Welcome to The Seventh Year :)

This story has been dying to get out of my head lol

This will be a Romione, Drinny, and also a Haphne songfic. Daphne really isn't explored as a character much at all in the book so In decided to do whatever I felt I wanted to with her and see how she and Harry would fit. Each pair will be dealing with issues that have to do with the ended war. Ron and Hermione will be dealing with their new and developing relationship as Ron copes with the death of his brother, Ginny and Draco will be having to deal with a situation that will reveal itself, and Harry will be dealing with major angst over everything and Daphne will have a lot to do with it.

Hope you like it. Happy reading!

When you're at the end of the road

And you lost all sense of control

And your thoughts have taken their toll

When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul

Your faith walks on broken glass

And the hangover doesn't pass

Nothing's ever built to last

You're in ruins

-Green Day 21 Guns

Chapter One: The Celebration

Ron Weasley sat quietly and listened to a man who didn't know his family from a hole in the ground give a eulogy about his brother Fred.

He looked around at the crowd of people. Some sitting down, some standing. Not every face was familiar as this was a mass funeral and there were many families in attendance, both wizard and muggle.

He saw Dennis Creevey sitting with what looked like him and Colin's father. He saw Andromeda Tonks with baby Teddy in her arms, having lost both her husband and her daughter as well as her son in law. He even saw the Malfoys, although he had no clue why they would be there.

He looked at Ginny sitting on the right of him, her eyes puffy from the tears that had been shed. Beside her sat George who wasn't crying at all. He sat stoned face looking at his brother's casket.

He felt his left hand being squeezed softly and turned his head. There he seen his best mate/girlfriend Hermione Granger giving him a weak but comforting smile as she held his hand gently in hers. He didn't smile back at her however. He couldn't. He had already known that this would be the day that no smiles would form on his face. He did however, squeeze her hand back to show that her comfort wasn't going unacknowledged, which seemed enough for her.

Beside Hermione with his head on her shoulder was Ron's other best mate/brother Harry Potter. He looked forward as well with nothing but pain and heartache written all over his scuffed up face. He felt guilty for every death that had occurred, especially to the ones he were close to. Especially Remus Lupin, the last connection he had with his mother and father. Gone.

The man at the podium had stepped down, giving anyone that wanted to say something on Fred's behalf a chance. That was his and George's cue. They had been waiting for that moment for what seemed like hours.

"Do you want me to come with you Ron?" whispered Hermione quietly.

"Would you really? Come on" said Ron not letting go of her hand. Ginny got up along with them, as well as Bill, Charlie, and Percy.

The seven stood on the podium and looked out at the crowd. George stood in the middle, Ron on one side, Bill on the other.

George looked upon the crowd. He had one moment of nervousness.

And then it all disappeared.

"I'm George Weasley. Most of you know me as Fred's twin. I've heard the old man say that Fred was a hero, a great bloke, a friend. But he was so much more than that. He was...a prat."

The crowd gasped. A select few snickered.

Ron leaned in, continuing to hold Hermione's hand. "I was he and George's favorite practice tool. Fred once turned my childhood bear into a huge spider while I was holding it. Such a git move to do to a five year old."

"He taught me everything that he knew prank wise." spoke up Ginny. "And then he would do the prank and to avoid consequence would pin it on me so that I would be in trouble and not him and this other prat standing here."

"Fred was also a person who was extremely loyal. To me. To his girlfriend Angelina Johnson. To our best mate Lee Jordan. Anytime something came up, he would take the blame and put it on him, or us. We always knew how to avoid the trouble." said George.

"He was the one who taught me to trash talk. He used to tell me that though fighting with fists was fun, fighting with words leave more of a scar. It causes your enemies to have to think, and some can't think up but so many words." said Ron chuckling at the memory.

"He was everything to me. My brother, my best mate, and best of all, he was my twin. And for that alone, is why I know for a fact that Fred would call this whole ordeal a load of bollocks." said George firmly.

The crowd gasped once again as Mrs. Weasley stood up and yelled George's entire name out loudly. Bill stood grinning and put his hands up to calm the crowd.

"Fred wouldn't want us sitting around mourning him nor anyone else. He wouldn't want us crying over his death, but celebrating his life." said Ron confidently.

"Which is why we have done this. HIT IT LEE!" yelled Ginny loudly.

All of a sudden a firework went off out of nowhere. Another pop. Then another. Soon the sky was filled with pops and explosions of colorful patterns and symbols. The audience cheered as fireworks were going off in all directions.

