How Can It Be. . ?

Chapter 11:

Three weeks later Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Becca, Nikki and Travis (Becca's fiancé) were sitting in Dumbledore's office waiting for McGonagall, and the Head Boy and Girl. They entered the office as Dumbledore conjured up some drinks. They conjured up chairs and sat down.

"People and creatures are beginning to arrive. I think we should hold the reception on Saturday, and then we can open the gates on Sunday, and close them on Monday." Dumbledore said, as he gave everyone an ice cool glass of pumpkin juice. They nodded.

"I think that Draco and I should wear the same robes we wore at the original reception," Harry said, as he worried his glass. "I think it would be the best option. Also, I think Ron and Crabbe should wear their robes as well." Everybody murmured agreement.

"Well, that's settled then. I think we should have the reception in the Great Hall, it would be easier. Also I would plan a speech for the end about the gates and the order in which to go through, if you plan on having any. I would plan on having an order but that is down to you," Dumbledore said.

"I think we should have one of us go through first with a group of people, creatures and plants, that way they can tell that we do belong in the world, if there is anyone in that world, but I think it will be beyond our wildest dreams. I think that Nikki should go through with the first group, seeing as she is the descendant of the guy who opened the gates in the first place. I think we should have the order of mothers with children under seven first, then children eight to sixteen, followed by anyone over sixty and then anyone else. If they arrive after their group has gone through then they must wait until the end. I also think that everyone must carry an object, plant or animal through the gates. Do you agree?" Hermione said in a hurry. Harry began to write a list. Everyone read over his shoulder or the more skilled people read it upside down:

Groups:

1. Peace offering group, Nikki and one of each species.
2. Parents with children seven of under; Ron goes through with them.
3. Children eight to sixteen; Hermione goes through with them.
4. Over sixty; Draco goes through with them.
5. Adults seventeen to twenty seven.
6. Adults twenty eight to thirty eight.
7. Adults thirty nine to forty nine.
8. Adults fifty to sixty; Becca goes through with them.
9. Stragglers; Harry goes through with them.

"Brilliant idea, Harry, we can now sort people into groups. However, if a grandparent is over sixty but has a child under seven to take through which group do they go in?" Ron said.

"They would go in the second group, Ron. It's not hard to figure out," Hermione scolded.

. . .

Saturday morning dawned and Hogwarts was buzzing. It was the day of the public reception. It was also one day until the gates would be opened. As the castle buzzed to get ready, people talking in the Great Hall, eating breakfast before (the Great Hall) it would become off limits to get ready for the afternoon's reception. Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Nikki and Becca were sitting in the Great Hall discussing how best to decorate the hall. They decided that they would have the Gryffindor and Slytherin house colours and emblems draped from the ceiling around the walls, and gold chairs with silver legs in rows. When the meal came they would have golden tables and silver chairs, with music playing lightly in the background. Also when the meal was over and they moved onto the general celebration, they would have a gold and silver dance floor with green and red strobe lighting.

. . .

Nikki and Becca had decorated the hall and the time for the reception was fast approaching. It didn't take long for Harry and Draco to get ready. Nor did it take Ron or Crabbe as they would be wearing the same robes as on the day. Hermione, Nikki and Becca took five hours to get ready. Eventually, Hermione joined Ron; Becca joined Travis (who only took half an hour to get ready) and Nikki joined the rest of them as she had no date. They told her that she would find someone when they got downstairs. So they started to head downstairs, as they had to be there early.

. . .

At the wedding there were no speeches made by anyone. Today, there would be speeches made by Ron, Harry, Draco, Crabbe, Hermione, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Goyle and Oliver Wood. Ron would go first, Crabbe would go second, Hermione third, Goyle forth, Dumbledore fifth, Snape would be sixth, McGonagall seventh, Oliver eighth, Draco ninth and Harry last. They had planned an itinerary and one had been placed on every chair in the hall, which was slowly filling up at this point. They had had to magically expand the hall to fit everyone in. There were more than three million people in the hall. Classrooms had been converted into bedrooms. Every available room that wasn't already a room was made one, except the bathrooms of course. They had split the school into sections, within these sections there was four bathrooms with ten shower stalls each, there was four hundred people in each section, and each had an allotted shower time that would last half an hour per person, so that they could get everyone in and out as quickly and orderly as possible. They had planned this meticulously. Soon the hall was full. Ron stood up.

"Welcome. The first thing we're going to do today is speeches. As you can see an itinerary has been placed on everyone's chair. They will change magically if someone cuts their speech short or something like that. I will be the first to make the speech, please bear with me, this is the first time I've spoken to this many people before or done a speech at a reception," Ron explained. He rummaged in his robe pocket to collect the cue cards.

