Hogwarts Graduation--Atrium

Because of the severe damage to Hogwarts and the difficulty that the public was having with the deaths during the recent battle, Robert took it upon himself to move the graduation from the venerated school of magic and wizardry and had decided to move ahead with the acknowledgement of accomplishment for those who had completed their schooling. He had decided to hold graduation in the Ministry Atrium.

He had had his staff busy for days decorating the atrium in white, accented in colorful red, yellow, green and blue decorations and flowers, and had included banners of the Hogwarts coat of arms, but also the symbols for the respective houses. Engraved invitations in the time honored tradition had been sent by owl to family members, students, and friends. Announcements had been placed in the newspapers and had been sent by every conceivable manner. He had added quiet and gentle classical music in order to help set a mood for honor and respect. He had remembered those who had been struck down in the battle by illuminating the ceiling with hundreds of burning white taper candles. He had made no mention it was his respect for the fallen and the injured that had made him add the candles, but it felt disrespectful to not do so.

He had done something a bit different this year. He had had the seating arranged at countless round tables and had arranged a reception for the graduates following the ceremony, catered with an endless buffet designed to please nearly every palate. The food would not apparate in onto the buffet table until the conclusion of the ceremony. This was being done with honor, with formality, and with decorum. He knew for almost everyone there it would be a huge mixture of emotion.

For once, Amelia hadn’t put up a fight as her mother and two personal attendants fussed repeatedly over her appearance. She hadn’t said anything when she saw the form fitting, one shouldered dress her mother had chosen that was entirely too adult for the seventeen year old girl who was to wear it. She hadn’t protested as her hair was blown straight, set in curlers, mussed, and sprayed. She hadn’t once been yelled at for fidgeting while her makeup was applied.

When the silver sandals were strapped to her freshly pedicured feet, Amelia was finally allowed to stand and view herself in the full length mirror of her home. And when she did, Amelia realized she looked nothing like herself, which was fitting, because she had felt nothing like herself ever since the battle.

The Battle, Amelia’s subconscious echoed, giving this event a name so nondescript that one might confuse it for something unimportant. But it had been important. Too important. It was the reason why Amelia was numb to her mother’s hands on her shoulders, standing behind her daughter on the day of her graduation. Antoinette was smiling, beaming with pride. She probably was taking Amelia’s silence as a sign of maturity, her lack of protest as an indication that Amelia was finally giving in to her fashion sense.

But really, Amelia just couldn’t manage anything more than existence right now.

That night in the tower was weeks ago now, but Amelia still had nightmares about it. Those last few days before end of term had been hellish for her dormmates, who had been woken up repeatedly by Amelia tossing in her bed, begging some invisible force to spare his life. This solitary, strong girl that had always worked so hard to remain invisible was now making a spectacle of herself every night when she went to sleep.

But the waking hours weren’t much better. Amelia had buried her response to his death, of course, letting no one see the change it had evoked in her. From the outside, she was merely more distant than usual, but then, when you were always as far gone as Amelia was, it’s a difficult thing to catch. But within herself, where no one else could see, the guilt gnawed at her, and nearly every waking moment of thought was spent agonizing over every movement, every decision, every missed opportunity that night.

Amelia had never failed at anything. Not in her whole life. Until she failed to save Simon.

Without Amelia really registering it, Antoinette had guided her daughter downstairs to the foyer where her father was waiting, looking sharp in his dress robes, still hanging open to reveal a sharp suit beneath. He was holding Amelia’s own dark robes, which he held open so Amelia could slip them on over her Ravenclaw-blue dress. It was a true testament to how much she had been carrying around on her shoulders lately that she didn’t even notice the additional weight. Frederick turned Amelia to face him, placing his hands reassuringly on her shoulders and giving them a squeeze. Amelia knew he recognized some kind of change in her, but he knew better than to ask questions. Amelia likely wouldn’t have answered them, and her father wasn’t exactly the emotional type either. The only thing the two of them ever really talked about together was her schoolwork and his research, neither of which applied right now, so instead they fell into silence until Antoinette had become panicky enough about being late to take both of their wrists and hastily apparate all of them into the atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

Even in her daze, Amelia recognized that she was no longer at her parents’ home, and went into autopilot as she kissed both of them on the cheek and went to find her name at one of the tables draped in blue and silver cloth. There were a few students milling around, greeting each other with a mixture of elation at being done with schooling, and somberness at the shared horror of their recent experiences. No one spoke to Amelia, and she didn’t seek anyone out. She just moved silently until she found her name card and took her seat, staring straight ahead lost in the same mental replay of that night.

Finally the day had come. The day Alexis had dreamed of her entire life, the day she graduated. But it seemed different than what she had imagined, there was something missing. Alexis sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. As usual she didn't want to stand out very much, so she had bought a dress that wouldn't stand out much. She had been surprised when she found a box at her door. It was from her... father. He had sent her a dress he picked out himself, that he wanted her to wear. She wondered why he wanted her to wear it if he wasn't even going to be there. But she decided to wear it anyways. It was longer than she would have liked it to be, but at least it showed her father still cared about her. She had curled her hair and had it half held up while the rest just hung over her shoulders.

