Chapter Three

Funeral Arrangements

ONE

"I don't know, Hermione," the tall redhead said uncertainly, running a hand through his fiery hair. "It seems pretty quiet. Maybe he's not here."

The woman to whom he was speaking sighed in an irritated manner, turning impatient brown eyes to him. "Of course it's quiet, Ron," she snapped. "He's the only one here, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Ron replied quietly. "Yeah, you're right, of course." He blinked his red-rimmed eyes several times in an attempt to hold back his tears. Hermione, seeing his distress, wrapped him in a comforting hug.

"Think about how hard it's been for us," she said gently. "It must be ten times worse for Severus. We both know how much he loved Harry."

"I know," Ron replied, holding his wife to him tightly. "I won't cry in front of him, I promise."

"Okay," Hermione said, moving out of the embrace. "Are you ready?" When Ron nodded, Hermione knocked on the door. After several minutes of knocking and still no answer, Hermione tried the knob, finding that the door was unlocked.

The house seemed empty, but Hermione didn't believe that Severus would have left already. "He has to be here somewhere," she said. "Go check the kitchen."

Ron walked away, his eyes roaming around the room sadly.

Hermione looked in the living room, gazing at the many photographs around the room sadly, fighting back her tears at the memories of her best friend. Ron's yelped "Bloody Hell!" from the kitchen brought her out of her musings. Wondering what was going on, she went to the kitchen to investigate.

The kitchen seemed fine, but when she went to the pantry, she found that it was completely destroyed. Ron was standing in the midst of the destruction, looking stricken. "Harry loved this pantry," Ron said. "Why would Severus destroy it?"

Hermione sighed patiently, pulling Ron from the ruins. "Because in Severus' mind, these herbs killed Harry," she told him.

"Oh," Ron replied, looking at the mess in a new light. "I suppose I can see that."

"You try to fix this up while I go find Severus," she said, deciding to look outside before moving to the upstairs.

"Okay," Ron agreed, squaring his shoulders and taking out his wand. Hermione moved out of the room as Ron began his repairs, walking toward the back door to check Harry's garden. What she found when she opened the door broke her heart.

Severus was on his knees on the walkway, a pail of water next to him, scrubbing the pavement and crying at once. Next to him was a small wooden picture frame.

Hermione moved forward, picked up the photo, and had to stop a gasp at the picture she saw. "Oh, Severus," she murmured, turning to look at the distraught Potions Master.

"It wouldn't come up with magic," Severus said, scrubbing at the large bloodstain on the pavement. "Harry wouldn't want me to just leave it. I have to get it up!" He'd apparently been out here for a while because his first knuckles on all of his fingers were bleeding.

Hermione put her hands on his shoulders. "Come on, Severus," she said, pulling gently. "Stop it, you're hurting yourself."

Severus shook her hands off of him, continuing to scrub furiously. "I can't just leave it," he snapped at her. "Harry would be angry if I just left it."

"We'll get it up," Hermione assured him, forcefully pulling him away from his scrubbing.

"No!" Severus exclaimed, fighting her. "I have to get it up!"

Hermione pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly as he struggled against her. After a moment, he seemed to crumple against her shoulder, sobbing harshly. "Shh," she said gently. "We'll get Molly to come and clean it. She can get it up."

"I have t-to keep tr-trying," Severus sobbed miserably. "Harry would b-be s-so angry i-if I d-didn't."

"Molly will get it," Hermione assured him, holding in all of her pain at seeing him this way. She pulled Severus to his feet and turned to bring him into the house. Ron was behind them, staring with wide, stricken eyes at the scene. "Your mum will get it, won't she Ron?" Hermione asked pointedly.

Ron nodded mutely. "I… I'll just go call her then," he said softly, going back into the house quickly.

"You're sure she'll be able to get it up?" Severus asked, gaining some control over his emotions. "Because if she can't…"

"She raised seven children, Severus," Hermione replied. "She'll be able to clean it up."

Severus nodded, moving away from Hermione's embrace. He led her into the kitchen, where Molly was just stepping out of the fireplace.

