Nineteen Years Later, Part III: The Other Family
Title: Nineteen Years Later, Part III: The Other Family
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: Deathly Hallows; Previous Chapters ( timeline)
Rating: G/PG: if you read Deathly Hallows, you won’t read anything worse here
Characters: Ron/Hermione and family; Harry/Ginny and family; Ernie/Hannah and Kayla Macmillan (OC)
Summary: The other family arrives at King’s Cross
Notes: Much of the dialogue in this chapter was lovingly lifted from the epilogue of the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. They’re coming faster now that I have a clear picture of everything, and there’s an outside chance I’ll be done by the end of the week.
EDIT: This is a repost of the story. All previous comments have disappeared thanks to a major error on my part. Please ignore the line on the left side, as it was cut and pasted from an email. *sigh*
I own these characters. All others belong to JK Rowling.
Andromeda’s Proposal / Previous Chapters / Three Departures
“Oh, there’s a spot, Dad!”
“Where?” Ron Weasley asked, perking up.
“Right there!” said Rose, his daughter, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, which she had been wearing since even before breakfast.
“You’re sitting behind me, Rosie,” said Ron. “Can’t see where you’re pointing.”
“Over there, Ron,” said his wife, Hermione Weasley, from the passenger seat, pointing to the right. “Between the Mercedes and the… actually, never mind, you probably shouldn’t park there.”
“Oh, I see it,” said Ron, leaning over the wheel and turning towards the empty parking space.
“Maybe we should go up another level,” said Hermione nervously. “It’s a little narrow…”
“Nonsense,” Ron scoffed. “This is easy.” He spun the wheel to the right, and the Weasleys’ automobile, a large 2015 Ford Galaxy, veered toward the space.
“Dad, you’re looking a little tight over here,” said Rose, looking out her window.
“Nah, this is fine,” said Ron.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get out,” said his son, Hugo.
“Ron, maybe we should go up to another watch out!”
Ron slammed on the brake and the Galaxy came to a dead stop. Hermione leaned out her window and felt her heart beating hard in her chest.
“We really shouldn’t park here,” she said.
“Why’s that?”
“Because our nose is about a centimeter away from hitting the 300,000 pound Mercedes.”
“Is that a lot?”
“About 125,000 galleons, yeah.”
“Bloody hell,” Ron breathed. “Alright, yeah. We’ll go up another level.”
“Probably a good idea,” said Hermione as Ron pulled back out. “I know you’re still new at this, but trust me, I would be nervous pulling into that spot if I was driving.”
“Why would someone own a car that expensive, anyway?” asked Ron. “I mean, it’s four wheels that have to stay on the road and at a certain speed. At least with a pricey broomstick you can fly as high and as fast as you want.”
“Who knows how rich people think?” said Hermione as Ron drove the car up to the next floor of the multi-storey.
“I thought it was pretty,” said Rose.
“Well, that’s as good an answer as any,” said Ron. “Why someone would want to drive a car that expensive, though… If it were me, I’d lock it up in Gringotts and never let anyone touch it. All right, it’s pretty much empty up here. Take my pick.”
Ron pulled the Galaxy into an empty space, surrounded by a dozen other empty spaces, and shut off the engine.
“Nice driving, dear,” said Hermione as the four Weasleys piled out. “Didn’t even stall out the engine this time.”
“Practice makes perfect, right?” said Ron, opening the trunk. “Okay, let’s see here… You want to help me to carry your trunk, Rose? It’s a long walk to the station.”
“They have carts!” Hugo cried out, running across the car park where, sure enough, there was a row of four-wheeled push carts awaiting passengers leaving King’s Cross for long-term voyages.
“Well, that makes things easier,” said Hermione as Hugo came running back, pushing an empty cart at top speed. Ron jumped in front as he came to a halt, stopping the cart just shy of the side of the van.
“I have Horus,” said Rose, taking her caged hawk owl from the middle seat of the van. Hermione smiled to herself at the name. Rose Weasley was one of the brightest, if not the brightest, of the entire Weasley family. She loved reading about ancient mythology, and the name for her owl, from the Egyptian god of the sky, fit it perfectly.
“You can put him on the cart, if you want,” said Ron.
“No, that’s fine,” she said, gazing at the bird with an inquisitive smile, one that she had worn since they bought it for her two weeks ago. “I can carry him.”
“Last chance,” said Ron. “Are you forgetting anything?”
“I only had the trunk and Horus,” said Rose.
“Well, if you decided you did forget something we can always send Artemesia,” said Hermione. “She’s getting a little old, but she can still carry packages if they’re not too heavy.”
“I want an owl,” said Hugo sadly, also for not the first time since Horus was purchased.
“Two more years, love,” said Hermione as the family made their way to the lift. “Then we’ll see.”
“You know, this is a lot easier than when we were going to Hogwarts,” said Ron as they made their way through the Muggle end of the station, the quiet whoosh of the high-speed trains, installed for the 2012 Olympics, breezing by them. “One trunk’s a bit lighter than five.”
“Why’s that, Dad?” asked Rose. “If there were five of you, wouldn’t you each push your own things?”
