his hand in a slightly out-stretchy motion as if about to block an action. "Oh, that's alright, Secretary Rose. I can meet up with the liaison from the Legal Department and see if they know anything should my appointment with the head of International Cooperation turn up nothing." It definitely bore some looking into. "Thank you, Miss Rose...urhm, Mrs. Seen..." He began to stumble. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your preferred title?" He said, quite embarrassed at his blundering of her name, when she'd gotten his perfectly.

Samantha smiled. "Mostly everyone just calls me Samantha, and that's fine with me. That's the name I'm most used to, but if you prefer to call me Ms. Rose, that's all right with me, too," she answered. "And I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your question. It does seem rather curious, though, but I'm sure there must be someone somewhere who has the answer. That was a rather major incident, and there has to be a record somewhere. I can't imagine that there wouldn't have been a follow up investigation of some sort."

Claudian nodded at what Ms. Rose had been saying. It was perfectly sensible. "That had occurred to me as well. And, you've been most helpful, Mr. Rose." He said grateful for what leads she did give him and unable to call her Samantha just yet. At least, he'd know where he might possibly begin in finding out what had happened.

"You've at least given me some direction and that is something." He smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Rose." He said, taking his leave of her office and shutting it for privacy on his way out, not being used to her more open ways just yet.

Samantha smiled. Young Mr. Slughorn was extremely polite, which was good, but perhaps he would become more relaxed once he got to know her a bit better. Most people usually did, once they got used to her approach to her employees.

She thought back to how she had run the Department of Education. She had an open door policy in that Department which seemed to work just fine, and she tried to make herself available to her employees at all times. It was a good policy, it was never a good idea to be closed up and unavailable. People were sure to talk.

"Samantha, I know you heard I am the new liason for the department of Transportation" J.J. told her. " Now where do I get my assignments?" Joe Jon Montcenaggio asked her.

Lcuy knocked twice at the door.
That was a complete sudden decision, givin gthe fact that Lucy hadn't thought about it until she turned to the MInister's Office instead of the Deaprtment of Magical Education but as soon as she was there, she knew what she was doing there.
Samantha Rose had been a great boss, and she had also being a great help when Lucy had first returned to England. And although she didn't seem different after only two years, she was different.
With her job in Britain on the line and having a bad relationship with her boss, Lucy decided it was time to clear up her mind and visit the first person to welcome her back to her country. With a smile that was so much warmer than the polite smilies Samantha knew so well, the woman figured she had something to be grateful for after all.

"Hi, J.J.," Samantha said. "Welcome to the Department. There is a box in your new office, which is right outside this one, where you will be picking up your assignments, or there will be times when I will be giving them to you. In any case, I will make sure that everyone gets their assignments."

Samantha was just finishing up explaining things to J.J. when she heard a knock on the door. She stood up and answered it, surprised to find another former employee of hers from the Education Department, Lucy. This was a complete shock.

Samantha held the door open. "Lucy, how are you doing?", she asked. "How is everything in the Education Department? Were you coming to see me about that, or just to talk?" Samantha was wondering whether this were a social visit or something related to the business of the Ministry, but she was glad to see Lucy again. She had always been a good worker. Samantha wondered how she and Jake, the new Department Head, were getting along. She remembered there had been something between them, and wondered how that relationship was doing.

Lucy held a fake smile torwards her new ex-colleague, J.J. It wasn't his fault, of course, but the young woman was starting to wonmder wether that had been a good decision or not. Samantha's reaction cheerd her up a little and she, yes, was able to make her smile.
"Hi! How is my lovely former boss doing?" she greeted. She quickly added: "This is a purely social visit... I hope. I just... I think I want talk and who better than you to give me a proper advice?" she asked, her expression fadding slightly. She looked up to face Samantha:
"Honestly? I could easily get fired and I'm still trying to figure out if that is wether a good thing or a bad thing." she paused, thinking about a way to say what the meant that at the same time Samantha could understand clearly what she was talking about. "I don't really have something that keeps me here, you know?"

Samantha listened to Lucy very carefully. She seemed to have a very lacklustre air about her for some reason, and that was not how she remembered her at all. She remembered Lucy as a go getter, a very determined person who set out to get what she wanted. Something had very clearly happened to Lucy to make her suddenly apathetic, but what? Samantha wanted to get the whole story, but she wasn't quite sure where to start. "What do you mean, Lucy, that there's nothing here that keeps you here? I remember you as always being very determined and never giving up. What has happened to change that?" Samantha really wanted to know, and if she could help, that would be great. She would like to see the smile come back to Lucy's eyes again.

