The Death of Voldemort

The Death of Voldemort

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Following the events of Goblet of Fire, Harry had his fifteenth birthday at the Dursleys, but a week later went to stay at the Burrow while waiting for his fifth year at Hogwarts to begin. After another week, Hermione came to stay with the Weasleys too.

However, there was an unexpected problem. The fifth book was delayed for years, meaning the original stay of a few weeks at the Burrow stretched to several years too.

Ron and Hermione found being together in the same house too tempting and, on Hermione's sixteenth birthday, they finally yielded to temptation and spent the afternoon together in Ron's bed. For a while after that, the two of them were only rarely seen in the afternoon.

Harry and Ginny felt the urge to copy them, but managed to wait until Ginny too had her sixteenth birthday. Following that afternoon together, they also were rarely seen in the afternoon.

Arthur and Molly Weasley, accepting the inevitable, moved Hermione into Ron's room and Harry into Ginny's room, hoping that they would now at least see their two youngest children in the afternoons. (It worked, as each couple was now able to spend the whole night together instead.)

During the long wait, first Fred and George, then Harry, Ron and Hermione, and finally Ginny learnt to Apparate. Rumours spread amongst the family that Hermione was good enough at it to Apparate out of her clothes, and was trying to teach Ron the same trick. However, she resisted all Ginny's entreaties to teach her and Harry the same trick, and wouldn't even confirm or deny that she could do it.

*

'There's an owl for you, Harry,' said Mrs Weasley one Saturday morning as Harry and Ginny came into the kitchen together. Harry saw an eagle owl sitting where Errol would usually be. Errol, apparently too nervous to stay near it, was hiding just outside the window. He took the letter, and looked curiously at the writing: 'Harry Potter. Somewhere'.

'I wonder who it's from,' said Ginny, looking at it. 'Are you going to open it any time soon?'

Harry sat at the table, broke the wax seal bearing a florid M, and opened it. 'It's from Malfoy's dad,' he said, glancing at the signature first. He started to read it, with Ginny sitting beside him reading it too.

To whomsoever it may or may not concern,

I regret to have to inform you that, following a long period of frailty, the Dark Lord has passed away of old age. This tragic and untimely death ...

'Well, of course it's untimely,' said Harry. 'He ought to have died years ago, long before he killed my parents.'

... has caused serious disruption for his plans for the domination of evil over good, ...

'Good,' said Ginny.

... thus forcing us to delay our plans while a successor is chosen to take his place.

'I can just guess who he wants that to be,' commented Harry.

Have you no respect? I write to you out of courtesy, and you cannot even return the courtesy by reading the letter without interrupting it.

'He's weird,' said Ginny.

I close this letter by inviting all recipients to attend the Dark Lord's funeral, which will be held near the Riddle family graves at 1:30 pm on the 20th of June. You may each bring a guest. This is, of course, a formal occasion, so dress robes will be worn. A buffet lunch will be provided after the service. For entertainment, a Death Eaters' rampage through several nearby Muggle towns has been scheduled for 3:30 pm.

Love and curses,

Lucius Malfoy

R.S.V.P.

P.S. It would be appreciated if the Boy Who Lived would give a eulogy at the service.

'Do you want to come with me?' Harry asked Ginny as he folded up the letter.

'Well, it might be fun if it isn't a trap. I wouldn't mind seeing Tom Riddle dead and buried.'

'I need to go and buy some new dress robes. I haven't needed any since I was fourteen.'

'Oh. Harry, I can't go. Mine are that old too, they won't fit me. I can't afford to buy more.'

'You're my guest,' he said. 'I'll pay for them. Is it OK if we go up to Diagon Alley today, Mrs Weasley?'

'Yes, of course, dear,' she said, smiling at him.

The two of them Apparated to Diagon Alley and returned a couple of hours later, both looking happy. Harry had bought the same sort of bottle green robes he'd had for the Yule Ball, and Ginny had some deep blue robes. They changed into them and came back downstairs to show them off to everyone.

'Are you sure this funeral is real, and not a trap?' asked Hermione. 'I don't like the sound of it.'

'Oh, don't worry, I've checked with the Ministry, and there's no doubt -- a death certificate has been issued for Voldemort, and the funeral is a trap.'

'What?' said Hermione, looking horrified.

