Barnaby was reclining in a chair in the Great Hall, feeling utterly down.
According to Harry, the mastermind behind the rune door was Draco, and he was adamant that Snape personally killed Dumbledore using the Killing Curse (which would explain the green light Sanshi saw), but it was hard for him to believe he'd do such a thing.
He considered himself to know Severus Snape well enough to trust that what Harry was saying was false, especially because it was obvious that he was not emotionally stable at the moment. He refused to talk about where they'd been before or what they'd done (it turned out he and Dumbledore had decided to go somewhere together without telling anyone, a complete irresponsibility in his opinion), and something about the entire situation didn't add up.
For example, the fact that Dumbledore's body didn't turn to mush after the fall. It made absolutely no sense—it was pure mathematics!
Dumbledore's robes weren't enchanted, and he didn't have any magical accessories beyond his wand and his secret bag with an undetectable extension charm, filled to the brim with lemon drops.
How the stomach of a centenarian handled the huge amount of sugar and acidity was a mystery that would go to the grave with him.
Of course, there was a possibility that Harry, being the one who found him first, might have taken something from Dumbledore and hidden it from everyone. But Barnaby didn't think Harry was a thief, despite his poor choices lately.
Such as…
"Refusing to tell us what they did out there that was so important the headmaster left the school unprotected, giving the attackers this chance!"
"Potter's stubbornness," Sanshi called it with disdain.
The fact that he wouldn't say anything, despite knowing how important it must be, infuriated Barnaby.
They were the ones who had to deal with the mess those two left behind!
People got hurt, and things could've ended much worse if he hadn't shown up in time…!
Oh, no.
"Damn it, my father's going to break down in tears when he hears about the old man's death," Barnaby rubbed his face in frustration. "And they've already said the funeral's tomorrow."
It almost seemed like they were in a hurry to bury Dumbledore, which, once again, was unusual at the very least.
The next morning, classes at Hogwarts were suspended, and all exams were postponed. Every student (except for those who had mysteriously disappeared, who were either taken out of school by their parents or fled with Draco Malfoy) was present, as were all the teachers.
Barnaby was there with Tonks and his father, who was crying non-stop, listening to Fawkes's lament in the air and often looking around.
On the one hand, he hoped to see Snape hidden somewhere, attending the funeral in secret.
On the other, he was utterly confused by the turnout at the funeral. Leaving aside everyone (and ghosts) from Hogwarts, the number of attendees was strange.
Madame Maxime arrived in her flying blue carriage, a delegation of Ministry of Magic officials that included the current Minister, some residents of Hogsmeade, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, the bassist from The Weird Sisters, the driver of the Knight Bus, Madam Malkin from the robe shop, the deceased's brother Aberforth Dumbledore, the lady who pushes the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express, the squib Arabella Figg, a few centaurs, where he could distinguish Firenze, the people of the Black Lake, his uncle Grawp, and the Weasley family, soon to officially include Fleur Delacour (who was also present).
Only a few hundred (gold) chairs were needed for the occasion, which made him doubt if it was really Dumbledore's funeral.
He expected thousands to come, that there'd be so many people it would look like a sea of faces!
The funeral began, and the song of the lake people echoed around, while people wept. His father carried Dumbledore's body wrapped in purple velvet sprinkled with golden stars to the white marble table.
People cried all around, but neither Barnaby, Tonks, nor Sanshi had any tears for Dumbledore.
A little man in a black robe gave a speech that Barnaby paid little to no attention to, ending the ceremony in a burst of bright white flames that turned the table into a complete white marble tomb, obscuring the body within.
People were startled by the centaurs' rain of arrows, but Barnaby only gave it a passing glance, knowing it was their way of showing respect for the deceased.
Indeed, no arrows touched anyone, and they fell far from the crowd.
After the funeral, Tonks took her father back to his house with the Scamanders to keep him company for the next few days.
And now that he thought about it, how come Newt, Tina, and company hadn't come to the funeral?
The only one who showed up was their grandson.
Barnaby's thoughts were quickly diverted when he caught an unpleasant conversation between Scrimgeour and Harry, asking about his Christmas proposal (whatever that was), with Harry refusing once again, and with an indignant refusal, as if his honor were being questioned or something.
Now, the part that left him speechless was when Harry practically shouted to his two closest friends that, although Hogwarts would remain open, he didn't plan on returning the following year.
As if he needed everyone around to know this information!
And what was with him imitating the Weasley twins?
At least those two had a planned business, and it was going well.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed to want to embark on…
Some sort of self-discovery journey?
Or a mission for Dumbledore, that made much more sense.
But then, the other two told him they'd follow him wherever he went.
Ron's grades were nowhere near good enough to leave school, and Hermione…
Well, good luck to them.
In fact, now that he was thinking about the Weasley family, a thought struck him.
"Will we get an invitation to Bill and Fleur's wedding?"
Well, he'd know soon enough, as at least he knew the approximate date of the wedding, from the twins' mouths when he went to buy more Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.
"I'll get them a gift anyway," he decided. "If only for Bill's sake, poor guy…"