While our children roamed the stores, Harry and I were sitting in Rosa Lee Teabag shop, sipping peppermint tea from fancy little cups. The teashop was a nice, cozy place that felt separate from the hustle and bustle on the streets. We had chosen a table in the back of the shop near the window though the place was half-empty anyway. The visitors of Diagon Alley apparently had more important stuff in their minds than tea and rushed past the little teashop without even looking at it.

I was playing with the empty sugar packet and felt as if I was transported to a circus arena where someone was about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Can a Muggle man live a Muggle life without magical surprises lying in ambush, please? First, my daughter turned out to be a witch, and then...Harry popping up in front of me alive and well had shaken my world like an earthquake. Magic seemed to be rooted in my life like a weed – even after I pulled and plucked it repeatedly, it still kept coming back.

" You might want to do some research on your family tree, " Harry said, emptying his cup. His jacket was hanging on the back of the chair. " I wouldn't be surprised if you had some distant wizarding ancestors. "

" I highly doubt it. "

" There must be. That's how muggle-borns get their magic. They are descendants of Squibs who have married Muggles and their families have lost the knowledge of the wizarding legacy. The magic resurfaces randomly generations later. "

" I didn't create Stella alone, " I said and fell silent for a moment. " Do you think her mother could have been a witch? "

I thought of Nicole. Where was she and what was she doing now? Was she remembering Stella and me or were we wiped from her memory like unnecessary junk? But since I was oblivious enough to miss my daughter's true nature, it wouldn't be shocking to find out I was unaware of Nicole's possible wizarding abilities too. However, Harry shook his head.

" Unlikely, Thomas. She would have let you know. If not during the dating period, then definitely when you two had a child. She would have known Stella is magical. Where is she, by the way? Stella's mother? "

" No idea. I haven't seen her for more than 5 years now. Stella and I have gotten used to living without her. "

Weirdly, Harry's life after the war had been unfolding very much like mine. His marriage with Ginny Weasley was short-lived, though he managed to produce three children. The couple's relationship started to wobble with the birth of their eldest son, James Sirius. Then came Albus Severus, who was now out in the streets with Stella, looking for school supplies. Harry and Ginny divorced shortly after their last child – Lily Luna – entered the world and today, she was too young to attend Hogwarts.

Albus shared a special bond with his father, more than the other two, and since the divorce of his parents, lived with Harry. Harry's eldest son and little daughter stayed with Ginny in Grimmauld Place – a home that used to belong to Harry's godfather and later the Potter family.

I could unmistakably hear the distress in Harry's voice when he spoke about his failed marriage. I recognized myself in him as if we had simultaneously gone through the same things on the opposite side of the country.

" I'm not really sure what happened, " he said, twirling the cup on the saucer, " Ginny's not a bad woman, you know. But...the affection I initially felt for her, died away. More and more, every day. For a long time I tried to keep our relationship alive, but everything had burned out. And she badgered me about it. Constantly. Eventually, I could take no more. Do you understand? "

Of course, I understood. How could I not? I remembered Nicole's nagging too well. After coming home from work, I couldn't even take my shoes off without her whining about me not taking her anywhere and treating her like an empty place. In a fit of rage, Nicole advised me to hire a housemaid since that's obviously the only thing I need from her. Her picking at me was what shattered the last endearment I had for her in pieces. I wondered how long would I have been able to stand it if she hadn't left herself.

My auto mechanic profession, of course, paled next to Harry's title of the Head of the Auror office. He had definitely gone a much longer way than I did. As a savior of the wizarding world, he could have probably had the sentence " I am Harry Potter " as the only thing on his resume and that would get him any job. I was genuinely happy for him, I really was. It would be difficult to imagine a more suitable job for the skilled wizard that he was.

" So you're basically a magical cop? "

" Pretty much, " he smiled at me and then changed the topic abruptly. " You know...after the war was over, I was trying to find you. "

The peppermint leaf got stuck in my throat. " For what? "

He shrugged. " I just wanted to see how you're doing. From afar. So I visited your house but it was abandoned. The grass had gotten so long I could barely see past the fence. No door, the walls decorated with spray paint drawings. It looked like you left in a hurry or the house would have been sold. "

Listening to him speak recalled a sea of memories. After leaving my childhood house when I was a teen, I had never once gone back and neither did my parents. It was painful to hear that the house I had grown up in had become a run-down wreck, a target for vandals, self-claimed artists, and homeless who snored drunk on the floor of our rooms.

