Chapter two - Yoko's Career Advice

Professor Sprout gave herself a few moments before sighing heavily to admit the next student. Careers advice week always took an enormous amount of energy out of her. Not physically of course, she was sitting most of the time but mentally, emotionally. How on earth were fifteen-year-old children supposed to know what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives?

"Ah, miss Kumomiya!" She smiled warmly at the familiar face, "Nice to see you for reasons other than your activities as the school's vigilante! And you've brought your accomplices I see." She gave her two friends a nod of acknowledgement.
"Thank you for your time, professor Sprout." She bowed slightly, as she always did with her elders. Professor Spout had to listen a little harder when it came to Kumomiya, since her accent was still a little difficult to understand at times.
"Come in, come in." She ushered the small girl in, "And off to class you two, she'll be just fine from here." The young Ravenclaw boy started in one direction, while the Slytherin girl gazed over at her friend, gave her one last encouraging smile and headed off in the opposite direction to the boy before correcting herself and following him to their next class.
Professor sprout gestured to the chair in front of her desk, "Sit, sit. Would you like anything to drink? Some pumpkin juice? Water perhaps?"
"No thank you." She smiled politely as she hopped up onto the chair, her legs not quite reaching the floor as she sat all the way back into it. She looked as tiny as ever in that chair, perhaps even more so because of how she kept nervously fumbling with a piece of orange paper in her hands.
"Now then…" The professor sighed, as she shuffled through the many pamphlets on her desk. "As you well know, this meeting is to discuss any career ideas you may have, and to help decide which subjects you should do for your sixth and seventh years." She said, "Have you had any thoughts as to what you might like to do once you leave Hogwarts?"
"A little…but they're only thoughts." She continued to fumble with the piece of paper for a few more seconds. When she was finished, the once plain piece of orange paper had been turned into a little paper fox. "Everyone wants to be an auror, but I'm not so sure…"
Professor Sprout sighed. "It's only natural in times like these…" She shook her head, "But we're here to talk about what you want to do, not what your friends want."
"Oh, Kitty doesn't want to be an auror, she wants to go into designing robes and things. Nor does Jas…I think he wants to be a magizoologist or dragonologist or something…" She mumbled.
"And you would like to be…?" The professor prompted.
"Well…I'm good at transfiguration and arithmancy, I'm interested in defense against the dark arts and my charm work isn't so bad now Jas is helping me…"
"Hmm…" She hummed thoughtfully, "You know, I think Gringotts are looking for people at the moment. Hold on a minute…where did I put…" She began to search for the pamphlet, "Ah!" She smiled when she finally found it, handing it to the girl.
"…curse breaking?" She looked down at the sepia coloured pamphlet. The lines that had been drawn on to make up the bank itself kept moving to form different pictures; pyramids in Egypt, temples in south America, Meji Shrine in– Yoko blinked. "You can travel to Japan?"
"Hm? Oh, I would imagine so. Your people were rather…um, creative when it came to curses." Professor Sprout looked apologetic.
Kumomiya smiled, "I would imagine those ideas for terrible horror movies came from somewhere professor." She looked down at the pamphlet again as the professor got herself one to look through the criteria, not wanting to take the one the girl had away since she seemed to be gazing down at it so fondly.
"Ah yes. It seems an OWL in arithmancy is required, since some banking and transacting will be done. They won't accept any less than at least five NEWTs in defense against the dark arts, potions, transfiguration, charms and ancient runes, all to be of a grade above exceeds expectations."
"Eh?!" The poor girl looked positively crestfallen, she seemed to be speaking to the paper fox now, muttering in a language the professor knew to be her native tongue of Japanese.
"Oh don't look so defeated Kumomiya! You haven't even sat your OWLs yet, and your grades have always been spectacular!" She smiled encouragingly at her, "I doubt they'd have many operatives in Japan, and since you're a native they might just be eager to have you, you never know!"
"Maybe…" She mumbled.

Professor Sprout spent the next ten minutes of their appointment discussing what kinds of tests the goblins at Gringotts might put her though, as well as the kinds of risks that came with the job. The young Hufflepuff seemed to like the idea of being a curse breaker the more she asked about it. No doubt the thought of being able to work between the two places she called home was a big incentive to go for a job like this. But in the back of the professor's mind, she knew that she'd have to tell her the other risk of taking on this job.

"Yoko," Using her first name seemed to alarm the girl a little, "I must let you know, as I have all the other students who've taken an interest in this career path over the past few years… There are other risks that come with a job like this. You see, in order to learn how to undo curses, you must first learn how they are done. Therefore, as time progresses with a job like this you'll inevitably come to learn a lot of terrible curses many witches and wizards have never even heard of." She said slowly, almost as if trying to delay telling her, "You'll have information that…you-know-who might be interested in, you may become a target for him."
At this, Yoko Kumomiya swallowed very hard. "Is that so…" She looked down at the pamphlet, then at her little paper fox before she shrugged slightly, "He might just target me either way though…"
"That…is true…" The professor trailed off. Both she and Kumomiya jumped out of their seats when there was a knock at the door, indicating that there was another student waiting for their appointment, "Goodness me, is that the time? Oh dear…"
"It's okay professor. I think I'm set." She smiled.
"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. And there are some spare pamphlets in the common room if you need them dear."
Kumomiya hopped off of the seat and bowed once again, hands placed before her lap, "Thank you, professor."
"I'll see you tomorrow for herbology, unless of course you and your friends decide to rescue a poor student from a bully before the day ends."

