The Funeral

By SurferChick

A/N: Something that's been begging to be written for a very long time…Three separate thoughts at a funeral.

D/C: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm not that lucky. JK Rowling, Scholastic, and a whole bunch of other people are, though.

~*~*~

Ginny

~*~*~

He was my brother.

I mean, my brother.

People come up to me and say "I know how you feel." Some don't realize they just told a lie.

They don't know how I feel. No one does, except for Fred and George and Bill and Percy and Charlie…They don't realize how it feels to look around and not see a redhead there to watch your back for you. They don't realize that I've known him longer than I've known anyone else in my life, besides my family.

And he didn't even know. Didn't even know that he was my favorite. Despite his over protectiveness of me, I loved him the most. He was just looking out for me. What I wouldn't give for a lecture now about boys these days and what they have on their minds! It would be worth it just to hug him. To see him again.

Harry's miserable. He thinks it's his fault. Like he was supposed to know Ron would do that, jump out in front of him, taking the death curse for him. And if he did know, how would he have prevented it? That's just like Ron, not thinking and making moves like that. Letting his heart get in the way of his head.

That's a very admirable quality nowadays. During these dark months, not many people have it. People would rather just do whatever it took to get what they wanted, or to survive. Not Ron. Not my brother. He would risk his own neck to save one of his best friends.

I never realized until just now how difficult his life must have been. Battling with the fame of one of his best friends and his feelings for the other, and trying to find his place in the family, and schoolwork on top of all that. Poor Ron. No one realized that before. He was under so much pressure…

I could've been a better sister. Everyone says not to think like that, but I already lost my brother, I think I'm allowed to think what I want. I could've been more understanding towards him. I could've been nicer. I could've done so many things…But these are the kinds of things you don't realize until too late. Until you can't go back in time, no matter how many Time-Turners you have.

Wherever you are now Ron, I love you. Please forgive me for not being the good sister you probably wanted. I'm going to miss you so much.

Goodbye.

~*~*~

Hermione

~*~*~

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I'm one of the stupidest people in the world.

Sure, I might be good with books and magic, but people, my people skills, I'm not good with that.

I loved him. I was in love with him and I never told him. I just stood by him, always as a friend, never as anything more. Keeping my feelings inside, being deathly afraid of rejection.

And now he's gone. He's just…gone. Dead. Whatever you want to call it, I'll never be able to tell him. You can't imagine how it feels like to feel that much for someone and never let them know. Everyone else knew. Harry knew, Ginny knew, I think even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley knew. Probably everyone in the whole world knew except for the one person that mattered.

He was my best friend. Sure, so was Harry, but it was…different between me and Ron. There was something there that wasn't there with Harry.

Why'd you have to do it, Ron? I mean, did you feel like you had something to prove? You didn't, you didn't have anything to prove. To me, anyway. You were still that wonderful person I fell in love with, with the happy grin and that ridiculous red hair of yours.

And the chess games. I guess I won't be able to ever beat you in that.

I can practically imagine you right now. If you were here, you'd lift up my chin with your hand so I'd look into those beautiful eyes of yours and say it was OK, that it would always be OK as long as you could help it.

And then I'd collapse into your arms and have a good sob while you would stay there, stroking my hair and not caring what the rest of the world thought of you. Of us. And then, once I had calmed down, you would set me down and then ask if I wanted to play chess. And I would say yes and you would beat the life out of me.

That's not really sensitive of me to say, is it? I'm too emotional right now. I can't go on. Not for now, anyway. But Harry, Ginny, and I, we'll make it. We'll carry through. One way or another, we'll carry through.

I still love you. I'll always love you, and I'll never love anyone else like I love you.

Goodbye.

~*~*~

Harry

~*~*~

I can't believe it.

I still can't believe he did that.

Jumping out in front of me, what was he thinking?

He wasn't thinking, that's what Ginny said. He never thought stuff through like that. He just took the plunge. I should be more like that. Everyone should be more like Ron Weasley. The world would be a lot happier and have a lot more practical jokes in it.

He was such a good person. You couldn't have found a better best friend. We only fought…once, I think. Yeah, once. And it was one of those stupid fights. The ones where you look back on it and you say "How stupid were we?" and laugh. Yes, amazingly, we laugh.

Laughing seems so…worthless right now. Like there's no point in laughing, because no amount of laughing will bring back the usual source of the humor.

I can't even think straight. I haven't been able to sleep. He died because of me. Because of my stupid idea to bring him and Hermione with me to go try to bring down Voldemort. What was I thinking? Three seventh years trying to bring down the most evil wizard in the history of the magic world? I was stupid.

Well, Ron, it worked. Voldemort's gone, or dead, or whatever. He's finished. Because you gave up your life for me. Kind of like my mom, except this time it was more powerful because I actually knew you. I didn't really know my mother at the time. At least that's how Dumbledore explains it.

I don't really care the reason behind it. I want you back here, Ron. It's so boring without you. I know you probably can't hear me, but, if by some wild magic you can, just know that you're sorely missed down here. Look at all these people at your funeral. All these people who cared about you, who loved you.

Remember that first day on the train, where you were complaining about always being overshadowed by your brothers? Well, you just defeated Voldemort. If you were back down here, I think your parents would probably buy you some new dress robes. And I doubt they would even be frilly.

So, here's a toast. A toast to the best friend I ever had, one who had the size of a heart to go and do something like you did. You're the greatest person I knew, and I only wish I got to know you more before we had to be separated.

Goodbye.