“You’d think that,” said Ron. “But Fred and George liked to mess around. I swear they would slip into me and Percy’s rooms the night before we left and toss all their cauldrons and heavy things into our trunks. I was sweating by the time I got onto the train, and Perce wasn’t looking much better. One year they actually put a layer of bricks in the bottom of mine.”
“I didn’t know they did that,” said Hermione. “Are you sure you’re not making it up?”
“Of course I didn’t tell you,” said Ron. “I was trying to be all manly.”
“Kayla!”
“Rose!”
Rose waived to Kayla Macmillan, her best friend, as the family approached the barrier.
“Oh, my goodness,” said Kayla in awe, “you have such a beautiful owl!”
“Isn’t he great?” said Rose, holding the cage aloft so Kayla could get a better view.
“Morning, Weasleys,” said Kayla’s father, Ernie Macmillan, as he and his wife, Hannah, caught up with their only daughter. Like Ron, Ernie had been put in charge of pushing Kayla’s belongings.
“Morning, Ernie,” said Ron, shaking Ernie’s hand.
“Lovely day for a train ride, isn’t it?” said Ernie.
“Absolutely,” said Ron. “Bit on the chilly side, but what can you expect? It’s September.”
“Little early to be this cool,” said Hannah, readjusting her jacket.
“Aren’t these machines fantastic, though?” asked Ernie as another bullet train passed them by. “Wonder if the Hogwarts Express will ever get replaced with one?”
“Lord, I hope not,” said Hannah.
“You’re starting to sound like my Dad, Ernie,” said Ron.
“So what kind of owl did you get?” Rose asked Kayla.
“Oh, I didn’t get one,” said Kayla. “I decided to get a cat instead.”
“Well, cats are nice, too,” said Rose, noticing the square cage on top of the Macmillan’s pile for the first time. Inside it, a small white cat was staring at the owl with some interest.
“If I had known that they had owls like yours, I might have reconsidered,” said Kayla, sticking her finger into the cage. “What’s her name?”
“Horus,” Rose replied as the owl nipped Kayla’s fingertip. “And it’s a he.”
“Horace?” Ernie asked with an arched eyebrow. “Hermione, I know you liked Potions, but talking your daughter into naming her owl after the professor…?”
“R-U-S,” Hermione corrected. “It’s Egyptian.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ernie said quickly. “I knew that.”
“What’s your cat’s name?” Hermione asked Kayla.
“Whiskers,” Kayla said with a shrug. “I know it’s a little boring, but…”
“Sometimes boring’s a good way to go,” said Ron. “He looks a Whiskers.”
“Thanks,” said Kayla with a blush.
“Why don’t you go first, Ernie,” said Ron. “Hey, have you seen Harry and Ginny?”
“They’re here already,” said Hannah. “We saw them at the bagel shop on our way in.”
“Oh, good, we’re still going to beat them,” said Ron with a mischievous smirk, and pushed his cart quickly through the barrier.
Ernie sniffed in indignation. “Just like him,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a competition. Besides, I was supposed to go first.” And at that Ernie was gone as well.
“And you won’t believe who else we saw,” said Hannah to Hermione as Rose and Kayla went through.
“Who?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure,” she said uncertainly. “But we thought it was Dennis.”
“Dennis?” Hermione gasped. “Dennis Creevey?”
“Yeah,” Hannah nodded. “I mean, he had a big bushy beard, but he was short and I thought I recognized his eyes. We stopped to say hi, and it looked like he recognized us, but then he passed like he didn’t. I don’t know, it was odd.”
“I don’t know,” said Hermione uncertainly. “It would make sense that he’d be stand-offish…”
“I thought he had gone Muggle.”
“He did,” Hermione said as the two walked through the barrier together. “Hence the standoffish. But did he have a child?”
“A girl, yeah,” said Hannah as the two women met up with their families in the suddenly thick fog. “But I wasn’t sure if they were going to 9 3/4s or not. She might be a witch, or they might just be going somewhere else.”
“Wow,” said Hermione quietly.
“I could be wrong, though,” said Hannah. “It might not be him. I mean, it’s been twenty years, and it was hard to see his face through the beard.”
“Are we talking about Creevey?” asked Ron.
“Might be,” said Hannah.
“Yeah, Ernie told me,” Ron replied. “Poor bloke.”
“Well, anyway,” said Ernie as he realized the children were staring back at them with no idea what was being discussed, “We should probably be off. Kayla wanted to get a look at the platform before she gets on, and I heard that Cadwallader’s got a boy in second year. Might be able to find him before the train heads off. Care to join us?”
“Thanks for the offer,” said Ron, looking around the platform, or what little he could see through the dense haze. “But I think we’re going to load Rose up and then try to find Harry and Ginny.”
“It was nice seeing you again, though,” said Hermione. “We should find time to have dinner some night.”
“Yeah, we should make a thing of it,” said Ernie. “You bring the Potters, we’ll bring the Dursleys, make it a shindig now that the kids are gone.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry, Hugo,” said Ernie. “Now that most of the kids are gone.”
“Look at it this way, Hugo,” said Ron. “It’ll be you, Lily, and Evan. You all can sit at the grownups table.”
