"So if the vector is angled upward…" I said encouragingly. Evan's forehead scrunched.
"Then the force of the spell is magnified?"
"Exactly!"
He nodded in relief, scratching down his answer on the parchment.
"Our time is up for today, but great job! Remember to practice some of the different angles out yourself before we meet next week so you can see it in action instead of just dealing with the theory."
"Sounds good. Thanks, Jayne."
I waved goodbye as Evan left. With a few minutes left before my next student came, I took off my glasses and leaned my head back with a deep sigh. I loved working with my students, but Saturdays were so packed with back-to-back sessions that it was hard to get a breath in.
I stood up to grab another coffee from the shop I was camped out in (it was the least I could do given that I held most of my tutoring sessions in their store for hours each week).
"Anything else I can get for you?" the bored barista said, having already memorized my usual latte order weeks ago. On a whim, I reached out and grabbed a magazine displayed on the counter. I had three books at home queued up but I needed a quick, fun read to distract myself. Besides, Witch Weekly always had the best makeup tips and I could use something to freshen up my look. Not that anyone other than my students could appreciate it.
I returned to my table, coffee in hand, and mindlessly flipped through the articles.
Alanna Shacklebolt Steps Out With New Boy Toy, Derek Finnegan!
James Potter Celebrates MVP Win with a Wild Night Out!
Quiz: Are You More Potter or Weasley?
Best Potions for Your Hair Type!
Tips and Tricks to Apply Kneazle-Winged Eyeliner!
That last one looked promising. I flagged the page as a timid third year approached me.
"Amelia!" I smiled. "Transfiguration today?"
The moment my last student (first year Jamie Spellman was amusingly sassy but needed some help with her wand grip and aim) walked out the door of the coffee shop, I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. I liked my students but 6 hours in a row was enough to wipe me out.
"Excuse me." I opened my eyes to see a woman in her mid-thirties standing by my table. Once I absorbed all the details of her crisp professional attire (a white blazer without a stain in sight this late in the afternoon? I could never), I unconsciously straightened up. Authority figures tended to elicit that response from me. "Are you a tutor?"
"Yes. Do you know somehow who needs some extra tutoring?" I said, fidgeting with the loose strands around my face as I eyed her sleek wavy hair. I almost asked her if she had a child who needed tutoring but she appeared a bit young to have kids. No need to potentially put my foot in my mouth.
"I might. What years and subjects do you specialize in exactly?"
"I work with students from all years, first through seventh. I specialize mostly in the core required subjects, but I also do tutoring with the electives of Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. No Divination, I'm afraid. I also have separate tutoring for OWL and NEWT level exams, if that's what you're looking for."
She nodded slowly, ruminating over the information.
"Do you have a business card?"
"Oh! Yes, right here." I dug around in my purse for one of the brand new business cards I had just ordered for myself. This was the first card I was actually giving out, and I was annoyed with myself for not remembering to hand it out immediately.
The woman grabbed the card and scanned it briefly before tucking it away in her portfolio.
"Thank you, Ms. MacPherson." Her eyes flitted down to my magazine. The picture of James Potter on the cover gave her a salacious smirk. "A quidditch fan? Or just a Potter fan?"
"Neither. I just get this for the hair and makeup section and the advice column parts are fun sometimes. I tend to skip over the celebrity gossip portion." I shrugged. Her gaze dubiously lingered over my makeup-free face and messy bun, but she looked satisfied at my words.
"I'll be in touch soon. Have a nice day."
I lifted my hand in a wave but she'd already turned away.
Jules and Imogen were practically wrestling on the floor when I got back to our apartment. Kit was watching the latest quidditch match on WizTV, unconcerned by the scene in front of her.
"What's up?" I dropped down next to her, eyes on the TV but not really taking notice of the match.
"Puddlemere versus the Harpies," she replied, leaning forward to grab a plate off the coffee table. "Cookie?"
"Jayne!"
"No!"
"Hm?" I looked up with a mouthful of cookie to see a dejected Jules and an irate Imogen.
"We were fighting for the last cookie," Jules sighed.
