2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}

\𝒻𝒾𝒻𝓉ℯℯ𝓃\

~

The weather outside was too pretty for a funeral, and Eleanora felt slightly sick as she pulled on black robes and fixed her hair in her bedroom mirror. She'd spent the last two days at Bill's bedside in the hospital wing, barely even getting up for food or water. When Bill woke up, the first thing he asked for was a very rare steak, which he ate quickly- much to Eleanora's disgust. Other than that, he was the same person as before. He had Eleanora laughing in minutes over a strange dream he had, but when she told him about Dumbledore and Snape, his face fell. "Dumbledore gone..." he'd murmured thoughtfully. "I don't believe it."

"Yeah..." Eleanora said, her eyes lingering on the hospital wing door. She'd just thought of something she remembered Harry saying the other day. About a book... "I have to go," she said, suddenly standing up.

"What?" Bill looked up in confusion. "But-"

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I just... I have to find Harry." And with that, Eleanora crossed the floor of the hospital wing and hurried out into the corridors of Hogwarts. She had no idea where Harry might be in the middle of the afternoon, but she had to at least try to find him.

Part of her hoped to run into Daisy too. She'd been found in her dormitory after the battle, perfectly safe but slightly shaken. Eleanora half-jogged down a corridor, careful to avoid as many people as possible. She didn't want to answer any questions. She ducked under a tapestry and knocked twice on the wall, opening up one of her favorite secret passageways. All of her nighttime explorations with the twins were paying off. She exited the passageway at an empty hallway, chose a direction, and started walking again, hurtling around a corner just in time to come face to face with- "Harry!" Eleanora said breathlessly, grabbing his arms to steady herself.

"Eleanora? What're you doing here?"

"I was visiting Bill. Listen, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Harry looked confused. "What's up?"

Eleanora took a deep breath. "When you were talking to us about Snape... and how he... you know..." Harry nodded and Eleanora was relieved she didn't have to say the word 'betrayed.' "Well, you talked about a book. I was wondering if you still had it?"

"Oh-" Harry dug around in his bag for a second before extracting a small, ragged potions textbook. "The... 'Half-Blood Prince's' textbook..." He held it out, looking mildly uncomfortable.

Eleanora's eyes widened as she took the book in shaking fingers and opened it up. "I don't believe it..." she whispered, leafing through the pages. "I- I learned everything I know from this book."

"What?"

"I've read all of the books in Snape's classroom. I found this one- Merlin, it must've been my first or second year. I- I wanted to learn everything in it-" She stopped at a page on magical cures. "This is what I used on my leg when Greyback attacked me... I changed a few things, though..." Harry watched in wonder as Eleanora froze at yet another worn page. "Used this to cure Bill... and this when Daisy got pneumonia last year... and this when George cut his finger fourth year..."

She'd completely forgotten about the book after she returned it to Snape's classroom when she was done reading it. She'd treated it as just another potions book Snape had let her borrow because... well- she'd thought it was because she was his favorite student. Eleanora finally closed the book and held it carefully in her hands, like it was something fragile that might break. "Do you mind... if I keep this?"

"Go ahead," Harry said, surprised.

Eleanora nodded slowly. She didn't feel anything towards Snape anymore, but she was glad to have something to remind her of her former friendship with her godfather. "Thank you," she said, giving Harry a small smile.

~

Eleanora finished fixing herself in the mirror before joining Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. They'd worked it out so they were meeting everyone else at the funeral. "You look lovely," Mrs. Weasley said in a vague, absent voice.

"Thanks, you do too." Eleanora patted Mrs. Weasley consolingly on the shoulder before turning to Mr. Weasley. "Ready?"

"Yep. I figured we could all apparate together."

Eleanora nodded and took one of Mrs. Weasley's hands. Mr. Weasley took the other and, after making sure they were all together, apparated to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Around them, hundreds of people were streaming in for the funeral, all dressed in black and looking incredibly somber. Eleanora broke away from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as soon as she spotted Bill walking towards her with the twins on either side of him. He was walking with no help, only limping slightly, but he looked exhausted. Eleanora hurried over and gave Fred and George each a quick hug before kissing Bill. "Come on, let's find seats," she said softly, taking him by the hand and leading the boys over to where the rest of the Weasleys were sitting.

Eleanora didn't let go of Bill's hand even when they sat down, and the group sank into a subdued silence until the procession began. In the lake, a few feet away, a chorus of mer-people began singing a slow, stomach-churningly sad tune as Hagrid walked slowly up the aisle between the chairs. He was crying quite silently, his face gleaming with tears, and in his arms, wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars, was what Eleanora knew to be Dumbledore's body.

As soon as she saw him, the tears came, and luckily, she wasn't alone. On her other side, tears were falling thick and fast into Ginny's lap as she wiped furiously at her eyes. Eleanora spotted Daisy a few seats away, sitting next to George, only her blonde hair visible as she buried her face in his shoulder. George patted her head absentmindedly and kept his eyes trained on Dumbledore's body, his lip quivering.

Eleanora laid her head on Bill's shoulder as the officiant rose and said a few words about Dumbledore's life and all of the things he'd achieved over the years. Bill wiped his eyes and settled an arm around her shoulders. She could feel his chest heave a little as the officiant talked about the love and care Dumbledore had taught and spread to each of his students at Hogwarts. How each one left the school with more than just book knowledge.

The officiant finished his speech and the crowd lapsed into silence. Then several people screamed. Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay: Higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes, but next second the fire had vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested. There were a few more cries of shock as a shower of arrows soared through the air, but they fell far short of the crowd. It was the centaurs' tribute: Eleanora saw them turn tail and disappear back into the cool trees. Likewise, the merpeople sank slowly back into the green water and were lost from view.

When the funeral ended, Eleanora felt as though a trance had broken on everyone else, leaving her and Bill still in the little bubble of haze. Around her, people were getting up, mingling, talking to one another, but she stayed sitting with Bill. She didn't want to move. She couldn't disturb the one constantly good thing in her life. Bill kept his arm around her and turned to kiss the top of her head. "Listen," he said softly, "Madam Pomfrey wants me to go back on bedrest for a few days... but I think I've had enough bedrest in the last few months to last me a lifetime."

"Bill..."

"El, let's just go home."

Eleanora's lips twitched into what felt like her first real smile in days. She sat up, breaking the trance that had settled around them. She didn't need to worry about her and Bill ending. They were there now, and that was all that mattered.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "Let's go home."

soooooooo the next chapter is the first chapter of deathly hallows

and then this whole book is, like,, almost done

which is CRAZY