This will be the last update until October; then I will start posting Year Seven.

"Teddie."

Teddie looked around, her body ached, and her eyes were heavy with sleep. She was sitting in the Entrance Hall with her friends, Mason wrapped tightly in her arms. No one spoke, all of them too consumed with tiredness and grief to even utter a word.

Hagrid strode towards them. His face full of anguish and tears, at his side was Fang, it seemed Madam Pomfrey had managed to heal the dog up quickly.

Teddie smiled as Fang bounded to her side, licking her face, and nuzzling her cheeks as she reached up to pet him behind the ears. "Hey, boy," she said, softly. "I'm glad you're feeling better. What is it, Hagrid?"

"Professor McGonagall wan's ter see yeh," said Hagrid. "In Dumbledore's office."

"Why?"

Hagrid shrugged. "Didn' ask. She jus' asked me ter get yeh," he said.

Teddie sighed tiredly and looked around at her friends. She really didn't want to leave them, but she knew better to disobey a direct order from the Deputy Head - or was it Headmistress now?

"We can go with you, if you like?" Daphne offered.

"Nah. It's okay. I'll see you in a bit," said Teddie. She hugged Mason, kissed his head, and then stood, heading up the Marble Staircase. She disappeared at the top, following Hagrid down the corridor and up several flights of stairs.

"Yeh okay, Teddie?" Hagrid asked.

Teddie shrugged half-heartedly. No, she wasn't okay. Dumbledore was dead, Snape was in the wind, and the Horcrux was a fake. Nothing was okay after tonight.

"Wha' hap'ened isn't yeh fault, yeh kno'," said Hagrid.

Fresh tears blurred Teddie eyes. Snape had told her that, too, but still she couldn't help but feel that it was. She had been the one who had gone to get Snape, granted it had been under Dumbledore's orders, but if she had just gone against his wishes and gone to Madam Pomfrey maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have died so violently.

Uttering the password to stone gargoyle, Hagrid allowed Teddie to step onto the revolving staircase ahead of him. The two ascended to the door together, and Hagrid knocked.

"Enter," Professor McGonagall called from the other side.

Hagrid opened the door. "Teddie Green, 'as asked Professor," he said.

Teddie stepped into the room. Immediately her eyes fell upon the new portrait that had joined the ranks of previous headmistress and headmasters of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was slumped in his seat, snoozing, while his half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose; he looked peaceful and untroubled.

The only difference in the office was that Fawkes perch was empty, everything else was the same as it had been only a few hours before.

"Ah, yes, Teddie," said McGonagall, waving her inside. Harry was also present, but he did not meet Teddie's gaze as she filed in beside him. "Excellent, Hagrid. If you would give me a few moments alone with the two, and then I'll call you and the other Professors in when I am ready."

"O' course," said Hagrid. He bowed out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Silence fell as McGonagall surveyed the two teenagers before her. Neither of the raised their heads, and both shuffled their feet as if waiting for a punishing.

"I have called you both here to ask you what it is you both and Professor Dumbledore were doing this evening when you left the school," said McGonagall.

Teddie half-glanced at Harry.

"We can't tell you that, Professor," Harry said.

"Harry, it might be important," said Professor McGonagall.

"It is," said Harry, "very. But he didn't want us to tell anyone."

"Potter, in light of the Professor Dumbledore's death, I think you must see that the situation has changed somewhat -"

"Professor Dumbledore never told us to stop following his orders if he died," said Teddie. "We're still under the promise we made him before we left the school with him earlier this evening."

"But -"

"There is one thing you should know," Teddie added, quickly. "Madam Rosemerta is under the Imperious Curse. I could sense it earlier but didn't get the chance to tell Professor Dumbledore. She's been forced to help Malfoy and the Death Eaters try and kill Professor Dumbledore for months."

"Rosemerta?" McGonagall repeated.

Teddie nodded. "She was the one who gave Pansy the necklace in the girls' bathroom at the Three Broomsticks, obviously it wasn't planned to give it to Pansy, but to any female Hogwarts student that happened to go in there, and the mead is also from her, too."

"I'll see that she is released as soon as possible," said Professor McGonagall. "Now, back to the task that you and Professor Dumbledore were undergoing this evening."

"We're sorry, Professor, but we can't tell you," said Teddie. "I really wish we could. But Professor Dumbledore was very explicit about who we could and couldn't tell. Unfortunately, and I don't want this to sound like he didn't trust you, but he did, but Professor Dumbledore didn't want to include the rest of the staff. I want to believe it was so you could protect the school free of clouded judgement should something like tonight occur."

Harry glanced at Teddie.

