"Rachel, why don't you go next!" piped up Lily.
Rachel, it transpired, had drawn the most personal picture of any of them.
Rachel's drawing had a desk in the exact middle. On the desk were potion ingredients, a vial, and a cauldron.
Rachel herself was sitting at a chair at the desk.
Standing in front of Rachel were Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily and standing in front of them was Samantha.
"Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily, and especially you Samantha, I owe my next great opportunity in life to you, " said Rachel as tears of obvious emotion streamed down her cheeks.
"I respect that, " said Courtney warmly, "You clearly remember those people who have helped you out and are forever grateful to them."
"If it hadn't been for Samantha's suggestion of tipping me even though that is not normal practice in the Wizarding World and her and Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily all doing so, I could never have afforded the potions ingredients I needed to practice my potion making before my job interview and I would never have gotten the opportunity to be a potions maker at the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing. They got me the job as I much as I did."
There was a minute and a nanosecond of meaningful silence.
"I wanted to pay tribute to Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily and Samantha even more so in a meaningful way. If the judges deem my entry worthy of display, I will ask them to add a note to the picture what it represents. The Hogwarts Drawing Competition provided me with a wonderful opportunity for me to publicly display my deep appreciation for what Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily and Samantha even more so did for me and where it got me, " said Rachel chokily.
"The thing is, " said Lily uncomfortably, "The quality of your work in drawing this picture is not disputable. You did an excellent job drawing the picture. But, unfortunately, the judges will almost certainly prefer more astatic themes than a potion making theme. "
Rachel looked very uncomfortable for a few seconds and then piped up, "I'll include a note with my entry about why I drew this picture and what it means to me. I don't expect to medal. I chose to do a drawing that means more to me rather than going for a medal but if the judges understand why I drew what I did and what it means to me to express that, maybe they'll consider displaying it with said note.
"That speaks volumes, " said Miles, "Using this opportunity to express gratitude to the friends who helped her advance in life rather than trying to go for a medal says a lot about Rachel's character."
"Honestly, I SO want to hug Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie Samantha and Lily and pat them on the back and all of that, " said Rachel, "But, alas, the world is a much different place than it used to be."
"Let's be honest, " said Lily sadly, "The need for social distancing has robbed us of a lot of our humanity. "
"Showing the world through art what my friends did for me and what it will mean for my future means the world to me, " said Rachel warmly, "
"I respect the hell of you for remembering that day, " said Lily kindly, "Too many people would move on and forget."
"I never had any close friends in my days as a Hogwarts student through my first six years even though I got along well with most of my classmates, " explained Rachel, "I was never lonely. However, there were times I did wish I had a close friend or two. Then I made the Quidditch team in my seventh year and my teammates, especially Lily, became the best friends I'd ever had. "
"That's kind of sad, " said Lily, "But I'm glad we took well to you and you to us."
"It's partially my own fault, " said Rachel honestly, "I kept waiting for people to befriend me. I could have and should have been more proactive in seeking to make friends at Hogwarts. The point here is that I think not having had close friends made appreciate what Devon, Hugo, James, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily and especially Samantha did for me even more."
"Did that day change the way you perceived the world?" Todd asked Rachel.
"In addition to what it did for me, " answered Rachel, "It really make me more aware of how many decent people and how much good there is in the world."
"In many ways Rachel has made the best drawing, " said Gary thoughtfully.
"Absolutely!" agreed Gordon, "People helping people is purest form of beauty in the world!"
"It is that beauty that I strived to showcase in my entry for the Hogwarts Drawing Competition, " smiled Rachel.
And everyone seated at the lawn smiled at Rachel.
They were happy for her that she'd found her true place and Rachel herself couldn't be more satisfied than to be able to show her appreciation for those people who had made it happen for her.