Looking aHead Girl

Christmas hols are always brilliant, but this year is better than ever. I actually have so much scheduled that some things have had to be put aside in order to accomplish what's more important.

For instance, last Monday I was only able to attend the meeting and missed the luncheon for the new St Mungo's Junior Auxiliary because it was also the first day of my internship, but I’ve been able to do my part to help with preparations for the Gala on New Year’s Eve. Everything is just on schedule for that event and Mama has been very pleased with the participation from our junior members.

There have been the usual round of holiday gatherings and my parents’ cocktail party before the Opera the other night. In the past, I’ve always been able to help Mama manage all of her seasonal duties, visits, charitable obligations, gift logging and thank you writing, not to mention all of the engagements she manages on Papa’s behalf this time of year, but because of my work with the Aurors this season, I’ve had to leave most of the family obligations to Orion and Honoria—and I suppose it’s time that they understand all that’s required for people of our station.

We went as a family on Thursday evening to sing carols with the loyal crowds along the walk between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham. The Protector came out onto his balcony to acknowledge our good wishes, and the only disappointment was that His Son could not be with him. I know this pains Our Lord, but it is an important sacrifice He has offered to comfort the parents of my schoolmates who might otherwise have spent a holiday overshadowed by worries for their children's safety in the term ahead. Of course, there is no cause at all for concern, as Our Lord has amply demonstrated. All of us who love our realm are grateful to Him and to Harry Marvolo for setting such an example at the price of their holiday comforts and pleasures. One notes, too, the extraordinary loyalty of the Lestrange family and the Malfoys in following Our Lord’s pattern in this regard.

I am not insensitive to the fact that I have benefited from Mrs Lestrange’s unexpected freedom to concentrate on her work this week without also feeling the demands of welcoming her daughter home for her first holiday from school. I know it can’t have been easy, but I am most thankful for her efforts on my behalf. I could not have had any better introduction to the Aurors than this past week has provided! And Mrs Lestrange has patiently discussed and dissected each of the many layers of what we’ve witnessed, participated in, and contributed to.

There has been so much to see, so much to learn because I arrived when they’ve got a really major case in progress. I’ve seen how the departments collaborate and pool their efforts for investigation, intelligence-gathering, witness-management, and case-preparation. On Tuesday I was able to go along to an interrogation, which was ever so interesting, and on Wednesday, I accompanied Mrs Lestrange to Buckingham. I’m learning so much about methods, protocols, and chains of authority, and I can see that there’s loads to be learnt about piecing together evidence, and distinguishing truth from fabrication and obfuscation. I discovered right away that it’s no simple matter to comprehend how a traitor thinks--the assumptions and strategies are so radically different from the way I consider things: it’s a brilliant mental challenge! I know now that I was right to aim for the Auror programme: I can’t imagine anything I’d rather work at.

I thought I might spend my internship just making tea and filing parchments, but I’ve really been allowed to take part. And now, with this scandalous article out in The Prophet, things have wound up to fever pitch. My task today was managing communications, in-coming and out-going, making certain that every message reached its intended recipient as directly as possible. That meant I was the single fixed point in an amazingly fluid operation: it was breath-taking to witness how it all works, each Auror doing his part or contributing her expertise to the overall endeavour. And there will be much more to do tomorrow!

Friday's post brought an interesting letter from Mama to Orion and me. Mama serves on the St Mungo's Board of Governors, and she asked us if we believed any of our peers might be interested in supporting the hospital's important work by joining a Junior Auxiliary. Orion and I believe that this is a really special opportunity that will provide young adults like ourselves an introduction to civic participation and to the responsibilities our generation must shoulder if Our Lord's realm is to be as strong and proud throughout our lifetimes as it has been in this, our parents' prime.

The first focus of this new group will be to assist the Board in staging its Second Annual Holiday Benefit Gala, with the added enticement that all of the Junior Auxiliary members who lend a hand to the preparations may attend the party on New Year's Eve. In fact, they've scheduled the event later this year so it would fall during our school holidays for just this reason.

All sixth- and seventh-year students of good repute should watch the morning post for an invitation to join this new organisation. The letter will include a smaller reply parchment that you should sign and return straightaway, indicating whether you are able to attend an organisational luncheon on Monday, 21 December. If you enjoy good food, you should definitely attend: I understand the meal will be catered by Monsieur Etienne Froissart of Le Chien Bizarre.

Orion and I agree that this new Auxiliary gives us a really brilliant opportunity to do something good for an institution on which we all depend. Surely St Mungo's deserves our support. Won't you join us?