The White Tomb
All lessons were now suspended and all examinations were postponed.
Some students were hurried away from Hogwarts by their parents for the next couple of days - the Patil twins were gone before breakfast the morning after Dumbledore's death and Zacharias Smith was escorted from the castle by his haughty looking father.
Seamus had refused point blank to accompany his mother home; they even had a shouting match in the Entrance Hall that was resolved when she eventually agreed that he'd remain for the funeral. She had difficulty in finding a bed in Hogsmeade, according to Seamus when he told Arthur, Mike and David, as many witches and wizards poured into the village to pay their respects to Dumbledore.
There was some excitement among the younger students, as a powder blue carriage the size of a house, pulled by a dozen Abraxan, soared out of the sky in the late afternoon before the funeral and landed on the edge of the Forest.
Arthur watched from a window as the gigantic and handsome olive skinned, black haired woman descended the carriage steps and threw herself into the waiting Hagrid's arms.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Magic and other Ministry officials were being accommodated within the castle.
Arthur used all the tricks in the book to avoid them as they were, for sure, hoping to be asked to give an account for Dumbledore's last excursion from Hogwarts.
Arthur, Mike, David and Chrys spent all their time together, sometimes with Mary.
The beautiful weather was mocking them; Arthur tried to imagine how it would have been if Dumbledore wasn't killed and they had this time together at the very end of the year, the examinations finished, pressure from homework lifted….
He clung to Mike as much as possible for comfort, knowing what he must do.
They would visit the hospital wing twice a day: Neville had been discharged, but Rob remained under Madam Pomfrey's care. His scars were still as bad as they were when Arthur first saw them, now bearing a distinct resemblance to Mad-Eye Moody, though he still had both eyes and legs. He still had the same personality as before. The only change is that he grew a liking for very rare steaks.
"...so eet ees lucky 'e is marrying me." Fleur said happily, plumping up his pillows. "Because ze British overcook their meat, I 'ave alays said this."
"I guess I'm gonna have to accept that she's gonna be my sister in law." Mary said later that evening as she, Arthur, Mike, David and Chrys sat by an open window in the common room, looking out over the twilit grounds.
"She's not that bad, you know." Arthur said.
"If mum can stand it, I can." Mary shrugged.
"Anyone else we know dead?" David asked Chrys, who read the Evening Prophet.
"No." She said as she folded up the newspaper. "They're still looking for Snape, but no sign."
"Not surprising." Arthur spat in anger. "They're not going to find Snape till they find Voldemort, and since they haven't done that…."
"I'm going to bed." Mary yawned before she departed and left for the girls' dormitories.
The four sat in silence for a while until Arthur broke the silence.
"Next time I see Snape, I'm going to inflict Sectumsempra on him non-stop. Make him suffer in agony for all that he has done." He hissed.
"He should be careful then. Especially after you used it and Levicorpus on him when he fled." Mike told him.
"And if he gets in the way of finding the Horcruxes." Chrys said.
This reminded Arthur of the fact that he had to find both the actual locket Horcrux and the other three that Voldemort had remaining.
He informed and showed Chrys the note inside the fake the morning after Dumbeldore's death and she too had a hard time figuring out why she recognised the initials.
He then thought about the following day, when Dumbledore's funeral would be conducted. He had never attended a funeral before as there wasn't a body to bury when Sirius died.
He didn't know what to expect and was even worried about what he'd see and how he'd feel.
But Arthur knew that he had to attend. To be able to finally accept and cope with the fact that his mentor, friend and ally was dead.
Arthur rose early the next day to pack his things. As he did, he gave Fawkes a stroke down his neck and rubbed a finger against his beak.
"You miss him?" He asked the phoenix, who made a sad noise.
He looked out the window, thinking about the fact that the Hogwarts Express will be leaving an hour after the funeral.
As he arrived at the Great Hall, he found the mood to be subdued. Everyone wore their dress robes and no one seemed hungry.
McGonagall left the throne-like chair in the middle of the staff table empty. Hagrid's chair was also empty.
Arthur then noticed that taking Snape's usual place at the table was Scrimgeour, whose yellowish eyes were scanning, looking for him. Among his entourage, Arthur noticed that Sam was among them.
Over at the Slytherin table, he noticed Crabbe and Goyle muttering together. They looked oddly lonely without their tall, pale leader between them, despite being hulking boys.
Arthur didn't give Draco a thought as his hatred was reserved for Snape. He remembered how Draco's voice was full of fear on that Tower top and the fact that he lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived.
It was clear that he wouldn't have killed Dumbledore. A very small droplet of pity dropped into his contempt for Draco because of his infatuation with the Dark Arts.
