Title: Normality is Overrated
Summary: Just how different would life be if one miss Petunia Evans had gotten her letter to Hogwarts after all?
A/N: So this is a little thing that came to mind earlier this morning in a dream. And I just couldn't keep myself from writing it. Also, my kind of beta tamedbanshee wouldn't let me, even if I wanted to. I'd really love it if you guys could tell me what you think!

Petunia Evans was proud to say that she was perfectly normal, thank you very much.

Growing up, she had everything she had ever wanted, what with the Evans family never struggling for income. She would have liked to say her family were also perfectly normal, but that would be sort of a lie. Her sister was very much not normal. Which was kind of an understatement. With her strange abilities, some might even have called her a freak.

Petunia would rather die than admit it, but with all the strangeness that lingered around her younger sister, a small knot of jealousy formed with how her parents doted on Lily. In the darkness of her room, while the rest of the Evans house was sleeping, Petunia would sometimes try and force the same sort of things that happened around Lily to happen for her, as well. Often trying to imitate her sister's abilities, she grew disappointed when nothing would ever seem to happen and she resigned herself to being perfectly normal.

It was well known that owls were nocturnal animals. So when Petunia not only saw one, but saw one in her front yard in broad daylight no less, she was rather suspicious. There was absolutely no need for the beast to be there, in their little neighbourhood of Cokeworth. What was even more surprising was the letter waiting for her on the floor once she pushed open the front door, trying to put as much space between her and the wild animal, currently taking up residence in the middle of her yard, as possible.

Seeing as it was addressed to her, she didn't see the point in waiting for the rest of family before tearing into the rather strange looking letter in her hand. Eyes skimming the thing, she hardly believed a word of the letter. Surely it was simply a mean joke, someone had found out about her wanting the same sort of abilities as Lily and decided to play a little trick on her. And on her birthday no less.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment,

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

The next page had a list of strange items that she apparently needed, whoever was pulling this trick had gone into a lot of detail, she'd give them that. Scoffing silently, she threw the cruel piece of paper into the rubbish bin, determined to let no one else make jokes at her expense over something so stupid. It didn't matter to her that she wasn't special. No matter what anyone thought. She was perfectly happy being the perfectly normal one in her family.

It had served her well, after all, as the awful boy often found in her sister's company paid her no mind once discovering just how normal she was. She couldn't understand why her sister enjoyed his company as much as she obviously did. It was always Severus this and Sev showed me that. Even before she had met the dreadful person, she had grown a dislike for the boy. Though he had only insulted her once, Lily had made sure that never happened again, the sting of it lingered long after it had been said.

Other than that rather harsh trick, which she was fairly certain her sister's strange little fanboy had sent, her eleventh birthday was a perfectly normal day. What with presents, cake, and the friends she had from school and around their neighbourhood, Petunia quickly forgot about the letter she had thrown away.

Exactly eight months after her eleventh birthday, 18 July, Petunia was home whilst Lily was out with none other than Severus, when a knock at the door startled her. Tempted as she was to go down and see who it was, she was much too involved in the book she was currently reading to move from the window seat she was currently occupying.

"Petunia, darling, come down here please," her mother's voice called up the stairs.

Odd. She thought to herself. Marking her spot, she slipped off her seat and down the stairs, eyes landing on the strangely dressed short man standing in their family room. Pausing on the stairs, she tried to place his face with someone she knew, but drew a complete blank.

"Mum?" she questioned, her voice wavering slightly.

"Darling, yes, do come in here. This is a professor for a school interested in you." You could practically hear the pride coating her mother's voice as the older woman walked into the room motioning for the so-called professor to take a seat.

That certainly piqued her curiosity as she quickly moved the rest of the way down the stairs and into the sitting room. Taking a seat next to her mother, Petunia quickly turned her entire focus to the man sitting across from them.

"Well, I'm certainly glad to have caught you today, as there isn't much time until enrolment has come to a close for the year," he stated, clearing his throat briefly before smiling. "My name is Professor Flitwick and while what I'm about to tell you may seem impossible, I simply ask that you allow me to finish before making any kind of judgment."

"Of course, Mr. Flitwick," Petunia's mother hastily replied, a hand snaking over to squeeze her rather bony knee. As it seemed they were waiting for her to acknowledge that, she nodded her head in agreement to those terms.

"Excellent. I teach at a school for rather- gifted young individuals. A school that not everyone gets into, unfortunately. One must be rather special," he started, pulling a piece of paper from his strange robe. Internally she started preening under the praise he was casually throwing in her direction."That school is named Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."

