All classes have been suspended and all exams have been postponed. In the next few days, some students were urged by their parents to leave Hogwarts-the morning after Dumbledore's death, the Petyr sisters left without breakfast; Zacharias Smith was escorted out of the castle by his arrogant father. On the other hand, seamus finnigan flatly refused to accompany her mother home; They shouted in the hall, and finally his mother agreed to let him stay here for the funeral. Seymour told Harry and Ron that it was difficult for his mother to find a bed in Hogsmeade because wizards and witches were flocking to the village to pay their last respects to Dumbledore.

The night before the funeral, a pink-blue carriage as big as a house, pulled by twelve flying horses with silver manes, fell from the sky and stopped at the edge of the forbidden forest. This scene caused a sensation among the juniors who had never seen it. Harry looked out of the window. A tall and dignified lady with olive black hair got out of the carriage and went to hug Hagrid who had been waiting for a long time. At the same time, a delegation composed of officials from the Ministry of Magic also lived in the castle, including the Minister of Magic himself. Harry tirelessly avoided contact with any of them; He was sure that sooner or later someone would ask him to explain why Dumbledore left Hogwarts for the last time.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stay together all day. The sunny weather seems to be teasing them; Harry can imagine what would have happened if Dumbledore hadn't died, and they would have spent the last few days of this school year together. Ginny's exam is over, and the pressure of homework is gone ... He procrastinates hour after hour, not saying what he knows must be said or doing what he knows is right, because it is too difficult to give up his best source of comfort.

They go to the school hospital twice a day: Neville has been discharged from the hospital, but Bill still needs Madam Pomfrey's care. His scar is as bad as before; Although he should be glad to keep his eyes and legs, in fact, he is already very similar to Mad-Eye Moody, but his personality seems to be the same as before. The only difference is that he seems to like very rare steak.

"... so he was lucky to marry me," Furong said happily while bulging Bill's pillow, "because English people always cook their meat very well, which is what I always say."

"I think I can only accept the fact that he really wants to marry Furong," sighed Ginny later that day. She and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat by the open window of Gryffindor lounge, looking out at the playground at dusk.

"She's not that bad," said Harry. "It's ugly, though," he quickly added when Ginny raised her eyebrows, and Ginny barely smiled.

"Well, I think if mom can stand it, so can I."

"Is there anyone else we know dead?" Ron asked Hermione, who was watching daily prophet carefully.

Hermione recognized the unnatural power in his voice and frowned.

"No," she said reproachfully, folding the newspaper. "They are still looking for Snape, but there is no clue ..."

"Of course not," Harry gets angry every time he talks about this topic. "Snape will only be found when Voldemort is found, and this time they don't seem to have made any efforts ..."

"I'm going to bed," Ginny yawned. "Since then, I haven't slept well ... um ... that. I need some sleep. "

She kissed Harry (Ron turned away consciously), waved to the other two and got up and walked to the girls' dormitory. As soon as the door closed behind her, Hermione leaned towards Harry with the most Hermione expression on her face.

"Harry, I found something in the library this morning ..."

"Royal College of Art?" Harry sat up straight.

He didn't feel the excitement, curiosity and desire to find the answer; He just knows that he must complete this task, that is, find the whereabouts of the real soul fragments, and then he can go further on this dark and rugged road. He and Dumbledore embarked on this road together, and he knew that now he could only go forward alone. There may be four souls out there, and he needs to find and destroy each one, and then Voldemort may even be killed. He kept saying their names, as if to do so would draw them to his side: "Box pendants … cups … snakes … Gryffindor or Ravenclaw things … Box pendants … cups … snakes … Gryffindor or Ravenclaw things …"

These eulogies seem to beat in his mind when he sleeps. His dreams are full of cups, pendants and mysterious objects that he can't get. Although Dumbledore helped Harry provide the rope ladder, when he started climbing, the rope ladder turned into a snake. ...

The morning after Dumbledore's death, he showed Hermione the note in the locket. Although she didn't immediately recognize that these initials belonged to an unknown wizard she had read in the past, she often went to the library since then, which is really more frequent for a person who has no homework to do.

"No," she said sadly, "I've been trying, Harry, but I can't find anything ... there are several quite famous wizards who fit this abbreviation-Rosalyn Antigone Bunce ... Rupert Akbongo Brustanton ... but it seems that they don't match the number at all. Judging from the note, the person who stole the soul fragments knew Voldemort, but I can't find any evidence to prove that Bunce and Abango have anything to do with Voldemort ... That's not what I'm talking about, actually, it's about ... Well, Snape. "

She looked at Harry nervously and mentioned the name again.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked dully and sank back into the chair.

