Hogwarts Graduation

Ah, young love. Such a... sickening thing, more or less, to see a bunch of kids who were barely out of the squeaky voice years professing undying adulation and giving very, very open public displays of affection... all of it was really quite nausea inducing, in his opinion.

It was all a part of growing up though, and he could not bring himself to begrudge his wards for what was surely a necessary stage of development. Who knew, perhaps he was wrong, as people had been about him and his own wife, had they not met whilst at school? It was incredibly hypocritical of him to feel annoyed at Louis and Yumi, for he had done the exact same thing when he had been younger.

He was drawn from his thoughts as Amelia spoke to him. She was better, he noted, at this sort of thing than she had been last year. Jess still remembered her speech at last year's graduation - the poor girl had given the impression of being near death the entire time - indeed, he suspected she probably fainted shortly after the ordeal, she was in such a state.

"Undoubtedly," he replied, smiling as he remembered his own ever-so-awkward transition from student to staff, though the circumstances had been completely different at the time. It was scary now to be seeing people who he not only taught, but sat next to in classes starting to pass through the halls for their last time as an open vessel for knowledge. From this point on they were truly adults, in his own opinion, and it frightened him to acknowledge it.

"I like the dress, by the way," he added, turning away from Amelia to face the hall front on, sweeping the room to see if he could recognise anyone who'd arrived yet.

Miseria turned herself around to take a final look at the Hufflepuff's common room. Although she loved that place as it was her second home, she was perfectly calm and still. Tears wouldn't solve anything. Besides, she felt really happy today. She was graduating! Finally, seven years of doing homework and trying to study things that she never clearly understood!
She left the room to go upstairs and meet her classmates for the last time. „Well then,“ she murmured to herself as she walked trough the hall. She ran her fingers carefully trough her hair to make sure that everything was fine and entered the great hall.
Oh, she had seen it in ruins once. It was funny now. Miseria looked at graduators. She didn't know about the relationship between a gryffindor or slytherin, but now that they were graduating, why hide it? Though – in her opinion – house fights weren't like before. Few years ago it would've been impossible to see a snake and a lion together forever.
Today she was wearing something different. So instead of wearing something dark and gothic that would've made her look like a Death or Dementor, she went for something different.
She made her way to the Hufflepuff table and sat on the bench. She was greeted by some of her housemates who also wished her luck and congratulated her. „Thank you,“ she said to all of them. After that she was surrounded by her friends. While talking with them, she looked around to see other familiar faces. She saw Louis but that was all. Even Mira hasn't made it there yet. But it was obvious, though. Miseria was sure that she'd enter the Great Hall like a queen, all dressed up in fashionable and really expensive dress with accesories and other stuff that would make other girls really jealous of her.

Louis nodded at Yumi and Kasumi. Their relationship wasn't all that secret anymore. And no one seemed to mind. It was like a new era had dawned. Where slytherins and Gryffindors weren't all that bad with each other. The fact that Slewyn had joined Potters Army made a new difference. Then came Yumi and Louis coming out with the dating. Louis looked at Yumi. He had a ring in his pocket. At gold ring with a diamond on the top. Was it to soon? That he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. That he wanted to marry her.

"No. I really can't believe it. All my marks and all the homework has led up to this moment. Starting next week I'll be a fully trained wizard on the way to greatness-- I'll even be an auror. I got a job in the Ministry of Magic and my marks where good. I applied to be an auror. I can't wait to inforce the law and fight against evil."

Louis said. Seeing Miseria and Jess. He waved a Miseria. Then turned to wave at Jess. Louis was also planning on joining the Order of Pheonix. During the graduation Louis was going to give a speech.

Elijah Krum was late. Late, late, late. Clearly he knew better than to break with tradition. Having donned dress robes, Elijah entered the Great Hall. Parents and students were lingering, some already having taken their seats. Most of the parents were near the doors, excitedly chatting away to each other, making up for lost time as if no one was going to see each other again. Elijah glanced around, nibbling on his bottom lip as he wondered whether his father had done the honourable thing and decided to attend his own son’s graduation. But Viktor wasn’t going to break tradition either. He wasn’t there. Elijah swallowed back the anger bubbling within him and he cast a look sideways to the other side of the hall where he spotted a familiar face. Then another. Then another. And another! A smile broke out on Elijah’s face as he clocked who was there, each pair of lips on the faces of his family members matching the curl of his own.

