A/N: This one's not so much a drabble as a ficlet, but I'm putting it here anyway. Written for Harry Potter Expertus on livejournal. We had to start with a couple of sentences from the book and fill in what we thought should have happened. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The little man in black had stopped speaking at last and resumed his seat. Harry waited for somebody else to get to their feet; he expected speeches, probably from the Minister, but nobody moved.
Harry got to his feet and, ignoring the strange looks he was getting, walked to stand in front of the table and Dumbledore's body. For a moment he looked down at the body and tears began to form in his eyes, but with a great effort he managed to control his emotions, turning back to face the crowd that had come to say good-bye.
"Dumbledore was a great man," he said, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat and continued. "I'm sure that I don't even have an inkling of how great he was. But I know that he was great."
He sounded stupid. Why had he ever decided to do this? But now that he was here, there was no going back.
"Dumbledore loved beyond anything else. His love brought comfort to many of our lives. It brought hope to many and gave me a family.
"I wish that I could offer words of comfort and support, but I can't. That was always His job." He jerked his thumb at the table behind him and many people laughed.
"The world will be a darker place without Albus Dumbledore as I'm sure you all know. But I will say this: The darkness can be fought and light can be found again if we only continue to love." Many people looked confused, but some were nodding and smiling with tear stains all down their cheeks. Harry turned back to Dumbledore's body, tears forming in his eyes again. "Dumbledore would have liked that," he whispered, mostly to the body.
The tears began to fall unheeded as Harry reached inside his robe pocket and pulled out a pair of wool socks. "Because I never got around to giving them to you for Christmas," Harry muttered, placing the socks next to Dumbledore's body and stepping away.
As he walked back towards his seat, many people reached out to stroke his arm or grasp his hand for a moment, trying to both comfort him and find comfort for themselves in one gesture. Harry sat down next to Ron and Hermione. Ron smiled at him soggily, tears streaming down his face, and Hermione flung herself on Harry, telling him how wonderful he was.
Then several people screamed. Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay: Higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry thought, for one heart-stopping moment, the he saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue, but next second the fire had vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested.
A/N: Please review!
