Memorial Service

Memorial Service

---

'I hoped this service would never happen. For the past two months, I've been hoping Harry would show up with a really good reason why he couldn't contact us. Everyone thought that You-Know-Who was dead for ten years, after all. I'm still hoping Harry's in this crowd, in disguise, come here to surprise us.

'I first met Harry on the Hogwarts Express, and we became instant friends. I shared most of what I suppose you'd call his adventures, and most of his problems. He was almost like a member of my family; we gave him a home better than the one his relatives offered. Harry was ... amazing, in a lot of ways. He may not have been the smartest of us, but he was the bravest; he had to be. And I was the dumbest, which didn't make this easy to write, but it had to be all my words, just mine.

'If I'm honest, I should never have been made a prefect. Harry would have made a better one. He could never see someone in trouble without wanting to help them. That's why my sister is alive today. It's why I'm alive today. It 's why I still have a father, and a fiancée. That's why at least three more of the people speaking are alive today -- I've lost count of how many people would be dead without him. On a lesser scale, Harry gave two of my brothers their chance to have a shop to close today.

'His urge to help everyone made him Harry. And, unfortunately, it may be why Harry is probably now dead, since, to protect us, he didn't tell us what he'd found out, and where he was going, on that last day.

'I'll speak again at the end. For now, I'll just say rest in peace, Harry.'

---

'Ron and Harry were my first non-Muggle friends. Through Harry, we knew far more than anyone our age should have to know about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and the darker side of wizardry.

'I can't add much -- Harry was the bravest, and I wouldn't be here now if he and Ron hadn't saved me from a troll, or if Harry hadn't fought off a swarm of Dementors. Many of you have experienced the feelings a Dementor brings. Imagine not just one, but dozens, perhaps more than a hundred, all focussed on you and three people with you.

'Add to that the fact that you're only thirteen years old. Now imagine the courage and willpower Harry possessed to repel them all! Maybe you can manage that, but I can't, and I've tried several times over the past years.

'Everyone knows what he meant to the wizarding world, and what he did. Nobody knows how he did it, since Voldemort and, as far as everyone knows, all of his Death Eaters are dead, except for the two Harry allowed to escape. Even at that point, he still gave two people their lives, though he had no reason to like or trust them. It wasn't just them he saved that day, either. He told us he had two clues to investigate, two hints as to where Voldemort might be. He sent us on a wild goose chase, while he went to confront Voldemort. Maybe we'd be dead now if we'd gone with him, but maybe he'd be alive and safe. He made sure, though, that we would live.

'As for ... for what he means to us, he was going to be the best man at our wedding. In a way, he still will be, as we aren't going to replace him with anyone else, since ... since nobody could possibly replace him. The memory ... of him will be our ... best man.

'Maybe he'll surprise us, and be there ... when we stop postponing it in case ...

'Rest in peace, Harry: the peace which you ... you brought us.'

---

'I'd just turned ten when I first saw the famous Boy Who Lived. I'd heard a lot about him, of course, and then I actually saw him. A year later, he stayed at our house for some weeks, and I made a real fool of myself. But Harry was always kind to me, he never laughed at me, and in my first year at Hogwarts, he saved my life. I think you all know that much, but only a few know that it wasn't from a Basilisk. He saved me from Voldemort, who was trying to take my life energies to give himself a new body.

'Yes, you can shudder. You weren't expecting this to be a cheerful occasion, were you? Harry's life wasn't one filled with Puffskeins and kittens, it was one filled with the threat of death, and prejudice from all the people he was trying to save, like the Ministry and my stupid brother. Frankly, I don't think many of you were worth his sacrifice.

'Some of you know how happy I was when he finally kissed me, and he was really my boyfriend, not just in my daydreams. It had taken me a long time to get over my embarrassment about that initial crush on his fame, and then about the way he risked his life to save mine. Finally, I knew he thought of me as a real person, not just his friend's sister.

'And then he had to leave, to track down and kill Voldemort. We had to pretend we meant nothing to each other, for my safety. I understood that, and I appreciated the way he worried about me, but he promised me at Bill's wedding that he'd be back when Voldemort was dead.

'Harry kept his promises, and I'm not giving up on that one. I don't know where he is, I don't know what's happened to him, and I don't know why he can't come back yet.

'I do know that the bodies of Voldemort and all his Death Eaters were found and identified, and that Harry wasn't found there with them. He must have Apparated to safety as he killed them.

