Chapter 14
The Weasley Family Graveyard
Author's Note: Two issues with dates in this story. 1) I just realized that in my story, Teddy Lupin's birth month will be different because I think I had Tonks get pregnant earlier than she did in the actual book. In my story, it is March, and in the canon, it is April. 2) Bill and Fleur's wedding is August 1st, one day after Harry's birthday. I think I might have, at some point in the story, put Harry's birthday being on a Thursday. It will be on a Friday instead. My apologies for both issues.
(Harry's PoV)
When Harry went down to the bottom floor of the Burrow that evening for dinner, he was the last to arrive. The tiny kitchen table was already full, due to the twelve seated so close together around the table. Even George, who looked like he could pass out at any moment, thanks to the multiple medical potions he had to indulge, and Mr. Weasley, whose mending leg was propped up in a nearby chair, were sitting there with everyone.
"Harry, I made a plate with all the fixings for you," Mrs. Weasley said, pointing to a plate on the table, "Come sit down with us."
"Er... I think I'll sit in the living room, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, picking up his plate, "There are twelve sitting here already. You know what they say about thirteen sitting at one table."
Everyone looked up at him. Harry could tell that some of them thought he had gone mental, so he smiled softly and retreated into the living room. He sat down in a rocking chair near the fireplace. When he looked toward the kitchen, he noticed Ginny, Hermione and Ron staring at him. He looked away from them, and his eyes went toward the back door of the house. Harry expected Mad-Eye Moody to stump in through the door and announce to the house that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Alas, Harry knew that was not to be. Moody was gone and he was not coming back. None of those he had lost, those who had died for him, were ever coming back.
Harry had only finished half the food on his plate when he heard laughter echo from the kitchen. He looked toward the table guests and wondering what in the world could they be laughing about. How anyone could laugh tonight when there so much had happened in so little time. He shook his head and stared at his plate. He stood up, set it on the coffee table nearby and retreated back up the stairs toward Ron's room.
When he arrived, he found the make-shift cot in Ron's tiny closet and pulled it out, then set it across the room. Just as he was about to lay down, he heard a knock on the door. He turned around and saw Ginny standing there in the doorway.
"You almost missed out on dessert," she said, holding up the plate of treacle tart.
Ginny shut the door behind her. She walked over to Ron's bed and placed the plate in the center of it, before sitting on it and resting her back against the wall of the attic. She looked up at Harry and patted a hand on the bed, beckoning him over. He stared at her hand for a moment, before he walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. Ginny picked up a piece of treacle tart and started in on it. Harry tried his best not to stare at her mouth as she bit into small piece of treacle. He shook himself mentally, clearing his thoughts.
"Ginny, what do you want?" he asked. "Because I know you didn't come up just to give me dessert."
"I wanted to talk to you," Ginny said, "About... stuff."
"Stuff," Harry echoed.
"Did you hear Remus and Tonks' announcement?" Ginny asked.
"I haven't talked to either of them since I arrived," Harry said; that wasn't honest... he might have said a word or two to them when they had returned from Surrey, but he had forgotten what that was.
He picked up a piece of treacle tart and nibbled on it.
"Remus is going to be a father," Ginny said. "Tonks is pregnant."
Harry almost choked. "What?" he asked.
"Remus announced it earlier tonight," Ginny said.
"I wasn't aware they were even married," Harry said, "Why didn't they tell me? I consider Remus a close friend."
"Because they aren't married," Ginny said.
Harry swallowed a bite of the tart as he looked at Ginny.
"Oh," Harry said, then a thought came to his mind, "Wait a damn minute! Tonks was one of my escorts... and she's pregnant?"
"I was wondering when you would get to that part," Ginny said, raising her eyebrows.
"Why?" Harry asked, "How could Remus -"
"Apparently even Remus couldn't stop her from being a part of your escort team," Ginny said, "Simply because Remus was a part of it."
"And – is she okay?" Harry asked, "The baby –?"
"They're both fine," Ginny said, "Mum checked up on her. As you might guess, she's rather good when it comes to maternity stuff. Besides Tonks was very cheerful during dinner. She was very chatty about it. She's due in March apparently."
"How does Remus feel?" Harry asked.
"Er – he really didn't say anything," Ginny said.
"I'm sure he's still trying to get it through his head," Harry said, chuckling.
"Probably," Ginny said.
She picked up another piece of treacle tart and bit into it.
"I'm working at Fred and George's shop," Ginny said. "Summer job."
