Chapter 18

"Did you have fun?" Jude broke his stare with the train window and glanced at James who had spoken up. The train ride had been silent for a while and James just wanted to break it; he didn't what conversation came up.

Jude nodded with a small smile, "Even if I didn't think Lazarus would've come after us in all my years of living, it doesn't take away the fact that I love spending time at Hogwarts."

James and Emma smiled as their friend continued. Jude felt his chest swell with an unknown feeling, "I finally found a guardian who took care of me and wanted nothing but the best for me. I met two great people who became my best friends. I got to play the greatest sport in the world and I helped win the quidditch cup for my team. Everyone believed in me and wanted to see me every day." He sniffed, rubbing his eye under his glasses, "I guess, no matter how bad the experience with Lazarus was, it will never take away all the good that came out of Hogwarts."

"I can say the same," Emma spoke a bit tentatively. "When I went to school with regular kids, muggles, I knew way more than they did and sometimes my accidental magic would pop up at the most inopportune times. They didn't call me names or anything, but they avoided me every time they saw me. I didn't have any friends growing up. When I got the letter to Hogwarts, I wondered if I could have friends here."

She giggled, "I didn't expect my best friends to be boys. My father is going to be crazed when he hears about that."

James blushed while Jude chuckled with her. The Potter boy crossed his arms, turning his gaze to the window, "Growing up wasn't as tough as you guys. Though I did have to live life with everyone wanting to know what my dad was doing from when he woke up to when he fell asleep. That was bloody annoying. The only thing that pissed me off growing up was that my father's attention was always on Albus. Everything Albus wanted, he got. They never told him anything and I was the one who always got in trouble. Soon, the rest of my family became like that. The only ones who weren't were my aunt Hermione, my mum and my little sister Lily. I'm glad I had Lily; she's my partner in crime."

At Jude's pout, he amended his statement, "Well, so are you, mate, but you're not always at my house. At my house, it's Lily and me and at Hogwarts, it's you and me. See?"

Jude laughed, "That's fine. Honestly, I'm not too thrilled about meeting Albus next year, but didn't you say there were more of your cousins coming?"

James nodded, "Yeah. My cousin Rose is the same age as Albus. She's my uncle Ron and aunt Hermione's first born. My cousin Molly is coming as well. She's named after my maternal grandmother, and she's really nice. She's the eldest daughter to my uncle Percy and my aunt Audrey."

"And when is Lily coming?" Jude questioned. Since he didn't want to deal with Albus, he wondered how long it would take James' other partner in crime to come along.

James grinned, "She's coming after Albus, thank Merlin. With her comes two more of my cousins; Hugo, Rose's little brother and Lucy, Molly's little sister. Watch out for Lucy though; she's a bit rough around the edges. My mum says it's because she takes too much after my uncle Percy."

"That's a big family, James," Emma commented.

James nodded, "Yep. My grandma and grandpa on my mum's side had 7 kids all together. My uncle Charlie didn't have any kids because he's so invested with his dragons. My uncle Bill married my aunt Fleur and had Victoire, Dominique and Louis. My uncle Percy married my aunt Audrey and had Molly and Lucy. My uncle George married my aunt Angelina and had Roxanne and Fred. My Uncle Ron married my aunt Hermione and had Rose and Hugo. My mum married my dad and had me, Albus and Lily."

Emma tilted her head curiously, "You only named 6 kids. What happened to the 7th?"

James sobered a bit, "My uncle Fred, he was my Uncle George's identical twin. My mum and dad told me he was killed in the war."

"Sorry," Jude said quietly while Emma's eyes filled with unshed tears.

James sighed shakily, shrugging, "I didn't know him. He died before I was born, but I wish I could've met him. He used to make my Uncle George so happy. I heard they were great pranksters together and they even opened their own shop called Weasleys' Wizards Wheezes. It's a joke shop in Diagon Alley. I'll take you guys over if you like. My uncle gives me discounts."

Jude grinned while Emma rolled her eyes. James frowned, "It's cool. Just wait till you see it."

The train came to a stop causing them all to perk up excitedly. They all grabbed their belongings and ran towards the exit of the train. Jude exhaled shakily once he got off the train and gazed around.

"James," He heard James' mother call happily.

James patted his friend's shoulder before running towards his family. Jude watched as Ginny wrapped her son up in a tight hug and kissed his head multiple times. The blue eyed boy laughed to himself when he realized how embarrassed James was.

"Daddy!" Emma ran past him and went into a dark haired man's arms. The man smiled widely and lifted the girl in the air, twirling her around. Emma's laughter rang out through the whole train station.

"Jude?" Said boy turned and smiled at Hannah Longbottom. She smiled back at him, but he could see concern in her eyes.

"Hannah," Jude began before he was crushed in a bone hug. His breath hitched when his chest swelled for the second time that day and he felt tears sting his eyes. This is what it felt like to be cared for; to be loved.

He felt hand comb her hands through his messy hair, "Oh, Jude. I was so worried when Neville told me what happened to you. Are you okay?"

She let go of him and started examining his hand to see his scar. Jude sniffled, feeling warm tears fall down his face, "M'fine, Hannah. Honest."

She pulled him in a hug again and he didn't bother to wipe his tears. He was really starting to like hugs now.

Like he had told James and Emma, it didn't matter about what Lazarus was trying to do. Nothing could take away the greatness that Hogwarts had brought him.