"Hello, Severus," she said, dusting soot off of her robes. In her arms, she carried a bucket and a bottle of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover. "I'll just go and clean up that mess." She moved away, never looking at Severus so that he wouldn't see how red her eyes were.

"Thank you, Molly," Severus replied. He moved to the magical refrigerator. "Do either of you want some breakfast?" he asked.

"You – " Ron started, but fell silent at a look from his wife.

"That would be lovely, Severus," Hermione said. She felt that Severus didn't want to be coddled because of his loss. As Severus began to cook a simple breakfast, Hermione observed him. He seemed worn out and distressed. From what she could tell, he still hadn't had a shower after coming home from the hospital. His hair was greasy and stringy, he had a fair amount of stubble on his strong chin, and his shoulders were drooping in a way she had never seen from him before.

Breakfast was a quiet affair because all of them were in mourning for Harry. As Severus cleaned up after the meal he said, "Thank you for repairing the pantry."

"It was no trouble," Ron replied uncomfortably as Molly came into the kitchen. She cleared her throat gently.

"Did you… did it come up?" Severus asked uncertainly.

"It's all gone now, dear," Molly replied. "You just call me if you need anything else, anything at all."

"Yes, I will," Severus said. "Thank you, Molly."

"Think nothing of it, Severus," Molly remarked, waving off his thanks. Hermione could see that she had been crying, but she was doing an admirable job of controlling those tears now. "I must get back to my brood, though. I left Arthur with Abigail, and I'm afraid he simply can't handle her." Abigail was Fred's daughter. Fred was one of Ron's brothers who had been quite the prankster in school, and his daughter had taken after her father.

"I understand, Molly," Severus told the woman. "I'll see you later then, I suppose."

"Yes," Molly agreed. "Do try to have a good day."

"I will." With that, Molly stepped into the floo and disappeared. "What brings you two here today?" Severus asked the minute Molly had gone.

Ron looked at Hermione with panic in his eyes.

"We've come to tell you," Hermione said gently, "that we have to make funeral arrangements. As Harry's husband, you have to make the decisions regarding the ceremony."

Severus swallowed and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I had expected that to come up soon," he said. He looked down at his rumpled robes and ran a hand through his greasy locks. "I guess I should shower." He left the kitchen with his head hanging.

After quite some time, and still no sign of Severus, Hermione decided to go check up on him. She found him standing in the hall, staring at the door to his bedroom.

"I… I can't seem to go in there," he muttered, seeming angry with himself for his weakness.

"I'll just get you some robes then," Hermione assured him, opening the door and going into the bedroom. She found Severus' clothes and got him a full set of inner and outer robes, noting with amusement that everything he owned was black. She emerged from the bedroom and handed the clothes to Severus.

"I… thank you," Severus said, moving to the water closet for his shower. She went back downstairs to wait, finding Ron in the living room, crying over a photograph. "Ron?" she asked softly.

"Harry didn't deserve to die like that," Ron cried, not looking up from the picture. "Why did that happen to him? Why couldn't he just have a long, happy life? What did he do to deserve this?"

Hermione sat next to Ron, removed the photo from his hands and pulled him into a hug. "I don't know, Ron," she said gently, rubbing his back with her hand. "We'll never know why." These men were making it difficult for her to be strong, but she knew she had to be. She couldn't understand why men were so strong with everything else, but when it came to emotions, they needed a woman to hold them together.

Ron pulled away from her, nodding his understanding and wiping the tears from his face. "I don't know how Severus can handle this," he murmured. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Don't think about those things, Ron," Hermione admonished. "We should look back on the happy times with Harry and remember his life with a smile. He would have been furious with us if he could see the way we're all carrying on."

"I know," Ron replied. "It's just hard."

Hermione touched his face gently. "I know it is, Ron. It's hard for me too."

Severus came into the room then, looking cleaner and more composed than he had done. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, clasping his hands in front of his body. Hermione and Ron nodded and the three of them Apparated to the funeral home.

TWO

Severus looked around the silent room with trepidation. He did not look forward to choosing Harry's final resting place, though he knew he had to. The funeral director, Mr. Hopkins, was a sympathetic man, but he was obviously trying to sell Severus the most expensive casket they had. They'd already looked at several models, but Severus still hadn't seen anything he thought Harry would have approved of.

