A/N- Thank you kindly to everyone who's reviewed/favourited/followed so far! I do love reviews!

I've been away visiting friends for the past few days so haven't been updating but I'm back on the bandwaggon now!

When Lily Evans had arrived at platform 9 ¾ at the end of the first term at Hogwarts, she'd noticed how all the older students met their parents quite casually. They were the ones who stood leaning against the back wall looking tired. Usually they were alone. The first years' parents were the ones buzzing with anticipation at the very edge of the platform, usually accompanied by their child's grandchildren or siblings... her parents had been exactly the same: their magical daughter returning from her first term at her magical school called for a big welcome reception.

Now, she and her husband were playing the roles of overbearing parent. Their car could not accommodate anyone else coming with them to collect Harry from the station, but a surprise was waiting for him at home. Lily was eager to see his reaction. He'd be here any minute now...

"Mr Granger! Good to see you again!" she heard her husband say. Beside her, James was shaking hands with a skinny fair-haired man who looked rather nervous. He was accompanied by a tall, beautiful woman.

"Lily, this is Hermione's father!" he explained, though he didn't have to. Lily saw Hermione in him: his mouth had smiled at him before in a picture that Harry had sent her of his two best friends. She'd been amazed when James came home from Diagon Alley and told her that he'd met Mr Granger.

"It's ever so nice to meet you," said Lily, shaking his hand and smiling warmly. "Harry talks of his friends so often. It sounds like Hermione's quite the academic!"

Beside him, the beautiful woman coughed.

"Oh, erm... this is my wife, Jean."

Jean Granger looked impossibly young. She smiled briefly at Lily and James before looking back down the track in search of the train.

"How did Harry's er... quidditch session go?" asked Mr Granger, clearly void of all knowledge of the sport. He reminded her of her own parents when she'd tried and failed at explaining the sport.

"Brilliantly!" James said proudly. "Gryffindor won. Harry caught the snitch."

"The what?"

"The... erm... ball with most points."

"Ah. Very good."

The four adults lapsed into silence again. James kept looking to Jean and thinking back to his conversation with Mr Granger weeks before: that Hermione had no-one to turn to where growing up was concerned. What was wrong with Jean? She was clearly Hermione's mother, you could see that from a mile off...

"So, erm... any plans for the holidays?" asked Mr Granger after a while. James looked at Lily to answer. She would be the best at censoring out any alarming wizarding traditions.

"Not really, no. We tend to keep things at home during Christmas."

They heard Jean Granger snort.

"A friend of Harry's is staying with us. His parents are going abroad for Christmas. Should be a busy house this holiday!" Lily grinned. At that moment, the group of parents heard a hollow, echoing whistle that made everyone's hearts soar. Conversations bubbled again.

When the train was in the station, Lily and James battled to get through the converging crowds but to no avail. They stood uselessly at the back, hoping Harry would be able to see them from there.

"Mum!"

"HARRY!"

The second Harry squeezed himself through the crowds to the back of the platform, his mother pulled him into her arms, not noticing the red-headed boy that was being crushed awkwardly between two plump grandmas in the crowd.

"Er... can someone give me a hand?" Ron strained awkwardly. Lily, who was still squeezing the life out of her son, opened her eyes and smiled apologetically at the fellow ginger. She released Harry and pulled Ron awkwardly from between the two chubby old women by his faded old robes. While Harry and James had a quick catch-up, Lily unthinkingly brushed pastry crumbs from the ginger boy's robes.

"Good journey, was it?" she chuckled, fondly remembering the hours spent in her childhood on the Hogwarts express wolfing down pumpkin pasties. Ron looked tired and glum.

"Yeah, it was alright. Although we had to listen to..."

"Ahem!" called a snooty voice from behind them. A bushy-haired girl strode out from the dispersing crowds, lugging a suitcase behind her. She was glaring at Ron and did not seem to notice anybody else watching her.