That preening immediately stopped as those words dawned on her. She had only ever heard that name once. Lip jutting out, her face set into a frown as she tuned out just what he was saying. This was by far the cruelest, well thought out joke anyone had ever played on her.

"Miss Evans, what do you think?" he asked, obviously anxious for a response.

"I think you're really mean. Did Severus Snape put you up to this? It was mean on my birthday and it's mean now," she said, pushing up from her seat on the sofa, before hastily making her exit. Stalking out of the room abruptly without any explanation to her mother.

She didn't go far, just to the other side of the wall separating the hall from the room. Leaning her weight against it, her shoulders sagged. Of course, no one would be interested in plain little Petunia Evans. It wasn't like she was Lily, after all.

"I must apologize, Mr. Flitwick. Petunia is rather- sensitive when the topic of extraordinary talents is brought up. If you were speaking of my daughter Lily- well, I might be inclined to believe you. But Petunia… well she's never displayed anything of the sort," her mother started, sounding as if she had gotten up.

"Mrs. Evans, I assure you, it is indeed Petunia we are offering a place at our school. Having two magical children, I'm sure you simply mistook some of what young Miss Evans was doing for her sister. It isn't entirely uncommon for that to happen. Accidental magic can take on many appearances. I'm sure that not even she would have been aware of what was happening."

That gave her pause, as she listened intently to what the professor was saying. If there was a chance that she was special like her sister- no. She squashed that thought almost as quickly as it popped into her head. This was nothing but a stupid joke that had gone way too far and any minute now, the man would break and tell them so. She was normal and had long since accepted that about herself.

"Has she been ill throughout her life? A common way that magic presents itself is fighting off common illnesses that mugg- non-magical people get. Quickly healing of cuts and bruises is another. The moment she was born, she was added to the list of future students at Hogwarts. I can assure you, we do not make mistakes," The professor said firmly.

"Then why couldn't I do any of the things that Lily could," her voice called out of its own accord, before she walked into the doorway. Her arms crossed firmly over her chest, a petulant look contorting her features.

"That is rather simple. One must learn to control their magic to get it to bend it one's will. That is why there are schools. To teach you how to do just that," he said, as if it were obvious. "Once you have a wand, it will be easier for you to see that. It will help you focus your magic."

Turning it over in her head, she stood for a moment, trying to decide what to believe. Her own sense of who she was had been thrown so far out the window that she wasn't sure anymore. Drawing her lip in between her teeth, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to at least hear him out. Taking a few steps into the room, she felt her mother's hand land on her shoulder and squeeze slightly.

"Could you retell me about Hogwarts then? I didn't listen to most of what you said," she admitted sheepishly, looking down at her feet.

"Of course. And if you decide that you want to attend our school, we can arrange a time for you to go into Diagon Alley to acquire your school things. Now, Hogwarts is a boarding school situated in the highlands of Scotland. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to give the specifics of it but it's a magnificent place. You'll study there for seven years and have the chance to learn many things, such as Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Ancient Ruins to name a few.

"Each first-year student will be sorted into one of four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. The houses are supposed to act as a supposed to act as a surrogate family. For following the rules, answering questions correctly, and a number of other things you will be awarded house points. If you break the rules, house points will be taken from you.

"I know it is a rather bland explanation of the school itself, but if you do decide to go, there's a book called Hogwarts: A History that can give you a very in-depth explanation of the school and many things that go on in it. Do you have any questions?"

"What do the houses mean? How is one sorted?" she quickly asked, having taken a seat on the couch in the middle of the explanation.

"Ah, excellent question. You are sorted by the traits within you into one of the four houses. Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty. Slytherins are known for the cunning wit. Gryffindors are known for their bravery. While Ravenclaws, the house I am the head of, are known for their thirst for knowledge," he replied easily, sitting back in his chair.

Turning over this new knowledge, the excitement that this might actually be real, put a wide grin on her lips. It sounded like something she very much would like to go to. Peeking over at her mother, Petunia tried to gauge how her mother was taking the news. After all, her enrollment did depend on her parents.

Noticing she was watching her, Martha Evans gave her oldest daughter a smile. "Does that sound like something you'd like, darling? It's awfully far away from everything you know," she said in a soft voice, draping an arm across the young girl's shoulders.

"Please, mum? I want to learn. If I have magic, I need to know how to control it," she answered, her voice just as soft as her mother's.

