"Love you too, Mum, I promise I'll write every week, see you in the holidays, bye!" The words tumbled from her mouth in a rush as, already, Lily began to dart away from her parents, her neck craning in an attempt to catch sight of the familiar faces of her cousins. She pulled her luggage trolley sharply as she took a step towards the steam engine that was to take her to Hogwarts.
"Woah, not so fast," her father laughed, catching her trunk before she could take more than a single step. "We're not going to see you for a whole term. Indulge us for five more minutes and give your mother and I a kiss goodbye."
"But dad," she whined. "The train-"
"Doesn't leave for another ten minutes," he interrupted her. "Come on, Lils. A quick hug. It'll take thirty seconds."
"Fine," she grumbled, releasing the handle on the cart carrying her luggage. She rushed over to her mother and reached up to wrap her arms around her neck. "James and Albus didn't have to wait, though," she complained, before quickly kissing her mother's check.
"Your brothers aren't starting their first year," her mother replied, hugging her back tightly for such a time that Lily began to squirm in her grasp. "You are."
"You can let go now, Mum," Lily prompted her. Reluctantly, the red-headed woman released her daughter.
"Love you, Dad," Lily said as her father embraced her.
"Stay out of mischief," he told her with a smile. "Or, at the very least, don't get caught. We have enough trouble with James without getting letters home about you as well."
"I promise they won't catch me," she swore with a smile.
Her father laughed. "That's my girl," he said, ruffling her hair. Lily pulled a face and, as soon as his hand was back in his pocket, reached up to smooth it over.
"Can I go now?" she demanded impatiently.
"Yes," her mother laughed, "if you're so eager to be rid of us."
Lily let out a joyous whoop and grabbed her trolley once more. "I'll see you over the holidays," she said quickly as she bgan to make her way towards the train.
"Have fun at Hogwarts!" her father called out after her, but she was already lost to the crowd.
"Really, you'd think we've kept her locked in the house all these years," Ginny said to her husband.
"She's enthusiastic," Harry replied. "It's borderline insulting, but at least we don't have to worry about her getting homesick. And she reminds me of how you were when you were younger."
"I wasn't that eager to leave," Ginny said, affronted.
Harry laughed. "The seventh child to go to Hogwarts, having watched your older brothers step on that train every year since you could remember? Even if I hadn't known you back then – and I did know you – I wouldn't believe for a moment that you weren't exactly like Lily."
"Maybe I was a little bit," Ginny admitted. "I was slightly more reserved, though. Oh, Harry, look!" She pointed to one of the carriages, where Lily was leaning out and waving to them. "She hasn't forgotten us after all."
"Give her a week," Harry laughed, waving back. "I bet you we'll get about three letters from her in total this year."
They both watched as Lily pulled away from the window. "She'll be alright, though, won't she?" Ginny fretted.
Harry wrapped his arms around his wife. "She'll be fine," he replied. He knew how Ginny felt; watching their youngest child go off to Hogwarts was even harder than it had been watching Teddy, James and Albus. Their nest was empty, and their house was going to be extremely quiet when they got home. But he knew he didn't need to worry about Lily. She was strong and confident, more so than even James had been at that age.
"She'll be absolutely fine."
Lily carefully made her way down the train corridor, taking advantage of her small size to weave between larger students. Her parents, who she'd been waving to just moments before, were already miles from the forefront of her mind, lost in the excitement of starting Hogwarts.
All the carriages seemed to have at least one person in them, and she'd lost James and Albus soon after they'd walked through the barrier. That was okay though, because she was determined that she wasn't going to rely on them at all this year. She'd rather sit in a carriage full of seventh years that she didn't know than take the same carriage as them and be their meek little shadow.
"Lily!" a familiar voice called out. "Over here!"
The female voice had come from inside the carriage she'd just passed, and Lily doubled back to see who was calling her. She smiled when she saw the person waving her over was Rose. She was sitting with a girl that Lily didn't recognise; other than the two of them, the carriage was empty.
"Albus just went to find Scor-" Rose began to say, but then paused. "To find someone," she corrected herself quickly. "Do you want to sit with us?"
"No, I thought I'd find my own carriage," Lily replied.
Rose smiled. "I wouldn't want to sit with Albus either," she said understandingly. "However, apparently I don't have a choice in the matter."
"Have you seen Molly?" Lily asked. Molly, her cousin, was also starting Hogwarts this year. "I thought Uncle Percy would have her here early."
"I thought Uncle Percy would have her here the night before," Rose replied dryly. "She's probably already on the train. Have you looked in all the carriages?"
Lily shook her head. "I'm going to go see if I can find her."
"Have fun with that," said Rose. She paused, then added, "Oh, and if I don't see you beforehand… good luck with your sorting!"
Lily ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she smiled back. "Thanks," she said. "Hopefully, I'll see you in Gryffindor."
She found her cousin in a compartment two carriages down, sitting with two other familiar faces. "Hi Lorcan," she says, slipping in from the crowded corridor. "Hey Lysander."
Lorcan smiled widely back at her. "Hey Lily." Lysander's stony expression didn't change, although he inclined his head slightly. Lily took that as a victory.
Lorcan and Lysander were the twin sons of her parent's friends, but unlike the majority of her parent's friends, she didn't know Luna or Rolf all that well. They came around to the house a few times a year, but they spent the majority of their time travelling, so their visits were few and far between. However, she and Lorcan had always got along when their parents had shooed all the children off to play together.
