Chapter Text
Harry stepped onto the platform one hand on James’ shoulder, automatically stepping to the side and turning them to watch for Dean. His partner was still a little wary of stepping through solid-looking brick walls even after all these years.
Dean didn’t keep them waiting long, barely a moment, and he was standing on Platform 9 ¾. The sunlight glinting off the golden brown curls that belonged to the little girl in his arms.
“Come on Dad! We have to go find Rose!” James cried, tugging on Harry’s jumper insistently.
Harry shook his head at James and looked to Dean who had now joined them.
“Whoa there, Jamie, train’s not gonna leave without ya,” Dean said.
“But Dad! It left Dad behind one year!”
“That was my second year, and I didn’t even make it onto the platform. We’re here now, it’ll be alright,” Harry reminded James again.
Their son was so excited to be attending Hogwarts this year. He was positively terrified the train would leave without him on it.
“Harry! Dean! Over here!” Harry turned to see Ron’s head above the crowd. One hand up and waving madly.
“Come on then,” Harry said to his family as they began to weave their way through the crowd, heading for the large group of redheads. Hermione spotted them when they were only a few yards away, crying out as she did.
“There’s my favourite goddaughter! Oh, aren’t you so pretty in that dress!”
Harry rolled his eyes and grinned as his daughter giggled and made grabby hands at her Aunt Hermione. James quickly ran to Rose and they began to whisper behind their hands, no doubt plotting to take over the school with the map and invisibility cloak Harry had handed over to James that morning.
“Shion’s your only goddaughter, ‘Mione.”
Hermione just raised an eyebrow at Harry and gave his slightly swollen stomach a look.
“For now.” Was all she said before she pulled Shion from Dean’s arms and started whispering with her conspiringly.
Harry tried not to twitch and rest a hand on his belly, he didn’t want the rumours to be spread about during James’ first week of school. Instead, Dean came to stand next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist as he pulled him close.
“You don’t know that for sure yet.”
“I can settle the debate if you like,” came a dreamy voice from behind them.
Harry spun and grinned at the blonde woman who walked up to stand beside them, her twin boys following her as their father argued with a bowtruckle.
“Hello Luna,” greeted Ron, “How’s the wrackspurts today?”
Luna heaved a great sigh and looked at Lorcan and Lysander who had now joined James and Rose’s conversation, both with matching multi-coloured frames perched on their heads. From the sounds of it, James was trying to teach the twins the different pronunciations for the word ‘Dad’.
“No, see,” he said pointing at Harry, “it’s Dad,” his accent becoming more British as he spoke, shortening the word and speaking quickly, “and D a d,” he said, pointing to Dean, his accent becoming decidedly more American, with a hint of a drawl. “It’s not confusing ,” he insisted.
Harry turned his laugh into a cough as he and Dean shared a smirk. It wasn’t confusing at home, not for them at least. They always knew who was being spoken to or called out for. But for anyone not well versed in their lives and how their children spoke, it was terribly perplexing.
“They are very thick, I was lucky to find some more glasses. Anyway, do you want to know?” Luna asked, interrupting Harry’s eavesdropping and answering Ron’s question.
Harry shook his head and Hermione pouted.
“How can you not want to know, Harry? You’ve got to! There’s so much to prepare for!”
Dean saved Harry from answering, “It’s nice to have a good surprise, don’t get many of those.”
Harry smiled at Dean and pressed into him a little more. Dean wasn’t all that fussed on what gender their kids were. He had only asked Harry that this time if they had another boy, could they call it Bobby.
“Where’s Teddy?” Ron asked, changing the topic and interrupting his wife, stopping her from trying to get the goods from Luna.
Harry rolled his eyes and Dean made an amused sound in the back of his throat.
“Teddy’s playing matchmaker. He’s with Sam and they’re coming with Bill and Fleur.”
“Matchmaker? Isn’t Victorie a little young for Sam? And Fleur’s married.”
“Ronald!” Hermione cried, smacking her husband on the shoulder.
“Ow! What?!”
Harry rolled his lips together, trying not to laugh as his best mate put his foot in it again.
“Gabrielle’s visiting from France,” Harry told him as the train whistled.
“Oh!” Hermione cried glancing at the train, she passed Shion back to Harry and turned to Rose, running through a list with her daughter, ensuring she had everything she needed.
Harry crouched and set Shion on the ground as James came over to say goodbye. Harry looked up into his son’s eyes.
“We better get a call tonight,” Harry said, reminding his son of the mirrors in his trunk. “I want to know how the feast was.”
“Me too!” cried Shion, “You haf to tell me aaaaaalllll about it!”
“And what house I get into?” James asked nervously.
“That too,” Harry grinned. Though he had no doubt of where James would go, his son was a Gryffindor through and through, just like him, and as Harry thought, just like Dean.
Dean’s hand came down onto James’s shoulder and squeezed it in assurance.
“You know both me and your dad don’t care what house you go into. You just have fun okay?”
James smiled up at Dean and then wrapped his arms around his waist for a long hug. James let Dean go and turned to Shion, his little sister’s big green eyes were starting to fill with tears.
James hugged her too, and had Harry not been so close he would have missed James’ whispered words, “I’ll miss you, Shi.”
Dean gathered up his daughter as they parted and Harry opened his arms, James immediately stepped into them and they didn’t let go until the train whistled again.
“Okay, you better go,” Harry said, the tears sticking his throat together. He cleared it with a cough and continued, “You need to get a good carriage. Make sure you don’t prank Teddy, he’s Head Boy this year. He’ll have to take points if he knows it’s you.”
James nodded and grabbed his trunk, running over to Rose and pulling her to the train. “Bye!” He called over his shoulder.
Harry stood and waved as James clambered onto the train, eyes darting around for Teddy. He was suddenly dwarfed from behind. Teddy’s over long arms wrapping around his chest as he was squeezed tightly.
“I didn’t forget you, Dad. But I gotta go! I’ll be late otherwise. Call you tonight.” Teddy said, before dropping his voice to a whisper, “Operation ‘Get Uncle Sammy A Girl’ is a go.”
One last squeeze for Harry and then a quick hug for Dean and Shion, and Teddy was climbing into the train himself, all limbs and flashing teal hair. Harry looked over to see Bill and Fleur holding hands and Sam trying not to imitate the blush on Gabrielle’s cheeks as they looked anywhere but at each other.
Harry snorted and elbowed Dean, tilting his head a couple of times in their direction. The shit-eating grin that spread across his husbands face was spectacular.
Looking back at train once more as the wheels began to turn, it didn’t take him long to spot his boys. James and Rose were hanging out the window, Lorcan and Lysander leaning on them both as they all waved at their parents.
Teddy was in a compartment a few windows down with his friends and he waved to them before resuming his conversation.
Harry leant against Dean, waving until the train was no longer in sight before he activated their portkey home.