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The morning was warmer than anyone wanted it to be, given that Autumn had come faster than any of them really expected. Perhaps it was the nights lying on the grass in their backyard, trying to pick out constellations among the stars. Perhaps it was the warm, loud, hearty meals with their extended family and friends. Perhaps it was because none of them really wanted to acknowledge that this particular summer was coming to an end.
Still, the clouds drifted lazily above King’s Cross Station, bathed in a golden morning light, as five people walked along a platform, ignoring the curious glances from commuters. The glances, the family thought, were probably justified, given that two eleven year old children were pushing trolleys weighed down with a trunk and a pet carrier each. The carriers contained a rather smug looking Barn Owl and a cat whose tail was puffed with nerves.
If the commuters looked closely, they might have seen the family disappear through the pillar between platforms nine and ten. First went the black-haired child and a taller, lankier man with blue hair. They popped out the other side of the pillar just as another group of people bustled by. In the next few moments, a second child appeared and nearly rammed his cart into the first, followed shortly by a wizard in rounded glasses clutching his laughing wife’s hand.
“Harry, careful!” Hermione Granger-Potter said through her giggles, though she barely meant it. He tugged on her hand, pulled her toward him and planted a soft peck on her lips.
“Mum, Dad !” said an exasperated voice. Harry looked down to see his son, curly brown hair blowing this way and that, staring up at them.
“Yes?” he said, feigning his own annoyance. In truth, Harry was trying his best not to laugh. The way Rowan’s green eyes flashed, and the way his hands sat firmly on his hips, made him the spitting image of his mother.
“If you kiss in front of everyone, people are gonna stare. ”
“Ah,” Harry said. Rowan wasn’t wrong. The people nearby were staring. Mostly, they were friendly faces looking to wave at the Potters, but others averted their eyes the moment they noticed Harry looking back.
“Well, if it helps. I will promise to only kiss your mother one more time before you’re on the train. All bets are off when you’re gone, though.” Harry waggled his eyebrows at Hermione, who smoothed her hands over her vibrant, plum-colored Wizengamot robes and rolled her eyes.
“I can see the headline now,” she said, “ Chief Sorceress of the Wizengamot & Boy Who Lived Harry Potter Ignore Their Children to Snog!"
“You wouldn’t!” Rowan said, though he was grinning now, “I saw you crying in the car, Mum.”
“I was, wasn’t I?” Hermione said, her expressing growing misty again. After she dabbed at the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, she reached out to straighten the collar of Rowan’s shirt.
“I’m just...so very proud of you. Your very first year at Hogwarts!”
“Mum!” Chrys said as she bobbed over to them, practically dancing toward them until she stood beside her twin,“Will you write to us?”
“Every day, if you want me to,” said Hermione.“I remember how many letters Teddy got.”
“Not every day,” said Chrysanthemum, looking alarmed, “Just sometimes. Plus, we get to see Dad every day of the week!”
Harry smiled. Any worry he’d had about being his own children’s Professor was thrown out the window when they’d said it was his class they were most excited about. Well, after Charms, Chrys had qualified. Harry wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was more nervous about teaching this year than he’d been the first year he started.
As Chrys made her way over to Teddy, who was holding onto the carts, Rowan turned to looking up and down the platform. He squinted through the throng of families, brushing the hair out of his eyes.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“We’ll find them,” said Hermione reassuringly, “Or, rather, they’ll find us. Look!” She started waving, smiling at the group of people moving in their direction.
A head of red hair was the first thing to emerge from the vapors, as Ginny walked carefully with a toddler clutching at her neck. An older, dark haired boy walking in front of them took one look at Chrys and came running, smiling from ear to ear.
“Hi Basil!” Chrys said, meeting him in the middle and nearly knocking both of them over, “Er, your robes…” she pointed. Basil was already wearing his Hogwarts robes, though they were inside out.
He blushed and mumbled a quiet,“Oops.” Ginny looked at Neville, who squeezed her shoulder as they approached Harry.
“Ron and Luna?” Harry asked once they exchanged a warm hug, “Did they get caught up? If it’s about getting stuck in the bathroom again, I do not want details.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Ginny said with a roll of her eyes. The baby reached out toward Harry, and he waggled his finger for her to grab.
“In any case, you’ll hear them in a moment,” Neville added, taking the baby from Ginny so she could give Hermione a proper hug.
Harry strained to listen over the cacophony of voices, hoping to catch Ron’s, but didn’t hear it immediately. He thought he heard Percy Weasley somewhere in the crowd, though, postulating on the regulations of something-or-other, and hoped he wouldn’t walk in their direction. Shaking his head, Harry refocused, just in time for a high pitched whine to emerge from the din.
