The Funeral of Fred Weasley
Note: This is a companion piece to The Last Will and Testament of Fred Weasley. It's not a must for all readers to read that, but it would be a little more helpful.
The funeral for Fred Weasley took place a week after the Battle of Hogwarts, on the 9th of May.
It was at the request of Kingsley, the Acting Minister of Magic and Professor McGonagall, the Acting Headmistress of Hogwarts, that all who gave their lives in the battle to be buried at Hogwarts ground, where a monument would be constructed in time.
Mr and Mrs Weasley agreed, but at the insistence of George and Percy, the funeral was to be held right outside the Burrow. A large, white tentage was built not far from the Weasley's home, not unlike the tent built for Bill and Fleur's wedding, and was decorated with Fred's favourite colorrs; the Gryffindor colours.
One might say having such bright colours for a funeral was not a sign of respect for the dead, but no one could say "No" to George's demands. Afterall, he did have five additional wands at his disposal, sponsored by five very supportive siblings.
George held onto a piece of parchment and watched from his very quiet room. Bill, Charlie and Percy stood at the entrance of the tent, shaking hands and thanking all who came to pay their last respects.
"George?" The voice of his sister called. "It's time."
George turned, to see Ginny dressed in a golden dress. He could not resist the urge to smile, as he strode across his room and pulled his baby sister into a tight embrace.
"I love you, Ginny," he whispered.
"I love you too, George," he heard the choked reply from his sister.
Atop the podium, was the Acting Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, conducting the service for Fred. He was currently mid-way through his speech in gratitude for Fred. George sat quietly beside his parents and siblings yet ahead of his entire family. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother wiping silent tears with the hem of her sleeves.
"We, at the Ministry of Magic, give thanks to Fred Weasley, for his sacrifice in the battle of Hogwarts. And above all, I would like to give my deepest condolences to Arthur and his family, for the loss of a fine son and brother." Kingsley concluded his speech. He raised his wand in air. "To Fred Weasley."
"To Fred Weasley," the crowd stood up in echos of murmurs of whispers and chanting, raising their wands like Kingsley. George stood up at that point, much to the surprise of his family and walked towards Kingsley.
"May I have a moment?" he asked.
Kingsley looked deeply at the twin and nodded. He stepped back and gave a little nod and stepped off, leaving George alone on the podium.
George swallowed and looked at the crowd. Among which, he spotted his extended Weasley family, including Aunt Muriel; his old Quidditch team mates, Oliver, Lee, Alicia and Katie. He also spotted his classmates from other houses, some regular customers of the joke shop and many more he could not recognize.
"Hello," George started before realizing his voice was too thick and almost choked. He cleared his throat quickly before continuing. "I am George Weasley and I'm the twin brother of Fred Weasley."
"That's the bloke lying in there," George pointed at Fred's coffin while the sound of restrained chuckles rippled through the crowd. A faint smile touched his lips as he paused, looking at the two wands in his grip. The sight of his and Fred's wands seemed to give him the courage to continue.
"Fred is my twin. That being said, we share the same face, the same voice, almost the same character, except perhaps not quite the same ears," he continued wryly. "It doesn't matter if he's having tea with Dumbledore up there now, he will always be my twin brother."
From behind him, he could hear the chuckles of his siblings.
"As much as I would like to keep to the adage that nothing but good should be spoken of the dead, unfortunately, my twin was and is an arsehole, even from the beyond."
The crowd unrestrainedly gasped at George's words. The smile on George's face widened ever so lightly.
"Last night, I came across a stack of parchment hidden under the floorboards of my old room. Apparently, on the night I lost this," he pointed to his missing ear. "Fred wrote his will and some letters, to our family members, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Angelina Johnson."
George could almost feel the quizzical stares of those who received a bequest from Fred but he persisted on, willing his voice to remain steady.
"Now, that shouldn't be a bad thing at all, except with each of these letters, he successfully achieved what he had always wanted to since we were ten years old; cause a mental meltdown for the family. How? Here's an excerpt from what he wrote to me.
"Like what I told Mum, Dad, and all the others. The following are words I could never say to your face.
We are twins, and will always be. We laugh as twins, we fight as twins. We are two halves of a whole Weasley, no matter what happens. As twins our identities are entwined. I'm Fred Weasley, and I'm also Gred Weasley; just like how you are George Weasley and Forge Weasley.
Thank you, for being my brother.
I love you, Georgie. I love you very, very much."
When George looked up from reading Fred's letter, he saw many members of the crowd dabbing their eyes with the hems of their sleeves or robes. Tears streaming down the cheeks of his old Quidditch team mates, in particular, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. His throat tightened as Angelina buried her face into Katie's shoulder but he cleared his throat and continued.
"For twenty years I've lived with this arse and never once had he had the galls to tell me this in the face. For twenty years we lived together as Weasleys," George gestured to his family. "He never said such words to anyone of us, but only in death, did he find the courage to tell us the words from his heart."
"Tell me, isn't he a huge arse?" George smiled at the crowd, triggering a chorus of "Yes" among the chuckles. He turned back at Fred's coffin. "You see Fred, everyone agrees."
The crowd chuckled louder at that.
"But he is still my twin brother, he is still our brother, so we still love him for being such an arse."
Now, he could hear the faint chuckles from his parents and siblings.
George paused for a moment to allow the crowd to quiet down a little more before continuing. "When Fred left, he left behind his family and friends. He left behind people who loves him, and people whom he loved. Some, he never got to tell them in time," George looked at Angelina, who held his gaze with tears streaming down her cheeks. She touched her neck, where she wore the two rings on her necklace.
