Opened At The Close...

3:Last Time On the Express

As Harry brushed ash off himself, he walked over to where the group stood, all of them gathering their things and getting ready to leave. Ginny took the tote bag of Teddy's things out of Harry's hands, staring at Teddy curiously, a grin stretching across her face.
"Oh, look at him, Ron!" She laughed, smoothing the baby's hair in a such gentle, delicate way that Harry couldn't help but smile at her.
"He's got our hair,"Ron sniggered, draining his bottle and looking questioningly at Harry."How often does Andromeda say his hair changes color?"
"About three times a day," Harry answered."His eyes were brown when I got there, but as he was falling asleep they were blue. Like yours, Ron," he added as an afterthought. "Are we leaving right now?"
"Yes," answered Neville. "The train's to leave in three hours, and we all want to go to Honeyduke's before heading back to the castle."
"We were waiting for you,"explained Ernie unnecessarily.
"Well, come on, then," Harry said serenely, leading the way outside and waving to Aberforth.
"He's a metamorphagus?" Luna asked with appearant interest as they strolled along the cobbled street. Harry and Ron exchanged a look that said plainly, Oh Merlin's beard, here we go..... Harry nodded at Luna, who's eyes widened.
"Daddy edited an interesting article on metamorphagi, once," she said thoughtfully. "Did you know that 70% of all wizards who trained crumple horned snorkacks with success have been metamorphagi?"
"I did not know that, actually,"Ron said, barely concealing a smile."I would have remembered that if I had read it. Believe me." Harry had to hastily conceal a snort with a fake sneeze.
"Oh yes, it's true..."Luna began again,(not noticing Harry) rambling on about how crumple-horned snorcacks don't like to see the same human twice, and why metamorphagi had just the powers to accomadate them. Harry wasn't listening, but when Luna's voice changed, he perked up. Her tone was no longer dreamy as it usually was, but instead it was grave.
"Isn't he Professor Lupin's son, Harry?" Luna asked quietly. A tense knot formed in Harry's throat, and he nodded.
"I heard that he was, but I wasn't sure. Lupin was an intersting professor, though. He was certainly my favorite, I didn't really care that he was a werewolf. I remember being most upset when he resigned...but I suppose he thought the Ministry would have wanted it that way," she ended sadly, and Harry nodded again, his tense knot loosening. Harry had been almost sure that Luna would say something about Lupin not being a werewolf, but instead a secret wrackspurt exterminator or something like that. There was silence until they neared their destination, and just as they were a few feet away Ron exclaimed,
"Look, Luna! Those things you have planted in your front yard! Dirigable plums!" He pointed at the Honeyduke's window and, sure enough, were a bouquet of dirgible plums peirced onto  golden skewers and dipped in chocolate.
"Oooh, those ones look nice and ripe," Luna responded appreciatively, and without further ado she lead the way into the shop.
Honeyduke's was stuffy and crowded, and the shelves were crammed with a variety of interesting candies. Though it was hot inside, the atmosphere was absolutely jubilant. It was as if someone had splashed Essence of Euphoria all over the walls. Harry could not stop himself smiling; the happy chatter and joyful faces of the shoppers and workers alike was contagious.
"Here, I'll get everybody one," Luna said brightly, appearing at Ginny's side with an armful of the chocolate-covered dirigible plums."My treat. But you have to try them, at least. Don't be stubborn," she added sternly, seeing the look on Neville and Ron's faces.
"I'll try it," said Ginny, but Harry remained exprssionlessly silent while he pretended to examine a jar of acid pops. He was not at all keen to try something of the Lovegood's, especially not after the disgusting gurdyroot infusion he had sampled on his last visit to their house.*
"Look at these," Ernie said with awe, holding up a box of candies that claimed to make the consumer's nose change shape every thirty seconds; in the top left corner, a small 'W' indicated the maker. Ron laughed, taking the box from Ernie.
"George has really outdone himself... do you think I could sneak one of these into his food?" Ron asked.
"No, he's too smart to be tricked by his own products," Ginny said reasonably. Ron nodded, frowning, but kept the box nonetheless.
