I'll Be Watching

Kallie bit her lip as she looked over her paper work. She had a meeting later, and she was waiting for them to arrive.

She certainly hoped they'd be on time. She hated when people were not punctual. Oh well, time would have to wait and tell.

She sighed and put aside one file, and moved on to the next. Time ticking away.

The Ministry was so much bigger than he'd expected. Shaking his head softly as he stared down the hallway in front of him, Julian straightened out his shirt for the millionth time. Yes, she was his mentor, but she was also the Minister, so being nervous of meeting with her was to be expected.

Taking a deep breath as he found himself outside the door clearly marked with her name, he knocked softly. Counting to three, he cautiously opened the door, hoping that she there. Sighing softly in relief, he waved, "Hi Ms. Minister."

Kallie looked up at the knock an a slight smile pulling at her lips as she saw the boy entered. Glancing at her clock she smiled even more.

On time.

"Julian good to see you did not lose you're way; you wouldn't be the first to do so," she laughed slightly. She gestured a delicate hand towards the chair across from her desk. "Care to take a seat."

"I almost did." He said with a laugh. "The Ministry's absolutely huge. I think I could work here for years and still get lost." After all, he still got lost in Beauxbatons from time to time. Shaking his head good-naturedly, Julian sat down across from her, looking at the objects on her desk before lifting his gaze up to the Minister.

"How's running the Ministry going? And how are you?" He knew that sooner or later, they'd get to how he was doing, and he planned on prolonging that discussion. Though he had exactly what he was going to say all planned out, waiting a little wouldn't kill him.

Kallie smiled, "Well even if you did, you wouldn't be the first. It takes some getting use to, to be sure; I'll admit even I have lost my way once or twice if I didn't have my brain focused on where I was going."

The woman watched the boy look around her desk. It wasn't very cluttered, she wasn't much of a trinket person. In fact until recently she had had no personal items on her desk at all. Now the only addition was a small framed photo herself and Eli.

"Oh it is going," she said lightly, her eyes only narrowing slightly as she felt the boy was playing an avoidant game. "It hasn't fallen apart yet, and so long as that doesn't happen, I am fine as well."

"I can see why." Julian nodded, "But that little voice in the elevator makes it easier." Pausing, he tilted his head, "Who is she anyway?"

Looking at the little photo of the Minister with someone, he smiled slightly, but didn't ask. He didn't need to know. And if he needed to know, he assumed that Kallie would tell him. Besides, she was entitled to her own secrets.

"That's good." he beamed up at her, nodding. "I've been well as well. Oh," he blinked, suddenly remembering, "I found out more names of people at Beauxbatons."

Kallie smiled, "Somone lost in time I would imagine. I do not actually know. Magic creates possibilities of many things. She perhaps never even existed at all. THough she is quite helpful. I do agree."

She fiddled with her frame for a moment, not liking the way it was, and fixing it again before smiling.

"I always enjoy calling her Anna in my head."

She raised her eyebrow at the boy, "Have you know. Lets hear it then." She would let him share what he learned, before she shared what she had learned.

"That - that's almost sad." Julian frowned, tilting his head as he thought. Hundreds of people had to hear that voice daily. And he doubted most people thought about the identity of the voice. "What if she is a real person? And gets absolutely no credit for what she does?"

Shuddering at the idea of working away and never getting any recognition, he fiddled with the sleeve of his shirt absentmindedly. "Anna," he repeated softly, "very English." he commented, continuing to play with his sleeves.

"Well," he grinned, shifting slightly in his seat to get more comfortable before he began, ticking off names on his fingers, "in Prideux, my house," he grinned a little wider here, "there's Harmonie, Dani, Faye, and Yvette." Nodding, he continued, "In Angelique there's Ninette, Lisette, Nel, Ondrea, and Genevive. And in Valée," he frowned slightly, but shook it off quickly, "there's Mélodie, Kassidy, Rora and Collin and Casey."

Humming softly, he rubbed his hands together, "Every single person in my entire year."

Kallie gave the boy a kind smile, "If you care so much Julian - why don't you try to find out? I am sure that should she actually have existed there are some records of her somewhere."

"She always sounds very English to me."

The minister nodded her head as he said each name, a tiny smile coming to her face.

"Good, good, very good," she repeated softly before her smile slacked a bit, and her lips began to thin. "Now, Julian, want to tell me how many of those students you have been seen fighting with in the recent lessons?"

"That'd actually be kind of fun." Julian said, more to himself than anything else. If anything, going through records would be relaxing, something he really needed to spend more time doing instead of stressing himself out. Rubbing his hands together momentarily, he nodded, "Sure, I'll do it."

Was it weird that British people reminded him of Karma? Tilting his head slightly, he decided that if he started comparing all British people to her, then he'd have a problem.

