HELLO, A Petunia Story: based on the lyrics of Hello by Evanescence.

Petunia placed Dudley in his crib, and finally rested after a long and tiring day. Dudley had a lot of fun that day, but that wasn't something she could have said about herself. She loved her little boy, she loved him very much, but there were times when she felt like he was a little too much for her to handle.

Today was Halloween and Dudley acted more spoiled then ever. He kept on whining about collecting more and more candy. Although he was only a toddler, he understood what candy was, and how to bribe his way into getting it. Petunia walked from neighbor to neighbor, holding her little bear in her arms, until they collected two full bags of candy. Now all she had to think of was a place where she could hide it, and hope he will forget about the candy come morning.

After feeding Vernon and tiding up the kitchen, Petunia had finally had time for herself. She walked into the bathroom; a shower was mandatory after such a hard day. As she rinsed her body, her mind kept on drifting off somewhere far. She saw a house, a house she didn't recognize. Something about that house bothered her. She didn't know the place that was for sure, but she had a feeling about that house, a terrible feeling. She decided to shake those thoughts out of her mind. It was probably just tiredness taking over her senses. She quickly got out of the shower, and headed to bed. At the moment, there was nothing she wanted more than a good night sleep.

Without even realizing when and how, Petunia had fallen asleep. There were a lot of thoughts swimming around in her mind the last few years. A lot of actions she regretted, and words she wished she could have taken back. Although on the surface Petunia seemed happy and strong, deep inside her heart bled with sorrow. It's been many years since Petunia had seen or spoken to Lily. It was kind of ironic since Lily was Petunia's only sister, and closest friend in the past.

Although Petunia pushed the thoughts of Lily to the back of her mind, there was still a connection between them she couldn't erase. She was still her sister, and her only living blood relative. Petunia had wished many times that things would have turned out differently between them; but that was how life turned out, and she just learned to accept it. She learned to live with the fact that she was practically alone in this world.

Petunia was in a dreamless sleep when all of a sudden she saw that same exact house in her mind. Petunia knew she was sleeping, but she still recognized it. It was the house she saw earlier in the shower.

It was located in a far distant suburb, standing alone with a few trees around it. The house looked warm and inviting, like the kind of house you can raise a family in, but there was a cold feeling to it.

Her dream zoomed into the house, and suddenly she found herself looking inside it. The inside of the house was very simple and plain. There wasn't a lot of furnishing, aside from the mandatory ones, and there was a large lack of decorations. The atmosphere in the house was warm yet frightening at the same time. Petunia saw a couple sitting on the couch. There was a young man with messy jet black hair, and a female with ravishing hair that was the color of fire. Petunia could have sworn she recognized the female, she recognized that hair, but it wasn't until she heard her speak did she understand that it was true. Petunia was dreaming of Lily.

"James, we'll make it, right?" asked Lily, a little bit of fear visible in her beautiful green eyes.

"Of course we will," said James, kissing her temple gently.

"I just wish we didn't have to hide. It feels so strange, not being at home," said Lily, a small tear escaping her eye.

"I know love, it does, but soon enough all of this will be over with and we'll be back home, safe and sound with our baby boy," said James, with a fake kind of hope in his gaze.

"I hope you're right James. After all we only seek the safety of our baby," Lily said with a deep sigh.

"That damned prophecy." James muttered quietly. "It's all because of that bloody prophecy." he said, as he looked out of the window with a worried glance.

A lighting stroke illuminated the inside of the house. Lily's fierce gaze showed fear mixed with determination as she stood up.

"What was it?" she asked, as strong winds and rain drops hit against the window.

"A storm," said James calmly, "He's coming." he added.

He went to his wife, grabbed her by the waist and gave her a passionate kiss; a kiss that instilled his bravery and determination in her. When his lips finally let go of hers, he held her cheeks and looked into her beautiful eyes.

"I love you Lily. I love you and I love our son. I'm asking you to please go upstairs and keep him safe. I will try my best to protect you." He kissed her temple once more.