She looked into Samantha's eyes and found comprehension and, somwher ein the middle, friendship. She held out a sad smile.
"Let's just say I don't have that many friends here right now. There are two people, or three, that would miss me if I was gone. And believe me when I say none of them would be Jake." Now she was getting more to the point. What happened to her? She wondered the exact same thing. If she wanted to go back to being who she was? She didn't know that answer either.
She smiled, a true smile this, when Samantha mentioned her older self and for a second that was exactly how bshe felt. Determined and passioned about her matters, which pretty much included her job, travelling and the will to learn more. Apparently she had to learn more about keeping bonds with other people.
"A lot of things happened, but still I think that was the main thing. Because... I came back and... I know I never tried hard to get to know other workers and relate to them, but it is sad to think about leaving again and knowing that only a seventeen year old would miss me. But I look back and that's the story of my life. I'm always that 'shadow' on the group, who rather be alone. And that's where I stand..." she concluded with the same hopeless expression. Lucy had learned to do one thing really well: running away. If she had a problem, she could always ran. And it just getting another job or going to another city in the suburds. No, when Luce walked away, she walked away from pretty much everything and would leave, to a new country, a new culture and new people who didn't know who she was. That was why many times, she was her biggest enemy.

Samantha was very surprised by what Lucy told her. She just couldn't believe that only a few people would miss her, why, that didn't seem possible at all. And Jake! The last she remembered, Jake and Lucy had been extremely close, as a matter of fact, Samantha thought there was a very good chance the two of them would be getting married at some point in the future. Now, to hear that the two of them weren't speaking, that was indeed a shock to her.

After listening to what Lucy had to say, Samantha began to speak. "Some people are just naturally more solitary than others," she said. "I can relate to those who enjoy their solitude, there is a certain peace there and perhaps something more. I truly believe that those who seek solitude do it for the same reason that I did, because they are afraid that if they put their trust in others, come to care about them too deeply, that they will leave them and they will be left alone to grieve. They feel they would rather be alone than bear that kind of pain and would rather not take the risk. Does any of this sound familiar to you?" Samantha didn't admit that the reason she knew so much about this was because she, herself, had once been a solitary person, and that she had come to find out what her greatest fear was, the reason for her desire to be alone. If she could somehow reach out to Lucy, that would really be something. She was prepared to devote as much time as needed to try and help her, to reach her.

Lucy looked at Samantha with curiosity when the older woman started talking. It was so... true. She was amazed to find out that someone actually understood her deepest fears.

Luce looked down at the floor and listened. Yes, she could relate to that.
She had always been a more quiet person, but since her older sister had died, she had gave up on trying to relate with other, because those people, for some reason, always disappeared from her life. THere was one person, though, in the world that had left and came, and kept on leaving that she could never blame, because they were one and the same. Nicholas Finche's brother dated Lucy's sister and he died along with her; therefore, they were family. He was the brother she had never had, the one person she didn't feel obligated to write or give any kind of explanations, because he never asked for it. Nick just understood her, and her need to run away.
And now Samantha.
"I had no idea..." she said, raising her head. "You understand." She paused and felt tears that could start failling. She focused, made an effort to hold them back and began answering Samantha, who was clearly waiting for her to say something else.
"But so far, that was true. The people I trusted left me, when they didn't backstabbed me or tried to kill me." she said, trying to addopt a relaxed posture. "So... Why should I trust people?" she threw the question into the air, forgetting she was already doing one important thing: she was trusting her feelings to someone else other than Nick, the man she knew since they were just children.

"I know," Samantha said. "Believe me, Lucy, I know. There are many times in my life when I have asked myself the exact same question. Why should you trust people? Why should you trust anyone in your life except yourself?"

Samantha continued. "There was a time when I felt the same way you do. I didn't want to care, didn't want to trust anyone and for a while, it seemed like I was the only person I needed. It seemed that everyone I cared about left, left me alone with my pain. Being on my own was fine for a while, but soon I began to feel empty, like a husk or something. This will happen to you, too, if you cut the people you love out of your life or any risk of being hurt. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

It is true that you are the only person you will be able to trust and know 100 percent, and that's because you can't control what anyone else does. But each person that we meet is unique, and brings a special joy to our life, somehow makes it better. It has taken me years to understand this, and I know that it's a little hard to grasp. Without trust, without having people in our life or letting them in, we would be nothing but an empty shell, not really experiencing life or everything it has to offer. There is a certain joy that you can never feel unless you receive it from another person, and love is something you will never experience without trust." Samantha smiled sadly. "Other people need us just as badly as we need them, and they really are worth the effort, even though there is always the chance of being hurt. Our lives are so much richer, so much better with them there than without them. It is worth the effort, because your life will be so much better for the people you bring into it, who you allow yourself to care for. There is as much joy as pain, actually a lot more joy It's definitely worth it, even if it doesn't make sense now. One day it will, I promise you."

