Legacy Disowned - Book 1

Chapter 28 - Farewells

In all his years at Hogwarts, Sebastian had never seen the Great Hall look anything less than festive. Even in the dead of night, when he'd wandered throughout the castle alone at its most still, the floating candles set against the night sky had always given off a type of warmth that was oddly comforting.

But tonight, the place seemed to be cloaked in sadness, and it wasn't just the black drapery that hung from the walls. Those same flickering candles seemed to dance with a little less life and the stars that spanned across the enchanted ceiling felt much more far away.

He let his eyes skate over the faces of his fellow students who were also dressed in black, some looking more bereft than others, though all grave as they listened to Professor Black do his rather unfortunate best to deliver a eulogy.

"Professor Eleazar Fig. I daresay he was a beloved professor to many of you. Certainly...a long-standing colleague to his peers," Black rambled on as if struggling to find anything at all to say. Sebastian silently wondered if the man was even capable of genuine human emotion. It sounded as if he had never even met Professor Fig.

As Black continued to desperately try and pull generic words out of the air, Sebastian glanced across the table at Darling. She looked heavy with grief but, somehow not a single tear had marred her face. Imelda sat solemnly on her right side while Richard Jackdaw's ghost hovered on her left.

"Charging into the unknown," Black continued, appearing to have caught himself a wave of tactless thought. "Brazenly disregarding both discretion and safety. Providing, perhaps, a rather unfortunate lesson for us all..."

At this, Darling let out a sharp breath and quickly buried her face in her hands where she began shaking silently. Sebastian felt a horrible ache at the sight, watching helplessly as Imelda gave her a comforting pat on the back. Jackdaw, meanwhile, was glancing sideways at Darling, a smirk plastered on his translucent face. He looked as though he was trying not to laugh.

Sebastian couldn't make sense of this, could the dead no longer fully comprehend the concept of grief or was this some kind of twisted coping mechanism?

Just as Black was stumbling over Fig's wife's name, Professor Weasley approached the podium, placing a hand on his shoulder and relieving him with a pointed look. Black stepped aside awkwardly, looking visibly grateful for the reprieve.

Professor Weasly looked out over the hall, a small heartfelt smile visible in her eyes as she spoke. "Professor Fig represented the best in all of us. He could be deviously clever, possessed a brilliantly inquisitive mind, and was the most loyal of friends." She paused to look around the room, meeting the eyes of many. "But perhaps it was his remarkable courage for which we will all be forever indebted to him. If not for Professor Fig... Well, I can say with confidence that if not for him, many of us...let alone Hogwarts...would not be here today."

Sebastian watched as Weasley's eyes locked with Darling's for a brief moment, and Sebastian knew that the deputy Headmistress was extending that same gratitude to her. Darling quickly broke the eye contact and then sharply clapped her hands to her face twice. The gesture sent an uncomfortable current of recognition through Sebastian. She had done the same thing on that day...

"Those who knew him best will agree that we must now honour him as only Hogwarts can...by wisely, resourcefully, justly, and bravely facing all that lies ahead."

As she finished, Professor Black stepped forward, raising his glass. "Ahem. To Professor Fig."

There was a mass of scraping and rustling of robes as teachers and students stood as one, glasses raised, and drank to the memory of Professor Fig.

It all felt so grand and moving that as the great hall slowly began to empty, Sebastian found himself lingering behind, imagining a lonely grave beside the cottage, with only Anne and Ominis to bury Uncle Solomon... along with the horrible truth that went with him into the ground.