Chapter 365: Dying in the Right Place

The election date was set for June 30th, which also happened to be a Sunday. In order to arrange the Headmaster's schedule, the final exams for other years at Hogwarts would be placed in the last week of June, and the summer vacation would be announced after Friday.

The time left for Bellatrix Lestrange was that week when the Hogwarts students took their exams. This time wasn't short, at least enough for her to discover the vault theft and learn from the goblin that the thieves were Hermione and Elina, two students of Hogwarts. Or if her news was a bit more informed, she could guess roughly that the cup had fallen into Snape's hands.

Early Wednesday morning, Harry received a letter saying that the joint operation of the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic had finally come to an end, successfully salvaging the body of "Sirius," and hoping he would go to claim it with Lupin in the afternoon. At this time, Harry guessed roughly Snape's intention: he wanted to provide Bellatrix with a glimmer of hope, letting her mistakenly believe she still had a chance for a comeback. In this way, perhaps she would pin her hope on running for office, and then Harry's ceremony of taking over the Dark Lord's legitimacy would appear more complete.

Wednesday afternoon, near dusk, Harry, in the capacity of an Order of the Phoenix member, appeared by the seaside with Lupin and Doge. This was also the first time Harry truly saw Regulus Black himself.

Voldemort's magic was very powerful; Regulus still vividly retained his appearance, a young man with fine black hair, carrying a typical, aristocratic handsomeness. Harry knew this was a person who had made the decision to resist Voldemort alone, a figure who could be called a lone hero, but he really couldn't connect those deeds with the face before him.

"Although the starting point was different, his goal was consistent with ours." Lupin patted Harry on the shoulder. "There can be many reasons for supporting a person to become a hero; it can be for the greater good, or just to preserve one's family. This is what the Chinese call 'a hero doesn't ask about his origins'."

Harry felt this proverb might have been used incorrectly, but he didn't refute it, just looked at the face in the coffin quietly. As one of the few people who knew the truth, he hoped he could remember everything about Regulus.

A crisp sound of Apparition came, and Harry turned his head to look. A slender, hooded figure appeared not far away. It was a woman with blue eyes and long golden hair, who nodded to Sirius and greeted him. From her inherited, arrogant beauty, Harry judged that she was likely Bellatrix's sister—based on this point, he inferred that was Lu Xiusi's wife.

Narcissa walked toward here quickly, and Lupin pulled Harry back a few steps, standing with the people of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry noticed a look of disdain and disgust on Tonks's face, and she gently moved, letting Harry stand behind her.

"This is—" Narcissa covered her mouth. She stood in place for a long time, and then began to sob in a low voice.

"Nine o'clock tomorrow morning." Sirius suddenly opened his mouth. "Holding a funeral for him in Godric's Hollow; this is what I discussed with the Order of the Phoenix."

Narcissa raised her head, suppressing her sobbing and a trace of anger, and said, "Are you still going to bury him with those people?"

"He died here; why do you think that is?" Sirius said calmly. "He made his choice long ago."

Narcissa was stunned; she shook her head, took half a step back, and then as if remembering something, sniffed and wiped the tears from her face.

"Are you coming?" Sirius asked again.

"I will come with Lu Xiusi." Narcissa looked toward the crowd of the Order of the Phoenix. "Just in the capacity of the deceased's cousin."

"Ah, completely fine." Doge nodded. "We will ensure the safety of the two."

Narcissa showed a wry smile, then turned around without a word and Apparated away.

In the solemn silence, Sirius's two men carried the coffin printed with the Black family crest, and the three Apparated away.

The few people of the Order of the Phoenix chatted in low voices, Doge patted Harry on the back, and they also left. Lupin looked at Tonks and whispered: "I'll take you to Sirius's place; you stay there tonight, and you can participate in the funeral with him tomorrow."

Lupin sent Harry to Sirius's office. When they pushed open the door, Harry noticed Snape was also there.

"You noticed it, right." Sirius said. "Malfoy admitted it."

Harry nodded.

"The White House people took William away; he should also not come again." Lupin said. "Malfoy's defection was also expected; after all, they have no other allies."

