"Afterlight"
'By: Racheal Insanity'
"Mom!" I turned around when I heard Scorpius call. When he saw me, he immediately dropped his hands from the trolley he was pushing with Draco and ran at me. I opened my arms and he nearly knocked me over with his hug. I had spent the last several weeks at Mason Manor and promised that I'd meet him at the platform when he left for his first year at Hogwarts. "Happy Birthday, Mommy." He whispered the last part, thinking he was too old to call me Mommy; and if I had raised him as a pureblood child should have been raised, he would be.
"Hi Scor, and thank you." I smiled, kissing his head lightly before looking up to meet Draco's eyes.
"Happy Birthday, baby doll." He smirked, wrapping his arms around the two of us for a moment. I rolled my eyes at the nickname he knew I hated, but I sighed in defeat, knowing that he'd never stop. "Did you get everything done?"
"Not everything, but I might opt out early of the feast tonight to finish things before classes tomorrow. I didn't realize there would be so much work to be done though, especially since Se … Albus helped me with the lesson plans."
"What are you teaching again?" Scorpius asked, looking up and dropping his arms, just holding on to my hand lightly.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts." I huffed. "If anyone but Minerva had asked, I would have never done it. I've had enough to do with the dark arts to do for a lifetime."
"In public." Draco reminded me. I stuck my tongue out at him. "You know, sometimes I feel like I'm still married to a sixteen year old girl."
"You are still married to a sixteen year old girl." I deadpanned.
"Not so loud, Mommy." Scorpius looked at me like I was crazy for saying that out loud.
"Not so loud, honey." I mocked. "I set up a silencing charm before you even got here. No one can hears us." He frowned for a moment, before smiling again. I didn't understand where he got all his happy energy, since neither Draco or my families were the happy, easy-going type.
"I saw Harry when we entered the platform." Draco changed the subject. "I'll get Scor settled on the train and you go say hi. It's been awhile."
I nodded as I watched them go back to the trolley they had forgotten before walking off. I still didn't have the courage to tell him about the curse, even after nineteen years. I had no choice now but to go say hi to Harry.
It didn't take long to find them, as the platform enhanced the volume of everything just for that reason; at least that was what my father had told me, but even then he liked to joke around.
"Hi Harry." I whispered in Harry's ear, coming up behind him. I felt him tense for a moment before he started laughing.
"Carson!" He turned around and lifted me up into a hug. He spun me around once, before setting me down next to him, facing the others, one arm still loosely wrapped around my waist.
"Carson!" Hermione squealed and Ron laughed when they finally realized who I was. Hermione gave me a hug of her own and Ron gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. I was surprised to find that Harry's arm had stayed on my waist the whole time.
"Harry?" Ginny asked, just slightly confused. I could tell that she recognized me, but couldn't remember why. I had never really spoken to students in my year while at school and never had any classes with her, so I wasn't surprised at her reaction. "Who's your friend?"
"You don't know her?" Harry seemed surprised. I frowned. He still hadn't realized that I hadn't been very popular in school. I was an outsider, even within my own house. "She was in your year." He gave me a quick glance, but thankful did nothing more.
"She wouldn't remember me." I admitted before she could say anything else. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gave me confused looks. "You didn't even realize I was a first year Slytherin when you met me. You thought I was a third year Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw."
Harry huffed. "That's only because you already knew the lessons Ron and I were working on and you were too nice to be in that house."
"Just because I was in Slytherin, doesn't mean I had to be a bitch about it." I glared at him. He still had the same old Gryffindor prejudices about Slytherins.
"Oh, wait!" Ginny exclaimed after listening to our interaction. "Weren't you at our house just before Harry's seventeenth birthday?" I cocked my head to the side before nodding. I really didn't think she would remember that since I had mainly stayed out of the way and with Harry. "I knew I had recognized you, but after seeing you two talk, it reminded me of the way he interacted with someone around that time."
"Speaking of birthday's," Ron grinned. I knew a look of fear had appeared on my face when his grin grew more. He knew more than anyone that I hated my birthday being publicized. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"RON!" I screamed when a few random people gave us strange looks and muttered quick, 'Happy Birthday's. I could just hear Draco laughing farther down the train.
"What?" He held up his hands in defense. "You know I like to tease you about that."
We all glanced up when we heard footsteps running towards us.
"Uncle Ron, what was that?!" a child asked that looked exactly like Harry. There were four others nodding behind him.
"Oh nothing." He grinned. "Just teasing an old friend about her birthday. She just hates it when people know about it." I huffed when I realized that this wouldn't end until we parted ways.
"Anyway." Hermione interrupted. "Happy birthday Carson."
"Yeah, happy birthday." Harry grinned. He looked down at his watch before speaking again. "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."
"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Ginny told one of her sons as she hugged him.
"Mum! I can't give a professor love!"
"But you know Neville—" The boy rolled his eyes and I had to laugh. "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't just walk into Herbology ad give him love. . . ."
Ron was already seeing his daughter off when Hermione pulled me aside as Harry stooped down to talk to his other son.
"What are you doing after this? We should go get lunch; catch up." She smiled softly. I couldn't help but give her a sad smile in return. We had owled occasionally over the years, but never anything substantial. I hadn't even known that she had kids.
"I'm not actually sure." I frowned after I had actually processed the question. "Let me call my husband and see if he had anything planned." She nodded, confused, and I walked off to make the call.
"Yes?" Draco answered the phone like I had just called his name and he was curious as to what my question was.
"Hermione just asked me to go out to lunch with them and I was wondering if you had any plans. I'd love to catch up with them." I held my breath as I waited for his answer.
"Of course you can go. You put up with my fr – people I talk to more often than you should. You deserve to have something to yourself."
I almost didn't say anything from the shock of his reply. He wasn't usually so happy about me going off without him. "I love you." Was all I said before I hung up. It was the first time in nineteen years that I had actually meant that, and we both knew it.
I looked up to see the train leaving. I waved as Scorpius' cabin went by and he gave a small smile in return. I stared after the train long after it had left and when I turned back to the group, I realized that Harry had been too.
"Are you coming?" Hermione asked when Harry and I walked back over to them.
"Coming where?" Ron and Ginny asked at once.
"Oh, to lunch!" Hermione said, just realizing that she hadn't told them of her plans. "I thought that since it was her birthday and we hadn't seen each other in years, we should go out." She frowned for a moment before looking at me. "You're married?"
I gave her a confused look before I realized that I had told her I had to call my husband, not just a friend. I frowned myself then. I had forgotten how careless I always was around them. I'd have to be more careful.
"Oh yes." I finally replied. "It was an arranged marriage." I paused, knowing that wasn't right. "Or well, an arranged marriage to get out of an arranged marriage. Or. Something like that."
"I never would have taken you for someone that would agree to that." Harry told me, giving me a concerned look.
"Well, we had been friends and if I didn't agree to marry him, he would have ended up in a marriage where he didn't even speak to his wife and were only really together so he could have an heir."
"Do we know him?" Ron asked in a tone that sounded like a protective older brother.
"No. You don't. So there's no point in telling you who it is." I half-lied. They really didn't know him, not anymore, and honestly, they never really did.
Harry frowned at me, but knew that I didn't want to talk about it anymore. "So where are we going to eat?"