It was the day after the burial and there was another meeting. This time, McGonagal started the meeting, not Dumbledore.

"Okay, enough time has gone by. We need to figure out what to do to honor the dead." It was only at this point that Harry noticed that the portraits that had been on the desk at the first meeting, were gone. "So far, the plan is to offer the families the option of burying their loved ones at Hogwarts. If not, there will be a memorial service and then send them home. We need ideas for a fitting monument. Kingsley has been working at the Ministry, trying to restore order and has decided to put a monument in there as well. What we need to do is decide what it will be. Does anyone have any ideas?"

It was a week after the Great Battle of Hogwarts. It was time for the memorial service.

Of the 50 or so people died, 26 were going to be buried on the Hogwarts grounds. Two of those people were Tonks and Lupin. Andromeda, Tonks' mother, had decided to have her daughter buried there and Lupin had no family to decide where to bury him, so he would be buried with his wife. Colin Creevey and Fred were going to be buried in their families' plots.

The big question was, what to do with the dead Death Eaters? Neville came up with the idea to bury them in the Forbidden Forest, as they had done with Voldemort. Somehow, Shacklebolt, McGonagal, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were able to fing their way back to the spot where they buried Voldemort. In the same suit, they were lowered 7 feet below the ground and black stones with the name of the Death Eater.

It was three in the afternoon. It was decided to use the Quidditch pitch for the ceremony, as it was the only place big enough to seat all the mourners. McGonagal performed a little Transfiguration and the stands, insted of their normal Hogwarts house colors, were black. When evryone was seated, a small group of people entered the stadium and sat on a small platform that was erected on the half pitch line. When they were seated, silence fell upon the crowd.

With the silence came a procession of the families of those who had died. Among the group was the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley could hardly walk on her own. She was grasping Mr. Weasley's arm on one side and Bill's on the other. Ron, Ginny, Charlie, Percy and George followed.

Also among the group was the Creevey family. Colin's father, a muggle, was there with Dennis. Dennis looked small and pale and he moved in the trance-like state.

When all the families entered, they took seats in the first row of the stands. When everyone was sitting, Kingsley Shacklebolt rose from his seat on the dais, and walked to a podium that appeared out of nowhere. His loud, slow, deep, voice resonated throughout the staduim as he started to speak.

"My friends, we have come today not to mourn, but to honor those who have given their lives for a better world. They left us in a blaze of glory. Each of them fought their hardest and their best. Now, because of their sacrifice, their families and friends will live in a better world, which is what they wanted. We may mourn now, but I know they are in a better place and would not want us to cry." With that, Kingsley stepped back and looked to Harry. Harry was going to speak.

All night, Harry had worked on what to say. In the end, he could not write anything down and decided to speak from his heart.

"These were my friends, classmates, family who died. They fought for what they thoguht was right. We could not ask for anything more. They will be respected for generations to come. I know I will remember them. They were respectful, smart, joyful, and funny. They were my family." At this point, Harry could not continue. He stepped back. After a moment, he took his place back at the podium. "Let us not make their sacrifices be in vain. Let us work together to rebuild our world. Let us build the ties of friendship that are needed so terribly. Thank you."

When Harry went back to his seat, The crowd rose as one and clapped. Harry turned red with embarrassment, but it did not last long. At that moment, a large white stone materialized out of thin air in the middle of the pitch. Suspended by magic, it hung in midair until it came to settle on a large stand in the middle of the field. The stone was a obelisk, made of white marble that matched the marble of Dumbledore's grave.

A short wizard, in fact the same person who had done Dumbledore's funerial, stepped forward to talk. "This is the marble that will be used for the monument that will stand on the Hogwarts grounds as a reminder of what happened here only a week ago. All the names of the people who died will be inscribed on it. To show their personalities, their signatures will also be used. Each signature has its own flavor. We decided this would be the best way to remember these honored dead as they were, not just as cold names on a slab of marble. Thank you."

Five hours later, the slab of marble was embedded in the ground near where Dumbledore's grave was. The names and signatures had been magically inscribed. Surrounding the marble were gravestones, each in the shape of a rectangle with the corners rounded. They were the raves of the people who were to be buried at Hogwarts. Harry stayed for all the funerals that were done and was planning to go to as many others as possible. He felt that he owed a debt to those who had died.

That night, Harry stayed with the Weasleys at the Burrow. Hogwarts was let out for the summer and Harry felt that it would be a bit too still to stay there. Harry was put in Ron's room and Hermione was staying with Ginny. It was a long night. Mrs. Weasley did not do much. She was still in shock from the memorial service. Fred was going to be buried in three days in the Weasley plot. Ginny and Hermione ended up cooking dinner.

Yet, from the whole night, Harry just remembered sitting next to Ginny at dinner and holding her hand the entire time.

Sorry this took so long. Writers block. I had a lot of trouble with the memorial service. I know it is probably really bad and feel free to sned in suggestions. I will not take any offence in the least. I will welcome it with open virtual arms.

Thank you to the 33 people who put this story on their Story Alert. In saying this, I know there are 33 people who will read this and I expect 33 new reviews.

Thanks for Reading!!

Defying Gravity

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