"Your father and I want you to be happy. If this is what you want, I'm quite sure your father will have no objections to you going to this school. In fact, he should be home any minute and then we can get his blessing." She had a smile on her face, her eyes were slightly watery.

The two had completely forgotten they had company sitting before them, so completely distracted by their own quiet conversation. Feeling as if eyes were on her, she turned slightly before flushing a dark red. The Professor simply smiled and waved it off. He knew that this was a big decision for a family to make.

With blood pounding in her ears, she tuned out the conversation the two adults had struck up as the waited for Robert Evans to return home. It was hard to believe that anything that had been said today could actually be real. Petunia was still waiting for someone, namely Severus and Lily, to pop out and laugh at her expense.

The front door was opened, drawing all of their attention to the man who had come through the door.

"Robert, dear, do come in!" Her mother called out happily.

Things had started to make sense in their little world. Petunia and her mother now had an explanation to grasp onto. One that, albeit seemed impossible, fit. In her heart, Petunia knew what Professor Flitwick was speaking to be true.

"Hello, love," he greeted, as glancing at the stranger before placing a kiss on each of his girl's heads. "Who might this be? One of the new neighbours you've kidnapped for tea?"

"Robert!" Her mother admonished, though her spirit was high as she looked at him fondly. "This kind man is a Professor for a school interested in our little Petunia."

From the moment Petunia had come down the stairs, her mother had been bursting with pride at the fact that her daughter had been approached for this. It was clearly on her face just how special she thought Petunia, and Lily as well, were.

"Has he now?" Robert asked, his eyes lighting up with pleasure as he took a seat on the other side of his oldest daughter.

With a hand on Petunia's back, he was nothing but smiles as he sat there listening to Professor Flitwick re-explain the school. For the third time that day, as it was. Petunia was so excited, that she didn't notice the tightness in his muscles. To everyone but her, it was obvious that he wasn't quite so accepting of the explanation the Professor was giving.

"Mister Flitwick, you must be off your rocker. I know my girls, both of my girls," he started, emphasizing that more for Petunia's benefit than anything, "But to suggest such a thing, and better yet, get my daughter's hopes up for some delusion has crossed a line. Magic isn't real."

"Mr. Evans-" Professor Flitwick started before trailing off as the man of the house held a hand up to silence him.

"Don't. I don't want to hear another word. I think you've taken up enough of our time. Let me show you out."

It was such an abrupt reality check, that Petunia felt the wind being forced from her lungs. Of course, this was a simple childish fantasy that no one but her father had been able to see through. He was the logical one after all. Martha drew her oldest daughter into a side hug whilst shooting a cruel look at her husband.

"Now you hang on one moment, Robert Evans. This kind man has just explained a monumental thing that affects this entire family. And you will sit there and listen with respect, or so help me," Martha said, her eyes narrowed at the man as he hesitated for a minute before sitting down. While Martha knew where her husband was coming from, his concern was his daughter, and while she accepting that it gave him no right to be rude. Especially at the expense of her daughter's happiness.

"Mr. Evans, I promise you, my intent isn't to deceive or fool you, this isn't a scam, I don't benefit in any way. But what I do say is in fact, the truth. A lot of our non-magical parents need proof that there's an entire world that has existed without their knowledge for years. Some people go on faith and some don't, it's as simple as that. I'll be more than happy to give you a demonstration," the Professor said, having done this for many years and this wasn't the first skeptical parent which he'd come across.

Petunia had pulled out of her mother's arms and was currently peering up at her father, wondering how he was going to react. Motioning for the other man to continue, Robert leaned back, his eyes narrowed slightly as Professor Flitwick pulled a stick, that could really only be a wand, from his robes.

"Wingardium leviosa," he muttered with a quick swish and flick of his wand. Their coffee table started lifting steadily from its place on the floor. Every eye from the seemingly normal family widened at this open show of magic. It was simply incredible.

Everyone was silent as the wizard slowly lowered his wand and the table was set back where it belonged. Glancing over at her mother, she noticed the pure joy on her face at being shown that. It was clear to everyone that the little display of magic they had been shown had sealed the deal for her. Peeking back at her father, she couldn't say the same for him. The suspicion was on his face, plain as day. No doubt wondering how he had accomplished such a feat. Surely his wife had to be in on this joke, to have allowed for such a thing to happen within their own home.

Petunia's mind, however, was made up. While that seemed to be simple, it was far more advanced than her younger sister's little displays were, and she craved to be able to do it. So, with or without her father's permission, she would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Chapter Word Count: 3,052
Story Word Count: 3,052