A/N: So hey again! I'm so sorry I haven't updated this story in ages, so as an act of contrition, I seem to have gone on ahead and written the longest chapter I've ever written out in any of my fanfics. I apologize if this chapter is tough to digest because of its length, but I tried to make it amusing enough for the words to just fly by! So yeah, this is quite the chapter, and I hope you enjoy!

To Hogwarts!

After what seemed like a whirlwind of a crash course in magical culture in history, it was at last time for Lily to begin her adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had no idea what to expect, only that Mrs. Weasley said that it would be a positively delightful experience. Lily didn't know if this was some sort of British buzzword for "unmitigated hell that you just have to have a stiff upper lip about" or what.

Over the past few days, she had the chance to meet the apparently famous Harry Potter and his girlfriend, Mrs. Weasley's only daughter Ginevra. Lily had made the mistake of addressing the girl by this name and was met with a nasty glare before the girl laughed and explained that she preferred to go by Ginny. Lily knew how this felt, and quickly apologized.

Harry's best friend Ron was a little bit of a more brash personality. After Mrs. Weasley explained that Lily was a transgender girl that preferred to be addressed female pronouns, the youngest Weasley boy blinked at Lily and asked the dreaded question. "But... aren't you a bloke?"

After a thorough admonishing by Mrs. Weasley and an embarrassed apology from the redheaded boy, Lily gave a nervous smile and explained. "Well... I know it may sound, erm, strange... but I've never really thought myself much of a... 'bloke'. I've always thought of myself as a girl, and I just haven't had the chance to express that with my body yet."

Ron nodded, but then came a question from Harry. "So do you plan on wearing a skirt to clas- what?" Harry's question was cut off by a jab to the ribs from Ginny. "Oh, sorry. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

Lily actually laughed, surprising even herself a little bit. Maybe it was just because she knew that she'd be getting all of these questions eventually from others, and that it was better to get them from goodhearted people first.

"Well, I don't think I'll do that at first, you know? I don't want to wear skirts right away. I'd rather just get comfortable with my surroundings before making such a drastic change. Does that make any sense?"

The two boys nodded. Lily looked to Mrs. Weasley, who patted Lily's shoulder. "I think that's enough questions for now, boys."

It was with a bit of trepidation that she accepted the Weasley's escort to King's Cross Station a few days later. Mr. Weasley had been kind enough to rent a car, though Lily suspected that he probably didn't have his driver license – or perhaps he just wasn't a good driver. It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley grumpily explained from the front passenger seat that most wizards and witches travel by broom, Floo, or apparation that Lily understood Mr. Weasley's poor driving habits. She tightened her seatbelt.

After multiple dual-carriageways and winding roads later, a very carsick girl exited the backseat with her trunk and a cage with a particularly cheerful hooting creature that was looking forward to escaping its metal confinement. It was a purchase Lily had made with a little bit of the leftover money from her parents. It was a pretty North American barn owl with a brown heart shape around her face. Lily had chosen this particular owl because as Lily was looking around Eeylops' Owl Emporium, the barn owl landed right on her shoulder and began to playfully groom the human's shoulder and hair, gently nibbling at the follicles. After a moment of fright, Lily reached out and gently scratched the back of the owl's head, resulting in a happy hoot. Lily didn't need to look any further.

She named her new friend Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory. Sure she had owned a pair of Nike baseball cleats in Little League, but it was the mythological origins of the name that really attracted Lily to the name. She figured that if Nike can provide victory, maybe she too could prove victorious over the gender everyone interpreted her to be.

The Weasleys led Lily into King's Cross Station, where the girl was immediately lost in the confusion of the mid-morning shuffle. People of all walks of life seemed to rush past in a hurry, not paying even the slightest bit of attention at the redheaded family and the brunette that was walking beside them with a trolley containing what should be the most eye catching sight of a barn owl hooting and nibbling at its cage.

"Here we are then! Platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express!" Of course, Lily didn't see any platform or any staircase that led to a platform.

"Uh, Mrs. Weasley... there's no platform here?" Lily questioned with a worried look. "Are you sure we have the right place?"

The matriarch laughed a little and shook her head. "Oh, this is definitely the right spot. Arthur, won't you show her?"

