Goodbye Old Friend

Five days later, Hermione found herself boarding the Hogwarts Express, on her way to Professor Dumbledore's funeral. She sat in a compartment with Ginny, Harry, Luna, Neville and Ron, which was a squish, but none of the group wanted to be away from the rest, whilst waiting anxiously for the train to pull into Hogsmead. There was a heavy silence within the compartment, and noone wanted to break it for fear of upsetting the others. The six bodies wore a vibrant array of colours, as each student had bought new robes specially for the occassion. Hermione had bought Ron's and Ginny's from her petty cash, much to the chagrin of both Weasley's. Ginny wore stunning emerald green robes that complimented her vibrant ginger hair. Ron had opted for a darker shade of green that almost looked brown, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Luna wore sunshine yellow robes, ever the optimist, it showed in her colour choice. She was the unusual but well needed ray of sunshine on such a dark day. Neville had opted for midnight blue robes, that unintentionally complemented Luna's perfectly. His grandmother had sewn a silver lining into his hood that was harmonious with the blue of his robes. Harry wore scarlet robes with a gold lining, staying true to the Gryffindor colours, that had surrounded him since he'd been chosen as a Gryffindor by the sorting hat, six years prior. He knew it was what Albus would have wanted. Hermione provided the last colour of the rainbow with her deep indigo robes, her hood like Neville's was also lined with silver, only hers was made of satin unlike Neville's cotton lining.

As the train pulled into Hogmead several hours later, the group gathered themselves up and wandered onto the platform. As they followed the stream of students and teachers, they remained silent, although Hermione found herself the main cause of attention from many of the Slytherin girls, yet again. Unable to cope with the stares and sneers, she pulled her hood up over her head and stared at the floor. As they reached the carriages they realised there were quite a few more than usual. However Neville quickly pointed out that it was to accomodate the first years who under other circumstances would have been in boats.

Once again the six friends found themselves sharing a carriage, although the silence wasn't as heavy, and quiet chatter could be heard from other carriages around theirs. The journey to the castle itself was filled with sedated conversation about events of the past week, and the reactions of parents as they found out what had happened. It turned out that Harry had chosen to stay with the Weasleys in an attempt to avoid the Dursleys at all costs, and Grimmauld Place had just been too quiet on his own.

When the carriages reached the castle, the students found Headmistress Mcgonagall waiting for them at the entrance. She guided them all inside the Great Hall, as the heavens opened and rain started to fall from the sky. Instead of the standard house tables, rows of seats were placed from wall to wall, with an aisle down the middle for the casket to be hovered down. Mcgonagall shuffled over to the group of six and announced that Dumbledore had specifically asked in his will that they be seated at the front. They followed her to their seats and sat in quiet contemplation whilst the rest of the students filed into the hall.

Once everyone was seated, a soft and gentle music began playing from a charmed Grand Piano in the corner by the heads table, that was still at the front of the hall. A hush fell over the room as Mcgonagall stepped forward and hovered Dumbledore's casket to the front of the hall, coming to a halt, she placed it gently in front of the staff table and turned to face the students.

"Good morning. Thank you for coming today, as we say goodbye to our most beloved Headmaster." She glanced around the room until her eyes met Harry's, at which point she began speaking again. "Before Albus died, he not only wrote a will, but he also wrote a message that was to be read at his funeral. I intend to respect his wishes and read it to all of you."

A single tear slid down her face as she reached into her tartan robes and produced a folded up piece of parchment. She began to read.

"My dear students, if you are hearing this, then I am no longer with you. Do not fear dear children I am simply on the next stage of my great adventure. In my parting I wanted to leave you with two pieces of advice, the first is something I've never mentioned before, the second I mentioned several years ago and will repeat again."

"The first is this; in this time of bitter turmoil, we face the greatest enemy the world has ever known. Anyone who knew me well, will know that I never cowered or refrained from saying his name, and even in death, I shall not kowtow to his desire for control. Voldemort's reign of terror will end, and the walls between purity and blood status will fall. The wizarding world will know such great harmony, you simply have to persevere and not fall pray to fear. Regardless of blood status, every witch or wizard in this world has magic in their blood. Whether it came directly from their parents, grandparents or even from ancestors before that. The magic is not thinned or diluted, you all have the same capabilities if you push yourself. For after all; it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be. Have faith in your abilities, but know thatit's our choices that show us who we truly are, far more that our abilities. In this battle between good and evil, we must all make the choice between what is right and what is easy, and be able to say we chose the correct option."

"My second, and last piece of advice is this. Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light. Be safe dear children, there is no need to be sad, just remember that to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure..."

By the time Mcgonagall had finished reading, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. A few students were openly sobbing, and much to the chagrin of almost everyone in the room, Lavender Brown had to be escorted out by Madame Pomfrey for crying hysterically and disturbing everyone else. At some point during the speech, Hermione had grabbed Harry's hand, although she didn't know who it was that needed more comfort.

