Twelve Years Later

"Dad!" Jackie yelled, darting through a crowd of people at King's Cross to the spot just inside the entrance where Colin was standing with his wife and twin daughters.

Teddy and I followed closely behind, my hand wrapped firmly around our six-year-old son, Remus. It was June and in a few months Jackie, who was seventeen, would be heading off to her final year at Hogwarts. Right now, she was about to go to Scotland with Colin and his family for a wedding. His aunt was marrying her hairdresser.

"Hey, sweetheart," said Colin, hugging her. "Ready to head to Scotland?"

"Of course," she replied." There's nothing that sounds more thrilling than attending my great-aunt's wedding."

"I heard it's going to be the wedding of the century," said Ashley, Colin's wife, smiling.

Colin turned to me and Teddy. "Hey, Vic. Hey, Teddy."

"Hello," I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. I hugged Ashley and waved at their two daughters, who were both eight.

Remus tugged his hand out of mine and ran over to Colin, wrapping his arms around his leg.

Remus was an energetic child. And by energetic I meant that he was the most out of control kid in the entire world. Trying to keep him in control was like trying to tame a bull in a china shop. It wasn't like we'd done a bad job raising him; he just had a severe case of ADHD.

"Uncle Colin!" he screeched. "Take me with you!"

He called Colin his "uncle" because that's what Colin basically was to him. He was the like the cool uncle who never scolded him for anything and sometimes slipped him candy before meals.

"Sorry, kid," he said, trying to shake him off his leg. "But your parents won't let me."

"Colin," I said, reaching down and picking Remus up, "it's not that we won't let you. Not having to deal with this kid for a week would be the most relieving thing in the world. We're actually sparing you. Can you imagine trying to deal with him in a different country for an entire week? Trying to keep him quiet during a wedding?"

"Point taken," replied Colin.

We all began walking towards the platform their train would be leaving from.

"We actually have two weddings coming up later this summer and I'm still trying to figure out if we should bring him."

"Two weddings?" asked Ashley. "Who?"

"My cousin Rose is marrying Scorpius Malfoy later this month."

Colin chuckled. "That name gets me every time. Scorpius Malfoy."

"His entire family has weird names," said Jackie. "Draco. Lucius. Abraxas."

"And my friends Aidan and Grace are getting married in August."

Colin looked confused. "Didn't they already get married? And then divorced? Or am I thinking of someone else?"

"Nope," replied Teddy. "You're thinking of them. They have a… complicated relationship."

I nodded. Complicated indeed. They'd gotten together at Hogwarts. Then broken up a year after graduation. Then gotten back together five years later. Then broken up for a few months. Then gotten back together. Then gotten married. They were married two years before the divorce. Then two years after that they had gotten back together. And now they were trying marriage again.

As complicated as their relationship was, I was sure that they were never actually going to break up for good. They were soul mates. Aidan knew that. And Grace didn't. That was the problem. She was always convinced that they weren't actually right for each other. But then after they were apart for a while, she'd realize that they actually were and go back to him. If only she could remember that realization for good.

We arrived at the platform, but the train wasn't due to leave for a little while, so we all stood around talking for a little bit longer.

Jackie struck up a conversation with Ashley and the twins. Teddy and Colin began talking about Quidditch. Colin thought Quidditch was the most fascinating thing in the world. Their conversation was interrupted when Remus spotted Platform 9 and ¾ and went running toward it. He slammed into it and fell backwards, immediately bursting into tears. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"I'll go get him," sighed Teddy.

I turned to Colin. "So have you heard about Jackie's boyfriend?"

Colin's mouth dropped open. "Her what?"

"They've been dating for about a month."

"A month!" he exclaimed. "Then why am I just now hearing about this? Why hasn't she told me before?" His voice was gradually getting louder and louder.

"Well, Colin, I expect it's because she knew you'd react like this."

"What's he like?" he demanded. His face paled. "Oh god. He's not anything like I was, is he? Because if she's dating some punk who thinks he's a rock star, then so help me god, I will rip off his…"

"Colin!" I snapped. "Calm down!"

"Jackie!" he called. "Come here!"

