Chapter 47: Tough Love (2)

The next few weeks were extremely hectic. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Catherine, all equipped with parchments and ink, spent every free moment strolling around the castle and sketching every corridor, room, statue, portrait, tapestry, broom cupboard, and staircase. Contrary to what they initially believed, the process turned out to be a lot of work. They hadn't even finished one quarter of the work before the Easter holidays.

While they all decided to stay at Hogwarts, except for Peter, whose mother insisted on him coming home, their attention couldn't stay entirely focused on the mapmaking. The end of the year exams were approaching and they needed to start revising. 

"I can't believe I spent my birthday drawing a map and now I'm spending my Spring break studying." – groaned James, removing his glasses and throwing his quill to the other end of the Library table. 

"It takes us more time than I anticipated." – sighed Sirius, glancing gloomily through the window. Outside the April sun was pouring golden sunlight above the castle grounds, green with the new grass, tempting the inhabitants of the school to temporarily abandon their quest for knowledge. 

"What bothers me more is that we're not progressing on our other task." – said Catherine, cautiously looking around for people sitting nearby. 

"Do you have any development on the Slughorn quest?" – asked James, retrieving his quill. 

"Not really." – the girl admitted sulkily – "It's just never the right time. I wish he would invite me for one of his gatherings, but I think he usually favours older students."

"I've heard he invited McMahon to his Valentine's Day party." – casually added Sirius – "Apparently, it's not solely a matter of age."

"I do what I can!" – snapped Catherine irritated – "I can't help it if the old fool is only interested in status and blood relations. I don't have either."

"I'm sorry, Flame, I didn't mean to imply you were not doing your best." – quickly apologised Sirius.

"Whatever. I'll find a way, trust me, I most definitely will!" – the young witch said, her green eyes flashing with determination. 

"Completely unrelated to your delusional plans," – Remus chimed in – "have you all decided on what electives you are going to pick for next year?"

"Ah, I have forgotten about that." – Sirius yawned – "I think I'll take Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies."

"Really?" – asked James – "Why?"

"Care of Magical Creatures because it seems interesting, and a tad dangerous, and Muggle Studies, mainly to piss off my parents."

"Splendid motivation." – Catherine mocked him. 

"While I do not expect Care of Magical Creatures to involve anything truly dangerous, I'd probably take it as well." – said James, winking at Sirius – "I was thinking about Divination, mostly because it's probably easy, but I'm fine joining you for Muggle Studies."

"Who are you trying to piss off?" – asked Catherine. 

"My parents are not like Sirius'!" – said the black-haired boy defensively – "They do not care if I study about Muggles or not, plus we can learn more about your world, Flame."

"This is my world." – the young witch snapped.

"Merlin, you're touchy today! I meant learning about how your life is at home." – James said, browsing through his notes on the east side of the fifth floor.

"I was thinking about taking Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy." – Remus attempted to defuse the tension. 

"Arithmancy? This sounds boring as hell!" – James laughed. 

"It's actually quite interesting." – the other boy answered – "It's the basis for other disciplines like Potions, Transfiguration, Charms. It's all about numbers and logic."

"Was that supposed to change my opinion?" – James asked, amused.

"Leave him alone. Not everyone's trying to pick the easiest subjects." – snapped Catherine, still irritated with her friend – "Plus, Lily is also taking Arithmancy. You'll have company, Moony."

"What about you, Flame?" – Remus asked, smiling.

"Honestly, I haven't decided yet." – the black-haired girl answered, staring at the ceiling of the Library. 

*** 

In several days the decision about the electives became a pressing issue, since Professor McGonagall insisted that everyone submit their choices before the end of the holidays. 

Catherine found herself on the horns of a dilemma. She had never really considered any kind of career before. As an aristocrat she had some options, related to structures such as the Council or the Academy, although, sexism was deeply engraved in the main families and most witches didn't aim at high positions. In addition to that obstacle, Catherine was not even supposed to exist as a person. In general, she tried to avoid thinking a lot about the future, because she didn't know if she even had one, considering the demon she was carrying inside her. Furthermore, her parents had never enlightened her on how they were planning to proceed with her identity once she graduated from Hogwarts.

'If I ever do…' – the girl thought gloomily – 'Although, knowing my parents, they'll probably tell me to find a job in the Wizarding world and pretend I'm Catherine Plantier for the rest of my life.'

While in the past thinking about this prospective was so depressing that Catherine usually had ended up crying and avoiding everyone for days, it seemed that recently it had lost most of its sting. After all, living as Catherine Plantier, surrounded by her friends, would have been ten thousand times better than being a prisoner in her own home, even if she was never to use her real name or title again. 

'But then what kind of job would I want in the future?' – the girl asked herself - 'Anyway, Muggle Studies are pointless for me; I already know enough about the Muggle world. Divination might be dangerous… What if Professor Everdream really has the Gift and sees something about me?'

Catherine briefly considered asking Greg for advice, but somehow, she didn't feel comfortable. Plus, he did return home for the holidays, so at best, she could have sent him an owl, which wouldn't have answered any follow-up questions she might have. 

"Are you still using the Comprehensive Guide to Magical Herbs?" – someone asked, snapping Catherine out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw one of the Gryffindor third-years, a brown-haired boy, with eyes, the colour of dark chocolate and a mischievous smile, which gave him the appearance of a forest spirit. The young witch vaguely remembered she had seen this boy accompanying Greg around the school. 

"No, I'm done with it." – she quickly said, handing the heavy volume to her fellow Gryffindor. 

"You're Catherine Plantier, correct?" – the boy asked her, taking the book. 

"Yes. And you are?" – the green-eyed witch asked, although she was pretty sure about the answer. 

"Frank Longbottom. It's a shame we've never had the chance to talk the Common Room." – he grinned. 

"Well, I suppose, we're just part of different crowds." – Catherine concluded, wondering where this conversation was going. 

"True. I'm a little bit lonely now that most of my friends are home, but my parents are visiting relatives in the US and they'll stay there for a month, so I couldn't go with them." – explained Frank, taking a seat next to the girl.

"I see." – Catherine said, not certain whether the third-year's chatty demeanour was bothersome or amusing. 

"If you want, I can help you with your homework? Which subject are you working on at the moment?" – the boy suggested helpfully. 

"Thank you but I usually do not require help with my lessons." – Catherine declined, looking at the door, hoping one of the boys would appear – "Furthermore, I'm not doing homework but trying to decide on my electives for next year."

"Oh, I can help with that as well!" – exclaimed Frank with a smile.

"I doubt it. The problem's that I really haven't decided on my career path, and I can't make up my mind in such a short time." – the young witch admitted.

"I get that, it's a bit too early to decide on your future." – Frank smiled – "We're also supposed to have a career advice meeting at some point before taking our OWLs, so you should relax a bit. Just think of these electives as skills you don't have but might be useful for you regardless of the profession you chose."

"This is actually a really solid piece of advice." – said Catherine, smiling.

"You sound surprised." – laughed Frank.

"I'm sorry, I'm really not the friendliest person, but I do appreciate your help." – the second-year nodded and stood up, collecting her papers.

"And I appreciate the honesty!" – Frank chuckled – "Still, maybe next time it won't be so awkward."

"Perhaps." – Catherine smiled and left the Library.