Chapter 14: At King's Cross
Platform 9 3/4 was full of families that very first day of September. And that, for some reason, made Belle feel uncomfortable. It's not like she wasn't used to being surrounded by so many people. Her father had six siblings and each of them had two or three kids of their own, so Belle was quite used to crowds. Plus, her parents were war heroes, so whenever they were out, people gathered around them. But this... this was different. And Hermione noticed that. So while Ron, Rose and Hugo were talking to 12-year-old Ted Lupin and his godfather Harry, Hermione pulled her eldest daughter aside. She adjusted the girl's purple scarf and buttoned her jacket.
"Are you going to write to me, mom?" Belle asked. Hermione looked at her daughter in the eyes and smiled.
"Of course I will! Every day if you want me to." Hermione said. Belle nodded. She still had that somber look on her face. She just looked down to the floor. Hermione tilted the little girl's head, their eyes meeting.
"What is it, sweetheart?" She asked. Belle fretted.
"What if... What if I'm not as good as you? What if I disappoint you?" The girl asked.
"Belle Granger-Weasley, that is the stupidest thing to say. You could never ever disappoint me. And if you don't excel in everything, that's totally fine. I just... I want you to learn as much as you can, and enjoy your experience there. Just do your best, sweetie. Don't worry about me or dad or anyone. Just do your best and do it for yourself." Hermione said, hoping everything she had told her daughter would ease her worries. By the look on Belle's face, she could see that it didn't do much. "Merlin, Belle! You were levitating your baby bottle and your toys when you were only 3 months old. Most magical children show their first signs of accidental magic when they are over a year old, you know. You were already reading when you were 2 years old and even reading books that weren't much for children when you were 6. So don't worry about not doing good, sweetie, because that won't happen at all." She added. Belle smiled a little.
"What if nobody likes me?" Belle asked.
"You are the most compassionate, caring, funnier, smarter and amazing little girl. If anyone doesn't like you for that, then it's their loss. Just be yourself, honey. Open up and let them see in you what we all see, OK?" Hermione said. Belle's eyes were full of tears.
"What if I need you?" She asked. Hermione smiled, tears running through her face.
"I'm only an owl away, baby. And if it's very urgent, I can always schedule a surprise inspection at school and floo there. Nobody would say no to the Minister, you know." She said, smiling a little as she winked an eye at Belle. Belle laughed a bit as Hermione brushed her daughter's tears away with her thumb.
"I love you, mom." Belle said as she hugged her mom.
"I love you too, princess." Hermione said, kissing her daughter's ginger hair.
The rest of the Granger-Weasley clan joined them as they heard the whistle. Hermione and Belle pulled away. Belle went and hugged her brother and sister, promising to write back soon. Then she went to hug her dad. He gave her a little white ball. Belle looked at it, intrigued.
"Ron, you promised." Hermione said.
"It's a new Weasley product. It's a Magic Ball. Still working on the name, though. If you shake it, it will display really nice and relaxing images so you can sleep better." He said. Belle smiled. "Also, if you tap it with your wand once, it will turn blue and you will call your mother. She has one of these with her as well and I have another one. If you tap twice, it will turn orange and you will call me. It's a prototype. We got inspired by one of those fellytones." He added.
"Telephones, dad. And thank you! This is amazing!" Belle said, hugging him. "I love you, daddy." She said.
"I love you too, kiddo. Go and make me proud." He said as they pulled away.
Finally, Belle went back to her mom.
"You have everything you need?" Hermione asked. Belle nodded. "Don't stress yourself too much during exams period. Talk to the others and let them to get to know you. And... break the rules a little, but not so much so you would get into trouble." Hermione said, the last part barely audible so only Belle could hear her. Her daughter smiled and hugged her. "I'll see you at Christmas, baby." Hermione added. The whistle was heard again and all students were called aboard. Belle pulled away from her mother and hopped on the train followed by Teddy. As the train moved, Hermione watched her daughter leaving for school. She couldn't believe it had already been eleven years since she first laid eyes on that tiny little redheaded girl. Ron went and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
"She's going to be fine, Mione. She's our daughter." He said as she rested her head on his shoulder and watched their baby girl leave.