Funerals and Weddings

For disclaimer, summary, story codes and other information, please see the prologue.

Chapter the Thirty-second: It’s Official
Later the same evening
20 December


Dumbledore arrived at Grimmauld Place just after Harry and Remus had finished the clearing up after dinner. Harry had gone up to his room to visit with Hedwig, who had shown up during dinner.

“How is he, Remus?” Albus asked.

“He’s doing fine, actually. Much better than I expected,” Remus replied. “Would you care for something to drink?”

Albus nodded. “Firewhiskey, if you have it. It’s been a long day. When you say he’s fine—I hope that means he isn’t feeling too guilty?”

Remus nodded and moved to the cabinet, pouring two glasses of the amber liquid for himself and the elderly wizard.

“Precisely. In fact, what he was most upset about was not killing Lucius, but the fact that he was glad that he had killed him.”

Albus lifted his brows in surprise. “Indeed. Not that I’m trying to doubt you, Remus, but are you sure that he’s not…hiding any deeper feelings? The boy is quite skilled at keeping things buried inside himself, I’m afraid.”

The werewolf sipped his whiskey and shook his head. “No, I mean, I know Harry tends to keep too much inside, but I don’t think that it’s the case here. We had a very long talk and he was very open with me. I think perhaps we’re underestimating Harry, Albus—at least, I know I was.”

“You may be right, old friend,” Albus replied, taking a healthy swallow of his own drink. “I often forget that our Harry is almost a man—a man who has had to grow up too quickly, with too many burdens already. I’m glad to hear he isn’t taking his role in Lucius’ death too hard.”

“Albus,” Remus said slowly. “Harry knows about Draco Malfoy’s dream. He explained to me the…eavesdropping incident in your office. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Albus sighed. “Ah, yes. Harry is just as inquisitive and impulsive as his father was at his age. I didn’t tell you, Remus, because I didn’t want you to worry. I know that Harry is practically your godson now that Sirius is gone. While I suspected that Draco’s dream might actually be a vision of the future, I had no way of knowing for sure. And I knew that you would worry about Harry even more if you thought that Harry was aware and fretting over the dream.”

Remus nodded. “All right. I can understand that. So what happens now?”

“Where is Harry? There are things I need to discuss with the both of you.”

Remus stood. “I’ll get him. He’s in his room with his owl. I’ll never get over how clever that owl of his is; she showed up here only a few hours after Harry did. Amazing, that bird is.” Shaking his head, he stepped from the room to collect Harry.

Within a few minutes, Harry was seated at the kitchen table with Hedwig perched on his knee. He was stroking the snowy owl’s feathers softly.

“Well, Harry, how are you?” Albus began. “Remus tells me you are dealing admirably with Lucius Malfoy’s death.”

Harry flashed a look at his adoptive godfather. “Yeah, I’m all right. I really am. But what’s going to happen now? Will…am I trouble for killing Lucius? Will I be arrested? And what about Malfoy—I mean, Draco? Does he know?”

Albus shook his head in answer to Harry’s first question. “No, my dear boy, you are not in trouble. You will not be arrested. In fact, if I have my way, no one will ever know that you were even present for Lucius’ death—save for a select few people, that is.”

“But how?” Harry asked, confused. “I killed him, right there at Hogwarts. Surely people know by now…”

“No, the only people who know other than the three of us in this room are Professors Snape and McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid—and Draco Malfoy. None of them will reveal what really happened. It is in no way safe for Voldemort or any of his Death Eaters to discover that you were the one to kill one of his top lieutenants. Professor Snape and Hagrid will be moving Lucius’ body to Hogsmeade tonight. With Professor McGonagall’s help, they will make it look as though Lucius has been hiding in the Shrieking Shack for some time. When his body is discovered outside the Shack, people will assume that someone found him there and killed him, for unknown reasons.”

Harry and Remus both nodded at this news. It was a logical, feasible plan. Remus was fairly certain it was Snape’s.

“So what about Draco, Headmaster? Does he know that Lucius is dead? And that I’m the one who killed him?” Harry asked.

