You Only Live Once

CHAPTER 52

December 23rd, 1997

The air at King's Cross Station was biting and cold, smelling of soot, steam, and the faint, lingering scent of magic. Platform 9 ¾ was a sea of moving colors as parents paced the stones, waiting for the scarlet engine to bring their children home for the holidays.

Standing near the center of the platform was a group that had become a permanent fixture over the last seven years. Mira and Regulus stood shoulder-to-shoulder, flanked by a crowd that felt more like a small army than a group of friends. Lily and James were there, James constantly rising on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. Remus and Sirius leaned against a pillar, looking far more distinguished than their younger selves, while Pandora and Xenophilius stood nearby, Pandora humming a soft tune. The Weasleys were impossible to miss, a vibrant patch of red hair in the gray mist, and Evan Rosier stood slightly to the side, checking his pocket watch with a mock expression of boredom.

This year felt different. There was a weight to the atmosphere that hadn't been there before. This was the final time they would collect the "Golden Group"—Harry, Melody, Ron, and Hermione—for a Christmas break. It was their seventh year, the end of an era that had begun with such uncertainty and had blossomed into a beautiful, peaceful reality.

Mira looked around at her friends and felt a surge of overwhelming gratitude. When Harry and Melody had first brought Hermione and Ron home after their first year, Mira had stayed up half the night crying happy tears. Everything had played out exactly as she had hoped in her wildest dreams. The war was a shadow of the past. The Triwizard Tournament had come and gone three years prior without the tragedy she had once feared. Harry hadn't been forced to compete, Cedric Diggory was alive and well, and the biggest crisis the Black family had faced in 1994 was Regulus' sheer panic over what his daughters would wear to the Yule Ball.

The distant whistle of the Hogwarts Express echoed through the station. The parents moved toward the railing as one, a collective surge of anticipation. As the large, steam-belching engine rounded the curve, Mira couldn't suppress the massive, radiant smile that took over her face.

"You saw them all exactly two weeks ago, Mira" Evan said, rolling his eyes as he caught her expression.

He had teased her about this for seven years. Every time the children went away or came back, Mira acted as though they had been exploring the far reaches of the globe for a decade. She usually spent the night before the train arrived pacing the living room, unable to sleep from the sheer excitement of having her house full again.

"They are my babies, Ev" Mira stated firmly. She didn't even turn her head to look at him, her eyes locked on the slowing train carriages.

"Melody is almost an adult, Mira. She is no longer a baby. And as for the twins, Marcus and Nova are sixteen. They are nearly grown adults in the eyes of the law"

"They will always be my babies" Mira insisted, her voice thick with affection.

Evan sighed and turned toward Regulus, hoping for a voice of reason. "Reg, talk to her. Help me out here."

Regulus didn't even look away from the train. He simply reached out and caught Mira's hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "You heard her, Evan. They are her babies."

He leaned down and pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to her cheek. Mira beamed at him, then turned a mock-threatening glare toward Evan, sticking her tongue out slightly.

The train hissed to a halt, releasing a great cloud of white steam that obscured the windows for a few moments. Then, the doors began to swing open. A chaotic flood of students in black robes poured onto the platform, lugging heavy trunks and owl cages.