Chapter 20 - The Funeral:

Several months had passed since the death of Anson Jeandré, the battle at the Coliseum, Eddie's return to America, and Lily's final decision about the Stone of Merlin. Despite all of this happening, things had gone back to being relatively normal; as normal as one can get for being Mistress of Magic. Lily's life consisted of work, cases, appearances, Jeremiah's sarcastic comments, bad food, and late, lonely nights.

However, everything changed in a moment.

Lily would never forget the day when her godfather, Ron, showed up on the doorstep of her flat with his daughters by his side, his eyes bloodshot and red, unable to contain himself. The only thing that Lily knew how to do was to lead him inside and sit him on the couch. She told Teresa and Anne to go into her bedroom as she made tea for Ron.

When Ron had finally calmed down and he was sure that the girls were out of earshot or asleep, he told Lily the dreaded news;

Hermione had passed away.

At this point, Lily had gone into shock. She did not know what to feel; what to think; what to say. She felt blank; empty and cold. It was yet another life that had been stolen by Voldemort, ripped from her. Hermione had been in a coma for eight, almost nine years now so it was almost like she had not been there all along. But, with her being a coma, there was always a chance of her waking up, there was always hope. Now, she was gone for good.

There was no time for Lily or anyone else to mourn because there was simply no consoling Ron. Ron was the last of the trio; his wife and best friend were dead, his parents were dead, and many of his siblings were dead. All he really had left were his daughters, his goddaughter, and his younger sister. It looked as though his whole world were crashing down around him and he there was nothing that he could do about it. Ron was such a mess that Teresa and Anne had to temporarily move in with their Aunt Ginny because he refused to get out of bed and he refused to eat. The only thing he would do was sleep. Lily was both frustrated and pitied him. She too felt like not getting out of bed but she knew that she had to, for Ginny, Anne, and Teresa.

On the day of the funeral, Lily and Ginny literally had to drag Ron out of bed and get him showered and dressed.

It was at this point that Lily began to feel an absolute hatred, anger, and bitterness towards Eddie. Shortly after his mother's death, Lily had sent him an owl to let him know what had happened but she, nor anyone else, had heard from him. It absolutely infuriated Lily because he should be here helping to take of his younger sisters and father, not hiding yet again in a foreign country, not caring about anyone but himself.

Lily was happy that she had rejected him back at St. Mungo's so many months ago.

Lily had gone back to her flat in order to dress for Hermione's funeral. Ginny had offered to make sure that Ron and the girls would get there on time, knowing full well that Lily had several other responsibilities other than the funeral and taking care of Ron. Besides, Ginny was Ron's younger sister and she knew how to handle him in this kind of situation.

Lily entered her flat and nearly had a heart attack and died of fright when she saw none other than Eddie Weasley, sitting on her living room couch, wearing black dress robes, his eyes bloodshot and his pale, freckled face was blotchy.

"Bloody hell, Ed, what are you doing here? You know you nearly scared the bullocks out of me!" Lily nearly shrieked as she pocketed her wand. "I could've hexed you something fierce." She looked at him to see that he did not say anything, that he did not look apologetic or sympathetic; he simply looked blank, lost, and devastated. "Ed?"

"My mum…" he whispered in a croaked, shaking voice. "My mum…I never even got to say good-bye…Lily…my mum…" With these words, Lily's cold exterior melted and she immediately forgave him for everything had done and had not done these past few days; ever since she had written to him about his mother's passing.

"Oh Eddie," she whispered and immediately strode towards him and embraced him tightly. Lily, after several days with being unable to mourn for her beloved godmother, finally let out the emotions and tears as she and Eddie cried into each other's shoulders.

After what seemed like hours of comforting one another and crying, the two finally separated and looked each other square in the eyes; emerald met chestnut. The intense gaze that they were giving one another made Lily feel very uncomfortable, so she broke the silence.

"Why did you come here?" she whispered gently and comfortingly stroking his bushy red hair. "Why not go to your dad, your sisters, your Aunt Ginny? Your family?" Eddie gazed at Lily, grabbed her face in his hands and tenderly kissed her on the forehead before meeting her eyes again.

