Prophesied

Chapter 16

Graduation

The whole of the seventh year class sat out on the grounds. The term had been over for two weeks, yet here we all were, graduating. There were a few missing from our number, fifty or so having not come back for their last year, and then there was Pansy Parkinson missing...death kind of stops your school days, you know?

There was a podium in front of us, and the families of the students behind us. The Weasleys were back there, proud of Ron, proud of Hermione and I. Narcissa was back there as well, smiling as though she'd never thought she'd see this day. When I pointed that out to Draco, he said that she honestly hadn't, and that she never really was allowed to smile with Lucius around.

That made sense.

I then turned my attention to the mother of my child, who was sitting three rows up and two to the right. Jeff was next to her, with his arm wrapped around her protectively. She hid the pregnancy well; she almost didn't show under the robes. She was seven months along now...it was hard to believe that it had been that long since I was with her.

Thinking about it brought that all too familiar ache back. It would have brought the tears along with it, had I been so willing to cry, but it didn't.

The only problem I found was her refusal to return to America after she graduated. The chances were high that we would run into each other, especially since she expressed her plans of joining the fight against Voldemort. Death Eaters were the reason her mother died after all.

Finally, I looked away from her and over to Hermione, who was sitting next to Parvarti and Padma Patil. She was talking rather vivaciously with Padma, who was returning the liveliness with a bit of her own. I had no idea they even knew each other.

I smiled as I looked away from her and found Ron. He was sitting with Ernie McMillan, who had become his fiancé just last week. I don't think I've ever seen Ron so love-struck when Fleur Delacour wasn't around. Then again, that was just Veela magic.

"You're looking at these people like you'll never see them again, Harry," came Draco's voice in my ear. "I can personally guarantee that you'll see all of your friends at least once more."

"And you can do this how?" I asked.

"They're all coming to our wedding," he informed me. "I've already gotten their RSVPs."

"It's the second for sure then?" I asked. I hadn't really been involved in the setting of the date after our fight about it.

"Yes," he replied with a small nod. He was probably reflecting on the very same fight at the moment. He tended to do that, reflecting on the things that went wrong. Makes him think I hate him and am only marrying him out of pity. Which was not the case, I can assure you.

***

I stared up at the podium, waiting for the ceremony to begin. I wanted to get out of here as soon as I possibly could, and that wasn't until after we got our certificates. I was seriously getting to hate large crowds, and the seventh year student body of Hogwarts was a big crowd.

My grip on Jeff's hand tightened as the size of the crowd crushed in on me. There was a reason I was sitting in the front row, damnit, and it was to prevent the claustrophobic feelings I was getting.

"You okay?" Jeff whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

"Too many people," I said with a slight chuckle. I had been fine until now, what had changed? Was it that we were all right next to each other? Was it the fact that I had two weeks without any of them around? I didn't know, and I needed to.

Some five or so minutes later, the man who had been there when Jeff and I arrived, Cornelius Fudge, stood up at the podium.

"Congratulations, Students!" he cried. "What a time you all have had in your years here at Hogwarts. Many things have happened in the last seven years that don't normally happen, and you all have dealt with them in ways that even grown wizards would not have done. You have had many ups and downs, classmates have died, You-Know-Who has returned, and then there was the Triwizard Tournament in your fourth year where one of your own competed.

"A Minister could not be more proud of a graduating class," the old man lied. I could tell by his voice and his body-language that he didn't care left or right about us. "I would like to thank you all by calling you up, one by one, to hand you your Hogwarts Diploma."

***

I could have laughed with what this faker was saying to us. He wasn't proud of us, he was afraid of us. We were the generation that survived Voldemort, we were the generation that saw him come back (I myself having been unwillingly involved in his return...), we were the ones that would be graduating with the purpose of fighting him, especially since I brought so many of these people into the war firsthand. Ron and Hermione being the first, then Draco, Neville, and so many others. Every single person that I taught in the DA two years ago...they were all involved in this war now.

And that man up there had the audacity to say that he was proud of us, of what I had done.... I wanted to rip his throat out with my bare hands, just to get him to admit the truth.

