For The Greater Good (A Draco Malfoy Story)

One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell

        Wordlessly, Harry made his way to the gathered mass of students and teachers alike as they stood in a circle. They stood there silent, amidst the sound of crackling flames from behind me and cries of pain and anguish.

I followed him and joined the mass and when I saw the result of Draco's scheming, the voice inside of my head screamed at me for my stupidity. Professor Dumbledore was a regal man. He didn't seem like royalty, no, but he carried himself in a way where you thought of him as your king. He was our leader, the statue standing tall above us all with twinkling eyes and kind words.

He was dead.

This regal man lay crumpled on the cold stone floor, his chest unmoving and his eyes shut with the pretense of peace. Harry moved a lock of white hair away from Dumbledore's face. Black swirled around his form, the color of grief. But what separated the blackness surrounding him and the one that had surrounded Draco Malfoy for a year was the depth. Malfoy's was inkier, like smoke billowing out of him about to consume him and burn him to ash. Harry's was solid and molded against his body, like a presence clinging to him. I moved forward as Harry began to cry and kneeled on the other side of the man who cared for us all. Ginny was by Harry's side, hugging him close as his grief rolled off him in waves. I looked down at the body of Professor Dumbledore and felt the tears in my eyes release at the absence of color, knowing his soul was gone. "Be at peace," I whispered.

When I looked up, darkness clouded the sky but it wasn't from the weather or the night. Blackness surrounded each student, each teacher standing there that night until it was a blanket covering us all. Professor McGonagall raised her wand, the tip lighting up as she stared at her good friend with tears in her tired eyes. The rest of us followed suit, and we lit the sky for our beloved Headmaster.

The next few days passed agonizingly slow. A dark sense of dread had cast it's veil over Hogwarts. Shock stayed in all of our systems as the events of that night finally began to sink in. Hogwarts was defenseless, Dumbledore was gone and the war was coming. Fear was in our hearts and it wasn't going anywhere, any time soon. Every time I replayed in my head what Harry had told me happened, I felt a piece of me chip away. I was to blame for all this as much as Draco Malfoy was. I could have done something.

It was the last day of school and the day of Dumbledore's funeral. Many students had left the school, in fear of the oncoming danger. The trio and Gabriel and I had stayed along with a few others. Right after the funeral, we were to go and get our luggages to go to the trains. Hermione, Ginny and I had already packed our bags and had gotten dressed for the funeral. We didn't utter a single word as we got dressed. There was nothing we could say to break the gloom that had settled over us.

When we finished, Hermione immediately grabbed each of our hands and we made our way down to the common room where Harry and Ron were waiting for us. They boys were both wearing dress clothes, but with trainers. I snorted when I saw them, but kept quiet. We all walked down and outside next to the Black Lake, where the funeral was being held. I smiled wistfully as I took in the sight. It was beautiful, and as I looked at it, I knew it was what Dumbledore would have wanted. No---it was what Dumbledore deserved.

There were at least a dozen white wooden chairs spread out in lines on the grass. The trees surrounding the area were all in a circle, like a clearing, around the whole ceremony. The flowers were in bloom, and the leaves were a rich green, signaling summer's reappearance. Dumbledore's white marble tomb glinted in the sun and served as a beacon for all of us. It was hard imagining a man so full of life laying in there for the rest of time.

The sun began to set, creating the perfect setting for a tragedy. The hued light hit the water of the Black Lake, casting a warm glow around us all even though inside we were all cold. The mermaids in the Lake were flipping their tails and dancing gracefully in the water. Birds passed by in the sky in a perfect V formation. All were giving their final salute to a man who commanded the respect of us all. The funeral was about to start and everyone took their seats. I sat in the middle of the third row with Hermione on my left and Ginny on my right. Ron was next to Hermione and Harry was next to Ginny. Gabriel sat before me. All of our hands were connected and we became an unbreakable link, one feeding off the strength of another and so on.

