By the time they get back to the compartment, it’s completely crowded. Ginny and Neville have returned, along with Albus, Scorpius, Lily, Hugo, Rose, Lorcan and Lysander.

“Oh, thank Merlin,” Harry whispers under his breath. They’re all here. They’re all safe. He’s still holding onto Jamie, and he only lets go when Lily runs up to him.

“Dad,” Lily whispers, sounding choked up, and Harry hugs her immediately. From the corner of his eye, he can see Ginny rush towards them, and then somehow, all four of them are trapped in a hug. Albus approaches them, and Harry tugs him into the hug without another thought, pulling back only once he’s reassured himself that everything’s safe. Everyone’s safe. For now.

“I brought chocolate,” Neville says, handing Harry a large chunk. Harry breaks it off, hands the larger piece to Jamie immediately.

“What happened?” Ginny demands.

“Dementors,&rdquo ; Harry says, and slumps into a seat. His knees suddenly feel weak, like they can’t him up anymore. Years of experience, and he still hates Dementors more than anything else. “James and I chased them off. Should be fine now.”

“James and you—does that mean—James, did you do a Patronus?” Ginny asks.

Jamie nods, and then asks, “Where are the others?” He sounds weak, and Harry notices that he hasn’t had a bite of his chocolate yet. “Freddie and Dani and—and Leah, where are they?”

“They’l l be safe, Jamie,” Ginny says.

“Roxanne went to find them,” Lorcan says. “I think they’re all in the Prefects’ carriage.”

“Which means they’ll be safe, Jamie,” Harry says. “Eat the chocolate before you do anything else. It really helps.”

“Professor Lupin always used to say that,” Neville says, sitting back down next to Harry.

“Is that—Teddy’s dad?” Lily asks in a small voice.

It’s a sign of how shaken up Jamie is that he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he takes a bite of the chocolate and then offers it to Lily, who leans in to share it with him immediately. Jamie ruffles Lily’s hair, but he doesn’t say anything else. Harry remembers how he felt when he first faced a Dementor, and he thinks Jamie’s dealing with it far better than he did.

“It was, yeah. He taught us Defence for a year. When I was your age, Al,” Harry says. The adrenaline is leeching out of him, leaving nothing behind but exhaustion and relief.

Albus’s eyes are wide and fearful. “It’s good that you’re teaching us then, Mr. Potter. Since you got rid of all of them,” Scorpius pipes up from next to him. “Or is it Professor Potter now?”

“Whatever you prefer, Scorpius,” Harry says.  

“Are you sure they’re all gone now, Uncle Harry?” Rose asks.

Harry nods. “Positive,” he says. “And I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Jamie. He produced a corporeal Patronus, you know.”

“Did you really do a Patronus? Like—a proper one?” Albus asks Jamie. “What was it like?”

Jamie swallows his chocolate, and then runs his hand through his hair. He looks remarkably like his mum, Harry thinks, not for the first time. Harry can see the visible effort it takes Jamie to pull himself together.

“It was great,” Jamie finally says. “A stag, like Dad’s. I suspect yours will be a snake or a rat, Al.”

“Hey,” Albus says, looking affronted, but Harry feels nothing but relief. If Jamie’s back to teasing Albus, he can’t be feeling too bad.

“I’m going to go find the others, I think,” Jamie says. “I’ll see you all later.” He lets Lily hug him one last time and leaves, taking the chocolate with him.

“Are they really gone, Dad?” Lily asks Harry.

Harry nods, but when he meets Ginny’s eyes, she looks as worried as he feels. They’ve gone for now, but they don’t know why they came, what sent them. Which means they could come back any minute.

*

It’s raining when they reach Hogwarts, which feels appropriate. After greeting Hagrid at the platform, Ginny, him, and Neville get their own coach to Hogwarts, and McGonagall greets them at the entrance to the castle.

“Professor Longbottom, will you handle the first years?” she asks.

Neville nods immediately. “Of course. I already said I would, Professor,” he says.

“It never hurts to check,” McGonagall says. “Professor Potter and Coach Potter—”

“That feels very weird,” Ginny mumbles.

“—might I have a quick word before the feast?” McGonagall continues.

Harry’s been expecting this. “About the Dementor attack?”

McGonagall nods tersely.

“Not for too long, though,” Ginny says, and then smiles, “I’d like to see Lily get Sorted. I don’t want to miss that.”

