A group of people who looked very different from each other had taken up half of the chairs: the ragged and the well-dressed, the old and the young.

Most of Harry didn't know him, but he knew a few of them, including several members of the Order of the Phoenix: Kingsley Shackle, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Remus Lupin, the Weasleys, Bill, and Fleur with him, followed by Fred and George, who came in black dragon leather jackets. Then there are Lady Maxim, Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry's Squib neighbor Arabella Feige, the hairy bassist from the Wacky Sisters, Ernne Puran, the driver of the Knight Bus, the robes shop proprietor of Diagon Alley, Lady Morkin, and others who have only met Harry, such as the hostess at the Hogwarts Bar and the witch pushing the wagon on the Hogwarts Express.

The ghosts of the castle were there, too, barely visible in the bright sunlight, only faintly recognizable when they moved, they flickered ethereal in the bright air.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stepped into a row of chairs by the lake one by the lake and took their seats on the side.

People are whispering; It sounds like a breeze on the grass, but the birdsong is much louder.

The crowd continues to swell; Harry saw Neville sit down with Luna's help, and Harry suddenly developed a strong affection for both of them. The night Dumbledore died. Member, Harry knows why:. of two people...... It's likely that they've been taking out their coins regularly to check them out in anticipation of new gatherings......

Cornelius Fudge walked past them to the front row, his expression pained, and he turned his green bowler hat as usual; Harry then recognized Rita Skeeter, who was angry to see her clutching a notebook with her red-clawed hands; Then he saw Dolores Umbridge and twitched even more intensely, her toad-like face with an unbelievable expression of grief, her gray-brown curls tied with a black velvet bow.

As soon as she saw Ferenze the centaur standing by the lake like a sentry, she was stunned for a moment, and then she hurried to sit down on a seat far from here.

The faculty members were the last to take their seats, and Harry saw Scrimgeour sitting next to Professor McGonagall in the front row with a solemn and dignified expression.

Harry wondered if Scrimgeour and any of the dignitaries here were really saddened by Dumbledore's death, but at that moment, he heard a strange piece of music, as if it was from another world, so that he forgot his dislike for the Ministry of Magic and went around looking for its source. He's not the only one: lots of heads are turning, searching, and a little panicked.

"There," Ginny whispered to Harry.

Then he saw them, in the clear green waters of the lake in the sun, a few inches below the surface, which reminded him with horror of the Yin Corps; A mermaid choir was singing in an unfamiliar language he didn't understand, their pale faces rippling and their purple hair fluttering around. The music made the hairs on Harry's neck stand on end, and it didn't sound so pleasant. It weeps as a message of loss and despair.

He looked down at the singers' raw faces and had a feeling that, at the very least, they were saddened by Dumbledore's passing. Then Ginny nudged him again, and he looked around.

Hagrid was walking slowly down the aisle between the chairs. He wept silently, tears glistening with tears on his face, and Harry knew that he was holding Dumbledore's body, the purple velvet robe embellished with golden stars.

The scene caused a sharp pain in Harry's throat.

For a moment, the idea of that weird music and Dumbledore's body being so close to him seemed to take away all the warmth of that day. Ron's pale face was full of shock. Large tears quickly formed on Hermione and Ginny's knees.

They couldn't see what was going on in front of them.

Hagrid seemed to carefully place the body on the table. Now he retreated into the hallway, blowing his nose like a trumpet, and some of the men had expressions of disgust on their faces, and Harry saw that among them was Dolores Umbridge...... But Harry knew Dumbledore wouldn't care.

Harry tried to make a friendly gesture to Hagrid as he passed them, but Hagrid's eyes were so swollen that he could barely see the way. Harry glanced at the last row where Hagrid was heading, and Harry realized who was waiting, a man in a jacket and a pair of trousers, each the size of a small tent, and it was the giant Glop, with his big, rock-like head hanging down, docile as a human.

Hagrid sat down next to his half-brother, and Grope patted Hagrid's head so hard that the legs of his chair sank into the ground. Harry had an amazing urge to laugh for a moment. But then the music stopped, and he turned his head to look ahead again.

A short, thick-haired man in a modest black robe stood up and was now standing in front of Dumbledore's body.

Harry couldn't hear what he was saying. Only a few words could float over hundreds of heads to them.

"Nobility of the soul" ...... "intellectual contribution" ...... "greatness of the heart......

None of that makes that sense.

It had nothing to do with the Dumbledore Harry knew. He suddenly remembered Dumbledore's thoughts on the words: "stupid", "dregs", "crying nose", "twisted", and he resisted the urge to laugh again......

What's wrong with him? There was a splash to his left, and he saw the merfolk come to the surface to listen.

He remembered that Dumbledore had crouched at the water's edge two years ago, very close to where Harry was now sitting, and had spoken to the merfolk leader in merfolk language.

Harry wondered where Dumbledore had learned merfolk talk. There were so many things he hadn't asked him, so many things he should have said...... Then, without warning, the terrible truth struck him, and today it has become more complete and undeniable.

Dumbledore is dead and gone...... He held the cold box pendant so tightly in his hand that it hurt him, but he couldn't stop the tears from welling up in his eyes: he turned his back to Ginny and the others, and looked across the lake towards the Forbidden Forest, while the short, black-clad man was still humming...... There's something moving in the woods.