McGonagall sighed and nodded. "Very well, Miss Green," she said. "I shall accept that answer. But, you both must understand -"

"We do, Professor," said Teddie, nodding. "We know."

McGonagall stared at her for a long time and then took a deep breath. "In the case, Harry, won't you allow the other Professor in, please?" she asked,

Harry hurried to the door and opened it. The four Heads of House - Slughorn had stepped in for Snape as Head of Slytherin - and Hagrid filed inside.

"Snape!" cried Slughorn. He was shaken, pale, and sweating. "Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!"

Before anyone else could respond, a sharp voice spoke from high on the wall. A shallow-faced wizard with a short black fringe had just walked back into his empty canvas.

"Minerva, the Minister will be here within seconds, he has just Disapparated from the Ministry."

"Thank you, Everad," said Professor McGonagall. She turned quickly to the teachers. "I want to talk about what happens to Hogwarts before we gets here. Personally, I am not convinced that the school should reopen next year. The death of the Headmaster at the hands of one of our colleagues is a terrible stain upon Hogwarts history. It is horrible."

"I am sure Dumbledore would want the school to remain open," said Professor Sprout. "I feel that if a single pupil wants to come, then the school ought to remain open for that pupil."

"But will we have a single pupil after this?" asked Slughorn. "Parents will want to keep their children at home, and I can't say I blame them. Personally, I don't think we're in more danger at Hogwarts than we are anywhere else, but you can't expect mothers to think like that. They'll want to keep their families together, it's only natural."

"I agree," said Professor McGonagall. "And in any case, it is not trye to say that Dumbledore never envisaged a situation in which Hogwarts might close."

"But the school remained open during the Chamber of Secrets four years ago," said Teddie.

"And Dumbledore considered closing the school then," said McGonagall calmly. "But, I must say, Miss Green, that Professor Dumbledore's murder is more disturbing to me than the idea of Slytherin's monster living undetected in the bowels of the castle."

"We must consult the governors," said Professor Flitwick. "We must follow the established procedures. A decision should not be made hastily."

Teddie bit back a scoff at the idea of Lucius Malfoy sitting at a table with other school governors and deciding on whether the school should reopen or not next year. He may have agreed to keep it open, but under what clause? That only Purebloods be allowed to return?

"Hagrid, you haven't said anything," said Professor McGonagall. "What are your views, ought Hogwarts to remain open?"

Hagrid raised his head, his eyes puffy red. "I dunno, Professor… that's fer the Heads of House an' the Headmistress ter decide," he croaked.

"Professor Dumbledore always valued your views," said Professor McGonagall kindly, "and so do I."

"Well, I'm stayin'," said Hagrid, fat tears leaking down into his beard. "It's me home. It's bin me home since I was thirteen. An' if there's kids who wan' me ter teach 'em, I'll do it. But… I dunno… Hogwarts without Dumbledore…"

Professor McGonagall glanced out of the window and down at the grounds. "Very well," she said, "then I must agree with Filius that the right thing to do is to consult the governors, who will make the final decision."

"Great," Teddie muttered.

"You disagree, Miss Green?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Teddie shrugged. "I'm just thinking that many of those governors don't care about the students as much as they do controlling what goes on at Hogwarts," she said. "Lucius Malfoy didn't care about the students when the Chamber of Secrets opened, or he wouldn't have removed Dumbledore from office. What makes anyone think he will care about any pupil who doesn't have a Pureblood line this time?"

Harry stared at Teddie like she had grown a second head.

"That does not concern us, unfortunately," said Professor McGonagall. "It is procedure."

Teddie nodded and resigned herself to saying nothing in return. She could argue, but where would that get her?

"Now, as to getting students home… there is an argument for doing it sooner rather than later. We could arrange for the Hogwarts Express to come tomorrow if necessary -"

"But what about Dumbledore's funeral?" Harry interrupted.

"Well," said Professor McGonagall, "I - I know that it was Dumbledore's wish to be laid to rest here, at Hogwarts."

"Then that is what will happen, won't it?" Harry asked.

"If the Ministry deems it appropriate," McGonagall nodded. "No other Headmaster or Headmistress has ever been -"

"No other Headmaster of Headmistress ever gave more to this school," growled Hagrid.

"Hogwarts should be Dumbledore's final resting place," said Professor Flitwick.

"Absolutely," agreed Professor Sprout.

"And in that case," added Harry, "you shouldn't send the students home until the funeral's over. They'll want to say -"

Teddie glanced at Harry. The word seemed to have got lodged in his throat as he cut off abruptly, tears in his eyes. She reached for his hand, seemingly forgetting that they had only just argued an hour or two previous.

