Volume 1 Chapter 60 Funeral
By the day after the attack, news of Slughorn's death had spread throughout the coach.
Most of the students found the news incredulous. Except for those students who had entered the carriage at the beginning of their exile, the other young wizards had never experienced the life or death separation with any professor.
But the body of the defense professor who usually smiled happily at the podium had been found back in the carriage. The sad reality was placed before them, and no one could help but believe it.
While having lunch in the cafeteria, Dumbledore announced Slughorn's death in front of everyone, and many students burst into tears on the spot.
The Fat Walrus might not treat all students equally in the carriage, but he was a dedicated teacher. No matter whether it was Defense Against the Dark Arts or History of Magic, he would never limit the knowledge he taught because of his preference for a certain student.
In addition, most of the people on this carriage are young Muggle wizards who have lost their relatives and families. To them, everyone in Hogwarts is their family, and several professors are like their 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 that night.
The students finished their lunch in a dull mood. All classes for the day were suspended. Some returned to their dormitories, while others gathered in the common room.
Jon and Neville did not return to the dormitory. They walked into the lounge in silence with Ron, Justin and Lavender.
There were more than a dozen students sitting here, but no one spoke. Only the crackling sound of the flames burning the wood in the fireplace echoed in the quiet space.
Even the twins George and Fred, who used to be the most lively and active, lay on the table with gloomy faces, without any desire to liven up the atmosphere.
Jon was also silent, but he was certainly not sad about the "death" of Slughorn. He was just thinking about the last conversation Dumbledore had with him last night.
There was a lot of content in the conversation, and in the end Jon was given the right to choose, but there was no way Jon could make up his mind for the time being. He could only say that he needed time to think about it.
Of course Dumbledore would agree to such a request. He really didn't seem to have the intention of forcing John to do it. Instead, he really respected his choice. No matter whether he was willing to do it in the end or not, his attitude towards him would not change.
But Neville and the others didn't know about this now. In their eyes, Jon and Slughorn had the best relationship among the freshmen. Now that such a thing had happened, he must be the saddest person.
"I understand your feelings, Jon. When my mother left me, I also felt that I would never be happy again. But in fact, no matter what, the living people always have to look forward. After all, this is not only for ourselves , but also for those who died for us."
Neville said in a low voice with a serious face, and Ron and the others looked at Jon with concern. Jon smiled and comforted them in return.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I won't be depressed because of this ."
Seeing that he was not forcing a smile, Neville and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
The whole afternoon passed like this.
As it was approaching evening, Hagrid stopped the moving carriage and they came to the edge of a cliff.
Dumbledore has assured all the students that there will not be another attack. No one will doubt the old man's words, and no one will be afraid of danger and dare not get off the carriage.
Below the cliff was the rough sea, and the cold wind blew on the face of every student who got off the carriage.
No one was afraid of the cold, because most of them were stunned by the tombstones in front of them.
On the steep cliff, there are nearly a hundred tombstones of various kinds, and almost everyone can find familiar names carved on them.
A student silently raised the magic wand in his hand, held the old short wooden stick, 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 tombstones of their wand's previous owners. They were their ancestors and their guides on the path to magic.
The students held their wands in their hands, and just like the first student, they bent down and bowed deeply to express their respect for every predecessor who was buried here.
No one shed tears, even the most fragile girl pursed her lips to prevent herself from sobbing.
The remains of the martyrs are buried under their feet, and they cannot show the slightest bit of weakness here.
The professors got off the carriage carrying the coffin containing Slughorn's "corpse". Most of them did not look sad, and McGonagall and Flitwick even looked a little gloomy.
The Ministry of Magic would not hide the fact that Slughorn had rebelled against Dumbledore and taken the Philosopher's Stone back with him. The Daily Prophet this morning would surely have reported on this matter extensively.
For Slughorn's safety, Dumbledore did not tell anyone that he was actually an undercover agent. Apart from himself, only two people knew about it: John and Lily.
Needless to say, the reason why Lily became the insider was because Dumbledore and Slughorn were worried that she, who had already suffered enough, would not be able to accept the fact that her most respected teacher would betray her.
Her mental state was already somewhat unstable, and they didn't want her to be subjected to any major stimulation, so they originally planned that she would be the only person who knew about it besides Dumbledore.
As for McGufflit and other people in the Order of the Phoenix who were unaware of the situation, almost everyone understood what had happened as long as they saw today's newspaper.
Horace Slughorn did not die, but betrayed Dumbledore, betrayed them all.
Dumbledore forbade them to tell the students about this. The purpose of holding this funeral was to leave Slughorn with a last bit of good memories, at least in the hearts of these children.
Jon could imagine the abuse and curses that the members of the Order of the Phoenix and McGuffett and the others who were unaware of the truth would inflict on Slughorn , but there was no way to blame anyone.
The professors buried the coffin in the ground, and Dumbledore erected a tombstone with Slughorn's name engraved on it in front of the grave.
The students lowered their heads in silence. The surging waves below the cliff beat against the rocks on the shore. The wet, salty and cold sea breeze blew up the hems of their robes.
Seagulls cried in the sky, and before nightfall, Dumbledore read out the last eulogy and carved a sentence on Slughorn's tombstone that was left on every tombstone.
——【To the stars that dare to shine in the dark night】
