All I Ever Wanted Was the World

chapter 40: the end

In the end, it wasn't all too bad.

Harry finally got to mourn Sirius properly and held a funeral despite it having been a year since his death and there being no body to bury.
His friends had shown, and everyone from Lupin to Tonks and the Weasleys among his close friends (Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Draco, Tom and a couple of others) had shown up to honor his godfather on Hogwarts' grounds.

Their mourning had not even begun and yet his heart ached at the sight.
He missed his godfather.
It helped ease his nerves further when he used the time to reflect on having seen him once he'd died.
Death was not his enemy, but his friend.
He'd gotten to see Sirius one last time and he'd been able to vanquish the Dark Lord, who had feared death so greatly that it became his downfall.
He smiled, the morbid thought rolling around in his head.
He glanced at Sirius' coffin and rested a shaky hand on the wood.

He didn't know when he had started or when he had stopped, but he'd known he cried.
Tom was not next to him then, and it was the first time Harry truly had some time alone.
Harry easily knew that it could've been him in that coffin had he not made it out alive, and maybe that was why Tom had stuck to being at the back during the ceremony.

He sat in the chair he'd moved by the coffin, the familiar pang in his heart making his chest ache. He rested his elbows on his knees and simply sat, lost in his thoughts.
His friends were talking about him, he was sure of it, but he couldn't find it in himself to care or talk then.

He'd recalled then that he had the stone. Well, the "resurrection" stone as Draco had called it.
Was he meant to have taken it quite literally?

He dug through the pouch at his side and pulled out the stone that had been encapsulated within his first  snitch. He laughed wetly at the sight of the snitch glimmering in the pouch and set the leather aside while he eyed the stone, turning it over in his hands and rolling it between his fingers.
Harry surely had no clue how it worked and he let out a sigh as he paused, staring at it with a scrutinizing gaze.

A mist slowly started to form and leak from the stone and fear rose in his body.
He jumped from the chair, making it topple over and bringing the attention of the others at his mistaken clumsiness.
"Harry?"
Tom called out unsurely, seeing the raven-haired boy standing eerily still after having knocked over his chair.
There was no response, and the boy excused himself from Harry's friends who watched curiously, unsure of what else to do.
"We're coming too." Hermione assured, looking back at Ron.
"I am as well." Draco said warily, still not knowing whether or not he was accepted by Harry's friends, though he did not push it any further.

The four headed towards Harry and began to see the fog that slowly swallowed him, and they looked at each other with mixes of supervise and panic.
"What's managed to happen now?" Hermione cried out, and they quickly hurried across the grounds, making their way through the array of chairs to where Harry stood by the casket.

"Sirius?"
Harry asked quietly, his eyes wide as he stared at the apparition.
A surprised face appeared and became more clear, and Harry could feel the coldness deep into his body the longer he looked.
"Harry!"
There were three more faces that appeared into view and Harry felt a myriad of emotions. There was a sort of stone lodged in his throat and his hands became clammy. The longer he looked, the more blurry it became.
"Mum? Dad?" He asked in a tight voice, blinking furiously at the sight of all of them.
The smiling faces of his parents were clear and he could feel the wetness start to flow down his cheeks.
"We're here, Harry."
His mother was beaming at him, her green almond-shaped eyes were a good reflection of his own, though hers were a bit smaller than his. Her red hair fell in lovely swoops that reach her shoulders and his heart was beating so loud he was sure they could hear him.
He felt his knees wobble and he had no place to go but down.
He fell to the ground hard, his hands shaking as he rested them on his knees for comfort. The stone was pressed into his knee, and he had forgotten Eagan was causing all of this in the first place.
"We are proud of you, son."
His eyes drifted then to his father, and he could see why so many people had made it apparent that he looked just like him.
Harry was, despite being shorter and skinnier, very similar to his dad.
It felt good for once to not have to look at a picture to discern the implication made by many.
He shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before looking back up.
"I love you." He choked out, his hands turning to fists.
"We love you too. Your mother and I are waiting for you, when you join us. We'll be here for you." He said firmly, his dark eyes bright with mischief.
Sirius stood beside him, his face broken into a look of pride and adoration as he looked back at Harry.
"Don't be a stranger, Harry. We will be here."