Author's Note: Hey again! I was gonna wait until later this week to post this chapter, but I've gotten so many great reviews telling me to update so I decided to make some time to update! Okay, I'll stop typing the annoying authors note so that you can read the story now. (By the way, bunches of luv to my readers! )

Harry and Ron wheeled around. Draco Malfoy was standing in a corner with his mouth drawn into a cold sneer. Harry was about to lunge at him, but Ron caught the back of his jacket.

"Ron. Let. Go." Harry said slowly. He wanted nothing more than to rip Malfoy from limb to limb. But Ron didn't let go. He shook his head slowly at Harry and then said, "He turned up for our side in the end." Harry was in shock he stared at Ron, almost expecting the punch line of a joke to come out of his mouth. To his great disappointment, Ron just shrugged and looked away awkwardly. Harry turned to Malfoy.

"What made you come back?" he asked through gritted teeth. Malfoy's sneer turned to a grim expression that Harry hadn't seen on Malfoy except for once before. The only other time Harry had seen this expression on Malfoy was when he was about to kill Dumbledore.

"Just because you're a bigheaded celebrity Potter, doesn't mean you're cause wasn't right," Malfoy said in a low, hateful voice. He then turned on his heel and stalked out. Harry turned to Ron with an expectant look on his face and said, "Well? Are you going to tell me what happened or not?"

Ron looked away uneasily and explained how Malfoy had come to their side in the final battle. "He seemed to realize that what he was doing was wrong. I didn't believe him until he saved Cormac McLaggen from getting hit with a pretty strong curse." Harry took this all in with mild disbelief. He thought about this for a moment and then something occurred to him. "Ron, what happened to Snape?"

Ron shook his head with absolute loathing. "He was too far out there. After what he did to Dumbledore and then many more, the ministry captured him and took a vote on what they should do. Since we got the dementors back on our side, they handed Snape over to them."

Harry was in a very foul mood now. He had been planning on an enjoyable evening with Ron, Hermione, and most of all, Ginny. Now that he had run into Malfoy, all of these things seemed to have gone down the drain. Harry allowed his mind to wander freely over the facts he had just learned and didn't even hear Mr. Weasley and a select few others come in the door. The only reason he did come out of his thoughts was because Hagrid's enormous hand clapped him firmly on the shoulder, causing him to sink very low in his chair.

"Hey Hagrid. You hear to help?" Ron asked. Harry looked up at Hagrid and saw him nodding.

"Though' you lot migh' be needin' someone to put up the taller things," he said enthusiastically. Harry could tell that Hagrid was happy that he could help out. So that's what they all did for the next hour and a half. They cleaned the room and put up wonderful decorations that made Harry think of Hogwarts. He smiled at the thought of the school's ceiling and how it always reflected the sky. He knew for a fact that Hogwarts was still in tact and was still teaching.

Once everything was perfect, Harry and Ron cleaned themselves up and waited for the guests to start arriving. They all arrived in small portions at first, but then they all started to pour in together. Harry or Ron hadn't thought that this many people would be here. Harry was starting to get very bored when he saw Ginny coming down the stairs. He choked over his drink as he stared at her. The dress she was wearing was a silver material that seemed to be made just for her and her long wavy red hair was pulled part of the way back. She looked around and then caught sight of Harry and ran over to him.

"Harry," she started. "Everything is so beautiful! It must have taken you all ages to get this ready." Ginny stared around the room with a look of admiration on her face and then said, "Oh! Here comes Hermione."

Sure enough, Harry looked up at the stairs again and Hermione was gliding down them gracefully. Her dress was a pale gold and somehow brought out her features wonderfully. Her hair wasn't bushy or frizzy, but it hung down her back in smooth, shining curls. Harry looked away from Hermione to look at Ron and he had to laugh. Ron was standing at the foot of the stairs waiting for her with his mouth hanging slightly open in a lopsided grin and his eyes full of amazement and what Harry could obviously tell was love.

Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs and stood next to Ron, whose expression had not changed. She blushed slightly and then reached up and closed his mouth. This seemed to jerk Ron back to his senses, but he still was looking at her with a lopsided grin and they walked over to join Harry and Ginny.

"You look great Hermione," said Harry. She smiled brightly at him and said, "I wouldn't look anything like this if it wasn't for Ginny." Ginny rolled her eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Mione." Hermione blushed profoundly and stared pointedly at the ground. They talked to other guests and Harry had to endure many more bone crushing hugs from friends and complete strangers. In a short while, the tables finally appeared around the edges of the room and everyone went to their seats.

