Chapter Fifteen: Jobs Are Difficult
Australe Leo Black ~ Sunday, June 6th, 1976 ~ Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmead, Scotland
After Christmas time, the teachers really started to pick up on our lessons and started to give us loads and loads of homework. It was unbelievable and I don't know how I got through it all. With Quidditch practice and all the other things I was doing, I had only minimal time to do all the homework. But somehow I always found the time.
We also won the Quidditch House Cup! It was Slytherin versus Gryffindor in the last match and Darcy, our Seeker, managed to catch the snitch, right from under my dear brother, Regulus' nose! It was hilarious. We had a huge party after, that lead to McGonagall yelling at us at three o'clock in the morning.
It was now June. I had a great year and Remus and I were doing great. We loved each other. I mean, yeah, I was fifteen and he was sixteen and we weren't even adults yet. We'd only been dating a few months, but we loved each other and that's all that mattered.
Next week was the start of our OWL exams. Everywhere you went students were selling powdered dragon claw, and Baruffio's Brain Elixir. It was literally a Black Market at lunch times. I had to drag my brother and James away from the Baruffio's Elixir and I had to get Remus and Lily to confiscate it. They were really mad at me, but if something had happened to them and they had died or gotten hurt, from that stupid poison, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, knowing that I could have done something to prevent it. And they we're going to forgive me. I had read their minds, even though they said not to. Professor Dumbledore would understand.
Today was our career advice meetings with our head of house. A week prior to today, Professor McGonagall had given each of us a package full of pamphlets each relating to a different job. To be honest, I really didn't know what I wanted to be. I loved animals, I loved Quidditch, I loved Remus, and I wanted to do something great for the world. I also had a gift, something that was extremely dangerous and extremely valuable, maybe in some professions. Thinking of all the things I loved and wanted to do, though, didn't really put me on a straight pathway for my future. Maybe I would work at the Ministry, or maybe I would be a international Quidditch player. Who knew, right?
"This is killing me, I can't think of anything I want to be! Is it just me or can you guys think of one thing that will happen in your future?" James groaned and flipped over onto his back, from where he was lying on the couch in the common room. I glanced up from the pamphlet I had been reading to see James take a pillow from the couch and smash it on his face. I smiled slightly, leaning against Remus, who was sitting on the floor next to me. He kissed the top of my head and reached for another pamphlet.
"Didn't you want to be a Quidditch player?" Peter asked from his position on one of the comfy chairs adjacent to the fireplace.
"Yeah, but my mum doesn't want me to be one. She thinks it's too dangerous and she wants me to work with dad and take on the family business." James said. James' dad, Fleamont Potter, was the creator of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, which had quadrupled the Potter's family wealth. James' mum, Euphemia Potter, was a very kind woman who only wanted the best for her only son and child.
"Well you could be a Quidditch player for a couple years straight out of school then chose to go work at your dad's company or work somewhere else." I suggested, "But you're right, I can't think of anything I want to be either. Wait! Maybe I can be one of those muggles who like pretends to do magic and reads your mind! I don't think there's anything else that I could do with this stupid thing in my mind."
"Are you kidding me, Aus?" Sirius asked and I shrugged. "You could literally be anything you want with that power and because you have the marks of it, and you can't think of a single thing other than some muggle magician?" Sirius sounded flabbergasted. I was only joking mate, calm down.
"Yeah, well you guys have the marks too, but I don't see you coming up with anything better." I said pointedly and stood up, "My meeting is in ten minutes, I better go." I said and grabbed my bag from the ground. I kissed Remus on the cheek and the guys all mumbled a response as I left through the portrait hole entrance.
"Please come in Miss Black." Professor McGonagall said motioning for me to walk through the door once I had knocked. I went into her office, where I had been one too many times before and took a seat in front of her desk. Most of my detentions had been with McGonagall. Mostly only because she was the one that always caught me and the other Marauders doing something we weren't suppose to do. McGonagall started with the speech about the future and how with good grades I could do anything.
"Well, you Miss Black, have nothing to worry about for now. All of your grades are very good and if you keep up them up, I don't see why you couldn't get Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding on all your OWLs. Just study hard and you will get the outcome you are hoping for." I nodded at her words as she continued with her speech about my future and that I could do anything as long as I try hard at school and then she asked me what I would like to do when I was older.
