It Feels Like A Dream
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, unfortunately!!!
A/n: This story is for my grandad who passed away on 13th October 2003. As you'll notice, this is mainly based on that day, and how my grandma and I reacted. Like my other story, I find it helps to do this, allows me to put my feelings down and things like that.
This story is AD/MM and all those present know about Dumbledore and McGonagall. If you don't like AD/MM well sorry, but really they're a bit like my grandparents, and its kind of fitting.
"Hermione, have you done question 5?" Ron asked as his knight moved to E5.
"Yes. Have either of you done any of the questions?" Harry and Ron glanced across the chessboard to each other; both had a guilty look on their face.
"Well no. I mean we were kind of hoping you'd help us along with it" he explained removing his eyes from the board for no more than second, returning to smash Harry's castle.
"Help you!" Hermione quietly exclaimed, "You just wanted to copy. I know you both to well, and you should know by now that I …" Hermione was cut off as Fred and George approached them. Harry noticed that both of the twin's eyes were tinged with redness, and wee slightly bloodshot, however this seemed to have passed unnoticed by Ron and Hermione.
"We need to talk to you, do you want to come outside?" Harry stood mutely, and was quickly followed by Ron and Hermione. The five traipsed out of the common room, and gathered together in the corridor outside of the empty portrait.
"It's err… Dumbledore, his in a bad way" Fred explained in a choked voice. Harry heard Hermione begin to cry, but to him the world had slowed down, almost to a complete halt. Everyone and everything around him seemed blurred and out of focus.
"How bad?" he asked in a monotonous voice.
"We're not sure, they want the three of you up there… we should hurry" George whispered as an afterthought. Both he and Fred set off a quite a speed, and were instantaneously followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Harry had a sense of foreboding as every so often one twin would pat the other on the shoulder in a sign of comfort, while Ron was calming Hermione's sniffling next to him. As they approached the gargoyle protecting Dumbledore's office, Fred called out the password, which allowed the gargoyle to spring to life enabling them to climb aboard the moving the staircase.
As the trio entered the office behind the twins the where instantly swept up into a hug by Mrs Weasley.
"I'm so sorry, I really am, there was nothing that could be done. I'm sorry!" Mrs Weasley's voice was choked with sobs as she tried to contain her tears. The words sunk in, and Harry realised just how bad it was. He felt Hermione slowly begin to fall to the ground, her knees giving way beneath her. The news had sunk in for her as well. Harry stood still, and looked around to see the other occupants of the room. McGonagall was sitting in large red armchair, a handkerchief was held tightly in her hands while silent tears ran down her face, adding to her already puffy red eyes. Behind her stood Snape and Lupin, each had a hand resting on her shoulders in attempt at comfort. There eyes resembled that of Fred and George's red and slightly blood shot. Madame Hooch, was also there providing what Harry supposed were words of comfort to his grieving deputy headmistress. Harry looked to his left and saw Mr Weasley consoling Bill, Charlie and the twins in the corner, and when he looked down, he saw Hermione sitting on the floor rocking backwards and forwards. Ron and Mrs Weasley were on either side with arms wrapped around her trying to calm her down. He could hear Mrs Weasley's whisperings.
"Come on now Hermione, you need to be strong, you need to be strong for Professor McGonagall…" At this point Harry looked towards his distraught transfiguration professor, and slowly approached her.
Madame Hooch got up from her position on the floor and moved to stand in the space between Lupin and Snape. As Harry approached, McGonagall looked up, unshed tears were ready to fall to replace those that had been quickly wiped away.
"He was asleep Harry, he was asleep, but he just didn't wake up again. It was just what he'd have wanted." Harry's eyes began to fill at her words, as he lowered himself into Madame Hooch's previous position crouching on the floor.
"I'm so sorry Professor." Tears flowed freely from her eyes at this, as she bent forward to speak to him, and him alone.
"I know you are Harry, and so am I, I can't quite believe it." He lent forward and wrapped his arms around her neck, and she returned the offer of comfort, as she allowed herself to cry into his shoulder. The opening of the door that led to Dumbledore's chambers broke the scene of devastation. Everyone stopped and stared at the door, Harry, and many of the occupants of the room fully expected Dumbledore to appear in the doorway. Harry could see him standing there in his finest robes, and a matching hat. His bright blue eyes twinkling in amusement at the scene he would encounter. He looked to his professor, and from the glazed over look on her face, she was obviously seeing a similar image. However to Harry's anguish, when he looked to the doorway the image of Dumbledore had vanished and was instead replaced by Madame Pomfrey. Once she'd entered the room, she headed directly over towards Harry and McGonagall. Crouching down to Harry's level, she looked up to his Professor.
"Min, you can see him now, he's ready, but are you? Just take you time you don't have to do this remember." Minerva turned to her friend, and grasped her hand.
"I know Poppy, but I have to, I never got the chance to say goodbye to him, and I need to do that." Madame Pomfrey nodded her head in understanding, and stood to converse with Molly Weasley and Xiomara Hooch.
"Harry? Would you come with me please I'm not sure…"
"Of course Professor." He helped her out of the chair and slowly led her to the closed door leading to his Professor's room.
