The sun shone brilliantly in the blue sky warming the slight breeze. On this beautiful Saturday in June, people everywhere in England were out enjoying this glorious day. The entire land seemed to be happy, except for a group gathered in a cemetery by Ottery St. Catchpole.

They were all wearing expensive black robes, which slowly moved with the breeze. The people wearing the robes appeared to be the ones that were worn and threadbare. Their bodies were not emaciated or terribly disfigured from age or abuse. Their faces and general demeanor made them seem old beyond their years from a lifetime of losses. Their faces showed remorse for the dead, but only a few shed any tears and the tears that fell were barely noticeable. They all stood in a circle around a fresh grave; quiet and morose like soldiers performing a drill that they disliked. Their faces set and determined. They were watching a middle-aged wizard, with thinning grey hair, cry his heart out, while leaning on the headstone. His left hand lovingly caressed the words, N. Tonks Lupin. The black robed observers watched and allowed him time for his personal grief. They had all lost someone dear to them in the not too distant past. Tonks's death was the most recent in a long line of deaths for the Order of the Phoenix.

Tonks's parents stood on the other side of the headstone and held onto each other for support. She was their only child. They had helped the Order defeat Voldemort, but they had since remained to themselves. Her death was a shock to them. They had thought the danger was over.

A tall redheaded man, Ron Weasley, looked around at the rest of the group. His eyes found an old witch with square spectacles and her hair in a tight bun sitting in a wheel chair. The retired Hogwarts nurse, Madam Pomfrey, stood behind her, with her hands resting on the handles of the wheelchair. Professor McGonagall sat there and stared blankly into space. The victim of a Dementor's kiss.

Three months before Voldemort fell, he unleashed all his Death Eaters and dark creatures on the British magical community. He and his Death Eaters attacked the Ministry, while Dementors and giants attacked Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Ron, Harry, and Hermione wondered if Voldemort realized that they had destroyed his last Horcrux, Nagini, only days before. They had found the snake hunting for food away from its Master. A quick Killing Curse destroyed the last Horcrux. Whether that caused Voldemort to initiate the attack was never confirmed and the exact reason for the all-out assault was irrelevant now.

Professor McGonagall called upon the Order and the Ministry to help repel the attack on the school. The Aurors were too busy to respond. The Order responded, but so much damage had already been done. The giants destroyed half of the village, and Dementors were attacking people at will.

Witnesses told about the Professor sacrificing herself to protect the students. She stayed outside and used her cat Patronus to fend off the Dementors. She was able to keep them at bay for twenty minutes before they overwhelmed her.

The Ron looked at his mother. She lost her husband and two of her sons that fateful day. Arthur, Percy and Charlie Weasley were working at the Ministry the day of the attack. They were found dead, after the Death Eaters retreated. Percy, even after three years, had never completely reconciled with the family before his death. He still maintained that Fudge had the right to say and act as he did. Charlie had quit his job in Romania the year before, to help with the war efforts at home.

Bill was working at Gringotts that day and rushed to the Ministry to help. He survived but lost his right arm to a Severing Curse. His scarred face, from the attack by Fenrir Greyback on the day Dumbledore died, and his other injuries did not stop him from living his life. He was standing across the grave from Ron holding his son's hand with his wife and daughter at his side.

Fleur, hearing of the attack, ran to the Ministry to fight alongside her husband. Ron and others were not sure if she would be willing to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They felt she was too haughty and self-centered, but she proved them all wrong. She was not afraid to stand in the face of death. The scar on her cheek that she received that day changed her appearance from a pampered princess to that of a warrior queen.

Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin are the only remaining members of the original Order. Hagrid and Aberforth died at the hands and feet of the giants. All the others have lost their lives in various battles and skirmishes with dark wizards, or recently under mysterious circumstances. Elphias Doge was the only Order member who died from old age.