"I will not leave you James, I will stay by your side." said Lily stubbornly, as she heard distant foot steps coming near the door.

"No!" James commanded. "Go upstairs." he yelled as Lord Voldemort entered their little cottage in Godric's Hollow.

Lily ran up the stairs and walked into a little room in the far corner of the corridor. Inside the room was a little crib and a rocking chair, along with a small armoire and a simple changing table. Lily walked to the crib and kissed the sleeping baby on its forehead. She then whispered to it that 'mommy will do anything to keep him safe'. She got up from the crib and wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked back out to the corridor and heard as James and the Dark Lord battled fiercely. A blinding green light shook Lily back to her senses, and that was the moment she realized that her beloved husband was murdered.

She ran back to Harry's room with hysterical sobs. She couldn't think straight, she didn't want to think straight. She wanted nothing but her husband back, and her life to be normal. She grabbed her little baby; he was smiling in his sleep. Her heart tore apart at waking him, but his safety was her priority.

She thought quickly and remembered an ancient magic that could keep her son alive. She wasn't sure if it would work, or if she would be able to perform it, but it was her only hope. She comforted the crying baby as quickly as she could, as the loud footsteps approaching the bedroom echoed in her head. She then placed Harry back in his crib, and gathered her inner strength.

The door banged open and in walked the one responsible for the death of her husband. She saw him sneer in her direction and directly approach Harry.

"No! Not Harry." she yelled, jumping to the crib and covering his small body with hers.

"Get out of my way." Voldemort yelled, as he raised his wand and aimed it at Lily.

Petunia's mind was screaming for no. She didn't want to witness the end of this dream, she didn't want to know what would happen next. Her whole entire body was shaking, and she was sweating a cold sweat. Her head was tossing and turning as she tried to push the dream away from her.

Lily said the final incantation and placed a last kiss on Harry's cheek. She heard Avada Kedavra and felt her body lose life and drop to the floor.

"Noooooo!" Petunia yelled as she got up from her sleep. "Noooo." she continued yelling, as an icy cold sweat ran down her face.

Vernon awoke from his sleep and asked her what was wrong with a grunt.

"Nothing," she answered quickly "Just a bad dream." She saw him go back to sleep.

She looked at the radio clock that was on the night stand beside her. It was 6:00 am. She quickly got up and rinsed her face with cold water. "It was only a dream." she kept on repeating to herself as she walked down the stairs to begin her duties as a mother and wife. "Nothing but a bad dream." Though deep in her gut she knew, what she witnessed in her sleep was not a dream. She just felt it.

Opening the doors, and breathing into the darkness, Petunia leaned down to reach for the bottles of fresh farm milk that stood by her door. Her body froze as she saw a baby cradled in a small basinet. She recognized that baby, it was him. It was Harry.

"No." she said to herself, her mind freaking out. "It can't be." she said shutting the door behind her.

Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again

She remembered her sister. She remembered them when they were younger. They were so close, loved each other so much. Petunia remembered how she used to wait for Lily after school. She waited until her classes were finished and they walked home together hand in hand. They used to have so much fun together; they used to laugh a lot and never kept any secrets from each other. But most of all they stood up for one another one no matter what would come.

Petunia quickly got up and closed the door. She leaned on it and breathed in deeply. She couldn't believe what she saw. It couldn't be Lily. It couldn't be her Lily, her beautiful innocent little sister. She couldn't admit she was dead. She wouldn't believe it. Her mind was fooling her, that was all. She still couldn't shake that dream off. She was probably still sleeping. She kept on convincing herself. She kept on believing the lie, until she pinched herself as hard as she could, and cursed in pain as she realized that she was wide awake.

Has no one told you she's not breathing?

Taking deep breaths, Petunia had finally gathered enough strength to open the door once again. She opened it all the while wishing that her eyes were fooling her earlier. But they weren't. The baby was still there, sleeping soundly in what looked like a comfortable bassinet. A small lighting bolt shaped scar was burning red on his forehead and on the right side of his body was a rolled piece of parchment. Petunia took it and unrolled it briskly. Scanning through the letter as quickly as she could, Petunia felt her heart sink to her feet and her eyes fill with tears as she read the conformation of her dream.