"Which you just fucking ate. Kill me." Imogen flopped dramatically to the side.
I looked at Kit, who shrugged and said, "They needed to stop fighting. No cookie, no problems."
"You two know you could just split it next time, right?" I felt compelled to point out. "I think we were supposed to learn the sharing-is-caring phase back when we were 6."
Imogen scowled. "Jules had like 3 of them already."
"You had 5!"
"Yeah, but I was having a bad day. So I needed it."
Kit rolled her eyes over their bickering. "How was the tutoring?"
"Draining, but good. I finally got to give out one of my business cards!" I beamed thinking about it.
"Nice. So listen, we're all going to Elixir tonight at 10 and you're coming."
I winced. "Tonight? I'm just so tired from today I don't think I can make it." Why did clubs have to open so late anyway? What was wrong with going out at 6 and coming back home at 9 so I could sleep at a reasonable hour?
"Aw no, Jayne, you have to come!" Jules interrupted her argument with Imogen. "You'll feel better once you're out with us, I promise."
Even Imogen agreed. "It won't be as fun if we're not all there. I can't round up these two on my own at the end of the night anyway."
For once, I stood firm. "I'm way too tired. Besides, I still have to prepare for my students tomorrow and finish my proposal for Professor Anderson. Sorry, but it's not going to happen."
My phone blared out an annoyingly sharp alarm, piercing through my pounding head and making everyone groan.
"Shut it up. Now." Kit threw a pillow in my general direction, though since she was still facedown on the couch and didn't watch her aim, it sailed over my head. I fumbled around blindly on the ground for it, not ready to open my eyes until I absolutely had to. Once I had it in my hand (after accidentally grabbing Jules's ankle), I squinted at the screen to hit the 'off' button for the alarm only to realize it was actually a phone call.
"Ah fuck." I scrambled up to go answer it in the other room, trying to not trip over Jules, Imogen, and everyone's shoes scattered about. The girls of Haverhill Apartment 4 were not exactly 'classy' drunks. After reminding me about what little free time I'd have after the semester started next week, Kit successfully drove me to drink with them last night (only after I double-checked that I didn't have any early morning tutoring sessions).
"Hello?" I answered once I made it to my bedroom.
"Ms. MacPherson? This is Annika Sepkist. You gave me your business card yesterday?"
"Yes, Ms. Sepkist, I'm glad you called," I croaked out, reaching to close my curtains and block any and all light from coming in. Since when had London been so sunny? "How can I help you?"
"I have a high profile client who is interested in your services. Unfortunately I can't say much more over the phone, but if you're interested, I'd like to meet in person to discuss the terms of the contract with you and see if you'd be a good fit. Are you available today at 3?"
"3? Um, yeah, that works great," I said, not having the energy to find my calendar and simply hoped I didn't have another appointment at that time.
"Excellent. I'll send over the details. I look forward to seeing you, Ms. MacPherson."
"Great," I responded weakly.
"Who was it?" Jules, ever curious, mumbled from her prone position still on the ground.
"Some woman I met yesterday who wants me to tutor her kid." Except that wasn't what she said, I recalled. I hadn't actually absorbed much of what she said, having been too concerned with simply sounding competent on my end, but now I had to wonder what kind of teenager was a 'high-profile client.'
My phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
13 Wellington Drive, Apartment 7. Excited to discuss details with you soon.
Two hours later, I stood in front of the apartment building at 13 Wellington Drive. The reason the address was originally unfamiliar to me was now apparent: this was one of the most expensive areas in magical London. Naturally, I had never had a reason to come here before. I had also never met with one of my students at their homes, always in public.
I quickly forwarded the address to my roommates so they'd know where to direct the aurors if I didn't come back in a bit, then nervously hit the buzzer.
The door swung open without anyone calling over the intercom.
"Can I help you, miss?" the doorman inside inquired.
"Yes, I'm supposed to meet an Annika Sepkist? Apartment 7?"
"Of course. She's on the third floor." He gestured towards the elevator with a smile.
A doorman and an elevator. My apartment barely had working air conditioning half the time.
Annika opened the door with a neutral smile right after I knocked.