She was even more surprised when he appeared in her house a few minutes after she put on the dress. She asked hi how he found her and he said it was a long story and that he would tell her after the ceremony. After a moment of talking with Alexis, Lorcan pulled her in for a hug and she allowed it, after so long without talking to him she was happy he was there with her on her big day. Lorcan looked her over and said she looked so much like her mother, and that she would have been proud to be there with her. Alexis smiled and wished her mother was there.

Soon they both apparated to the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Alexis gave her father a kiss on the cheek and she walked into the tables in search of her name. She watched some of the other students who were there greet each other, saying hello to a few of them as she passed by them. Finally she found her name and she sat down, looking at the table. She was glad at least her father was there with her. Although she would have liked for the rest of her family to accompany her on that day, mostly her mother.

Peter should have been graduating Beauxbatons, but he was proud to have finished out his schooling at Hogwarts. He had never been a proud Frenchie, and Hogwarts had only meant more opportunity to him and to his family. He had sent his parents a list of jobs and they were considering leaving France and joining him, possibly moving into a small cottage somewhere.

Peter's father had stayed home because he could not get time off work, but his mother and sister would not miss it for the world. However, Olive was not feeling well today, and he and his mother held both of her arms as they walked. Olive would trip over her feet occasionally, her thin legs wobbling like a toddler learning to move about, rather than a thirteen year old girl already declining.

There were tables set aside for the graduates and another place for family. Peter helped his mother and sister to their table, hugging her tightly, as she weakly patted his arm. He straightened up to be attacked by his mother. He had not dressed up too much, but his outfit was very appropriate. He had worn the Ravenclaw tie, to show his allegiance to Hogwarts, though he had pinned a Beauxbatons crest to his tie, to remember his roots.

Peter's mom released him after one quick hug before shoving him on his way- muggle parents were always that way. He walked forward, grabbing his right forearm with his left hand, biting his lip. He had not seen Amelia, but he knew she was alive. He never had found her a the battle and he felt as though he had failed her. He needed to see her.

And when he did, he was glad he had. She looked stunning, as usual, but she didn't look herself either. He worked up his courage and went over to her, sitting next to her, ignoring the cards for now. "Hello Amelia." His French accent was becoming less thick, though it crept in now and again. "You look well. And you are beautiful tonight." He forced back the words 'as you always are.'

Renny apparated her sister and brother with ease to the Ministry. She had hoped to bring all her half siblings and her grandmother, but they were muggles and it would be too difficult getting them all there. Instead, she brought along the sister that hated her and the brother she rarely got to see, though she planned on changing that this year.

This was the day that Renny had been working towards for seven long years- longer really, since her life was dedicated towards finding stability for her family. And the first and foremost way to create that was a good education. She had dressed in a simple outfit to some, but it meant a lot more to Renny than anyone else would know. Even Piper didn't know.

Trowa had made the dress, not for her, but after using her as a model for it, Trowa had graciously given her the dress, free of charge. She had not had the chance to wear it, and now she made her debut in it. She dearly hoped she saw Trowa- hoped even more they were sitting near each other. He had become one of her closest friends this year.

She turned and pointed towards the tables for families. "That's where they want family," she said kindly. "You'll be fine right?" Piper began to stomp off. Renny crouched and hugged Jerris tightly, and he hugged her back. "Watch out for Piper." "Okay." She released him and he scampered after Piper while Renny went searching for her seat. She found it and sat, dragging a hand through her brown curls.

Human presence detected. The robotic voice of Amelia’s autopilot informed her of the presence of someone coming near her before she was consciously aware of it. The voice interrupted her thoughts of Simon, the replay she had been running in an attempt to find some detail she had overlooked, something to absolve her from the guilt that followed her like a shadow. But having been over this thousands of times already, there was nothing to find, so the interruption hadn’t done any real damage.

Amelia looked up and in the direction that her subconscious knew was the right one, just in time to see Peter Bellard pulling out the chair next to hers. Without saying anything, the redhead’s eyes moved between Peter and the name card on the table – some part of her brain remembered the announcement that they would be seated alphabetically – to find that, unsurprisingly, the card didn’t match the chair’s inhabitant.

He’s not Marion Leudke, some part of Amelia’s brain stated, unnecessarily, but these days Amelia’s mind spent much more time focusing on small, irrefutable facts to keep her holding on to reality instead of dwelling indefinitely on the night of the battle. Sometimes she found herself mentally repeating her own name, her home address, describing the scene around her just to stay grounded.

