Ginny insisted, the next morning, that they all eat their breakfast before donning their dress robes. Ginny hated having to go over everyone with her wand as they were walking out the door. She had Lily's lavender and black dress robes hung on the door. She handed them off to the girl as she went up to get dressed

Ginny picked up the package Molly had sent yesterday afternoon and pulled out Tim's new robes, "Here's yours, lovey." said Ginny.

Tim didn't say anything, but Harry could see the suspicion in the child's eyes as Ginny drew them out of the bag. Abruptly, Harry realized that the wizard robes would look like a muggle girl's dress.

The boy bit his lip, glaring at Ginny distrustfully, but not speaking, as if he suspected he was being made fun of. Harry wondered if Tim's magic was going to make another appearance. It seemed as though any time Tim felt unable to articulate himself, his magic came out.

"I better go get mine." said Harry, "Come on Tim, you need to find a shirt and trousers anyway." Harry slipped upstairs to grab his own robes, it might be easier to convince Tim that way, "Need any help?"

Tim shook his head. As always.

Tim was halfway back down the stairs, when Harry emerged dressed. Harry heard the floo before he was back down the kitchen.

Through the door to the kitchen, Harry could see that his older sons were both in the dress robes, that Ginny had sent them the day before.  For once their messy hair was neatly brushed and not sticking up everywhere, "Oh, you two look very smart." said Ginny, approvingly.

Harry came into the kitchen, pulling on his own dress robes, "Come on, Tim." he said gently, "We can't be late." He indicated the robes that were neatly hanging after Ginny had used her wand to get the wrinkles out.

Tim gave Al and James a furtive look. The two boys were greeting their sister and their mother. Al looked up and saw Tim, "Hello," he said gently, "You must be our new brother, then."

Tim shrugged. Harry was beginning to hate that gesture, "Hi." said Tim very quietly to Albus. He turned to Harry, more concerned with the issue of clothing right now, "Everyone wears these? Even the boys?" he asked, sceptically.

Harry nodded, reassuringly, indicating his own attire, "Yeah."

The boy seemed to make up his mind that, since everyone was wearing robes, it must be all right. With a sigh Tim pulled the unfamiliar garments over his shirt and trousers.

James turned to give the boy a smile, "All right, then?"

"Fine." the boy replied. Harry was beginning to hate that word, too.

Ordinarily, Harry wouldn't have worried about how Tim dressed, but wizards (like everyone, Harry assumed) were very particular about their funerals. Ginny and Molly were both adamant that this be treated as a family funeral, and nobody was going to contradict both of them.

After the War, Harry had had ample opportunity to become very familiar with the funeral traditions of wizards. While ordinary black might be a general color of mourning, there were other colors people sported according to their relationship to the deceased. White trim for spouses of the deceased. Dark green for parents, Lavender for sisters and daughters, grey for brothers and sons.

The Weasleys would all show in their dress cloaks and robes, the colors black with the touches of lavender for the women and grey for the men, signifying that Mary was an honorary member of their family. Tim himself, since he was the underage son of the deceased, wore grey robes with black trim.

Nekroun and Cenotaph had sent an old fashioned black car to pick them up. It was on the curb waiting for them at promptly eleven o'clock. As the six of them piled in, the car's bench seat stretched obligingly.

The ride wasn't that long. Tim was quiet the whole way. Al and James talked in hushed voices about their last Quidditch match. Ginny was staring out of the window, deep in thought.

Lily sat beside Tim, holding his hand. He seemed to be comforted by that. When they got to the little church, he was still holding Lily's hand firmly.

He looked surprised as the Weasleys arrived, getting out of their various cars. He whispered something to Lily, "It's just the family." Harry heard her reply.

Harry was sure that Tim had no idea that "just the family" meant this whole tribe.

He whispered to her again, "Well...I guess we always all turn up when something important happens." she said, sounding a little puzzled.

Harry hoped the next time they all were together, it could be for a happy occaision. A wedding or a child's naming. Perhaps for Tim's adoption? At least with Tim's first exposure to the entire family, they were all a bit more subdued than usual.

Harry was surprised to see Phillip and Eleanor turn up in wizard robes. Eleanor's trimmed with muted lavender like the rest of the witches, and Philip wore a grey tie under his cloak. Dudley wore a sober black business suit with grey tie and handkerchief. Ginny must have sent them an owl explaining the color scheme.

The vicar of the little church was an elderly man who had known Mary since she had been baptised. If he was taken aback by the twenty-odd people who attended Mary's burial, he gave no sign. Harry heard Mr. Clark tell the man, in a low voice, that Tim's foster family were "Meredith's people". Harry got the idea that the vicar thought they were some sort of well-off gypsies and, as such, wore their native costumes to funerals.

Harry had to smile at that version of the truth.

Ginny took Tim to go sit at the front of the little group of chairs that had been set up there. The other children followed behind.

