Disclaimer: I own nothing. Now let's not rub it in shall we?
A gloom filled the cold, unfeeling walls of 12 Grimmauld Place-or more so than it usually did.
An eerie hush descended upon its occupants, and sadness writhed around the damp, musty air, engulfing everyone in its midst.
Even Mrs Black was strangely silent, and Kreacher's mumbling didn't contain quite so much of its usual venom. But we can be sure that their quietness was not to be taken as a sign of their mourning for the death of the last Black.
A watery sunlight tries to break through the grimy windows, and marks the beginnings of a long hot summer. Today is Sirius Black's funeral.
There was no body of course, it is just remembrance. Organised, scheduled remembrance. Small- nothing but a mark of respect from those who loved and respected him. He wouldn't have wanted anything lavish anyway.
Well actually, Harry thought, smiling slightly, he probably would have done. Something ridiculous; dramatic and sad, yet almost comical. He would have wanted tears, and grief, obviously, but ultimately laughter. What else for a man who lived his life like he did? But no, under the circumstances…
So this was how it was going to be. The date itself was completely irrelevant, just a day when everyone was together. It wasn't planned either, it was just suddenly decided that today was going to be the day they all paid him a proper tribute. Together. It would bring finality to his death, yet also force them to relive everything, a final time, before finally being able to push it… beyond the veil.
Harry dressed slowly, and robotically. There was a sense of excitement within him, knowing that finally he might get closure, that some, at least, of the wounds might be closed. Maybe I'll finally be able to cry.
He didn't really know what to wear. Black obviously, sombre and respectful. But the only black he owned were his school robes, and they seemed so inappropriate. It was however the best he could do. He looked at the photo of his parents' wedding, once more being his by his resemblance to his father. It was a good thing he thought, almost like a part of his father, maybe, was also shining through him, and that both of them would remember together, their best friend; their family.
With great force he put the photo down, and heaved himself off his bed. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to lock himself in his room, with his thoughts, and his photo, but remembered what Dumbledore had said to him during his very first year- 'It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.' Realising properly what he had meant, he walked hurriedly to the door, opened it, and didn't look back.
When he arrived downstairs, Harry was met with a strange sight. Colour. Everyone was crowded into the small front room, waiting for him. But each of them seemed to be wearing the most colourful items they owned. Tonks in fact had even turned her hair a brilliant turquoise to mark the occasion. Harry was baffled-was this some wizarding tradition that no-one had told him about? Seeing his expression
'So you didn't hear then?' Remus laughed, but when his own eyes met Harry's welling ones, and he saw the look of shock on his face, he gently pulled him aside, and led him through to the kitchen.
'So, I guess no-one told you,' he repeated, but this time he sounded sad, weary. Harry looked down at his feet miserably.
'Hey, it's OK, let me just explain Harry,' he put his hand on Harry's shoulder.
'You see, Sirius had a final request. An informal sort of will you see. He knew that anything could happen to him, and wanted to make sure… I guess he didn't quite imagine things to be like this… a part of him hoped that… no-one knows what could happen nowadays…' he trailed off.
'So anyway,' he restarted, trying to brighten his voice slightly, 'Sirius had just one thing he wanted. No matter what circumstances it was under, he didn't want anyone at his funeral wearing black.'
'But why?'
'Because! Because it stands for everything he hates! Darkness, shadows, sadness! It's the colour of the sky at night, a colour of evil, one of hopelessness.' Remus spoke quickly, animatedly, trying to make Harry understand.
'And most of all, it signifies a family that he hated. Do you see now? He can finally escape a name that cursed him, that was never more than a label.'
And Harry understood. He did see.
'Harry, you know Sirius wouldn't want you to be sad. Well actually no, that's a lie, he'd probably want everyone to be utterly devastated,' he laughed. Harry smiled.
'But seriously he wouldn't want us to dwell on the bad things. Let's think of all the good things about his life. We need to, especially in times like this.'
Harry nodded, deep in thought. Having overcome his initial shock, he noticed that Remus was wearing red. He'd bought new robes too, nice ones, that looked similar to his Quidditch robes.
'Red,' Remus said quietly, as if reading Harry's mind. 'I chose red because it represents courage, something that he valued above all else. It would remind him of the times when he was happiest.' With that Remus smiled the first true smile that Harry had seen in months.
'Let's go now,' he whispered. And so they went, back to the group of people waiting anxiously for them. It was amazing seeing quite so many of them all together, and for a moment, knowing why they were all there, and what it meant, Grimmauld Place didn't seem like such a dark place. Harry changed quickly into his dress robes, the green ones he wore to the Yule Ball years ago, and then they left. He wasn't sure where exactly it was they ended up, but they went far, far away from Grimmauld Place, leaving Sirius' past behind them. To think of all the good things.
A/N: Aah, so that's what happens when plot bunnies attack you in the middle of the night!
Please review (though no flames please puppy dog eyes) I'd love to hear what you thought, and hear any suggestions, as this was just a rough scribbling-most of which I did on the backs of receipts during a spare few minutes at work! I just wanted to get the idea down really.
Anyway, I liked the basic idea for this, and the odd bit, but got fed up doing the in-betweeny bits. Hope you enjoyed it though, and will check out the other story I'm working on at the moment. Hopefully the first chapter will finally appear soon, as I posted it ages ago and it didn't work, so I've done it again. First chapter? That's right, it's not just a one-shot! Amazing!
Lemmy
Xxx
Taken from The Philosopher's Stone, page 157.