Jackie turned away from Ashley and made her way over to us. "What?"

"What's this I hear about you having a boyfriend?"

Jackie glared at me. "You told him?"

"I had to, sweetie. He's your father."

"Are you having sex with him?" asked Colin.

Jackie looked horrified. "Dad!"

"Because I'm pretty sure that we've discussed how you are not allowed to have sex until you're thirty."

"Dad!"

"You're right, that's too young. Thirty-five…. Maybe forty."

Jackie face was turning redder and redder. She glanced around at the people who were passing by. "Keep your voice down," she pleaded.

"Sweetheart, you're seventeen. I know the kind of things seventeen year olds like to do. Your mum and I did them when we were seventeen. That's how you came into existence."

Jackie buried her face in her hands. "Dad," she mumbled, "shut up. God."

"Colin…" I said.

"I'm just looking out for her. I don't want her and this kid to be acting like we did when we were their age."

"Dad," she said, looking up, "you don't have to worry about that, okay? I'm not having sex with him. Nor do I plan to anytime soon."

Colin looked relieved. "Good. But, just so you know, if this kid hurts you in anyway, Teddy and I will come after him." He glanced over at Teddy, who had just come back with Remus. "Isn't that right, Teddy?"

Teddy nodded. "I'll just Avada him. That will make things really easy for us."

Jackie groaned. "It's really just my luck that I have two father figures in my life to threaten my boyfriend and harass me about my sex life."

"The sex life you don't have," interrupted Teddy.

She glared at him.

He shrugged. "It's true. And it better stay that way for a long time."

"You two are so embarrassing," she said. "Mum, tell them to leave me alone."

I shook my head. "I don't think anything I say will make them leave you alone, sweetie."

"You're our baby girl," said Colin. "We're never going to leave you alone."

"Colin, honey," called Ashley, "we should get going."

"Alright," he replied. "I'll be right there." He turned to me. "See you guys in a week," he said. He ruffled Remus's hair. "I'll bring you back a present, kid. How does that sound?"

Remus grinned. "Awesome."

Jackie hugged Teddy and me. "Bye," she said. "I love you guys."

"We love you too," I replied.

We waved goodbye and stood there until the train disappeared from sight.

I grabbed Remus's hand in one of mine, and Teddy's with the other. Teddy squeezed it, smiling down at me. "You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yup," I replied.

We began walking toward the exit.

"Can we go get ice cream?" asked Remus.

"We'll see," Teddy replied.

"Can I go to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Not until you're eleven," I told him.

"Can I be a Slytherin?"

"Absolutely not," said Teddy.

"What if I am?"

"I'll disown you."

"Teddy!" I scolded.

"Just kidding."

"I want ice cream."

"Only if you're quiet for the next five minutes," I said.

At the ice cream parlor, Remus insisted on sitting at his own table. Which was fine with me.

"That kid is going to cause me to go gray prematurely," I told Teddy. "I swear."

Teddy reached out and grabbed a piece of my hair. "I think you already are," he said, laughing.

"Shut up," I said, slapping his hand away. "You're such a liar."

He smiled at me. "It wouldn't matter anyway. I'll love you no matter how gray your hair gets."

"And I'll love you no matter how much of your hair you end up losing," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

He chuckled, shaking his head. He looked over at Remus, who had managed to get chocolate ice cream on nearly every inch of his body.

"Can you believe we've been married fourteen years?" he asked.

I lifted my cup of ice cream. "Here's to fourteen more," I toasted.

"Here, here," he said, raising his cone.

"I need a napkin," announced Remus.

We glanced at each other. Teddy smiled as he stood up. He held out his hand. "Come on," he said, "we got a kid to clean up."

I reached out, taking his hand in my own, smiling.

A lot had changed since I'd found out I was pregnant eighteen years before.

But, I was happy.

Very happy.


So that's it. I hope you all enjoyed this ending to the story. And I hope you liked reading the story as much as I liked writing it. I just want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review. I love you all. I've loved writing this story and I'm sad it's over, but I'm looking forward to writing the sequel, which I hope you all decide to read.

Thank you again.

~Emma~