The minister walked up to the raised platform in front of the tomb and began to speak of Dumbledore's achievements and intellect. One by one, people started going up to the tomb to say something about him. It was Harry's turn next and he walked up to the platform. He took a deep breath and began.

"The first time I had met Dumbledore, I was a scrawny little first year. I may not have known much about the wizarding world at that time, but he was always there to guide me through it all. All the struggles, all the terror, and doubt. He was there, always. I was blown away by how wise and kind one man could be. I had no family and I was alone, but Dumbledore was as good as. Even though I didn't know anything about his personal life, I felt like I had known him forever. He was the greatest man I ever knew. And I plan to continue his memory and make sure he would never be forgotten. Thank you..." I could feel Hermione's hand shake in mine as Harry finished and squeezed it gently. He thanked the audience one more time in a quiet voice as people sobbed and bowed their heads. He returned to his seat and when he thought we weren't looking, I saw him wipe away a stray tear.

Suddenly, the centaurs came out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and shot their arrows high in the sky as a salute. The mer-people popped their heads out of the water and payed their respects too. As the sun disappeared beneath the hills, Dumbledore's tomb caught blue fire and slowly started to descend beautifully into the ground. Then a strange but wonderful sound cut through the skies. I looked up and saw Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, singing her song. It was a haunting tune, one that cut right through the hearts of us all and spoke to the soul. It was a song of farewells but I knew, for us, it was a promise for the afterlife. We would see him again, when our time came. She flew around the tomb and then soared out of sight. I could still hear her and by the looks of it, so could everyone else.

After the funeral, I went by myself back to the common room. Ron and Hermione were waiting for Harry and Ginny to finish with their private conversation and Gabriel was off writing a letter to Mum about our plans. I sighed as I came to the portrait hole. The Fat Lady was weeping loudly, and her friend Violet stood at her side, offering handkerchiefs and sad eyes.

"Albus Dumbledore," I spoke quietly. Changing the password to his name was something Gryffindor house agreed to unanimously. Our final tribute to our most famous Gryffindor. When they opened the door, I went inside and sunk into one of the armchairs in the common room. When my father had said that my first year at Hogwarts would be interesting, he had no idea, I thought. In just one year, I made friendships that would go the distance with me, I honed my skills and...I met a boy who made all the wrong choices. I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts. I couldn't think about him. Not now, when nothing was right and I was to blame.

I took my luggage and walked down to the Entrance Hall to wait for the others. I waited a few more minutes before they came. Ginny wasn't with them, and Harry looked more miserable than at the funeral. His already unruly hair stood on ends in every direction and bags sat under his eyes. Filch was waiting at the end of the Entrance Hall with a list, checking off our names as we passed and boarded the train. Once the trio and Gabriel and I settled into a compartment, Harry spoke up for the first time since that night.

"The locket was a fake. We went through all of that, just to get a fake," he threw the locket in question on the seat and leaned his head back, his eyes staring into nowhere. "I need to find the real one. I need to find all of them and destroy them. It's the only way. I won't be coming back next year so I'll send you all letters when I can."

"Harry Potter, you little nitwit! Do you honestly think we're going to let you do this alone?" I protested with a frown.

"Well--"

"Harry, you know you're very brave, but sometimes you can be really thick. We're in this together," Hermione interjected strongly. Ron and Gabriel and I nodded vigorously.

"Alright," Harry conceded, though a smile touched at the corners of his lips.

"Besides," I said. "You're not the only one who You-Know-Who is after. Might as well join you on the run."

"What do you mean?"

Gabriel frowned. "Since we were old enough to talk, our father trained us in preparation for this moment. I don't know how, but he knew that someday Voldemort would be after us. But it's not the same as with you, Harry. He doesn't want to kill us, he wants to recruit us. We're both animaguses, Rose has the ability to do wandless magic and she can...see things. I can't really explain it but all I know is that he wants to use us to his disposal."

"Don't worry, you're still the Chosen One, though," I grinned.