The day of Draco's funeral found Harry dressed up in his formal clothes, along with nearly everyone at school. As he looked around the grounds at all the somber faces, he couldn't help but feel a sense of overwhelming grief that threatened to drown him. His eyes flickered quickly from person to person, eyes welling up with tears as he recognized the distinct green tie on every student present.

He knew they weren't all Slytherins, and yet every Hogwarts students was wearing a green tie in solidarity for their classmate that had been lost. He had worn one because he had wanted to feel closer to the cousin he never really got to know.

Harry was very grateful that the Malfoys had decided to have Draco's funeral at the school grounds, otherwise he had been worried on how every one would have fit. The little Gryffindor tried not to look at the Malfoys, especially Lucius. Normally when he thought of that man, he got angry or a little fearful but every time he looked at him know all he could see was a broken man.

Gone was the hateful expression the man normally wore, and in its place was the face of a grieving father. It made Harry want to sob at the injustice of it, to see such an expression on a man as proud as this one. It was, something he honestly never wanted to see again. It hurt to look at Lucius Malfoy, you could see the man seemingly coming apart at the seams.

He could see the blonde man leaning heavily on his cane, as if the cane was supporting all of his weight. Harry had never seen Sirius look so stoic, as he stood by Narcissa. If Lucius looked devastated, then Narcissa looked Heartbroken, and Harry didn't want to imagine how she felt. Draco was his friend, and he felt like the grief was going to overtake him any moment.

It was like he couldn't breathe properly anymore; would his life always be marred by tragedy? Would he be doomed to forever feel pain like this for the rest of his life until it ended? Would it always hurt like this? How does someone come back from something like this? And where did one go from here?

~*~*~*~4 months Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry smiled from where he had jumped off his broom to land on the ground. He had been playing some pick up Quidditch with his friends, but the game had ended a moment ago. He glanced around, waiting for everyone to come down from the air, glancing around to see Severus watching him like he always did. He took a deep breath and smile in the direction of his guardian and father figure.

The last few months had been terribly hard on everyone involved, in fact Harry himself felt that if he hadn't had such a great support system that he himself would have slipped through the cracks as well. But Severus was always there to save him and he would never forget that. The school had closed the day after Draco's funeral, and the unveiling of the memorial plaque for him and the 21 students who had died in the accident. Harry had taken his first real deep breath when he had landed in the manor that he now called home.

Sirius had fully taken up the mantle of Lord Black and had stepped in and helped Narcissa work through her grief. Harry was glad that the man had done that, he didn't want to lose his friend's mom too. He had even heard a story from the twins about Lucius Malfoy turning over a new leaf, apparently the man had gifted them with a vault in Gringotts. He didn't ask how much but the twins were still in shock, even months later. It seemed like the only good thing that came out of Draco's tragic death was that the feud between the Weaseleys and Malfoys were over.

Harry knew he wasn't the only one who wished that the feud could be over but with Draco still here alive. It was strange these days, because Fred and George weren't as carefree as they had been. They still smiled and played a couple jokes here and there but the light that they had in their eyes weren't fully back. It was coming back but it wasn't to the level that it had been. He propped his broom up on the shed, and turned to see the rest of his friends doing the same.

"Isn't your brother supposed to be coming soon?" Harry asked Ron curiously, as Neville flanked his other side.

That was something else that had taken some getting used too, his one chatty and talkative mate who constantly talked, while they ate, in class or what have you, had gone. Harry was glad that it wasn't as severe as when the accident had occurred, but Ron was a lot quieter these days, that when he did talk, everyone listened. He missed the idle chatter, everything had changed.

"Yes, he says he has a surprise for everyone," Ron said lightly as he headed toward the manor with his siblings and Harry.

Of all the changes, Harry knew that this one was the best one. Since school had gotten out so early this year, Severus had been worried about Harry become antisocial and had arranged for weekly get togethers at the manor for whoever he wanted to invite. It was usually the Weaseleys, (minus Percy and Bill most times), the Longbottoms, and the Malfoys, Remus and Theo and then of course Sirius and Severus.

"Uncle Severus, is Percy here yet?" Harry asked as he walked inside the manor ahead of his friends.

"Not quite, why don't you go speak to Narcissa and tell her what you and Ron got up to this week?" Severus said gently.

"I don't know, I always feel like she might think I'm rubbing it in her face that I'm alive when Draco isn't. I'm pretty sure she doesn't actually want to know what we've gotten up too," Harry admitted softly.

"I can assure you she doesn't think that at all, Sirius was just telling me the other day how when she talks to you, she feels like a mother again. Don't deny yourself this Harry, I know you enjoy her company as well," Severus said knowingly.

Harry didn't answer, his eyes stinging because he knew exactly what Severus was getting at and he felt exposed. He hadn't thought that the man had been paying that much attention to their growing relationship. He felt like he and Narcissa understood one another, she who had lost a son and Harry who had lost a mother.

He wasn't sure if it was healthy or not but it didn't seem to hurt either one of them, and he knew that despite the fact that he hugged her pretending she was his mother. That she did the same to him and Pretended he was Draco, a way to get comfort the only way they knew how.

Thankfully Harry was saved from answering as he heard the floo, turning to look at the fireplace as Bill Weaseley appeared first.

"Where's Percy?" Fred called out curiously as usually Percy flooed with someone because he couldn't maintain his balance with his new prosthetics.

His brother had the heart of a Gryffindor as he could barely walk in them without a crutch, but he never gave up. Fred took a deep breath, he had a second chance, and he wouldn't waste it. He would do this for himself, and for Draco. He never thought he would get to a point where he didn't hurt as badly to think his name, and he wondered if he was ready to read the journal now. He felt like he was.

"He's coming now," Bill said as he moved to stand to where he could catch his younger brother if he needed too. He didn't think he would, but it was the big brother in him that made him take up said position anyway.

Harry watched like everyone else as Percy Weaseley flooed into the manor's sitting room, without a stumble. He watched as the Head boy gave a wide grin before he started walking confidently and towards his parents, unassisted. Harry watched as Molly and Arthur's mouth dropped open in shock, feeling his own jaw open and a glance around the room to see that he wasn't alone. The room was silent despite the fact that the conversation had dominated the area before the floo flared.

"You're walking without the crutches?" Molly asked, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Yup, my healer said they were holding me back, and I was letting them. He took them away from me a few days ago, and he was right. I was scared that I would be fail if I didn't have them, not realizing they were holding me back from the truth. I won't be hindered by what happened, I won't ever forget of course but I'm free," Percy said softly to his parents.

"That you are," Arthur said as he pulled in his 3rd eldest child to his chest so he could give him a hug. He didn't even need to look up as the rest of his children converged on them, just opening his arms to let them in.

Harry turned to look at Severus who was watching the scene with dark, emotional eyes, reaching forward so he could grab the man's hand and squeeze it tightly in his little hand.

"Are you okay Uncle Severus?" Harry asked softly, moving his eyes away from the emotional scene of the Weaseley family.

"I will be," Severus said quietly as he looked down at the child beside him with a smile. He took a deep breath, pushing the silent questions away they had no hold on him anymore.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked skeptically.

"I am, I've got you to keep me together, Percival is right. It hurts but every day is an accomplishment from how far we've come. It'll only get better, and I have you to remind me of that," Severus said softly as he gently pulled the child into a hug.

Harry wasn't sure he understood exactly what Percy or the Professor was saying but he knew it didn't matter in the end. They were going to be okay, as long as they had each other.