Mcgonagall said a few words of her own about Albus, as did a few other professors who had know him particularly well; including Hagrid, who sniffled through most of his almost incoherent speech, and repeatedly blew his nose on a paisley handkerchief the size of a table cloth. In the end Professor Sprout had to join him at the front to comfort him as he knelt beside Albus' casket with his head resting on top, and openly cried, much to the distress of several students. After it was clear that Hagrid was in no fit state to actually stand up and move, Harry, Hermione and Ron walked up to stand beside him, each putting a hand on his back in comfort. He whispered a quiet thank you to each of them that only they could hear, and then managed to stand up and walk over to the professors table and sit in his chair with his head on the table.

After the last few speeches had been made, and everyone had run out of tears to shed, Mcgonagall made one final announcement.

"As I am sure you are wondering, and your parents will also be concerned, Hogwarts WILL be reopening in September, we have tripled the protective measures that surround the school. It's probably even harder to get in, than Azkaban is to get out of. So students have no reason to fear returning. As I was originally deputy head, and after many discussions with my colleagues, I have reached the decision to become the interim Headmistress of Hogwarts, until such a time as the Board of Governors can elect a new Headmaster or Headmistress. You will receive your letters and requirement lists close to the end of the summer holidays."

"Should you wish to pay any last respects to Albus, you are more than welcome to, although I should inform you that in about an hour he will need to be moved, as he asked for his casket to be placed in an above ground tomb, that will be located on the grounds near the Whomping Willow."

With a last nod to the room, she wandered over to where Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting, and ushered them to the back of the head table. She ran her fingers along the edge of the frame of a painting of the Hogwarts crest, and it shimmered and the canvas became translucent revealing a private spiral staircase. She encouraged them to walk directly through the canvas and up the stairs, following behind them. She clicked her fingers, causing the canvas to resolidify and torches lining the walls of the staircase, to light. They worked their way up the stairs. Once they'd gone up as far as they were able, they realised there was a trapdoor above them at the top of the stairs. Mcgonagall clicked her fingers again, causing it to shimmer and became tranlucent, the same way the canvas had done, which allowed them to continue their ascent and walk through the trapdoor directly into the middle of the Head's office. Once everyone was stood in her office, she clicked her fingers again and the trapdoor solidified and became safe to stand upon.

Seeing the curious look on the trio's faces; Mcgonagall explained the new passage.

"It's an emergency passage for me to be able to get down the Great Hall should anything happen. It will only respond to me generally, unless a student is in great need, or is in danger. I will be announcing it when you all return in September. I only used it today as it was a far quicker means of getting up here." The trio's barely hidden curiosity now satiated, Mcgonagall moved on to the reason she brought the three of them up to her office.

"There is one last thing Albus left that didn't need to be announced downstairs." With a swish of her wand three scarlet envelopes appeared in her other hand. Ron, Harry and Hermione's names was each on an envelope, she handed them out to the respective person and then continued her explanation. "I don't know what he wrote in those letters, nor do I need or want to. I know that for Albus to have prepared them just in case he died, that they contain important or valuable information to the three of you. I didn't think you'd want them showcased in front of the other students, as you wouldn't want all their nosey attention. His last request with regards to these envelopes was that you open them once you reach your homes, and that they are to be opened in absolute privacy. Although they look like Howlers, I doubt that he will be yelling. He was struggling with writing these last few weeks, and it would have been easier to speak instead of write, hence the requirement for privacy. I suggest you put them in your pockets until such a time as you are at home alone. Don't worry they are charmed to not open themselves, therefore you have no fear of leaving them unopened. Now, I suggest we all return downstairs and finish saying goodbye."

With that she led the three students back the way they had come. By which time most of the Great Hall was empty, except for the last few stragglers that were saying goodbye. Once the last of the students finished paying their respects, Harry Ron and Hermione took it in turns to say their own goodbyes to him, before he was moved to his final resting place.

McGonagall watched on with tears in her eyes as the three students broke down during their farewells. Out of all the students, she knew that Albus had been fondest of the three that stood around his casket. It would be just as hard to say goodbye for them, as it would be for her. As they all stepped away, and huddled in a group comforting each other, she walked towards the casket and levitated it in front of her. She led it down the steps and out onto the ground before placing it on its designated platform. It was time to say goodbye...

The train journey back home again had been hard on Hermione, she felt the letter burning a hole in her robe with desire to be opened. She had sat in silence, head resting against the window, pretending to be asleep. She suceeded in not being disturbed, until the train pulled into Kings Cross, at which point Harry leant over to gently wake her. She gathered her robes, stepped off the train, and wandered aimlessly until she reached the wall that would take her into the muggle part of the station, where her parents would be waiting for her. She was exhausted, and slept during the car journey back to the Granger home. She stumbled up the stairs to her room and went to bed. The letter could wait until morning...

A/N! VERY LITTLE REMODELLING REQUIRED FOR THIS CHAPTER

I have a disclaimer! All writing in Itallics are quotes taken from J.K.R's books. They are ALL Dumbledore quotes and I do NOT own them. They simply fit in perfectly. I gain nothing from using them, other than a speech that sounds better, I earn no money from doing this.

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