Chapter 26 - Look and Thousand (Prompts)
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The Memorial Service that was organized by the Ministry for Magic was held outside, just on the outskirts of Hogwarts where the Final Battle had raged. Harry noticed neatly placed chairs that seemed scarcely enough to seat the crowd of witches and wizards that had arrived. There were too many people to count; seemed like thousands had come to attend the service for all those they had lost, most of them wearing dark robes appropriately to commemorate the occasion. All that is, except for two individual beings. Luna and her father wore robes that were brightly coloured, making them stand out splendidly against the background of gloomy colours that surrounded them. The image made Harry smile. He was glad to see that some things never really changed and he made a mental note to go speak to them soon. Something told him that he would need a good distraction today of all days, and the famously quirky father and daughter was his salvation from doing the one impulse he had: to turn on his heel and leave before anyone would see him. He rather fancied staying hidden while the service went on, so that he could grieve for his friends without having people look at him.
If there was anything that could have made Harry feel even more uncomfortable than he already did, it was the looks he received the moment he was recognized as he stepped closer.
Almost like the flow of a wave, once one person noticed him, so did another, then another, then another, until everyone seemed to have stopped their personal discussions and were looking at him carefully. He found himself shifting from one foot to the other awkwardly in hopes that everyone who had attended the memorial service would stop looking at him like a historical artefact on exhibition. He had thought that they would treat him the way they did the first time he came to the wizarding world; but apparently he had been wrong. The careful scrutiny of all those who watched him was eerily a mixture of those who grinned widely at him and those who watched him with a guarded expression, almost as if they expected him to turn around and vanquish them where they stood.
It was Hermione who broke him out of his reverie when she grabbed his hand and started pulling him forwards. He was grateful for that little nudge. He was too self-conscious to move on his own. And it didn't help when the crowd immediately parted to let him and Hermione through; their steps slow as they moved back and bowed their heads in a sign of respect. When he had first entered the Leaky Cauldron all those years ago, people had gushed, rushed to shake his hand and tell him how much of a celebrity he was. But then he realized that those who met him at that time, had met him ten years after Voldemort fell the first time. This was simply days after and they probably were still deciding if the Daily Prophet had stated the truth and the Dark Lord had in fact died. They were fooled into believing it the first time which probably made them wary as to whether they would believe it the second time. He would have loved it if they would just look away from him as they contemplated this. Although, he had to admit, that as he moved through the crowd, his eyes immediately searched for all those who looked at him with curiously impassive expressions, his impulse to study their features strong as he passed them one by one.
Hermione led him to the front where he saw familiar faces and finally let himself relax, even if it was only for a bit. Fleur kissed him on both cheeks warmly as he received nods of acknowledgement from the rest of the Weasleys. He couldn't help but notice that two of the red-headed members of the family were missing.
"Mum hasn't gotten out of bed yet," Bill said quietly in answer to Harry's unasked question. "Dad's staying with her."
Harry nodded in understanding as he spotted George over Bill's shoulder as he was seated silently right in the corner, almost as if he was preparing himself for a quick getaway. Following his gaze, Bill smiled lightly. "Strangely, he didn't want to miss it."
As Bill and Fleur took their seats and gestured to two seats next to Ron, thankfully a few seats away from Ginny, he felt Hermione's fingers slip out of his grasp. He needn't have looked far to see that Ron's gaze on their entwined hands made her let go of him. He felt himself twitch with annoyance. Partly because he missed the contact and the comfort it gave him, and partly because he knew that today was difficult for his best mate and he couldn't really fault her for wanting to keep things simple, without letting any altercation come between them.
Without looking at each other, they sat on either side of him and shared a small smile of understanding, both of them determined to comfort their best friend any way they could.
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