"Ronald, I was trying to get you and Harry to understand that you simply can't just ignore your school work until the end of the holidays! I might've sounded a little forceful but I think I was being perfectly-"

"Did we really need to hear it over and over again throughout the entire journey?" interjected Ron grumpily.

Lily had chuckled at the pre-pubescent sour mood that she and James were overly familiar with, but no sooner had he spoken, Hermione had forgotten the argument completely, dropped her suitcase and rushed over to her father, who wrapped his arms fondly around his daughter. It was an odd sight to see, because as soon as Hermione was set free, Mr Granger seemed to stiffen again. He tugged at his wife's sleeve. Jean Granger had been totally impassive in this reunion until her husband had caught her attention, at which point she put an arm around Hermione's shoulders and smiled. James, Harry and Ron all picked up on this uncomfortable exchange as well.

"Well, erm... it's good to meet you both finally!" said James, breaking the ice. "Harry's told us all about you in his owls!"

Ron turned scarlet. Hermione simply beamed.

"Really, Harry?" she asked, looking awe-struck at him. "You talk about me in your owls?" Hermione's face suddenly turned from an expression of deep gratitude to one of astonishment as she finally lay eyes on Lily Potter.

"Mrs Potter, it is an honour to see you again!" Hermione thrust her hand out towards Lily, who shook it amusedly. Ron looked to Harry and rolled his eyes.

"I read Absurdly Difficult Potions Explained about four times this termr, didn't I, Dad? It was simply fascinating! Ooh, and Harry tells us that you're writing another book! Is it true? Will there be any developments on Felix Felicis? Oh gosh, I'm talking nonsense... I'm so sorry... erm..." Hermione turned as red as Lily was by the end of her verbal diarrhoea.

"Gosh, Hermione, erm..." stumbled Lily, before Jean Granger interjected.

"Hermione, stop embarrassing Mrs Potter. We've all got homes to go to!"

"Sorry, Mum," Hermione mumbled, blushing once again. As the group began to file out of the platform, back through the main section of King's Cross Station, Lily managed to keep up with Hermione.

"My new book," Lily began in a murmur that only Hermione could hear. "Is quite different from my other work."

Hermione looked up at her, confused. "How so?"

"It's... well, let's just say it's not as fitting for a classroom scenario as my last book was. You'll see when it's published."

"Oh... is it too complex?"

"Oh, nothing like that! It's perfectly suitable for students of your age..." Lily was about to continue, but noticed Hermione appeared disheartened. Maybe it was the fact that the new book would not challenge her as she had hoped, or that an author that she seemed fond of was not confiding all her literary secrets to her, or perhaps it was Lily's assumption that Hermione's reading age was anything near that of her classmates. By this time, they were outside the station. Lily had little time to make amends.

"Tell you what," Lily began again. "How about you visit us after Boxing Day and you critique a few of my sample chapters? What do you say to that?"

Hermione's face suddenly lit up with so much excitement that Lily found herself beaming too. In front of them, Mr Granger had undoubtedly heard the girls' exchange, as he was walking several inches taller than he was before. He looked back at Lily and Hermione and smiled pleasantly.

"Oh, Mrs Potter!" drawled Jean Granger, sauntering up beside her daughter. "That is so kind of you, really, but I'm afraid we're leaving for France tomorrow so Hermione won't see her dear friends until next term. Say goodbye, darling!"

Lily felt as though she'd walked into a wall. It was the same feeling that one experiences when you are publicly told off by a teacher. Hermione said a miserable farewell to her friends and was then bundled into a new-looking Audi by her mother. James steered the boys away from the Granger family, giving Lily a knowing look of concealed suspicion. Just before the Grangers drove away, Lily caught the eye of Mr Granger. He was watching the group of wizards walk away with an expression that could be identified on a small boy who'd been banned from playing out in the snow. Lily waved sympathetically at him and he waved back, but was overshadowed by his daughter's manic propeller waving in the back seat. Lily chuckled to herself and picked up the pace, hoping to let Ron in on Harry's surprise party before they reached home.

So, what it terrible?

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