𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 ➵ j. potter

35 | new beginnings

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" -
Beautiful Boy by John Lennon

༶•┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈•༶

—IT HAD BEEN A good few months since the incident and it was no September 1st. The day they would be sending Harry off to Hogwarts for his first year. A lot had happened since the incident on New Year's Eve. James still hadn't proposed, he decided to wait until the moment was right but he knew he wanted to do it soon. The little family had successfully moved into the farm house and had it decorated beautifully thanks to Remus and Isabella who appeared to be the dream team when it came to such things.

Paul and his new boyfriend Mark were still going strong and Isabella and James had officially hired him to help out on the farm and show them how to do things. Mostly Isabella though as James had been given an offer to come back and be an auror again and with lots of encouragement from Isabella, James agreed much to Sirius's happiness. He now had his desk partner back.

Mark and Isabella were still as close as ever as you can imagine. Paul had done all of his learning about farms and would be there to handle all of the things that Isabella wouldn't be able to wrap her head around without him. It was still chaos when the two were together. Paul would be laughing at her falling over one minute before acting like a single mum who works two jobs.

And as for Isabella's dad Scott well he had been starting to come over more which Harry just loved. He would always drag him off so that he could get him to help build his Lego sets. Isabella also enjoyed having her dad around more often, she had been missing him recently so it was nice to have a catch up every week.

And now it was time for Harry to go off to school. Where does the time go?

"Harry, honey, come on we're going to be late!" Isabella shouted up the stairs and James passed her her coat. She slipped it on over her shoulders as Harry came running down the stairs with his trunk held tightly in his left hand. He jumped off the last step with a bright smile on his face, excited to get going. "You ready to go?" James asked Harry, placing a hand on his head. "Yup" Harry nodded confidently.

"Have you got your wand?" Isabella asked. Harry's eyes widened ever so slightly. He slowly began retreating up the stairs backwards before turning around and running upstairs again making the two adults laugh. "Now I'm ready" Harry assured them, holding his wand in the air. "Are you sure?" James asked making Harry nod. "Okay, if you're sure shall we get going?" James questioned and Harry once again nodded eagerly.

The family of three headed outside onto the porch and down the stairs towards the car, past the tree that James had managed to make a swing on. The fresh countryside air wafted around them as they opened up their car doors and jumped inside. James put the keys into the ignition and then they were off on their way towards Kings Cross Station. They could of apparated but they decided driving there would be a lot nicer.

"Are you excited, Harry?" Isabella asked, looking at him in the rear-view mirror. "Yeah but I guess I'm a bit nervous too" He shrugged, looking down at his shoes. It was obviously now just hitting him that he wasn't going to be coming home every day after school anymore. "That's understandable, it's a big step buddy but you know what, everything will be okay and if you're ever feeling down you can always send us a letter" Isabella assured him, looking over her shoulder to give him a comforting smile.

Harry nodded, giving Isabella a smile back. One smile from Isabella seemed to calm even the biggest of worries a person could have. It's rare to ever see Isabella without a smile on her face. Her rule in life is to always smile as you never know who might need that smile. A smile had the power to make someone's day just a little brighter and if she can do her bit to help people in even the littlest of ways then she'll do it.

"What if I don't make any friends though?" Harry asked, looking between his two parental figures in the front seats. "I promise you, Harry, you'll make friends, I mean who wouldn't want to be friends with you, you're awesome!" James exclaimed encouragingly. "And of there is people who don't like you it's their loss buddy, there missing out on being friends with one of the coolest people I know" Isabella reached back and gave Harry's hand a light squeeze before looking back at the road ahead.

...

After a half hour of so drive they made it safely to Kings Cross Station in London. They all exited the car and James helped Harry out with his trunk. "You ready?" Isabella whispered down to Harry who looked up at her after taking a deep breath and gave her a nod before James came over to them, Harry's trunk in hand. He handed the trunk over to the young boy before they began walking towards the Station in-front of them.

Harry walked in front of the couple who walked hand in hand behind him as they walked inside the train station. "Right James you'll have to lead the way, me and Harry don't know the way" Isabella told James as she placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. Obviously as she didn't go to Hogwarts she didn't know how to get there. So with that James led the along a platform before stopping in between platforms nine and ten.

"Is this it? I heard it was more hidden than this" Isabella asked confusedly as she stared at the train teach next to the platform. "That's because it is more hidden than that" James stated before pointing towards a brick wall. "You just have to run at that brick wall" James explained simply making Isabella burst out laughing. "That's a good one James, really clever, so where really is that train?"

When James just stared at her blankly her smile quickly faded. "Are you having a laugh? I hope you're joking" Her eyebrows were raised in shock as she looked between James and the wall. "We can all do it together and it will be fine I promise" James reassured her, taking both hers and Harry's hands in his. He looked around him before beginning to take a quick run towards the wall despite Isabella's protests.

Harry and Isabella closed their eyes tightly and braces for a hard impact but it never came. "You can open your eyes you two" James told them with a laugh. Isabella opened one of her eyes to take a peek but what she was met with made her open both her eyes and look around in awe. A beautiful, bright red steam train sat waiting for all the children to board. "Pretty cool right?" James whispered to her and she could only nod in response.

He led them both closer towards the train where they would say their goodbyes as the warning whistle sounded. "Have the best time okay, don't get into too much trouble and remember to have fun" James instructed as he brought Harry into a tight hug which the boy returned happily. They stood like that for a while before it was Isabella turn for hugs. "I know you're going to do great things and I'm already so proud of you. I hope you have the best time and I love you" Isabella whispered as she held the young boy close to her, savouring the hug as much as she could before it was time to let go.

"I'll miss you guys" Harry told them with a sad smile. "We'll miss you too buddy" Isabella smiled lightly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Love you buddy!" James shouted after Harry as made his way towards the train and handed his trunk over to the man packing the bags on. He turned around to look at them before running back over to them and giving them one last hug. "We love you Harry" James whispered before letting go and letting him run back to the train.

They watched longingly as Harry boarded the train and shut the door behind him. Only a couple seconds later the train began to depart from the station. Harry opened the window and poked his head out and waved to them as the train drove off. Isabella and James smiled brightly as they waved him off. It was a bitter sweet moment as they watched him travel off into the distance until he was no longer in sight.

They knew he was getting older but it was still hard to let go. James wrapped and arm around Isabella as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"What now?"