McGonagall’s face softens into a smile. “Of course,” she says, and leads them both to her office.

“I don’t know,” is the first thing Harry says, once they’re sitting down in the familiar office. “Where they came from, who sent them.”

“There was more than one, then?” McGonagall says.

From behind McGonagall’s chair, the portrait of Dumbledore listens intently as Harry tells the story as best as he can. Ginny’s hand is warm and soft in his, and that’s what gives him the strength to tell McGonagall the story, all of the details that he can remember.

“So you’re telling me,” McGonagall says, once he’s finished telling her what he knows, “that James produced a corporeal Patronus for the first time today, under duress, having previously studied only the theory behind it?”

Harry nods.

“That’s all the motivation that I need to push him further in Transfiguration this year. I always knew he had great potential,” McGonagall says with a tiny smile. “So what are your theories about it?”

“I don’t know yet,” Harry says, and sighs. “I’ll speak to the Auror Department. Padma Patil’s running it while I’m away, and I’m sure she’ll have some theories.”

“I would consult Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, too, if I were you. It’s certainly a strategy that’s worked well for you in the past,” McGonagall says.

Harry laughs dryly. “I will,” he says.

“Very well,” McGonagall says. “I will inform the teachers to be on high alert. The Dementors have not breached Hogwarts grounds in twenty years, so we should be safe, but… they have not been near the Hogwarts Express in that long, too.”

“So we can’t be too sure,” Ginny says.

McGonagall shakes her head. “We can’t, no. But I am grateful that you were both on the train, along with Longbottom. Had the students been unprotected…”

&ldqu o;It wouldn’t have been good,” Harry says.

“It would not, no,” McGonagall says. “Very well. It is nearly time for the feast, and we had better go. After all, I have some new teachers to announce, after all.”

They get there just in time for the Sorting, but seem to have missed the Sorting Hat’s song. McGonagall shows them to their seats – Harry’s relieved that they seem to be sitting in between an empty seat that must belong to Neville and Hagrid – before she sits down in the large chair in the centre. She nods at Neville, and he gets out a piece of parchment – a list, Harry knows, with all the first-years on it.

It’s easy, now that he’s at Hogwarts, to sink back into the normalcy it offers him. He’s been back a few times, to give Defence talks, because it’s impossible to ever say no to McGonagall, and he’s sat here before. It’s easy, in the Great Hall, with the night sky above him and four tables in front of him, to forget all about the encounter with the Dementors. Hogwarts has always felt safe to him, and he feels safe now.

The Sorting begins: Harry watches as ‘Adams, Grace’ is Sorted into Gryffindor, and claps obligingly. Of all the familiar faces, Lily is the first to be Sorted.

“Lily Potter,” Neville calls out.

Lily looks a bit pale as she walks to the stool. Neville places the Hat on her head. There’s a seemingly interminable pause. Lily’s back is to Harry and the others at the table, but Harry can picture her expression: screwed up in concentration, arguing – no doubt – with whatever the Hat is saying.

“SLYTHERIN!” the Hat finally announces.

Harry turns to Ginny, who looks shocked, but then she smiles at him. “If anyone could get Slytherins to be less bigoted, it’s our Lils,” she whispers, and then joins in the applause.

Harry claps, too, louder than anyone else, and he watches as Lily walks to the Slytherin table and takes her seat.

Lorcan’s right after Lily. He’s frowning as he walks to the stool, and within a minute or so—

“SLYTHERIN!&rdqu o;

Harry sees a smile on Lorcan’s face, and he all but runs to go sit next to Lily at the Slytherin table.

“Well, at least we know she’ll have a friend there,” he murmurs to Ginny.

“More like a teammate and ally in whatever mischief she gets up to,” Ginny whispers back.

Lysander’s sorted in Ravenclaw. And then are a few more names that Harry doesn’t recognise – but he’s sure that he’ll get to know them over the year as he teaches them – and then, finally, the Weasleys.

Hugo’s first, and he’s Sorted into Hufflepuff almost immediately – “could’ve guessed that one,” Ginny muses – and Roxanne, the final first year, is Sorted into Gryffindor, where she goes to sit next to Jamie and Freddie with a bright smile.

With Roxanne, the Sorting is complete, and Neville makes his way, sitting next to Harry and offering them a bright smile. McGonagall gets to her feet, surveying the students with a strict look; Harry wonders if everyone can see the softness in her expression, the slight smile on her features, or if he just knows her better now than when he was a student.