Then came Ron, joined by Luna Lovegood-Weasley and their son, who held out his brand new toad for him to see.
“This is Godric. Mum says this kind of toad comes from Australia,” he said proudly. Rowan squinted.
“Why did you name him Godric?” he asked, reaching out to stroke the toad’s purplish skin.
Harry didn’t hear the answer, as Ron seemed to be having some difficulty with his daughter. She’d dug her heels in and had Ron’s hand in a vice-grip, point blank refusing to take another step.
“You’ll get to go soon, sweetheart, I promise,” Ron sighed, taking a knee in front of her.
“But that’s a whole year,” sniffed the small blonde, “I want to go now!”
“ A year will pass quicker than an Occamy can grow, Starlight.” Luna took her daughter’s other hand and pulled her toward the group, where the younger Weasley quickly forgot her tears and joined Chrys and Basil in animated discussion. The next few moments had Rowan and Arthur Jr. joining them, and Harry finally felt he could leave the group under Teddy’s watchful eye.
“Got here all right, then?” Ron asked Harry.
“We did. How did you get here?” This caused the group to pause, looking at each other. All except for Ron, whose expression reminded Harry of when he’d been chosen as a prefect their fifth year.
“I drove us here,” Ron said, “ All of us.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re late,” Hermione shot back. Neville snorted, but Ginny looked more serious.
“That’s the last time I ever let him drive. Harry, he yelled at an old woman.”
“She was in the way!”
“You didn’t have the light! It’s a wonder you passed your Muggle driving test.”
“Good thing Luna believed in me. I didn’t have to Confund the examiner or anything!” He leaned over and kissed Luna on the cheek, and Harry had to try not to laugh at the wide-eyed look on her face.
“You know, Artie thinks you’re going to ride the train with them,” Luna said.
“Merlin, no. Harry’s going to apparate to Hogsmeade and then meet them at the castle,” Hermione said, “They already have enough attention on them. All of them do, really.”
They glanced over at the group of kids, now taking turns requesting hair colors for Teddy. Hermione was right. They each carried the burden of their parents’ legacies, and deserved at least one train ride where they didn’t feel like they had to do something great to matter to the rest of the Wizarding World. Though, if his children were anything like him, they’d worry about it anyway.
As they made their way toward the Express, the kids’ conversation shifted into a rather heated discussion about what house they’d be sorted into at Hogwarts.
“I’m gonna be in Gryffindor,” said Artie.
“Of course you will,” Ron said, clapping his son on the back, “If not, Estelle is getting the full inheritance. But no pressure.”
“ Ron!” Luna said, her dreamy expression turning hard. Arthur laughed, along with Estelle and Basil. Chrys and Rowan giggled too, but Harry didn’t miss the flickering frowns on his twins’ faces as the subject turned to Quidditch. This might have been an interesting subject for Ron and Harry to join in, but neither was paying any attention. Neville had tapped both of them on the shoulder and pointed to a spot three cars down.
Harry had to do a double take. That long, platinum blonde hair did not belong to Lucius Malfoy, but an older Draco, who had it in a neat bun at the back of his head. He was kneeling on the platform, his face coming in and out of focus among the steam. Before him was a boy who could have been a clone, the same way Arthur Jr. was the spitting image of Ron, and who seemed to be distinctly nervous about something.
To everyone’s surprise, Malfoy leaned in and wrapped his son in a hug.
“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day,” Ginny said. “That must be Scorpius.”
“I wonder if he’ll be alright…”said Rowan. Harry jumped. The children had caught on to their observations and joined them, standing beside their parents as Draco and Scorpius got up and walked toward a figure even further away.
“How do you mean?”
“We know the history, Dad,” said Chrys.
“We’re the...we’re the kids of the ‘heroes’. That’s the kid of the bad guy. What if he doesn’t fit in?”
“Everyone will fit in where they’re supposed to,” said Hermione, “And you - yes, all of you - should be focusing on your studies. Hogwarts doesn’t belong to us anymore.”
“It belongs to Dad!” said Chrys.
“No, it does not. It belongs to Headmistress McGonagall,” said Ron, “Who you should do very well to avoid if you decide to cause trouble.”
“Like you and my dad and mum.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Harry said, though he wasn’t paying much attention anymore. Rowan had taken a few steps away from the group, looking into the steam as if he were waiting for Scorpius and Draco Malfoy to reappear. His fluffy hair blew all over as people rushed past him to snag a spot on the train.
