The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

vagabond

Fixing the back strap on her heel, Dorcas peeked into the waiting room and saw Lily's eyes were closed; she was curled up next to Mrs. Potter who was also fast asleep. A small smile crossed her face and she grabbed a blanket from the other sofa and dropped it on the pair of them. In the distance she saw James, freshly changed out of his hospital gown, trailing after Sirius down the hall.

She didn't call after them, or investigate, she had to get back to the castle and she knew whatever they were doing was more trouble than she was willing to know about.

Dorcas headed to the series of fireplaces, and got in line behind a particularly heavyset man with a very peculiar idea of what constituted as dress robes. She snickered under her breath at her own jokes, before it was her turn to floo. It wasn't her favorite form of travel. If she had too choose she'd apparate everywhere, but this was better than using a Portkey. She'd sworn that she would never use a Portkey, the feeling of a hook grabbing her and yanking her across the country wasn't something she wanted to relive.

Arriving at Dumbledore's office, she landed cleanly and far more skillfully than Lily would have. The Headmaster was sitting at his desk, but his eyes left the paperwork in front of him to glance over at her.

"Morning, Ms. Meadowes," He said, softly, his eyes returning to his work.

"Professor," She nodded at him.

"Everything going well?"

Dorcas opened her mouth to answer, but her face scrunched up thoughtfully. Her pause was enough to cause him to look up.

"Is everything alright?"

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" She said in her most respectful voice.

Dumbledore put his quill down and gestured to the seat in front of his desk. "For a moment, you may."

Her heels clicked on the floor, and her hands went to flatten her skirt, before she dropped down into the seat. The pail fuchsia manicured nails; she'd painted only the night before, drummed on the arms of her chair. For a few moments she didn't speak, her eyes darted across the floor and she bit the side of her lip stick stained lips thoughtfully.

"I'm a Muggleborn. And I've spent the past week watching Lily and Marlene filing out job applications." She clasped her hands together suddenly, "I'm not stupid Professor. Marlene is an excellent student, she will get into the Healing program, but even though Lily is the smartest in our year and could easily do anything, she won't get into the Ministry, because she's Muggleborn. I appreciate that you have always been politically correct and made us believe that if we worked hard we could overcome the hoops that are ahead of us, but I want to be realistic." Her brown eyes grew somber. "What should I set my sights? What career, where would I be most likely to gain employment?"

He nodded to himself pensively, before speaking. "I see your point and it is very proactive for you to come to me."

"I just want to know where I'm headed." She said simply, crossing her legs. "I have decent grades, I can do any job...Just point me in that direction."

"Your best interest would be overseas. The United States though flawed, don't currently have any laws in place permitting employment for Muggleborns."

"Okay," Her jaw ticked as she thought, "Now, I would like a letter of recommendation from you Professor."

"From me?" He said, his surprise evident by the rise of pitch in his voice.

"I'm aware you normally don't give recommendations to students and I understand why, you hardly ever spend enough time with any to know them well enough to recommend them. But Professor, I do believe I've been in this office enough in the past few months that you know me." Her voice was crisp, polite and directly to the point. "If you do not agree I will still ask McGonagall and Slughorn-"