Why Do You Want to be an Auror?

In which Róisín and her class are introduced to their overseas training programme, and get to know Sirius and James a bit better.

"Gather round everyone - gather round - take a seat," Rivers chanted, swinging his arms around in circles. "Do we have enough seats? Yes, we do. Potter, Black - if you could join me up here at the top, that would be fantastic, thank you."

The small class clamoured for space in the tight conference room in the back of the Auror Office. Potter and Black pushed their way through to the front and sat down on either side of Rivers. Róisín and Cynthia found themselves in the front row near to Black, who shot both of them a warm smile.

"Morning, ladies," he said quietly.

On the tables in front of each of them they found a pamphlet which explained the course content in more detail, and Róisín skimmed through it as the class settled down. On the first page, it read:

Semester One

The Auror Advantage

Duelling in the Dark

Concealment and Disguise

Potions

Battle Instincts

Semester Two

Method in the Mad Eye

Stealth and Tracking

History of the Dark Arts

Best-Laid Plans

Resilience Training

Semester Three

Field Training

The second page contained more detailed information on the course content.

"Now, I've gathered you all here today to have a chat about the content of the programme and what you'll be learning from us over the next year," Rivers said. "Now, obviously, you all could have chosen to complete your mandatory year abroad in any other country - but I'm very grateful that you chose us. The Irish and British Auror training curriculums are very similar, so nothing that you do here should feel completely new, but it is designed to complement your studies to date and offer you some practical experience. As you can see on your leaflets, classes will include topics such as The Auror Advantage, Battle Instinct, Method in the Mad-Eye, and - the most difficult one - Duelling in the Dark. These courses will be taught to you by Aurors with more experience in the field, but you will also get a chance to shadow Potter and Black as they go about their daily business so that you get a good flavour of the working day of an Auror, and they will also run some informal classes. Any questions?"

"Yes - when do we get our tea break?" Black joked, eliciting a few chuckles.

"Very funny, very funny," Rivers replied, rising from his chair. "I'll leave you all to it, now. Potter and Black will have a chat with you about the early career and life of an Auror."

He shuffled out of the room and left the group in silence with their mentors.

"Oh, one final thing," Rivers added, popping his head back in the door. "There are job opportunities available right here in this office after this programme ends. If you perform well enough during the programme, you might consider interviewing for a full time position here."

A quiet murmur of delight passed through the class. Cynthia looked expectantly at Róisín, who shook her head enthusiastically.

"Oh, go on, you're one of the best in our class," Cynthia whispered. "You should at least think about it."

"I promise you, I will be on the first portkey back to Dublin as soon as we're done here," Róisín replied. "I'm a homebird."

"Quick, down to the pub before he comes back," Potter joked, bringing the attention of the class back towards him. "No, but, seriously, today we'll be giving you all a wee bit of guidance on the first few years of your career as an Auror and what to expect from the job."

"But first, we have a question for you all," Black said. "Take some time to think about this, if you want - you don't have to answer immediately." He paused. "Why do you want to become an Auror?"

Silence befell the room as the students pondered his question. Róisín knew her answer immediately but didn't want to be the first to speak.

A hand raised at the back of the room, and Black nodded in the student's direction.

"My father was an Auror, and his father before him," said the student. "I want to make my family proud."

Black exchanged a look with Potter, both nodding slowly.

"Good answer," replied Potter. "Anyone else?"

Another hand. "Aurors are well-respected in our world - I want to gain peoples' respect."

Black chuckled. "Let me tell you now - not everyone respects Aurors. Anyone else?"

Another hand. "The money seems good."

This one made a few students laugh.

Another hand. "I want to help make the world a better place."

Another hand. "I want to uphold the rule of law."

Another hand. "I want to catch the bad guys."

"All fantastic answers," Black said, once everyone had given an answer. He scanned the room, his eyes eventually falling on Róisín. "Ah - Róisín - my fellow ABBA fan," he smiled warmly, "you haven't spoken yet. Would you like to share your reason?"

Róisín felt the heat rise in her neck. "It's... a bit personal."

"Don't share more than what you're comfortable with," Black replied.

"I... want to protect people," she said. "I lost my sister in a Muggle conflict when I was young. If I can stop even one family from suffering that pain, all this work will have been worth it."

Potter nodded slowly. "Exactly," he said, standing up to pace the front of the room. "All of your reasons are fantastic, and you're all right - upholding the rule of law, making the world a better place, etcetera - that all comes into it. But the bottom line is that the job of an Auror is about protecting people. Each of you is highly-skilled and it is up to you to use these skills wisely, and always with the welfare of those who cannot protect themselves at the forefront of your minds."

Róisín nodded along rhythmically. She noticed that Black had not yet taken his eyes off her, but when she looked back at him, he quickly looked the other way and cleared his throat.

Shortly after that, Potter and Black split the group in two and gave separate tours around the Auror Office. Black introduced Róisín's group to some of the most famous Aurors within the department, including Mad Eye Moody. He then showed them to their new desks, which were the only empty and tidy ones in the entire office.

"This is where I have the misfortune of spending most of my time," he said, motioning to the small group to gather around him by his desk, which was in a cluttered cubicle with a messy corkboard attached to one wall. "Here I keep all the information about the cases I'm working on, all the leads I'm following, that sort of thing. I have casefiles, notes, transcriptions of interviews, instruction manuals, everything. If you ever need anything from my desk - just ask," he added. "Any questions?"

One of the male students, Staggart, asked, "Can we see your badge?"

Black laughed. "Absolutely you can. It's nothing special - just a normal badge."

He took it out and passed it to the student.

"Alright, it is kind of awesome," Black muttered, with a grin, watching his badge being passed from student to student. "I still can't get used to the idea that this is my job, to be honest."

Róisín took the silver badge in her hand, admiring the dark embossed 'DMLE' lettering and the beautiful detail in the design. She couldn't wait for the day that she got to wear an Auror badge.

"DMLE - Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" another student asked, and Black nodded.

Róisín handed the badge back to Black, who took it with a grateful smile.

"You never answered your own question earlier," Cynthia chirped. "Why did you want to become an Auror?"

Black chuckled and replied, with a shrug, "Well, you all shared your reasons... I also wanted to protect people. I really admire and respect Muggles - but, as you are all aware, there are many people in our world who see our kind as being superior. I want to protect the people in between our worlds - those with a Muggle background who have magical blood."

Once Black had dismissed the group for the day, he returned to his desk and opened up a large ring binder, immediately throwing himself into work. Róisín began following her classmates out of the room, but turned back halfway out and returned to Black's desk.

"Mr Black," she said, promoting him to turn and face her. "I just wanted to thank you for today. It was a really thought-provoking introduction to the programme."

Black smiled and replied, "I'm glad to hear it, Róisín. How am I doing so far?"

"How are you doing?" Róisín repeated, and Black nodded. "Er... Good, I would say. I'm not sure what you mean."

"I don't know if you can tell, but I don't take a lot of things seriously," Black said with a grin. "However, this job is one of them. People's lives depend on the work we do. I hope that I'm finding the right balance between mentor and friend."

"I can tell that you really care about your work, and at the end of the day, that's the most important thing. You're doing fine," Róisín replied, offering a reassuring smile.

"I thought your reason was the best," Black said. After a pause, he added, "I'm sorry about your sister."

"Thank you," said Róisín. "She was fifteen, I was ten, and... I saw her get shot right in front of me."

"I can't imagine how difficult that was," Black replied soberly. "If you ever want to talk about it - well, that's what I'm here for."