UchiSays: I really have no idea how to summarize this story, and I cannot even say much for its quality. It was a nagging idea I had that I took and ran with.

Cannon Note: According to JK. Rowlings, there were 40 students in Harry's year at Hogwarts, ten were sorted into each house and there was an even distribution of boys and girls. This story only covers about eleven of them.

The Lies We Live

Class Journal for the Hogwarts Class of 1998/1999 (formerly class of 97/98)

This journal was written by the graduating class of '99. The Survivors! was chosen to be the class name, and I personally couldn't have chosen a better name for this group of students. This class was full of truly remarkable students that proved themselves to be a very resilient bunch. The students of this class have faced more trails and tribulations than any other Hogwarts class and they proved capable of bouncing back from even the more trying circumstances. This class book will be like none that came before it, because this class of students is like none that came before them.

I would like to express my deepest love and gratitude for this year's graduating class and I leave them with these parting words by our former headmaster Albus Dumbledore:

"Life's path is one of obstacles. Anyone can quit when the path gets too rough, but a truly remarkable person pushes forward and learns from the trails they surmount."*

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

~Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

Abbot, Hannah:

Wow, I can't believe we finally made it to graduation. My time at Hogwarts has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. All the friends I made here and all the things I learned will remain with me forever. It hurts my heart that all of us didn't make it to the end of this all-important journey to adulthood, but I'm happy that most of us did...

I heard it's tradition to write a quote in here to help our classmates later and life and to leave a message for the person we hope to have a future with, so I leave this quote:

"Today is the first step into the rest of our lives."

Neville Longbottom, I hoped to have you as a part of the rest of my life.

Finnegan, Seamus

How many Hogwarts students can say they fought and won a war before they even graduated? How many Hogwarts students can lay claims to doing half the things we did? I know that I've always came off as the laid back, have fun, don't care about the consequences type, but even I was affected by the battles we fought. But that's a topic for another time.

My stay here at Hogwarts was truly memorable. It was amazing! Even with a war going on, we still managed to have fun and enjoy ourselves... One of the things that I'll never forget as long as I live is the time Little Colin Creevey found out about my "perversion" and said- loud enough for the whole Common Room to hear, mind you- "That's reverse racism! Seamus only likes black boys!" Rest in peace Colin...

My quote for you guys is: "Life is short. Smile often. Laugh loudly. Love freely. Kiss slowly. And never regret anything that made you smile."

Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini, you two carried me through school, so I hope you look forward to putting up with me for the rest of your lives.

Granger, Hermione

My time at Hogwarts was a truly rewarding experience; it set me on course and paved a way for me a very bright future indeed. It is unfortunate that I came to this school during such hard times, but I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world. The bonds I built within the walls of this establishment are bonds that transcend those of the traditional classmates and friends. I truly believe we became a family here. I'd like to think the trails we faced made us closer than any other class. Together we quite literally faced down the world- and won.

I may be known for being part of a certain trio, but all of my classmates, regardless of House or other stipulations, have made an impact on my life and I will never forget any of you. You are all my family.

A wise man once said: "The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." Our class- The Survivors- experienced both school and life in one go, and that says something for our character. Not every graduating class of Hogwarts will be able to lay claims to doing and surviving the things we did. And that, too, says something for our character.

We made history in all that we did, and though not all of us will be remembered by everyone in the years to come to the ones whose lives you changed, you will never be forgotten.

A wise woman once said: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Ron Weasley, I will never forget the stress, pain, tears, smiles, laughs, and hugs you gave me. Hurry up and realize that we were meant to be, so I can start planning the wedding already.

Longbottom, Neville

I really don't know what to write in this book. I know I'm supposed to say something wise and profound about my time here at Hogwarts, but everyone knows I've never been a very profound person. Despite of which, I'd like to at least try at wisdom. When I first came to Hogwarts- what seems like an eternity ago- I was a frightened eleven year old with low self-esteem, no redeeming qualities, and a toad he kept losing. I'm now leaving this school an eighteen-year-old young man, with the confidence of a war veteran, and the scars that go with it. This is a transformation I never would have been able to make without the support and encouragement of the friends I made while enrolled in this school.

