Harry Potter 1. Commencement

**Chapter One:**

_Commencement_

The dark, heavy clouds spit rain on the Londoners as they hurried in and out of trains at King's Cross Station, holding black umbrellas above their heads so as they did not get their heads wet. God forbid. The wind whipped people's hair around their faces and old newspapers about their feet, making the day feel even colder than it really was. The ground was wet and slick and several yelps could be heard from people who were not properly balanced as they got off the train.

The dreary weather would revoke all hopes of a pleasant day in almost everyone's mind. Except for one boy.

The boy, now just a month past his seventeenth birthday, leaned against one of the barriers between the platforms with a small smile on his face as he inhaled the cold, wet air. A large, heavy-looking brown truck rested at his feet with a wire cage in which was sleeping a beautiful white owl with her head underneath her wing. Nothing could ruin this boy's day.

Today was the day that he, Harry Potter, began his seventh and final year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was amazing how it seemed as if only yesterday Harry had received his first letter from Hogwarts, only to have it confiscated by Uncle Vernon, which initiated the wild game of Hogwarts trying to get Harry's letter to him.

In six years, Harry had exposed his past; he uncovered the secret world of wizards, witches, and magic; he soon found the danger that had driven him out of the wizarding world, and he encountered that danger countless times; he learned how to ride a broomstick, brew a Forgetfulness Potion, transfigure a hedgehog into a pincushion; he discovered that he was destined for something greater than he had ever imagined; he had met his two best friends, whom he was currently waiting for: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

The small smile that was already on Harry's face got slightly bigger at the thought of the two of them. Though they had been constantly snapping at each other about this, that, and the other, for as long as he had known them, Harry knew better. There had never been a more compassionate relationship between two people that he had ever seen. Hermione could be on one of her storms of furry where she bites off the head of anyone who crosses her path, and yet Ron would be at her side in a flash, attempting to calm her down. With barely a sentence out of his mouth, a faint trace of blush would creep up her cheeks and her anger would subside.

"Ron, could you _please_ make Pigwidgeon be quiet?" Hermione's voice penetrated Harry's reminisce as a high-pitched, loud hooting could be heard throughout the train station. "I don't know if you're aware, but Muggles aren't exactly accustomed to seeing an owl in a cage. You're drawing so much attention to us."

"I know they're not, Hermione." Ron's exasperated voice could be heard as Harry turned to see them turning the corner as they approached him. "But it's rather hard to keep Pig quiet. You can have a go at it if you think that you'd have more luck at it."

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she spotted him standing, grinning at the two of them. She dropped her trunk and ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck. "Oh, I wish you didn't have to go back to your aunt's and uncle's house. We've missed you at the Burrow."

"Not that you missed the chores around the Burrow," Ron said as he rolled his eyes and took Hermione's hand as she released Harry. "Mum had us degnome the garden four times. I swear, the woman's gone mad."

"I'd rather deal with the gnomes than the Dursleys. At least you had something to do."

"Oh, look, it's nearly eleven." Hermione was standing on her toes to see around the tall boys to look at the clock. "And some people are already going through. There goes Hannah Abbot."

The boys turned just in time to see a shapely, blonde girl disappear into the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. She was followed several seconds later by a group of three or four younger students in about their third year.

"Alright, well, let's go so we can get a good compartment this time," Ron said, picking up his trunk along with Pig's cage.

"Where is the rest of your family?" Harry asked, putting Hedwig's cage under his arm.

"They're coming," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "Yes, see, there's Mum and Dad with Ginny. They had to pick up one of her friends."

Harry felt an awkward flip in his stomach as he turned and saw the pretty redhead flip her hair over her shoulder and pick up her trunk with the help of her father. She was talking animatedly with a petite brunette who was holding a cat. As Ginny passed the three of them, it seemed as if everything had gone into slow motion.

Her eyes traveled slowly from Harry's shoes to his face, but she never stopped. She didn't seem embarrassed or guilty or heartbroken. She didn't show a trace of any type of emotion. She held his gaze for perhaps a moment or two and then turned her head back towards her friend and began to chat again.