"I first met Harry when we were eleven years old. We became best friends straight away. I also met Draco when I was eleven years old. We were in the same year here at Hogwarts. That day on the train when I met both Harry and Draco, I never once thought that we would end up here today, to celebrate their wedding. Through the years at Hogwarts, Harry saved more and more people. By the middle of sixth year, V-V-Voldemort was dead. Killed by Harry. Harry then withdrew into himself, and (then) suddenly two weeks later, he became more outgoing and pleasant to be around, no offence Harry. Four months later, we find out why. Draco Malfoy. He brought Harry out of his shell. How I do not know and I don't think I want to know either." He paused while the crowd laughed. "Me and him have always been mates, yeah we argued, who doesn't? We've always been the best of mates and we'll always be the best of mates. When I found out about him and Draco, he told me and I tried to kill him but he got away. So then I tried to kill Draco, thinking he had put a spell on Harry. Me, Hermione and Harry were always at war with Draco, Vincent and Gregory. That all changed when Harry and Draco came out with their relationship. Me, Vincent and Gregory are pretty good mates now, we go watch Quidditch matches together, get drinks together. We used to be at each other's throat for six years. It took time to get used to. Harry, Draco I wish you all the best throughout your years together. Harry and Draco," Ron said lifting his glass of champagne. The hall echoed and lifted their glasses too. "I will now pass over to Vincent."

Vincent stepped forward.

"Thank you, Ron. I first met Draco when I was six years old, our families had been friends for centuries. We became close friends, I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm Draco's best friend, but he is mine. We used to talk and play for hours. We got so close that when he started doing accidental magic, so did I. When we were eleven, we met Goyle on the train to school here. He became part of Draco and mine's circle. We became a trio. Just like Ron, Harry and Hermione became a trio, but at around Halloween, when they fought a fully grown mountain troll. We in Slytherin used to call them the Golden Trio. They have now included another three people into that circle. Me, Greg and Draco. The six of us will be welcoming three more people into our circle. I would like to ask Rebecca Bangard up here with her fiancé and also Nicole Brown, Draco's cousin," he said, motioning for them to come up. They walked up to the platform as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Greg and Draco moved to make a semicircle around them. "It has become tradition within our circle that we all have a specific bracelet that only people in our group can have. We have had three more made to welcome three more people to our group. Today, we celebrate to things, love and friendship, the things that it took to rid our world of such an evil being as Voldemort. Nikki, Becca and Travis, we offer you these bracelets embedded with protection charms and locating charms, if you are ever in danger just think of us, your friends and we'll be there." He gave them the bracelets which they put on. "To love and to friendship," Vincent said, holding up his glass, again everyone followed. "Now I would like to invite Hermione to come forward." Hermione stayed where she was while the rest of the group went back to their seats, Nikki, Becca and Travis having been moved from the crowd to the platform with the rest of the group.

"Thank you, Vincent. Harry, where do I begin with him? Let's start with his personality. He's stubborn, brave, loyal, determined, smart and I can think of thousands more words to describe him. We too met in first year, on the train, lots of people meet of the train, don't they? I was looking for Neville's toad, Trevor." Hermione paused as Neville stood up holding Trevor in his hand and waved, and the crowd laughed. He sat back down. "Me, Ron and Harry became friends, as Vincent said, at Halloween in our first year. They came to find me, and ended up rescuing me from a mountain troll because I had been crying as Ron has an emotional range of a teaspoon." Again the crowd laughed. "From then on we've been friends. Harry had been through a lot and still he went through more and more, and he will always go through more to protect his friends. I propose a toast to loyalty." Everyone followed once again. "I now invite Gregory to come forward." Goyle stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't actually know what else I can say. Draco scared me when he came up to me and said that he loved Harry Potter more than anything and that they were together. I just said, 'Harry Bloody Potter?' He proceeded to tell me to grow up and get a life, and if I was really his friend, I would just accept that he doesn't bat for the girls' side of the team. Three months after that he told me that he was engaged to Harry. All I could think was 'bloody hell, what next? Children?' Well apparently I was right. Harry and Draco would like to take this opportunity to inform you that they are both pregnant, one month pregnant to be exact. Now for my toast: To New Life!" Goyle said holding up his glass of champagne. "I would now like to invite Professor Dumbledore up here." He went and sat down, passing Dumbledore on his way.

"Thank you, Gregory. I met Harry when he was just three days old. I met his parents, Lily and James, when they were eleven years old. Harry has always been extraordinary. Draco has also been extraordinary. These two boys that spent most of their time getting the other, or thinking of how to get the other back. Now look at them, they done this out of love not hate. Harry and Draco love each other very much, they have a special communication with each other, something only people who are truly in love can have. I hope that they have exhausted their argumentative parts, and can now focus on love," Dumbledore said and he raised his glass before continuing. "To forgetting the past." It was echoed again. "I would like to ask Severus Snape to come forward." Dumbledore went back to his seat, nodding to Snape as he passed.

