AN: Before anyone asks, yes, this is a bit of a Gilmore Girls/Harry Potter crossover, the characters are not exactly the same as in GG but I do borrow a lot from it. That said, you do not have to have watched GG to understand this story. That is all.

The first thing Riley did upon waking up on the morning of September the sixth was smile.

You might be wondering. Who smiles first thing on a Monday morning? Well, Riley did. Not without reason though. She smiled because today was her very first day at Chilton, her dream school. And it was going to be a perfect day. She was sure of it.

She'd woken up at 6am on the dot, she'd used the good shampoo in the shower, she'd clipped her ponytail with her favourite hair clip, and put on her neat new school uniform.

It was at 7:15am that Riley realised something was off. Her mother hadn't made a single noise to indicate that she was up and at it. But she couldn't have – no, of course not, she knew how important today was.

Riley hastily made her way to her mother's bedroom door, fearing the worst but trying to keep calm.

She knocked on the door. No response. Oh this was bad.

Riley threw the door open without preamble and a feeling of dread settled in her stomach as she took in the sight of her mother's sleeping figure on the bed.

Riley shook the woman awake frantically. "Mamá!"

"Riley? What's going on?" Eleora asked groggily.

"It's 7:15!" Riley exclaimed desperately.

"What? No, it's not." The adult woman grabbed her Hello Kitty alarm clock from the bedside table. "It's 7:15." She looked at her daughter with a look of pure shock. "Hello Kitty... betrayed me?"

Eleora frantically got up from under the covers.

"Hurry!" Riley near-yelled.

"Oh I'm sorry. I had it all planned out, we were going to have breakfast at Pedro's and drive up to Scarsdale early – " Eleora said as she searched for clothes.

"It's fine, just hurry up." Riley was about to leave the room when she saw the look of horror in her mum's face. "What?"

"My clothes."

"What about your clothes?"

"They're at the cleaners." Eleora confessed in a tiny voice. "I was going to pick them up this morning."

Riley groaned. "Ugh, mum are you serious?"

"I'll see what I can put together, you go finish getting ready."

Riley finally left the room with a defeated moan.

This day was officially up to a not so great start.

So Riley sat next to her mother, who was wearing a tie dye shirt and haphazardly ripped jeans (needless to say, both DIY projects gone wrong) in the car her grandmother had sent to get them.
Apparently, Norma had been appalled by the idea of Riley and her mother getting to Scarsdale by bus, then she'd been reminded that that was how Riley would be getting to school every day, and settled for saying they should go by car at least on Riley's first day.

"Couldn't you find a good high school in all of Manhattan?" Riley's mother asked as she laid her head back to rest at the thirty minute mark on their journey.

Riley needn't remind her mother of the reason she was going to school all the way in Scarsdale. They both had it pretty clear.

It had been because of Riley's grandma. She had agreed to pay for Riley's tuition as long as she went to school in Scarsdale, where her grandparents lived, and although reluctantly, Riley's mum had seen herself forced to give in.

Riley held her breath as Chilton came into view. The old regal looking building was quite imposing, Riley felt a little intimidated by it.

Eleora put on a cardigan that did little to hide her DIY outfit before getting off the car. Riley followed after her mother to be greeted by the sight of her grandmother waiting for her at the school entrance.

"Eleora, ¿qué traes puesto?" What are you wearing? Were Norma's first words upon seeing the girls.

Eleora wrapped her cardigan around her torso self-consciously. "It's a long story, Mother, and I am not in the mood."

Grandma Norma examined her daughter's outfit with a slightly disgusted look. "Between you being late and showing up wearing that I'm not sure which one's the bigger shonde."

Eleora mimicked being choked to her daughter as Norma looked away.

Norma smiled at Riley. "Riley, you look great in your uniform, come give your Bubbe a kiss."

Riley kissed her grandma on the cheek.

"What are you doing here, anyway, Mother?" Eleora asked a little irritated.

"Well, Principal Weissman is a friend of your father's, so I thought it appropriate to stop by on Riley's first day." Norma looked at her daughter as if daring her to disagree with her.

Eleora settled for a small groan. "Well, let's go in then."

Norma looped her arm with Riley's as they followed Eleora inside. "Tu Zayde no pudo venir pero envió un abrazo y sus buenos deseos." Your grandpa couldn't make it but he sent a hug and his good wishes.

Riley smiled. "Dile que le mando un beso y un abrazo." Tell him I send him a hug and a kiss.

Chilton was definitely more intense than Riley's old public high school in Washington Heights. She'd been to four classes, and after missing only a few days of school, she already had what felt like a month's worth of homework for catching up. The students hadn't been exactly welcoming either, but Riley didn't mind, she was there to learn, if she made a friend or two down the line it would be an extra. Besides she already had her best friend Marin back home.

Riley was currently trying to balance two books and a thick binder in her arms while trying to open her locker. She sighed before removing her hand from the lock to arrange her things, which were about to fall from her arms.

"Oh hey, let me help you." Riley looked up to see a boy standing next to her, putting his hands on her locker door. A very cute boy, with sandy blond hair and clear blue eyes. "These things have a trick to them."

