Career choices!

[gecko]

Alright, I woke up this morning with this question inside my head. In the 5th year the students have to think about their later careers and which subjects they'll take for NEWTs.

Well, it got me wondering which career Tom Riddle has chosen (or told his teachers at school he was going to take). I mean, were there Aurors back then? You'd think so, because there were Dark Wizards (think of Grindelwald), but Aurors could have been 'invented' during Voldemorts reign of terror. What I thought is that, if he for example choose 'auror subjects' for NEWTs, the teachers might have told him a lot about dark arts and dark magic, because he was the brightest student ever at Hogwarts, so that he could become a very powerful Auror (that's what the teachers thought). Also, he was liked by all teachers, except DD, so he could have gotten lots of dark information from then, while pretending to use it to fight dark wizards after school! In that way they might've helped him become a powerful Dark Wizard?! What do you think?

ETA: I've edited the title of this topic, because I thought it might also be interesting to think about the choices of other people besides Tom Riddle. I'll make a new post about it.

[Charis]

thats a good idea, gecko! I never thought about that. He could have "majored" in Defense against the Dark Arts ("to beome an auror"), and that would also be another similarity between him and Harry, assuming that TR was good at it, which I think would be a safe assumption since he was good at everything else.

[Hermione Weasley]

I think that TR probably did say he wanted to become an auror and he could have used the books in the restricted area to "research" for a "project" since the only person who didn't like him was DD.OMG! So TR only had one teacher not like him which was DD and Harry has only one teacher who doesn't like him which I think would be Snape. I think this is just a little freaky that TR and harry are so similar but yet completly different!

[AccioNiffler]

I've never thought about all this before, but now I'm thinking that TR would for sure do something sneaky like say he wants to major in DADA but really he was just taking info for his own use.

[highsorcerer]

His best move would have been declared himself to be a wannabe Auror. It would let him focus on the right subjects (DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions), and give him insights into how corrupt and twart Aurors before he got a foothold. Divination might have been nice, but seers are really born, not made, and I can't imagine him thinking much of subjects like Muggle Studies or Care of Magical Creatures.

[Albus]

I agree with highsorcerer.
You know, the first step to be able to win an adversary is to learn their weapons and their techniques, so I think he chose DADA career.

[Supreme Mugwump]

TM was definatly good at dark arts or else he wouldn't have become LV I'm guessing he wanted to be somthing like an auror that is probably what sucked him in to the dark arts

[Meg Boyd]

I am also guessing Tom Riddle to an aurors career path, and it wouldn't be like he wouldn't be accepted in the NEWT aurors program, I mean he did capture the "culprit" behind the Chamber of Secrets death back when he was in school...

[gecko]

Yep, it most certainly has been auror-subjects for dear old Tom.
I was thinking (I've also changed the topic title), what about other people? What would Lupin have imaged himself doing later in his life (knowing that werewolfes are not accepted in the wizard community), and what about James and Sirius? They all went to school during Voldemort's reign of terror, so would all the 'good ones' have chosen to become aurors to help fight him? Or, did James perhaps want play quidditch professionally? Let me know your thoughts on this! And if you want to talk about somebody else's career choices, don't hesitate to post it here!

[Eol]

Well DD has said that TR was probably the most talented student ever to attend Hogwarts. He could have done anything he wanted and seeing as Auror seems to be the most highly qualified of professions TR prolly would have gone for it. However, DD also said that TR learnt his dark arts after leaving Hogwarts, emerging years later as Voldy. DD probably prevented Tom from getting to the restricted books while he was in school, after the CoS incident.

[Meg Boyd]

this is a good topic to include the careers for all of the characters, but I am stumped because I don't know of many careers one could go into in the wizarding world...healer, ministry worker, auror, shop keeper, teacher, quidditch player, banker....what else is there?

[gecko]

Herbologist? Seer (or is it See-er?)? Astronomist?
Also the ministry has need of so many different workers. For example, hit wizards are more like police men, while wizards like Mr. Weasley are more your everyday worker for the government..

What kind of subjects do you choose if you want to become minister for magic, like percy wants to?

[Meg Boyd]

Well one course you would probably need as minister would be Muggle Studies because as Minister you have to deal with wizards and muggles alike...history of magic probably is a biggie because they don't seem to have a wizarding law school...he he...dada is prolly a biggie because as a minister you would have to know what you are protecting you people from...hmmm...as for the rest, I dunno

[Hermione Weasley]

maybe charms b/c you may need to hide something from muggles and possibly transgiruation don't know why but it seems you would need it and maybe potions???

[highsorcerer]

No matter what else they did, they fought evil. James may not have been perfect at school (his treatment of Snape was inexcusible), but he always hated the dark arts. He gave his life to fight evil.

James, Sirius, and Lupin all risked everything to make a stand against evil. They'd have died for Peter, rather than betray him. Peter couldn't / wouldn't make that choice. He traded his friends for a powerful protector. Lupin and Sirius were willing to do evil (murder) to avenge their friend. Harry stopped them, saying that his father wouldn't have wanted his best friends to become killers.

Even at the end of OotP, Harry rejected killing instead opting for causing Bellatrix Lestrange pain. The fact it didn't work indicates Harry is a better person. Bellatrix is a sadist; Harry is not. Neither is Neville. Despite the enormous pain they both have suffered, they want wizard justice, not vengence.

Also in the end, Harry spread discord among the death eaters, just like they tried to do among the wizards. Harry openly declared Voldemort (Tom Riddle) was a half-blood. He also openly mocked them when their mission was for naught. The price of failure from Voldemort is high. Harry knew it, and threw it in their faces.