I'll never claim to be a great person, because I'm not. What I am is a person who knows what he's capable of, and who knows where he's going in life, and who knows that he is a better person than he believes himself to be. And I would be none of that had I not been a part of this revolutionary class of students. I want to thank everyone, all of my classmates, friends, and teachers for shaping me into the person I am today. I supposed I should conclude this with a quote that has made an equal impact on my life as you all have: "Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."

Luna Lovegood, you always did know just when I needed a little extra love and attention.

Malfoy, Draco

Some of you may not even care about what a (ex)Death Eater has to say. But it is my right as well as yours, to leave my final testimony to my days at Hogwarts. I know you all want to paint me as the villain. I know I've been a pain in the arse and have done things truly unforgivable. I know that next to none of you will even read what I have to say. But I do have something to say.

How do I even begin to put into words what needs to be said? I never asked to be a Malfoy. I never asked to take the Dark Mark and serve an egotistical madman. And I never wanted any of it either. But when you are a child, some things are out of your hands.

Just give me a moment to try to- to try to-

I've made mistakes, Merlin knows I made mistakes. And there's nothing I can do to make up for them. I was foolish, and proud, and brainwashed, and just thought I was too damn cool. I was- I was a villain. I was bully. I was a traitor to my own self. I knew the things I did was wrong, down in the very bottom of the heart most of you think I don't have, I knew I was doing wrong. But I was only being the person I was raised to be.

My time at Hogwarts was full of making one mistake after the other. It was full of letting my pride burn bridges before I could even cross them. And my mistakes came from not knowing "which hand to shake and which hand to hold".

A wise person once told me he could tell the wrong sort for himself, and apparently I was that wrong sort. I may have been bitter about it all these years, but even I know he made the right choice. I was the worst sort.

My meaning behind all this senseless rambling is a poor attempt at asking for forgiveness for my misdeeds, because my foolish pride will never let me out right say that I'm sorry.

"If one door opens to another door closed, I hope you keep on walking until you find the window."

Harry Potter, how do I even attempt to ask your forgiveness for all the wrongs I did to you. You made a wise decision in refusing my friendship all those years ago, but I hope that it will be an equally wise decision to accept me sometime in the future.

Parkinson, Pansy

It may come as a surprise to a lot of you that I'm even bothering to write in this thing, but even I feel the need to follow tradition. I know most of you have some reason to hate- or just strongly dislike- me, but I do feel that I am one of the most misunderstood people in the school. All the Slytherins are. Not all of us are the villains you make us out to be, some of us were victims of circumstance and followed the path laid before us, because we had no other choice. But right now isn't the time or place to plead my case.

My time at Hogwarts was one of the most enlightening times of my life. We are brought to this school during our most vulnerable age, and it is within these walls that we learn whom we truly are. Everyone seems to be under the delusion that Slytherins don't make friends, we only have acquaintances and pawns, but that's not true at all. At least it's not for me. Here at Hogwarts I made friends with a group of people that I hope to remain close with for the rest of my life.

There are only six graduating Slytherins in this year, that's almost half the number we had when first entering this school. The rest of us are either dead or in Azkaban. It's the remaining six us that truly know what it's like to have the world turn its back on you and still live on. It's the remaining six of us that will have the hardest time in the future. But in forty years time, I bet every galleon I have, the six of us will be teaching our children and grandchildren how survive and thrive in a world gone cold.

My quote: "I took the path less traveled by, and that made all the difference."

Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Tracey Davis you are more than mere classmates to me. We are the class of the Survivors for a reason.

Patel, Padma & Parvati

Wow! We made it to graduation. There has honestly been times when we thought we wouldn't make it- like during the Yule Ball fourth year when we had those horrid dates and the night just seemed to drag on FOREVER...

"Forget the tears you cried, but never forget the ones who wiped them away."...

