Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling; I'm never going to be her; these characters don't belong to me

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction - I normally write Star Trek: Voyager instead! (And I can't imagine a crossover between them - yet!!) This was based on a very, very strange dream I had and maybe one day the title will make sense. (And if it doesn't I'll have to change it!)

Please read and review.... pretty please?

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September 1st: the start of Lily's first term at Hogwarts. Lily and her parents were at King's Cross Station in plenty of time to catch the Hogwarts Express. Pushing a trolley with her trunk, and a cage with her owl, Ollie. Her parents each pushed another trolley each with their trunks; Harry with his old owl Hedwig and Hermione with her cat, Dandelion. Although teachers rarely travelled on the Hogwarts Express, Dumbledore knew that it would be easier for his new professors to travel from London with the students.

"Lily, you go through first," Harry told his daughter. "As of this time, we don't know you, okay?"

"Fine with me," Lily replied, petting Dandelion. "Have a good first term - I'll try and behave in your classes at least!"

"You'll behave in all your classes," Harry told her, briefly hugging her.

"We'll see you at Hogwarts," Hermione replied. "Don't forget to write!" The last bit was said teasingly, as they watched Lily disappear through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Well, it's our turn now I guess," Harry replied. They both walked through the seemingly solid barrier, and found themselves on platform nine and three-quarters. Students of all ages were bustling around, meeting friends, saying goodbye to their parents...

Harry saw Lily down at the far end of the train, talking to two red haired girls - the Weasley twins, the next generation. There were currently five Weasleys at Hogwarts - Morgan and Marie, George's daughters; Jamie who was Charlie's daughter, and Darren and Daniel - twin boys of Fred. However, Harry knew that next year both Bill's and Percy's daughters were to join, as well as Ron's son.

They kept their promise, and sat down the front of the train; well away from where they had last seen Lily.

Morgan and Marie Weasley already knew that Lily had changed her surname for school, and so did not shout out "Potter!" like they usually did.

"Hey Lily," Morgan greeted, the oldest by ten minutes.

"Hey Morgan, Marie," Lily replied. "How's everyone?"

"Fine," Marie replied. "So, excited?"

"Yeah," Lily replied. Now she knew that she wasn't going to be associated with Professors Potter and Granger, she was excited about attending Hogwarts.

"Come and sit with us," Morgan invited. "You should be in Gryffindor hopefully."

"I don't think I could ever live it down if I wasn't," Lily replied, shuddering at the thought of being sorted into Slytherin. "Not with mum and dad being who they are."

She followed the twins onto the train, where they joined what seemed like the rest of the Gryffindor second years.

"Ok Lily," Marie began. "These are Kathryn Young, Hallie Brooks, Matthew Dell, Ewan Hickman and Sean Lynch. Everyone - this is Lily Black. She's a first year, and should be in Gryffindor."

"Hi," greeted the dark haired girl pointed out as Hallie. "Are your parents wizards then, or are you Muggle born?"

"Uh," Lily wasn't sure what to say. "Both my parents are wizards," she replied, figuring that it was probably easier to tell the truth as far as that was concerned. Just as long as they didn't ask for names.

The final whistle blew, and the train slowly started to pull away from the station.

"Anyone seen Taya, Reche and James?" Matthew asked. Lily guessed that he was referring to the other three members of Gryffindor in their second year.

"No," replied Kathryn. "But Molly made me look after her brother while she sorted out everyone, as Robert had ran off with his friends."

Marie turned to Lily. "Kathryn's cousin's a prefect, and her youngest brother's just started Hogwarts too. Maybe you could go and find him?"

"I'll do that," Lily replied, realising that she would most likely get bored while the others swapped stories of their summer.

Heading down the train, she looked into each compartment as she went past, looking for someone else who looked as though they were in the first year.

"Excuse me," she asked politely to a boy who was blocking her way. He just turned and looked at her.

"Well, there's really no excuse for someone like you," he sneered. Lily felt her temper rising, and her hand forming a fist at her side. **Wait a minute Lily, she reminded herself. You don't have to hit him - curse him instead!**

"Really? I thought the same about you," she replied, reaching inside her sleeve for her wand.