"That's great," Harry said, grinning.
"Unfortunately, with George on the mend," Ginny said, "And the wedding in six days, I'm not sure when I'll be going back to the shop."
"Why did you get a job, if I may ask?" Harry asked, "I mean – it would only be for about six weeks total, wouldn't it?"
Ginny stared at the remaining half of the tart in her hand.
"I – er – I wanted to be able to afford your birthday gift," she said.
"Ginny," Harry said, "You don't have to buy me a gift."
"Don't worry," Ginny scoffed, "I might not even be able to afford one now anyway."
"I don't mind," Harry said, "Really."
She turned her attention toward him and looked into his eyes. He looked at hers and had almost forgotten how beautiful they were. He had forgotten how he used to be able to get so easily lost in them. He had to force himself to look away, but he instantly regret it, when his eyes fell on Pigwidgeon's empty cage, and it reminded him of Hedwig's cage that he left in Surrey, and how it would never be used again.
"I got your letter," Ginny said, "a couple days ago."
There it was. The real reason Ginny was in her brother's room.
"Did you?" Harry muttered, trying not to linger too long on the fact that Ginny's letter had been the last one Hedwig had ever delivered.
Ginny nodded. "It was very sweet," she said.
"Really?" Harry asked, "Then why didn't you give me a reply?"
Ginny looked away from Harry and sighed audibly.
"I was going to," Ginny said, "I really was. Because I thought it might have meant that you had really regret that talk you had with me at Professor Dumbledore's funeral."
"Ginny," Harry began, but Ginny raised her hand cutting him off.
"And then," she said, over him, "I talked to Hermione. She said that she doesn't think you're going to want to get into a relationship again as long as... You-Know-Who is still a threat."
"Smart girl, that Hermione," Harry said, chuckling.
"So it's true?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know the answer to that, Ginny," Harry said.
"So – y-you don't feel anything for me anymore?" Ginny asked, tears sparkling in her eyes.
"I don't know the answer to that either," Harry said, "I really -"
He was cut off when he felt Ginny's lips on his. Harry briefly brushed his lips over hers and Ginny backed up.
"How about now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Harry looked at Ginny's eyes and lips, and it took everything he had to wrench his eyes away from her. Ginny cleared her throat.
"I see," Ginny said, looking away from Harry.
She wiped a tear away from her eye and, picking up the plate of remaining treacle tart, she stood up from the bed and walked across the room. When she opened the door, Ron was standing there. Ron raised his eyebrows as he looked from Ginny to Harry, then back to Ginny. Ginny harrumphed and walked around Ron and down the stairs, her footsteps echoing back into the bedroom. Ron walked into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. As Harry stood up from Ron's bed and laid down on the cot, he could feel his best mate's eyes on him. The room went dark, and Harry heard a groan of bed-springs as Ron sat down on his bed. Harry wondered when Ron would speak up, though it didn't take very long.
"Why was she in here?" Ron asked,
"She was bringing me some dessert," Harry said, innocently.
"Exactly what kind of dessert are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"I don't know, mate," Harry said, sighing audibly, and making himself comfortable on the cot, "I really don't know."
At first he thought Ron was going to retaliate, but after a moment, he heard bed-springs groan again, and knew Ron was too tired to fight with him.
-
(Ron's PoV)
The next morning, as Mrs. Weasley had told Ron, only Harry, Hermione, and a number of the Weasleys were in the house. Even Fred and George had stayed the night, after Mrs. Weasley had insisted that she keep on eye on George for a few days. Mr. Weasley, whose leg was slowly mending, had requested family leave from work for the following week until after the wedding was over.
Shortly after ten that morning, an owl post had arrived from Kingsley. Bill, Fleur, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley would return to the Burrow that afternoon for a Order meeting, where Kingsley would update everyone on the aftermath that the events in Surrey had caused. Mrs. Weasley had not revealed whether Harry, Ron and Hermione would be allowed to attend the meeting.
He had also retrieved Mad-Eye Moody's body safely from Surrey, and after much deliberation and debate, it was quickly decided that they would hold a small, private funeral for Mad-Eye, and he would be buried on the Weasley Family's small graveyard, since the Ex-Auror had considered that the Order was the closest family he ever had.
The funeral would be held before the Order meeting, so at eleven that morning, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Fred had all prepared the graveyard for the ceremony, while Ginny and Mrs. Weasley prepared food for a big lunch for the meeting.
