A/N : This came to me a few days ago, I took a break from reworking this story, if you didn't know I've been working hard improving things, I've redone the first 17 chapters, so if you ever wanted to re read my story, there is no better time haha.

I hope you like it as much as me and I hope it's not flogging the dead thestral too much. A very happy new year to you all, I will now put all my efforts into my new fic, enjoy!

P.S. I try not to play favourites, I really do, but this is dedicated to mercersburgrachel, she has been invaluable to me. And a huge thanks to those who've shared a year of my life as I wrote this.

The Unexpected Epilogue : Like Father, Like Daughter

Minerva Mcgonagall sat in her chair, behind the vast desk in her office, head teachers from throughout the ages slumbered in their portraits. She picked up a crystal tumbler and took a sip of the contents, her eyes fluttered closed as she savoured the drink, a fine bottle of single malt stood to the side of a large stack of papers.

There was a faint knock on the door, it was so quiet it went unheard, the severe woman drained her glass and the second knock came, louder and more assured this time, she hastily pulled open a drawer and stashed the empty glass and the bottle. She cleared her throat and called out to her visitor in her usual, strong, authoritative voice.

"Come in, ah, Miss Potter, I appreciate your punctuality, you may sit"

The first time she had set eyes on the girl had been a monumental shock. Hagrid had ushered the first years into the Great hall as he did every year, and then there was an audible gasp from the more senior members of staff. The sorting list fell from her hand and drifted to the table, Lily Potter-Black was almost a head taller than the rest of the students, she held herself just like her mother, her features were softer, but she didn't bear a strong resemblance to Harry or Narcissa, that came elsewhere, in subtle ways and mannerisms. She had bright green eyes and wild black hair, not quite a mess of curls, but close.

She stood slightly apart from the nervous looking group of first year children, if she hadn't been looking all around in wonder, she would have appeared quite bored. The headmistress composed herself and walked over to the stool carrying the tatty looking sorting hat.

Lily knew that she had a head start on most of the first years, she was an instant attraction on the Hogwarts Express, many people passed by her compartment to look in, a few were brave enough to talk to her. At the Hogsmeade station she was suitably awed by the size of the gatekeeper, one of her Dad's oldest friends, she took the boat ride across the lake in her stride, the giant squid had surfaced and slipped a tentacle into her boat, as the rest of the passengers screamed, she had sat up and given the creature a hard slap, the offending tentacle was quickly withdrawn.

Standing in the Great hall was a fantastic feeling, she could feel the other students scrutinising the new first years, she looked around at the floating candles, the huge containers that held the housepoint tally for the school houses, the stool for the sortee to sit on, and finally the staff table. She waved cheerily at Hermione who responded in kind, she had a good relationship with the woman and hoped that she wouldn't report back to her parents for every little thing.

The sorting took an age, she idly twirled her wand in her hand until her name was finally called, everyone in the hall abandoned their whispered conversations, she had the undivided attention of the room, she emulated her mother perfectly, strutted to the stool and sat on it like a throne, the sorting hat was lowered onto her head, she let out a small squeak when a voice spoke to her.

"My, my, my, what do we have here? The daughter of Harry Potter and Narcissa Black has finally come to Hogwarts. Your mother comes from a long line of Slytherins, and your father from a long line of Gryffindors, I've said it before, he would have done well in Slytherin. You have a keen intellect, you could excel in Ravenclaw, but you have the heart of a lion, and then there's your power, you are so like your Aunt, a truly remarkable witch, fearless and unrivalled.

You have so much potential, I never thought that I would have this much trouble with a single student."

There was no indication of the passing of time, the hat rarely ceased chatting, she must have been sat there a long time as the noise of conversations in the room was beginning to build again, there was a slight feeling of panic growing in the pit of her stomach, what if she wasn't sorted? She smoothed down her robes with sweaty palms, trying to rid them of their clamminess at the same time.

"Well Miss Potter-Black, I think that there is only one place that you can go"

The hat thundered the word 'GRYFFINDOR' and she jumped so much she almost fell off the stool, the hat was removed from her head and the Headmistress gave her a slight push towards her house table.