The horses have come to pay their respects. They didn't go outside, but Harry saw them standing motionless looking at the wizards on this side, half of them hiding in the shadows, bowing on their side. Harry remembered his first nightmarish night in the Forbidden Forest, his first encounter with what he later learned was Voldemort, how he faced him, and how he and Dumbledore had discussed fighting a losing war shortly after. Dumbledore said that it was important to fight, fight, and keep fighting, because only then could evil be kept out, if not completely eradicated......

Harry sat in the fiery sun, and one by one he saw clearly the people who cared for him, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; But now those are over. He could no longer let anyone stand between him and Voldemort; He must forever abandon the illusion that he should have been gone from the age of one: the protection of his parents' arms meant that nothing could hurt him.

He never woke up from his nightmares, and there were never comforting whispers in the night that he was actually safe, they only existed in Harry's imagination; His last and greatest protector is dead, and he is alone more than ever.

The short man in the black robe said a lot, but Harry didn't listen to it, and finally waited for him to finish and returned to his seat. Harry waited for someone else to stand up; He expected someone to speak, most likely a minister, but no one moved.

Then several people screamed. Bright white flames erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table on which he was lying: they rose higher and higher, obscuring the remains. The white smoke swirled into the air and formed a strange shape: Harry's heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, and he felt like he had seen a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue, but the next second the flames were gone. It became a white marble tomb that contained Dumbledore's body and the table on which he rested.

Suddenly, a rain of arrows whistled through the air, causing more shouts, but they all fell far beyond the crowd. Harry knew it was a sacrifice of the centaurs: he saw them turn and disappear into the cold bushes. At the same time, the merfolk slowly sank into the green water and disappeared.

Harry looked at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione: Ron's face was tense, as if he had been blinded by the sun. Hermione's face glistened with tears, but Ginny didn't cry anymore. She responded to Harry's gaze, her gaze determined and fiery, just as she had hugged Harry after that Quidditch match in his absence, knowing that their hearts were connected at that moment, and when he told Ginny what he was going to do, she would accept his decision and not say "be careful" and "don't do it", because she would not take him lightly.

So he made up his mind and was ready to tell her what he knew he had to say after Dumbledore's death.

"Listen to me......, Ginny," he said very calmly, as the people began to stand up and the buzzing conversation grew louder, "I can't bother you anymore." We have to stop seeing each other. We can't be together. ”

With a twisted and oddly twisted smile, she said, "For some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?" ”

"The last few weeks with you were like...... It's like living in a world where there's no one else," Harry said. "But I can't...... We can't...... I have something to do on my own right now. ”

She didn't cry, she just looked at him.

"Voldemort would take advantage of those close to his enemies. He used to use you as bait just because you were my best friend's sister. Think about how dangerous you will be if we continue. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try to find me through you. ”

"What if I don't care?" Ginny said fiercely.

"I care," Harry said. "If it was your funeral today, how would you think I would feel...... That's my fault......"

She turned her face and looked at the lake.

"I never really gave up on you," she said. "Didn't really give up. I always want to...... Hermione told me to live well, suggested that I go on a date with someone else, and relax in front of you, because I couldn't speak when you and I were in the same room, remember? She thought if I could show — a little more self, maybe you'd pay a little more attention to me. ”

"Clever girl, that Hermione," Harry squeezed out a small smile, "I just wish I had confessed to you sooner." So that we can have a long time...... A few months...... Maybe a few years ......"

"But you've been too busy saving the wizarding world," Ginny smiled reluctantly. "Hmm...... I can't say I was surprised. I knew it was going to end like this. I know you won't be happy unless you go after Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much. ”

Harry couldn't take it anymore, and he felt that if he sat next to her any longer, his resolve would waver. He saw Ron holding Hermione, who was crying on his shoulder, stroking her hair, tears dripping down his own long nose. Harry stood up in pain, with his back to Ginny and Dumbledore's grave, and walked along the lake.

It's more bearable to move around than to sit still: it's better to set out as quickly as possible to find the soul shards and kill Voldemort than to wait to do them......

"Harry!" He turned. Rufus Scrimgeour walked briskly towards Harry on crutches and limping. "I want to talk to you...... Do you mind if I walk with you? ”

"Don't mind." Harry said nonchalantly, continuing to walk forward.

"Harry, this is a terrible tragedy," Scrimgeour said calmly, "and I can't describe how shocked I was when I heard about it. Dumbledore was a very great wizard. As you know, we have different opinions, but no one knows better than me - ""What do you want?" Harry asked bluntly.

Scrimgeour looked a little annoyed, but as before, he quickly adjusted his expression to sad understanding.

"Of course, you hit hard," he said. "I know you're very close to Dumbledore. I think you might be his favorite student. The connection between the two of you—" "What do you want?" Harry paused and repeated.

Scrimgeour stopped, staring at Harry on crutches with a shrewd expression.

"I heard that he left school with you the night he died." "Who said that?" Harry said.

"After Dumbledore's death, someone cast a stun spell on a Death Eater in the tower. There are also two broomsticks there. The Ministry of Magic will do additions, Harry. "I'm glad to hear that," Harry said. Well, where I went with Dumbledore and what I did was my own business. He didn't want anyone else to know. "Such loyalty, of course, is admirable," Scrimgeour seemed struggling to contain his anger, "but Dumbledore is gone, Harry. He's gone. "He's only gone until there's no one in the school who is loyal to him anymore," Harry smiled involuntarily.