Harry Potter and the Final Curse

Chapter 3 - Trains and Tribulations

Staring into Lily's bedroom through the empty door frame, Harry and Ginny feared the thing that parents feared the most. Lying lifelessly in the middle of the room was the body of their daughter, still holding a smouldering, broken wand. The rest of the room looked like a bomb had gone off, with various items scattered about at random, unidentifiable bits of debris, smashed windows, and everything covered in smoke.

Harry rushed over to Lily's body and immediately checked her vital signs. Remembering his first aid training the first step was to check that she had a pulse. Thankfully she did although it was a little weak. Next he checked her breathing and airways which also thankfully were ok, but not perfect. Harry had basic healer training but most of that was to do with physical injuries and not those sustained by magical means.

"What happened?" asked Ginny, with great compassion. "Is she ok?"

"By the looks of things her wand exploded," said Harry, as he wrenched the broken wand from Lily's hand. It was very warm to the touch. "I think she'll live, but we better get her to the hospital right away."

"Since it's an emergency, we can use the Floo Network to get to St. Mungo's," said Ginny.

Harry picked up Lily and he ran down the stairs to the kitchen, followed by Ginny. They went to the large fireplace and each took a handful of Floo powder from a jar on the side, Harry still managing to hold on to his daughter.

"Incendio!" shouted Ginny as she made the otherwise empty fireplace into a raging inferno. She didn't mean to make the fire this powerful but, due to the emotional state she was in, it was understandable.

Harry threw his Floo powder into the fire which turned emerald green.

He stepped into the fire with his daughter in hand. "St. Mungo's!" he spoke loudly and clearly. He didn't want there to be any mistake.

Harry was send spinning around and around. He had travelled this way countless times before and was sort of used to it, but that still didn't stop it from being an uncomfortable ride. He finally exited the tunnel into the clean and orderly atrium of St. Mungo's hospital coughing up some soot in the process.

"Welcome to St. Mungo's sir!" squeaked a voice to Harry's right. "I hope the young lady you're carrying is going to be alright!"

There was an old house elf standing there, wearing a lime green pillowcase, with a dustpan and brush in hand. He gave a very slight salute.

"I hope so too," said Harry.

The house elf then proceeded to clear up the all the soot and ash around the fireplace that Harry had made as he exited the Floo Network.

Seconds later Ginny appeared from the same fireplace behind him, covering the just cleaned floor with more mess. But the house elf didn't complain and just swept it all up.

"Wand accidents are on the ground floor, aren't they?" Harry asked the house elf.

"Yes sir!" it squeaked. "The Archibald Alderton ward!"

"Thanks," said Harry.

Harry didn't bother with the reception desk as he rushed straight past it into the Artifacts Accident wards situated on the same floor. The welcome witch gave them a disapproving look and muttered something about 'people shouldn't run in a hospital', but Both Harry and Ginny ignored her.

As they all entered the Artifacts Accident wards they were greeted by a portly man, dressed in the usual lime green robes, at the wards reception desk. Above the desk was a large sign with a wand and bone crossed, the Hospital emblem.

"What happened to her?" asked the healer, rather abruptly, as he pointed at Lily.

"Wand exploded in her hand," said Harry.

"Bring her this way," said the healer impatiently, as he led them all though a door to their right which was labelled 'Archibald Alderton Ward - Wand Accidents'.

Harry remembered from the Famous Witches Cards that you got from Chocolate Frogs, that Archibald Alderton was famous for blowing up the hamlet of Little Dropping in Hampshire while attempting to magically mix a birthday cake.

As wand accidents were a fairly common occurrence, the Archibald Alderton Ward was quite big and spacious with two large windows at the far end which bathed the area in a nice warm glow. Lining the walls were numerous cubicles each with a bed, a couple of chairs, and a bedside table. At various intervals along the walls were doors leading to smaller rooms, which Harry thought must used for the more serious accidents.

The ward was moderately busy today but they had no trouble finding a free bed, and Harry placed his daughter onto it. The portly healer that brought them here left almost immediately without another word. Harry didn't think much of his bedside manner and had half a mind to complain to the management about him, but those thoughts quickly vanished from his head as another Healer arrived. She was a fairly young looking witch with long dark hair who couldn't have been older than about thirty.

"I'm Mai Chang, Trainee Healer," stated the witch. "I'm afraid the Healer-in-Charge is busy at the moment with a rather nasty accident where someone lost an arm."

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Cho Chang would you?" asked Harry curiously.

"Yes, Cho is my older sister," she said. "Why? Did you know her at Hogwarts or something?"

