Chapter 1 –

Hogwarts

It was the day that every Hogwarts student looked forward to since his or her first night seated under the sorting hat. Because the weather had decided to be rainy and foggy, the Great Hall had been rearranged; the four long house tables had vanished, to be replaced with hundreds of small wooden chairs to accommodate for all the 7th years and their families. It was Graduation, and it didn't come a day too soon.

The students were seated by their houses; each of them sporting black robes with their respective house colors in various patterns along the arms. Everyone could barely keep still in their seats, the excitement of finally being able to be on their own was more than they could handle. Even the Slytherins had smiles on their faces.

Well, not every one. There was one who didn't look too excited to be here. His fingers were laced in his lap and his head was hung, as if he dreaded something to come. Something in the near future. But did he really have a choice? After all, it was his father's idea. And if he ever wanted to follow in his father's footsteps as a Death Eater, Draco was going to have to impress the Dark Lord somehow. As hard and cold as his exterior shell was, he wasn't sure he had the balls to do it. Not that he really is a pansy on the inside, but more in the way that maybe his heart isn't as cold as he portrays.

Draco was good at that: getting people to believe anything he wanted them to believe. He inherited it from his father, he supposed. It wasn't a talent he was necessarily proud of, but he figured he might as well use it towards his advantage.

Dumbledore stood atop the stage, calling each student up to collect his or her witchery or wizardry certificate. After the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had received their certificates, the seventh year Gryffindors sat up straight in their seats, eagerly waiting their turn to cross the stage and shake the hand of the elegantly dressed Headmaster.

After several of the Gryffindors had been called to the stage, Hermione Granger leaned across Ron to whisper to him and Harry both. "Can you believe that we're graduating already? I mean, doesn't it just seem like we were helping Neville search for his silly toad on the train in first year?"

"Not really," Ron said flatly, smiling widely as Lavender Brown got her diploma.

"Oh Ron, honestly!" Hermione laughed and elbowed her friend. "You can do much better than her."

"Nah not really," Ron winked at Harry. "Besides, with a rack like that, who would want better?" He and Harry stifled their laughter into their arms while Hermione shot them a disgusted look. "Hermione Granger!" Hermione whipped her head around to realize she had almost missed Professor McGonagall's voice calling out her name. Nearly bounding to the stage, Hermione shook the Headmaster's hand as vigorously as an over-sugared A.D.D. child. Any bystander would have clearly seen the special smile she set aside for another member of the graduating class, sitting only a few rows from the front. Seamus Finnegan gave his girlfriend of nearly a year a sly wink and a smirk. Hermione had seen that look before, only too often, and couldn't help but blush. Hopefully no one else caught that, she thought to herself.

How embarrassing that would be. Yeah, Mom, that time I blushed on stage? My boyfriend was hinting he wanted sex. Sorry if it ruined your Kodak moment.

Harry and Ron waited anxiously for their turns to grace the stage with their presence, all the while Hermione and Seamus exchanging sly looks across the students between them. When Ron's name was finally called, a strange, rather high-pitched squeak came from the row behind where the trio was sitting. Harry and Hermione turned to see Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil giggling and waving as the dashing red head crossed the staged.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She was genuinely confused as to why Ron would even consider being with someone so shallow and just . . . plain stupid. And to have to hang around her giggly little friends twenty-four seven? Wouldn't that just annoy the hell out of you? Whatever, she thought. It won't last.

Hermione rested her head in her hand, wondering when the ridiculously long ceremony would end. Not that she didn't love that she was officially a legal, graduated member of society, but there were so many better things she could be doing with her time. She turned her head to look out the window, only to be reminded of the weather. Her hopes of running out the doors into the lawn with her two best friends to celebrate their freedom were quickly destroyed as a streak of lightning crossed the sky.

As usual, the ceiling of the Great Hall mirrored the out doors, and the sudden flash of light within the room made her snap back to reality. She realized she had missed nearly half of Dumbledore's farewell speech. It really was unlike her to not pay attention, and it gave her a chill. So this is how all the other students feel in class. Weird . . .

No sooner had she snapped back to attention, was everyone around her standing up and tossing their hats into the air.

"Come on, 'Mione!" Harry tugged on his friends arm. "Aren't you going to celebrate?!" Hermione smiled and stood, throwing her hat into the cloud of black, pointed caps. Harry and Ron exchanged a hug, an extremely manly hug mind you. None of that waist-touching, more than two seconds long type of a hug. Harry and Ron took turns picking up Hermione and spinning her around. Hermione quickly grabbed both boys' hands and dragged them away to a crowd of red heads waiting in the hallway. The entire Weasley family was there to celebrate Graduation Day.

"Oh congratulations, my little Ronnykins!" Molly Weasley squealed as she pinched her youngest son's cheek, followed by a suffocating embrace.

"Ma! I can't—can't breath! Need—oxy—need oxygen!" Ron finally got his mother off of him, only to realize she had tears in her eyes. "Oh, mum, don't cry! This is so embarrassing" he muttered to himself.

Hugs went all around to the three graduates, from every member of the family; the hug between Charlie and Hermione being the most awkward. Hermione had always thought Charlie Weasley was the most incredibly gorgeous man she had ever seen, despite having a boyfriend. She loved Seamus to death, but physical contact with Charlie was still a thrill. Not that she would ever, in a million years, even consider acting on those feelings. But hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Long after the graduation ceremony had ended and all family members had left, the graduates headed back to their dorms for their last night in the castle. Yes, it was going to be their last night, but were they going to sleep? Absolutely not! They just graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is no time for sleep! And since the younger students still had finals the next few days, the 7th years planned a secret party that would keep their snooping-selves away.

