Annabeth Chase and Things Are Getting Intense

Chapter Forty Six

The day of the funeral came all too quickly. Annabeth woke up her friends early so they could finish packing; the Hogwarts Express was taking all the students home an hour after the funeral. It took a while to find all their things (Annabeth found one of her knives in Pansy's bedside dresser), but eventually they got it all together and packed. The dorm looked strangely empty without all the clutter.

Annabeth took a last look at the place; her bed with the soundproof curtains, the nick in the wall from when she and Vera had decided to fence in the room, the big window that overlooked the bottom of the lake. She wouldn't be back here again.

Breakfast was a solemn affair. Everyone was in their dress robes and no one spoke much. The large, wing-backed chair up on the head table was empty. McGonagall had chosen to sit in her regular seat. Hagrid's chair was empty, too. Annabeth wondered where he was. The place where Snape used to sit was now filled by Rufus Scrimgeuor, who was scanning the hall. Annabeth guessed he was looking for Harry.

Professor McGonagall rose to her feet. "It is nearly time," she said. "Please follow your Heads of Houses out to the grounds. Gryffindors, follow me."

Annabeth and the rest of the Slytherins followed Slughorn out. He was wearing long, emerald green robes embroidered with silver. He was tightly gripping a matching handkerchief in his hand.

It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining, no wind blew, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. They headed for the lake, where hundreds of white chairs had been placed in rows. There was an aisle down the center, leading up to a white marble table.

Half of the chairs were already filled by Ministry officials and people who had come to pay their respects. Annabeth recognized some of them: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonk and Lupin, who were holding hands, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Bill, Fleur, Fred, and George. Then there was Madam Maxime, Tom from The Leaky Cauldron, Madam Malkin, Ernie Prang of the Knight Bus, and a lot of others that Annabeth knew by face and not name.

Annabeth, Vera, Freddie, and Daisy sat next to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, right next to the water. Annabeth had been to her fair share of funerals, but nothing this formal, or with so many people.

From her seat, Annabeth could recognize a few more people: Dolores Umbridge, who had a very fake expression of mourning on her face. Annabeth wanted to punch her. Also there was Cornelius Fudge and Rita Skeeter. Firenze the centaur was standing near the front, looking solemn as he clutched his bow.

Finally, everyone was seated, and Annabeth couldn't help wondering if any of the important people there actually cared that Dumbledore was dead.

Then there was strange music that swept over the crowd. Recognizing it, Annabeth looked to the lake. Sure enough, beneath the surface, dozens of merpeople sang in a choir of loss and despair. It was in a strange language, but Annabeth found the music weirdly comforting.

Now Hagrid walked down the aisle between the seats. He was crying silently, but the tears got lost in his beard before they could really fall. In his arms, wrapped in purple velvet embroidered with golden stars, was Dumbledore's body. Next to Annabeth, Hermione, Ginny, and Daisy were crying. Daisy leaned her head on Vera's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around her girlfriend as she watched Hagrid solemnly.

When he got to the front, Hagrid gently laid Dumbledore's body on the marble table. As Hagrid made his way back down the aisle, he blew his nose into his spotted handkerchief with a noise that drew scandalized looks from a lot of the audience, including, Annabeth was pleased to see, Umbridge.

Hagrid sat down in the back row right next to Grawp, who was wearing a suit and tie the size of a marquee. Grawp patted Hagrid's head in comfort so hard that the chair he was sitting on sank a few inches into the ground.