Chapter 1823: Career Counseling
Chapter 1823: Career Counseling
Despite knowing that much of Daphne's speech was in jest, Alice was genuinely taken aback by such bold remarks.
Unlike Daphne, who could speak freely without any burden, Alice had real-life examples around her, making it difficult for her to take such words lightly.
Alice was well aware of the situations with Catherine and Valeria, so she couldn't understand what mindset Daphne had when she made those remarks.
Even if much of it was in jest, Alice was certain that Daphne had indeed entertained such thoughts.
What a terrifying woman!
Alice began to consider whether she should maintain a certain distance from Daphne.
Fortunately, Daphne didn't bring up the topic again after that.
However, for some reason, Daphne's behavior over the past few years had become increasingly intimate, as if she was banking on the idea that Alice wouldn't find a suitable boyfriend and would end up settling down with her?
"Alright, stop joking around!"
Alice was rather helpless about the situation. Although Daphne did have some ulterior motives, their years of interaction had made them close friends.
"What about you? Have you decided what you want to do after graduation?"
Daphne waved her wand, and the flyers in front of her flew to everyone.
"I don't think there's any rush to decide on a future career. But, I'll probably choose all of them."
Alice was completely unaware of the impact her words had on the others present.
"Are you planning to collect all the N.E.w.T. certificates?"
The surrounding group all had their lips twitching, and a few of them grabbed the flyers and tried to leave, probably not wanting to hear such demoralizing words.
For most Hogwarts graduates, obtaining N.E.w.T. certificates was a considerable challenge.
However, they had long known that the talented girl in front of them had already secured her N.E.w.T. certificates in her third year, graduating from Hogwarts with outstanding grades.
Even though they knew Alice didn't mean to boast, the vast gap still felt like a mountain pressing down on them, making it hard to hold their heads high.
"Oh, by the way, I probably won't be taking Professor Trelawney's advanced divination class anymore", Alice suddenly said.
"Why are you giving up on divination? I remember your exam scores were excellent", Daphne said with a teasing tone. "That old fraud would be heartbroken if she knew you were giving up her advanced class."
"I don't have the natural talent for divination, so I can't truly see the future", Alice shook her head. "Continuing the advanced class would be pointless."
"But I remember Anderson was hailed as the greatest divination master of the last century", Daphne was genuinely surprised that Alice would think she lacked divination talent, given her outstanding performance in the class.
"I remember the old fraud had high hopes for you."
"Professor Trelawney's high hopes for me are because I never slacked off and learned everything I could. I've reached the limits of what an ordinary person can achieve. Essentially, my predictions are still just educated guesses, and they fall into the same category as trickery."
Alice was quite frustrated that she hadn't inherited the talent for prediction, but she ultimately accepted this reality. What else could she do?
Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Before the meeting adjourned, Alice reminded everyone to remember the career counseling session with Professor Flitwick in the afternoon.
Most students didn’t take it seriously. Career counseling was only useful for a few students from Muggle-born families. To the majority, it was just a formality.
"Good afternoon, Professor. The Ravenclaw students are waiting outside."
"Thank you, Miss Anderson. Please take a seat."
Professor Flitwick pointed to the chairs in front of his desk and got straight to the point. "Have you thought about what you want to do after leaving Hogwarts?"
"No, Professor!" Alice shook her head.
"What? I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I didn’t quite catch it." Professor Flitwick looked up at Alice, bewildered. In his view, Alice was one of the most determined students at Hogwarts, and this situation seemed out of character for her.
"No, Professor. I plan to travel the world after graduation and figure out what I want to do during my travels", Alice explained. "As for the advanced subjects in sixth and seventh year, I plan to continue all of them except Divination."
"I remember your Divination scores were excellent, and Professor Trelawney was very keen for you to join the advanced class", Professor Flitwick said, puzzled by Alice’s sudden decision to drop Divination. He always thought Alice would follow in Albert’s footsteps, excelling in all subjects and graduating with top marks.
"I don’t have the clairvoyance Professor Trelawney claims to have. I can’t see into the future like my father did. I’ve already learned everything I can from Divination classes", Alice said honestly. "If I can’t progress further, continuing with Divination doesn’t make much sense."
"Perhaps the sheer number of options is overwhelming, making it hard for you to decide. My advice is to talk to Albert about it; he can definitely give you some good advice." Professor Flitwick winked at Alice, reminding her to let the next student in when she left.
"When I told Professor Flitwick I didn’t plan to stay and work in the British Magical World, his expression was quite something!"
Later, during the afternoon meal in the Great Hall, Daphne mentioned her career counseling session.
"You really don’t plan to stay in the Magical World?" a girl beside her couldn’t help but ask.
"No, probably not", Daphne glanced at Alice and said, "I don’t see much reason to stay in the Magical World."
"But you might not be able to use magic anymore."
"That’s just the way it is."
Later, Daphne confided in Alice that her main reason for not wanting to stay in the British Magical World was its hostility towards witches from Muggle-born families.
The best outcome for most Muggle-born witches was to find a decent, albeit low-paying job at the Ministry of Magic. But that kind of security, which many fought for, wasn’t what Daphne wanted.
As the daughter of a noble capitalist, Daphne saw things more clearly than most. Instead of working herself to the bone in the Magical World, she preferred to return to the ordinary world and use her family’s advantages to live a more comfortable life.
Was the ability to use magic really that important?
Just because one could use magic didn’t make them superior.
(End of Chapter)
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