I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Characters, they belong to J.K Rowling :) Enjoy THAT TIME AGAIN?
Summary: It's September 1st again and it's time for the Potter's and Weasley's to escort their children to Hogwarts, but what is it like the morning of that day? Hectic and downright tiring.
The Weasleys
It was the morning of September 1st 2008 and the house was quiet, given it was half past five in the morning but it wouldn't last long, not in this house on this specific date. Ron and Hermione were fast asleep, snores erupting from Ron's throat and Hermione's ear shielded by a pillow. Hermione was recovering from a cold and Ron had only gotten in from work at two that morning, neither of them had had much sleep. In a few hours though whether they liked it or not they would be helping both of their children onto the Hogwarts Express.
"Mum, Dad, come on get up!" Rose called as she walked past her parents' bedroom, her voice closely followed by the sound of her trunk scraping against the new wooden floor.
"Ronald go help her." Hermione said quietly, sleep lacing her voice.
"I'm tired Hermione, I didn't get home until two." After a moment Ron groaned and dragged himself out of bed, he knew he wouldn't win against Hermione in this situation so he just got up and tugged on his house coat. "Rose, don't drag that across the floor honey."
"But it's heavy and I can't use magic to move it."
"Then pass it here and go on downstairs. Go put the kettle on for your old dad how about that?" Ron sighed heaving the trunk down the stairs so as not to scratch the floor. He carried the trunk to the back door and sat down at the kitchen table. He and Rose sat for a little while the odd little conversation coming up now and then, it was at seven that morning they made a move to get everyone else going.
"Ron, have you found Cinders yet? You know full well Rose needs him for school." Hermione's voice called from upstairs making Ron release a couple of profanities.
"I bloody knew I forgot something, I knew I would, Rose come help me find that blasted cat of yours." Ron sighed exasperated as he went outside and began calling the cats name while the chaos started in getting everyone ready.
"Mum, have you seen where I put that stack of robes you put on my bed?" Hugo asked looking out from under his bed when Hermione walked into his room.
"The pile I told you to put in your trunk a week ago?"
"Probably, I don't remember where I put it."
"I put them in your trunk for you, I knew you wouldn't do it until last minute and Hugo we can't waste time right now, you need to be ready at least a day before we have to leave." Hermione rolled her eyes and moved downstairs to find Ron walking in with twigs and leaves in his hair and a coal black cat scratching at his neck and chest while Rose walked in laughing behind him. "What happened to you?"
"This bloody cat that's what, I had to run after the bugger and I fell into a bush, and now it won't stop bloody clawing at me." Ron complained throwing the cat into it's cage and putting it with the trunks at the back door. "That'll teach ya, this is my house cat and you'll go by my rules. Rule number one, I don't like chasing cats down the road."
"Ronald quit talking to the animals and go see if Hugo's ready please, and make sure his owls in its cage."
After another forty minutes of chasing animals and loading the car all four of the Weasleys, the cat and the owl were ready to go to Kings Cross Station. Meanwhile…
The Potters
"James, Al! Come on boys we're running behind, if you want to miss the train by all means stay in bed but I'm telling you now it won't go over easy with your mother." Harry called out as he knocked loudly on his son's bedroom doors while he walked down the hallway. "Lily, are you ready?"
"I've been ready for the past hour Dad, but you'll probably need to carry my trunk downstairs." Lily answered walking out of her room with the tabby cat walking beside her ankle like a lap dog. For the past two weeks that cat had been following his daughter's every step, Harry and Ginny found this amusing, the boys however found it annoying.
"That's what I'm waiting for Lily, hurry up please and go eat breakfast." Harry smiled stepping into his daughter's room and collecting the brand new trunk packed to breaking point before lifting it off of the floor with huge effort. "Boys! Now please."
"You're being too nice with them Harry, you're not going to get them up by saying 'please'. James, Albus! Now!" Ginny said opening each door as she said each of their son's names.
"But Mum, I'm tired!" James groaned from under his covers.
"You should have gone to bed earlier then shouldn't you? Come on, we're going to be late." Ginny left her eldest son's room and made sure he was out of bed along with Albus before she went downstairs behind Harry who was heaving trunks and cages out to the car. The house was in a state of messiness right now due to packing and getting the kids ready the kids had promised to clean it all up before today but it hadn't happened, not that Ginny had expected it to.
"Okay are you all ready to move?" Harry asked at nine thirty they had to be at the train station in an hour and get the kids on the train by eleven, luckily Harry had gotten a Ministry car and well, they could get there faster with that car. "Now James you listen good, no teasing your sister in the car, no teasing your brother in the car, none of Uncle George's little bits and pieces that make smells, noises, explosions and or smoke, do you hear me?"
"Loud and clear Dad, no fun, I got it." James replied getting into the backseat of the car with a roll of his eyes. Albus got in after him not having to get a warning from his father or from his mother.
"James watch that attitude of yours." Ginny sighed locking the house up and getting in the car herself while Harry stopped Lily.
"What did I tell you last night about the car ride, the train ride and possibly time in the common room?" He asked softly simply checking that his youngest child and only daughter remembered the little tips he'd given her the night before.
"Not to listen to James, not to follow in James' bad examples, not to overreact to James' immature and childish pranks or jokes, not to take James' sarcastic comments to heart, and lastly only listen to James when he's dead serious, any other time go to Al." Lily recited making Harry laugh and shake his head.
"Good, as long as we're clear on that then this should be a good day. Now let's get going, can't have you late for your first year at Hogwarts now can we?"
Kings Cross Station
Platform 9 ¾ was jam packed when both families got there, despite leaving early Hermione and Ron arrived with their kids at the same time Harry and Ginny did with their three. They met up and carried on together with the kids at their heels well most of them James was in front of them commenting on how the train should leave later and give him more time to sleep. When they came to a stop in an area with less people they heard a familiar voice coming up behind them.
