No, I don not own Harry Potter...but I do have a Pottermore account! :D
Hermione put her head against the door after shutting it and took a deep sigh. Today was going to be a very difficult day, and had already proved to be one. If someone as strong as Ginny couldn't hold it together, then Merlin knew how everyone else was going to be acting. Hermione's thoughts turned to Ron for a second. He wasn't one to show emotions other than happiness or anger for the most part, but over the last year she had gotten to see a different side of him. The side that had shown the despair and worry that he sometimes felt. Now that this thought had come to mind, she wanted to know how Ron was going to handle all that was going to happen today.
She quickly walked down the stairs in hopes of finding Ron in the living room-which she did. He was sitting on an ottoman next to the fire place with his head in his hands. There were no signals indicating that he was crying, but already Hermione knew that this was going to be a lot more than he would be able to handle alone.
Ron must have heard her heels clicking down the stairs because he looked up at her while she was paused at the base of the stairs looking at him. He got up and put a smile on his face as he walked towards her. "Hermione, you look so beautiful," was all he said before looking around to see if there was anyone else in the vicinity before placing a tender kiss on her cheek. All she could do was blush. Wow, he shouldn't be allowed to look this good today, she thought. She quickly scanned him over, wearing his dress robes; with his hair cut and not raggedy like it had been for the last couple of months. He looked really, really good. But what else should she have expected. Ron always looked good even with raggedy hair and scruff on his cheek.
She quickly grabbed his hand as he pulled her over to sit on a couch with him. For some time they just sat together holding hands, and not speaking. Hermione didn't try and say anything because she knew that words would not be able to comfort Ron today. She also knew that Ron understood that this was her way of comforting him-by just being there. After some moments he turned to her and said, "Stay with me today." It wasn't a question or a request, more of a confirmation of something he knew that she would already be doing. She leaned her head against his shoulder and nodded into him. Ron let out a breath and sank back into the couch with Hermione still leaning on his shoulder. Even though he hadn't asked the question, it was a relief to have her agree to stick by him.
For a while they just sat there together. Hermione shut her eyes for a while, trying to shut out every emotion she knew that she was going to feel as soon as she walked out of the door and towards that dreaded burial site. Then she opened her eyes quickly, realizing that if she couldn't stay strong then she had to at least try and act like she was calm for Ron's and the other Weasleys's sakes. When she opened her eyes she saw Ron looking off to some faraway place that she couldn't quite see. She knew Ron well enough to know that this was his way of preparing himself. He always became distant when he was preparing to do something whether it be for a quidditch match or in this case, burying his older brother. She knew that there was no point in trying to talk to him because it would change nothing. No, today no matter what she said, no matter what she did, he was still going to have to see his brother be put into the cold ground in a box. He was still going to try and put on some brave front for his family. He was still going to act like he was coping and at the end of the day let it all out by kicking things around, or going off to fly and not coming back until some indecent hour of the morning. So for right now, she would let him have this moment to prepare himself for whatever it was that he knew he was going to have to do next.
An hour or so later, Hermione realized that the first people were starting to arrive when she heard popping noises for apparition outside the window. Ron however, stayed where he was, not realizing that the beginnings of a crowd was starting to form in his front yard. Hermione decided to let him know that it was time to do what he most feared by lightly squeezing his hand. Ron looked at her and nodded, the two stood up and walked to the door together.
As soon as they were outside, Hermione drew a quick breath. There must have been hundreds of people in the yard, all moving towards the quidditch pitch where Fred was to be put to rest. There were familiar faces in the crowd such as Angelina, Madam Hooch, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall, but there were also numerous faces that Hermione had never seen before. For a second, she thought that all of these people could not have know Fred. But then, she thought of all of the lives he must have touched in his time. Classmates, teachers, customers from the store. No, not all of the people attending the funeral might have known Fred personally, but Fred had touched all of their lives both individually by always being the comic relief, and as a whole. He had died to save each and every one of the people in the crowd. The affect that this realization had on Hermione was evident and she felt hot tears splash down her cheek.
She immediately reached up to angrily wipe them away for she wanted to be strong for Ron. But as she was about to do so Ron squeezed her hand tightly and she looked up at him. He smiled at her as tears fell down his face too. It was almost as if he had read her mind and had thought the same thoughts that had been going through her head.
"Hermione," he started softly. "I know you want to be strong today for me. Bloody hell, I wish I could be strong for you, it rips my heart out to see you sad. But today is a sad day. There's going to be crying and tears and not matter how much you try to be strong those things are going to happen. And I…I understand that," he finished.
"Ron, I don't understand," Hermione started.
