Disclaimer: Not mine at all.


"My uncle was a great man. A man of few words as many of us may have seen during his many speeches here at Hogwarts. There weren't many times when you could find a man like him. He cared for all, Muggle, creature, and wizards alike, no matter what they have done. And he always was there to help, whenever anyone needed him and always managed to find a way to help even when he wasn't able to be there. What happened to him was tragic, but he wouldn't want us to mourn him. We should celebrate his life for what it was and all that he has done for the Muggle and Magical world. Still, he'll be sorely missed."

Harry watched as Gael resumed her seat, keeping her eyes straight a head on her Uncle's casket. On the other side of him, he felt, rather than saw, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron look over at her, possibly wondering, as he was, where were her tears.


Harry moved back over to Gael, who still sat in her seat. She sat with her head down now, staring at her hands while her hair made a curtain around her face.

He sat beside her but said nothing, just waited.

"You're free to say I told you so," she said suddenly and so softly that Harry wasn't sure he had even heard.

"I'm finding that I don't want to," he answered.

"I'll do it for you then." She cleared her throat. " 'Gael, I told you that Draco Malfoy was up to trouble. If you had listened to me and stayed away from him then –'"

"Nothing would have changed," Harry said. He gestured to the white tomb in front of them. "This – this probably still would have happened. It's not your fault, Gael."

Harry watched her clench her hands together, her knuckles turning white. "I trusted him Harry. I told him things that I've never told anyone else. I – I bore my soul to him."

"It could have happened to anyone, Gael."

"But –" She looked up and the look in her eyes scared him. Gone was the girl whom he had met ten months ago with the almost cheerful and vague disposition, whose smile could brighten up a room in a second. The girl that sat next to him gazed at her Uncle's tomb with hard, cold eyes, all smiles gone from her as if they never existed. "It's not fair. He was the only one I had left."

Harry realized why it scared him so much. This – this must have been how he looked after he lost Sirius. He reached over and gently took her hand in his. "You have us," he said, knowing though, that it wasn't the same, and probably never would be the same, like it had been for him. Dumbledore had been the only one she had known for so many years. He had had the Weasleys, Ron, and Hermione for so long that they had become his family.

She didn't respond either way. Harry didn't realize that today would be the last time anyone heard her speak for a long time. He tightened his grip on her hand. "Come on. Mrs. Weasley already said it's alright for you to come stay with them. But we've got to get to the train."

Gael stood when he pulled her up, the only sign that she was even still with him consciously. But then she tightened her grip ever so slightly on his hand.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.


A/N: So this is the end of this but . . . there will be a sequel. I hope you stay tuned for that. Thanks a bunch everyone.