She sat rigid in the chair and met the eye of the formidable Scotswoman in the chair opposite, she managed a small smile, her parents held her in very high esteem, apparently she had married her parents many years ago, there was a slight twitch at the corners of the woman's mouth.

"Do you know why you're here, Lily?"

"No Professor"

"Why do I get the feeling that there is a snake in the lion's den every time we have to meet like this" the young girl just shrugged her shoulders "you were in the forbidden forest again"

"How do you always know?"

"I have my ways, and your father's cloak won't hide you from me either"

Her eyebrows shot up, how on earth did she know about the cloak, Hermione knew, she had told her about some of their exploits, she had underestimated the headmistress' friendship with her father, she tried to put on a neutral look, a mask, something else she learned from her mother.

"You do realise how dangerous the forest is?" she nodded "still trying to ride unicorns, I admire your tenacity, but if one were to gore you with it's horn, well, it's not a wound that's easily healed"

"I have ridden them"

"Excuse me?"

"I have ridden them, they trust me" there was a strength building in her voice now, the headmistress recovered quickly from that amazing revelation

"Have you given any thought as to what would happen if you strayed into Centaur territory?"

"I've met them plenty of times" she said with an air of defiance "Is it true Firenze saved my father's life in his first year?"

"Merlin's beard, your father's reputation won't save you from everything, and I have had this same conversation before, with your mother's eldest sister, there are so many similarities between you"

The old witch removed her spectacles and rubbed her eyes, she wasn't a bad girl, quite the opposite, she was studious, talented, fiercely loyal to her house and her friends, not since Bellatrix had she had to deal with such shenanigans.

It must have been the second week of Lily's first year, during Madam Hooch's flying lesson, that was their first taste of her propensity for bending the rules, they were pretty sure it was Harry's house elf that had smuggled her Dad's Firebolt in for her, it may have been an ancient broom by the standard of the day, but compared to the school brooms, it was potent. Her skill was unprecedented, she stood dejected, as Madam Hooch conversed with McGonagall over her reckless behaviour. Minerva had her first bout of deja vu, the Gryffindor team was a shadow of it's former self, if she had a fraction of her father's skill, maybe they could win the house cup again, she shook herself out of that daydream and focussed her attention on the matter in hand. Despite the Quidditch coach's rant about how she could have been a stain on the castle walls, it was hard not to notice a hint of admiration in her voice.

In her regular lessons, she excelled at everything she put her wand to, she had grasped Charms and Transfiguration instantly and they came to her as naturally as breathing in and out. Defence Against the Dark Arts earned her a second trip to the headmistresses office, although the subject didn't operate in the same capacity as it had during the war, it was a favourite subject amongst the student body, they practised duelling competitively once they had mastered the basic shield spells and disarming spells.

Lily had been paired with a Ravenclaw boy with a tactical approach to duelling, admittedly, he wasn't nearly as talented as the young witch, but he was the only one who might have a chance against her. She hadn't intended on hurting him, in order to get a feel for her opponent, she had started defensively, playing weak on purpose. When she saw an opening she had struck, the poor boy had spent two weeks in the hospital wing. It was decided that she was too advanced for duelling, but wasn't prohibited from practising on the training dummies, Minerva reasoned that it would probably be a good idea not to take away her only means of letting off steam, just in case, she had been upset that her duelling partner was hurt, she didn't know her own magical strength.

The shadows in the office were growing long and the lamps around the room had flared into life, she gave Lily permission to return to her dorm and that she was to go straight there, no diversions, or she would know, she nodded, thanked the old witch and left.

McGonagall went and sat back at her desk, she opened a drawer and took out a sheet of parchment, she took out her wand and as she touched it she uttered the words 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' she watched the tiny dot until it was safely back in Gryffindor tower, 'Mischief managed' Harry had loaned her the map after she realised the futility of trying to keep his daughter out of the forest and she would be eternally grateful for it.

Aside from her inherent skill with a wand, she was equally talented in other areas, she was Horace Slughorn's favourite student, a fact that put more than a few noses out of joint, Herbology was tolerated, a large part of that was down to Neville, he commented often on her ability, and moaned frequently that she put most of the class to shame with only a fraction of effort, in the end he gave up trying to get her to give her all.

