/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟏.𝟛.𝟢

"every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. those who wish to sing always find a song." ~ Plato

~september 1971~

The scene changed and Harry watched as the memory of Artemis climbed out of her mother's car and trailed after Jane and Percy into King's Cross Station. Rain pounded down on the pavement and the little girl struggled to carry her luggage across the parking lot. Harry noticed that neither Jane nor Percy even looked back to make sure Artemis was keeping up. She didn't seem to mind. When they entered the station, Artemis pushed her damp hair away from her eyes and looked around in wonder, as though she'd already made it to the wizarding world. She lost herself staring at the ceiling and for a second, and Harry was worried her mother and brother would leave her behind completely. At the last second, though, Artemis turned, noticed they were far ahead of her, and ran to catch up. Harry had to jog to keep up with her, not wanting to stray too far from the memory. They were stopped outside the barrier to between platforms nine and ten, staring towards the entrance to nine and three-quarters. "Percy, can you take Artemis from here?" asked Jane. Harry noticed that, since the last time he'd seen her, the dark shadows under her eyes had grown, although her makeup remained flawless and her lips were plump and glossed.

"Aren't you coming, Mum?" Artemis asked in a far off voice. She didn't take her deep, analytical blue eyes off of the barrier. She always seemed to be sizing her surroundings up, calculating her next move perfectly.

"No. No, your dad did all of this before... I think I'll... I'll see you off from here." Jane looked down at her daughter fondly. Even despite their fights that summer, Artemis was her pride and joy. She was the one who'd stuck around when nobody else had. "Have a nice term, love."

Artemis wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and buried her face in her stomach. "I'll miss you," she said brightly. She was practically bouncing, obviously excited to get on the train. Percy, on the other hand, was scanning the crowd nervously. When Jane hugged him, he didn't hug her back and squirmed from her grip as quickly as possible.

Jane kept the subdued smile on her face. "I love you both, make sure you write!" she said cheerfully.

"Come on, Art," Percy muttered, grabbing his sister's arm and pulling her forward. Artemis lugged her trunk after her and turned around to wave at her mother until she and Percy disappeared through the barrier.

Jane watched her children disappear into the wizarding world, and then stood staring at the barrier for a long time. Her smile had faded and her eyes had glossed over. After a few minutes, she turned and walked back out into the pouring rain. She stumbled in her heels getting into the car, and when she slammed the door shut, she didn't bother putting the key in the ignition or even buckling her seatbelt. She just sat there, staring at the raindrops splattering on the windshield. After a long time, a single tear trailed down her cheek. Soon after, a second followed, followed by another, and another, and another. Jane gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and rested her forehead between them, sobbing so hard her entire body shook. It was a long time before she calmed down enough to leave the parking lot.

~

"Why were you being so mean to Mum?" Artemis asked, jogging every few steps to keep up with her brother.

Percy stopped in the middle of the platform to look down at Artemis, a wary look in his eye. "You don't understand, Art," he said with a sigh. "Things are different here."

Artemis scowled at him. "If that means I have to start being mean to Mum, I don't want to go." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared defiantly at Percy, who simply rolled his eyes.