Future Nostalgia / Harry Potter Fanfic

We've Had Time, Haven't we?

"Why is she here?" Estella whispered.

Her father looked into the crowd, following her eyes. "Open funeral. My guess is, attempting to maintain appearances," he said.

"So, we can't kick her out?" asked Estella.

He shook his head. "If only..."

The staff were seated last. Estella could see Scrimgeour looking grave and dignified in the front row with Professor McGonagall. She wondered whether he was really sorry if any of these people actually cared that he was dead.

Music began playing, Hagrid was walking slowly up the aisle between the chairs. He was crying quite silently, his face gleaming with tears, and in his arms, wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars, was her grandfather's body. A sharp pain rose in her throat at this sight. Her eyes scanned the crowd: Ron looked white and shocked. Harry looked deeply upset and his jaw was clenched, though his face was pale. Tears were falling thick and fast from Ginny and Hermione.

Hagrid carefully placed the body upon the table and retreated back down the aisle, blocking his nose with loud trumpeting noises that drew scandalized looks.

Even the mermaids and Grawp were here, observing from afar in an attempt to not draw attention. Estella almost laughed as she watched Grawp pat Hagrid's head so hard, trying to soothe him, that his chair legs sank into the ground. Hagrid's face was that of pure bafflement and distracted him from his tears. But then the music stopped and she turned her attention to the line of speakers.

Estella couldn't prevent the tears from falling from her eyes as she listened to the kind things people had to say about her grandfather. To top it off, the sight of tears streaming down Harry's face was enough to have her balling. When the people she loved cried, she cried; she couldn't help it, the same happened when characters she liked in movies and television shows cried. Estella saw it clearly as she sat under the hot sun how many people cared about her grandfather, how many people whose lives he had touched.

When the last man had stopped speaking arrows flew. Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay. White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Estella thought, for one heart-stopping moment, she saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue but the next second the fire had vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested.

There were a few more cries of shock as a shower of arrows soared through the air, but fell far short of the crowd. It was, Estella knew, the centaurs' tribute: She saw them turn tail and disappear back into the cool trees. Likewise, the merpeople sank back into the green water and were lost from view.

As the ceremony finished, Estella hung back as countless people walked up to her and her father to give their condolences. Only able to reunite with her friends after an hour had passed.

"What did Scrimgeour want?" Estella whispered, noticing that he had cornered Harry after the service.

"Same as he wanted at Christmas," shrugged Harry. "Wanted inside information on Dumbledore and to be the Ministry's new poster boy."

Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, "Look, let me go back and hit Percy!"

"No," she said firmly, grabbing his arm.

"It'll make me feel better!"

"And it'll be fun to watch," added Estella.

They laughed. Even Hermione grinned a little, though her smile faded as she looped up at the castle.

"I can't bear the idea that we might never come back," she said softly. "How can Hogwarts close?"

"Maybe it won't," said Ron, hopeful. "We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we? Everywhere's the same. I'd even say Hogwarts is safer, there are more wizards to defend the place. What d'you two reckon?"

"I'm not sure," murmured Estella.

"I'm not coming back even if it does reopen," said Harry, looking at Estella.

"I knew you'd say that," said Estella.

"But what will you do?" said Hermione sadly.

"I'm going back to the Dursleys' once more, because Dumbledore wanted me to," said Harry. "But it'll be a short visit, and then I'll be gone for good."

"But where will you go if you don't come back to school?"

"I thought I might go back to Godric's Hollow," murmured Harry. "For me, it started there, all of it. I've just got a feeling I need to go there. And I can visit my parents' grave, I'd like that."

"And then what?"

"Then I've got to track down the rest of the Horcruxes, haven't I?" said Harry, his eyes upon Dumbledore's white tomb, reflected in the water on the other side of the lake. "That's what he wanted me to do, that's why he told me all about them. If Dumbledore was right-and I'm sure he was-there are still four of them out there. I've got to find them and destroy them, and then I've got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort's soul, the bit that's still in his body, and I'm the one who's going to kill him. And if I meet Severus Snape along the way," he added, "so much the better for me, so much the worse for him."

There was a long silence. The crowd had almost dispersed now, the stragglers giving the monumental figure of Grawp a wide breath as he cuddled Hagrid, whose howls of grief were still echoing across the water.

"Why do you make it sound like you're going alone?" asked Estella.

"She's right. We'll be there, Harry," said Ron.

"What?"

"At your aunt and uncle's house," said Ron. "and then we'll go with you wherever you're going."

"You said to us once before," said Hermione quietly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?"

"We're with you whatever happens," said Ron. "But mate, you're going to have to come round my mum and dad's house before we do anything else, even Godric's Hollow."

"Why?"

"Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?"

Harry stared at him, startled, before he finally said, "Yeah, we shouldn't miss that."

"As if Mrs. Weasley would let you."

Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. Vote and comment. I love reading the comments!

There we go, the end of Half-Blooded Prince and the beginning to Deathly Hallows. I can't believe I've been writing this since November and I'm finally on Deathly Hallows in late January. Thank you to anyone who's been reading since I first started out and has stuck around.

Also if you see any grammar mistakes feel free to point them out. I've seen quite a few that I've fixed but since I haven't gone back to edit I've missed things.

Also, I've been seeing mature hp fanfics are getting removed so I've resaved all the chapters to google docs and if something happens I'll be moving the story to inkit or ao3 if I can figure out how to use it.

If I do my username will still be xokassiexo!