A boy with messy black hair and dazzling green eyes stood at a podium in the Great Hall. Before him sat his fellow class mates; the Class of 1998.

'Nelson Mandela once said: "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

'When I look back on my time here at Hogwarts I remember my first train ride here on which I met my best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

'I remember myself a little scrawny eleven year old boy with a high voice and cloths that were several sizes to large. I look at myself now and I see a grown man who has matured a great deal over seven years. I saw things that no other child should see. Many children here saw things that should never be seen by anyone.

'But no matter what we saw we still changed, some for the better and some for the worse. We loved and we laughed, we cried and we fought. We lived life to the fullest, and I couldn't ask God for a better place to learn my schooling.

'Thank you God for blessing me with wonderful friends and this amazing school which stood up to more than a building of this age should be able to withstand. Thank you for all the wonderful teachers in this establishment. They fought bravely and we learned more from that than all those hours in the classroom.

'There is one more person that I would like to thank. Unfortunately he could not be here tonight for he died protecting his beliefs. I have looked up to this man from the moment I met him. He had such a powerful aura; you couldn't help but see the goodness in his heart. Described by many as the most powerful wizard in the world I have no doubt that this is true. You could sense his power the moment he walked in the room. He didn't care when they took away his Order of Merlin First Class, or when he was fired from the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, or even when he was forced to step down from the International Confederation of Wizards but God forbid it that he be taken off the Chocolate Frog Cards.

'His Card may not be the rarest but it will always be a special part of my collection for it tells me that the best things in life are not the ones that give you honour and power but the ones that bring joy to others as the Chocolate Frog Cards have brought joy to me in my seven years here at Hogwarts and all the other young people in this world.

'I would know like to ask Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Ron Weasley to come forth to pay a tribute to the man who was loyal to his beliefs and to this school for longer that some of us have been alive; Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.'

Hermione stood up from her spot in the front row of the several rows of graduates. She walked over to center stage where a piano sat with a microphone. She picked up the wand that was sitting on the piano, cleared her throat, whispered a word and tapped the spot on her neck where her vocal chords would be. Ron then sat at the piano and began to play. Then Hermione sang

b When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be. /b

They received a standing ovation.