The Final Ceremony

'We have come at last, to the dissolving of the marriages ceremony' announced Dumbledore to the students below him. It was such a glorious day that the whole event was taking place outside near the lake. 'There are' he continued 'some marriages that have already been dissolved for one reason or another and I would like these people to move to the edges so they do not get hit by the charm.' There was some scuffling as, among others, Hermione and Ernie made their way to the side of the crowd. Hermione was looking very satisfied, Ernie mutinous. Looking over, Harry saw that there were at least twenty people who had moved. That was around ten couples. Ten sets who were so unhappy that they couldn't make it to the end of one year. Some people must be unbearable he pondered. He took a swift glance to his left as Katie, who was staring straight ahead totally ignoring him. It was safe to say that their relationship, the real one, was officially over. Harry sighed. It had been a lot of fun while it lasted and it hadn't been completely wasted. It had taught him that Ginny was the one he wanted to be with, he was sure of it. The thing was, he'd had trouble finding her since the Hogwarts express had dropped them all back. He looked for her now and still couldn't see her, though he spotted Neville several rows in-front. Harry tuned back into Dumbledore who was muttering some words and waving his hands in the air. A cloud of purple smoke burst from them and hovered over the students. Harry couldn't see anything but he sensed something leaving, and then returning into him. 'I have restored the magic of those I took' called Dumbledore, as though he'd read Harry's mind. 'You are all now officially single.' There was a burst of noise from most people, shouting, cheering and clapping. This goes to show; Harry thought to himself, that we were all too young to be tied down into a relationship that we had no say over.

'And now for the awards' called Dumbledore and everyone fell silent. 'Firstly, for the couple who overcame the most boundaries to success. They started off in disgust but have come to realise the values of compromise and teamwork- Weasley and Chang!' everyone wooed and cheered as a blushing Cho and embarrassed Ron made their way up to the podium to accept their award, a chocolate trophy each.

'The next couple have been selected for being the two people who surpassed all of the faculty's expectations. It goes to show that even we mature adults can never predict the outcome of any pairing. Finigan and Lovegood please make our way up here!' everyone laughed in a friendly manner as the pair made their way to the podium, tripped over each other banged heads.

'And lastly, the winning couple, if such a thing can be found. This couple have won, not because of the length of their marriage or because they put the most effort into it. No, they won because of their brute honesty. They showed us that you cannot just fling to people together and expect them to get along happily, there has to be an element of consent. And most of us know that this couple certainly did not consent to being together. Despite that, they attended extra sessions put out for them and managed to remain together for a while. They had a temporary split but recently have been seem together again. This, in our eyes is a winning couple. Determined. Neither would compromise their beliefs or personality for the other and eventually they learnt to work round one another. I am happy, and slightly surprised to announce that the overall winning couple is, Malfoy and Weasley.'

There was silence.

'But we're not together anymore, sir' called Ginny from the side of the podium. 'Malfoy and I had our partners switched, remember, you did it.'

'Miss Weasley, I know more than you understand. Remember I told you all that we could and would be keeping an eye on you. Your meetings with Mr Malfoy were spotted and noted. And you cannot deny that they were amicable.' Ginny opened her mouth to answer but Malfoy, who had appeared at her side got in first.

'You are perfectly right Professor. We had intended on taking things slow and quietly but of course, you discovered.' He marched onto the podium and addressed the students 'yes Ginny and I have been able to work around our differences and are back to where we should be, together. Our relationship shows that anything can be made compatible if you try long and hard enough. And you're both willing' he added as an afterthought. As Malfoy went to accept the award, two people darted forward protesting. 'No' called Neville, 'liar' yelled Harry. Both were at the podium steps in an instant.

'You can't you're contracted to me' wailed Neville.

'You can't you're in love with me' cried Harry.

'I'm sorry, did I miss part of the story?' enquired Dumbledore, looking perplexed and staring right at Ginny.

'This isn't the time or the place' Ginny hissed at Neville and Harry. She then turned to Malfoy 'and you. Don't ever talk on my behalf again!' and with that, stomped away.

Dumbledore gave a slight cough and addressed the goggling crowed 'I think that brings us to the end of our ceremony. Well done to all of you who made it, your grade will be posted to you over the summer. I think this last little drama has summed up marriage in one word- 'unpredictable'.

Hey, only one more chapter to go. I know this was a shortie but I didn't want to put everything in the last little bit.

What would you like Ginny to do? Let me know

xx