[I want you all to support the book: Legacy of Harry Potter by Night_Writer. And why I am asking for support? Well, it is the first book I was involded into any manner.
I did not write it technically but when it was written for the first time, I was involved a lot in its story. A few of its key plots were proposed by me. I had been a complete amateur at that time but when the book was done both of us were quite pleased.I will never be the author of that book but it would always be special for me. Go check it out and add it to your collection and help in increasing its reach.]
The funeral of Lord Bones was to be held in the Bones family cemetery, situated just behind the ancestral manor. Members of the Bones line had been buried there for generations, and soon, Lord Bones would join them.
A couple of hours had passed since the first rays of sunlight had illuminated the Bones' grounds when the first visitors began to trickle in.
The ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon, but such was the significance of the event that many did not mind waiting for a few hours. A lot of them were press reporters who wanted to get an encounter with a few significant people and wanted to get their reaction about all the things which had happened in the past few days. And these last few days had been one of the best days that the press reporters had seen in their life. At least from the professional viewpoint. They fed and thrived on chaos; And chaos and mayhem was all around in Wizarding Britain.
Even if Lord Bones had died of natural causes, his funeral would have attracted immense attention. He was a powerful and respected Lord of Wizengamot. However, given the circumstances of his death, and the events that preceded, caused and followed his death had elevated its importance.
Some press reporters had gone so far as to call his death a groundbreaking event, a history changing moment, and a path altering tragedy. An event which had the ability to affect the fate of the entire Wizarding Britain and though they might have been over-exaggerating they were not really wrong.
Unlike Lord Reinhart Lestrange, whose family had been forced to hold a funeral in isolation due to the deeds that led to his death, the funeral of Lord Bones was open to all, and a sea of people was expected to attend.
By the time the funeral was to begin, more than a few hundred people had already gathered outside the cemetery. Prominent Lords had started to mark their arrival, and the commencement of the funeral was just around the corner.
"We should get going, Amelia," Antonio said, sitting on the sofa next to her.
Antonio had also arrived early that morning, but unlike the others, he had been welcomed inside the Bones Manor. No one else was. And he had spent the hours keeping Amelia company. They had talked and discussed mainly about magic and had made small talk. Antonio had continued his attempts to help Amelia cope with her grief while at the same time he had made sure to avoid sensitive topics that could reopen her wounds. But now that the time for the funeral was here, the most sensitive thing was to be done. There was no reprieve from it.
Amelia nodded in response. As the hour of the funeral drew closer, her heart grew heavy once more, and a sense of grief began to creep back in. This was to be her final goodbye to her father. And though all the preparations had already been made, she herself was not ready. Not that she would ever be ready. Only she knew how she was going to proceed with it.
"Are you sure about your brother, Amelia?" Antonio questioned as they began to walk towards the exit of the mansion.
"You might not realize it, but perhaps the two of you staying together would provide,the both of you, the much needed comfort and relief," he said.
Edgar had not yet arrived for the funeral. Amelia had been in constant communication with Minerva McGonagall and had made arrangements with the Deputy Headmistress.
At Amelia's request, Minerva had agreed to escort Edgar to the Bones cemetery from Hogwarts. Since Dumbledore was also accompanying them, there was no reason to worry about Edgar's safety. He was undoubtedly in the safest hands in all of Wizarding Britain.
Antonio had suggested that Edgar stay at Bones Manor for a few days so the siblings could support one another in this tough and probably Edgar too needed this support, but Amelia had rejected the suggestion entirely.
Though she too longed to spend time with her brother, other considerations forced her to compromise her desires.
"I am sure, Lord Olario," Amelia replied, though a slight reluctance coloured her voice.
"As I have said before," she explained, "I do not wish for my brother to become entangled in the political drama that is bound to follow."
"It is true that he will be the one leading and bearing these responsibilities in the future, but until that time comes, it is better that he stays away from all of this," she said. "And if he stays at the Bones Manor, no matter how much I wish to avoid it, a lot of people would be desperate to meet and flatter him so as to earn the favour of the future Bones Lord. I do not want the situation to turn chaotic for him. At least, for a few days."
"Furthermore," she continued, "Hogwarts is the safest place for him right now. After what happened in the Wizengamot, I can safely assume that even the Dark Lord would not be daring enough to attack Hogwarts directly under the nose of Albus Dumbledore."
"Edgar returning back to Hogwarts and resuming his normal school life is the best decision for him," she concluded.
Antonio simply nodded in silence. He wanted to claim that it was no problem. That he would take full responsibility for their safety as long as Edgar wished to remain at the manor. That he would protect them if Voldemort or his Death Eaters made a move again against the Bones family.
But he could not bring himself to say it. Her father had died on his watch, in his presence, and until he proved himself otherwise, he felt he had no right to make such a claim.
The duo traveled the rest of the distance, a few minutes' walk, in silence. As they reached the Bones cemetery, they could see the sea of people gathered around the grounds. As Amelia drew closer to the designated location where Edmund's grave had been dug, her heart began to pound against her chest and tears began to spill down her cheeks.
She could have used Occlumency to keep her expression neutral and the tears away from her eyes, but according to magical tradition, it was generally advised that close family members refrain from using Occlumency during a funeral, allowing their emotions to manifest outwardly. This tradition had likely been established to allow a person to truly shed their grief.
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