It was the morning of Fred's funeral, over the past few days there had been a subtle change in Ginny's attitude. She still wasn't talking to Harry, but she wasn't flashing him the dark looks any more either. The funeral was starting at noon and everyone was having a hurried breakfast in the cramped kitchen because of the weather. Nobody was in a talkative mood but neither did anyone want to face the silence.
Harry was looking at the weather through the window, trying to distract himself from Ginny's presence at the table, it had drizzled off and on over the last few days but today was an outright downpour.
It was then that after nearly two and a half weeks everyone at the table heard a missing voice, cracking and weak from disuse. "I'm sorry dad, I'm sorry for everything." All noise at the table stopped, and everyone turned to look at the source of the noise. It was George; Mr. Weasley who had been trying so hard to get his son to speak to him was so shocked and surprised that at first he himself was speechless. But with tears streaming down his face quickly pulled his son into the tightest hug that he could, saying "It's alright son, it's alright."
Molly was on the verge of tears, and everyone else was watching, riveted as Mr. Weasley held his son in a tight embrace. After a few minutes Harry and Hermione quietly excused themselves, using the excuse that they needed to get dressed. As much as they felt adopted by the family neither considered themselves to be worthy of being involved in this tender moment.
Looking at the clock Harry realized that he had plenty of time to get dressed. As he casually changed into his dress robes he looked at the weather out of the window; and in his own mind what could only be described as a movie started to play. Harry saw every moment from the time he first met Fred to the moment he died. Harry smiled wanly as he realized that Fred had entered his life the way he left it: joking and laughing.
Harry hadn't realized how long he had been reminiscing until Ron came in and hurriedly started to change, his eyes red rimmed he murmured in Harry's direction. "Mum wanted everyone to wait downstairs once they were dressed."
"M'kay." Harry mumbled as he left. He made his way down stairs and dropped down onto the couch waiting for everyone else.
"All set Harry?" He turned around to find Mrs. Weasley standing over him, her eyes were red rimmed as well, but she was trying to put a brave face on.
Harry stood, and after a few seconds said "Yeah, I'm set. How are you doing?"
"I'll manage." She said.
At first Harry didn't know what to say, the movie of Fred started to play back in his mind again and he knew. "He – He was a good man, and a great friend."
Molly started to tear up as she hugged him. "Thank you."
"If there's anything I can do." He offered.
She sniffed a little before she interrupted him. "You've done more than enough. Thanks to you I know that Fred will be the only child I ever have to lose. Thank you." She hugged him again.
Harry was at a loss for words, it didn't help that she looked so much like her daughter which reopened wounds Harry had been trying to deal with. Quickly however, other members of the family started showing up, and within a few minutes everyone was assembled in the kitchen waiting to go. Everyone ran down the garden path and thru the gate. As a group they disapparated, and on arrival they scrambled under the cover of the tent before they had even really gotten their bearings.
As Harry wiped the water away from his glasses he looked around there were golden chairs like at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and then of course there was the tent they were standing in. But there were no decorations; the tent was simply there to keep out the rain.
Over the next hour the family welcomed everyone as they filed in. Harry and Hermione stood off to the side, feeling awkward and out of place. Eventually, the flood of people began to subside and the Weasley's with Hermione in tow took their seats at the front.
As pallbearers Harry and Fred's brothers waited in the back. When the minister appeared they were to carry the casket to the front and take their seats with everyone else, and when he did arrive Harry realized that it was the same minister that had been at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
Harry and the brothers lifted the casket and began to carry it down the aisle in short measured paces. As they walked Harry looked around and was amazed at the size and variety of the crowd. At the front there was a veritable ocean of red hair, but in the back seats were friends that Harry knew from Hogwarts and the Order. Kingsley Shacklebolt flanked by a pair of aurors who looked like this was their idea of a nightmare as they watched everyone nearby; warily keeping an eye for any potential assassins. Professors McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick all three teary eyed sat together.
A lot of people that were here were Harry's friends too. Alicia Spinet, Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Neville, Luna, Dean, Seamus. Hagrid was taking up three seats in the back and somehow Peeves was here as well and Harry had never seen him like this. He was genuinely contrite and looking at the floor below where he was levitating.
As they gently lowered the casket onto the platform and took their seats Harry noticed that Angelina Johnson gave George's hand a reassuring squeeze as he sat down. Then the minister began, in his singsong voice he read off Fred's name and his dates of birth and death.
Harry started to faze out, the movie was playing again. He recalled with a smile how Fred and George had been using the first years as test subjects for their skiving snack boxes and Hermione was genuinely impressed with the daydream charms that they had thought up, they gave her a free one just for complimenting them on it.
Harry's reminiscing was broken as in the back of his mind he noticed that a different person was speaking. Looking up he saw that people were taking turns speaking, Oliver had just stepped down from the podium tears on his cheeks and George stepped up. Harry noticed a few strangled sobs and gasps in the back of the crowd as they looked at Fred's twin. George started speaking "Fred was my brother, and my best friend. We were truly inseparable; we thought that that was the way it was going to be forever. We –"
He almost laughed as he recalled a memory "We were always the troublemakers, Merlin knows how many times we nearly gave our mother a heart attack. There was never a rule we didn't break, but there was one rule that neither of us dared to break..." He paused for a moment, before continuing "Live life to the fullest, because its way too short to sit back and wish about what you could have had; it could be gone tomorrow. I also know one thing, as sad as I am about losing the best friend I could ever hope to have, I know that he would have wanted me to celebrate his life. Not mourn his passing."
