There was a heat like no other the day Rosie Clarke went to visit her father at the Ministry of Magic. She could feel the sweat rolling down her face and the sun hitting down hard on the streets of London. The humidity had been terrible all summer, making it almost unbearable for her. She wouldn't have come out here if her father didn't want her to come to his office.

Rosie arrived at the Whitehall telephone box, the way she decided to take to get to the Ministry of Magic. It didn't take long for her to dial the six digits that would eventually take her down to the Atrium, where she stepped out with the crowd of other workers into the cool atmosphere inside.

She straightened herself out, wiping any more sweat on her face, and began to form a pace, not going too fast or too slow for the others around her. Heading for the lifts, Rosie squeezed in with other older wizards and witches, relieved that her father was on the second floor. The ride was short and cramped, so when the lift came to a sudden stop, Rosie almost fell forward.

"Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Many employees stepped off, including Rosie, who dispersed from a few people. She scanned the offices until she found her father's name on the front: David Clarke. Approaching the door, she knocked three times.

"Come in!"

Rosie opened the door and entered inside, closing it next while looking at her father doing some work. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello, Rosie," he greeted her, not looking up. "Have a seat. I'll be finished with this in a moment."

She obliged, getting comfortable. Out of the corner of the desk, Rosie saw a copy of the Daily Prophet where she spotted Harry Potter's face on the front page from last year's Triwizard Tournament. She glimpsed at the title of the article: "The Boy Who Lies?"

Shaking her head, she knew what the headline was about. Given the events of the tournament only two months ago, there was some anxious buzzing of You-Know-Who's return in the air. Others, thanks to Minister Fudge, were certain that Harry Potter was wrong about his return and there was nothing to worry about.

"Do you believe the things he's said?" her father spoke up, catching her off guard.

"Sorry?" she asked.

He was looking at her as he placed his quill down in front of him. "You-Know-Who's return. Do you think Harry Potter is lying about it?"

Rosie hesitated, swallowing hard. "I...I don't know." She paused, then eyed her father. "What about you?"

The man exhaled loudly and leaned back in his chair, staring at the paper. "To be honest, Rosie, that night is one big mess. With Cedric Diggory's death and then the Potter boy saying that You-Know-Who was the one to murder him, not to mention Dumbledore is backing him up on the matter..."

"It's all confusing," Rosie interjected.

He nodded. "Yes, exactly, and I've been trying to fit the pieces together, but I haven't gotten far with it yet."

Rosie was aware of the investigation he did around that night, but she never asked him a lot about work things. "So, anyway, Dad, is there any reason as to why you wanted me to come here to visit you?"

"Yes, there is." Her father sat up straight and looked at Rosie. "I wanted to have a conversation about this since your mother thought I'd do a better job at talking about this subject. Your sixth year at Hogwarts is a big year, you know, with N.E.W.T.s next year."

Rosie nodded her head in response. "Yes, I do. What fun they're going to be." She was dreading the thought of the N.E.W.T exams, knowing how hard they were going to be.

"That also means you'll need to be thinking about your career choice," he explained to her. "Have you thought more about it?"

The girl bit her lip, her heart beating a bit faster now. She eventually shook her head. "No, not really." The last time she gave it any thought was with Professor McGonagall in her office, and so far, it seemed like a job at the Ministry was the path that Rosie was on the road to take.

Her father looked disappointed by the way his face fell a bit. "Rosie, last year was the time you needed to start thinking about what you want to do after Hogwarts. You only have two years left."

"I know." Rosie felt a ping of guilt in her stomach. "I'll definitely think about it more this year."

Her father nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "That's good to hear."

The girl was aware of how important this conversation was, so she put on an assuring smile for him. "I'm sure Professor McGonagall can lead me in the right direction as well."

"Yes, if anyone can, it's Professor McGonagall." Her father let out a small chuckle. "It's hard to believe you're growing up so fast. Next thing we know you'll be graduating and going on your own to better things."

"Dad, that's two years from now, remember?"

"Yes, but two years will go by fast."

She sighed. "That's true. But I'll think about it more, I promise."

"Good." He observed her for a moment, then sighed. "Well, I should be getting more work done. Thank you for coming to see me, Rosie, and I hope to hear more about your future."

"Of course, Dad." She shot him a smile and stood up, then looked at the newspaper. "Do you mind if I take this?"

"No, go ahead." He handed her the paper.

She took it and folded it over. "Thanks. I'll see you at home." She bid him goodbye and headed out of his office, quickly shutting the door behind her as the smile faded away.

When she got to the lifts, her fingers became anxious to read the article. Hurrying off, she flew by people and headed for a telephone booth this time. She entered the code and escalated up into the outside once again.

Rosie finally stepped back on the sidewalk, away from any other people walking by, and opened up the article, where she read the article about The-Boy-Who-Lived. She felt a sense of wonder when she finished it, with more thought about the subject lingering into her mind. Then, she thought about her conversation with her father about a career after Hogwarts.

The truth was, she had thought about what she wanted to do after Hogwarts. The idea came to her after the tournament, and thanks to Greer talking about it, Rosie pondered on it more and more. Would her parents approve of it? Absolutely not, which was why she kept her mouth shut.

If You-Know-Who was really back, then she figured this was the best time to think about how she could do her part, even if it would lead to her risking everything and putting her entire life on the line.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, here is chapter one! I hope it was okay!

What do you think of Rosie? Her friends come in the next chapter, so it'll be interesting to meet them!

Comment, vote, I am very excited to get this story going!

-A