'He will be back. So I don't need to say Rest in peace, because he isn't dead. If he was dead, then everyone who refused to believe him when he spent a year saying Voldemort was back should be in Azkaban FOR NOT HELPING HIM!

'Harry -- please come back soon. I need to see you again.'

---

'We're going to start with a pause so Harry can throw off his disguise and comfort Ginny.

...

'Well, apparently he isn't here. Harry could never resist an appeal like that.'

'Especially not from our little sister. The stories we could tell ...'

'The Bat-Bogey Hexes we could be attacked by...'

'Good point. We'll stick to our speech, then.'

'We don't think Harry would have minded a certain amount of irreverence at his memorial service. Pompous words by people who hardly knew him ...'

'... like one of the later speakers ...'

'... weren't Harry's style.'

'If someone was about to steal a stone with the power to bring You-Know-Who back, Harry didn't talk, he acted.'

'If our sister was trapped in a Chamber of Secrets nobody really believed in, Harry didn't ask questions, he acted to save her.'

'If more Dementors than anyone had seen in one place were attacking his godfather, Harry didn't think, he acted! Bloody effectively, too, as Hermione told you.'

'And if she can't understand how he did it, there's no point in anyone else trying. Harry didn't stop to think whether he could do it, he did it.'

'If a Death Eater had forced him to take part in a Tournament he was three years too young to enter -- OK, he probably did think a bit for that one.'

'And he won it. And then he gave us all the winnings for our shop. He said we could all do with a few laughs, considering what was about to happen.'

'So, we take great pleasure in advertising our shop, which he made possible ...'

'... and even greater pleasure in shocking everyone who thinks we have no taste, by cutting it short at that.'

'Harry did more than that, but we think we've made our point.'

'He fought Death Eaters who'd been allowed to walk right into the Ministry itself, thanks to a bribe ...'

'... and he was with Dumbledore at the end, and was the only non-Death Eater witness to his death.'

'And then, as everyone knows, he destroyed five of the items You-Know-Who needed to keep him alive ...'

'... while even Dumbledore himself only managed to destroy one.'

'And so, we end our eulogy with these words: Harry, you prat! How could you let yourself get killed like that? You were supposed to have ... have ...'

'... a Happy Ever After ending, living peace ... peacefully ...'

'... because even we wouldn't pester ... a brother-in-law who'd ... who'd done all that.'

---

'Harry called me a friend. Not many people use that word about me. Harry didn't make fun of me for being different..

'I hope Ginny is right, and Harry's still alive. Not just because it's true that he deserves to be, but because there's more to be done. Not because death is the end, I know that when he dies he'll be with his parents and his godfather, but because there's time to be dead later. We need him alive, we all do.

'Harry would make a really good Minister. He wouldn't keep an army of Heliopaths, he wouldn't have his enemies killed and baked into pies. He wouldn't promote pure-bloods rather than Muggle-borns. And, of course, he's not a vampire like the Minister we've got now.

'With him as Minister, the rampant corruption in the Ministry would be rooted out! The conspiracies that are endemic there would be ended! The secrecy covering certain murders would be revealed, and the killers brought to justice!

'We need Harry to be still alive. Especially Ginny, who would make his life more enjoyable. But we all need him to finish destroying the evils in our society. Nobody would dare to stand in his way.'

---

'It would, of course, have been far more appropriate for my late brother to have spoken next, but that is clearly not possible.

'Like Albus, and like all too many of you gathered here today, I have lost many friends and family members at the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named and his minions. I hope I may presume to call young Harry Potter a friend, and now he is the last person to die at the hands of this evil man -- or rather, it seems, by his own hand while killing the man who killed Harry's parents.

'I have heard much from Albus about young Harry over the years, so much so that I felt I already knew him. When I finally met him, of course, he did not recognise me. He and his two great friends were in my pub to hold a meeting. I was surprised, and reassured, to see that over twenty pupils followed them in, almost all showing great respect towards him. When I told Albus about the meeting, he was not surprised. Little surprised him, and he had known the boy for years, and seen how people reacted to him.

'As Albus had planned, I was able to be of some help and guidance to Harry Potter after my brother's death, though I can claim no credit -- I am certain he would have done as much without any help from me. I hope that, at the least, I was able to speed his efforts. I have hoped daily, since that significant day, that such speed did not lead to him confronting evil in its lair before he was truly ready. In my nightmares, I see him attacking He Who Must Not Be Named after a further year's preparation, and hence surviving.

