AUTHOR'S NOTES: Something I'd like to point out about the American Ministry of Magic which is that they do have more power and authority than the Brits.
I think next chapter will zip to the Hogwarts' spring break where Harry will be visiting the NCIS headquarters.
As far as Dumbledore's funeral, I revised the scenes I wrote for my stories 'The Strength Within' and the original of 'Thicker Than Blood'.
Read, review, and show your love!
Chapter 20
Sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room that night, Hermione couldn't sleep. She sat on one of the sofas, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared into the fireplace. She was safe here… she knew that and yet every time she closed her eyes… every time someone touched her arm she started having a panic attack.
"Hermione?"
Hermione looked around quickly, ready to jump off the sofa at the slightest sign of danger.
But it was just Harry.
Hermione relaxed a bit but she was still on edge as Harry wheeled over to the sofa. "I didn't mean to scare you," Harry apologized. "Are you okay?"
"No…" Hermione replied, curling up as she started to cry. "No I'm not okay!"
Harry gently touched his friend's arm, not surprised when Hermione flinched. "It's okay, Hermione," Harry said, taking her hand. "You're safe…"
Hermione sniffled and threw her arms around Harry's neck, sobbing. "I was so scared! Lucius Malfoy ripped my dress and tried to… Th-then Ginny made a run for the door… he grabbed her and th-threw her onto the b-bed… He ripped her dress and Abby jumped on him…"
Harry put his arms around Hermione as she cried. "It's over, Hermione," Harry murmured. "You're safe… it's okay…" But Harry could still feel Hermione shaking as he held her. True, the ordeal was over… but Harry had a feeling that it would be a long time before Hermione and Ginny recovered from tonight.
--------------
Christmas morning dawned clear, crisp, and sunny but there still seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over Hogwarts.
After Dumbledore's death, the American Ministry of Magic had shut down the TriWizard Tournament and had named Minerva McGonagall as the new Headmistress.
In the Great Hall, no one felt like eating and as the students sat at their house tables they kept looking up at the staff table where Dumbledore's chair sat empty along with Snape's.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry felt conflicted. On the one hand, Dumbledore had been the greatest wizard of the age… But at the same time, Harry still felt angry that Dumbledore had allowed all this to happen… Was it wrong to hate the dead?
"Harry…" Blake said, gently. "What is it?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered.
"No, something is bothering you," Rae said, squinting at Harry. After a moment, she said, "You're still mad at Dumbledore, aren't you?"
"He's dead," Harry said, shortly. "He was murdered because of the stupid pursuit of purity of blood… and I'm still pissed off because if he hadn't trusted Snape I might not be paralyzed!" Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he said, "Dumbledore is dead… and I still hate him… and I feel sick about it." Without another word, Harry left the Great Hall.
Blake started to get up but he was stopped by Gibbs. "Let me…" Gibbs said, as he headed for the doors. In the hallway, Gibbs found Harry in a corner of the Entrance Hall.
"So…" Harry said as Gibbs approached him. "You're here to tell me I shouldn't hate Dumbledore?"
Gibbs shook his head. "Nope. I'm here to say I understand how you feel." Leaning against the wall he added, "When Agent Todd was killed, I hated her for not staying down and out of the line of fire." He sighed and said, "And… I hated Shannon for having Kelly out with her the day they were killed. After a while," he went on. "I realized that I hated myself for not keeping Kate down while I secured the area. And I was angry with myself for not being there when my wife and daughter were killed."
Reflecting on this, Harry said, "I hate what Dumbledore did… the choices he made… I just feel like… like life… doesn't make any sense anymore. Like…" Looking around the Entrance Hall, he added, "All the… the things I wanted to know when I first started here… I've found what I was looking for…"
"And now you want to know what happens now," Gibbs finished. Shrugging he said, "That's up to you. What do you want to do?"
Harry blinked. "I… don't know."
Gibbs smiled at the teenager. "My advice? Finish school first… then worry about what happens next."
Harry nodded. "Okay, sir." After a moment, Harry asked, "How… How much longer are you staying here, Agent Gibbs?"
--
"Harry and Agent Gibbs have gotten close, huh?" Kate said to Tony, Ziva David, and Abby.
"I think it's because of how similar they are," Tony replied.
"Both lost their families years ago," Ziva supplied. "They are both stubborn… determined…" looking at Hermione, Ginny, and Abby she added, "And both of them will do whatever it takes to protect the ones they care about."
Blake sat lost in thought, playing with his half-finished cup of coffee. After a moment, he got up and without saying a word headed out of the room finding Gibbs and Harry talking in a corner. "Everything okay?" Blake asked, walking up to the two.
"Yeah," Harry said, nodding.
Blake looked at Gibbs and asked, "Mind if we talk for a moment, Agent Gibbs? In private?"
"Sure," Gibbs replied.
"Harry?" Ziva Kenazi said as she came out of the Great Hall.
Blake saw the smile on Harry's face as he headed for his girlfriend, the way she bent down to give Harry a kiss on the cheek.
"Nothing sweeter than teenagers in love," Gibbs said, quietly as he watched Harry and Ziva K. head back into the Great Hall.
"Harry's a good kid," Blake added.
"I know," Gibbs replied.
"He's been through more than any of the other kids I've known," Blake went on. "He's had to grow up fast… Then there's the accident. Harry's life was turned upside down…"
"Your point?" Gibbs asked.
Blake sighed. "Kate is social worker… I used to work the Special Victims Unit back in New York. Both of us care about Harry like he was our own son."
