As though to underline the importance of our upcoming examinations, a batch of pamphlets, leaflets, and notices concerning various Wizarding careers appeared on the tables in Gryffindor Tower shortly before the end of the holidays, along with yet another notice on the board, which read:
CAREER ADVICE
All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting
with their Head of House during the first week of the Summer
term, in which they will be given the opportunity to
discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments
are listed below.
I looked down the list and found that I was expected in Professor McGonagall’s office at twenty to three on Monday, which would mean missing part of Drama. Aww, I was just getting the final touches for Minerva the Mischievous. Thought I’d forgotten about that hadn’t ya?
Who am I talking to?
As everyone read all of the various leaflets, I was attempting to eat whatever Hermione was reading, just to annoy her.
“It’s not food Willow.” She told me, and I transfigured the Healer’s booklet into a block of chocolate. “You can’t do that!” she said loudly. “Really, that defies wizarding law – food can not be-“
“I know. I defy law.” I said, swallowing the mouthful of chocolate. “I just wish I could defy gravity. It’s time to try, defying gravity!”
“Oh shush.” Hermione smirked.
“Hey,” said a voice to the left, to the left. I looked around; Fred and George had come to joined us. “Ginny’s had a word with us about you,” said Fred, stretching out his legs on the table in front of us and causing several booklets on careers with the Ministry of Magic to slide off onto the floor. “She says you need to talk to Sirius?”
“What?” said Hermione sharply, freezing with her hand halfway toward picking up make a bang at the department of magical accidents and catastrophes.
“Yeah . . .” said Harry, trying to sound casual, “yeah, I thought I’d like —”
“Don’t be so ridiculous,” said Hermione, straightening up and looking at him as though she could not believe her eyes. “With Umbridge groping around in the fires and frisking all the owls?”
“Well, we think we can find a way around that,” said George, stretching and smiling. “It’s a simple matter of causing a diversion. Now, you might have noticed that we have been rather quiet on the mayhem front during the Easter holidays?”
“What was the point, we asked ourselves, of disrupting leisure time?” continued Fred. “No point at all, we answered ourselves. And of course, we’d have messed up people’s studying too, which would be the very last thing we’d want to do.”
He gave Hermione a sanctimonious little nod. She looked rather taken aback by this thoughtfulness.
“But it’s business as usual from tomorrow,” Fred continued briskly. “And if we’re going to be causing a bit of uproar, why not do it so that Harry can have his chat with Sirius?”
“Yes, but still,” said Hermione with an air of explaining something very simple to somebody very obtuse, “even if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?”
“Umbridge’s office,” said Harry quietly.
“Are — you — insane?” said Hermione in a hushed voice. Ron had lowered his leaflet on jobs in the cultivated fungus trade and was watching the conversation warily.
