**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews we've been getting. Reviews most definitely keep us motivated to want to keep writing. As far as the few questions we've gotten, all will be answered in due time. :P We wouldn't want to spoil all the fun. On with the story…**
Harry finally made his way down to the lake where he met up with his friends. Ron was sitting next to Luna against a tree while Ginny and Lavender were sitting back to back chatting. Neville and Seamus were attempting to skip rocks into the lake.
"Hey Harry. Where have you been?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, I was just making sure I had everything packed. I didn't want to end up leaving anything behind." Harry said while thinking back to the letter from Hermione.
Neville and Seamus finally decided to join everyone in sitting down. "On our way down here we ran into Lupin."
"Yeah." Ron interrupted Seamus. "He said that we have to be in the Great Hall thirty minutes before dinner. He didn't say why but maybe it could be some nifty sweets or something."
"There goes Ron thinking with his stomach again." Neville said with a big grin.
"You never know, there might be sweets," Luna said coming to Ron's defense.
"I don't see how there could be sweets involved. I mean c'mon Ron; don't you remember? Lupin said he had to have a chat with Professor Dumbledore earlier." Harry looked from Ron to the rest of the group who had confused looks on their faces.
"We had a run in with Malfoy. Luckily Lupin came along or there could have been hell to pay."
"Why what happened?" Ginny asked while sitting up onto her knees intent on listening to Harry's response.
"Oh he was just being an insufferable git and brought up Hermione." Harry said trying to look away since he had dated both Ginny and Lavender. Even though they had broken up awhile ago, Harry felt a little strange chatting about Hermione around them. It had been the basis for both of the breakups. They didn't want to compete with his friendship with Hermione.
"Harry, he was just trying to get under your skin," said Ginny coming to the defense of Malfoy. She also couldn't help but notice the looks she got from everyone.
"Why are you defending that bloody idiot?" Ron asked his sister while getting nodded agreements from Neville and Seamus.
"I'm not! I was just trying to make Harry feel better!"
The group went silent. The only things to be heard were leaves rustling and birds chirping off in the distance. Harry wanted to break the silence but didn't know what to do. He shifted from one side to another before finally asking "Uhh…when should we head up to the Great Hall?" No one said anything for a second. Neville finally chimed in, "How about we go up a little early so we can change into some nicer robes and then head on down to see what's in store for us?"
"That sounds good." Harry and Seamus said in agreement.
Ron stood up and got everyone's eyes on him. "What are you doing mate?" Harry asked.
"I thought we were leaving."
"We said we would go up a little early…not this early. We still have a good fifteen minutes, unless you want to go change now."
Ron looked from friend to friend before finally saying, "No, I think we can wait just a little bit longer."
*~*~*
Harry and Ron took a little bit longer changing then the other boys so they opted to meet them down in the Great Hall. "Sort of sad isn't it?" Ron said while they made their way out of the portrait hole downstairs.
"Yeah, I know what yo…" Harry became silent as they stood in the doorway to the Great Hall. It was decorated with banners from all four houses. There were floating candles with flames in the house colors. "Hermione would love this."
Neville and Seamus were seated next to Lavender and Parvati. They had saved two spots for their friends. "Isn't this brilliant?" Seamus beamed at Harry.
"It's great! I wasn't expecting anything like this."
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Lavender cooed with Parvati. Each one looked as though they could cry at any moment. Both Harry and Ron made sure not to say anything to them for fear that they would.
All of the seventh years had made their way into the hall and had sat down at their respective tables and were visiting with one another. Finally, Dumbledore stood and tapped his goblet with his fork to gain everyone's attention. There was a quick hush as everyone's attention turned to their headmaster.
"I have asked you all here to be able to congratulate everyone. I am very proud of you all." Dumbledore spoke but looked especially at Harry. "You have all been through so much in your seven years of Hogwarts."
As Dumbledore paused, all of a sudden, there were tiny little boxes wrapped in yellow and black paper that appeared on the Hufflepuff tables. Then blue and bronze boxes appeared on the Ravenclaw tables. Everyone at the Slytherin tables was waiting for something to appear in front of them, but nothing happened. They looked up to Dumbledore who gave them a knowing smile.
"What's going on?" Ron whispered to Harry who shrugged his shoulders. Then as if on cue, crimson and gold boxes manifested in front of everyone at the Gryffindor tables.
"I am sure you are all wondering what has either materialized in front of you, or lack there of. Before you all find out, I just wanted each and every one of you to have something to remind you of your days here. You may proceed."
There were several sounds to be heard through out the room. Paper being torn, shrieks, giggles, and confused noises. "Why didn't we get anything?" Pansy Parkinson shrieked. "Here they are. They are by our feet!" someone shouted above the cries. There were several more gasps as everyone had their boxes open and were looking at the contents.
