On Tuesday, February 12th, 1992, Heather was sitting in a very plain room of the Ministry of Magic.
This room had plain white walls, a plain white ceiling, simple light brown carpeting, and a wall clock ticking away on the west end of the west wall. There were two plain black chairs sitting in the middle of the room with a small black desk between them. The was the Ministry of Magic's interview room.
Amelia had taken Heather to work with her that day so that Heather could begin the process of interviewing prospective candidates for the Transfiguration teacher post at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery.
As the clock struck ten, the door opened and an averaged sized average heighted woman with blonde hair and blue eyes entered the room.
"Hello, " said Heather politely as the woman entered the room, "Are you Alexis Alter?"
"Yes, " said the woman, "I am Alexis Alter and I have a ten o'clock appointment this morning to interview for the open Transfiguration teacher post at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery."
"Indeed, " nodded Heather, "Please sit down."
So, Heather and Alexis sat down opposite each other, and Heather opened the interview process.
"So, Alexis, how old are you and what is your educational background?" asked Heather briskly.
"I am twenty four. I am a graduate of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the U.S. I was in Thunderbird house at Ilvermorny and I was always the top Transfiguration student in my year at Ilvermorny from my first year through my seventh year. Since my graduation, I have been working in the Transfiguration department at Ilvermorny and have been helping with curriculum planning, " said Alexis proudly.
"And what motivated you to come over here and apply for the position of Transfiguration teacher at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery?" inquired Heather.
"The desire to actually be a Transfiguration teacher, " answered Alexis firmly, "You see, at Ilvermorny, there is a young witch about my age named Christina Change, who was in the year below me at Ilvermorny, who is now the Transfiguration teacher. She just got the job last September and she's doing an excellent job. Christina Change is going to be the Transfiguration teacher at Ilvermorny for decades to come, so, if I want to be a Transfiguration teacher, I need to seek my fortune elsewhere."
"Well, " smiled Heather, "You are the only interview I have scheduled so far. I'd like to fill the post as soon as I can so I can get on with further planning foe Skyward School of Practical Sorcery. I only made this time available for today and you were the only person who requested the appointment today. On some level, I do believe in first come first serve and I do want to fill the position quickly. BUT, I have to know you can handle the subject. The way I will find that out is by having you show me some Transfiguration magic. "
Understanding what would come next, Alexis pulled her wand out of her left pocket with her left hand.
"What make is it?" asked Heather importantly.
"Walnut and dragon heartstring, fifteen inches, " said Alexis proudly.
"WOW!" beamed Heather, "That combination is an instrument of Transfiguration. Powerful wood and core and length. Walnut AND dragon heartstring AND a long wand? No wonder you were top of your year in Transfiguration!"
"So. what do I need to demonstrate?" asked Alexis.
"A Switching Spell, a Conjuring Spell, A Vanishing Spell, and a Multiring Spell, all using Nonverbal Spells, " answered Heather in a businesslike voice.
A blazing gleam appeared in Alexis's blue eyes. She was confident. She was determined. She was ready.
Next nanosecond, Heather retrieved a whistle from her left hand pocket with her left hand and set it down on the small desk between them.
"Alexis, turn the whistle into a watch, " instructed Heather.
Alexis pointed her wand at the whistle and made several movements of her wand without uttering a syllable. Her mind thought of nothing but seeing a wristwatch where the whistle now lay.
Before Heather even realized what had happened, a shiny black wristwatch with working large black digital numbers and an accurate time was sitting on the desk.
"Amazing, Alexis, " said Heather cheerfully, "One down, three to go. "
"What's next?" asked Alexis simply.
"The Multiplying Spell, " said Heather calmly, "But we can't be making a mess of the interview room. Therefore, I command you to display a simple Multiplying Spell to create a second wristwatch
Alexis now pointed her wand at the wristwatch on the desk and made a series of simpler wand movements while zoning her mind in on making one watch become two.
Alexis was again successful, as a second literally identical wristwatch now sat on the desk.
"Halfway home, " said Heather, sounding optimistic. "Could you now conjure a stuffed hippogriff?"
Working in a quiet businesslike manner, Alexis had a focused look in her eyes as she concentrated hard in her mind on a mental image of a stormy gray stuffed hippogriff. Keeping a firm grip in her wand, Alexis made several complicated wand movements and when she was done, a very cute stuffed stormy gray hippogriff was sitting on the desk.