"Don't even try it, mate," Harry said seriously."If it did work, you'd be in for the payback of a lifetime." Ron had a look of dawning horror as he set the box back on its shelf.
                              *_____*_____*
Steam billowed around Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna as they walked down the platform beside a certain scarlet steam engine.
Harry had Hermione's trunk and Crookshanks's cage stacked upon his own trunk,(which seemed a bit lonely without Hedwig's cage perched upon it) and he was levitating them across the platform, while Ron did the same with his trunk and Ginny's, and Neville did the same with the same with his trunk and Luna's, because he had said he needed the practice. (Harry thought this quite absurd, as Neville had fought extremely well in the Battle and had even killed the last horcrux. But if Neville thought he needed Charms practice, he had every right to it, or maybe he just wanted to be a gentleman.) Meanwhile, Ginny had shouldered Teddy's tote and Luna carried Teddy himself. Though he didn't say it, Harry had been a bit nervous in this arrangement, but Luna seemed to be doing well and was quite at her ease; in fact, she looked most natural with Teddy cradled in her arms, who was still snoozing.
They all drew many pairs of eyes as they walked along the platform, but Harry tried his best to act oblivious, making it clear he did not want the attention. The last thing he wanted today was a reporter for the Daily Prophet to pound him with questions. And luckily, by the time they had boarded the train, there had been no reporters to be seen. As they made their way along the crowded hallway,(once again attracting many stares) they saw Ernie in a compartment with the other Hufflepuffs, and Harry gave a friendly wave before finding a mercifully empty compartment.
Once everything was situated and Crookshanks was let out of his cage, the train gave a great bellow of its horn, announcing its immenent departure. This bellow had woken Teddy, who wailed, and everyone in the compartment looked at the baby suddenly, with wide eyes. Luna's composure did not waver, and she patted Teddy's blankets softly, though it did not help. Teddy wailed and squirmed, loosening his blankets, and was not satisfied in anyone's arms. Harry was just retrieving him from Ron when Ginny said impatiently,
"No more passing him back and forth, you lot! You'll only make him madder!" And she stood and grabbed the tote bag from above her head, groped around in the inside for a moment, then withdrew her arm holding a bottle and a box of milk formula. The train began to move as she prepared the bottle, and Teddy continued to wail.
"Aguamenti, " said Ginny, and the bottle was filled with the stream from her wand tip, mixing with the white powder. She shook it, warmed it with another tap of her wand, and thrusted it at Harry, who stared at her.
"Well, feed him!" She said even more impatiently, as she put the box of powder back in the tote bag. "And do it now, I'm tired of the noise," Ginny added.
"Oh, man,"Ron said relieved as Harry popped the bottle into Teddy's mouth, who sucked away hungrily."That's better."
"Much better," Neville corrected him, Crookshanks curling up in his lap. Ginny and Luna nodded in agreement.
"I wish Hermione had left after the train ride," Ron said with a wistful sigh."Mine and Harry's last ride on the train, and we don't even have Hermione with us..." he stared at his feet, looking slightly sullen.
"She needed to go to her parents, and frankly, I'm glad she did," Ginny said, glaring at Ron, who responded quickly.
"No, no! I am too, it's just I wish she would have waited until we were home. We've always ridden on the Hogwarts Express with Hermione," He said a bit defensively.
"Not exactly," Luna said. "In my first year you and Harry flew the flying car into the Whomping Willow, remember?"
"Like we could forget," Harry said darkly, tilting the bottle a bit more.
"Well, most of the time we have..." Ron said quietly."I just wish she was here, that's all." Silence ensued, and the only sounds in the compartment were Crookshanks's purring and Teddy's loud suckling. Luna stood, opening her trunk with her wand, and out flew a copy of the Quibbler. Catching it in her hand, she sat back down next to Ginny and began to flip through its pages as Ginny read over Luna's shoulder. Ron stared at the cover for a moment, then broke into a grin.
"Switch places with me, Ginny," he said, still eyeing the Quibbler curiously. "I wanna see it what Luna's looking at,"Ron explained at her confused look. Ginny looked hesitant more a second, then, after a quick glance at Harry, she wordlessly stood to swap places with Ron.