Without giving the thought much consequence, Amelia’s subconscious noted that Peter looked better than she had ever seen him tonight. He had dressed up for the occasion in the type of dress attire she wouldn’t have expected him to own – she had only ever seen him dressed casually – and his long hair was lying flat around his face instead of poking out in all directions. He looked polished.

“Thank you,” Amelia’s autopilot supplied when Peter complimented her appearance, though she had had absolutely no hand in it tonight. These were the only types of conversations she had managed to have over these past few weeks, which suited her mother just fine. No barbed comments, no impromptu wit, no unexpected turns in the conversation. Just the most polite, uninteresting responses that resulted in the least amount of trouble. Antoinette had been thrilled (and utterly oblivious to the fact that her daughter probably hadn’t developed actual tact overnight when years and years of training hadn’t done the trick).

Peter’s comment that she looked ‘well’ would have been comical if Amelia were capable of finding anything funny. She hadn’t had much of a sense of humor before the battle, and her dwellings on Simon’s death hadn’t improved her sense for comedy. Instead, Amelia merely wrote off Peter’s words as the type of pleasant small-talk people made when the situation demanded they not be silent.

Sort of like this situation for you right now, Amelia’s subconscious prompted.

“You look nice as well,” Amelia said, her voice level and without much inflection. She still didn’t know where she stood with Peter; they hadn’t spoken much since the episode in the Great Hall with his former friends. After the battle, Amelia had watched as her fellow students sought out their friends and relatives, and Amelia had watched from her spot on the steps, unmoving. She hadn’t even thought of Peter, which made her feel even guiltier now. All she had been thinking about was Simon, and how his death was all her fault.

“The pin is a nice touch,” Amelia added, trying to make up for some of the guilt she was feeling where Peter was concerned, but the superficiality of her words would probably not be lost on Peter. She didn’t know what the battle had meant for him, or even if he had been a part of it at all, but there was clearly something much larger in the room with them than petty discussions about appearances. But Amelia hadn’t spoken to anyone about that night – not the counselors Hogwarts had provided, not her parents, hadn’t even responded to Raoul’s concerned letter that came only a day after the event.

As per usual, Amelia was responding to crisis by closing in on herself.

Suzannah stood in front of her mirror staring at her appearance. She was sporting a lovely green dress, in honour of the Slytherin house, of course, which had little hints of black lace. She looked beautiful, if she said so herself. However, in her opinion, she always looked beautiful. Gorgeous, perhaps. She had decided that she was a stunning girl- woman after tonight.

She could hardly believe that it was finally graduation. After tonight, she would be free from the jail which she was chained to. She would finally become an official Death Eater, not a dinky Dark Follower. It was also hard to believe that she was graduating in the first place. She usually never did any of her homework assignments, and rarely showed up for class. It was only recently that she began to do homework and studying... after her parents threatened her inheritance if she didn't get her ass-in-gear.

Suz looked at the clock on her pink wall, which was embellished in all diamonds, and checked the time. It was almost quarter-past six. She decided that it was about time that she would be heading to the Ministry to meet with Becca.

After some time, Suzannah arrived at the Ministry atrium, noticing many of her classmates- most of whom she had not bothered to learn the names of. Sticking her nose in the air, Suz walked through and stood in the middle of the room, the exact spot that she was to meet Rebecca.

((Suzannah, we just had a PA Discussion thread about this, pleas do not post as all your charries int he future. We have different accounts for that reason.))

(Oops, sorry D: I'll edit it and break it down and post as different charries)

Jake looked at himself in the mirror, and straightened his tie. He felt a little out of place with theoutfit his parents were making him wear, although he added a pin with the Gryffindor banner on it to show his loyalty to the Gryffindors. He hadn't wanted to go to formal to the ceremony, but his parents had a different idea. They even dresses his little sister in something she didn't want to wear. A pink and white dress she loathed. Jake thought his parents were going overboard with this, even if it was one of biggest moments in his life. He sighed and turned away from the mirror and walked out of his room, to the living room. There he found his family, even his uncle and his wife, waiting for him.

When his mother saw him, she walked toward him and began to cry. She told him how proud she was of him,, because he was graduating, and she gave him a big hug. His father did the same, minus the tears, and gave him a pat on the back. Both his uncle and his wife gave him hugs and congratulated him for graduating. Jake bent down to look at Mayleen, who was fighting back tears. He told her that even though after the ceremony, he wouldn't be at Hogwarts to watch over her, he would still, always, be with her and he would still keep an eye on her. She laughed and said she would miss him, because he would move out after he graduated and she would miss him. He gave her a hug and stood up. It was time, for them to go.

They all apparated, Jake helped Mayleen, to the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Jake gave his mother, 'aunt' and sister a kiss on the cheek, and a hug to his father and uncle, before showing them where the families were supposed to sit. After they all went to their seats, he walked toward the tables and looked for his name. When he found it he sat down quickly and looked at everyone who was already there. He looked down at his suit and straightened his tie once more.