His thoughts were interrupted when Mike gently nudged him. His mother rose to her feet and the mournful hum died in the Hall at once.
"It is nearly time." She said. "Please follow your Heads of House out into the grounds. Gryffindors, after me."
They all filed out from behind their benches in near silence.
Arthur glimpsed Slughorn at the head of the Slytherin column, wearing magnificently long emerald green robes embroidered with silver.
There was Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff, who looked so clean that there wasn't even a patch on her hat.
When they reached the Entrance Hall, there was Madam Pince standing beside Filch, she was in a thick black veil that fell to her knees and he was in an ancient black suit and tie that reeked of mothballs.
They headed, as Arthur saw when he stepped out onto the stone steps from the front doors, to the lake.
The warmth from the sun caressed his face as they followed McGonagall in silence to where hundreds of chairs were set in rows. An aisle ran down the centre of them: there was also a marble table standing at the front, every chair facing it. It had to be the most beautiful summer day.
An extraordinary assortment of people were already settled into half of the chairs, shabby and smart, old and young.
Arthur didn't recognise most of them, but there were some he did, which included members of the Order of the Phoenix: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks (whose hair miraculously returned to the most vivid pink), Remus Lupin, who she held hands with, Martha and Ben Merlon, Rob supported by Fleur and followed by Jack and Kevin, who wore jackets of black dragonskin.
Arthur also spotted Madam Maxime, who was blatant as she took up two and a half chairs on her own. There was also Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, Arabella Figg, Arthur's Squib neighbour, the hairy bass player from the wizarding band the Weird Sisters, Ernie Prang, the driver of the Knight Bus, Madam Malkin of the robe shop in Diagon Alley, and others that Arthur only knew by sight, like the barman of the Hog's Head and the witch that pushed the trolley on the Hogwarts Express.
The castle ghosts were also there, barely visible in the bright sunlight, only discernible when they moved, shimmering in the gleaming air.
Arthur, Mike, David and Chrys filed into seats at the end of a row beside the lake.
People were whispering to each other, sounding like a breeze in the grass, but the bird song was louder in comparison.
The crowd continued to swell; with a rush of affection for the two, Arthur saw Neville being helped into a seat by Luna. They and Mary were the only ones of the DA to respond to Chrys' summons the night Dumbledore died. Arthur knew that it was because for the first two, they were the ones that missed the DA the most… most likely checking their coins regularly, hoping for another meeting.
Arthur then noticed that Cornelius Fudge walked past them to the front rows, his expression miserable, twirling his green bowler hat. Arthur then noticed, much to his anger, Rita Skeeter with a notebook in her red taloned hand. And then, much to his absolute fury, he spotted Dolores Umbridge with an unconvincing expression of grief on her toad-like face with a black velvet bow set atop her iron coloured curls. When she spotted the centaur Firenze, who stood like a sentinel near the water's edge, she gave a start and scurried hastily into a seat some distance away.
Finally, the staff were all seated.
Arthur saw Scrimgeour looking grave and dignified in the front row with McGonagall. Arthur second guessed if he and the other important people were actually sorry that Dumbledore was dead.
He then heard music. Strange, otherworldly music, making his dislike of the Ministry be forgotten as he looked for the source of the music. Others also turned their heads, searching.
"Over there." Mike whispered in Arhur's ear.
He turned to the clear green sunlit water and saw them. Inches below the surface, a chorus of merpeople sang in a strange language he didn't understand, their pallid faces rippling, their purplish hair flowing around them.
The music made his hair on his neck stand up, though not for unpleasant reasons. It spoke clearly of loss and despair. As he looked at the wild faces of the singers and felt that they were sorry for Dumbledore's passing.
Mike nudged him genty again and he looked round.
There was Hagrid, who walked slowly up the aisle between the chairs. He cried silently, his face gleaming with tears. In his arms, wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars was Dumbledore's body.
This made a sharp pain rise in Arthur's throat at this sight and his eyes welled up. At that moment, the strange music and knowledge that Dumbledore's body was so close took away any warmth that day. Mike looked heartbroken, David was white faced and Chrys cried, thick and fast tears falling into her lap.
The four couldn't see clearly what was going on at the front.
Hagrid seemed to have carefully placed the body upon the table. He then retreated down the aisle, blowing his nose with loud trumpeting noises that formed scandalised looks from some, including Umbridge. Arthur knew that Dumbledore wouldn't have cared.
Arthur noticed that his eyes were so swollen that it was a wonder he could see where he was going. He glanced at the back row where Hagrid was heading and finally realised what was guiding him, as, dressed in a jacket and trousers that were the size of a small marquee, was his giant half-brother Grawp, his great ugly boulder-like head bowed, docile, almost human.
