Nineteen Years Later

Albus kept his gaze towards the window though it had been minutes since the train had rounded a corner and greenery had obscured his view of his parents. Trying to ignore the knot in his stomach, he kept telling himself that his fears were ill-founded but to no avail. His dad's parting words had given him a bit of confidence but still, he couldn't stop the scene of himself being sorted into Slytherin from unfolding.

"Oh, get off it, Albus, you'll be fine," snorted a cocky voice from the corridor. Albus jumped, as though his older brother had caught him doing something dreadfully embarrassing. James let himself into the compartment and sat down next to Rose. "Are you honestly worried?"

"No," answered Albus defiantly.

"Hm," was all James replied, with an air that clearly indicated he didn't believe his brother. While James loved picking on Albus, their entire family was close. It wouldn't be rare to find compartments full of Weasleys and Potters, no matter what year. "Oi, Victoire!" James bellowed.

A few footsteps later and a breathtakingly beautiful seventh-year popped her head into the compartment, smiling benevolently down at her younger cousins. She had inherited almost all of her physical characteristics from her mother including pale blonde hair that hung halfway down her back and beautiful pale blue eyes. She, much like Fleur, emanated beauty.

"So what's happening between you and Teddy? I didn't know you guys were..." James paused, trying to find words that would make him sound less immature.

Victoire, however, wasn't about to give him that chance. She rarely ever lost her poise and she especially wasn't going to be bothered by her second-year, rambunctious cousin. "We're friends," she answered coolly, letting herself into the compartment and sitting across from James.

James opened his mouth with a smart-aleck retort when a petite girl with black hair and ordinary brown eyes appeared in the door, hands on hips and a scowl on her face. "James, you said you'd be right back and you left me to deal with Natasha and Daemian who are bickering like babies in there."

"Abby," James huffed importantly, "can't you see we're having an important Potter-Weasley meeting in here?" he continued, a smiling forcing its way onto his lips against his will.

Abby looked to each face in turn. She might have only been a second year but she wasn't stupid. She knew about the Potters and about what Harry had done nineteen years ago. Somehow, seeing his relatives sitting in one central location made her feel oddly insignificant. These children were famous because their dad was famous. She was just a girl who happened across James Potter in a corridor of Hogwarts one day when she had forgotten the password. It seemed strange to her that they all act so oblivious to their famous last name. "Right," she said, suddenly quiet and shuffled off.

James' green eyes now conveyed a sort of guilt.

"Way to go Potter," Rose giggled, nudging James in the rib. "Who was that?"

"Abigail Krenshaw," he explained. "Her, Natasha Dayard and Daemian Chord are my best friends here," he finished.

Rose nodded thoughtfully, as if wishing she would make best friends as quickly as James had.

"Well, you three, I'm off," Victoire stated in her French accent tinged voice as she stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of her robes. "Good luck Albus and Rose and try not to worry. And see you at the Gryffindor table, James," she winked at James as he stuck his tongue out at her, a ritual they had started years ago.

"I best be off too. I think Daemian and Nat might have killed each other by now and if that's happened, Abby won't know what to do," and with that, he curtly bowed out of the room, leaving Rose and Albus to their first day ruminations.

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"So in all honestly, what do you make of the situation between our little Teddy Lupin and dear Victoire," Ginny said conspiratorially.

Harry pursed his lips in thought. He knew that Ginny and Hermione, on either side of him, wanted to find out his true feelings on the matter. Ron, on the other side of his wife, grunted as though he should have been asked his thoughts on it. The truth was, Harry couldn't think of a better match for Teddy. He felt he knew both Teddy and Victoire well enough to know that. After all, Harry had had a large hand in raising his godson. It was the least he could do after what Teddy's parents had done. While Teddy increasingly reminded Harry of Lupin, o his ability to constantly change his appearance at will made him act a bit like his mother as well. He had always been a favorite with the ladies but never before had he seen Teddy treat a girl the way he treated Victoire. "I think it's a wonderful relationship," he answered finally.

"Oh, I do too! Can you imagine? An official part of the family! Not that he hadn't been before, because after all, he's as good as family but..." Hermione trailed off, a happy look still on her face. Ahead of them, Lily and Hugo were chatting animatedly and were paying no mind to their parents' conversation.

"I can see them married.... and it's not even a long ways off. Victoire is a seventh year after all," Ginny piped up. "Can you believe it?" she added as an afterthought. "Everyone's growing up so fast. Albus and Rose already at Hogwarts, James a second year, Lily and Hugo going in two years..."

A pensive look had developed on the faces of the females and Ron cleared his throat in an especially masculine way.

"Mum," Lily whirled around. "Can I go to Hugo's house?"

"You mean Uncle Ron and Aunt Mione's house?" Ginny offered playfully.

Lily just blinked, unsure why her mother had just given her very obvious information.

"Well, as your Uncle and Aunt if they would mind having company."

Lily angled her body towards Ron and Hermione and repeated her question with even more excitement.

"Of course you can," Hermione beamed down at her niece, a vision of brightness with her impossibly red hair and shining green eyes.

"Ya hear that Hugo? We can do that thing we talked about," she said loudly before continuing to whisper hurriedly in her cousin's ear.

All four parents exchanged worried looks. Lily was a troublemaker who proudly took after her Uncle George.