“Really?” said Hugo, brightening noticeably. “I get to eat with the grownups?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can I have a glass of wine?”
“Well… we’ll talk about it,” said Ron, chuckling at Hermione’s rolling eyes.
“I’ll see you on the train, Rose.”
“You too, Kayla,” said Rose. “I’ll save you a seat.”
“Sure,” said Kayla with the shrug of martyrdom. “I suppose I can survive sitting with James and Al for a few hours.”
“Keep in touch,” said Hermione as the Weasleys and Macmillans parted ways, and the Weasleys began their walk down the platform.
“What do you think?” asked Ron. “Where should we drop?”
“Everyone’s mobbed around the middle,” said Hermione. “Let’s try the end, it’s probably a lot quieter.”
“I think that’s them, Al.”
“Well, maybe we won’t have to go searching, after all,” said Ron to Hermione as he lifted Rose’s trunk onto the train.
“Hi,” said Albus Potter to Rose as the Potters arrived. Al, who looked pale from nerves, sounded immensely relieved to see them. Rose could tell, too, and responded with a bright smile to her favorite cousin.
“Parked all right, then?” Ron asked Harry Potter as he, Ginny, and Lily came up from behind Albus. “I did. Hermione didn’t believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I’d have to Confund the examiner.”
“No, I didn’t,” Hermione responded as Ginny approached her and Ron assisted Harry with Albus’s things. “I had complete faith in you.”
“He used a Confundus Charm, didn’t he?” Ginny muttered to Hermione as Harry and Ron lifted Albus’s trunk.
“Probably,” said Hermione with a sigh. “But… but he seemed so happy, I felt bad about giving him a hard time.”
“Where’s James?” asked Rose.
“Who knows?” said Ginny. “He disappeared by the time we got through the barrier. Probably off to find Nicholas or Chase.”
“Or Nancy,” said Rose. “She’s nice.”
“Is Nancy James’s girlfriend?” Lily asked Ginny. “I tried asking him, but he got all quiet and told me to cram it.”
“Ick,” said Hugo. “Why would James want a girlfriend?”
“Because she’s nice,” Rose repeated with great insistence.
“Well, just so long as she’s not a Slytherin,” said Hugo. “They’re the worst.”
Rose noticed Albus’s eyes widen at the mention of Slytherin, but didn’t know why.
“I don’t want to be a Slytherin,” said Lily to Hugo. “I hope I’m in Ravenclaw.”
“Ravenclaw?” Hugo gaped. “Why would you want to be in Ravenclaw?”
“Because that’s where all the smart witches and wizards go,” said Lily.
“Yeah, right,” said Hugo. “I wouldn’t want to be in there, anyway. You’ll probably end up in Hufflepuff.”
“I will not!” said Lily. “You’ll be a Hufflepuff, definitely!”
“Nuh uh,” Hugo retorted. “Its Gryffindor or nothing for me!”
“If you’re not in Gryffindor,” said Ron as he and Harry came back to the platform, “we’ll disinherit you. But no pressure.”
“Ron!” Hermione and Ginny said at once. Hugo and Lily both looked at Ron, saw the kidding smile on his face, and broke into giggles. Albus and Rose, however, exchanged nervous glances, which Hermione noticed at once.
“He doesn’t mean it,” she said, directing that as much to Ron as to the first years and heard Ginny mirroring her. We’ve been friends for too long, Hermione thought. We’re even starting to think the same.
Ron, however, wasn’t paying attention to his wife’s rebuke. He was looking down to the other end of the train. He turned back, tilted his head sideways to Harry, motioning in the direction he had been looking.
“Look who it is,” said Ron, and Harry, Ginny, and Hermione turned to see what was of such interest. Hermione felt an odd sense of déjà vu roll over her at the sight of the pale boy with the long, pointed nose who was being seen off by his father and mother.
Draco?
No, that wasn’t Draco Malfoy. But… As the father, with his receding hairline and buttoned up coat, noticed the Potters and Weasleys and gave them a nod, Hermione realized that that was Draco Malfoy, along with his wife, Hedda, an attractive witch with short hair nearly as blonde as her husband’s, seeing off their son, who shared the same birthday as her daughter.
“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Ron with a comprehending nod. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother’s brains.”
“Ron, for heaven’s sake. Don’t try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started school!”
“You’re right, sorry,” he said, but Hermione could see that playful glint in his eye. “Don’t get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.”
“Hey!”
Hermione saw Ron visibly flinch away from her before he realized that she wasn’t the one yelling. The Potters and Weasleys turned to see James Potter, Harry and Ginny’s eldest, running towards them.
“Teddy’s back there,” he said, bending over and resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Just seen him! And guess what he’s doing? Snogging Victoire!”
Hermione took a quick glance over at Harry and Ginny. They all knew, of course, that Teddy and Caroline had broken up over a year ago. But they seemed fairly unsurprised by the announcement that Teddy and Victoire were together, which was news to Hermione.
“Our Teddy!” James continued. “Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-“
“You interrupted them?” said Ginny. “You are so like Ron-“
“-And he said he came to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He’s snogging her!”
“Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!” said Lily. “Teddy would really be a part of the family then!”