"This family has always been fence-sitters; no matter how two-faced he is, I won't be surprised." Sirius shrugged. "Originally, he should have been liquidated together, but the greasy git said he indeed hadn't killed anyone, so let's just leave it for now."

Harry noticed Snape snorted disdainfully.

"Is the matter really that simple, Sev?" Lupin asked somewhat suspiciously. "Lu Xiusi surrendered so readily?"

"You just watch." Snape stood up and left without a word.

Harry suspected he was angry because of that "greasy git." He looked toward his godfather somewhat helplessly; although Sirius had privately recognized Snape's wisdom and ability, in front of Lupin, he still seemed to want to put on an act.

"Did Bellatrix Lestrange come?" Harry broke the dullness with a question.

"No, she didn't come." Sirius said somewhat dully. "That is to say, we winked at a blind person. Perhaps, she really thought that was Sirius, so she didn't bother to come over."

"It's also possible she knew that was Regulus, just unwilling to face it." Lupin said. "She should have discovered the failure of William and Rabastan, and also guessed that Malfoy was about to defect, so she knew coming was useless; it's better to deceive herself."

"Possible." Sirius sighed. "Are you two staying here tonight?"

"I was just about to ask you, what are your plans?" Lupin shrugged.

"Harry needs a set of clothes for the funeral; I've already prepared them for him." Sirius said. "However, to do the whole thing, it's best if you

"Then..." Lupin blinked. "Harry, what do you think?"

"I'll go back to school; Ron will be worried," Harry said, scratching his head. "I'll wait for you at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks at eight-thirty tomorrow."

After a somewhat gloomy night passed, Harry met Lupin, who was wearing black robes, at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks, and so the two arrived early at the funeral site, sitting in the front row.

After a long period of gloom, people began to arrive. There were only three or four rows of chairs in total, but they still couldn't be filled. From the Order of the Phoenix, only Doge, Moody, and Kingsley came; they sat in the second row on the right. Lupin and Tonks sat in the first row on the right, together with Harry. As for the chairs on the left, besides Sirius sitting in the first row and Mr. and Mrs. Narcissa sitting in the second row, there was no one else.

Until one minute before nine o'clock, just when Harry thought no one would come to the third row, Zhang Qiu and an adult with an Eastern face sat quietly behind him.

Then, Snape and Bellatrix appeared together; they sat at the far left and far right of the third row of chairs on the left, respectively.

"Fellow colleagues, friends," Sirius walked to the remains and began to speak. "Today we are here, with heavy hearts, to deeply mourn the passing of my brother, Sirius Black."

"His life was a short but brilliant one. With his own life, he interpreted a truth for us: that in the darkest of environments, human courage can still bloom with the most dazzling light. He dared to abandon outdated dogmas, dared to resist being manipulated by others, and at a moment when his future was bright, he listened to the truest voice in his heart. Subsequently, he overcame his fear of the future, took that firm, contrarian step for his own decision, and bravely walked to the end."

"Each of us is born carrying a kind of destiny: the expectations of our family, a respectable status within the community, mutual recognition among colleagues, a superior material life—these things push every pure-blood wizard toward a predetermined, smooth path. However, my brother questioned these things. He realized that in the world, besides being respectable, noble, and wealthy, there were other things equally beautiful and worth fighting for. He chose to discard the first half of his life, chose to challenge that shackle-like destiny for the sake of those he cherished, and fulfilled his persistence with his life."

"As a younger brother, as a brother who parted ways with him at the very beginning of life because of differing philosophies, I undoubtedly have no qualification to question his decisions, let alone deny his efforts. Today, we sit here mourning his passing as a friend and relative, yet no one truly understands the complex emotions he carried when he made the fatal determination to challenge destiny; no one understands or mourns the failure of this great struggle of his."

"But at least, the fact that everyone present is willing to attend his funeral together proves that his determination was recognized and his struggle had its meaning. This funeral is both the last time I will see my brother and perhaps will also become the last time you all see each other. Then, just as he said to me at the moment of parting: If we never meet again, I wish you a death that is worthy."