"And now I ask the valedictorian, our Head Boy, Mr.Draco Jacob Malfoy of Slytherin and Head Girl Ms.Hermione Jane Granger of Gryffindor to come up and give their speech" Albus Dumbledore announced to the graduates and their parents.
The Heads then walked towards the stage, ready to give their speech.
Draco and Hermione looked at their fellow classmates and their families and began to give his point of view.
" Hello and good evening to all our guests. When the headmaster told us that we have to give a speech as the heads do each year I knew it wouldn't be easy for me. And it's not so please bear with me." He paused and looked at his audience and found his mother and father smirking at him, he just smiled and continued.
"I remember when I was small maybe 4 or 5 my father would tell me that muggle-borns are mudbloods and that they shouldn't be allowed in the wizards' world. I was small and listened to him so I was brought up to hate all muggles and half bloods and I also was thought the belief that purebloods are superior to half bloods and muggle-borns." He paused and looked at Hermione who smiled at him.
" I was also told a lot of rubbishes about my opponents of the past 7 years, Harry potter and the Weasly family. That the weaslys had no money and lived in small house that probably for 7 kids and 2 adults is like a small cave. I was told to hate and belittle all Weaslys. I was told to make fun of the fact that their robes, books, brooms, shoes, wands, and even their pets were second-handed." He paused when he heard the Slytherins snicker." I didn't say this for to snicker, laugh or smirk so please keep it yourself." This shocked the audience, especially the slytherins, who gasped.
" I was told to hate Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. Because father said he was the reason the Dark Lord lost his powers and became a weak bodiless soul. I was told to be little Granger because she was from a non-magical family."
" I used to get beaten up because Granger got higher marks than me in everything when she was only a mudblood. Father used to use unforgivable curses on me from age 3 when I disobeyed him and when I came to Hogwarts he …" he stopped when he saw his father get up and head toward the great hall's door to leave, he wanted stop him but Dumbldore beat him to it.
" You will not leave until you hear him out! So do every one a favor and stop wasting time luscious!"
Draco's father glared at his son and sat down. And Draco continued.
" When I got to Hogwarts the beating increased because Hermione Jane Granger, the School's Know-It-All, Miss. Dictionary. Harry Potter's Best friend, a muggle-born, excelled in everything she chose to do. So I picked on her, for making my life a living hell."
"From year one. I called her mudblood till this year. 7 years, I called her a mublood. At first I believed it. At least I thought I did, but I didn't I only called her mudblood so I wouldn't get beaten up. She did nothing to me, yet I made her life and her 2 best friend's life a living hell, for selfish reasons."
" Some times I wanted to strangle her." Draco chuckled then he mimicked Hermione, " "At least no one in Gryffindor had to buy their way in, they got their own talents." She was good at everything she did schoolwork, saving the world, and her choice of friends. I was jealous, I envied her, and today I'm going to admit everything and tell you what I have learned from the past 8 month, something that from that 7 years of Hogwarts didn't teach me, 8 month living in the same dorm with Hermione has thought me."
" During the summer the Dark Lord assigned me a assignment, and that was to get Hermione Granger to trust me so we can get Potter's secrets, so he would win the war. If I disobeyed him, my mother and I would loose our lives. My mother used to come to my room at nights when father was sleep to help me in making the right choice, she told me that her marriage was arranged and that she did not love father, if she disobeyed her parents she would loose her life, she told me she me she made the wrong choice marrying father, but she was happy to have me. But she told me its better to die than doing the wrong thing, but I didn't want to die, she told me there are always other options. Like going the Albus and asking for help. "
"I had pride and didn't want to be called weak but when I heard Hermione Granger is the Head girl, I knew I had to do something. After all I did have crush on the girl for the past 6 years. So I told professor Dumbledore everything. He said talk to Hermione herself."
"At first I knew the old man had completely lost it. I mean who would just walk up to the person you're assigned to hurt and confess. After a couple weeks he knew I haven't talked to her yet so he called us in his office and explained the mission to her, and he asked me to tell her why I didn't want to do the mission I told her everything. My life's story, how I got beaten up if I disobeyed father. How I had crush on her for the past 6 years. How I was jealous, envies her and how I didn't want to be luscious malfoy Jr. how I didn't want to follow my father's steps and becoming a murderer."
