At this moment, music started playing in the open space beside the lake.
The sound was ethereal, like the music from another world.
Suddenly hearing the sound, many heads turned, looking for the source of the sound with a little surprise.
Elwyn was also a little distracted, but he soon realized that it was the sound of the mermaids.
He noticed that Hermione had been found, but Elaine and Gabri were still looking, looking confused.
Elwyn nudged the two of them and motioned for them to look to the left.
In the clear green lake under the sun, just a few inches below the surface, a chorus of mermaids was singing in a strange language that humans could not understand. Their pale faces were rippling, and their purple hair was floating around them.
The music made the hair on the back of the neck stand up, but it was not unpleasant.
It clearly told of grief and despair, and the emotional, sorrowful faces of the mermaids were reflected in the water.
Accompanied by the sad music, Hagrid also stood up.
Under the comfort of Mrs. Maxim, Hagrid nodded, raised his hand and rubbed his red and swollen eyes. He picked up the portrait of Dumbledore on his knees, which was wrapped in purple velvet dotted with gold stars, and walked slowly along the aisle in the middle of the seats.
Because there was no body of Dumbledore, the funeral ceremony was carried out in this way.
In the photo, Dumbledore was as kind and wise as usual, with a smile on his face, just like when Elwyn first met him in Hogwarts.
People began to cry, and tears fell. Hermione, Ginny, and Gabri were all wiping their tears.
Only Elaine blinked and looked at Elwyn with her head tilted. She did not cry.
In her past experience, she had witnessed too many deaths.
Her parents, clansmen, enemies killed by vampires, and the weak lives that died one after another on the Norwegian tundra and in the dark underground world …
No matter how well Keresis protected her, Elaine still witnessed the death of these lives. Death itself was a part of vampires. She was probably used to it and did not think it was something worth crying about. Moreover, she knew from Elwyn that Dumbledore was not actually dead! He left this world because of the spell left behind by Salazar Slythrin, just like their clan's fate was sealed because of another spell left behind by Slythrin.
However, after knowing the ins and outs of the matter, Elaine confirmed with Elwyn that her parents were not dead, just like Professor Dumbledore. They just went to another world, and one day they would come back, when the magic ended …
Faced with Elaine, Elwyn did not know how to answer such a heavy question.
In the end, he repeated what Dumbledore had said.
Death was not the end, but the beginning of another great journey. Only the most courageous could continue on.
If one day they also embarked on this journey, they would eventually meet again.
… …
Hagrid carefully placed the portrait on the table in the middle, then turned around and walked back along the aisle. He blew his nose hard, making a trumpet-like sound. Some people cast dissatisfied looks at him, including Dolores Umrich …
However, she could not care less about Hagrid. Umrich suddenly screamed. Although it stopped abruptly, it was still particularly ear-piercing in the solemn funeral. Everyone turned to look at her. Her face was exceptionally pale, as if she had exhausted all her strength in an instant.
Following Umrich's gaze, Elwyn turned his head, and only then did he understand what was going on.
The giant Glop staggered out of the Forbidden Forest, waving at Hagrid.
He did not see Umrich, because after screaming, she quickly turned her head back. Under the probing gazes of the crowd, she smiled awkwardly, trying to hide it. However, the smile was extremely forced, and it looked very ugly. Her face flashed with a complex mix of emotions such as disgust, fear, shock, and embarrassment.
The funeral continued. No one questioned Umrich's behavior. Only a few officials from the Ministry of Magic shook their heads helplessly. Ever since their senior deputy minister returned from Hogwarts last summer, she had been acting very strangely. Who knew what was wrong with her again?
On the other hand, Hagrid did not return to his original seat. He walked to the back and sat next to Gloop. Gloop was wearing a jacket and trousers the size of a small tent. His huge, ugly head that looked like a giant pebble was lowered. He looked very docile and even understanding. He seemed to have understood the meaning of the situation that was going on.
It had to be said that Glop had indeed improved a lot after not seeing him for a long time.
… …
Behind Hagrid, Professor Meg also walked forward and placed Dumbledore's old wand before her portrait. Just then, the music stopped.
A short man in a plain black robe with thick hair stood up from his seat. He stood before Dumbledore's portrait and began to speak. He did not use magic to increase the volume of his voice. Occasionally, only a few words floated across the hundreds of heads to the back. "Noble spirit", "academic maturity", "great heart" and so on …
This was the image of Dumbledore in front of other wizards. He was the greatest wizard in the world, the strongest light wizard. He had outstanding achievements in academia. During the countless dark times of the magic world, it was because of his existence that the good wizards fought against the evil.
Dumbledore had become a symbol, a synonym for a great wizard.
However, in the hearts of Hogwarts and the students, Dumbledore was always their amiable headmaster, the white-bearded professor who invented the words "idiot!", "sniveling!", "scum", and "twist" …
The sound of splashing water came from the left. More and more merpeople came to the surface.
The merpeople in the nearby waters all came to attend the funeral. They were all listening carefully.
Then, there was a sudden movement in the Forbidden Forest.
The centaurs also came to express their condolences. They did not walk to the open space, instead, they stood in the shadows and watched the wizards without moving.
They watched in silence, their bows by their sides.
Under the scorching sun, Elwyn sighed. It did not matter if Dumbledore was really dead or temporarily gone because of magic. They had lost their most powerful guardian. The rest of the battle was up to them.
Finally, the short man ended his monotonous speech and returned to his seat.
No one stood up to speak again. No one moved, including the minister and Professor Meg.
Time seemed to have stopped at this moment. Everyone was waiting silently.
Suddenly, a few people screamed.
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