"Tell me have I been gone away too long?"

-Daughtry, 'You Don't Belong'

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Lily dismounted from the scarlet steam engine, saying goodbye to her friends and lugging her trunk and owl's cage behind her. She spotted her family standing in a more secluded area of the platform, somewhat awkwardly eyeing the witches and wizards around them.

Her mother's eyes lit up upon spotting her, and she moved to help her youngest daughter with her things. Wrapping a protective arm around Lily, she murmured, "I've missed you so much, Lil. How was school?"

"It was good," Lily replied, but her mother seemed to be focusing more on seeing her daughter again and less on what the girl was actually saying.

The two of them reached her father and Petunia, and together the four of them made their way back through the barrier and into Muggle London.

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"Tuney, are you mad at me?" Lily asked.

Petunia didn't look up from her book as she shrugged.

"I thought you were fine with me at Hogwarts. You said it was fine." Lily looked hurt, Petunia looking her in the eyes.

"I'm not mad exactly. But you've been gone for so long. I missed you."

"I did come back for Christmas," Lily returned, trying to defend herself.

"But you were either in your room the whole time or out with that Snape boy," she spat. Petunia closed her book impatiently, trying to calm herself with a deep breath before continuing. "You've changed, Lily. I miss how you used to be. And I'm not sure that Snape kid's any good…"

"I—I haven't changed. Not that much, really," she implored. "And you hardly know Sev, how could you know if he's any good or not?"

"I know enough. I wouldn't hang round him if I were you, Lils. Either way, you're different now than you were before."

Lily bit her lip, looking down at the ground. "We're still sisters no matter what, Tuney. Still friends."

"You're not the same, you're not like me anymore. We'll still be sisters, but…"

"But what?" Lily insisted, though she wasn't quite sure she wanted to hear.

"But you belong there, not here. You're happier with your own kind." Petunia looked like she'd been thinking along these lines for a while, but it still hurt her to admit it.

"Tuney! How can you say that?"

"It's true, isn't it? You're happier with that lot than you are with me and Mum and Dad."

Lily couldn't bring herself to reply. It wasn't true, she knew it wasn't. But it still hurt her to know Petunia thought she wasn't happy at home, just because she had made new friends at Hogwarts. "Fine. If that's what you think, then I guess I can't change your mind, can I?" Petunia pouted resolutely, and Lily stormed up to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

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For the Album Challenge and the Represent that Character Challenge.

I really wanted to write some Lily&Petunia stuff, their relationship is so interesting. Let me know what you think!