Chapter 61: Funeral

Chapter 61: Funeral

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26th June 1995, Godric's Hollows

(Nathan POV)

When Nathan woke up today, it was several seconds before he remembered what will be occurring that day. Then he hoped childishly that it had been a dream, that Jasmine was still there and had never died, that Dumbledore had never betrayed him or raised him like a lamb to slaughter. Today was a very sad day in the Potter household. Today was the day of the funeral of Jasmine Potter.

Nathan had never been close to his twin sister, definitely not as close as Rose was. He ignored her at first, as a way to deal with his own guilt. Then when he reached out, she welcomed him with her arms open, the only thing that irked him was her unwillingness to accept his parents. Other than that, she was completely cordial and friendly, even if she was very secretive. He didn't know how it began, but he started to feel hostility towards her, maybe it was Dumbledore's words, maybe it was his own jealousy of her talent or of her relationship with her sister. He didn't know and it didn't matter anymore; his actions were all the same. He still tattled on her to Dumbledore which caused his father to disinherit her officially. He even stopped her relationship with Rose. Rose was never the same after that, she smiled less, barely talked to anyone and just felt numb. That little action cost him and his family the last few months they could have had with her, something her regrets severely.

He could not mourn her, not truly; he never knew her, really knew her. He didn't know what she liked, what she hated, what her favorite food was, what her favorite spell was. Nathan mostly mourns what could have been. Before, he had been so sure that he never wanted to see her again and didn't expect to after the Tri Wizard tournament. But now, that he was sure that he never will, he felt a deep sense of loss. Would she have survived, should he have tried to befriend her, should he have not betrayed her?

Probably not. He was not under the delusion that he could beat Albus Dumbledore; his sister had died to him, and she was miles better that he was. But perhaps those last few months would have been spent with her, instead of pushing her away.

Nathan jumped down from his own bed and slowly walked out of his room. He tried his very best to avert his eyes from the door of Jasmine's empty room. His parents had been taking care of it, even after they gave her away and had furnished it when they knew that she was going to summoned later that year. When he was younger, that door had served as a motivation for him to get better. He had dreamt of finding his twin and going on adventures together. What a fool he was.

He still couldn't believe that Jasmine was given away by their parents. It was a betrayal of the highest order. They might have liked to say they didn't have any choice, but there was no reason to not check up on her. They could use the floo in their house, even if they couldn't leave, they could still contact the outside world. His parents should have asked someone to check in on her, a squib or something to make sure she was alright. The misery and pain Jasmine suffered through was because of his parents' betrayal just as much as it was his monstrous muggles relatives' fault. She should have been angry at his parents, she should have been bitter, but she wanted nothing to do with them and in a way that hurt them more than if she had hated them.

He slowly walked towards the kitchen where his mother was silently making breakfast. No one said a word to each other, not even a hello. He knew that no matter the grief he felt, it paled compared to Rose's or his parents. Rose lost her confidante, her best friend and his parents had just found out that they betrayed their child once more, but now they would never make it up to her, it was too late. They can call betraying her once an accident but the second time, they knew exactly what they were doing, not that he was any better, he did the same thing.

He continued, "Alright, I will not pretend that I knew Jasmine well, and I have failed her in ways I could not describe. We all did, in our own ways. My biggest regret in life is my decision to give her away. But alas, we cannot travel back in time. I realize now that we didn't even try to make an effort to have her back other than just asking her to come back to a family that caused her so much pain. We have failed her in life, but the least we can do is honor her in death. She was the bravest one of us all, a true Potter and died with her head held high like a Potter would. She did not bow. Perhaps we should learn from this, from her. She died a Potter and should be buried as a Potter. Goodbye, Jasmine. We will miss you."

Everyone was tearing up. His father swished his wand once more and the hole was patched back up, as if it was never dug. His father took out something else from his pocket and enlarged it once again. It was a tombstone with a Jasmine flower on top, in the middle, Nathan read, "Jasmine Potter, may she bloom even in death". It was as beautiful as the casket and Nathan had no doubt that his father made them himself.

They stayed at Jasmine's grave for a while and left together, in silence, back to the cottage and sat down in the living room.

"She loved you, you know?" Nathan's thoughts were interrupted by his sister's voice.

Nathan looked confusingly at her, and she continued, "She loved you, believed in you. Even after you went to Dumbledore about her. I was angry, I told her that I hated you and that I wanted to leave with her. She said 'Hate is a very strong emotion, Nathan is young, misguided, a bit nave. Nobody is perfect when they're growing up. Nathan has so much potential, he could help so many people and he needs you. It will come a time where he will understand how wrong he was, and you need to make sure to pick up the pieces.'"

"How, what I did was horrible." He protested.

"Yes, it was. You broke my trust and Jasmine's. You went behind our back, and it was wrong of you. Jasmine never blamed you for it, she always called you young, anyways." She answered.

Nathan stayed silent, no believing what he had just heard.

"You're not going to leave me?" he asked, hating how vulnerable he sounded.

Rose snorted, "No, I'm not. I'm honoring my sister's final words to me. This is the last chance, prove to me that Jasmine was right about you, show me the potential she saw in you."

Nathan nodded, "I will." And he meant it. He was going to learn from what happened to Jasmine. He will never trust anyone blindly anymore; he will start thinking things through. He will make sure that nobody suffers like Jasmine did.

Rose seemed to approve to what she saw on his face because she smiled at him, it was the first time she did that in months and he knew that now, he and Rose were going to be closer than ever. It's a shame that their sister had to die for it to happen.

They stayed silently until an owl came into the house and dropped a letter. It was supposed to be impossible; the wards stop unauthorized people from sending them mail. His father took the letter carefully, casting detection spells on the enveloped. Nathan assumed that it was safe because his father opened the letter. "It's from Gringotts," he said, "we're being summoned to the bank. It's about Jasmine's will."