"Harry! Hey you lot, sorry I'm late." Teddy said, grinning while trying to regain his breath. "I had to come mind you late or not, had to see the little ones off."
"Well you managed to get here before they left so you didn't do too bad. How are you Teddy?" Harry replied loosening Lily's vice like grip on his hand.
"I'm well, and you lot? Ron you look like death."
"Well thanks for the compliment Teddy, makes me feel like a star." Ron countered with sarcasm heavy in his tone.
"Okay, away from boy-ish banter please, we need to get these kids on the train and into a compartment." Hermione sighed while Harry and Ron took control of the trolleys to go move the stuff around into a storage cart near the back of the train.
"Teddy can take us to get one, right Teddy?" Lily commented having moved to hold on tightly to her mother's leg.
"Well I could but it'd cost you." Teddy replied hoisting Hugo up under his right arm before grabbing Lily under his left. "The price you may wonder? A chocolate frog for Christmas, how's that sound?" Hermione and Ginny stood and watched Teddy carry the youngest of the five cousins onto the train, they were closely followed by James, Albus and Rose who carried the owls and cats with them to put them in a compartment.
"So there was just enough room in that carriage to put their stuff in it." Ron announced as he and Harry returned and stood beside their wives as goodbyes started, five minutes later the kids and Teddy came off of the train to say their goodbyes. After many reminders to Hugo and Lily the goodbyes began in the Potter/Weasley family group. Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes to James first knowing he was itching to go find his friends.
"Okay James, remember to at least try and stay out of trouble okay?" Harry asked as his fourteen year old son hugged him and Ginny quickly before pulling back in case his friends saw him.
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises. Are you going to come to the first Quidditch game though?" James replied quickly, James played Chaser like his mother and his grandfather on Harry's side had done in previous decades.
"Of course we will James, now go on we can see you're getting impatient." Ginny smiled as James spun on his heels and headed towards the train again with a departing 'love you, I'll write next week'.
"He's not going to try at all to stay out of trouble, he goes looking for it, just saying." Albus commented when he came and hugged his parents goodbye. He was thirteen now along with Rose, and much to Harry's excitement, played seeker on the Gryffindor house team at Hogwarts, but of course Albus had the high marks in class too.
"We know, we get a letter from McGonagall every week telling us what he's done that week, but Al, you look after Lily okay? Make sure she knows where she's going and when." Harry replied to his second child, Albus was the one who really didn't tease his sister and for some unknown reason he put up with his elder brother's pranks and jokes.
"I will, love you two." Albus said as he walked to the door of the train, waiting for Lily.
"Mum, Dad, I know I was excited this morning, and I still am don't get me wrong but I'm scared." Lily said quietly when it was her turn to say goodbye. Harry knelt down and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't you be scared Lily, trust me, once you're on your way to Hogwarts that feeling goes away, and once you get there you won't believe your eyes. And should you ever feel scared you know Mum and I are only a letter away."
"I know… what if I'm no good at any of my classes? O-or if I don't do something right, or get lost or something?"
"Lily, you'll be fine, we promise, Al's going to look after you and we have Professor McGonagall's word that she'll be watching out for you and Hugo this year if you need her." Ginny smiled hugging her daughter tightly before letting her go. Lily stood there for a moment before going to hug Teddy. After a moment she turned and said 'love you, and make sure you write, James said you might forget.' To which Harry and Ginny couldn't help but laugh as they replied to their youngest child.
"Alright Rosie, you have to look after Hugo okay?" Ron said from beside Hermione.
"I will, I'll make sure he has his homework done too." Rose replied receiving a scowl from Hugo.
"Hugo, make sure you stay out of trouble too." Hermione smiled before she pulled both of her children to her in a tight hug. Ron laughed and said goodbye to his children as they walked towards the train to meet up with Albus and Lily. "We'll write in a few days, we love you."
"We love you too Mum, and you too Dad." Rose answered waiting for Hugo to pull himself up into the carriage. A moment later all of the kids were on the train, steam filling the platform and hurried goodbyes surrounded them as the train began to pull away from the station.
"It's going to take some serious getting used to now all of them are at school isn't it? Only seems like yesterday we were the ones on the train going to school, doesn't it?" Ron asked as he, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Teddy all stood waving as the train made its way slowly down the track.
"You got that right, it'll be quiet around the house now." Harry laughed in reply to his brother in law and best friend's comment.
"The best part is McGonagall has all five of them now, she has a tough enough time with James alone." Ginny added.
"Then we best be buckling down for those weekly howlers complaining at us for what they did this time."
"You know Ronald, in fact you too in this one Harry, you telling them stories about all of our escapades in school really doesn't help the cause of trying to keep them out of trouble." Hermione said as the five of them all headed back out of the station.
"Hermione, school can be fun too you know, you just have to let them have some freedom and trust at the same time." Harry replied as he unlocked the car and helped Ginny in as Teddy jumped in the backseat. "I don't remember saying you could come over Teddy."
"Well I figured I'd come hang with you two, I mean unless you have plans then I understand but ah what the hell right? I have no where else to be."
"Good on you mate, anyways we'd best be going Hermione, I'm going back to bed if I'm working the night shift tonight. So I'll see you at work Harry?" Ron asked with a yawn.
"I'll be there, so I'll see you in a few hours I suppose. I'll see you tomorrow Hermione when we're all at the Burrow." Harry replied as his friends and now relatives got into their car with a wave. As Ron had said it would be hard getting used to having all of the kids away at school but they all knew the kids would be safe and having fun there, it simply brought back memories of when they were there and they all hoped their kids could make memories like they had, the ones that would live on forever.
