The Weekly Drabble - Epitaphs and Eulogies - Results in!

[cmwinters]

Author Name: cmwinters
House: Slytherin
Title: Friends and Enemies
Word Count: 176

On a cold and rainy day, an old man dressed in crimson and gold robes leaned heavily on a staff as he staggered slowly through sedges and reeds. The pungent smell of the earth was heavy in the air as the old man made his way towards a small hillock upon which a lone gravestone was perched.

At the top of the stone was a verdant and silver crest emblazoned with a hissing snake.

Below the crest were the only words on the stone – it was a poem.

Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,
And the words he used were easy to understand;
He knew wizard folly like the back of his hand;
And was greatly concerned with purity of blood;
He envisioned a school, dungeons to rafters,
And refused to admit those whose veins contained mud.

Godric Gryffindor sighed and shook his head sadly as he gazed upon the tombstone in front of him. In all my life, I had no greater friend, he thought sadly to himself. And no worse enemy.

===

(Epitaph modelled after W.H. Auden's "Epitaph on a Tyrant". "No greater friend, no worse enemy" is said to be the epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Sulla)

[megan_lupin]

Author Name: megan_lupin
House: Gryffindor
Title: Friends, Brothers
Word Count: 337
Note: The ending poem is not mine. It came from FanFiction.Net's Robin4's story, Promises Unbroken.

No one noticed the thin and tired man as he walked down the dirt path. If people had been watching, they would have seen his limping gait and hunched shoulders, his drawn face and shuffling walk. But they did not, because no one was watching.

The man finally made it to his destination at the path’s end and, reaching into his pocket, withdrew a wand.

“Hello, James, Lily,” he muttered, his eyes becoming slightly misty as he looked at the two graves in front of him. Some tears sought to fall from the man’s eyes, but he blinked them away.

As dark clouds shifted across the night sky, the man waved his wand, muttering a few incantations as he did so. Once the bright moon was revealed, its light shone down on a newly created headstone that had just joined the previous two.

Putting away his wand, the man sat next to the new headstone. He placed a hand on the grave to his right, his fingers tracing the name James Potter, and his other hand to the new grave, tracing over Sirius Black with his trembling fingers.

“We were friends,” the man sighed. “Hell, we were more than that . . . we were brothers. Until one left, taking everything with him. But we remained brothers, James.” And as the man stood, he turned back once more.

“Thank you for being my friend, brother.”

The man walked away, leaving behind the trio of graves, and Remus Lupin never looked back. If he had, he would have seen the moon’s light shine on the newest grave, the words upon the marble stone becoming visible.

True friendships never really die
And family isn’t defined by blood
It’s made strong by bonds that won’t break
Tempered and tested by trials and pain
What we are is brothers, and as such we remain
Loyal to one another until the end
And no matter what happens between this moment and then
I shall be always thankful to have had such friends.

----------

Author Name: megan_lupin
House: Gryffindor
Title: In the End
Word Count: 237

The sun shone down on the large gathering of followers who had come together to bid farewell to a hero. The weather was bright and cheerful, much unlike what many would consider a death would be like.

But perhaps, for this one individual, the sun was appropriate.

“We have gathered today to bid good-bye to a wizard who helped so many,” a thin man said. “He fought for what he believed was right, and though he was never thought of as great and powerful in the beginning, he did not allow that to stop him. Instead, he tried his hardest to succeed against all odds, and in the end, many can testify to the fact that he did.

“Neville was never considered the brightest or the most talented. He was never considered to be worthy of notice by many. But he was always loyal, and he always stood up for what he believed in. He was considered by many as an outcast, weird, or even stupid and hopeless. But in the end, the quiet boy turned out to be a powerful man and powerful wizard.

“So today, we send our farewells to him, as he travels on through the world beyond and, like Albus Dumbledore believed, to ‘the next great adventure.’ Neville did not seem like a great, outstanding Gryffindor in the beginning, but in the end, he proved himself far more than anyone could have thought.”

~Megan

[Wembricken]

Author Name: Wembricken
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Legacy for the Living
Word Count: 494
Warnings: Character death

“Last night I sat down and tried to jot out a few notes about what I wanted to say today. But I found it quite difficult, making notes about a man, realizing I would have to speak about him in a manner I had long since ceased to expect. That is, to speak about him and his departure from us all.”

“Thirty-four years together is a wonderfully long time and I dare say there are some of you gathered here today who were once robbed of such time with a loved one. There were times when I too thought that Ernie and I might not be fortunate enough to come this far together. But despite that, it seems at the same time to be such a pitifully short period.”

“When I was first told that Ernie had died, I had trouble really believing it. How does a person go through as much as he did only to die like this? Many of you remember the Second Great War, which started when we were still practically children. And Ernie gave me and others the courage to not only support, but fight for that which we believed in. At a time when uncertainty plagued us all, he stood up and lent a voice to those too afraid or too shy to speak up on behalf of the side of good.”

“Years later, when the old pains of that great war had finally begun to fade, Ernie was confronted by yet another terrible conflict, the Easter Goblin Uprising. I’ll be the first to admit that it seemed like something out of the history books, but Ernie, he hardly gave his duty a second thought. He would be gone for days at a time and would finally return home exhausted. But the thought of doing anything less than his best to try to end that horrible affair never even occurred to him.”