Ron looked at the twins, Fred and George. They appeared to have suffered no damage from the war, but everyone who knew them realized that this wasn't the truth. They have their limbs and lives, but they carried scars on their body and their hearts. The carefree attitude that symbolized them during their teens was rarely seen anymore. They were often serious and even to the point of melancholy. The joke shop they owned in Diagon Alley was still doing great, but away from there, their spirit was more subdued.

Ron, his wife Hermione, and sister Ginny were the same as the twins. Too many dead friends, the deaths were supposed to end with Voldemort's death. They did for a few years, but the last three years the deaths of Aurors and Order members have increased. It seemed that the Death Eaters, or a group very similar to them, had reorganized. There had not been any wide spread attacks against the magical community or Muggles. No one has been leaving Dark Marks in the sky. The deaths had been isolated to Ministry employees and were sporadic in occurrence. The Ministry denied any possibility of a conspiracy or premeditated murders; they have insisted that the deaths were simply hazards associated with the job.

Tonks' death happened during a routine investigation for sales of illegal charms. She went alone, since this type of investigation consisted of buying the charms. She would then determine if they were illegal, before arresting the salesperson. The charm she bought was a Portkey. She was tortured and killed. The Aurors found her two days later in a swampy area on the coast of Wales. She had turned in her request to be relieved of field duty that morning, having just found out she was pregnant.

Ron was the one to find her. The Aurors received an anonymous tip. He still shuddered at the sight of her swollen body and the look of pain on her face, as she lay in the slimy quagmire. As he thought about this, he pulled Hermione closer to him. That could have been him on the assignment.

He was glad that Hermione was teaching at Hogwarts. She would be safer there than anywhere else. The attacks had been isolated to Order members who worked at the Ministry.

The mourners started to stir. Remus was now on his feet and wiping his swollen eyes. Moody walked around the group handing out glasses of Firewhiskey, for a final toast to Tonks. Ron took his and looked into the amber liquid, thinking about how many toasts he made under these circumstances.

"To Tonks," Kingsley said softly.

Ron lifted his glass to his lips along with everyone else. The Firewhiskey burnt as it slid down his throat. With a wave of Moody's wand, all the glasses disappeared. It was time for the final commemoration. Everyone walked forward with practiced precision. They all took a single lily from one of the two urns on each side of the headstone and dropped it onto the grave with a final goodbye to a friend.

Ginny took four other lilies for later. Ron and Hermione followed her as she walked away from the grave. They joined the rest of their family to visit the graves of Percy, Charlie, and their Father's. As he walked with the family, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Turning he saw Kingsley staring at him.

"Can we speak, alone?" asked Kingsley.

Ron stepped away from his family and followed Kingsley to a secluded area of the cemetery. Kingsley stepped close to Ron and stared him in the eye. His words were spoken softly but held authority and determination. "I want you to concentrate on this investigation when you return to the office, tomorrow. I have been told that this case is closed because a Charms Dealer in Diagon Alley was arrested, but I don't believe it. I am going to, somehow, get you some help."

"I'll get on it first thing in the morning, sir," replied Ron quietly.

"Good! Keep this investigation quiet. It is just between you and me. We can't let anyone else know about it," stated Kingsley.

After Kingsley turned and left, Ron went to find the rest of his family. They were at his father's grave. Mrs. Weasley was kneeling on her husband's grave and talking to him as if they were sitting at the dinner table. She was telling him about everything that has happened, since she last visited. She stopped crying about her dead husband several years ago. She told her family that she was not going to be sad around him anymore. He would have wanted her to be happy, so she would only remember the happy times they had together.

After she stood up and hugged her children, Ron and Hermione walked over to Ginny, who still had one lily left.

"I am alright now. The two of you don't need to follow me to Godric's Hollow." Ginny reassured them.

"I know," replied Ron. "It's just – I want to go and see him too. Hermione and I were his best friends." As they walked through the Wards guarding the cemetery, Ron thought to himself. I owe him. I am the reason he is dead.