When the atmosphere of the graveyard had begun to weigh too heavily on Harry, he had to excuse himself. After six feet of dirt had been dug out in a nice large square of earth, Fred excused himself as well, leaving Ron and Hermione alone in the graveyard. Ron crawled out of the large hole and wiped off the dirt from his clothes. Hermione was walking amongst the different graves of Weasley family members and beloved pets.
"Why have you never taken me or Harry here before?" Hermione asked, "There's so much of the family plot I've never really seen."
"Dunno," Ron said, shrugging, "Too personal... if that's not too much to say?"
"No," Hermione said, smiling, "I understand. Hey... why are every one of the headstones just large rocks? Normally graves have well - marble headstones or some other kind of stone."
"It's a running joke," Ron said, chuckling. "When the first family member, a beloved owl long before Errol came around, passed away, a large rock was used. Then when the first human family member was buried here, the family couldn't afford a traditional headstone, and rocks were free and plentiful. So a tradition was started."
"That's sweet, actually," Hermione said, smiling.
She stopped next to a grave and Ron walked over to it. The headstone belonged to that of his Uncle Billius, who Ron's middle name was named after. Under the dates of birth and death, the epitaph, carved into the stone, read:
Beloved Brother, Son, and All-Around Jokester
Met a GRIM Fate
"Ah, Uncle Billius," Ron said, chuckling, "Still one of the only wizards in recorded history to actually die twenty-four hours after seeing a Grim. Fred and George like to say they want to go the same way as him."
"That's awful," Hermione said, though she chuckled softly.
"This is the first time I've come here in a long time to be honest," Ron said, "Not a very welcoming place."
Out of the corner of his eyes, Ron saw Hermione looking at him. She offered her hand and he took it, then lead her out of the graveyard.
"Hey!" Hermione said, "I didn't see that before."
She was pointing to a wooden sign that was nailed onto a lone tree standing outside the graveyard. The sign read:
Noble House of Weasley
Toujours inops
"'Toujours inops'," Hermione read, "Always... poor?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron, and he chuckled.
"It is supposed to be a play on words," he said, "How we're always... you know... notoriously poor. The Black Family Crest is 'Toujours Pur' or always pure. You know my family is related to the Blacks, right. My father is a distant cousin of Sirius."
"I believe I have heard that before," Hermione said.
"So we used that as another running joke," Ron said.
"Did Sirius ever find out about it?" Hermione asked.
"No," Ron said, "I'm sure he would have gotten a kick out of it."
"Yeah, I bet," Hermione said, giggling.
Ron smiled at Hermione. He loved to listen to her laugh. It was one of his favorite sounds in the world.
"What are you looking at?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.
"You," Ron said, "I'm trying to decide if it would be offensive for me to kiss you in a graveyard."
"Technically," Hermione said, as she wrapped her arms closer around Ron, "we're not in the graveyard."
"Good point," Ron said, smiling at her.
Hermione grinned and kissed him softly on the lips. Before he could lose himself in the kiss, she backed away.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"I told you yesterday," Hermione said, "No lingering kisses. Harry could catch us."
"Harry's not here," Ron said, grinning.
Hermione rolled her eyes, leaned toward Ron and kissed him again. This time it was not brief.
(Harry's PoV)
At half-past-one, the Weasley family, Harry, Hermione, Kingsley, Remus, Tonks, Fleur and Hagrid were all standing in the Weasley Family Graveyard. As Kingsley had said, McGonagall wanted to attend the funeral but she needed some rest before she would have to go back to the Ministry the following day to resume the Hogwarts Hearings. Hestia, Dedalus, Elphias and Mrs. Figg had all written to the Order and gave their sincere condolences and wishes that they could have been in attendance.
Moody's body was now laying at the bottom of the six-foot hole. Kingsley had used a series of complex charms to remove the magic from Mad-Eye's Invisibility Cloak, and was used to wrap around Mad-Eye's body in his honor. He had used it many times in his life, and it was only proper it would join him in death. The attendees were gathered around the hole and Kingsley was at the head of it, and as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, it was only appropriate for him to lead the ceremony.
"What can be said about Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, eh?" Kingsley began, "If he was here with us today, I think he would say 'Why are the lot of you standing around mourning me? Shouldn't you be off fighting to end the Second War?'"
Many in attendance laughed, and after a moment, even Mrs. Weasley joined in.
"If I know Mad-Eye," Kingsley said, "And I like to think I did, I would say that if there was only man in this whole world who would not want anyone to cry for him at his funeral -"
He paused and looked up at Tonks, whose head lay against Remus' arm. She sniffled lightly.
