Just Over One Month Later

I can't believe this is the last time I'll be going to Hogwarts. This will be the second to last time that I board the train with my best friends, who I met in this very compartment.

It was melancholic.

Part of me will miss Hogwarts, and all of the things that go with it, but the other part of me is excited to get a move on with the rest of my life.

James wants to play quidditch professionally, and he's already gotten offers but I think he's going to put that on hold until after the whole 'defeat the Dark Lord' thing. I want to work at the Ministry, preferably in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. A job in that department will allow me to travel and get paid.

Sirius wants to be an Auror at the Ministry, Remus can never have a stable job because of his lycanthropy, but he wants to be a professor. As for Jolie, she's a fucking wild card.

Nothing new there.

I ended up not seeing my family the entire summer. Beatrice sent me a couple of letters, Henry sent me one. Apparently, my mum spent the entire summer swimming in alcohol, and my dad got promoted at work, making him not be home even more.

Nothing new there.

"I'm still pissed that you lot are leaving me alone for a whole year."

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Regulus muttered something to all of us in the train compartment.

Sirius ruffled his hair, only to have Regulus smack his hand away from his now messy black hair.

"You'll be fine, plus it'll make holiday break and Hogsmeade weekends even more fun." Sirius stated, slumping against Remus's shoulder in an attempt
to get comfortable.

I nodded, "As if our holidays can get even more fun."

The compartment door slid open as Jolie entered, her long blonde ponytail swinging.

"Guess what I just heard from the girls." Jolie teased as she sat down next to Regulus.

James furrowed his brows, "I don't know, what?"

"Merlin-, is someone pregnant?"

Jolie reached over and jokingly smacked Remus on the arm. "No, no one is pregnant-, at least to my knowledge."

"Are you going to tell us so that I can go the fuck to sleep, I'm exhausted." Sirius mumbled.

James coughed, "I wonder why."

"Fuck off, Prongs." Remus replied, leaning his head on top of Sirius's.

Jolie rolled her eyes, "As I was saying, apparently Lily's older sister got married and her entire family hates him, Mary started dating a muggle boy that she meant in London, and there's a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

We all sat in silence as we tried to comprehend the mass amount of information that Jolie had just spewed out in a single breath.

"Well, her sister's horrid-"

"Apparently that teaching position is cursed-"

"What does Mary know about muggles?"

I sighed, "This will be a hectic year, wait-, does Mary's boyfriend know that she's a witch?"

Jolie shrugged, "Not sure, but I reckon it will be a shock if, or when, she tells him."

"There's always so much goddamn stuff going on," Sirius muttered, "I just want to nap."

Remus smiled softly at his boyfriend as the latter rest his head on his shoulder, practically curling up against Remus's thin frame.

The rest of the train ride was spent with Sirius in a deep sleep, Remus drifting in and out of sleep, and Regulus and Jolie arguing about whether or not her parents liked him when they met him last week.

She claimed that they like him, but Regulus disagrees because he's not the classic 'meet the parents' kind of guy.

James and I talked softly about the upcoming school year, as well as our plans after it was over.

Eventually, the train came to a stop and we all began grabbing our trunks and stepping out onto the cobblestone pavement of the Hogsmeade platform.

• • • • •

Christmas Eve, 1977

The fire crackled softly in the fireplace, accompanied by the vinyl spinning in the record player, producing the brilliant voice of Freddie Mercury.

Everyone was in a mood to listen to the newest album by Queen, News Of The World, and the bands' voices played in the background as we all sat around the living room in our pajamas.

We decided to go home for Christmas.

Home being the Potter's home.

My mum and dad didn't even owl me asking if I was coming home, let alone invite me home. It doesn't matter though, I'm with my real family.

It was Regulus's first Christmas since he began living with the Potter's, and it was Jolie's first time staying at the Potter's house for the whole holiday.

Fleamont and Euphemia had gone up to bed a bit after ten, leaving the six of us in the living room.

As cliche as it was, we all had matching pajamas. Remus and Sirius had red plaid pants and black shirts, Regulus and Jolie had red striped pants and white shirts, and James and I had white and red plaid pants and red shirts. It was a Christmas gift from the Potter's.

"Padfoot-, stop hogging all the cookies." James complained as Sirius took yet another sugar cookie off of the tray.

Sirius stuck his tongue out, "I'm not hogging the cookies, I'm hungry."

"You shouldn't have that much sugar before bed."

"Really, Moony?" Sirius pouted. "You took Prongs' side."

Jolie, Regulus, and I exchanged a look. When the boys got like this it was always hard to keep a straight face. Sometimes they act like children.

"Did you hear anything from your parents?" Jolie asked, interrupting the ongoing argument between the boys.

I leaned back against the couch and crossed my arms, "Nope, it feels like I'm being disowned."

"Welcome to the club-"

Regulus hit his brother in the arm, "Not the time."

"Well let me know when someone's mum dies, then you can join my club." Remus suggested, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

We all exchanged looks with each other and started awkwardly laughing.

