Harry gave a shrug not really understanding what Fred meant nor did he really care. He sighed as he turned to the Headmaster as the man stood up once more.

 "We all know of the situation that caused our normal lives to cease to be what they were that tragic day. Hogwarts lost 23 of its pupils that day and I know each and every one of you has been touched by this feeling of loss. Starting tomorrow everyone will be seeing a mind healer to determine how affected they are during this time. It is mandatory for every student to visit the infirmary when it is their time," Albus told the students seriously. No one would be getting out of this. He had failed his students once before he wouldn't be making that mistake this time.

Harry knew he wasn't the only one who tensed at the beginning of the Headmaster's speech. He hadn't know that 23 students had died, but looking around the room he could see the empty spaces and he swallowed thickly as his grief made itself know. He knew that he and Ron were going to be seeing the healers for quite some time. He tended to hold in his emotions and apparently that wasn't good according to his guardians.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The return back to classes for Harry wasn't necessarily hard per say, it was more that he found himself turning to look for his dorm mate only to remember that the Irish boy had died. He knew he wasn't the only one who reacted when Neville accidently blew up something in charms. It was Dean though who was clearly struggling with the grief that came along with that. He didn't know how he would have functioned if Ron had died. He shook his head not wanting the thoughts to take over. He knew he wasn't alone in his thoughts he just didn't want them to be in the forefront of his mind.

He had seen Theo have a full blown panic attack in DADA just yesterday. He still wasn't sure what had brought it on, only that Remus had canceled the class and ushered Theo into his office. He sighed, they weren't coping very well, but he guessed the only thing that would help was time.

Harry was feeling a sense of guilt at being so happy all things considering but before the accident at the school he had been living with his relatives and now he had two amazing guardians. He hated that it took all of this for him to get a real family. He wasn't completely sure how he felt about it. He could see a few more notable changes in his classmates, especially Neville. When they went down to the Dungeons for their Potion's class he had see that his friend didn't seem to be as afraid of Professor Snape as before. He longed to ask him about it, but he was afraid that it would trigger something and he didn't want that.

As it was they were on their way out of the potion's classroom and about to head to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry made sure that Ron was next to him before his eyes unconsciously searched out the blonde hair Slytherin. He didn't feel any time of hatred for the boy any longer, as Draco had lost two of his dorm mates and close friends. Besides after all that there was no reason to fight. It seemed they weren't the only one in agreement as the Slytherins weren't versus the Gryffindors any longer, well at least not at this time. He spotted the boy who looked to be hunched in on himself and he frowned, slowing down slowly so they could match his pace.

"Hey Draco, you doing alright? Do you want to sit with Ron and I at dinner?" Harry asked casually. He was playing nice, both of his guardians seemed to be in agreement that Draco wasn't doing as well as he let on but he didn't seem inclined to take their offer of help up. Not to mention Fred seemed to think Draco needed a friend. Harry was willing to offer his friendship; he didn't like seeing his peer like this. He hated to say this, but he kind of missed the old Draco.

Draco turned to stare at Potter in disbelief before he shook his head. He wanted to say yes, Merlin he did but he knew he couldn't. How would that look to everyone else, if he was having a good time when his friends were dead? He shook his head shaking away the thoughts before he looked over at the other boy.

"Another time," he muttered out before he hurried down the hallway.

Draco didn't want the other boy to try to get another time. He was finding out these Gryffindor were persistent when they wanna be. He knew he would eventually give into their wants but something inside of him didn't feel like he had deserved it. He was pulling away from his friends and they didn't even notice it, too busy into their own turmoil. He didn't blame them but it was hard dealing with this pain on his own. Pansy was even different, he frowned he hadn't actually seen her at all day come to think of it. He hoped nothing was wrong.

Harry watched him go with a firm nod. He was gonna befriend Draco no matter what. He knew he could use more friends and so could the blonde Slytherin. He just needed a plan.