Mr. Weasley happily obliged and leaned up against a massive pillar. He looked left and then right and leaned back, fading into invisibility.

"What the..." Lily was dumbstruck.

"All you need to do is just walk up and go. I'll keep an eye out. Don't be afraid of crashing. You'll go right through. All you have to do is trust me. I haven't steered you wrong yet, have I?"

Lily chose to ignore the fact that Mrs. Weasley tried to send her to Hogwarts with a few bras. While that might not be "steering wrong", it was certainly a cringe-worthy moment with the motherly figure. She smiled at Mrs. Weasley and waited for the all clear before walking briskly to the barrier. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact... it didn't come.

Instead, she heard loud, jubilant voices and the harsh tones of parents trying to wrangle in their misbehaving children. Mr. Weasley was right at the other side and caught Lily before she had a chance to open her eyes.

"Go on, then! Take a look!"

Lily blinked her eyes open and saw a magnificent purple colored steam train with golden letters glittering "The Hogwarts Express". So she had the right train. This was definitely a good start! A friendly guard stepped into view with a smile and offered to help with Lily's trunk. She smiled in appreciation as the trunk was loaded up. He then gently took Nike's cage and opened it! The owl quickly flew from the cage and sped off into the distance.

"Hey! My owl! What did you do that for?"

The guard gave a kind laugh. "Don't worry, sonny! We've got a whole lot of them on their way to Hogwarts. Yer owl will be just fine with the rest. Promise ya that you'll see 'im at breakfast tomorrow. Really smart, those barn owls!"

Not feeling the least bit relieved, Lily watched as Nike's empty cage was rested atop her trunk. Mrs. Weasley tapped Lily on the shoulder, causing her to spin around.

"Don't worry. He's right. Nike is very smart, and if you really need her, I'm sure she'll be right at your window. Now, don't worry about things. Just be yourself. Let your personality shine through and that means being yourself always. Even if you don't want to wear a skirt just yet."

Mrs. Weasley pulled the girl into a hug and kissed the top of her head. Lily smiled and hugged the woman back, and then accepted a hug from Mr. Weasley as well before boarding the train. The hallway was as plush and posh as Lily had imagined. She walked along the hallway and saw a few girls giggling. When one of them spotted Lily, she stuck her tongue out and made a rude hand gesture. Right, she still looked like a boy. But she never really got along with boys.

Getting a little nervous, she continued looking into the compartments for someone that would be a little less crude. At last, she was able to find what seemed like a quiet car. There was a girl with long, raven colored hair writing something down in a notebook while a blonde waved and patted a seat.

With a nervous smile, Lily entered into the car. The raven haired girl looked up from her writing and offered a confused expression while the blonde smiled broadly. Sitting beside the raven haired girl was another girl with short, dirty blonde hair who was enthusiastically waving out the window. Lily felt embarrassed for not noticing the eager girl before.

"So, hi! How are you," spoke the long haired blonde. "I'm Teresa! Kinda surprised you didn't want to sit with all the guys!"

"Oh, um, hi. I'm... I'm..." A lump caught in Lily's throat. Be yourself... easier said than done.

At last, the short haired girl had stopped waving out the window and plopped cross-legged onto the plush seat. "Uh oh! Looks like we've got someone tongue tied! I know how to fix that!"

The girl smiled confidently and took Lily by both cheeks, rubbing them and squishing them together. After a few moments of that treatment, Lily slapped the girl's hands away.

"Okay, okay! Promise not to laugh?"

The raven haired girl, who had seemingly tugged the short haired girl by the collar and forcefully pulled her back into the seat, smiled kindly. "Yes, we won't laugh. WILL we, Rachel?" She glared over at the short haired girl once more, who shook her head.

Lily blushed at this forceful exchange and took a deep breath. "Well... my name is Lily, and umm... I'm a girl even though I don't look like it."

For a moment, all was quiet as the other three girls' eyes went wide. Then Theresa rushed over and gave Lily a warm hug before pulling her down to sit next to her. "Oh that's wonderful! I'm so happy you were able to tell us! That explains so much!"

Lily's blush only grew as Rachel gave a chuckle. "Ohhhhhh, so you're a he-she..." Another thwack came from the raven haired girl, who was now seething.