"Well, it's just that I think I'm right about the half-blood prince ..." She said tentatively.

"Do you have to repeat it, Hermione? What do you think I will think now? "

"No-no-Harry, I didn't mean that!" She said quickly and looked around to make sure they were not overheard. "I'm just saying that Irene does have this book, and I'm right ... she's Snape's mother!" "

"I don't think she is a beauty," said Ron. Hermione ignored him.

"I checked the rest of the old daily prophet and found a small notice that Irene Prince married a man named tobias Snape, and then there was a notice that she gave birth to a-

"-murderer," said Harry savagely.

"Well ... yes," said Hermione. "So ... I was right. Snape must be proud that he is' half a prince', right? Daily prophet says that tobias Snape is a muggle.

"Well, that makes sense." Harry said. "He emphasized his pure blood side so as to associate with lucius malfoy and the others ... he was just like Voldemort. Pure-blood mothers and muggle fathers ... are ashamed of their origins, trying to make people afraid with dark magic, and giving themselves an impressive new name-Voldemort-half-blood prince-how could Dumbledore not notice-?"

He stopped, looked out of the window, and couldn't help thinking about Dumbledore's unforgivable trust in Snape ... But as Hermione inadvertently reminded him just now, he, Harry, was cheated ... Although the scribbled spells became more and more despicable at that time, he still refused to believe that such a clever boy was malicious, and that boy helped him so much. ...

The idea of helping him ... is almost unbearable for him now. ...

"I still don't understand why he didn't tell on you for using that book," said Ron. "He must know where you got these."

"He knows," said Harry bitterly. "He knows when I used the sword spell. He really doesn't need to think to get his ideas. Maybe he knew before that. Slahorn told him how great I was in potions class ... he shouldn't put his old books under the cupboard, should he? "

"Why didn't he report you?"

"I don't think he wants to associate himself with that book," said Hermione. "I think if Dumbledore knows, he won't be too happy. Even if Snape denied that the book was his, Slahorn would immediately recognize his handwriting from it. Anyway, the book is in Snape's old classroom. I bet Dumbledore knows Snape's mother's surname is Prince. "

"I should have shown that book to Dumbledore," said Harry. "He has been showing me how evil Voldemort has been since school, and I could have proved to him that Snape is the same ..."

"Evil is an extreme word," Hermione whispered.

"You keep telling me this book is dangerous!"

"What I want to say is, Harry, you blame yourself too much. I have always felt that the half-blood prince's sense of humor seems to be very annoying, but I never guessed that he is a potential killer ... "

"None of us guessed that Snape was like this ... you know," said Ron.

Chapter 30 White Tomb (2)

They fell silent and everyone was lost in thought, but Harry was sure that they were thinking about tomorrow morning, when Dumbledore's body was buried, just like himself. Harry has never been to a funeral before; Sirius had no body to bury when he died. He doesn't know what will happen. He is a little worried about what he will see and feel. Harry doesn't know whether Dumbledore's death will be more real to him after Dumbledore's funeral. Although sometimes he feels that this horrible fact is in danger of conquering him, he still has a lot of blank numbness. In this numbness, it is hard for him to believe that Dumbledore has really left, even though no one in the whole castle is discussing other things. Admittedly, he didn't desperately look for a loophole, a way to get Dumbledore back, just like he did to Sirius ... He fumbled in his pocket for the cold chain of fake soul fragments, and now he carries it everywhere, not as a talisman, but as a reminder of what they have paid for this thing and what they need to do.

Harry got up early the next day to pack his bags; The Hogwarts Express will leave one hour after the funeral. After going downstairs, he found the atmosphere in the auditorium very depressing. Everyone is wearing formal dresses, and no one looks hungry. Professor McGonagall emptied the throne-like chair in the middle of the staff table. Hagrid's chair is empty, too: Harry thinks he may not be able to face breakfast; But Snape's seat was casually occupied by rufus scrimgeour. When his yellow eyes scanned the auditorium, Harry avoided it; Harry has an uneasy feeling that scrimgeour is looking for him. Harry recognized Percy Weasley with red hair and horny glasses among scrimgeour's entourage. Ron didn't show that he saw Percy, but poked the smoked fish with rare resentment.

Over at Slytherin's desk, Crabbe and Goyle are whispering something. Although they are all big boys, they look strangely lonely without the pale and tall Malfoy giving orders among them. How much time does Harry have to think about Malfoy? All his hatred was directed at Snape, but he didn't forget the fear in Malfoy's voice when he was at the top of the tower or the fact that he put down his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived. Harry didn't believe Malfoy would kill Dumbledore. He still despises Malfoy because he is obsessed with dark magic, but now his disgust is mixed with a little pity. Harry thought, where is Malfoy now? Voldemort threatened to kill him and his parents. What will he do with Malfoy?