" At first she was quite and just listened to me, then she just smiled and opened up to me. She just looked me in eye, smiled and said, " Everyone deserves a second chance, even a ferret like yourself." I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. I mean I tortured her for 7 years and she just smiled and said everyone deserves a second chance."
" She looked at professor Dumbledore and said, "Okay then lets start over sir. Hi there! My name is Hermione Jane Granger. And I'm in 7th year. What about you?" I just stared at her like a moron. And then I played along"
" After a while, she helped in everything. In life, schoolwork, and she became my friend, and not just a friend but best friend, for me it was more than enough, since I never had any real friends."
" She helped me to pick a costume for Halloween, she gave Christmas spirit. She decorated a tree in the Head Common Room and bought me gifts. Then she asked Ginny to join us, she even bought me gifts, and I was surprised because I picked on her family all the time. That was the best Christmas I had, because I got to share it with two people who gave me chance."
" They used to listen to me everyday when I needed to talk to someone, they were to pick me up when I felt low, helped me through the whole year. They gave me hope and faith on life. They thought me stand up and say no. They thought me the meaning of a true friendship, trust, love and happiness. I had a crush on Hermione, but she thought me love, and now I stand here, knowing I can never love another, unless I love myself first. She thought me courage, bravery, royalty. She thought me to celebrate everyone's uniqueness. And be myself."
"Ginny and Hermione then helped Pansy, she found friends, true friends. They thought both of us how to love, how to smile, laugh, cry, and live our life."
"Hermione said, crying shows that you are a human and capable of feeling emotions. It doesn't make you weak but actually strong. She said its good to laugh sometimes."
She thought me to be proud to be a malfoy, yet a different kind, a nice hearted malfoy, when I said what's there to be proud of? She said the fact that you can change the bad reputation to a good one."
" She thought me money is not everything. I said why? She said because malfoys have a lot of money but they can't buy the most important things in life. 1.Respect- you can't buy it, you have to earn it.
2.Frienship- you can't buy it, you have to seek it.
3.Love- love doesn't cost a thing. You have to deserve it.
4.happiness- it can't be bought, but shared with, sharing it, doubles it.
5.trust-it takes years to be built moment to be shattered."
"She thought me to be human. She said no one is perfect. If one was perfect, why do they live, they have nothing to achieve, so why live, if you are perfect at everything. She told me she is not perfect, she said she had a lot to achieve. "
" She told me about her friends. How Ron wants Harry's life and Harry wants Ron's life. Ron's brothers have all done something to be known for, Bill Weasly was head boy, and Charlie was a Quidditch player. Percy was a prefect and then head boy, the twins have humor. And everyone expect a lot from Ron. "
"While Harry want to have the family Ron has, 6 brother and a sister. He wants to have his parents. He wants to be held by his mother. He wants a father to look up to."
" Hermione says people are never happy with themselves. Until they lose all they had."
" She says maybe people should just celebrate the fact that Ron exists. She says maybe people should give me chance to prove myself. She says maybe people should stop looking up to Harry, because everyone makes mistakes and when Harry does, people make a huge deal of it."
"She says so what if weaslys have second handed books, brooms, robs, shoes, pets and want. At least each member of the family has a memory with the same book, robe, shoe, wand, pet, or broom. And those memories make that simple broom, book, robe, and wand, pet a valuable possession that everyone values and respects. Those memories make a simple wand passed down from the first child one to the last child a special wand, a treasured wand. A wand that bill perfected a charm with, making it lucky wand for Charlie then Ron's lucky wand to obliviate a cheat and cheap wizard like Lockhart."
" So today I stand here to say thank you Hermione, the angel in disguise for teaching me who I am, thank you Ginny, thank you Harry, thank you Ron, thank you to weasly family, thank you to my mother, thank you to all my professors. Thank you to Hogwarts. Thank you to Voldemort for assigning this assignment for me to meet the real Hermione, and seeing and living my life my way. So thank you everyone for your time, your help and support."
To be continued