Chapter 1: Reunion at King's Cross Station
"Mum! Hurry up!" Rose whined before Hermione had even emerged through the other side of the barrier at Platform 9 and 3/4s.
Hermione sighed. She liked to think that there wasn't a deeper, ageist implication behind her 17-year-old's daughter anxiety at possibly being late. Not as if they were – the clock overhead read a quarter to 11 o'clock, plenty of time for her to get both of her children's things onto the train. Through the steam mist, she could see Hugo pushing his trolley; happening to glance back, her son – aged 15 – gave her a friendly, soft grin and a wink. It made Hermione's breath catch emotionally: the gesture reminded her so much of his father. Her baby was nearly as tall as his dad, the Weasley genes dominant. Ron used to wink at her like that…
She wrestled down the anger that almost always followed such pangs of grief as she thought of her ex-husband. It was better that he wouldn't be here today, graciously listening to her and agreeing not to come see their nearly-grown children off for Hogwarts. Seeing as it would be her last time boarding the train, for her final year, Rose hadn't been happy with her mum. But Hermione hadn't wanted to deal with the added stress of being cordial with her ex-husband and the father of their children in public. Besides, it would have been even more awkward for her sprawling in-laws, the Weasley clan, never mind just her. Hugo, at least, had been nonchalant about it, accepting the time he and Rose had gotten to spend with their father this past weekend as the olive-branch compromise it was. His sister, too smart for her own good, had seen through it, and remained stewing, quite bitterly, over not getting to wave goodbye to her Daddy from the train.
"Scorp!" Up ahead, Hermione watched as Rose dashed into the arms of the young Malfoy boy, before drawing back to kiss him tenderly. Here, at least, was a reason why Rose should probably feel grateful that her father wasn't present. Her dating the son of Draco Malfoy, Hermione and her friends' old school enemy, had come as quite a shock to much of the family. The one mitigating factor was that Scorpius had been best mates with Hermione's nephew, Albus, since their first year, and Hermione knew Harry's middle son to be an excellent and astute judge of character. Ron was… Ron about the whole relationship, swearing up and down that it would never work, that no daughter of his would marry a pureblood. Even if she did date one, it would never last, he had said – especially not with a Malfoy, of all people.
The git was still telling himself that, three years later. For all their own troubles that had led to a failed marriage, Hermione was considerate enough to try and spare his feelings; she hadn't the heart to tell her former husband that they very likely would soon need to consider the prospect of being in-laws with Malfoy.
Hermione sidled up to where her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend were breaking apart from their embrace; Hugo was smirking as Scorpius absently ruffled his hair in greeting, trying to pretend like he didn't enjoy such sentimental affection. Now nearly drawing even in height with the young Slytherin heir, the playful noogie was clumsier than when her son had been small.
Catching her eye, Scorpius dropped his hands from where they had been resting on Rose's hips, and he nodded to her politely. "Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."
Hermione wrestled down a smirk of amusement. She had always been of the impression that Scorpius was slightly intimidated by her, even before he and her daughter had started dating. It was oddly vindicating, to see Scorpius humbled in a way his father never would have been, or at least, would never have dared to admit to. And that was saying something, as she was also fairly certain that for Scorpius, she was the favorite between his girlfriend's parents – Hermione might intimidate him, but Ron downright terrified him, in the few instances they had painfully interacted.
As to his invocation of her former married name, Hermione decided not to bother correcting him. Although she still made a note that if a proposal for her daughter's hand grew serious enough, she would ask Scorpius to drop the formalities. That prospect was hopefully still some time off, she prayed. The idea of her little Rosie marrying fresh out of school unnerved her – after all, she and Ron had waited a few years themselves before they were married.
"Good morning, Scorpius," Hermione inclined her head to him with a smile. "Ready for the off?"
"Oh, most definitely, ma'am." The blonde boy craned around to look behind her. "Is, erm… Mr. Weasley here?"
At this, Hermione noticed Rose stiffen, sniffing sullenly. "Oh, no, Rose's father and I agreed it might be best if I dropped them off alone." She bit back a laugh at his look of abject relief.
Scorpius dipped his head. "I was mighty sorry to hear about your divorce, m'am. Shocked, too: by all appearances, you and he made an outstanding couple."
She was taken aback by his boldness, though as it seemed to be born of a place of great caring, Hermione too let this slide. She couldn't exactly fault Scorpius for his misperceptions: few in the family had known she and Ron were having such marital problems until the end, when things had finally spilled over into such open bitterness. Even Harry had been dismayed and crestfallen when his best friends had told him their plans to divorce.
Hermione smiled sadly but softly. "Thank you, dear. Tragically, appearances can be deceiving. My only hope is that you will never experience the heartbreak I have." Her referring to Scorpius and her daughter in the collective seemed to brighten Rose's demeanor a bit.
Off to one side, Hugo was trying to lift his trunk up and through the window of a train compartment all by himself, cursing under his breath about how he couldn't use a wand until the end of summer and not a moment before. Hermione watched with fondness, her heart going out to her son – Hugo may have inherited his father's height, but not his strength; the lad was still all skin and bones. In retrospect, perhaps it would have been better to suffer through Ron being here so he could at least help load the kids' luggage. Her ex-husband had always been remarkable strong…
"Try and lift it from the center, Hughie!" Rose called encouragement, though she didn't lift a finger to help herself, hovering against Scorpius. She scanned over the tops of the crowd. "Where's Uncle Harry?"
"He and Aunt Ginny will be along," Hermione dismissed. "You know your uncle – always comes charging in at the last minute with his lot." She glanced absently at the overhead clock: ten till the top of the hour. When Harry got here, he could help load luggage for all the Weasley kids as well as his own; her brother-in-law always made a point to do so.
