On the evening of Thursday, April 20, 1998, Aly raced to the convention center.

"Passed them!" Aly squealed with excitement as she ran into the convention center. She looked around and spotted Julian and her dad.

She ran over to them, pulling up the hem of her gown as she sprinted over to them, being careful not to trip over her feet.

She approached them, out of breath. "I passed!"

Darien turned her, studying her appearance. Julian grinned. "Weren't you supposed to make some sort of a grand entrance?"

He stared at her, grinning. Aly put her hair down (per Darien's request) and her cap was off kilter slightly. Her green eyes were sparkling and topped off with purple shadow. For the second time in a long time, she put on some makeup. They all wore matching blue and white gowns. Julian cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly and smiled playfully at her.

Aly's eyes narrowed. She frowned as Julian fixed her hair and smooth her gown. "Geez."

"Shut up. I passed, Dad! Every one!" Aly said with excitement. She carried a stack of papers and handed them to Darien. He looked down at them for a few seconds, and then smiled. "Wow, Aly! That's great!"

"I know. Are you done?" she snapped, looking up at Julian. He smiled playfully.

"I passed, too," he winked. "Thanks for helping me study."

"Anytime. I've saved your butt once, and I can do it again," she smiled.

The lights dimmed. "Shoot! Let's go," Aly hissed. She kissed Darien on the cheek and disapparated.

"There you are!" Professor Ammadon growled. Aly whirled around. "We've been looking for you!"

Professor Ammadon dressed as usual, the hat, the blue robes, flowing blond hair, etc.

"Sorry, Professor," Aly flushed. "I had a bit of a...problem."

"Right. In there, behind Hayden, please."

Aly nodded hastily and squeezed in line behind Hayden. She tapped his shoulder and whispered, "Hey."

He jumped and turned around. He glared at her. "Don't give me a hard attack, please."

"Sorry." Aly grinned. "You look handsome."

"Very pretty," Hayden grinned. Suddenly the curtain opened and the crowd started clapping. Aly's heart thumped. All of the students marched onto the stage, smiling and waving at family and friends. Aly spotted Darien in the back. The whole center was filled with people. She spotted refreshments in the back, and her stomach growled quietly. Darien smiled and waved. She waved back and followed Amanda down a row and chairs and sat down next to her.

"Welcome, everyone, to the 257th Commencement of Ellis Academy." Professor Ammadon smiled.

They all clapped in response.

Professor Ammadon went through the usual...welcoming speech, history of Ellis school...

Unfortunately, Aly was nearly dying with hunger as she spotted some Partan Bree brought in by Darien.

"Before we hand out diplomas, we would like to have our Valedictorian and Salutatorian say a few words." She turned to the class, smiling.

"Our Valedictorian, Alyson Trevelyan!"

The whole crowd started applauding and Aly froze in fear. Me? I'm the...Valedictorian?!

Amanda gave her a little nudge and Aly stood up, smiling awkwardly. I've never been a valedictorian...

She carefully approached the podium. She looked down and found herself staring at a sheet of paper for her, and her speech. Is this...something from my journal?!

She cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone.

"I will be quite honest, I have absolutely no idea how one of my journal entries became my valedictorian speech."

The crowd chuckled.

"Though I probably guess it had something to do Julian McCauley."

Julian's friends laughed and slapped him on the back. "You're welcome, Aly!" he called.

"Idiot," Aly muttered into the microphone. The crowd laughed.

"Anyway...I really am surprised to be named valedictorian. I've never been named anything before...except for weirdo...short...Gem..."

Amanda laughed the loudest along with the crowd.

"But truly, thanks. I had no idea what I was getting into when I came to Ellis, but I quickly discovered that it's probably one of the best schools I've ever gone to. The teachers were warm and friendly, and the students were ready to make friends. Except for Nathan."

The boys laughed as Nathan flushed.

"I don't know how personal I can get here, but I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the year with you guys and I'm glad I got to know you all. You made me feel welcome. And...Good luck in life, guys. You'll need it. Go do something amazing and special. Become the next Minister of Magic. With an education from Ellis, anything is possible."

She smiled and stepped down from the podium as the crowd clapped loudly and whistled. She looked down at the paper in front of her and grinned.

"Now, may I introduce the Salutatorian, Amanda Straum!"

Amanda froze in shock as Aly turned to grin at her and laugh.

Amanda laughed, standing up and walked over to the podium grinning hugely as the congregation clapped for her.

Aly hugged her tightly. "And you thought you would fail," she smirked.

"Oh, shut up," Amanda grinned, walking to the podium. Aly looked over at Julian and smiled.

"Oh, finally. I've been waiting for this." Aly sipped the Partan Bree hungrily. "If that microphone was near my stomach, it would've caused an earthquake."

"Ha ha," Amanda said sarcastically. She stared at the diploma in her hands. "I can't believe I was second best! I always knew you were the smartest, but me?"

"You're smart," Hayden grinned as they stood by the refreshment table after the ceremony.

"I think we all knew it," Julian smiled, grabbing a roll. Aly yawned.

"Sleepy?" Hayden smirked.

"No," Aly yawned. "Forget it."

"Leaving Saturday?" Julian asked, gobbling his food.

"Yep. Got it all planned," Amanda grinned.

"I'll be coming later, you know," Julian winked.

"Huh?" Hayden asked.

"For the battle? I'm coming, and I'll bring the others."

"You want to sacrifice your life?" Aly snorted. "Battling Him and his death eaters isn't a little game."

"I know," Julian shrugged. "But I've always had a few words to say to those slimy snakes."

Amanda laughed. She spotted Darien over Hayden's shoulder. Aly grinned at him.

"Valedictorian!" Darien grinned, hugging her. "Not me or your mum got that honor."

"I'm the first," Aly sang happily. She let go, smiling. "What about Straum here? Second best."

"That's a great honor," Darien said seriously. "You'll be getting some top notch jobs with those awards."

Amanda was smiling brighter than ever.