The emptiness that Harry had been feeling for the past two months seemed to worsen with Ginny's emotionless stare.

"She's fickle, mate," Ron said softly from his left as he followed his sister with his eyes. "She changes her mind as often as she changes her clothes. You didn't do anything wrong."

Harry said nothing, but turned back to grab Hedwig, pretending like the horrible gnawing feeling wasn't occurring in his sickly stomach.

"Come on. Let's go," Hermione said, trying to get rid of the uneasy air that had suddenly blown in with Ginny's arrival. "We've only five minutes left."

The three of them gathered their belongings and headed for the barrier. After waiting for a group of fifth year boys to go, Hermione glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no Muggle was looking. She turned and nodded and the three proceeded into the barrier and onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

"There you three are," Mrs. Weasley said as she hurried over to them, waving to Mr. Weasley to help with their trunks. "You'd better get on the train. Only a few minutes left. No, no, Harry. Arthur will get that for you. Go on, dear." She gave him a warm smile and then pulled him into an embrace. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley had no hard feelings over his and Ginny's separation. In fact, he was quite sure that she was sore at Ginny for passing him up; Mrs. Weasley had always cared for Harry like a son.

"Have a good term," Mr. Weasley said as he loaded the last trunk onto the train. "And keep out of trouble."

"We're no Fred and George," Ron smiled, putting an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Don't worry about us."

"Stay safe," Hermione said sincerely.

The whistle blew from the front of the train and with a small jerk, the wheels began to move forwards.

"Write us!" Mrs. Weasley shouted at them as they pulled away, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "Bless them… in their seventh year already. They're too young…"

All too suddenly, the figures of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley disappeared along with the station. Harry placed his hand on the window and watched the world he had known for the last three months speed pass him, almost as if it was all a dream.

_A/N: Ok, so I know that it's a little slow, but don't worry. I didn't want to start with the story going 100 mph. We'll meet the girl in the next chapter. Have no fear. Anyways, I would really love feedback. This is my first Harry Potter fan fiction, though I have written other fan fictions before. Reviews are my addiction. Feed it._


	2. Captivated

**Chapter Two:**

_Captivated_

Outside the slightly dusty Hogwarts Express windows, the country pastures flew by, creating a mesmerizing blur of greens and browns. Harry watched for several moments before turning to Hermione and Ron who were settling down into the compartment.

"Can you believe it?" he smiled, though his voice was sad. "This is our last year. Ever."

"Well, if you say it like _that_," Hermione said, falling back on the seat next to Ron.

"But think about it." Harry sat on the bench across from them. "This will be the last year we have for the Great Feast. And for Christmas at Hogwarts."

"And for finding all the secret passages…"

"And visiting Hogsmeade…"

"And nicking food from the kitchens…"

"And seeing the ghosts…"

"And seeing our teachers…"

"Wait a second," Ron said with a wide grin on his face. "Our last year of Snape."

"And Filch."

"And McGonagall."

"And Snape."

"And Malfoy."

"And Snape."

"And Trelawney."

"And Snape!"

The three went on for several more minutes discussing things that they would both ache from the bottom of the heart for and dance with joy that they would finally be rid of.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

The kind trolley lady was standing in the aisle with her large assortment of treats that made Harry's mouth water.

"Oh, thank God. I need some Bertie Bott's," Ron said as his stomach growled. "Hermione, have you got a sickle on you?"

She nodded and got a box for herself too. "Getting anything, Harry?"

"Yes…" he said, searching his pockets for his wallet. "I just can't find my money…"

"Well, if you find it, dear, I'll be at the other compartments," the trolley lady said with a smile as she closed the door.

Harry was now on the ground, looking underneath the seats. "Damn it, where did it go?"

"Is it in your trunk?"

Harry glanced up at the heavy trunk on the shelf above. "It's not worth it. I'll just wait until the feast."

"Here," Hermione handed him a sickle. "Go get something. I heard your stomach growling as well."

"Thanks, Hermione," he smiled, taking it from her. "I owe you."

He opened the compartment door and looked to his left and saw the trolley two compartments down. Several Ravenclaws that looked to be around his year were buying some pumpkin pastries. He really just wanted a Chocolate Frog.