"Rachel! Stop being so crass! You're giving us all a bad name!" She turned her gaze to Lily, who was now rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Don't mind Rachel. She doesn't quite know how to talk like a normal human being. I promise she's really nice. Just doesn't have much of a filter. I'm Megan, by the way."

Lily looked up and gave a nervous laugh. "Nice to meet you all. And the term is transgender. I've never really seen myself as a boy. Just a girl that happens to have boy parts and all that."

Megan nodded thoughtfully. "That's interesting! I guess I never thought that there were people like that out there, but that's cool! It just makes you special!"

Theresa nodded in agreement, and then Rachel opened her mouth again. Lily cringed in anticipation.

"So, Lily! I guess the biggest question is..." Oh great, here it comes. She's going to ask about my boyparts or if I want to look like a girl or if I want to wear girls' clothing now. "What house do you want to be sorted into?"

Lily blinked. She had heard about the four houses from Harry during his visit. "I'm not really sure to be honest. It sounds like they're all great options, but I heard from Har- I mean, a friend – that Slytherin is a bunch of bad eggs..."

Rachel nodded eagerly. "Yep! Who would want to be living in dark dungeons anyway? If you ask me, Gryffindor would be the best. All adventure and no need to study as long as you've got a brave heart!"

Megan thwacked Rachel with her notebook again. The short haired girl rubbed the top of her head but didn't seem to protest. It seemed that the abuse was pretty routine and didn't do much damage.

"So, what about you, Megan? Rachel?"

Megan turned her attention away from Rachel, just missing the beaten girl's tongue jutting from her mouth. "Well, I'll be happy wherever, as long as I'm able to make friends. I've been friends with Rachel here since childhood, so I suppose I'll probably follow her to whatever house she gets into."

Lily nodded and looked to Theresa, who had a wide smile. It seemed like she'd already made up her mind. "Hufflepuff! They're so awesome, and they're so nice! And I read somewhere that their common room is right next to the kitchens so you get the smell of fresh baked bread in your room every morning!"

Rachel laughed loudly. "Your parents must be Muggles, Theresa! Why would anyone want to be in Hufflepuff?"

Theresa laughed along with the brash girl, seemingly not understanding that Rachel was being rude again. "Yes, it's true. My parents are Muggles, but I've done a lot of reading about Hogwarts and the houses, and I'd still love to be a Hufflepuff. Are your parents Muggles or magical, Lily? I know you're not from here because of your accent."

Lily was feeling a bit more at ease. Even Rachel's harshness seemed to be easy to swallow, especially when Megan was there to keep her in line. "Well, my parents are... Muggles? I think that means they don't know magic, right? In that case, yes. Muggles. And I'm from America."

Rachel again piped up. "Ohhh... so that's where you're from! G'day, mate! How are you Bruces and Sheilas doing with the barbie and the dingos n' roos?"

Rather than hitting her, Megan just looked at Rachel in disbelief. "You... you know that's Australia, don't you?"

"Nope," exclaimed Rachel proudly. "American, Australian, New Zealand, New Greenland, it's all the same to me!"

"I'll never understand how you made it through grade school," breathed an exasperated Megan.

Meanwhile, Rachel had now pulled down the window and started shouting at people in an Australian accent. "Hey Bruce! Why don't cha go on n' grab a croc by the tail n' try ter get it ta dance fer ya? Crikey n' such! And don't say anything about the Bruce in the apartment with us, because she's really a Sheila."

Megan once again had to pull the girl from the window as the engine started up. As Megan once again began to administer a beating, Theresa pointed out the window to Mrs. Weasley, who had come up to their window. Lily slid over and peeked her head out the window.

"I couldn't help but hear your friend talking about you, dear. Quite the mouth she has, hmm? But I just wanted to wish you luck this semester, and once again, you can expect a letter from us tomorrow. Have a wonderful term."

She reached her hand up, and Lily grasped it. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. For everything. And please thank Mr. Weasley for me, too. Your family has been amazing, and I'm so grateful."

"Any time, dear! Enjoy your classes. And don't fall asleep like my sons! Just work hard and you'll be great!"

Lily had to let go of Mrs. Weasley's hand because the train was now beginning to move, but Mrs. Weasley continued to shout instructions.

"... And don't worry about Peeves! Just tell him you're a friend of Fred and George! And try not to get on Filch's bad side! And..."