The boy's face turned a distinctive shade of purple. "Take that back," he snarled.

"Go to hell," Lily replied, pulling out her wand, and holding it in front of her.

The boy didn't look impressed. "You're a first year. You can't have learnt anything yet."

"Wanna bet?" Lily asked, quickly scanning her mind over spells she had read, or her parents had taught her. One came to mind. "Petrificus Totalus," she cried, pointing the wand at him. With a look of shock on his face, he dropped forward in a full body bind. Stepping over him, her justification was that her parents had told her not to get into any trouble in the lessons. They hadn't said anything about getting into trouble on the train, if they could trace the spell back to her!

A few carriages down, she saw a whole group of first years.

"Hi," she began, stepping in. "Mind if I join you?"

One of the boys spoke first. "Well, actually..."

Lily glared at him. "Fine, I know where I'm not wanted."

She turned to leave, but he continued. "It's just that we want to be boys, so maybe you could go and find a carriage with Emma and Lindsay?"

Lily noticed the two girls sitting quietly in-between the seven boys. "Sure, if they don't mind you dictating their lives..."

Obviously the two girls didn't, as they quickly stood up and headed out of the carriage with Lily.

"Hi, I'm Lily Black," the young witch introduced herself to her companions. She had been practising saying her name all summer - Lily Black, instead of Lily Potter.

"Emma Kaplan," the blonde one replied.

"Lindsay Dorado."

"Nice to meet you," Lily said politely as they hunted for an empty carriage. However, it was soon clear that there wasn't one.

"This one's only got two people in," Emma called, having gone up ahead.

"Ask if they mind us sitting with them," Lily called back.

"They say it's fine," Emma replied, and Lindsay and Lily followed.

Lily stood still as she entered the carriage, and looked at her mum and dad; her mum fast asleep.

"What's up Lily?" Emma asked, puzzled at her friend's response to the two adults in the carriage.

"I, uh, it's just that I wasn't expecting to see adults on the Hogwarts Express," Lily lied, slightly flustered. "I always thought it was students only."

"Normally it is," Harry told them. "But myself and my colleague here found it easier to take this train, as we had some things to settle close to the start of term.

"Oh, okay then," Lily replied. "Sorry - I didn't mean to be rude..."

"Don't worry - I had the same experience in my third year..." Harry began, but stopped when he saw the murderous glances his daughter was sending at him.

Lindsay was also glancing at Harry but for completely different reasons. "I recognise him from someone," she hissed at her two classmates. "Don't you?"

**Course not, I only see him every day** Lily thought to herself. **Stupid parents taking stupid train**

"He does seem familiar," Emma admitted. "And he's kinda cute too. What do you think, Lily?"

**Cute? Emma found her dad cute?** Lily's reflex action was to gag. "Uh, I think I might have seen him playing Quidditch," she replied. "It's hard to tell when the players fly so fast."

"Oh Quidditch," Lindsay said in a bored voice. "Can't say I follow it actually."

**Sacrilege!** Lily's mind screamed out. **How could you *not* follow Quidditch?**

Harry sneaked a look at his daughter's face from the top of the book when one of the girls announced that she didn't follow Quidditch.

"Oh, all right then," Lily replied. "So, you're from a wizarding family then?"

"Yep - I'm guessing you are too," Lindsay replied.

Lily nodded, and turned to Emma. "How about you?"

"No, my dad's an army officer and my mum's a hairdresser. It was a bit of a shock when we got the letter."

Harry couldn't help overhearing the conversation, and smiled as he remembered getting his letter from Hagrid. His smile only increased when he heard the girl's next question.

"What's Quidditch?"

"Quidditch is our sport," Lily began. "It's as big as football (soccer) is in the Muggle world."

"Oh right," Emma replied. "How's it played?"

**Stupid question,** Harry thought to himself. Lily was going to bore them all stupid with every last rule and foul of Quidditch ever recorded now. Or at least until they reached Hogwarts.

"Well, there's four balls..." Lily began, launching immediately into her favourite subject.

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Again, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.