"Today, as I stand before you, cussing my dear ol' twin, I'd like to ask each and everyone of you; when you make your way home after the service, please tell your families and friends how much you care for them and how much you love them, face to face. Do not wait till it is too late."
George could not speak for a moment as he ended his previous statement. Tears flooded his eyes, which he hurriedly blinked away.
"That being said, I love you, Mum, Dad, for everything you have given," George continued, his voice thick. "I love the entire Weasley clan, my siblings, Bill, Charlie, Perce, Ron, Ginny, all my cousins and even you, Aunt Muriel, as grouchy as you are."
Aunt Muriel grunted in displeasure at George's teasing note.
"I love my future in-laws, Harry, Hermione and best mates, of course, Lee, Oliver, Alicia, Katie and Angelina," George's tone softened unconsciously at Angelina's name, but the crowd didn't notice. They were clapping mildly as George continued his speech.
"We love you too. Georgie!" Lee and Oliver called back at him in unison, causing the crowd to burst into laughter. George could not resist a grin and raised a thumbs up at his best mates.
"There's one thing that probably no one knew about my twin, not even my parents," George continued and the crowd quietened down. "He used to sing to himself in the showers while we were living together in our apartment, not realizing he woke me up with his squawking."
The crowd burst into laughter again and this time George heard his parents chuckling loudly.
"But I know he enjoys singing, so today, I would like to end this very long eulogy of mine with a song dedicated to him."
"We heard this song on a Muggle radio frequency twice while we were preparing for Potterwatch. There was a private joke, that when one of us had passed on, the other will sing this as a goodbye song. So Fred, here goes."
For a moment, George could only hear the loud beating of his heart.
Then, there was a sudden gust of wind that burst through the tent, ruffling his hair. George smiled faintly, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Days of devils, kings and clowns
Angel songs and birthday tunes
Valentines and wishing wells
Magic stairways, moods, and Junes
Silly rhymes and monkeyshines
Pictures on a stage
Round and round the records go
Time to turn the page
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
Misty faces, far off places
Came and danced across the stage
Sha na na´s and Doo be down´s
The sounds that chased away the blues
Yesterday is yesterday
The past is dead and gone
Nostalgia just gets in the way
Let´s stop hanging on
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
Now we go our separate ways
And the world we used to know
Scratchy worn out 45´s
An echo on the radio
Tra la days are over now
Those days of you and me
Now we know that breaking up is
Really hard to do
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
There´s no other way to say good-bye..."
Silence hung over the tent as George finished off the last note for a heartbeat. He opened his eyes and was greeted with a crowd that looked as though they were Stunned.
Nonetheless, George continued. With the two wands gripped in his hand, he pointed at the sky. Sparks the shape of a hyena and a coyote burst out from the tips of his wands. The two animals galloped towards the sky and exploded into a magnificent display of fireworks before forming the shape of the constellation, Gemini, the twins.
"For Fred," George muttered hoarsely into the mike, no longer able to control his tears
He walked to Fred's coffin, feeling tears streamed steadily from his eyes as he watched the peaceful, sleeping form of his twin brother. It was the first time he had ever looked at his brother's body since the battle. He took his wand and tucked it under Fred's cold, stiff wand-hand, feeling a weird sense of disorientation with only Fred's wand on his hand. George bend over and touched Fred's forehead with his, slipping a folded piece of parchment, his letter, under Fred's head.
"I love you, Fred," he whispered.
When he left the podium, he saw Bill standing up and clapped. It wasn't long before the entire tent was filled with a thundering applause and George found himself in his parents' tight hold the instance he was back at his seat. Then he felt more arms around him and the muffled chokes and sobs of his siblings.
"We're so proud of you, George," his mother whispered into his ear. "Thank you."
That evening, George was back in his room, fiddling with Fred's wand. The wand seemed a little more comfortable now, seeing that he had used it the entire afternoon during the burial service. He shrunk Fred's letter to a pocket size and kept it in his money bag, where he knew it will be with him for the rest of his life.
"George?"
George looked up to see two of his mates from the old Quidditch team. He shifted his position and gestured for them to take a seat on his bed. Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson sat down, both with identical swollen eyes.
"You wanted to talk?" Katie asked quietly, taking George's hand, out of habit more than anything else. George nodded and reached for Angelina's hand as well. He smiled when Katie reached for Angelina's hand, who smiled somewhat sheepishly when she held the hand of her best mate.
"I guess since Fred is not here, I should explain some things to both of you," George started. "But first, I should start off with apologizing, for what my arse of a brother did to both you and Angelina..."
Author's Note:
As promised, a one shot companion piece of my short story, The Last Will and Testament of Fred Weasley. This funeral scene was supposed to be the epilogue of the story, but later on, I decided to keep to my original plan and separate this as an individual standalone.
When I was writing The Last Will, I read many other fanfics dedicated to George. A rather common pattern was that George was so upset, he did not attend Fred's funeral. But in my world, I see George planning and attending Fred's funeral; and George was the only person who has the ability to make it a funeral worthy of Fred Weasley, the prankster.
This is how I imagine Fred's funeral to be. With tears, with laughter and with fireworks the shape of their Patronuses.
(Fred's Patronus is a hyena. George's coyote)
George never truly recovered from Fred's death, that much we know of, but that doesn't mean he was not capable of moving on. But in order for him to move on, he needs to have closure.
In fact, all of us needs closure.
This is George's closure.
Thank you for reading.
Signing off
Rainremember.
PS: The song George sang is titled "Our Last Song Together", by Neil Sedaka