'I do not -- rather, I cannot -- share the hope, shown by some who have already spoken, that Harry Potter is still alive. I fear that the energies he invoked to kill his enemies, channelled through him, killed him also, and that he, as the channel, left no trace. I note, however, that those who still have that hope know him far better than I ever did. I pray that they may be proved right.

'Rest in your well-earned peace, Harry Potter.

'Now, a few words from someone who needs an introduction, if only to explain why he was allowed in here. I don't know that answer, however.'

---

'Rather harsh words there. I say, let bygones be bygones.

'I first met Harry when I was worried that Sirius Black was going to hunt him down and kill him. Apparently, that was the last thing Harry had to worry about, but I didn't learn that until some years after. I saw him again when he bravely persisted with the Triwizard Tournament. At the end of that, of course, he told us that You-Know-Who was back. I feared he was right -- Dumbledore certainly believed him -- but I couldn't admit that. I convinced myself he was lying, and did all I could to discredit him, instead of taking effective action. I think I'm probably one of the people that Miss Weasley thinks should be in Azkaban now ...'

'Of course you are!'

'Now, remember, I did lose my job over it. Isn't that enough?'

'No. And if Harry really is dead, why aren't you in Azkaban?'

'Uh ... where was I? Oh, yes; finally, I saw the man himself at the Ministry, fighting with Harry and Dumbledore. So did dozens of others. It became impossible to deny his return any longer, and equally impossible to keep my position. Unfortunately, it had also become impossible for Harry to place any trust in the Ministry, which he considered to have betrayed him.'

'Because you had betrayed him!'

'In any case, whatever the truth of the matter, the fact remains that he sought no help from the Ministry when he finally had proof of You-Know-Who's whereabouts, and that he went alone. His brave act ensured his death ...'

'No!'

'... and probably saved the lives of some of the Aurors who would have been sent to help him. Rest in peace, Mr Potter.

'I didn't interrupt you! Augh! Get them off me!'

---

'Finite Incantatem! Ron may have called himself the dumbest, but I know that Ginny meant me when she referred to her stupid brother.

'I am speaking here today partly for myself, and partly for the Minister, Mr Scrimgeour, who felt that his personal presence would not be welcome. I will read his words first.

'"As Minister for Magic, I have an important position in our society, and expect that to be respected. Harry, however, always prized loyalty to his friends above mere titles. I know that he never considered me a friend, merely as someone who wanted to use Harry's fame to shore up his own position. He said once that the Ministry hadn't been as keen to be his friend during the first year after the return of He Who Must Not Be Named, and of course, he had ample reason to be bitter about the Ministry's treatment then, under the previous Minister. I would willingly attend the service in person, but I feel I am respecting his wishes better by remaining absent.

'"I would like to make two points known, however. The first, and lesser, is that the full bounties for He Who Must Not Be Named and each of his supporters, including the younger Malfoy and Snape, will be paid into his vault. I hope that he is, as many yet hope, still alive to enjoy this money, which is a considerable sum. Failing that, his heirs will be well provided for.

'"The second point is that Harry Potter has been, perhaps posthumously, awarded the highest honour the wizarding world has to offer. I am aware that the Order of Merlin had become somewhat devalued in recent years. Because of this, I take great pleasure in announcing a new and untainted award, together with its first recipient. Harry Potter is therefore awarded the very first Order of Harry Potter, First Class."

'Yes, it's true, Ginny.

'Speaking for myself now: I knew, and liked, Harry for the last three years of my time at Hogwarts: his first three years there. However, I'm ashamed to admit I put my career before both friendship and family. I rejected what Harry had told the then-Minister, and rejected my family, who insisted on believing the truth. Then my pride stopped me apologising to them, even once the Ministry had accepted that Harry had been right all along. I've apologised to my family. Most of them have accepted my apology, and I understand why Ginny can't yet. I hope she's right about Harry -- I never did have a chance to apologise to him, and I wrote a letter about him that I'm particularly ashamed of, and which I would particularly like to apologise for. I'm glad to hear from Ron that he destroyed it. Perhaps, if I can apologise to Harry in person, Ginny will finally forgive me.

'So I won't say rest in peace either, because I hope that somewhere, Harry is still alive, and that he'll come back to my sister.'

