Chapter Ten: King's Cross

Albus woke sandwiched between his brother and sister under a thin plaid blanket. He shimmied out of the sheets, shivering a little as the warmth of the night escaped into the cool air of the early morning. A small, triangular window was glowing just above the headboard, overlooking a small garden on the side of the Burrow. The garden stopped near a badly eroded stone fence, irregular from many repairs using cement and pebbles. An equally broken-looking gate was placed in the fence and separated the yard from the rural moor that ran for miles uninterrupted, ascending into low, foggy mountains. Two people were walking on the moor, nearing the gate from the outside. Albus recognized his father with his Aunt Hermione and remembered the argument they had the earlier day, wondering if he had anything to do with it.

Albus had seen his father oscillate between moods as he grew up. Despite his heroic status, Harry never really spent too much time, outside of work, at places popular with magical folk. As the Death Eaters were being rounded up for trial and imprisonment in Askaban, a notorious wizard and werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, had escaped Dementors and Aurors. It had been a lapse in security; stretched thin by causalities from the past year and needing to securely guard at least seventy dangerous and unpredictable wizards -not to mention doing deep investigations into other implicated families- Aurors who had yet to complete proper training were paired with a certified wizard to perpetuate the image of a full and strong force. Instead, at least a few individuals managed to free themselves, usually caught a few days later. Fenrir had evaded recapture for over two years, and he had taken a new Auror only a few years out of Hogwarts- a young Katie Bell of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Although Katie's disappearance had happened well before Ginny had even married Harry, Albus was familiar with the name. When he was around five years old, a woman had sent in a tip about Katie's whereabouts. The lady was well into her nineties, her face riddled with deep lines and her mind gone from dementia. It was clear that the tip was futile, yet Harry pursued it for over seven months, leaving for weeks at a time to follow clues he had somehow contrived from dead end interviews with the woman. Ginny had grown increasingly worried about a particularly long absence and persuaded Ron to list him as a missing person. A team of Aurors set out to find their colleague, coming upon Harry in a sketchy part of Wales (dangerously near some yet hostile Giant communities). It was clear a powerful confundus charm, among other hexes, had been cast upon him as well, which unnerved many of the Auror's. For two months Harry remained in a sort of fugue dominated by large stretches of catatonic stillness disrupted with short bursts of energetic, but completely unintelligible ramblings. The spell eventually lifted and Harry returned to work, closing Katie Bell's investigation. But he often couldn't handle stressful days, revealed by many irritable nights at home where he and Ginny would clash in monumental rows and he wouldn't even look at his children. Eventually, this behavior subsided as well and Albus was sure he'd never seen his Mom and Dad closer than in recent memory. Still, it unnerved Albus when he would catch his Dad looking at him for long periods of time; he would remember trying to get Harry to read to him, to do anything with him, only to meet his confounded stare as though he was unsure the boy in front of him was, in fact, his son.

James didn't seem to be nearly as affected, and Albus had attributed this to the similarities he saw in is brother and father. James was wildly popular, great at Quidditch and could think fast on his feet- so of course he and Harry could get along cracking sly jokes in each other's direction and rambling about seeker and beater stats. Lily too, though quite young, was also thoroughly enjoyable to be around and regularly charmed adults. But Albus was peculiar; although he read a lot, he never appeared nearly as bright as Rosie, he was quiet and had a severely sober resting face, he liked people who liked him back but who at Hogwarts would like him? Especially after they figured out he was nothing like his famous father.

"He's so much like me, Hermione, its unnerving," Harry shook his head and looked pleading at his friend, "Just please guarantee that whoever you say is going to be at Hogwarts this year, that they haven't brought another three-headed dog to guard them."

Hermione chuckled despite the rather serious conversation that proceeded Harry's statement, "That I can guarantee. Besides Harry, wouldn't you be more afraid of James getting into that sort of mischief?"

Harry snorted. "James boasts about his accomplishments so much that everyone would know what he's up to. Al...Al's got this determination where he can set himself on a task and the whole world seems to disappear. I can't tell you the amount of times I've found him on our roof retrieving some toy that one of the kids has thrown up there. He doesn't ask for help or other's input."

"That actually sounds quite a bit like you."

" And you, as of late."

Hermione paled again, "Harry please..."

But Harry nudged her playfully, "I know, I know."

The two walked for awhile in silence, nearing the garden gate. Harry paused before going through, "He can talk to snakes too, Hermione."

Hermione turned and shot Harry a surprised stare, "I thought you lost your ability when you destroyed the horcrux..."

"I did," Harry replied simply, "I... I don't know where he's got it from... we're not descendants of Slytherin to any of my knowledge."

"And you're sure of this? You saw him speaking?" Hermione pressed.

"Funny enough, it was at the same zoo that I hoodwinked Dudley at when I was eleven. He didn't really take the experience too well the second time around if I'm to be completely honest." Harry recounted the incident ruefully.

"And does Al know about it?"

