Changing Course

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace's hands were shaking as she sat at the café, waiting for Dominik to arrive. She had just made a decision, a big one, and she needed to share it with someone. She was terrified and excited all at once, and glanced at the colorful flyers she had spread on the table in front of her. Two, each for a different quidditch team with openings. Flanders or Quibberon Quafflepunchers, both were nearby enough.

Before Dominik arrived, she placed the flyers back in her bag. She wanted to tell him, not have him guess it from what she had in front of her. She had ordered a tea while she waited, but she wasn't really drinking it. Instead she played impatiently with the teaspoon while she waited for her boyfriend.

 

[Dominik Milne]

It had been an odd couple of days for the eighteen-year-old. He'd unpacked his trunk and had thrown away all of the stuff he did not need anymore. Collecting old assignments and books may have seemed like a nice thing to do when he was younger but now he couldn't really see why he had allowed himself to collect so many of his things throughout the seven years at Beauxbatons.

Dominik couldn't wait to see Grace again, so quickly finished cleaning up his bedroom (god forbid his Mom would find out that he hadn't done so before going) and headed toward the café she had asked him to meet. It sounded like it was urgent so whilst making his way over to the café wondered what she was going to tell him. ''Hey you,'' Dom said as he arrived and approached the table Grace was sitting at, giving her a kiss on the cheek before sitting down opposite her.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace ususally thought everything out completely, planning even the smallest detail. That's what made this decision so big for her. It was a leap. She didn't know if she would be accepted, didn't know how her parents would react. Never before had she gone against them on something this big, but she knew she had to do it. It was her future, not theirs.

Seeing Dominik did a lot to make the pressure on her chest ease, and she gave him a fond smile as he approached the table and sat down. She played with the teaspoon some more. A little nervous, but mostly excited about Dominik's reaction. Unlike her parents, she knew she could expect him to be supportive. "Hi. So... I think I know what I'm going to do. Job wise, I mean." She said, and she noticed even her voice sounded nervous and higher than usual. "That's why I asked you to come." She didn't want to leave him in suspense too long, and took the flyers out of her bag and placed them on the table again. "I'm going to try it, Dom. I can't stomach never playing another game of quidditch again."

 

[Dominik Milne]

He looked at the flyers she placed on the table and read the words written on them before looking back up to his girlfriend with the widest smile ever. ''Grace, you have no idea how much I love you right now,'' the Dragonologist-in-training said, happy that the girl in front of him had finally come to her senses. Although he'd been helping her choose a career that would not involve the sport, it saddened him to know that she wouldn't be doing something she was as passionate about as she was at Quidditch. The fact that she could not stomach the idea of no longer playing for a team anymore, and therefore disobey her parents, made him feel somewhat proud of her. Dominik looked down at the flyers and smiled again, feeling genuinely happy that she had chosen to pursue her dream.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace felt nervous even though she was pretty sure she knew how Dominik would react to it. She still felt her heart fluttering in her throat, and she was flooded with relief at his reaction. The bright smile on her own face competed with his, and she reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I would never have done this without you." She said honestly. "It helps so much, knowing you're behind me in this decision," she sighed, biting her lip briefly. "I haven't told mother or father yet. I really have no clue how they would react. I was thinking I might tell them if I actually make it on a team." She wondered if it was cowardly to wait until after the tryouts to tell them, but part of her hoped they would find it easier to accept if she was already accepted onto one of the teams.

 

[Dominik Milne]

He nodded when Grace told him that she was going to wait until she made the team. He was glad that she had made that decision since she didn't know how her parents would react if she was going to tell them about it now. He doubted that they were going to agree with their daughter's choice of career, even if she made the team, but was so proud of Grace finally choosing what she wants to do that he wasn't going to say anything that might ruin the current mood. ''Do you want me to come with you when you tell your parents?'' Dominik asked, not even questioning whether or not his girlfriend was going to make the cut because he was a hundred percent sure that she would. He was so happy that she was going to try-out for a team that he called a waiter and ordered them two alcoholic beverages to celebrate it.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Telling someone, especially someone who was supportive, felt like a huge relief. It was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she loved Dominik all the more for being there for her. She laughed gently at Dominik's question, "we don't even know yet if there will be anything to tell them, I might not make it." She reminded him, though she had a feeling he ignored that possibility on purpose. "But... perhaps, yes." She had to admit, it would be nice to have someone on her side. It might just make things worse, but she figured things would explode regardless and at least Dominik's presence would make her feel stronger. "Thanks for offering, that's really nice of you." She knew it must be intimidating for him to meet her parents in that fashion, opposing them for her, but she really appreciated it. "I'll let you know how the tryouts went," she added as she squeezed his hand again. She thanked the waiter when their drinks arrived, and turned back to Dominik. "How are you doing? How is is being a Dragonologist in training?" She didn't want this conversation to be just about her, as she was sure Dominik had a lot to say as well.

