Beauxbatons [Charlie Weasley]

Funeral

Isabelle thought the last time she would ever wear black was at Clara's funeral. But here she is, sitting in front of Florin's coffin, holding Charlie's hand, tears pouring down her face, dressed head to toe in the dark colour.

She doesn't listen to the things people say about Florin, she barely acknowledges that it's finally time for her to go up in front of everyone and speak. But she does, slowly standing up and walking down the aisle, wiping her cheeks and trying to clear her mind.

Funerals are shit things.

Well, they're good in a way, because it gives the person you love a proper send off, it gathers up everyone, whether they love or hate each other, to pay their respects to that one mutual person they all used to share.

But they're also bad. Because they're sad. And they bring back all the good memories you had with that person who's now gone. They make you remember the little things, like how the corners of Florin's eyes scrunched up when he smiled; the way he clasped his hands while he paced up and down in front of them to give his students instructions; the way his eyes would light up when they completed a task; the way he was so proud when they passed their Dragonology exams.

And then funerals don't just make you miss the person everyone else is there to mourn, but they make you think of all the other people you've lost before in your life. Like a friend. A parent. Two, perhaps.

Isabelle didn't even hold a funeral for her parents. She didn't really know them well enough for that. She just told the Healers to kill them and that was that. Does she regret not saying a proper goodbye to them? Sometimes, sure. But not really. It's memories of Clara that are mainly swirling around in her head right now.

Memories of Clara's funeral. How Isabelle outright refused to speak at the event, how she refused to go up there and talk about how much Clara meant to her. In a way, she thought that by not speaking, it would mean Clara wasn't really gone. But she is. And she's never coming back. And that's the same with Florin.

Isabelle reaches the front of the rows of chairs, taking a moment to look down at Florin's coffin. It's glass, so everyone can see him. Everyone can see the rope burn around his neck, the deep bruises that lie there. Everyone can see his bloated, swollen face. It looks nothing like him.

Isabelle quickly turns away.

The funeral's held outside. Just like Clara's was. It's very much what Florin would have wanted — to get everyone gathered around him outside, amongst the trees and the plants and everything that he loved. His workplace, essentially.

Aemilius is here, too. Florin's Common Welsh Green. The one that he earned the trust of when he was just training to become a Dragon Tamer. The last of the original Welsh Greens at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. Because that's where they are, of course. At the Sanctuary.

Aemilius seems to know what's going on. He just lies on the ground, behind Florin's coffin, looking sadly into it and not taking his eyes off it for the entire time the funeral goes ahead.

Many people attending the funeral were shocked there was a dragon on scene, but they quickly got used to him and realised that if there was anyone Florin would want at his funeral, it would be Aemilius. So he just lays there, watching on sadly.

"Florin was..." Isabelle begins, but then her voice cracks. She clears her throat, trying again. "Florin was a father to us all. He certainly was to me, at least."

A pause.

"I never really grew up with parents that were my own, it was always my best friend's parents who would look after me and it was them who took me in. But as most of you know, I have not been living in France for a long time now. Several years, in fact. And for the majority of that time, it has been Florin who has taken care of me. It has been Florin who has taken care of many of us."

She swallows thickly, taking a deep breath in.

"Florin was one of the first faces I saw when my seventeen-year-old self walked into this Sanctuary for the first time. And from the moment I saw his bushy beard and that twinkle in his eye, I knew this was a man I could trust. And trust him, I could.

"Florin taught me everything I know about dragons. I still remember thinking the world of him when he gave myself and seven other students our first task involving dragons ever. It was up on that mountain over there, which is Common Welsh Green territory. That was when he introduced us to Aemilius here. I remember seeing this dragon for the first time and thinking 'Wow, what an amazing man Florin must be if this dragon loves him.'

"And that was when I realised that not only do dragons love him, but he loves them. With all his heart. With all his soul. And that he would do anything for them. Absolutely anything to see them thrive. And the passion he gets when talking about these wonderful beasts, the excitement and love in his eyes when he was teaching us all about different dragons, when he was setting those tasks for us all those years ago... that is something I will never forget. That is something that I will try to carry with me, in memory of someone who was a father not only to me, but to every dragon he comes across."

There's tears at her words, and Isabelle has to struggle not to cry while she's up there. She knows she'll start bawling as soon as she's done, but she'll at least try to make it back to her seat first.

"Florin—" Isabelle pauses, tears entering her own eyes now. She tries again. "I am not sure how many of you know exactly how Florin died, but it was to save the dragons that he loved so much. He decided that he would rather know that dragons could continue living freely, even if it meant his own death, than for himself to keep living and for dragons to struggle.

"And while that is hard for the rest of us to accept, and while many of us would rather Florin be alive, sitting amongst us right now... I know that this is what he truly wanted. Florin died protecting those he loved, and if he was happy in his last moments, that is more than I could ask for."

Another pause, many people crying and nodding along with her in their seats.

"The only thing I have left to say is that I will be continuing to stay here, and I will continue to protect every dragon I can, in honour of Florin. And I am sure all of you will do the same — we can continue on his life's work, we can continue on protecting those Florin loved, and in turn, his memory will never be forgotten."

Isabelle turns away, then, staring at the open coffin.

"I love you, Florin," she says softly, her voice breaking as tears stream down her face, "and I always will."

It's only then does she make her way back to her seat next to Charlie, looking down at the ground through her blurry eyes, barely listening for the rest of the service.

Charlie holds her hand the entire time, and she squeezes it in response, both of them feeling the weight of each other's pain, the holes in their hearts where Florin used to be. But he's no longer there. And he's not coming back.

And no matter how sad that is, no matter how much Isabelle wishes things were different and that Florin could come back, she knows he can't. And she just has to accept that. For Florin's sake. Because this is what he wanted, and Isabelle knows it.

But as everyone gets up to leave at the end, and as Charlie leads Isabelle away from the funeral, Isabelle looks back at Florin's bloated face once more, and she remembers that twinkle he always got in his eyes, and she knows that she's going to miss him. So much.