Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 18: Saying Goodbye

            Hell, Artemis even volunteered to read her speech for the funeral. Audrey was going to let him too, since she had been a basket case and wouldn't even be able to get a word out without blubbering. Her cousin-in-law had a way with words, and she knew he would be able to portray what she had written perfectly.

            Audrey was shaken from her thoughts when the man officiating the funeral had shifted from his introduction to the individual speeches from friends and family. Audrey knew hers was one of the last ones, and that her mother wasn't going to speak either. Fianna was an emotional wreck, and no one blamed her for not wanting to speak. Everyone knew she wanted to, and they all seemed to be in agreement that it was for the best she wasn't.

            The girl sat quietly through her Uncle Cillian's long-winded spiel about his brother, and how much he would miss him, and all the good times they had. Audrey had expected this; her uncle had always been one to go on about personal matters of the heart, and this was no different. Once he finished up, her father's coworker and close friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt, gave a brief speech. Some other people spoke too, but Audrey didn't recognize them. She would be sure to ask her mother who they were exactly later.

            When the last one of them finished speaking, the officiant turned to Audrey. "Now we'll hear some final words from Lorcan's daughter," he said.

            The girl shook her head. Dabbing her eyes with a tissue she just caught a glimpse of Artemis stepping up for her and making his way up to the podium. He pulled out the piece of paper Audrey had written her speech on before he looked up across the crowd, looking not even a tiny bit nervous. Between the grief she felt and the eyes of all the funeral goers, Audrey knew she would've been a disaster at the podium by now.

            "For those who don't know me, my name is Artemis. I know you all were expecting Audrey to speak, but she has asked me to read what she wrote instead. She's one of my closest friends, and the greatest cousin-in-law one could hope for, so it's an honor to be doing this for her. I just hope I can do her words justice," he began, taking a deep breath before he unfolded the piece of paper, and stared down at it, mentally preparing himself to read this.

            Audrey, too, was mentally preparing herself for her own words, but nothing could've prepared her for what Artemis was about to read.

            "Before I begin I would like to thank all of you here on behalf of my mother, my brother and myself, for all your efforts- both large and small- to be here today, to help us mark my father's passing. I am honored to be here, and to be able to speak to you all. Mostly, I am honored to be here to speak to you about my father.  Each of you here had your own relationship with my father; each of you has your own set of memories and your own words that describe this man. I don't presume to know the man that you knew. But I hope that, in this  that I offer, you will recognize some part of the man that we all knew, the man that is no longer amongst us, the man who will never be gone until all of us here have passed."

            As Artemis finished up the first paragraph, Audrey reached for another tissue, and leaned her head into Draco's shoulder, her free hand clasping her mother's hand tightly in her own. This was going to be harder to hear that she thought.

            "Losing my father is one of the most difficult things I have gone through.  As I am standing up here today, I realize how fortunate I was to have him as my father.  There are no words to express his influence in my life. Things have not always been great between us. He resented my rebellious streak as of recent, my marriage to someone who had a past he wasn't happy with, the fact we were to have a child. I was never able to reconcile with him about the past year's events, or able to tell him I was sorry for how I responded to his concern," Artemis continued. "Despite that, I loved my father unconditionally. I know I pushed his buttons, and he pushed mine. I've been told he and I had the same stubborn streak, and often quick temper."

            Tears continued to flow from Audrey's eyes unchecked onto Draco's shirt. She was sure her makeup was probably running by this point; no amount of magic was going to keep it on her face today. She choked back a sob as her best friend continued.

"My father can be defined in part I think by his sense of honor, by his understanding of right and wrong. He was a fiercely loyal man, loyal to his family, loyal to his friends and loyal to the values that he learned from his parents. It was through him that I learned how a man should treat a woman. He loved my mother fiercely, loyally, through thick and thin. They were happily married for more than twenty years now, and it is their marriage I use as the model for my own," Artemis went on. He paused for a moment to flip the page over. "My father was a fearless man. He had to be, as an Auror. He died doing what he loved, and protecting his family. It is for that that I am forever grateful. How could I not be?  My father was, simply put, my hero. He spent his life in service of working people. He could have used his considerable, powerful intellect chasing down wealth and power, and I have no doubt that he could have acquired both, but instead he chose to serve. My dad is one of the smartest people I've ever known, and he chose a life of service. And more than that, he had a fundamental and powerful respect for the people he served."

Audrey knew the end of the speech was near, but it didn't make her feel any better. She felt her mother's hand tighten around hers in an attempt to comfort her, and it just made the tears flow more.

"I haven't quite come to terms with the fact that I will never have another conversation with my father again. I am sure I share that with many of you. And as much as anything else, I am angry that we were robbed of his third act. Thank you, Dad, for being the most incredible father I could have ever wanted. Thank you for making me want to make the world a better place and for, along with Mum, showing me a path to do so. Thank you for making sure that I have known I was loved every day of my life. I'll be sure your grandson, and any other children I may have in the future, know about the great man who was their grandfather. I hope they'll be just as proud of you as I am. I love you, Dad, and I'll miss you more than I can say," Artemis concluded. He folded the paper back up, and stowed it in the breast pocket of his jacket. "Thank you."

Before her friend had even stepped away from the pedestal, Audrey was standing, waiting to pull him into a tight embrace. Artemis held her close, letting his friend cry into his chest. "Thank you," she somehow managed to say between sobs as she pulled away from him.

"You're welcome," Artemis replied. For the first time since she had known him, Audrey saw tears in Artemis' eyes. He blinked a few times, clearing his eyes before resuming his seat.

The ceremony wrapped up after that, and a few moments later as Audrey stood at her father's casket, looking at him for the last time, somehow she knew that all was forgiven between them. Her father was at peace, and in time, she would be too.

As soon as the Death Eaters and their threat was extinguished.