"This one is one of our most popular designs," Mr. Hopkins said as he showed them a garish gray casket with gold trim all over it. "Many of our upper class –"

"I've told you before that I don't want anything so uppity," Severus snapped at him, feeling irritated at the man's insistence that Harry Potter should have some ostentatious monstrosity. He turned to look at all of the caskets lining the walls and his eyes landed on the perfect choice.

It was a plain black casket with silver fastenings and handles. The inside was lined with a light gray fabric and the black lacquer on the outside glowed in the dim light of the hallway. "This one," Severus said, touching the casket softly. "He would have liked this one."

Mr. Hopkins stared incredulously while Ron and Hermione smiled behind him. They obviously agreed with Severus' choice.

"Surely something more –" Mr. Hopkins started to say, only to be cut off by Severus' cold, angry voice.

"Harry was not a brash man," Severus growled. "He wouldn't have wanted some flashy box, designed to show how wonderful he was. He was wonderful in his own way, and one of the things that made him so was his taste for simplicity. I want this one. Schedule the fu… the service for the day after tomorrow. You may send your bill to my home." With that, he left the funeral home, Ron and Hermione smirking at Mr. Hopkins before following him out.

THREE

Severus spent the next day with Ron and Hermione, making up notices to send to Harry's many friends to notify them of the funeral service. Severus was proud of himself for not crying once during the long day. Hermione made them all of their meals and did her best to keep the conversation on a happy note. Severus was grateful for their quiet support, but he would never tell them so. He suspected that they knew anyway.

FOUR

The day of the funeral dawned bright and happy, in complete odds with Hermione's strong sense of loss and sadness. She and Ron arrived at the funeral home early, both dressed in simple black robes, to make the last minute arrangements at Severus' request.

The mourners began arriving around eleven o'clock, and the service started at noon. Severus had arranged for a private service, knowing that Harry wouldn't have wanted complete strangers at his funeral. While only friends were allowed inside the parlor, the streets outside were lined with thousands of people who came to say their final goodbyes to The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Severus sat in the front, his face a mask of coldness, though Hermione knew that he was dying inside. Her heart clenched as she looked at him, wondering how long he'd be able to hold up his façade before he broke down completely.

The service went smoothly as the people who were closest to Harry made speeches about his life and accomplishments. Hermione's own speech was short and to the point, stating only how much he was loved and that he would be remembered always. Severus refused to make any statement, saying that whatever he thought about Harry was his own business and not to be put on display to make others feel better.

As people passed the coffin to say goodbye, many of them broke down sobbing, leaving Hermione with a lot of people to console when she herself needed consoling. After everyone had paid their final respects, Harry's coffin was loaded into a hearse and driven to the cemetery that would be his final resting place. He was to be buried next to his parents in Godric's Hollow.

It was as Harry's casket was being lowered into the ground that Severus lost his tight control over his emotions. He fell to his knees and sobbed brokenly, screaming "Why" over and over until Hermione thought she would go crazy. Molly knelt next to Severus, her arm draped over his shoulders, crying herself and trying to console him at the same time. Hermione remained standing, tears silently coursing down her cheeks as she watched her best friend disappear into the earth.

Once she and Ron returned home, Ron broke down in desperate sobs, holding Hermione to him tightly as he cried. It wasn't until after Ron had gone to bed that Hermione allowed herself to break down. She cried late into the night, finally falling asleep from sheer grief and exhaustion.

Author's Note: Many thanks to…

Medicated Drama Queen: Yes, I like to show the difference in their ages on occasion. Shows why Harry keeps Sev on his toes. I'm glad to repost this. It is also one of my favorites. It's the first tragedy I've ever written and sometimes even I want to cry when I go over it to correct mistakes. Poor Severus.

Ktoddhim

LuxAeternaSanti: There's only one chapter left after this one. We'll see what Severus will do then.

Strega: I figured that the loss of someone you care for as deeply as Severus cares for Harry would wreak havoc on your emotions. I wanted to show that sometimes people just loose themselves in grief.

Shiemi Shimabukuro

Sliver of Melody