Devil's Snare {A Sequel to The Adventures of a Death Eater}

Chapter 19: All Was Well

Last chapter right here! =) Kind of bittersweet, yet relieving at the same time. I thought for a while I would never finish this story, but now it's done, and I feel great about it! =) On to write other stories now. =) Hope you all enjoy the conclusion! =)

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Artemis

Walking through King’s Cross Station seemed surreal. It had been many years since the last time I had stepped foot into the place, at that time figuring I would never have to return to the train station that I had spent so much time at. Little did I know how wrong I was to think that I had seen the last of the train station on the day of my graduation nineteen years ago.

I hadn’t anticipated that I would have to come back one day to see my own children off. Or shall I say, child. It was the day Audrey and I had both been looking forward to and dreading since our son’s birth- he was off to Hogwarts for his first year. So, here we were- wading through the swarms of people at the train station, trying to make sure he reached the train before it departed.

Once we had gotten into the station, Audrey had stopped us at a nearby bench. “We have to wait for everyone else to get here,” she reminded. I had nearly forgotten she had made these plans to meet up with our old classmates. I took a seat on the bench as our son sat between us.

“Father… what house do you think I’ll be in?” he asked quietly. He reminded me a lot of myself at his age- intelligent and determined to get what he desired. It didn’t help he was a spitting image of me either. Sometimes I wondered what happened to Audrey’s genes in the mix.

“Well, Arty, if my memory serves right, and if you take after your parents, you’ll be a Slytherin,” I sighed. “And if not… you’ll be something else. Just don’t be a Hufflepuff; nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff.”

“Artemis!” Audrey shot me a warning before turning to our son. “Don’t listen to your father; there is nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff. But don’t worry- the Sorting Hat knows what it’s doing. It will place you where you belong.”

Before I could add anything more to the conversation, I noticed my cousin and his family coming towards us. I was so glad Draco hadn’t married Pansy; instead he had married a girl by the name of Astoria Greengrass, a girl a few years younger than us. Together they had one son, Scorpius, who was also going into his first year.

“This place is a madhouse,” he hissed. “I swear it’s more packed than it ever was when we were in school.”

I honestly had to agree with him. The train station was pretty packed. Parents and students running all over the place, trying to make sure everything was in order before the departure. Once again, before I was able to say anything else, we were joined by more of our classmates. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stood before us, their children right in toe. Harry and Ginny had three- James, Albus, and Lily. James was already at Hogwarts, and Lily still had a few more years before she caught up to her brothers. Albus was going to be joining Artemis the Third, Scorpius, and his cousin Rose in their first year. Rose was Ron and Hermione’s eldest. They had only had two children, the other a younger boy by the name of Hugo.

“The gang’s all here,” I finally spoke up.

“Took us long enough,” Harry answered. “Someone was too busy trying to stuff his face full of breakfast this morning.” Without even asking, I knew he was talking about Ron; he hadn’t changed much since school had ended. But then again, none of us really had.

The train whistle blew once, signaling the students to begin boarding. I took a deep breath; this was it. The moment we had been anticipating for years now. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to react. Part of me was sad, and didn’t want to see my only son shipped off to school, yet part of me was proud to be continuing the tradition- another generation at Hogwarts, and hopefully another generation of Slytherins. I stood with my family, watching on as Audrey began fussing over our son’s hair. Her efforts were going to be futile; our son had hair just like mine. No matter how many times you fixed it, it would just fall right back into place. Eventually she just gave up, and stood back up to her full height, something that definitely made little Artemis happy.

Collectively as a group, we made our way through the crowds, making our way towards the train. No one spoke, at least none of us adults did. The children spoke aimlessly amongst themselves, but none of the parents had the urge to say anything. I wasn’t sure what was running through their minds but I certainly knew that if it was anything like what was running through mine, then we all were feeling the same way.

I remembered the day I first stepped foot onto Platform 9 ¾. I was eleven years old, nervous, and admittedly unsure of what was going to happen to me once I got to Hogwarts. The only person I knew when I arrived was Draco- my son already had a lot of friends, regardless to what house any of them ended up in. Hogwarts was ultimately one of the best things that had ever happened to me. I had gained so many things- one-of-a-kind friends, the love of my life, countless unforgettable experiences. The only thing that I could hope for my son was that he didn’t have to deal with anything like Voldemort in his lifetime. Everything had been calm since Harry and I defeated him; no one else had caused us anymore troubles, and a majority of the remaining Death Eaters had been taking care of appropriately.

I shook the thoughts from my mind as I felt my son give me a quick hug. “Bye dad,” he said before pulling away from me. “I’ll be sure to let you know what house I get.”

“I’m sure you will,” I chuckled lightly. “You keep up the Fowl reputation.”

He raised his eyebrow at me. “If you say so. I’ll do my best.”

He must’ve already hugged his mother as he followed his third cousin onto the train. I placed my arm around Audrey’s shoulders; I knew she was going to need some support. I was nearly positive she was going to take it harder than I would. As the last of the children boarded the train, I awaited to see where my son would appear in the windows. Sure enough he appeared in one of the window towards the middle of the train, along with Scorpius. Both of them began to wave frantically as the train’s whistle blew once again, all of us waving back. The train slowly began to pull away from the station, a sight that unfortunately brought tears to Audrey’s eyes. We stood there, waving, until the train was out of sight.

As we turned away, Audrey asked me, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

I smirked. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s going to knock that school out of the water. Besides, look at all the support he has. He is a Fowl after all.”

She smiled slightly, though I knew she was still sad inside. “I suppose you’re right, darling. He’ll make us proud.”

“I’m sure he will,” I added, smiling back at her. We made our way back towards the platform, and I knew that in the end everything was going to be fine with our son. He was going to make us proud, and do something great with his life just like we did so many years ago. In the last nineteen years, so much had happened, yet nothing nearly as traumatic and devastating as the Final Battle of Hogwarts. All I knew was that Voldemort was gone for good, and that perhaps this next generation had a chance for normality. Everything had calmed, and everything couldn’t have been more perfect for our little group.

All was well.