"It is for both good and bad reasons that we gather here," said Professor McGonagall. She was stood at the front of the beautifully decorated Hogwarts Great Hall. Hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate and commemorate the Battle of Hogwarts, which had taken place 20 years earlier.
"We are here to honour the ones who fell in defence of our freedom," McGonagall continued, "and here to celebrate the end of Lord Voldemort and his regime. Twenty years ago today, fifty people died in the Battle of Hogwarts, let us have a moment of silence for those who died for us."
Not a single person in the entire hall spoke. Everyone bowed their heads slightly.
Halley found herself looking at the head table, where her parents sat, along with her uncles Ron and Harry and her aunts Ginny, Hermione and Luna (along with her husband Rolf). All of them looked ashen as they recalled the events of the battle they had taken part in.
Neither of her parents had ever told Halley their stories of the battle, although she hasn't heard many different accounts of it (her grandfather Sirius loved to tell the story of how he saved Uncle Fred's life), they had even studied the Wizarding wars in History of Magic. But Halley couldn't begin to imagine how it must've been for the people involved in the war.
"Today is about remembering them," said McGonagall after a moment of silence, "and living with their memory, celebrating their lives."
At her last words, every plate in the hall filled with food, Halley turned happily to her plate and began to eat.
"You look beautiful, I did remember to tell you that didn't I?" Adam asked from beside her.
Halley glanced down at her dress robes.
"Thanks," she swallowed her food, "you don't look so bad yourself Wood."
********
"C'mon Halley, I want to dance!" Adam grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the rather full dance floor, where students, DA members and Order members were all dancing to the music that the Weird Sisters were playing.
"I will warn you that I'm a terrible dancer," Halley laughed.
"No way, you're far too beautiful to be a bad dancer."
********
"Sorry!" Halley called after him as Adam was helped out of the Great Hall by the school matron Madam Abott.
"Don't worry about it Hal," he replied, wincing slightly as he put weight on his bad leg. Halley had managed to trip him up by accident, and somehow he had landed face first on a table and broken his leg.
Halley sat down beside Nova, who was happily reading a book.
"I'm glad you broke his leg," said Nova, not even bothering to look up from her book.
"What?"
"I said, I'm glad you broke his leg," Nova said again, "I don't like him."
"No, you know you're meant to lie and say that you like him."
"I've never been one for lying," Nova shrugged, turning a page of her book.
"What are you reading?" Halley snatched the book from Nova and looked at the title, "you're reading this again? Don't you know it by heart?"
"I love the Tales Of Beedle The Bard."
"I know you do."