"I'm just trying to say, Fred may not have been your brother, but it's ok for you to be sad too. All I need from you today is just to be by my side whenever you can," he said looking away to the black flags that were flying on the outer skirts of the quidditch pitch.
"Ok Ron," she replied before clearing her throat lightly. "Let's go then." They walked off towards the pitch together hand in hand, never letting go.
All too soon they were there at the burial site. There were black chairs in rows underneath a black canopy tent. In some strange way it reminded Hermione of Bill and Fleur's wedding but much darker. And there were many more people in attendance to the funeral than to the wedding.
Hermione had only been to one other funeral in her life and it was a lot different from Fred's. It was her great aunt's funeral when she was 10. Before she even knew that she was a witch. There were a lot less people, and the burial took place in a small and dark graveyard behind an old church in the town. Suddenly, Ron's voice cleared her out of her reverie. She looked over to see what he was doing and saw that he was talking to a pale Harry who was holding an even paler looking Ginny. Both had a sort of far off look in their eyes that Hermione didn't quite yet understand. It was funny how much Ginny and Harry were alike when she thought about it.
They both were constantly putting themselves last. They were always trying to be valiant, brave, and protect everyone. Both hardly ever showed emotion other than anger. Tears were a rare occurrence between the two, and on the rare occasion that one of them cried, it was mostly done in privacy. Maybe that's why they were such a good match for each other, they were the only people who completely understood whatever the other did.
Hermione looked off to the tent where people were starting to find their seats. She noticed that there weren't many seats underneath the canopy and saw that most of the people she didn't recognise were shuffling around outside of it. She realized that the Weasleys had probably assumed that it would be a small gathering since there were so many funerals happening all over the wizarding world as of late. So people that were closest to Fred started taking their seats under the canopy. Hermione checked her watch and saw that it was time for all of them to go and find their seats as well. As everyone seemed to be moving towards the tent at the same time, she felt as if she was in some sort of trance. It was the same feeling that she used to get when she would use her Time Turner to go to classes. As if everyone around was going and she was standing still waiting for time to start again, waiting to be rushing into something else, waiting to be exhausted and fall asleep in the common room, waiting to feel distant from the people around her, just waiting. But this time, she was waiting to do the thing that she knew would change the lives of this family forever.
In ways, wizard funerals were not too different from the muggle kind. People made speeches about the deceased, people cried, they wore all black, a minister presided over the service, and people wished that they could bring back the dead. And that was the one thing that was strikingly similar between wizards and muggles; neither could bring back the dead. So time went on, and everything was quiet except for the occasional cry or sound of someone blowing into their tissue. The service was almost over after Arthur had made an extremely moving eulogy about the pride that he had for his son in every aspect of his life, and certainly in his death. After he was finished, the minister asked if there was anyone else who had something to say. For a moment it seemed as if no one was going to say anything, but suddenly as if on impulse, Harry stood up and walked to the front of the canopy. Hermione was shocked and she noticed the rest of the family was as well. Ron gave her hand an unconscious squeeze and Hermione saw that every fibre of his attention was on what Harry was about to say.
"I wasn't planning on making any sort of speech today. I sort of just decided to come up and say some things on impulse. That was one thing that I learned from Fred-how to act on impulse." There was a nervous chuckle from the crowd, as if they were afraid to laugh, and a loud blow from Hagrid into his handkerchief. "But I was listening to all of the wonderful things you all were saying up here, and I noticed that there was one thing that no one would say. Fred is dead. Yes everyone acknowledged the obvious fact that he's gone, no longer here to laugh and tell jokes with. But I know a lot about death. I have no family. My mum is dead, my dad is dead, my godfather-dead, my mentor-dead, Albus Dumbledore; the man who guided and protected me through almost all of my life is dead. Even the man, who I thought I couldn't possibly hate anymore, ended up being someone who means something to me, died before I even understood how brave and kind and loving he was." Ron's grip on Hermione's hand was getting tighter. She could tell that he was nervous about all of the things Harry was saying, but she trusted Harry to turn this speech around. "So yeah, a lot of people that I have loved are gone. If you know anything about me, as many of my close friends do, it's that I never wanted anyone to die for me. The people I love, that died at the hands of Voldemort were sacrificed because of me. This is something that I have struggled with since I found a girl lying in the Chamber of Secrets during my second year at Hogwarts. I've never understood it. Why have I survived so many times when people who deserve to live and being killed in my place? It wasn't-it isn't fair to me. I've tried to run away, do things on my own, shun my only friends because I don't want anyone else to take the fall. But that is not the way that things turn out. People don't listen and they get in the way, and sometimes, they get hurt. This used to be the worst part for me because I didn't want my