The grave was small; all of their collective money could only afford the plainest of vases for the ash left over from his remains. Vase is being kind, it's more like a plain rubber jar to be honest, but we should count our blessings for even having the ashes in the first place. The room of requirement was able to give us that much, even if it took one of my best friends away from me. Crabbe's mother was sobbing softly into her handkerchief. She was told not to cry because she is unworthy of tears, yes a bastard stopped her and said that while on his way to the lighter side of the graveyard.
A graveyard was built to memorialize the Final Battle with all the heroes on one side and the villains on the other. Many have stopped by to spit on the graves residing here, and every time they neared Crabbe's grave I would stand in front of it with my hands out, ready to take whatever they came to give him. Goyle remained quiet and in the shadows, unable to look up or even move when anyone walked near.
It's not fair.
"Draco, darling, please settle down, you don't want to cause more attention than we must." My mother said in a trembling voice that did its best to stay strong. I merely nodded but did not agree. The sky was full of clouds but not naturally so, it was only made that way because that's the atmosphere all those stupid higher than thou heroes want while they mourn their own.
"I doubt they'd even let us in to see Severus." I spat and crossed my arms, not wanting to even think about this shit any longer. It's too late, it's done. Only five were able to come to Crabbe's funeral because the others were thrown in Azkaban for their traitorous deeds. My father included, but Blaise managed to show up. His face was sober and his eyes red from the tears he had shed before coming but he did better than most. Theo was going to come but was stopped by Pansy who wanted to protect him. Apparently she was scared for his safety. They've been an item for several months now and this is the first time Theo didn't stand up to her, but who can blame him? It's not easy burying one of our own. They'll be at the muggle house my mother bought after the Ministry took away everything we have, it's the only place we can go after this to force down food and grieve together.
There was no one to be there to say words of peace and false hope so we were stuck staring at a grave that was only a foot deep. We were meant to pour the ashes down and then burry it with the dirt something kindly left for us. It was a dick move, but one that we had to suck up to. Crabbe's mom poured the ashes and slowly we watched them fall to the earth. A part of me wanted to rush forward and catch the falling ash, to somehow bring all the pieces together to give my friend his life back, to have him be here with us… but no… that's selfish. Even hell is better than this place.
"I miss him." Someone whispered but none of the guys knew who it was who had spoken. Maybe it was all of us in unison or perhaps just the wind coming by to pity us. Either way, I don't like it. Glancing over at the other side I noticed that there was much more grass over there. The tombstones had wording underneath rather than the plain Vincent Crabbe with years of life. No, there were plaques, angels, tombs, and a great many graves of worth. Because apparently all the graves over here aren't worth anything, although I should feel grateful that we managed to even get a slot over on this end. Some people such as my cousin Bellatrix didn't even get a burial. They were too busy destroying her body to really think about burying it. Crazy bastards I can understand, but Crabbe was just a kid, a scared kid who thought he'd reach out.
The guy would do anything and everything for me while munching on whatever he managed to grab at the time. His favorites just so happened to be crab cakes which we always gave him for his birthday or Christmas since his parents liked to restrict his eating of them. They just hated the fact that he was a bit fat. Not too much but just enough to get them ticked and put him on a diet. I'm not sure what made him loyal to me, but whatever it was… our relationship was fun while it lasted. I'll forever owe him for making the poor bastard change into a girl for me, just to make sure to keep my secret hidden and give me time to restore the stupid vanishing cabinet. Clever as it was, Crabbe and Goyle were constantly arguing with me about it.
The poor blokes just hated being girls. I let out a bitter smile and tried to hide it but it was no use. The smile came out and soon I was laughing. Everyone stared at me as though I had gone insane but I just turned to Goyle. "Remember when Crabbe had to change into a girl to help keep what I was doing a secret? We never even got to do what we wanted… that was the only thing that kept me alive that year." I pointed out. His mother smiled softly, he must have told her about it, but my own mother had a face of stone.
"You guys were girls at one point?" Blaise asked with a light smirk making Goyle smile reluctantly and shake his head.
"No, the all powerful and wonderful Draco was never a girl." He pointed out making me lift my hands up in surrender.
"I had to fix the damn thing." Mom whacked me lightly for language but the tense air was beginning to subside.
"When it comes to his looks he is exactly like a girl." Blaise pointed out quickly making them all pause before everyone but me laugh.
"You guys are looking happier." A voice pointed out making us all turn to see Harry Potter standing on our side of the fence with a bouquet of flowers. He looked a bit more tired than usual with bags under his eyes and a stressed look about his features. But it was definitely him. "I just dropped by to give my condolences, I didn't get there in time after all… this… is the very least I can do, but I'm going to try to do more." He promised, and then that self-righteous and self-pitying look was back.
"It wasn't your fault… he just had to go. The world's unfair, Harry, just deal with it." I pointed out then watched the hero cry.
None of us did a thing to help him either.