I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, though I secretly wish a owned Hermione Granger...Wait! What? Who said that?
Call Me When You Get This.
Vernon was at work, as usual, leaving Petunia Dursley at home alone. Dudley was napping, something that hardly ever happened, and Petunia was too afraid to even think about her little son, sleeping upstairs. She didn't want to jinx it. Whenever her little Dudley was asleep Petunia used the free time to catch up on cleaning her already spotless house. It was while cleaning her and Vernon's bedroom that she came across the little box of memories in the closet.
It was rectangular and faded purple cloth covered it. You could tell that the box was once a magnificently deep shade of violet, but alas, the sands of time managed to touch that little box, as it touches everything else. At first Petunia didn't recognize the box, and she quickly opened it. She secretly hoped it was her husband's; she was so nosy she just couldn't wait to weasel around in everything she could get her hands on, even if it could ruin her marriage.
But when Petunia removed the box's lid, she slammed it shut faster than she had opened it, when there was the possibility of something secretive being in it. The first thing in the box was a photograph, and that alone sent a jolting shock of remembrance to Petunia.
It was her sister's, Lily's, birthday, and Petunia was standing proudly beside her sister. Lily had just turned ten, it was exactly a year before she got that terrible letter, but that day was nothing but smiles all around.
There was a beautiful, yellow frosted, birthday cake sporting ten brand new candles on the backyard table in front of Lily and Petunia. Lily looked over to her sister and smiled toothily. As a matter of fact, one of the front teeth on the top row was missing. "Do you want to help me blow my candle out?" Lily remembered all to well that the year before, on Petunia's birthday, their father had been briefly hospitalized. The family just had been able to scrape up enough money for Petunia's cake, but the candles had been left out.
"No, this is your special day. You deserve to do that alone, I think," Petunia turned down the offer.
Just as Lily sucked in as much air as possible there was a loud click. The resulting photo was of Lily with her cheeks blown out, and Petunia standing shy beside her.
Petunia rubbed her eyes and opened the box once more. Below the picture was a handwritten copy of the letter Lily had gotten on her eleventh birthday; the letter that would sweep Petunia's best friend away from her forever.
"I thought you, of all people, would be the happiest for me," Lily whispered into the dark room, tears silently streaming out of her eyes. "I guess not.
Lily had come into her sisters room so she could properly tell Petunia good bye before she hurried off to Kind Cross Station the following morning, and to confide in her that she really didn't want to go.
"Just leave me alone," Petunia hissed, tears also running down her face. "Don't talk to me!" Lily turned and walked out of the room, unable to stifle a sob as she did so.
Petunia would have given anything to go back to that night and wrap her terrified sister in her arms. She didn't know it, but if she'd just listened long enough Petunia would have heard her sister say that she wouldn't go to the school of magic she'd been invited to, if Petunia didn't want her to. Instead, out of pure spite, Lily went to Hogwarts and had the best times of her life.
That night Petunia and Vernon lay in bed. He was snoring loudly, but she just stared up at the ceiling, much like she'd done when her sister had visited her room so long ago. Making her decision at last, Petunia crept out of bed.
There was a phone beside the bed, but Petunia tip toed down the stairs for privacy. Once in the kitchen, she hesitated, but in the end she dialed her sister's number. It was something she'd started to do so many times, but this was the first time she'd ever let it ring more than once.
The phone rang, and rang, and when the answering machine picked up, Petunia prepared herself for what she would say.
"You've reached Lily, James, and little Harry," there was the sound of giggling on the other end, "Leave a message." There was a slight pause, and another voice added to the message. "And if you want to reach me, you know how." Petunia recognized the voice as James Potter's. Then Lily could be heard in the background laughing and saying, "Don't say that! It makes us sound weird!"
When at last there was a beep Petunia took a deep breath and began.
"Lily, how have you been lately? I just wanted to ask you if we could talk some time. There's so much we have to catch up on. Anyway, call me back when you get this, ok?"
Miles away from the silent house on Privet Drive, a door to a huge house opened up, and two people and a baby walked in. In the dark room, James Potter could see a flashing dot of light.
"Looks like that contraption of yours has got a message on it," he told his wife, Lily, who was already on her way up the stairs with Harry.
"I'll check it tomorrow. I'm tired, and I have to get Harry to bed," she replied lovingly.
"You'll be busy all day tomorrow."
Sighing, she glared playfully at James. "Well then, after we go to Remus' Halloween party, I'll check it!" She bent down and kissed Harry on top of the head. "How about that, Harry, your first Halloween."
The red flash of light went all through that night, and all the next day, and didn't falter a single time when a woman upstairs was murdered by the most feared wizard of all time.
And even though Petunia Dursely knew her sister was dead the very next day, she never stopped waiting on her to call her back and tell her she was forgiven for all the years of anger and jealousy.