There was also another girl in the carriage, one whom Lily didn't recognise. Molly must have realised this from the wary look Lily gave her, and intervened before the situation got awkward. "Lily, this is Asha. She's a first year too. Asha, this is Lily. She's my cousin."
"Hi," the girl said nervously. She had shoulder length dark hair and a fringe that was so long it partially obscured her eyes.
"It's nice to meet you," Lily said politely.
"How come you're already in your robes?" Molly asked conversationally. "I thought we didn't have to change until we were already there."
"We don't," Lily said, taking a seat next to her cousin. "But we can change whenever, and I wanted to store my trunk in the luggage compartment, so I just pulled on my robes before I came to find you."
"I wondered what had happened to your trunk," Molly said thoughtfully. "But then I realised that even you couldn't possibly have forgotten to bring your things, so I didn't ask."
Lily grinned impishly at her. "You have such a low opinion of my organisation," she said, mock-offended. At that moment the train shuddered as it began pulling out of the station. "Here we go," Lily said softly.
Molly grinned at her. "Exciting, isn't it?"
The train ride stretched out before them. Lily had never known so few hours to take so much time. Part way through the journey, Molly mentioned that the sweet trolley should be around shortly. Lily, who'd heard about the variety of sweets on it, had been looking forward to buying some.
"Oh, bother," she exclaimed. "I left my money in my trunk."
"Go and get it then," replied Molly matter-of-factly.
Lily shook her head. "There were heaps of trunks in that carriage," she said. "I'll never find it." She thought for a moment. "I know – I'll ask Albus if I can borrow some money." Although she hadn't wanted to be her brother's shadow, leeching money off him was completely different from sharing the same compartment with him.
"If the witch with the trolley comes around, I'll stall her," Molly promised. Lily thanked her and darted out into the corridor. When she glanced down the corridor but couldn't see any sight of the trolley, she slowed down. She probably had plenty of time.
She reached the carriage she thought Rose had been in and peered in through several compartment windows before she saw anyone she recognised. Her eyes fell on Rose, the girl Rose had been sitting with, and her brother Albus, who was engaged in animated conversation with… Scorpius Malfoy?
Rose noticed her peering through the window. She leapt up and pulled open the door. "Lily!" she exclaimed. "You surprised me." She ushered the girl in. "Did you find Molly alright?"
"Yeah," replied Lily, making an effort to wrench her eyes away from Malfoy, who sat there calmly as though this was an everyday occurrence. "But I need to borrow some money from Al to buy some sweets off the trolley."
"Oh, right," Albus said awkwardly. He, at least, looked a little nervous at the fact he was caught talking to a Malfoy. Lily knew he the blond was a Malfoy; James had pointed him out to her on the platform. Why would Albus…?
At that moment, her brother pulled out some coins and handed them to her. "Here," he said.
"Thanks." Her eyes darted back to Malfoy once more before she looked away silently.
"Where's your money, anyway?" Albus asked suspiciously.
"I left it in my trunk, which is in the luggage compartment." She grinned at him as she backed out the door. "Thanks!" Lily slid the door shut behind her and began to make her way back down the corridor.
She was stopped by the sound of the door sliding open once more behind her. "Lils, wait," Al's voice said from behind her. She turned as he slid the door shut behind him.
"I'll pay you back, alright?" she insisted. "As soon as I get my trunk."
"It's not that," said Albus, waving away her concerns. "It's about Scorpius."
"You mean Malfoy?"
"No," Albus said firmly. "I mean Scorpius."
"Why are you sitting with him?" Lily demanded. "James said his father was a Death Eater, and that he tried to kill Dad, and that he's a Slytherin-"
"Being a Slytherin isn't necessarily a bad thing, Lily," Albus interrupted. "James just so happens to be a bigoted moron sometimes. And Scorpius isn't his father. You can't punish him for something he didn't do."
"Why are you sitting with him?" Lily asked again.
"Because he's my friend."
Lily took a moment to digest this. Finally she asked, "Does James know?"
Albus nodded. "And he's agreed not to tell Dad yet," he told her. "Do you think you could keep it to yourself too?"
Lily bit her lip. "If there's nothing wrong with being friends with a Malfoy," she challenged, "then why won't you tell Dad?"
"Because it's harder for them," Albus told her. "For the people who actually fought the war. Mum and Dad and Uncle Ron and Granddad Weasley – they all cling to how things used to be. You remember all those stories they told us of the war? About how the whole school united against Slytherin house? I came to Hogwarts expecting it to be all divided like Mum and Dad said it was in their day. And you know what? It's not. I'm friends with Scorpius. Rose has other friends in Slytherin. Even James knows people that he sort of likes in there. Half the time people don't even sit at their House table during breakfast. You'll see when you get there – it's different to how it was when Dad was at school."
"Alright, alright," Lily said when he finished. "I didn't ask for a speech." She rolled her eyes. "I won't tell Dad, if it'll make you happy."
"Thank you," Albus said sincerely. "Oh, look, I can see the witch with the trolley." Lily whirled around and, sure enough, she could see through the windows that the witch was in her carriage.
"I'd better go catch her," said Lily, already turning away from Albus. "Thanks again for the money."
"No problem," Albus said. "Good luck with your sorting!" But Lily was already gone.