The Death Knell

When everyone was almost there, everyone collectively arrived at the church near the cemetery through the door keys that had been arranged in advance. After all, they had all been informed in advance that they would need to participate in Muggle society today, so they were not wearing their usual robes. , Dumbledore also turned out the three-piece suit he had worn when he was young and put it on.

While everyone was eating, drinking and chatting in the shop, Hermione was here to stand in front of them.

The main purpose is to deceive the pastor of the church into believing that the deceased was a devout believer, but he had been abroad with his family and friends in the past. This time, his soul returned to his hometown and returned to the embrace of the Lord.

In short, it is all kinds of lies.

In fact, none of the wizards believe in God, and their catchphrases are often "Merlin's Beard" and the like. But since they want to use the church's cemetery, it is necessary to act here.

Now that the people have arrived, the ceremony can begin.

The pastor felt a little strange about the family members attending the ceremony, because the clothes of these people were from twenty years ago, and many of them seemed not to even understand what 'Amen' meant.

When he picked up the Bible, these people tilted their heads and stared at him, as if they didn't know how to react. They had to rely on several children to teach him.

If it were any other time, the pastor would have turned against him and kicked the person out, but this time it was different.

The relatives of the deceased donated too much money to the church. Even if the person in the coffin is the reincarnation of Satan, he must be buried behind the church!

The pastor turned a blind eye and continued the process. He thought he would be the protagonist today. As before, he would mainly do the talking during the funeral.

However, after the relatives finally placed flowers in the coffin, kissed the deceased's face as white as paper, and the beautiful pine coffin was covered...

The seven black people who had been sitting in the back row suddenly stood up!

These people have confident smiles on their faces, wearing black suits and ties, and black and white leather shoes. The leader wears a top hat, and the other six people wear boat-shaped hats, and even wear brown sunglasses in the room.

The pastor closed his eyes in pain, and then closed the Bible. He knew it was not that simple.

The leading black man seemed to be used to such scenes. He walked up to the priest and crossed himself on his chest: "Praise my Lord, can we take over next?"

The pastor put the Bible on the podium and lowered his voice: "Are you from Ghana?"

"Yeah." The black man smiled and nodded.

The pastor smiled bitterly and said, "There is nothing we can do. The sponsor has such a request. We are all believers in God, so what else can we do?"

"He is yours."

Before 1957, the Republic of Ghana was still called the Gold Coast. It was a colony of the British Empire. The colonists plundered various resources and slaves from there, sold them to all over the world, and brought faith and English with them.

Although Ghana was later forced to recognize its independence and the Gold Coast slaves in the UK became freedmen, their cultural traditions still retained their old habits.

For example, there are all kinds of coffins. Ghanaians like to customize their coffins with different appearances, such as looking like a car, looking like a mobile phone, looking like a Coca-Cola bottle, etc.

Their coffins can be of any shape the deceased liked during their lifetime.

For another example, Ghana has had the custom of "happy mourning" since ancient times. They believe that death is just a new beginning, and the deceased seems to be traveling alone, so the living must send their loved ones away happily.

Singing, dancing, and drinking and eating around the coffin are common mourning procedures there. This was practiced long before they became the Gold Coast colony. However, they were later colonized by the British, so the funerals incorporated some rituals of God's faith.

As a professional counterpart, the pastor certainly understands this, and he could have participated. After all, according to Ghanaian customs, even strangers who want to dance are welcome.

But now that I am getting older and this is the Lord’s residence, I might as well forget it.

"Amen."

The black man saluted with skillful movements, and then winked at the people behind him.

The six people dispersed in an instant. They grabbed the bottom of the coffin and exerted force. The big wooden box flew high into the sky and landed firmly on the shoulders of several people in front of everyone's attention.

The leading black man held the cane he brought with both hands and struck a pose. Immediately afterwards, magical and cheerful music came from the small speaker he carried with him. Several people sang and danced and carried the coffin before going out.

Only then did the pastor notice that except for a little girl covering her face, the relatives of the deceased looked interested and eager to try.

Forget it, let's go through the process and wait by the tomb.

The professional team that walked out of the church seemed to let themselves go. They began to carry the coffin and perform various fancy movements, such as flipping the coffin up and down, or crawling on the ground with the coffin, or several people lying on the ground and lifting the coffin. Put it on your shoulders, and then kick your feet in the air.

The movement was very slow, with stops and starts, and constant dancing.

This funeral process was originally like this. In fact, it was their first time to dance while carrying the coffin. Although they were professional mourners, in the past, only a few people carried the coffin and a few others danced around the coffin.

But this time the employer had special requirements, asking them to carry the coffin and jump. For this, they paid a large price and even chartered a plane transfer.

The team leader felt that this business could be done, and dancing with a coffin was not difficult for a professional team like them. As long as everyone practiced using empty coffins filled with sand for two days in Ghana, it would be easy to do it.

The music was cheerful, the sun was just right, and the black people raised their heads and chests confidently and moved in unison.

Stepping, panning, rotating, perfect!

Dumbledore, who was following the coffin, wiped his eyes and said emotionally:

"Ah, music and dance are always moving."

Sirius also burst into tears and smiled, and nodded: "You are right, Principal, Regulus has loved fun since he was a child, and he will be happy if he does this today."

Flitwick was already dancing to the music of the black people. He learned the dance steps and said: "Headmaster, if I die one day, can you give me a Muggle funeral? I think my coffin will Relatively light.”

"Good advice, Professor Flitwick." Dumbledore also learned to twist a few times and kept up with the music: "I think every professor who has ever taught at Hogwarts should be provided with such benefits. .”

Snape didn't jump, but his fingers could be seen shaking to the music, and the muscles on his face were twitching, as if he was restraining himself from laughing.

Ron's family all went to dance. It was their first time to attend a Muggle funeral. This was a novel but pleasant experience.

The people from the Order of the Phoenix were not familiar with Regulus. They came to attend the funeral only because Sirius contributed the ancestral home as a base. If it were really that kind of serious funeral, no one would be able to cry. Even Mourning has to be fake.

It's much better now. Can't you cry or dance?

In this way, participating in the funeral gave Sirius face, and he didn't have to pretend to be sad, which made him feel awkward.

Everyone present was very satisfied. Although everyone didn't say it, they all thought that Professor Wilson, who helped organize the funeral, was really a genius in planning...