Neither Draco nor I are supposed to be here. We're weren't supposed to even leave the grounds of the Manor. But here we are, standing at the very back of Dumbledore's funeral.
Draco is sporting one of his black suits, but he's also got a black cloak around his shoulders so he can hide his face with the hood. I'm wearing a long black dress and a matching cloak to Draco's. If this wasn't a funeral we would stick out like sore thumbs.
Students from both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang are here, along with everyone who was at Hogwarts this year, the entire ministry... pretty much everyone that ever looked at Dumbledore was here, sitting by the edge of the lake in front of a stunning marble table. Draco and I are standing at the very back of the crowd. I can see Fred and George, along with the rest of the Weasley clan sitting near the front of the group.
Music. Relatively awful music comes from the lake. Draco peers around me to see the merpeople who have rose to the surface to play their instruments. The murmuring stops and people all around us turn towards the back. I follow their gaze and land on Hagrid. He's walking slowly, tears streaking down his face. In his arms, wrapped tightly in purple velvet that was spangled with gold stars, was Dumbledore's body.
Everyone watches in silence as Hagrid makes the slow, long walk to the front of the crowd. I glance at Draco and he's got tears streaming silently down his face, just like me. Just like everyone else around us.
Hagrid lays Dumbledore's body onto the marble table and walks back down the aisle, blowing his nose very loudly as he goes. The music stops. A small older man wearing black robes gets up and stands in front of the table but I can't make out what he's saying from so far away. There's a small splash sound from the lake, looking over I can see that the merpeople have stuck their heads out of the water to listen.
A slight movement catches my eye and I look over at the edge of the forest. They're hard to see but standing in the shadows are centaurs, nearly all of them holding bows in their hands. I move my hand out from under my cloak and grab onto Draco's. Draco squeezes my hand and sniffs his nose.
The man in black stops talking and sits back down in his chair. Then, flames. Great big white flames erupt all around Dumbledore's body. A few people let out a scream. Just as fast as they appeared, the flames were gone, in it's place lies a great big marble tome, with Dumbledore's body inside of it. Then, a shower of arrows from the Forbidden forest, no doubt the centaurs send off for Dumbledore.
The crowd breaks off slowly, people getting up from their seats and talking with their friends or simply making the walk back to Hogsmeade.
"You want to head out?" I ask Draco softly.
Draco sniffs his nose again and shakes his head no, "I'm going to go speak with my friends." He says before walking off towards the group of Slytherin students that have gathered together by one of the castle walls.
I stand by myself awkwardly for a moment, then I see George walking along the lake by himself. I give myself a little mental confidence boost and politely make my way over to him.
"Hey..." I say softly.
George turns around quickly, "Hey..." He breathes.
We stand a few feet apart just looking at each other awkwardly, "Take a walk with me?" He says finally.
I nod and smile a little. We walk down the lake shore in silence, our shoulders bumping into each other a little but other than that we don't touch. "You remember that night we snuck our during third year and got covered in poison oak?" George asks.
I chuckle to myself at the memory, "Yeah."
George looks at me out of the corner of his eye, "I think that was when I realized I loved you." He says.
I stop walking and George takes another step or two before stopping and turning around to look at me. "Why'd you stop walking?" He asks quietly.
"You said loved... past tense." I say back in the same quiet tone that he was using.
George looks down at his feet then back up at me, "I uhm, I've sort of... met someone."
My heart shatters into a million pieces, my eyes instantly fill with tears but I try to blink them away, "Oh... do I know them?"
George looks at me, "No, she's a muggle that works in the town by my house. It's not serious or anything like that. We just slept together a few times."
Oh right cause that makes the world of difference. I blink away more tears but a few of them manage to roll down my cheeks, "You have every right to do that, we aren't together anymore. Haven't been for about a year at this point." I whisper. If I talk any louder my voice will crack and I'll start to cry.
"That's the thing, I don't want to do that. It felt weird to be with someone that wasn't you. The whole time we were together all I could think of was you." George says a little louder than he was talking before, "I still love you Violet, why do you think I'm still wearing this damn ring?"
"Because you promised me that you'd never take it off." I say to him.
George rolls his eyes, "I only made that promise because I love you. And you can't tell me that you don't love me anymore Violet. I know you do."
I try to look anywhere but George. He steps closer to me and takes my hand in his. I try to pull away but he holds on tightly, "Even if I did still love you G... there's a war and we're fighting on opposite sides."
"If we were on opposite sides you wouldn't have come to my house to warn us that they were planning on setting it on fire." He says to me, "If we were on opposite sides you wouldn't have protected my sister from Greyback in those reeds."
"Did you know that it was Draco who was supposed to kill Dumbledore? And when he couldn't do it I offered to?" I say to him.
George's eyes flash with confusion and hurt but only for a second, "You were doing it to protect Draco. That doesn't count."
"Course it counts George! How can you say that me pointing my wand at the leader of the Order is just something that I had to do?"
"Because it was something that you just had to do!" George says back to me raising his voice.
I look back at the crowd of people to make sure that no one is listening in on our conversation. "I'm a Death Eater George." I snap at him.
"That doesn't matter!"
"Course it matters!"
"Bill was attacked by Greyback and could very well turn into a werewolf and Fleur is still going to marry him because it doesn't matter!" George says very fast.
"Bill and Fleur are getting married? What's the age difference between the two of them?" I say to George.
He rolls his eyes, "You're missing the point! They're going to make it work, why can't we?"
I don't say anything for a good long time. I want to say that we can, course we can work things out. And the look of desperation on George's face tells me that he will do anything and everything to get me back. But I can't. They'll kill him. I'd rather have him alive with a broken heart then dead.
"Because..." I whisper softly, "Because I don't love you anymore..." A lie. The biggest lie I've ever said in my entire life. I can't look at him in the eye.
George's voice cracks, "You... don't say that Violet."
I look from my feet into his eyes. He's got tears streaming down his face, his eyes are full of desperation, "I don't love you anymore George." I say. I try to put as much confidence in my words as I can muster.
I know they hurt him. I know because he flinches with every word I say. He wipes his tears on his jacket, "You're just saying that. You've got to say that..."
"George. Listen to me-"
"You're just saying that!"
"George please! Don't make this harder than it is."
Tears are coming down both of our faces now. I pull the ring that George gave me off of my hand and put it in his. "I'm sorry George." I whisper.
George looks at the ring that I've placed in his hand and looks back at me. I turn around and walk away before he can say anything else. Before he can see the pain in my face, the sobs that I'm trying to keep under control.
I walk right up to Draco and grab onto his arm. "Violet? What's wrong? Are you alright?"
I apparate us both back home and without saying anything more I shove Draco out of my room and lock the door. Then, and only then do I allow myself to cry, scream, destroy everything in my room like some failed attempt of trying to get control over myself. I rip the necklace that George got for me during third year off my neck and throw it out my open bedroom window with a scream.
I throw myself onto my bed and scream into my pillow, my screams turn into sobs. All I can see is George's face looking at me with complete and utter betrayal. I hate this fucking war, I hate my fucking family. I hate myself.