275 Moving Towards The Future

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The ceiling of the Great Hall was serenely blue and streaked with frail, wispy clouds, just like the squares of sky visible through the high mullioned windows. While they tucked into their meat pies and eggs and bacon, Quinn, Marcus, and Eddie conversed about the AID announcement that had just happened.

"So, Astoria got a detention," said Eddie while looking at a book of Quidditch schemes and plays, "and that too with Snape."

"As much as I loved Astoria's little stunt," said Quinn, swallowing his bite of the fried egg. "She should have done her preparation and got the permission to change the banners. I mean, Astoria should have known that she would get detention — the Weasley twins got one every time they did a prank in the Great Hall."

Quinn had to bring Astoria to at least a level that she would be able to operate AID without a hitch, and doing it in three months was a challenge. Like a baby wouldn't touch a burning flame a second time, Quinn had to make sure that Astoria would learn her lessons after a single mistake — and the best way to do that was to make her experience the punishments/consequences. He was well aware that Astoria would get in trouble with her banner stunt, but he didn't tell her so that moving forwards, she would do her due diligence and always cover every addressable point that could give her problems.

"How did you do the card trick?" asked Marcus, digging into his rashes of bacon. "There was a card beneath every plate; I'm sure you didn't transfigure cards beneath every time someone sat down at the tables."

"That was quite easy, actually," said Quinn. "I passed the cards to the house-elves down in the kitchen and asked them to attach the cards to the bottoms of every plate they sent to the Great Hall." As there was no fixed seating on the House long tables, the house-elves would send a plate in front of every student, no matter where they sat.

After they had eaten, they remained in their places, awaiting Professor McGonagall's descent from the staff table. The distribution of class schedules for NEWT classes was more complicated than the ones from year first to fifth, for Professor McGonagall needed first to confirm that everybody in the sixth year had achieved the necessary OWL grades to continue with their chosen NEWTS, while the seventh years were required to prove that they at least had an acceptable (the lowest pass grade) in their chosen NEWT subjects to continue studying them this year.

"Mr. West," said McGonagall, "please ask the Prefects to guide the students into lines so that I can confirm their eligibility — seventh years come first and then the sixth."

"Of course, professor."

Eddie and Marcus were immediately cleared to continue with their chosen subjects, as neither has scored below an 'Exceed Expectations (EE)' in any of their subjects. McGonagall didn't even flip to Quinn's report card to check if he cleared his subjects. There were barely any Ravenclaw seventh-year students that didn't pass in their subjects. Even in the sixth year, Ravenclaws got the subjects they wanted — though everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses.

Next came Gryffindors, and the first one in the sixth-year students was Neville Longbottom, who took a little longer to sort out; his round face was anxious as McGonagall looked down his application then consulted his OWL results.

"Herbology, fine," she said. "Professor Sprout will be delighted to see you back with an 'Outstanding' OWL. And you qualify for Defense Against the Dark Arts with 'Outstanding.' But the problem is Transfiguration. I'm sorry, Longbottom, but an 'Acceptable' really isn't good enough to continue to the NEWT level. I just don't think you'd be able to cope with the coursework."

Even after a year's worth of DA, Neville's motivation and a new wand resonance could only take him so far. Neville had to catch up with multiple years of practice that he missed because of a non-compatible wand. And while he had done an impressive job, he could only do so much. Moreover, DA was primarily focused on Defense Against Dark Arts, and Neville's motivation led him to focus more on those, leaving Transfiguration, a subject Neville disliked to be left on the back seat.

Neville hung his head. McGonagall peered at him through her triangular spectacles. "Why do you want to continue with Transfiguration, anyway? I've never had the impression that you particularly enjoyed it," she asked.

Neville looked miserable and muttered something about "my grandmother wants."

"You have to grow a backbone, young man. It's your life, not hers. If you don't step up, then she will never let go. Please have confidence in yourself, Mr. Longbottom, you're a fine individual, and you have to understand that there's no need to compare yourself with your father."

Neville turned very pink and blinked confusedly; McGonagall had never paid him a compliment before.

"I'm sorry, Longbottom, but I cannot let you into my NEWT class. I see that you have an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charms; however — why not try for a NEWT in Charms?"