“I imagine he does by now. I asked Professor Snape to inform him. He will not reveal he knows until after Lucius’ body is ‘discovered,’ likely tomorrow.”

“Is…is he…I imagine Draco wants to kill me now. Is that why you sent me here?”

Dumbledore tilted his head and looked at Harry curiously. “Why do you think young Mr. Malfoy would want to kill you? You recall now, of course, that he predicted this very event in his dream.”

“Well, yes, but still…if I were Malfoy, I’d be furious, even if I knew in advance that it might happen,” Harry replied, looking rather worried.

Dumbledore nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you would. And I am sure you would have done everything in your power to prevent it from happening. I can’t give you details, it’s not my story to tell, but I suspect that Draco’s relationship with his father is not what yours would have been with James.”

Harry didn’t seem convinced, but he let it drop. “All right, if you say so. So what happens now? Do I stay here for the rest of break? What about Ron and Ginny? Won’t they wonder why I’m not at Hogwarts?”

“Don’t worry about your friends. I’ve already told them that you’ve moved here, for security reasons. Which is partly true. I didn’t want you at Hogwarts in case it somehow slips out that you were involved in Lucius’ death. I don’t want anyone to know that Lucius Malfoy was ever at Hogwarts today. So yes, you will stay here the rest of break, with Remus. Is that all right?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, of course. But I won’t be going to the Weasleys’ for Christmas then, I take it?” He couldn’t help but sound a bit disappointed. Christmas with the Weasleys was always such fun.

The headmaster smiled at him and his eyes twinkled. “No, I’m afraid you won’t be going to the Burrow for Christmas. The Burrow, however, will be coming here, for Christmas—if that’s all right with the two of you?”

Harry looked at Remus and grinned. The other man grinned back.

“Yes, of course! That will be brilliant!” Harry said, delighted.

“I thought that might please you both. I’m already spoken with Molly. She and her brood will be arriving here late Christmas morning. She’s already planning quite a feast. Perhaps, Harry, you and Remus could get the usual rooms ready for their stay? It’s likely at least some of them will be staying the duration of the holidays.” Albus said, smiling.

Harry was thrilled. Christmas with the Weasleys and he got to spend the holidays with his adopted family.

“Thank you, sir! I can’t wait! Not that Christmas with you, Remus, wouldn’t have been nice, but the Weasleys have become…well, like a family to me, you see…”

Remus smiled. “Yes, I know. They have to me as well. I know Molly and Arthur consider you as good as a seventh son. It will be wonderful to have them here to celebrate and spend time with.”

“But remember, Harry, not a word about today’s events to anyone—not even Mr. Weasley or Miss Granger, when you see her. You may be able to tell them at a later date—but for now, please keep it a secret. Can you do that?”

Harry frowned. “Of course I can. It won’t be easy, but if that is what you think best, then I promise not to say anything. But sir, what about…Draco? Does he know that I know about his dream? And that he’s sworn loyalty to our side?”

“No, Harry, he does not. That I will leave to you to decide if you wish to tell him you are aware or not. But no one else must know about that either—the dream or his switch in loyalties. It would be extremely dangerous for Draco if the news were to inadvertently get out. Unfortunately, we think that Tom already knows, or at least suspects, that Draco does not want to become a Death Eater. So his safety is already in jeopardy.”

Harry played with the barbell in his mouth while he thought for a moment. “The Death Eaters showing up in Hogsmeade, looking for Draco. You think they were sent to…force Draco to take the Dark Mark?”

Dumbledore nodded. “It seems most likely. But we are still trying to bluff Tom into thinking that Draco is willing to join—Draco sent a letter to his father claiming that basically what you told the Death Eaters was true—he wasn’t in Hogsmeade when the Death Eaters arrived, which is why he did not answer them. However, we don’t know if Tom believes this or not.”

Remus joined the conversation. “Would it be safer for Draco to stay here, at Headquarters?”

“No,” Dumbledore shook his head. “He is quite safe at Hogwarts for the time being—and his disappearance would look more suspicious.”