Grinning to himself, it slowly slipped off his face to be replaced by an expression of dread. Straightening up in his chair, he coughed before saying, "Well, erm, the Ravens don't like me." Eyes wide, he swallowed hard, struggling to remember what he'd had planned out to say. "They really don't." Gesturing wildly, Julian said, "One of them even admitted to stalking me." Nodding, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Kallie smiled and nodded her head, "I'm glad you think so, I'll look forward to finding out what you learn. If you need any help, please just ask. I do have a fair bit of access around here. What with being the minster and all."

Her eyes sparkled, "They kind of think that's a big deal or something here."

"And that is an excuse to punch them?" she frown at the boy. "Julian I thought you would have had better logic than that. Whether they bring themselves to that level or not, you do not need to bring yourself to theirs."

She glanced down at a not she made on her desk.

"And what about... Ms. Fontaine, I heard you two almost wrecked the Dining hall."

Nodding, he smiled, "As soon as I find out if she existed or not, I'll tell you." Laughing, he shook his head slightly, "I wonder why."

Frowning, he shook his head, "I didn't punch him - them - whatever." shaking his head, he said, "He - the first one - the prefect." he waved dismissively here at the mention of Casey, "he punched me. I didn't touch him." Scowling as he remembered the other Raven showing up, he rubbed his jaw absent-mindedly, "Besides, I can't hurt a fly. At least, not with these arms." he smiled weakly, glancing down at his biceps.

"Nine?" Julian shrugged, "I really don't know. We're - we're like that I guess. One moment we'll be best friends, and then the next thing you know....." he trailed off, shrugging again, "We're destroying the dining hall."

Kallie looked at the boy slowly, as he spoke. She was still not impressed with his words.

"True, but in a world with magical assistence we all don't need to be very strong do we," she humed slightly raising her eyebrows. "I do believe Ms. Fontaine substained a few injuries from that disagreement."

Wincing at the mention of what he'd done to Ninette, he rubbed his eyes with his wrists, the images of her back being brought back behind his eyelids. "I panicked," Julian muttered, his eyes still closed.

"Nine knows I have a fear of heights, so she suspended me up in the air and I freaked out." Wringing his hands, he opened his eyes, looking at the Minister, "I apologized to her as soon as I realized what I did. And she doesn't hate me for it."

Kallie breathed through her nose, attempting to release some of her emotions with them.

"Panic weakens responses," she intoned slightly. "Even in the face of our fears we must try to look past them to keep a calm head, or all will be lost.:

She sighed.

"That being said, we are all human and thus have fears, so one can not be faulted for dealing with them in the most natural way."

Keep calm in the face of fear? He couldn't do that. If he was locked in a small room, or found himself off the ground - well, his hands were sweating just thinking about it. Scowling down at his hands, he wiped them on his pant leg.

"I'll try," Julian offered. "to - to not panic. But only if it doesn't involve being put up in the air. Or locked in small spaces." There was no way he was going to go through a simulation. No way at all.

"So I'm not in trouble?" Julian asked, tilting his head, unable to keep the eagerness and glee in his voice. "B - because, well, that's good." Nodding, he smiled slightly.

"Well try I suppose is all we can ask," she inclinde her head, "Panic is after all natural human response - perhaps it is slightly unnatural to be able to over come it."

Kallie was unconcerened by this thought quirey. She had long since come to terms with the fact that her behaviour could often boreder on unnatural.

"I'm not saying that Julian," she said softly, "There must always be consequences for our actions."

"It'd be better if we could, though," Julian sighed softly, tiredly rubbing his eyes, "Life'd be so much easier that way." Suddenly wishing that he was scared of something that he'd never have to encounter, he frowned, but shook it off. It wasn't like he could pick and choose what terrified him.

Wincing slightly, he nodded, "Alright. I - I'll accept whatever you throw at me. After what I did to Nine..." he trailed off, shrugging, "I deserve it."

Kallie nodded her head, "It certainly would, but then life would be fairless interesting, I'd say, if everything was easy. We all need challenges now and again."

Of course some people recieved more than others, but there was nothing one could really do about that.

"Taking responsiblities for our actions is good. Now, since you are here, lets put you to a little work. I have some files that need sorting," she raised an eyebrow "Up for it?"

It wasn't exactly the greatest punishment in the world, however, most people found sorting infinitly dull, so hopefully it would stick in his mind in some way.

"That's true," Julian sighed softly, "if life was all sunshine and rainbows, it'd be boring and too easy." His life wasn't that bad, was it? Sure, his siblings drove him insane and he preferred not to talk to them, it wasn't that bad. And he had friends to fall back on if need be.

That was it? Sorting flyers? That - that wasn't hard. A little boring, sure, but relatively easy. "I'm up for it," he said with a nod.

Kallie smiled and nodded.

"Good, good," she looked over her table and grabbed the pile of titering paper. Slding them over the boy she gave him careful instructions on how she wanted them.

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble."

Leaving him to that, she pushed back her chair, "I have a meeting I have to run to for a few moments. I'll be right back."

Nodding to the boy she got his response and left the room.