Written For:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: History of Muggles
Task 3b - Write about someone looking for direction in their life.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Roald Dahl Day Even
Patisserie - write about Gabrielle Delacour
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Fear is Not the Boss
Gabrielle just gazed at everything spread out on the table. There were so many pamphlets. So many advertisements. Why did it have to be so hard?
Maybe she shouldn't have come here. Maybe it was a mistake. Fleur had a husband and a daughter. She didn't have as much time for her little sister. She shouldn't be burdening Fleur.
She should just leave. Gabrielle stood up and began gathering all of the papers. She'd be out of here before Fleur returned from Victoire's bedroom, and she'd send a note about why she left so suddenly.
Fleur wouldn't care.
She was heading towards the front door, and would walk pass the front yard so she could Apparate, when it swung open.
"Bill!" Gabrielle gasped.
Bill's smile was wide as he came and hugged her. "When Fleur fire-called me and told me you were here, I couldn't believe it. You have no idea how much she has missed you; I'm glad you're finally visiting."
When Bill let go, Gabrielle shuffled her feet guiltily. She should have visited more. Why hadn't she? It wasn't like she had a busy life. Maybe because she had been afraid of intruding? Afraid that Fleur didn't want to see her since she had a new, great life in Britain?
"Yes, I know I should have visited. I probably should have come for no reason instead of coming because I need my big sister's advice."
"Advice? About what?"
Gabrielle put the pamphlets back onto the table. "I need to pick a career and I don't know how. Fleur always seemed so sure about what she wanted to do, and I just don't know..."
Bill chuckled. "I wasn't always sure that I wanted to be a curse breaker."
Gabrielle stared at her brother-in-law in awe. Maybe she had gone to speak to the wrong person. "Really? What made you finally choose it?"
"First of all, I loved Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Second of all, I knew I wanted to get away from my familyfor a bit. I mean, I love them, but my parents, especially my mum, can be a bit smothering, and I wanted some independence."
She nodded understandingly.
"First, you should ask yourself where you want to live. For some jobs, you may have to leave France. Is that something you'd be interested in doing?"
Gabrielle thought about it, but the answer was easy. "I don't think so. I mean, I would love to live here to be closer to Fleur, but I can't imagine leaving my home and being so far away from Ma and Da. That might be what Fleur wanted, but it's not what I want."
"And that's perfectly okay," Bill promised her. "Next, what subjects did you enjoy in school?"
"Potions, Herbology, and Transfiguration."
"You probably wouldn't be right for a kind of job that might involve dueling then."
She wrinkled her nose and quickly shook her head. She hated confrontation of any kind and couldn't imagine being an Auror or anything of that sort.
"I could imagine you as maybe a Healer or a Teacher. I don't know. I can imagine you as someone who enjoys working in a quiet atmosphere like a bookshop or a high-end clothing store."
"I considered training to be a medi-witch, but I thought it was a stupid idea," Gabrielle quietly admitted.
The two of them sat next to each other on the couch. "Why?" he asked.
"I didn't think I'd be able to do it."
"You thought you'd fail, and you let your fear rule you," Bill knowingly said.
Gabrielle shrugged. "Maybe."
"You can't succeed if you don't try."
"Who gave you that advice?" she asked.
"My dad. Although I wanted to leave the country, I had been scared about going to Egypt and being surrounded by so many people and not knowing any of them. I was scared that I'd get fired before the end of my first week. I was scared that I wasn't smart enough to do the job. But guess what? I was smart enough, and I did great. If I had allowed my fear to boss my around, I might have missed out on some great years and meeting some great people. So, be smart. If being a medi-witch is something you want to do, you should do it."
Gabrielle smiled. She had one awesome brother-in –law. Fleur finally breezed back into the room. "Oh, Bill, you're home." She looked at Gabrielle. "I'm ready to talk now."
Gabrielle stood up. "There's no need. Bill helped me. Instead, how about the two of us go out and have some sister time?" She looked at Bill. "If your husband can watch Victoire by himself, that is."
Bill gestured to the two of them. "Go on. You two go out. Have fun."
Fleur looked between her sister and her husband, wondering what had transpired, and how Bill had managed to help Gabrielle in such a small amount of time. She inwardly shrugged. She was sure Gabrielle would tell her about it. "Okay. Let's go."
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(word count: 840)