Molly came to stand beside Harry, "How is he?" she asked, indicating Tim.

"About how you'd expect." sighed Harry, "It's just, he's so quiet. It's hard to tell how he's doing."

Molly smiled crookedly, "Reminds me of another boy I knew once."

Harry returned the smile sadly, "I suppose he does." something occurred to Harry, "Did you really used to send howlers to Dumbledore?"

"Did Arthur tell you that?" asked Molly, looking a little pink, although her smile hadn't gone.

"N-no..." Come to think of it, where had Harry heard that? "It must have been Minerva."

"I sent a howler that time the boys took the car and rescued you. And then again at the end of the summer, because you'd gained so much weight, that I knew they weren't exaggerating about the muggles starving you. I sent one when we heard you'd run away the next summer. And then again at the end of the year. Fourth year, I think I sent him one every other week."

Harry looked at her incredulously, and then laughed a little. "I thought I was the only one who destroyed the man's office."

"After the incident with the Dementors, I not only sent him howlers, I shouted at him in front of the whole Order." Molly was definitely blushing now.

"Was that the reason why Arthur and the rest had a word with Uncle Vernon that next summer?" that had made Harry's life easier, the man had resolutely ignored Harry the whole time he was there, that year. Until Dumbledore came to fetch him.

"Oddly enough, no." said Molly slowly, "That was Professor Snape. I'll never forget it, it was just so odd. Showed up late one night, just after Sirius was killed. Tonks and Remus were both there too. He told Arthur and I that we needed to do something about your relations before...well, before the Dursleys killed you just as dead as the Dark Lord could. And then he told Remus that he didn't like you, but he wouldn't condemn a dog to live your life with the Dursleys. To tell you the truth, thats why it was such a shock when..." She trailed off

"Huh." Harry would have to think on that.

Just then the hearse drove up to the curb. Not pulled by thestrals, fortunately.

"I'd better go sit down." said Molly, joining Arthur who had introduced himself to Dudley and Phillip and was deep in conversation with them.

Bill, Charlie, Lee, George, Percy, Ron and Harry acted as pall bearers, carrying the lily laden coffin to rest on the Muggle contraption that was to lower it into the freshly dug earth.

The vicar spoke several solemn prayers that Harry didn't hear, as he watched Tim out of the corner of his eyes.

Tim sat quietly in his folding chair to Harry's left with Ginny on the other side. The boy let no emotion show on his face. Harry imagined that the child felt it was far to public a venue for that.

Lily, Albus, and James sat on the other side of Ginny. Ron, Hermione and their children were sitting to Harry's right.

Dudley and Phillip sat with Eleanor beside Molly and Arthur

The whole company sat very still, until the vicar was done and the coffin lowered.

Tim, Harry and Ginny used hand shovels to throw a few shovels full of dirt into the grave. Had this been a funeral in a Wizard cemetery, the family might have used their wands to complete the grave themselves, but Harry understood that the gravedigger here used an earthmover to finish it.

When that was done, the subdued group walked back to the churchyard gate.

Ron casually dropped back from walking beside Hermione, "Harry..." said Ron in a very low voice, "Over there, across the street..."

Ron didn't need to say anything more. Harry kept his face straight ahead, but flicked his eyes toward a movement. A figure in Muggle clothes leaned casually against the wall, looking furtively at the group. Harry would have been more comfortable if the man had been staring. A man staring at the whole company of them might not have been anymore than he seemed.

"Do we have a description yet?" asked Ron.

Harry understood what he was asking, "No, not that it matters." Harry muttered back. If it was a wizard, he could be using any number of spells to change his appearance, "Pass the word, I don't like it."

Harry had wondered in the back of his mind if the Dark Wizard who'd fathered Tim might try to get the boy back. Now it didn't seem like an idle thought. There were myriad dark spells that used the blood of children. Or else the man might simply fancy having an heir. It was likely that the man had a tracking spell on Mary, given the speed at which he'd found her when she left the hospital. There were any number of ways to track one's family.  Molly had a simple one in the form of her clock.

"Hey, Gin?" said Harry softly, "Across the street. What do you think?"

In answer, Ginny loosened her wand, under cover of tucking her handkerchief into her sleeve, "Come along, then. Let's not dawdle." she said crisply to the children. Harry dropped back to his accustomed place behind his family.

A little murmur went around the group. Wands were held at the ready in pockets or sleeves. If a Dark Wizard had thought to ambush them at the funeral, he couldn't have picked a worse group. Two were Aurors, and the rest were still in practice. Ginny and Harry often duelled with any combination of Weasleys to keep their skills up.

Harry was relieved when they arrived back at the cars without incident.

A bus roared by and next time Harry looked, the figure was gone. It was possible that the man had moved on, or perhaps the sound of the bus had covered the sound of apparition.