Epilogue
Professor Dumbledore stood and approached the podium, looking over all those gathered in the Great Hall, the families sitting happily, the first few rows of chairs filled with the graduating students dressed today not in their usual school robes but in simple new robes of their house colours.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, for our celebration of the achievements of these young men and women seated before us. They have demonstrated a dedication to their studies, but what they have learnt within these walls goes beyond a standard education. They have grown and matured, made friendships, some to understand one another, I would hope that every student standing before me today has learnt tolerance, to work with other houses, to place themselves in the shoes of another, and to trust their instincts…I have the honour of presenting several awards to present today to some of our brightest and most accomplished students. I am also privileged to announce several apprenticeships, which have been awarded by the Ministry of Magic. In recent years it has become very easy to forget that dangers still remain in our world and that there are wizards and witches who continue to practice Dark Arts. While we celebrate the fact that we may no longer live in fear as we experienced until the fall of Voldemort, we must still be alert to the dangers around us. It is therefore my pleasure to announce our guest speaker today who will award the first two apprenticeships, I believe he needs no introduction, though many of you may not have seen him for quite some time…Harry Potter."
Harry came forward to the podium to rapturous applause. He looked behind him to where Hermione stood with the other teachers also applauding, she gave him an encouraging smile and he turned back to the audience, bolstered by Hermione's smile.
"I'm here today as a representative of the Auror Division of the Ministry of Magic. I have worked as an auror officially for the last seven years, but unofficially I guess I've been auror for fourteen years." Harry said with a wry grin, and the guests and students chuckled appreciatively. Hermione sighed with relief. She knew how nervous Harry was about speaking today, but now that he'd cracked a joke she knew he'd relax and speak easily. She was surprised he'd agreed to speak in the first place, but having visited her class a few weeks before had boosted his confidence about appearing in public in the Wizarding world, and she knew he could trust the people gathered in the Great Hall today.
"Two of the graduating students here today have accepted positions in the Auror training division. This is a job which can be dangerous, though thankfully less so than in past years. The individuals working as Aurors throughout Britain do so to protect the integrity of magic practiced, and to protect both the magical community and the Muggle community. It's a great honour to present two students here with their Auror training cloaks, and I look forward to training them over the next year. Would you please welcome Alexis Trent and Tom Bones to the stage to collect their cloaks." Harry smiled and shook Alexis and Tom's hands, passing them their cloaks with a smile, remembering his own `ceremony' with a wry grin as he thought of Mad-Eye Moody throwing the cloak at him as they raced out of 12 Grimmauld Place to fight yet another attack of Death Eaters in a Muggle Village a few short weeks before the final battle.
Harry took the seat Dumbledore conjured next to Hermione and turned to smile at his girlfriend as Dumbledore returned to the platform. Harry knew he'd been hiding for too long with disguises, working in the depths of the ministry, working with his face obscured by a black cloak, keeping his relationship with Hermione secret. He reached across and took her hand impulsively, she whipped her head around to look at him in surprise, but taking in his soft smile she smiled back and squeezed his hand. This display of affection did not go unnoticed and several curious glances were directed their way while Dumbledore presented prizes for the best grades in the NEWTS and other general achievement awards. Harry and Hermione appeared oblivious to the glances and simply enjoyed seeing the students graduate. After speaking with Anna, Hermione realised that Anna would be uncomfortable accepting her research fellowship in front of all the school, and they had agreed not to have a formal presentation, but Hermione was privately thrilled that Anna had agreed to work with her, as they got along well and shared a similar work ethic.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he watched the graduating class have their photographs taken, and a wide smile spread across his face to see Harry's arm around Hermione's shoulder as they spoke to Anna's parents. It was about time the boy acknowledged his relationship. As the last photograph was taken, with a flick of his wand Dumbledore had transformed the Great Hall and music began to play as the Graduation Ball began.
Anna and Josh stood talking and laughing with Lu when Josh spied Harry and Hermione dancing together sometime later.
"What's going on between those two? I thought they were just friends."
Anna looked at him quickly before returning her gaze to her new mentor.
"They've been dating for three years. They just didn't want everyone to know before." Anna said softly. Lu headed to the dance floor and began dancing with Tom. Anna and Josh watched silently as the pair danced.
"Maybe she'll finally see he's in love with her." Josh muttered. Anna whirled around.
"He loves her? Oh my god that's great! She's been crazy about him since the Fifth year!" Her face split into a huge grin.
"I guess some people just don't see what's right in front of them. At leas that's what Hermione told me. She tried to convince herself that she didn't love Harry, but they sorted it out in the end…" Anna sighed and sank into a chair by the table they stood in front of. She just didn't know if she could do it. Josh took a seat next to her, misinterpreting her sigh.
"It's not like you're even leaving Hogwarts Anna! It's not too big a change. And I'll come and see you whenever Harry lets us out." He said with a grin. She smiled weakly back at him.
Harry saw them out of the corner of his eye, and spun Hermione around so she would see them also.
"Should we give them a little shove?" He asked.
She smiled up at him.
"Just what I was thinking. You invite Anna to dance? I'll take Josh?" She asked with a cheeky grin.
"As long as you behave yourself `Mione." He said pulling her close. She hugged him and stood up on her toes to kiss him.
"Promise." She said with a grin, pulling away.
The End