"Harry's right," said Teddie, looking at McGonagall. "I want to say goodbye, and I know my friends and brother would, too. Professor Dumbledore was more than just a Headmaster to us at Hogwarts, he protected us all year round from many different things, and he treated us all fairly and equally. We should be allowed to stay behind if we want to say goodbye."

"Well said," squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Well said indeed! Our students should pay tribute, it is fitting. We can arrange transport home afterward."

"Seconded," barked Professor Sprout.

"I suppose… yes…" said Slughorn.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall stiffened as she gazed out of the window for a second time. "He's coming," she said. "The Minister… and by the looks of it, he's brought a delegation."

"Can I leave, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Me, too," said Teddie.

Professor McGonagall nodded at the pair of them. "You may, and quickly," she said, ushering them toward the door.

Harry left first, and Teddie paused on the threshold. "One more thing, Professor, even if just for tonight, can Mason and Astoria stay in the Slytherin common room with me and Daphne?" she asked.

"Yes, I do not see why not," said Professor McGonagall.

"Thank you. Goodnight," said Teddie, heading down the spiral staircase after Harry.

~X~

All lessons were suspended, all examinations postponed. Some students were removed from Hogwarts at first light, while others refused to leave despite parents coming to collect them.

Zacharias Smith was escorted out of Hogwarts by his father, while Seamus Finnigan had had a shouting match with his mother in the Great Hal.

Mo and Ursula Flint had arrived during breakfast for Teddie and Mason, but both had refused to leave before the funeral.

"I'll write to Marcus," said Mo. "Tell him to join us."

Ursula nodded and sat at the Slytherin table with the others. She noticed Teddie was not eating, and scooped beans and some scrambled egg onto her plate.

"I'm not hungry," said Teddie.

"I know, but just try, please?" Ursula asked.

Teddie sighed and picked up her fork. She played with her food for a few minutes, before reluctantly lifted a forkful of eggs to her lips, swallowing it was like swallowing stones, but she managed to force them down and keep them down.

At around lunch time, some of the younger students were found gathered in the grounds, watching as a powder-blue carriage the size of a house, pulled by a dozen giant winged palominos, came soaring out of the skies and landed on the edge of the forest.

Astoria and Mason finished their examinations the day before the funeral, but no one had the heart to be excited for them. Teddie did try, but after a particularly nasty confrontation with Ron Weasley in the Great Hall, Mason had resigned himself to celebrating once their current events of the school year were over.

On the day of the funeral, Teddie awoke early to pack her things. Mo, Ursula, and Marcus had managed to get a place in Hogsmeade to stay while the funeral arrangements were being done, but they were always at the castle in the days leading up to the big event.

As she finished packing, Daphne rose from her slumber and muttered a 'good morning' as she shuffled into the bathroom.

Teddie mumbled through the door, telling her friend that she would be in the Great Hall, and left the dormitory. It seemed that the whole castle was feeling subdued, and Teddie couldn't blame them. The grief of losing Dumbledore had shaken everyone. No one wanted to imagine what the world would be like without the Greatest Wizard of All Time in it.

The Great Hall was silent when Teddie entered. Everybody was wearing their dress robes, and nobody seemed to be hungry. Teddie hesitated on the threshold, glancing up at the teachers table as a stab hit her in the heart. Dumbledore's thronelike chair in the middle of the table was empty, so was Hagrid's, but what caused Teddie to stop was the figure of Rufus Scrimgeour sitting in Snape's seat.

Sure, Snape was a potential murderer, but why did it seem that the whole of Hogwarts was trying to stamp him out of existence? No one knew the full story on why he had killed Dumbledore, but she didn't think for one second that he had gone to the Astronomy tower with the intent on killing the Headmaster out of sheer spite.

Shaking her head, Teddie kept her gaze down as she wandered down the aisle between the Slytherin table and the far wall until she found her seat beside Marlene. Susan and Judy had been pulled from the school during the week, but Marlene had insisted that she be allowed to stay for Dumbledore's funeral.

"You planning on eating breakfast today?" Marlene asked,

Teddie shrugged. "Where's Jasmine?" she asked.

"Mum took her home. She wanted to stay but Mum wouldn't allow it."

Teddie nodded. Normally she would've argued that Jasmine had every right to stay and say goodbye to Dumbledore, but she wasn't in the right mind set at the given time. Besides, she knew Marlene's mum meant well and only wanted to protect her daughters.

"I noticed Scrimgeour is here," said Marlene.

"Yeah. I don't like him sitting in Professor Snape's chair," said Teddie.

"Neither do I," Marlene agreed. "But what can we do? Only we are ever going to give Professor Snape the benefit for the doubt."

Teddie sighed heavily.

Theo, Blaise, and Daphne joined Teddie towards the end of breakfast, and they had barely eaten a few pieces of toast when McGonagall rose from her seat and every head in the Hall turned to face her.