Finally, Scorpius deigned to move, sighing. "Uh, now this is just getting sad…" He sidled up to Hugo with a resigned smile. "Won't do you any good if you can't do it yourself, Hugo, me lad, but in the interest of time…" He and his girlfriend's kid brother positioned themselves on either side of the trunk and tried to heft it together in a dead lift. The thing came up off the ground, but even with the two boys together, they staggered to take its weight.
Scorpius grunted. "Merlin, Hugh, what the bloody hell did you pack in here?!"
Hugo turned a light shade of red. "Piss off! I'd rather not say."
Hermione's brow furrowed in bemusement, never mind disapproval at her son's language, even as she failed to hide a smile. Behind her, Rose was grinning gleefully, thoroughly entertained.
Suddenly, a large and calloused hand reached out of the thick mist to catch a teetering corner of the trunk. "Whoa there, gents – that'd be a nasty fall…" The rest of the figure emerged from the wafting steam, a tired smile on his face.
Hermione's face lit up in pleasant surprise. "Goodness! Remus! How are you?"
In the twenty-five years since the end of the war, Hermione had only ever seen Remus sporadically, mostly at Weasley family gatherings. Ever since her old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had lost his wife, Tonks, in the Battle of Hogwarts, the single father and his son had been taken in by Hermione's in-laws. The Weasleys had practically adopted Remus's boy as another grandchild, and Hermione's own kids looked up to him as a sort of big cousin.
Remus grinned at her. "Very well, thank you, Hermione." Together, he helped Hugo and Scorpius lift and slide the trunk onto the train, before turning back to the younger woman. "And yourself?"
Hermione shrugged, grinning. "As well as can be expected."
Rose was beaming. "Hi, Uncle Remus!"
"Rose," he nodded to her. "Hugo, you all right there?"
"Nice save, Uncle Remus! And I'm OK – 'sides, if you're here, Teddy can't be far behind!" And he took off into the swirls of steam.
Hermione shook her head as she watched her son disappear, turning back to see that Remus was studying her with sympathy – but not pity, she noted and appreciated. "How are you getting on?"
"… Better," she conceded. "Some days are harder than others. Ronald and I are improving in coordinating the custody arrangements.
"For just Hugo, right? Rose is grown, isn't she?" Remus cast a side-glance over at his surrogate niece, who was chatting with Scorpius. The striking young redhead must have heard him, for she beamed brightly, pleased.
"Harry and I convinced Ron to draw up the custody papers separate, with a Muggle lawyer. There, Rose isn't of age until she's eighteen; it seemed best to give her that extra year to adjust."
The lines in Remus's face deepened as he mulled this over. "I suppose so… Harry and Gin haven't said much about it, when Ted and I come round for tea…" He searched her face. "Are you really all right? I feel bad I haven't come to call, especially after I heard…"
Hermione smiled tenderly at him. "You're fine. It's certainly been too long, Remus."
"I'd say so! What's it been, since Dominique's graduation?"
That was a good four years ago, Hermione recalled, as she thought of her niece. "Sounds about right."
"Bill'd invited me. Always liked him…" He reached out, and squeezed her hand. "All the same, it is wonderful to see you again."
Hermione smiled, and couldn't help the slight blush that rose to her cheeks as she met his soulful eyes. At a couple years past sixty, Remus was certainly an older father, but nonetheless, she was struck by how he had seemed to age quite well. Like a bottle of fine firewhiskey. His mustache was thinner than she remembered, and she found she quite liked it. The same thinning couldn't be said of his hair, thank Merlin, still brown and wavy and luscious, but with tiny flecks of gray thrown in that made him look ruggedly handsome.
Lost in thought, Hermione hardly realized that she and Remus were still staring at each other, at least until she heard a loud call of "HEY!"
Hugo came pelting out of the mist, nearly out of breath.
"Teddy's back there!" he panted. "Just seen him. And guess what he was doing?"
"Snogging Victoire – we know, Hugo," Rose rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you're as bad as James! Vicky and Ted have been going out since my first year…"
"Oh no! That's not all! I caught him on one knee – with a ring!"
That got Rose's attention, and even Hermione gasped. For his part, Remus was smiling knowingly, pleased.
Rose let loose a happy squeal, clutching at Scorpius' arm. "Oh, I'd knew he'd get to really be in the family one day! I just knew it!" Spying something in the distance, she happily shrieked again and pelted past her mother and Remus. "I gotta tell Lily first! OI! Lils! LILS! You'll never guess…."
"Wait up! I saw it first!" Hugo charged after his sister. Hermione smirked at poor Scorpius being left in the lurch.
"Scorpius?"
"I'd best do damage control. Al said he had something to show me anyway… OI! Rosie!" And the blonde-haired boy trudged towards the arriving Potters, muttering something like, "This girl… gonna be the death of me…"
Chuckling, Hermione turned back to Remus with a small grin. "Congratulations. Victoire couldn't do finer than Teddy."
Remus's eyes twinkled. "He'll want all the Weasleys there, of course. See you at the wedding?"
"Only if you save me a dance," Hermione bantered back. Remus looked taken aback, but… thrilled too. In truth, Hermione was shocked herself for being so bold, when she didn't think she was even close to ready to perhaps having another relationship, to possibly… but no, that would be ridiculous!
So she was floored when Remus laughed happily. "It's a date."
And Hermione watched him go, strolling off into the mist, no doubt to find his newly-engaged son and future daughter-in-law. Her brain hung on that last word… date…. She hummed curiously to herself, her lips upturning into a fond but also… fascinated smile.
Her ex-brother-in-law and best friend hugging her from behind interrupted her musings. "Hullo there, 'Mione! Ron about?"
Still staring at the place where Remus had vanished, Hermione shook her head. "Thank Merlin, no."