Hogwarts High

By Siriusly Amused

Author's Note: I really liked the last chapter. I don't know if you guys did because I posted it late last night and I can't get online today because my mom is expecting some furniture company to call about a mattress. I'm writing this in Times New Roman. This is the first chapter of any of my fics that I'm using Times New Roman for. I don't typically use this font because, well, I have to use it for ALL of my school papers. And after those two research papers I had to write last semester, you really can't blame me. If any of you stopped by my live journal, you'll have an idea of how many papers I write for school. Anywho, this is the last chapter of Hogwarts High I. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around that. I still haven't decided on whether or not I want an epilogue. I'm like that, you know. Well, enough with my babbling, you all want to read.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters because the wonderful JK Rowling does.

Chapter Twenty Five

Everything Will Be Alright

°°°Harry°°°

"Um, Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"You'll have to go to school today. We have finals."

I rolled over and glared at Ron who was standing over the bed, sending me a worried look. The morning sun was filling the room and reflecting off of Ron's hair, making it seem more orange than red. I hated the sun. How dare the sun shine when I was feeling so miserable! I rolled back over and told Ron that I didn't care about my damn finals.

"Yeah, I don't care either," he said after a moment's pause. I heard his footsteps and was surprised when he pulled the sheets off of the bed, leaving me vulnerable to the chilly morning air. I curled up in a ball but kept my eyes firmly shut as I tried to ignore Ron's chipper conversation. When I still refused to get out of bed, Ron made a strangled, angry sound and proceeded by lifting up his own mattress and sending me to the floor. Before I could even mutter an obscenity, he threw some school clothes at me and walked out of his room, saying that if I wasn't at breakfast in ten minutes, he'd be back with Fred and George in tow.

I shouldn't have been giving Ron such a hard time. After Mrs. Weasley got me back to their house that night, Ron had offered his room to me and he went to sleep on the couch. He's been there for a week, bunking with Ginny who slept on the other end of their massive couch. She had given Draco her own room.

I stayed in Ron's room all week, leaving only to go to the bathroom and occasionally eat. The problem was that I'd always feel hungry until I actually got the food, so I ate very little. I was left alone for the most part until the weekend when Ron and Hermione had taken to coming into the room and reading aloud from their text books. I guess they figured I wouldn't study even if they forced me too, so they decided to just read everything in the hopes that something might sink in.

I sat glumly on the floor and stared at the clothes that Ron had thrown at me while I listened to the voices coming from the kitchen. I recognized one pompous voice as Draco's.

"Ginny, you may have your room back," he said loudly. "Your bed is very comfy but I grow bored in your girly room. There's only so many times I can look into your underwear drawer!"

I heard a loud 'twang' as though Ginny had just hit the cocky blonde with a frying pan. I smiled despite myself and got up to shower for the first time in a week (yes, I was quite smelly).

°°°Draco°°°

I was sitting at the breakfast table and rubbing the growing bump on my head (courtesy of Ginny and a frying pan) when Potter entered the room and sat down. Ron thumped his back, Ginny hugged him briefly, and Mrs. Weasley put no less than ten sausages onto his plate. Potter's eyes flickered toward me for a moment. He seemed grumpy. Obviously, finals would put anyone in a grumpy mood, but he seemed to have more animosity toward me than normal. He didn't say anything, though. Just picked up his fork and started eating.

"Thank you for showering, Harry," Weasel the first said from across the table.

"Yes, I was afraid I'd vomit this breakfast up if I had to smell you again," Weasel the second added.

Ron threw his toast at the twins in Harry's defense. The identical duo blinked in surprise for a moment before flinging eggs at Ron with their forks. Ron retaliated with his bacon, causing Ginny to go into a fit of nagging.

"Stop it, you three! I will not have food in my hair during finals!"

"Stop sounding like Mom, Ginny!"

"I do NOT sound like Mom!"

