Just as he had been told, McGonagall did in fact provide him with a list of applicants for the apprenticeship program. Contrary to what most people might assume, this was not some custom arranged system where individuals could apply to mentor a particular student after learning who they were. In reality, at the beginning of each year, the Ministry briefly opened applications for anyone interested in mentoring a student over the summer for one reason or another. Most of those applicants were people who either needed extra help during the summer months or were searching for someone to eventually inherit their trade because they had no family member to pass it on to.
The list Julian received reflected that clearly, since it included each applicant's name along with their stated reason for wanting a student apprentice. Even so, he quickly noticed that four names stood apart from the rest because each of them had a small star shaped mark beside it. After asking McGonagall what that meant, he learned that it was a mark of exception indicating those people had specifically requested him by name as the student they wished to mentor.
Those four names were Garrick Ollivander, Remus Lupin, Cornelius Fudge, and most surprising of all, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
Helena laughed loudly when she saw the list, because the political maneuvering behind it was so obvious it could hardly have been more blatant. Remus Lupin was almost certainly there on Dumbledore's behalf so he could keep an eye on Julian over the summer, and while he would probably teach him properly as well, that did not change the fact that he would also be spying on him. Dumbledore being on the list himself came as a genuine surprise, but Julian was fairly sure nothing good would come of choosing that option.
Fudge was probably there simply because he was the Minister of Magic and therefore had the power to alter the list whenever he pleased. Honestly, among the names marked as special, the only one Julian believed had a sincere interest in interacting with him without hidden motives was Ollivander.
...
Julian did not ignore the ordinary names on the list, though, and examined them thoroughly. In doing so, he even found a few that were especially interesting. Theodore Tonks was one. Alastor Moody was another. And then there was Gringotts itself.
That last one in particular caught Julian off guard, because he had not expected the bank to try drawing young wizards into its orbit in that sort of way. I suppose it makes sense that they would want to recruit talented orphans early, though, he thought with a shrug.
Ugh, why did there have to be more than one genuinely good option? he complained inwardly.
To be honest, Ollivander, Moody, and Tonks all offered their own distinct advantages if he studied under them. In Ollivander's case, the man was the most famous and respected wandmaker in the world, to the point that people from other magical communities actually traveled to England specifically to buy a wand from him.
Studying under Moody, on the other hand, would give Julian the chance to learn about dueling, survival, the dark arts, and anything else the greatest auror to ever live might choose to teach. Moody might have been somewhat unhinged, but no one in their right mind would deny that after everything he had seen and done, he had earned his eccentricities.
Tonks, however, offered two very specific benefits in Julian's case. The first was that learning from him would help Julian better understand the strange legal side of the wizarding world, since the man was a skilled magical lawyer.
The second benefit was even more important. It would make getting Sirius released from Azkaban far easier, because Theodore Tonks was married to Sirius's cousin, Andromeda Tonks née Black. Julian had already been considering approaching the lawyer for that case in the first place, which only made the option more attractive.
Unfortunately for him, he could only choose one mentor for the summer, so he needed to think very carefully before making his decision.
Thankfully, the final month of the school year was less about learning new material and more about the professors preparing students to make it through the summer without getting rusty.
Julian spent most of that month relaxing with his friends while also taking care of the last minute orders he had left. Malfoy became insufferable for several days after Julian handed over the gleaming gold and silver playmaker ring with its emerald setting. But according to Daphne, one of Slytherin's graduating upperclassmen had pulled the boy aside and given him a stern lecture about bragging too much because it reflected badly on their house, which made Malfoy tone it down at least a little.