"Well, I love anything to do with animals and I love Quidditch too. I really don't have a clue, to be perfectly honest. But I want to do something maybe with you know, my mind or whatever." I said bluntly. No point in lying to impress a teacher. She nodded and took some notes. She knew about my gift, Dumbledore and I told her this year.
"Okay, that's fine. Most people don't know what they want to do at the stage you are at right now. I could suggest, if you like Quidditch, you could work at the Department of Magical Sports and Games. Or you could work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I could also suggest the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Department of Security if you want to use your gift. The Law Enforcement squad could use someone who can tell if criminals are being truthful or not." McGonagall started to list off a bunch of professions and stopped to give me a knowing look.
"Um, sorry to interrupt, but isn't the Department of Security where they train trolls and things like that?" I said with a scrunched nose. Trolls disgusted me.
"Yes, but that wouldn't necessarily be your job." McGonagall countered my disgust with a little shade of hope but I shook my head.
"No, it's not for me." I said. She nodded and gave me three pamphlets that were larger than the ones we got before.
"Well, that's perfectly fine, not every job is for everyone. These are some thicker pamphlets about the jobs we talked about today. For any jobs, you will have to have a number of OWLs but seeing your marks, I doubt you'll have much trouble getting any of them." She told me and I nodded, "You may go."
"Okay, thank you Professor." I got up from the chair.
"You're very welcome. Good luck on the tests." She wished me luck and I smiled as I walked out the door.
Australe Leo Black ~ Monday, June 14th, 1976 ~ Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmead, Scotland
Today was the first day of OWLs. I was really jittery and no one was able to make me stop bouncing on the balls of my feet. Mackenzie and I were the same when we got nervous or impatient; we were always bouncing. In the end, Remus and Lily had to take me to Madam Pomfrey and get me a calming drought potion. After that I was really calm and I think I was the most relaxed out of everyone in the hall.
The first exam we had was Transfiguration and it was the written part of it. I knew basically all the answers but I did guess on one multiple choice question. Also, the one good thing that came from me using my gift for bad stuff was that when I didn't know one of the questions, I could just search someone else's mind. Dumbledore would have been so upset with me though, so I didn't do it, it was only ever a thought that crossed my mind once. After came the practical part and that, I'm sure I aced. My examiner told me that I did really well anyways.
After Transfiguration we had the Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Potions exams all in the same week. The following week we would have the rest of the exams, Charms, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures and of course, Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Australe Leo Black ~ Monday, June 21st, 1976 ~ Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmead, Scotland
The Care of Magical Creatures exam was actually a fun one. The written exam was full of questions that I didn't even have to study for because, they were extremely easy. Maybe not common sense but if you took the course, you would have known them. The exam was full of questions like these,
Care of Magical Creatures Written Exam
1. Name two ways you can lure a Bowtruckle out of their tree.
To lure a Bowtruckle out of their tree, you have to offer them something to eat. You can offer them Woodlice but they really love Fairy eggs, if they can find them.
2. What are Thestrals?
Thestrals are a type of giant horse. These horses can only be seen by people who have witnessed death.
3. Name one magical creature that is endangered and explain why.
The Golden Snidget in an endangered magical creature because people used to use them as golden snitches, the common flying ball that the seekers catch to end a Quidditch game, before it became illegal. A lot of the time when the Golden Snidget was used in Quidditch games, the impact of the catch would kill them. That is why there are so few left in the world.
The questions went on like that until I hit question one hundred. There were always a hundred questions on each OWLs exam. The Care Of Magical Creatures practical one took place in one of the paddocks just on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. For the actual test, we had to go up to Hippogriff, showing the proper way of bowing and then wait for it to touch you. We also had to tell the examiner which animal was the Knarl and which one was the hedgehog and lure a Bowtruckle out of their tree safely. I did all three things and did them all right, I think I did.
Tomorrow was going to be my last OWLs exam and I would be happy to get it over with. I was done with studying for the time being. Defence Against the Dark Arts was also one of my favourite subjects so hopefully I had this in the bag. I also had a few pretty smart friends to help me get through it. Friends who I was going to study with right now. But as I soon realized, not all of them were as smart as I thought they were.
"What's that thing called that does that thing when they are in that stage?" James asked me. I looked up to see him looking confused with his quill in between his teeth.
"Are you stupid?" I asked him, seriously.
"What?"
"How are we suppose to answer a question like that?" Peter said and I nodded looking at him.
"Well, for starters, you could be nice your best mate and then you could use your brain to help me figure out this answer."