Make sure to read chapter forty one before this!

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September 1st, 2022

The sun is shining in through the curtains, illuminating our bedroom. Theo is still half-asleep beside me despite the alarm going off twice.

I run my hand through Theo's hair. "Theo, wake up," I say. "We're going to be late."

"No we're not," Theo mumbles, eyes still closed. I move to get out of bed but Theo grabs my hand and pulls me right back. "Come on, let's just lay in bed for ten more minutes."

As if on cue, there's the sound of footsteps in the hallway followed by voices.

"We can't," I tell Theo. "The kids will miss the train."

Theo groans in response but starts to get out of bed anyway.

We both start to get ready for the day. I brush my teeth and change out of my pajamas while Theo does the same. He leaves to go make tea while I do my makeup.

By the time I meet Theo in the kitchen, he has my tea ready for me and has gotten everything out to make breakfast.

Our dog, Charlie, comes running over to me, wagging his tail. I pet him until he calms down a bit and decides to go stand at Theo's feet since he has food.

I walk over to Theo and take my tea from my husband. I set the mug on the counter and stand on my tip-toes to kiss him. Theo's hand rests on the small of my back and he grins into the kiss.

When we break apart, I smile at Theo. "Thanks for the tea," I say.

"You're welcome," He replies, still not making a move to put any distance between us.

An exasperated sigh comes from the kitchen door. "Gross," Juliet mumbles.

I take a step back from Theo and shake my head, still smiling. "Good morning to you too," I tease. "You excited to start fifth year?" I ask.

Juliet walks into the kitchen and starts to make her own cup of tea from the still-hot kettle. She shrugs, "Yeah, I guess. Not excited for the O.W.L.'s though."

"Don't stress about those too much, you'll do amazing," I say.

Theo leans against the counter and smiles. "I remember fifth year, loved it," He says. "That's the year that I got to watch your mum punch Michael Corner in the face. Oh, I was a goner."

Juliet laughs and shakes her head. "If you were so in love with mum then why'd you wait two years to make a move?" She teases.

I turn to look at Theo and try not to laugh. "Yeah, how come it took you so long?" I joke.

"Hey, don't make fun of me, I was playing the long game," Theo answers with a smirk.

Juliet grins at this and looks exactly like her dad. She has long brown hair and dark blue eyes and looks like the spitting image of Theo aside from her nose and lips. She's fifteen years old now and is starting fifth year. Juliet is in Slytherin just like Theo and I were.

"All I'm hearing right now is excuses, dad," Juliet says.

The kitchen door opens and Bianca, our oldest daughter, walks in. "Good morning," She says. "What're we talking about?"

Juliet opens her mouth to talk but Theo beats her to it. "I was just about to make breakfast, does pancakes sound good?" He asks.

I make eye contact with Juliet and we both try not to laugh at Theo's very obvious diversion to get her to stop making fun of him.

Bianca nods, "Yeah, sounds good, dad."

While Juliet looks like Theo, Bianca looks like me. She has blonde hair and green eyes, except her eyes have specks of blue in them whereas mine have specks of brown. Bianca is seventeen and starting her final year at Hogwarts. She's captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team and is a Beater.

"Excited for seventh year?" Theo asks her.

"Merlin, I can't wait to be done," Bianca answers. "I'm excited for quidditch, I told Dylan that we're beating Slytherin this year and I mean it."

Dylan is Daphne and Blaise's middle child. He's in the same year as Bianca and is the quidditch captain for Slytherin. Dylan and Bianca have been dating since their fifth year.

"Uh, no," Juliet says. "I have 10 galleons on Slytherin taking the cup this year. I don't want to have to give LJ any of my money."

Lucy Jane, "LJ", is Daphne and Blaise's third and final child. She's a fifth year Slytherin like Juliet. They've practically been best friends since birth.

"You better find someone to 10 galleons then," Bianca says.

Juliet turns to Theo and me. "Mum, dad, can I have 10 galleons if I lose the bet?" She asks.

I laugh and Theo shakes his head at her.

"That wasn't a no," Juliet says.

- - - - -

We do manage to make it on time to King's Cross Station. When we step onto Platform 9 ¾, I already spot Daphne and Blaise and their kids. Their oldest, Bennett is 20 so his days at Hogwarts are over, but Dylan and Lucy are standing with them.

Dylan waves at Bianca and she goes walking right over to him. They hug and kiss, and Theo makes a disgusted noise. Juliet follows and hugs Lucy. All of them act like they didn't just see each other less than a week ago.

"Morning," I say to Daphne and Blaise.

"Good morning," Blaise replies.

We all exchange pleasantries as our kid's chatter. I spot a familiar blonde head of hair just as Daphne waves them over. "There's Draco and Scorpius," She says.

"Good morning," Draco says as he and his son reach our group.

"How are you, mate?" Theo asks.

Draco smiles, "Alright, you?"

"Doing alright," Theo replies.

Scorpius nudges Draco. "Dad, Albus is here," He says.

Draco nods, "Okay, you go ahead I'll be over in a few minutes to say hello to the Potter's." Scorpius heads off in the direction of the Potter/Weasley clan and Draco pinches the bridge of his nose.

"How's getting along with Potter going?" Blaise asks.

"He's going to give me an aneurysm," Draco replies. "I couldn't care less about Scorpius dating a bloke but why did it have to be Potter's son out of all of them? Albus is great, his dad, however," Draco trails off and shakes his head.

"Aw, are we talking about your little crush on Potter?" A familiar voice asks.

I turn to see Pansy and her daughter, Mariana. Mariana is 16, the same age as Scorpius, and is also in Slytherin. She immediately gets roped into a conversation with Juliet and Lucy.

Draco rolls his eyes. "Bloody hell, Pansy," He says.

"Good to see you too, Draco," Pansy teases.

Mariana's dad, Pansy's ex-husband, left them eight years ago. It was a rough year or so after but it ended up being better in the long run.

Within the last couple of years, Draco and Pansy have started being friends again and Daphne, Blaise, Theo, and I have bets on whether or not they're going to rekindle their relationship or not. I bet yes, and I give it till the end of the school year before they start dating.

"We're going to go get a spot on the train," Bianca tells Theo and me.

"Okay, have fun this year," I tell her. I hug my daughter. "Love you, Bianca."

Bianca pulls away and smiles. "Love you too, mum," She says.

Theo hugs her next. "Good luck with quidditch tryouts, we'll be at the first match," He tells her.

"Thanks, dad. Love you," Bianca says.

"Love you too," Theo replies.

Bianca and Dylan wave goodbye and then go to join the rest of their friends as Juliet turns to say goodbye to Theo and me.

"Bye mum, bye dad," Juliet says. "I love you both."

Theo hugs her. "I love you too," Theo says. "Be safe and have fun."

They break apart and I hug my daughter. "I love you too," I say. "Don't spend all your money gambling."

"No promises," Juliet says.

Within the next couple of minutes, all of the kids leave to get on the train and Draco briefly leaves to go exchange pleasantries with Harry Potter.

When the train leaves, all six of us stand together and wave off our kids. We stand in the same spot we did 25 years ago, except this time we've already made it through the hard part.