Hi guys! Thank you very much for the lovely reviews and messages, you guys really are awesome! Unfortunately, I've decided that I'm only going to post one chapter a week now, instead of every other day (sorry!). I hope that you continue to read though! Thanks once again to theruinerofeverything and KatoftheKittyVariety and now Sponghead for beta-ing! :)
Chapter 7
The morning of Fred's funeral had arrived and Harry had woken up especially early. He hadn't really slept much from nerves and the fact he had been babysitting Teddy last night didn't help. Harry paced the up and down the end of his bed, re running through his mind what he was going to say again and again. Hermione found him pacing when she came to check on him at eight in the morning.
"Calm down Harry, it's going to be fine." She said, but Harry couldn't. He thought that after he had defeated Voldemort, everything else would be easy, but this was different. He couldn't bear the fact that he may let the Weasleys down, after all they had done for him. He just needed to get through this, get past today and all this worry about the speech would be like a long forgotten dream.
He reluctantly began to get changed into his suit. It was a navy suit but it had a bright red tie, as they had been asked not to wear black. Ron joked about not getting a dark coloured suit and getting an electric pink one, but after a lot of trying to dissuade him, Harry won in getting him to wear a dark burgundy suit. Hermione knocked on the door, to ask if he was ready to go. She was wearing her lilac dress, the one she had worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding last year. Harry finished getting ready and then walked downstairs. He passed the room that was covered in the Black's family tree. The door was open a crack and he couldn't stop himself as he pushed open the door and walked inside.
Harry stood looking at the wall that showed the most recent Blacks; Harry's hand went up as he touched the burn mark on the wall, with Sirius's name written under it. Harry missed Sirius. He'd only known him for two years but he had been the closest thing that Harry had ever known to family. Sirius's help and guidance was things that had helped him to survive the Tri wizard tournament. He'd also been the only father figure he'd ever known, he didn't count uncle Vernon who Harry didn't even think was a particularly good human figure. But Harry needed Sirius, he was a godfather himself and he had no idea of what to do with Teddy. Sirius always seemed to know exactly what to say to Harry. Harry thought that if was here now, he'd tell him to put on a brave face and go. He also realised that there had been no funeral for Sirius, since there was no body and he was also a wanted man. Harry wanted a funeral for Sirius, but the order thought it was best not to hold one. Harry looked at the clock on the mantelpiece and realised he was going to be late. With a final tap on Sirius's name, he left the room.
Harry and Hermione arrived at the Burrow an hour before the funeral was to take place. Mr and Mrs Weasley had finally made it out of their bedroom, but it didn't look like either of them had gotten any sleep recently. Molly was dressed in a faded red dress, which she clearly didn't want to wear to the funeral of her son, but then Harry didn't think she wanted a funeral for any of her children, at least in her lifetime anyway. Bill was sitting in a corner with Fleur, talking to Charlie, who had arrived at the Burrow last night from Romania. Bill wore a black suit, but with a purple tie and Charlie the same but with a blue tie. Fleur was looking very nice in her silver dress, but had a sad expression on her face. Everyone looked a little peculiar, wearing bright colours while all looking so down, the group of people in the room looked like a depressed rainbow.
Ginny was over in the corner, fiddling with a flower bouquet. Her emerald green dress made her look amazing, but her expression made her look like a forlorn heroine out of a fairy tale. Harry could help but stare at her. After a moment, she looked up at him; clearly she had felt the heaviness of his gaze. Harry tried to look away quickly, but this just made Ginny smile a little as his awkwardness. But right at that moment, Bill stood up an announced that people were beginning to arrive. Ginny walked away from Harry, towards the entrance to welcome people with her family.
Harry noticed that music was playing in the background. George had told him it was a muggle band, and the song called Troublemaker. Fred had really liked it.
The room was beginning to fill up slowly. Harry noticed that several members of the Order of the Phoenix had been invited, as well as many of the DA. Harry recognised a lot of people, but he didn't feel in the mood to talk to anyone. Before he knew it, Bill was standing at the front and talking to everyone.
"Hello everyone, and thank you very much for coming. Today, we are here to remember and celebrate the life of my baby brother, Fred."
Mrs Weasley gave out a small moan at the mention of Fred's name. Bill continued talking but Harry zoned out, focusing on Mrs Weasley. He hadn't seen her at all since the battle, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what she must be going through. Harry began to focus on Bill again.
"… and now, we'll hear a few words from our close family friend, Harry Potter." Harry's mouth went dry as he stood up and made his way to where Bill was currently standing. Bill sat down and all eyes in the room were fixed on Harry.
"Fred Weasley was one of the first people I met, when I entered the wizarding world." Harry began, "I was struggling to find platform nine and three quarters in King's Cross station after being told to go there by Hagrid. I was completely lost when I heard Mrs Weasley and the boys talking about the platform so I followed them. I remember Fred teasing his mother about him being George and not Fred. He was also the person who helped me get my trunk on the Hogwarts express that first time. He seemed very excited to see me, but I didn't really understand why at that point. He also did me a great favour once by making my cousin's tongue swell up with one of his treats. All the time I knew Fred, he was always joking with people, making them smile, it was what he was good at and he loved it."
Harry's mind began to spin. This wouldn't be his speech. With a new resolve, Harry decided to abandon his prepared speech and just speak from his heart. Hermione would get him later, but he felt he needed to do this.
"Fred was one of the kindest people I knew. I cannot count the number of times he helped me out when I needed it. Fred gave me so much throughout the time I knew him, including many things that benefitted everyone, especially in these last few months. He was a faithful member of the DA, and later the order, and without him, I think that many things may have turned out differently."
"On the night of the battle, we'd all been fighting for hours and it appeared like we were losing. Fred died before we had won, so he never knew of the victory that he had helped to win, and for that I am very sorry. Fred fought bravely that night as did many others, and he was the unlucky one. But without him there, we may have lost. We all owe our gratitude to Fred for what he did for us all, and we can never repay that. He sacrificed himself, so our lives could be saved from Voldemort. I know that I am eternally indebted to him, and I wish that I could tell him that. I know that Fred will be missed by everyone here, his jokes, his humour and his presence, but I hope that you will have some comfort in knowing that he made your life better. He was a great friend, brother and man and I know that we will all remember him as one of the bravest Gryffindor's who ever lived. Thank you."
Harry looked around at the faces that were staring at him, many of which were brimming with tears and Harry hoped he hadn't mucked up the speech too badly. He glanced towards Hermione who mouthed 'well done' at him. Harry walked back over to his chair and sat down. Bill stood up again and continued with the rest of the service, but Harry didn't really pay much attention. Tears had begun to roll down his cheeks as looked at Fred's coffin. He had meant every word he had said, he was eternally indebted to Fred and he was going to miss him. Harry simply sat there and cried.