'You're taking my daughter into a Death Eater trap?' asked Mrs Weasley, looking equally horrified.

'It's all right, we know about it,' said Ginny. 'So it isn't a problem.'

'Of course it's a problem!' said Ron. 'I'm not letting my little sister go walking straight into a trap!'

'Ginny, you are not going,' said Mr Weasley.

'Harry will be with me,' said Ginny. 'Really, there's no problem.'

'Except that I need to learn to waltz. Ginny said she'd help me learn,' said Harry.

'Why do you need to waltz?' asked Percy.

'I want to dance on Voldemort's grave,' said Harry, 'and the letter emphasises that it's a formal occasion, so waltzing seemed the best choice.'

'Can I just get this straight?' asked Ron. 'You are going to You-Know-Who's funeral, although you know it's a trap?'

'That's right,' said Harry.

'You're taking my little sister into the trap with you?'

'Of course. I love her, remember.'

'It's a stupid way to show it!' snapped Ron.

'Then, in front of all those Death Eaters who are bound to have been invited, you're going to waltz on the grave?' asked Hermione.

'Yes. Well, doing a jig on his grave wouldn't be appropriate for a formal occasion, would it?' said Harry.

'I've got one more question,' said Ron. 'Where do you want us to bury whatever bits we find?'

'Godric's Hollow, next to my parents, please,' said Harry with a grin.

Fred looked at George. 'He's flipped. He's finally, really, truly flipped.'

George looked at Fred. 'Worse than that, he's taking our sister with him!'

'No, he's not,' said Mrs Weasley.

'He certainly isn't,' said Mr Weasley.

'I'll be safe!' insisted Ginny.

'With all those Death Eaters around?' asked Percy.

'Harry's seventeen now. When he was only twelve, he destroyed Tom Riddle's other self and killed a Basilisk to rescue me. He knows a lot more now than he did then. I will be safe.'

'No. I don't care how much Harry knows,' said Percy. 'You'll be facing all the surviving Death Eaters. All of them, and they won't think twice about using the Killing Curse.'

'Even if they don't, you wouldn't stand a chance against so many of them,' said Mrs Weasley.

'Harry, this is absurd. You made us all safe from his menace for all those years; you can't let yourself be killed at his funeral!' exclaimed Mr Weasley.

'They'll kill you both -- can't you understand that, Harry?' demanded Ron.

'You are not going! Either of you!' said Mrs Weasley.

Harry sighed. 'Look, how about if I can just convince Ron and Hermione?'

'Well ... all right,' said Mr Weasley. 'If they'll let you walk into the trap after you convince them, I'll believe it's safe.'

'OK,' said Ron. 'Do you want to talk out in the field or in my room?'

'I haven't been up to your room since I moved into Ginny's,' said Harry.

'OK, let's go there then.'

The trio, plus Ginny, went up to Ron's room. Harry looked round it. 'It's definitely more feminine than it used to be. And more studious -- you never had this many books, Ron.'

'Apparition Tricks for the Young at Heart,' Ginny read on the spine of the nearest book.

Hermione grabbed the book from the pile. 'Don't read that!' She was blushing.

'Anyway, never mind that,' said Harry. 'I told you the funeral is a trap ...'

'We had actually guessed that,' said Ron.

'... because I took the invitation to the Ministry while we were off buying robes, and showed it to the Head Auror there.'

'You mean, the Ministry is setting the trap?' asked Hermione. 'You two are just going to be there to make the Death Eaters think you're too stupid to think it's a trap, and then they'll be trapped?'

Harry and Ginny both nodded.

'So the Aurors will be making quite sure you're safe?'

'That's right,' said Ginny. 'Now you know why Harry isn't worried that it's a trap. Isn't he clever?'

'I'm still not convinced you two will be safe,' said Ron. 'I suppose you won't be in too much danger with all those Aurors lurking about, though.'

'The Ministry isn't going to let anything happen to The Boy Who Lived,' said Ginny, positively. 'So I'm safe too, as long as I'm with him.'

'But we don't want too many people to know in advance about the trap, in case they give it away. Even at the Ministry, only the Aurors are allowed to know. So we were trying not to let any of you know. Now that you do know, please don't tell the others -- just tell them something like there's a secret reason we'll be safe, and we've convinced you it's OK,' said Harry.

