In This Hogwarts Without a Savior

   Chapter 60 60. Funeral

   By the second day of the attack, word of Slughorn's death had spread throughout the wagon.

   Most of the students couldn't believe the news. Except for those students who entered the carriage at the beginning of their exile, the other young wizards had never experienced life and death parting with any professor.

  But the body of the defense professor who was always smiling on the podium has been found in the carriage, and the painful reality is in front of them, and they can't allow others to believe it.

  During lunch in the restaurant, Dumbledore also announced Slughorn's death in front of everyone, and many students cried on the spot.

Fat Walrus may not treat all students equally in the carriage, but he is a dedicated teacher. Whether it is Defense Against the Dark Arts or History of Magic, he will never limit himself because of his preference for a certain student. self-taught knowledge.

In addition, most of the carriages are young Muggle wizards who have no relatives and families. For them, everyone in Hogwarts is their family, and several professors are even more so. Existence like parents.

   But now, one of these people has left them forever.

  During lunch, Dumbledore not only announced Slughorn's death, but also announced that a funeral would be held for him tonight.

  The students finished their lunch in a dull manner. Today's classes were all suspended. Some returned to their dormitories, while others gathered in the common room.

  Jon and Neville didn't go back to the dormitory. Together with Ron Justin and Lavender, they walked into the lounge in silence.

   There were more than a dozen students sitting here, but no one made a sound, only the crackling sound of the fire burning the wood in the fireplace echoed in this quiet space.

  Even twins George and Fred, who were the most lively and active in the past, were lying on the table with gloomy faces, without any mood or thought of enlivening the atmosphere.

  Jon was also silent, but of course he wasn't saddened by Slughorn's "death", he was just thinking about the last conversation Dumbledore had with him last night.

   There were many things to talk about, and Jon was given the right to choose in the end, but Jon couldn't decide for a while, he could only express the time he needed to think about.

Of course Dumbledore would agree to such a request. He really didn't seem to have the slightest intention to force Jon to do it, but he really respected his choice, no matter whether he was willing to do it or not. attitude will not change.

  But Neville and the others don't know about this now. In their eyes, among the freshmen, Jon and Slughorn have the best relationship. Now that something happened, he must be the most sad person.

"I can understand your feelings, Jon. When my mother left me, I also thought that I would never be happy again, but in fact, no matter what, people who live have to look forward. After all, Not just for ourselves, but for those who died for us."

   Neville whispered seriously, Ron and the others also looked at Jon with concern, and Jon showed a smile on his face, and comforted them in turn.

   "Don't worry, I'm fine, I won't be depressed because of this."

   Seeing that he wasn't trying to force a smile on his face, Neville and the others were slightly relieved.

  The whole afternoon passed like this.

  As the evening approached, Hagrid stopped the carriage that was constantly driving, and they came to the edge of a cliff.

  Dumbledore has assured all the students that there will be no more attacks. No one will doubt the old man's words, and no one will dare to get out of the carriage because they are afraid of danger.

   Below the cliff is the rough sea, and the icy cold wind is blowing on the faces of every student who got off the carriage.

  No one was afraid of the cold, because most of them were stunned by the group of tombstones in front of them.

  On the steep cliff, there are nearly a hundred tombstones standing in various places, and the names engraved on them can almost be found by everyone.

  A student silently raised the wand in his hand. Holding the old short wooden stick, he walked to a tombstone and bowed deeply to the name on the tombstone.

  The wand he now uses to learn magic is inherited from the person buried under this tombstone.

  More and more students have discovered the tombstone of the former owner of their wand, who was their ancestor and the guide who led them into magic.

  The students held the wands in their hands, just like the first student, bowed deeply, expressing their respect to every predecessor buried here.

  No one shed tears, even the weakest girl pursed her lips so as not to choke.

  The bones of the martyrs are buried under their feet, and they cannot show any weakness here.

  Professors carried the coffin containing Slughorn's "corpse" out of the carriage. Most of them didn't look sad, and McGonagall and Flitwick's faces were even a little gloomy.

  The Ministry of Magic will not hide the news that Slughorn rebelled against Dumbledore and brought back the Sorcerer's Stone. The Daily Prophet this morning must have been reporting on this matter.

  For Slughorn's safety, Dumbledore didn't tell anyone that he was actually going undercover. There were only two people who knew about it except himself, Jon and Lily.

Needless to say, Jon, Lily was able to be the insider because both Dumbledore and Slughorn were worried that she, who had endured enough suffering, would not be able to accept that her most respected teacher would betray her. thing.

  Her mental state was already a little unstable, and they didn't want her to be further stimulated, so they originally planned that she would be the only insider besides Dumbledore.

  Unknown McGonagall and other people in the Order of the Phoenix, as long as they read today's newspaper, almost everyone understands what happened.

   Horace Slughorn didn't die, he betrayed Dumbledore, betrayed them all.

  Dumbledore forbade them to tell the students about this incident. The purpose of holding this funeral was to leave Slughorn with one last good thought, at least in the hearts of the children.

  Jon can think of the members of the Order of the Phoenix who don't know the truth and McGonagall and the others, what kind of abuse and curses they will have on Slughorn, but there is no way to blame anyone.

  The professors buried the coffin in the ground, and Dumbledore erected a stele with Slughorn's name in front of the tomb.

  The students lowered their heads silently, the rough waves under the cliff beat against the reefs on the shore, and the wet, salty and cold sea breeze blew up the hem of their robes.

  Seagulls were singing in the sky, and before night fell, Dumbledore read out the last eulogy, and at the same time engraved the sentence on every tombstone on Slughorn's tombstone.

  —[To those stars who dare to shine in the dark night]

  (end of this chapter)