Unofficial Portkey Archive

Authors Note: And here it is… the funeral chapter. This is the longest chapter yet, I didn't realise how much I had written until I did a word count when I had finished it just sort of flowed. As of when I am posting it I have 82 reviews which is awesome! In the last few days I received 21 reviews which makes me super happy. Hopefully this time we will go over the 100 review mark! I hope you enjoy although myself I find this chapter terribly sad.

Hermione broke into a new batch of tears as she slowly let go of Ron's hand. Glancing at Ron again, she stood up and let herself out of the hospital room.

"He's gone," Hermione said quietly with her head down.

Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Fleur all burst into tears while all of the Weasley men looked sombre and ill. The healers who were sitting nearby got up and headed back into Ron and Harry's hospital room to remove the monitors that were attached to Ron.

A few minutes later the healers came back out into the waiting area.

"Mr. Weasley, if we could please speak to you for one moment," the tall healer with the beard asked.

Mr. Weasley nodded, rose and walked towards the healers.

"We are truly sorry that there was nothing else we could do to save your son. We have a funeral parlour here and if you would like, we can prepare him for his service. Where would you like to have his funeral?" the healer asked.

"The Burrow," was all Mr. Weasley replied.

"And when would you like the funeral to be?" the healer inquired

"Give us two days. We need to contact all of our relatives and friends."

Mr. Weasley walked over to where the others were waiting, full of shock and sadness. He then put his arms around his wife.

"Come on Molly, let's go home," he said and he walked towards the closest apparation port.

The remainder of the Weasleys began to follow, except for Fred, George and Ginny. The twins were going to travel through by floo with Ginny.

"I'm sorry Gin… I'm so sorry," Hermione said to Ginny, staring at her hands, which were sitting in her lap.

Ginny took this as a condolence, and not as an apology for making the choice for Ron to die and Harry to live. Only five knew what had occurred, the three Fates, Hermione and Ron himself.

"Hermione, don't be sorry. There's nothing you could have done to save him. You were his fiancé, people should be giving you condolences, not you giving them to other people," Ginny said.

Hermione looked up with tears streaming down her face and thought, I wish that that was the truth, that there was nothing I could have done.

"Goodbye Hermione. Go home and get some sleep." Ginny then turned and walked away with the twins.

Hermione sat in the waiting room for a few more minutes before walking down the hall to the apparition port to go home. She arrived at her flat and went over to her desk. She sat down and picked up a quill and began to write on the piece of parchment.

Mr. Flourish,

I regret to inform you, that I will no

longer be able to continue working

for you at Flourish and Blotts.

Around seven o'clock this morning,

my fiancé Ronald Weasley

passed away. With that, as well as the

fact I will be returning to Hogwarts

to complete my education when the new term

starts, I feel that I will no longer be

able to continue my job.

I apologise for the inconvenience.

Hermione Jane Granger.

Hermione sealed the letter, and motioned for Hedwig, who she had been taking care of since she had gotten her flat. Hedwig held out her leg and Hermione tied the letter on and the magnificent snowy owl took off into the sunlight.

Soon after, Pig flew into the open window and Hermione burst into tears. There was a note from Ginny on the leg of Ron's owl.

Hermione,

My mother plans on taking care of

all of the funeral arrangements and

contacting everyone to let them know about Ron.

She also wants to know if you would like

to read a eulogy at the funeral. Other

than that, there is nothing else you

will have to worry about. The funeral

will be on Thursday at two.

Ginny,

Hermione quickly scribbled back a note

Ginny,

Tell your mother that I will read a eulogy.

Hermione

Hermione couldn't eat, nor could she sleep; she went back to the coffee table instead and picked up where she left off looking through her photographs. A variety of pictures of Harry, Ron and her stared up at her, smiling and waving, looking so happy.

Harry, he was still unconscious! He was supposed to wake up, why was he still asleep?

All of these thoughts ran through Hermione's head. Then, several owls began to arrive in the afternoon; the news of Ron's death was traveling fast. Letters from friends, and from strangers; hundreds of condolence letters were arriving, but at the moment, Hermione had no desire to read them. Ron was famous, she was famous, both for being the friends of Harry Potter and for their roles in the defeat of Lord Voldemort.

Hermione heard the door to her flat open, her mother and her father walked in.

"Hermione, we came as soon as we heard!" her mother said.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," her father put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hermione, go take a shower, then take a nap. I'm going to make you something to eat; you look like you've been starving yourself."

Hermione didn't move.

"Darling, you need to rest, you look a fright. Go, I'll take care of everything."

Hermione finally nodded and went to the bathroom to do as she was told. Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, dried off, and dressed in her pyjamas, wrapping her bathrobe around herself. She then used a drying charm on her hair.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she realized her mother was right; she did look a fright. Hermione had lost weight, her face looked like it had sunken and there were dark black circles under her eyes. Her normally wild and uncontrollable hair hung limp and dead around her face. She was dangerously thin, and looked like she had been sick for a long time. She opened the bathroom door and the aroma of a roast beef was coming from the kitchen.

She went into her bedroom and lay on her bed, falling asleep almost immediately. She had no dreams that night; it was like a peaceful black fog. For the first time in recent memory, she slept soundly.