Hagrid absolutely adored her, there wasn't a creature that didn't take to her, and she would often help him outside of class, partly it was because it gave her a legitimate reason to stray into the forbidden forest and partly a genuine love of the creatures, she would only ever admit to herself that it was all about the creatures, she had a reputation to maintain.

During her second year the Tri-Wizard tournament made a welcome return, her dad came along to school frequently, as he was the reigning champion, the Ministry thought it was the perfect time to bring it back, enough time had passed since the war, new rules had been drafted and it was a fantastic and thrilling affair. Lily was a little upset about the lack of Quidditch, but it was nice having her father around and her mother, they were still very much in love, she found it very embarrassing and in order to keep the peace, they had had taken a room in Hogsmeade, to spare her blushes.

On her twelfth birthday a parcel had been placed on her bed, it contained her father's invisibility cloak, she was beside herself with glee, after a year of keeping her nose clean, she now had the ways and the means to indulge in her favourite extra curricular activities.

She managed to convince Hermione to disclose the details of many of their adventures and that made her want to have a few adventures of her own, even if it was just visiting the places these momentous events had taken place in. She gave up trying to find the Room of Requirement pretty swiftly, it seemed her transfiguration teacher was correct and that the fiendfyre had destroyed the room completely. Also, she didn't like the awkward atmosphere that asking about it caused, her big brother had looked positively ill when she had brought it up at a family gathering.

The castle was so vast, the loss of one exciting avenue to pursue wasn't that big a deal, so she took to learning the castle's layout by heart, she had located all of the entrances to the other house common rooms, she had even managed to gain entry to the Slytherin common room, as cool as it was, she preferred the luxury and comfort of being a Lion. Apparently the wards recognised her dominant Black bloodline, the headmistress hadn't been angry with her that time, she just got a telling off for breaking curfew.

Minerva didn't have any real proof that Lily used her father's invisibility cloak, she knew the castle so well, she didn't doubt her ability to navigate its halls unseen, she was, however, pretty certain that it was a recent acquisition, she definitely didn't have it in her first year. Her suspicions were roused further during Lily's third year, the headmistress had to deal with an irate librarian once or twice a week, several books had wandered off, only to reappear a few weeks later, she had dismissed it at first, they weren't dark or dangerous books, they covered creature languages, animagi and magical myth, she was baffled by the fact that they could have just been checked out of the library through normal channels.

With the gift of hindsight, Lily had realised that her third year escapades would have turned out better if she had just checked the books out of the library normally, she justified her actions with the simple fact that she loved the freedom of the castle at night. There was nothing like the rush of evading a teacher or the caretaker, and as she was out and about, it made sense to pick up a few useful items along the way, she always returned them.

She had heard about the merpeople who lived in the Black lake and was determined to meet them, she had taught herself how to swim, perfected the bubblehead charm and learned enough mermish to talk her way out of trouble, that was one of the few pursuits that didn't get her an exclusive audience with the headmistress.

On one of her midnight wanderings, she had been walking down one of the many corridors when she heard someone crying, she had crept along and listened at each door until she located the source of the noise, it was the girl's bathroom, she tentatively pushed the door open and stepped into the bathroom. Even though she moved quietly her footsteps were obscenely loud in the quiet. She moved along the stalls and pushed open the doors one by one, her heart thudded in her chest. In the final stall sat a girl, a ghost of a girl, she wore massive black rimmed spectacles and was crying.

"Are you all right?" the question sounded pretty stupid to her now she'd said it

The girl looked at her and the crying stopped, her eyes were wide.

"Do I look all right to you? Foolish girl. Who do you think you are, barging in here, you should be in bed, you're out after hours, maybe I should go and find Filch"

"No, please don't, who are you?"

"I'm Myrtle"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lily, Lily Potter-Black"

The ghost's whole demeanour changed in an instant, she moved close and her arm passed clean through her and it felt like she'd just had ice water poured on her, she shivered involuntarily.

