Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Title belongs to the wonderful William Shakespeare play, Hamlet.

"Are you ready yet, Rose?" Albus asked, knocking on her bedroom door.

"Um...not yet, Al. Five more minutes." She told him, even though she was still lying on her bed, no movement made to put on the dress hanging over her chair.

"Procrastinating the inevitable won't make it go away, Rosie. Five more minutes, then we're leaving." He said, and she heard his steps as he walked away.

She rolled onto her right side, facing the wall. She shut her eyes tight, fighting against what she knew was going to be facing her today. She knew she had to get up. She had to put on a brave face and get up out of bed.

Tentatively, Rose placed her feet on the ground. The ground around her felt solid, so why did she feel like the world was collapsing? She was sitting up on her bed now, looking at the clock. She had four minutes left. She sighed as she pushed herself off the bed where, just a week ago, he had slept too.

Don't think about that, Rose thought sharply. She couldn't let herself think about what had been in her life only a week ago. A week could change everything.

She walked quickly over to the black dress laying over the back of the chair. It was modest, high necked and long sleeved. It was something he would have hated had he ever seen it on her. But he hadn't. He died before she could show it to him.

She slid the dress on and stepped into her shiny black high heels. Three minutes.

She took her time dragging herself to her small vanity table. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes had dark circles under them from sleepless nights. She quickly used a spell to put her hair up into a smooth and basic chignon. She could have used magic for her face as well, but the focus needed for makeup would help keep her mind of today for the next few minutes. Two minutes, to be exact.

She put on a quick layer of foundation, making sure to cover the dark circles completely. There was no need for everyone to know exactly how much she was suffering. She was in no mood for the rest of the makeup. Looking at her reflection one last time, she stood up. One minute to spare. She hated spare time. It left too much time to think about him. Scorpius.

As soon as she thought of his name, she felt like someone had wrapped a fist around her heart and was tightening their grip. As soon as she thought of his name, the flood of memories broke through the barrier she had built up in her brain. Their first meeting. Their first date. Their first kiss. The night he proposed to her. When he told his parents that he had made a choice, and his choice was her. And, finally, the last memory, the one she hated to remember.

That day spent in muggle London, enjoying themselves in the rare sunlight. Rose had been laughing when it happened. Such a stupid way for it to happen. She laughed and tripped over something, maybe a broken piece of sidewalk. She fell down, a little too far in the street. A car was coming way too fast, so he pushed her out of the way. She had rolled up onto the sidewalk with the force of his push, but he had fallen right where she had been. And right where the speeding car had rushed through. She had screamed, and people were staring in horror. Someone called an emergency number, she didn't know who. It was too late anyway.

The days after that were the hardest. She refused to believe it. Albus moved into her flat, the one she had shared with Scorpius. She still refused to believe that he was dead. That he would not walk back through their front door and smile at her like she was the best thing in his life.

"Rose? We have to go now, I don't care if you're dressed or not." Albus said as he knocked again.

Rose opened her bedroom door. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

"You look really nice, Rosie. He...he would have liked it." Albus said.

"No, he wouldn't. He would've hated it. But it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" Rose said with a short, derisive laugh.

"Are you sure you can do this? You don't seem ready to face this yet." Albus looked at her, concerned.

"Again, does it matter if I'm not? I am not going to miss his funeral. I don't care if I am falling apart into a million damn pieces. I will not miss his funeral." She walked past Albus, grabbing her small handbag and walking toward the door.

"His parents will be there." Albus called after her. Rose stopped walking, frozen in place.

"What? They have absolutely no right to be there! Do they not know the definition of disown? They disowned him. They can't pretend like he mattered to them just because he doesn't exist anymore!" She yelled, on the verge of tears.

"He was their son, Rose. They have just as much of a right to be there as you do." Albus said.

"I watched him cry over the fact that his parents didn't want to be a part of his life. They don't have a right to be there, in my opinion. And why are you suddenly trying to make me not go? Five minutes ago you were rushing me to get ready!" Rose was suspicious of him now.

"Um...okay, just don't kill me. I'm only the messenger. The Malfoy family...well, they don't exactly...want you at the funeral." Albus said, bracing himself for the explosion that would surely come.

But Rose was silent. Then, she spoke up softly. "They don't want me there?"

"Astoria sent me a letter while you were getting ready. The letter asked me to keep you away from the funeral. Something about your relationship being dishonorable..."

"I don't give a damn what Astoria Malfoy thinks of my relationship with her son! When was the last time she saw him? A year and a half ago? Do you want to know when the last time I saw him was, Albus?" She yelled fiercely.

"I'd actually rather not, but whatever." Albus answered.

"A week ago. I watched him die because of me. It was my fault. And guess what? I didn't even get to say goodbye to him. I need to say goodbye to him." Her voice broke on the last sentence, her tears finally cutting her words off.

"I know, Rose. It's completely unfair that they expect you to not come to the funeral. Which is why we're going. Now. You need this funeral just as much as they do." Albus said, grabbing her hand.

"Good. I'd like to give Astoria Malfoy a piece of my mind." Rose said, and they Disapparated to the funeral.