After dinner that evening, she made her way over to the Slytherin table at the other end of the hall. She found Kitty in a matter of seconds, having come to recognize the petite Irish brunette's head among the many others at the table over the past five years. She sat down beside her, dumped her bag on the floor and put a hand on her arm, "Did you do your herbology homework?"
"Not important," The other girl shuffled over, grabbing an extra goblet for Yoko, "How'd your appointment go? Did she say anything about that ministry job you were looking at? She didn't say auror did she? First thing Slughorn said to me, the cheek of him!"
"You made Jas do it for you didn't you." Yoko stated bluntly, pouring herself a goblet of pumpkin juice.
"Hey, he wanted to do it." Kitty grimaced as she stuffed her face with more chocolate cake so she wouldn't have to talk.
Yoko scowled, "You're a horrible person neko-chan." She shook her head as she pulled out a perfectly square piece of pink paper from her bag.
"Oh! Oh! You said you'd teach me how to make a paper crane Yoko! Hello Kitty. How did your careers thingy go? Both of you I mean. Professor Flitwick said I'd make an excellent magizoologist, the whole dragonology thing would be a bit dangerous but if I just work more on my potions I'd be all set! So, about that crane?"
Yoko was left oogling at Jas, her bright amber eyes wide as he spoke in a rush. "Uh…"
"Ow! What was that for?!" Jas yelped slightly as he sat on the other side of Yoko, ignoring the disgruntled third year he'd forced to move up to make room for him.
"We talked about this Jas. Yoko can't understand you when you talk fast!"
"There was no need to hit him," Yoko hit Kitty back on Jas' behalf, knowing full well he wasn't the kind of person to retaliate, "It's a compliment that he forgets. I must sound like a natural now." She flicked her fringe dramatically out of her eyes. She knew full well that her accent, while much much less prominent, was still present enough that people who'd never met her before had a hard time understanding her.
"You really have improved though," Jas had slowed slightly for her now, "I'd say keeping that list of words has really helped too."
"Mhm… So, what did you say earlier?"

The three unlikely friends spent the evening at the Slytherin table. The older students were used to it by now, and had come to view it as a good thing. A Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin, all close friends and sitting at a table many others deemed to be 'the bad table'. Then again, one had to wonder if they'd be so forgiving if a Gryffindor was sitting with them. Yoko taught Jas how to make a paper crane. Naturally he had it down in a matter of minutes, and asked to borrow some origami paper to practice. No doubt he'd have learned how to charm them into fluttering across the room come tomorrow morning, as a means to pass notes around the school.

They parted ways only when they were among the dozen or so students still hanging around the Great Hall after dinner. Kitty followed Yoko down to the kitchens to nab some more food, putting an arm around her shoulder as they walked down. The house elves were more than happy to oblige.

"So, that career thing then?" Kitty inquired a second time.
"Curse breaker." Yoko smiled.
"…the fuck did that come from?" The taller of the two small girls looked genuinely mystified.
"Professor Sprout suggested it. You get to travel all over looking for treasure, and they might be looking for people to go to Japan since…well…the curses there are pretty…"
"Horrific? Nasty? All the things in a Japanese horror flick? Yeah. I know. Jas told me all about it when he went through his hella magical Japan phase after meeting you." She shuddered as she took a couple of eclairs from the platter a house elf was holding without looking at him.
Yoko thanked the house elf on Kitty's behalf, and he bowed very low. "It would be interesting…to learn more about magic over there, and I'd have a reason to go home too."
At the word home Kitty's look soured.
"It wouldn't be for long stupid." Yoko rolled her eyes and held out her hand.
Kitty couldn't quite help but take it as she pulled her friend in for a warm embrace. "Better not be…"
"You'd best go back to your dorm before curfew." Yoko made to break the hug, but Kitty held onto her.
"In a sec…just gimme a sec…"
Something was wrong. Yoko didn't know what, but she knew better than to pry. Kitty had been far more anxious about these careers appointments than she was letting on to everyone else. She wondered if she didn't ask out of respect…or out of fear of knowing why she was so anxious. Her family already has her career set. The thought alone made her want to get sick.
"Okay." Kitty sighed. "All done. See you tomorrow. Or…uh, oyasumi,right?" She looked hopeful.
"Oyasumi, that's right." Yoko smiled back.

And with that, the small brunette made her way towards the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. She tapped the designated barrel in the rhythm of Hel-ga Huff-le-puff and it swung open. She crawled through into the cosy little circular room, where she was greeted by a few housemates before she made her way up to her dorm. Idle conversation was made with her dorm mates, who seemed to continue speaking at a slower rate even after five years of being told she could understand them just fine when they spoke normally.

Yoko didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, she thought about Kitty and about what her parents might have in store for her. Surely…they were extremists yes, but surely the wouldn't send her to join them…

With that final, terrible thought, Yoko fell asleep.