That Damn Weasley Charm II G.W

Part 6, Chapter 15- Not so Secret Goodbyes

Neither Draco nor I are supposed to be here. We're weren't supposed to even leave the grounds of the Manor. But here we are, standing at the very back of Dumbledore's funeral.

Draco is sporting one of his black suits, but he's also got a black cloak around his shoulders so he can hide his face with the hood. I'm wearing a long black dress and a matching cloak to Draco's. If this wasn't a funeral we would stick out like sore thumbs.

Students from both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang are here, along with everyone who was at Hogwarts this year, the entire ministry... pretty much everyone that ever looked at Dumbledore was here, sitting by the edge of the lake in front of a stunning marble table. Draco and I are standing at the very back of the crowd. I can see Fred and George, along with the rest of the Weasley clan sitting near the front of the group.

Music. Relatively awful music comes from the lake. Draco peers around me to see the merpeople who have rose to the surface to play their instruments. The murmuring stops and people all around us turn towards the back. I follow their gaze and land on Hagrid. He's walking slowly, tears streaking down his face. In his arms, wrapped tightly in purple velvet that was spangled with gold stars, was Dumbledore's body.

Everyone watches in silence as Hagrid makes the slow, long walk to the front of the crowd. I glance at Draco and he's got tears streaming silently down his face, just like me. Just like everyone else around us.

Hagrid lays Dumbledore's body onto the marble table and walks back down the aisle, blowing his nose very loudly as he goes. The music stops. A small older man wearing black robes gets up and stands in front of the table but I can't make out what he's saying from so far away. There's a small splash sound from the lake, looking over I can see that the merpeople have stuck their heads out of the water to listen.

A slight movement catches my eye and I look over at the edge of the forest. They're hard to see but standing in the shadows are centaurs, nearly all of them holding bows in their hands. I move my hand out from under my cloak and grab onto Draco's. Draco squeezes my hand and sniffs his nose.

The man in black stops talking and sits back down in his chair. Then, flames. Great big white flames erupt all around Dumbledore's body. A few people let out a scream. Just as fast as they appeared, the flames were gone, in it's place lies a great big marble tome, with Dumbledore's body inside of it. Then, a shower of arrows from the Forbidden forest, no doubt the centaurs send off for Dumbledore.

The crowd breaks off slowly, people getting up from their seats and talking with their friends or simply making the walk back to Hogsmeade.

"You want to head out?" I ask Draco softly.

Draco sniffs his nose again and shakes his head no, "I'm going to go speak with my friends." He says before walking off towards the group of Slytherin students that have gathered together by one of the castle walls.

I stand by myself awkwardly for a moment, then I see George walking along the lake by himself. I give myself a little mental confidence boost and politely make my way over to him.

"Hey..." I say softly.

George turns around quickly, "Hey..." He breathes.

We stand a few feet apart just looking at each other awkwardly, "Take a walk with me?" He says finally.

I nod and smile a little. We walk down the lake shore in silence, our shoulders bumping into each other a little but other than that we don't touch. "You remember that night we snuck our during third year and got covered in poison oak?" George asks.

I chuckle to myself at the memory, "Yeah."

George looks at me out of the corner of his eye, "I think that was when I realized I loved you." He says.