"It is nearly time," said McGonagall. "Please follow your Heads of Houses out into the grounds. Gryffindors, after me."

After the Hufflepuffs had left the Hall following Professor Sprout, Professor Slughorn silently waved the Slytherins forward and they all traipsed in a single file out into the Entrance Hall. As she stepped out of the great oak doors, Teddie saw that they were heading towards the lake, where an assortment of different people were all sitting on white chairs, arranged on two separate aisle near the shore.

Mo, Ursula, and Marcus Flint sat on one side of the aisle as the Hogwarts students filed in from behind. Each of them being herded to a spare seat by their Heads of House; Teddie found herself sitting between Theo and Daphne and couldn't help but cast a look around for Mason. She found him sitting three rows in front of her with Astoria.

Once satirised that she had found her brother, Teddie looked around the other occupants. She didn't recognise many of them, although those that she did sat with their heads bent and tears either in their eyes or staining their faces.

Remus Lupin sat holding hands with a woman who had the vividest pink hair, Mr and Mrs Weasley sat near them, Fleur Delacour sat nearby, supporting a badly wounded man with red hair that Teddie could only guess was another Weasley, and beside them were the twins Fred and George. They met her gaze and she smiled weakly at them before looking away.

Cruise and his team stood toward the back of the congregation; and Teddie noticed, for the first time, that Quinn was supporting an eye patch, while Jonathan was missing an ear. Melanie looked relatively unscathed, but Teddie could only imagine the mental scars she carried, same with Cruise.

Then there was Madame Maxine, who took up two and a half chairs on her own; Madam Malkin from Diagon Alley, the barman from the Hogshead, the sweet witch from the Hogwarts Express, and even the Hogwarts ghosts were in attendance, their bodies barely visible in the bright sunlight.

Cornelius Fudge walked past the front rows; his expression miserable. He twirled his green bowler hat between his hands. Sitting in the front row, right on the aisle seat was Rita Skeeter, and, much to Teddie's displeasure, she was scribbling furiously in her notebook.

The staff was seated at last. Scrimgeour sat beside McGonagall looking grave and dignified, but his gaze remained low and focused on the grass before him.

Then strange and otherworldly music began to play. It made the hair on Teddie's neck stand on edge, but she couldn't deny that it suited the mood perfectly.

Teddie looked up as a shadow fell over her, and a gasp escaped her lips as she saw Hagrid passing. He was crying silently as he carried a purple velvet spangle with golden stars, and everyone just knew that it was Dumbledore's body.

Again, Teddie felt the same stab of pain in her heart that she had felt when she saw Snape's chair filled by the Minister of Magic earlier at breakfast. It was the same stab of pain she felt when she had learned her parents had been killed before Christmas last year. It wasn't a stab of guilt and betrayal; it was a stab of anger and determination to find out the truth.

She wanted, just like she had done with her parents, to make whoever was responsible for Dumbledore's death pay. And while she still maintained the face that Snape was innocent of premeditated murder, she knew that she would have to face him to find out the truth.

Blaise sat rigid in his seat, staring at the back of the chair before him. Theo was pale and shaking, while Daphne was sobbing into her hands.

No one could see clearly what was happening at the front, but Teddie was relieved to see that no one dared try, either. They all remained seated, either crying into their hands or handkerchiefs, or staring without seeing into the distance.

Teddie, however, had tightened her hold on the sides of her chair. She was gripping it so tightly that she could feel the grain of the wood against her fingertips and the edge of the seat was cutting into her fingers. But, this seemed the only appropriate response for someone who found that they had no will to cry.

Hagrid seemed to have placed the body carefully upon a table and was now retreating down the aisle, blowing his nose and drawing scandalised looks from other people. As he passed where she sat, Teddie noticed that Hagrid's eyes were swollen and puffy that she was surprised he knew where to go without crashing into things.

The music stopped and everyone's attention was focused on the front of the congregation. A little tufty-haired man in plain black robes had got to his feet and was now standing in front of Dumbledore's body. His voice was as small as his body, and Teddie could barely hear him from her seat. But she didn't care much for his words, all that mattered now was saying goodbye to a great man and wizard.

Finally the little man stopped speaking.

Teddie watched as he resumed his seat. She half expected Scrimgeour or McGonagall to get up and say a few words, but neither of them rose from their seats. Instead, bright white flames erupted around the table upon which Dumbledore lay eliciting screams from people in the crowd, Teddie's eyes widened, and her heart pounded in her chest as she watched the flames ascend higher and higher, setting of spirals of smoke into the air.

Then, the flames disappeared, leaving behind a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body, and the table upon which he had rested.

END OF BOOK SIX