Her words were now cut off by the train's whistle as it built speed and roared out of the station. Lily sat back down and got comfortable with her new friends.

It seemed that Rachel's new favorite thing was to talk in an Australian accent and give horribly cliched Australian responses to everything, which was clearly playing on Megan's last nerve. Lily offered to switch seats, which Megan gladly accepted.

Lily sat down beside Rachel, who immediately wrapped her arms around the girl. "Yeh see, Sheila? Yer my best gal, and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise!"

Lily patted Rachel's hand and looked back over at Theresa. "So how long have you known these two? Good friends?"

Theresa gave a kind smile and shook her head. "I've only known them about 20 minutes longer than you have! I saw Megan sitting here writing in her notebook and thought it was a nice quiet compartment. But then Rachel came in, and that all changed. Turns out she just hadn't gotten on the train yet."

Rachel responded to this slight by sticking her tongue out at the blonde. After her faux rage dissipated, she broke out a deck of cars. "Anyone wanna play Exploding Snap then?"

Lily was just thankful that Rachel was now speaking normally, but after her first hand, where she found the cards spontaneously combusted and drew the ire of a passing guard, Lily decided that maybe that wasn't the best game to play.

Instead, the girls spent the rest of their train ride sharing stories of their homes. It seemed that they were all fascinated most with Lily's home in America, so she told them all about the gentle flowing river across the street from her house, her golden retriever, and her favorite spot right by the water. The three girls listened in rapt attention as she described her American life.

She explained the country's fascination with "base ball" and "American rules football" and had to endure a speech from Rachel about how the only football was "real football" that they played in Europe.

The sweets trolley eventually came around, and Lily was able to buy a pack of Chocolate Frogs and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. The Chocolate Frogs were per the suggestion of Megan, who pulled out a binder filled with her card collection.

"See? Each pack has a new wizard. I'm only missing the super rares. I've been collecting for as long as I can remember, and I'm going to sell them if I decide to go to university!"

Lily opened her pack and looked at her card. "Hmmm... Minerva McGonagall. I know her!"

The biography underneath read, Minerva McGonagall, Current Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Order of Merlin, First Class. Expert in Transfiguration. Currently playing a crucial role in the rebuilding of Hogwarts after the Battle of Hogwarts in May 1998.

Lily looked over at Megan. "Battle of Hogwarts? You mean Hogwarts is damaged?"

Megan nodded, a serious look on her face. "Yeah. A really bad wizard attacked the school because he wanted to kill Harry Potter, and yeah, the school got beat up pretty good. At least, that's what my older sister said. But she said that they wouldn't open the school if it wasn't safe, so there's nothing to worry about, I suppose!"

A shiver went down Lily's spine. She had been so happy about the acceptance she was feeling that she didn't even think of the possibility that there could be bad wizards out there. But she supposed that there could be evil anywhere, and that wizards and witches could be no exception.

As the countryside rolled past, Lily noticed that things were starting to get darker and darker. At last, a guard knocked on the door and made the announcement that it was time to change into school robes. He tugged Lily out of the room.

"Don't worry, pal. You can go back in once all the girls are changed. Don't want you getting in trouble. You can go ahead and change in the loo."

With a sigh, Lily grabbed the robes that had been resting above their seats and made her way into the restroom labeled "Boys". Someday...

After changing into her robes, which were clearly suited for a boy, she knocked on the door to the compartment. Theresa let her back in with a smile. Rachel looked over to her and glared.

"Why can't I wear pants? Wanna trade, Lily? Come on, be a friend!" She dropped to her knees and began to beg.

"Sorry, Rachel... I'm just not ready to be seen in a skirt, but maybe in a couple of years or something!" She heard Megan let out a most un-Megan-like laugh.

"Sorry," she giggled. "It's just funny when other people put Rachel in her place, is all!"

At last, the train rumbled to a halt. They were here. Being toward the back of the train, they had to wait to depart the train. Once they made it outside, they heard a deep booming voice call out.

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years with me!"

Rachel tugged on Lily's arm and quickly led her to the sound of the booming voice. She hardly had time to notice if Megan and Theresa had managed to follow them and waved her arm dramatically to grab their attention. It seemed to be for naught though, as the two girls were rushing toward them and quickly trying to get Rachel to slow down.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, you know," explained Rachel. "You think I'll forget but I won't. I'm gonna wear pants a Start of Term feast and you're going to look so cute in a little skirt!" She gave a determined nod and stopped dragging once she reached the massive half-giant. Her jaw dropped as she looked up to him. "Holy... I'm gonna get a nosebleed just looking at you!"

