Chapter 103
May 25th, 1998
France
Harry never felt more exhausted and exuberant in his life before.
The Cleanup process after Hogwarts was truly exhausting with having to identify hundreds of bodies before shipping them overseas to be buried.
It was amazing how many different countries the Death Eaters had recruited foreign mercenaries from.
Heck, he found someone who had fought for the Death Eaters from Brazil.
Brazill!
How they got over to England Harry had no idea.
And now Harry was finally back in France for a few weeks before heading back to deal with the new British Government they were working on setting up.
Later on today he would also be attending Sebastian's funeral as well as the ceremonies for several other Coalition fighters who had been killed in the war.
It was going to be a very sad day.
But there were a few bright spots to look forward to now.
Harry and Fleur were going over to their Aunt's house to pick up Elena.
They had to leave their baby girl in a safe house right before they headed to England to face the Death Eaters for the Battle of Hogwarts.
But now it was time to collect Elena and they could return home and start to try and get back some sense of normality into their lives after weeks of heartbreak.
And the first step in that was seeing his daughter and sister in law again.
He watched as an anxious Fleur knocked on the door.
In what seemed like just a few seconds a crying Gabrielle Delcour flew out of the door into Fleurs arms.
Harry felt his stomach drop at seeing Gabby's despair.
She had not gone to England with the rest of the invasion force so it must have been a real shock to hear that her father had been killed.
He let the two sisters comfort each other over Sebastian's loss.
Soon enough they were up in the nursery that had been in just two weeks ago or so instead of dropping off someone picking someone up.
Harry felt heartened to see Elena sleeping peacefully.
"She has been just sleeping like a little lamb," Gabby said "Real pleasure to play with'.
"Good" Harry nodded.
It was nice to know that the turmoil of the past few days had not seemed to affect their daughter.
Fleur soon had Elena out of the crib and was holding her very possessive in her arms.
This whole room seemed weird to Harry now.
After seeing so much bloodshed and sorrow it was a bit weird to see such a peaceful scene.
He hoped he could see this for the rest of his life.
Soon Harry and Fleur where out the door with Elena and preparing to head home before getting ready for the funeral.
Before they left Fleur did work out some dates in the future where Gabby could come over and play with Elena.
That would be nice.
Harry quite liked his bubbly teenage sister in law's personality.
And now for the sad part of the trip coming home.
The funeral for Sebastian.
Harry and Fleur were sitting in one of the front rows of the church wearing a dark suit and a dark dress respectively.
Fleur had also opted to wear a veil and heels.
To start out Sebastian's funeral service Appoline would be delivering her own personal eulogy.
"Thank you all for coming today to show your love for my husband. I don't have to explain how important Sebastian was to anyone in this room. Everyone knows he was the greatest man on Earth. It only took meeting him once to remember him forever. He is and always will be my best friend and there will continually be a hole in my heart that will never heal".
Appoline stopped momentarily to collect herself before continuing.
"I want to thank all of our friends and family for the outpouring of love over the past few days. It has been extraordinary – and each story you have shared will help keep Sebastian alive in our hearts and memories"
"I met Sebastian 25 years ago during our fourth year of school"
." He quickly became my best friend. and we ended up having two truly joyful decades of the deepest love, happiest marriage, and truest partnership that I could imagine ... He gave me the experience of being deeply understood, truly supported and completely and utterly loved – and I will carry that with me always. Most importantly, he gave me the two most amazing children in the world.
Sebastian was my rock. When I got upset, he stayed calm. When I was worried, he said it would be ok. When I wasn't sure what to do, he figured it out. He was completely dedicated to his children in every way – and their strength these past few days is the best sign I could have that Sebastian is still here with us in spirit"
"Sebastian was my soul-mate. Plain and simple. It takes some people decades to find the person they were meant to be with. It takes others several tries to find them. And some, never do."
On that note, Harry felt Fleur grasp his hand protectively.
Appoline continued.
"I am one of those lucky few that found him on the first try. All it took was one look and I knew he was the man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. I didn't get the rest of my life, but I got the rest of his. Our time together may have been cut short, but the happiness we shared together, will last a lifetime. I will mourn the loss of my husband, my best friend, my soul-mate, my everything. But, I will find comfort in the knowledge that he loves me to no end".
"Sebastian and I did not get nearly enough time together. But as heartbroken as I am today, I am equally grateful"
"Even in these last few weeks of complete hell – the darkest and saddest moments of my life – I know how lucky I have been. If the day I walked down that aisle with Sebastian someone had told me that this would happen – that he would be taken from us all in just 20 years – I would still have walked down that aisle. Because 20 years of being Sebastian Delcour's wife, and 20 years of being a parent with him is perhaps more luck and more happiness than I could have ever imagined. I am grateful for every minute we had together."
"As we put the love of my life to rest today, we will bury only his body. His spirit, his soul, his amazing ability to give is still with it. It lives on in the stories people are sharing of how he touched their lives, in the love that is visible in the eyes of our family and friends, in the spirit and resilience of our children. Things will never be the same ever again – but the world is better for the years my beloved husband lived."
"Thank you for your time"
After Appolines speech there was not a dry eye in the room
Author Note These are the British Pureblood Families that were wiped out in the war.
There are 28 Pureblood Families that got reduced by 18 down to 10.
Very big blow to the British.
Avery
Black
Bulstrode
Burke
Carrow
Crouch
Gaunt
Greengrass
Lestrange
Malfoy
Nott
Ollivander
Parkinson
Rosier
Rowle
Selwyn
Travers
Yaxley