George quickly stepped down from the podium looking a little embarrassed at the awkwardness of his impromptu speech, but the blush quickly left his face as people patted him on the back or hugged him as he headed towards his seat. As he began to sit down in his seat both Mrs. Weasley and Angelina stood and hugged him, Harry began fazing out again. He remembered when they had finally left the school, in a truly amazing display of fireworks and vandalism.
They were hexing members of the inquisitorial squad, and how their homemade snapdragon had chased down Umbridge, and as they flew away, the gigantic W they left in the sky in their wake. "Give her hell from us, Peeves." As they flew off. And Peeves gave them a salute. In a way Harry hoped that everyone else was seeing the same things he did Fred's life was too short for there to be any stories told about him. There were only memories to share and Harry was remembering Fred at his best, these were his crowning achievements: bringing joy to others was his mission in the world. And he had fought and died to ensure that people would still have hope and joy in their lives.
Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw the others standing and he did the same. As a group Harry, Ron, Bill, Percy, Charlie and George took their handles and lifted the casket. In those same, short, measured paces they walked the casket back up the aisle and out into the rain. Hagrid and a few others offered their umbrellas as Harry and the brothers carried the casket out and into the rain. They carefully laid it beside the hole in the ground.
The minister said a few more words and with a flick of his wand the casket floated into the hole, on its way down Harry saw runes begin to burn into the side of the casket. The Weasley's each took a handful of what was now mud and threw it over the grave, and with another flick of the ministers wand the dirt flew into the hole and a headstone with Fred Weasley on it, along with the dates of birth and death appeared already fixed into the ground. Ginny conjured a wreath of flowers and laid it against the headstone. It was then that as he looked around Harry realized that they were on one of the hills to the north of the town
Everyone proceeded back inside and the Weasley's thanked everyone for coming as they filed out again disapparating as they were clear of the tent. It was then that Kingsley took Harry to the side. In that same deep reassuring voice that he always had he said "Harry, can I have a moment?"
"Sure." Harry said as he moved off to one side of the tent with the former auror.
"Harry, do you have any plans for what you are doing next year?" The flanking aurors had their backs turned keeping an eye on the crowd.
"Umm, not really." Harry said confused.
"I assume you've heard about the proclamation I made. That anyone that participated in the battle at Hogwarts can be eligible to become an Auror without having NEWT level exams?"
"Yes." Harry said deadpan.
"I would have sent a letter, but I felt that it was better to tell this to you in person. If you don't go back to school next year I was hoping that you might consider a job at the Ministry, as an auror?"
He was thinking about the question when out of the corner of his eye he saw Dean and Ginny. It looked like he was giving her a hard time, he quickly said "Umm, yeah. I'll let you know in the next week or two. I'll send a letter, is that alright?" he asked distractedly.
"Take as much time as you need." Kingsley turned and made his way back towards the crowd of people that were leaving.
Harry started walking towards Dean and Ginny, she was on the verge of tears he could tell and he wouldn't leave her alone as much as she seemed to want him to. She shoved him when he tried to get closer. Walking in close behind Dean he said "Do we have a problem here?"
Dean nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to find Harry behind him. He quickly checked his footing and standing up to his full height said "No, actually I was just leaving." He almost scurried away.
Turning back to where Ginny was he said "Are you alright?"
"Thank you." She said, before disappearing into the crowd.
Harry caught sight of her going after Dean, before he could get too far Ginny tapped him on the shoulder and said something to him. His eyes narrowed as he gave Harry a look almost rivaling that of Ginny's. Before he turned and left. She disappeared farther into the crowd and Harry lost sight of her.
Harry tried to follow but he couldn't find her, so he stood with the rest of the Weasley's as they thanked everyone for coming. When Ginny finally showed herself everyone was going outside to apparate back to the Burrow. She looked up into his face as she grasped his hand. She didn't say a word to him as they apparated back to the Burrow.
When they arrived at the Burrow she didn't let go of his hand. As everyone made their way up the path in the downpour Harry was almost dragged along by Ginny. Inside she didn't let go, she pulled him up the stairs and into her room. She closed to the door behind them both, finally letting go. She sat down on the edge of her bed and Harry did the same. They stayed silent for what could have been hours or minutes Harry couldn't tell. Eventually Ginny spoke, looking at the ground she said "Did Ron tell you that it was me looking after you while you were in that coma thing?"
Harry shook his head; bur realizing that she could see said "No."
They slipped back into silence again. This time, Harry broke the silence saying "What was that between you and Dean?"
She sniffed before saying "He wanted us to get back together again." Harry sensed that the us in question wasn't her and Harry.
"You said no." Harry said.
She sensed the underlying question and said "Yeah, I told him no. I told him I already found someone, someone better." Her hands found his and grasped as she said "I missed you."
"I missed you too." Harry said.
They slid back into silence, before Ginny turned up to look him in the face and asked "Was it true what you said, that night at the castle?"
"I meant every last word, then and now." Harry stopped, and once again almost on instinct he added "And if you'll take me I'm yours."
Ginny nodded, Harry cupped her chin in his hand and he gently turned it upwards to face him. There was a slight whimper as their lips met.
Authors Note: Tell me what you think, I was especially worried about the part at the end and would appreciate it if I can get some feedback on it. Thanks…
P.S.-Always check out my older chapters, I usually do revesions when I find a problem...