A Freak Incident
Chapter 1
In her bedroom, Petunia Evans, aged 18, stared at her reflection in the glass. Her blonde hair was swept into an elaborate bun on the top of her head. Her make-up was simple, but, she felt, it took some of the horsiness from her face. Her dress was white, with a stretch of white lace reaching over her shoulders joining the straight satin neckline. The bust was tight to her waist, then flowed out it a straight stream of silk to the ground. She wore white silk platform heels and a veil covered her face.
"You look beautiful, Tuney." It was Lily, her sister, and, at their parents insistence, maid of honour who spoke. She wore a simple light green dress and light gold matching shoes to her sister's. A bouquet of gold silk flowers was clasped between her hands
"Thank you, so do you." Petunia replied so quietly she wondered if Lily would hear her. It appeared she did, for Lily looked surprised. She opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Lily called.
The door opened and their father put his head round the door; "The car is here, are you ready?"
Petunia nodded, her throat suddenly dry. Lily lead the way down the stairs and out of the house, towards the low roofed, compact white sedan that was to take them to the church. As she passed out of the front gate, Petunia tried to ignore the pang of the series of "If only's" she had as she thought; "today, I become Mrs Petunia Dursley."
"It wasn't my fault," she thought as the car passed a street sign, reading Spinner's End.
"It wasn't my fault," she thought, as she walked down the aisle after Lily and her boyfriend James, towards Vernon, clutching her father's arm.
"If anyone here has any reason why this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your silence." The marriage celebrant, or Vernon's friend Dave, who had no marriage credibility as far as Petunia knew, said almost jokingly. The couple turned to face the crowd.
Then, she saw him. She saw him slip into the church from the side entrance and lean casually against one off the pillars, a sneer twisting his features. But she saw through that sneer, as she always had. She saw the pain he was concealing; the longing to raise his hand, but knowing he couldn't…
Petunia gasped and sprinted down the aisle and into a small side chamber in the entrance hall as fast as she could. She sagged against the wall, gasping for breath, a hand clutched at her chest, at the white lace of her dress, under which her silver heart shaped necklace lay, the heart formed by a small silver snake with emerald green eyes. She had never taken it off… Not since that day, almost three years ago…
Petunia closed her eyes and immersed herself in her memories, allowing herself to travel back to the day it all began, ignoring the final feeble, defeated protest from her mind;
"It wasn't my fault I fell in love with a freak."
To be continued…
A/N: Please review! :)