---

'There's a lot o' folks here. I guess yeh didn' all know Harry. It sounds from what I've heard today as if on'y Ron an' Hermione really knew him, an' Ginny, o' course. I never heard about him an' the Dementors, f'r instance. An' I didn' know about the medal. He's the firs' new person ter get a medal named after him in cent'ries!

'I had ter carry baby Harry from the ruins o' James an' Lily's house. He was still clutched in Lily's arms; jus' bein' dead wasn' enough ter make her let go o' him. I had ter take him ter where Professor Dumbledore was going ter leave him, safe in the Muggle world. I didn' want ter leave him there, but the Headmaster insisted.

'Then I went ter fetch him from them Muggles an' deliver his letter an' take him ter Diagon Alley. I saw what they were like, an' it wasn' a pretty sigh'. An' I saw how he'd grown up, an' how he reacted when he saw Diagon Alley for the firs' time. He was a bit small for his age -- well, I think everyone is -- but nothin' else they'd done had any effect on him. It was wonderful to watch him in the shops, seein' our world for the firs' time he could remember.

'Then at Hogwarts, he learnt abou' prejudice agains' Muggle-borns, he learnt abou' the way werewolves get treated, he learnt that people turn on yeh for something yeh didn' do. Of course, he was a kid, and no kid's perfect, so he also turned on one o' his best friends jus' 'cause she was worried about him. So he learnt that he was on'y human. He musta learnt some o' the things in lessons, too, since he got loads o' O.W.L.s.

'He also learnt how ter fight evil, an' he saw examples of it, like when Dumbledore was betrayed an' killed right in front o' him. I didn' believe Harry when he told me wha' happened. He was righ', o' course.

'An' he was righ' on that las' day when he wen' an' killed You-Know-Who an' all them Death Eaters. He was righ' ter leave his friends behind an' not risk their lives, and he was righ' ter think he had a plan ter kill 'em all.

'He musta known he'd die after. Why did he have to be righ' about that?!'

---

'I'll try to keep mine short, having experienced a Bat-Bogey Hex before. I've just learnt that I first met Potter even before Wea- Ron Weasley did. We didn't become instant friends, though; more like instant enemies. He didn't trust me. I find it ironic that so many people have mentioned the Ministry's refusal to believe Potter. I've found out that he spent most of the sixth year telling people I was a Death Eater, and I was plotting something big. Yet none of his "friends" would believe him, any more than the Ministry had, the year before. He was right, of course, but I couldn't go through with it at the end. I couldn't bring myself to kill Dumbledore in cold blood.

'Harry saw that, and when he found me on guard duty two months ago, he was willing to listen to me.

'I'll repeat that -- I planned to kill Dumbledore, and the plan worked, though at the last minute I couldn't deal the deathblow myself. Potter knew that, and yet he still trusted me enough to listen, when I might have been summoning help. Why would he trust me? I can't answer that, and I've thought about it a lot since. In his position, I would simply have killed someone like me. But he let me live, while he died.

'I've wondered a lot since then, what would have happened if he had accepted my friendship. I don't suppose it was ever likely, really, but listening to everyone speak today makes me think I would have become a very different person. Maybe that would have made everything come out differently, and maybe he'd be a living hero now. With his own medal. I can't believe it.

'Rest in peace, Harry Potter. Knowing that you once lived, and live no more, will give me no peace.'

---

'I am certain you're surprised to see me here. I would just like to begin by saying, for what I hope is the second-to-last time, that Professor Dumbledore, a master of Legilimency, "told" me in his last moments that he was poisoned by his own actions, and had only an hour at most to live. I insisted that he could be saved, but he demanded -- pleaded -- that I carry out the plan that Malfoy was failing to complete, by killing him. Thus, I convinced the Dark Lord of my loyalty to him, making me a more effective double agent, though now one whose reports nobody would trust.

'I was not aware that Malfoy had been studying Legilimency, and knew of our last discussion. I was therefore very surprised when Potter let me live, and ordered me to Apparate to safety with Malfoy.

'I had always viewed Potter as a younger version of his father. I hated him on sight, and it was no problem, later, to play my part as a loyal Death Eater, spying on Potter and the Headmaster.

'I have only learnt recently that Potter was not the spoilt hero-worshipped child I originally believed him to be. In fact, he didn't know his own history until a few weeks before he started at the school. I wish now that I had known that.

