The recruitment fair organized by the Ministry of Magic is scheduled for Sunday. It's the best day, it doesn't affect classes, and it allows students to have the entire day to talk in detail with representatives from different departments.
At the same time, the school has opened the event venue to students from other years, allowing them to observe and chat with the officials once the seventh-year students have finished their interviews.
However, normal wizards definitely wouldn't attend. It's a valuable Sunday, and only someone crazy would go to the recruitment fair to experience the atmosphere. Only a few fifth-year students and two exceptions.
These two exceptions are...
"Hermione, are you serious? Are you really going to spend your precious Sunday in a place like this?" Tom met Hermione early in the common room, and his mood was collapsing.
Hermione: ...
"So, dear Mr. Tom Yodel, can you explain why you appeared here?" Hermione's eyes could see nothing but white from rolling them so much: what a laugh, early Sunday morning, you show up in the common room with nothing else in hand, did you come here to use the bathroom?
Hermione didn't want to ask Tom to come; she thought he wasn't interested in recruitment. His future career was already decided; he would be the Warden of Azkaban, he didn't need any exam qualifications, just his face needed to be recognized.
Do you think someone like that, who works as the Warden and later as a "king," would go to a recruitment fair? Even if he did go to the recruitment fair, he would be sitting behind a desk conducting interviews.
Unlike her boyfriend, Hermione was looking for a job. If Tom dared to help her find a job on his own, she was sure she would take out her wand and hang him upside down.
So far, Hermione hadn't decided what to do in the future, so she thought about going to the recruitment fair to see and better understand her future. She believed that after this round of recruitment, she would have a clearer understanding of what the future held for her.
But who would have known that early in the morning, she would run into Tom in the common room. That surprised Hermione a lot. That he had that intention really made Hermione look at him differently, but at the same time, she also felt that she didn't know him well enough.
Tom just wanted to say: this is pure coincidence! He had a date today.
Yesterday, he received a letter from Minister of Magic Bones, inviting him to a meeting today to discuss some matters, so he set his alarm clock early. Wasn't he busy, so he went out for a walk early Sunday morning?
"I agreed to meet with the Minister of Magic today," Tom said with his hands up. "Can't you go back to sleep?"
Hermione suddenly cheered up: "What does she want from you?"
"Talk about things."
"What things?"
"It's confidential, adults talk, and children don't get involved so much."
"You!" Hermione's instinct led her to touch the handle of her wand, but upon thinking that drawing her wand and hitting her boyfriend would be detrimental to her image, Hermione suppressed her anger and said resentfully, "I'm not that small anymore..."
Tom glanced at the girl who seemed to be growing up, and indeed, she was no longer small.
Hermione seemed to see Tom's gaze, and her face suddenly turned red. She took a step and held her wand: "Tom Yodel..."
"They got up very early," a voice interrupted Hermione's words. Both looked toward the source of the sound and found that the person approaching was Robert Hilliard, the Ravenclaw prefect. He was the one who delivered the welcome speech to the first-year students at the Ravenclaw sorting ceremony.
However, after Tom and Hermione's school life returned to normal, they lost contact with this old companion. It was today when they realized that Robert Hilliard, being the same age as Percy, was also graduating.
Robert, wearing a new and shiny wizard's robe with neatly combed hair, seemed to have taken good care of himself.
"Hello, Prefect." Tom and Hermione greeted the Prefect sincerely. The old and kind Prefect, who had helped them so much before, was a man they wholeheartedly respected.
"You're not actually going to feel the recruitment fair, are you?" Robert Hilliard looked at the clock and realized something surprising. His expression became strange, and he quickly asked.
After receiving an affirmative answer, the prefect Robert's expression changed. After seven years at Hogwarts, it was the first time he had seen third-year students going to the recruitment fair.
"Um..." He carefully pondered his words and finally said, "Shall we go to the event venue together? I can show you around."
The three of them walked along the path and, naturally, couldn't help but talk. The topic of conversation, of course, was the future direction of their careers.
"I want to work at the Ministry of Magic, in fact, most students think the same. Only those students with family properties wouldn't consider that. For example, Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff, she will probably take over her uncle's business and manage the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione said.
Tom nodded. Most people going to the event venue today wanted to enter the Ministry of Magic, as it was the special day dedicated to that. Only the Ministry of Magic and companies affiliated with the Ministry would be present.
Thinking of that, Tom suddenly remembered his own White Dolphin's Prison. In the future, it seemed that his prison and Azkaban might try to recruit personnel from Hogwarts. However, Tom didn't have high hopes; he knew Azkaban's reputation very well, and the likelihood of recruiting someone was almost zero.
A few days ago, Borgin sent him a letter asking if he needed to go to Hogwarts to recruit two apprentices, and Tom declined. It wasn't the right time; they couldn't be in the spotlight yet. First, they had to focus on their development.
"There are so many departments in the Ministry of Magic, which one would you like to go to, Robert?" Hermione was very interested in this topic and couldn't help but ask.
Robert scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm more interested in the education industry, so I'd like to work in the Department of Magical Education or the Office of Wizarding Examinations and Classification."
Hermione: (*▽*)
"Then maybe in the future, you'll be the supervisor for our O.W.L. exams!" Hermione opened her eyes wide.
Robert shook his head repeatedly. "Not necessarily, not necessarily. O.W.L. exams are almost impossible, I remember you're already in your third year, right? That might be a bit tight in terms of time. N.E.W.T. exams could be a possibility, but it also requires everything to go well..."
At that moment, the three arrived at the recruitment fair venue.