"Who is your father?"

"Harry Potter, why?"

"I know him well, in his second year, him and his friends brewed polyjuice potion in here and I helped him in the Tri-Wizard tournament"

"Why did they need to make polyjuice potion?"

"They were looking for the Chamber of Secrets, the entrance is just over there"

She pointed to a large octagonal arrangement of sinks, Lily walked over to investigate, there was nothing unusual about it at first glance, on closer inspection she saw that there was a snake etched onto one of the taps.

"How does it open?"

"No idea, Harry just made these weird hissing noises and it opened"

"My dad can speak to snakes?"

After that night she became determined to enter the chamber and see it for herself, it had taken her months of sneaking into the restricted section of the library before she found enough information on parseltongue to attempt speaking it. Each night she would sneak to the bathroom and hiss at the fixtures and fittings, sometimes Myrtle would be there, mostly she was alone.

One night she was sat on the cold tile floor, frustration had got the better of her and she cried angry tears, she kept trying to vocalise what she had learnt to no avail, in her distress she cursed under her breath, at least that's what she thought, she screamed when the solid marble she was leaning against suddenly moved.

The whole bank of sinks sank into the floor and parted, she crawled on all fours and looked down into the black hole, she shone her wand into the pit, it was just a slide, she swung her legs over the edge and pushed herself off.

She landed at the bottom with a bit of a bump, bones cracked under her boots, the large vault door hung open, cautiously she edged forward, from what Myrtle had told her, the chamber contained the last living Basilisk in Great Britain, and it had been unleashed on the school. Her dad, along with his two best friends had discovered the secret and he had come down here and killed it.

Standing inside the chamber she could see the skeleton, it was absolutely huge, the fangs had been broken from the skull and many lay strewn across the floor, she knew enough to stay well away from them.

Now that her curiosity was well and truly satisfied she felt compelled to leave, the trip back to the bathroom was hard, she had to brace her arms and legs either side of the slick pipe and slowly work her way up, eventually, grimy and sweaty, she pulled herself out and onto the floor or Myrtle's toilet, and was faced with a pair of very shiny boots, as her eyes travelled upwards the feeling of dread slipped deep into her stomach, as her eyes reached the hem of the tartan skirt, she had the feeling that she was in deep trouble.

Not a word was spoken as she followed the headmistress through moon dappled corridors, finally they were standing in her office, she crossed the room to the fireplace and threw a handful of floo powder into the flames, a silver jet flew from the tip of her wand. After several agonising minutes her worst fears were realised as her mother stepped out of the flames, followed closely by her dad.

"I'm sorry to disturb you both at this most unsociable hour" the Scottish lilt seemed much more pronounced, possibly because she was angry "Your daughter has just returned from a midnight stroll"

"Well, I'm sure even Narcissa strayed out after hours, and if she denies it, I'll check with Andromeda" her mother gave him a look that clearly said that this was not the time for his particular brand of humour.

"Maybe Harry, but she decided to take her walk in the Chamber of Secrets"

"Oh, I see" his hand strayed into his hair, just like it always did on these occasions

"I hear about all these things that you did, I just wanted to see it for myself" she added sulkily

"How do you want to deal with this Minerva? Surely you won't expel her, she didn't put anyone in danger"

"No, I don't think that's necessary, in better circumstances I'd be impressed, she taught herself parseltongue, the ghosts have told me she can speak a bit of mermish, she's made friends with the centaurs and apparently can ride a unicorn, there's only been one student at this school that could claim those things"

"Bellatrix" her mother spoke the name in a whisper

"Yes, but I do believe that she had two willing companions" Narcissa looked scandalised "Of course I knew what you all got up to"

They stood there in silence until Lily piped up

"Right, well I'll just be taking myself off to bed, I'd give you both a hug but I smell like drains and I'm covered in slime, night" she turned and headed to the door

"Not so fast young lady" she froze with her hand almost on the door handle

"Detention Miss Potter, tomorrow night at seven, and every night going forward, until I decide otherwise, do not be late"

"Yes Professor, night mum, night dad"

She hung her head and slunk out of the room.

