Glory |A. Potter|

Twenty-Three

The days passed soon enough and before Jane had even realised it, she was finding herself standing beside the gates of Malfoy Manor, her suitcase and broomstick secured beneath her arm, her cat, Cleopatra, held in her arms. Albus and Scorpius were standing on either side of her, in similar positions as her, the three of them ready to return to Hogwarts. They were waiting for Scorpius's father to arrive so they could apparate to platform nine and three quarters in King's Cross Station.

Scorpius was shivering despite the warm clothes he had gotten dressed in earlier in the morning, contrary to Albus and Jane who were sitting comfortably in the cold. Jane, especially, dressed in her dark jumper and even darker worn coat, despite the lack of layers of clothes, seemed utterly unbothered by the weather. Today too of all days she had chosen to put on all pieces of jewelry she tended to wear—which was a lot—and her usual make-up was in place. As Albus briefly glanced at her, he felt as if they were back at school already.

"Ready to go?" Draco's call shook Albus off of his thoughts to see him walking towards them, his wand at hand. At his father's question, Scorpius instantly started nodding, his teeth chattering as he did. Jane let out an amused huff as he moved towards her and looped his arm through hers so they could apparate. Wordlessly Albus walked over and he too reached for Jane's arm the way Scorpius had done as Scorpius held hands with his father. A short while later, they were apparating away.

Albus felt pressure from all directions as they travelled and he was thankful apparition wasn't a long process. They landed soon after and he barely managed to keep himself from losing his balance. Jane, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. She let out a small yelp as she fell forward only to fall against him. His eyes widened in surprise, although before he could help her she had already regained her balance and was moving away from him.

"Sorry," she muttered as she straightened up and met his eyes. Albus nodded as he pulled his arm away from hers and turned to Scorpius just in time to see him hug his father. Awkwardly, he looked away. Only to notice his sister a few ways away.

Lily noticed him almost at once. She instantly turned to their parents and soon enough, Harry and Ginny Potter were walking over. While Jane was busy thanking Draco about his hospitality, Albus's family arrived.

"Did you have fun?" Ginny asked him with a smile he returned.

"I did."

"You seem tired," Harry spoke up, his brows furrowing.

"It's just because we woke up early," he reasoned, "I'm not tired and if I need to I can sleep on the train."

"But-"

"Hey Albus once we get on the train we could-" Jane stopped abruptly as she turned only to notice his family standing in front of her. She blinked. "Hi."

"Hello, Jane," Ginny greeted her, "I hope you had fun."

"We did," Scorpius piped in from behind her. "Thank you for letting Albus stay with us."

"It's no problem," Harry shrugged, "Al wanted to come."

"Albus is welcome to stay in the Manor for as long as he wants," Draco piped in before he turned to Jane. "The same applies to you, Jane, of course."

She sent him a sweet smile he returned before he focused on Scorpius to tell him a last few words before leaving. Ginny took the chance to do the same to Lily and Albus and so Jane stood there awkwardly for a while as she waited. Soon enough, the whistle of the train blew. Draco left with a last smile at his son and a few minutes later, after Harry had told his children to be careful and Ginny had hugged them one last time, Jane, Scorpius and Albus were heading to the train. They made themselves comfortable in the first empty compartment they found, Scorpius and Albus sitting side by side while Jane finally let Cleo roam free in the compartment.