Chapter One
The Funeral Plans
Returning to the Great Hall, the first thing Harry noticed was that Ron and Hermione were arguing with a group of survivors. He moved closer to listen in.
“Look. Why don’t we wait for Harry to arrive? We can decide what to do for all of them, and then announce it to everyone.” Hermione sounded exasperated as she tried to reason with the angry group.
“Decide what?” Harry asked as he walked toward the group. His friends were obviously relieved that he was here, calling greetings with a happy smile, as did the mob surrounding them. He sped up.
“Hi Harry.” Hermione smiled. “Some people here want to be able to bury their family members and friends.”
“That’s a good idea. However, some people might want to hold funerals for the same people.” He decided.
“Precisely. We have to figure out who gets who to bury. I was thinking we just have everyone who wants to bury someone to stand by the body. They could attempt to compromise and we could make the final decisions.” Hermione, the usually logical one, started to rattle off ideas, while using more and more complex words, words that nobody else could understand.
“Hermione. We get it.” Ron tried to stop the flood unsuccessfully. He raised his voice to try again, rolling his eyes as he did so. “HERMIONE!”
She broke off her steady flow of plans. “What?” she wondered. Several onlookers sniggered. “What?” she repeated looking utterly perplexed.
“We. Get. It.” Ron explained slowly, as if he were talking to someone who didn’t understand English very well. More people laughed. Hermione just rolled her eyes and turned to Harry.
“So, should we get started?” she questioned. At Harry’s consenting nod, she turned to address the hall. “I know some of you want to be able to hold funerals for families and friends.  We respect that. However, some of you might want to bury the same people. After a little thought, we’ve decided that you can try to compromise and come up with a plan together. If there are any disputes, Harry, Ron, and I will be able to help. Any body without a funeral plan will be buried by us if they were a protector of Hogwarts and disposed of I they were a Death Eater. Please, proceed to the bodies you wish to bury and start the negotiations.”
With that, everyone started to move toward the dead in the middle of the room and many voices were heard as people started to discuss. Fortunately, no problems were brought to the trio. Then, people picked up the dead and left the Great Hall for the Room of Requirements to apparate back home. Finally, the only ones left were Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the bodies of Lupin, Tonks, and numerous Death Eaters.
“I was thinking,” Hermione said cautiously, “that we ought to give Lupin’s and Tonks’s bodies to Mrs. Tonks for her to bury. After all, Tonks is her daughter and Lupin’s her son-in-law.” Ron and Harry nodded in agreement so Hermione took out her wand, waved it, and put it back.
“What was that for?” Ron asked startled by the silvery white light and the fact that the bodies never moved.
“Hermione cast her patronus, Ron. That should’ve been obvious.” Harry sound half-amused and half-exasperated.
“Yeah, so? Why’d she do that?” Ron still couldn’t understand the reason behind the gesture.
“Ron. Did you forget how the Order of the Phoenix sends messages? They send messages through talking patronuses. I sent a message to Mrs. Tonks to tell her to pick up their bodies. I also told her to come by the Room of Requirements.” Hermione lost her patience and blurt out what she did.
“Oh.” Comprehension settled in the confusion shown on Ron’s face. In the silence, the three of them looked down at the peaceful looking couple just lying under the bright sky.
A noise jerked them out of their sad thoughts. Turning around, the trio saw Mrs. Tonks walking toward them. She smiled at them and without a word, gathered up the bodies of Lupin and Tonks, turned around, and started to leave. At the doorway, she turned toward Ron, Harry, and Hermione to say one sentence. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Hermione made a noise. She looked as though she couldn’t talk. Swallowing hard, she replied, “You’re welcome.”
The other lady smiled and left for the Room of Requirements to go home.
Ron looked at Hermione after Mrs. Tonks left. “Are we done?” he asked the others. Harry nodded but Hermione shook her head. At Harry’s surprised look, Hermione looked at Ron. He looked as startled as Harry. She turned to face them both.
“Who are you talking about?” Ron asked, clearly shocked that there was someone he’d forgotten.
“We forgot Snape. We just left him in the Shrieking Shack after collecting his memories. We have to host a funeral for him too.” Hermione reminded her friends.
“Right, Snape.” Where should we bury him?” Ron questioned. Hermione just shrugged, then turned to Harry.
“Well, I think either here with Dumbledore or at Godric’s Hollow with Mum.” Harry suggested. There was a shocked silence as Ron and Hermione turned to him, staring.
“What?” he demanded. They were still staring at him, looking as though he had suggested the three of them became new dark wizards.
“Why with them?” Harry could hear the shock in Hermione’s voice as she said that. “Why with your mum or Dumbledore?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain.” He answered. “Unless you’ve actually seen his memories, it’s hard to understand. I’ll show you two some day, but first, let’s get Snape’s body.”
With that, Harry turned and with his friends acting like quiet shadows, walked out of the room. He continued out, down the stairs, across the grounds, past Dumbledore’s tomb, and to the Whomping Willow.
Hermione quietly jabbed a long stick at the knot, freezing the tree and allowing safe passage. Harry slipped through the branches and crawled through the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack, the same tunnel he had hid in while spying on Voldemort commanding his snake to kill Snape. At the end of the tunnel, he stopped. Hermione and Ron grouped around him to see what he was looking at.
Nothing had changed from when he had left, except the blood on and around Snape had hardened and dried, to form a thick, dark red crust. Hermione made a quiet noise behind him. Ron and Harry turned back around. She looked a little nauseated, but she nodded at Harry. He turned back to the room, and suddenly, memories from last time flooded his mind.
Harry was on his hands and knees with his eyes closed. He watched through Voldemort’s point of view as he explained to Snape what was going to happen. Voldemort charmed the cage holding Nagini to enclose Snape’s head and shoulders. The word he said in Parseltongue rang through the room. “Kill.”
Harry heard Snape scream as Nagini sank her fangs into his neck at the command. He watched as Voldemort took the cage off, causing Snape to drop sideways onto the floor. The snake and its master walked out f the shack, indifferent to the murder performed.
Now, Harry was in his own mind, watching Snape lie on the floor, rapidly loosing blood. Harry moved the crate, let himself in, and revealed himself to the dying man. Snape, seeing Harry, tried to talk. Harry bent over him and heard, “Take…it….Take…it….” Snape let go of some of his memories, which Harry gathered and placed into a flask conjured by Hermione.
When Harry finished, Snape seemed to have no blood left in him. As a dying wish, he whispered, “Look…at…me….” Harry looked into Snape’s dark eyes and the man died, looking at Lily’s green eyes.
“Harry?” Hermione’s voice broke through his reverie. “Shall we do it now?”
Harry thought it over. “Let’s do it,” he informed his friends. He crawled into the room and walked to Snape’s body, followed by Ron and Hermione. Carefully, the trio lifted the body, and a sparkle of silvery-blue caught Harry’s attention. He looked again and was sure of what it was. Some of Snape’s memories were still in the room.