~*~*~*~1 month later*~*~*~*~*~*

Fred couldn't believe it, he was ecstatic for his brother. Percy was walking again, when he had given up hope on ever doing it. He agreed with his father whole heartedly, muggles were good people they had great ideas sometimes. And now the magical community would be taking a page out of their book so to speak. His brother had magical prosthetics, the first of its kind and he was flourishing. He grinned brightly unable to wipe it off his face, not that he wanted too.

It was the first time where he felt like he had no worries. It had been a while since he had felt this. As he walked into the Great Hall for dinner, his eyes immediately went to scan the Slytherin table to look for Draco, frowning when he didn't see the blonde boy. Where was he? He racked his mind trying to figure out where the boy might be when he closed his eyes and cursed underneath his breath.

"Fuck," he hissed out, remembering in that moment that he and Draco were meant to meet up earlier that day at lunch.

"Language Mr. Weasely," Minerva said giving him a disapproving look as she had been right behind him.

"Sorry Professor, I just, I have to go. Excuse me," he said before he hurried out the hall leaving a confused Headmistress behind.

The Gryffindor teen check in the Slytherin Dungeons first, but he wasn't there before; he went through all of Draco's usual hiding spots coming up empty.  He knew Draco was probably angry with him, and that was fine. He would plead for his forgiveness and then tell him what had kept him. He knew the boy would understand. He was frowning and he hurried back towards the Gryffindor tower to find mostly everyone gone.

That was fine; he needed the Marauders map anyway. Harry wouldn't mind, especially since they had given it back to him.  Accioing the item, he revealed the code and looked for the child, grinning triumphantly when he found him on the map. He was in an old classroom on the 8th floor, what was he doing there? He would find out, and soon hurried out the common room and up the steps.

As he got higher, he found himself getting an ominous feeling in his stomach, and his speed increased. He was worried beyond belief and his fast paced walk soon turned into a run that left him panting as he stood outside the door and pocketed the man.

"Please be okay," he whispered out softly to himself before he opened the door, only to gasp in horror as he took in the scene and running in. "Draco!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Down in the Great Hall, George was chatting happily with his friends, and his little brother, happy to see that Ron was almost back to his normal self. It was a slow going process but at least the boy seemed to be listening now, the mind healer was definitely helping a lot. And thanks to everyone who was seeing one, no one looked twice that Ron was going 3 times a week.  He had been wondering slightly about where his twin was but as he didn't see Malfoy at the Slytherin table he deduced they were together, nothing strange about it.

However, unbeknownst to him, but when his brother found Draco, in that very moment he felt a jolt go through his own body and froze at the implications of what that mean. Identical twins in both the muggle and magical world shared a connection, a type of bond if you will. In the case of magical beings they were truly one in the same so to speak. The same way that allowed him to finish his brother's sentences allowed him to feel when something wasn't right. He stood up suddenly in alarm.

"George? What is it mate?" Lee asked quietly.

"Something's wrong," he said finding himself choking on a sob as a wave of grief that wasn't his came through their bond.

He turned to look at his little brother worriedly who was staring at him blankly, a slight curious expression in his eyes but wasn't speaking. Merlin he hoped whatever this was didn't backtrack all of that hard work they had done to Ron. This was nothing new sadly, but still he wished that everything was back to normal.

"Is it Fred?" Harry asked the question they were all wondering about.

"I don't know, stay here. Do not follow me Ronnie," he said firmly getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, especially as he noticed the hard look his brother was sporting in his direction.

"Why not? You said that last time and you left me and Percy was hurt," Ron said softly, his voice hoarse from disuse. It had been a while since he had talked, maybe 1 month ago; weeks and days had just passed him by as he felt like he had nothing to say anymore.

"I have a bad feeling, get the Professors but don't you dare come after me," George said seriously before he took off at a run out the great hall.

"He's always bossing me around, like I'm a little baby. I can come if I want too," Ron grumbled out but there was no bite in his voice just acceptance, and he quickly silenced once more. He shook his head, the fight leaving him in that moment and his blank look returned.

"He's your older brother, he has that right," Hermione pointed out gently.