Teddy would also be a part of the family if… Hermione’s thoughts trailed off. She realized that she was the only person in the group, besides James, who was having a problem with this.
“Did you know about this?” she asked Ron, leaning in so that only he could hear her, as the others continued their own conversation about Teddy.
“Didn’t know a thing,” said Ron with a shrug. “Bill mentioned that Vickie broke up with her boyfriend about a year ago, but nothing past that.”
“And this doesn’t bother you?”
“Why should it?” asked Ron. “Way I see it, they’re both moving on with their lives, and I say good for them.”
But this is my sister’s Teddy we’re talking about! Hermione thought. Futilely, she realized. She sighed and decided not to argue the point, as even James was now past the shock of the situation and was animatedly talking to Harry and Albus about Teddy moving in with them.
“It’s nearly eleven,” said Harry, pulling Hermione back from her thoughts with a glance at his watch. “You’d better get on board.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” said Ron, looking down at his daughter. “You take care of yourself, okay, Rosie?”
“I will, Daddy,” said Rose, hugging her father and kissing him on the cheek after he bent down to her.
“You’re going to write?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. “Horus needs to learn how to come home.”
“There you go,” said Ron, kissing her on the forehead. “Let the boy stretch his legs. Or wings. Or whatever.”
“Come here, love,” said Hermione, feeling the mist behind her eyes as Rose and Ron broke their embrace and Rose turned to her.
“Bye, Mum,” Rose said, wrapping her arms around her mother.
“You say hi to Neville and Uri for us?”
“I will.”
“And Hagrid?” Hermione continued. “He said he was hoping that you and Al would come visit him.”
“Definitely,” said Rose with a sad smile. “I should be able to find our way.”
“Ask James, Fabian, or Vickie if you don’t know how to get to get to his hut,” said Hermione. “They’ve been down there plenty.”
“I will.”
“It’s easy enough to spot,” she said. “Big hut in front of the forest.”
“I know,” said Rose quietly, hugging Hermione again. “I love you, Mum.”
“I love you too, sweetheart,” said Hermione, feeling the tears coming. I’m losing my girl…
“I’ll see you at Christmas.”
“Definitely.”
“Are you going to be waving when the train leaves?”
Hermione closed her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said. “Mummy needs to…”
“I know,” said Rose with a nod. And Hermione was relieved to know that Rose, alone among all of the others, knew what was going on in Hermione’s mind, and accepted it without hesitation. “It’s fine, though. You should go.”
“Thank you,” Hermione whispered. “Know that I’ll be thinking of you, though. And I should see you, too. Just not… just not with the others.”
Rose brightened at those words. “Alright,” she said, kissing her mother on the cheek again. “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” said Hermione, standing up and watching her daughter receive a hug and a kiss from Ginny before boarding the Hogwarts Express. She turned to see Ron giving Albus a handshake.
“Take care of my girl, Al,” said Ron, who Hermione could see was holding back from tearing up a bit himself.
“I will,” said Albus, although he was showing more than a bit of nerves behind his tough exterior.
“Safe journey, dear,” said Hermione, giving Albus a quick hug and kiss. As Albus turned back to Harry and Ginny and apparently whispered something to his father, Hermione turned to Ron.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said to him.
“Really?” he asked. “You’re not going to see Rose off?”
“I will,” said Hermione. “But she already knows what’s going on.”
“What is going on?” Ron asked.
Emotional range of a teaspoon, Hermione thought with an internal chuckle.
“I’ll talk about it later,” she said. “I’ll meet you all back here.”
“Hugo and Lily are getting kind of hungry,” said Ron. “How about you meet us around the Whistlestop?”
“I can do that,” Hermione said, giving her husband a quick kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Ron waved to Hermione as she walked towards the engine, disappearing into the haze just as she passed Draco and his family.
“Why are they all staring?”
Because she’s beautiful, that’s why, thought Ron absently after Hermione before realizing why Albus, who was now leaning out of the window, was asking. Ron looked around to see that many of the other students were craning their necks in their direction, dying for a peek at Harry and is scar.
“Don’t let it worry you,” said Ron with a smile. “It’s me. I’m extremely famous.”
Albus and Rose laughed from the train as it began to move. Ron took Hugo’s hand and the two walked alongside the Hogwarts Express as it slowly pulled from the station. He was able to get one last reach, one last touch, one last squeeze of his daughter’s hand before she was pulled away from him, disappearing into the mist.
“He’ll be alright,” Ron heard his little sister murmur to Harry.
“I know he will,” Harry replied, absentmindedly touching his scar.
She’ll be alright, Ron nodded as the sound of the train faded into the distance. I know she will.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Hugo?” Ron asked in response to the small squeeze.
“Where’s Mummy?”
“Yeah,” said Ginny, along with Harry and Lily looking around as they tore their eyes away from the train and back to reality. “Where’s Hermione?”
“I don’t know,” said Ron. Although as he said it he realized that he had some idea. “She’ll be back, though.”
“Should we wait here for her?” asked Harry.
They’ll be alright, Ron’s thoughts repeated.
“Nah,” he said, turning away from the platform and walking with the three Potters back to the barrier. “She’ll catch up. Who’s hungry?”