"Potter was always an impertinent boy, until he changed into his sixth year. I later found out that it was because of Draco that he changed. I used to pick on him all the time. When he started to volunteer information I knew something was wrong, so I worked harder to try and get him to crack. The only thing that made him crack was Draco. I stopped calling him Potter by then. He was Harry. I'm tempted to put him back to Potter but that would be unfair now that he is married to my godson. Harry's father and I never got along, that is almost what happened with Harry and Draco. They managed to put the past behind them, and move on. It was then that I realised that everyone has something that they need to put behind them. I think that is why tomorrow we will be leaving this world for the OtherWorld so that we can put the horrors from this world behind us and start over. I think that we should all follow Harry and Draco's lead. My toast is: Moving on from the past," Snape said, raising his glass to Harry and Draco. Everyone followed. "I would now like to invite Minerva McGonagall to come up here." He too nodded to McGonagall as he passed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have known Harry Potter since he was three days old as well. I was there when he was left on his aunt and uncle's doorstep. He has changed so much since then. I remember his 'nightmares', where he would witness what Voldemort was thinking about or seeing. They were frightening times, but Draco helped stop Harry's nightmares. Harry has grown from an incredible baby, to an incredible man. Both Harry and Draco are smart young men that have had many terrors in their lives but have gotten over them. My toast is: To getting rid of demons." She held up her glass. "I would now like to invite Oliver Wood up here." She went back to her seat while Oliver made his way to the podium.

"Seekers, both of them. Both very good Seekers, I guess that Gryffindor got the slightly better one. Being a seeker has its perks. They can recognise and catch something they want, before it's too late. Harry is an incredible man that has come from an incredible boy. First year he was on the Quidditch team, and he has also stopped Voldemort from coming back. Eleven years old and consciously saving the world. What an amazing man. Draco, eleven years old and smart, cunning and devious. Not many eleven-year-olds can come up with a plan to convince one person of one thing, but mean a completely different thing. My toast is: To the smart and the brave," Oliver said, raising his glass. "I would now like to invite Draco up here." He stepped down and patted Draco on the back as he passed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. I would first of all like to thank you for all your support, except the few people who sent me unsigned hate mail. Second of all I would like to say that we have arranged a schedule for tomorrow's journey. Harry will explain that during his speech. When I first met Harry I hated him for all he was worth. He got attention that I wanted. He was teacher's pet and he broke the rules, and only Professor Snape brought him up short on it. But I started to become obsessed with him. After the war, he withdrew into himself like Ron said, but I managed to pull him back out. My methods were probably unorthodox at the time but they worked, and it helped us get to where we are today. Harry is an extraordinary man, and I love him with all my heart. To Harry," Draco said raising his glass to Harry. "Harry, come on up here, love. You have some explaining to do about tomorrow." Harry stood up, walked to the front of the platform next to Draco, put his arm around Draco's waist, gave him a peck on the cheek and turned to face the crowd.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, for tomorrow's journey through the gates we have come up with an order instead of it being chaos down there. Firstly, a peace group will go through with Nicole. A member of every species is to go; you can debate that between yourselves. Next will come parents with children seven years old and under, these will go through with Ron. The next group to go through will be children eight to sixteen, they will go through without parents, but will be accompanied by Hermione. Draco will escort people over sixty through. Adults, seventeen to twenty-seven, will also go through on their own. Adults, twenty eight to thirty eight, will go through on their own, so will adults, thirty nine to forty nine. Becca will be accompanying adults fifty to sixty. If you are not on time for your group to go through you will wait to the end and go through with me. There is also a rule that you must have at least one magical object or plant that you will carry through the gates. We will be checking and you will be sent to the end before you can go if you don't have one of these. There will be a copy of the order into everyone's dorm room, you must abide by this. I would like everyone in here by six am tomorrow. We will be opening the gates at seven at which point we would like all members of the peace group down in the chamber. Parslemouths if you could meet me here early I need to show you the route to the entrance, from there / entrance, from where, the snakes will guide people. Please remember your group and try to stick to it. In each dorm, a magical object has been placed on half of the beds, and the other half of the people who do not have an object on their bed must collect a plant from our herbologists, who will be in the greenhouses at four-thirty am. There will be food available for those who have to wait; it will be set up almost like a buffet here, at what would normally be the staff table. I would also like to say that if you are a grandparent over sixty years old, looking after a child seven or under because their parents are dead, then you will go through in the second group, the same applies to aunts and uncles where that is the case. Draco, Becca, Ron, Hermione, Nikki and I will see you tomorrow morning bright and early here in the Great Hall. For those who don't do mornings we've set you a nice alarm that will play for everyone to hear, so I suggest you make sure you are up before it goes off. Beds have been charmed to throw you out at five-thirty am. You have been warned. We have to go and set up for tomorrow. If you have any questions please feel free to come and ask any of us six, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall or Snape, and we will all try our best to answer them (any questions you have). Thank you," Harry gave his speech as Ron, Hermione, Becca and Nikki made their way to the front to join Harry and Draco.

Author's Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so long to get up guys, I've only just got the time to upload it. It's quite short, I know, I promise that I will get the next one up a lot quicker. If you would like to know when a new chapter is uploaded you can email me at [email protected], you can owl me or you can leave me a message in your review, thanks, Lily.M.Potter.