"You found your money, dear?" the trolley lady asked with a smile as she moved for him to reach for the sweets.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, searching for the Chocolate Frogs.

He spotted the pile of purple boxes with gold lettering that the girls were currently taking from. Once their hands pulled back there was only one left. He smiled at his luck and reached for the box, but instead his hand landed on another smaller, softer hand.

"Oh, sorry." Harry looked up and saw a girl with blue-green eyes. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a loose pony tail and several strands had fallen out and were pushing behind her ear. Harry didn't recognize her by name, but he had seen her in the halls several times. Hermione had pointed her out once or twice as one of the smartest witches at Hogwarts, which was probably why her face stuck in his mind. There were not very many people, witches or wizards, who were smarter than Hermione.

"You can have it," the girl said, blushing slightly, turning back to follow her friends and pulling her bag up over her shoulder.

"No, you had it first," Harry said, handing it to her. "I'll just have some—"

What it was that Harry was going to have some of instead was never heard because at that moment, the train gave an awfully large lurch. Loosing his balance, Harry fell flat on his back and heard several terrified screams along with another few people hit the floor. Trunks seemed to have fallen off the selves above in the compartments because there were many loud _clunks_ from inside the doors.

The train seemed to be back on track now and continued chugging down the railway. Harry looked around him and saw spilt boxes of Bertie Bott's, Drooble's Gum, and Ice Mice, but also several books, a quill, a smashed bottle of ink, and a compact. It wasn't until Harry stood up that he realized that the Chocolate Frog girl's bag had spilt its contents onto the floor when the train had lurched.

He began to pick up the thinks that he saw, muttered _"Reparo!"_ at the broken bottle of dark green ink, and turned to hand them to the girl. She was kneeling on the floor gathering several sheets of worn paper with notes on them, the blush creeping up her face. He knelt next to her and handed her the things that he had found.

"Here. These are yours?" he asked gently.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. You didn't have to…" she trailed off, taking them from him, not quite meeting his eyes.

"You're welcome," Harry said, wishing that she would look at him. For the split second that she had looked at him when he held her hand over the Chocolate Frog, he felt something wash over him, even stronger than it had when he had looked at Cho or even Ginny.

"That damn train," the trolley lady said, as she picked herself up. "Got to clean this up now…"

"Wait," the girl said, straightening up. "_Tersus,_" she pointed her wand at the trolley cart which was on its side. The cart gave a small shudder and then popped right up. The unopened candy jumped back onto the cart, while the spilt candy disappeared from sight. "Handy little spell," she smiled, catching Harry's eye for a second before she continued picking up her belongings.

He looked around for anything else to give to her, hoping that he could catch her eye again. He groped around on the floor and then he did a double take as he spotted something.

"How the bloody hell did this get out here?" he wondered to himself, as he picked up his wallet.

Harry stood and turned to try and talk to the girl again, but to his disappointment, she had already left.

"Do you still want anything, dear?" the trolley lady asked, rubbing her arm with a small scowl.

"No, ma'am," Harry said, trying to crane his neck to look into the different compartments. "No, I'm alright."

He turned and headed back to his compartment.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked when he came back. "Did anything fall on you?"

"No, but the trolley cart fell over. What's wrong with Ron?" he asked glancing at his friend whose eyes were screwed up in pain.

"He's hurt his foot. My trunk fell on it," she added in a sheepish tone.

"It wouldn't hurt so bad if girls didn't pack so many bloody things," Ron said, pulling his foot up to him, rocking back and forth.

"Oh shush," she said, blushing more. "It would have hurt anyway."

Harry's mind had temporally left the compartment and had followed the blonde girl into her compartment. He was sitting in with her and her friends, and he had just told a rather funny joke that they were all laughing at. She was laughing the hardest, though not an obnoxious, loud laugh. Her long hair fell from her shoulders as she put a hand to his chest. His arm was around her shoulders—

"Harry, are you quite sure you're alright? You look flushed."

He jerked himself out of his daydream to find Hermione looking at him with her eyebrow raised.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine."