"Let's just get Professor Snape," Harry said quickly just on the off chance that they would break into an argument but that was for naught and he sighed. Ron had withdrew into himself again. "Damn it Ron," he hissed out as he looked at Hermione helpless at the turn of events.

"It's a coping mechanism Harry, you know that. He feels safe in there, so he hides," Hermione said softly, putting an arm on her friend's shoulder.

"I don't, wanna talk about this. I need to get Snape and Sirius," Harry said as he jerked away from the girl and ran towards the staff table.

Remus noticed him first, wondering just why Harry was running up to the Head table. Students usually waited until after they ate before talking to their teachers but this could be personal. As Harry had 3 people up here that he counted as his Uncles, himself included he knew it could be any one of them the child wanted.

"Sirius, did you need to talk to Harry?" Severus asked curiously, beating Remus to punch of asking.

"No, I thought you did; Remus, you?" Sirius replied turning to look at the werewolf.

Remus shook his head slowly, turning to look at the child. "Harry, what's going on?"

"Something's wrong with Fred I think. George just ran out here, after he got weird feeling about his twin or something. He said to get a Professor and not to follow him. So I think something bad happen," Harry said worriedly.

"Stay here, we'll go. You and your friends are not to follow," Severus told him firmly as he stood up, and gestured to the men.

"We're not gonna go, Ron went away again anyway," he said sadly.

"Damn it," Sirius muttered unconsciously echoing Harry's words.

"That's the same thing I said," Harry said with a smirk.

"Language Harry, and Sirius," Remus said with a disapproving look before giving his companions a look. "I should probably stay here, make sure that Harry doesn't go anywhere," he said quietly keeping it to himself that Theodore was constantly glancing back and forth at him. He couldn't leave and go with them not unless he wanted the child to freak out.

"It's fine Moony, it shouldn't take long," Sirius said before he and Severus quickly exited out the Great Hall.

"It would be nice to have Harry's little map right about now," Severus said as he did some point me spells as they took off at fast walk.

"Yeah, it's probably in his dorm," Sirius said as they headed up the stairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fred swallowed thickly feeling like his heart had stopped as he looked at the younger boy sadly.  He wanted to turn around and pretend he never saw this but he couldn't do that, this was Draco. His tears fell silently as he got closer to the younger boy before with his shaking hands he untied the rope and gently set the boy down on the ground. He gently closed the unseeingly gray eyes, now he looked asleep but he knew he was anything but.

He visibly shook as the sobs wracked through his body, allowing his head to fall on the boy's chest. He knew he should get help but as he laid his head on Draco's chest he knew already he was gone. With no one there to hear him, he allowed himself to sob in earnest, not caring how loud he was. This was his fault, he had forgotten him, he knew. Why did he do this? Why didn't he let him explain first? He didn't move, even as he heard someone come through the door, he didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"Fred, what happened?" George asked quietly as he took in the scene. "We need to get help,"

"He's dead, there's no help for that," Fred whispered out softly.

"How do you know that?" George asked, but he couldn't see the rising and falling of the boy's chest.  Not to mention he just look much too pale, even more then he usually looked.

"Because I know," Fred replied before sniffling.

"Come here Fred, get away from him," George told him seriously as he reached his hand out for his brother who had gone back to crying on the child's chest. He wanted to hug his brother to comfort him but he couldn't make himself move towards him. He didn't want to touch Draco, not if Fred was right and he was sure he was, he was afraid. 

"I can't, he's been alone all this time. I was supposed to be here. I promised," Fred told him his twin his voice pleading.

"Oh Merlin, Fred," George breathed out but there was nothing he could say to comfort his twin. His own grief was taking over too, this was too much to soon. He turned around suddenly as he heard footsteps down the hall, and he hurried towards the door. "Professors! In here," he called out.

Sirius and Severus ran towards the twin who popped their head out, and honestly they hadn't been prepared to find what they saw. Never did they imagine that they would find one their students dead, and looked like he had been for quite some time. Severus moved first and walked silently into the room, making eye contact with the twin on the floor with his Slytherin.