"Sorry to call you both out, but in terms of impact, it will help immensely, I can't imagine where she gets her rebellious streak from" her parents regressed back to school age under her withering stare "Her school work remains exemplary, Hermione is worried she's about to lose the title of the brightest witch of her age, but I think it's about time it was passed on, she is a credit to you both, I'm just getting too old for this"

While her parents chatted, Lily walked slowly back to her dorm. As it was the weekend, she stopped and threw herself through the shower, shattered but clean, she finally collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until the afternoon.

Her nephew joined the school at the end of her fourth year, Scorpius adored her and followed her around like a shadow, despite being sorted into Slytherin. She had mellowed a little, she still liked to wander outside the rules, but it was very low key, she liked being a role model to the miniature Draco. That didn't mean she wasn't prone to showing off, and the quidditch pitch was the best place, and probably the safest. He clung onto her waist for dear life as she kicked off from the ground and shot up way above the stands and the goal hoops. After a few laps of the field and when his screaming had died down, he began to enjoy it.

As time wore on she felt the need for a new challenge, she didn't have long left at school, all that remained was to find that challenge, she'd managed to add her name to a number of school trophies, she was so far ahead in classes, she could probably pass the exams in her sleep. Inspiration had struck one day while she was talking to Hermione after class.

"I want to become an animagi" she just blurted it out and Hermione just stared blankly at her

"Why?"

"Why not, it'd be cool, you can help me" she grinned earnestly at her other Aunt

"I don't think that's a good idea, we'd have to register your intentions with the ministry, your parents would have to consent, you aren't even eligible to begin apparation training until next year"

"I don't want to do all that, we don't have to do all that, you might as well help, I'll only go off and do it anyway"

Hermione knew this to be completely true, she was torn. The young witch continued.

"It would be safer if you helped, I'd hate to get stuck as a human cat" her Professor shot her a dirty look

"That was an accident with polyjuice potion, trust you to make friends with Moaning Myrtle"

"Is that a yes? Pleeeeease, you know you're my favourite Aunt"

"Nice try brat, that won't work on me, I'll think about it, but I want a five foot roll of parchment all about the theory, show me you have a full understanding of magical transformation, and I will consider helping, if you attempt it on your own, I'll tell your mother"

"Deal, you're the best"

Several weeks later, Hermione sat alone in her classroom marking work, Lily walked in looking smug and dropped a tight roll of parchment on to the desk, she looked up at the young witch inquiringly.

"Your essay, Professor Granger" realisation dawned, she'd completely forgotten the deal she had made

She set her ink and quill aside and took the article, she opened it and a good seven feet of parchment unrolled onto the floor, the girl's smug grin got bigger. Hiding her surprise well, she took out her wand and subjected the work to a series of spells and charms, it hadn't been plagiarised, and it was all original work, no self writing spell had been used.

"Thank you Lily, you may go"

"But you said..."

"yes, but it's going to take me some time to read it, and I have marking to finish"

The girl huffed impatiently and stomped out of the room, once she had left Hermione allowed herself a little chuckle, after all she couldn't make it too easy for her. She had read it that night while tucked up in her Hogwart's bedroom, grudgingly she had to admit it was pretty much faultless. A few weeks went by before she approached Lily to begin lessons, she might not have wanted to play by the rules but the golden girl was no fool, she had filled out all the ministry paperwork herself, on behalf of an unnamed but extremely talented pupil, and used her considerable influence to have it all fast tracked, with her conscience clear she arranged to teach the eager girl.

It was the night of the first lesson, Lily had arrived early, she levitated all of the classroom furniture to the back of the room, she sat on the teacher's desk and waited.

"At last, I've been here for ages"

"I'll have you know that I am on time, it's not my fault you're early, did you bring your mandrake leaf?" she looked slightly crestfallen, she had obviously forgotten "It's just as well I swung by the greenhouses earlier"

"So, what now?"

"Well, I think first I need to see your Patronus"

"You're stalling, why can't we just get stuck in?" it came out much more defensive than she had intended, it didn't go by unnoticed

"Didn't you take in anything from that essay you wrote? Your Patronus will most likely dictate your animal form, you might not want to learn how to do it if your Patronus turns out to be a sea slug"

"Can you teach me how to do it, please?"

