Chapter Thirty Five

A/N: Thank you to delia cerrano, Guest and Beauty Eclipsed for reviewing the last chapter.

The exams came and went in a flash, one after the other after the other until they all merged into a great blur. Common rooms were almost silent even in the early evenings, each student remembering for a couple of weeks the true purpose of attending Hogwarts. The silences had made the cries of celebration all the more joyful when they came.

As Lily donned her topaz-edged robes, she felt a pang of sadness that the day had finally come. The graduation ceremony was a ritual that went back as far as the Founders themselves, a beautiful ending to the magical journey the students would undertake at Hogwarts. There was a poetic finality to it all, the seventh-years boarding the enchanted boats and heading out over the lake, just as they had done when they first arrived all those years ago. But it was the finality that made it hurt the most.

"Are you ready to go, Lil?" Caitlyn asked, the usual energy of her voice dulled with sympathy. It was not difficult to see the redhead's dilemma; even if her friend had not known her so well, her sadness was written all over her face.

Lily attempted a smile, but it did not reach her eyes. She ran a comb through her hair one final time, then threw it down onto the bedside table with a clatter. "Come on, then. Let's get this over with."

As they walked, Caitlyn's hand was clasped tight around hers, a silent reassurance that once Albus and Scorpius were gone, she would still be there. It was a comfort to Lily, to know that she had such a loyal and supportive friend, but it did not make the task at hand any easier.

The day that James had graduated, Lily had not paid much attention. She was relatively new to Hogwarts herself at the time, still in awe of the magic that filled the air around her; she had never thought of having to leave one day. Besides, though she would never admit it out loud, she had been rather glad to see her eldest brother go, his constant teasing having grated on her for a while. Albus, on the other hand… she could hardly imagine school life without him.

A crowd had already gathered by the time the two girls arrived, dozens of young people far more eager than them to watch the magical ceremony take place. The crowds were three or four people deep, and all the students milling around, trying to find a place to stand with their friends that would still afford them a view, made it almost impossible to see anything beyond the second row. Caitlyn seemed to mind that far much more than Lily did, but then again, Lily was not sure this was a sight she wanted to see.

"Good afternoon, students." came a voice through the ruckus, and suddenly the school was silent, rendering Professor McGonagall's amplifying spell quite useless. "We have gathered today for this momentous occasion, as we bid farewell to our own and send them out into the world."

Lily was looking in the vague direction of the voice, her view obscured by the head of a particularly tall fourth year, forcing her eyes to stay forward even as she felt Caitlyn's hand sneak into hers.

"It has been a tradition of Hogwarts School since its inception that its students, divided into Houses on their first night at the school, should return to the boats they first crossed the Black Lake in as one whole, the way they arrived to us, and the way they will be once they leave the school gates." It was rather strange, how Professor McGonagall could hold the audience's attention so easily, telling them a story that some had heard proclaimed six times before. But the ceremony felt new each time it was performed, the pang of loss greater each year, as the students who remained watched not just their elders leave, but friends, family. Loves.

"I would now ask the seventh years to board the boats, and then the ceremony may commence." More noise followed, though little of it was from the crowd. It was only the creak of wood on water, sniffling muffled by a handkerchief and a few hushed goodbyes from one boat to another. Within a few seconds, it was over, and the boats began to sail across the lake, just as they had done for these children seven years ago.

Suddenly, Lily began to push forward through the crowd, ignoring the protests of her classmates. If they still hated her for this by September, then that was something she would have to live with, but they would have another chance to see the ceremony with a new crop of students the next year. She would never have another chance to see this.

When she finally reached the front- Caitlyn lagging a little behind due to having started an argument with the same particularly tall fourth year that had been blocking their view in the first place- Lily's eyes flitted wildly across the boats, looking for the telltale signs of black and silver.

It did not take her long to find them, huddled together at the back of one of the boats. Albus' head was bowed, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly, and Lily knew that he was crying. Albus had loved Hogwarts School more than anyone had loved anything; it would be breaking his heart to leave it behind. Scorpius, on the other hand, was dry-eyed, joyful and yet still resigned. It was far easier to see that, given his face was turned over his shoulder, his eyes fixed directly on her.

Lily did not know if it was coincidence, destiny or just the balance of probability that Scorpius' eyes and hers had met so fast. She did not care either. Tentatively, she raised a hand to him, waving a goodbye that must have seemed pitiful to anyone else. Scorpius did the same in return, his attentions focused entirely on her as he drifted away.

The crowds began to dissipate not long after, few students having the patience to watch the entire journey across the lake only to see a few shivering adults disembark at the other side. Lily watched as long as she could, until her boyfriend and brother became just a couple of dots in the distance. Then she turned her back and walked away, heading towards the castle, where dozens of students already had their trunks and owls in hand, ready to return home, the long way around.

Caitlyn had waited in the dormitory, one arm holding her trunk and one holding Lily's, in case the girl had not made it back in time. The look of sympathy on her face was overwhelming, but she did not speak, instead ushering them both from the castle to the train, which they boarded with barely a minute to spare.

They were halfway to London when the question that hung in the air between them was finally asked. "Are you alright, Lily?"

And the girl finally began to cry.

A/N: Slightly depressing version of the Hogwarts leaving ceremony (which I've wanted to write about ever since JK told us about it), but I promise this will have a happy ending! Hope you enjoyed and please review!