" Yes, we moved. To London. The house didn't feel safe anymore. Death Eaters were following me around. I couldn't put my parents through it. "

" Voldemort told me he sent Bellatrix to you. "

" Oh, he did, " I said, remembering my blood-stained hands, the handle of the dagger that pierced the Dark Witch's heart, her lifeless body on my living-room's floor. " That's where she met her end. "

" You killed Bellatrix? " Harry asked in disbelief, his brows furrowed. " Alone? "

" Fawkes helped. Was that why you thought I was dead? "

Harry said nothing, but words weren't needed. His face gave me all the answers, he had thought that Bellatrix had killed me. Why wouldn't he, that was more than credible. After all, what's a teenage Muggle boy against a powerful and experienced witch, trained by Voldemort himself? True, I wouldn't be sitting here today if it wasn't for the phoenix. Fawkes saved my life and I only had to do the little remaining bit. I didn't consider it a heroic deed. Even now, 19 years later, the memories of me being a murderer, still plagued me from time to time.

" Why did you think I was dead? " Harry asked. " Who told you that? "

" No one. I believed that was supposed to happen. Because... "

" Because I was Horcrux? " the statement came bluntly and fiercely, like an arrow aimed at my heart. He looked straight into my eyes. " You knew, didn't you? At Hogwarts? "

" I did. "

Harry's gaze wandered over the almost empty teashop. The few last customers walked out the door and I was taken over by a strange feeling that I always got when I was the only client in a facility. The owner came over to our table, took away the empty cups, and brought us full ones. I ordered strong, black coffee and Harry stuck to the tea. I sipped the hot coffee that was so bitter I barely kept my face straight.

" Voldemort only killed the piece of him that lived in me, " he said, slowly stirring the tea, " not me myself. I'm no longer a threat to your soul, Thomas. "

" I never considered you one. "

" Then why? "

A normal counterquestion would be " Why what? " But I knew what he meant. Why did you abandon me when I needed you? Why did you break my heart when I was so in love with you? Why didn't you tell me the truth? Why didn't you wait for me, look for me, find me? Why did you give up on me so easily?

I sighed and my throat was dry. " I only did what Dumbledore told me to do. He was cleverer than you and I combined and you know it. "

Harry lowered his gaze, visibly somber. The sunshine from the other side of the window reflected in his glasses. An idea shot through my head that my answer wasn't what he was expecting to hear. I said nothing and he said nothing for quite a while. The teashop owner even came to look around, thinking that the place was empty as we were so quiet. I took another sip of the coffee that had become cold already and at this temperature, the drink was even tarter.

" I missed you, " Harry said, " So much. With Ron and Hermione, I wandered through places and wilderness in the search of Horcruxes. We risked our lives more times than I can count and yet not a day passed that I wouldn't think of you. "

" Let's not talk about it, Harry. Remember what I told you? Out of sight, out of mind? "

" And do you remember what I told you? "

I shook my head. " You said a lot of things. I can't keep them all in my head. "

Harry leaned over the table, closer to me. His eyes sparkled with the intensity of the finest emeralds in the world, ones that would be displayed in a fancy art gallery or be installed into an elegant necklace on the neck of a queen or goddess. I wondered if his look would ever stop having this effect on me, where I felt moved back through time and into the Great Hall on September 1rst. Getting seated at the Gryffindor table after the Sorting Hat was removed from my head was where I first saw these eyes.

" I said I would love you forever. And I still say it, Thomas. "

" Harry...it's been 19 years. We have both grown up, we're fathers. You really should have let that childish romance go by now. "

" Exactly, " Harry said, slowly reaching and covering my hand with his palm. " 19 years without you. "

His touch felt as if I was holding the wrong end of the electrical cord. I sat still for a while, charged, unable to pull away from the voltage. We had spent years thinking the other was dead. Over time I had trained myself not to think about Harry because these memories only caused me pain as they reminded me of something that wasn't possible anymore. Had I as much as the tiniest indication that he was alive, I wouldn't have done a lot of things. I wouldn't have started a relationship with Nicole and Stella would have never been born. So in a way, it was good I had believed in untruth as being wrong had given me the best gift I could wish for.

I pulled my hand away. " The only thing I was thinking is that since we have met and our children are probably going to be friends, we might as well be friends too. You know, like we used to be. "

" I thought we were more than friends. "

" We were kids back then. What we had was intense, I agree, but at the same time quite childish. Let bygones be bygones. I have changed and you have changed. Besides, don't forget that I was the one who broke up with you. "

Harry looked up at me and leaned back into the chair. " But now I know why. And you're right, I can hardly recognize you, to be fair. Where's your potty mouth? Where's your toughness, untameness, confidence – the things that made me wild about you? "

I made out an abrupt smile. " I'm not 17 years old anymore. Surely you didn't expect me to drop F-bombs in front of my child and start fights on the spot. Get used to this Thomas who's very different from the one you knew. "

Someone knocked on the window and we saw Albus and Stella standing on the street, both pushing luggage carts full of books, clothes, cauldrons, and cages. I was happy to see Stella chatting with Albus, having gotten over her former shyness. Harry and I walked out of the teashop to meet them and when Stella handed me back my wallet, I realized she had not spent nearly as much as I imagined. On the top of her cart was tied a brass cage and inside it, head hidden under its wing was sleeping the same owl Stella previously wanted.

