I just want to help you. Trust me.

Kaiden had been sitting on a single thought for the past couple of days. He'd been trying to think of ways to help, but he wasn't sure how he was supposed to fix something that wasn't his fault. Even though it was.. in a way.

The conversation with Adrienne hadn't gone as planned, at all. But there were a lot of reasons for why it hadn't. One being Selwyn and another being the fact that he'd asked her to go to Hogwarts to begin with. He hadn't thought of the consequences of having her meet him there, but then again he hadn't known there were actually going to be any consequences when he'd asked her to meet him.

She was just full of surprised, wasn't she?

If he said he wasn't mad, he'd be lying. But exactly at what was he mad? Even he didn't know that. There were plenty of things that had happened that he could be mad at. And maybe he was mad at all of it. Losing his memory, coming back, seeing Adrienne, finding out she was involved with Selwyn, his family, all of it. There were times when he thought he'd have been better off staying in Greece with Madeline and the people he'd met there. It sure would have saved him the heartache he felt now. The worst part of it all? He still didn't think he knew enough to even feel the way he did.

He regretted some of the decisions he'd made since getting back. At this point the only thing he didn't have any kind of regrets toward, was becoming a professor at Hogwarts. It had helped him in many ways, in regards to his memories. He couldn't say he liked a certain conversation he'd had with a certain student about him and Adrienne.

Despite regretting most things, he was glad he came back. He really was. And right now, even though he seemed to be terrible at it, he wanted to help Adrienne. He might not have liked learning that she had been seeing Selwyn, it really made things at Hogwarts awkward, but he'd practically been the cause of him throwing her out. That didn't sit well with Kaiden. He'd learned that she was staying at the Leaky, what timing, and he didn't think that was appropriate for her. She shouldn't have to stay there.

Declan wasn't of much help when he went to ask for her though, he wouldn't tell him what room she was staying in. Kaiden didn't like the idea of hanging around the Leaky all day until she got home, but then he remembered something. He knew where she worked, so why not go visit her at work. Again.

Everything had started with him seeing her at work.

How ironic.

Kaiden made his way to the Daily Prophet's office. He didn't know how happy Adrienne would be to see him, if at all, but there was also something else on his mind that he wanted to ask her about. If she would listen to him, that is. Once there, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he entered. Eyes glancing around, he walked up to the front desk. "Um, is Adrienne in today?" he asked the intern who sat there. "If she is, can I speak to her? It's kind of important."

The secretary looked up, relatively surprised to see someone like Kaiden standing there. Mainly because the poor lad recognized this man, though he looked more put together this time. Still, he was set to see the same person, according to his request, and Adrienne was indeed available. But she hadn't warned him that she was expecting anyone. So it must have been important, like the man said.

So Ross nodded and told Kaiden that she was in the third door down the hall, on the left.

Inside, Adrienne was working on an article about the upcoming Ministry gala. The anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts also fell, this time, on the twentieth year since Harry Potter's disappearance, so it was, all in all, a very big deal. That was why she had pushed her appointments to the following week, though she'd done it herself rather than making Ross re-organize everything. He was a nice lad, but sometimes got things a bit muddled.

So she was definitely not expecting to see someone like Kaiden in her office that afternoon. And, apparently, Ross did not see fit to warn her before letting Kaiden head down the hallway on his own.

Would she be mad at him for showing up? He couldn't say whether he knew the answer to that or not. Adrienne seemed like a complex person from what he could tell, and quite frankly he wasn't sure how he was supposed to deal with her if she blew up in his face about being there.

Then again, it didn't seem like he usually knew what to do when it came to her. But he couldn't help but wonder if she would be angry, or if she blamed him for the entire ordeal she'd gone through. He'd be completely fine with it if she did blame him, because his disappearance was the cause of all the trouble with his family. If he'd been there, he could have reassured her, protected her. There's even the chance that none of what had happened would have happened if he'd just been there.

It seemed like so many problems could have been worked around if he had just.. been there for her.

He had remembered what had happened just before he left, the business trip, so did that mean that his family had planned even that to work in their favor? Surely they couldn't have known the ship would wreck and he'd end up in Greece with amnesia. They might have tried to ruin his marriage but he didn't think they were that bad, to abandon their eldest child intentionally.

He hadn't gotten an apology of any kind from them though, so..

Kaiden shook his head and thanked the secretary before turning to walk down the hall to the room he'd been told. Once he was in front of the door, Kaiden stopped suddenly. His hand raised up to knock on the door, a thought crossed his mind. He'd made the decision to go looking for Adrienne to offer her help, but the fact was that he had little idea as to what he was doing. He'd done this on a whim or guilt, more like.

But he couldn't back out now, so he let his hand fall onto the door to knock.

Adrienne looked up sharply when a knock sounded at the door. She never made Ross announce himself before entering, considering he rarely interrupted her without her expecting it. But still, she was tired of pretending that the annual gala wasn't relatively offensive. A memorial, yes, but weird as far as Adrienne was concerned.

So she pushed her chair back and stood, brushing down her dress out of habit as she crossed the room to open the door. Somehow, she wasn't as surprised as she probably should have been.

She'd run into Selwyn at the Hogsmeade fair, only to be insulted by him right at the outset. She didn't need that from Kaiden, too. Mind, she didn't expect it from Kaiden like she felt she should have from Selwyn. Kaiden had always been more timid, in comparison, despite their shared sorting history.

Adrienne blinked, unsure where to begin this time. Maybe this had something to do with his family, again, like it had the first time?

Unlikely.

"Um... Did you need something?" She asked, the fingers of one hand toying with the fabric of her skirt while the other gripped the door.

What she didn't understand, mainly, was why neither of them seemed out of her perception at any point. She kept running into them, kept having them return to her life. Why? Adrienne didn't feel she'd done anything to deserve the trouble - or the interest, for that matter. But it was actually a little exhausting.

Merlin, she wished he hadn't figured out where she worked. Or, equally, that she were at the Leaky just then. Maybe she should start working from 'home.'

deja vu was hitting him like a ton of bricks right now.

This might not be the exact same scenario but it was pretty damn close. He felt just as nervous but for an entirely different reason. But he was just as clueless as the first time. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain himself to her, or how she would respond to the bumbling explanation he would give her.

He wished it was easier to do these things.

And truthfully, had he been the Slytherin he was meant to be, it probably would have been. But he wasn't, and that didn't help him one bit now. He had to find his own way to make his feelings apparent.. and not, at the same time. It was confusing.

Merlin, was he bad at this.

The door opened and Kaiden came face to face with the woman he'd come to see. He had half expected her to turn and close the door as soon as she saw him, but he supposed she didn't seem like the type of person to do that. But after everything, he'd have done that if he were her. But he wasn't and that was a good thing, he thought.

"I just.. came to check on you." He scratched the back of his head. "Wanted to make sure you were okay after.. you know." He winced as he spoke, hand dropping from his head down to his side. "I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to see but I wanted to know." He added softly.