Samantha hoped she was making sense. This was just an important conversation, so difficult to express, and one she understood so well. She really hoped she was getting through to Lucy.

Lucy listened carefully. She had to admit she felt it. Alkthough somethings in Samantha's words made her raise an eyebrow, at the end she just nodded.
"Nothing new there. Believe me, I'm not insulting you. it's just that... Lately I have been in both sides." she paused and looked down, but only to raise her head one second later.
"I didn't want to trust Jake. But he was so..." an amused smiled came to her lips. "He had that amazing energy and nobody could feel down or annoyed around he. He had these great arguments and he always made me feel like I was being unfair with him, for not trusting him. But, mat some point, I started to trust him. I never told him, of course, but he should have known. He knew me... or at least I thought he did." the woman paused with a resigned smile. What was she bringing that up? It was all related and truth be told she needed soemthing from Jake. It could one of two things, but she had to get it to overcome the situation.

Taking a deep breathe, Luce re-started:
"Also, Rachel came along and... things got harder. You have no idea what it's like for me to be around young people." she knew perfect.y the reasons why she avoided any contact with non-grown ups but she wouldn't admit it. It is too personal and too depressing, anyway.
"Things between us got serious and I thought... I don't know what I was thinking. Jake asked me to move in. I said yes. We had an argument because I made him more questions about moving and he said it was enough. That he was tired." she paused. "I don't blame him. I find it quite hard to live with myself more oftenly that I'd like." she said with a soft chuckle. "But you say that will happen if I let someone in, and I trust that person... I had already happened. Regarding me, that part is a closed chapter." It had happened once. It wouldn't happen again.

"I... I don't know what to do. If a certain friend of mine wasn't here, I'd be already gone. That's what I do. Tell me, Samantha: do I have a good reason to stay?"

Samantha was focusing her full attention on everything Lucy had to say. Her heart went out to her, especially since she was experiencing some of the same concerns which she had faced throughout her own life. How could she address her, what could she possibly say?

Samantha knew she had to say something. It was best to be honest, as honest as possible. "Yes, young people often complicate situations," she admitted. "There are many relationships between two people which don't go as far as they could because of the presence of children or teenagers. It's very hard to come into a relationship like that, both for yourself and for the kids. As a matter of fact, I don't even know how to advise you on that. I'm afraid I haven't done particularly well with that matter in my life myself." That was true enough. Samantha had once loved a man, a man who was perfect in every way, except that he had been married before and was raising a 9 year old daughter. That was the main reason the relationship hadn't worked, and Samantha knew it. It was very difficult, indeed. But there were cases when things could work, and Samantha knew that, too. She had seen it happen before.

"It is hard, but I think love can conquer anything, even that," she concluded. "But it takes a very strong person to be able to deal with it. It won't be easy if you do decide to give Jake another chance, because Rachel has needs of her own. That is a decision I definitely cannot make for you, nor would I ever try. You have to ask yourself, how DO you feel about Jake Rider? If you find you can't live without him, that life has no meaning without him in your world, then you would definitely be making a big mistake by not giving him another chance. But if you don't feel that way, it's the best thing to move on. You have to search your own heart to find the answer."

The more they talked, the more Lucy had the feeling Samantha was talking about her own experience. She was looking for the time at someone she now knew that what gone through what had been her whole life... Almost.
"I think... I think it wasn't Rachel who brought the problem up, it was more my own thoughts about my and her needs. If Jake wasn't such a confident person and he hadn't tell me what he did, he'd think that he was afraid I'd get cold feet." she pointed out. At least, it was what Nick told her it could have happened. Men are much more simple and basic that you think, sweetie. It's you, women, that turn everything into major complications; Nick had told her the night before and remembering that fact, the woman smiled.

"My friend, who I'm living with now, has a little girl. If you can little to a 13 year old and there aren't half of the problems I had when I was dating Jake." Lucy told Samantha. Making comparsions, it was really easy to live in Nick's house than it would have been with Jake, but she was ready to give it a try... But the break up had made it impossible for her to show him she could adjust to the circunstances.