Gibbs nodded. "I know. And Harry feels closer to the two of you than he does to his biological parents."
"It's just… the thing is," Blake continued. "I get the feeling that the two of you are closer than Harry and I could ever be. You understand Harry. And you care about him. If… if you don't mind… maybe Harry could stay with you next summer."
Gibbs thought this over and walked over to the steps and sat down. Looking over at Blake he asked, "Harry tell you about my family?"
Blake let out a long sigh and nodded as he joined Gibbs on the stairs. "Yeah… He told me the other night. And that's why you and Harry get along so well. You understand the losses Harry's suffered. You're both so alike… If you don't want to—"
"It was years before I told my team about Shannon and Kelly," Gibbs interrupted. "I told Harry almost right after I met him." Standing up, Gibbs asked, "How does Harry feel about staying with me for the summer?"
"Haven't asked yet," Blake shrugged. "Wanted to clear it with you first."
"If Harry wants to…" Gibbs shrugged as he headed back to the Great Hall. "Then sure."
--------------------------------
The sun shone brightly the morning of Dumbledore's funeral two days later making the snow glitter and the icicles sparkle like Christmas lights.
For the second time, Harry pulled on his dress robes and headed down to the Gryffindor common room where he found Hermione dressed in black slacks and a dark blue sweater. Her bushy hair was in a simple braid and it looked like she'd been crying since early that morning.
The Weasleys were also solemn that morning, even the twins who were sitting in silence on one of the sofas.
"Is this really happening?" Ginny asked as Harry stopped by one of the tables.
Harry couldn't find his voice so he just nodded before looking at his watch. "We…" Harry's voice cracked and he cleared his throat before saying, "We should go. It's… It's almost time."
Everyone headed out of the dormitory and down the stairs, meeting up with Ziva Kenazi on the 6th floor and the NCIS team on the 5th floor.
Since it was so cold, McGonagall had arranged for the service to be held in the Great Hall and instead of the house tables there were rows of chairs; the entire room was filled with witches and wizards wearing dress robes and everyone looked somber as they looked to the front of the room.
Ginny sat with the rest of her family, holding onto Fred and trying not to fall apart as she looked at Dumbledore's wrapped body lying on a platform where the Staff Table usually sat.
Harry had parked his wheelchair at the end of one of the rows, next to Abby who was wearing a black dress and holding a folded black parasol.
"No headmaster or headmistress of Hogwarts has ever been buried on the grounds," McGonagall said as she stood before everyone. "But no head has ever given more to this school. No headmaster… ever cared so much about the students that came here. Albus Dumbledore… offered a hand to anyone who reached out and… sometimes when we didn't want to reach out. He believed in people. Even when faced with betrayal… he still tried to pull lost souls back from the edge."
McGonagall took a moment, then said, "We have all lost a mentor… a teacher… a friend… But by remembering what Dumbledore gave us in life… and in death… he will live forever in our hearts." Looking at the students, she added, "The Ministry of Magic offered to send a speaker… but I believe that Albus would want to hear from his own students."
At first no one moved, but after a moment or two, Ginny Weasley stood and walked up to the front and stood by Dumbledore's body. "When I… When I returned to Hogwarts for my second year, I started having nightmares about being back in the Chamber of Secrets. I tried talking to my parents, but they just said to give it time and the nightmares would go away." Ginny paused, and then laid her hand on a corner of the material that was the headmaster's burial shroud. "That was when I started meeting Professor Dumbledore for hot chocolate. Sometimes we'd be in his office, and sometimes he'd meet me in the Great Hall. Eventually the nightmares subsided, but once a week we'd share a mug of hot chocolate. That's… what I'll always remember about him. How he always gave me just that one night… A sign that he cared about me and what I had gone through."
Once Ginny had sat down, Fred and George stood and walked up to the white stone table, standing on either side. Fred started off. "Professor Dumbledore never thought we'd see the end of our 7th year."
"Not because we were poor students or anything," George added.
"But because our ambitions always lay elsewhere," Fred finished.
"And in Professor Dumbledore's honor," George said, smiling.
"We'd like to say a few final words," completed Fred.
"Nitwit."
"Oddment."
"Blubber."
"Tweak."
Harry couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and it was echoed by many others in the crowd. Once Harry watched the Weasley twins go and sit down again, he sighed and headed towards the front. He'd been dreading this but now it seemed that he had to say his final words. Harry wheeled up to the front of the room and began to speak. "Professor Dumbledore believed that the greatest choice was to choose between what is right and what is easy. He believed that it was not abilities that made a person who they are, but the choices they make along the way. He believed that people are as strong as they are united, as weak they are divided. Professor Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore united all of us under one banner: the Hogwarts crest. He knew that hard times could be met and overcome with perseverance. And he knew that enemies could become friends, and that friends could become enemies. Professor Dumbledore believed that purity of blood meant nothing when it came to who someone was and was worthy to study at Hogwarts."
Harry paused for a moment, before going on. Ever since hearing about the part Dumbledore'd had to play in his disability, Harry had been conflicted. He didn't want to hate the headmaster. And after talking with Gibbs after the Yule Ball, Harry knew that it was important that Harry forgive Dumbledore… To hate the choices and decisions… not the man. "To Professor Dumbledore, it was important to give people second and sometimes even third chances…. no matter what they may have done in their past, he believed that people… if given the chance… and motivation… could change. That they could break the mold and become more than they thought they were. There will never be another person, wizard or muggle, like Albus Dumbledore… but we can always carry with us the lessons and beliefs he gave us."