You're My Destiny↣ Harmione

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter 26 - A Powerful Curse

They had deliberately held back on going down to breakfast this morning, not wanting to be sitting there when the newspapers were delivered. That everyone in the hall were gathered around those who had copies of today's newspapers was expected, Neville verbally pouncing on them as soon as they sat down was not.

"You two were Dumbledore's apprentices and didn't even tell me?"

It was Harry who tried to put an end to that story, amongst their friends at least, before it grew arms and legs. "Nev, the first we heard of that was when the Minister mentioned it in his speech yesterday. After spending last night looking up what an apprenticeship involved, neither Hermione nor I would have anything to do with one of those."

His intended instantly agreed. "You're basically signing control of your life away to someone else, becoming an indentured servant until your master thinks you've learned enough. No way will we be signing a contract like that - no matter who is offering it."

Parvati's answer of 'that's the way it's always been' left both Harry and Hermione shaking their heads.

"My mum and dad intend to cover this in their class later on in the year. In the muggle world you still pick your options like we do here, and then go on to higher exams while at school. After that though it's an entirely different matter. Assuming you worked hard enough to get the passes you needed, you would then start applying to universities that offered the course you wanted. Both my parents are dentists, a type of specialised healer dealing with teeth and your mouth. They attended university for five years, then worked almost as a trainee before becoming fully qualified."

"Before discovering I was a wizard I always fancied working in veterinarian medicine, healing animals."

Their conversation had of course drawn a lot of attention. That last remark from Harry though had left some of them flabbergasted.

"You're on the front page of the Prophet, being proclaimed the new 'Leader of the Light' and yet you want to be Hagrid? That's just …nuts!"

While Lavender's tone was one of disbelief, hearing his favourite phrase used against him had Harry almost choking. Trying to laugh while eating porridge is not recommended. As Hermione hit him on his back, Harry found Dean rushing to put the rest of those listening straight.

"Being a vet in the muggle world is a very highly respected position, and takes someone with brains to even take a shot at a career like that. As Hermione said, it's five hard years of university followed by on the job training. I'll be honest and say I don't think I've got the smarts - or the dedication - to pull something like that off."

His eyes may still be watering but Harry had his vocal cords back under control. "Thanks for that, Dean. Hermione and I also think it's unlikely every country has the same apprenticeship scheme as Britain. We intend to do some research on magical means of higher education, knowing that we also have the muggle system available too."

It was a puzzled Luna who probed further. "You would return to muggle education? What would you study there?"

A smiling Hermione answered that one. "We would have a vast and varied choice of courses - from astronomy to zoology, with all the other letters in-between being well represented too." Trying to personalise the discussion, and take some of the focus off them, she highlighted a few things Hermione knew their group of friends were interested in."There are courses on designing clothes, usually combined with art. Photography is another profession that you can study, as is journalism. By the way, Luna, we met your father yesterday."

This certainly switched their little blonde friend's attention from today's newspaper headlines. "How was he? What did he say?"

"He was chatting with us and my parents, just trying to get to know the people his daughter will be spending Christmas with."