Devil On My Shoulder (Asa)

[Deleted]

Asa,

So I heard you're going to the Yule Ball with Lucy. Congratulations! I hope I'll be able to see you both there, but I really don't know what to expect. Hopefully we'll all enjoy it.

The other day I was thinking about our conversation before school started and was wondering how your job is going? Do you like not being in school anymore?

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

Yes, we are going together. How did you hear that? It would be nice to see you there, too, though I assume you will be kept extremely busy with all of your duties as Champion. Congratulations, by the way. I know Lucy probably didn't tell you that, but she's forgetful, and I'm sure she meant to say it.

Everything is going well here. We've got a lot more volunteers, which means I can actually do my job, as opposed to doing the other tasks that the orphanage needs done. It's still a bit strange that I'm not in school, but I'll cope. I hope you're well.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

Oh you know Hogwarts. Word gets out about almost everything eventually. Do you know when everyone that's not a student is going to be allowed to come? Like, for the day or just for the ball, do you think? I still don't know all that's going to be expected of me there, but I still hope that I'll be able to see you and Lucy and at least say hi. Mostly, I just want to have fun though. Thanks. She did tell me, in her own way.

I'm glad you are enjoying your job! I'm sure that makes things easier. I still am not sure what I want to do when I'm done, so at least you've started doing something worthwhile. It's weird being the oldest year in the school. Weird without everyone from your year, but not necessarily in a bad way, just different, you know? 

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

I tried not to listen to that kind of thing. If people want to tell me something, they can tell me directly. And if they don’t want me to know, I should respect their privacy. I think that we’ll just be allowed the day of the ball. The security screening would have to be even longer if we were all expected to stay overnight, and that would get tedious for everyone involved. If you do see us, please do come say hi. I’m not sure if Lucy will like it, since she’s been waiting forever for this and wouldn’t want her time to be stolen, but I’m sure she’d at least say hello if I asked her to.

I understand what you mean. For me, that feeling never really went away. I graduated still feeling like I didn’t really deserve to be the oldest year at school. How is studying for your N.E.W.T.s going?

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

Well if I hadn't listened I wouldn't have known you were coming, so I'm glad I did. I'm sorry if that upsets you. And of course I'll come and say something when I see you! I doubt we'll really have time to talk much, but I want to say hello at the very least. 

Well I'm glad that it's not just me. I hope I'll get used to it and really be able to enjoy my last year, but we'll see. NEWTS make me nervous. I've never really been one for studying, but I'm studying like crazy, trying to prep for the tournament and keep up on my classes. Mostly, I'm trying not to think about NEWTS. Were they as hard as everyone makes them out to be?

              ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

I’m not upset, I don’t think. Just, most people don’t see Lucy the way I see her, and they might be a little mad that I’d go to a dance with her? I don’t care, honestly. It’s not worth fighting over. I want to go with Lucy, so I’m going with her. And yeah, we won’t be able to talk much, I don’t think.

Studying is fine. Good, actually, for your N.E.W.T.s. I guess whether they’re as hard as everyone says is dependent on who you’re talking to. Did you do well on your O.W.L.s? From what I’ve been able to figure out, if you did well on your O.W.L.s you’ll probably do just fine on your N.E.W.T.s. I did pretty well, got Es mostly, and an O in Charms.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

I'm not angry you're going with Lucy. I hope the two of you have a great time together!

I guess that's true. I did do well enough in on O.W.L.S. to get into all the classes I needed to, so that's a good thing, I think. Thanks for telling me that, it's very reassuring. I think I'll be able to relax about them a little bit more now.

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

I’m glad that you’re not angry. Do you know anyone who is? Like your cousins, or my cousins, or my sister, or anyone? I don’t mean to pry, but I don’t want to have any unpleasant surprises waiting for me to ruin my night.

You still need to study, mind you, but it shouldn’t be anything insurmountable if you did well on your O.W.L.s. The fact that you’re starting now is good – it will be a lot harder for the people who start cramming in March or April.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

Actually, I don't know anyone who is angry about it. At least, if they are they haven't said anything to me about it. And if they are upset about it, they'd better not say anything that night because that would just be rude. I would be angry once I heard about that.

Oh of course I'l still study, I just don't want to let nerves take over, you know? My entire fifth year felt so stressed with O.W.L.S. and I don't want to lose my last year to that stress as well. I want to do well on my N.E.W.T.S. but I want to enjoy it as well. Haha I hope I'll do better than the people that start cramming. Granted, half of my studying is for the tournament, but it counts both ways, right?