"My grandmother thinks Charms is a soft option," said Neville in a low mumble.

"Hmph," snorted Professor McGonagall. "Should I send Professor Flitwick, the dueling champion, to your house, and maybe they will have a pleasant talk about Charms being a weak subject.

Take Charms, Mr. Longbottom, and I shall drop Augusta a line reminding her that just because she failed her Charms OWL, the subject is not necessarily worthless." She smiled slightly at the look of delighted incredulity on Neville's face; McGonagall tapped a blank schedule with the tip of her wand and handed it, now carrying details of his new classes, to Neville.

Quinn winked and gave thumbs up to Neville, who passed by him with a positive glimmer in his eyes. Slowly but surely, Neville Longbottom was gaining the confidence he never had.

McGonagall turned next to Parvati Patil, whose first question was whether Firenze, the handsome centaur, was still teaching Divination.

"He and Professor Trelawney are dividing classes between them this year," said McGonagall, a hint of disapproval in her voice; it was common knowledge that she despised the subject of Divination. "The sixth year is being taken by Professor Trelawney."

Quinn made a wildly displeased hearing that the centaur was staying as Parvati walked away looking crestfallen.

The next ones in the line were the Golden Trio. The first in line was Hermione, who, like Quinn, didn't need to have her scores checked as McGonagall remembered her grades.

"So, Potter, Potter, Double Potter . . ." said Professor McGonagall, consulting her notes as she turned to Harry and Ivy, who stood behind her brother. "Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration, Potions . . . all fine. I must say, I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Mr. Potter, very pleased. Are you going to go down the same path as your father and become an Auror?"

Harry nodded. If it was a couple years back, he would have spoken about becoming a professional Quidditch player, but right now, he was serious about becoming an Auror and helping his father, who had been facing dangerous situations with rising Death Eater activity.

"As for, Ms. Potter, are you still on your path to becoming a Curse Breaker?" asked McGonagall, passing Ivy her schedule after confirming her scores. "Your Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Charms scores were high even in the 'Outstanding' category — you will do well in the curse and ward space."

Now that was something Quinn didn't know about Ivy. Curse Breaker. . . it was a generalization for the people who wanted to work with complex wards and spells. They studied runic languages to understand wards and inscribe runes to build their own wards. They even learned how to deconstruct spells, reverse engineer them, create new spells as not all spells were general knowledge — and say to undo a curse or spell, one needed the counter-curse, which could be gained through vigorous research on the casted curse or spell. And it was one of the most sought-after magical jobs in the magical society and thus one of the few jobs with stringent requirements with high scores in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, and a strong base in Magic History and Theory.

"Yes, Professor, I haven't changed my decision," said Ivy. Even though it was one of the more dangerous jobs, she wanted to pursue it. She turned to Quinn, who stood by McGonagall's side and asked, "What about you, Quinn? What do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

Eyes turned to the Headboy. There were several DA members within earshot, and all looked back to their time in the Room of Requirements to remember if Quinn had ever talked about what he wanted to do.

"I plan to travel the world after Hogwarts," said Quinn. He already had a job as an inventor, which paid him well enough for a lifetime in royalties. He wasn't looking for a conventional job. "I have an apprenticeship lined up that I will undergo when I'm ready, but apart from that, I don't have any short-term plans on what I want to be."

"Travelling the world to gain a wider outlook is an excellent plan," said McGonagall, glancing back at Quinn. "You see places different from home and learn to appreciate all the wonderful and beautiful that the world has to offer."

Quinn nodded with a smile. He was here, after all, to see what this world had to offer him.

Ivy twirled a strand of her hair as she muttered to herself, "Traveling the world, mhm, that sounds nice. . ."

Ron was the next in line, and he cleared the five core subjects — Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against The Dark, Potions, and Herbology. Maybe it was because Hermione, but Ron had barely passed the requirements; however, the Weasley hadn't taken any other subjects than the five, nothing more.

Next came the Slytherins. The first in line was Draco. He stood in front of McGonagall with an uninterested gaze. He didn't care about school, grades, subject — not after he had gained a very special branding on his forearm. He wasn't even planning to return to Hogwarts for his last year — as he saw it. . . Hogwarts didn't matter.

