Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any characters or places named in these stories. They belong to JK Rowling.

All characters are fictional. Any likeness to real people or events is purely coincidental.

The Hogwarts express was empty. A few muggle born first and second years crowded together in carriages near the engine. It wasn't being mean, it was fact. Anyone with wizarding parents knew how truly amazing the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts were and let their children stay without fuss. So far Lily had only seen two seventh years, a sixth year and a fifth. Nobody else in her year or the year above seemed to be going home.

Too much sense, she thought. She pondered joining the younger students in their carriage, but decided that wasn't a great idea. Hanging around outside the carriage currently occupied by the fifth and sixth years, Lily was relieved when the older students invited her in.

"Didn't want to sit with the littlies?"

"Wizarding chess isn't really my cup of tea."

"Muggle born?"

Lily nodded. She didn't recognise the sixth year, though she knew that the fifth year was a Gryffindor like her.

"Don't worry, we're not about to get all Slytherin about it. I'm Gryffindor, and Shiv's a Ravenclaw sixth year. Sit down." Lily sat, and the fifth year kept talking.

"You're Gryffindor too aren't you?" Nod. "Yeah I thought I'd seen you around the common room. I've probably yelled at you a bit too."

She laughed, and Lily smiled slightly. She recognised the prefect badge on both girls' robes and wondered if sitting in this carriage had been a good idea. The Ravenclaw spoke finally.

"Cor' Pat, give the girl a chance. Third year yeah? What's your name?"

"Lily Evans."

"Right, I'm Siobhan, but you can call me Shiv, and you know Patricia. Or at least, you'll have heard her."

"I'm not that loud!" protested Patricia

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that."

The two older girls continued to bicker and Lily sat back in her seat. She would have liked to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, but she wanted to see Petunia more.

"Lily, how come you're not staying at Hogwarts then?" Shiv interrupted her thought train.

"I wanted to, but my mum wanted me to come back, and I haven't heard from my sister since the summer."

"Younger sister?"

"No, older."

"Oh, not a witch then?"

"No, she was really jealous when I got the letter, but she keeps telling me how much she enjoys her school. Mum and Dad sent her to a good one to make up for it I think."

"Yeah," Lily could tell from Shiv's expression that Patricia was about to go on a long rant or something. "Most of the people who go home for Christmas are muggle born, cause you miss so much that wizarding parents just let you stay. I remember when Livvy started her dad made her go home every holiday, until that time he had a big contract or something, and since then she enjoys the castle so much she refuses to come home except in the summer!"

Lily smiled. "I stayed last year, but I didn't think it was fair to Petunia to stay at school this year as well. How comes you two are going home?"

"My Gran's in St Mungo's, so I'm coming home so I can visit her for a bit." As Shiv spoke, Patricia shot her a look that suggested that wasn't quite the end of it, but Shiv stopped and lily supposed she couldn't expect to know the whole story when she'd only just met them.

"I'm escaping the family." Joked Patricia. "I've got two sisters and a brother at Hogwarts already. They're all staying at Hogwarts, so I'm coming home to avoid them."

Lily got the impression that Patricia wasn't really joking, despite her tone being light.

When the dinner trolley came round, Lily spent the last of her terms pocket money on dome Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavour Beans for Petunia's present.

Despite her initial concerns, the older students were really quite friendly, and she spent the journey chatting and playing exploding snap. When the ten minute call echoed through the train, Shiv laughed.

"Wow, Lily. You really can't wait to get home can you? I've never seen someone's face literally light up at that call."

Lily smiled, but was saved answering by Patricia deciding they should all change into muggle clothing. Lily had come prepared and worn hers under her robes, which she stashed carefully in her trunks as the older girls changed.

As the train pulled into the station, Lily resisted the urge to stand by the door until it stopped. Shiv helped her drag her trunk to the door and she returned to grab the cage holding Harriet, her owl. As the doors opened, the station was filled with steam from the train.

Lily walked with Shiv and Patricia to the barrier where they loaded their luggage onto trolleys and they ran through together. Patricia spotted her parents first, as a smaller version of her, looking about eight, leapt into her arms.

"Amy, this is Siobhan and Lily from my school." Amy buried her head in Patricia's shoulder as her parents took her trunk and started to leave. Patricia hugged Shiv quickly and turned to leave.

"See you all on the way back. Come and sit with us again Lily!"

Lily nodded and started looking around for her family. Finally she saw them, standing slightly off to the side of platform nine. She waved and they moved towards her.

"That your family Lily?"

"Yeah, where are yours?" The platform was now nearly empty, with no sign of a possible family for Shiv.

"They're not coming; I said I'd take a bus. Unlike most of my friends I can use muggle transport." Though she laughed it was clearly forced. "See you in a couple of weeks then. We'll save you a seat." She smiled and was gone.

Lily had little time to dwell on this as she was born aloft into her dad's arms. "Is that really my little Lily? You've grown again!"

Her mum took her trolley from her and pushed it towards the exit. Lily became aware that someone was missing as her dad put her down.

"Where's Petunia?"

"Oh sorry sweetie, she couldn't come. Some of her friends from school were round and she didn't want to throw them out. She'll be waiting for you at home though."

Though she knew it was nobody's fault, Lily couldn't help but be a little disappointed as they made their way to the exit. She'd been looking forward to seeing Petunia for weeks, she hadn't heard from her in ages.

In fact, when was the last time she heard from Petunia? She hadn't seen her since the summer, and she hadn't come to wave her goodbye on the train. Despite lily writing her letters, she didn't write back, but she had signed the bottom of her parents' letters last year. As they were in her trunk, Lily couldn't check this year's letters there and then, but she was pretty sure none of them contained little messages from Petunia.

Lily had a sinking feeling in her stomach that appeared to come from nowhere as she realised Petunia hadn't made any effort to contact her for over three months. As well as sisters they were supposed to be best friends. How could you count yourself as someone's best friend if you didn't even write to them when they could be away for the whole year?

Sat in the back of the car with her parents up front, Lily found herself attacked with the usual barrage of questions.

"Have you had a good term? Been learning lots I hope, what's your favourite subject now? Got any new spells to show us? How are you friends? We haven't seen the ones you came off the train before have we? Where are all the girls in your year we met over the summer?"

Lily answered as best she could between her mothers barrage of questions. "Yeah it's great. Transfiguration's great; there's a few new things I want to show you. My friends are fine; they're all staying at the castle this year. Shiv and Pat are in older years; I met them on the train."

Before she could pause for breath, Lily found that her mum was off again. "Have you got the same teachers as last year? Are they feeding you alright? Petunia says the school food she gets is horrendous, so she eats masses as dinner times now. Do you have a lot of washing for me to do? I don't know how you cope with only three pairs of school robes, they're a pain to wash I tell you."

She continued in this vein for some time. Lily was long of the opinion that her mum didn't need an answer, she just wanted a new object to talk at, and Lily had always made a better listener than Petunia.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, they pulled up at home. Lily leapt out of the car and up the path, leaving her trunk and owl to her parents. Running up the stairs she could hear voices in Petunia's room. Barely pausing to knock she entered the room, smiling broadly.

Petunia sat with three friends in the middle of her room, playing something. Her friends smiled in the way Lily had expected, after all she was only Petunia's little sister. But their reaction seemed friendly compared to Petunias. As Lily stood in the doorway, she first looked shocked, then mad. Lily took half a step back out of the room. Petunia came to the door and slammed it shut in Lily's face.

Lily blinked with surprise, facing the solid brown wood thrust suddenly into her line of vision.

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