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

I don’t know. I think I’m also a little nervous since Lucy is your sister, and there might be people looking at her, and I don’t really belong in the spotlight. I’m the one who’s behind the camera, not in front of it, you know? Even if someone did tell me something, I wouldn’t tell you. If you’re anything like Lucy, I would be a little afraid of what you’d do to them.

I know that you’ll study, but a friendly reminder is never amiss. Studying for the Tournament is going to help you, definitely. It’ll also help you get into a lot of different programs with the Ministry, if that’s the path you’re looking to go down. If you ever need anyone to put in a good word for you someplace for work, I can see what I can do. I might not be as good as your aunts and uncles when it comes to the Ministry, but I have some contacts outside of it.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

Don't be nervous. I know me saying that doesn't change anything, but I really don't think you should have any reason to be nervous, even though you might be in the spotlight. I have a feeling there are going to be lots of cameras there, taking pictures of almost everyone, so don't let that weird you out. And I wouldn't do anything too terrible to them, except give them a talking to that they definitely deserved.

Well I appreciate the reminder! And I appreciate your endorsement. I'm not quite decided on what I want to do, but if I choose something outside of the ministry, I will definitely come to you to see if your contacts can help me. Yeah ... in the ministry I think I'm covered. My family is all over in there. Not that I want to get in because of my family. If I decide to do something in the ministry I want to get in based on my own merit, you know?

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

You’re right, it doesn’t change anything. But at least someone thinks it’s going to turn out alright, so it’ll maybe raise the chances that’ll happen. You see, what I’ve learned is that the “talking to” that you would give would likely be at a high volume, accompanied by a death glare. At least, this is what I’ve learned from Lucy – feel free to correct me if anything about you is different (though I don’t think it will be).

Do you have any ideas at all, or are you just waiting to see what this year brings? And, while I hate to say this, with your family, I’m not sure you can ever do anything totally on your own merit. Your last name is a dead giveaway, and there are people who would hire you just to curry favor with the Ministry or the Minister or something of the sort. That’s why I decided to work at the orphanage – they don’t care who you are, because you’ll never be the most important person here. The kids are always more important.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

I hope it does turn out fine. At least the Ball is in public, with lots of people around. I think that will stop people from creating too big of a scene. And alright, that is generally what I would do giving a talking to, but Lucy is better at the death glare than I am. And she's probably louder than me too. My talking to would be more harsh words than volume, but if they did enough I would get loud. And I would probably glare. I guess Lucy and I are pretty predictable that way.

Well I've been thinking about an auror, but I'm still not sure if that's what I want. Other than that idea I don't have any other though, so I'm trying to look around and figure something out, but I'm a little too busy with school and the tournament to spend a lot of time looking. And I don't know how I feel about that. I don't want people to hire me just because of my name. I'm going to have to think about that. That is a cool thing about your job though. Maybe I'll try to find something like that.

            ~Anna
@asa

[Deleted]

dear anna,

Yeah, I guess being public will be good…Unless people want to create a big scene. Get their five minutes of fame or something like that? Then again, I’m hardly the one that would be the best target for that sort of thing. I know you Weasley girls better than you think, Anna. You’re not that hard to figure out. But I love you both. I mean, in different ways, of course, but you’re both very sweet, in your own ways, even if sweetness sometimes means being loud and a little mean for the ones that you care about.

Well, if you do go that route, you should be fairly set, shouldn’t you? Perhaps this is a long shot, but the orphanage is always looking for more full-time employees. You could see me every day! Not that that’s a persuasion for you. For Lucy, maybe, but I don’t think you enjoy my presence as much as she does. I understand what you mean. Hope you’re well.

asa

@annelise

[Deleted]

Asa,

Yeah ... I'd be more worried about someone wanting to create a scene like that with me, but I'm going to hope that doesn't happen. With either of us. Well, apart from you I don't think there are many people that have us figured out. Being loud and mean for the people you care about shows how much you care. Especially if you're defending people who won't defend themselves.

I guess so. Having Uncle Harry in charge doesn't hurt either, I guess. And I'll keep that in mind. Really, I'm interested to see if I change my mind because of the tournament or not. Like, I know I'll be facing very dangerous things and I wonder if that will make me not want to be an auror. I guess I'll have to see. Also, depending on what happens in the tournament, that might very well be a temptation. I might just want something low-key. Hope you're well too.

            ~Anna
@asa