Mentor Me ~Anna~

[Cailyn Maiya Talaith]

Cailyn walked swiftly down the streets of Hogsmeade, horribly aware of the disgusted looks thrown her way as she passed. Weekends at Hogsmeade were always a mix of pleasure and embarrassment for the young Hufflepuff. The all wizarding village fascinated her with its simple charm and delightful displays of magic. Only the badge she was forced to wear dampened what could have been a truly wonderful experience. Being marked as a muggleborn meant that many of the shops refused her entry, some even going so far as to ban all but purebloods. It brought bright red spots of shame to her cheeks, her head ducked low as she hurried past the more aggressive of wizarding folk in the hopes that they would not trouble her.

Despite it all, Cailyn was still a bright splash of color upon the streets. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, a bright yellow ribbon wrapped around her head like a headband in an effort to hold back the dark wisps of hair that escaped to fall about her sweet features. Her splashy yellow T-shirt with a playful cartoon bumblebee and a jar of honey advised all to: Bee Sweet. Dark blue jeans ended in a pair of soft yellow ballet style flats. The silver locket she never took off hung about her neck as silver bangles clicked merrily from about her wrist. The badge proclaiming her blood status was the only item out of place. Had the punishment for taking it off not been steep, Cailyn might have been tempted to hide it after escaping Hogwarts with it confirmed to be on her person.

Trotting over to a large building with a sign proudly proclaiming it to the be the home of the WWN, Cailyn couldn't help but let a huge grin climb over her features. Anna Michaels worked at the station and they were to meet up that day for some much needed training. Not that anyone knew what it was the two young women were up to. Ever since joining the ultra secret organization dedicated to helping others and stop the horrific inequalities in wizarding society, Cailyn had been petrified of being caught. It wasn't that she was afraid for herself, but rather for the others who would be counting on her to protect them no matter the cost. Entering the building, Cailyn approached a desk that had a woman seated behind it. "Excuse me, but could you direct me to where I might find Miss Michaels? I have an appointment to meet with her."

[Anna Michaels]

The intense, red, "ON-AIR" light above the studio door clicked off exactly at 11am as Anna stood back from the rolling office chair, shuffling her notes from that day's broadcast into a neat pile.That one little light had always been a bit intimidating to the woman, even now half way through her third season of live recording. The amount of pressure that accompanied the light was enormous, but Anna loved her job, regardless of the stress involved in the few "ON-AIR" hours. It was time for her lunch break, an extended time between her mid morning and afternoon shows, and for that Anna was very relieved. She needed a break but not to rest. She was meeting someone between shows.

Getting people the news and stories that they needed were extremely important to the young witch and the WWN provided the platform that she needed to be able to broadcast to a wide audience. This also was extremely crucial in regards to her other, more important yet less official job as a co-leader of the Tutela, a group bent on overcoming the horrifying increase in power of the pure blood supremacy movement. Anna couldn't imagine what the world would be like if there were not people like herself to take a stand and defend those too oppressed to defend themselves. It was even more difficult for the witch to understand coming from a pure blooded family who saw nothing wrong with mingling with those who were not pure in magical blood. The way she saw it, the more mingling the more magic, the better the world, which was why she intended to make the most of her position, both personally as a co-leader, and professionally as a radio personality.

Leaving the studio, Anna swung by her office that was more closet then anything , dropping off her paperwork before quickly maneuvering through the crowded hallways of the WWN. Even though it was almost lunch, the building was swarming with activity, witches and wizards rushing about collecting news stories or listening to the latest break through band to be broadcast. It was this activity that made traveling from her second story office to the main reception area difficult. Anna couldn't walk two whole strides without nearly literally crashing into someone or seeing someone she knew who felt it necessary to stop where they were and say hello. As politely as possible, the witch excused her self and made it to the relative quiet of the stairwell.