"That looks interesting," Ron said, peering over Luna's shoulder.
"Doesn't it?" Luna said, turning the paper toward Ron a little more so that they could both read.
"Harry, has he needed a diaper change today?" Ginny asked as Teddy squirmed a little.
"Ummm," was Harry's response. He honestly didn't know if Andromeda had changed him or not that day. Probably so, but it would be good to check again. How many times a day do baby's diapers need to be changed?
"Let me see him," Ginny said, taking Teddy from Harry's arms and lying him on her knees. She unwrapped the blue and green blankets and shoved them into the tote, then undid the cloth diaper to reveal to most ungodly mess Harry had ever seen even in his worst nightmares, which was saying a lot.
Pulling his wand out, Harry said,"Evenesco mess," and it all disappeared instantly. He and Teddy sighed in relief as Ginny pinned the diaper back on; both had gone unnoticed by everyone else, as Ron and Luna were so absorbed in their article that their eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, and Neville had long since been asleep, his face pressed comically against the glass window of the compartment.
There was a pleasant silence as Teddy laid on Ginny's lap with nothing but his diaper on as he began to doze. Harry smoothed Teddy's hair, which was still flaming red, and slumped a little in his seat. Ginny rested her head on his shoulder and Harry laid his head on top of hers, really beginning to get comfortable; he could feel himself dozing off, now. He decided he may as well not resist, as he had seen that Teddy was asleep and Ginny's eyelids were fluttering shut as well. Relaxing completely, Harry slipped off into a pleasant, dreamless slumber.
*_____*_____*
"Oi!" Said a muffled voice from a distance. Harry jerked awake, staring around the compartment, dazed. Ginny raised her head off his shoulder, her face flushed, and Neville stirred before opening his eyes and jumping a little, waking a moody Crookshanks.
"Whatsmatter, Ron?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes and taking the still-sleeping Teddy from Ginny's warm legs and wrapping him in the blue blanket before replacing him on her lap.
Ron nodded toward the compartment door.
"Want something to eat?" He asked them just as the trolley witch rolled up.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" She asked sweetly.
"I'll have a Chocolate Couldron," Neville said, standing up and paying her for the sweet.
"Me too,"Harry said, standing as well. "Want anything, Ginny? Luna?" Luna shook her head.
"I'll have my plum," she replied."Keep in mind that you have one, too.
"Pumpkin Pasty," Ginny said to Harry. Ron snorted.
"What am I, chopped mandrake?" He retorted.
"No, what you are is fully capable," Harry answered as he took the sweets from the trolly witch with a nod of thanks. "Luna is reading and Ginny is holding Teddy."
"I didn't realize that holding a baby or reading a magazine rendered a person uncapable," Ron said nastily, rolling his eyes as he bought himself a Chocolate Frog.
"It was only easier that way," Luna said, taking out her dirigible plum and biting into it. It looked surprisingly juicy."Mmmm...would you like yours now?" She asked the room thickly through her mouthful of plum.
"Sure," Harry and Ginny said; Ron and Neville had already started on their chocolates and hastily shook their heads. Luna grabbed two plums from the seat beside her and handed one to each of them. They were completely covered with an even shell of Honeyduke's chocolate, and they smelled like strawberries. Bracing himself for the worst, Harry took a small bite of the strange fruit.
"Mmm!" He exclaimed, and Luna looked quite satisfied. The plum tasted like a cross between a strawberry and a peach, and was soft and juicy as it melted in the mouth.
"Try it, Ginny,"Harry said as thickly as Luna had earlier. As Ginny took a cautious bite he swallowed and pointed at Ron and Neville."You two should try it, too. It tastes like a stawberry mixed with a peach. Kind of creamy, too, actually..."
Thirty minutes later, it was decided that everyone loved the dirigible plums, and Luna looked most happy as the train got to London, steam obscuring the windows once more as they pulled into King's Cross Station.

*First five readers to tell me what the gurdyroot infusion tasted like gets a follower! Comment here, if you know!