The Last Horcrux.

Chapter 1: King's Cross

Lily Potter had watched her brothers, her cousins, her family friends' wave goodbye from the scarlet Hogwarts train, watched them all swan off in their robes. She had read the letters they sent home and heard how Albus was on the Qudditch team and how Rosie was top in transfiguration and Roxanne had three detentions already and was living up to her father's name.

Sitting in her room, she slowly and deliberately drew a fat X over the August 31st square on her Appleby Arrows calendar. Her dad had laughed endearingly at her when he had seen the calendar, and told her that crossing off the last square was the best feeling in the world. And it was.

Suddenly from downstairs, there came a chorus of loud, laughing voices, shocking Lily awake. Eager to see her family, she took one last look at the calendar, biting her lip happily. She placed it atop the folded clothes in her open trunk, zipped her trunk shut and thundered downstairs.

"Hey Lily," several voices called out, as herd of relatives unbuttoned coats and put down bags. There was a family gathering at the Potter house that night, a send-off for the new first years, Lily and her cousins Dominque and Hugo. Immediately, the adults were sitting in their usual places, downing butterbeer and reminiscing. They were a motley crew, mostly red haired, and fiercely loyal to one and all.

The famous Harry Potter grinned lazily sitting beside his son James and his good friend and brother in law, Ron Weasley. Harry's friends had come become his family, not just by law, and although it went unspoken, Ron certainly knew of it. Ron's hand rested on top of that of another great friend of the Potters, his wife Hermione who wisely ignored the tales of her husband's exploits and instead talked politely to her brothers-in-law, George and Percy. Percy's wife Audrey listened but her eyes were wandering, keeping an eye on her daughters Molly and Lucy, who stood by the doorway chatting with their cousins, Roxanne, Fred, Rosie and Hugo. While Roxanne and Molly argued over Qudditch teams, Lily sipped hot chocolate and smiled, her brother Al rechecked his homework and added little fragments of story his father had forgotten, and James laughed and proclaimed the lot of it to be a load of ol' codswallop.

"Dad, you so did not come up with the Gillyweed idea!"

"I never said I did," Harry grinned. "I'm just saying it was a good idea."

"The night before the task," Hermione said, shuddering so that a few strands of curly brown hair slipped out of her elegant bun. "I should have drown him myself for that. The very last minute!"

"Like father like son, eh James?" Harry and James bumped fists together, both of them identical in their casual slouching positions.

"Actually, James, I noticed you spent a remarkably small amount of time on that fabled holiday homework," Ginny frowned, "that did get done didn't it?"

"Mum, honestly, do you think I would dare go into Professor Longbottom's class without his essay done? You know how intimidating he is..... With those large Armenian daisies..."

"They were rare Arizonian Marigolds and it was so sweet of him to bring them when he came for tea the other day, giving you peek of what's coming ahead in fourth year! You will not take Neville's sweet nature for grant-"

"Mum, cool it, Herbology is like, simple."

"Well, then if you get a P in it again, I'm sure we'll take great pleasure in shunning you as the simpleton you really are, James Sirius."

"It was a surprise test, how many times, a surprise test! Only like three people got Es and no one-"

As the rest of the family egged James on and offered their comments, Lucy Weasley caught her youngest cousin's eye.