Andromeda’s Proposal / Previous Chapters / Three Departures
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: Deathly Hallows; Previous Chapters ( timeline)
Rating: G/PG: if you read Deathly Hallows, you won’t read anything worse here
Characters: Ron/Hermione and family; Harry/Ginny and family; Ernie/Hannah and Kayla Macmillan (OC)
Summary: The other family arrives at King’s Cross
Notes: Much of the dialogue in this chapter was lovingly lifted from the epilogue of the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. They’re coming faster now that I have a clear picture of everything, and there’s an outside chance I’ll be done by the end of the week.
EDIT: This is a repost of the story. All previous comments have disappeared thanks to a major error on my part. Please ignore the line on the left side, as it was cut and pasted from an email. *sigh*
I own these characters. All others belong to JK Rowling.
Andromeda’s Proposal / Previous Chapters / Three Departures
“Oh, there’s a spot, Dad!”
“Where?” Ron Weasley asked, perking up.
“Right there!” said Rose, his daughter, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, which she had been wearing since even before breakfast.
“You’re sitting behind me, Rosie,” said Ron. “Can’t see where you’re pointing.”
“Over there, Ron,” said his wife, Hermione Weasley, from the passenger seat, pointing to the right. “Between the Mercedes and the… actually, never mind, you probably shouldn’t park there.”
“Oh, I see it,” said Ron, leaning over the wheel and turning towards the empty parking space.
“Maybe we should go up another level,” said Hermione nervously. “It’s a little narrow…”
“Nonsense,” Ron scoffed. “This is easy.” He spun the wheel to the right, and the Weasleys’ automobile, a large 2015 Ford Galaxy, veered toward the space.
“Dad, you’re looking a little tight over here,” said Rose, looking out her window.
“Nah, this is fine,” said Ron.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get out,” said his son, Hugo.
“Ron, maybe we should go up to another watch out!”
Ron slammed on the brake and the Galaxy came to a dead stop. Hermione leaned out her window and felt her heart beating hard in her chest.
“We really shouldn’t park here,” she said.
“Why’s that?”
“Because our nose is about a centimeter away from hitting the 300,000 pound Mercedes.”
“Is that a lot?”
“About 125,000 galleons, yeah.”
“Bloody hell,” Ron breathed. “Alright, yeah. We’ll go up another level.”
“Probably a good idea,” said Hermione as Ron pulled back out. “I know you’re still new at this, but trust me, I would be nervous pulling into that spot if I was driving.”
“Why would someone own a car that expensive, anyway?” asked Ron. “I mean, it’s four wheels that have to stay on the road and at a certain speed. At least with a pricey broomstick you can fly as high and as fast as you want.”
“Who knows how rich people think?” said Hermione as Ron drove the car up to the next floor of the multi-storey.
“I thought it was pretty,” said Rose.
“Well, that’s as good an answer as any,” said Ron. “Why someone would want to drive a car that expensive, though… If it were me, I’d lock it up in Gringotts and never let anyone touch it. All right, it’s pretty much empty up here. Take my pick.”
Ron pulled the Galaxy into an empty space, surrounded by a dozen other empty spaces, and shut off the engine.
“Nice driving, dear,” said Hermione as the four Weasleys piled out. “Didn’t even stall out the engine this time.”
“Practice makes perfect, right?” said Ron, opening the trunk. “Okay, let’s see here… You want to help me to carry your trunk, Rose? It’s a long walk to the station.”
“They have carts!” Hugo cried out, running across the car park where, sure enough, there was a row of four-wheeled push carts awaiting passengers leaving King’s Cross for long-term voyages.
“Well, that makes things easier,” said Hermione as Hugo came running back, pushing an empty cart at top speed. Ron jumped in front as he came to a halt, stopping the cart just shy of the side of the van.
“I have Horus,” said Rose, taking her caged hawk owl from the middle seat of the van. Hermione smiled to herself at the name. Rose Weasley was one of the brightest, if not the brightest, of the entire Weasley family. She loved reading about ancient mythology, and the name for her owl, from the Egyptian god of the sky, fit it perfectly.
“You can put him on the cart, if you want,” said Ron.
“No, that’s fine,” she said, gazing at the bird with an inquisitive smile, one that she had worn since they bought it for her two weeks ago. “I can carry him.”
“Last chance,” said Ron. “Are you forgetting anything?”
“I only had the trunk and Horus,” said Rose.
“Well, if you decided you did forget something we can always send Artemesia,” said Hermione. “She’s getting a little old, but she can still carry packages if they’re not too heavy.”
“I want an owl,” said Hugo sadly, also for not the first time since Horus was purchased.
“Two more years, love,” said Hermione as the family made their way to the lift. “Then we’ll see.”
“You know, this is a lot easier than when we were going to Hogwarts,” said Ron as they made their way through the Muggle end of the station, the quiet whoosh of the high-speed trains, installed for the 2012 Olympics, breezing by them. “One trunk’s a bit lighter than five.”
“Why’s that, Dad?” asked Rose. “If there were five of you, wouldn’t you each push your own things?”
