EPILOGUE
The Journey From Platform Nine And Three-Quarters
September 2nd, 1991

Daphne woke up first, pulling her hair up in a messy ponytail. She kissed James on the cheek and headed to the kitchen so she could prepare breakfast for the children. She knew Harry adored pancakes with hot chocolate, so she prepared it carefully. A slight feeling of sadness hit her once the smell of the pancakes reached her nose because this would be the last breakfast for Harry until Christmas break.

Over the years, things had gotten happier and better for James and Daphne. James was much more at peace with life in general, he would visit Lily's grave on her birthdays and the date of the accident, and also didn't miss the opportunity to tell all about her to Harry. Harry had understood rapidly that Daphne was not his real mum, though he never minded it and even grew accustomed to calling her that. At first, Daphne was reluctant to let him call her that but James reassured her that it was okay.

"Smells good," James's voice reverberated as he sneaked his arms around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder. "Are you cooking Harry's favourite?"

"Well, yes," she replied. "It is his first day after all."

"Look at you being an amazing mum," he cooed, slightly teasing her as she pushed her away playfully. "Harry's going to be happy."

"Lena is not going to be," Daphne told him with a chuckle. "It is too early for her," she snorted.

James chuckled in her ear, "Well, Lena is a grumpy one. Just like her mum," he joked as Daphne rolled her eyes, not bothering to push him away as he started peppering her neck with kisses. "Is your mum coming today?"

"Yes, she refused to not be here for Harry's big day."

"I find it rather interesting how much she loves Harry."

Daphne hummed, "Weirdly, me too. But, I'm not going to stop her. Even though she wasn't a good mother all the time, she is doing pretty good at being a grandmother."

And that was shockingly true. Amalthea had been present for every milestone of Harry and Helena. When Amalthea first met Helena, it was love at first sight—she couldn't get enough of her. And weirdly, Amalthea noticed the same thing as Daphne: Helena behaved like Evan in some ways.

James pecked her lips sweetly before noticing he was going to wake up Harry and Helena. By the time they returned, the table was ready and Daphne rushed to Harry to pepper his face with kisses.

"Mum!" He screeched, making Helena frown. "I'm not six anymore."

Daphne rolled her eyes jokingly, ruffling his hair, "Right, you're just eleven."

"Eleven is a big number, Daph," James reminded her as Harry agreed, sitting down.

"Why is it so early?" Helena mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Can't Harry just go by himself?"

Harry poked his tongue out as she copied him. James sighed, "Lena, sweetheart, I'm sure you will be happy to see us all on the platform with you when it is your time to go."

Helena groaned, using her fork to poke at her food, "I—what if I don't want to go?"

Daphne frowned, taken back by her words before reaching across the table to caress her hand softly, "Helena, love, you've been talking about it for years. You love Hogwarts."

"I know. I'm just worried it might go wrong," she explained to her parents as Harry didn't care in the slightest. "Harry, which house do you want to be in?"

"Gryffindor!" He replied back excitedly and everyone knew why he wanted to be there.

First of all, James kept talking of Gryffindor to Harry. He said the rooms were great, the common room was brilliant and the Quidditch team perfect. Then, of course, there was no doubt that Ron Weasley would be sorted in this as well and Harry wanted to be with friends. So, Gryffindor was the safest choice.

"Right," Helena whispered quietly, eating her food and Daphne glanced at her to make sure she was okay.

It was always easy to see if Helena was okay. Everyone could read it on her face. After a moment, Daphne looked away and concluded she was just not a morning person.

Harry hurried everyone to get ready on time, especially his sister who was practically dragging her feet on the floor when they walked outside. No one could really blame Harry for being excited. While James shared a heated conversation with Harry about Quidditch, Daphne took Helena's hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze. Helena smiled at her mum, squeezing it back.

"My sweethearts!" Amalthea said, kneeling down to hug Harry and Helena who rushed into her arms. "Oh, Harry, how are you? Excited, dear?"