Irina Krum, weighted down by the child within her and the one that clung to her, seemed pale and out of place in comparison to those within the family she’d married into who all looked tanned and fresh, ready for a night of excitement and goodness only knows what else in celebration. Flanking her were his maternal grandparents, Anton and Anka. They weren’t entirely pleased to find themselves next to Irina and Anka was quick to slip away, reaching out to cup his face, press his kisses to his cheeks and wrap him up in a tight hug, whispering in his ear just how proud she was of him. Finn and Euan were there, he noted, looking very dapper in their dress robes and already flirting with some of the students sat at the Hufflepuff table.

It was only when Euan moved that he spotted her. Her cheeks were flushed pink with the slight chill in the room. Her eyes were wide and a deep sienna brown framed by long, dark eyelashes. Her hair was pulled away from her face, tied back with a long, white ribbon; the rest of it left to spill down her back, the tips having been plied with magic to curl them slightly. Her lips were bright rouge and parted to reveal a toothy grin once her searching gaze found his. Fauve took off from Stelladora’s side, pushing through the people that lingered until she was close enough to throw herself into the air. Elijah caught his daughter with practised ease and hiked her up onto his hip, pealing some hair away from her face before pressing a light kiss to the end of her nose.

“Hello baby,” He murmured; his smile soft and genuine. “Now how are you today? Good?” She nodded and grinned widely at him, a smile he matched. “You’re going to be sick of me by the summer’s end, darling. I’ll be prepping Thierry for school until he doesn’t want to see me ever again!” Fauve giggled and he set her down, taking her hand as Thierry came over. Elijah ruffled the boy’s hair, smirking at the way he made a face and righted his glasses once more. Elijah drifted over to his family members, deciding it better to stand with them than talk to anyone else just yet. His eyes darted around the hall in search for a flash of blonde hair. He didn’t see her yet. She’d be here though. She had to be. There were things that needed to be said.

Even if their relationship was secret for a little bit, it definitely wasn't one anymore. Kasumi knew about it and there seemed to be quite a few others that knew about it either. And yet no one said anything about it, she supposed she should be happy about that. No one was trying to keep them apart now, and that was a good thing. Out of the corner of her eyes, the Slytherin girl saw her Hufflepuff friend walk away from her and Louis. She wondered if Kasumi felt weird when she was around her and Louis, since she didn't have a boyfriend of her own. If she was in Kasumi's position, she knew she would feel weird about that.

As Louis explained that he would be working at the Ministry as an Auror, Yumi couldn't help but smile at him. She knew he had been wanting to become one and she was happy that he would be able to work as one, once they were graduated. "That's great Louis." she told him softly. "After we graduate I'll be working at St. Mungo's full time. I'll probably start off as a nurse, and work my way up to being a Healer." she smiled at him. As she said this, she still couldn't believe that they were graduating. That they were leaving the castle, and to be honest she didn't really want to leave. She would much prefer to stay there, in the place she'd called home for so long.

Not long after Kasumi had left them, a feeling of sadness ran through her. Yumi glanced back at the fifteen year old girl and she noticed that Kasumi was sad about something. She looked back at Louis and sighed, "Ill be right back." she told him and she walked over to Kasumi. "Kasumi?" she asked the girl. "What's wrong? You seem upset. And don't tell me it's nothing, cause I know you better than that." she added softly.

The air was damp with heat and Mira's the thin layer of sheets felt like it weighted a thousand pounds. The blonde lay, absorbed in the place between sleep and awake, peacefully. It took the sound of the fifth year dorm door closing with a bang to wake Mira from her slumber. Rolling out of bed and kicking the last of the mangled sheets off in the process, Mira walked unsteadily to the large and expensive vanity mirror that the girls had installed in their early years. She frowned at her appearance. Her hair was tangled and ratted from a night of tossing and turning, there were dark bags under her eyes, and that small mole on her lower cheek seemed to have made a reappearance during the night. No matter, with several tired waves of her wand all of the blemishes and imperfections disappeared, leaving behind the alluring face that she had come to depend on. With a final wave her wand tip glowed a soft purple and released a soft smelling perfume that encased the blonde. It was the smell of fresh lavender, sweetened by a soft spring lilac. Unique, but to anyone who had known Mira for any extended period of time, very familiar. 

