The Quidditch Chronicles XX
You would think that at this point, the right before graduation, nothing new is just going to pop up. How many surprises can there be really? I'm supposed to make some dumb speech, talking about how great it all was at Hogwarts. And yeah it was great, but that's dumb harping on about our dreams, and goals, and the future and all its endless possibilities. Granted, life is actually full of all those things, but commencement speeches always sound sooo lame. I remember when my cousin Etienne (that's Bill and Fleur's oldest son, if you couldn't guess) graduated a couple of years ago, the Head Boy some kid named Carson went on for like half an hour about how Hogwarts was like the greatest thing ever and how he was all successful and getting some high-powered ministry job because of it. All anyone remembered after that was that he was seemed like a total jackass. I'm just no going to write anything, it will all seem so contrived and sweet anyway…yeah not a very Caliber Potter thing to do. But, hey, we're graduating, and so I guess I'll be really corny and say, Hogwarts changed my life, and I'm scared shitless, but I can't wait for the future…or something like that.
"This white dress thing is seriously annoying. What am I going to wear without looking like a bride, that stupid cousin who tries to steal the bride's thunder by also wearing white, or a wedding cake", complained Brigette rifling through the McCain and Marlborough catalog.
"Someone has wedding on the brain", remarked Tabitha marking a picture of a potential graduation dress in the Bewitched magazine she was flipping through.
"I'm really getting pissed off now, when the hell is Colin going to ask me to marry him?!"
"I cannot believe we left this to the very last minute. We're usually on top of this sort of thing", said Luella looking at BonChic a French magazine also owned by Biltmore Publications.
"Hey you guys made the best dressed list in Bewitched", said Sophie surprised.
Sure enough the three girls were on the Bewitched Annual Best Dressed list under the title of the It Girls.
"Oh my father hinted that this year's article was special. What does it say?" asked Luella.
"The three young beauties graduating this month from Hogwarts have been stirring up the social scene since they were fourteen, but this year the press just couldn't get enough of Luella Biltmore, Brigette Baccarat and Tabitha Nimbus. From the Eres bikinis, Missoni dresses and Emilio Pucci scarves of summer holidays in Monte Carlo and Capri, to the couture gowns by Valentino, Chanel, and Dior worn with such ease and grace that the girls seemed to be born style icons. We'll be keeping our eye on these girls as they make their mark on the young and fabulous crowd. Upcoming fashion opportunities: The Rocking the Wards gala thrown every summer by Ginny Potter, whose son Caliber is a close friend of the girls, and possibly a wedding gown in the near future for Brigette Baccarat the longtime girlfriend of retail heir Colin McCain. It Girl Info: Luella Biltmore, the wildest of the three, is being linked to rock star Vance Bartley after starring as the model on the cover of The Crucibles newest record. She's reportedly been asked to be the face of Marc Jacob's latest fragrance and Tabitha Nimbus, the on-again/off-again girlfriend of real estate scion Jonah Pearlsteen is looking forward to a career at the Daily Prophet and as a contributing editor to Bewitched" read off Dailey.
"Is it just me, or do they think Colin and I are getting married too?" asked Brigette.
"Brigette, he'll propose, now shut up about it already", said Luella.
"Oh, you are so not maid of honor"
"Everybody pick something so I can owl my father and tell him to send it over from the fashion closets. In case you don't remember graduation is tomorrow"
"Fine", said Brigette ripping out a picture from her magazine and handing it to Luella.
"Now she's mad" whispered Tabitha to Sophie.
"I'm not mad Tabitha, I just don't understand why Colin would go through all that trouble of talking to my father over Christmas and here we are six months later and he still hasn't asked me to marry him. Did he just change his mind or something?" said a very frustrated Brigette.
"Did you already write your speech?" Luella asked Sophie, trying to change the subject.
"Yes, and it's awful, really awful" said Sophie
"I'm sure it's not that bad"
"I'm telling you it's not that good either. I just really hate public speaking"
"Is Cal doing a speech too?"
"Yeah, but for him it's no big deal. He hasn't even written it. I don't think he will either. He told me he's just going to go for it, whatever that means" said Sophie laughing, "Anyway, I'm tired I'm going to go take a nap before dinner"
"Alright, we'll see you later, but, wait what dress do you want?" asked Luella
"Um, hold on let me find the page…okay this one" she said pointing to the white Louis vuitton prêt-a-porter dress in an April issue of BonChic, "If that's alright. There's no price, so it's probably really expensive-"
"Sophie, seriously don't worry about it" Luella said cutting her off. She sometimes forgot that it wasn't normal for everyone to be able to walk into the fashion closets at the fashion magazines owned by their father's publication companies, because, of course, that was normal for a lot of people.
