Secrets

Chapter 4 - The D.A.D.A. M.A.P.s

The students found Professor Bale to be a proverbial fountain of knowledge. If he didn't know the answer to their question off the top of his head, he knew precisely which of the books on his bookshelf held the answer, and he would find it for them before anyone could think of the next question. They studied theory, but had practical lessons as well. He kept them on their toes by sporadically firing jinxes at them to see if they could counter-jinx on the fly. By the end of the second week, each student's hair had changed colors at least once.

Lisa ended up being one of the better students to anticipate when jinxes would be directed her way, but Kyra suspected that had a lot to do with the fact that Lisa was hanging onto every word the teacher uttered as if they were gold galleons. Poor Neville Longbottom got his hair turned so many different shades that his hair had forgotten what color it was supposed to be. He left one class with hair that refused to turn back to brown, no matter how many times Professor Bale tried to fix it.

Magical Arts Project sessions didn't begin until the third week. Lisa and Kyra had both decided to study with Professor Bale - Lisa because she was infatuated with him, and Kyra because she really enjoyed his classes and thought he was an excellent teacher. Terry was indeed studying with Professor Snape, though he was the only non-Slytherin to do so. While Ravenclaws were not renowned for their bravery, their determination to learn was unmatched. Anthony Goldstein changed his mind and decided Transfiguration sounded like a better idea than History of Magic, so he and Michael Corner would be working with Professor McGonagall. Noel and Padma had chosen to study Charms with Professor Flitwick.

M.A.P. meeting times occurred outside of normal classes and therefore had to be carefully planned around Quidditch practices. Not surprisingly, Professor Bale was a popular choice. In addition to Lisa and Kyra, Hannah Abbot and Ernie MacMillian from Hufflepuff and a whole tribe of Gryffindors had decided Defense Against the Dark Arts was the way to go. Lisa was annoyed at not having the professor to herself, but in the first planning session it was realized that in order for the students to meet the required number of hours per week they were going to have to be broken down into smaller groups. Ravenclaw had the Quidditch pitch reserved for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, while Gryffindor reserved it Monday (right after Ravenclaw), Wednesday (before Ravenclaw), and Friday. Luckily they didn't have to worry about Hufflepuff, as Hannah and Ernie were not on the team. Therefore, on Tuesday evenings all of the students would meet from seven in the evening until nine. On Thursday only the Gryffindors would meet, and on Friday Lisa only had to share Professor Bale with Kyra, Hannah, and Ernie.

The first Tuesday evening meeting of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Magical Arts Project group was fairly informal. They sat in a circle, and Professor Bale asked all of them what they hoped to get out of their Magical Arts Projects. A large number of them were interested in what it took to become an Auror, among them Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Professor Bale told them that while all of them were good students, he had to be honest with them. Becoming an Auror was a very difficult thing to do. He told them, quite modestly, that only two Auror apprenticeships were granted each year, and you needed at least five NEWTs, including Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions. This automatically ruled out a few of them, including Lisa, who was not taking Potions.

They discussed other things you could do with a career in Defense Against the Dark Arts, most of which were Ministry jobs. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was not only made up of Aurors - many other witches and wizards who were well versed in Dark Magics performed a myriad of duties to keep the wizarding world safe. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and the Committee on Experimental Charms were also in need of personnel trained in the Dark Arts and their defense. And last, but certainly not least, Professor Bale had it on good authority (though he wouldn't say whose specifically) that wizards who were highly trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts were more likely than most to be approached by the Department of Mysteries.

The students asked so many questions of Professor Bale that the two hour session was over before they knew it. It wasn't until the second session that they delved into what each student hoped to gain from their M.A.P. This was done much more easily however, as now they were in groups of four, rather than one large group.

Ernie MacMillian was determined to earn a position with the Department of Mysteries. He was fascinated by the secrecy surrounding the department and was convinced that their work must be totally awesome and exciting. Why else wouldn't the members be allowed to discuss anything that occurred within? However, should he not get offered a position there (since no one knew what the requirements were, exactly), he figured the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was the way to go.

His fellow Prefect, Hannah Abbot, also wanted to work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Both of her parents were in this department - her father worked on the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and her mother worked for the Improper Use of Magic Office.

Neither Lisa nor Kyra had any idea what they wanted to do. Lisa did think the Committee on Experimental Charms sounded fascinating though.

"I think that is a perfectly acceptable goal for your M.A.P.," Professor Bale informed her, and Lisa beamed. "If you'd like, we could arrange some meetings with Professor Flitwick and work on a great variety of charms."

Her smile wavered slightly, but she recovered quickly and flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Professor. That would be great." More time with Flitwick meant less time with her gorgeous professor, but her schoolwork was supposed to be more important than her love life anyway, right?

"And what about you, Kyra?" Professor Bale questioned. He smiled at her invitingly.

She looked at him and sighed. "I have no idea," she admitted. What she didn't admit was that she thought being an Auror was the ultimate job, but she didn't think she stood a chance of winning an apprenticeship. Not to mention that she probably lacked the courage to be a Dark Wizard hunter.

Professor Bale looked at her encouragingly. "Well, what do your parents do?" he asked, hoping to prompt a discussion.

Kyra giggled. "My parents are Muggles," she told him. "My father works for the Royal Mail service and my Mum's a school bus driver. I don't know a whole lot about what wizards do when they're all grown up."

"Oh, well, don't let the fact that your parents are Muggles hold you back," he replied. "Despite what some wizards claim, your parentage holds no bounds over your abilities as a wizard." He grinned at them, "Don't tell the Slytherins, but my Mum's a Muggle," he joked.

They all laughed, and Ernie replied, "Don't worry Professor, our lips are sealed."

"I'll bet your mother was shocked when she found out about your father," Lisa commented before she could stop herself. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. "That was rude of me."

He smiled at her. "No, it's okay. I don't mind," he assured them. "And actually, she wasn't - she knew all along. See, she was literally the girl-next-door, so she knew my father before he got his letter to Hogwarts - his parents were both Muggles - and they were pen pals the whole time he was in school. They started dating the summer after his sixth year, and got married four years later."

"Wow, that's really cool," Kyra commented. She was a hopeless romantic. All happy stories made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Was your father in Ravenclaw too?" Lisa asked.

Professor Bale nodded. "He was, and a Chaser too," he added, catching Kyra's eye and smiling. "So, now that we've gotten completely side-tracked," he continued, "we should go back to figuring out what you would like to work on for your M.A.P."

"Um," Krya stalled. "I really can't decide between a job for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Committee on Experimental Charms."

"What about being an Auror?" Professor Bale asked her.

Kyra looked at him, taken aback. He hadn't asked any of the others to consider that option. At least not in this group. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "You think I should?"

"I don't see why not," he replied. "You're taking the right classes and did exceptionally well on your O.W.L.s," he added. Something in the look in his eyes told Kyra that he was being honest with her, and that he actually thought she might have what it took to be an Auror.

"Okay, sure, why not?" she agreed, hoping she'd be able to find as much faith in herself as her professor seemed to have in her.

They spent the rest of the time discussing in what areas each of them should concentrate their studies. Professor Bale gave them an assignment to look into each of the areas they'd chosen more carefully and be prepared to discuss each career choice in more detail at their next meeting.

~*~