Ginny touched Harry's ribs lightly, and his thinking was interrupted. Professor McGonagall had stood up, and the sad hum in the auditorium disappeared at once.

"It's about time," she said. "Please go to the playground with your dean. Gryffindor students, come with me. "

They stood up from the bench almost silently and lined up to go out. Harry caught a glimpse of Slahorn, the leader of Slytherin. He was wearing a gorgeous jade robe with a silver edge. He had never seen Professor Sprout, Dean of Hufflepuff College, dressed so neatly; There is not a patch on her hat. When they arrived at the hall, they found Mrs. Pins and Filch standing together. She wore a thick black veil that hung down to her knees, while Filch wore an old-fashioned black suit and a tie that smelled of camphor balls.

Harry walked out of the front door and set foot on the stone steps, and found them walking towards the lake. The warm sunshine rubbed his face, and they silently followed Professor McGonagall to a place neatly filled with hundreds of chairs. There is an aisle in the middle of the chair: right in front of the aisle is a marble table, and all the chairs face it. This is an extremely beautiful summer day.

A group of people with different looks have occupied half of the chairs: ragged and well-dressed, old and young. Most people don't know Harry, but he still knows a few of them, including several members of the Order of the Phoenix: Kingsley Shackleport, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks (her hair miraculously returned to the brightest pink), remus lupin (she seems to be holding his hand), the Weasleys, Bill and Furong, followed by Fred and George who came to wear black dragon leather jackets. Then there are Mrs Maxim (who occupies two and a half chairs by herself), Tom, the boss of leaky cauldron, ArabellaDoreen Figg, Harry's squib neighbor, Erne Pollan, the hairy bassist in the eccentric sisterhood, the driver of Gong Knight's car, Madam Malkin, the proprietress of diagon alley Robe Shop, and some people who have only met Harry, such as the waiter in the pig's head bar and the witch pushing the van on the Hogwarts express train. The ghost in the castle is also there, almost invisible in the bright sunshine, only vaguely discernible when moving, flashing in the bright air.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked into a row of chairs by the lake one by one and sat down on the side seats. People are whispering; It sounds like a breeze on the grass, but birds sing much louder. The crowd continues to swell; Harry saw Neville sit down with Luna's help, and Harry suddenly had a strong feeling for them. On the night Dumbledore died, they were the only two district attorneys who answered Hermione's call. Harry knows why: they are the two people who miss the prosecutor most ... they may take out coins regularly and look forward to a new party. ...

Connelly fudge walked past them and walked to the front row. His expression was very painful, and he turned his green bowler hat as usual. Harry recognized rita skeeter. He saw angrily that she had a notebook with red claws in her hand. Then, when he saw dolores umbridge, he twitched even more. Her toad-like face has an unconvincing sad expression, and her taupe curly hair is tied with a black velvet bow. When she saw Firenze Centaur standing by the lake like a sentry, she paused and quickly ran to sit in a seat far away from here.

The teachers were the last to sit, and Harry saw scrimgeour sitting next to Professor McGonagall in the front row, with a serious and dignified expression. Harry didn't know whether scrimgeour and any important people here really felt sorry for Dumbledore's death, but at that moment, he heard a strange piece of music, which seemed to come from another world, so that he forgot his dislike of the Ministry of Magic and looked around for its source. He is not the only one: many heads are turning, looking, and a little scared.

"There it is," Ginny whispered to Harry.

Then he saw them, in the clear green lake under the sunshine, a few inches below the water, which reminded him of the negative flying force in fear; A mermaid choir is singing in a strange language that he doesn't understand. Their pale faces are rippling and their purple hair is floating everywhere. The music made the hairs on Harry's neck stand on end. That doesn't sound so pleasant. It expresses loss and despair with tears. He looked down at the singers' original faces and had a feeling that at least they were sad for Dumbledore's death. Then Ginny gave him a gentle push and he looked around.

Hagrid walked slowly in the aisle between the chairs. He cried silently, with tears hanging on his face for you. Harry knew that Dumbledore's body was in his hand, and Dumbledore was wearing that purple velvet robe dotted with golden stars. This scene stung Harry's throat: for an instant, the strange music and the idea that Dumbledore's body was so close to him seemed to take away all the warmth of that day. Ron's pale face was full of shock. Hermione and Ginny soon shed big tears on their knees.