'Nothing that I ever did gave Potter any reason to trust me. Even Malfoy had more reason to be trusted. Never could I have imagined that Potter would save my life ...

'I would certainly never have believed that he had the power to kill the Dark Lord and all the other Death Eaters. I hope that Miss Weasley and the others are right as, for reasons both selfish and unselfish, I need him to be alive.

'The unselfish reason should be obvious -- I, and the Ministry, would both like to know how he achieved what he did. Nobody thought that it was even possible.

'The selfish reason is that Potter is the only witness, apart from Malfoy, to Professor Dumbledore's death. Malfoy's word, as a Death Eater, will mean nothing to a court, while Potter's word, understandably, will mean everything. I will soon face a trial for using an Unforgivable Curse, and only Potter's word could possibly keep me out of Azkaban now.

'I have admitted my selfishness, and now I end by saying: Harry Potter, if you yet live, I hope you soon return to the embrace of your girlfriend and friends. If not, I fear that I have betrayed you to your death as surely as I did your parents, and I deserve this fate. You did not. Rest in peace.'

---

'I feel really awkward here. None of you know me, and I don't understand half of what you've said. It wasn't until Hermione Granger wrote to us to tell us what Harry had done that we knew he'd been dead for a week. Apparently she was the only one who understood us Muggles well enough to try to let us know in terms we could understand, and in a normal letter.

'Even my parents were shocked when they read the letter. They never thought their nephew would save anyone's life, including theirs. I couldn't help remembering how I'd treated him when we were children. So I wrote back and asked if I could speak at this service. It's a sort of public apology. It's too late to apologise to Harry, so this is all I can do now.

'If I had known that Harry would save so many people's lives, not just w-wizard ones but ordinary people too, it seems, I wouldn't have done any of what I did.

'Poor Harry. Now I wish he could have lived to marry the pretty girl who spoke earlier. Those twins were right when they said he deserved a Happy Ever After ending. I certainly put too much effort in stopping him having a nice childhood, and I'm so sorry about that now.

'Rest in the peace I never let you have a moment of, Harry.'

---

'I was one of the very few who knew where Harry Potter was living as a child. I took pleasure then, when I heard rumours that he was dead, of knowing the truth. I wish I knew with as much certainty now what happened to him in his last moments. I regret there is one thing I feel I ought to tell you all now. I have already told Miss Weasley this, after she gave her eulogy.

'It may not be generally known, but all Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts cast a charm on themselves, which causes a portrait to appear in the Headmaster's office in the event of their death. This allows their experience to advise the present holder of the office. A period of time has to pass first, during which time the subject sleeps and cannot be woken. This period depends on the nature of their death.

'I am sorry to have to tell you all this, but it appears Professor Dumbledore cast this same charm on Harry -- a most unusual event. The portrait of Harry has appeared in my office, but it is still asleep. I will, of course, tell you when it awakes. I'm sorry. I did not realise the depth of your conviction that he was alive.'

'Severus, as you're well aware, portraits cannot testify, as they are imperfect recreations of their subjects. Your hope appears to be as doomed as Miss Weasley's.

'I was proud that Harry was Sorted into Gryffindor, once his parents' house, and the house of which I was the Head. I was delighted when his skill as a Quidditch player was revealed, and when it led to three years of the team winning the Quidditch Cup. Although I know that he wanted to become an Auror, I am certain that he had the talent to become a very good professional Quidditch player. I am dismayed that his death has denied him both possibilities. I am glad to hear of the honour the Ministry has paid him, but I wish he could have lived to see it.

'Rest in peace, Harry.'

---

'My notes are out of date now. I'll read them anyway. We didn't rehearse the whole service, because we couldn't get everyone together for a rehearsal, otherwise we'd have known that, and changed some of our eulogies.

'Harry stayed with my family often, and was always welcome at our house. Molly said that he was like another son to us and I know that Ginny had plans to make him officially part of our family. We've just heard Professor McGonagall's words, though. Excuse me ...

'Harry saved my life once. He'd already saved my daughter's life, as you've heard, and later saved my youngest son's life. In fact, apparently more than once. I think I need to hear some more of these stories about him. I'm sure I'll be hearing them soon.

'The rest of what I wrote ... it's all about reasons why Harry can't be dead. But, apparently, none of them are good enough to be true, now.

