Family Planning

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Hermione packed the last of her things into her trunk, and shut it with a clunk. She sighed sadly, the day after they arrived back at Hogwarts, the class would be over, and signal that they only had another six months with Lea and Jake as teenagers.

So many good memories had been collected over the past few months. She had felt empty, in some way, after the Final Battle. Everyone had lost so much; family, friends, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, lovers. She had lost her parents, and more friends than she could sometimes count. 

She spent time some days, just sitting down and thinking about those lost in the Battle. Tonks, and Remus, were among the few; there were so many more. George had almost lost his brother; his twin; his other half. He refused to leave Fred’s side at St. Mungo’s after the wall collapsed on him; he seemed dead for the ten days that Fred was comatose for. The moment his twin had opened his eyes, life had seemed to flow back into him; Hermione had been there to witness it, but left the room immediately to grab the medi-witch, not only because she had to, but because she felt like she was intruding on a special moment.

Glancing around the room one last time, Hermione levitated her trunk in front of her, and made her way down the stairs, only stopping to say hello to a house elf. The family’s trunks were already in the front foyer, waiting to be shrunk to pocket size for the trip to Kings Cross station.  

Hermione started the tedious task immediately, making sure that everyone’s trunks were in a specific place, so that she’d remember whose was whose. It took only a few moments for her to cast the proper spells-shrinking, and feather light charms-before she made her way to the sitting room, where the twins were saying their goodbyes to their grandmother.

“Do you promise to owl at least every week?” Lea asked.

“Oh, and can you have Tilly make those really good triple chocolate cookies and send them with the letter?” Jake said excitedly.

Narcissa laughed gently, and gave both of her grandchildren a hug once again, “I’ll make sure to send a letter every week, and I’ll send a batch of cookies too. Don’t you like Tilly’s chocolate cups too? I can send those too, if you would like,”

“Really? Of course! I love all of Tilly’s desserts, well, except for that fruit cake she made, what did she put in it, rocks?” Jake exclaimed.

“A younger house elf was helping her that time,”

“Oh, that explains it.”

“I’ll you two in a month or two; I’ll be visiting with the rest of the Hogwarts Alumni for the annual check in visit.”

“Awesome! Even more cookies!” Jake exclaimed, while Lea shook her head sadly at her brothers; it seemed his only thoughts were on food.

“I love you Gamma, see you soon!” Lea hugged Narcissa one last time, before walking towards her mother.

“I’ll see you soon Gamma, Love you!” and with that, Jake bounded out of the room. He was probably heading to the kitchen, to grab the extra large bag of desserts that he had asked to be prepared for him before he left, from Tilly.

Hermione stepped towards her boyfriend’s mother, “So we’ll see you in February?”

“On the twenty seventh, to be precise,”

“Okay, thank you for allowing me to stay in your home Narcissa; I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

“No need to be so formal Hermione, your practically family! Your welcome here anytime! Though, legally, this house belongs to Draco, since he now where’s the Master’s Ring, and I’ve put my ring back in the Vault, until he marries.”

“Thank you Narcissa,” Hermione hugged the woman tightly, and released after a few long moments.

“Take care of yourself, dear.”

“I will,”

Hermione beckoned to Lea that it was time to leave, and almost immediately after they left, Draco bound into the room.

“Sorry Mother, I’m running late. Love you, I’ll see you soon.” Draco wrapped his mother in a tight embrace, and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Take care of yourself!” he called as he ran out of the room.

Narcissa laughed at her son silently, it was one of the first times she had seen him in such a rush, he tended to be either ‘fashionably late’, or exactly on time, much like her.

Hermione and Draco stuffed their miniaturized trunks into their pockets, and the twins their own. They then each took one of the children’s hands into their own- Draco with Lea, and Hermione with Jake- and apparated themselves to an alley near the train station. The family weaved their way through the crowds, almost silently, and over to wall between Platform nine and ten. They went through the portal one by one, with Draco going last.

“Hi!” Lea immediately made her way over to James, hugging him tightly. Hermione was sure something had happened with the two during the New Years Eve party.

Jake ran off, meeting the rest of their little group by one of the large poles. Hermione and Draco made their way onto the train. They walked down to the last compartment, where Harry, and Pansy, as well as the other parents were sitting.

“We picked a date!” Pansy exclaimed, the moment they entered.

“Really? When?” Hermione asked.

“July seventh.” Pansy replied, “Now, we need to start with the rest of the preparation.”

“I’ll be sure to help in whatever way I can,” Hermione said, taking a seat across from her.

“We’re going to need all the help we can get!” Pansy laughed.

Draco took his seat next to Hermione, quietly greeting the compartments other occupants while his girlfriend and his childhood best friend giggled.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the train, Lea, Jake, and their friends were sitting in a booth. Lea sat next to James, pressed into his side, while Jake argued with Alicia about the Harpies decision to fire their coach. Damien and Becca were playfully joking with Becca, who looked like she was on the verge of hexing him.

“Tony Hopkins was possibly the best Harpies coach ever! They fired him over such a stupid thing!” Jake exclaimed.

“He slept with the manager’s wife, and got Anna Wilkins pregnant! She’s the god damned star chaser!” Alicia argued.

“So? Can’t they keep personal issues away from quidditch?”

“It’s stated in the handbook that there can’t be sexual and/or romantic relations between anybody involved with the team!”

The argument seemed to go on for hours, during the time; Becca hexed Damien, giving him a pig tail that wouldn’t disappear for twelve hours, and Lea seemed to refuse to stop giggling at James.

Almost two hours after they boarded the scarlet train, it pulled in to the Hogsmeade station, where thestral drawn carriages awaited the riders, ready to take them back to the centaury old castle.