Hermione is going to speak at the graduation, but will she find the courage to say what needs to be said?
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, but in fact J.K. Rowling's, please don't sue .
"A GRADUATION SPEECH"
The Preview
She sighed as she finished her last sentence on the speech so desperately needed to finish, and even missed Ginny's birthday for it. It was her graduating speech to the school. You see, each house selects two students, one male, one female, from the 7th year to make a speech, saying whatever they want, basically. They have two simple requirements: One, to have a point and two, to b truthfull. In the Gryffindor House, the two were Harry, an obvious choice sense he just defeated Voldemort, and Hermione, just because she was bright, and pretty much got along with everyone. The speeches would be presented the next day, and surprisingly enough, Hermione had put off writing it until now. She even knew what she was going to say, which made it all the more surprising. The thing of it was, was that the reason why she put it off, was because of what she planned to say in it. It had to be said, everyone knew it, even she knew it, she just didn't want to accept it. But it was time…
The Preformance
"…And so, I had a family, and a reason to protect our magical world! Thank you, Hogwarts, I will be forever grateful!" The crowd rose and cheered for Harry's speech. It had genuine heart and was presented respectfully and gracefully, which did not help poor Hermione's serious case of nerves! She took a deep breath and as she walked up to the podium, she saw Harry sitting down in between Ron and Ginny; Harry gave her a thumbs up, Ginny, a smile, and Ron, a wave. Hermione tried to pull off a pleased look, but she was afraid it looked more like a grimace than a grin. She took another deep breath and began to speak.
"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger. I am the female representative from the Gryffindor House. Let me tell you my story. I grew up a muggle and only found out about the magical world I have grown to love dearly exactly two and a half months before my first day here at Hogwarts. I arrived happy and more than willing to learn. In fact you might say I was a bit snobbish when it came the academic part of this school. You can ask my classmates; except I bet they'll say it was more than a bit. But, as my career here continued, I grew up. I met some very dear friends, whom I would trade the world for, Hermione turned her head to face Ron, Harry, and Ginny and smiled, and I learned that you can have studied in the best schools with the hardest classes and challenged your mind in ways you could never have imagined, and still not be happy… Hermione's eyes were darting around in her head, as if she was starting to convince her self—she began to go off script. You need more. You need love, meaning, and passion in your life to truly be happy. I have love in my family and friends. I have meaning in my schoolwork and my hobbies and activities. And I have passion for someone very dear to me… Should she say whom, or just leave it at that? No, she would tell them in person. That would be best. And well, I guess life in general. At Hogwarts, I learned change my focus and energy and love and passion and meaning and everything that keeps me human from just schoolwork to, well, nothing really. I expanded my horizons and learned to accept mistakes, and to accept imperfections and to accept...life! This school taught me to be me and to accept myself as myself! I am not that amazing of a person, truthfully. I am smart, I care, and I try my best to be a good friend, but I am really not that well rounded. I try my best and I am okay with that! Hermione had grown and matured enough to be something less than the best and be able to welcome imperfections. She realized how important this discovery is and tried to explain that to the audience. You don't have to be the greatest at everything to be happy, in fact it's impossible to enjoy life completely that way. This school taught me this, which was the hardest lesson for me to learn, but the most rewarding. Hogwarts may not remember me quite like they will remember, say, Harry Potter, but I will always remember Hogwarts."
Hermione got off stage as quickly as she could without looking too rushed, but she still couldn't help but notice the applause. It was extraordinary, almost more then Harry's.
"Oh, 'Mione! You were brilliant! I almost don't mind you missed my birthday!" Ginny rushed to Hermione and gave her a large squeeze. "Ginny, I am so sorry about that! You have to understand—" "I really don't mind, we just have to celebrate later." Ginny grinned, which sprouted a grin on Hermione's face as well. "Harry, your speech was terrific!" Hermione said as he approached with Ron. "Yours too! You should be really proud." Hermione gently blushed. "Yeah, you really were excellent." Ron said hesitantly. "Thank you, Ron." Hermione replied only turning a darker shade of pink. Music began to play and a platform emerged from the ground, which was conjured up by McGonagall. "Let's dance!" Harry exclaimed, pulling Ginny by the elbow to the dance floor.
"So…uh…" Ron started. "Ron, listen," Hermione pulled him aside and had a determined look on her face, "you know in my speech how I mentioned there was someone I had a passion for?" He nodded. "Well, do you know who it is?" "I, um, suspected it was Krum…" "No." Ron's face became slightly eager. "No?" "No." Hermione repeated. There was a pause. "Ron?" "Yes, Hermione?" His blue eyes were so entrancing that Hermione almost became lost in her own fantasy world. She shook it off. "Ron, the person I have a passion for, is…well, he's you." She looked down right away, before she could have noticed that Ron's face went from concerned, to startled, and finally to complete and utter happiness. He pulled her close to him, gently lifted her chin, and bent down and kissed her. This was the moment they both had been waiting for since they first met. But, now, they were truly in love. The kiss was deep and passionate and perfect. As they broke off, Ron whispered "You got something wrong in you speech..." "What was that?" Hermione asked quietly, slightly confused. "You truly are an amazing person. In everyway." She couldn't help but blush and smile shyly, but not for long. She gently pulled his chin closer to her and kissed him, like he had kissed her. The night was truly magical.
The Reflection
Hermione was headed home in her family car, her parents, sadly could not make it to graduation but wanted to hear all about it.
"So, Hermione, what was the best part about the day?" Her mother asked lovingly. "Oh, I don't know." She replied, trying to conceal a grin bursting from inside her. "Come now, you must have had a favorite part!" Her father insisted. "Oh, let's just say there is more to a graduation then the diploma…"
The End