" Stella, " I said, my voice sterner than normally, " I told you we cannot afford that owl. "

" We don't have to, " she answered, smiling happily. " It's a gift. "

Next to Harry, Albus blushed like a strawberry. I gave him a grateful smile, understanding that judging by the remaining money, Harry's son most likely bought Stella more than just the owl. In his cage, a slender, stripey ferret was darting around behind the bars. Harry seemed to be pleased with his son's chivalrous deed.

" Alright. If you now have everything you need, I guess we'll be going then, " I said, looking down at Stella's overfilled cart. " There are things we still need to get done till September. "

" We too, " Harry answered, placing his hand on Albus's shoulder. The boy didn't stop staring at Stella. " See you at King's Cross? "

I nodded, feeling unnerved. I could still feel Harry's touch on my skin as if I had gotten burned. In a split second, Harry and Albus Disapparated, vanishing into thin air with nothing but a swish. Stella's eyes widened in surprise and awe.

" How cool is that! Dad, will I able to do that too one day? "

I patted her back and smiled. " Hopefully. Though I'm pretty sure they don't teach that to children your age. "

At home we went through Stella's purchases, making sure nothing was forgotten. She tried on her new robes and I couldn't believe my eyes, seeing my daughter dressed like a real witch. The wand that chose Stella was 11'' long, made of acacia – a very rare and unusual wood that refused to produce magic for anyone but their owners – and had a dragon heartstring in its core. I was so excited as if I was the one going to Hogwarts and wondered if all parents felt this way before their child's first school day.

" How did you know that man, dad? " Stella asked, playing with her set of brass scales. " Albus's father? "

" He's an old friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other for a very long time. "

" Albus told me more about Hogwarts while we were shopping. What house am I going to be put into? "

" No idea, love. That's up to the Sorting Hat. It'll decide which house is most suitable for you. "

" Which house were you in? "

" Gryffindor, but I don't really count. I suppose the Sorting Hat looks differently on actual wizards and witches. "

Memories of the Sorting ceremony flowed into my mind with the power of a river from a burst dam. I remembered well how awkward, foreign and alone I felt, sitting in front of hundreds of students and waiting for ages as the Sorting Hat couldn't make up its mind. Stella sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, gently tapping two crystal vials together, which made a tinkling noise.

" Albus said he's afraid of being put into Slytherin. He says it's a bad house, an evil house. He thinks I should do whatever it takes to not be sorted in there. The people there don't like those like me. "

Muggle-borns, she meant. I could see why Harry's son would mention it. I really hoped that now, 19 years later, Slytherin's house had changed to the better and the students no longer shared the founder's supremacy ideas. I didn't want to tell it to Stella, but I hadn't forgotten all the vileness and vulgarity that was addressed towards me from Slytherins or, to be precise, one particular Slytherin. To him, I wasn't Thomas or even Muggle. I was Mudblood, the inferior one, disposable and unworthy. One thought that Stella might have to go through that as well was unbearable.

I sat next to Stella and embraced her tightly. Aside from being thrilled, Stella was also nervous and scared of the unknown. She was going to go to a whole new place where she didn't know anybody and on top of that, got to listen to some scary stories about a house that no decent wizard wanted to be sorted in.

" Honey, " I said, caressing her silky hair in a comforting manner, " what you need to realize is that just like Muggles, wizards and witches are very different. Magical or non-magical, we're all human. It doesn't matter which house you get sorted into. What matters is that you're a decent, hardworking person and achieve everything on your own. It's true that some Slytherins can be cockier than others, but you're a strong girl. Have you forgotten what I taught you? "

Stella looked up at me. " How to break a nose? "

I smiled at her. " Yeah. Doesn't mean you can do it on an everyday basis though. It's only for extreme cases. Don't ever start a fight first. However, if someone does hurt you, you absolutely should stand up for yourself. Don't allow yourself to be bullied. And if anyone has a problem with it, tell them to contact your dad. I'll let them know a thing or two. "

Though Stella was no longer a little girl, her arms around me made me feel as if she was still a baby, requiring all the protection possible. I knew I would feel the same way when she's 30 and hated the time that was running so insanely fast, harvesting the days I could spend with my daughter while she was still a child like berries from a shrub.

When Stella comes back on Christmas, she'll be different, just a little, but noticeably. Magic, studies, and Hogwarts' atmosphere will have hardened her, slowly forming her into the young woman she would become sooner than I managed to blink my eyes. Whenever I heard people talking about children growing up quickly, it had always seemed bullshit to me. But now, no matter how hard the first months of her life might have been like, I would have given a lot to return to the day when she was born. To start everything from the beginning again.

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