19 years later
Sunlight streamed in through the curtains, causing me to open my eyes slowly, suddenly very aware that it was time to wake up. I laid still for a moment, blinking, trying to ignore the sense of dread that was sitting on my stomach.
There was a noise beside me, and I glanced over, a smile playing at the corner of my lips. Fred was stirring, his golden eyelashes catching the sunlight as he awoke and stretched his arms out towards me.
"Awake already?" He murmured softly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him tightly. I relaxed against him, inhaling his sweet scent.
"Just nervous for today, that's all," I spoke softly, and Fred kissed my forehead.
"She'll be alright, Ava," Fred whispered in my ear, "She's just as feisty as you, I think she'll manage."
"I don't know if that's a compliment or not," I gave Fred a withering look, and he kissed me, pulling me onto his lap. I laughed, leaving a trail of kisses down his throat, a smile still upon my lips.
"Definitely a compliment," He murmured, his voice quiet, "But I can always repay you if you're still offended..."
Just as I raised my head to ask him just how he would repay me, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Mum! Dad! Aren't you meant to be helping me pack?"
"Coming!" Fred yelled, and I rolled my eyes.
"Pay me back later?" I winked.
"Definitely."
I grabbed my dressing gown and stepped out into the corridor, where Euphemia was standing, nervously checking the list of equipment she needed for Hogwarts for the hundredth time.
"Mia!" I snatched the list out of her hands, "We have everything on this list!"
She crossed her arms, "But what if there's something we missed?"
As Fred stepped up behind me and wrapped his hands around my waist, I suddenly became very aware of how old our daughter had become. She was no longer a tiny, crying baby, but an eleven-year-old girl, with messy red hair down to her shoulders, a fringe that she could never get to sit right, and a pair of glasses that she hated to wear. She pushed them up her nose, a habit that reminded me of Harry, and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll go and wake Monty up, while you two check the list again."
She flounced off before we could protest.
"Did you say feisty?" I muttered with a laugh, and Fred squeezed me tightly in response.
An hour later, after we'd checked the list three more times, eaten breakfast, and piled all of Mia's things into the car, we were almost ready to leave. I was crouched at the bottom of the stairs, in the process of tying Fleumont's shoelaces. Monty was only six, with a mop of red curls and a pair of even thicker glasses than Mia's which made his eyes look larger. He blinked through them at me, "Why don't you use magic to tie my laces Mummy?"
"Because I like to remind you and Mia that you don't have to use magic for everything, you know."
"But Daddy uses magic!" Monty protested as I stood up.
"Your father has a different opinion on the matter," I smiled, "Now come on, in the car!"
We left the house at last, piling into the car and making our way to King's Cross Station. As we parked and pulled Mia's luggage out of the boot, I noticed how busy it was around us, filled with people on their way to work. I hoped we wouldn't stand out, and was suddenly very thankful that we were meeting the others on Platform 9 ¾ and not anywhere else.
"Mum! I thought you said we were meeting the others on the platform?"
I smiled, "We are, Mia, but we said it would look slightly less conspicuous if we met on Platform 9 and ¾ rather than in the middle of King's Cross Station."
"Ava, you say it like we have a large family." Fred remarked sarcastically, and I whacked him around the head.
"Daddy..." Fleumont dragged his feet, "Is Mia really leaving us?"
Fred and I shared a worried glance and looked down at him, as he blinked at us through his glasses. Fred tightened his grip on our son's hand.
"Monty, Mia isn't leaving forever. We're going to see her at Christmas and Easter, and then she'll be back for the whole summer holidays."
"And," I added, reaching out and patting Monty's head fondly, "She already promised she's going to write to us once a week, didn't you Mia?"
Mia turned around and grabbed onto Monty's other hand, "Monty, I'm not going to be gone forever. And I'll always write, like I promised Mum."
We'd reached the wall between platforms 9 and 10. I expected Mia to be nervous, but instead the young girl tugged on Monty's hand.
"Run through with me?"
Monty nodded eagerly, his bright red curls catching the light as he did.
"Goodbye Mummy and Daddy!" Monty waved at them, letting go of Fred's hand as he and Mia prepared to run towards the wall. They pushed against the trolley, and disappeared within a second.
"We could just walk away right now..." Fred mused, "And leave our kids for someone else."
"I'm sure Harry could take them on for us. Or Ron, he's got a soft spot for Monty..." I grinned. Fred chuckled, leaning forwards and kissing me on the lips. I leant into him for a moment as he slinked his wrist around my waist, and then paused.
"But really, Fred, we should probably go and look for our kids."
"Yep," He murmured, tugging me with a smirk towards the brick wall, "I guess we should."
Stepping through the brick wall reminded me of my first time going to Hogwarts and I felt a thrill of excitement, replacing the earlier feeling of dread. I couldn't wait for Mia to have the same experience, and I knew that Fred felt the same way.
As we stepped onto the platform with smoke billowing across it, Fred sighed, "Well, we've lost them. Goodbye Euphemia and Fleumont Weasley. You will be missed."
We began to walk forwards, and I caught sight of Ginny and Harry standing with Ron and Hermione. Standing with Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo were Monty and Mia.
"Hey!" Harry called out to us, "Did you abandon your kids?"
"Well, we considered it-" Fred began, but when I caught sight of Monty's eyes widen, I slapped my hand over his mouth.
"No, we didn't, but Mia decided to be all grown up and go through on her own."
Fred beamed and kissed my palm before grabbing Mia's luggage and lifting it onto the train. I moved towards Mia and Monty as I heard them discuss which Houses they would be in with Lily and Hugo.