Hermione looked as if she didn't believe him, but turned from him anyways with one of those all-knowing expressions. She would corner him later and drag it out of him. That was Hermione's specialty.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. It was just filled with talking, laughing, and enjoying being together again.

Parvati Patil knocked on the compartment door earlier to tell them that they should change their robes as they were almost there. Hermione excused herself when she had pulled out her robes to change with the other Gryffindor seventh year girls while Ron and Harry changed in their compartment. Neville Longbottom came in several minutes later, followed shortly by Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

The train finally pulled to a stop, and after collecting their things, the loud, chattering boys unloaded rather unorganized from the train.

"Bloody hell, it's great to be back here," Seamus sighed as picked up his trunk and loaded it into a carriage. "Shame it's our last year."

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked anxiously, standing on his toes, making himself even taller than normal to look for her.

"We'll meet her when we get to the castle," Harry said. "And if you keep going that way, you're going to bump into the Thestral."

Ron gave a small yelp and jumped back from the creature that he was about five inches from. Harry pushed him into the carriage with Neville, while Seamus and Dean took another.

After about ten minutes, the outline of the Hogwarts castle could be seen through the misty fog in the cool night as the carriages approached. Harry couldn't help but smile and feel as though he was coming home for the last time.

_A/N: Ok, so there were no reviews for the first chapter. It's partly my fault because I'm new with this whole way of uploading stories. But I mean, if you read it… leave a review. You know as much as I do that authors thrive on reviews. Say anything. Let me know what's going through your mind. Things pick up even more in the next few chapters. If you want to see them, review._


	3. Charmed

_Chapter Three:_

**Charmed**

"Schedules! Seventh year schedules!" Hermione called as she walked to the Gryffindor table. "Lavender, this is yours… no, Ron must have yours, Neville… here, Harry, this one's yours."

Harry took it from her and examined it. He wrinkled his nose. This was not the seventh year schedule that he had been hoping for. Today he had Transfiguration with The Hufflepuffs, Potions with the Slytherins, and Charms with the Ravenclaws. Ron glanced over his shoulder to look at his.

"I've got the same, 'cept I've a free period during your Potions. Sucks to be you."

"Life's got it in for me," Harry groaned.

"But you've got all classes with Hermione," he added, turning back to his cereal. "I've got a free period to mess around until she comes back to help me on my homework."

After breakfast, Ron, Hermione, and Harry headed for Transfiguration along with the other seventh years. Harry knew that Professor McGonagall would be lecturing them on the importance of their seventh year in order to pass their NEWTs… he really wasn't looking forward to it.

"Sit down, Miss Brown. Mr. Finnigan, if I see that in my sight ever again, I will have you cleaning in the kitchen with the house elves."

McGonagall took her place at the front of the classroom while Seamus scowled and stuffed something into his pocket.

"You don't need me to tell you, but this is your biggest and final year at Hogwarts. You will be taking your NEWT exams at the end of the year which will in fact determine your career path. I won't even attempt to stress the importance of your concentration and diligence that will be required this year in order to perform well during these exams. We will fine tune your mechanics this year as well as putting them to practical use. I doubt there will be a time when you will need to turn a turtle into a tea kettle."

"Then why did we learn it?" Ron asked Harry as he rolled his eyes.

"Because, Weasley, you needed to practice your mechanics before you got to the more complicated things," McGonagall said, eyeing Ron. "Now pair up. Take a crushed can. For heaven's sake, Miss Patil, it's just a crushed can. You will be transfiguring it into a pillow with the following incantation: P_urgamentum Mollis!_ It uses just a simple jab movement—Longbottom, you're going to take someone's eye out. I said _simple_ jab. Just about two inches forward… go with Potter…"

So Harry and Neville paired up while Hermione and Ron practiced on their own crushed can.

By the end of the class, Neville had managed to turn the can into a book, a lava lamp, a small black puppy, a wedding ring, a pink bunny slipper, and a full grown tree ("Pillow, Longbottom! Not _willow! _PILLOW!"). Harry was able to make his can spurt little white feathers out of the top, but Professor McGonagall was unimpressed. Hermione, on the other hand, had not only made a pillow, but graduated on to several sheets and even a quilt. They were all different colors, but McGonagall praised the fine stitch work. Only Ron and Harry were talking to her by the end.