As she looked in the mirror Mira's gaze caught on the empty bunk that normally held the slender figure of Athena Goyle. No matter how many times she realized that her best friend was locked away she would never be used to it. Frowning she looked away quickly, trying not to think too much about it. Picking up a soft rose lipstick she ran it softly across her lower lip. Setting it down on the table, she rubbed her lips together, separating them with a soft popping sound. Absentmindedly she picked up a gold wrist watch and glanced at the time. Swearing under her breath Mira scrambled back across her bed to her trunk. Mira was very, very late. Wrenching it open she pulled out a robin egg's blue dress and a pair of brown flats. Stripping off her silk night gown and throwing it to the floor, Mira pulled on the dress over her bare skin quicker than she ever had before. Comically hopping on one foot while pulling on her shoes, Mira dragged herself out of the room. 

Although the blonde had never been known for her athletic abilities, Mira managed to run down the girls dorm stairs, across the common room, down the castle hallway, and back up the dungeon stairs to the entrance hall in the time it normally would have taken her to finish adjusting her breasts in her dress. Seeing people she realized what she had forgotten and whipped out a sunshine yellow ribbon that she had left in the dress pocket. Sliding it underneath the waterfall of shimmering blonde hair, Mira fashioned a loose bow on the top of her head. She then slid the ribbon half way around her head so the bow was hidden and only the thin stripe of color could be seen. Nervously touching her hair one last time Mira proceeded to walk with all the appearance of complete confidence towards the open doors of the great hall. 

Upon entering the room several pairs of eyes turned to gaze upon the Slythirin girl. It wasn't anything unusual. She was vainly used to having both pimply girls and twiggy boys look after her with gazes of longing - although normally for completely different reasons. But the unusual thing this time was that Mira offered them a flicker of a smile, which they acknowledged by turning away either nervously or with confusion. This made Mira smile even more. Yes, in more ways than one she had claimed this castle as her own over the last seven years. This was primarily the reason that Mira was feeling a bit sentimental about the whole graduation thing. Hogwarts had unintentionally become a home away from home. The place that she came to get away from her mother's critical eye and the ghosts that her sister had left in Anderson manor. After this Mira would have no where to return to but her so called home. The very thought of that much time spent with Vivian Anderson, Cecilia Krum, and Gisele Delacour made her feel faintly sick to the stomach. 

Speaking of her mother, there was Vivian, making a fuss about some trivial thing. She had an expression of discontent on her face like she couldn't believe how dirty the castle was. And there was Richard Anderson. He was more portly than his wife and, suprisingly, much wealthier by birth. He was sitting several generous feet away from his wife and he seemed pleased that she had something else to critique besides him for a change. There were a few other assorted family members sitting in the group, but no one Mira had any intrest in seeing. Mira scanned the room again for someone, anyone, else to go talk to than her parents. She needed some time to mentally prepare for that. There was something unsettling about having Vivian and Richard inside of the castle walls. It put Mira on high alert and she tried to ignore them completely. After the ceremony they would be gone and she wouldn't have to deal with family for just a little while longer. Standing on her tip toes to better see over peoples heads, Mira caught a glimse of a wonderful, wonderful face 

"MIS!"

Mira felt like running to her friend but instead had to slowly make her way across the crowded Great Hall. "Hi there!" she cried as she was finally able to fling her arms around the Hufflepuff in a crushing hug. Letting go she said "I was looking for you!" Over Mis's shoulder Mira caught a glimse of the distinctive shoulders and dark hair of Elijah Krum. Then something incredible happened - Mira Olivia Anderson, the dragon lady, had butterflies in her stomach. But there would be time to talk to him later on in the festivities. Mira had Mis to talk to and she was sure he wouldn't want to be bothered when he was with family. So to hide where her thoughts had been Mira continued cheerfully. "I can't believe its actually graduation. I think I'm going wake up and find out it was all a dream. This year was so amazing." Love potions, bridges, and forbidden kisses. Mira wasn't ready to let her favorite Hufflepuff go just yet. 

