A/N: This is book two, so if you haven't read book one yet - please go back do so! Thank you!

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"Mum, who was that man you were talking to?"

My eyes briefly met Ron's and he raised an eyebrow.

"Just an old school friend," I explained to my son, "it's been a while since we've seen one another."

"Was he in Gryffindor too?"

I heard Ron let out a loud guffaw, which he quickly tried to disguise as a cough.

"No, Al, he was a Slytherin."

A look crossed Albus's face, and I could tell he was worried about something.

"Mum, what if- what if I'm in Slytherin?" his voice shook as if he was saying a swear word.

I crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above my own. I looked into his fearful grey eyes.

"Albus Severus," I said quietly, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

And the other guilted me into it, I added silently.

In fact, thinking about it, Snape had probably cared for me more than Dumbledore had after all that time.

But then it just would have been cruel to first name a child Severus.

I often thought about how much Snape had been obsessed with my mother, how he must have felt when he saw her in me. It really did not explain why he was fucking rude to me all those years. Oh well.

"But just say-"

"-then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it?" I cut in, starting to feel irritated. "It doesn't matter to me, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," I said smugly.

"I actually think your mother would have made an excellent Slytherin - she has all the qualities." Ron said. "Ow!"

I had stood up and hit him very hard.

Ron scowled at me, rubbing his arm. "See! You're just proving my point now!

The doors started slamming all along the scarlet train, and parents swarmed forwards for final kisses and to shout last minute reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and I closed the door behind him, my heart suddenly feeling heavy at the thought of being separated from my only child.

I ran alongside the train as it began to move, desperate to spend every remaining second looking at my son's pale, excited face.

"Be a good boy, Al!" I called, my voice choking slightly as the train picked up speed, gliding my son away from me. "I love you!"

I stopped running and stood, waving frantically as the train disappeared from view. The smile was still on my face, despite it feeling like I was suffering a bereavement.

"He'll be all right," Hermione murmured in my ear, "they both will."

"I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself without him," I sighed. The thought of returning home to an empty house night after night filled me with dread.

"Remember, you're always welcome to stay at ours," Hermione said, hugging me to her. "Our home is your home too, remember?"

I was thinking more along the lines of getting laid but smiled politely all the same.

"I love you guys," I murmured quietly as Ron came and joined us, wrapping the both of us in his long lanky arms.

"I'm quite fond of you guys too," Ron declared, "now come on, let me treat you all to a slice of chocolate cake. That'll cheer us up."

"I'd love to Ron, but I've got to get back to the office," I huffed. "I've already missed so much time by coming here."

"Please!" Ron barked, "I'm sure they can cope a day without you there. I know I'm not going to hurry back."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Ronald Weasley," I muttered, throwing him an incredulous look. Did he forget that I was his fucking boss?! "Besides, I've a shit load of paperwork that won't do itself-"

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU BEFORE ABOUT YOUR LANGUAGE, HENRIETTA POTTER?!"

Hermione's eyes were bulging furiously at me, her hands now on her hips. I looked down guiltily at Hugo. Oops.

"Sorry, I'm trying to keep it in check. It just slips out sometimes," I explained, giving an unapologetic shrug.

After we said our farewells, I Apparated to the Ministry, already feeling weary at the workload ahead of me.

Nodding my greetings to my colleagues, I strode through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, not stopping until I came to my chaotic, yet cosy office.

Fuck, I really needed to get an assistant, I thought as I eyed my messy desk, paperwork piled high, falling onto the floor.

I sat down, getting stuck in as my thoughts turned to Albus and I wondered how he was finding the journey, wherever he and Rose were making any new friends.

My eyes drifted to the photo on my desk. It was a photo taken over the summer in Ron and Hermione's back garden. It had been a lovely summers afternoon and Ron had eagerly got his camera out, taking pictures of the kids before we lost them to Hogwarts. In this particular photo, Albus had thrown his arm around my shoulder, laughing happily into the camera. With our smiling faces side by side, you could see the similarities between us. He had my hair, my nose, my smile.

He had had a happy childhood, despite it just being the two of us. He never seemed to mind, asking only once about his father. I simply told him that there was no father, that it had always just been him and me. He seemed happy enough with that explanation. For now.

And then my thoughts turned to the encounter on the platform. To Draco. I tried not to allow myself to think about him too much. It still hurt like hell. But seeing him, touching him... it brought everything flooding back. All those feelings that refused to go away and die.

But he had his own family. His beautiful wife, who would not hurt a fly. His son, who looked astonishingly like himself at that age. It had floored me.

I glanced back to the moving photo of Albus's smiling face. He did not look much like his father. Only the eyes. He had inherited his eyes.

A sudden commotion made me jerk my head up at the closed door. I could hear Carol, the main receptionist, shouting at someone.

"YOU CAN'T JUST COME STORMING IN HERE!"

But whoever she was addressing would not listen, it seemed.

"YOU HAVEN'T GOT AN APPOINT-"

I jumped up as my door flew open. There stood the imposing suited figure of Draco Malfoy, a familiar scowl set upon his pale pointed face.

"I'm so sorry Miss Potter," Carol breathlessly wheezed behind him, jumping up slightly to see over Draco's shoulder. "He just barged in demanding to see you. I'll call security."

"There's no need, Carol," I said at once, dismissing her. "It's okay, he can come in."

"Oh," she looked nonplussed, blinking up at Draco. "Well - if you're sure..."

I nodded and she scurried away.

My eyes met Draco's who was still stood in the doorway, his face still set in an angry scowl.

"Tell me, Potter," he growled. "Is he mine? Is Albus my son?"

***