"Okay, well tell your father I said thank you then" said Sophie leaving the girls lying on the grass by the lake and walking back up towards her dorm room.
Sophie lay down on her big, fluffy bed and closed her eyes thankful for the wonderful sleep ahead. She slept so often these days, but now that NEWTs were over and graduation was less than 24 hours away, she was really looking forward to a long relaxing vacation.
Cal on the other hand was getting nostalgic. He had taken his broom out for one last ride around Hogwarts. This was where he had really grown as a quidditch player and gained the experience that was giving him the chance to fulfill his ultimate dream of playing professionally.
He couldn't believe that graduation was finally here. He knew it was, because of course he had worked on planning and organizing the entire event, but it still seemed so surreal. Cal would never walk these halls again as a student. Cal would be a real adult, out of school, in the real world. Tonight, was in fact his last supper, he would be gone by afternoon the next day. It's not really as if he would never come back to Hogwarts again. After all, he had three siblings currently at Hogwarts and two more still at home. But Hogwarts would never be his again. Still, there was so much life to be lived. There was so much more that he had to look forward to: a quidditch career traveling all over the country and the world, his own house, his own life waiting to be built away from the shadow of his parents, a life with Sophie…That was a new thought. Obviously, he hadn't though about a life away from Sophie, but somehow she hadn't really figured into his future before then either. So strange, but it was what he wanted. He didn't want just to go on being with Sophie, he wanted to live with Sophie, and he wanted to marry Sophie.
It seemed weird how at nine, ten years old, the whole point of life was going to Hogwarts. Everything else was so far ahead of you, it didn't even matter. Up until this year, it never occurred to him that actually there was in fact life beyond Hogwarts. But, now was the distant future.
"Oh my god! What time is it?!" said Sophie as she bolted out of bed.
"Cal, Cal! Wake up!" she said shaking his bare chest.
"Uh, Harlow, what is it" he said groggily.
"Caliber, wake up its nine o'clock we only have an hour to get showered and dressed and everything before graduation" she said hitting him roughly on the shoulder.
"Ow, okay, okay I'm up" he said stretching his arms over his head. He woke up a lot faster when he realized Sophie Harlow was running around her room pulling out her dress, shoes and graduation robe completely naked.
"Harlow", he said.
"What is it?" asked Sophie visibly stressed. Cal got of bed and walked up to Sophie kissing her suggestively.
"Cal we can't" she moaned, "wasn't last night enough"
"With you it's never enough" he said despite the fact that they had had sex four times the night before. They didn't want to waster their last night at Hogwarts
Cal kissed her neck and nipped at her collar bones before working down towards her breast. Sophie knew she wasn't going to be able to say no now.
"Fine, shower, now, but we'll have to make it quick" said Sophie.
"Sounds perfect"
An Hour Later
"Cal, hurry, zip me up, we're going to be late!" Sophie urged slipping into the white silk Louis Vuitton dress. Cal immediately obeyed.
"Thanks, okay, where's my speech? Oh my go, where's my speech, I can't find it?! Where is it?!" said Sophie looking frantically.
"Will you relax? It's right here on top of the dresser, right where you put it yesterday" laughed Cal.
"Yeah, sorry I'm just so nervous. Hurry, fix your tie" said Sophie as she slipped on the white manolo blahnik sandals borrowed from Tabitha.
The two ran down towards the Great Hall, Cal slipping on his suit jacket as he went. Cal opened the door quietly, though the grand, antique doors of course creaked embarrassingly. Cal and Sophie each scurried quietly to their respective tables and sat next to their parents who were all there for the seventh year commencement champagne breakfast.
"The purpose of a Hogwarts education is not to just prepare you for your career. Here at Hogwarts, we intend to prepare you for life. We work towards making all of you intelligent, thoughtful, open-minded, courageous witches and wizards. And some of you will have success beyond measure, and at some point all of you will fail, but it is how you deal with failure, disappointment and divergences, so to speak, from the plan that will truly measure the success in all of you. What you should leave Hogwarts knowing isn't just facts, and spellwork, but a message of love and tolerance for all magical creatures" finished Deputy Headmaster Remus Lupin, "and welcome by the way to our Head students, Caliber Potter and Sophie Harlow, so glad you could make it."
Cal stood up and waved while Ginny just shook her head. At the Ravenclaw table, Sophie blushed bright red and tried not to draw attention to herself.
"Hey Cal, thanks for taking time out of your active sex life to join us for a lovely meal" joked Fabian who was sitting with his parents Ron and Hermione Weasley.
"Fabian don't be crude" admonished Hermione. Just then Ron let out a small belch after downing his glass of champagne.
"He learned from the best" teased Harry.
"We're having a party after at out house. I'm sorry I meant to send out invitations, but I've been working on that bid for the new hospital proposal, and I just never got around to it" said Ginny, choosing not to acknowledge any comments about her eldest son's sex life.
"Mum, is it just family or can Sophie and Colin and Luella and everyone come too?" asked Cal
"What do I care? There will be plenty of food, just tell whoever to stop on by" said Ginny, knowing that trying to maintain control over the party was just plain stupid.
"Speaking of Sophie, is her mum here today?" asked Harry looking towards the Ravenclaw table.
"She's supposed to be. I would introduce you, but I haven't met her either"
"You know I forgot to tell you, but her mother sent us a lovely cheese and wine basket after Christmas for having Sophie to stay with us"
"So what's this I hear about you making a speech?" asked Ron.
"Oh, yeah it's a Head Boy thing"
"Is it any good or would you be seriously offended if I used the time to catch up on my sleep?" teased Fabian
"Didn't you get any last night?", Hermione asked her son.
Fabian ignored her and whispered to Cal, "Actually I got plenty last night, that's why I need the sleep"
Cal laughed and was about to respond when he noticed a tall, thin man slip into the Great Hall. Obviously he was a parent, though Cal had never seen him before. But, it wasn't like he recognized half of the parents there anyway. The man however seemed keen not to be noticed. He headed toward the Ravenclaw table, and looked up and down the table, presumably for his young graduate. He seemed to find what he was looking for and then turned and walked back out of the hall. It was on his way back out the hall that Cal noticed the man's intense blue eyes. Cal thought the man was rather peculiar, but ignored it.
An hour or so later, Professor Lupin stood up again and spoke, "We hope you all enjoyed this morning's champagne breakfast. Thank you all for joining us on this joyous occasion of your sons' and daughters' Hogwarts graduation and now if we could please have all the parents follow our fifth and sixth year prefects who will escort you to your seats for the graduation ceremony. Seventh years remain seated please until all parents have left"
"Okay, darling, good luck and we'll see you out there" said Ginny giving her eldest son a quick kiss on the forehead. Harry clapped Caliber on the back and the couple continued out with Ron, Hermione and the rest of the parents.
Finally, after all the parents were out and situated, the seventh years all lined up alphabetically. They were handed their robes and a medal containing all of the four house symbols. Cal was more nervous than he thought he would be. He was literally shaking in anticipation. Finally, a swell of music was heard and the graduates walked out of the castle and down the steps towards the lake where a large stage had been set up to hundreds of chairs.
The ceremony began and Professor McGonagall gave her commencement speech, then it was time for Caliber and Sophie to speak. They walked up to the stage slowly, careful not to trip on their long robes.
Sophie went first, and spoke quite nicely of all of the great things that she loved about Hogwarts. She spoke about how Hogwarts had given her the foundation and motivation to continue towards wherever life took her, and the courage to handle adversity with dignity and grace. When she finished everyone clapped and the parents whispered to each other about what an eloquent and intelligent young woman she was.
Then Professor McGonagall introduced Caliber Potter. For the first time Cal realized how stupid he was not to write at least something down. Cal took a deep breath and looked out at the hundreds of expectant faces. He spotted his father snapping away pictures eagerly and his mother smiling and waving.
"Firstly, I want to say thank you to Headmistress McGonagall and Deputy Headmaster Lupin for allowing me to speak today. I have been honored to be your Head Boy for the past year, and I am glad that I will be a part of your graduation memories. How glad you are about that, I don't know. Now parents, I realize that for some of you it may have been quite a while since you graduated, no offense, so I'm just going to verbalize what some of your sons and daughters thoughts are right now: What's going to happen now? Will I find my place in the world? Will I be successful, happy, and important? Will my life matter? Am I really going to graduate a virgin?
Seriously, though, most of us would not be here today if it weren't for the support and generosity of our families. To all the graduates, your families are extremely proud of you. You can't imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.
To those of you who graduate from Hogwarts with honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. To those of you who haven't, well, our diploma still looks the same. We all have learned tremendous amounts of…stuff, but it ultimately we choose how we use our magic, our education and our talents. Some of us will use these talents to be writers, aurors, lawyers, healers, shop owners and at least one of us will have a very prosperous career in the pornography industry. Beyond knowledge, though, we take away our memories and the moments that have shaped us into the people we are today. Here at Hogwarts, we made lifelong friends and discovered passions, we laughed and we cried and we fell in love. So thank you Hogwarts, thank you parents and a personal thank you to all of my fellow students for giving me the memories I will never forget. Congratulations, we finally did it!"
The students cheered and the parents applauded. Cal returned to his seat with numerous claps on the back, and finally Professor McGonagall began to call the names of the students.
Before he knew it, the headmistress had begun the Ps.
"Genevieve Elizabeth Payne…David Carpinter Perth… Aislinn Marie Pierce…Caliber Sirius Potter"
Cal calmly walked up the stage and received his diploma. He could hear and see the red headed, occasionally inflected with a brunette or blond, mass of people cheering for him. It was official, he had graduated.
He returned to his seat and smiled, he was actually proud of himself.
"Caliber!" yelled his mum, hugging her eldest son tightly, "Oh, I'm so proud of you! But, really darling next time lets keep the sexual references down to one per speech, okay? But, oh, congratulations!"
"Yeah, thanks mum, I'll keep that in mind" said Cal his voice, muffled to the point of choking by her hug.
"I really am proud of you kid", said Harry, Caliber much more lightly, than Ginny.
"Thanks dad"
"Callie!" he heard Luella call from behind him. He turned to see her standing with her parents and two older sisters Dabney and Channing and their families.
She ran up to him quickly, "Hi Potter Family, anyway Cal, come on, Colin's proposing to Brigette"
"What?!" yelled Cal completely unaware of this plan. Luella grabbed his hand and the two ran past the Biltmores and towards the other side of the lake where sure enough Colin McCain was down on one knee proposing Brigette Baccarat.
Fabian, Jonah and Tabitha quickly joined Cal and Luella as well. They all stood silently, Brigitte's back to them as Colin asked, "Will you marry me?"
Brigette practically tackled him with her response as she kissed him hard. Colin looked happier than anybody Cal had ever seen. Brigette pulled away and began yelling, "You asshole, I can't believe you, you are such an asshole"
Suddenly Colin's face fell, "Wait, what does that mean, is that a yes?"
"Yeah, it's a yes, but you asshole! Making me wait and wait, you talk to my father over Christmas and then you don't ask me for months! I love you, but you asshole!" she explained, still yelling.
Colin got up off his knee and grabbed Brigette in his arms, "I'll keep being an asshole, if it means you'll be my wife" he said kissing her.
Cal, Tabitha, Jonah, Luella and Fabian erupted into cheers.
"I cannot believe this, our friends getting married", said Tabitha smiling.
"Finally" said Fabian exasperatedly.
"This coming from Mr. Murder Me Before You Marry Me" remarked Luella
"Well, you know, for them…I'm warming up to the idea" Fabian said trying to cover up.
Cal wished his friends congratulations and then went off in search of Sophie. He found her with Dailey Segerstrom and a couple of people he found out were Dailey's parents.
"Did you guys see? Colin propped to Brigette" Cal said gesturing to where the happy couple were showing off Brigette's new engagement ring.
"Yeah, we could here Brigette from here" laughed Dailey, "Anyway we're going to take off. I'll see you later then"
"Oh, wait, my parents are throwing a big party at my house" said Caliber, "All of you are more then welcome to come"
"That's sounds great, maybe we'll stop by" said Dailey.
"Okay, I'll owl you with a floo address after" said Cal, and they said their goodbyes.
"Sophie where's your mum? My parents really want to meet her, and I think I probably should as well" Cal said to Sophie.
"She was here just a minute ago, but then she saw some guy she knew and walked away to talk to him" said Sophie looking around the crowds of people, "Oh, wait I see her, over by the castle steps"
"Okay", said Cal before searching around for his own parents. "Mum!", he yelled, but about thirty women turned at this. "Ginny! Harry!" he called this time, and sure enough they spotted him.
"There you are" said Ginny, "So great about Colin and Brigette. Oh hi, Sophie, how are you?"
"I'm great thanks. Hi, Mr. Potter" greeted Sophie.
"Hey, Sophie"
"I want to introduce you to my mum. She's over by the castle" Sophie said leading the way.
As they got closer to the castle, Cal realized Sophie's mum was talking with that peculiar man, with the bright blue eyes, that he had seen earlier at breakfast.
"Still Samuel, you had no right to-" her mum was saying.
"Mum, hey, I want you to meet Cal and his parents" Sophie said, quietly interrupting.
