Chapter 902 - 363: Career Guidance

Chapter 902: Chapter 363: Career Guidance

Harry thought nothing of Dumbledore’s remarks criticizing his dad.

He certainly knew what kind of person James had been at school; you might say Dumbledore had even... well, glorified him a bit.

So, the best course of action was to stay silent to avoid Dumbledore pulling in Snape for a confrontation.

Soon, Dumbledore sent an invitation to Professor Lupin, who gladly accepted the invite to return to Hogwarts. On the first day of April, he returned to Hogwarts.

The first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts for the third-year students.

When the students saw Professor Lupin back on the podium after two years, they all thought it was an April Fool’s joke.

Upon learning that Lupin had formally accepted Dumbledore’s invitation to return to teaching, the students gave him a warm round of applause, welcoming Professor Lupin back to his devoted Defense Against the Dark Arts podium.

The third-year students liked Professor Lupin the most. Two years ago, they were just first-year freshmen, and it was Professor Lupin who made them love this subject—even if every month Professor Lupin seemed unwell for a few days and Professor Snape had to substitute, which made them cherish Professor Lupin even more.

Indeed, without comparison, there’s no harm; if Snape didn’t persecute them a bit, how could they appreciate Professor Lupin’s goodness?

On April third, all the fifth-year students had to go to their respective house head for employment counseling.

Employment counseling at Hogwarts is an interview to help students plan their careers after graduation. Professors assist students in determining future directions based on their grades and personal intentions.

For average students, employment counseling occurs twice: once before the O.W.L.s exams in fifth year, and once before the N.E.W.T.s exams in seventh year.

"Relax," the Weasley Twins shouted loudly in the Gryffindor common room, "you’re up first, then it’s us seventh-year students—don’t worry, Professor McGonagall won’t make things hard for you. Last time during employment counseling, we said we wanted to create some peculiar little inventions after graduation, and Professor McGonagall didn’t criticize us but told us to focus on studying Transformation Spell."

"Really?" Ron said with some concern, "I haven’t decided what I want to do after graduation yet. Should I become an Auror or a Quidditch goalkeeper?"

The Weasley Twins exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

"Having dreams is good." Fred said, gasping for breath.

George quickly added, "Too bad they’re unrealistic."

After adding that, George wiped tears away—the tears of laughter, not for any other reason.

Employment guidance arrived as scheduled; Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood at the front of the Gryffindor line. As the class prefect, Ron was sure to be at the front with Hermione to receive employment counseling from Professor McGonagall.

Ron entered Professor McGonagall’s office first. Professor McGonagall was already waiting for him at the back of the office. When he entered, she adjusted her glasses and said briefly, "Sit down, Weasley."

"Well, Weasley, this conversation is to talk in detail about any thoughts you might have about future careers to help you decide what subjects to continue studying in the sixth and seventh year." Professor McGonagall said, "Have you thought about what you want to do after leaving Hogwarts?"

Ron opened his mouth but hadn’t really figured out what he wanted to do.

"Don’t be nervous, Weasley." Professor McGonagall’s voice was gentle, "Feel free to tell me what you’d like to do; as a professor, I’ll give you some reasonable advice."

Ron took a deep breath and said quietly, "Uh, Professor, I want to be an Auror."

"An Auror?" Professor McGonagall nodded, pulling a small black flyer from the pile on the desk to show Ron and said, "For that, you need excellent grades. As far as I know, they require at least five N.E.W.Ts certificates, none lower than ’Good.’ Then, you must undergo a series of rigorous personality and intelligence tests at the Auror Office—it’s a demanding career path, Weasley. They only recruit the best wizards; actually, I recall no one’s been selected in the past three years."

"I suppose you want to know what subjects you should study?" she continued, raising her voice somewhat.

"Yes," Ron said softly, "I think, Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Of course." Professor McGonagall said straightforwardly, "I also suggest studying Transformation Spell since Aurors often need to change their appearance or maintain their looks at work. And I must tell you, Weasley, unless a student receives a ’Good’ or higher in the ordinary wizard level exams, I won’t allow them into my N.E.W.Ts class—to put it plainly, besides Defense Against the Dark Arts, your current average is ’Pass,’ so you need to study very hard before the exams to have a chance for further study."

At this point, Professor McGonagall paused briefly before continuing to talk to Ron, "You should also study Magic Curse, which is always useful, and Magic Potion... yes, Weasley, Magic Potion," she added, a slight smile crossing her face, "Magic Potion and antidotes are essential knowledge for Aurors, and I must tell you, Professor Snape absolutely won’t accept any student into his advanced class with less than an ’Outstanding’ in O.W.Ls, so..."

Professor McGonagall continued with a cheerful smile, "I know you may not be fond of Magic Potion Class, but I still suggest you study well, lest Professor Snape doesn’t accept you into his advanced class."