Looking at him, he didn't know which one it was, but the fact that he was crying over Draco he knew it was probably Fredrick. He had seen them together on more than a few occasions. He bent down and looked at his Slytherin, if he hadn't known any better he would have assumed he was sleeping.  But the rope mark around his neck said otherwise, his eyes flicked across the room to where the rope itself had been thrown. He knew he had to get the other boys out of here and he had to move Draco, to the infirmary before he informed the child's parents.

"Do you think I can go home?" Fred somehow got out, between his sobs.

"Do you want to go home?" Severus asked, knowing the boy did or he wouldn't have asked. As it was, he thought home would be the best place for him right now.

"Yes sir," he said his hand coming to cover his mouth as he gave the boy on the ground a last tearful look. "I'm so sorry Draco," he breathed out before he stumbled to his feet and ran out the room, he didn't look back.

"Follow your twin, and take him to the Headmaster's office.  Tell no one what you have seen, we will be there soon," Sirius said gravely as he spoke to George.

"Yes Professor," he said quietly before he quickly ran after his brother.

Sirius turned to look at Severus who had transfigured a box and had put everything of the boys in it, including the rope. He swallowed thickly as the man flicked his wand at the boy to levitate the boy and found himself going over to the child, standing there for a moment before he settled him in his arms.

"What are you doing Black?" Severus asked roughly, his voice thick with unshed emotion.

"It's wrong, this is wrong," Sirius choked out gesturing for the man to cancel the spell before he walked out of the room. It felt wrong to levitate him; he wouldn't want someone to do that to Harry. This was his youngest cousin, Narcissa's child, Merlin help her.

Severus nodded as they made their silent trek down the hall and down the steps to the infirmary. They were grateful that everyone was still at dinner and didn't run into anyone. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep his composure then. They made it there without incident and he watched as Sirius set the child on the bed, while he moved to get Poppy only to find her coming out of her office.

"What's happened now? I hope it's not a fight, the poor boy doesn't need that," Poppy murmured as she pulled out her wand, her face flickering to Severus, surprised to see the acceptance in it. "What is it?" She breathed out.

"Can you just confirm and find out the time of death?" Severus asked quietly.

Poppy's eyes widened as she turned to the child on the bed, before she gave the man a look of disbelief. She preformed the spell still not fully understanding until the parchment popped up. If he had still been alive nothing would have came of it and her wand faltered for a moment as she struggled to get a grip on her emotions.

"Time of death was between 5:00-5:30pm today," she replied softly, gritting her teeth for a moment before she pulled her emotion's back turning to look back down at the child. She could see the bright red mark around his pale neck and she knew immediately without even scanning for it what had been done. She didn't understand why the child had done this, had his healer hinted at anything of it. Poppy shook her head and turned to look at the Potion's Master questioningly.

"I do not know why it didn't trigger the wards," Severus replied thickly, his own emotions getting the better of him in that moment. The matron's eyes spoke for her rather than her verbally voicing the question.

"Because it wasn't magical, the rope he used wasn't even conjured. It was all muggle, the wards on the castle are still very flawed," Sirius said bitterly from where he had ran his hand through the child's blonde locks.

"It will be fixed, Albus will see to it," Poppy stated firmly.

"Yes he will, but it's too late for Draco," Severus answered sadly his hand reaching out to catch the chair as his legs tried to buckle. He knew he surprised his companions when their gazes turned to him worriedly, but he couldn't care at this point.

"Are you alright Severus?" Poppy asked softly.

"No I am not, none of this is alright. How in the hell did this slip through my fingers?" He hissed out as he shook his head as his barriers tried to come down without his consent. Now was not the time for him to grieve, things needed to be taken care. He didn't stay for their answers, feeling completely numb. They could have called out for him but he didn't hear it, he only had one mission in mind and that was getting to his quarters. How could he call himself the Slytherin head if he kept failing his students when they needed him the most?