'OK then,' said Hermione.

*

Over the next week and a half, Harry and Ginny were often seen waltzing in a corner of the kitchen. There wasn't enough room there to waltz properly but, as Harry said, they didn't want to dance off the grave at the funeral, so it was good practice.

The day of the funeral dawned, and Harry and Ginny, all dressed up in their new dress robes, met the other Weasleys and Hermione in the kitchen.

'You had better be right about this,' said Hermione fiercely. 'If you come back dead, I'll kill you!'

'I wouldn't want that,' said Harry, grinning at her. 'Don't worry about it.'

'I can't help worrying,' she said. 'I've been worrying about you for years, you can't expect me to stop just when you're going to Voldemort's funeral.'

'You-Know-Who.' growled Ron.

'He's dead, it doesn't matter any more,' said Ginny. 'And we're going to go and waltz on his grave to prove it.'

Percy shook his head. 'I don't know what you told Ron and Hermione, but I still think it's a really stupid idea.'

'You'd better bring our sister back OK, too,' said Fred.

'Ginny, are you sure you want to go?' asked Mrs Weasley.

'Don't go just to avoid upsetting Harry,' said Mr Weasley. 'I'd rather Harry didn't go either, but he's not our son, and we can't order him not to go.'

'I want to go!' said Ginny insistently. 'After what he put me through in my first year, I want to dance on his grave just as much as Harry does!'

'Look, I promise, we'll be back!' said Harry. Despite Ron and Hermione's assurances, the arguments had continued, and he was getting bored with them. Even Hermione was expressing renewed doubts, now that the day itself was here. 'Ready, Ginny?'

She nodded, and the two of them Disapparated.

'That's one promise he's got to keep,' said Ron.

*

The funeral was crowded when they arrived. They saw Hagrid immediately, talking to Dumbledore and Snape. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were there too, as were Crabbe and Goyle with people Harry assumed must be their parents. He recognised Walden Macnair from the Ministry of Magic, and Peter Pettigrew, and Nott with his parents ... apart from Hagrid and Dumbledore, it seemed everyone there was a Death Eater or potential Death Eater.

Lucius detached himself from the crowd and came over to the two of them. 'Potter. Have you prepared a eulogy as requested?'

'Malfoy. Yes.'

Lucius looked at Ginny, but said nothing to her, merely nodded and returned to the group he'd been talking to. Harry wondered what was in a small side room of the church, which Death Eaters seemed all to be filing into, and emerging later, looking distressed.

'Shall we have a look?' he asked Ginny.

'Anything that upsets Death Eaters has to be worth looking at,' she replied, and they went in to see.

Inside the room was the coffin, supported on trestles. The lid was open, allowing the body to be viewed before the service.

'They've made him look very life-like,' she commented.

'He should have hired them to make him up before he died,' Harry responded. The two of them left the room laughing, and earned the glares of several Death Eaters.

After a while, everyone went into the church and was seated. Some large Death Eaters bore in the ebony and mahogany coffin, and laid it on the supports prepared for it. The priest read the service, after which Lucius signalled to Harry, who walked up to the lectern with his notes, cleared his throat and began.

'Sonorus. As you may know, my name is Harry Potter and I hated Voldemort, so I'm glad he's dead. He killed my parents when I was only fifteen months old, and he tried to kill me too, but I beat him. Some world-conquering evil wizard he was, hmmm? Beaten by a fifteen-month-old baby.

'He bothered me again in my first year at school, so I killed his host. Then a memory of his 16-year-old self attacked some of my friends, so I killed him and the magic book he rode in on. Then an Animagus Death Eater was a big problem, but we were all ready to send him to Azkaban when a "reformed" Death Eater (and you know who you are -- yes, you) allowed him to escape and revive Voldemort.

'Then, of course, Voldemort sneaked a Death Eater onto the Hogwarts staff and fixed it so that I'd be in the Triwizard Championship, and even made sure that I won. Then Voldemort killed the champion who should have won, and I fought him to a draw and went back to school.

'Now, you may wonder why I'm even here at his funeral. The reason's obvious -- I want to make sure he's dead. I want to spit on his grave. Then I want to dance on it. I'm glad he's dead. He was a real bastard. Thank you for listening. Quietus.'

