A/N: Hey, this is for Batmarcus, a very early Birthday present, mostly because I'm scared I'll forget. This piece was born when I was writing another fic.

Happy early Birthday, madman! And he's 21 too, guys! Madman, you mean the world to me. You have a very special place in my heart, no matter what you believe. Stay gold, okay?

I don't own HP.

She didn't hate everything

Petunia Dursley didn't hate everything about magic.She would never admit this to her husband, or even to herself at times, but there was one thing, no, one person in the wizarding world that she didn't entirely abhor.

Of course, she didn't hate Lily; she was just jealous of the fact that Lily was special and that she wasn't, but she would never admit that to herself either. Lily had had an amazing life at that school from the stories she told over summers.

It was when Lily turned seventeen, the last year that Lily would be attending school, that their parents insisted on inviting some of Lily's friends over. Friends that were not Severus Snape, that is, and Lily reluctantly agreed, mumbling something about not wanting to see Severus anyway. Petunia guessed they had some sort of spat – good riddance, Petunia thought, she never liked him. And his frocks were ridiculous.

Petunia could understand why they wanted to meet Lily's friends; they had wanted to meet hers too, after all. It was to make sure their children hadn't turned into rebellious little mongrels. Also, she was a tiny bit curious.

So, one afternoon, Petunia found herself surrounded by no more than nine members of the wizarding community at a barbeque in her backyard, her sister included. Barbeques weren't normal for her family, but the kitchen wasn't big enough to house a number that large. Of course Petunia had met James before, he spent quite a lot of time at Lily's house and vice versa, and she had to admit that James Potter was a fine specimen of manhood, but she quickly reminded herself that he was a wizard and to be avoided.

They were all introduced. Sirius Black, a handsome (more than James) and gallant boy with a fiendish smile (she bet that his smile broke quite a few hearts); Peter Pettigrew, a small and shy boy that reminded Petunia of a rat, she didn't think she'd like him; Marlene McKinnon, a pretty girl that hugged Petunia as they were introduced (honestly, were all wizards this familiar? She wasn't she liked it.); a girl named Alice who had jokingly introduced herself as Alice Longbottom, which caused the boy named Frank to blush deeply. Finally, Lily dragged a scruffy looking boy over to her.

"Tuney, this is Remus Lupin. He's a bit rough around the edges, but besides Marlene, he's my best friend in the world." Lily laughed and winked at Remus, who blushed a bit. Petunia looked him over; he was rough around the edges. His clothes were shabby, he didn't seem to have shaven in two days and he was looking at his feet, which were covered in shoes that had seen better days.

"Moony, this is Petunia. Remember, I told you about her?" Lily smiled. Remus nodded and made eye-contact. A nineteen year old Petunia Evans lost her breath for a minute, because Remus Lupin had incredible eyes. Not the colour, no, they were a surprisingly normal brown, but because she could see pain and, at the same time, kindness in his eyes. There was so much emotion in those orbs, that she actually just wanted to abandon all inhibitions and hug him.

He straightened up, offered her a hand and a smile, "How do you do?" He said politely. She giggled, and then caught herself, happy that Lily had left before she could see the embarrassing display.

"I'm doing rather well, and yourself?" She replied in a pompous voice, causing his smile to widen. "So, Lily talks about me?" She asked carefully, wondering what horrible things her sister said about her when she wasn't around.

"Not much. She told us that you're two years older than her, engaged to a brute – her words, not mine – and that you don't really understand magic, but that she loves you to bits anyways."

Petunia hid a scowl – Vernon was not a brute! He just had a bit of a belly on him, that was all, and she would get him to lose it. She found her sister and glared at her. Lily just tossed her hair over her shoulders and latched onto her boyfriend.

"He is not a brute." She mumbled, looking at her own shoes. Her shoes were fairly new and lady-like.

"Ah well, luckily opinions differ, don't they? I'm considered a brute too, but luckily I have amazing friends who like me and accept me as I am," He shrugged, settling into a camping chair, "And believe me when I say that that is not an easy thing for someone like me."

"How can you be a brute?" She wondered aloud, and he grimaced at her. She noticed, for the first time, a feint scar on his left cheek.

"I'm not normal, and I'd rather not go into it. But I can say this: Lily was the one who drew me away from turning into the monster that I believe I am. Or rather, that I believed I was." He said, his eyes finding her sister, his expression softening.

Petunia wished she could have someone look at her that way; with thanks and admiration, with a love that would never fail and friendship that would never cease to be loyal. Remus wasn't in love with her sister, she knew enough about overzealous boys to see that, but he did care for her a great deal. He saw her the way Petunia was supposed to look at her sister, as if she would do anything for her and would kill anyone who tried to lay even a finger in Lily.

And that's why Petunia doesn't hate magic entirely. She doesn't hate Remus Lupin, because even though she couldn't and wouldn't be there for Lily, out of pure stubbornness, she knew he would look after her.

That was all she could really hope for.

…

A/N: Hope you liked it!