“You’d think that,” said Ron. “But Fred and George liked to mess around. I swear they would slip into me and Percy’s rooms the night before we left and toss all their cauldrons and heavy things into our trunks. I was sweating by the time I got onto the train, and Perce wasn’t looking much better. One year they actually put a layer of bricks in the bottom of mine.”
“I didn’t know they did that,” said Hermione. “Are you sure you’re not making it up?”
“Of course I didn’t tell you,” said Ron. “I was trying to be all manly.”
“Kayla!”
“Rose!”
Rose waived to Kayla Macmillan, her best friend, as the family approached the barrier.
“Oh, my goodness,” said Kayla in awe, “you have such a beautiful owl!”
“Isn’t he great?” said Rose, holding the cage aloft so Kayla could get a better view.
“Morning, Weasleys,” said Kayla’s father, Ernie Macmillan, as he and his wife, Hannah, caught up with their only daughter. Like Ron, Ernie had been put in charge of pushing Kayla’s belongings.
“Morning, Ernie,” said Ron, shaking Ernie’s hand.
“Lovely day for a train ride, isn’t it?” said Ernie.
“Absolutely,” said Ron. “Bit on the chilly side, but what can you expect? It’s September.”
“Little early to be this cool,” said Hannah, readjusting her jacket.
“Aren’t these machines fantastic, though?” asked Ernie as another bullet train passed them by. “Wonder if the Hogwarts Express will ever get replaced with one?”
“Lord, I hope not,” said Hannah.
“You’re starting to sound like my Dad, Ernie,” said Ron.
“So what kind of owl did you get?” Rose asked Kayla.
“Oh, I didn’t get one,” said Kayla. “I decided to get a cat instead.”
“Well, cats are nice, too,” said Rose, noticing the square cage on top of the Macmillan’s pile for the first time. Inside it, a small white cat was staring at the owl with some interest.
“If I had known that they had owls like yours, I might have reconsidered,” said Kayla, sticking her finger into the cage. “What’s her name?”
“Horus,” Rose replied as the owl nipped Kayla’s fingertip. “And it’s a he.”
“Horace?” Ernie asked with an arched eyebrow. “Hermione, I know you liked Potions, but talking your daughter into naming her owl after the professor…?”
“R-U-S,” Hermione corrected. “It’s Egyptian.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ernie said quickly. “I knew that.”
“What’s your cat’s name?” Hermione asked Kayla.
“Whiskers,” Kayla said with a shrug. “I know it’s a little boring, but…”
“Sometimes boring’s a good way to go,” said Ron. “He looks a Whiskers.”
“Thanks,” said Kayla with a blush.
“Why don’t you go first, Ernie,” said Ron. “Hey, have you seen Harry and Ginny?”
“They’re here already,” said Hannah. “We saw them at the bagel shop on our way in.”
“Oh, good, we’re still going to beat them,” said Ron with a mischievous smirk, and pushed his cart quickly through the barrier.
Ernie sniffed in indignation. “Just like him,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a competition. Besides, I was supposed to go first.” And at that Ernie was gone as well.
“And you won’t believe who else we saw,” said Hannah to Hermione as Rose and Kayla went through.
“Who?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure,” she said uncertainly. “But we thought it was Dennis.”
“Dennis?” Hermione gasped. “Dennis Creevey?”
“Yeah,” Hannah nodded. “I mean, he had a big bushy beard, but he was short and I thought I recognized his eyes. We stopped to say hi, and it looked like he recognized us, but then he passed like he didn’t. I don’t know, it was odd.”
“I don’t know,” said Hermione uncertainly. “It would make sense that he’d be stand-offish…”
“I thought he had gone Muggle.”
“He did,” Hermione said as the two walked through the barrier together. “Hence the standoffish. But did he have a child?”
“A girl, yeah,” said Hannah as the two women met up with their families in the suddenly thick fog. “But I wasn’t sure if they were going to 9 3/4s or not. She might be a witch, or they might just be going somewhere else.”
“Wow,” said Hermione quietly.
“I could be wrong, though,” said Hannah. “It might not be him. I mean, it’s been twenty years, and it was hard to see his face through the beard.”
“Are we talking about Creevey?” asked Ron.
“Might be,” said Hannah.
“Yeah, Ernie told me,” Ron replied. “Poor bloke.”
“Well, anyway,” said Ernie as he realized the children were staring back at them with no idea what was being discussed, “We should probably be off. Kayla wanted to get a look at the platform before she gets on, and I heard that Cadwallader’s got a boy in second year. Might be able to find him before the train heads off. Care to join us?”
“Thanks for the offer,” said Ron, looking around the platform, or what little he could see through the dense haze. “But I think we’re going to load Rose up and then try to find Harry and Ginny.”
“It was nice seeing you again, though,” said Hermione. “We should find time to have dinner some night.”
“Yeah, we should make a thing of it,” said Ernie. “You bring the Potters, we’ll bring the Dursleys, make it a shindig now that the kids are gone.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry, Hugo,” said Ernie. “Now that most of the kids are gone.”
“Look at it this way, Hugo,” said Ron. “It’ll be you, Lily, and Evan. You all can sit at the grownups table.”
