A / N: I'm just going to clear up a little confusion that's going on. I made a mistake, Lily and her friends aren't going into seventh year, they are going into sixth year. Hope that's OK with you guys! And I know I haven't posted in ages D:, but I'm a perfectionist, and I kept on making mistakes.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling = Harry Potter, Me = school tomorrow :(

'Bye Dad! Bye Mother!' Lily said, giving her parents one last hug.

'Be safe, darling,' her mother replied, smiling.

'I will,' Lily assured her for what felt like the tenth time.

The group of three stood at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, saying their last farewells. To Lily's disappointment Petunia couldn't make it, but then again, Lily had been a freak to her sister a few short weeks ago. The summer holidays had finished, but they were the most marvellous holidays Lily had ever had. No, they didn't go anywhere, but Lily had her sister back, which made the whole thing splendid. And Lily had gotten quite remarkable results on her OWLs, too.
And now Lily had a pet to take to school, too. Her parents had taken her out to London a fortnight ago where they purchased an adorable black cat with green eyes just like her owner. Lily had named her Soot, for her jet black coat. Lily had considered naming her Diana, for the Roman goddess of the moon, but she thought Diana was more of a people's name.

Soot was curled up in the corner of Lily's trolley, and to Lily amazement, had managed to fall asleep on the cold metal wiring. Lily's trunk took up the rest of the space. There were so many new books that were needed for her sixth year, and Lily was itching to finish reading them all. Lily was two thirds of the way through The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk, and it contained some of the weirdest spells, including one that made objects follow the caster around the place. Lily would never have to carry her bag again …

Snapping out of her reverie, Lily turned her trolley around and walked towards the brick wall. At the last second Lily closed her eyes; Lily knew she would pass straight through, but somehow the instinct to walk into a brick wall still didn't come naturally.

'LILY'S HERE!'

Lily opened her eyes to see an over enthusiastic Lizzie barrelling her with a hug. Soot gave a confused meow, not completely sure on what had woken her up.

'About time, too. You've beaten Alice and Mary, though. They haven't arrived yet,' said an impatient Holly, looking incredibly beautiful.

Behind her shone the Hogwarts Express, steam still issuing from its pipes.

'Quiet down Lizzie, you'll wake Charlie,' said a voice from behind the two girls.

There Lily saw Molly Weasley, a young boy clinging to her arm, and an infant cradled in the other. Molly had finished school a few years previously, and after marrying Arthur, took up the surname Weasley. Lily had been given Molly's whole life story by an excited Alice when the time of their wedding had come. Alice was Molly's cousin, and Lily had personally helped Alice get into her bridesmaid dress.

Molly's bright brown eyes were looking a little more tired, and her carroty hair looked as though it had been brushed as an afterthought. Lily wondered vaguely about the effects of becoming a mother.

'Lily, dear, I'm so sorry about what happened at the party,' said Molly, putting a hand on the younger girls shoulder.

'What?' said Lily, for a second not sure what Molly was talking about.

'About –' Molly paused, looking at her children. 'You-Know-Who.'

'Oh, don't worry it wasn't your fault,' Lily assured her.

'Did you say u-no-poo?' asked Molly's eldest son with a questioning expression.

'That's right, Bill, darling,' said Molly distractedly.

'U-no-poo! U-no-poo!' Bill began to chant.

'Oh no, he'll be teaching that to all of his brothers,' said Molly worriedly.

'Brothers as in plural?' asked Holly.

Molly smiled. 'Yes. Apart from Charlie here –' she gestured at the baby in her arms, '- I've got another one on the way.'

Molly looked down at her stomach in an affectionate way.

'Oh congratulations!' gushed Lily. 'Have you decided on a name yet?'

Molly sighed slightly. 'Arthur wants to name it Clyde if it's a boy, but I think Percy would be much better, don't you think?' All three girls gave a hurried approval. 'Anyway, if it's a girl, Arthur and I have agreed on Leanora.'

'Ooooh, that's pretty. Definitely Leanora,' said a happy voice from behind them.

'Alice! Mary! You're here!' exclaimed Lily, giving them both a quick hug.

'You took your time,' said Holly, but she smiled and greeted her friends.

Alice grinned. 'Got held up in traffic. But we should get on the train, it'll leave soon.'

The five girls said goodbye to Molly, and heaved their luggage on to the train.

Lily cursed under her breath. She swore her truck had doubled in weight since last year. Soot climbed up on to Lily's shoulder with her little needle-like claws and sat down like she was on Pride Rock.

Lily led the gaggle of girls through the train, looking for and empty compartment. The chatter of newly reunited friends filled the train corridor, and the lamps were swinging from the roof dangerous Lily.

'Hey, Lily-pollen!

Lily whipped her fiery head around to see Sirius Black's flirty grin hanging out of the compartment on her left.

'Care to join us?' he asked, shaking his hair out of his face.

'Oh shut up,' Lily said, but followed him through the open door of the compartment.

All the marauders sat in there, but it was a nine person cabin, so they all fit in fine. James gave Lily and awkward boy hug for a hello, causing Holly to smirk behind his back and for Lily to turn a delicate rosy pink.

The group shifted uncomfortably for a few minutes, until Lizzie broke the silence.

'Oh, really. You guys are ridiculous. We aren't going to sit here in silence! We're sixth years now! We have to set good examples!' Lizzie stated indignantly.

'We get free periods now …' said weedy Peter wistfully. 'Chocolate frog anyone?'

Remus took the frog, and after he bit off its head, Sirius leaned back lazily. 'Whole periods left open for pranking.'

Lily gave him a reproachful look, and Remus huffed.

'We'll need that time for studying,' Lily and Remus told him simultaneously, though Remus' voice was rather muffled by chocolate.

Just at that moment, the train began to move, and the loud whistle blew, causing all the passengers to wince. Lily smiled to herself. The journey had begun. They were going back to Hogwarts.

Sirius ignored the studious pair, and began to flirt with Holly instead. Lily grinned. Sirius would have to work a lot harder than usual if he wanted to win Holly's heart, not just her attention.

'So, James,' Alice began. 'What's going on at Potter Manor?'

James sighed. 'Dad's been all alert, and he keeps bugging me about being careful cos' of Voldemort.'

Peter winced at the mention of the name.

'And even Mum has been out late working. There's so much more to do in the Auror office now. So many disappearances.'

A chill went through the compartment, and Mary shivered.

James gave a lopsided smile. 'Oops, sorry guys. I just destroyed the mood.'

'Yes, James. You did,' said an irritated Holly, who had just managed to extract herself from Sirius' "playfulness". 'So I am going to change the subject. I'll be of age soon, so I am expecting a big party, and we'll be learning to Apparate soon, too. My Mum said so.'

The news of Appartition started a healthy buzz of conversation, and all too soon, the train was drifting into a murky sunset, and the nine friends were getting changed into their school robes.
All along the train, students were collecting their empty chocolate frog wrappers, and exclaiming in excitement as they saw their first glimpse of the majestic castle. It rose into the sky as the fiery orange took its background.

All was well.

Please review! Just a simple good or bad will do! XD