"Yes you do."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"That's it, I'm walking to school!" And with that, the feisty red-head stood from the table, grabbed her bag from the counter and headed toward the door. Much to everyone's surprise, Harry rose from the table as well, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"I'll walk with you, Ginny," he said. It was the first pleasant thing he said all week. The rest of us gaped at him. My eyes quickly went from him to the three Weasley brothers, their fight over their younger sister from earlier this year in mind. For a moment, Ron looked like he was going to explode from shock, but his wide mouth slowly melted into a sly grin.

"You two crazy kids have fun," he said jokingly as he returned his attention back to his breakfast. Harry smirked at him as he held the back door open for Ginny. I returned my gaze back the Weasley boys. "Can I drive today?" I asked Weasel the first. He replied by throwing a glob of eggs at me.

°°°Ginny°°°

Harry and I were quiet on our way to school. He understandably didn't feel much like talking after the incident and I was just happy to have him out of bed and showered that I didn't feel the need to talk. Though I could tell that the huge cloud of depression was still hovering over him, he seemed to be trying to be happy.

He playfully splashed me when we passed the town fountain. He kept walking with a silly smirk on his face while I shrieked in shock as the water trickled down my neck. Once my shock wore off, I cupped my hands in the water, ran to catch up with Harry and let the water run down the back of his neck. It trickled down his shirt and he jumped from the chill of it before turning around to give me an odd sort of smile.

I laughed and reached out to pinch his cheek, but his hand found mine before it reached his face. He directed my hand away, leading it downward where he laced his fingers with mine briefly as we crossed the street and entered the school yard. As soon as our feet hit the grassy lot in front of our school, his light grasp on my hand left as he took off toward the front doors. He turned his head and gave me the slightest of smiles before disappearing in the sea of students.

I tried to ignore the fact that I was finding it difficult to breathe.

°°°Hermione°°°

I walked into Hogwarts High on the last day of school feeling miserable. I found Ron and the others sitting in the library, getting last minute studying in for our last exams. Ron was the first to look up. It was a mere glance, just to see who had come in. He lowered his gaze back to his book after giving me a brief, welcoming smile. A moment later, his head snapped up again; he realized that I was depressed.

"What's up?" he whispered as I sat across the table from him. Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Noelle all looked up from their studying as well, each one sending me identical, inquisitive stares.

I kept my eyes on Noelle, mainly because I knew that if I looked at any of the others, I would burst into tears. "I'm leaving tonight," I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.

They all stared at me, their eyes wide and disbelieving. I was fairly certain that they had all forgotten my impending departure in light of recent events. I didn't blame them. I had nearly forgotten about it too. Draco was the first one to respond. He threw down his pen, stood up and marched over to me, yanking me up roughly and pulling me into a very brief hug. I had barely registered what had happened when Draco returned to his chair and continued studying.

Noelle squeezed my hand comfortingly when I sat down again. Harry, who was sitting next to me, wrapped his arms around me and buried his head into my shoulder. Ron and Ginny, however, still seemed to be frozen in disbelief. Their faces were completely devoid of color and the spark that usually shined brightly behind their eyes was gone.

"Ron, I…" I began but he merely closed his mouth and returned to gazing into his book.

°°°Draco°°°

Returning to the Weasley house after my last exam of sophomore year was liberating. I felt as if I was freed from a very large burden. After throwing my schoolbag into the darkest closet I could find, I plopped down upon the couch, intending to watch some TV; however, I was interrupted by Ginny entering the room and sitting next to me. I was about to ask her what was on when she erupted into tears.

"Er…" I stammered, unsure of what to do or say.

"She's leaving," Ginny wailed next to me, crying profusely into her hands.

I patted her back awkwardly and tried comforting her but had very little luck with it. Let's face it, I'm not a comforting kind of guy. Potter entered the living room and I cocked my head toward Ginny.

"You! Take care of her," I ordered, rising from the couch. Harry sent me a slight glare but went to Ginny none-the-less.

Not wanting to stay in the living room, I migrated to the kitchen to find Ron staring listlessly out of the window.

"Hey," I greeted, opening the fridge and leaning over to look for food. After a minute of rummaging (and not finding anything that looked tasty) I straightened and closed the fridge. Ron continued to stare out of the window sadly. I stood in front of him.