"Mr. Malfoy, you qualify to sit in NEWT classes for all the subjects you gained OWLs in," said McGonagall. He had nine 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceed Expectations.' '"Will you be attending all your classes?"

Draco glanced at the empty schedule and was about to ask that his subjects were cut down to the core five, but his eyes caught Quinn standing behind McGonagall. Quinn was staring at him with fixed eyes. Draco couldn't tell the meaning behind the gaze, but it made him conscious. He looked away, unable to face the gaze that felt like it was judging him, looking down at him. . . disappointed with him.

Draco clenched his fist tight and looked at the still empty schedule. He looked at McGonagall and spoke, "Knock out Astronomy, Care, and History. . . I. . . am taking the rest."

"Off you go," said McGonagall, handing Draco his filled schedule.

As he turned away, Draco glanced at Quinn, who was no longer looking at him, and then at his schedule with complicated eyes.

"Next is. . . Daphne Greengrass," Quinn said as he watched Daphne walk out of the Slytherin line and step in front of McGonagall.

"Ms. Greengrass, hmm, your year only have a handful of students who're aiming for Healers. . . and I don't know how many will make graduate with enough requirements for healers," said McGonagall with a sigh as she looked up at Daphne. "I hope you haven't changed your mind about it."

"My goal to become a Healer is set, professor. I'm not going to change it ever," said Daphne. She glanced at Quinn. He was the reason why she could study and learn without the looming pressure of hurrying things. Without Quinn, Astoria's illness would continue to bubble inside her body.

"Good, good," McGonagall said, sighing in relief. It was one of her responsibilities to make sure that students who were aiming for high-requirement careers didn't get scared away from them.

She had been having problems with Aurors for a very long time — since Snape had started teaching. Aurors only selected the very best, and they, on their end, weren't having any problems as those who scored well in Snape's tough class were elites, but McGonagall had a problem as the number of applicants had been declining over the years.

She turned to Quinn. "Mr. West, you have been learning from Poppy; why don't you try being a Healer." She glanced at Daphne and said knowingly, "You can give Ms. Greengrass some much-needed company."

Daphne had a faint shading of red on her cheeks. She didn't believe that the 'serious as a warden' McGonagall would imply what she was implying. It also made her aware that the professor knew her and Quinn's relationship.

"I won't lie, professor, that's an attractive prospective," said Quinn, gazing at Daphne, "and maybe if the flow takes it, I'll go with what you suggest."

There were a few 'oohs-and-aahs' from the girls in earshot, which made Quinn smile and made Daphne's blush grow deeper.

"Now, Ms. Davis," McGonagall said to the smiling brunette, the sunshine of Slytherin, "you have chosen to go into your family's Herbology and Apothocery business," she looked at Tracey's grades, "and you have chosen the appropriate subjects for that. . . though you have chosen to eliminate Care of Magical Creatures. . . won't that be detrimental?"

"It's okay, my father's going to teach me about Care on his own," said Tracey politely. She, like so many, didn't want to say that they didn't want to attend because Hagrid was going to teach the subject, and after taking the subject for a couple of years of attending the class, they knew it was going to be crazy. . . and not in a good way.

After everyone was done and everyone had left, McGonagall stood up from her chair and faced Quinn. "Mr. West, will you be joining your family business in the future?" she asked.

"Hmm? No, I won't be involved in my family business actively. That's not for me, professor. I'm more interested in magic," said Quinn.

". . . and that's why you want to travel?"

"Yes, I'm going to learn magic all around the world," then Quinn paused before continuing, "and then I'm going to solve problems. . . yeah, I'm going to use magic to solve problems."

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Quinn West - MC - Maybe that's it.

Draco Malfoy - Sixth-Year Slytherin - 'Why did I do that. . . ?'

Ivy Potter - Sixth-Year Gryffindor - Aiming to go into magical research.

Daphne Greengrass - Sixth-Year Slytherin - 'Studying Healing with Quinn. . .'

Harry Potter - Sixth-Year Gryffindor - Following into his Father's footsteps.

Tracey Davis - Sixth-Year Slytherin - Family Business, here I come.

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