“Really?” said Hugo, brightening noticeably. “I get to eat with the grownups?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can I have a glass of wine?”
“Well… we’ll talk about it,” said Ron, chuckling at Hermione’s rolling eyes.
“I’ll see you on the train, Rose.”
“You too, Kayla,” said Rose. “I’ll save you a seat.”
“Sure,” said Kayla with the shrug of martyrdom. “I suppose I can survive sitting with James and Al for a few hours.”
“Keep in touch,” said Hermione as the Weasleys and Macmillans parted ways, and the Weasleys began their walk down the platform.
“What do you think?” asked Ron. “Where should we drop?”
“Everyone’s mobbed around the middle,” said Hermione. “Let’s try the end, it’s probably a lot quieter.”
“I think that’s them, Al.”
“Well, maybe we won’t have to go searching, after all,” said Ron to Hermione as he lifted Rose’s trunk onto the train.
“Hi,” said Albus Potter to Rose as the Potters arrived. Al, who looked pale from nerves, sounded immensely relieved to see them. Rose could tell, too, and responded with a bright smile to her favorite cousin.
“Parked all right, then?” Ron asked Harry Potter as he, Ginny, and Lily came up from behind Albus. “I did. Hermione didn’t believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I’d have to Confund the examiner.”
“No, I didn’t,” Hermione responded as Ginny approached her and Ron assisted Harry with Albus’s things. “I had complete faith in you.”
“He used a Confundus Charm, didn’t he?” Ginny muttered to Hermione as Harry and Ron lifted Albus’s trunk.
“Probably,” said Hermione with a sigh. “But… but he seemed so happy, I felt bad about giving him a hard time.”
“Where’s James?” asked Rose.
“Who knows?” said Ginny. “He disappeared by the time we got through the barrier. Probably off to find Nicholas or Chase.”
“Or Nancy,” said Rose. “She’s nice.”
“Is Nancy James’s girlfriend?” Lily asked Ginny. “I tried asking him, but he got all quiet and told me to cram it.”
“Ick,” said Hugo. “Why would James want a girlfriend?”
“Because she’s nice,” Rose repeated with great insistence.
“Well, just so long as she’s not a Slytherin,” said Hugo. “They’re the worst.”
Rose noticed Albus’s eyes widen at the mention of Slytherin, but didn’t know why.
“I don’t want to be a Slytherin,” said Lily to Hugo. “I hope I’m in Ravenclaw.”
“Ravenclaw?” Hugo gaped. “Why would you want to be in Ravenclaw?”
“Because that’s where all the smart witches and wizards go,” said Lily.
“Yeah, right,” said Hugo. “I wouldn’t want to be in there, anyway. You’ll probably end up in Hufflepuff.”
“I will not!” said Lily. “You’ll be a Hufflepuff, definitely!”
“Nuh uh,” Hugo retorted. “Its Gryffindor or nothing for me!”
“If you’re not in Gryffindor,” said Ron as he and Harry came back to the platform, “we’ll disinherit you. But no pressure.”
“Ron!” Hermione and Ginny said at once. Hugo and Lily both looked at Ron, saw the kidding smile on his face, and broke into giggles. Albus and Rose, however, exchanged nervous glances, which Hermione noticed at once.
“He doesn’t mean it,” she said, directing that as much to Ron as to the first years and heard Ginny mirroring her. We’ve been friends for too long, Hermione thought. We’re even starting to think the same.
Ron, however, wasn’t paying attention to his wife’s rebuke. He was looking down to the other end of the train. He turned back, tilted his head sideways to Harry, motioning in the direction he had been looking.
“Look who it is,” said Ron, and Harry, Ginny, and Hermione turned to see what was of such interest. Hermione felt an odd sense of déjà vu roll over her at the sight of the pale boy with the long, pointed nose who was being seen off by his father and mother.
Draco?
No, that wasn’t Draco Malfoy. But… As the father, with his receding hairline and buttoned up coat, noticed the Potters and Weasleys and gave them a nod, Hermione realized that that was Draco Malfoy, along with his wife, Hedda, an attractive witch with short hair nearly as blonde as her husband’s, seeing off their son, who shared the same birthday as her daughter.
“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Ron with a comprehending nod. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother’s brains.”
“Ron, for heaven’s sake. Don’t try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started school!”
“You’re right, sorry,” he said, but Hermione could see that playful glint in his eye. “Don’t get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.”
“Hey!”
Hermione saw Ron visibly flinch away from her before he realized that she wasn’t the one yelling. The Potters and Weasleys turned to see James Potter, Harry and Ginny’s eldest, running towards them.
“Teddy’s back there,” he said, bending over and resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Just seen him! And guess what he’s doing? Snogging Victoire!”
Hermione took a quick glance over at Harry and Ginny. They all knew, of course, that Teddy and Caroline had broken up over a year ago. But they seemed fairly unsurprised by the announcement that Teddy and Victoire were together, which was news to Hermione.
“Our Teddy!” James continued. “Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-“
“You interrupted them?” said Ginny. “You are so like Ron-“
“-And he said he came to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He’s snogging her!”
“Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!” said Lily. “Teddy would really be a part of the family then!”