Hello I am your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello

"No." she said to herself. "I will not cry. Not over my freak of a sister. What happened in the past should stay in the past. I am different now, and I am not a freak. I will not shed tears for her, because she hasn't been a part of my life in a long while. She has been nobody to me lately. And that's all she will stay, nothing. Dead or alive." she said those words to herself, in the false hope that her heart would listen to her head and begin to believe it.

If I smile and don't believe

Soon I know I'll wake from this dream

She took the milk inside and placed it in the refrigerator. Later she walked back out, and took Harry in. she placed his bassinet on the couch, and ran up to fetch her yelling toddler, all the while dreading the explanation of Harry on their couch to her husband.

Petunia tried to live her day as if none of the events had taken place. She fed Dudley, and started on breakfast for her husband. She spared Harry some milk and changed his diaper quickly. She then placed him back in his bassinet and rushed to play with her Dudley.

Vernon came downstairs a few minutes later. He ate as Petunia told him about the events that took place in the same tone as if she was talking about the weather. Vernon just grunted at the thought of keeping Harry.

"Are you sure there aren't any freaks that could take him?" asked Vernon with a frown.

"No, I'm the only living blood relative." said Petunia trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"I guess." said Vernon, as he stood up and left for work.

Petunia took Dudley upstairs and put him down for his nap after a long battle over yesterday's candy. She came downstairs and sat on the couch glancing at the sleeping baby in the bassinet.

Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken

She pushed away tears, as her mind started talking to her heart again. "She was nothing to me, don't you see it? Why would I cry over her? Why? It was her fault she was a freak in the first place. It was her fault she had to go to that bloody school and change her course of life. Why should I cry over a freak?" she said to herself, as she felt a burning sensation in the tips of her eyes.

Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide

She blinked the tears away and stood up. Harry opened his eyes and looked at her. Petunia's body paralyzed as she looked into his eyes. They had the same emerald green color as Lily's. The same almond shape and uniqueness that belonged to her sister. His eyes gazed sweetly into hers and she couldn't control her sobs any longer.

Her body dropped to the floor as the tears flooded freely down her face. She had finally given up. As hard as she tried to ignore the hurt, and to silence out her aching heart she couldn't. her sister was dead and she had to grieve.

Don't cry

She got up and looked at Harry once more. She felt a sudden loathing for him, sudden want to hurt him, to tell him that he was the fault for her misery. He was responsible for her tears and sorrow. He was the reason her sister has died.

"I hate you." she said to the baby as hysterical sobs escaped her mouth. "I hate you because Lily is dead." she yelled, pulling her own hair out. She dropped to her knees by the bassinet, and placed her hands around it. She lowered her head and let herself drown in sorrow until the minute she heard Dudley wake up from his nap.

The rest of the day she lived as if the events had not happened once more, although she was a lot weaker then earlier, and her body was shaking with anxiety. She continued living minute by minute, hour by hour.

Without even realizing it, day has changed into night. Dudley was fast asleep in his crib, and Harry was sleeping in the bassinet that was now on the cold living room floor. She loathed that baby right now. Loathed him not because he had most likely inherited magical abilities; she loathed him because he was the reason for her sister's death. He was the reason for her own misery. She was determined to make his life as miserable as he made hers the minute she saw him on her doorsteps.

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping

Petunia lay in bed, her eyes open as she was still wide awake. She heard her husband's snores in the background, as she looked up at the ceiling and prayed to god to see Lily's angelic face once again. She opened the lower drawer in her night stand, and took out an old picture from underneath many books. The picture was taken of her and of Lily on the day before Lily left to Hogwarts for the first time. Petunia looked at the picture, and traced Lily's warm smile with her finger. "I'll miss you." she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday