Hi everyone! This is the last real chapter of the series (there will be an epilogue, though), so I just want to say how much I appreciate all of you reading this series until the end! It really means a lot to me as a writer that so many people have enjoyed these books. I want to especially thank everyone who's left a review; your feedback has really helped me to grow as an author. And thank you to all of my friends who have helped me work through ideas and let me rant about writer's block. So anyway, thank you so much again for reading! Also, if you want to follow me on tumblr, my URL is general-leia-orgxna. Please review and let me know what you thought! And watch for the epilogue (and another announcement) on Monday (the 31st)!

CHAPTER 25

COMMENCEMENT

"As we close the school year, we would like to take the time to pay tribute to those of our student body that were lost defending our school and the Wizarding World two weeks ago," McGonagall said, and Rose braced herself, looking across the table at Scorpius and Hugo and feeling very uncomfortable. "We remember Jamie Montague, a seventh year Slytherin; Christina Baker, a seventh year Hufflepuff; and Oliver Wells, a sixth year Gryffindor, killed in Godric's Hollow. And we remember Albus Potter, a seventh year Gryffindor, who was killed defending Hogwarts. These students all fought with courage to protect us, and will never be forgotten." The headmistress, with a fluid wand motion, revealed a smaller plaque below the one from the Battle of Hogwarts, behind the staff table near the House points; the four names were inscribed there, but Rose knew she would never look. There was something about an inscription reading ALBUS POTTER, 2006-2024 that she sincerely did not want to see. And after the funeral, she had seen far too much proof that he was really gone. "Hogwarts will never forget their sacrifice." The students clapped politely, no one really seeming to know what to do. Rose joined in, just as unsure as everyone else. "And as for all of you, let us go forward now in the spirit of forging the new beginnings these four young witches and wizards have sacrificed everything to bring to us. With that in mind, we will now present the diplomas to the graduating seventh years." Rose stood up along with the rest of her class and congregated with them in front of the headmistress's podium. As she began to read their names alphabetically, Rose couldn't help but remember their Sorting all those years ago. She had been so nervous, so excited, and so, so young. She remembered what the hat had said to her: "You'll have to be quite brave, I can tell." She wondered if it really could. It clearly saw something in Al, to put him in Gryffindor; he'd confided in her years later that it had wanted to put him in Hufflepuff at first. He probably would have made a good Hufflepuff. Loyal until the end, Rose thought, to us and to the cause. And good, genuinely, honestly good, probably better than all the rest of us. When she started to pay attention again, McGonagall had gotten up to Ana Krum. She wished she'd been paying attention to whether the headmistress had skipped Christina Baker's name, or if they were going to read Al's. "Scorpius Malfoy." She watched as he took the roll of parchment from McGonagall, and she looked down before saying, "Dean Marchbanks," and then skipped to "Lexa Rae". Rose breathed a sigh of relief. It was probably for the best, it would have been a longer silence than she could bear. She watched as everyone received the diploma, until she and Min were the last two.

"We made it," Min whispered to her, smiling. After all that had happened, it meant more than usual.

"Dominique Weasley." Min strode up to the headmistress, took the diploma rather quickly, and rushed down to where the other seventh years were waiting, grinning from ear to ear.

"Rose Weasley." Rose walked up the steps and McGonagall handed her the last small roll of parchment. "Congratulations," she whispered, and Rose could have sworn she saw her eyes welling up.

"Thank you, Professor," she said, smiling, and she went down to join her class, who were already cheering.

"Congratulations to the class of 2024," McGonagall said, and the hall erupted in applause.

Late that night, the Gryffindor common room had been overtaken by the graduates of the House, sitting in a circle on the floor with Bertie Bott's and a couple smuggled bottles of firewhisky courtesy of Dylan Finnigan-Thomas. The twin in question was becoming very animated after drinking nearly half the current bottle himself. "New beginnings, that'd be brilliant, only problem is I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. I've just got a job at a shop for the summer and four NEWTs."

"I don't think most people really know what they're doing at this point," Emma Drake said, and he shrugged.

"Well, what are you doing?"

"I'm going into the Healer program," she said, and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's what Declan's doing. You're both more organized than me," he said. "Jordan?"

"Working on Quidditch Night full time starting next week," Alana said, and Dylan sighed.

"What about you, Rose? I almost don't want to know," he said.

"I have an internship in the International Magical Office of Law," she said, turning a little pink as most of the circle laughed.

"Of course you bloody do," Dylan snorted. "You probably passed all seven of your NEWTs too, didn't you?"

"Well… yes, but not perfectly," she said.

"She got an E in Magical Theory," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "Because the professor tried to kill her. Os on everything else." Now the entire group laughed and Rose turned even redder.

"You've got the same thing, Malfoy," Min said. "One E, Os for the rest."

"Yeah, but I only took five," he said. "Because I am a sane and normal person." It was Rose's turn to roll her eyes.

"Have you two picked out your cottage in the countryside yet?" Declan asked, and Blake laughed while Alana looked down at the floor. Rose saw and almost asked for the bottle.

"It's just a flat in Whitehall," Scorpius said.

"Rose is going to be Minister for Magic," Min told everyone and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Likely," she scoffed and Blake shrugged.

"I'd vote for you."

The noise died down as Declan said quietly, "It's weird without Al."

"I know," Blake said. "It feels wrong somehow." He looked over at Rose and Scorpius and said, "Sorry. I know it's nothing compared to what you two must be feeling."

"You don't have to apologize for missing him," Rose said. "We miss him too."

Dylan raised the bottle and said, "To Al," before taking a drink.

"We're leaving in ten hours," Emma said. "And never coming back. It's strange to think about."

"We should probably go up, then," Scorpius said. "One last night in the dorms."

"Let's just all go up to ours, it's not like they'll do anything about it," Dylan said, but Min shook her head.

"I want to say goodbye to my bed. We've had a long and passionate love affair." Alana laughed and followed her up the stairs first. Rose kissed Scorpius good night and followed them up, taking in the Gryffindor common room as she did. When she went to bed that night, she found herself staring at the notched signatures of former students in the bedpost. She usually refused to etch her name into school property, but she knew the seventh year dorm was the exception to the rule, and ran her fingers over her own name with '24 next to it as she read the others around her. Her eyes caught on something she had never noticed before, the name a few inches above hers: L. Evans, '78. Smiling, she turned over and went to sleep for the last time in Gryffindor Tower.

When Rose woke up that morning, it was relatively early. She knew she had a couple hours before the trains left, and she had packed everything she could the night before. She got dressed, put the last of her things in her trunk, and looked around the circular stone room of four-poster beds and deep red curtains for the last time before going downstairs. There was a good portion of the House sitting in the common room, one of whom was Scorpius, and they left through the portrait hole together to go down and have breakfast in the Great Hall. With about half an hour to spare, Rose realized the one thing she had to do. "I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall," she told him, and he agreed, though he looked a little confused, as she left the Hall and walked to the headmistress's office. McGonagall opened the door for her and smiled when she saw her.

"Miss Weasley," she said. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?"

"Can I have just a moment, Professor?" Rose asked. McGonagall let her in, and she didn't bother to sit at the desk before asking, "Did you pull Arya out because she was in danger or because you knew we were trying to recover her memory?" The question had been hanging over her every interaction with the headmistress since the battle, and she knew she couldn't leave without closure.

McGonagall looked down. "I knew what you were planning to do."

"I just… don't understand why," Rose said.

"I trusted the Department," she said. "And I knew it wouldn't change anything. I've seen firsthand how knowing their prophecy does nothing but harm the subject." The headmistress looked at her, seeming concerned. "Are you angry?"

"…Not really," Rose admitted. "I was, at first, but… it's done. You're right, it wouldn't have changed anything."

"Please understand, Miss Weasley, everything I did was what I thought to be in the best interest of you, of all of you."

"I know that," she said. "Really, I do. Thank you, Professor. I should be going."

"Rose," McGonagall said as Rose was turning to go. "I don't say this lightly, but you were one of my best students. I have no doubt you will do great things."

Rose was surprised at how touched she felt. "Thank you, Professor. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Rose." She left the office feeling better than she'd expected to feel. She really didn't feel angry about the prophecy. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was all really over, and there was no more reason to think about it. It was so freeing she didn't know what to do.

When she reached the Entrance Hall, she found Lily and Hugo standing with Scorpius as students streamed out of the doors. She walked up to them as Hugo was saying, "I swear she said we would!"

"Who said what?" Rose asked.

"Mum said when you graduated we could go to Italy," Hugo said.

"When was this?" she asked.

"Well, like five years ago, but still, I feel like promises should be honored," he muttered.

"Hugo, you can't hold her to that, I couldn't go anyway, I have a job," Rose laughed.

"Oh, yeah. You're like an adult," he said, looking disappointed.

"You could come to France with us," Lily suggested. "You know, when James gets back." James had left after the funeral and gone who knows where with Alice, travelling to take his mind off things. No one really knew exactly where he was; Rose suspected he had gone to stay with Uncle Charlie, but she didn't know for sure. He had sent an owl a few days ago congratulating them on graduating and apologizing to Scorpius for what he'd said, so wherever he was, it seemed to be helping.

"We'll see. If I'm not grounded when my OWL results come," he told her. The train blew a warning whistle, and Rose hugged her brother.

"We'll see you on the train," she said, and Scorpius walked with her to the doors. He stopped and looked back into the castle, and she watched him as he shook his head, smiling.

"You know, when I first got here I hated this place. Everyone hated me and it was so big and intimidating… and now I'd do anything to stay."

Rose smiled and took his hand. "Together?"

"Let's go." They stepped over the threshold out onto the grounds, where Hagrid was waiting at the edge of the Black Lake with many of the other seventh years. When the whole class had arrived, he started helping them into boats. Rose and Scorpius hung back, until they were the last to get in. Hagrid seemed like he was making an effort not to cry.

"I told myself I wouldn't get emotional," he muttered. "Alright, you two, let's go." They crossed the lake in Hagrid's boat, watching the castle become smaller behind them and the long thread of carriages following them on the path nearby. She couldn't believe she was finally leaving for good. When the old groundskeeper helped them out of the boat at the banks near the train station, Rose hugged him and said, "Thanks for everything, Hagrid."

"Don't do that, now I'm really gonna cry," he said, pulling out an almost comically large handkerchief. "Goodbye, Rose."

"Bye, Hagrid." They walked along the path until they reached the train, and just before the doors, Rose turned around for a last look at the castle, its reflection shimmering on the lake, its towers reaching high above them into the clouds. She could hardly bear to say goodbye. Scorpius noticed and waited for her.

"Like McGonagall said. New beginnings," he told her, smiling.

She nodded, and smiled back at him. "Right." And, together, they boarded the train.