1st September 2010

Hermione counted the jeans and sweaters once more, making sure Roxy had everything in her trunk. She added one of her own old pashminas into the trunk, a beautiful blue one that Roxy favoured when she was younger. Maybe it would remind their little girl of home and make her less homesick.

George was the worst. They could both feel him getting more and more anxious over the summer as this day neared, knowing he would have to part with his little girl and only see her during the holidays again. Hermione knew it was going to be a big adjustment for them all but hoped that Roxy's absence would become at least a bit more bearable over time. And hopefully the fact that they were leaving for a holiday in a few hours would help distract their bond-mate.

"Mimi?" Roxy came in from the bathroom, looking nervous. She was growing into her features beautifully, her green eyes sparkling with intelligence like two precious gems, and her hair a riot of beautiful tight curls that reached her bottom when washed and brushed. Her nose was showing a couple of freckles that Hermione knew would either disappear with age, or become more pronounced. Her guess was on the second, but Roxy was going through a phase when she wasn't fond of them so she kept her guesses to herself.

"What is it?" she asked patiently as she added the last of Roxy's books into their compartment in the trunk.

"Uhm…my hair," she said uncertainly. "Will it….you know, fit?" she asked, tugging onto the sleeve of her green long sleeve top.

"Fit? What do you mean? Your hair is beautiful," Hermione asked, noticing her anxiety.

Roxy hesitated and shook her hair. "I know, I like my hair. But I don't know if others will like my hair! And the sorting hat! What if my hair so large it doesn't fit on my head?" she blurted everything out in a store of words that reminded Hermione of herself when she was younger.

She suppressed a laugh and sat the precious girl down, summoning one of the albums she had from their school years. She opened the album on the first page with a single photograph. Her parents, smiling a little uncertainly but proudly, and her 11-year-old self standing before them, absolutely beaming with excitement in her ill-fitting jeans and pink jumper. "See this little girl? That's me and my parents," she finally explained.

Roxy looked fascinated. "This is what you looked like when you were as old as me?" she asked. "But your hair! It's nearly as big as mine!" she exclaimed, pointing to the bushy mess on top of Hermione's head.

She chuckled in amusement. "I know you've only ever seen my curls like this," she pointed to the wild but well formed curls that fell just past her shoulders these days, "but this is what my hair was then. And all the way through my years at Hogwarts really…" she admitted. "Then I did my research and invested my galleons into some very good hair products and here, they look like this now," she offered, hoping the words would soothe Roxy's worries.

Roxy looked unconvinced for a moment, looking between the photo and her hair, but then nodded. "So…did your hair fit under the hat?" she asked suspiciously.

Hermione did laugh at that one and closed the album. "Yes, it actually did. It's a magical hat, I promise it will stretch around your hair, sweetheart," she caressed her tight curls lovingly. "Now, let's style it for today and I'm sure you'll know what to do while you're at Hogwarts," she steered her back into the bathroom to run over the products one more time.

George looked like he wanted to pick Roxy up on the spot and run away from the bustling platform as their little girl's trunk was put onto the train. She was looking around excitedly, grinning broadly when she spotted Teddy. Hermione sensed Harry and waved above the crowd to get his attention, smiling as they both jogged ver with his godson.

"Hey Roxy," Teddy grinned, as excited as Roxy despite being a second year.

"Hi Teddy. Daddy, can we get on the train?" she asked, looking at George.

He looked like he was going to say not for a moment so Fred nudged him and grinned at his niece. "You betcha. Come give uncle Freddie a hug," he opened his arms wide and hugged her tightly before she enduring George's five minute embrace while he rambled off the things she should do and shouldn't do and how often she should write them.

Hermione smiled at Harry, the one person she thought she had lost but was now close to once again as a dear friend. "Good morning, Head Auror Potter," she grinned.

"Madam Secretary of Foreign Affairs," he greeted back, the two of them forever teasing each other about their official titles used at Security summits both in the Muggle and Wizarding World.

"I'll give you a call in a couple of days, once we've settled in," she promised.

"You better," Harry said in a quieter voice to not be overheard. "I have something to discuss with you. We have a potential problem in Switzerland of all places," he said seriously, something Hermione learned to read as a potential international threat on the same level as he maker once was.

"I promise to call," she repeated before her attention was drawn to Roxy who was standing before her, looking like she wanted to both dash and stay at the same time.

She leaned down to speak directly into Roxy's ear. "Write your dad and uncle Freddie, but if you need anything, anything at all that you want to talk to me, you have your mobile phone. And tonight after you get sorted, I know it will be all new and you will be getting to know your roommates, but please find a moment to text me and let us know which house you were sorted into," she whispered and hugged her tightly.

Roxy's arms squeezed her closer. "I don't know which house I want to be in. You were all in Gryffindor, and Teddy is in Hufflepuff which is cool. What if I'm not?" she asked.

"You will be brilliant in whichever house you are sorted into. The hat had it tough with me, it was considering me for all of the houses," Hermione whispered into her ear something she hadn't told anyone before. "But in the end I ended up with my friends. I know you will be brilliant, just let the hat show you your path," she said reassuringly and rubbed her back before gently pulling them apart.

Roxy waved at them once before she boarded the train with Teddy.

"I think I'm in shock," George pressed a hand to his heart. It seemed like the years flew by and here they were, a married triad with a little girl who was not so little anymore and off to Hogwarts.

While Fred consoled his twin, Hermione was once again reminded of how quickly time slipped through their hands, and hers, as she watched the twins getting their first silver strands at the temples, and Roxy growing before her very eyes.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Somewhat. They'll be fine, I know it. I just hope school is everything she wants it to be, unlike our time at Hogwarts," she sighed.

They waved the train off, within go until the last carriage disappeared out of sight before Harry headed to work, and the bonded trio back to their home to finish packing. Later that day when they were just having lunch in one of the small cafes in San Francisco, Hermione felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She checked the screen and smiled widely at the boys over her Caesar salad.

"We have a Hufflepuff in the house," she grinned proudly.