The title is taken from the quote, "The future belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X

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After Dinner

There was something so productive recently.  The career fair… an interesting date with Jai… (how did one recover from a blood soaked dress on a first date?) and a continuation to the wind down of sixth year.  But now she had some time to herself and the pamphlets had practically burned a hole in her bag all day during class.  It was so aggravating to be sitting somewhere, knowing just what you wanted to be doing instead of being there, but you couldn't.  Jordyn wasn't the type to sneak things into her books to read during class. Besides, her NEWTs needed to be perfect or she'd never get where she wanted to be.  And she'd be hard pressed to even find the most pathetic job at the ministry with her last name. 

She had a few different pamphlets from the St. Mungo’s booth and she really wanted to go over them with a fine tooth comb if she intended to sign up for an internship.  It would be necessary then, to pick the one that best suited her.  Artifacts sounded quite interesting, but she really needed to read. 

So, after her friends had cleared out of the Great Hall and most people were gone, Jordyn perched herself on the end of the Slytherin table and pulled out the pamphlets from her bag and sighed.  She knew she wanted to do this, she wanted the internships and everything… but…

Jordyn looked around the Great Hall.  Why did she want to procrastinate so badly?  This was never a problem for Jordyn.  Placing her head on her hands, she decided to look around to see if anyone else looked as willing to procrastinate as she did.  The Slytherin table was all but empty, and a couple younger years lingered around.  She had very little interest in engaging with them that was for certain.   They had such screwed up priorities, it was like talking to a badly charmed portrait: all gibberish and idiocy. 

She did, however, spot a fellow sixth year at the Gryffindor table, and Jordyn picked up the folded papers and pushed herself up off of the seat to walk over.  “Having a good evening, Dagon?” Jordyn asked evenly, sitting on the bench across from her. 

Another letter from the over-the-top grandmother; Gabby had long since lost her patience. The letters had been coming in thick and fast, suggestions for possible career paths, applications for jobs, nagging that she needed a direction to do better in her studies and downright harassment. Of course Gabriella realised that her Nan was doing it because she cared. She wanted to see Gabby doing well and her Nan had definitely been a big part in her life after her mum had died.
But this was not welcome.

Having already sent a letter to her father begging him to kidnap the owl and put a stop to her Nan’s torment, Gabby decided she also needed to take this into her own hands and make it very clear to her grandmother that the stress was doing her head in and no, the career fair had definitely not helped solidify any future plans. She was still as undecided as before.

Probably more so.

So ink was put to parchment and Gabby started the only way she could without getting into trouble.
Dear Nan, she started, that was nice enough. As much as I love hearing from you so often, I have a lot of work to be doing without worrying about what I will be doing when I am fifty. She scribbled that last word out and frowned.

“Having a good evening, Dagon?” A familiar voice spoke up as the Slytherin girl sat down opposite the Gryffindor. A surprise to some: the Gryffindor was not at all bothered. These two were actually friends.

“A blast.” The Gryffindor responded, her voice dry. She put the quill down and glanced to the pile of leaflets Jordyn was currently holding. Just to make Gabby feel worse!
“I’m currently trying to decide how best to lie to my Nan. Do I want to be a hippogriff hoof researcher or a naked acrobat? Which would go down better?” A small smile twisted Gabby’s features.

Jordyn couldn’t help but smirk.  There was a dryness about Gabriella Dagon that suggested sarcasm was an easy path of conversation.  It was usually the refuge of people who refused to take things seriously, or refused to let other people get close to them, but Jordyn preferred to think of it as a way intelligent people could poke a little fun at the expense of the world around themselves. 

Leaning forward a little, Jordyn finally noticed that Gabriella had some paper out and a quill – letters.  Those were the bane of Jordyn’s existence, not that she got them very often.  Her parents weren’t… communicative, really, at least not about anything important, and they hardly had any other family.  The last time she’d heard from her mother it was to inform her of the lovely chaise she’d purchased for the drawing room. 

Jordyn hadn’t even been able to write about, so frustrated at her mother’s complete denial.  She was so glad she was a full witch now and after she finished Hogwarts she would not live with her parents anymore.  She’d take her things and go. 

Whatever the case, she raised her eyebrows as Gabriella indicated she wanted to lie to her grandmother and then gave her prospective career options.  Jordyn shook her head with a little laugh, her lips puckering in thought before one corner of her lips tugged up just a little higher than the other.  “You’ve got it all wrong,” Jordyn informed her, resting her hands on the table before clasping them in front of her.

The Slytherin judged evenly.  “Your best option is to travel to Australia and become a hedgewitch with the aboriginals.  I hear the qualifications are a bit intense, but you would get quite the tan."

