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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 54: The Funeral
On a small island that formed part of the Black Lake at Hogwarts, there was now a beautifully carved white tomb.
All around were people getting ready to say their last goodbyes to the great wizard who was lying inside the still-open tomb.
Minerva McGonagall took a step forward and gazed at the old wizard. "Albus… we are all going to miss you so much." She got closer and placed a wand on his hands. "This is yours. Take it with you on your next great adventure."
She glanced at the ones behind her.
"We are going to find whoever did this. Rest in peace, old friend," Moody spoke next.
"I'm going to miss you so much!" Hagrid could not hold his tears.
Someone else stepped forward and looked at the body. "I couldn't believe it when you told me… and it's still hard to believe after seeing him," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Who could have done this?"
A middle-aged redhead woman moved to his side. "As Moody has said before, we will find out," Amelia Bones reassured the Minister while keeping her eyes on the old Headmaster. "We can't keep this a secret for much longer, and the parents of the students will need to be informed as well."
"We know that, Amelia," Professor Flitwick said with a frown. "But we don't need to talk about this right now. We need to say our goodbyes first."
"Of course." Amelia sounded apologetic. "So many years of investigating murders may have left me a bit insensitive. Sorry." She stepped aside and allowed the rest of the guests to speak a few words.
After everyone was done saying what they wanted, McGonagall used her magic to place the lid on the tomb and sealed it with a powerful enchantment so it could not be opened again.
They then used a large boat to bring everyone to the shore of the lake, where they said their goodbyes.
"I must return to the Ministry. I have much paperwork waiting for me." The Minister looked at McGonagall. "I assume that you will be taking the position of Headmistress?"
"If the student board agrees with it, then yes," she responded.
"The board will not have much of a choice. You were already the vice headmistress. The position will be yours, unless you reject it," Amelia told her.
McGonagall shook her head. "There is a more important question, though. Can we reopen the school… given the situation we are in?"
The Minister and Amelia glanced at each other.
"You are referring to the other two deaths, Miss Chang and Mister Mulciber, yes?" Amelia asked.
"Whoever killed them is still on the loose. And this may also be the same one who killed Albus. How can we open the school when we have a killer among the students?"
"You don't really believe that a student was capable of ending the life of Albus Dumbledore, right? That has to be a joke," the Minister scoffed.
"I… have to agree with the Minister," Amelia said. "It's too early to jump to conclusions. Let my agents continue their investigation. We still have three months until the next school year. Hogwarts is the most important magical school in the country… closing it should be our last recourse, not the first."
McGonagall remained quiet for a moment before sharing a glance with the other professors present. "Very well… we have some time to consider the next step."
"Good!" Minister Fudge breathed in relief. He knew that all those important Lords of ancient families would chew him up if he allowed the school to be closed. "Now, I must really take my leave."
"Yes, we all have much to do." McGonagall watched as the Minister and Amelia walked away before turning her attention to the others. "For now, go home. I will send the letters to the parents about what happened to Albus."
"What are you going to tell them exactly?" Flitwick asked.
"I am just going to say that the Headmaster has passed away. There is no need to go into more details than that," McGonagall said.
"That's probably for the best," Professor Sprout nodded. "No need to alarm everyone… with this nasty business."
Professor Trelawney cleaned her tears with a handkerchief. "I can't believe this happened, and I didn't see it coming."
"I can…" Moody muttered under his breath.
The professors departed the lake, leaving McGonagall behind, along with Moody and Tonks.
"Is Hagrid not coming?" Tonks asked.
McGonagall shook her head. "Give him a bit more time. We can catch him up on what we discussed today."
Moody took three brooms out of his robes and brought them back to their normal size.
"Can't we just Apparate to the house?" Tonks asked.
"Not today. I don't want to risk anyone following our trace. We fly there with concealment charms. It's safer," Moody told them.
"It's like a two-hour flight…" Tonks groaned.
"Then let's get to it." McGonagall took one of the brooms and began flying away.
<><><><><><>
The sun was already setting by the time they arrived at Black Manor.
The disgruntled house-elf opened the door as usual and they went inside.
"Get out of my house!" the painting screamed at them.
"Not now, Walburga," McGonagall told the painting of the angry woman and walked by, going directly for the dining hall, where they usually met.
When they entered, the group found Sirius Black already sitting at the table. He was wearing a depressed expression and a small notebook was lying in front of him.
"Sirius…" McGonagall greeted him. "Sorry you couldn't come today. I know you wanted to."
Sirius glanced at them and put his hand on the book.
"What is that?" Moody pointed to the notebook.
"Dumbledore sent this to me before he died," Sirius revealed to them.
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