“Welcome to all our new students. And to our returning students, welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. There will be some announcements to be made, of course, but first… enjoy the Feast,” McGonagall announces and then sits back down.

“I think I’ve missed the food here most of all,” Ginny tells Harry, as she starts to fill up her plate.

“It is good, isn’t it?” Harry says appreciatively.

As he starts to eat and sinks into the familiarity of the Welcome Feast at Hogwarts, the Dementors have never seemed further away.

*

Once the Feast is over, McGonagall gets to her feet and clears her throat. Miraculously – as if by magic, Harry thinks dryly – everyone falls silent.

“Thank you. Before it is time to go back to the common rooms, there are some announcements I would like to make,” she says. “First off, the Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, unless supervised by Professor Hagrid.”

Harry turns to grin at Hagrid, who winks at him.

“Secondly, magic in the corridors between classes is also forbidden. And certain products from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes –” next to Harry, Ginny snorts– “are forbidden as well. The list is available outside Mr. Filch’s office. Finally,” McGonagall says, sounding more serious, “I am sure that everyone is aware of the Dementor attack on the train. I reassure you that everyone at Hogwarts takes these matters very seriously. As I’m sure you have noticed, we have two new teachers with us. Professor Potter will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Coach Potter will be your Flying Instructor. I’m sure nobody here needs the reminder, but both of them are prodigiously skilled in dealing with Dark Arts, and will ensure that the security of the castle is not breached. With that being said, it is important to stay vigilant. Please report anything suspicious to your Prefects or Head of House, and go to them with any concerns.”

Harry suddenly feels every single set of eyes on him, and his cheeks feel oddly warm.

“You’d think you’d have gotten used to being looked at by now,” Ginny mutters to him.

“Yeah. You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Harry murmurs back.

“It’ll be alright,” Ginny whispers, and squeezes his hand. There’s the sound of the scraping back of all the benches and chairs, which Harry takes to mean that McGonagall’s dismissed the crowd.

“We should go,” Harry says. He’s exhausted; today’s felt longer than most days, and he’s looking forward to bed.

They’re staying in the quarters for the Defence teacher, since it’s a bit bigger than the one for the Flying Instructor – “and a bit more central,” McGonagall had told them dryly, “which will be useful, since I’m sure you’ll want to keep an eye on all your children” – and it’s not too far from the Great Hall.

“You know what I’m glad about?” Ginny says, as they start walking up to the third floor. Feeling a bit extra protective than usual, they’d both managed to see all three of their children and make sure they’re alright, but because of the chaos of everyone in the Great Hall leaving, they hadn’t managed to stay for too long before getting swept away out of the doors. Luckily, Jamie, Al, and Lily all know where they’re staying, in case of emergencies.

“What’s that?” Harry asks.

“I’m glad that McGonagall told us that they refurbished the castle and reassigned the Defence classroom and quarters after the war.”

“Yeah?” Harry says.

“Yeah,” Ginny says, and catches Harry’s eyes. “Can you imagine staying in the same room that Umbridge once stayed in?”

Harry wrinkles his nose, following Ginny into the quarters after she opens the door. “You’ve definitely got a point there,” he says.

It’s a tiny set of rooms. A bedroom and an attached bathroom, and a sitting room with a sofa, a kettle for tea, and a little desk and chair. Their things have already been sent up, and they both get to work changing for bed.

“It’s going to be a long day tomorrow,” Ginny says, resting her head on his shoulder once they’re both in bed. “First full day of classes. Did you see the timetables McGonagall gave us?”

Harry nods. “Oh, yeah. I’ve got a double period with Gryffindor fifth-years and then the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw third-years tomorrow morning, and then the Slytherin first-years in the afternoon, and then the Hufflepuff second-years. Which means…”

“That you’ll be facing all our children, and also about a thousand questions about the Dementors,” Ginny says. “And the war. You should expect some war questions, too.”

“And Voldemort questions.”

“No, can’t forget those. I’m not looking forward to those, either,” Ginny admits.

“It’s going to be a very long day,” Harry says.

Ginny pats his cheek. “I think it’s going to be a very long year,” she says cheerfully, and Harry lets out a soft groan before he lays back down to sleep. He’s going to need all the rest he can get.