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Dumbledore's Last Request
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Yes,
I'll accept the handshakes
As if those same hands wouldn't have pointed threatening wands
At my chest
And yes,
I'll nod at the exclamations of 'I guessed all along'
As if those same voices wouldn't have chorused my condemnation
Without a second thought
I won't reject the honeyed words
Or shun the lavish praise
From those who had already slipped a noose around my neck
A hundred times or more
Before
And as the medal is pinned below my collar 'For Bravery and Service'
I won't think of it as
Too little,
Too late,
Instead I'll bow graciously
Because,
You asked me to.