Y48 Graduation Ceremony: Graduates

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt stood at the end of the hall and watched as graduates, guests, staff members, and prefects entered and settled into their seats. The long house tables had been removed from the hall, leaving enough room for many rows of chairs for everyone in attendance. The decorations for the four houses were gone as well, replaced by simple banners with the Hogwarts symbol on them. The graduates were no longer a part of their house, they stood together as the graduating class of 2064.

After waiting for everyone to sit down, Matt made his way across the stage to take his position at the podium. It was one of the first times he had to do this, and he hoped his nerves weren't showing. There was something different about addressing parents and other guests along with the usual students. He hoped this would all go smoothly. "Welcome everyone to the graduation ceremony of twenty-sixty-four. I would like to thank you all for joining us in this celebration of all the bright young witches and wizards who will be receiving their diplomas today. Seventh years, you should all be proud of what you have achieved." He said with a smile. "Your lives are just beginning, you are the future of wizardkind. I think I speak for all of the staff when I say that our future is a bright one." He said, pausing for a moment. "With that, I'd like to call upon our head students Zerrin Fergusson and Anisha Khatri take the podium." With that, Matt finished, stepping to the side to allow the two head students to take the stage

 

[Zerrin Fergusson]

Zerrin was weirdly not as nervous as he thought he'd be. He'd spet so long worrying about it all, he supposed now he was just out of nerves to have. He'd written and rewritten his speech a thousand times, lost way too much sleep over it, but he thought he was finally content with what he'd written. He was wearing his best- his formal family tartan, his hair carefully styled. He was sure he looked a lot more grown up than he really felt, but some magic was just there instead of needing to be cast.

Deciding to just focus on his parents and Fraser instead of worrying about the crowd (and half wishing he'd been able to invite Eloi) Zerrin got up and moved to the podium. He and Anisha had agreed he'd speak first. He gave his best winning smile, and having memorized his speech in advance, he just began speaking.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Zerrin Fergusson, and I want to thank you all for having me. Let's start with the easy things: thank you to the staff of the school for all they've done to support and guide us through our years here, thank you to the prefects for all the hard work they've put in. And thank you to the families that supported us while we were away from home." Zerrin took a breath, his heart skipping a bit as he moved on to the more personal things.

"I've thought a lot about this speech- about all the things you're supposed to say, all the things you're supposed to get across. It's hard to figure out the perfect thing to do. And that's when it hit me- we don't have to do the perfect thing. We don't need to be perfect to succeed, to be happy."

He ran a hand through his hair- a habit he'd never managed to kick. "We just need to do our best- find what it is that makes you happy. We're always changing, always growing. Who you are in seventh year won't be who you were in first. You do your best in school, in life, and somehow things have a way of working out. Maybe not the way you wanted it to, the way you planned it, but thats the beauty of life. No matter what happens, it keeps going. We keep going. We're strong, resilient, and I couldn't be prouder of the people I know here, the people I've grown up with."

Zerrins eyes met Frasers and his smile grew a little wider. "Some of the best people I've ever known walk these halls. And its not because of who their family is, or the clubs they're in, it's because they're amazing all on their own. They've messed up, done some dumb things, but that's life. I've certainly done a few dumb things in my time. But I'm still here. We're still here."

He took a breath. "No matter what comes next, I have faith. We've got this. We've made it seven years here, with all it's ups and downs, all the tests and events and drama that come with being kids. We're still standing. Whatever happens, we'll make it through. Here's to the next stage in life- no matter where it takes us."

Zerrin smiled as he finished his speech, glad it had gone well. "That's enough rambling for me. Let me step back for our better Head- and thanks, Anisha, for keeping me sane this year," He gave a nod and a little wave as he left the podium, winking at Anisha with an easy grin as he moved back to his seat.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha hadn't expected to feel this nervous, but she was. As she tried to still her shaking hands, she silently cursed herself for wanting this position that badly. In her imagination, she had always given the most brilliant speech the whole crowd had ever heard. But in reality, she knew her speech was just... passable. Maybe it was good, but definitely not brilliant. She was glad they had both decided Zerrin could go first, thoguh she had trouble focusing on his words as she tried to go over her own speech in her mind.

