CHAPTER FOURTEEN
his tongue poking out, asking people whether they thought Arith-
mancy sounded more difficult than the study of Ancient Runes.
Dean Thomas, who, like Harry, had grown up with Muggles,
ended up closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, then
picking the subjects it landed on. Hermione took nobody’s advice
but signed up for everything.
Harry smiled grimly to himself at the thought of what Uncle
Vernon and Aunt Petunia would say if he tried to discuss his career
in wizardry with them. Not that he didn’t get any guidance: Percy
Weasley was eager to share his experience.
“Depends where you want to go, Harry,” he said. “It’s never too
early to think about the future, so I’d recommend Divination. Peo-
ple say Muggle Studies is a soft option, but I personally think wiz-
ards should have a thorough understanding of the non-magical
community, particularly if they’re thinking of working in close
contact with them — look at my father, he has to deal with Mug-
gle business all the time. My brother Charlie was always more of an
outdoor type, so he went for Care of Magical Creatures. Play to your
strengths, Harry.”
But the only thing Harry felt he was really good at was Quid-
ditch. In the end, he chose the same new subjects as Ron, feeling
that if he was lousy at them, at least he’d have someone friendly to
help him.
Gryffindor’s next Quidditch match would be against Hufflepuff.
Wood was insisting on team practices every night after dinner, so
that Harry barely had time for anything but Quidditch and home-
work. However, the training sessions were getting better, or at least
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