All tables were set for four people, so Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione managed to get one all to themselves. As they sat down, Ron gave a huge groan and tried to hide his face from view, while Hermione was wearing an expression that told Harry he didn't want to bother her at the moment. To Harry's great relief, Ginny was the one to ask, "What's up with you two?" This caused Ron to redden more and Hermione's scowl to deepen. Hermione jerked her head towards the table behind Harry and Ginny. They turned around and saw Lavender Brown staring dreamily at Ron.

The four friends sat around and enjoyed each other's company and eating their meals. It kept Harry's mind off of Malfoy and it kept Ron and Hermione's minds off of Lavender. Suddenly the lights began to dim and a slow tune began to play from somewhere. Harry was about to ask Ginny to dance when Lavender came over to their table. She halfway smiled at Ginny and Harry and gave Hermione a quick disapproving look. Harry saw true loathing pass over Hermione's face, but she regained her composure quickly.

"Hi Ron!" said Lavender brightly while flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Would you like to dance?"

Ron looked at her in disbelief, but then said, "Sure, I'd love to dance…" he was about to go on, but Lavender cut him off. "Really? Let's hurry then, I love this song!" she then grabbed Ron's hand and started to pull him towards the dance floor, but Ron pulled back. He gave Lavender a firm look. "Listen, I said I would love to dance, but I don't want to dance with you. I want to dance with Hermione."

Lavender stood there with her mouth hanging open. Hermione, who had looked about ready to cry a second ago, jumped up out of her chair and came to stand next to Ron. She gave Lavender an obviously fake smile and then said cheerfully, "Hi Lavender! It's great to see you here! I was just about to come over to talk to you."

Hermione continued to smile, but Lavender looked at her with confusion. "Why were you going to come talk to me?" she asked. "Can't I say hello to an old friend?" asked Hermione innocently. Lavender looked her up and down obviously thinking that she was insane, and then Hermione added, "I also wanted to tell you the good news." Lavender brightened considerably at this. She had always been one to gossip, so she couldn't wait to hear the latest news. "Oh really? What's going on?" she asked eagerly. Hermione smiled smugly and held out her left hand, showing her engagement ring. "I'm getting married!"

Lavender squealed excitedly after hearing this piece of information. "Oh! Really? Who is the guy then?" She said this all very fast and her eyes were positively lit up with curiosity. Hermione mocked surprise and said, "Don't you know? I'm getting married to Ron, of course!"

Lavender's face changed expressions quicker than a traffic light. It had gone from curious and excited to absolute disgust, but before she could say anything, Hermione had led a laughing Ron out to the dance floor. Lavender looked after them for a few seconds and then stormed off in a huff. Ginny howled with laughter and Harry soon joined her.

Harry led Ginny out to the dance floor just as a new slow song started and he held her close and the swayed back and forth slowly with the music. It was times like this that Harry could never get enough of. All too soon, the song ended and they made their way back to the table. At this point, Mr. Weasley came up to the stage to make a speech.

He smiled brightly at everyone and then began. "Everyone here tonight knows the reason we have come together. The Dark Lord is gone and not without taking many lives with him. These have been troubled times and we are all lucky to be here tonight. Over all, the good have prevailed and we can all face a brighter day," he paused slightly and looked over everyone's faces, then he caught Harry's eye and continued. "We also know that one young man faced the greatest challenge of all. I honor him tonight and I thank him for all he has done. I would like to ask for everyone to please raise their glasses to Harry Potter."

In unison, everyone in the room turned their heads towards Harry with their glasses held high. Harry looked round at Ron who was smiling proudly at him, Hermione had tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over, and Ginny's eyes showed nothing but love. All at once the whole room said, "To Harry Potter!"

Everyone took a sip from their glass and applauded loudly, but Mr. Weasley quieted them. He smiled knowingly at Harry and Ginny. "On a much lighter note," he said with his eyes twinkling, "I am proud to say that Harry and my daughter Ginny, and my son Ron and Hermione Granger are to be married!"

The whole room stayed quiet for a few seconds in shock and then the uproar of cheers began. For the next half hour the group accepted good wishers and congratulations and then they all spread out to the dance floor once again. They all danced for about two hours, until the guests started to become fewer and fewer. Much to Harry's relief, Ron said, "I think we had better head home."

Author's note: Hope you liked this chapter!