Hannah Grace and the Dark Arts

-Chapter Fourteen-

Nineteen Years Later...

Early in the morning at  Kings Cross station in London, three Hogwarts fourth-year boys pushing carts hurried through the wall portal, one after the other, disappearing through the wall seemingly without a trace. This was all watched closely by young Patsy Malfoy, a Hogwarts first year herself, and new to all of this. The young girl watched in awe, jaw dropped and with wide eyes as the three older boys ran towards the wall and instantly disappeared through the portal, carts, suitcases and all. She stopped walking, nervously twirling her long, light blonde braid around her finger. 

"Patsy hurry up, you're holding up the line!" fussed her twin brother Alex. Like Albus Potter and Rose Weasley, Patsy and Alex were going into their first year at the School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

"S-sorry.  Do you just run right at the wall?"   

  "Yes," answered Hannah, coming and putting a supportive hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's the portal  that will take you  right through to the platform."

"Platform 9 ¾?"

"That's right." 

Patsy bit her lip. "But what if the portal closes and I crash?" 

"It won't I promise." 

Alex pushed his cart up, wearing a proud smile on his face and sticking his nose into the air. "I'll go first, I'm not scared."

Patsy scowled at him and he made a face back.

"Alex," Hannah warned before turning back to her still nervous daughter. "Don't worry, and don't let your brother bother you, he just likes to show off a bit sometimes. There's no shame in being sacred, and he's just acting like he's not afraid to cover up the fact that he's nervous too." Now her son grumbled.  "Reminds me of someone I knew when we were your  age." She smiled as she recalled the memories

"Dad?"  whispered Patsy, smiling now too. Hannah  nodded and mother and daughter shared laugh.

"What was that?"  asked Draco from behind them, where he stood with the youngest Malfoy, Scorpius, who was Lily Potter  and Hugo Weasley's age.

"Nothing Love, nothing at all," Hannah assured him, smiling innocently.

"Hmmm, why don't I believe you?" The two chuckled and leaned in for a kiss. 

"Mum! Dad!" cried Scorpius before they could do anything. "Please no snogging in the middle of the train station!" This made his parents laugh and Draco ruffled his youngest son's hair. 

"Come on,"  said Hannah, reaching for her daughter's hand. "We'll all go together." Hand-in-hand, the family did just that, stepping through the portal together.   The children immediately looked around in awe and wonder.

"It hasn't changed," Hannah remarked. "Not one bit."  

 They made their way through the heavy crowd until they found the Potters and Weasleys. 

"Ah, just made it," Hannah told Hermione and Ginny. "Alex tried to sneak a broom in his suitcase, he's just desperate to play Quidditch. I wonder who gave him that idea." This made her friends laugh knowingly.     

The train's whistle blew and signaled that there were only a few minutes left until departure and the children began to say goodbye to their parents and siblings.

"I wish I could come with you,"  Lily sighed to the older kids. 

"You and me both, Lil," agreed Scorpius. 

"Next year you two," Ginny assured them, putting an arm around her daughter. "Then it'll be your turn."

"But that's still a whole year away!" they whined  

"Oh, don't worry.  You'd be surprised at how quickly the time goes by, even a whole year." 

"Don't cry, Mum," said Alex, and it was then that Hannah realized she had indeed begun to cry.  She wiped at her tears - she was saying goodbye to two of them at once.  "We'll be home at Christmas," he reminded her. 

"Right you will." Hannah smiled and she and Draco each hugged the children, Scorpius hugging his siblings as well. "How often would you like us to write to you?"

"Um, every week to start," Patsy requested. Then she gave her Mum and Dad each another long hug, seeming to not want to let go. 

"Pats, come on!" called Alex from where he was already boarding the train.

"Coming! Bye Mum, bye Dad. Love you! You too Scorpius!"

"Bye Love!"

"It doesn't seem like that long ago that that was us," Hannah remarked. 

Hermione sniffled and nodded in agreement. "Sure doesn't. And now it's their turn.  Where did the time go?"

"Good question."         

"And they're off," Draco said as the train chugged away, putting one arm around Hannah and the other around Scorpius.

"They certainly are." Hannah smiled, a twinkle in her eyes.  "And they're going to be great, no matter what they do." 

(I think I mentioned before that this was one of the first fanfictions I ever wrote, and it's been fun to return to and rework :) I really do love these characters and this world!

Well that's it, that's the end! Thank you so much for reading this story and I hope you enjoyed overall! :))