"You know what I don't get?" I asked conversationally.

Ron's eyes looked at me inquisitively.

"I don't get why you're not chasing after her." And with that, I left the kitchen. A minute later, I heard the back door slam.

°°°Ron°°°

My legs felt as though they were on fire. Who would have known Draco to give good advice? Once his suggestion had sunk into my brain, I took off, stealing Old Betsy from the twins and speeding to the airport. Once there, I began running, hoping to make it to her terminal before the flight took off. I had a matter of minutes.

"Hermione!" I yelled once I saw her and her parents giving the flight attendant their tickets. She turned around and stared at me in confusion as I pushed people out of the way to get to her. I knew that the airport's security guards would be after me soon seeing as most of the people I pushed out of the way were grumpy and cursing at me.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something as I drew closer to her, but I engulfed her in a hug before she could say anything. I held her close to me, burying my head in her hair. I held her so tightly that I wouldn't have been surprised if I bruised a rib. But I didn't care. She hugged me back just as enthusiastically.

People darted around us in their hurried gait as they tried to reach whatever destination they were heading to. They passed us in a blur. To us, time stood still and for a moment there was only Hermione and me, standing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the world.

And then we pulled away. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and all I could do was bring a hand up to wipe them away. Her parents came up behind her and took her shoulders gently, guiding her toward the terminal and away from my life. And I stood there and let her go.

°°°Harry°°°

Ron and I sprawled out on our backs and gazed up at the stars. It was late at night after the last day of school. The rest of the Weasley family (and Draco) were fast asleep, but Ron and I couldn't nod off. So we climbed up to the roof and just laid there. Neither of us talked. We were both deep in thought. I continually blamed myself for not staying with Sirius and the others and Ron…well, I don't know what he was thinking about but I'm pretty sure it concerned Hermione.

I think we were both surprised once the sun came up. Neither of us had slept. Ron sat up and looked at me a little after dawn. He had a sly smirk on his face.

"What?" I asked. It was the first thing I had said all night.

"Fred and George are graduating today," he replied. We both laughed.

°°°Mrs. Weasley°°°

"I've said it once, I've said it three times," my husband complained in a frustrated whisper as he fanned himself with a paper program, "this gym needs air conditioning! How our kids can have PE in here everyday is beyond me!"

"Arthur, shush!" I commanded, waving my husband off. "It's nearly their turn."

"Who the hell would have thought that Fred and George would be graduating on time?" Charlie stated, amused, on the other side of Arthur.

"I know," chimed in Ron, who sat on the other side of me. "I thought they were on the five year plan, myself."

I turned and smiled at my youngest son. He was hurting over Hermione's departure. Ginny too. They were both bordering depression, but neither were going down without a fight. They were both trying to look on the bright side and I loved them for it. Harry, Draco, and Noelle sat with us too. All of them equipped with a camera, ready to snap pictures of the twins when they receive their diplomas.

My gaze shifted back to Fred and George standing in line with the rest of their classmates. My heart was bursting with pride to see them in their red graduation gowns--even though they were both absentmindedly chewing upon their tassels.

"Frederick Topher Weasley."

The entire family cheered as Fred's name was called and he ambled onto the stage to accept his diploma from Dumbledore. He was shaking the principal's hand when they called George's name.

"George Lukas Weasley."

George walked upon the stage and took his diploma before running into Fred, who had stopped short, staring at the piece of paper in his hand in disbelief.

"Wait, wait, wait," Fred stated at once, turning around and addressing Dumbledore. "What's this?" Fred brandished his diploma in front of Dumbledore.

"Why, it's your diploma, young Weasley," Dumbledore stated brightly. "You're graduating!"

This caused George to turn around in shock. "Graduating?" George exclaimed loudly. By this time, the entire gym was silent. My other sons were leaning their elbows on their knees, watching the scene before them interestedly.

"Yes," Dumbledore beamed.

"Graduating!" George yelled again as Fred bristled next to him.

"You can't graduate us!" Fred yelled, raising his diploma and throwing it down dramatically.

"WE QUIT!" George echoed, following suit with his diploma.

