Lyons, Amelia

Frank sat in his office, wondering how he went from Auror to a career counselor. Now he was working both jobs, but he was actually pretty excited about this. He liked dealing with people and also loved to help them, so this was sort of a win-win situation. He was feeling very optimistic about everything, especially this new internship program.

He reviewed his file on Amelia Lyons. He still needed a lot of information about her, but all of the comments from her professor said she was a very bright young girl. He looked up at her- she was already in his office- and he gave her a reassuring smile. He had a feeling he would soon run into trouble, since he was only a year older than quite a few students here, but he hoped not with her.

"Hello, Amelia. I'd like to say that you're file looks quite good. You seem like a bright young woman with an even brighter future ahead. Just a few questions- What classes are you currently taking? Why do you want to be an Auror? And if you have any questions, ask now. We are read to start your internship, I just need information." He smiled.

Amelia sat nervously in the chair across from Frank, the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff with the title of ‘Career Advisor’. There were several reasons for her nervousness, not at all limited to the fact that she was meeting someone new, or that he was so close in age to her, or that he had her file open on his lap and was reading a lot of information about her that she likely would not have supplied if they hadn’t been meeting under these circumstances.

But above all, Amelia was nervous because she hadn’t told her parents she was going to be doing an internship, and with an auror, no less. Antoinette was likely to throw an absolute fit if she found out Amelia was even considering such an “unladylike profession”. If her mother got her way, Amelia would be a concert musician, or involved in some type of pseudo-politics that was really more like the social climbing Antoinette did, just with a fancier title and an office in the Ministry of Magic. Amelia could just imagine her mother’s face at the thought of her daughter catching dark wizards for a living.

The last time Amelia had gone ahead with something and not told her parents, it had gotten her removed from school for six months. That was last year, after the Tri-wizard debacle, and it ought to have taught her a lesson. But when Amelia had seen the flyers around school for the internship program, she couldn’t help but find herself interested. Perhaps it was her lingering guilt at not having entered the Tri-wizard tournament a second time, even after telling Raoul that she had. Or maybe it was the nagging feeling Amelia had that if she didn’t start asserting her wishes sometime, she would never be able to. Learning what it was like to be an auror – and hopefully proving she was capable of it – would give her a much stronger position when it came down to the argument with her parents about her future profession.

“I’m taking potions, charms, DADA, and transfiguration,” Amelia replied, blushing sheepishly at Mr. Longbottom’s assessment of her file. Of course, she had been working her entire life to achieve the type of praise he had given, but Amelia still found that praise, especially from authority figures, embarrassed her.

“And I want to be an auror…” Amelia began, hesitating slightly here. She knew that the profession had interested her, but was that Raoul’s pushing – he had been the one to initially suggest the profession, because of her knack with a wand and quick-thinking abilities – her own ambitions, or some underlying gene that had suddenly been activated, the same gene that had made Raoul decide to drop out of school and go off on the adventure that still kept them apart?

“I want to be an auror because I believe I have the skills to be successful at it,” Amelia said, trying to inject some confidence into her voice, “My wandwork is pristine, I can think quickly, and I have the mental flexibility to think ahead. I am also skilled in observation and blending in,” being invisible, her subconscious corrected, “so I feel I have at least some of the qualifications to become an auror. This apprenticeship would be my opportunity to find out if my self-assessment is correct.”

Frank scrawled down her answer in a comments section of his own file for her and then smiled pleasantly at her, meeting her gaze. "Wonderful. Thank you very much. For now, I think that is all of the information I need, and you answered completely. Thank you for that. I dislike having to fish for my answers." He chuckled quietly, setting down his quill.

"So let me explain the process. I will put you in touch with your mentor and you will have a day where you shadow them on the job. Then you report back here and we discuss the progress you've made, what you've learned, talk about anything you might need help in to be successful in the Auror field. And if at any time you decide you do not want to pursue this field, you just let me know."

"Any questions so far?"

“You’re welcome,” Amelia answered politely to Frank’s expression of gratitude, though a smirk was tugging at the corner of her lips. He was one of the only people that would ever be able to thank her for getting a straight answer. In the cases of logical, straightforward information, Amelia could be very forthcoming. When it came to her personal life and the details therein, however, Amelia was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

Amelia nodded as Frank explained the rest of the process, taking mental notes and filing them away in the mental version of the folder Frank had sitting on his desk. She had already read the pamphlet in the outer office about the internship process, so Amelia was familiar with what Frank was saying, but it was good to hear it once more to make sure she knew what she was getting in to, at least logistically. On the grand scale… Amelia was certain she didn’t really know what she was getting herself in to.

“No, I think that all seems perfectly logical,” Amelia replied to Frank’s question, pleased to have heard him say that she could get out of her apprenticeship any time. She was more than a little worried that the parental pressure that had always kept her in line before might become too much for her to fight against as she snuck down this potential career path, and when it did, Amelia wanted to know she would have an escape route.

Frank smiled at her. This was going more smoothly than he could have even hoped for. A few people had given him amused and cautious looks when he said he was taking on this job, thinking that all the ruffian teenagers locked up in Hogwarts would tear him limb for limb. He was glad to know this was not the case. The students weren't that bad.

"Awesome," he said. "This is working out just as we had all hoped it would. Here's the information about your first day with your mentor." He scrawled the information and slid it over to her. "You've been paired with Jenifer Dent, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm sure you'll learn a lot. If you have any questions, my door is always open."

((I will post the thread in your Info once it is made))

Who uses words like awesome? Amelia automatically wondered when Frank used this expression of contentment to describe the pseudo-conversation that had just passed between them. He really is fresh out of school…

Still, Frank had been helpful, and not overly inquisitive. Amelia had been to these types of meetings before with authority figures with files who insisted on asking prying questions that were completely impertinent, feeling as though they had the power to do so merely because they held a manila folder in their hands. Amelia returned his smile with a closed-lipped one of her own – merely out of politeness – and took the piece of paper he had slid across the desk for her. She read the name and information on the slip and then folded it, placing it neatly into the side pocket of her bag as she stood up.

“I will keep that in mind,” Amelia replied to Frank’s offer of assistance, “And thank you for your time.”

And with that, Amelia turned and left the Career Center, pausing at the doorway to check that no one was in the halls to watch her leave. The last thing she needed was anyone gossiping about this internship to her mother. She did not want to have to endure another semester at home with private tutors and her mother’s overbearing nature.