The mood of the gathering was somber but everyone tried to put on smiles as they greeted Chris. Chris knew they were trying to be ok so that she doesn't feel worse and Chris was trying to do the same for them.
After Aurelia, the Weasley twins, Sirius, Mrs. Weasley and Fleur hugged her, the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley was in the middle of greeting her when Chris's eyes found what — or rather who she was looking for.
Harry was walking out of the Weasley's kitchen holding a big pot and the moment he looked up, their eyes met and a smile spread through his entire face. He almost dropped the pot in his hurry to get to Chris but luckily Leyla who was coming out of the house just behind him caught the pot.
"Chris!" He ran over and was going to hug her but suddenly stopped just in front of her. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Hi."
"Hi."
This close Chris couldn't help but notice how tired Harry looked as if he was carrying the weight of the world alone, yet he smiled. He smiled for her and his perfect green eyes lit up.
"Chris, how are you —" Harry began but Mrs. Weasley interrupted him.
"Thank you for coming, darling. You too Mr. Norton and welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Creevy," Mrs. Weasley smiled softly.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, your house is beautiful. I only wish we had arrived in different circumstances," Mr. Creevy sighed.
"Yes, the losses have been too heavy," Mr. Weasley said sadly glancing at Sirius, who had bloodshot and puffy eyes as if he was crying for days without a break. And Chris knew he truly was since losing Remus, the last of his best friends wasn't have been easy for him.
Chris had last seen Sirius at Remus and Tonks's burial and he had looked worse then. He led the ceremony because none of Remus or Tonks's family was alive except for their one-and-a-half-year-old son, Teddy. It was extremely hard for Chris not to feel guilty looking at that little child, who didn't know why his parents weren't around.
Chris looked around at everyone and realized they all carried the same tiredness, guilt and sadness as they did on the funeral day at Hogwarts. And just like that day, she wanted to help them more than anything but she also knew there was nothing she could do except for be there for them. And yet, she was failing to do even that. A coldness gripped Chris's heart as she thought about the memorial day at Hogwarts.
It was two days later after the battle, that Professor McGonagall arranged a funeral for all the fallen heroes of Hogwarts and ordered the commission of a new hallway in Hogwarts dedicated to these very heroes. For those two days, Chris had only slept in the hospital wing for long periods of time and ate occasionally. Almost all of the students were in the Hospital Wing at that time, including her friends, but all of them spoke very little. They wanted to talk to each other and comfort each other but it was clear the battle had taken a lot of mental toll on them as well. The weight of the war was weighing them down. Sometimes, Chris would hear some students breaking down completely and once Chris even heard Hermione crying. And the last night just before the funeral day Chris heard Harry shaking in the middle of the night. He was on the bed next to her, and when Chris approached his bed, she realized Harry was having a nightmare. He was sobbing and shaking while muttering something. Chris wordlessly slipped into the bed and hugged Harry tightly. After a moment, his sobs quieted down and Harry went back to sleep. Chris realized only then that she had started crying too, so she buried herself in Harry's arms and cried herself to sleep.
On the funeral or memorial day, everyone showed up at the clearing of the forbidden forest where they were gathered when Dumbledore died. And just like the last time, Chris, Harry, Colin, Luna, Ginny, and Draco found seats at the back. Chris, Harry, Ginny and Draco sat together while Colin and Luna sat in front of them. Hermione and Ron sat with the rest of the Weasleys. However, unlike the last time, there was no body, as the order had given the bodies to their families for them to bury, this was just to show respect to the people who were gone. Some people said words for the heroes of Hogwarts and ended the speech encouraging them to remember the people and live for them. At the very end of the ceremony, they all raised their wands to show the fallen their respect. A small ball of light came out of every wand and almost created another sun in the sky, except one wand. Chris just held her wand up, knowing full well that nothing was happening. She felt like she was an imposter among all these people and maybe she was disrespecting the dead.
After everything was over, wizards and witches started to make plans on what to do next, and where to go next. Many of them decided to go back to their homes and Chris knew she needed to go back to her family and maybe only then would she feel normal. Maybe like always her father's hugs would fix everything and make her feel better. So that's what she did.
"To the fallen heroes of Hogwarts!"
At the Weasley family dinner, everyone raised their wine glasses to toast. After that, they took a sip silently. However, as all of them sat down for dinner, the conversations started again.
"Christina, since now that you are here," Professor McGonagall said clearing her throat. "I wanted you all to know that Hogwarts will be finished rebuilding in the summer and all the students can attend the next school year. You all can come back if you are interested in finishing your school next year."
"Professor, I . . ." Chris tried to come up with something to say but couldn't.
"You don't have to decide now," Professor McGonagall said reassuringly. "I am not telling you this to know if you are coming back to school. I'm only informing you all that you can if you want. It is completely alright if you do not want to come back to school. In fact, if you only want to sit for the O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s exam without attending the full school year, that can be arranged too. Think about it. All of you take your time. Send me word when you have made a decision."
Professor McGonagall smiled warmly at Chris, Harry and the rest of their friends and Chris realized Professor McGonagall was just trying to get their minds off the tragedy by giving them something else to think about.
"Professor, I would like to come back to finish my seventh school year," Hermione informed, after thinking about it just a moment. "However, I don't know for sure when I'm going to be back from Australia."
"You are going to Australia?" Chris asked surprised.
"Yes, my parents moved there when I . . ." Hermione trailed off and Fred, who was sitting beside he held her hand tightly.
"We have decided to go to Australia and reverse the memory charm," Fred smiled encouragingly at Hermione. "After Colin's parents' improvement, we are feeling rather positive about this."
"But it is different than Colin's parents," Hermione said sounding tired as if she had this conversation many times with Fred. "Mr. and Mrs. Creevy knew they had at least one magical child. They knew about the wizarding world and the war, but my parents think they don't have any child, let alone a daughter who is a witch. I don't know if they will be ok even after reversing the charm. What if they get more confused and just refuse to believe me?"
"They will know, honey," Mrs. Creevy, who Chris didn't realize was listening to their conversation, suddenly chimed in. "They are your parents. I assure you, even now they know they are missing something or rather someone. I also felt like that for months after the brat erased our minds! I knew I was missing something – like a part of me was incomplete and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get that hole in my heart fixed."
Hearing Mrs. Creevy Hermione tried to control her tears but ended up bursting into sobs. Immediately, Mrs. Creevy wrapped Hermione in a hug and patted her back.
"There, there, honey. Oh, you, poor sweet girl."
Mrs. Creevy whispered some more encouraging words and Hermione finally stopped crying.
"I'm so sorry about your blouse, ma'am," Hermione said as she wiped her eyes and nose.
"Oh, it's alright, I just hope you feel better soon," Mrs. Creevy smiled and smoothed Hermione's hair.
"Thank you."
[To be continued]