Disclaimer: I own nothing and never will (unfortunately)
Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of September was crisp as an apple, and as the little family bobbed across the rumbling road toward the great sooty station, the fumes of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkled like cobwebs in the cold air. Two large cages tattled on top of the laden trolleys the parents were pushing; the owls inside them hooted indignantly, and the brunette trailed fearfully behind her brothers, clutching her father's arm.
"It won't be long, and you'll be going too," Harry told her.
"Two years," sniffed Malia. "I want to go now!"
The commuters stared curiously at the owls as the family wove its way toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Lily's voice drifted back to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his three oldest had resumed the argument they had started in the car.
"I won't! I won't be a Slytherin!"
"Lily, give it a rest!" McKenzie said.
"I only said he might be," Lily said, grinning at her younger brother. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-"
But Lily caught her mother's eye and fell silent. The six Potters approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over her shoulder at her younger brother, Lily took the trolley from her mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.
"You'll write to us, won't you?" Sirius asked his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his sister.
"Every day, if you want us to," McKenzie replied.
"Not every day," said Sirius quickly, "Lily says most people only get letters from home about once a month."
"We wrote to Lily three times a week last year," said McKenzie.
"And you don't want to believe everything she tells you about Hogwarts," Harry put in. "He likes a laugh, your sister."
Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering speed. As they reached the barrier, James and Sirius winced, but no collision came. Instead, the family emerged onto platform nine and three-quarters, which was obscured by thick white steam that was
pouring from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming through the mist, into which Lily had already disappeared.
"Where are they?" asked James anxiously, peering at the hazy forms they passed as they made their way down the platform.
"We'll find them," McKenzie said reassuringly.
But the vapor was dense, and it was difficult to make out anybody's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally loud, Harry thought he head Percy discoursing loudly on broomstick regulations, and was quite glad of the excuse not to stop and say hello . . .
"I think that's them, Jamie," said McKenzie suddenly.
A group of five people emerged from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry, McKenzie, James, Sirius, and Malia had drawn right up to them.
"Hi," said Sirius, sounding immensely relieved.
Rosaline, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him.
"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. "I did. Ally didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confound the examiner."
"No, I didn't," Allison Jones, Ron's wife, said. "I had complete faith in you."
"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispered to Harry, as together they lifted James and Sirius's trunk and owl onto the train. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."
Back on the platform, they found Malia and Hugo, Beatrice and Rosaline's younger brother, having an animated discussion about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.
"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said Ron, "but no pressure."
"Ron!"
Malia and Hugo laughed, but James, Sirius, and Rosaline looked solemn.
"He doesn't mean it," said McKenzie and Allison, but Ron was no longer paying attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nodded covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist.
"Look who it is."
Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife, who looked strangely familiar, and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized the pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Sirius resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Allison, and McKenzie staring at him, nodded curtly, and turned away again.
"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. I can't have the offspring of a ferret beating my daughter."
"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Allison, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"
"You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. I will never forgive you if you married a Malfoy."
"Hey!"
Lily had reappeared; she had divested herself of her trunk, owl, and trolley, and was evidently bursting with news.
"Teddy's back there," she said breathlessly, pointing back over her shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam.
"Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"
She gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction.
"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked teddy
what he was doing -"
"You interrupted them?" said Allison. "You are so like Ron -"
"- and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" Lily added as though worried she had not made herself clear.
"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" whispered Malia ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then!"
"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," said Harry "Why don't we just invite him to live with is and have done with it?"
"Yeah!" said Lily enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with Lia-Teddy could have my room!"
"No," said Harry firmly, "you and Malia will share a room only when I want the house demolished."
He checked the battered old watch that had once been Fabian Prewett's.
"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."
"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" McKenzie told James and Sirius as she hugged them.
"Mum! I can't give a professor love!"
"But you know Neville-"
The twins rolled their eyes in unison.
"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? We can't walk into Herbology and give him love. . ."
Shaking their heads at their mother's foolishness. Lily vented her feelings about no one appreciating her news about Teddy by aiming a kick at Malia.
"See you later, boys. Watch out for the thestrals."
"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!" But Lily merely laughed, permitted her step-mother to kiss her, gave her father a fleeting hug, then leapt onto the rapidly filling train. They saw her wave, then sprint away up the corridor to find her friends.
"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told the twins. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."
McKenzie kissed the twins' good-bye.
"See you at Christmas."
"Bye, boys," said Harry as his sons hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you two to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let Lily wind you up."
"What if one of us is in Slytherin?"
James's whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced them to reveal how great and sincere that fear was.
Harry crouched down so that James and Sirius's faces were slightly above his own.
"James, Sirius," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but McKenzie could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Beatrice, who was now on the train, "You two were named for two of the greatest pranksters at Hogwarts. One of them was from a Slytherin based family and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
"But just say-"
"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student or two, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, boys. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."
"Really?" Sirius asked.
"It did for me," said Harry.
He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw the wonder in his son's faces when he said it. But how the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders,James and Sirius jumped into the carriage and McKenzie closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Harry.
"Why are they all staring?" demanded Sirius as he and James craned around to look at the other students.
"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."
Sirius, James, Rosaline, Hugo and Malia laughed. The train began to more, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his sons' faces, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his sons' glide away from him. . .
The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell.
"They'll be alright," murmured McKenzie.
As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.
"I know they will."
The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.
There will be a lot more information flying at you in further chapters. Please suggest a title in the review because I have no idea what to call it. Abandoned is just the temporary title.
bye,
Fadingspirit