When Anna finally made it to the reception desk, her guest was already there, waiting patiently. "Ms. Michaels, a young lady to see you," the pretty redhead receptionist informed her needlessly. "Thank you so much, I was expecting her." Anna smiled at her coworker and nodded to Cailyn, handing her the badge marked "Guest-Level 2". She had figured that training would be difficult to hide, so she had spoken to her boss about perhaps hosting a young mentee, to teach the student about the station and what the WWN was all about. In reality, Cailyn and Anna were already acquainted and knew each other through the Tutela and the internship was just a facade to hide their true purpose, training for the Tutela and whatever they might face in the coming months. Cailyn had expressed her interest in possible tutoring and Anna was more then happy to assist a fellow Tutela member, especially a delightful Hufflepuff much like herself when she could. Leading the girl to an ancient and outdated studio, Anna pointed out different features of the WWN keeping with the charade. It was only when they reached their destination when the older witch finally let her guard down and smiled fondly at the girl, saying, "Cailyn, I am so glad you were able to make it!"

[Cailyn Maiya Talaith]

Little more than a few moments ticked past before the receptionist, who had been checking out Cailyn's claim that she was indeed supposed to be there, lifted her head with a bright smile. "There she is now." Raising her voice to be heard across the main hall, the young woman called out the familiar approaching figure. "Ms. Michaels, a young lady to see you." Already thanking the receptionist, Cailyn practically skipped over to Anna as the other acknowledged the receptionist. "Hi!" She grinned brightly, nearly bouncing in place for a moment in her joy at seeing Anna. Accepting the guest pass, she clipped it on the opposite side of her yellow shirt from the blood status badge. Straightening both, she shifted the blood status one until they were evenly spaced.

Cailyn lost herself in the information about the radio station. It was fascinating to her that the wizarding world used such a thing but not television. Sometimes it all seemed a bit backwards to her. Despite that, she found herself staring around curiously as they made their way through the building. Most of the people they passed didn't even give Cailyn a second glance, ignoring the brand upon her chest, some even going so far as to welcome her to the building. It was encouraging to see that not everyone held the belief that muggleborns were not even worth acknowledging let alone allowing them to be around.

Noticing that she was falling behind as she basked in the wonders hidden within the station, Cailyn hurried to catch Anna as the elder girl lead them into a quiet part away from the bustling crowds of people. Unable to hold back any longer, Cailyn hugged Anna before bouncing back with a grin. "Thank you so much! I was so afraid they weren't going to let me leave the school. Then I thought I was going to late because of how long it took to convince the professor to let me go." Cailyn huffed softly, pouting a bit at the unfairness of it all before letting her natural sunny smile return. "So where shall we start? I'm so nervous, but excited!" Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm down, realizing that she was practically vibrating out of her skin.

Giggling lightly, Cailyn toyed with her locket. "Sorry. How are you? Did the show go well this morning?" She asked curiously, honestly wanting to know rather than just being polite. Of course, her mother had always taught her to use manners and be polite despite how caught up she often got with her own excitement. However, the little bit about the station Anna had mentioned on the way over had sparked her interest. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to have the ability to affect wizarding folk everywhere. Anna was truly blessed. Cailyn hoped that one day she could be half as useful to the Tutela as Anna was.

[Anna Michaels]

Anna smiled at the girls natural enthusiasm. Even though most people found the inner workings of the station rather dull and less than magical, Cailyn seemed to enjoy the brief tour through the station. Thinking quietly to herself she reflected on how much the girl reminded her of her younger self, eager to learn and be a part of something bigger than herself. She was sure the younger girl would be a joy to teach and that she would learn somethings as well. Although Anna was a few years older than the other she wasn't foolish enough to believe that she had nothing to gain from the experience, which is why she was more than happy to volunteer to mentor the witch before her.

Slightly caught off guard by the sudden hug, Anna laughed, hugging the girl back. "You are so welcome. I was worried about them hassling you as well. I am very sorry that the world has come to that, that a girl can't intern at Hogsmeade with a past prefect without being interrogated. But I am so glad you made it. Anything to break the monotony of the workday!" Anna winked jokingly, her day was anything but monotonous and if Cailyn had picked up anything on the short tour she would understand the jest."As to where to start..." Anna trailed off thinking of what she had learned when she first joined herself.

