The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 117 Funeral
Ada stayed in the orphanage for the next two days, accompanying Mrs. Mary's bedside. As Ms. Valente said, Mrs. Mary was not awake for a long time every day, and most of the time she was asleep. Moreover, her awake time was getting less and less every day, and sometimes she would talk nonsense, as if she was living in the past.

In the past two days, some people who Ida had never seen or didn't know came to visit Mrs. Mary. They were all children who had lived with her. Some came and went in a hurry, just sitting for a while and then left, while some would stay for a while and want to say a few words of farewell to Mrs. Mary.

Mrs. Mary remembered everyone who came to visit her, their names, when and why they came to live in the orphanage, and when they left the orphanage.

Even if she was still in a coma and didn't see the person, as long as Ada roughly described the person's appearance, Lady Mary could tell the person's name. She never mentioned it to anyone, but she did remember every child who followed her.

Ada had heard a lot about the bad things in the orphanage. When she first came into this world, she was also worried. If these bad things happened to her, how would she deal with it? Would she violently resist the miserable life? Or would she just accept it and live in the world?

Fortunately, Ada was lucky. She met Lady Mary, who tried her best to protect every child. Maybe this is why Ada usually had such bad luck. Her luck was used up in meeting those who treated her well!

On Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Mary was in a good mood and suddenly wanted to go out for a walk and see the children. Ms. Valente and Ada looked at each other and they both knew what this meant. It was almost time.

Ms. Valente and Ada helped Mrs. Mary dress up, and the two of them helped her down the stairs. When the children playing in the yard greeted her, Mrs. Mary smiled happily. She also reminded the children to run slower and be careful not to fall.

Ada helped Mrs. Mary sit on the bench in the yard and let her lean on her. Her weight was so light that Ada didn't even feel any weight.

"Do you remember that when you were a kid you always liked to run around behind the older kids? Even if you fell down you wouldn't cry or make a fuss. Instead you would just dust yourself off, stand up, and continue running." Lady Mary was reminiscing about the past again. What she and Ada talked about most these past two days was the past.

"Since you came back from Green... from the Greens, you stopped playing with the others and stayed in your room writing and drawing." Lady Mary continued, "Once, in order to force you to play with the others, I scolded you severely..."

"Then I followed everyone around, crying, just like before," Ida went on to say. That was the first time Lady Mary lost her temper with her. Even though she was only four years old at the time, she still remembered it clearly.

"If only things could be the same as before. If I could do it all over again, I would never let you meet Green and Taylor again and would never let them hurt you again," said Lady Mary. This was the first time she had said this to Ada. She once thought that Ada deliberately distanced herself from her because she had agreed to Green and Taylor's adoption request.

Ada gently patted Lady Mary on the shoulder and comforted her: "This is never your fault, it's the world that's wrong..."

If she had been adopted by a wizard family, nothing that happened afterwards would have happened, and Ada would not have had the chance to come here. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "if" in this world.

The sky gradually darkened, and the children in the yard followed Miss Nelson back into the building. Mrs. Mary's eyes began to become cloudy and she became unconscious.

She said anxiously, "John, it's so late and Ada hasn't come back yet. Go out and find her and bring her back! Dean, you go too! Quick, quick!"

Lady Mary was talking about the night when Ada had the accident when she was ten years old. John and Dean were the oldest boys in the orphanage, but nothing was found for these two boys.

When they returned to the orphanage, they saw Ada, who looked like a zombie, standing at the door.

"I'm here, right here, I'm back." Ada said, "Don't worry, I'm just back late."

The unconscious Lady Mary stared at Ada for a long time. She didn't know where she got the strength from, but she pushed Ada to the ground and shouted, "No, you are not! John, Dean, go find Ada quickly, she can't be hurt anymore!"

Mrs. Mary kept making a fuss and asked people to look for "Aida" who had not returned yet. Ada had no choice but to stretch out her left hand in front of her eyes and coax her: "Madam, Aida is back. If you don't believe me, I'll help you go and see her." "Okay, okay, let's go quickly..."

Ada helped Lady Mary up again and went back into the building step by step. At the door, they met Ms. Valente who came over after hearing the noise. Together, the two of them helped Lady Mary back to her room on the second floor.

He helped Madam Mary lie down. As soon as she touched the bed, she fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, she still murmured, "Ada... Where is Ada?"

Mrs. Mary, who was sleeping, never woke up again. At around four o'clock in the morning, Mrs. Mary returned to the arms of God, leaving her beloved children forever.

The funeral was held on Monday. After seeing Mrs. Mary's last breath on Saturday afternoon, Ms. Valente arranged all the funeral matters in advance, and Mrs. Mary's body was temporarily stored in the funeral company.

At nine o'clock in the morning, melodious bells rang in the church in Little Whinging. Everyone followed the hearse slowly and the funeral procession stopped in front of the church door. When Lady Mary's coffin was carried into the church, the mourners also followed in.

The white-haired pastor told the life story of Mrs. Mary and led everyone to pray for her soul in heaven. Ms. Valente gave a speech, recalling every moment she spent with Mrs. Mary and thanking her for doing so many ordinary yet great things for the children.

At nearly ten o'clock, people followed the coffin to a cemetery. The grave had been dug, and the coffin was carried to the grave and gently lowered. With the priest's prayer, Mrs. Mary's coffin was slowly placed in the deep grave, and there were soft sobs among the crowd.

Ms. Valente was the first to place the flowers in her hand into the grave. After her, people came forward one by one, bowed to the grave, threw the flowers into the grave, and then left the cemetery one by one. The orphanage arranged food to entertain the people who came to the funeral.

Ada, dressed in black, did not leave the cemetery with the others. She never cried. She had prepared the black clothes in advance, as if her heart was made of stone.

Someone once asked, "Why do people get sad when someone dies? It happens to everyone sooner or later!"

Ada once had similar doubts, but as she grew up, these doubts disappeared. The sadness is that there is one less person in the world who truly treats you.

For Mrs. Mary, who was suffering from illness, death was a relief, and all the sorrow was left to the living. Death was never a terrible thing, it was just another journey of life, another fantasy.

The May wind blew gently across the cemetery. A light drizzle floated in the sky. There was no one around. Ada was saying her final goodbye to the past while talking to Lady Mary.

Ada held her wand like an umbrella, and the magic power gushing out from the tip of the wand formed an invisible barrier above her head. Not a single drop of rain could penetrate the barrier and wet Ada.

Ada stood there quietly until the rain stopped. She slowly slid her magic wand across Mrs. Mary's tombstone. As the wand moved, a wreath appeared on the tombstone.

The cemetery in Little Whinging is not only buried with the remains of Lady Mary, but also with Ada's last connection with the Muggle world and her past.

Thanks to the book friend Lianxing for the reward

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(End of this chapter)