Hermione and Harry trudged off to Potions with Snape, leaving a rather lonely Ron to practice _Purgamentum Mollis_ on his own.

Potions was much of the same: Snape began with a similar lecture about their seventh year, giving Harry a rather nasty glare when he mentioned that only the best would do well in such a high level class. Malfoy gave him a nasty grin, but didn't dare do more since he was no longer flanked by Crabbe and Goyle; they couldn't have passed into this Potions class with the answer book in front of them.

After successfully brewing an adequate Healing VI Potion (alright, so it was teal blue as opposed to _aqua_ blue… but it was close enough), Harry and Hermione left the dungeons before Malfoy could say something to them. Avoidance is the best defense.

They met up with Ron for lunch, but instead took their food out by the lake and enjoyed the crisp September air. The leaves were already falling and turning different shades of orange and red. The three crunched over the thin carpet of fallen leaves and sat under a large, tall tree and chatted amongst themselves, feeling as if they had never left Hogwarts at all.

"What's next?" Ron yawned as he sat up on his elbows, looking around the rather peaceful scenery.

"Charms with the—"

"—Ravenclaws," Harry said, his heart rate speeding slightly. He had been waiting for this class all day. He was going to see _her_ again.

Last night when he was lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep, he had thought about her. What was it that made him think about her? She wasn't particularly pretty, though she had gorgeous eyes with very light, natural blonde hair. However, she seemed to tone down the beauty that she did have. She hid her eyes behind glasses, and her long hair had been pulled back. He didn't know her long enough to tell how smart she was, even though he knew that she was. He didn't know what her laugh sounded like. He didn't know whether she was funny or kind. She seemed to be rather awkward in fact.

All he knew was that he couldn't wait to see her again.

Harry rushed Ron and Hermione to the Charms room as subtlety as he could, but they still just walked as if they had all the time in the world—which they did, unless they were trying to make some sort of impression on The Girl. Which they weren't.

"Harry, are you feeling alright?" Hermione asked in a skeptical voice as he mentioned the time for the third time in five minutes. "Do you actually want to be there early for Charms?"

"Well… no…" Harry blushed and thought quickly. "I just… I've found that I rather fancy Charms and I want to make sure to get a good seat…"

"Right…" Ron said looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, we should go anyways. Five minutes until class."

Soon the three joined several other Gryffindors on their way to the Charms room. Harry craned his neck, trying to spot the blonde head among the brunettes, blacks, and red heads. But there were none.

"Oh, I wish that we didn't have to have Charms with the Ravenclaws…" Hermione said quietly.

"Why not? They're a nice group of people. Better than with the Slytherins," Ron said.

"Yes, but Scarlett Brooks is in Ravenclaw, and she's by far the best Charms student that Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Isn't she the blonde one?" Ron asked, doing as Harry had done earlier to look for the blonde head, but again without any luck. "The one with glasses?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed. "I mean, she's a perfectly nice girl… a little shy and socially awkward, but she's still very nice. Not egotistical at all. I just—"

"Don't want anyone to compete with you, do you, Hermione?" Ron teased.

"No! Well… yes…"

"She can't be that much better than you."

"Ron, this girl is a genius. You haven't seen her at work. She was in my Ancient Runes class last year… outdid me by twenty percent!"

"How is that possible? Does she have a life?"

"She does. I believe… I've seen her at Hogsmeade several times with her friends. She was at the Yule Ball too. Went with Terry Boot, I believe."

"_That_ was her?" Harry said, finally catching his tongue.

"Yes, she does look very pretty whenever she wants to," Hermione smiled.

"Well, where is this beautiful, blonde Charms genius?" Ron said, looking behind him as if he expected her to be right there.

"She's not here yet, obviously."

"Yes, she is," Harry said quietly. "She just walked up the stairs."

Indeed, Scarlett had arrived, though quite unnoticeable except to the three who were watching her. She carried two heavy looking books in her arms with her bag thrown over one shoulder. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back again, but the shimmer of its naturalness was evident.