All of the seventh years looked around to see what each house had got. Hufflepuffs had received little gold badgers and pinned them onto their robes. Ravenclaws were given bronze eagles to show off their house mascot. "Ooohs" and "Ahhs" could be heard through out the Great Hall as everyone turned to the Slytherin tables. They had received silver snakes that had an odd green tint to them.
Silver lions were given to the house of Gryffindor. Only there was something special in Harry's box. There was a piece of parchment. Harry quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed that he was the only one with the letter, Ron was the only one that had. Everyone else was busy discussing their pins while Harry read through his letter.
Do not fret, she will see this and she has been given a pin just as everyone else has.
When Harry had finished reading the note, he looked up to the professor's table only to see the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Harry, what does it say? Harry…HARRY?" Ron whispered as loud as he could without getting anyone else's attention.
Harry handed the note over to Ron, and just as Harry did he looked up at Dumbledore when he was finished. "Do you think it was from him?" Ron asked.
"I'm sure. I highly doubt it was Snape." When Snape's name was mentioned, they both looked up to the staff table at him. He sat there with a look of loathing and dread. This caused both of the boys to laugh.
All of the colorful wrapping and boxes had been cleaned up before the rest of Hogwarts' students joined in for the graduation feast.
"What's with the looks on all of your faces?" Luna asked as she plopped down next to Ron.
"Dumbledore gave us pins." Ron said as he pulled out his robes for the girls to get a better look.
"Those are beautiful! How sweet of him to do that. I don't think any other year has ever gotten anything before." Ginny chimed in as she looked at all the other tables. "Did every house get one?"
"Yep." Harry said while dishing up some food. "Ron, you had better dish up, it's the last bit of Hogwarts food you are going to get."
After everyone had finished and Ron managed to clean everyone else's plates, they heard a familiar clink drawing their eyes up to the staff table. Dumbledore stood, his gaze spreading all throughout the hall. He stood silently for a moment, almost as if to catch his emotions before beginning his speech.
"Good evening students. I must say that I am most delighted to be in your presence on such a wonderful day. You sit here amongst yourselves not as children anymore but as some of the finest young witches and wizards of your time. I know that you will make such an extraordinary mark on the world today whether it is by your work with the ministry or your own personal pursuits. We all know that there are still dark times ahead of us, but you are the light at the end of the tunnel. We have all had great losses throughout our time together, but know that things can change, and things will in the end be better. You are the future of the world. You hold the power and strength to defy anything." Dumbledore's words echoed across the silent hall. Harry noticed that Dumbledore seemed to be looking his way as he spoke. He looked around to see all the other students' gaze fixed upon their headmaster.
"With that, I leave you with a couple of announcements by Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore gracefully took his seat and McGonagall stood, holding an awfully large roll of parchment.
"Ahem, it saddens me, as it does every year, to see my students leave this place that's become their second home. I've seen you all grow into the wonderful people you've become. I'll miss all of you, some more than others." She hastily wiped away a tear that had begun to form in her eye. "First I'd like to list all those that have been accepted into the Auror Academy this next fall. When I say your name, please stand."
Harry and Ron looked at each other. They really didn't know any of the seven people named that had chosen to take up the Auror profession. Everyone thought that Harry would be one to join them, but he knew that he had yet to face Lord Voldemort so he didn't want to put himself into anymore trouble than he already was.
A light round of applause swept throughout the hall as those seven who had stood, now sat. "Now I only have one other announcement to make. I'd like to call out those five with the highest grades. Please stand and continue standing until I am finished calling everyone."
"Ernie MacMillan."
Ernie stood with an awe struck look on his face. It was obvious he had no idea that his grades were that high. Another wave of applause washed over the Great Hall. The whole of the Hufflepuff table was cheering loudly at their housemate.
"Draco Malfoy."
As Draco stood the Slytherin table cheered loudly. It compensated for the fact that not many from the rest of the hall were clapping except for a select few. "Ginny, what in the world are you doing?" Ron shot Ginny a murderous glare.
"I'm just being polite that's all," Ginny retorted, a soft pink glow flushing her face.
"Padma Patil."
The Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers. Padma stood and looked almost sad that she wasn't called as the one with the top grades. She did her best to put on a smile. Padma's sister Parvati could be heard screaming out cheers from the Gryffindor table.
After the cheering had died down, Professor McGonagall looked up from her parchment with a devilish smile on her face that hadn't ever been seen before. "Now, this I must say came to be quite a surprise for me. Not only do we have one person with the highest grades, there is a two-way tie." Gasps of shock and awe could be heard throughout the hall. Looks of puzzlement adorned many of the faces in the hall as no one knew who the two would be.
"Now would the following two students please make their way up to the staff table as I have something for them." Dead silence filled the hall. The air was thick with anticipation.
"Ron Weasley and Harry Potter!"
