Professor Bockleberry was amazed that the Slytherin students had chosen her to give their farewell speech. She knew that she had been through a lot with them, though, and she hoped that those actions could help her find the right words to tell them.
The little woman walked up to the Headmistress’ podium as the songs came to a slow, looking out at all of the students. Professor Cantus caught her eye, and Helena Bockleberry gave him a sweet smile before she started to speak.
“This year, and the year before it, have changed us all. I can remember where I was standing on the day that it all started, during the House Mixer here, when Aengus Lamb went missing. I was in the far corner, watching the food table, laughing a lot throughout the night because the way you all were acting was contagious.”
“And somehow, I found myself there again tonight,” she went on. “But it was as a different person. The smile felt a little wrong on my face, and I couldn’t help but think of all the faces I no longer get to see. We might be in the same places as before, but we are not the same people.”
Bockleberry paused, clearing her throat. “I, for one, am proud of who we are. I’ve seen you all come so far in your lives. You’ve stood up for what was right, you fought against those who would do you harm, you welcomed the truth in even when sometimes the truth was hard to find. So when I think about where the world is now, and realize that tonight we’re sending all of you out into it... My smile is no longer a little heavy.”
“There will be times in your lives, even after this, that will seem hard. You’ll fall in and out of love, you’ll raise families, you’ll switch jobs until you find what is right for you. Trials will come, and you’ll have to fight again, even if it’s not in the same way as before. But I’m not afraid,” she said strongly. “I’m not afraid to tell you those things, and I’m not afraid for them to happen. Because I see in all of you something stronger than I have ever seen before. You have shown me, throughout all of this, that you do not need to be protected. I don’t need to coddle you, and hold you close anymore. None of us do. I need to let you go. You need to go out there for yourselves. Not just because it’s time for you, but because it’s time for the world to get the opportunity to have you in it.”
She smiled, clearing her throat once more. “I’ve seen so much bad in my life. As an auror, I dealt with enemies like the ones we fought together on a daily basis. When I was done with that line of work, I chose becoming a teacher, because I wanted to help students see that they could turn to something that wasn’t bad. I wanted to give all of you the opportunity to learn something that kept you out of the hardships I had seen before.”
“What I didn’t expect,” she went on, “was to learn more from you than you could ever learn from me. Our time is over. We may not have done you right, but with your help, we were able to give you a new starting point. Go out there, now, and build us up again. Build us up better than we were before. If anyone can do it, I know it can be you.”
Bockleberry ended there, stepping back and clapping. The rest of the professors joined in, giving a round of applause for the students who deserved it. They’d been asked to do more than any students should have to, and they come out from it on the other side.
It was worth celebrating.