Potter, Harry

I never asked to be some big name hero/savior/sacrifice. All I ever wanted was to be a normal boy, with normal parents, normal friends, normal problems, and a normal life. I mean who would want a psychotic super villain with a god complex trying to kill them at least once a year. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Sane can go and off himself for all I care! I never asked for this bloody scar in the first place…

But none of that is what we're talking about at the moment. Right now we're supposed to be talking about my feelings on my classmates and my time here at Hogwarts. Well there's not much to say since I never got the chance to actually know my classmates as people. Other than the handful I learned to trust with my life, everyone else were part of the fickle majority that saw only my scar and not the boy beneath. And yet like fools, they still followed me to what could have been certain death.

Hogwarts was the first place I ever considered to be "home" to me. Pitiful- I know- but true. It was here at Hogwarts that learned what I'm truly capable of and where I met the only people I will consider to be family. It was awkward at first. I felt like a black sheep with everyone gawking at my scar and treating me like the second coming. But soon first impressions faded, and I let people close enough to learn the real them beneath. For the first time in my life I felt truly happy and accepted. This school soon became my haven.

But then the war started and everyone I knew and loved got either injured or killed. I was forced to grow up much too fast and I carried a burden no child should have to carry. They named us the class of the "Survivors", but it's the ones that didn't survive that will remain with me forever. And then there are the ones that live, but whose lives will never be the same again. I cannot even begin to-

The most important lesson I learned here at Hogwarts is that even if you think you have everything figured out, you don't know everyone's story.

I don't have some great quote to leave you guys with, because there is no quote that can encompass what I want to say to you. But I fail at finding the words to say it myself, so I'll make something up off the top of my mind and hope the point gets across: no one is who you perceive them to be upon first appearances. People build walls to keep others out as well as to keep their true selves hidden within.

Draco Malfoy, if I was to make an effort to tear down your walls would the frightened little boy I find inside like to be my friend?

Thomas, Dean

Dean Thomas didn't write paragraphs of messages for others to read, instead he used his page to illustrate a picture of a group of students from every house lying together on the grass and staring up at the sky. In the background s phoenix watched protectively over the teens. The scene was one of peace and acceptance, and every face was drawn in a different stage of mirth and merriment. Across the bottom he had written:

"Remember how we used to say, I can't wait for tomorrow for a brand new day."

Seamus Finnegan, I hope for an eternity of brand new days at your side.

Weasley, Ronald

[[Your author finds herself unable to get inside the mind of Ron Weasley, and thus cannot figure what he would write under this situation. My apologies.]]

Zabini, Blaise

Life throws many things at you and you have no choice but to react. It's like being thrown into the middle of a lake and being told to sink or swim. From the moment we were born, we started a lifelong journey down a forever-winding path. The people we meet on that path either help you along or push you back. Some of the wisest words I've ever hear came from a Muggle song:

"There will be a bump and there will be a bruise. There will be alarms and there will be a snooze. There will be a path that you will have to choose. There will be a winner and there will be a loser. You've got to hold your head up high and watch all the negativity go by. Don't ever be ashamed to cry..."

Humans are amazing beings. We are layered beings as well that constantly group together to make something more. Starting with the smallest living particle the atom, grouping to make cells, to tissues, to organs, organ systems, and ultimately the organism. And that's all within one person, but we outwardly emulate the behavior of things most people don't even think about. The organisms group to makes families, who make communities, and so on and so forth until we reach the point where the organism- the individual- is as insignificant as the atom that started the whole thing.

But if in the bigger picture each of us is insignificant, how is that we can lay blame of the failure of the bigger picture on the shoulders of a small group of individuals? Did not the whole society contribute into the making of a single sociopath?

My time at Hogwarts taught me many things, but these things are only the foundation of what I will learn later in life. Everything will continue to build off of it, until ultimately it is as insignificant as the atom.

In the long run, I only have one thing to say: "Are you living your life, or living a lie?"

Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas you two are my answer to that question.