'So, I don't have anything left to say.

'Harry, you should be alive, to enjoy the results of your heroism. I can't believe that you're not, and I'd like to speak to the portrait, if I may, to find out whatever I can, and to say how sorry I am that ... that I can't talk to you ... in person.'

---

'I had three great friends at school: James, Sirius and Peter. When Lily started going out with James, she became a fourth friend. Then, first James and Lily died, then Peter -- or so I thought -- with Sirius being imprisoned as a Death Eater. Then we found that Peter was the Death Eater, and then Sirius died. Now Peter's body has been found, and formally identified. I identified it, just as I had done before with James and Lily.

'I have to believe that their son is also dead, after what Minerva has told us. I was one of those who still hoped there was a chance. At least he did what he wanted to do; he killed both Voldemort and Peter, who betrayed his parents to him. But Snape, who gave Voldemort a reason to kill James, Lily and Harry, owes his life to Harry.

'Someone said "The good die young". All right, I believe it, stop proving it! Lily and Harry, in particular, had so much potential that they never got a chance to realise. I realise that by killing Voldemort and his supporters, Harry has already done far more with his life than -- well, to be honest, more than anyone here today. The medal just proves what I already knew.

'I wish there was still hope for him. Yet again, I have to face the fact that another friend, another member of the Order of the Phoenix, will never again say hello to me.

'So many people have already said this, but I can't think of anything better. Rest in peace, Harry.'

---

'Thank you everyone. As I said at the start, I hoped this service would never happen. But we've been worrying that it would for years.'

'In our first year, it seemed like a great adventure when we helped Harry to stop Quirrell from stealing the Philosopher's Stone to bring Voldemort back. We didn't really grasp that he could have been killed, until he was recovering in the hospital wing.'

'Our second year at Hogwarts was very different. Lots of people were being attacked, including Hermione. I saw her just lying in the hospital wing, not moving, not reacting. She'd been turned to stone, but it was as if she was dead.'

'I don't remember that, of course, but I remember discovering that I was suddenly in the hospital wing, and three weeks had passed. I think that was the year we all truly realised just what "mortal" meant, especially after Harry and Ginny told us about facing Voldemort in the Chamber of Secrets.'

'Harry's been in danger at least once a year since. We were a bit luckier -- nothing threatened either of us in our fourth year. But we did learn that You-Know-Who was back, and suddenly nobody was safe.'

'Especially Cedric Diggory, who Voldemort ordered killed without a second thought. I believe that's when Harry realised just how easily someone can be killed. A moment's silence, please, for poor Cedric.'

...

'Thanks. We still can't go into detail about what we've done since.'

'I think that all of you know that the Ministry and the Daily Prophet's idea of effective action, following Voldemort's return, was to discredit Harry. It was over a year after the return before Minister Fudge accepted that Harry was telling the truth all along. Harry always found it hard to trust his successor, after his experiences that year.'

'Then Professor Dumbledore was killed. You've already heard Snape say how Harry was there, an invisible witness.'

'Snape claims that the Headmaster told him that, and that he could "feel" Harry's presence anyway. Given that he didn't attack Harry, that claim is why he was allowed to speak at this service.'

'That's for anyone who was wondering about that. I still thought he and Malfoy shouldn't have been allowed to speak.'

'Ginny and I persuaded Ron that Harry saved their lives, and that he would have let them speak.'

'Yeah. We've only got their word they didn't just Apparate out of there like cowards when they saw Harry, though.'

'We were going to end with a prayer for Harry's safe return ... but Professor McGonagall has confirmed the worst. It's ... too late for that prayer, now.'

'Harry saved us all from Vo-Vold-Voldemort, and he saved our lives several times before.'

'He saved our lives again by his insistence on going there alone. The Minister said earlier that Harry could have had Aurors supporting him if he'd asked, but it was typical of Harry that he didn't want to endanger anyone else.'

'Except Death Eaters, and we're not mourning them.'

'It's been said a few times, but it is true, and worth repeating: Harry should have lived ... to enjoy the peace he gave us. This service is to console us -- it does nothing for Harry. The new medal would have been nice if Harry had lived to know about it -- now it's just a salve on the Ministry's guilty conscience. I agree with Ginny. Harry obviously thought this victory was worth sacrificing his life for. For once, I think he was wrong.'

'I think so too. Please rise for the rest of the service.'

---