"You could say that," said Harry. "I don't suppose she mentioned me. The name's Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" she asked curiously. "Of course she mentioned you."

"Really? What exactly did she say about me?" asked Harry, warily.

"Oh this and that," said Mai. "She never really did forgive you for what happened between you."

"I don't blame her," said Harry. "I was a real idiot back then when it came it women."

"He got better in the end though," said Ginny.

Mai gave a small grin. "Anyway," she said, "we better see to your daughter."

"Of course," said Harry.

Mai took out her wand and waved it slowly over Lily's body like she was scanning it, giving off a slight hum in the process. Harry and Ginny would rather have had an experienced healer taking care of their daughter but Mai seemed to know what she was doing.

"Show me her wand please," asked Mei.

Harry gave her Lily's wand and she studied it closely. "What spell was she casting when this happened?" she asked.

"We don't know," said Ginny. "We just heard a bang and then found her like this."

"Hmmm...," she said.

"Is she going to be ok?" asked Harry. "She supposed to be leaving to go to Hogwarts today."

"She'll be fine," she said. "It should only take a matter of minutes to have her as good as new, but there is one thing that will never be the same again."

"What?" asked Ginny, with great fear in her voice.

"Her wand," she said. "She'll need a new one."

Harry and Ginny breathed a small sign of relief.

After ten minutes of care from Trainee Healer Mai, Lily's injuries were fully healed and she was now conscious. She began to explain to her parents what had transpired to put her in hospital.

"I was just packing all my school stuff in my trunk when I ... er ... that is to say, my wand just exploded by itself," she said, unconvincingly.

"Are you sure your wand just exploded?" said Ginny, in a way as to not make it too obvious that she thought Lily was lying.

"Yeah," said Lily, "it just exploded."

"Wands don't just explode on their own," said Harry. "You must have been doing something."

Lily sat there is silence trying to think of a way to wriggle out of this situation but nothing came to mind. She decided to just go ahead and tell the truth.

"Well I was trying to cast this one spell ...," said Lily.

"I thought so," said Ginny. "Which one was it?"

"Well the other day I was reading one of the spell books in the drawing room when I came across this spell to help pack things quicker."

Harry knew just the spell she meant as he had used it many times in the past, but it was certainly not an easy spell, at least not for a novice witch of eleven years old.

"How many times have I told you about casting spells beyond your ability?!" said Ginny crossly. "You could have been killed!"

"Sorry mum," said Lily sorrowfully, "I just thought it would save some time. I suppose this means I won't be going to Hogwarts now."

"Oh you'll still be going," said Harry. "You need to be taught more about magic so and incident like this never happens again. You've got strong magical talent Lily, but you need to learn how to control it."

"Ok dad," said Lily, with a mixed look of sadness and joy. "I'll do my best."

Harry and Ginny put a lid on the matter for now. It seemed that Lily had learned her lesson, although it seriously hampered her chances of getting an owl at Christmas.

Harry casually looked at the time, and to his shock he had completely lost track of time. "Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed. "It's a quarter past ten! We were supposed to pick up John fifteen minutes ago!"

"He's probably beside himself with worry," said Ginny. "We better go immediately."

Harry, Ginny, and Lily rushed out of the hospital much to the disapproval of the staff who insisted on keeping Lily for further observation. As they got home they immediately went up to Lily's bedroom and began packing all of her stuff which was strewn around the room in various places. They thought that, even though they were short on time, they better pack the non-magic way.

Rushing out of the house will Lily's trunk in tow, they made their way as quickly as they could to John's house. When they got there they found him sitting on the front door step, luggage at the ready, constantly checking his watch.

"Sorry, we're late John," said Harry. "Somebody had a little accident." He glared at Lily.

"You mean you ..., well you know ...," said John.

"NO!" asserted Lily. "It was a proper accident. I had to go to hospital and everything. I'll explain it all later on the train."

"Was it a wizard hospital?" asked John loudly. "I bet that was really cool! Did they use magic?"

"Ssshhh...," said Ginny quietly. "Muggles aren't supposed to know about our world. You could get into serious trouble."

"Sorry," said John quietly.

"Come on," said Harry. "We better get moving or you'll miss the train."

Harry looked around to make sure no-one could see what he was doing as he waved his wand at John's trunk which instantly became much easier to carry.

The weather was quite pleasant although they didn't really have time to enjoy it as they made their way to Kings Cross Station as fast as they could. The only incident that occurred on the journey was the sudden realisation that Lily needed a new wand. As Harry really needed to use his wand as part of his job, Ginny decided to let Lily use her wand for the time being, which wasn't the best of solutions but it would do until they had time to buy a new wand in Ollivander's.