"Do you mind what House you're in, Mia?" I asked gently. She shook her head with a smile.
"Well, you were in Slytherin Mum, and you turned out alright."
"Alright?" I gasped, "I just turned out 'alright'?"
Fred reappeared beside me, "Yeah, she's right. You did turn out alright."
"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you. But no pressure." Ron grinned. I reached forwards and whacked his arm when I caught sight of Albus' and Rose's faces.
"He doesn't mean it," Ginny and Hermione told their children soothingly. I was about to say something to Albus when I felt Fred's grip around my waist tighten. I glanced at him hesitantly for a moment, and then followed his gaze to see three figures standing nearby. My stomach jolted.
It was Draco, standing with Astoria and their son Scorpius. I hadn't seen him in years, and he definitely looked older. They all did, I supposed, but I hadn't seen him in the flesh since he was seventeen.
He glanced up at their group, nodded curtly at Harry before turning away. Just before he did, his gaze settled on my face for a moment. He looked away.
"So that's little Scorpius," Ron began to say, but I was already breaking away from Fred and walking towards the Malfoys.
"Ava," Fred tried to catch my wrist, but I pulled away. I murmured to him, "Just going to say hello." When I saw the expressions on the rest of my family's faces, I smiled at them, "Relax."
As I got closer to Draco, he glanced up at me with a surprised expression.
"Hello," I waved my fingers as I approached. Draco seemed to hesitate slightly, but I recognised the smile in his eyes as he spoke, "Well, it's been a while, hasn't it Ava?"
"Yes!" I turned to Astoria, a very beautiful woman who looked slightly too fragile, "You must be Astoria! I'm Ava Weasley. It's lovely to meet you!"
Astoria had looked rather hesitant at first- I understood why, with the gossip that had circulated about the Malfoy family- but she seemed to relax.
"Lovely to meet you too, Ava," She reached out and stroked Scorpius' hair, "This is our son, Scorpius. He's starting at Hogwarts today. Is one of your children starting today?"
"Yes, Euphemia," I pointed over at our daughter before smiling at Scorpius, "Are you looking forward to starting at Hogwarts?"
The young blonde boy nodded, but there was something in his manner that told me that he was incredibly nervous. I glanced back up at Draco, who was watching me cautiously. I gave him a gentle smile.
"It was nice to see you. I should probably get back to my family before Fred drags me back himself, but maybe I'll see you around. Good luck, Scorpius!" I gave him a thumbs up, and Scorpius' lips twitched into a smile.
Draco nodded slowly, "You too, Ava. Really. See you."
I turned around quickly and walked towards the others, who had been watching me not very discreetly.
"Okay?" Harry asked as I approached, and I nodded at him. Fred slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it tightly.
"Aunt Ava!" James gushed, "You missed! Teddy and Victoire were snogging!"
I couldn't help but laugh, "James, am I supposed to be surprised?"
"No, you're supposed to be absolutely grossed out!" He told me, his eyes wide.
I snorted, but didn't have time to retaliate as Harry glanced at his watch and murmured, "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."
There was a rush as the adults turned to hug their children. Fred let go of my hand as he reached out and picked Monty up. Mia glanced up at us both with a slightly nervous expression.
"You will reply to my letters, won't you?" She asked, and Fred shook his head matter-of-factly.
"Nah, we'll just leave them to pile up. Of course we'll apply to them, Mia. Unless you'd rather Monty replied to them instead."
"I LOVE writing letters! I write letters all the time!" Monty gushed, and Mia quirked an eyebrow upwards.
"Monty, you can't write full sentences yet."
"I can!"
"Can't!"
"Can!"
I clapped my hands, "Mia, of course we'll reply to your letters. Let us know what house you're in. I was going to ask Neville to tell me straight away but I decided I'd rather hear it from you."
I reached down and hugged my daughter tightly, suddenly realising how much I would miss her while she was gone.
"I love you. It will be Christmas before you know it."
When I pulled away, I took Monty from Fred so that he could say goodbye as well. Mia gave Monty a wave before rushing towards the train and hopping on.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Albus still hadn't boarded the train and Harry was crouched down in front of him, murmuring quietly. I glanced at Ginny, and their eyes met. I didn't know what to say without saying it, so I just smiled. Ginny nodded gratefully, turning back to wave at James as he settled down in a compartment with his friends. A moment later, as the doors began to slam shut, Albus ran towards the train and leapt on.
I noticed that many students had their faces pressed up against the windows, staring at Harry.
"Why are they all staring?" Albus asked from the carriage, and Ron beamed.
"Don't let it worry you. It's me, I'm extremely famous."
I sought out Mia's face on the train and waved at her, as Fred and Monty did the same.
"This feels weird," Fred murmured, "Can we take her back home? I don't want her to leave yet."
"You've changed your tune," I smiled, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek, "No. We can't. She's excited as well. She'll flourish there, I'm sure."
The train disappeared from view, and I felt an odd pang in my chest. I leant my head against Fred's shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me.
"Like you said, it will be Christmas before you know it."
Standing on the platform, surrounded by everybody and waving our children off to the next part of their lives, I suddenly felt a wave of gratitude for the old man that had turned up on the doorstep of my care home over twenty years ago, and given me the family I'd never known I'd needed. I hadn't had a nightmare for years, and I was happy.
All was well.
A/N -
Thank you so much to everybody that's stuck with this for the last few years - sorry that it's taken me so long to finish! I hope that it's been worth the wait. :)