Dumbledore lay in the bed, Harry couldn't believe that this man was supposed to be dead. He had always thought of him as immortal, in all honestly he'd never though he'd see this day. Sure he'd noticed him becoming older, but to die, right now, it just didn't seem right. As he looked over the body once again, doubt sprung into his mine. He looked like he was in a deep restful sleep, maybe they'd made a big mistake, maybe Dumbledore was playing a very late April's Fools joke.
"Don't stand Harry, come and sit down." McGonagall ordered in that stern voice saved for the classroom. She had placed herself in a chair similar to the one she had previously been sitting in outside, but now it was placed next to the bed. A vacant chair next to hers was apparently intended for him, and so he took his sit as told. He looked at his mentor and friend, and turned to look at his Professor sitting next to him. Her eyes were fixed firmly on t body lying next to them, she didn't turn her head towards Harry when she spoke.
"It feels so, so surreal, like I'm living out a dream, well more of a nightmare. I keep expecting to wake up from this, and find his still there lying next to me." Harry didn't know what to say or do, all he could do was look at the body of his lifeless Headmaster.
"What am I going to do Harry? I cant live without him, he was my life, we've been together 50 odd years, and now his gone, and I don't know what I'm going to do!" McGonagall's body shook with sobs as Harry carefully put his arm around her attempting to console her grief. She lent forward and grabbed Dumbledore's hand, trying to remain in contact with him.
"It's still warm, why is it warm? Shouldn't it be cold? They said he'd passed on, why is he still warm?" Minerva had become frantic touching his hands, head, neck, arms, and chest. She could feel the warmth radiating off of him, surely he should have been cold.
"Madame Pomfrey!" Harry called out. All residents of the room outside came rushing in at the panicked tone of Harry's voice. The sight of a frantic Minerva McGonagall troubled them, and Madame Hooch, and Molly Weasley immediately grabbed her, attempting to calm her down.
"Min, what is it? What's happened?" Madame Hooch asked as she and Molly attempted to keep her away from the bed in hope of calming her down.
"What happened Harry?" Lupin asked quietly from the corner he was standing in.
"His, his still warm, and Professor McGonagall thinks his still alive because of it. It might be true mightn't it, there's a chance you could have been mistaken." The hopeful tone in Harry's voice caused a brief smile to cross Madame Pomfrey's face, but was soon replaced by a sombre look. Every head had spun to look at Madame Pomfrey. Hope shone in each set of eyes, but as she slowly shook her head, they're faces fell, and once again tears began to fall.
"I'm afraid not, his warm because it seems Albus had been cold before going to bed, and had place a warming spell on both the bottom of the bed, and the duvet covering him."
"He did what?" Minerva asked, her voice slightly higher than usual. "He put a warming spell on the bed?" Madame Pomfrey nodded in reply, as a silence enclosed the room, until a small laugh escaped Minerva's lips, it spread across the room, all amused at there friend and mentors last act.
"Trust Albus, he always felt the cold when winter was beginning to set in. His feet were the worst, always moaned about cold feet, that's why he liked his socks so much, they kept his feet warm." A small laugh escaped the lips of every person in the room, including that of Dumbledore's.
The noise that had left Dumbledore's lips, once again lifted Minerva's hopes.
"Did you hear that? His alive! Did you hear that noise? He made a noise."
"Min, its…"
"Albus its me, it's Min, wake-up Albus. I know your awake!" Her hands began to shake his body, in an effort to try and wake him, slowly they moved up to cradle his face. "Albus I know you're here, come on just open your eyes. Please open them Albus, open them for me, show me those twinkling blue eyes I'm so used to seeing. Please Albus, please don't leave me. I need you, I need you here by my side. I don't know what I'm going to do, what am I going to do without you Albus. I don't know, I need you I feel empty without you here by me, it feels as though half of me is missing, and that half is you." She lowered her head, resting her forehead against his. Tears were streaming down her eyes, and landing softly on to his beard. Hermione silently walked out of the room her body shaking as tears quickly fell, she was quickly followed by Ron whose eyes had slowly begun to shed tears, similar to those of his four brothers and father who followed gently.
"Albus please wake up, I need you, please open your eyes." The room stayed silent for a minute, but Madame Pomfrey broke it.
"Min, he's gone, he's passed on to a place that is much better than this world."
"Then why did he make that noise, why?" She turned her head to snap at Poppy, slowly she turned back to Albus, and spoke quietly. "He was trying to tell me that he was coming back, he hasn't left!"
"Min, that noise is normal, when people have passed away. It was the air escaping from his lungs that had been left there before he died. He has gone Minerva, and unfortunately, both you and I know, he isn't alive." Minerva slowly nodded her arms around Albus's neck.
"I love you Albus, I love you so much, do you know that? Do you know just how much I love you and miss you?" Her body once again began to shake with sobs, as Harry gently began to pull his distraught Professor away from his Headmaster. She fell into his arms, and was at once surrounded by Madame Hooch, and Madame Pomfrey.
"Come on Min, lets go outside for a bit," Madame Hooch suggested.
"No, no we can't leave him, he can't be left alone, its not right."
"I'll stay with him, he won't be on his own Professor." Minerva just nodded, and took one last glance and allowed herself to be led away.
A/n: I'm sorry if its all a bit jumpy, and if the grammar's bad, but it was quite hard to write, so please excuse any big mistakes. Also I intend to carry this on for I think a further two chapters, Harry and McGonagall's private conversation with him, and the funeral. Please read and review, and please no flamers, I know it may not be good, but it's from the heart.