Ron grinned as he looked up in the sky, Hermione under his arm smiling just as hard. The past two days, the Weasley children, Hermione, Seamus Finnigan, and Lee Jordan had been planning this moment out. They knew that the ministry would have some stuffy uptight and downright depressing event and they all thought that Fred and everyone else that was killed deserved a proper more lively sendoff.

Harry watched as music started to play and everyone around him started to dance. He wished that he could be more enthusiastic and join in with everyone else, but he simply couldn't. Not that he found this ridiculous, in fact, it was absolutely brilliant to him. But he couldn't get past his sorrowful emotions. So he just sat there and let it carry on around him

The celebration lasted another 10 minutes, ending with a huge display of the names of the fallen witches and wizards exploding into halos and hearts. George hugged his mother tightly as she and Mr. Weasley joined their children on the stage.

Ginny laughed as she looked onto the crowd. Her eyes fell on the areas the Malfoys were sitting. Of course the stuff family would be sitting down and looking less than enthusiastic. Then her eyes fell onto Draco Malfoy. His steel gray eyes seemed to lock onto her hazel brown ones and she could have sworn she seen a grin on his face as he nodded to her. She looked quickly away. What did she care what they thought of anything done here? Especially when it came to Draco.

As the crowd started to dwindle down, Ron walked over to Harry, still sitting down in the exact same spot. Ron had indeed noticed that Harry didn't celebrate like everyone else. He wasn't mad or anything. Just deeply deeply concerned.

"Hey mate" said Ron as he sat beside him and gave his a pat on the back. "How are you feeling?"

Harry looked over at Ron's pity filled face. He didn't want his pity right now, nor did he need it. He felt as if he was growing angry at the fact that his best mate was indeed pitying him. But he brushed it off. This wasn't the day to be in an unnecessary row.

"That was a brilliant sendoff." said Harry, overlooking Ron's question.

Ron nodded. He knew Harry wasn't ready to speak on his emotions yet and he wasn't about to push him. "It was wasn't it? Fred would be proud wouldn't he? And the others?"

"Of course. Of course." said Harry looking off into the distance.

"Ronnie! Time to go!" called Bill.

"You coming home mate?" asked Ron as he got up.

Harry looked up at Ron as he stretched. "Home? Do I necessarily have one?"

"Oh come off it mate. You know the Burrow had been your home since second year. Come on home." smiled Ron.

Harry gave a tiny smile back. "Sure. I'll be along in awhile. I just want to be to myself for a bit."

Ron nodded and left to catch up with Bill, leaving Harry by himself to stare out to the lake.

Home huh? How could he possibly go back to the Burrow? How could he go and stay at the home where a family lost one of their own over a war that had a lot to do with him? He couldn't sit where Fred sat. He couldn't look at George and Mrs. Weasley and not feel all the guilt in the world.

All the while that he sat brooding over his troubles, he didn't notice a sunny blonde figure sit boldly beside him. Not until it had cleared its throat a couple times.

He looked over and into the ice blue eyes of a girl he thought he never interacted with. Especially due to the circles they rolled with. She looked almost nervous to be sitting there. But she also looked comforting. Peaceful.

"I noticed you didn't leave with everyone else Harry." said the elegant yet soothing voice of Daphne Greengrass.

Harry couldn't believe that the Slytherin was sitting beside him. And even more, talking to him. And he couldn't believe that he actually started to feel a warmth around him.

"I didn't feel like...I thought that...I didn't want to burden them." said Harry finally.

"Now why would you be a burden to them? Isn't Ron Weasley you best mate and Ginny your girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend." said Harry shortly.

"Sorry, ex-girlfriend. Still. They all care about you. I can tell. Just go. They need you and you need them." said Daphne sweetly.

Harry felt himself getting annoyed. How the hell does she knows anything? "And what makes you say that? How would you know anything?" asked Harry, voice dripping with attitude.

Daphne noticed but didn't give in nor did she care. "Because everyone needs someone. Including Harry Potter." she said smiling as she lightly pushed some of his messy raven locks out of his face and he felt more comfort in that small touch than he had in all the hugs, kisses, and words he had received those past five days.

"See you around." she said as she got up and walked away.

Harry watched Daphne as she walked off and over a shorter version of herself with brown hair. She turned around, smiled, and then walked off with the girl.

Harry didn't know why, but he felt oddly at ease after his encounter with Daphne. He decided to take Ron up on his statement, and go back to the Burrow.

Back to home.