The half-giant burst out laughing. "Yep! Maybe yeh should take a step back then! M'name is Hagrid, and I'm the groundskeeper here. 'Scuse me a sec. Firs' years over here!

Now, yer all firs' years, so that's good. We'll getcha in a boat in just a second. Just no gettin' any nosebleeds on my watch! Poppy would hate me for work on the firs' night here!"

Lily smiled up at the giant, who patted her on the shoulder. "And what's this fella doin' here with all these girls. Already tryin' ter be a ladies man?" Hagrid let out another laugh.

"Oh no... nothing like that... umm, I... I'm Lily, and I'm actually a girl, Mr. Hagrid," she explained with a blush.

Hagrid's eyes blinked in confusion as he tried to register what Lily was saying. He then smiled broadly and clapped her on the back, nearly knocking her into the water.

"Whoopsie daisy! Sorry 'bout that! Just never had anyone tell me that before. But good on ya, fella... I mean, miss! Good fer you, bein' yerself. Just try not ter cause no trouble. I know some people may not be as acceptin' as others. Just keep yer chin hi, alright?"

Lily nodded. Eventually, they all boarded a boat toward the front of the line, so that they had a perfect vantage of the castle as it came into view. The night was clear and starry, providing the perfect backdrop for a damaged Hogwarts Castle as the boats crossed into view.

Lily took a moment to look away from the castle to register the looks of the other girls. Rachel was grinning from ear to ear, whispering, "This is so awesome!"

Megan looked thoughtfully at the castle, studying it and smiling, as if she'd known the place her entire life. Meanwhile, Theresa was looking at the castle with stars in her eyes. At least ONE of them understood what Lily was going through.

She placed a hand on Theresa's shoulder and giggled to her before the two looked upward at the castle, positively amazed that they would actually be getting the chance to learn in such an incredible place.

Eventually, the boats all landed, and the girls exited. Hagrid led the entire group of first years, a total of perhaps 25 students, up a few flights of stairs, until stopping in front of two large oak doors. He knocked three times.

"Enter," commanded a familiar voice.

Hagrid pushed the two massive doors opened and called out to the room. "Firs' years here for their sortin', Headmistress."

Lily looked nervously to the girls. She really hoped that they were not going to have to do anything embarrassing to determine where they would be sorted. She worried that she would have to tell everyone about being transgender on the first day and that was positively nerve wracking. She felt herself starting to have a panic attack!

But then, she felt her new friends gently relax her. Megan and Rachel gently clasped her hands while Theresa rubbed her back.

"Don't worry... you won't have do anything you don't want to," explained Megan. "My big sister said that it's a piece of cake. You just put a hat on, and that's that."

Rachel was next. "And if anyone gives you any trouble, I'll beat them all up for you! Promise!"

Theresa continued to rub Lily's back. "If you get nervous, we'll all be right here. Even if we get sorted before you. Don't worry."

The girls were snapped from their conversation by the Headmistress.

"First years will now assemble themselves in alphabetical order by last name, and will then form a single file line to be sorted."

An odd sensation came over Lily. She only had a few seconds to wonder how they were going to do that, before she felt herself being lifted into the air, along with most of the other new students. She gave a little cry of surprise as she was wooshed around the line, as if some invisible claw were moving her and her fellow first years around, placing some down, reshuffling others, until at last, the girls had been formed in a single file line. It seemed that she was still close to Megan but Theresa was midway down the line, and Rachel was toward the back.

"Let the sorting begin," ordered McGonagall. Lily gulped.

Postscript: So yeah, like I said, long chapter is long! But I hope you enjoyed reading. For those of you that are familiar with anime, yes, I totally ripped off the girls from K-On, because that's been my latest fanfic kick lately. Plus the dynamics of that group of girls is too much fun to pass up.

I'm going to try to devote a little more time and love to this fic, but I would really appreciate your reviews for this chapter. As I said, this was the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my fics, so feedback would be GREATLY appreciated for it. Thank you so much in advance.