Graduation Boat Ride PV Class of 2025

The morning of June 30, 2025 was a morning that came equally too fast and two slowly for many of the inhabitants of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the previous day's graduation ceremony still fresh in their minds and one last Hogwarts breakfast in their bellies, the 2025 graduates were directed out of the Great hall and down a staircase that many of them had not been on since their first night at Hogwarts. A brisk breeze blew across the lake as the former students descended the stairs under a cloudy sky, gently whispering the suggestion of rain, and took shelter under the eaves of the boathouse. As always, Scotland was not quite ready to embrace summer just yet, hopefully the former and current students were.

When the graduates had reached the boat house, they would be greeted by a decrepit old man in a dark green, hooded cloak: dull green eyes and curly, almost white, pale green hair peeking out at them from a withered, bony face under the hood. They would be directed to the same boats they had arrived in that long ago first day, though they seemed to have gotten a good repair and shine in the seven years since the students had last been in them. The man would sweep is hand towards the boats and welcome them in turn to take a seat until all of the graduates were in place.

Once every graduate had arrived and taken a seat in the boats, the man would take a place at the bow of the first boat and the boats would take off with a wave of his hand, easing forward on their own and off towards the other side of the lake.

"As things begin, so they will end and begin once more." The man said once all boats were in motion, his cracked, eerie voice projecting over the water stronger than expected of a man who looked as old as he did. "I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed your years here and I know that you have listened to many a speech over the past couple of days, but give an old man one more ear, I beg. You are adults now and your choices are yours, but so are the consequences. People may try to keep you from the path you design for yourself, but they can only steer you away if you let them. Most of the time, doing the right thing thing for yourself isn't easy, especially when those around you are telling you it is the wrong thing. Remember that you have one life of your own and it is only you who can live it well."

With those last words, the man would turn and watch as their boats progressed along the lake.

As the boats glided peacefully along the water, many a creature (magical and unmagical) would leap around the boats or peek their foreheads and eyes just above the water to get a look at the progress of the students back across the lake. A few of the graduates might notice that the man at the front of their journey was getting younger as they crossed the lake, his hood slipping off his head as his pale hair turned dark and his curls grew fuller, and the wrinkles on his face and hands smoothed out to reveal a much younger person than when they started. If it wasn't figured out before, it was clear by the end of their trek that their leader was the Hogwarts caretaker, Avery Finch.

The final creature to say their something of a goodbye would be the giant squid, who rolled his body across the surface of the water like a whale coming up to breathe, causing a small wave to push the boats just a bit faster than intended into the waiting dock, causing a couple to bump against the waiting wood. Mr. Finch hopped out of the first boat and onto the dock like a frog before turning once more to the graduates.

"Go forth and do good work." The now young once more Avery Finch said with a dramatic bow, his nose touching his knees for a brief moment before he popped back up again and began to assist anyone who would needed assistance out of the boats.