18 YEARS LATER
"I wanna go to Hogwarts!" They heard a familiar voice cutting through the mist of King's Cross Station, and they all smiled, Minerva and David somewhat nervously. Hermione and Draco both smiled, and they squeezed the hand of whichever twin they were leading. Hermione felt David squeeze back, and she watched as Minerva let go of her trolley with one arm and cling to Draco with it. The mist in front of them was thin; they could make out shapes, gray, blotted objects, but they couldn't see individuals. The cloud seemed to vanish as they waltzed toward the voice of Lily Potter, who was pouting ferociously at her mother, who was attempting to keep a straight face as Lily jutted out her lip to far and had to slurp it back in. But Draco laughed, and Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hannah, James, Albus and Priscilla looked up at them, somewhat relieved expressions mingling with the one of greeting that was present. Lily, on the other hand, seemed determined to fixate her mother's attention on her, and she stomped her nine-year-old foot. "I wanna go to Hogwarts!" she said loudly, her voice rising in pitch to her tantrum mode.
"Shh, sweetiepie," said Ginny, glancing around the mist to see if anyone had heard. "We're not on the platform yet. Then you can yell at us."
Priscilla, however, wasted no time in bolting to Minerva and giving her a huge hug, tearing her from her father's grasp. "Minnie!" she crowed.
"Scilly!" Minerva gasped at the hug, but returned it enthusiastically.
Albus grinned at David nervously, and David returned the girn - but with a small push from Hermione, he, too, went to embrace his best friend. "Hey, Al," he said, hugging him quickly, and Albus held the hug longer, obviously frightened of something.
"Hey, Dave," he said in return, smiling.
"Alright, everyone, we've got seven minutes," Hannah announced, plucking Priscilla off of Minerva and giving her an encouraging shove toward the pillar. "You first, honey."
Priscilla's fingers curled tightly around her trolley's handle, so tightly her knuckles were white. And then she took a deep breath, and, almost as if jets were attatched to her feet, she propelled herself into the barrier, her blonde braids flying out behind her. And then she disappeared beyond it, and Hannah quickly followed suit, and Ron then followed his wife.
"Go on," said Harry to James, and the thirteen-year-old, already 'experienced' in such matters, carelessly threw himself into the barrier, and hit it somewhat sideways when trying to pull off a one-eighty-degree turn - he still went through, but Harry rolled his eyes and darted after him.
"Come on, sweetie," Ginny said to Lily, and, gently pushing Albus in front of her, continued with, "You first, dear."
Albus acted much the same way Priscilla had, and launched himself at the brick wall with a little too much force - she could imagine the pile-up on the other side, and repressed a chuckle. Ginny, seeming to sense the same thing, grabbed Lily's hand and tugged her past the wall, theirs shapes soon vanishing themselves.
Draco put hs hand on his son's back. "Ready?" he asked him, his voice soft amongst the constant buzz of chatter that littered the air around them.
"Ready," David replied, and the two carefully manuevered their way between the two platforms; the magical one, and the Muggle one.
Hermione looked down at Minerva, and saw that her jaw was set, framed with her long, platinum hair, and her steely eyes were determined. "Together," she said, and Minerva nodded - and they raced towards the barrier, Minerva's trolley wheels squeaking, and felt the familiar little whooshing sensation in the pits of their stomachs as they entered paltform nine and three-quarters.
There were families hugging and kissing goodbyes and the buzz of conversation was louder here, but at least there was no mist. The scarlet train looked as ready as ever to hold the stuents it would bring, and it glinted with the station lights, Hogwarts Express written on the front in gold letters. Hermione felt Minerva tense up, and looked down at her once more, ignoring how Priscilla and Hannah were burried underneath Albus's trolley, and how people laughed when Ron failed to use a spell that would sort them out, though she yearned to show him how to properly do it.
Draco was leading David over to them, and Hermione saw the fear etched in her son's face mirrored in her daughter's. As the two twins, the daughter having Draco's pointed chin and piercing glance, the son having Hermione's brown, somewhat frizzy locks and melting chocolate gaze, grabbed each other's hands tightly, David looked up at her.
"Momma?" he said quietly. Hermione knew he was scared witless right then. He never called her 'Momma' in public places anymore; he claimed it was embarassing, now that he was going to Hogwarts. But his lower lips trembled, and he said, "I'm scared."
"Me too," agreed Minerva, barely managing to get the words out past the squeak in her voice.
Hermione said sternly, "Minerva Narcissa and David Lucius."
"There is nothing to be scared of," Draco continued.
"Hogwarts is..." she gestured with one hand, failing to convey the message. "Huge. But amazing, and welcoming, and generally a fun place."
Draco nodded. "You have every right to be scared," he said, "But listen closely." Minnie and Dave leaned closer to catch their father's words. "You will make friends. You have friends already, even, and you may make some more on just the way there. Any house is a good house, remember that. And every person - even if you think you hate them - can turn out to be the best person in your life later on." He looked pointedly at Hermione.
Both of them seemed little reassured. "But what if we get put in different houses?" Minnie insisted.
Hermione smiled a warm smile. "Darling, just ask the Sorting Hat for the house they put David in."
"He'll listen?" she seemed astonished.
"He listened to Harry," she replied, and Draco nodded once more, and then swept David up in a huge hug as the train's whistles blew for everyone to get on board.
"Be a good boy, write often," he demanded, letting his son run off to board with Albus after Hermione ordered the same thing and pecked him on the cheek. He then proceeded to lift Minerva up around the waist and spin her around, causing her to squeal with embarassment as people pointed and smiled gaily. "You'd better be getting good grades," he warned her. "You didn't get your mother's brains for nothing."
He then placed Minerva back on her feet, and Hermione clutched her daughter to her chest, trying not to let the tears well up in her eyes. "Bye-bye, baby girl," she whispered, petting her daughter's hair and feeling Minnie's face press against her neck as she hugged her even tighter.
When Hermione let her go, she scurried to get on board the train, which had blown its whistle again. Hermione and Draco watched as she climbed up the steps, and a moment later, she appeared through the window in the compartment with Scilly, Jamie, Al and Dave, and she waved wildly, prompting the others to do so as the train began to chug and move away. Harry and Ginny blew kisses, and Ron and Hannah hugged each other and shouted for Priscilla to write to them every week; Hermione and Draco, however, ran along side it until it got going to such a speed they stopped and watched it fade away, people calling goodbyes and names, the station filling with noises and rackets Hermione distantly heard. She felt Draco grab her hand as he had all those years ago, and still the star against her chest fluttered as he touched her.
"They'll be okay," Hermione told him.
"I know."
