The way back home was not better, and it started right on the parking lot. Getting actually hugged by one of these freaks wearing a purple top hat of all things, who was deliriously happy about someone being gone, didn't improve his mood. He was just glad when he finally was home.
However, the evening news were not much better, and all the reports about strange things going on in the United Kingdom - strange lights, weather phenomena and unusual animal behavior - unnerved him so much, that he only listened to Petunia being happy over Dudley learning a new word ("won't!") with one ear.
Finally, after Dudley was in bed, he dared to approach the topic.
"Petunia, dear. Weird things have happened today," he tried to approach the topic.
"Really, did they?" Her mood visibly soured, since to her it was obvious what her husband meant.
He knew he had to be delicate about it. "Their crowd was out in the streets, talking about them. Has ... eh ... anything happened?"
Petunia shook her head. "If it did, I wouldn't know."
Vernon had guessed as much, but tried further. "Their son was mentioned. What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"
"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me." Petunia made no secret that her dislike of her sister also applied to Harry Potter - a boy she had never met. "Vernon, I'm done with these people. It brought me nothing but unhappiness. We agreed to never talk about that again, remember?"
Vernon knew this was the end of the discussion as far as Petunia was concerned. He decided to not annoy her further and simply forget the entire thing. After all, this freakishness would never touch their well-ordered lives after Petunia had cut her sister out of her life for good some years ago.
Oh, how wrong he was, though the impact would be more of an indirect nature.
...November 8th, Godric's Hollow churchyard...
It had been made clear to the magical press to stay out of the churchyard of Godric's Hollow while the funeral of James and Lily Potter took place. That was not only out of respect for the deceased and the mourners, but also because their behavior and inability to blend in would have caused a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy, something the Ministry was enforcing hard after the serious breaches some days ago.
That was why the Aurors guarding the yard were dressed as Bobbys, in order to not attract attention, though those with little exposure to the Muggle world looked obviously unwell in the uniforms. The mourners themselves also looked perfectly ordinary, something that had taken even more pains to accomplish. It was baffling, especially to many muggleborn, how frighteningly ignorant wizards and witches could be of even the most basic things found outside of the bubble of the magical world.
It worked, however, in that the locals didn't ask any questions - needing an Obliviator squad was the last thing anyone wanted - and just saw the funeral of the inhabitants of the exploded house and police making sure to keep unwanted gawkers away.
Of course no one was naive. They knew these press vultures would be lurking on nearby rooftops or trees and use telescope charms on their cameras to get the pictures they wanted. It was pretty obvious newspapers and magazines would be plastered with illegally made photos. Some - especially Sirius - hated the very thought of the yellow press snooping into such a private thing.
Their main target - the very people that were rumored to have accepted guardianship of Harry Potter - had tried everything to not present any clues to their identity, the cold weather thankfully making it easier for them to put on a good disguise.
Thomas felt a bit stupid wearing a wide-rimmed top hat and big sunglasses together, and the high collar obscuring the lower half of his face only added to it. Veronica felt little better with the black headscarf wrapped around her head and over the lower half of her face and the big sunglasses obscuring her eyes. However, the disguise was good; no one would be able to identify them. Harry, whom Veronica was carrying in a harness on her front, didn't need a disguise, since children at that age looked utterly alike.
Petunia was not present. Even though that was little surprise to Thomas, as it was him who had given her the news and heard her reaction, he still felt a bit hurt by it. Petunia being petty enough to continue her enmity to Lily even postmortem went to far in his book.
He could see the vultures who were greedily making their pictures, they were not as good at hiding as they thought they are, and he felt revulsion. Make your pictures. This is the last time you'll see him for ten long years!
Finally, the coffins with the deceased married couple arrived, each of them carried on the shoulders of four men. Sirius and Remus were at the very front, carrying the coffin of James Potter. Everyone became silent while following the sober procession to the gave that would be the final resting place of the Potters.
Sirius, while carrying James' coffin, couldn't help but to feel more bitterness coming up. In his mind it was the sheer inability of the magical world to learn from the past - the Muggels certainly did - that caused him to lose his friends. It was adding to all his recent thoughts and his decision was starting to form.
Looking down while the coffins were being lowered, Veronica noticed that Harry had fallen asleep.
Maybe it's better that way. He wouldn't understand anyway at this age, but it still is too depressing, she thought.
After all, the obituaries were now starting.
o