The Room of Requirement had called upon for it's final use of the year. The students from all four houses had planned to meet up around ten thirty, hopefully long after the professors had gone to bed. They may be certified witches and wizards, but Professor McGonagall's finger shaking and stern voice can still bring a chill to anyone's spine.

Hermione took a few minutes longer than usual to get ready. Okay, so it was more like a half hour longer than normal, but she wanted to look extra pretty tonight. Sure she already had a boyfriend, but who doesn't want to look pretty anyways?

After several rounds of yelling up the girls' dormitory stairs by Ron and Harry, Hermione finally came down the stairs. "I swear you two. It's surprising you even have a girlfriend Ron, after you yell at me like that. Girls are not to be yelled at. I don't just come on command!" She playfully punched his shoulder during that last sentence, and seeing that as she entered the room, Lavender rushed immediately to Ron's side.

"Yeah, well at least I have someone who cares about my feelings," Ron threw back at her, as Lavender began to nuzzle his neck. Ron smiled and winked at Hermione, and all she could do was laugh. Harry joined her in laughing, until Seamus wrapped his arms around Hermione from behind.

"Hey there, pretty lady," he said, kissing her on the temple.

"Well that's great. Now I'm all alone. Fantastic." Harry crossed his arms and pretended to pout. Hermione immediately embraced him in a hug.

"Awe, poor Harry Potter. Not getting any attention." She giggled at his childish behavior. Harry smiled.

"Watch it, Seamus. I'm going to steal your girlfriend. Although . . . it would be a lot like dating my sister. If I had a sister that is." Seamus eyed Harry suspiciously as the four of them headed out the portrait hole to the Room of Requirement.

A few of the Ravenclaws had arrived first, and they found the room to be gloriously decorated with all of the house colors. Food covered the long tables circling the room, and a dance floor gleamed in the middle. "This is going to be wicked exciting!" squealed Lavender as they entered the room. "Oh look! There's Parvati!" She skipped across the room to meet her equally as annoying friend.

"Oh come ON, mate! You have to admit that giddy school girl personality gets rather annoying." Harry exclaimed. Ron rolled his eyes in Harry's direction and nodded slowly. "I figured. Why don't you just lose the chick, Weasley, and enjoy the single life with me?"

"Because being single is no fun, Potter!" Hermione shouted as she pulled Seamus onto the dance floor. A loop of popular songs from The Wicked Sisters was playing loudly, and everyone was getting up to dance.

The door to the room opened, and in walked the last bunch of 7th years. It wasn't necessarily a pleasant sight, since Draco Malfoy was the leader of that bunch, but they were still part of the class and therefore welcomed into the room. Draco looked unusually grim, even for himself, and his Slytherin groupies only added to that. They stood with their arms cross, sneering at everyone around them.

Pansy Parkinson looked around, clearly disgusted with the crowd. "Ugh, this place is lame, Draco. Let's go have a party in the common room. At least we know there won't be any mudbloods around." She spat the word out so harshly, it caused Hermione to stop in the middle of the dance floor and glare towards the door. She knew where it had come from, yet it still caused her to fume. Even after years of hearing that foul, degrading word towards people of her bloodline, she still despised hearing it. Hermione could feel her face get red hot. She clenched her fists.

"Just count to ten, Hermione. Just to ten." She told herself, breathing in and out slowly while she counted.

"Mione? Are you okay?" Seamus put his hands on her shoulders and bent to look in her eyes. "Counting, huh." He glanced towards the door. "Oh come on, Hermione. You know she's just an immature wench who has nothing better to do than to hate on others."

"I know, I just…" She suddenly got that creepy-crawly feeling where you feel like someone is staring at you. She whipped her head around to catch Malfoy's eyes from across the room. He held her gaze for a second, and then looked towards the ground. Something about it made Hermione incredibly curious, but she brushed the feeling off. Curious? About Malfoy? Psh. Not possible.

Harry and Ron, who still had no interest in dancing, stood against the wall, arms crossed, frowns on their faces. "Well cheer up, Harry. At least be happy that we've graduated, and can move on with our lives now."

"But not really. I mean, Voldemort is still out there, Ron, and now we'll be more vulnerable than ever." Harry looked down, kicking the ground with his shoe.

"And how's that? We're certified now! We're just as powerful as any. Plus, we're official members of the Order now, so what's to worry?" Ron asked.

"We're leaving Hogwarts."

"And that's . . . bad?"

"Yes! This is the one place where we are practically untouchable, Ron. Hogwarts is the safest place for us to be, for me to be. And now that we don't have the security of these walls, Voldemort and his Death Eaters will find us in a heartbeat. No one has ever hurt someone inside these walls, not so long as Dumbledore is around." Harry had a very good point. He never did feel as safe anywhere as he did here. Not the Burrow, not 12 Grimmuald Place, not even the Ministry of Magic had the comforts that his Gryffindor dormitory bed offered.

Ron's smile faded as he realized the reality behind his friend's words. "Well, way to be a stinker, Potter. Now I'm all depressed about my future, and we're at a bloody party! Just forget about You-Know-Who and the future and all that 'doomed to failure' stuff, and just enjoy the party. We're still here, so we're still safe. Nothing will happen to us as long as we're here, so just enjoy it while it lasts."

A/N: Okay, so I started this story about 5 years ago. So it doesn't follow all seven J.K. books, but it has bits and pieces of the stuff I liked. I found this file in my desktop and decided to pick it back up. I changed a lot, if some of you read this story before. I had posted it under a different author name and title, but I figure it will be better this way.

Let me know what you think! Thanks guys )