A/N: And the winner is. . .there is no winner! Guys! No one got it :( But if you want to take a parting shot at it in your final review, this might change XD

This has been a fun ride, but it is coming to an end. Everyone keep your arms and legs inside the car until it comes to a complete stop. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your stay at Fan Fiction Dot Net!

Disclaimer: If I owned HP I would produce AVPM on Broadway.

The Seventh Year

Chapter 17

The Speech and the Winner Takes All

"Before I begin the games and music," McGonagall announced after everyone had eaten, "our Heads would like to say a few words."

There was much enthusiastic clapping and whistling, and Erin heard Harry Potter shout "Go E-Money!" across the crowd. She rolled her eyes. He should have come back full-time this year so he didn't spend so much time in the Muggle world picking up stupid slang words. She stood up, said a few things about house unity, cracked a few jokes, mentioned how blessed they all were to be sitting there, and told everyone that she thought the school year was going to go splendidly, no, smashingly. Then she sat down amidst laughter and more applause.

Then Draco Malfoy stood up. He squeezed her hand before he did, which she found odd, but decided to ignore it and just listen.

"I don't have much to say," he cleared his throat. "But I would like to tell one story, because traditionally the Head's costumes are to symbolize a facet of reality."

He did a few cool tricks with fire magic, telling them of Hades, Lord of the Dead, and how he ruled with an iron fist, defying all the other gods. Then, "But for all his power and arrogance, Hades was lonely. One day he saw a beautiful maiden above him, and he commanded the ground to swallow her and a chariot to bring her to him, for he greatly desired the company of that maiden, whose name was Persephone."

Erin began to fidget nervously with her necklace.

"Persephone was miserable because she did not share any of the god's beliefs and wanted to live in the sunshine with flowers and good, lively people instead of the cruel, dark world that Hades had always lived in, without choice. Demeter, her mother, sorrowed, and the world fell into shadow without her guidance. The other gods tried to persuade Hades to relent but he would not. He begged her to eat, to drink, to sleep, to be happy, but she would not be persuaded. Finally, she ate four pomegranate seeds, and they tied her to his world.

"Zeus decreed that Persephone must stay with Hades as his queen for four months out of the year, and she could spend the rest of her time above ground."

Draco cleared his throat again. "What I have learned from this story is that love can change the hardest of hearts. Because of Persephone, Hades became a more forgiving ruler, and came to realize through her guidance that not everything is cut black and white. He learned to appreciate the simple things in life, and to discover why all beings, not just gods, were important. All beings share in life and take joys and sorrows in the same things. They are all equal."

The Hall was dead silent. Erin was holding her breath. Draco wasn't talking about Hades anymore.

"Persephone came to care for Hades," Draco said, but his voice was more confident than his expression, "when she realized that he had changed, that he was not as narrow-minded. And although she was bound four months out of the year to stay with the Lord of the Dead, she did not mind spending time with him.

"Persephone changed Hades, and some part of the world with her kindness. The Lord of the Dead cherished her forever because of this, and he forever longed for her to stay with him always, and not for just the sake of the pomegranate seeds.

"But the story ends there," Draco told his audience steadily. "We can only hope that one day Persephone relented and gave her heart completely to so bitter and broken a god so that one day he would be healed."

There was a long silence in the Hall, before Draco finished. "We have much to learn from this story. We must learn to be accepting of those who are not like us, and let others guide us when we cannot guide ourselves. We must let ourselves care for others, so that they might care for us. And that is how we will finally heal our broken world."

He sat down. Harry Potter rose from his seat in the ensuing silence and Draco hurriedly stood back up to shake his hand as the Hall exploded into cheers. Erin just sat there in shock as Draco said to Harry, "There's something I've wanted to say to you for a long time. There was a night on the Astronomy tower not two years ago when a great man gave me a choice between what I knew was wrong and what everyone else thought was right. I didn't make the choice. I didn't know how."

"Snape was supposed to kill Dumbledore," Harry said steadily. "We both know that."

"Yes, but I wanted to say that I am sorry for being such a git and not being able to make that choice. And that I made it finally, at the end of last year. You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, mate," Harry said, and Erin looked away because the sorrow that was radiating off the two boys was too strong. They'd both lost too much in the war. "Apology accepted."

A few minutes later Erin finally worked up the courage to say something to him. "Did you mean it?" she asked, craning her neck to look at his face. They were away from the tables and milling around with other students, waiting to take a shot at the boggart Sinistra had captured as part of the evening's entertainment. "The mythology story. Did you mean it?"

Draco stared unseeing over the crowd for a moment. "Yes," he said, adjusting his hold on her waist. She had felt like she was glowing when he had steered her away from their places at the head table. "Every word."