friends, and others to understand what it felt like to lose someone that you love. I would lash out at them because they couldn't understand what it felt like to feel the pain of loss. But now, so many more people than I ever thought, understand that pain. In fact, many of you that stand here right now know exactly the sort of pain I mean. Feeling like you can't breathe because you know you will never see that person, or hear their laugh, or get to tell them that one thing that you always wanted to but never found the courage to. And right now, the Weasleys feel this pain. This was the one thing I was always scared of; that the people that I counted as my family would someday know exactly how I feel. But as this fear came to life, it opened my eyes. See I always thought that people should stay away from me and let me do the fighting on my own. Even though I've had two best friends that haven't for a second allowed me to do just that in the whole time that I've known them. Somehow, even as I pushed people away, even more joined me in the fight against Voldemort. They weren't fighting for me, they were fighting for a world without VOldemort with me. I knew how it would end, we all did to an extent. I knew that there would be war and that people would want to fight, and I couldn't prevent everyone from joining in, though Merlin knows I tried. So the night…that night, I watched people pour in to the grounds at Hogwarts. Some I had never seen before, and others I knew. I saw Fred, even talked to him for a bit. I saw a lot of people that night that I would never see alive again. And I know that if I had tried to send everyone back home to safety, Fred would have been the one cracking a joke about how noble I am or something before he rushed into the battle. Fred didn't often think of the consequences because he wasn't scared of them. Not when he joined the D.A., not when he and George opened a joke shop in the midst of so much fear, not when he rushed into that battle. He knew the consequences, but he didn't think of them because he didn't care. It wasn't the consequences that mattered to Fred, but the actions he took that would prompt them. Of course Fred knew that there was a chance he wouldn't make it, we all did. But all of you came and fought with all that you had anyway. Fred died laughing, doing the thing that he loved most in the world. He died fighting and he could laugh because he knew that in the midst of pain, joy and laughter can be found. So right now, in the midst of all this pain I think…I know that Fred wants us to find the laughter. When I thought things could never be worse he always found a way to make me crack a smile or chuckle. I'm sure you all have a similar memory with him, so think of that. When you go home and have to face another funeral or rebuilding of something, find the joy and laughter that keeps us going. We're all hurting right now but there is light ahead. We will go on from this moment. And even though Fred might not be sitting here with us right now, he's still here. Once my godfather gave me some comforting words that I want to share with all of you. He said to me, "The ones we love never really leave us. And you can always find them, in your heart." I know that this is true, and in time, that pain will die a little and the laughter will come easier. And I know that's what Fred would have wanted."
There was complete stillness and silence as Harry stepped down from the little platform in the front of the tent and started walking back to his seat. He barely got five steps before George tackled him with a massive hug. He was crying, but not the pained angry tears that he'd been crying for days. They were sort of happy, relieved tears.
"Thank you," he whispered in Harry's ear.
"It's nothing," Harry replied while patting his back.
"You don't need to always be so noble Potter," he joked, before cracking a small smile and returning to his seat to hold his mother's hand.
When Harry sat down Ginny kissed him on the cheek and Hermione gave him a smile as she wiped the tears away. Harry looked past Hermione to Ron who looked as if he was still processing everything that had just happened. The minister returned to the front of the tent and whisked his wand as the coffin floated to the hole where Fred was to be buried. As the coffin lowered into the ground, without looking at him Ron said to Harry, "Thank you." It wasn't much but Harry knew that he meant. Thank you for saying what I couldn't. Thank you for giving us hope. Thank you for being strong for everyone. Thank you for being my brother.
A/N: wow ok, you all must really hate me...that is if there are any of you left to read this in the first place. i know, i don't even remember the last time i updated. wait yes i do, it was last easter so a YEAR ago. that is just pathetic. i could sit here and tell you all my excuses about how busy i am with school and every day life and family and bla bla bla but i won't bore you. all i can say is i am truthfully VERY sorry. i actually started this chapter like a year ago and rewrote it about 10 times. i had absolutely no idea how i wanted it. first no one came to the funeral then everyone came and it was like a party, but then i decided that this seemed appropriate. i know the last half of this chapter is pretty much about harry but seeing as he understands more than most what it feels like to lose someone, i thought it seemed fitting that he made a speech. plus you know how he just loves to make those noble speeches. well i don't want to go on forever but i promise to continue this story and update as soon as possible. yes i know that i said that before and it didn't exactly hold true but i feel as if i'm finally back in the swing of things and at least for the next chapter or so i know what i want to write. so thanks and if anyone is reading this, it would just make me the happiest girl alive if you would review, especially with suggestions as to what you want to happen for the characters. cheers & speak to you soon!