"Ms. MacPherson, right on time. Come in."
"Please, call me Jayne." As we walked to her office, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror hanging on a wall. My dark hair was pulled back in an unglamorous ponytail since I didn't have time to shower. No fun makeup tricks either, but I thought I did a rather good job covering up the dark circles under my eyes. All in all, this was as good as it was going to get on such short notice.
"Before we get started," she said as I sat down across her desk. "I'm going to have to ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement." She slid the document and a pen over to me expectantly. "Just sign at the bottom of the third page and we can get started."
I tentatively picked up the document and scanned it. The first sentence was four lines long. I set it down.
"Do I need a lawyer with me?"
Annika laughed. "Merlin, no. It's just a precaution so that any discussions we have are kept confidential for the sake of my client. He likes his privacy."
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "I usually work with students who are currently in school or preparing to go. None of their parents have ever required this policy or any written contract. I'm not quite prepared to sign anything when I don't even know who I'm working with."
"Of course. Look, Jayne, this is simply a preliminary meeting to discuss the details of a tutoring gig that I thought you'd be good for. You're free to leave at any time and you won't make any commitments you don't want to by signing this."
I made no move to pick up the pen, mostly because I was still hungover and trying to think it all over. Apparently that was still too slow for Annika because she sighed.
"All I can tell you is that he's well-known and young. Not Hogwarts student-young, but around your age."
My inner warning alarm was dulled by my still-tired senses, so it was curiosity that propelled me to finally sign my name on the NDA.
"Thank you, Jayne. I appreciate this. Now, down to business." Annika finally gave a relieved smile and clasped her hands on the desk. "I represent James Potter."
She paused, clearly awaiting some sort of reaction, but I wasn't able to do much more than blink and drop my jaw. When I didn't progress past taking a shaky sip of tea she had provided, she continued with an oddly pleased look.
"James left Hogwarts in his seventh year to pursue professional offers in quidditch, as I'm sure you know. Though I guess maybe you don't." She smiled wryly. "As a result, he never took his NEWT exams, but he's interested in completing his education. I'd like to hire you as his private teacher in covering all the material needed to sit for the NEWT exams. You would be compensated generously, I can assure you."
I was still stuck on "I represent James Potter."
"Right, ok, I—sorry, hold on." I shook my head to organize my thoughts. "James Potter, Harry Potter's kid? The quidditch player?"
Ever the professional, she simply nodded, not looking phased by my confusion. To be fair, she was probably used to this reaction.
"He wants to take his NEWTs," I repeated, finally snapping into tutor mode and pulling out a notebook and quill. "What subjects? And what time frame are we looking at?"
"Only the core courses at Hogwarts: Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Charms. He's not interested in History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, or any of the electives. And I thought you'd be the best judge of figuring out how long would be best to study for this, keeping in mind that the quidditch season will pick up in a few months."
I bit my lip, looking down at the information I wrote down. "I'm not saying no just yet, but I'm having difficulty seeing how I'll be able to fit Mr. Potter into my schedule. While I have less students once they return to Hogwarts, I have my own studies starting up and still some students that I work with. I'm just not sure I can provide him with the attention he needs to cover four subjects at the NEWT level."
"I understand you have your own graduate program to consider, Jayne. A doctorate in Ancient Runes at Oxford's magical department sounds like a difficult program." How did she— Annika continued without batting an eyelash at my stunned face. "About your other students, however. I agree that it would be difficult to work at the level James requires while still tutoring other students. As I mentioned, we'd be happy to compensate you at a rate that I think you'll find agreeable by taking on James as your only student."
I opened my mouth to argue on behalf of my sweet students, some of whom had been with me for a few years now, when she slid a piece of paper across the desk. The indignant comment I was about to make came out as a wheeze instead as I read the amount I'd be paid to tutor James Potter. It was enough to cover an entire year of tuition at my school and with plenty left over.
"I—yeah, ok."
Annika didn't wait for a more robust answer.
"Wonderful. I'll make the arrangements for you to meet James soon to work out your schedules. It was lovely to meet you, Jayne."
And with that, I was dismissed.