Riley smiled in thanks as her locker burst open. "Thanks. You'd think for a school this fancy, they'd have functioning lockers."

The boy chuckled lightly. "I'm Lucas."

"Riley."

Lucas smiled a toothy grin. "See you around, Riley."

Riley tried to hide her smile in behind her locker door as Lucas walked away. He seemed nice.

Riley threw her stuff into the locker haphazardly before heading for the cafeteria. She'd already prepared for the fact that she'd probably eat alone on the first day, so she went in prepared, with a book in hand and pen and notebook to reply to the letter Harry had sent her a few days prior.

So Riley sat alone at one of the nice wooden tables, with her tray of lunch. She set down her notebook and wrote the words 'Dear Harry' before stopping to think for a moment.

In his last letter, Harry had detailed his first week at Hogwarts, how his new classes were going, and, to Riley's distress, how everyone kept warning him about Sirius Black.

For the past two months, Riley had been debating with herself on whether to tell Harry that Sirius Black was her father or not. She knew Harry had no idea about Sirius, and she feared once he knew he wouldn't see her the same way. Harry was very volatile with his emotions, and she knew it'd take him a while to come to terms with the situation. She didn't want him to find out another way though, and it felt like her time was running out.

Riley shook her head. Today would not be the day she told him though.

She started writing.

'That's awful about the dementors, but don't feel bad about passing out, you've been through some shit, you have the right to pass out. And honestly, I can't believe Malfoy still can't find a better topic to talk about than you, he's obsessed with you!

I actually find divination really interesting, I don't think it means much but the whole tarot and birth charts is just so intriguing. I'm surprised Hermione is taking that class, she'll probably get frustrated with it soon. Anyway, I don't think this Trewlaney woman is the real deal, Seers are quite rare, and I don't think she's it. So what if she supposedly predicted your death, we all gotta die at some point, right?

I feel so bad for Hagrid, although you gotta admit maybe letting everyone wander around hippogryffs for the first class was a bit much.

I've started Chilton today. It's... a lot. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with this and my wizard studies. The place itself is really nice though, it's what I imagine Hogwarts looks like.
My mom showed up to the school to talk to the principal in a tie dye t-shirt and DIY ripped jeans... long story. I'll let you know how I fare the rest of the day.

P.S. Marin asks nicely if you can send her Every Flavor Beans.

Love,
Riley'

Riley closed the notebook. Since Riley had met Harry, they'd used the magic notebooks, because putting their owls through transcontinental flights several times a week seemed a bit much. Each Riley and Harry had a notebook where they would write their letters, and every time they signed their names, the letter would magically appear in the other's notebook and it would turn an alarming shade of red to indicate there was a new letter in the notebook.

Dear Harry,
Snape makes my blood boil, you guys should really notify a teacher about what he does to Neville and all the non-Slytherins, because it's really not right. And I swear if you don't do it, I will. I don't care that I don't go to your school.

Oh my god, Harry. HARRY. I can't believe I forgot to tell you about this, but I actually know Lupin, he was friends with my parents when they were in school. He still keeps in touch, and he's like the nicest person ever, so be good to him. I'm so jealous you get to have him as DADA teacher, that man knows a lot. Tell him I said hi.

Remember that even though I don't go to wizard school, I do know how to use magic, so if you need help in any of your classes, you can ask me for help.

Love,

Riley

Riley shut her notebook and walked over to the living room, where her mom was sitting. She was watching one of the many Mexican telenovelas they tried to keep up with.

"Riley, come, Sofía just told Julio she's pregnant with Luis Fernando's baby." Eleora's eyes were glued to the screen as she gestured to her daughter to sit next to her.

Riley sat on the couch and nestled herself into her mother's shoulder.

The telenovela was getting dramatic, a lot of zooming in on people's faces was going on.

Just then, there was a commercial break and Eleora turned the volume down. "So, how has school been?"

Eleora had been dancing around the subject of school all week, Riley could tell she was still not quite pleased with her mother's request of going to school in Scarsdale.

"It's fine. It's a lot of work, but I can handle it."

Eleora kissed the top of Riley's head. "Of course you can. Is the trip there and back too tiring?"

Riley sighed. "It's fine, Ma." She knew if she said anything else her mother would start going off on how selfish Grandma Norma was.

Mother and daughter stayed quiet until the commercial break ended, but Eleora didn't turn the volume back up as the telenovela returned.

"Mamá." Riley called.

Eleora hummed in response.

Riley took a breath. "Do you really think my dad's innocent?"

Riley felt her mother go stiff. She was threading on dangerous grounds.

Eleora took a moment to respond. She took a deep breath. "You know it's a complicated situation. Your father did not get a trial, he was literally sentenced on eyewitness accounts of No-Majs that did not know what was going on and assumptions. We may not have been together then, but I knew him very well, and I just know that there's no way he's guilty."

Riley nodded slowly. "If they catch him, do you think we could convince them to give him a trial?" She asked in a small voice.

Riley's mother held her closer. "I... hope so. But it seems unlikely."

Riley's eyes brimmed with tears. "It's not fair. It's not fair that he's going to die and I didn't even get to know him."

Eleora rubbed Riley's arm softly. "I know, baby. I know."