Hagrid sat down next to him, his head being patted on hard, making the chair legs sink into the ground.
The music then stopped and Arthur turned to face the front again.
A little tufty haired man in plain black robes got to his feet and stood in front of Dumbledore's body. Arthur couldn't hear what he was saying.
Some words floated back to them over the hundreds of heads. 'Nobility of spirit' 'intellectual contribution' 'greatness of heart'
But it didn't mean much. It had little to do with the kind of Dumbledore Arthur knew. He remembered Dumbledore's idea of a few words: 'nitwit' 'oddment' 'blubber' and 'tweak'. He thought back on those words with nothing but fondness.
He heard a soft splashing to his left and he looked to see that the merpeople broke the surface of the lake to listen. This made him remember Dumbledore crouching at the water's edge two years ago, close to where Arthur sat, conversing in Mermish with the Merchieftainess. It made him wonder when he learned Mermish.
The dreadful truth had now finally swept over him completely. Dumbledore was forever gone. He shed many tears as he clutched both Mike's hand and the cold locket in his hand tightly.
Arthur noticed movement among the trees of the Forbidden Forest in the corner of his eye, making him look to see that the centaurs had come to pay their respects as well. They didn't move into the open, but Arthur did see them: standing quite still, half hidden in shadow, watching the wizard, bows hanging at their sides.
Arthur remembered his first nightmarish trip into the Forest, when he first encountered Voldemort, how he faced him, how he and Dumbledore discussed fighting a losing battle not long afterwards. It was important to fight and fight again, to keep fighting, as only then can evil be kept at bay, though not eradicated.
Arthur saw clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared for him had stood in front of him one by one, his parents, his godfather and finally, his Headmaster, Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but that was all over now. He cannot let anyone else stand between him and Voldemort.
He now had to abandon the illusion he ought to have lost at age one: that the shelter of a parent's arms meant nothing could hurt him.
He couldn't wake from this nightmare, there would be no comforting whisper in the dark that he'd be safe. It was all in his imagination. The last and greatest protector was dead and was now more alone than before.
The little man in black now stopped talking finally and resumed his seat. Arthur then waited for someone else to get to their feet as he expected speeches, yet no one moved.
Several people then screamed. Bright, white flames erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table which it lay upon: higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiralled into the air and made strange shapes: Arthur saw a phoenix fly into the blue, then the fire vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he rested.
There were more cries of shock as a shower of arrows soared through the air, falling short of the crows. A tribute from the centaurs. Arthur saw them turn tail and disappear back into the Forest. Likewise, the merpeople slowly sank back into the water and were lost from view.
Arthur turned to look at Mike, David and Chrys: Mike closed his eyes as tears trickled down his face, David's face was screwed up, trying to keep it all in, but was struggling and Chrys' face was completely glazed with tears.
Mike then met Arthur's gaze before the latter wrapped an arm around Mike's shoulder, pulling him closer and placed his head on his shoulder as the two continued crying, mourning for their Headmaster as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them and people started getting to their feet.
Arthur noticed that David now held Chrys, stroking her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder, he too now shedding tears that dripped from the end of his nose.
A moment later, Arthur told Mike that he needed a moment alone, which he nodded to, and Arthur got up and walked away around the lake.
This helped him deal with thinking about what he was going to do, to track down the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort, now also in Dumbledore's name, to finish what he started.
"Arthur!"
He growled in anger as he turned. Rufus Scrimgeour was limping rapidly to him around the bank, leaning on his walking stick.
"I've been hoping to have a word… do you mind if I walk a little way with you?"
"No." Arthur coolly spat before setting off again.
"Arthur, this was a dreadful tragedy." Scrimgeour said quietly. "I cannot tell you how appalled I was to hear of it. Dumbledore was a very great wizard. We had our disagreements, as you know, but no one knows better than I -"
"Cut the crap and tell me what you really want?" Arthur spat.
Scrimgeour looked annoyed, but, like before, he hastily modified his expression to one of sorrowful understanding.
"You are, of course, devastated. I know that you were very close to Dumbledore. I think you may have been his favourite ever pupil. The bond between the two of you -"
"I said cut the crap!" Arthur growled, coming to a halt.
Scrimgeour stopped as well, leaning on his stick as he stared at Arthur, his expression now shrewd.
"The word is that you were with him when he left the night he died."
"Whose word?"
"Somebody Stupefied a Death Eater on top of the Tower after Dumbledore died. There were also two broomsticks up there. The Ministry can add two and two, Arthur."
"Well, guess what, where I went with Dumbledore and what we did is none of your business. He didn't want people to know."