Teddy would also be a part of the family if… Hermione’s thoughts trailed off. She realized that she was the only person in the group, besides James, who was having a problem with this.
“Did you know about this?” she asked Ron, leaning in so that only he could hear her, as the others continued their own conversation about Teddy.
“Didn’t know a thing,” said Ron with a shrug. “Bill mentioned that Vickie broke up with her boyfriend about a year ago, but nothing past that.”
“And this doesn’t bother you?”
“Why should it?” asked Ron. “Way I see it, they’re both moving on with their lives, and I say good for them.”
But this is my sister’s Teddy we’re talking about! Hermione thought. Futilely, she realized. She sighed and decided not to argue the point, as even James was now past the shock of the situation and was animatedly talking to Harry and Albus about Teddy moving in with them.
“It’s nearly eleven,” said Harry, pulling Hermione back from her thoughts with a glance at his watch. “You’d better get on board.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” said Ron, looking down at his daughter. “You take care of yourself, okay, Rosie?”
“I will, Daddy,” said Rose, hugging her father and kissing him on the cheek after he bent down to her.
“You’re going to write?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. “Horus needs to learn how to come home.”
“There you go,” said Ron, kissing her on the forehead. “Let the boy stretch his legs. Or wings. Or whatever.”
“Come here, love,” said Hermione, feeling the mist behind her eyes as Rose and Ron broke their embrace and Rose turned to her.
“Bye, Mum,” Rose said, wrapping her arms around her mother.
“You say hi to Neville and Uri for us?”
“I will.”
“And Hagrid?” Hermione continued. “He said he was hoping that you and Al would come visit him.”
“Definitely,” said Rose with a sad smile. “I should be able to find our way.”
“Ask James, Fabian, or Vickie if you don’t know how to get to get to his hut,” said Hermione. “They’ve been down there plenty.”
“I will.”
“It’s easy enough to spot,” she said. “Big hut in front of the forest.”
“I know,” said Rose quietly, hugging Hermione again. “I love you, Mum.”
“I love you too, sweetheart,” said Hermione, feeling the tears coming. I’m losing my girl…
“I’ll see you at Christmas.”
“Definitely.”
“Are you going to be waving when the train leaves?”
Hermione closed her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said. “Mummy needs to…”
“I know,” said Rose with a nod. And Hermione was relieved to know that Rose, alone among all of the others, knew what was going on in Hermione’s mind, and accepted it without hesitation. “It’s fine, though. You should go.”
“Thank you,” Hermione whispered. “Know that I’ll be thinking of you, though. And I should see you, too. Just not… just not with the others.”
Rose brightened at those words. “Alright,” she said, kissing her mother on the cheek again. “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” said Hermione, standing up and watching her daughter receive a hug and a kiss from Ginny before boarding the Hogwarts Express. She turned to see Ron giving Albus a handshake.
“Take care of my girl, Al,” said Ron, who Hermione could see was holding back from tearing up a bit himself.
“I will,” said Albus, although he was showing more than a bit of nerves behind his tough exterior.
“Safe journey, dear,” said Hermione, giving Albus a quick hug and kiss. As Albus turned back to Harry and Ginny and apparently whispered something to his father, Hermione turned to Ron.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said to him.
“Really?” he asked. “You’re not going to see Rose off?”
“I will,” said Hermione. “But she already knows what’s going on.”
“What is going on?” Ron asked.
Emotional range of a teaspoon, Hermione thought with an internal chuckle.
“I’ll talk about it later,” she said. “I’ll meet you all back here.”
“Hugo and Lily are getting kind of hungry,” said Ron. “How about you meet us around the Whistlestop?”
“I can do that,” Hermione said, giving her husband a quick kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Ron waved to Hermione as she walked towards the engine, disappearing into the haze just as she passed Draco and his family.
“Why are they all staring?”
Because she’s beautiful, that’s why, thought Ron absently after Hermione before realizing why Albus, who was now leaning out of the window, was asking. Ron looked around to see that many of the other students were craning their necks in their direction, dying for a peek at Harry and is scar.
“Don’t let it worry you,” said Ron with a smile. “It’s me. I’m extremely famous.”
Albus and Rose laughed from the train as it began to move. Ron took Hugo’s hand and the two walked alongside the Hogwarts Express as it slowly pulled from the station. He was able to get one last reach, one last touch, one last squeeze of his daughter’s hand before she was pulled away from him, disappearing into the mist.
“He’ll be alright,” Ron heard his little sister murmur to Harry.
“I know he will,” Harry replied, absentmindedly touching his scar.
She’ll be alright, Ron nodded as the sound of the train faded into the distance. I know she will.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Hugo?” Ron asked in response to the small squeeze.
“Where’s Mummy?”
“Yeah,” said Ginny, along with Harry and Lily looking around as they tore their eyes away from the train and back to reality. “Where’s Hermione?”
“I don’t know,” said Ron. Although as he said it he realized that he had some idea. “She’ll be back, though.”
“Should we wait here for her?” asked Harry.
They’ll be alright, Ron’s thoughts repeated.
“Nah,” he said, turning away from the platform and walking with the three Potters back to the barrier. “She’ll catch up. Who’s hungry?”
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