Career Advice

Hermione remains very interested in Harry’s Occlumency lessons and why Harry isn’t going to them. However, Harry is more fixated upon the fact that his dad was not the grand person who always gave Harry hope. As a result of his new feelings toward his mom and dad, Harry has a burning desire to talk with Sirius.

Fred and George Weasley immediately offer to create a distraction for Professor Umbridge so that Harry can contact Sirius via floo powder and Umbridge’s own fireplace. After Sirius was almost captured in the Gryffindor Common Room fire, Harry determined (and later Umbridge actually said) that all of the fireplaces were being monitored except for the one in Umbridge’s own office. Therefore, that is the fireplace that Harry will have to use for this meeting. The only person who is not in favor of this plan is Hermione.

Another thing that is looming, in addition to the O.W.L. exams, is the special meeting with Professor McGonagall as the head of Gryffindor house to determine what career Harry might like or be best suited for. There is a meeting like this planned for every fifth-year student at Hogwarts. Harry has such a rough time in Potions with both Snape ignoring him and Malfoy bullying him that Harry almost forgets to go to his career appointment.

Umbridge is there to observe both Professor McGonagall and Harry as he has his career meeting. Harry wants to be an Auror (a person who catches dark wizards), and McGonagall explains the grades and the classes that Harry must have to achieve his goal.

Professor Umbridge, however, keeps interrupting and insisting that Harry should not be an Auror. This presumptuousness on the part of Umbridge absolutely infuriates Professor McGonagall. The two spar verbally until Umbridge insists that Harry will never be an Auror and McGonagall insists that Harry absolutely will.

The late afternoon rolls around and Harry dashes in to Umbridge’s office when Fred and George begin their diversion: a magical swamp that is almost impossible to get rid of. Harry immediately uses the floo network to contact Sirius at Grimmauld Place and finds Sirius to be less than worried about Harry’s ideas about the memory from the pensieve. Sirius insists that James matured a bit later.

Much to Harry’s surprise, both Sirius and Lupin are very upset that the Occlumency lessons have stopped as a result of the pensieve experience. Harry pulls his head out of the fire just in time to escape before being caught.

Harry returns to the swamp-ridden corridor, where a triumphant Fred and George announce their exit from Hogwarts and the grand opening of their new joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. In a true tribute to troublemakers, even Peeves joins in the fun by promising to continue torturing Professor Umbridge; the twins disappear with pride on their brooms.