Harry paused, considering his son, "You know, I'm not sure... at least I don't think he thought the encounter was anything out of the ordinary... at least by wizarding standards."He looked at Hermione, but she could offer him no more, shrugging her shoulders and eyeing him empathetically.

"Al's a good kid." Harry finally stated.

"He is." echoed Hermione.

Ibn pecked Albus once more, finally pushing the boy to guide it (with some forced persuasion) back into his cage. The bird regarded Albus with some vengeance before settling in a huff. Albus surveyed his surroundings, wondering how many people had noticed the odd gathering of people near the old brick column between platforms of 9 and 10 at King's Cross. Ron came up with Rose in hand and wrapped his other arm around his nephew, "Ya ready?"

Albus glanced at Rosie, who was definitely a trembling mixture of fear and excitement, though at this point, Albus couldn't tell which emotion was winning. He had already seen James go through and tapped his cousin reassuringly, "I'll go first."

The bustling of the platform seemed to hide the strange activity at this particular gate and Albus marveled, as he picked up speed toward the solid partition, how little the muggle people noticed the impending collision that would be predicted by any rational observer. Whether anyone reacted was lost to Albus as he emerged onto a considerably more extraordinary platform, filled with robes and owls, toads and pointed hats. Ironically, Albus felt as though he was under even more scrutiny among this odd company, as many witches and wizards seemed to be paying particular attention to his eyes. Soon enough, Rose, followed by James, appeared at his side. The trio of students made their way to a waiting train, where countless other children had already crammed on the cars. Lily and Hugo rushed up by their older siblings and James hugged both before spotting a fellow Quidditch player, "Aye Adrian!" he made to board the train.

"James Sirius Potter, you come here and give your mother and father a proper goodbye!" Ginny and the rest of the adults had managed to catch up to their children. James reluctantly trudged back to his mother and half-handedly offered his cheek, which Ginny kissed loudly, "And don't forget to send Neville our love."

"What!" this request was past the point of decency for the oldest Potter, "Mom, Neville...Mr. Longbottom is the Herbology professor, I can't send my professor love!" James' face mimicked his incredulous tone. Quickly hugging Harry and Hermione and nodding cheekily at Ron, James retreated to the Quidditch carriage.

Rosie was next to say her round of goodbyes, pulling Hugo into an extra-tight hug and giving her parents a long look of desperate exhilaration. She brought her suitcase to a nearby undercarriage and suddenly exclaimed, "Teddy!"

The remaining family looked towards a train breakman, who, upon being discovered, knotted up his eyes and pinched his nose as if blowing up his head like a balloon. spreading from the roots, the man's hair turned a vibrant shade of teal. Teddy Lupin greeted the Potters and Weasleys, who offered their welcomed surprise.

"How's it going Ted? I didn't know you got a job with the Express?" Ron clapped his man on the young man's back.

"Well I spent a little much when I visited Charlie and needed to get a little saved up before catching this train back to school myself."

"Ah, so you are going back," Hermione swelled in pride.

Ron rolled his eyes, "So how is Charlie..."

Harry had become quite quiet in the exchange, and regarded the young man who stood before him. Teddy Lupin had straddled two generations: he was one of the first batch of students to attend a post-war Hogwarts, yet, as the orphaned child of Remus and Tonks, he was much more affected by the war than most of his peers and classmates who came after him. His first few years had also been marked by a toss-up of guardians. The trio, barely adults themselves, found out very quickly that caring for a child was not something they could experiment with. Minerva had gladly rushed in to care for the infant, but upon being persuaded to return as Headmistress, felt the child should go to a more available parent. By this time, Hermione and Ron had gotten married, a year later, Harry and Ginny. For awhile, the two new couples shared custody of the young Teddy, also juggling their blooming roles as ministry officials. A number of other students also took in their beloved teacher's son; Luna and her husband had fostered the boy for a summer in South America and Neville, with his wife Hannah, offered Teddy a stay in Hogsmeade whenever school breaks commenced. Recently, George and Angelina had also extended their hospitality to their daughter's boyfriend.

Teddy, unlike Harry, had grown up around many guardians who loved him, but still, the sheer number of people, though well-meaning, had split the boy's loyalty so thin, that no one person really held the true weight of a parent. Teddy had also been many of adults' first child, and coupled with the aftereffects of the war, his guardians had all made the mistakes that first-time parents make. During his fifth year, knowing his magic skills would never pass in the O.W.L.S., he had run away from the school and ended up somewhere in Bulgaria, where he located Charlie Weasley and joined him as an apprentice for Dragon-keeping. His guardians (mostly Minerva and Hermione) had tried to coax him back into school (McGonagall even offered to let him play Quidditch despite his age). Teddy was resourceful and very much cared for his guardians, but Harry had felt that in a way, they had all failed to give his life stability. And given Harry's personal struggle with his various guardians, had felt in hindsight that he could have done much better.