"… So that's Scarlett Brooks?" Ron said flatly, obviously disappointed.

"That's her."

"She doesn't look that pretty to me."

"She was. At the Ball. Terry couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Couldn't believe that she had transformed like that overnight."

"I can't imagine that she could," Ron said, tilting his head as if to see another side of her as she opened one of her books and leaned against the wall. "She looks like a bookworm to me…"

"Sorry for the wait!" Professor Flitwick's voice called through the hall. "Pardon me, watch your foot there…"

After several minutes, the class was seated in the classroom ready for the lesson to begin. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat in a row together like they always had. Harry was glancing around the room to see where Scarlett was sitting. She seemed to have disappeared again…

"Excuse me." A soft voice came from Harry's right. He turned and was greeted by a shy smile and a pair of blue-green eyes. "Is anyone sitting here?"

"Uh… no. No. No one's sitting there," Harry managed to stammer as he moved some of his books over.

"Can I sit here then?" Scarlett asked.

"Sure. Of course. Yeah, you can sit here."

"Thanks," she smiled. She sat down and waved to Hermione. "Hi, Hermione! How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was good," Hermione smiled back. "You?"

Scarlett shrugged. "Much of the same. I stayed with my brother for a month though. He lives in New York."

"Really? What was it like?"

"It was really interesting. Especially since he's basically a Squib."

"So you lived without magic for a month?" Ron asked amazed. "How did you survive?"

"Barely. But I got to help my brother and his girlfriend with their apartment, so it was all good."

The chit-chat lasted for several minutes. Harry wished that he could have found the words that would make her laugh, but his tongue seemed to be tied to the roof of his mouth. He couldn't say anything.

After Professor Flitwick gave the same basic speech that Snape and McGonagall had given, he divided the students into pairs, and since Harry happened to be sitting next to Scarlett, she was his partner. Their job was to bewitch the key to unlock the lock that was set in front of them.

"_Obturador!"_ Ron said loudly from their left, waving his arms like a giant windmill.

"Ron… _stop it._ You're not doing it correctly."

"Well, then why don't you try?"

"I would if you would let me have a turn—"

"No! Wait! I can do it!"

Harry was trying to concentrate on the lock and key, desperate to make a good impression for Scarlett.

"_Obturador!"_ he said, making his wand swish down and point at the key. The key stood up on the desk, wobbled for a second or two, and then fell back down.

Scarlett laughed and Harry flushed. "You're doing fine, Harry. You just might want to make your swish a little more… sudden. Here, watch."

She squared herself to the lock, paused for a moment, and then swished her wand very quickly and said, "_Obturador!"_

The key hopped immediately off the table, jumped into the lock, and turned it self. The lock fell to the table, unlocked.

"How did you… wow… that was really good," Harry said, staring in amazement.

It was Scarlett's turn to flush. "Charms come easily to me." There was a pause before she spoke again, turning her radiant eyes on him again. "Did I ever tell you my name?"

"What? Oh… no, I guess you didn't."

"Oh, well, I'm Scarlett. Scarlett Brooks."

"I assume you know who I am," Harry said with a sheepish grin.

"Let's pretend like I don't," she smiled gently. "Pretend that I have no idea who you are."

It was almost an odd thing to pretend, but Harry couldn't help but smile back. Actually, it really wasn't an odd thing. It was quite a wonderful thing. She was giving him a blank slate to start with.

"Well, Scarlett, my name's Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter," she repeated as if she was thinking about his name. "It has a nice ring to it."

She extended a hand to him. "It's very nice to meet you, Harry."

Harry took her hand in his. At once, he felt warmness wash over him again, just like it did on the train. All he could do was sit there and hold her hand, blinking at her like an idiot.

But at that moment he didn't care.

Because at that moment, that's all that Scarlett was doing as well.

_A/N: I like this chapter. It gets the pace moving at least a little faster. Anyways, please, please, please review. I'm really getting discouraged by the fact that no one seems go be reviewing. I've gotten nearly fifty hits, but only two reviews. So **PLEASE** review. Thanks to those who did. _

_I totally just realized that all of my chapters have started with "C"… hmm…_


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Harry Potter, Humor, Romance