Career Counseling
"It's rare for you to come visit me unless it's to get revenge on me or because you've destroyed the castle again," Sirius said as he sat in his office, giving his beloved godson a smile as Harry sat calmly in front of him. "You didn't destroy it again, right?" Sirius quickly asked with concern.
"No," Harry replied dryly, rolling his eyes.
"That's good," Sirius said, relaxing back into his chair. "So?" he asked.
"Can't I visit my godfather just because I feel like it?" Harry asked with a smile.
"You know you can't sweet-talk me the way you do your mother, right? Not anymore," Sirius immediately said.
"Tch." Harry clicked his tongue, his smile disappearing. "You used to be easier to fool. Looks like you've gotten smarter. Is it because of the Headmaster title? I guess the job comes with wisdom. Good for you," Harry said in a tone full of sarcasm that sounded much more familiar to Sirius.
"Just say it already. I don't have time to sit here worrying about you. I've already got enough to deal with between your mother and the other crazy women who want to skin Umbridge alive," Sirius said tiredly. "But it's still not time yet," Sirius added in a serious tone.
"Tch."
Harry clicked his tongue again as if Sirius had figured out exactly why he was there.
"How long?" Harry asked with a serious look.
"Haaa..." Sirius sighed. He knew his godson perfectly well by now. "Whatever you want to do, just do it. Just don't let her get hurt. We need her at Hogwarts temporarily," Sirius said, keeping a serious gaze fixed on his godson.
Harry looked at Sirius and gave him a smile as if that was exactly the permission he'd come looking for.
"Sure," he said before standing up.
Sirius narrowed his eyes when he saw that smile.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
"Probably," Harry replied.
"Perfect," Sirius muttered as Harry simply started walking away.
Sirius let out another sigh, but simply went back to his paperwork without giving it much more thought. Though a moment later, a faint smile escaped him as he shook his head in amusement.
…
With Sirius's permission secured, Harry calmly walked through the school corridors, though for a moment his gaze settled on one of the windows overlooking the grounds. In the distance, he noticed Hagrid limping out of the Forbidden Forest, clutching his aching shoulder before entering his hut, which a few seconds later began sending smoke out through its chimney.
"I'll deal with that later," Harry murmured.
If Hagrid had managed to reach his hut on his own, it could wait a little.
Then Harry continued on his way.
"Oh, Potter. It's almost time for career counseling. Since I've found you here, why don't you go first? That way we'll finish faster," Professor Flitwick said after running into him in the corridor.
It was at that moment that Harry remembered he'd been putting off the career counseling sessions being held that very week with the Heads of House, meant to help them figure out what they might want to do in the future. Though, if he was being honest, Harry hadn't been paying much attention to any of that until now.
He did remember Hermione and Draco walking around with several pamphlets about possible jobs in the magical world, handing them out to their fellow Ravenclaws.
"Yes, of course, Professor," Harry replied calmly and confidently.
"Excellent, excellent. Come along," Flitwick said with a smile as he urged Harry to follow him toward the Charms classroom, where the Ravenclaw students would have their counseling sessions with their Head of House, Professor Flitwick.
But the moment he entered the classroom, Harry's expression quickly turned cold when he saw the person he least wanted to see right now.
Dolores Umbridge.
She was sitting there waiting with her quill and parchment, ready to pay attention to the students' career discussions.
When she saw Harry, she seemed perfectly calm and even had a smug smile on her lips.
"So the first one will be Harry Potter," she said in that disgustingly sweet tone.
Flitwick didn't seem to know she would be there, so he frowned for a moment, but there wasn't much he could say.
"Sit down, sit down," Flitwick said, returning to his friendly smile as he urged Harry to take a seat.
Out of respect for his Head of House, Harry simply chose to ignore Umbridge for the moment and sat down with his back to her as if she didn't exist.
"Well, Potter, this meeting, as you know, is to talk about the possible careers you'd like to pursue once you finish Hogwarts and what classes you should take in sixth and seventh year to achieve that," the professor said calmly as he placed several pamphlets on his desk, the same ones Hermione had been handing out in the common room.
"Of course, we all know that you and your friends have already achieved great success in business even at your age, and perhaps your futures are already secure, but I'd still like to hear what plans you have for after you leave school," the professor said cheerfully. After all, Harry and his friends were some of the students Flitwick was most proud of.
"I assume it'll have something to do with creating and developing magical objects, right? Or perhaps potions?" the professor asked with interest.
"Actually, neither, Professor. Draco and I have been thinking about becoming Aurors," Harry said calmly. "Hermione and Daphne also want to join the Ministry after finishing Hogwarts."
Hearing this, the professor looked surprised for a moment. After all, being an Auror was a fairly dangerous profession, and Harry, being a wealthy heir with his future practically secured, had absolutely no need to pursue that path.
"So, an Auror, eh? That surprised me a little. But, to be frank, it's certainly not as if you couldn't do it. With your grades, the special magic you possess, and everything you've already accomplished, I have no doubt you could manage it. Even if you told me you wanted to become Minister for Magic, I wouldn't be surprised," Professor Flitwick said, nodding with confidence and pride toward his student.
But upon hearing those words, Umbridge, who until that moment had remained silent while writing behind Harry, let out a faint cough to remind them that she was still there.
Harry and Professor Flitwick turned to look at her.
"Oh, forgive me. I didn't mean to interrupt. Please, continue," she said in a syrupy tone.
Professor Flitwick gave her one more look before turning back to Harry.
"Then I suppose you'll have to go through the Auror aptitude assessment and afterward complete the three years of training. Though, with your abilities, I don't think you'll have too much trouble," Flitwick said before looking at Harry with a little more curiosity. "Would you mind if I asked why you want to become an Auror?"
"Yes, of course. Actually, my friends and I think the Ministry of Magic needs a lot of improvement, and that if we want to change things, the best way to do it is from the inside," Harry said calmly and directly.
"Aha!"
Suddenly, Umbridge shot up from her seat, almost jumping with excitement, making Harry and Professor Flitwick turn toward her.
"Is something wrong, Madam Inspector?" Flitwick asked, looking somewhat annoyed.
Umbridge seemed to realize what she'd just done and slowly sat back down.
"Oh, no. Forgive me, Professor Flitwick. Please, continue," she replied with that same sickly sweet smile.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
Umbridge had started writing much faster.
"I knew it..." Harry managed to hear. "The Minister was right..."
Harry watched her for a second.
He had absolutely no idea what that woman thought she'd discovered.
Nor was he particularly interested in finding out.
So he simply went back to talking with Professor Flitwick, ignoring her once again.
Umbridge, meanwhile, continued scribbling frantically across her parchment, the smile on her face growing more and more satisfied.
Harry glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
A small smile appeared on his lips as well.
After all, Umbridge could have her fun with whatever she thought she'd discovered.
He already had his own fun prepared.