Ginny pinched Harry's arm and nodded in the direction of the train. Teddy had finished helping Rosie with her things and both had boarded the Hogwart's Express. But someone was lagging behind. Harry walked over to his son, who was tying and untying his shoes, trying to look busy. Albus glanced up as his father knelt beside him. "Exciting isn't it?" Harry began awkwardly, "I can't tell you how terrified I was my first time."

"Dad, how do you feel about the Houses," His son gazed at him earnestly.

"The Sorting Hat is pretty good at putting you where you belong Al, I really wouldn't worry. Any house will have gained a great wizard regardless"

"But say I do get put into Slytherin..." Albus plainly laid out his apprehension. Harry took a deep breath.

"Albus Severus Potter," He enunciated his son's middle name, "You were named after two great wizards. One of them was in Slytherin and he was the bravest man I ever knew."

Albus absorbed this fact, but worry still kept his brows knitted together.

"Al, if you really don't want to be in Slytherin, you don't have to. The Hat takes your choice into consideration." At this, Albus brightened, "You can choose?"

"I did." said Harry.

As he returned to his wife, Ginny held a triumphant smile. "You really got to him. I haven't seen him this excited since he got his letter."

Harry turned with Ginny to wave at his son, who had found the carriage with Rose and Teddy. He beamed back at his parents and proceeded to play with a chocolate frog that Teddy had produced.

The train let out a deafening roar as thick, white steam drifted from the engine. Through the fog, two thin, blonde characters crystallized. Ginny cocked her head and turned to Harry, "Draco has a son?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione worked with Draco Malfoy at the Ministry of Magic, one of the only pro-Voldemort families to still hold their representation. The relationship was nothing beyond curt professionalism, though after hugging his child, a spitting image of his father, he slowly made his way towards the trio.

"Yeah, Scorpio is his name, I believe," said Hermione. Ginny still seemed confused, "And he has no other children?"

"Not that I know of, no...why?" Hermione turned to Ginny, who struggled to remember her memory, "I could have sworn I saw him in Diagon Alley, right after we left Madame Malkins, with a girl...but maybe..." She ceased to further her recollection as the man reached the group.

"Hello Potters, Weasleys," Draco nodded formally at each, who greeted him somewhat bewildered.

" I see your son is starting Hogwarts this year as well?" Ron uncomfortably started the conversation.

"Ah yes," relief seemed to overcome Draco. Harry noticed that a few dirty looks were being aimed at his colleague's way, some from pure-blood and muggle-born couples alike. "He's quite excited , ready to get his broom and play Quidditch, he... he likes chess too, " the statement was directed at Ron, "Does Rosie play? Perhaps they could play together- he can already beat me but you were pretty good back then eh?"

Ron shifted, not knowing how to answer, "Erm, yeah I guess I was alright. Yeah Rosie plays...umm"

Draco retracted himself again, regaining the trademark Malfoy air of haughtiness, "I mean if they get along and all."

"How's Astoria?" Hermione interrupted, sternly eyeing her flabbergasted husband. Draco seemed to shrink some.

"She's sick." he paused at length, "We've had a difficult time diagnosing the problem and... well... getting help from the wizarding community in general.." he ended bitterly, eyeing Hermione in particular.

"What do you mean?" Hermione brushed off his cool stare, "I heard she has something rare, with only trial treatments available."

"Yeah well no one's really jumping to get us up to date on what's available, given our blood should protect us from these sorts of things."

"Did a doctor say that?" Ginny cut in sharply.

"I...no... not a doctor, "Draco was becoming undone once more, "Anyway we've gotten connected to a rather good muggle doctor and things seem to be moving forward."

"A muggle doctor? How do you keep that secret? The muggle money? That's a big risk to security..." Hermione quieted as Draco fixed her with another icy stare. "We have an agreement made out and its working."

The conversation seemed to dissolve from there.

"So does Scorpio hang around with any wizards?"

"No we keep to ourselves."

"How is he."

'Nothing like me."

"He looks like you"

"That's about it." Draco was itching to leave. But first, he finally engaged Hermione, "I hear that Atterberry has picked you to replace him. I don't believe it and I think you should watch your overreach before you end up like Shacklebolt."

Ron, who had been quietly fuming, found his spark, "You don't get to talk to my wife like that."

Draco sneered, "I get to talk to my colleague like that Weasley," turning again to Hermione, "I remember you being able to stand up for yourself at one point you know."

"Draco don't act like you know what's going on, " Hermione barked back, "trust me when I say that you are in no one's inner circle of confidence at the Ministry."

Draco seemed taken aback, "Maybe it's time to forget my father when considering my ability to perform my duties."

Now it was Harry's turn to step in, "Maybe it's time you get that ugly tattoo removed," he gestured at Draco's covered arm, where a faded Dark Mark remained.

Draco touched his arm and glowered at Harry, "Maybe you should stop harassing me about things that I can't change."

"Maybe you should have picked the right side in the first place," The words that flew out of Harry came from a time before the Ministry.

Draco smiled contritely, "I guess some things don't change do they?"

The train gave a final whistle and lurched forward on the tracks. Forgetting the feud, the adults turned to find their children and give them one final farewell.