Harry nodded his head vigorously, "Can't wait to be there. I'll send you a letter tonight because mum and dad got me an owl."

"Oh, lovely! What's her name?" Amalthea queried, setting her eyes on the white owl in her cage. "Beautiful creature indeed."

"Her name's Hedwig."

"Beautiful," she then turned her head to the side to smile at Helena. "And you, my beautiful child, how are you?"

"Okay..."

Amalthea hummed, not pushing her too much, "Very well. Let's go, shall we?"

The family walked through the train station before reaching the wall, "Alright, this is it," Daphne talked, pointing at the wall. The only obstacle separating Harry from starting his year at Hogwarts. Her hands laid on Harry's shoulders as he gulped. "All you have to do is run through it."

"Close your eyes, it helps," James reassured, holding Helena's hand in his.

As expected, the train station was packed at such an early hour. Despite Helena being grumpy all morning because of two things: Harry leaving for Hogwarts and waking up a little too early; she seemed to be waking up now, her eyes wide as she watched some other young wizards run through the wall.

"Listen to your father, Harry," a familiar voice echoed and Daphne turned around to see the Weasley. Percy, Fred, George and Ron had their hands tightened around their trailer, waiting to go. It was Ron's first year as well. "Oh, Daphne, how nice it is to see you."

"Molly!" Daphne cheered, embracing the red-hair. "It's finally Ron's tour, eh?"

"Finally," Molly breathed out. "Our sweet Ginny's next," Daphne glanced at Ginny and Helena who were already talking. As she was about to answer, Molly gasped. "Merlin, they're going to miss the train."

The two families hurried to get through the wall and soon enough, they stumbled upon families similar to theirs with their children. Most of them had their robes on, though Harry didn't bother to put it on. The siffle echoed and Harry looked back at his parents and Helena.

"Should I say goodbye now?"

James shrugged, gulping, "If you wish to."

"Hurry up because dad is about to cry," Helena added with a snort as Harry bit his lower lip. "Harry, hurry or they might leave without you! Ron's almost on the train."

Harry, reluctant to go, sighed and hugged James first, "I'll miss you, dad," he whispered and James simply kissed his head and gave him a manly pat on the back.

"Don't forget to send us lots of letters," Daphne reminded him as he nodded, embracing her in a hug as well. "We love you, Harry. Be careful."

"I will," he promised. "Don't be too grumpy when I'm gone, Helena. Grumpy doesn't suit you," he said, hugging his little sister. He then finished with Amalthea. "I love you everyone!" He added with a little wave as he hurried in the train.

That was it, Harry was off to Hogwarts. He sat down in the compartment he shared with Ron and waved from his seat, a huge smile displayed on his face as he said goodbye to his family. None of them realised the train was moving until Harry was out of sight and families began to leave.

They went home, Daphne and James cooked dinner as Helena played with Harry's toy in the living room. For the first night, Helena slept in Harry's bedroom. The next morning, an owl pecked at the window, waiting for someone to open. A letter was tied to her paw and James reached for it. He let out a screech, throwing his fist in the air as he announced to the family that Harry had made it to Gryffindor.

Everything was perfect.

—————
authors note, okay, so... we've reached the end of this book, after a long time updating. i fell in love with daphne and james as soon as i got the idea, then fabian came along and it was love at first sight but then... i couldn't resist having my two first lovers back together for the huge finale!

so thank you to everyone who read, commented and even voted, or simply read in complete silence (i know how those ads can be annoying and we all turn off our wifi to read a full book).

also, enormous thank you to soulctrI who have been my number one fan since i published this book! i love you so much!

however, the series will continue! i'm planning on making a book focused on helena's life at hogwarts. if you like the idea of reading about helena, tell me! it's also a way for me to keep james and daphne for a little longer because i'm not ready to let go of them yet. upcoming book of this series is called 'ties that bind' and for the love interest, i might go for neville and theodore, not entirely sure though!!!

anyways, ending my little author's note by saying how grateful i am to have such amazing readers who love and enjoy my books as much as i love writing them. thank you!! 💕