The silence of the hall was carried over as the boys' names were called. Harry looked baffled, shooting a look at Ron. Ron seemed to return a similar look. Finally as if snapping out of it, the boys smirked at each other with a shrug and stood to make their way to the front of the hall. As they made their way up to the staff all of the tables, except for Slytherin of course, cheered out wildly. Listening closely, those that cheered the loudest were the members of the quidditch team and the DA.
When the boys reached the teachers, they received hugs from Professor McGonagall. She smiled at them with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe that you two pulled yourselves to where you're at now. I am so proud of you. But I have to know how you managed to do it?"
The boys looked at each other with a grin. "I believe we can owe this to Hermione," Ron said in answer to her question.
Harry ran a hand through his unruly black hair and added, "Yeah we figured we should do something in honor of her since she left. Plus we couldn't figure out a way to get rid of those homework planners she was so famous for. She had put some nasty charms on them."
Professor McGonagall smiled in response. "She'd be awfully proud of you two. Oh yes, here are these of course." She handed them each a galleon, and the boys looked back at her quizzically. "For right now these are charmed to look like awards, but in reality they are your way of knowing when the Order meetings are. I know I know, they're the same thing used in your DA meetings. Let's just say Hermione had a pretty good idea." McGonagall looked at them with a smile.
"Thanks Professor," the boys said in unison. They turned around to make their way back to the table, all of the students minus Slytherin stood in an ovation, all of them cheering as wildly as possible.
All that followed was a closing message by Dumbledore and then all the students were dismissed. The seventh years were allowed to leave that night by carriage, while the rest of the school would be departing following morning.
The boys managed to give hugs to Ginny and Luna before heading off to the carriages. "We'll see you two tomorrow!" Ron yelled out the carriage window, his bright red hair ruffling in the wind.
Once they got onto the train at the station in Hogsmeade, those who were licensed to apparate would do so, and the rest would board the train to go back to the platform. The majority of the carriage ride was blanketed in silence. When they reached Hogsmeade they grabbed hold of their trunks, staring back the direction they had just come. Their silence had been broken by the mass goodbyes that everyone was saying to each other. Hugs, handshakes, and even tears were ever present in the group of graduating seventh years.
After Harry and Ron were able to tear away from the group they concentrated on the Burrow and arrived there with a loud pop. Immediately Mrs. Weasley rushed at them, taking each boy in one of her arms. "There are my two boys! I can't believe you are finally through with Hogwarts." Mrs. Weasley choked out amidst her tears.
"Mrs. Weasley.." Harry choked out.
"Mum…MUM!" Ron shouted. "We need to breathe mum!"
Mrs. Weasley backed off wiping the tears that had spilled down her tears. She looked at them with a sentimental gleam in her eyes. "I imagine you're still full from dinner, so why don't you two go upstairs and get some sleep."
Mr. Weasley came through to the kitchen where the boys were at shaking his head at the state that he wife was in. "Hey boys. Congratulations on making it out of Hogwarts alive. Are you guys ready for the Order meeting tomorrow morning?"
Before the boys could get a word out, Mrs. Weasley's demeanor quickly took a sour turn. She shot her husband a nasty look. It was apparent that she wasn't looking forward for the last of her boys to be joining the Order. "Arthur, lets just let the boys go to sleep. They've had a long day."
She ushered both boys up the stairs to Ron's old bedroom. It was just as it had always been. Bright orange memorabilia from the Chudley Cannons, his favorite quidditch team, was plastered all over the room. They changed out of their school clothes and clambered into their respective beds. Each laid in silence staring up at the ceiling.
"Are you excited about going to the Order meeting tomorrow mate?" Ron said, breaking the silence.
"As much as I'll ever be. At least I'll hopefully find out what's been going on with Voldemort. I've got to be prepared."
Ron sat up, propping himself up with his elbow and resting his head on his hand. "I'm thinking after the meeting we can head into Hogsmeade and go look for our flat. The sooner we get out of here the better."
"I'm with you mate, I'm with you. We'll go as soon as it's over." Harry responded as he rolled over turning his back to Ron.
Ron, seeing Harry turn over, got the hint and left him to fall asleep. Harry wasn't quite tired yet. He was planning on waking up early to write Hermione tomorrow morning with news of what happened. He didn't know when, but he was hoping to talk to Ron about that trip over to the States to go see her.
About ten minutes after turning over he heard the comforts of Ron's snores. Knowing that he wouldn't be interrupted any longer, Harry cleared his mind with the relaxation techniques he learned from Snape during his sixth year so he could drift off into a peaceful sleep.
**A/N: Thanks again for taking the time to read. We know it's kind of starting off at a slow pace, but we'd rather take the time to explain things than rush through the story. By the looks of things we'll be updating either Friday or Monday. We're shooting for two updates a week. As always, if you continue to scroll down you'll see a lovely little box for a review. If you could just give us a couple words, good or bad, that'd be absolutely fabulous. Thanks!**