"What?! A spell the great Lily Potter-Black hasn't added to her repertoire, I am shocked"

She pulled a face that would have made Narcissa incredibly proud and ruined it by sticking out her tongue.

"What's your Patronus?

"It's an Otter" she pulled out her wand and summoned it for the girl.

"If I had known they looked that cool, I probably would have learned how to do it, but the books made it sound so unremarkable, What form does my Dad's take?"

"It's a stag"

"Mum?"

"I-I-I'm not sure she can, I've never seen her cast one, and it has long been believed that anyone who associates with the dark arts can't create one"

"You only need a strong happy thought, and she has to have loads of those, after all, Dad saved her from that life, and as much as I wish they'd get a damn room sometimes, she is happy all the time"

"I honestly don't know, I'm sure you are right, anyway, you know the basics, so pick your memory well and say 'Expecto Patronum' and flick your wand like this."

She demonstrated the motion and handed the floor over to her young charge, she had managed to produce a cone of silvery light, but not a full corporeal Patronus, Hermione had a feeling that her growing frustration was hindering her, she wordlessly cast a calming charm on her, as she tried the spell again there was an explosion of silvery light, a huge Raven flew around the room and settled on the girls shoulder.

Lily experienced a complete moment of serenity and felt the magic flow, she opened her eyes just in time to see her Patronus emerge, when it landed on her shoulder it gave her a tremendous feeling of warmth and joy, and seeing the majestic bird made her want to be an animagus more than anything.

For reasons Hermione couldn't quite explain, Lily had to spend the next month with a mandrake leaf in her mouth, she wasn't known for her patience but the young witch was determined, her only complaint was that it made all of her food taste funny.

Once the month was up they reconvened, in the event she actually managed to change, Hermione had performed some very complicated charms to ensure that she wasn't ever caught without clothes. The next few weeks were mostly uneventful, she caught up on paperwork and Lily had yet to make any progress, unless you counted spitting feathers and elongating her nose. That was about as exciting as it got for several weeks, it became a routine, the teacher sat at a desk and did work while her niece attempted the complicated change, it was no different on that day, she was working on an article for the most prestigious Transfiguration magazine when it happened, a harsh squawk broke the silence, the tip of her quill scratched across the parchment trailing ink before snapping, she cursed loudly and looked up.

The room was empty, or so she thought, Lily's wand lay abandoned, rocking slightly side to side, she almost didn't see it against the dark wood of the classroom's floor, a huge jet black Raven, it unfurled its wings and flapped them experimentally, another loud croak emitted from its beak as it took off and sped around the room, finally alighting on Hermione's shoulder.

"If you crap on my shoulder I'll put you in an enchanted cage, be warned!"

"Caw"

"I don't speak bird"

She held her hand up to her shoulder and the bird hopped on to it, she gently placed her other hand over her wings to prevent flight and examined her closely, there were a few harsh screeches of protest. Hermione cursed again, of all the poor luck, she really shouldn't have been surprised, there were no unique markings, apart from her large size, she looked just like any other Raven, and if that was the case there was no way of completing the registration.

She let her go and helped her back into the air, Lily flew around the room a few times and landed back in the centre of the room. They had prepared for this part, if she struggled to return back to herself within an hour, Hermione would use the Homorphus charm, she checked the clock and waited. It took fifty eight minutes before there was a very bedraggled young witch sprawled on the ground, she was sweaty and her hair was everywhere, a huge smile split her face.

After she had been subjected to the 'with great power, comes great responsibility' lecture, she was free to go, transformation was easy now that she'd achieved it one time. There was no feeling that compared with flying around the school grounds, she soared for hours over the forest, and found hidden clearings she doubted had ever been visited by another human, there was even a lake right in the heart of the forest, it had a bad aura about it and she didn't dwell there long.