Harry, who had been watching Lily and Hugo bounce along merrily, felt a hand envelop his. He looked over at Ginny, a soft smile on his lips. He hadn't said it in the conversation but he had agreed with his wife. Things were moving too fast. There were things he hadn't had a chance to yet explain to his children or his godson. It wasn't that he was intentionally hiding things but there didn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Suddenly, he was shocked by the understanding he felt for all of the adults he had given grief to during his Hogwarts years for not telling him absolutely everything. Suddenly, nineteen years later, he was hit by the magnitude that his children would never know the great men and women who had helped him so much along his way, who had, by dying, assured that he would be there so many years later, living happily with a family he had never thought would come.

"We could use the time Lily's at Ron's house for a few housekeeping things," Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry teasingly.

It took Harry a moment to realize what she was talking about as it was completely irrelevant to his chain of thought but realization dawned on him soon enough. "What a lovely idea, darling," he said in mock formality, resisting the urge to sweep Ginny off her feet then and there.

They had gotten back to the cars and Lily and Hugo clamored into the backseat as Ron and Hermione opened their respective doors. "'Bye, mate!" Ron said cheerfully. "We'll send your daughter back eventually."

All four laughed and Harry treasured the moment, grabbing it and putting it in an imaginary scrapbook. Ever since his death the first time around, he took absolutely nothing for granted.

Once Ron and Hermione had driven off, Harry turned his car on, pausing for a moment. "Did Hermione ever find her parents?" he asked Ginny, referring to the search Hermione had conducted numerous times over the last few years trying to find the parents she had sent to Australia.

"I don't think so," Ginny answered softly.

Not wanting to dwell on the matter, Harry kissed her smooth cheek and began driving. There would be a time and a place to think of all this just like there would be a time and a place to tell his children, in full detail, what had happened so long ago so that they could appreciate the courage that so many of their friends and family had demonstrated. But at the present time and place, Harry felt it his utmost duty to thank his wife for everything she had done for him in a very intimate way.

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The train ride was halfway over, at least that was what Victoire had told him when she had come to check on himself and Rose but it seemed to be taking much longer than that. Rose had recently taken to hiccupping and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Rosie, you sound ridiculous!" Albus choked out between laughs as a particularly strong hiccup caused her body to shudder. She shot him a death glare but then managed to giggle before the next hiccup came.

A rapid knock on the door brought about absolute silence and Rose and Albus looked at each other, eyes wide in fear. Had they been too loud? Were they in trouble? A hiccup resounded and reverberated off of the silent shelves and seats.

"Excuse me?" a small, squeaky voice began as the door was pushed open. Standing in the doorway was a boy, first year by the looks of him, with disheveled dark blonde hair and curious brown eyes. "You sounded like you were having so much fun in here and my compartment was getting rather boring you see..." he began rattling on breathlessly.

"Well, come on in, if you want!" Rose offered generously, waving the boy in.

"I know who you are! You're a Weasley!" the boy pointed but took her on her invitation and sat himself down next to Albus. "And you're... you look just like.... Harry Potter!"

"Well, he is my dad," Albus muttered, unsure of why it was such a big deal to the boy.

"And who are you?" Rose probed.

"Dalton Wood."

"Wood? Like Oliver Wood?" Rose, the Quidditch aficionado, interrogated.

"Er... yeah," the boy admitted sheepishly.

"Hey! I think my dad's friends with your dad!" Albus offered happily.

The boy nodded again. "That's why I recognized you so fast. My dad has a picture with your dad in his study."

Albus wasn't quite sure what to say in response. Luckily, the need for response was put off when a cart rolled by, emitting the faint sound of bells. "What is that?" he asked, starting to feel slightly worried again.

"Oh, Al, it's just the food trolley, don't be scared. Imagine if the Sorting Hat found out you were afraid of the food trol..." a hiccup interrupted her sentence. Dalton unsuccessfully tried to suppress a laugh.

"I'm not afraid of the food trolley!" Al said in his defense.

Rose gave him a knowing look and stood up, peering into the corridor at the upcoming cart. She fumbled through her robe for the three Galleons her parents had given her for this very occasion. After a few moments, she re-entered the room triumphantly holding Chocolate Frogs and other colorfully wrapped sweets.

Al scanned her armload of candy and upon seeing no Bertie Bott's, ran into the corridor himself and returned with a few boxes of his favorite candy.

Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Those beans are absolutely dreadful," she sniffed.

"Your loss," he shrugged, opening the box, pouring a few into his palm and offering some to Dalton.

"Thanks," Dalton said in a normal tone, obviously having grown comfortable with the pair after the food trolley incident. He poked through the beans, weeding out the unfortunate flavors.

"Aw, what's the fun if you don't eat the nasty ones?" Al demanded, cringing as he swallowed a particularly disgusting soap-flavored one.

"Laughing at the people who do eat the nasty ones," Dalton explained logically, laughing at Al's face as he proceeded to swallow an earthworm flavored bean.

Rose giggled at Dalton's joke and Al found himself laughing along with them.

Not too much longer after that, a voice came by instructing all students to change into their Hogwarts robes. Al stood up promptly and began retrieving his, losing his balance slightly when the train lurched unexpectedly to the left. Not too long afterwards, the train had come to a complete halt and Al nervously twiddled with the fabric of his robe.

"Don't worry," Rose said gently, giving her cousin a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, it can't be too bad," Dalton offered, patting his new friend on the back.

Slowly, they all filed out of the train and the first years were rounded off away from the group. A familiar voice beckoned first years towards the boats and Al beamed up at his friend. "Hagrid!" he called happily.

Hagrid smiled at Al, bright-eyed and eager. "I'll be righ' with yeh. Gotta do my job," he said proudly, continuing to call the first years. Al caught James' eye and was sure that for a moment, his brother had tossed him an encouraging smile. Quickly finding Dalton and Rose, he followed them onto the nearest boat.