The Last Horcrux

On the Hogwarts Express

Sev drove Amanda to Kings Cross station in the old Ford Anglia.  When had his primary role in life become  chauffeur of his children? Amanda sat beside him in the passenger seat, tight lipped and unsmiling. Gavin and Oakley were in the back. Gavin had his nose in a copy of Marvin the Mad Muggle. Oakley was squirming with excitement at the prospect of seeing the train.

"Are we almost there, Papa?" he asked every five minutes or so.

"Almost," Sev replied. "Just a little longer."

Then a few minutes later the same conversation repeated itself.

Sev didn't like driving, but he was much more comfortable behind the wheel than he used to be. It was a brisk, wintery morning, and Remus was safely gestating back at Spinner's End, with Biscuit to keep him company. Sev hoped Amanda would be okay at Hogwarts. He knew she wasn't really happy there. The boys would be going back to school tomorrow. The Holidays were over and they had got through all right. Now, if they could just get through the birth..... and Harry's wedding, of course.

Blaise was leaving for Bulgaria today to join his mother and send reports back to the Order on the activities of the Death Eaters. Sev shuddered. If the Death Eaters were truly gathering again....and recruiting......

He found a halfway decent parking spot, using a little bit of magic to change a No Parking sign to Curb Your Dog with a flick of his wand. He got Amanda's trunk out of the boot. He checked his watch and hurried his crew down the street and into King's Cross Station.

At the barrier, several wizarding families were gathered, waiting for an opportunity to go through when no Muggles were looking. There was a girl about Amanda's age, standing with her parents. The two girls said "Hi," to each other awkwardly. Amanda looked very uncomfortable and stared at the ground.

They got to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters with minutes to spare. Sev hoisted Amanda's trunk onto the train. He slipped a bag with a few galleons into her hand. She threw her arms around him.

"Have a good term," he told her. "Owl us if you need anything."

"I will." 

 Sev's chest felt hollow as she boarded the train.

"Be safe!" he called as he hauled Oakley back from the edge of the platform.

"Goodbye! Goodbye!" the boys shouted, waving as the train pulled out. Amanda appeared in the window, waving back at them. They ran beside the train, hand in hand, until they got to the end of the platform. They stood and watched the train until it disappeared around a bend.

"It'll be your turn next year," Sev told Gavin as the boys ran back to join him.

"I can hardly wait!" said Gav.

"When do I get to go, Papa?" Oakley asked.

"Oh," said Sev. "You've got a few more years at home with us. But you'll be going soon enough. Before you know it, really." He picked up the little boy and held him close, burying his face in his soft curls.

********

Amanda watched at the window as the Hogwarts Express pulled out, leaving her family behind. She had mercifully found an empty carriage. She thought of her former friends, like Lucy Cornbluth, the girl she had seen at the barrier. They were probably all tucked up together, gossiping, sharing food and having fun. Amanda dug into her trunk and started rereading bits of Eileen's diary.

The door of her carriage opened. She looked up. It was a gangly boy with black hair, shaved on the sides and so long on the top that it was falling into his eyes. He had several studs in his left ear and a ring in his nose. "Oh, sorry," he said in accented English. "I.... all the other carriages are full."