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The Eye of the Storm | 26

Athena had always been a morning person. Especially the past couple of years, she had made a habit of waking up at dawn. Of course, being Ginny's bodyguard had distruped her schedule, but now that they resided at the Burrow and things weren't as fluid, she was able to fall back into it. Sometimes she would even wake up before Mrs Weasley, which she didn't mind. There were times she needed to just sit in complete silence and be left alone with her thoughts. A temporary moment of clearance to get her thoughts in order as she had a lot to think about.

That cold, winter morning was one of those when Athena woke up before everyone else at the Burrow. She still couldn't get used to how big the Burrow was. She had heard about it from Charlie and Bill, but living within its walls was an entirely different experience. Her family owned a small house. They never needed much space as it had always been just the four - and later three - of them. Her apartment in London was in a similar state since she lived by herself. Getting down the stairs to get to the kitchen felt like descending a mountain. She always wondered what it would be like if she had more siblings, what it would be like having a bigger family that would gather all together on occasions like Christmas. When she was young, they would spend the holidays with her cousins, but after her father's passing they hadn't maintained a close relationship.

Athena served herself some coffee and sat by the window, watching absentmindedly the snowfall, covering everything under a thick layer of snow. Some brave garden gnomes sprinted through the snow to get inside their homes, living small footprints behind. The snow was as tall as the fence, maybe taller. It hadn't stopped snowing since Harry had gone to the Ministry.

She furrowed her brows. Harry had been unusually cryptic about his meeting with Ron. He didn't say much about it, in fact he hadn't said anything at all. He avoided the topic altogether, which made her concerned. She didn't like it when he concealed information from her, particularly when it was information about their job, although she figured it must have been somewhat more personal if he didn't want to share that with her. Athena usually avoided sharing personal information, a habit that she had transmitted to Harry since the days she had been her mentor, so she didn't quite blame him for doing so. There were boundaries between them that couldn't be crossed since they were just colleagues. It was surprising that they had shared as much with each other as they had so far.

But it wasn't like that anymore, at least that was what Athena believed. She thought of them as friends or at least being close enough to trust each other. She hoped Harry thought the same, but apparently it wasn't the case. Although, she was the one to blame and she knew that. Her aloof personality and strict professionalism made her unapproachable to her colleagues. She shouldn't be expecting that Harry would suddenly consider her a close friend just because they had shared a few heartfelt moments. She remembered what Ginny had said when she confronted her at St. Mungos, that she didn't know Harry the way she did. Perhaps she was right.

And perhaps what Harry needed right now was some space and time to process whatever information he was given. Pressuring him wouldn't get her anywhere anyway. So for now, she decided to just let him be, just as he would do if she had been in his position. It was best to let him talk when he was ready. The sound of footsteps made Athena tear her gaze from the window and look over at the doorstep. It was no other than Mrs Weasley herself. who looked surprised to see her up at these hours.

"Oh, good morning Athena, dear," she said as she grabbed her apron that she had left on a chair the previous night. "Why are you up so early?"

"Good morning, Mrs Weasley. Old habits die hard," Athena responded before taking a heavy sip from her coffee, feeling the liquid burning her throat.

Mrs Weasley eyed her. "Of course." The older woman glanced outside, frowning at the amount of snow that covered her yard. "Merlin's beard. I wonder when it's going to stop snowing so I can do my shopping in Diagon Alley."