Harry went back to his seat. Ginny gave him an encouraging smile, and squeezed his hand.

Hagrid was next to give a eulogy. He fumbled with his notes and dropped the page on the floor.

'Well, I haven't had ter do anythin' like this before. I knew Tom Riddle at school -- he framed me fer opening the Chamber of Secrets, an' got me expelled. But Dumbledore -- great man, I owe him a lot -- believed I was innocent, an' kept me out of Azkaban.

'Harry's right. He was a bastard. I'm even gladder he's dead.'

Dumbledore stood next. He had no notes, and had apparently memorised his eulogy.

'Sonorus. I taught Tom Riddle Transfiguration. He was one of the most brilliant students I have ever met. Unfortunately, he chose to abuse his intelligence in the cause of evil, when he could have achieved so much good if he had only chosen that path.

'I cannot argue with Harry Potter on this. Riddle's activities and his followers, many of whom I see here today, not only led to the deaths of Harry's parents, but to the deaths of many other pupils of mine, starting with Myrtle Green and ending with Cedric Diggory. The world is indeed better for his own death, and also far safer. Quietus.'

Lucius Malfoy took his place at the lectern to give the last eulogy.

'Sonorus. My name is Lucius Malfoy, but you all know that. The Dark Lord was the best Dark Wizard you could ever hope to be enslaved by. It was a real privilege to have the Dark Mark burnt into my arm by him. He overcame his humble beginnings to threaten, torment and murder Mudbloods and half-bloods throughout the country. Oh, and Muggles too, when they were in season.

'He was an Evil Wizard to inspire all of us to greater evil, and we owe it to his memory to commit further atrocities. After the church service, there will be a buffet lunch served, and at 3:30 we have scheduled a Death Eaters' rampage through several nearby towns, which I hope you will all join in with. Thank you.

'Oh! Before I forget -- the Dark Lord's untimely death has shattered the career plan laid out for my son since before his conception. So, if any of you are interested in adopting, renting or enslaving a blond pretty-boy who I'm assured swings both ways, please see me during the buffet lunch. Quietus.'

Harry was surprised by that last comment, and glanced over at Draco Malfoy, who didn't appear to be taking his father's comment as a joke. For the first time, Harry felt sorry for him.

After this final eulogy, the bearers bore the coffin out to the cemetery and lowered it into the grave that had been prepared. The priest read the final words of the service, and signalled to Lucius, who stepped forward, took a handful of earth, and tossed it into the grave. Dumbledore and then Hagrid did the same. Harry stepped forward without taking any earth, and spat on the coffin. Lucius glared at him; he obviously hadn't realised Harry had meant exactly what he said.

The priest gestured with his wand, and the earth piled beside the grave lifted and poured down into the grave, filling it. The top of the grave was as level as could be expected. Lucius started to usher everyone toward the marquee that had been erected, in which the buffet lunch was being served.

Harry bowed to Ginny, and took her hand. The two of them stepped onto the newly-filled grave and began to waltz. Harry relished the thunderstruck look on Lucius' face.

Lucius raised his wand, but too late. The dance had been the signal for the crowd of Aurors surrounding the cemetery to attack, and cries of 'Stupefy!' rang out across the cemetery as the Death Eaters rapidly collapsed on the ground.

Soon, Harry, Ginny, Hagrid and Dumbledore were the only ones standing. The Aurors came into the cemetery and started binding all the Death Eaters. They hesitated at one, and looked at Dumbledore.

'Enervate.' said Dumbledore, and Snape revived and sat up, clutching his head.

'Nobody trusts him still,' Harry whispered to Ginny, who nodded back at him.

Harry looked around. There were several Aurors, the three Hogwarts teachers, Ginny and himself still standing. All the Death Eaters were bound, including Draco Malfoy.

'It seems a shame to waste the buffet lunch,' Harry said clearly. 'I'm sure it's safe to eat, since they were going to eat it. So why don't we all take advantage of it?'

Everyone agreed, and they went into the marquee. There were no Death Eaters inside, only four house-elves.

'This food's really nice,' Ginny commented after eating a couple of platefuls. 'I wonder if there's going to be any left? It'd be good to take some home. Tomorrow's the 21st, after all, and we're going to have a busy day.'

'Yes,' nodded Harry. 'Let's see if they've got a three-headed doggy bag.'

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