She took a deep breath, admiring the way his eyes caught the moonlight and shone like molten mercury. "Well then I know the end of the story."

He actually looked surprised. "The end of the story?"

"Yes," she grinned, mischief flickering in her bright eyes. "Persephone was not bound by the pomegranate seeds during the other seven months, and she stayed with Hades anyway. Because she cared for him, and he had changed."

"Good," Draco murmured, bending down so that his forehead was pressed against hers. "That makes things a lot easier."

The kiss was soft and quick, and they paused for a minute, eyes closed, breathing in and out, trying to see if they could put any words together that would make sense.

"Amortentia," Draco said suddenly.

Erin laughed, her head tilting against his hand that was clasped around her neck. "What?"

"Peppermint. Lavender. And Japanese Cherry Blossom."

She kept laughing, because the last two scents were hers, and he moved to kiss her again, and this time they melted together, fierce and proud. After a minute or two they broke apart due to the several cat-calls and whistles that they had managed to register as coming from some of the nearby students.

"Want to meet my parents?" he asked.

She made a face. "I've heard Titans like to eat their children."

He began to laugh then, and she realized that she had never seen him genuinely laugh before. It changed him. He was happier. And she liked it. She would have to make him laugh more often. "They won't eat you if you're with me."

"So I'll have to make it official, I suppose," Erin sighed. "Fine. I'll have to introduce my boyfriend to my parents too, you know. And my father's a Muggle. Aren't you afraid of Muggles?"

"Can't be worse than an angry Demeter," Draco said straight-faced.

Marisa sprang out from behind them and grabbed at Erin. "So. You two are dating."

"Yes," she blushed. "Shut up, ok?"

Marisa got a dangerous, triumphant gleam in her eye. "Nope," she said, grinning her vampire grin. She dragged a protesting Blaise to a table and then stood on it. "Listen up, losers!" she shouted.

"Oh no," Erin groaned.

"October 31," Marisa announced, to the slowly quieting hall. "Ten Galleons. Erin Benzene and Draco Malfoy becoming a couple. Who witnessed?"

"I did," Blaise said grudgingly.

"So did I," Sophie grumbled.

"Game!" Marisa gloated. "I win!"

"Do you want your kiss now or later?" Blaise asked, looking bored.

Marisa glared at him. "Shut up."

"Impressive," Erin nodded at her sister with a wickedly suggestive smirk on her face. "So that's how all this started."

Blaise climbed up onto the table with a smirk that matched Erin's adorning his features and swept Marisa into his arms. "I'm a man of my word, I always pay up."

And he bent her back into a very theatrical kiss that looked like it could have been a scene from the movie Troy.

"You have got to be kidding me," Erin breathed.

Draco just shrugged. "He's always been the Slytherin Drama Queen."

Erin gave him a look. "Then what does that make you?"

He gave her his most perfect Malfoy smirk and wrapped his arm around her waist. "The Slytherin Sex God."

"Whoa, cowboy, there will be none of that," Erin pushed him away.

Marisa straightened up and somehow managed to retain her look of smug satisfaction. "Alright, everyone, pay up! Let's start with you, Boot, you owe me seven—"

A whole crowd of people surged towards the second Benzene, grumbling and digging in their pockets for change while the rest of the students began clapping again.

"Well, that was interesting," Erin muttered. "I can't believe she won all that."

"I can't believe Benz-Deux actually fell for that," Draco said.

"Must have wanted to," Erin shrugged. "Come on, I have to ask her."

Erin struggled through the crowd and finally clambering to the top of the table, shoving the still-smirking Blaise to the ground and into Draco, who started laughing again. "Are you happy?" she asked. "I won you your bet. And Blaise—"

"Not talking about it," Marisa declared.

"Alright," Erin grinned. "But we got what we wanted, didn't we?"

"Hell yeah," Marisa grinned back.

And they high-fived, laughing so manically that people stepped back, worried that something terrible was going to happen.

But McGonagall just smiled, even though she normally would have given the two detentions for their antics. Hermione Granger caught her eye from across the hall where she was standing with Ron, Harry, and Ginny and smiled at her, which simply reaffirmed what she had known all along. She had made the perfect choice for Heads. Hogwarts was healing from the war, under their guidance. She knew the entire wizarding world would be quick to follow.

Erin and Marisa turned and gave the Headmistress a double thumbs up, like they knew she wanted to punish them but wouldn't. Minerva smiled at their joy, and the hope that they had brought back to the war-torn school. For her oldest, most affected students, this promised to be a much deserved perfect seventh year.

A/N: Thanks again everyone! This was a lot of fun XD Don't forget to leave your parting shot at my contest in your review.

Until next time,

Conterra