The Ones Who Lived

III - Diagon Alley

5 – 6th of May 1998

Chronology

2nd of May 1998 : Battle of Hogwart

The group left Fred's body and walked up the rows of deceased. They expressed their sorrows for everyone they had known and exchanged condolences with the families they walked past. Twice, journalists addressed Harry, wishing to interview him. The young man dryly replied that he was here to mourn his friends and not to answer questions.

At last, their painful pilgrimage came to an end and they returned to the Burrow, accompanied by Andromeda. Harry hadn't really had the occasion to take back Teddy, who had been passed from arm to arm, as if holding this promise of life helped the survivors to support the empty space left back by those that had left them.

The next morning, they met in the small graveyard of Ottery St. Catchpole, where the Weasleys buried their son. A lot of people were there. Everyone from Fred and George's year at Hogwarts were present, including Angelina Johnson collapsed in Alicia Spinnet's arms. Oliver Wood, Minerva McGonagall, people the twins had met while running their joke shop, those they had met when hiding during the Year of Darkness, members of the Order, Arthur's colleagues and Molly's acquaintances were also there. Harry was surprised to also see Fleur's parents. He appreciated the fact that they had taken the time to travel to England to show their support of their son-in-law's family. Aunt Muriel had also joined the mourning. True to herself, she walked from group to group, gossiping non-stop.

Without hesitation, Harry took his godson out of Andromeda's arms, letting the latter walk towards Ginny who was supporting her mother. Harry's heart ached when he looked at the three women united by the tragedy they had experienced.

He felt gross and clumsy in front of so much pain. He didn't know Andromeda well enough to know what to tell her, and for Molly, he felt vaguely responsible for having started the battle that had killed her son. As for Ginny...

Ever since she had told him what she had on her chest – her coldness towards him had showed how much she was mad at him –, he didn't dare have the slightest gesture of reassurance towards her. He was scared to be intrusive, to be rejected. He knew that real friends shouldn't stop just because of the risk of being rebuffed, but he didn't trust himself and was scared to just cause her more pain with words that would seem importunate to her.

Silence fell when Arthur, Bill, Charlie and George apparated into the graveyard, carrying Fred's coffin on their shoulders. They slowly let it levitate into the tomb that was waiting for him and everyone joined around the gaping hole. Lee started to talk:

"Everyone who was at Hogwarts at the same time as Fred and George simply couldn't forget their names. They were associated with the best jokes, to the biggest laughs. They were funny, but always without being mean. They managed to let the comical side of every situation come out and their puns always let even the most serious of conversations seem ridiculous.

"They also managed to show that they were more than just some old jokesters. When the ministry sent their inquisitor to Hogwarts, they decided to use their talent in an offensive manner. These last months, their shop has served as a secure base for different traffics and as a hiding place for fugitives. In parallel, they animated with me the only radio network that wasn't controlled by the ministry.

"You might be wondering why I'm also talking about George, who's still here among us. Well, because the Weasley twins have always been inseparable and it's impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other. Most of you were incapable of differentiating them. Their complicity and complementarity were their trademark. For this reason, I do not only mourn the death of my friend Fred. I also mourn the part of George that died at Hogwarts and that he'll never find again.