They arrived at the station at about a quarter to eleven and quickly made their way to the barrier that separated platforms nine and ten. Lily was ok with it as she had been on the platform before to see her cousins off, but John was a little apprehensive about walking though what looked like a completely solid barrier.

"Are you sure this works?" asked John, with worry. "What if I get stuck in there?"

"You won't," assured Harry. "It's perfectly safe. Go on Lily, you go first."

Lily walked towards the barrier and disappeared from sight. Moments later she stuck her head back out of the barrier onto the muggle side. "It's fine, see," she said. "Now come on."

John, rustling up as much courage as he had (which wasn't much), picked up his luggage and made his way to the barrier. He stopped less than an inch in front of it before Harry gave him a slight push and he fell through the barrier into platform nine and three quarters. Harry and Ginny followed shortly afterwards.

Despite having seen it loads of times, the sight of the Hogwarts Express Steaming at the platform still held a great deal of wonder for Harry, probably because it wasn't something one often saw. Lily and John were amazed even more by the sight and they couldn't wait to get on board. The platform was bustling with activity as children of varying ages ran up and down, parents ran after them, and porters carrying luggage followed.

Before Lily and John boarded the train Harry bent down on one knee in order to have a better word with his daughter.

"So this it," said Harry. "The big day."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Are you excited or nervous?" he asked.

"Bit of both really," she said.

"That's exactly how I felt when I was here for the first time," said Harry. "Just remember to be nice to people and not to get into trouble."

"What about the school houses?" asked Lily. "Which one is the best? Which do you think I'll get put in?"

For ages now, Harry and Ginny had been explaining to her a great deal of detail about Hogwarts, although they did leave quite a bit out as they wanted her to find some of it out for herself. One topic of conversation that did come up quite frequently though was about the different school houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

There had been a few sleepless nights where Harry went over in his head what would happen if Lily was actually sorted into Slytherin. It was certainly a possibility as Lily was quite an ambitious young lady and she was known for being a bit mischievous at times. Would it really be so bad though? A person's house was no guarantee about what sort of person they would become. Wormtail for instance, was once a Gryffindor, but he turned bad, and Blaise Zabini, once a Slytherin, became a fine upstanding gentleman.

Lily also had the qualities that could find her being placed in any of the other houses. Gryffindor was a possibility as she could be extraordinarily brave at times, and Ravenclaw was also a possibility as she had a good mind. Hufflepuff would be ok too, although Harry thought it likely that she would be sorted into one of the other houses.

"None of the school houses are better than the others," said Harry. "They all have their good qualities. I suppose it would be nice to see you in Gryffindor, like your mother and me were, but I guess what I'm saying is that I don't mind where you end up, just as long as you're happy."

"Ok, dad," said Lily.

Harry reached inside his pocket and produced a handful of wizard money comprising of six Knuts, 2 Sickles, and 3 Galleons. He put them in Lily hand.

"Buy yourself something from the train," said Harry, "and buy something for John too."

"Ok Dad," she said.

Lily pocketed the money.

"Now come and give your old man a hug," said Harry.

Lily wrapped her arms around her father's neck hugging him tightly. Harry did the same giving Lily a quick peck on the forehead. They hugged for a few seconds before Harry said, "Now go and say goodbye to your mother."

Lily did as he asked and gave her mother a hug, which Harry noticed wasn't quite as big as the one she'd had given him. Lily was much closer to him now, but he imagined that things would change as she got older and needed a more feminine perspective on things.

Harry looked around the busy platform to see if he recognised anyone. He thought he saw Neville Longbottom for a moment before he remembered that he didn't have any kids of Hogwarts age yet. His search was ended by a man with an Irish accent behind him.

"Hey Harry, is that you?" the man said.

Harry turned round and saw for the first time in over fifteen years Seamus Finnigan, one of his old friends from Gryffindor. With him was a blond woman he didn't know which Harry assumed must be his wife, and five children ranging from a toddler of three years old to a young man who looked like he was about fourteen.

"Seamus?" asked Harry. "Is that really you?"

"It's me alright Harry," said Seamus. "It must be fifteen years since we last saw each other."

"I was thinking the same thing," said Harry. "How are you?"

Harry and Seamus shook hands firmly.

"I'm good," said Seamus. "And you?"

"Can't complain," said Harry. "I see you've been productive."

"Oh that we have. I suppose better introduce them all," said Seamus. "This is my wife Becky," he put his arm around her.

"Pleased to meet you Becky," said Harry

"Likewise," said Becky. "I never got the chance to meet you at Hogwarts."