“To have come through so much unscathed, I thought my Ernie invincible. And when he was appointed as Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, I thought he would work the remainder of his career pushing papers and assigning jobs; perhaps less exciting, but certainly much safer. But I should have known better. My Ernie changed a great deal over the years from when we first met in school and he became the sort of man that could not rest if trouble was alight.”

“Ernie did a great deal during his sixty-two years on this earth and I shouldn’t wonder that he’d have done a great deal more if he’d had the chance to stay longer. His character was plain in everything that he did. He was a high achiever, dedicated to his work, but he was also kind and gentle.”

“You leave a loving family and many friends behind, Ernie. But by far the greatest thing you leave is a legacy. And you have made us all better people because of it.”

-Hannah Abbott Macmillan

[Lancelot_blackmagi]

Author Name: Lancelot_Blackmagi
House: Gryffindor
Title: First of the gang to die
Word Count: 499
Warnings: Character Death

Endless processions of students filed past the coffin, each to pay their individual respects to their departed friend. Some deposited their school ties, hanging them on the sides of the casket, making the sombre event awash wish despairing reds and solemn blues. Ginny Weasley passed, she did not leave her tie as so many had before her. She placed her neatly folded sweatshirt by the side of his body. He always told her he loved her smell. Running her fingers through his raven hair, she leant forward and gently kissed his lips before whispering her goodbyes into his ear. He looked so sweet, he was only sleeping.

Guided by her friends, she sat down at the front row as Hogwarts Headmaster, Harry Potter, stepped forward to read his tribute to Ginny’s fallen love.

“Friends, students, members of staff. I come here today to share with you my memories of Michael Corner. Many of you will see these as empty words, I know. But I offer them nonetheless. As far as students, and friends go, Michael was the best you could possibly wish for. He was smart… Tenacious in his pursuit of his goals, socially very popular, and endlessly optimistic. And why not? Michael’s recovery from his initial injuries was hailed as a miracle. He was doing everything that every healer told him he would never do again. He was talking, he was walking. Soon he was even flying again. His inability to remember any of his past life did not hinder him in the least. Soon he was making new friendships, relationships. Perhaps even rekindling old ones. For six whole months, Michael reacquainted this school with his beautiful soul. Many of you here believe that I was somehow responsible for this, and I let you. For I too was desperate to believe it also… We’re taught as teachers that we’re in control of peoples destinies, but the truth is we’re not. All we are are foot soldiers, trying to forge a path for our charges. Michael knew this. He didn’t expect a miracle from me because he knew he was the miracle. What he expected from me was to do my best. And that is what I tried to do. I’m sorry it wasn’t enough. Thank you.”

Taking a deep breath, Ginny walked past Harry to pay her tribute to the fallen hero. “You know, I don’t think Michael would’ve liked today. He always hated school assemblies,” she laughed to herself. “But you know what he did love? He loved Quidditch. He loved being the guy everyone came to when they had a problem, and looking at the faces here today, most of you did at one time. He loved those little sour things you get at Honeydukes. But most of all, He loved Hogwarts. Even when we all talked about moving on after we left, after the war was over, Michael didn’t. He said he always wanted to be a part of Hogwarts… Now he will, thank you.”

[lily_evans34]

Name: lily_evans34
House: Ravenclaw!!!!
Title: A Brother's Love
Word Count: 388
Warnings: Character death. No. Way. Who would have thought?

Fred Weasley took a shaky breath as he stood at the podium, staring out into the sea of faces; none distinguishable enough to recognize. He could hear his mother sobbing towards the front of the crowd, her cries more discernible than the rest. Over and over he opened his mouth to speak, though no words would come. He could feel a solitary tear running down his cheek, though he brushed it away quickly. The hell he was going through was bad enough; he didn’t need to make a fool of himself in front of the crowd. He knew it was irrational to think that everyone would think down upon him for his crying, though that did little to help the tears to fall. Gathering himself, he opened his mouth once more to find his voice.

“We are gathered here today to honor the passing of my dear brother, George Weasley. George was more than a brother to me; he was my best friend. We shared everything, and did everything together. I doubt that there was a day when I regretted having his company. He was like a shadow of myself. Always there to fall back on when I needed him. Some people think that it would be annoying to have a twin. How can you find time to be yourself? But the truth is, I was myself every day of my life. Myself just happened to include George.

“Some people also think that the bond between twins cannot get any stronger. There, they are correct. There were times everyday when I knew what George was thinking, and how he was feeling, without having to even look at him. I just knew. He was a part of me, and I was a part of him.

“And though he is gone, the bond between twins will never be broken. There are times that I wish it was him, not me, speaking to you all this evening. Sometimes I wish that I could just end my pain. But then, I always remember that George is still with me, even though he’s gone. And he would want me, and us all, to keep living, and loving, through this world filled with hate, each day of our lives. Let us all have a moment of silence for our friend, my brother, George Weasley.”

[Magical Maeve]

And the results!

1st: Friends and Enemies by CMWinters

2nd: Thank You by Periwinkle

3rd: Friends, Brothers by Megan_Lupin


Well done, everyone... I got through a whole box of Kleenex with this one.