InsaneJournal

RP: Memorial
Who: Everyone at Hogwarts (add your tags)
Where: By the lake
When: 15:00 - 22 June, 2025
Rating/Warnings:
Summary: Remembering the dead

It was hot today, impossibly so for Scotland, and yet the sky was so dark to be almost black, but not a drop of rain was falling. Jamie had asked Aunt Hermione and Ted for help in setting up a small area. He didn't know how they had managed, but it looked amazing. They had created an altar, low on the ground with plants and flowers of all sorts that covered the altar itself and all around it. As Ben was playing his guitars, the notes of amazing grace gently moving through the muggy air. A queue of people walked to the altar, placing pictures of their relatives. It was a strange assortment of faces. The Malfoys had placed a picture of Narcissa, standing near his grandmother's; Uncle George's photo was sitting next to Marcus Flint's, and Rolf and Sandy were waving at them. There were many others, but the portrait of Dumbledore, smiling at the crowd took the centre stage.

"You can start now, my boy," the portrait said when the queue ended.

James couldn't help but chuckled. "Yes, Sir." The sound from the sky made him look up, and he saw Fawkes flying over the lake. Where the hell had that bloody bird been all of this time? With no answer, he looked back to the crowd.

"As our former Headmaster just said, we should start, but not just with this memorial, but with a new way of life. Today, we remember the many people we have lost, people who've sacrificed their lives, more than once in some cases, to make our world safe, to ensure that all of us can live in freedom. We are here to remember how truly brave all of them were, how committed they were. We're here because we can't forget. We have ahead of us hard times. You've made sacrifices and you'll be asked to make more. Every single one of us will be tested beyond our imagination, but we can't give up, because if we do, our loved ones will have died in vain. We will stand united, facing whatever Riddle wants to throw at us, but I know that you will rise to the challenge and in the end, we will be successful."

He turned to the portrait. "It's been an honour knowing you, Sir. You've change my life in ways I never thought possible," he said, smiling to the old man. "I know I speak for many people, but especially for Severus and Alastor, when I say that our lives were much better because of you." He turned to the crowd again. "I wish we had portraits for all of the people so we could tell each and everyone of them how special they are, but I believe that they knew it all ready, they knew it in their hearts."

James looked at the pictures again, eyes stopping on his grandmother, and he took a deep breath before speaking again. "We cast spells around this memorial so it will be preserved. We understand that people will want to visit in private, but please don't come here at night. Also clear it with security when you leave the castle. We want everyone to have a chance to be here, but we want everyone to be safe, so please stick to these rules. On behalf of Severus, Alastor and myself, I thank you for being here to honour our dead. Thank you."