The days passed quickly while they waited for Phoenix to molt.
By mid-May, Sean received a letter tucked with a phoenix tail feather.
Headmaster Dumbledore told him that Fawkes would molt today, so he invited him to the headmaster's office for afternoon tea.
Holding the beautiful, vivid phoenix feather, Sean walked into the Great Hall.
As always, the Hall was full of chatter. Justin was waving at him, while everyone else had gathered around Harry, discussing something.
When Sean got closer, he could hear them clearly.
"An Auror? That's actually not a bad idea."
Hermione looked up from her book.
"Yeah, being an Auror would be pretty cool."
Ron said it half-jokingly.
"Exactly. If you really think about what you want to do after Hogwarts, Auror is definitely a solid choice."
Justin said gently.
"Think about it. Your Defense Against the Dark Arts is second only to Sean's, and you're great at sports too. Looking at it that way, becoming an Auror would suit you really well."
Harry was sitting in the middle of the group, his cheeks a little red.
Normally, he didn't like sharing his thoughts with other people. But Ron had let it slip, and now that it was out there… it actually didn't feel that bad.
"You really think I could become an Auror?"
Harry asked awkwardly.
"Why not?"
Justin asked with a smile.
"I'm not so sure—"
Hermione dropped her huge book onto the table with a thud, sending up a faint puff of dust.
"What?"
Harry asked nervously.
"You need excellent grades."
Hermione said it while pulling a black leaflet out from the messy pile on the table.
"They require at least five N.E.W.T.s, and none of them can be lower than 'Exceeds Expectations.'
On top of that, you have to pass a series of strict personality and aptitude tests at the Auror Office.
That kind of job isn't easy, Harry. They only take the very best. Actually, if I remember right, they haven't accepted any new recruits for the last two years."
"Oh."
Harry lowered his eyes.
"But Sean already told me that."
He added a second later.
Hermione shot him a surprised look, then glanced at the pile of books on his desk and quietly bared her teeth in a grin.
"You'll have to deal with harder things than ordinary wizards and step into deeper, more difficult fields, but I think as long as you really like the job, that's enough, isn't it?"
Justin said in conclusion.
"He's still got a long way to go—"
Hermione didn't agree. She turned to Harry and said,
"If you keep training for Quidditch, I think it'll be hard for you to do this. You practice five times a week—"
Her point was obvious.
"I… I'll figure something out…"
Harry muttered.
"Then, Harry, you'll probably need to know which subjects you should focus on."
At that point, Sean sat down, and everyone's eyes naturally shifted to him.
"What? Sean?"
Harry asked hopefully, completely confused.
"To become an Auror, you need at least five N.E.W.T.s, and none can be lower than 'Exceeds Expectations'…
Defense Against the Dark Arts is very important. I'd also recommend Transfiguration, because Aurors need to transfigure and Apparate constantly on the job.
And Harry, there's something else you should know. Professor McGonagall's N.E.W.T. class only accepts students who get at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' on their O.W.L.s.
Right now, your average is only 'Acceptable.'"
As he spoke, Sean pulled out a notebook from his bag.
"You organized the whole wizarding careers section?"
Justin was immediately interested and leaned in with Harry to look.
Sean nodded.
History of Magic was very easy for him, so he often used class time to organize other things.
Like the full range of wizarding careers throughout history—vampire hunter, Hit Wizard, Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator, Wizengamot official, Curse-Breaker, and so on.
Sean had sorted them all into categories and added a lot of his own notes.
Looking at it now, those notes could probably help young witches and wizards across the magical world.
The truth was, magical education had always been loose and unstructured. Since wizards were raised through a mix of family teaching and magical schooling, the gap in ability between individuals was huge.
And wizarding culture and general education were honestly a mess. It couldn't compare to the structured education of the non-magical world at all.
After all, you couldn't expect wizarding families to teach knowledge in a systematic way, and you couldn't expect boarding-school teachers to constantly supervise every student's studying.
And kids that age loved to play. Worse still, magical knowledge was obscure and difficult.
They didn't want to study, they couldn't understand it, and then they wanted to study even less.
That was the cycle young wizards lived through—and that wasn't even counting outside factors.
Like Professor Snape's "special treatment" of Harry…
So Sean and Justin completely agreed that a good general guidebook, especially one focused on career guidance, was both rare and badly needed in the current magical world.
That was how this book came to be:
A History of Magical Careers: What Do You Want to Be in the Future?
Harry read through the Auror section with shining eyes:
"For those aiming to become an Auror, I personally recommend at least four categories of magical study:
Defense Against the Dark Arts — Aurors may be the profession in wizarding history that deals most directly with dark magic, so this should be your top priority.
Transfiguration — Aurors need to transfigure and Apparate frequently in the course of their duties.
Charms — useful at any time.
Potions — both potions and antidotes are basic knowledge an Auror must master.
Beyond that, any wizard who wants to become an Auror must also show strong ability to withstand pressure, including perseverance and dedication — because Auror training itself takes another three years.
Not to mention extremely advanced practical defensive magic.
Which means that even after leaving school, a wizard still has a great deal left to learn.
So:
If you've read this far and still feel passionate about becoming an Auror, then you're ready to face your challenge.
And enjoy the applause. Auror may be the most respected profession in the wizarding world."
By the time he finished reading A History of Magical Careers, Harry was clutching it tightly and refusing to let go.
"Harry, let me see—"
Ron asked anxiously from the side. Only then did Harry reluctantly and carefully set it down on the table.
"Dragon handler… potioneer… healer…"
Hermione leaned over too, immediately curious. The whole group started reading through it with obvious interest.
"I think we can publish this as soon as possible."
Justin had already guessed how well the book would do. The explanations were so clear and direct that not only young wizards, but probably even some adults would want it too.
"Yeah."
Sean nodded and handed several more copies to Justin.
Then he left the Great Hall and headed straight for the headmaster's office.
Fawkes was still waiting for him for afternoon tea.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!