A Cousin's Tribute
Author Note: Am I Joanne Kathleen Rowling? Nope. It's not mine, then. I've become recently obsessed with Elton John's classic hit 'Candle in the Wind', both the original done for Marilyn Monroe in 1973, and the version done for Lady Diana in 1997, so this just flowed out of me. The lyrics to Albus' version are combinations of both versions, or Rose-centric rip-offs of lines of either. Overall I've created a retake that cleverly spoofs both. Bring the tissues, because you'll need some!
Albus Severus Potter walked across the grounds, feet trembling on the grass.
"Merlin, Rose. I miss you so much..." he sighed, a tear escaping his eye. The service would be right by the Lake, where he and Rose had spent their quiet time together when they both felt they needed to get away from everything. Hermione had brought a piano to the castle, as Al and Rose had both always loved music, and Al only felt it right to play a song at her funeral - at Ron and Hermione's request, it was at Hogwarts. As a child of two-thirds of the Golden Trio, Rose would get a proper send-off. It's just cruel Al thought. Only 27, and a freak broom accident robs her of her eventful life. Another tear escaped the black-haired man as he thought of his cousin's wonderful smile. He sat down on a bench a few yards away from the Lake.
"Hey Al. You OK, mate?" Fred Weasley the Second asked. Albus turned around.
"Oh, Fred. How, just how? It's... Rose, you know. Rose. How could she pass?"
"You know what, Al? I'm doing something to conclude the service. Something she would have liked." Fred said, a mix of humour and sadness in his deep brown eyes that he'd inherited from Angelina. Al looked at him - you never knew with Fred.
"Trust me, mate. It's a sombre tribute, but it would've made her laugh. The emotion's there more than anything, though." Fred finished, patting Al's shoulder - he knew how much this was killing the middle Potter on the inside. Well he suspected. Al knew that all Weasleys and Potters suspected. But no-one grasped the truth - no-one comprehended just how much Rose's death was tearing him to total shreds.
"Thanks, Fred. I appreciate it." Al sighed. Fred smiled sadly and walked away.
"Oh, goodbye my sweetest cousin of all..." Al whispered into the sky. Time had passed on that July day and later on all the attendees were gathered by the lake, with Rose's body in a coffin, right beside Dumbledore's white tomb - the coffin would be moved to the Muggle graveyard where Hermione's grandparents were buried once the service was over. The bushy-haired brunette had made that wish once she'd stopped crying upon hearing news of her daughter's death, and no-one was going to say different - not even the horde of Weasley relatives. A figure in greyish-red robes walked to the centre of the scene.
"Friends and relatives, we are here to honour the life of Rose Weasley. Despite her connections, Rose made a name for herself in her short twenty-seven years, and she'll never be forgotten." the minister said. A sniff could be heard from Ginny, and a choked sob from Hermione. "Now if anyone has any anecdotes of Rose, now would be the time." the minister finished, walking off. Lily got up, walked over to the coffin, and put her hand on the glass - her heart hammering, she inhaled and exhaled.
"One of my fondest memories of Rose was when I was six and she was eight. I'd recently been trying to get her to stop being such a goody-goody. We playfully fought, and ended up destroying the flower-bed. After which we dotted our hair with flowers - to this day, I'll always say Rose looked prettier with that crown of roses I made her laced around her head. If she was here I know I'd get the old 'but Lils, lilies are always the prettiest flower, just like you and your crown' speech. By the way, Aunt Hermione, I'm sorry about wrecking your flowers." Lily finished.
"It's alright dear." Hermione's voice came from the front row, a trace of a smile on her face. Lily gave the tiniest of sniffs before saying 'Rest in peace Rose' and walking back to her seat.
Other relatives who could manage it got up to tell tales of Rose, and soon there was only one person left who definitely had something to say.
"Go on, Al." Hermione whispered, nudging Al softly. The Potter child inhaled, got up and walked over to the piano.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I'm Albus Potter. Out of all the Weasley cousins, Rose was my favourite, and she was definitely closest to me from her point of view as well." Albus said, a tear escaping him, but he wiped it back with his hand.
"So here's a song dedicated to Rose's memory." he sighed mournfully, sitting down on the piano stool. "Here's to you, Rosie." he said, before he started playing the intro.
"Goodbye Hogwarts' rose, may you ever grow in our hearts. You had the grace to hold yourself, when O.W.L's drove you crazy." he sung. An extremely eerie hush fell over the crowd, quieter than the former silence itself - as if the air itself wasn't moving. "You called out to our family, and you comforted those in need. Now you belong in heaven, and the stars spell out your name." Al continued, looking up, as if he expected the stars to spell Rose, but it was daylight. "And it seems to me, you lived your life, like a candle in the wind. Never fading with the family, into the mass of red."
