It's the day before the final quidditch match and I'm walking through the dungeons on my way to Snape's office to talk to him about my next steps after Hogwarts.
"Just tell him you're not quite sure." Emma says encouraging me.
"I know what I'm going to end up doing though. I'm going to become a death eater because my Uncle won't let me do anything else, then I'm probably going to be matched up with a wealthy pure blood boy and be forced to raise kids and teach them the ideology of the Dark Lord." I snap back at her. Emma's eyes go wide for a moment. "Fuck, I'm sorry Em. Didn't mean to snap like that."
"Just take a deep breath, it's not as bad as you think it's going to be. All he did was grumble when I said I wanted to be a journalist." Walter says trying to cheer me up.
"Yeah and he didn't say anything when I told him about my idea of a witch only broadcast." Emma says. She's back to her usual perky self.
"Okay but those are both genuine ideas. I have literally nothing I'm passionate about."
Emma and Walter look at each other, "You're really good at taking pictures. You have like three books full of pictures of us doing stupid shit." Emma says. She puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes a little.
We get to the door to Snape's office and I sigh. "Fuck it." I whisper before I knock on the door.
"Enter..." Snape's voice calls from inside. I look at my friends who nod and give me thumbs up before I turn the door handle and step into the room.
His office has floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall, full of a mixture of books, potion ingredients, and candles. His desk is in the direct middle of the room, three candles in the left corner and a roll of parchment with an ink pot and a quill sit in front of him. Other than that the desk is clean.
Snape sits on a big, black, leather chair behind his desk. He gestures at the empty, identical chair in front of his desk, "Sit down Miss Lestrange... I don't have all day..."
I nod and step deeper into the room, and sit gingerly on the leather chair.
There's an awkward silence, then Snape says, "So... what do you plan on accomplishing in your... life?"
I take a deep breath, "Well, I've learned this year that I am really good at teaching and helping students understand things..."
"So you want to be a Hogwarts Professor." Snape says cutting me off mid sentence.
"I was considering that, but being away from my family for the better part of the year is a little..."
Snape rolls his eyes, "So a tutor? You want to go to houses that have young wizards... to teach them things that their idiot parents can't?"
I don't say anything, I just nod a few times. Snape leans in closer, "You are aware that your family... demands a specific kind of respect amongst wizards correct?"
I nod again, "Yessir. My Uncle Lucius hired a tutor for Draco and I before we started at Hogwarts. I would love to do the same for other families."
Snape nods slowly, "The Malfoys and the Blacks are two of oldest...purest... wizarding families left... That comes with certain responsibilities... are you willing to put those responsibilities over your own agenda?"
I tilt my head a bit in confusion, "You mean... becoming a Death Eater sir?"
Snape leans back into his chair, "In a matter of speaking I suppose..."
It feels like the room drops like ten degrees, I squirm under Snape's cold gaze a little, "Uhm... sorry sir that seems like a personal, family, matter. Not something to be discussed with a professor."
Snape picks up his quill, dips it in ink, and rolls out his parchment, which I can now see is a list of fifth year Slytherins. "A home tutor... requires a minimum of ten OWLs and five NEWTs in varying subjects... Which is more than a Professor because tutors must be knowledgeable in multiple subjects... I would recommend taking Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology during your NEWT years in order to meet your goals... I would also suggest our Apparition class that we offer in both sixth and seventh year which will help tremendously travelling from one house to the other...However that class costs twelve galleons each year... by the end of seventh year you will receive your Apparition license..."
I nod a few times taking everything Snape has said into consideration, "Alright..."
Snape writes 'Home Tutor' beside my name on his parchment, "As long as you continue doing well in your classes... I don't see any real reason to turn you in a different... direction..." Snape looks at me, his face showing zero emotion like normal. "You may go now Miss LeStrange... Wish your cousin luck in the quidditch match tomorrow..."
I nod and get up from the chair, "I will professor, thank you." I get out of his office as soon as possible. Emma and Walter are leaning on the wall just outside the door but they jump off it as soon as the door closes behind me.
"So? How was it? What did he say?" Walter says.
I walk over to my friends and throw up my hands in defeat. "Well, I'm going to become a home tutor for young wizards before they get to Hogwarts... which is fine, I sort of like that idea. But it got weird when he asked if I was willing to 'put my families responsibilities over my own personal agenda."
Emma furrows her eyebrows together, her cheekbones sort of pop out of her face, "He wasn't talking about...?"
I nod, "But he was though, I asked if he was talking about becoming a death eater and his exact words were 'in a matter of speaking I suppose' can professors even ask something like that?"
Walter shakes his head, "I doubt it. You should talk to Dumbledore, it's probably breaking like a million rules."
We start to walk down the corridor, passing Henrietta on the way, probably going to her meeting with Snape. "Absolutely not, not a chance I'm bringing this to the Headmaster. I sort of told Snape off anyways. Told him it was inappropriate to ask me that and how it's more of a family thing."
"He never asked me about something like that. And it's pretty well known that my parents are Death Eaters." Emma says looking at her feet.
"True... But the Malfoys and the Blacks are notorious you know? Like everyone knows who my family is, even muggleborns know us." I look at both Walter and Emma who look a little uncomfortable. "It's true though."
"So..." Walter says. "What NEWTs do you have to take next year?"
I let out one really loud 'HA!' and Emma and Walter laugh, "All of them pretty much. Potions, charms, D.A.D, transfiguration, herbology, and I have to take Apparition."
Walter shoves me a little, "I have to take charms, D.A.D and herbology so at least we will be in those together."
"And I have to take Transfiguration, charms, and Herbology. I'm also going to get money from my parents for Apparition because I think that's the coolest thing in the world." Emma says cheerily.
Walter nods enthusiastically, "I want to learn how to Apparirate too. So together we'll have herbology and Apparition."
We walk right out of the dungeons and start going up the stairs, no real destination in mind. "Do you ever feel like it would be easier to be a muggle? I mean they don't have to deal with OWLs and NEWTs and choosing a job at sixteen." Emma says.
"They start school when they are five pretty much and go to school till they are eighteen. Then they decide if they want to go to more school after they graduate." Walter says quickly.
Emma looks at him with a very confused look on her face. That's when it hits me, Wally still hasn't told her that he's a half blood. "How do you know that?" Emma asks him after a moment.
Walter sighs, "Cause my mother is a muggle. My parents sent me to muggle school till I was eleven then they sent me here, to Hogwarts. My dad comes from a pureblood family, raised on the same beliefs you guys did. Even became a death eater during the first wizarding war. But he loved my mother too much to continue with them."
Emma is stunned. I take Walters hand in my own and squeeze it gently. Emma sucks her teeth and shakes her head, "What do they actually teach in muggle school? I've always been curious." Emma says. Walters shoulders slump in relief. I could tell he was terrified of losing a friend.
"Nothing that's even useful if I'm being honest with you."