Her favourite thing, was flying onto the window sill of the Transfiguration classroom, more often than not it was open, she would squeeze her way in and perch on a shelf at the back, the pupils had no idea it was her, but Hermione would spend the lesson sending dirty looks her way. The opportunity to score one over the young witch came after the class was dismissed, she hit the bird with the Homorphus charm, followed by a quick Arresto Momentum. She knelt beside her smirking.

"You can't keep disrupting my lessons, remember the enchanted cage I mentioned, it's not a threat, just ask Rita Skeeter"

"I was only visiting, class was almost over anyway, so let me down already"

With a heavy sigh she removed her spell.

"For what do I owe this pleasure?"

"As you're the head of my house, Professor, I'm obligated to submit my apparition test form and my final examination subject selection"

A sheaf of papers were thrust under her nose, she carefully shuffled through them.

"Divination? Really?"

"Why of course, one must have an open mind about such things"

"OK, you can stop taking the piss"

The young woman put on a good display of mock shock at her teacher's use of profanity, it was met with an equally dramatic eye roll.

"If I pass all of the exams, I will be the best"

"How do you figure that?"

"The only subject you didn't get a mark in was Divination" she finished with an air of satisfaction

The penny dropped and the gauntlet had been thrown down.

"It would be wise not to get too far ahead of yourself, N.E.W.T.s are not something to be taken lightly, I'm just hoping you make prefect and head girl, you'll be setting an example for the whole school, no more rule breaking for you"

She pulled an ugly face, much to the older woman's amusement.

Lily would never admit it to anyone, she was the queen of control, but her workload was immense, looking back, she had no idea how she hadn't completely lost the plot, her final years at Hogwarts passed at breakneck speed, even major landmarks were reduced to tiny blips by it all, she had passed her apparition exam with flying colours. Holidays were spent catching up on the work she hadn't managed to finish during term time, her parents couldn't have been more proud.

Before she knew it the final year was upon her, the workload increased even further, and then it was exam time, the atmosphere in the school was subdued, and as the examinations passed by, and the end became visible, she knew she had made it.

She was relaxing on the shore of the Black lake when her own owl came and landed on her chest, she opened her eyes and shielded them against the sun's glare with her hand, with a soft hoot she was directed to the note on his leg, she took it and unravelled it, the message was short 'Headmistress' office, Now!' with a heavy heart she picked herself up and trekked towards the castle.

When she finally reached the gargoyle and spoke the password, the trip up the spiral staircase felt like the longest journey, she was pretty certain she hadn't done anything, she couldn't think of a single thing. She sucked in a deep breath and knocked hard on the polished wooden door, it opened to reveal the Headmistress, her Mum and Dad, Hermione and Andromeda, they didn't look annoyed, that was probably a good sign, McGonagall's desktop was uncluttered for a change, except for a large brown envelope.

Narcissa crossed the small distance and pulled her into a hug, it felt like ages since she'd seen her daughter and when she had been home, she'd been terribly busy, Harry hugged her next and tousled her hair, he smiled at the disapproving look. Once everyone had finished hugging her she was stood in front of the desk. The large envelope was pushed across to her, puzzled she picked it up and broke the seal and removed the parchment from within. The silence in the room reached uncomfortable levels, Hermione cleared her throat and spoke.

"Don't keep us waiting, how have you done?"

"Not too bad...for the brightest witch of my age, twelve 'O' grades beats your eleven"

"There is such a thing as a bad winner, you little brat"

There was no malice in her words as she pulled her into a hug. They promised her that the celebrations would continue back at home. She surprised them all when she told them that she had no intention of leaving school early, she wanted to see out the term and would meet them off the train as normal.

She spent the last week doing many things for the last time, she walked the halls, visited Hogsmeade to spend the last of her pocket money, she wandered the grounds and flew over them, she even managed to coerce a few students, and teachers to have one last game of quidditch. Then the week was over, she had sat on her bed in Gryffindor tower, her trunk had already been taken down to the station, she would miss this place, maybe she'd come back one day, she hadn't thought too hard about the future.

The castle gates slipped out of view as the thestral drawn carriages lumbered down the lane towards the train station, the scarlet engine looked magnificent as always, with a last look around and with a feeling that could only be described as bittersweet, she said farewell and boarded the train.