"It would be Mad-Eye," Kingsley continued. "I'm sure there are many in attendance today who had thought at one point or another that if there was one wizard left standing at the end of the Second War, it would be Mad-Eye Moody himself. He was always the first to engage himself in the heat of battle. If he missed out on a battle, he would be grumpy for a week! Moody went out the same way he came into this world, fighting for his life. Except this time he did it to protect a young man who he had sworn to protect until his very last breath."
Harry felt the eyes of many of the attendees on him. He stared down at his shoes.
"And that is the way he would have wanted to go out," Kingsley continued. "He was a leader, a mentor, and a warrior. But mostly, he was our friend. In return, he considered the Order his closest family. Now, I know there are some of you who want to say a few words for the fallen warrior."
Kingsley looked around at the group. Tonks was the first to go, but after three short sentences, a sob caught in her throat, and she buried her head into Remus' chest. Inspired by her courage, more of the Order started giving speeches. When it was finally Harry's turn, everyone looked at him. He cleared his throat.
"You know," Harry said, "I was going to say it was Mad-Eye who convinced me that I want to be an Auror after the Second War is over, but that is not true. It was a Death Eater posing as him who told me that. But... I like to think that Mad-Eye would have shared his sentiments, then he would have muttered in annoyance that it would be the first time he ever agreed with a Death Eater!"
A few people in attendance chuckled.
"And probably that it would be his last as well," Harry continued. "Heh, most of the time Mad-Eye ever talked to me was to give me an order of some kind. 'Get down' or 'get up' or 'move forward!' Can't really recall a moment where we sat down together and had pleasant conversation. But that was who Alastor Moody was, wasn't he? Always ready to give orders. Always ready for action. I only hope I can be half the Auror he ever was."
Harry nodded toward Kingsley to indicate he was finished.
"Thank you, Harry," Kingsley said, "Thank you, all of you, for those kind words. Now, I believe Arthur wants to say something else."
"Yes," Mr. Weasley said. "Because Alastor is being buried in the Weasley Family graveyard, we have a tradition here during the funeral service. While most of the grave will be filled by magic, in honor of the wizard being buried, everyone in attendance is asked to fill in one shovel-full of dirt by hand, in honor of the man that is being buried here today. So..."
Mr. Weasley picked up the shovel near him and buried it into the mound of dirt near him. He took a load of dirt and threw it into the hole, as it splattered on top of Moody's body. The shovel was passed to everyone. Hagrid had to gingerly use the shovel in his hands to do it properly. Finally, Harry and Kingsley were the last to use the shovel. Then Kingsley raised his wand, and the remaining pile of dirt moved into the hole and covered Moody. The dirt smoothed itself over the grave.
Kingsley then picked up Moody's large walking staff, and planted it in front of the grave. Harry was shocked to see that Moody's glass eye had been placed, using charms, into the wood of the staff. Then Kingsley conjured white roses for everyone and passed them around. Several of those in attendance did their best not to cry as they set the roses on the ground above the grove, and most succeeded, except for Tonks. She was so distraught that Remus had to escort her out of the graveyard and back to the Burrow. Everyone else remained in the graveyard as Mr. Weasley found a large rock and dug Moody's name and nickname and his date of birth and death into the rock with magic.
The epitaph simply read "Constant Vigilance!"
Decided to end it there.
I was going to have the Order meeting, but then I just realized it was just a routine meeting. The only important thing I could have added was that the Aurors who had gone to Surrey had found no signs of Death Eaters in the area and that if there were any deaths among them (which there was at least one, Rowle), the bodies had all been gathered, and the survivors had all been rounded up by their own group. Much of this will be revealed in-story throughout the rest of the story, so I didn't think I should put it there.
Those wondering about the Hogwarts Hearing, you will find something very important about it in the next chapter or two.
The Weasley Family Graveyard was from my own imagination. It is unknown if they have a private graveyard but I like to think they do.
Also, for those wondering about Harry and Ginny's relationship story-line, it is far from over, and if you know Ginny, you know she will not back down without a fight!
I think my next chapter will be Harry's birthday. I really want to get to that and the wedding. I have a question for my readers, and specifically reviewers: The Will of Albus Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows is going to play a big role in my story, because this is my version of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", and the Deathly Hallows will also play a role, though I will also change that story-line up a bit. If I put the Will in my story, and used a few lines from the book, would you be okay with that? It goes along with another idea I have in the next chapter, so it would work very well.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!