“Harry! It’s about that time!” Neville clapped him on the shoulder as the parents began to say their goodbyes. Basil was wrapped in a hug from Ginny, both of them trying to hold back tears. Ron was bidding a short goodbye to Arthur while holding his daughter back from taking a flying leap onto the train. Hermione put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders.
“Now, Chrys,” said Hermione, “Don’t forget Uncle Hagrid’s invited you to tea next Friday. And if you see a ghost by the name of Peeves…”
“Befriend him.”
“Avoid him!” Hermione looked rather alarmed as Ginny and Basil started laughing. Hermione put her head in her hands as she continued, “Do not under any circumstances duel anyone."
“Until you know how to do so properly,” Ron chimed in. Again, Hermione's head was in her hands, and Chrys smiled mischievously at her Uncle.
Harry gave Chrys a warm hug as well, tapping her on the nose once before sending her off with the rest of the kids.
“Is Rowan coming?” Chrys asked as Basil tugged shyly on her hand.
“He’ll be along in a moment,” Harry replied, “Go secure a compartment for yourselves.” Chrys nodded and let Basil tug her onto the train. Harry now turned his attention once again to his son, who was still staring off into the distance and didn’t look up until Harry knelt in front of him.
“What if I get sorted into Slytherin?” Rowan asked. His voice was barely above a whisper, as if he were ashamed to admit he had such a fear.
“Well, what if?” Harry said, “The head of house - who will also be your potions professor, by the way - is quite an intelligent man. Just like you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Rowan said, sounding annoyed, “All the bad guys we ever learned about came from Slytherin. Every single one. Dad, I know you said Hogwarts has changed. Teddy even said there’s a group common room now...but I’m your son. I’m supposed to be in Gryffindor.”
“Rowan James,” Harry said, “Do you know why James is your middle name and not your first?”
“Why?”
“Because while I wanted us to be connected in some way, I also wanted you to be your own person. If I learned one thing looking back at my life at Hogwarts and beyond, is that fame does not define who you are in here.” He placed a hand over his son’s heart, looking him right in the eyes.
“If you are sorted into Slytherin, odds are that yes, you may get some looks. But that doesn’t change that you are Rowan Potter. You’ve wanted to go to Hogwarts since you first knew what it was. Keep that excitement now.”
“But that doesn’t change that Slytherin is where all the bad people went.”
“We also thought Gryffindor was where all the heroes went,” Harry said, “but I distinctly remember Aunt Luna, one of the ‘good guys’, was from Ravenclaw. And who had a change of heart at the end of all this?”
“Malfoy...and Snape.”
“And the houses they were in….”
“Slytherin.”
“Right. I won’t tell you that they were ‘good’ guys. Even Albus Dumbledore was a complicated man. We’re all made up of all kinds of complicated.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You will. Look, son. I know that if you’re sorted into Slytherin, then it’ll be a blessing for the whole house, and your mum and I will be proud either way. But if it truly matters to you, you’ll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account. It certainly did for me.”
Rowan took a step back, mouth slightly agape with shock.
“What?”
It was at this moment Harry recalled that he’d never actually told his kids this story. But there would be no time for that now, as train doors were closing all around them and the parents in the crowd were scrambling to get a clear view of their departing children. Harry saw Chrys leaning out one of the car windows and frantically waving.
“Time to go,” Harry said,, “We can talk about this more after you’re settled in.” He gave Rowan a tight hug, joined by Hermione, and then watched as his son hopped onto the train. Ginny, who was nearest to the door, closed it behind him.
“Come on,” Harry said to Hermione. He grabbed her hand and walked to where Chrys leaned out the window, joined soon by Rowan.
“Mum, people are already staring at us,” Chrys said.
“It’s because your Uncle Ron is extremely famous,” Hermione replied, making Chrys roll her eyes as the train began to move. Harry walked alongside it for a while, dodging parents and picking up speed until he could no longer keep up. He watched as Rowan’s face changed from trepidation to unabashed excitement, beaming as they rode further and further away.
Hermione joined Harry at the end of the platform, then Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville, and they watched until their children were completely out of sight. Hermione had tears rolling down her face. Even Ron seemed a little choked up.
“It’s rather poetic, isn’t it?” Neville said. He didn’t offer any other explanation, but they knew. The generation who defeated the Dark Lord were now seeing the next generation off to Hogwarts, together.
“Will they be okay?” asked Ron’s daughter.
“With Harry keeping watch, probably not,” Ron said, his voice cracking. Ginny punched his shoulder.
“They will be,” Hermione murmured, though she spoke more to Harry than to anyone else. Harry was still watching the last place the train had been, and raised his hand absentmindedly to touch the lightning scar on his forehead, but stopped just before and instead laced his fingers with Hermione’s. He smiled.
All was well.