"You both cope with humor, and I'm pretty sure that's one of the main reasons why you work so well together." James stated matter-o-factly.

We all nodded in agreement.

Sirius and Remus shouldn't work. They're both so headstrong, they both have mommy issues, and they spent the better part of their first year at Hogwarts hating each other. But somehow, they work, and they're so incredibly happy together.

I stroked Romeo's white fur as he slept curled up in James' lap. I swear to Merlin that he likes James more than me, and he's my -, well, more like James and my cat.

"Lily and Marlene's Christmas presents for everyone got here this morning," Remus announced before he took a sip of Sirius's hot chocolate, "And Jolie, your parents sent some things over too."

Sirius laughed, "Well, I don't expect any from mummy dearest."

"Me neither." Regulus laughed.

I absentmindedly ran my fingers through James' unruly black curls. He knew about my family, and he knew how distant we already were, to begin with.

"I truly don't know whether or not my families sending any," I added, "Bea and Henry sent me some, I got them yesterday, but I don't think my mum got any, and my dad probably forgot."

James frowned, "I'm sorry, love."

"It's fine, you lot are more of my family than they are."

Remus grinned, "Damn right, we are."

"Our one year anniversary is tomorrow." James announced, switching the subject away from the topic of my broken family.

Sirius clapped his hands together, "I did know that, but I'm not going to acknowledge it because nobody told me until like a week later."

I rolled my eyes, "That's bullshit, Remus figured it out, and we didn't tell anyone else."

"Bloody hell," Remus mumbled, "Not this again."

• • • • •

May 15th, 1978

Eighteen. I'm eighteen now.

I was considered an adult in the Wizarding World at seventeen, but I wasn't really an adult. Now I am. At least, in most countries of the muggle world.

It kind of feels like a slap in the face. As soon as I board the train for the last time, and step onto Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station, I'll be thrown headfirst into adulthood.

My parents won't kick me out, but I don't want to live there, and there's no way in hell that I'll be there for more than a day, only to pack up my things. It's a rite of passage in the Beaufort family. As soon as Sebastian, my older brother, finished his schooling at Hogwarts he came home for one night to pack up all of his things, and he was gone the next morning after breakfast.

He's always swamped with work at the Ministry, but he still finds the time to write when he can.

The last I heard, he's still living in London with his girlfriend Penelope Alton. She was a Ravenclaw in the same year as him, but they didn't get to know each other until they both started working at the Ministry. Now they live together, and have been dating for almost two years.

"My mum said that there's this village in Cornwall that's beautiful," James stated, "I think it's called Tinworth-, I'm not sure."

I took a sip of my coffee and snapped my attention back to my boyfriend. The sounds of students eating breakfast in the Great Hall filled my ears as I attempted to comprehend what James was rambling on about in my half-sleep state.

"It's it pretty rural?" Remus interrupted.

James shrugged, "It's not small, but it's not necessarily a large village."

"Your obsession with wizard real estate scares me." Sirius muttered as he aggressively spread marmalade on his toast.

Remus elbowed Sirius, "Anyways, how's it feel to finally be eighteen?"

"Same as it did to be seventeen," I replied, "Except I feel like the walls of adulthood are closing around me."

Sirius shrugged, "You'll get used to it, now can we please talk about the fact that you two want to live in the middle of nowhere instead of in London?"

James scoffed, "Just because I like the idea of living in Tinworth, doesn't mean that's where we're going to live."

"Good, because you can't leave me to deal with Sirius all alone in London." Remus sighed.

"I'm not that difficult-"

"You get bored all the time, you need daily visits from Prongs or you'll start to plot my murder."

Sirius smirked, "In conclusion, you can't move to the other side of Britain."

"There's apparation, Floo-"

I cut James off, "We can have this conversation later, it's too early in the morning."

Jolie slammed her book bag on the floor before slipping into the seat beside me. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun, her button-up shirt was wrinkled, and her tie hung loosely around her neck.

"Good morning, sunshine." Sirius announced as Jolie began to pour some coffee into her mug.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Morning, everyone."

"Where were you? You were awake when I left." I asked, trying to hold back my smirk.

Jolie's crystal blue eyes met mine and she shrugged, "Morning quickie, lost track of time."

Sirius began choking on his toast, leading to Remus have to smack him on the back.

"Anyways," James coughed, "We're all hanging out tonight, right?"

We all nodded in agreement just as Regulus Black came strolling into the Great Hall. His normally tamed hair was mirroring the state of James' ever so messy hair, and his tie was undone.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother as he waved him over.

Remus and I exchanged a glance at each other while trying not to laugh.

Regulus leaned over Jolie with his arms against the table, "Good morning, happy birthday Daphne."

"Thanks," I grinned, "Looks like you had a good morning."

Jolie kicked me in the shin underneath the table.

We spent the rest of breakfast discussing our plans for tonight, as well as Sirius and Regulus getting into a heated debate on whether or not they could successfully kidnap Kreacher.