"Hi, I'm Caliber Potter", said Cal, "I hope we're not interrupting"
"No, no, its fine we're quite through" said Lucy, glancing back at the man a little harshly, "It's wonderful to meet you, Sophie just adores you"
Cal smiled embarrassed, while Sophie blushed, "Anyway, mum, these are his parents Harry and Ginny Potter"
"Lucy Bedlam" said her mum extending her hand, "It's nice to meet you as well, I've heard a lot about you"
"Yes, unfortunately that happens sometimes" said Harry shaking her hand graciously.
"You absolutely must come to the graduation party we're having back at our house. Your friend can come too, if he'd like" said Ginny gesturing to the man Lucy had been speaking with.
"That would be great" Lucy said, but she looked back at the man anxiously, "If you would excuse Sophie and me for just a moment"
"Of course, meet us by the gates and we can all leave together" said Harry and the three Potters walked away.
"Mum, who is that?" Sophie said gesturing to the man.
"Um, well…", said Lucy nervously.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Sophie asked eagerly.
"Sophie…"
"If you would allow me" the man said cutting into the conversation.
"Actually" said Lucy
"Mum, let him talk" said Sophie, convinced it was a boyfriend, her mum hadn't mentioned.
"My name is Samuel, Samuel Harlow, Sophie, I'm your father" said the man slowly.
Sophie looked at him blankly. She examined his face, long, thin, his short dark hair, his big bright blue eyes, her eyes.
"I'm sorry, you're my what?!" said Sophie completely shocked. She didn't say anything more.
"Thirteen years later and you still have absolutely no tact" said Lucy, "Samuel, I told you not to tell her"
"No time like the present, besides I was going to tell her eventually"
"No you weren't Samuel, because the plan was that you weren't going to stick around long enough"
"Lucy, if you would just let me-"
"Let you what, disappoint her, ruin her life, thanks but you've already done that once"
"I just want to know-"
"No, you don't deserve to know her"
"Will you please both just stop!" Sophie said. Her mum and her supposed father immediately stopped arguing. A million thoughts were running through Sophie's mind. But, this was her graduation, she was class valedictorian, Head Girl, she had worked so hard and she was pretty sure she had received top grades on all her NEWTs, she didn't need the drama right now.
The three stood in a rather awkward silence, before Sophie sighed, "Okay, this is how its going to work, we're going to go to the graduation party at Cal's house, I'm going to enjoy the night and celebration of my hard-earned graduation, the two of you are going to try not to kill each other, than you", she said pointing to her 'father', "and my mum and I are going to go home and you will sleep on the floor and tomorrow we'll talk about who the hell you are, what the hell you're doing here and then we'll see what happens okay? But for now, I'm going to celebrate with my friends and my boyfriend. Now can we all live with that?"
Lucy and Samuel had no choice but to agree.
"Good, now the Potters are waiting for us", said Sophie walking away. Lucy and Samuel hurried to follow her.
"Hey, there you are" said Cal who was waiting by the gate with his parents, siblings, Fabian, Fabian's sister Leona and his aunt and uncle.
"Yeah, sorry"
"Don't worry about it, how about some quick introductions then" said Harry, "This is in age order, Maxim, Jude, Charlotte, Dane and Tierney and this is Ron, Hermione and their son Fabian, who graduated with Cal and Leona their daughter"
"Pleasure, to meet all of you" said Lucy, "I'm Lucy Bedlam, Sophie's mum and this is um, Samuel, he's just, well he's Samuel"
Nobody asked any further questions, since it was obviously an awkward subject.
"Well should we get going" said Ginny breaking the silence, "We called in for a portkey to take us back to the house"
"Yeah, lets go, make sure everything is ready for the party" said Hermione quickly.
Sophie grabbed Cal's hand and they hung back a minute following everyone else.
"Hey Cal" said Sophie.
"Yes, Harlow?"
"That's my dad"
"I'm sorry, your what?' said Cal completely taken off-guard. He actually stopped walking.
"I know, keep walking, and don't tell anyone okay?"
"Of course, but wait, why is he here?"
"I don't know, I don't think I want to know. Let's just enjoy tonight yeah?"
"Yeah, are you sure? Maybe you should"
"What, bond with him, ask him why he left us when I was four?"
"Good point, maybe we should discuss it tomorrow"
Hi, thank you to all who reviewed last chapter. I tried to make this one more light hearted and exciting, since the last two chapters were definitely more depressing. Anyway, I really, really appreciate all the support I've received for this story and sorry I didn't send personal messages because usually I do, but I really wanted to post a new chapter. Thank you and I hoped you liked it, don't forget to read and review.