"No one can comfort me like you, Lily," Eddie whispered with such truth that it nearly made Lily gasp out loud. "You are my family…"

Eddie bravely kissed her on the forehead again before getting up and walking to the front door. "I'll wait for you outside. Thank you, Lily"

Hermione's funeral was both a desolate and grand affair. There were hundreds of witches, wizards, and Muggles that came to pay their respects to the brilliant, intelligent witch that helped defeat one of the darkest wizards of all time and became a wonderful Headmistress at one of the best wizarding schools in the world. Lily was very impressed by how many lives Hermione had touched and influenced over the course of her short life. Many people had also come out of respect for Ron, Teresa, Anne, Ginny, and Lily herself. It both touched and inspired her. However, despite how many people were there, influential or not, Lily never let go of Eddie's hand. And Eddie never let go of Lily's.

Ron, who seemed as though he could not do anything over the past few days, stepped up to give a eulogy for his beloved wife and childhood friend. Lily sat beside Eddie, again, still clutching his hand as little Anne cried into her shoulder. Teresa sat beside her little sister, her face impassive and cold as stone.

"Today we are here to remember the life of my beloved wife, Hermione Jean Granger Weasley," he said, his voice shaking as he held himself together. "I remember the first time I met Hermione. It was on the Hogwarts Express, heading to my first year at Hogwarts. I was sitting in a compartment with my…our closest friend, Harry Potter eating candy and my first reaction was, 'Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it.'"

This earned a small, quiet laugh from the audience. Ron, for the first time in a long time, let out a small smile before continuing, "I think I fell in love with her right then and there. But, I don't think I realized how much I loved her until my second year at Hogwarts, when she had been Petrified. And when she went to the Yule Ball with another guy, well, that was the end of my doubt. I was a done man. It took me a long time to make a move, but when I finally did, I became the luckiest man alive, married the most wonderful, must brilliant witch, and created three amazing children. I loved Hermione from the time I was eleven years old and I will love her until my dying day. She was brilliant, smart, she loved books, she loved her friends, family, always fought for what she felt was right. But, more importantly, she was a good witch…a good person. She made me a better man and because of her influence, she changed us all for the better."

With that, Ron could bear it no longer and he broke down into tears. Ginny ran to his side and helped him step down from the podium. Watching the scene before him, Eddie squeezed Lily's hand and Lily returned the squeeze in a comforting manner as tears rolled down both of their faces.

After the funeral, Eddie and Lily escorted Ron, Anne, and Teresa back to their home, giving Ginny some much needed time off. Lily cooked them dinner and made sure the Ron and the girls ate and showered. Eddie decided to stay downstairs to keep Ron much needed company as Lily tucked the girls into bed. When Anne could not sleep, Lily and Teresa curled into bed with her and Lily stayed there until they both fell asleep.

When she came downstairs, she saw Ron and Eddie both passed out on the recliner sofas, mouths open with snores coming out of them. Lily could not help but smile at the scene. Without a word, she grabbed a blanket and covered Ron. When she went over to cover Eddie with another blanket, he stirred and looked up at her.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," Lily whispered back.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Can I come with you?"

"Excuse me?" asked Lily incredulously. Eddie chuckled at her reaction and sat up.

"Not like that," he explained. "I told you before, you comfort me. I'd rather be close to you, that's all. It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to."

"What about your dad? Your sisters? They need you."

"I'll be back tomorrow. And the next day. I'll be here for them. But, right now, I need my own comfort. I need you," explained Eddie. "I'm not trying to woo you or anything, Lily. You've always been the best source of comfort to me and right now, I need it more than ever. Please?"

Lily was about to tell him, 'hell no!' but when she saw the pleading, yet genuinely look in his eyes, she could not resist. "Okay," she whispered. "But, you're sleeping on the couch. This doesn't mean anything. Understood?"

"Understood."

Another chapter! Please enjoy!