Remus nodded. “You are right, as usual. Well, then. Not to seem rude, Albus, but it’s getting rather late and I’m sure Harry is quite tired. Perhaps we should call it a night?”

Standing, Albus agreed. “Quite. And I have more business I need to attend to at the castle. Harry, I haven’t told you how proud I am of you for the way you are handling today’s unfortunate events.”

Embarrassed, Harry pulled on his earring and nodded. “Uh, thank you, sir.”

Smiling, Dumbledore nodded to him and then to Remus. “Thank you for your hospitality, as always, Remus. Contact me if you need me.”

“Of course. Albus, will you be joining us for Christmas? You are more than welcome, of course. As are any other members of the Order who wish to come.”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled merrily. “Thank you. I think I will join you—it promises to be a happy event. I will extend your invitation to the others. Good night, now.” With a final nod, the powerful wizard left the kitchen to head outside to Disapparate back to Hogsmeade.

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NEWS FLASH!
A DAILY PROPHET SPECIAL REPORT!

Harry read the news of Lucius Malfoy’s death the next day after Hedwig delivered the paper. It seemed everything had gone just as Dumbledore planned: a witch walking her terrier early this morning had come across Lucius’ body outside the Shrieking Shack and had immediately notified the authorities. Aurors had swarmed over the place within minutes. Harry finished his second cup of coffee as he read the article a second time:

Ministry officials announced this morning that the body of Lucius Malfoy, 42, was found early this morning outside the abandoned house commonly known as the “Shrieking Shack” in Hogsmeade. The Ministry will not comment as to Malfoy’s cause of death. They only state that the body has been taken for autopsy and a report will be forthcoming.

One official, on the condition of anonymity, did tell the Prophet that Malfoy’s body did not appear to be marked except for a long gash on each cheek. He also stated that it appeared that someone—possibly Malfoy—had been living inside the “Shrieking Shack” for some time (more on the supposed haunting of the Shrieking Shack inside on page 6).

Malfoy was an escaped prisoner from Azkaban. He was tried and convicted of being a Death Eater serving You-Know-Who after a break-in at the Ministry of Magic last spring. After only two weeks of incarceration, however, Malfoy managed to break out of the Wizard Prison and has not been seen since that time. It is rumoured that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named arranged for Malfoy’s escape from Azkaban. Prior to being imprisoned in Azkaban, Malfoy resided at his family estate, Malfoy Manor, in Wiltshire.

It has already been speculated that Malfoy’s presence in Hogsmeade may be tied to the deaths of two Aurors on 13 November. The bodies of the two Aurors, Jethro Tullonius and Antonia “Tori” Amosson, were found following the appearance of a group of alleged Death Eaters in Hogsmeade that same day. Both Aurors were in the village on routine duty and a reward is being offered by the Ministry of Magic for information leading to the arrest of their killer(s). Both Tullonius and Amosson were killed by the Killing Curse. For more on this story, please turn to page 4.

Mr. Malfoy is survived by his wife, the former Narcissa Black, and his son, Draco, a sixth-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry folded the paper and got up for another cup of coffee. There were several more articles detailing various aspects of Lucius Malfoy’s life and the events surrounding his arrest, but Harry didn’t really care. He was saddened to hear about the deaths of the two Aurors in Hogsmeade. He’d forgotten to ask Dumbledore what had happened to the two stationed there; now he knew why they didn’t appear when the Death Eaters arrived. Obviously, they had been murdered prior to the Death Eaters Apparating into the middle of the village.

After clearing up his breakfast things, Harry headed upstairs to help Remus prepare the house for the Weasleys’ arrival in a few days. He couldn’t help but wonder how Draco was doing, especially now that the news of his father’s death was public. Did he hate Harry again? Or would he be less upset than Harry assumed since he had foreseen the duel in his dream? Harry shook his head. No matter what Dumbledore said, he couldn’t imagine Draco not being furious with him. And he couldn’t help himself from feeling sad about it.

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A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reviewing! You guys are great and you can’t imagine how good your kind words make me feel. Let me know what you think about this chapter—we’re getting closer to Harry and Draco finally coming together…

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