Disclaimer: I hate writing these things, but if I don't, I'll get sued. So here

it goes. I own nothing except for the plot. Everything else

belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 11

'I look stupid in these robes,' Harry thought as he looked into the mirror. Today Harry was graduating from Hogwarts. His 7th year had passed and, unfortunately, it wasn't a good year for him. Ron and Ginny still were not talking to him. Ginny had begun to date again. At the present moment, she even had a boyfriend, Colin Creevy. Harry had tried to date, but he was constantly comparing the girls to Ginny and to Harry, no one was as perfect as she was.

Harry then heard someone clear their throat behind him. He turned around and saw Ron waiting to use the mirror. This is the only way the two "communicated", if you can even call it that. Harry moved out of the way to let Ron use the mirror. By the expression on Ron's face, Harry could tell that Ron also felt stupid in the robes.

"Can I come in?" came a voice at the door. Harry opened the door to find Hermione standing there.

"Of course," he said, "Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks. I honestly did not expect to be valedictorian! It was a big shock to me!" Hermione said beaming.

"Obviously, you're here to see someone else. So I'll see you later," Harry said hugging Hermione. He left the room, not knowing that he was about to be spoken about.

"Hi, Ron," Hermione said before giving Ron a peck on the lips.

"Hey! You look beautiful!" he said.

"Thanks. I can't believe we're actually graduating. It feels like only yesterday you and Harry saved me from that troll in our 1st year."

"Yeah. I still have no idea where I got the courage to face a troll that young."

"You did it because you knew that Harry had your back," Hermione said trying to get on the topic of Harry.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Things have really changed, haven't they?"

"They didn't have to, you know. You didn't have to end your friendship with Harry."

"He broke my sister's heart!! How could I be friends with someone who did that?!?"

"He had his reasons for why he did that!! He didn't want to!!!"

"He practically told her that he was using her the whole time! Or did you forget that?"

"There are things that you don't know!"

"Like what?"

"Stuff. I just can't tell you. What I can tell you is that I never saw Harry cry so hard when he broke up with Ginny. When he woke up in the hospital and saw me, he thought I was Ginny. He jumped up and apologized until he was blue in the face. He never wanted to hurt her!"

"Well, he did. Listen, I don't want to fight with you. Today is supposed to be your day. Now let's get going before we're late," Ron said as he took hold of Hermione's hand and led her to the field where the graduation ceremony was being held.

When the ceremony began, Hermione stood up and spoke, "Allow me to first congratulate all of you. We have been through a lot these past 7 years. We may not want to admit it, but we have all become one family. The houses have joined today to become one. There is nothing dividing us anymore. At least, nothing that we haven't created ourselves," she added looking at Ron.

"We have all made friendships here that we will treasure forever. Here we met people that we knew would always have our backs, no matter what. Wherever you go in life, don't forget about the friendships that you made, the people that you met, and the lessons that you learned. Those are things that are very important in life, things that should never be forgotten. Now, please join me in welcoming Professor Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore stood up and shook hands with Hermione while everyone else applauded her speech. Finally, he spoke, "The day that you thought would never come has arrived. In just a few days, you will all be boarding the Hogwarts Express to begin your new lives. I can still remember the first time I saw you just before you got sorted into your houses. You had the same terrified look that you have now. Both then, and now, you are afraid of the unknown. Remember, the unknown is not a bad thing. Sometimes, you enjoy something more because it is a surprise, and that is what life is, a big surprise. You never know what is going to happen, and are surprised by some things that do occur. Just remember, that no matter what surprises life brings you, the doors of Hogwarts are always open to you. You all will always have a place here. Congratulations!"

The ceremony then proceeded as the diplomas were distributed and everyone congratulated each other. After the ceremony ended, they all gathered in the Great Hall for a reception. Harry sat by himself off to the side of the hall. He watched as everyone else was having fun laughing about things that happened to them during their years at Hogwarts. He only wished that he were able to join in on the fun.

"Harry?" a voice came from behind him. Harry nearly fell out of his seat when he saw that Ginny was standing behind him.

"Ginny?!?"

"I just wanted to say congratulations."

"Oh, thanks."

"Ok, I guess I'll see you around then," Ginny said and turned around to leave.

"Ginny," Harry called after her. When she turned around, he continued, "I'm sorry for hurting you the way I did."

Ginny smiled when he said this and said, "It's ok, Harry." Harry then watched her walk out of the Great Hall. For the first time in what seemed like months, he smiled. Feeling slightly better, he realized what else he had to do. He looked around the room until he saw whom he needed to talk to. He then stood up and walked over to where the person was standing.

"Ron, I need to talk to you," he said and almost laughed at the way Ron jumped when he realized that Harry was talking to him. He seemed rather reluctant at first, but Hermione gave him a look which said, "Talk to him or die," so he stood up to talk to Harry.

"What do you want?" he said rather coldly.

"Look, I understand why you're mad at me. I mean if I had a sister and someone hurt her the way I hurt Ginny, I would react the same way. The thing is, you don't know everything."

"Hermione said the same thing! What the hell are you talking about it?!?"

"I didn't want to break up with Ginny, I had to. I received letters from someone threatening me that if I didn't break up with her that she would get hurt. Remember that night when Ginny thought she saw someone in her room? Well, she did."

"It was probably just Malfoy!"

"Hermione suggested that, so I went to talk to him. The same thing happened to him. Believe it or not, he really did love Ginny!"

"So why didn't you just tell Ginny the truth?"

"You know your sister, Ron. She would never have understood that she was in danger. She would insist that she could protect herself. I never wanted to hurt her, Ron. I swear!"

The coldness Ron held towards Ron seemed to melt away. He now understood what Harry went through. "Harry, I'm sorry for being so cold. I didn't know what happened. If I did, I wouldn't have reacted the way I did. Thanks for protecting my sister," Ron said before pulling Harry into a brotherly hug.

"No problem. I just wish I didn't have to, but that's the way things are."

For the rest of the reception, Ron and Harry caught up on things. Things felt like they used to before he broke up with Ginny. Harry was almost truly happy again. The only thing missing was Ginny.

A/N - Well, there's chapter 11. I hope you all enjoyed it. It's still going to be continued and hopefully, you like that. Please review!