First she was a prefect, and then she became Head Girl in her final year of Hogwarts. Now a week before her graduation, Hermione Granger was walking around the halls in a complete state of happiness. It had always been her dream to be the Valedictorian at her graduation and now she was. She couldn't believe it when she first heard it two days ago at dinner. The only thing now was to write her speech. She had a problem though. Hermione didn't want her speech to be like all the other valedictorian's speeches in the past years, which were all about the wonderful time they had at Hogwarts. No, she wanted her speech to always be remembered as one that sent out a great message. But, what could be so important that it would always be remembered, and reflect on her fellow graduating students?
Hermione turned a corner and saw a group of people standing around whispering, probably about the latest rumor. She just walked past them, but she felt their eyes on her. She turned her head and looked over her shoulder but no one was staring at her. Then she heard the one thing that could bring down her happiness.
"Can you believe that i she /i got valedictorian?"
"That mudblood probably only got it because she's such a suck-up."
"She's only smart because she doesn't know how to have fun and she always has her stupid nose stuck in a book. Who wants to live their life like that?"
"I heard that she uses a spell she learnt out of a book to make her smart."
"Probably, how can a mudblood be so smart in witchcraft when they never even knew it existed before coming here?"
Hermione had heard enough and ran all the way back to her dorm that she shared with the Head Boy. By the time she got there she was in tears and ran straight up to her room. Her happiness completely gone she collapsed on her bed and cried her eyes out.
About an hour later Hermione got up and went into the bathroom. She quickly washed her face and brushed her hair. She finally had an idea for her speech and she didn't want to loose it. Walking over to her desk, she sat down and pulled out ink, a quill, and parchment. Four hours later she looked at her parchment and smiled. This was the perfect speech and it was going to make a point to everyone, whether they liked it or not.
/At Graduation/
Dumbledore stood at the front with the podium to his left. "And now, I would like to invite you Head Girl and Valedictorian, Hermione Granger up here to give her speech." There was a polite applause as Hermione walked up and faced the crowd. She took a deep breath and though 'I guess it's now or never.' She took another deep breath and started her speech.
"Now I know that you're all expecting me to stand up here and talk about the wonderful years I've had at this school. That's not the case. While I would like to, there is a more important issue that I would like to discuss before we all head out into the world. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to say my piece. I stand up here before you today with a sad heart. Not just because I'm leaving this place, but because of what I've heard. Humiliation and rumors can destroy someone's life. Because they think differently than you, you think that they aren't normal and have a right to be made fun of. Let me tell you this, you're horribly wrong."
She looked out into the faces of the audience to see the reaction. Everyone seemed surprised with what she was saying, even the teachers. They had said they would help her write the speech, but she refused saying she would like to write it herself. She hadn't even told them the topic of her speech.
" If we were all the same, this world and our lives would be completely boring. Without people thinking different things, the human race as we know it would come to a complete stop. Now with humiliation and rumors, I speak from experience. Throughout the seven years I've been at this school, I have been humiliated and there have been countless rumors going around, not just about me but about everybody. I bet you that if you think back on these past seven years, that you have humiliated or spread a rumor about at least one person. Then you think of all the rumors that you have heard about that one person or the humiliation they have suffered. You will find that at least ten people have made fun of that person, and that's just not right. That is the behavior that can ruin someone's life. When you say things about them, they start to think that everyone thinks that and then they try to change themselves. The moment they do that is the moment that their life is ruined. If they go by all the rumors that they have heard about themselves, they will live a life of complete change and never be happy with the way they are. The only reason they are made fun of in the first place is because they are just a little different from what other people think is 'normal'. Everyone needs to be different. Right now there is one thing that I want to say."
She took another deep breath and started into the faces of her fellow students, the parents and the teachers. There was still a shocked and surprised look on all the faces but one. Dumbledore sat in the middle of all the teachers with a proud smile on his face. That gave Hermione the courage to keep going.
"Here's to the extreme ones, the eccentric, the insurgent, the nuisances, the square pegs in the round holes……the ones who see things in their own way--- they don't follow the rules. You can quote them, humiliate them, worship or belittle them, but the only thing you can't do is take no notice of them because they change things…. They drive the human race onward, and while many may see them as the idiotic ones, some see brilliance, because the ones who are idiotic enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. I just hope that everyone here can learn to accept everyone else as their equal. We are all humans, with a heart and blood running through our veins. The only difference is that everyone thinks differently and that should never change. That is the way it is meant to be. If you accept everyone as your equal, you will lead a great life with many friends, and if you don't you will know what it's like to be alone. I hope everyone here can realize that we are meant to be different, I know I have. I regret humiliating people, or talking about them behind they're backs. Even though those humiliated ones have the ruined life, you should feel worse then them, because you are the ones who ruined their lives. Everyone should be regarded as your equal, not your inferior, not your superior, but your equal. I hope, for the sake of human-kind that we can all change before we leave these walls. Thank you."
She walked away from the podium to a completely silent Great Hall. Everyone was shocked by her words and couldn't react. 'I bet that gave them a nasty shock.' Hermione thought, 'But it was a shock that they needed.' Suddenly, as Hermione was just about to walk off the little platform at the front, the Great Hall burst into a thunderous applause. She lifted her head, for she had been looking down to see the steps and saw an amazing site. She had got a standing ovation for just saying what was in her mind. She blushed deeply and walked back to her seat smiling. She sat down between Harry and Ron and they each gave her a hug.
"We knew that you're speech would be great Mione, but we never knew that it would be like that," Ron said.
"Hermione that was an amazing speech. Leave it to you to come up with something like that," Harry said from the other side of her. All around her she kept getting compliments, and not just from her house, but all the houses, even Slytherin. She blushed deeper of it was possible and then it all quieted down when Dumbledore was back up in the podium.
"That was an amazing speech and I hope that all of you shall remember it, because I know that I certainly will. Now let us continue with the ceremony."
Hermione leaned back against her chair, still getting whispered compliments from her classmates. The last thing she thought of before her name was called to get her diploma was, 'Well, that went better then I thought. I think that will be a strong message that everyone will remember for a while, and that's exactly what I meant to do.'