Blood Status || Marauders Era

Chapter 62|| Careers

The only other thing that we did at Christmas, was celebrate with Euphemia and Fleamont, and surprise Remus that we could all turn into our Animagus forms. He walked in the room and sat down on a chair, staring at us all confused at to why we were so quiet. Then it had happened to suddenly that I couldn't really remember the event well.

Sirius had promptly began to count to three rather loudly, and Remus had just asked what was going on but then, we all, hopefully in sync, changed into our animagi. I could just about remember his reaction and it was priceless. 

He did shout a little bit though, but it was all for a good cause.

Anyway, as soon as we came back, McGonagall had told the fifth year Gryffindors that some time this week, we would talk to her about the sort of career we would like to take, and she would give us advice on options, or subjects to do well in, or pamphlets of other future job prospects and all of that helpful stuff. 

Only problem was, I wasn't too sure on what I wanted to do, maybe work in the ministry, or in one of their departments.

"Why don't you work in the sporting one? I know you like Quidditch," Lily suggested one evening. I slumped further down when she mentioned Quidditch, the last match we had played, Gryffindor had lost, not by much, but we had still lost, and it was our first game loss in years. What was worse, was that it was against Slytherin, so we had had to endure way too much tormenting from everyone. 

Lily sucked in a breath, "Okay maybe not, how about law enforcement?"

I sat up straighter and asked, "What does it entail?" Lily promptly passed me a leaflet, and I read it, flipping through the pages, it was like a law and order department with hints of what Muggles would call the police, it seemed like a suitable career to do. "It pays well," I shrugged and passed the red head her leaflet back, "what do you want to do?" 

She then told me about twenty reasons why she wanted to be a healer, and how beneficial it would be and how it made sense to her parents.

Later on in the evening, the whole of the fifth year Gryffindors were in the common room talking about the careers they wanted to pursue, and going through the pamphlets they had been given by McGonagall. Sirius and James wanted to do what the other wanted, an auror, Peter was unsure between being in the Ministry or being a commentator, Remus wanted to be a teacher here at Hogwarts, specifically in the DADA department.

Between the girls, Marlene already had a job planned out with Madam Malkin about getting an apprenticeship, Aafiya also wanted to be a teacher, but she wanted to teach Charms, Alice wanted to be an auror too, saying it was for the greater good. Mary, however, gave a very vague answer, she never gave a job but she told the rest of us she wanted to travel countries and maybe live in Australia or New Zealand with distant family.

The next day, it was my career's appointment with McGonagall, one minute I was sat in Potions, the next I was in her office, on a wooden chair, eating a biscuit. "What would you like to do when you leave school Miss Pattinson?" 

Even though I had an answer clearly ready, I still took my time to tell her, thinking about the positives and the negatives of all of the jobs I'd looked at. I told her, "I think I want to work in the Ministry, in the Magical Law Enforcement department."

McGonagall surveyed me and then said, "You will then need top qualifications, and very high marks in your NEWTs, at a minimum, O's in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. I assume Potions could be useful too in some aspects, but you might only need an A or an E for that." I breathed out a breath I didn't know I was holding in, no pressure then. 

Only very top marks in the harder subjects, no big deal.

I walked out of the office five minutes later and made my way to lunch, as the bell had rung, and when I sat down with the girls, they all fired questions about what we talked about and what I said. I told them everything, and only Marlene seemed sympathetic, "I'm sorry about that, I know first hand how hard DADA can be, that's a lot of top marks." 

Alice, Aafiya, Mary and Lily took different tactics, telling us both how any job in the ministry would need perfect marks, it was obvious.

"Alright then, no need to rub it in, Lily. You have had your appointment, right? What did she tell you?" I asked. Lily said she would need the same qualifications, but top marks in Potions and at least a pass in Herbology would be helpful. 

"It's the same for most wizarding jobs, what I don't get is why you are doing Divination, no job needs that NEWT," Aafiya told me. She then went on about how Ancient Runes or Care of Magical Creatures would have been more beneficial to my education.

"Who said I'm doing Divination at NEWTS? I might drop it after these bloody OWLs, they're doing my head in and they're months away, all the teachers are now forcing us to do OWL level questions, and we have way more revision and homework, it's so strict," I complained. 

Lily gave me a pointed look and I sighed, "I know, it's another extra mark, but it's Divination, Aafiya was right, when does that ever matter? I'm not going to be a divination teacher."

We walked to Potions from lunch, and it was seemingly weird how I paid more attention now after my talk with the Head of Gryffindor. It was like a switch flipped in my brain and signalled to me that this subject was actually needed for my future potential job. "Amazing work today Miss Pattinson," Slughorn complimented me after I made a good potion after listening and paying attention to the instructions.

Remus leaned across the table, "Did Slughorn just compliment you?" Sirius leaned across the other side, he was on the left of me, "Of course he did Moony, Thea's great. But genuinely, what's gotten you to do you work?" I laughed at him, so much for the vote of confidence. One word, McGonagall, was all that needed to be said. "Ash, did she yell at you or something?" 

I shook my head, taking a minute to respond, sometimes I forgot my nickname was Ash.

It was hours later and the Marauders and I were walking up to the Gryffindor common room from dinner where a hoard of Slytherins had just gotten detention for dumping a bucket of slimy stuff on our heads. "We need to formulate a revenge plan, but it can't be something small, it has to be fearsome, something that screams subtle but Marauders," James said to the rest of us, wiping the stuff from his glasses for the fifth time.

"If only there was more time to come up with something," Peter whispered. The four of us whipped around to look at him and something struck in our heads, "Peter, you're a genius," Remus told him. Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise and blinked confusedly multiple times, looking at each of us in turn, "Why?" 

Without answering, Remus started to walk quicker up to the common room and then into his dorm and into the bathroom.

Sirius banged on the door, "If you did that funny thing just so you could get into the shower first, think again Moony." Remus then walked out with a pocket watch in one hand, his wand in the other, I did notice he was no longer dripping in slime any more. "That was a very quick shower," James said, impressed. Remus shushed the boy and sat on his bed, gesturing the rest of us to follow him.

"We mess with time, not properly, but just the Slytherin's time, only by ten minutes. We change their watches, the clock in their common room, anything that tells the time, and turn it back ten minutes. It's subtle but it will also make every Slytherin, or most of them, late by ten minutes." I thought that it was a good plan and so did the other boys, but I also knew that there were a few holes in the plan.

"What about the clock in the Great Hall or in the corridors?" I asked. Sirius answered me, "There is none in the Great Hall, and who cares if we change the first floor corridor ones by ten minutes, we only need them to be late once in the morning to get detention or points taken off. I've thought about their timetables, and on Thursday, every Slytherin has a first lesson on the first floor." 

How did he know that?

It seemed that the others thought the same as I did, but nobody voiced this information. James turned to Remus, "Well Moony, how exactly do we change their watches and first floor clocks on a Thursday?" Remus pulled out his wand and a book from his cabinet next to his bed, answering, "Well Prongs, I'm glad you asked."