"Harry Potter," he called.

I walked up there, tense with the anger I felt towards him. I walked passed Lita and saw that she didn't look too great at the moment. I'll have to ask her what's wrong when I get the chance.

"Next year, try the truth," I advised taking my diploma from him. I didn't even bother to shake his hand before I made my way back down to Draco.

"You hate him that much?" he asked me.

"The man's a liar," I replied shortly. "He's the one responsible for most of my hell--after Voldemort, that is."

"You realize you've just ranked the Minister of Magic as second on the list of the worst people in the world?"

I nodded. "He deserves it."

"Draco Malfoy," the minister called.

Draco smirked at me before he ventured up to receive his proof that he made it, even with the hell he's been through the last two years. He received very little applause, most of it coming from his mother and I. My heart ached for him to feel loved and accepted again, but after what he's been through, I don't know that it'll ever happen.

***

"Aren--Arwen--Arin--Lita?" the man struggled. I blushed slightly and pushed myself out of my chair. The whole of Hogwarts could know now, I didn't care anymore.

"This young lady was one of the transfer students this year," the minister commented. "We're thrilled she could join us."

I rolled my eyes while I was still far enough away that he couldn't tell. What a liar...no wonder he's got the highest government position in Great Britain.

He handed me my diploma and I left, without shaking his hand. I didn't much feel like shaking the hand of a liar.

Jeff was called up just after I was, and the minister made sure that everyone knew that he was the other transfer student and they were, again, proud and thrilled that he could join them this year as well.

As for me, I was thrilled to be back at my chair so I could sit down (the transition between sitting and standing was becoming extraordinarily difficult). Why did I have to get pregnant?

***

I was grateful when the ceremony ended. As soon as I was able, I found Lita to ask her what was wrong.

"I'm getting a little claustrophobic," she confessed. "With everyone around, and no one knowing, I--DAD!" she cried.

She smiled and laughed slightly as a man--no, elf--came walking up to her.

They hugged and she started crying. "You came," she whispered.

I stared in awe (yes, I was staring). Here was the man who had raised one of the best people I've ever met. This was the man I had to thank for bringing me the only other person I had come to love as more than a family member. This was the man who was responsible for the mother of my child....

He wasn't much taller than I was, I guess elves are naturally short, and his hair was blacker than Lita's was. But they both had those same dark blue eyes that were as unnatural as my green ones. He didn't look much older than thirty, which was something I didn't find possible. He had to be older than thirty.

Lita pulled herself out of her father's embrace and turned to me. "Father," she said, her voice thick with tears, "This is Harry Potter. Harry, this is my father, Vashon," she introduced. Vashon held out his hand to me, nervous, I took it.

He chuckled. "You have no reason to be nervous, Mr. Potter. My daughter's pregnancy is not something I am upset about. I only wish she would return."

"You're an empath too?" I asked.

He nodded. "All those with elven blood are," he clarified.

"Does that mean..." I trailed off, looking at Lita. Would our daughter be an empath as well?

"The child will, yes," her father answered. "And Jeff should be coming into the powers soon."

"What do you mean?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.

"Any human Bound to an elf will eventually gain certain elf rights. They become half-elf in a sense."

"So Jeff will be like Lita?" I asked.

Vashon nodded. "He will. He should already have gained some of the empathetic feelings Lita has. He should know her emotions without her reacting to them first."

"Hey, Mr. V," came the voice of the subject at hand. "See you've met the famous Harry Potter," he commented. "You're not mad at us, are you?" he asked, sounding as nervous as I felt a few minutes ago.

Vashon shook his head. "No, I am not angry, and please, stop calling me Mr. V. I believe I asked you to stop that two years ago."

"Well, I can't really call you by your name anymore, and I'm not sure if you want me calling you Dad or Father. What should I call you, then?"

"Vashon will do just fine," he answered. "Until you have a child with my daughter, I am not your father. Therefore, you need not worry about the disownment factor."

"Really?" he asked. "I thought it was with the Binding...."

Lita chuckled. "You have a lot to learn," she said with a smile. It was good to see her happy again.