At this point, a collective inhale came from the Weasley relatives - Rose had always been a unique spirit. "And your footsteps will always fall here, along Hogwarts' greenest grounds. Your candle burned out long before, your legend never will." Albus played, his voice wobbling ever-so-slightly. Harry and Ginny noticed this - they best knew their son's ticks.
"Loneliness was tough, the toughest role you had to do. The first child of two superstars, and grades were your one escape. Even though you're gone, the press will still hound you, all the papers will go on, about how Rosie wobbled off her broom." Al sung. In the crowd, Lily's lip trembled as she felt tears coming.
"And it seems to me, you lived your life, like a candle in the wind. Never fading with the family, into the mass of red." Al voiced, blinking. "And your footsteps will always fall here, along Hogwarts' greenest grounds. Your candle burned out long before, your legend never will." he continued. A very nearly audible sob came from Hermione at this point. Ron put his arm around her - he looked weak and pale.
"Goodbye Hogwarts' rose. I always knew you through your life, through the grace to hold yourself. More than your schooldays friends."
A few sniffs were held from Rose's ex-dorm mates - they now truly clicked about how special Rose's friendship with Albus had been.
"Goodbye Hogwarts' rose, from your cousin playing the grand piano.
Who sees you as something much more endearing, a great deal more than you'll ever know." Al sung, his voice truly cracking on that last line and a tear escaping him - he didn't even bother to hide it. James, Lily and Hugo drew a collective breath.
"And it seems to me, you lived your life, like a candle in the wind. Never fading with the family, into the mass of red. And your footsteps will always fall here, along Hogwarts' greenest grounds. Your candle burned out long before, your legend never will." Albus played, inhaling heavily before the legend line.
"Your footsteps will always fall here, along Hogwarts' greenest grounds. Your candle burned out long before, your legend never will." he finished, cracking on about half that line, and ending the song with a resounding chord. After five seconds of silence, Al looked up to the clear blue sky - blue as Rose's eyes.
"That was for you, Flower." he said, using the affectionate nickname he'd always kidded her with. He got up and sat back down to next to Ginny, taking off his glasses to clean them.
"Oh Al..." Ginny mused, patting his back. Suddenly a mild boom was heard. Al looked up. Tiny star-shaped fireworks spelled out 'Rose' and other fireworks formed a shape of rose.
Albus looked at Fred, who was smiling somewhat sadly.
"Stars spell out your name, right? I decided to add that - the flower form was already planned." the prankster said.
"Thank you, Fred. So much." Al sniffed, getting choked up again.
Harry and Ginny got up, and led Al to a secluded area.
"You loved Rose, didn't you? Properly loved her?" Ginny asked. Al nodded, two tears escaping him - one from each eye.
"It took everything inside me not to completely break down at the piano." he admitted. "I know you would have shunned me if I'd come out with my affection for her while she was alive."
"Albus Severus Potter, you listen to me. We could never shun you. It's your choice who you want to love, and seeing as Rose cared for you dearly, I reckon she loved you too." Ginny said, looking into her son's emerald eyes. Hermione walked over.
"Who loved Al too?" she asked.
"Rose. I did see her as much more endearing than a cousin. I still do. I just never told her." Albus stuttered. Hermione hugged him.
"I swear, if I ever find love again, I'm naming my first daughter Rose." the black-haired man stated, fighting back tears. Albus was right. He married Roger Davies' daughter, Ruth, in 2036 - three years after the funeral. And when little Rose Potter was nine, in 2047, Al and Ruth took her to her cousin-once-removed's grave.
"Rose Weasley, the jewel in the family's crown, with her mother's brains. April 22nd, 2006 to July 15, 2033." Rose read sadly. "Now you're in heaven, the stars spell out your name." she finished. Rose looked at her father. Albus smiled, the grief clear in his eyes.
"That memorial line is a reference to the song I sung at Rose's funeral." he exhaled. "That's so nice." Rose said. Ruth put the bouquet of roses planned down on the grave and smiled. She would never know Rose Weasley, but her husband told her that his cousin somehow lived on in their daughter, namesake aside. Ruth and Rose went away to look for familiar names in the graveyard, leaving Albus alone. He bent down on his knees so he was facing the side of the grave.
"Goodbye Flower. I love you. Forever and always." he sniffed, kissing the slate. "Ruth may be my wife, but you're my soul mate, and your legend will never burn out."
AN: Just so you know, I would never kill Rose off on purpose - I wouldn't have the heart to do so. I actually wouldn't kill any HP character off. But Rose had to be gone for Al to play the Candle in the Wind parody. Some people might criticise me for implications of Albus/Rose but they're one of my all-time favourite couples. Albus playing the song at Rose's funeral was inspired by the fact that Elton John played Candle in the Wind '97 at Lady Diana's funeral.