A/N: Aaaaaaaaand new fic. Wrote this little ditty during New Years Eve/Day (Yes, I wrote my way into the New Year. How sad is that?) and is about Petunia's feelings towards Lily BEFORE she was accepted into Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: Why, yes I AM JK Rowling and I DO own all the characters and plot-lines below me.
Real JKR: She lies, SHE LIES!
Me: STFU!
Did you really think I was JKR?
She's at it again. Your sister is soaking up the avid attention of what seems to be every one of your relatives. It is yet another New Year's party at your house, and nearly your whole family is there. You were so excited because you had decorated the lounge all by yourself. You alone made the chocolate chip cookies that everyone was currently devouring. You were so sure your relatives would fawn over you for the first time since your sister was born.
But you know now that your efforts were all in vain. For your eight-year old sister is singing and dancing to a song playing on the stereo, and to your parents, aunts, and uncles, they might as well be watching the Russian Ballet. You could suddenly melt into thin air and they wouldn't notice.
It's been like this for as long as you can remember, for you were only two when your sister came into this world. You haven't a clue if you were in the center of attention before that, but you have a feeling you were. That is not the case any longer.
No matter how hard you try, your sister always seems to outshine you. If you get an A on a piece of homework, she gets an A+. If you both take piano lessons, she will learn faster than you. If you sing a song, she will not only sing it better, but conduct a mini-play to go along with it as well. And no matter how many achievements you obtain, you can never get the same kind of praise from your parents that she gets. You know they love you dearly, but for the majority of the time, they have eyes only for your sister.
You feel rage fill you powerfully. Your hands clench into fists, and before you know it, before you can stop them, tears sting your eyes and threaten to fall. But you know better than to let them; you made a vow earlier to not let your weakness show.
As your sister finally finishes her show, the clapping of the audience is almost deafening. You clap along politely because no matter how jealous you might be, you don't want to hurt her feelings. Shouts for an encore were heard but she shakes her head modestly, telling the people she is tired. She catches your eye, and she jerks her head towards the kitchen. You know that means, "Let's get away from these people!" and you whole-heartedly agree so you nod your head.
You manage to slip away unnoticed (as expected) but your sister has a harder time of getting away discreetly. She's constantly pulled into hugs by aunts, or having her hair tousled by uncles. Your stomach twists again with envy at the attention she was getting, but you force yourself to ignore it.
At long last, your sister manages to detach herself from a doting older cousin, and hurries to your side. In spite of your slight annoyance with her, you hug her tightly.
"You were really good, Lily!" you tell her as you separate, inwardly thinking that she's had enough praise for one night, but you couldn't resist.
"Really? I don't think I was that good." she mumbles, modest as ever.
"Are you kidding? Didn't you hear everyone over there? They went bonkers for you! I'm almost jealous of you!" You're only lying a bit with that "almost" part in there.
Lily shakes her head. "Don't be," she says "You were the one that made the place look so nice, and you baked the cookies too!" she tells you, trying to cheer you up. Surprisingly, it almost works and you give her a smile and another hug in thanks.
"Come on," Lily says when you part "let's take some of this food and have our own party in my room!" she says, her eyes sparkling in excitement. Delighted at the prospect of leaving the crowd of relatives, you agree enthusiastically.
And giggling, the two of you grab some chips, cookies, and pop, and hurry upstairs to Lily's room. You both dump the loot on the bed, and collapse on it as well, laughing until your sides hurt.
After the both of you gain control of yourselves once more, you scramble to devour the goodies. You two laugh your way into the New Year while everyone else downstairs is counting down and exchanging kisses.
And as you listen to your sister telling you what her New Year resolution is, you realize something. No matter if the rest of your family treat Lily like a princess while they can barely remember you name, no matter if your teachers always nominate her for the Best Student Award on the last day of school Lily will always treat you like a best friend. Because she's your sister, and she loves you. And deep down, you know the feeling's mutual.
But even deeper down, you have this nagging feeling that there will come a time when you can't take anymore of her perfection, and something inside you will snap. You push that out of your mind for now.
Little do you know that that time will come sooner than you think.
END