A/N: This is my first fanfiction. The original idea is 7-8 years old but I never finished it. I am rewriting the whole story, with this being the first chapter I have finished so far. As only the cores of some of my ideas are intact, it will take a bit to completely rewrite the rest.

I want to explore and expand on some ideas introduced in the main series, mostly on those details that were never really explained. As I have basically no prior experience to writing and posting fanfiction I would be extremely happy about every review I get, especially about constructive criticism. This first chapter is more of an exposition but I hope somebody will be interested in reading more.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒

It was a fairly cool morning on this September the first. A little girl was sleeping in her bed, a strain of her red hair moving back and forth as she breathe. Nobody would assume anything out of the ordinary about this scene. However neither the girl nor the day could be called ordinary. The girl's name was Lily Potter, daughter of the famous Harry Potter and this would be her first day at school. A school that likewise was quite different from what other people would imagine, when they thought of school. After all, she would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an institution for children just like Lily, children with magical abilities. Of course, for Lily this was perfectly normal. She had grown up, seeing people perform magic with their wands nearly all the time. Even she herself, despite not having a wand, had often been able to cause things to happen just by thinking of them. This was expected of children born into wizard families, however the frequency and potency of Lily's magic had apparently surprised her family. She was told, she'd surely excel at magic, when she entered Hogwarts. It would soon turn out if they were right, since this was the day, she would be going there for the first time. Starting from this day, she would soon learn how to cast spells, brew potions, and all the other things associated with being a witch.

As soon as Lily's dreams drifted away, a feeling of wakefulness filled her thoroughly. She opened her eyes widely, a smile of genuine happiness and excitement appearing on her face. Finally, it was her turn to start her seven years of Hogwarts. She would soon be sitting in the Hogwarts Express, the train she had seen her brothers and cousins boarding for years now. Soon, she would be getting to be with all the other young witches and wizards. Only a few hours and she would arriving at the castle she had heard so many stories of. She would be sorted into a house – surely Gryffindor, like the rest of her family – make a lot of friends and learn all there was to learn about magic. The anticipation Lily felt, thinking of experiencing all this made her unusually impatient. It was still early in the morning, she just noticed. Still, there was no point in even trying to go back to sleep, she was happy she even managed to fall asleep the previous night.

Deciding to make the most of the morning, she got dressed and left her room to see if anyone else was already awake. She made her way down into the kitchen and to her surprise she saw her mum smiling brightly at her. Her mother Ginny had the same red hair as Lily, a trait she shared with practically all the other Weasleys. However, the resemblance did not end just there. Lily looked very much like a younger version of Ginny – except for her eyes. She knew that she had them from her dad and looking through the photo album of her paternal grandparents, she saw that her grandmother's eyes were just the same colour as well.

Ginny turned to walk towards her daughter and greeted her with a warm hug. "Good morning, Lily, my dear! I suspected you'd be up early, so I wanted to make sure you'd have something to eat and someone to talk to on this special day!"

"Thanks mum!"

Lily was indeed grateful to have someone to share her excitement with. As they both sat down to eat breakfast, they began talking about Hogwarts and all the stories they had already repeated dozens of times, as well as some of the more recent exploits of her brothers and cousins. As the time passed, Lily's father and brothers joined them in their conversation, adding their own stories and anecdotes.

"Seriously, James, if you spent half – or even a quarter ‒ as much time with your homework as you do with roaming around the castle and the Hogwarts grounds or pulling pranks, I'd wager your grades would be on par with Rose's", Ginny complained, albeit with a hint of a smile.

"What did you expect mum, naming me James Sirius? That, in addition to the exploits of dad – I've got a legacy to fulfil," he explained. After a dramatic sigh, James added "I did not choose the burden that I carry with me due to my name and ancestry, however, as befits a proper Gryffindor, I accept my fate boldly!"

James comment paired with his melodramatic acting elicited some chuckles from the family.

"Speaking of Gryffindor – where is our lil' Lil' going to be sorted into? Now, I was sure Al was going to be a Slytherin but he must have ended up bribing the Sorting Hat somehow," James teased his brother.