Lucy looked down at her feet, brushing away the tears that threaned to start falling again. When she faced Samantha again, her eyes were bright and her face showed all the hiden emotions.
"It's him, Samantha. I know it's him." a short pause. "But there is nothing I can do, if Jake stopped loving me, as I'm sure he shall claim. Because it happened the other way around..." she thought Samantha had understood it, but apparently she hadn't and maybe Luce hadn't been explicit enough in that point. "I didn't break up. He did. When you say to give him another chance... I can't, because when I went opver to talk to him after the fight, Jake made it very explicit that he doesn't want another chance nor is he going to give me one." It was sad, because she only had one conclusion. "It seems pretty clear that doens't love me." she forced herself to smile. "How about this one?"
There was one thing she could do, of course. Twice, actually. If she wanted to move on and decide to move on. I can run away again... or I can become Mrs. Finche.

Samantha's face registered shock at Lucy's words. The best word to describe her expression was pure astonishment.

"I just can't believe it," Samantha said. "I'm sure I read the signs correctly, the way he looked at you, and I would be very surprised if I were wrong. But there is only one way to find out for sure, and I'm not certain how you would feel about it. The only way we can possibly know how Jake feels would be if I were to have a talk with him in private. It would have to start out casual and then lead to this subject. It's the only way we can be certain of the truth."

Samantha didn't know how Lucy would react, but she knew that it was their only chance.

Lucy smiled sadly.
"A casual conversation? Please! Me and Jake don't even agree in work-terms.. Can you imagine how a private conversation will go?" she paused. "It doesn't help much that I think he's making bad decisions, now does it?" she stood up from her chair and tried to find the proper words to speak.
"Thanks, Samantha. For this moment. I neded some good advice, and I knew you could help me figuring out what to do. Especially now, with the proposal." she said with a stunning honesty not stopping to think that revelation would make Samantha even more shocked.
Shelookedat her former boss with caring look and... was that friendship? Lucy couldn't tell, but that conversation and that kind of trust felt ice.
"Thanks for listening to me. And... anytime you want to talk, you know where to find me. If you need something, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be around." it was easy to make that offer because Samantha seemed to understand her situation, which she thought it cold only be driven from personal experience. And that... made her feel she could be useful to other people, Samantha included.

She didn't leave immediately, waiting to hear Samantha's next words.

A proposal? My, this was getting more and more interesting. Samantha could see that things were getting deeper and deeper, that there were so many layers here to Lucy's situation.

"Of course, you are the one who has to make the final decision in the end, so just promise me that you will give it careful thought," Samantha said. "It's something you will have to live with for the rest of your life, and I am here for you any time you need to talk about it. You see, I can't tell you what to decide, only you can make that final decision. But if you ever want me to speak to Jake privately about this and get back to you, I am there for you. I will help you in any way I can. I really want to see the old Lucy come back again, the one with the beautiful smile. She's there, just waiting to come out again, and I'm sure she will."

Making the final decision? Lucy was so not following Samantha's thoughts.
"What final decision? I think Jake already did that." she pointed out. The woman shook her head, refusing the offer. "Even though I really would like to accept it, I think it wouldn't exactly help. This.. the relationship was between me and Jake, so now any responsability is mine. I doubt he would appreciate you coming to talk to him about me." she stood there, having and idea. With that more usual glow in her eyes she gazed at Samantha:
"There is one thing you could do.... But Jake shouldn't know I was the one bringing it up." she warned with a lopside smile. She couldn't make things right herself, but maybe Samantha could do something for the real, funny and charming Jake Rider to come back.

Samantha was intrigued, really wanting to help. "Really?", she asked, trying not to appear anxious. "What would you like me to do, Lucy? Tell me what you have in mind."

Lucy held herself not to laugh at Samantha's curiosity.
"Why don't you pay him a visit someday? Just to talk about a few light subjects and you can check out how magical education department is doing personaly." she said mysteryously, "I think Jake has been way to cold and... he needs a wake up call. You can do that for him.. Maybe then he will remember how he used to be... And how good it was to work with Jake Rider, before his position started more than anything else... It seems like he sold himself now that he his the boss.. Am I making any sense?" the woman looked´down at her former boss. Without knowing it, Samantha had already been great help. If she could remind Jake ho he used to be, Lucy would be eternally thankful.