The Great Wizard's Funeral

At the funeral, more and more people did the same as Pierce, taking off their hats and bowing in respect of the great white wizard.

The low whimpering grew louder, and as Dumbledore's body was buried, many wept uncontrollably, unable to hide their emotions.

For a time, an atmosphere of sadness hung over Hogwarts.

Ivan stood among the students, looking at Hermione and the others, who were quietly sobbing, with mixed feelings.

He could not imagine what his friends would think of him if they knew that Dumbledore had died in a duel with him…

Though it was Voldemort's Dark Magic upon the Horcrux that ultimately killed Dumbledore, in a way, he hastened Dumbledore's death.

With this in mind, Ivan's mood darkened.

The funeral went on for the rest of the afternoon, and Ivan had no intention of staying at the castle any longer than necessary, as Dumbledore's death left him with so many problems and questions that he had to solve one by one.

"Wait…Hales!"

Ivan had just finished his dinner and was leaving the entrance hall when a gruff voice sounded behind him.

Yvonne turned to see Moody walking towards them, leaning on his cane.

"What is it, Professor Moody?" Ivan asked, his expression unchanging as he tried to keep his guard up.

"I heard from Pierce that you were the one who first found Albus's body. Is that correct?" Moody asked as he hurried over to Ivan and fixed him with his magical gaze.

"Yes, that's right," Yvonne said, nodding sadly.

"I'd like you to give me a full description of what happened at the time…" Moody's expression was grave, and he paused before continuing.

"I read the Ministry's notice this morning, but a lot of it was very vague. To tell you the truth, I find it hard to believe that Albus is dead… I almost thought the Ministry was joking when they gave me the notice last night…"

"That's right, it was too sudden! We wanted to know the whole story…" Flitwick, Lupin, and the others came out of the Great Hall, their faces still dark with grief, and Professor McGonagall's eyes slightly red, presumably from crying in secret.

"Actually, I don't know much…" Ivan looked at the members of the Order of the Phoenix and sighed. "As you know, at the end of the last year, after Voldemort's return, I refused Professor Dumbledore's invitation to go to your safe house because of my mother, Alicia…"

"Probably to keep me safe, Professor Dumbledore left me a spell that could be used to contact him urgently, but I never managed to use it."

"But yesterday morning, I suddenly received a coordinate message from Professor Dumbledore, so I hurried over…"

Yvonne spoke fluently of the speech she had thought of.

Given the circumstances, Ivan only told Moody and the others that by the time he got there, Voldemort had fled and Dumbledore was dying.

"You mean Albus was alive at the time?" Moody asked quickly.

Sirius, Lupin, and the others were also surprised.

"That's right, Voldemort was no match for Professor Dumbledore, and by the time I got there, the Professor had defeated him," Ivan said confidently.

"Then why … ?"

Lupin was about to ask a question when Ivan spoke first.

"You should have seen Professor Dumbledore's body. Apparently, he was ambushed by You-Know-Who's Dark Magic. By the time I got there, he didn't have the strength to move…"

Moody and the others nodded; they had examined Dumbledore's body and found that half of it had been eroded by Dark Magic.

"Did the Headmaster order you to do anything?" McGonagall asked. "Why would he be in an abandoned village church, fighting You-Know-Who?"

"All Professor Dumbledore told me was that he was looking for something… Unfortunately, the information he had was that it was a trap deliberately left behind by Lord Voldemort, but I don't know anything more specific than that…" Ivan slowly shook his head, indicating that Dumbledore had been barely alive when he found him, and that it was difficult for him to even speak, thus not leaving much information behind.

"What's he after?" Moody muttered to himself, frowning.

Lupin and Sirius looked at each other with vague speculation.

'Don't tell me it's You-Know-Who's soul…' Sirius began, but Lupin glared at him, forcing him to swallow his words.

"You know about this?" Moody asked, his left hand clutching Sirius's arm tightly.

'If I'm not mistaken, that's the one. No wonder we haven't seen Dumbledore lately…' Sirius said grimly.

In his opinion, the only thing that Dumbledore would go to such lengths to find was You-Know-Who's Horcrux!

This explains Dumbledore's sudden appearance in such a remote location, where Lord Voldemort would surely have hidden the Horcrux.

"Don't make it sound like a riddle, Sirius. What is it that Albus is after?" McGonagall asked Sirius, looking at him unhappily.

"Forgive me if I don't say this, Professor McGonagall, but this concerns the secret of You-Know-Who's immortality, and Dumbledore has asked us to keep it strictly confidential…" Sirius's expression was uncertain.

"But now that Albus is dead, you don't have to keep it a secret!" Moody said angrily, thumping his cane. "We have to figure out what's going on and how to get rid of You-Know-Who!"

Flitwick, Pince, and the others all stared at Sirius, agreeing with Moody.

Lupin, on the other hand, smiled wryly and said, "I think Headmaster Dumbledore is doing the right thing. The fewer people who know about such evil Dark Magic, the better… not everyone can resist the temptation…"

When he saw that Lupin and Sirius were determined to keep it a secret, Moody became furious, his eyes bulging. He had been an Auror for decades and had definitely seen more Dark Magic than anyone present…

Professor McGonagall shook her head helplessly. Then, with a thought, she suddenly turned to Snape, who had been silent, and questioned him.

"What do you say, Severus? This is about You-Know-Who. Surely you know something?"