They can't see clearly what happened ahead. Hagrid seems to have carefully put the body on the table. Now he's back in the tunnel, blowing his nose like a trumpet. Some people have an expression of disgust on their faces. Harry saw dolores umbridge among them ... but Harry knew Dumbledore didn't care. When he passed them, Harry tried to make a friendly gesture to Hagrid, but Hagrid's eyes were so swollen that he could hardly see the way. Harry glanced at the last row. Hagrid is walking there. Harry realized who was waiting there. The man is wearing a jacket and a pair of trousers, each as big as a small tent. That's the giant Gloppe. His big head is as ugly as a stone, but he is as gentle as a human being. Hagrid sat next to his half-brother. Gloppe patted Hagrid's head hard, and his chair legs sank into the ground. Harry suddenly had an impulse to laugh. But then the music stopped, and he turned to look ahead.

A short man in an ordinary black robe with thick hair stood up and now stood in front of Dumbledore's body. Harry can't hear what he is saying. Only a few scattered words can float to their hundreds of heads. "the nobility of the soul" ... "the contribution of knowledge" ... "the greatness of the mind" ... these are not so meaningful. Harry knew it had nothing to do with Dumbledore. He suddenly remembered Dumbledore's views on some words: "idiot", "residue", "crying" and "writhing", so he resisted the impulse to laugh again ... What happened to him?

There was a splash on his left, and he saw the mermaid diving into the water to listen. He remembers Dumbledore crouching by the water two years ago-close to where Harry is sitting now-talking to the mermaid leader in mermaid words. Harry wants to know where Dumbledore learned the mermaid language. There are too many things he didn't ask him, too many things he should say. ...

Then, without warning, the terrible truth attacked him like this, and today it has become more thorough and unrecognizable. Dumbledore died and left ... He held the cold box pendant tightly in his hand, and he was even hurt, but he still couldn't stop the tears: he turned his back on Ginny and others and looked across the lake to the forbidden forest, while the short man in black was still buzzing ... something was moving in the forest. The horses also came to pay their respects. They didn't go outside, but Harry saw them standing there motionless looking at the wizard here, half of them hiding in the shadows and bowing to their side. Harry remembered his first nightmare night in the Forbidden Forest, the first time he met something that was later known to be Voldemort, how he faced him, and how he and Dumbledore discussed fighting a failed war soon. Dumbledore said that it is very important to fight, fight again, and keep fighting, because only in this way can evil be shut out, even if it cannot be completely eradicated. ...

Harry sat in the scorching sun, and people who cared about him clearly emerged, including his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore. They were determined to protect him. But now it's all over. He can't let anyone stand between him and Voldemort; He must abandon forever the illusion that he should leave at the age of one: with the protection of his parents, nothing can hurt him. His nightmare never woke up, and there was never a comforting whisper in the dark telling him that he was really safe. They all exist only in Harry's imagination. His last and greatest protector died, and he was lonelier than ever.

The short man in a black robe finally finished talking and returned to his seat. Harry waited for the others to stand up; He expected someone to give a speech, maybe a minister, but no one moved.

Then several people screamed. Bright white flames erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table where he was lying: they rose higher and higher, covering the body. White smoke whirled in the air, forming a strange shape: Harry's heart seemed to stop beating in an instant. He thought he saw a phoenix flying happily in the blue sky, but the flame disappeared the next second. It turned into a white marble tomb, sealing Dumbledore's body and his rest table.

Suddenly a shower of arrows roared through the air, causing more cries, but all fell far away from the crowd. Harry knew it was the sacrifice of the centaurs: he saw them turn and disappear into the cold forest. At the same time, the mermaid slowly sank into the green lake and disappeared.

Harry looked at Ginny, Ron and Hermione: Ron's face was tight, as if he had been blinded by the sun. Hermione's face glistened with tears, but Ginny stopped crying. She responded to Harry's gaze, her eyes were firm and hot, just like when she hugged Harry after the Quidditch game in which he was absent. He knew that their hearts were connected at that moment. When he tells Ginny what he is going to do, she will definitely accept his decision instead of saying "be careful" and "don't do it" because she won't despise him. So he made up his mind to tell her what he knew he had to say after Dumbledore died.

"Ginny, listen to me ..." He said very quietly, when people began to stand up and the buzzing conversation became louder and louder. "I can't bring trouble to you anymore. We can't meet again, we can't be together. "

She said with a twisted smile, "this is for some stupid and noble reasons, isn't it?"

"The last few weeks with you were like ... living in a world without anyone else," Harry said. "But I can't ... we can't ... I'm alone now."