A Broken Young Man
By: Knucklehead McSpazatron
Summary: A few months after the Final Battle, an interesting funeral is held on the Hogwarts Grounds.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and her affiliates. This is, of course, me. If you believed that, then I also have some very lovely diamond jewelry set for you here, for an easy $199.99. Come on, you know you want them…
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The funeral pyre was built, and the body was wrapped in cloth, sitting atop it. There weren't many people at the funeral, the 15 Hogwarts School Teachers making up the majority of the crowd. After everyone was settled, Harry Potter stood and made his way to the podium.
"I am here today," he began, "to talk to you all about a young man not so different from myself. This young man's mother was killed giving birth, and then he grew up in a muggle orphanage, despite his very-much-alive father. At the orphanage he was bullied daily, until such a point as he put a stop to it in the only way he knew how, by instilling fear in them all. When he turned eleven, he got his Hogwarts letter."
"The young man arrived at Hogwarts ecstatic, and promptly became a Slytherin. There, he was once again ridiculed, this time for his impure blood. Despite this, Hogwarts became a home to him, and he was devastated when he learned he couldn't stay infinitely. Year after year, he tried to stay the summer, but was continually shot down. Soon, he decided it wasn't worth it, and turned to the Dark Arts to comfort him. He became a revered and feared name, and when he finally graduated, none were sorry to see him go. Before leaving however, he made one last stab at remaining at his beloved school. He applied for a teaching position."
"When he was denied yet again, something broke in him. Up till then, his goal in life was to save any witch or wizard from the horrible fate he himself had suffered, and to get revenge on those few that had made his early years detestable. Now, however, it was to destroy all the muggles and everyone who supported them, dropping into insanity and blaming them for his life. It was then that Tom Riddle ceased to exist, and Lord Voldemort came into being."
"Years past, his reign of terror grew, and he stooped more and more into insanity every year. Gone was the cautious Slytherin, in his place was a power hungry madman, bent on destroying the human race. Three months ago, his soul was destroyed."
"His body degenerated into what was last known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, and that is who we are burying today, a broken young man, Head Boy, star Chaser and model student. A young Slytherin with a dream to spare any other child from the mind shattering horrors he had been subjected to. A twenty-one year old who wanted nothing more than to stay at Hogwarts forever."
With that, Harry turned and set the funeral pyre aflame. They sat in silence for several hours, and only when nothing but ashes remained did they move. A flick of a wand sealed the only earthly remains of Riddle in a simple urn, and they set off towards the lake. The urn was opened once more, and within seconds dust and ash were being spread all over Hogwarts. One by one, they apparated away.
When Hogwarts reopened in the fall, there were two new additions to the castle. The first was a large memorial with the names of everyone, death eater or otherwise, who had died in the war. This was stationed behind the Head Table in the Great Hall as a constant reminder of all that had given everything. The second was a banner in the entrance hall, beneath which sat an urn, which read "To a broken young man. May another never suffer as you did."