Way too quickly, it was her turn to speak. She took a deep breath, shot Zerrin a quick smile, then stepped forward. She had her thoughts all written out neatly on flash cards, but she wasn't sure if she could use them without dropping them. She had her speech memorized too, for the most part. Anisha paused for a moment, then began.

"Thank you Zerrin, and hello everyone. My name is Anisha Khatri and I'm proud to be able to speak to you all as the head girl of this year. Much like Zerrin, I also would like to start with thanking our professors and the other staff here at school for guiding us, helping us, and now letting us go. We wouldn't be the witches and wizards we are now without your guidance." She said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the staff section of the audience.

"I've learned a lot over the past years at Hogwarts. Plenty of spells, potions, and history facts. But I've learned other things as well." She said, taking breath. "I've learned that having the drive to be the best is good- until you let it take over. I've learned that it's okay to step back sometimes, to admit you can't do something or that, God forbid, you need help with something. I've learned that it's alright to lean on other people, and let other people lean on you." She said with a smile as she started gaining steam. Her nerves seemed to slowly fade away.

"I've learned that life is not a competition, and that you can't be the best at everything. This is what I want to impart to the class of 2064. Strive for greatness, but accept your limitations. It's okay if you can't do everything on your own. I know that we will all accomplish so much in the years after graduating, but I also know we can accomplish even more if we combine our strengths and work together." She said, no longer glancing down at the cards. She had the gist of it. "I'm proud of all of us. Here's to our bright future." She said, gesturing forward with her hands before stepping back. Her speech had been shorter than Zerrin's, but she had said what she had wanted to say. She sought out her sister in the crowd, hoping to see at least a glimmer of approval in her face.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt listened proudly to the two speeches, both were pleasant and positive, which wasn't always the case. Matt appreciated them both. He applauded politely, then stepped forward with a smile. "Thank you both." He said kindly, before turning his attention to the other graduates. "To the class of 2064, I wish you all the luck in the future. I know you will all be amazing. Once I call your name, come up to the stage to receive your diploma.” He took the group of graduates in for a moment, then smiled and read the first name on his list.

 

[Elio Boneheart]

Elio couldn’t believe that he was actually graduating. When he’d walked in the doors of the Great Hall after his transfer he’d genuinely thought he would hate it. The circumstances of his transfer weren’t ideal and he’d been homeschooled for the whole time prior to that he wasn’t sure he even really knew how to deal with people on the same level. He’d been expecting to work for grades to become a healer to appease his mother and he hadn’t really expected to make friends right out the gate and yet he had, many more than he would have thought. Many more than he really would have wanted to make either, which didn’t really make much sense with him. He wasn’t used to having to make friends on his own, homeschooled kids did tend to gravitate to each other without necessarily a need to do so.

But here he was at the graduation ceremony and he didn’t quite know how he felt about that. Still, at least he was graduating, he did feel good about that. He was glad he'd managed to leave a parting gift, not a speech like the head people, but something that would live on. A reminder of who they all are and what they meant to each other. He watched the speeches with interest, wondering what Zerrin and Anisha would say. He had a begrudging respect for Anisha, he admired what she'd tried to do with her time at school. Zerrin he probably didn't know from a bar of soap, but that was just him. That wasn't to say Zerrin didn't get out much, he just didn't get out much around Elio. He applauded when the speeches finished even though that meant the end of Graduation was one step closer and he really wasn't ready for that.

Then he heard his name, one of the first of course, that was what happened when your last name was the second letter of the alphabet, there weren't many people with a name before yours, maybe one or two if you were lucky. He looked out at the sea of faces as he headed up to the podium, Mikael, Bailey, Hina, Teddy, Cass, Terror (who he'd lost to in the final duel,) Leah, so many people he'd interacted with lately that he would miss a lot when he left. Bailey and Teddy, Mikael for sure, he gave a small wave to the crowd in general before turning his attention back to the Headmaster and receiving his diploma. Be cool Elio, be cool, he told himself as he clutched it in his hand and headed down the other side of the stairs, and then continued out and into the Hall. That was it. His Hogwarts days were now, officially, behind him.​