Hours later, her mother came into her room and woke her. Hermione rolled over and woke almost instantly. She followed her mother back out into the kitchen and sat down at the table where a roast beef dinner, complete with potatoes, carrots, peas and from what she could smell, there was now an apple pie cooking in the oven. After dinner was over, she sat down at her desk and began to write the eulogy.

The following day, Thursday, was a complete blur. When she woke up in the morning, she was quiet and almost emotionless. She walked into the guest room where she woke her mother and father. Before she knew it, she was holding her mothers hand and apparating over to the Burrow. When she and her mother arrived, she told her mother, "Go into the kitchen, I'll be back in a minute with dad."

Hermione apparated back to her flat to meet her father to bring him to the Burrow. In her state, she wasn't sure whether she would be able to do two side-along apparations safely, and not wanting to splinch her or one of her parents, she decided to make two trips.

She went into the kitchen with her father where her mother and the Weasleys were already sitting. There were several people preparing to sit down outside on the lawn where the chairs had been set up for the funeral; those same chairs that had been used for Bill and Fleur's wedding, the very chairs that were to be used for the wedding she was supposed to share with Ron.

The funeral itself went go by very quickly. The weather was bright and it was sunny outside; it appeared as if nothing sad could take place on such a beautiful day. If only it were true, Hermione thought. Then, it was time for Hermione to stand up and give her eulogy.

She straightened the wrinkles out of her black dress robes and walked up to the podium that was set up.

"Ron. He was loving, he was caring,

he was funny, he was a git, and he was

brave. He wasn't perfect, nor am I. No

one is, but he was one of the greatest

friends someone could ask for. He lost his life

in the hopes of making the world a safer place.

I know he would be happy knowing that

Voldemort had been defeated. This was his goal,

this was his dream. He had great plans for his life

after the war ended; he wanted to play Quidditch,

he wanted to be part of Chudley Cannons, his

favourite team since he was a child.

His other dream was to have a family;

he wanted to have three children. He also wanted

to spend time with his other best friend. The one

he met on his very first trip to Hogwarts. Although

he was famous, he seemed very down to earth,

and amazed at everything he saw around him. He and

Ron became inseparable, heroes from the start. Near

Halloween in our first year, Ron and Harry saved

my life from a mountain troll who had managed

to find its way into the bathroom I had hidden in.

From then on, we became known as a trio. One was

never far away from the other two. Mr and Mrs

Weasley, I want to say I'm sorry. Sorry for not being

able to save your son, but I promise you I will not let this

happen to anyone else. When I finish my schooling

at Hogwarts, I plan on becoming a Healer, and I

will find new ways to cure those afflicted with

spell damage. What happened to Ron, and so

many others was not necessary. It was a waste

of a young live full of so much promise. Ron, I love you

and I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Hermione stepped down from the podium and saw everyone in tears. She took her seat, and Mrs. Weasley rose.

"When I was saying my goodbye to Ron, I sang him a song," she said. Mr. Weasley rose and sat down at a beautiful grand piano that had been conjured up near the podium.

He began to play and Mrs. Weasley had began to sing.

"Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose."

If there had been anyone who had not yet cried, they would have been reduced to tears by the end of Mrs. Weasley's song. As she took her seat, Hermione studied her closely. Their emotions were so similar, both loved Ron so much. One either side of her, Hermione's parents took both her hands as the funeral continued.

When it came time for Ron's casket to be lowered into the ground, Hermione, with the support of her parents and the Weasleys, were the closest to the hole in the ground. As the casket closed and was lowered into the ground, each Weasley and Hermione laid a white rose on his casket.

After all everyone left after the service, Hermione sat at the kitchen table with the Weasleys. She had sent her parents home, telling them she would be fine there, and that they had to get back to work. Grudgingly, they went.

She thought about the funeral; there had been so many people there. All of the Order, their friends from Hogwarts, as well as so many other people they had met through their adventures. There were also many people she had never met as well, some carried the trademark of the fiery hair all of the Weasleys shared, others complete strangers. What intrigued Hermione was one person sitting in the back row with his white blonde hair reflecting in the sunlight. Draco Malfoy had been to Ron's funeral, but slipped out quietly before the burial.

After some coffee Mrs. Weasley had prepared, she announced that she was going to St. Mungo's to sit with Harry. Hermione initially was a little surprised by her statement, but then she realised that the Weasleys had virtually taken Harry into the family; he was like another son, another brother.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'll take over for you at eleven tonight," Hermione told her.

"No dear, go home, get some sleep. Fred and George plan on taking the two overnight shifts and Arthur plans on taking the morning one. Get some rest, you can go in tomorrow afternoon if you would like."

Hermione nodded. "I'll go with you to St. Mungo's and then I'll go home."

The two of them apparated to St. Mungo's, and stepping out of the apparition port, they walked together down to what was now just Harry's room.

"Have a good night Mrs. Weasley, and I'm sorry."

Hermione gave the woman a hug and walked back down to the apparition port where she apparated home.

Authors Note: As you can see I used the same song from the last chapter in this one as well. I felt that Mrs. Weasley should share it with all of their friends and relatives at the funeral. The song is The Rose by Bette Middler if you didn't know.

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