"Such loyalty is admirable, of course…" Scrimgeour said, now restraining his irritation with difficulty. "...but Dumbledore is gone, Arthur. He's gone."
"He'll only be gone from the school when those who are loyal to him are no more." Arthur said with a smile.
"My dear boy… even Dumbledore cannot return from the -"
"I'm not saying he can. You would never understand. And I have nothing to tell you."
Scrimgeour hesitated before saying in what was supposed to be a tone of delicacy "The Ministry can offer you all sorts of protection, you know, Arthur. I would be delighted to place a couple of my Aurors at your service -"
Arthur barked a laugh of disbelief.
"Voldemort wants to kill me himself and Aurors aren't strong enough to take him on. So no, I do not want your services."
"So…" Scrimgeour now spoke in a cold voice "...the request I made of you at Christmas -"
"Request? Oh, right… the one where I lie to the world that you're doing a great job in exchange for -"
" - for raising everyone's morale!" Scrimgeour snapped.
Arthur considered him for a moment.
"So you still haven't released Stan Shunpike."
Scrimgeour now turned a nasty purple.
"I see you are -"
"Dumbledore's man through and through." Arthur said. "That's right."
Scrimgeour glared at him for another moment before he turned and limped away without another word. Arthur saw Sam with the rest of the Ministry delegation waiting for him, casting nervous glances at the still sobbing Hagrid and Grawp, who were still in their seats.
Mike, David and Chrys hurried towards Arthur, passing Scrimgeour going in the opposite direction.
Arthur turned to continue walking slowly, waiting for them to catch up, which they did in the shade of a beech tree under which they sat in happier times in years previous.
"What did he want?" Mike asked.
"The same at Christmas." Arthur shrugged. "Information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry's puppet."
Both Mike and David struggled to hold in their contempt and anger.
A moment later, all four looked up at the castle.
"I can't imagine never coming back." Chrys said softly. "How can Hogwarts close?"
"Perhaps it won't." David said. "We're in no more danger here than at home. Everywhere's the same. At least at Hogwarts, there are more wizards inside to defend the place."
"Yeah. Plenty of powerful witches and wizards to keep students safe." Mike added before he looked at Arthur, who had a look of contemplation on his face. "Arthur?"
"I'm not coming back if Hogwarts reopens." He confessed.
All three didn't look all that surprised to hear him say this.
"What will you do, then?" Chrys asked softly.
"I'll go back to the Dentleys' one last time, since Dumbledore wanted me to. It will be a short visit, then I'm gone for good."
"Where will you go after that?"
"I have a few ideas. Grimmauld Place, for one. Another, Godric's Hollow." Arthur replied, having decided ever since Dumbledore's death. "The latter is where it started for me. I feel like I have to go there. Grimmauld Place… because I need to check something."
"And then?" Mike asked.
"Track down the rest of the Horcruxes." Arthur said, his eyes now on Dumbledore's white tomb, which was reflected in the water on the other side of the lake. "He told me all about them because he wants me to find them. So I'll finish what he started. If he and I are right, there's four left. I have to find them and destroy them before going after the last piece of Voldemort's soul, which is in his body. Then I'll kill him. And if Snape gets in my way, he'll regret it."
There was a pause as he took a deep breath and looked at the three.
"But I know that I can't do it alone. Which is why I'm asking you to come with me. Mind you, I'm not going to force you into it. Just know that this will be dangerous and we could end up killed before we succeed, but I would feel better if all three of you were by my side in hunting down the Horcruxes."
There was a long silence with the crowd having almost dispersed, the stragglers giving Grawp a wide berth as he cuddled Hagrid, whose howls of grief still echoed across the water.
"I'm sticking with you, no matter what. I would be a bad boyfriend if I didn't." Mike finally said, holding Arthur's hand and kissing him on the cheek.
"Yeah, we'll meet at your aunt and uncle's. Then we'll go with you, no matter where." David added.
"Exactly." Chrys nodded. "And the time to turn back has long since passed, anyway."
"Though, we'll have to go to Merlon Manor first before we do anything else." David added.
"Why?" Arthur asked.
"Rob and Fleur's wedding, remember?"
Arthur was so focused on his mission that he forgot about that. And was even startled at the idea of a wedding at such dark times.
"True." He muttered finally.
His free hand closed tightly around the fake Horcrux.
In spite of the dark and twisting path that stretched ahead of him, in spite of his final meeting with Voldemort that would inevitably come, whether it was in a month, a year, a decade, he felt his heart lift at the fact that he had one last day of peace to enjoy with Mike, David and Chrys.
There we go. Arthur and the others are about to go on a dark and dangerous path, but it's one they have to take. Get ready for the final entry in this series.