Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-29-

So invested was she in balancing the numerous books in her hands as she passed across the Gryffindor common room that Dorcas almost didn't hear Silver calling her name from behind her.

She turned and saw the now red haired girl looking at her miserably from one of the sofas, a book rested on her knee. She went over and dropped her books beside her, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Going to Juliet?" Silver asked quietly. Dorcas noticed her clutching a brown envelope tightly in her fingers. She nodded. "I wanted to tell you something. Do you have time?"

"Of course."

Silver sighed and turned to face her, bringing her knees up to her chest. "I got a job."

Dorcas didn't say anything for a moment. It wasn't a surprise to her – they had always known Silver would get a job even before leaving Hogwarts. But the way she delivered the news worried her. She didn't sound ecstatic, as she had expected, nor happy. She seemed morose, almost scared.

"I'm so happy for you, Silver." She smiled warmly, pressing her hand. "What's the job?"

Silver, however, didn't answer the question. Instead, she sighed and said, "I applied for the job in December, before the Christmas holiday. It's a competitive job. I had to sit for a lot of interviews and tests. Many people apply after Hogwarts, because they don't want to feel the pressure of the job and of NEWTs together. But I didn't want to wait; I was excited to follow my dreams. So I applied early, and I arranged with McGonagall so that I could sit for interviews and tests in her office. She had suggested doing it at Hogsmeade, but I didn't want anyone to find out."

She looked apologetically at Dorcas, biting her lips. It now became clear to her why she kept disappearing and why she had cancelled so many hangouts with them. But Dorcas wasn't mad. "Why not?" she asked.

"I didn't want to get my hopes up," she answered. "I wanted to tell you only after I got the job; if I did, that is. And well, I got it."

Dorcas smiled and hugged her. She was proud of Silver, and she knew she would go on to make everyone proud. "Have you told Maeve yet?"

Silver pursed her lips. "I wanted to tell you two together, but I was scared of her reaction. I mean, I did keep it from you for so long."

Dorcas laughed at her response. "Silver, you don't need to be so scared of her. She loves us, you know that. She'll be proud of you."

She didn't answer and instead stared down at the book in her lap, almost crushing the envelope that was in her hands. Dorcas felt bad. She had a job, and yet she wasn't as happy as she should be. "What's the job?" She prodded her knee.

Silver handed her the envelope, surprising her. "It came last week," she said. Dorcas recognised the seal on it. She had been receiving a lot of letters like this for the last many weeks, and she had refused to tell them who they were from. Now she knew.

Silver explained the job as she pulled out the letter and began to read it. "There's a research center in Dublin that studies runes and ancient artefacts. It has runologists from all over Britain working for them. Their job is primarily to decipher texts written in ancient languages, collect data from historic sites, and publish papers on the research work performed. The runologists travel to different places in the world and investigate different sites."

Dorcas finished reading the letter just when she had finished talking. She stared at her friend, trying to process the information in her mind.

You have been enrolled, the letter read at one point, into a team of highly talented runologists who will be travelling to Greece this summer.