"Merlin's beard, it is perfect!" cooed Heather.
Alexis grinned.
"I'm almost there, right?" said Alexis eagerly.
"You just need to show me you can do Vanishing Spells and the job is yours, " said Heather encouragingly.
"Okay, how?" said Alexis, sounding a little hyper now.
"Vanish one of the two wristwatches on the desk, " said Heather clearly, "And you can keep the other watch and you will become the Transfiguration teacher at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery. "
In her groove, and feeling good about herself, Alexis pointed her wand at the duplicate watch she had made mere minutes ago and created an image in her mind of seeing the desk without the second watch. She made several wand movements while keeping her mind focused on seeing the watch disappear and in less than a minute the second watch was gone.
"Alexis, the Transfiguration teacher post at Skyward School of Practical all yours, " beamed Heather.
Alexis picked up the wristwatch still on the desk and put it on. Looking at it, she was stunned by how quickly it had all gone.
"It's only ten thirty, " mused Alexis.
"Hey, Alexis?" offered Heather politely, "Do you require financial assistance to move to the U.K.?"
"No, " said Alexis matter of factly, "The Alters are a very old pureblood American family and we are very wealthy. "
"Same thing with the Abbotts here in the U.K." explained Heather.
"I don't need the help but thank you for the offer anyway. I'm grateful for your kindness," said Alexis warmly.
"Could you do me a favor?" Heather asked Alexis, "Could you conjure a yellow stuffed fwooper, a white stuffed dog, and an orange stuffed kneazle?"
Without even answering, Alexis did just that and Heather looked on as the yellow stuffed fwooper, white stuffed dog, and orange stuffed kneazle joined the stormy gray stuffed hippogriff on the desk.
"Thank you, Alexis, " said Heather gratefully, "You are free to leave. Your new job begins on September 1st."
Alexis got up and left with a smile. Heather felt relived.
When Amelia and Heather returned to Abbott Manor that afternoon, Sirius and Remus asked, "Did she get the job!" in unison.
"Yes, " said a very pleased and a very relieved sounding Heather, "Alexis is an American witch educated at Ilvermorny who was always top of her year in Transfiguration. Alexis Alter has been working in the Transfiguration department at Ilvermorny since her graduation helping to set curriculum. But she's twenty four and Ilvermorny just hired a new Transfiguration teacher named Christina Change, who was a student in the year below Alexis at Ilvermorny, to be their new Transfiguration teacher and she's doing a great job."
"In other words, " said Sirius knowingly, "Alexis needed to leave Ilvermorny if her hopes of becoming a teacher were ever to come true."
"Pretty much exactly what Alexis herself said, " nodded Heather.
"it's nice that Skyward School of Practical Sorcery is providing opportunities for people such as myself and this Alexis, " said Remus, smiling over at Heather.
"So, " said Amelia, "Alexis proved she could do a Switching Spell, a Conjuring Spell, A Vanishing Spell, and a Multiring Spell?"
"Yes, " said Heather glowingly, "And I have some trinkets for the Yellow Quartet resulting from Alexis's Conjuring Spells. "
Taking the stuffed animals out of her left hand pocket with her left hand one by one, Heather tossed the stuffed yellow fwooper to Harry, the stuffed white dog to Amy, the stuffed stormy gray hippogriff to Susan, and the stuffed orange kneazle to Hannah.
Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all smiled at their new stuffed animals and shouted out "GO ALEXIS!" at the same instant.
"Sunny, you're so warm, " said a joyful Harry to his stuffed fwooper.
"Whitey, you're so cute!" cooed an eager Amy to her stuffed dog.
"Cloudy, you're so impressive, " said an awestruck Susan to her stuffed hippogriff.
"Tiger, you're so gorgeous, " said a happy Hannah to her stuffed kneazle.
"They're really nice, aren't they?" agreed Heather, looking at the Yellow Quartet's new stuffed animals.
"PERFECT!" chroused Harry. Amy, Susan, and Hannah.
"I'm so glad it worked out for Alexis to get the job as first Transfiguration teacher at Skyward School of Practical Sorcery, " said Heather elatedly, "The pieces are falling into place."