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BOOK SEVEN: CHAPTER SIX

As Veronica sat in the Great Hall eating her breakfast, she watched Felix at the opposite end of the table laughing with his friends, and her heart melted. It had been a couple months since the bathroom incident, and the improvement she had seen in him was amazing. They had spoken almost everyday since the incident; Veronica had encouraged Felix to find her every time he had thought about ending his life, and at first, it was multiple times a day, but it had slowly gotten less frequent as time went on until he hadn't had one suicidal thought in over a week. Now, he came to her with good news and to talk about the good things happening in his life, and it was a relief. It had taken time, hard work, and patience, but she felt like she had helped him through the worst of it. The eye of the storm was behind them; it was only up from there.

"Hey, you two!" Veronica jumped as Hagrid startled her out of her thoughts. He chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry there, Veronica. Didn't mean to scare you."

Veronica smiled up at him. "That's okay, Hagrid. I was distracted. How are you?"

"Great, thanks! I won't keep you two long." Turning to Charlie, his smile widened. "I just came to tell you both that a few Dragonologists from the Romanian Sanctuary are coming to Hogsmeade to give a lecture on dragons." Charlie's eyes widened. "It's an hour long lecture starting at 10 at Tomes and Scrolls."

"Thanks for letting us know, Hagrid! Are you going?"

"I sure am!"

"Great, we'll see you there!" As Hagrid walked away, Charlie turned to Veronica with a huge grin on his face. "You're coming, aren't you?"

"I wish I could! It sounds like so much fun, but I have my meeting with Dumbledore and Flitwick at 10, remember?"

Charlie's eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You still don't know what it's about, huh?"

Veronica shook her head. "Nope. And I have no guesses either. If it were Dumbledore and Snape, that would be obvious, but I just don't know what Dumbledore could want to talk to me about that would need Flitwick to be there."

"Well, you'll find out soon enough." Standing from the table, Charlie extended a hand to her. "Come. Let me walk you to Dumbledore's office."

Veronica smiled as she took his hand and let him pull her up. "You don't have to do that, Charlie. I don't want you to be late for the lecture."

"Don't worry, love. It's only 9:30, I've got lots of time."

Veronica knew better than to argue with Charlie about this, so she gave in, and the two made their way to the Headmaster's office. Once there, Charlie turned to her. "If you finish early, come to Tomes and Scrolls, you might be able to catch the end of the lecture. Hagrid said it's an hour, so should be done by 11. If not, I'll meet you at our spot so you can tell me all about your meeting, and I'll fill you in on the lecture."

"Sounds good, I'll see you later. Wish me luck!"

***

"Come in, Ms. Singer. Take a seat." As Veronica entered the office, she noticed Flitwick was already there. The excitement on Dumbledore's face eased some of her anxiety. "I'm sure you're wondering why we asked you here today, so I'll get straight to the point. Filius has decided to go on sabbatical for a few years to travel and learn about different wizarding communities around the world. This means that, starting next year, his position will be open, and we have been thinking a lot about who we want to fill it."

"Oh wow, that's so exciting, Professor. But Headmaster, I'm not sure what that has to do with me."

Dumbledore chuckled as he shook his head. "Ms. Singer, we want you to take his place."

Veronica's jaw dropped as she looked from one to the other. "What?"

"We've known he would be leaving for quite some time now, but he didn't want to go until he knew his position was in good hands. We thought long and hard about who we could trust to fill these important shoes, and we both agreed there would be no one better than you. There's no one we would trust more to teach Charms and be Ravenclaw's Head of House."

Veronica's eyes widened even more as the realization hit her. "Wait... Dear Merlin! You want me to be the Head of Ravenclaw too? I... I thought I would just be teaching Charms!"

"Oh no, Ms. Singer. You would be taking on all of Filius' roles. Charms Professor, Head of Ravenclaw House... and Frog Choir Director."

Veronica chuckled. "Directing the Frog Choir is really the least of my worries! Those are some huge shoes to fill. Are you sure I'm the best one for the position? I would have just been a student one year and the next I'm teaching? And I'll be teaching students that knew me as a student. Do you think they'll respect me as their professor?"

"All valid points, Ms. Singer." Flitwick chimed in. "But we have complete faith in you. You're the brightest witch I've ever known and had the privilege of teaching, and your peers already respect you. I can see that clearly in how they interact with you. And as I hear it, you've already taken a crack at teaching a few of them, so you'll be a natural."

"And you would be shadowing Filius throughout the rest of the year to learn his teaching techniques and style and to start thinking about what style you'd like to take. It will also give the students a chance to get to know you and get used to you being their professor, and you have an opportunity to learn the names and faces of the returning students next year so that all you have to worry about is learning the first-years. And once you've shadowed for a while, you can also take a crack at teaching some of the classes as well. You two can work out the details together. That is... if you accept the offer. You don't need to answer now either, you can take some time to think it over."

Veronica looked dumbfounded. "Are you kidding? This is my absolute dream job; I'd be a fool to turn it down. So yes, of course I'll take it!"

The two professors beamed. "Fantastic!" Dumbledore stood and rounded his desk to shake her hand, sealing the deal. "Welcome to the team, Professor Singer."

***

"And that is why you never want to get on a Hungarian Horntail's bad side," the lecturer chuckled. "Thank you all so much for coming. My colleague and I will be at our booth in the corner if you'd like to chat or learn more about the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. We do have job opportunities available, and we love to hire graduates from Hogwarts. The best Dragonologists have come from this school, so we're always looking for new talent. Thanks again, folks!" Before the lecturer could even finish his sentence, Charlie was up and running to be the first one at the booth. "Hello, young man. We love the enthusiasm. Would you like to learn more about our job opportunities?"

"Would I ever! I've dreamt of being a Dragonologist for so long."

"Well, we love to hear that! Are you graduating this year?"

"I am–"

"And he's one of our best students in Care of Magical Creatures and is on his way to getting an O on his N.E.W.T exam." Hagrid appeared beside Charlie and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We talk about dragons all the time, he and I, and he's very knowledgeable about the creatures. He loves them just as much, if not more, than I do."

The lecturers looked impressed. "Good to see you again, Rubeus. That is high praise coming from you. We definitely wouldn't want to lose out on the opportunity to have you work for us, Charlie, so if you'd like a job, you've got one."

Charlie's eyes sparkled with joy as he grinned from ear to ear. "Really?"

"Oh, yes! We know Rubeus Hagrid well and hold his judgment to the highest level when it comes to magical creatures. His suggestions have led us to many amazing Dragonologists over the years."

"Merlin's beard. This is my dream job, you have no idea. I'll take it!"

"Great! Welcome to the team, Charlie."