For a moment it appeared that Gabriella was pondering over Dimbleby’s suggestion with some seriousness. Anything to get Nana off her back! But move to Australia…she’d never hear the end of that one.

“She’d prefer naked acrobat.” Gabby’s dark eyes met those of her friends and she grinned. “I already have the tan.” Tanning had never been an issue for the young girl due to her Spanish ancestry and time at home spent outdoors. Normally the young witch would be outside far more often than at present and have her usual glow about her. Now, however, her skin was paler than normal due to hours spent in the library and the dormitories working hard to pass exams and please her family. Not that it seemed she could ever please her Nana. It didn’t matter how many exams she passed with an O, she still didn’t know what dull and lifeless job she wanted after school.

With a more serious thought, the grin faded away and Gabby pursed her lips, looking down at the letter.
“Who am I kidding? I had actually hoped that I would have been able to give a serious answer after yesterday. As if my life’s dream would suddenly jump out at me and say ‘Here! Become an owl breeder! Your destiny is to make owls have sex and make babies!” Then Dagon frowned for a moment, her mind drifting off subject. “Do owls even have sex?” She pulled a face, as if trying to imagine it then dark brows rose.

And then before she could stop herself, the Gryffindor commented;
“I bet they’d have a hoot.” And as uncool as it was, Gabby laughed at her own joke.

Maybe Australia and the Aboriginals wasn’t the best course of action, all things considered.  “True,” Jordyn replied matter of factly.  She was glad that Gabriella could have a little humor: she wouldn’t have been able to.  Jordyn had her whole life planned out since she was about eleven years old, and when the slightest deviation happened she had to recalibrate her entire life to figure it out and make sure that she was still going to end up in the same place.   

But, the façade of humor dropped rather quickly, showing the true frustration of not having a perfect plan.  At her sudden outburst about owl breeding, Jordyn frowned.  That seemed like the absolute worst job anyone could have wished for.  Shaking her head, at least Jordyn could think of something positive to say.  “It’s a good thing that didn’t jump out at you!” she nodded very honestly at the other witch. 

“If they do, which I think they must – how else would we get new owls? Do you really want to be part of that?  I’ve been to the owlery,” she frowned, and curled her nose as though there was a bad smell underneath it.  Remembering the owlery, the bad smell practically lived with a person after they set foot in there.  She really was not a bird person. 

“There’s something out there for you,” Jordyn reinforced, and pressed her lips together.  “And the Career Fair isn’t exactly the place to go for everything.  It’s practically the same booths every year.”  Her own use for it aside, it really was pretty much the same.  “At least you know one thing: you can officially shelf owl breeding.” 

“At least you know one thing: you can officially shelf owl breeding.”

“Well they don’t create as much mess as dragons.” The Gryffindor commented with a thoughtful smile. She had this dreadful feeling that after years of not wanting to do what her dad did, not wanting to live out in the middle of nowhere forever and become a grumpy hermit who knew their dragons better than people, she would probably end up as that person. With no other career path ideas or things jumping out at her, Gabby thought this would be her dreadful future. A life working with, or most probably for, her Dad.

Yet here was Jordyn who knew exactly what she wanted to do and how she was going to do it. Gabby may have admired her if she didn’t see the negatives to it. Jordyn had decided what she wanted to do years ago. She had probably closed off her mind to other possibilities and opportunities and may therefore have no found her true calling. At least Gabby was open for when her calling decided to finally wake up and find her.

Or she was grasping onto anything to stop her feeling so bad and letting her nan get to her.

“I could just quit school and become a welcome witch. Then I can focus on keeping my hair shiny and my legs thin.”

Jordyn didn’t really know how she felt about creatures.  This was the second person she knew who even indicated that was a future possibility – though she had to admit, Corey spoke about it with slightly more enthusiasm than Gabriella did. 

Of course, at the second suggestion, Jordyn quickly wrinkled her nose in distaste.  “Oh yes, that sounds completely fulfilling,” she noted to the girl sitting across from her.  They might not have the same ideas of an ideal future but Jordyn knew Gabriella better than to assume sitting around wondering if her hair was shiny enough or teeth were straight enough in her smile to welcome people was it.  Jordyn would be terribly bad at that too, though she wouldn’t mind the flawless looking piece it would provide enough opportunities for her to actually use her brain. 

Shifting on the bench of the table, she pursed her lips.  “I wouldn’t focus on it too much, if you don’t know,” she added, “it probably only makes thinking of something harder.  Plus,” she smirked, “if you don’t know it means you can continue to make things up until something really hits you.” 

“Perhaps you should note you’d like to be a dancer at Masquerade?” she smirked, “I hear they have quite the lifestyle.”