Kasumi couldn't help but look at the floor. She was trying really hard to make sure Yumi didn't notice her sadness. Kasumi forgot all about the fact that Yumi was near her and was always able to tell when she was sad. Yumi came up to Kasumi and asked what was wrong. "I just got a text from my dad...and I really miss him. I'm not gunna let that ruin your graduation." Kasumi cleared the tears out of her eyes and continued to look at Yumi with a sad look. Kasumi decided to go onto her phone. She went online and typed: "At Yumi Zante's graduation...just got a text from someone special...".

Yumi sighed and hugged Kasumi. "Don't worry Kasumi. He'll be back before you know it." she said softly. Yumi knew how much Kasumi loved her father, and it was hard for her because he was a muggle fire fighter and she rarely got to see him now a days. He was always busy with something at work, and he barely saw his family now. "You'll see him during the summer I'm sure." she said, trying her best to lift Kasumi's spirits a little bit. She really didn't like to see the fifteen year old girl sad like she was now.

With a quick glance around the Great Hall, she noticed that there were a lot of people there now and the ceremony would start soon enough. She had been so nervous about what was going to happen before, but with Kasumi's feeling sad, she had almost completely forgotten about her nervousness. But now, those feelings were back and she bit her lower lip. She smiled at Kasumi and gave her another quick hug before she headed back toward Louis..

Once again, another year had came and went like a flash of lighting. Now it was time to say goodbye to her friends intil next year. Although Kiara knew her older friends and her future husband wouldn't be here next year. Looking in the mirror one last time Kiara grabbed her jacket and her wand and put it inside her jacket pocket before heading out. After a few minutes Kiara finally made it to the Great Hall and smiled when she seen Atticus. "Hello love."said Kiara softly as she kissed him softly on the cheek seeing how his parents were around.

"You look sharp and handsome as always my love."said Kiara softly as she locked hands with him and smiled at his parents. "Hello and Mrs. Bletchley nice seeing you to again."said Kiara giving them a soft warm smile at them. "Would you like to go to the lake after this love?"Kiara asked Atticus softly hoping he would seeing how she won't see him much next year. "I'm going to miss you nex year love, but I promise to write you every day."said Kiara softly. Kiara knew once she graduates they would be married and living together in there own house. Kiara knew it wouldn't be long intil she seen him again.

Looking around the Great Hall Kiara knew she had a year left before she left this place she called home. The only place she knew where she really belonged and felt like herself. Next year was her final year which was hard to believe. She was going to miss her older friends but she was going to miss Atticus more.

Sighing, Atticus had been standing a few steps away from his parents. Jessica had been going off about something in the castle, or maybe it had been about Miles. He wasn't sure what it was about, all he knew was that she was off on something and he sure as hell didn't want to get involved in that right now. No doubt she would go off on something that involved him if he got in the way now. Miles had tried to calm her down, so she hadn't been taking about something that involved his father after all, and she had started on something about him now. Atticus shook his head and turned his head away from them.

He smiled as he saw Kiara heading toward him. "Hello Kiara." he smiled at Hera nd kissed her back lightly on the cheek. As she greeted his parents, Miles smiled and fretted her back. His mother scowled at her and Atticus frowned at his mother. She huffed softly and turned back to Miles, acting as if Kiara wasn't there. Atticus sighed again but smiled at Kiara. "Sure love. It would be the best thing to do before I leave Hogwarts." he said. He was really going to miss the place that had turned into a home away from home for him.

"I'll miss you as well love. And I'll. Be looking forward to getting those letters." he smiled at her. He griped her hand a bit tighter and sighed again. "I'm really going to miss Hogwarts." he whispered to her. He looked around the Great Hall and smiled. Even though he knew this was possibly going to be his last time there, he smiled at all the good memories that lay in this place.