"You were at Hogwarts?" asked Harry curiously. He didn't remember her.

"I was a couple of years under you, and in Ravenclaw, so it's not surprising we never actually met," said Becky "We passed each other in the halls a few times though."

"Well we've got the chance to meet now," said Harry.

"Anyway Harry," said Seamus, turning to his kids, "this little one here, this is my youngest Adam." He gestured towards the toddler.

"Nice to meet you, Adam," said Harry.

Adam seemed to be too frightened to talk to the stranger, as he hid behind his mother's legs.

"This is Luke, he's six," said Seamus, as he patted the head of a dark haired boy. Harry thought it was strange that a boy with dark hair could be the offspring of a man with sandy coloured hair and a blond woman. Maybe he was adopted? Or maybe he had questionable parentage? Harry didn't care to ask, although from the looks of things Seamus treated him as one of his own.

"Hello, Luke," said Harry, offering his hand out, which Luke quite surprisingly shook confidently. "Looks like you've got a budding Gryffindor here, Seamus."

"I hope so," said Seamus. "Anyway this young lass is Yvonne, she's eight." He gestured towards a blond girl. Harry could quite plainly see the striking resemblance between her and her mother.

"Pleased to meet you, Yvonne," said Harry.

"This is Sinead," said Seamus, gesturing towards another blond girl, who also resembled her mother. "She's in her second year at Hogwarts now, and in Ravenclaw like her mother was."

Harry lightly shook her hand.

"And this fine young man here is Seamus Junior," said Seamus, giving his oldest kid a pat on the back. He was the spitting image of his father at that age.

"Dad please, you know how much I hate when you call me junior," protested Seamus Junior, but his father ignored it.

"Young Seamus is in his fourth year at Hogwarts," said Seamus. "He's in Gryffindor and on the Quidditch team as well."

"Which position?" asked Harry.

"Beater," replied Seamus Junior.

"Yeah he's got a good arm on him this one has," said Seamus. "So anyway Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I'm dropping off my kid but I've only got the one so far," said Harry pointing over to where Ginny, Lily, and John were. Ginny was busy doing Lily's hair. "That young girl is my daughter Lily. It's her first year."

"Nice looking girl Harry," said Seamus. It took a moment for him to realise who the woman Lily was with was. "Hey that's not Ginny Weasley is it?"

"It sure is, Seamus," said Harry. "She's my wife now."

"Wow Harry, nice going," said Seamus. "Ginny's always been a cracking lass, probably the best looking girl in school."

"Hey!" said Becky, who was obviously offended by that last remark

"Sorry," said Seamus with an apologetic look on his face. "What I meant to say was that she was pretty but not a patch on you darling."

"That's better" she said.

"So who's that other kid then?" asked Seamus, with reference to John.

"That's John. His parents are muggles who live not far from me," said Harry. "I'm just doing them a favour."

"Oh right," he said.

"Anyway what are you doing with yourself nowadays?" asked Harry.

"Just got a job in the Ministry in the Department of Transportation," he said with a little boredom in his voice. "The Floo Network."

"That sounds erm ... interesting," said Harry not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Well you'll be wrong. It's dead boring but the money is ok," said Seamus "How about you Harry?"

"I'm an Auror," said Harry confidently.

"Wow, now that it is a cool job," said Seamus impressed.

"I suppose it is, but there are days when I'd love to just sit behind a desk all day," said Harry. "Anyway now that I know where you are now, I'll guess I'll have to come pay you a visit from time to time."

Harry and Seamus continued the rest of their conversation reminiscing about Hogwarts, while Seamus' two kids boarded the train. Lily and John did the same. Not long afterwards the train blew its warning whistle which signalled it was ready to leave. Last minute passengers quickly boarded the train and those that were already on were waving out the windows to their family. Harry said his goodbyes to Seamus and re-joined Ginny as they spotted both Lily and John at one of the windows.

"I guess this is it," said Ginny. "Our daughter on her big adventure."

"Yeah," said Harry. "You jealous?"

"A little," she said.

"Me too," he said.

The train started to move forwards and there was a lot of frantic waving before the train disappeared out of sight. It was a sad time for both Harry and Ginny, their little girl was gone.

"Now what do we do for the rest of the day?" asked Ginny.

It was a good question and there were many possibilities but the one that appealed to Harry the most was -

"Why don't we go home and do all those things that we can't normally do with a kid in the house?" said Harry with a glint in his eye.

Ginny laughed. It sounded like a great idea to her too.

"Harry James Potter, what are you like?" she said jokingly, lightly jabbing his arm.

They held hands and walked back through the barrier together, eager to get home.