Ivy:
Christmas at my house was a relatively quiet affair, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
My parents got a day off of work and we were actually able to have some good family conversations. Both my parents were actually making an effort to talk to me and seem interested in what was happening in my life.
The next day, however, they went back to work, and once again I was left with Posey in an empty house. I poured my energy into reviewing interview questions. I was determined to have the best evaluation.
The morning of the interview, I changed into a professional-looking outfit- a black dress and blazer- and tied my hair into a ponytail.
I took one look in the mirror, marveling at how mature I looked, before heading down the stairs. Both my parents had already left for work and I grabbed a piece of toast before apparating outside the Ministry. There was no way I was going to arrive late.
I walked inside the building among the crowd of Ministry workers, holding my head high and walking with confidence. And it wasn't too difficult to appear confident either. Many of the lower-tier employees who walked around me seemed to shrink down as they passed the higher officials. They ducked their heads to look down at their feet as they walked down their designated hallways. I felt like a shark among a school of minnows. I loved it.
I walked through the black marble halls towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE), the largest department in the Ministry. The interview would take place in one of the smaller offices within the department.
I passed the courtrooms and sub-departments such as the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts before arriving at the office of Pius Thicknesse, the head of DMLE. I remembered meeting Thicknesse at a Ministry get-together a couple of years ago. I knew my surname put me in a good position.
I sat down outside of his office and waited patiently for my appointment. I looked around at the hallway, admiring the portraits and offices. My eyes travelled down to Oliver's ring and I examined it closer, letting it gleam in the light. A part of me wondered how expensive it was. The price didn't effect how much I valued the gift, but I didn't want him spending a lot of money on something for me. Money I knew he didn't have. Still, it was beautiful- I hadn't taken it off once.
Suddenly, the door opened and a woman in her early twenties ducked out and walked quickly down the hallway. She seemed frightened.
Another woman in a dress similar to mine walked out with a clipboard.
"Ivy Caddell?" She peered from behind her glasses and I nodded my head, standing up from the chair. "Mr. Thicknesse is in this office," she pointed me to a second door within the office.
"Thank you," I smiled.
"Good luck," she nodded curtly.
I walked into the office, making sure I seemed poised and confident.
"Ms. Caddell," he raised his eyebrows, "I thought I saw your name on the list. How are you?"
"Well, and you?" I asked, sitting down across from him.
"Tired to be honest, I have much better things to be doing with my time than finding an intern, yet here we are," he replied dryly. I laughed at this which he seemed to find surprising.
He began the interview in which I - and not to boast - aced. He seemed highly impressed with my goals and values. I could tell that the questions were designed to intimidate the interviewees, but I wasn't intimidated. Or at least I didn't let it show. I kept myself confident, sat up straight, and kept eye contact with him the entire time.
"Well Ms. Caddell, I think you'd be a great candidate." I had to hide my smile at the comment. "I did look over your most recent transcript from last month," he said, this time his tone changed slightly. "The only reason I'm not just giving you the internship today is because of your grades."
"My grades?" I asked in suprise. I always had good grades.
"Yes, you see, they're good, however, I've had applicants come in today with Outstandings in every subject. You have quite a few Outstandings, however, there are other's who are doing even better."
"Oh," I said in surprise.
"But, considering you seem the most suited for the position, I'll give you a couple months to get Outstandings in every subject."
"Thank you, that's very generous."
"Please it's no issue," he waved his hand, "Finding an intern is not exactly my most pressing concern right now. Plus, between you and me, you've had the best interview out of all the applicants. As long as you can outperform your classmates academically as well, the internship is all yours. You should get a letter around late February to early March, so you have until then."
"Thank you again."
"It's no problem. Say hello to your parents for me," he said as I got up to leave.
"I will. Have a good day," I shook his hand.
"You too."
I left the office feeling slightly deflated. I reminded myself that all I needed to do was get my already good grades up higher. That wouldn't be too hard.
The minute I got home, I made a plan. I gathered up all my school materials and began scanning through every book to write down the key topics that we would be learning over the next few months. I was determined to get ahead.
After I'd written down the units from all my classes, I began making a study schedule. At first, February seemed far away. That would be enough time to get my grades up. So I thought. As I was making the schedule, however, I realized just how much time I was going to have to spend studying.
My anxiety and worry increased as I continued the schedule. On top of my school work, quidditch practice, and social life, I had to devote countless hours to extra studying in order to get ahead in my hardest classes. My final schedule went as follows:
Monday:
- 1 hour of History
- 1 hour of potions
- 30 minutes of Transfiguration
Tuesday:
- 1 hour of potions
- 30 minutes of charms
- 1 hour of DADA
Wednesday:
- 1 hour of Transfiguration
- 30 minutes of potions
- 1 hour of DADA
Thursday:
- 30 minutes of history
- 1 hour of charms
- 30 minutes of DADA
Friday:
- 1 hour of charms
- 1 hour of Transfiguration
Saturday:
- 1 hour of potions
- 1 hour of DADA
- 30 minutes of charms
Sunday:
- Two hours total of easy subjects (Herbology, COMC)
Holy shit. I wasn't going to have a life.
I was sort of kicking myself for not thinking about my grades in the first place. They'd never been an issue before. Outstandings were extremely difficult to achieve as a seventh year, so the fact that I had three was pretty good. I couldn't believe that someone had Outstandings in every subject.
I made it my mission to beat them.
A/N: I do have to warn you that the next couple of chapters are going to be on the shorter side- just a heads up.
YOU ARE READING
Rival // Oliver Wood
Fanfiction"Jeez Caddell, do you always wear that much perfume?" Oliver asked, smirking. I turned around to glare at him. "Was it not your brilliant idea to avoid harassing each other outside of the pitch?" I shot back in the same tone. **********************...