Before she could come up with a suitable "lesson plan", Cailyn continued and Anna couldn't help but laugh with the girl as she quickly continued. "I am fine and very excited you are here." She paused leaning in closer to the girl before conspiratorially whispering, "And I must be even more nervous than you. I hardly slept last night thinking about how this would go and everything that would go wrong. But now that we are here, I realized how silly that was. Everything has gone smoothly so far, let's hope it stays like this." She laugh softly, the noise pleasant and friendly, and she hoped reassuring. "The show did go well, thanks for asking. I interviewed the most lovely woman from the Auror department who was giving the listeners helpful hints for protecting themselves from the dangers that are now unfortunately common in the world." Sighing softly, reflecting upon the sad state of affairs, Anna realized how depressing she was being.

"Oh, my. We aren't here to think about how sad the world is...we are here to get ready to change that." The witch let her natural optimism come to the forefront once again. "I think the first thing we should do is work on Patronuses if you feel it necessary. It is really important that all of the members can preform the most complex Patronuses because, as you know, that is a major way of communication. I am not sure how comfortable you are with this?" Anna stated the last as more of a question as she conjured her own Patronus, demonstrating, a small silver canary shooting out of her wand, fluttering around the room above the women, not wanting to start off with something that Cailyn had already mastered but not wanting to skip something so relevant to the organization they belonged to. Anna had always been gifted at charms and spell work and knew that not everyone was quite as skilled as she was with such complex spells.

[Cailyn Maiya Talaith]

Cailyn bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, her lower lip held lightly between pearly white teeth as she contemplated the task before her. She had never before attempted something as tricky as a corporeal Patronus. Muggle born students were not allowed to be taught such upper level spells that had no application within the expected menial jobs they were slated for. A soft gasp of awe escaped her as Anna cast the spell with practiced ease. "How beautiful!" Cailyn exclaimed, lifting one hand toward the silver bird that fluttered cheerfully above her head. She was careful not to touch the smokey apparition as she did not want to dispel the charm and loose the enchanting sight. Scuffing the toe of her yellow flat on the floor, Cailyn tore her gaze away from the canary.

"I've never really been able to cast a full Patronus before. Defensive magic is not appropriate for one of my status to be wasting time on." The last sentence was spoken with a hint of bitterness, clearly a quote from someone sneering down their nose at her. Just because they refused to teach her magic that could protect her, did not mean that Cailyn had not attempted a few spells on her own in private. That was one of the few beauties of Hogwarts, she was allowed to use magic unrestrictedly, unlike at home where her every move was monitored by the Ministry. Drawing out her wand, Cailyn looked a bit hesitant as she tried to recall what she had read. There were days when she would give anything to be as bookish as some of her Ravenclaw friends.

"Happy memories, right? Hmm." What memory to use was the question. She had so many fond and happy ones from growing up that it seemed to vast a selection to choose from. After flipping through a few, and dismissing others due to the sadness linked to them, Cailyn finally settled on one. Focusing her mind on a moment from her childhood, when she and her sister had spent a gleeful day playing near a lake, she lifted her wand. "Expecto Patronum." Her words were calm, even, and measured. At first, she thought nothing was going to happen and that she had failed. Then soft silver smoke began to pour from the end of her wand.

Anticipation flooded through her and her grasp on the memory began to falter. The silver tendrils pooled on the floor and dissipated as disappointment washed through the girl. Lowering her wand, Cailyn tried hard not to let her embarrassment show. She had always been particularly good with what charms they did teach, and the few defensive shields she had been able to cast in secret had felt pretty strong. So why was she unable to cast a spell that should have been such a breeze for her? If anything, Cailyn was an ocean of happy thoughts, surely that was enough to power a Patronus.

Turning to Anna, she sighed softly. "I don't understand. If happiness is what fuels a Patronus, why can't I produce one? I have lots of happy memories, but they don't seem to work." It was difficult to hide her frustration, though the silent plea for help was tinged by her concern by her inability to cast the spell. Perhaps her hidden fears and pessimism was preventing her from being happy enough. There had to be something she was missing, some significant detail unknown to her.