 

[Dominik Milne]

He looked at Grace, his head tilted sideways slightly and said, ''I mean, we don't but...'' looking at his girlfriend with a look that said 'but we kinda do'. ''And if the captain truly doesn't see how much talent you have, I can always send a dragon after him.'' the young man said jokingly. He smiled at her when she thanked him for offering to come along with her when she would tell her parents. ''Figured that if I can face dragons on a regular basis, your parents probably aren't that scary.'' he joked again. Dominik chuckled and said, ''Busy,'' he could have expected that they let him do so much of the work as there was plenty still to learn about dragons and how to take care of them the proper way but lately it had been early mornings and late nights for the eighteen-year-old, which was something he wasn't too fond of.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Dominik's comment and accompanying look made her laugh and even blush slightly, though she shook her head. "Stop it, you might jinx it." She said, though she was smiling despite her protest. His comment about the dragon made her laugh again, and she gave him a fond look. "I think that might get you fired, or kicked out of training." She told him with an amused smile. "If I don't make it on the team, I'll just make another plan, it wouldn't be the end of the world." Her voice sounded resolute, despite the worry that simple statement brought. "My parents don't spew fire, no. But that doesn't mean they're not scary." The fact that his life in training was busy wasn't that much of surprise, as she had already noticed how much busier he was. "Is it at least a little bit fun too?" She asked him.

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik laughed at what she said and shook his head. ''All right, all right, I won't. But that won't stop me from thinking that you will nail your try-out,'' he said, raising his drink and saying 'cheers' before they clinked their glasses and drank on wishing her good luck on her try-out. ''It's like you want me to be scared of them,'' Dominik replied and had to admit to himself that she couldn't blame him if he would end up disliking her parents, especially after everything she had told him about them already. ''Oh yeah, scooping up dragon poop is loads of fun,'' Dominik said with a wide grin. ''Nah, it is. Apart from the shitty jobs, I do actually learn a lot about dragons and the way they behave towards us humans but also towards other dragons or other magical creatures.'' He thought he had already seen a lot when he spent the summer holidays at the reserve in Scotland but compared to what he was learning while being actual dragonologist-in-training the things he had seen and done in Scotland seemed like nothing.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

While this conversation had made Grace feel very happy and comfortable, even confident in her abilities, it had been a bit selfish she felt. All she had talked about was herself, when Dominik was also going through a lot of new things, with his first job after graduating. She shrugged when he said that about her parents. It wasn't her intention. "I just want you to understand why I'm so scared of telling them. They're not scary, just... strict. They expect a lot from me, and I've never disappointed them before." She said, biting her lip as she dropped her gaze. In truth, she mostly feared the sadness she would see on their faces as she went against their wishes.

She was happy to talk about dragon poop if that meant she could change the subject. She smiled. "At least that sounds like a safe job. I do worry about you, you know." She said as she pushed up one of his sleeves ab it to look at his arm. "Do you have any burns yet? Or is dealing with poop really all you've been doing?" Joking aside, she was happy to hear him talk about what he was doing with so much passion and enthusiasm. She gave him a smile. "I'm proud of you, you know? I bet you're the best poop-scooper in they've ever seen."

 

[Dominik Milne]

He lowered his head to meet her eyes again after she dropped her gaze. ''Hey, it is going to be all right, I promise,'' he told her. Dominik knew that she would be nervous to tell her parents, hell, he probably would have been too with parents such as hers but he wanted her to know that there was nothing to be nervous about even if she wouldn't believe that - she was good and had serious potential the eventually play for the national team even, they just needed her parents to see that as well and he was going to help her train every day if it would mean that they would eventually know how good of a Quidditch player their daugther was.

He was about to ask Grace why she'd worry about him as literally all he did most days was to make sure that everything looked proper, when she pushed up one of his sleeves. ''I don't think I would be sitting across from you right now if I had any burns on my body,'' he answered, ''But yeah, dealing with poop is what I have been doing mostly - Did I tell you that they nicknamed me poop-scooper? I do hope that doing the shitty jobs is only temporarily, though. The witch they had in training before they hired me said that it's going to take a couple of months before they let you do the more dangerous stuff, but she might have been saying that to keep me satisfied.'' Dominik honestly didn't mind cleaning up after the dragons as he got to watch them from a distance while he used his wand to get everything onto a pile. He smiled fondly at the girl when she told him that she was proud of him and chewed on his lower lip. ''What are you doing this afternoon?'' he then asked, hoping that she was free so that they could spend some time together.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was glad Dominik said it was going to be all right. She didn't know if it would be, but hearing him say it made her think it was a more definite possibility. She decided to focus on his life, glad to hear there were no burn marks anywhere in his future yet. "I don't know, I heard people that work with dragons get burns all the time." She said with a small shrug. "Is it bad that I'm glad you're a poop-scooper?" She asked with a small smile. "But I wouldn't take that nickname personally. It's probably one that all newbies get at first." She said with a shrug. "Before you know it you'll have a new task, and someone else will take care of the less fun aspects." She hoped it was true, as she didn't think Dominik would be very happy cleaning up for longer than a few months. His question made her smile. "Nothing, actually. I was hoping we could hang out a bit longer." She said, hoping he had some free time too.

 

[Dominik Milne]

''I am not,'' he told her. ''I think it's quite the funny nickname actually.'' Dominik didn't mind that they had given him this nickname, he was the poop-scooper after all. ''I know, and before you know it I will be working with dragons at last.'' It was going to be a couple of months still before he would become an actual dragonologist but until then he'd settle for being even remotely close to the dragons even if that meant scooping up dragon poop. A smile appeared on his face when she said that she'd have free time and said, ''I'd love that. We could go to my place and hang out there if you want? Mom and Dad are on vacation with Joe so I have got the house to myself.''