"Hey! I didn't bribe anyone! Besides, bribing a hat makes no sense," Albus protested.

"Be that as it may," James continued, ignoring his brother and now focusing on Lily. "Lil', I've got to break it to you, you won't be a Gryffindor. After all, this whole family has been sorted into Gryffindor, even all our cousins. But every family has got to have a black sheep. You don't strike me as a Slytherin but maybe Hufflepuff? I guess-"

But James' attempt to upset Lily was suddenly interrupted by a noise coming from the fireplace. Standing there was Lily's uncle Ron, who was soon followed by his children Rose and Hugo, aunt Hermione and lastly even Lily's grandparents, Arthur and Molly Weasley.

"Sorry, we're a bit early, Hugo got too excited and got us all out of bed, so we thought we might as well come join you already", Ron said.

There were greetings and hugs as well as a few flicks of Harry's and Ginny's wands to enlarge the table and add more chairs so everyone could be seated. With the number of people increasing, so did the number of conversations. Lily was focused mostly on her cousin Hugo, who, just like her, would also start his first year.

Grandma Weasley soon took an opportunity to express her delight about the youngest two of her grandchildren going at Hogwarts.

"Oh Arthur, can you believe even little Lily and Hugo are already old enough for Hogwarts? It seems like yesterday that we had our first grandchild and now look at all of them – either in school or already graduated," Molly Weasley exclaimed, pulling her husband closer to her and looking at Lily and Hugo proudly.

Lily liked having her grandma over, although it did surprise her how emotionally invested she could be in each and every one of her frankly numerous grandchildren, when Lily sometimes had trouble even keeping track of all of her relatives. Grandma Weasley would always bring some of the food she prepared whenever she came to visit, to make sure everyone was well fed. This did not seem to go over too well with Ginny, who seemed to get somewhat upset at the suggestion she might not take care of her children well enough. However Ginny appeared to have given up on discussing the matter with her mother, presumably judging it to be a futile struggle against natural grandmotherly instincts.

Having finally finished their quite extensive breakfast, grandpa Weasley wished the children a great time at school, while grandma Weasley stressed the importance of being careful and keeping to the rules before also wishing them a great school year and then returning through the fireplace together. Everyone else started getting all the school books, cauldrons, and other necessities ready to make their way to King's Cross.

Lily had not expected the possibility that her excitement could increase even more but when they were walking along the train station, inevitably attracting the stares of those people who were not also about to pass through a stone wall, Lily could barely keep herself to a normal pace. She had been here before a few times, seeing her brothers and cousins off, but this was the first time she had her own trolley to push, with her own suitcase and school supplies. Her father wanted to relieve her of the task but Lily insisted on doing it herself, considering it an essential part of the first year experience.

When they came to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, Lily could finally pass through with the knowledge that today, she would not need to go back with her parents, looking back over her shoulder longingly. No, this time she would also be sitting in the train just like James and Albus, just like everyone else had been before her. All it took was quick little run and she was there, at platform 9 ¾.

Lily quickly moved to the side to make space for the rest of her family to pass through. Her eyes immediately spotted and fixed themselves onto the scarlet train that would bring her to that place she had heard so much of but never seen. It took eleven, to Lily seemingly endless years before she could get onto it ‒ the Hogwarts Express. The platform was full of children ranging from eleven to seventeen, as well as parents and other relatives. Some were just saying their good-byes, others were greeting their friends and getting on the train already. While Lily would surely miss her parents, she was too eager to drag out their parting. Her parents of course had more of a struggle letting Lily go.

"It's going to be very unusual without any of you around now," her mum said. "Do make sure to stay safe and write us as often as you can."

"We're going to miss you, Lily. I hope Hogwarts is going to feel like a home to you as much as it did to me," added her dad.

Lily hugged her parents and got a kiss from both of them. As she boarded the train, Lily and Hugo still waited for it to depart so they could wave their parents goodbye. As the train had left the station, she felt thrilled about what was about to come. This, she thought, this will be the best year ever.