There was a shocked silence as both twins marched off the stage, taking their graduation robes and hats off as they did so and loosening the ties around their necks.

°°°Ron°°°

Draco, Harry, and I chased the twins out of the gym as they stalked off.

"Brilliant!" I complimented, thumping Fred on the back. "Absolutely brilliant! You know, I was wondering why you guys were going along with this graduating business. Did you plan this?"

"Since the first day of freshman year," Fred replied happily.

Draco was hunched over with laughter and even Harry was smiling. Behind us, the graduation ceremony continued. We were about to head out to Ern's Pizza to celebrate when we heard an angered yell and Mom stalked out of the gym.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!"

The twins both emitted frightened 'eeps' before grabbing my shoulder and exclaiming, "Come on, let's get out of here!". The five of us ran as fast as we could. We zigzagged between parked cars until we reached Old Betsy. Harry, Draco and I crammed into the backseat as the twins jumped into the front. We nearly hit Mom as we tore out of the parking lot. Looking out the back window, I saw that she was livid. I turned back around and smiled at the twins.

"She is so going to strangle you in your sleep tonight," I told them. They only beamed with pride.

°°°Harry°°°

Hogwarts Hills was in an uproar. Children, teenagers, and college students alike all filled the streets, celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation. The twins were the highlight of it all. We were stalked down like celebrities, everyone wanting to hear the story of how they 'quit' high school over and over again. We returned to the Weasley house around midnight to change out of our dress clothes into something more comfortable; however, we never got the chance to change.

Two cops cars were pulled onto the Weasley drive. Fearing the worse, we parked Old Betsy on the street and rushed out, the twins in the lead. We were almost to the door when Mrs. Weasley and two official looking men walked out. The men were carrying what appeared to be duffle bags that Draco and I noticed as ours.

"This is ridiculous!" Mrs. Weasley roared, flailing her arms dangerously. "Why on Earth can't we adopt them? And don't you dare say because we have no basement!"

"What's going on?" Draco asked dubiously once we reached the angry mother and two men.

"Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, I presume?" one of the men asked. Draco and I nodded. The men flipped badges at us quickly before explaining that they were from Child Services.

"We're here to take you to your new home," the other man explained.

"What?" Ron asked angrily.

Mrs. Weasley's head snapped toward us, her face livid. "Don't you listen to these awful men, you two. You're not going anywhere!"

But it turned out that we were going somewhere. Due to the Weasley's house not meeting certain requirements, Draco and I were not permitted to live with them. Mrs. Weasley could rant all she wanted, but the only way to get around it was if the Weasleys went to court over us. The process would cost them a lot of money and they could end up spending months in court. So Draco and I had no choice but to get into one of the cop cars.

We stared out of the back window as the car drove away. The Weasley house, lit up and radiating warmth, and the numerous Weasleys all grew smaller as the car sped off into the night. I saw the silhouette of Mrs. Weasley flailing her appendages dangerously in her rage. Mr. Weasley paced nervously. The six Weasley brothers were all milling around, I don't think any of them knew what to say or do. And Ginny stood alone. Completely black against the light of the house. Her dress and hair whipped around her with the wind. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her dark figure raise a hand in a form of goodbye. I waved goodbye as well, even though I knew that they couldn't see me. I was too far away…

Fin

End Author's Note: Did I ever warn you guys that you probably won't like the ending to this? I think I did, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm sorry if any of you are upset at the moment, but don't fret, there'll be an epilogue and a sequel. As for Fred and George's middle names…Topher just popped into my head when I thought of Fred and Mariah suggested Lukas. We didn't realize that we named him George Lukas (or Lucas) until a few minutes later. If any of you know their proper middle names, please tell me and I shall change it. Ok, everyone get ready for a big ass AN. I'm going to ramble in here like I've never rambled before! Muahahaha!

The Beginnings of Hogwarts High:

"All right, dear. Welcome to Hogwarts High! Can I have your name please?"

"Granger. Hermione Granger."

"Ooo, good, an unusual name! You'll fit right in here!"

an excerpt from Hogwarts High version 1.0

I started writing 'Hogwarts High' in January or February of 2002. I was a fifteen-year-old sophomore who had just started expressing myself through writing. I can't remember if something had inspired me to write it or if it was just some crazy idea that popped into my head. I think it was the latter. I think I just sat down at my desk on night, took out a notebook (that was already halfway filled with different stories) and a pen (a black one to be exact), the paused and stared at a blank page as I though of what I wanted to write. I don't know how the idea popped into my head, but several hours and two pages (front and back) later, I had the beginning of what turned out to be a brilliant brain fart. Oddly enough, my 15-year-old self thought it was crap, closed the notebook, and went to bed.

The days turned to weeks and the weeks into months, and by summer I had all but forgotten about the little brain fart in the purple notebook, until I stumbled upon it in either July or August. I was 16 then and had been posting my writing online for months. I agreed with my younger self that that particular draft of the story was crap. It was in 3rd person from Hermione's POV. She had just moved from Maine (why Maine, I dunno) to southern California and she was furious with her parents over it. So furious in fact that 'she had no intention of talking to her parents until she was 18'.

The story continues to follow Hermione as she arrives outside of Hogwarts High on her first day of school and finds herself amongst a sea of students. Moments later she has a run in with Punk!Draco. Yes, it was crap, but the idea of a non-magical Hogwarts had its merits, so I voiced it to M to see if it was actually a good idea for a story or if I was mental. I believe that we agreed that I was, indeed, mental, but it was also a very good idea and that I should start plotting (because the first draft had no plot). So I did.

I kept the trio as sophomores for numerous reasons, the biggest one being that if they were sophomores, Ginny would be a freshman, and the twins would be seniors, thus making them all attend Hogwarts High. I made out their class schedules so that I knew who would be where at what point of day. I also thought about what the school and town would be like. And then I started 'Hogwarts High version 2.0'.

This one was in 1st person and started out in Hermione's POV again as she searched for a spot to sit on the bus on her first day of school. She had just moved to Hogwarts Hills from -gasps- Colorado! I blame M and her love of Colorado for my constant use of the state. Anywho, version 2.0 was short. Hermione met Ginny on the bus and Ginny told her all about the Weasley brothers, warning her that she'll probably have Ron in some of her classes. Then the POV went to Ron who was having problems with his locker. Harry teased Ron about his locker and Ron threw some smelly gym socks (that had been sitting in his locker all summer) at Harry. And that was it. I guess I didn't like this version because I later sat down and started 'Hogwarts High version 3.0'. It took me months to complete the first chapter and when I finished, I posted it on not knowing just how big of a response I would get from it. Yes, HH 3.0 is this story right here. Why I decided to have them all grow up together (no Hermione being the new girl) I don't know, but I'm glad I did.

It was plotted from the beginning of ver 3.0 that Tom would come into Harry's life. Actually, I had planned on bringing that subplot in sooner, but I was afraid it would change the happy-go-lucky tone of the story, which is why I only hinted at some evil lurking somewhere for the majority of the story.

As for splitting up the Trio (yes, they are split up…Ron's at Hogwarts Hills, Hermione's in Colorado, and Harry's being taken to a home that's far away from Hogwarts Hills! They're split up, deal with it!), I didn't think of the splitting up idea until around chapter 14. Originally, I had planned for them to beat Tom and Lucius and the others and live happily ever after…but then I decided that I wanted sequels so I needed to do something to keep it interesting. So I split up the Trio. Can the Trio survive without one another? I guess we'll just have to see…

So that's the history of Hogwarts High. Boring isn't it? I think I promised that I wouldn't post the last chapter until I had the epilogue and first chapter of HHII written, but I'm impatient. The epilogue won't take long to write, so that'll be up within a week.

And this is where I thank all of my lovely reviewers! It's all because of you guys that this story is finished. Believe me, if you hadn't reviewed, HH would have stopped somewhere around chapter 14. And it's a good thing it didn't because I think the chapters after 14 are some of my best! I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! And if you're upset over this ending, don't worry. I have plans for the next two installments. Oh so many plans. -grins evilly-