She told her it was dangerous, but Lily just kept experimenting with her strange abilities, determined to push them as far as they could possibly go in order to not only find her limits, but to redefine them. It was all some magnificent game to her, and she refused to consider the consequences she was so cavalierly risking. Every time the little girl jumped off a wall without considering its height or tried to jump across a gap that would be too wide for most children, Petunia felt the fear for her, enduring it in her careless sister's stead.
She told her he wasn't appropriate company, but Lily just brushed her off as if she were merely a mozzie trying to suck the fun out of everything. Then, as if determined to punish her sister for her comments, she spent even more time with the boy. The preteen was drawn further and further into a world of fantastical tales and swashbuckling adventures, and Petunia was left behind in the land of the ordinary, automatically barred from entry on the basis of things outside of her control.
She told her it had hurt her, but Lily just apologised and expected things to all magically be better between them. The eleven-year-old still left with that boy for a faraway castle that, according to her letters, was beautiful and mysterious in all of the best ways. Petunia read every word and pictured the eager redhead exploring every nook and cranny of the place and felt the resentment brimming up within her at the fact that no one, not her parents and certainly not Lily, seemed to care enough to address the actual problem.
She told her it was wrong, but Lily just tossed her hair over her shouldering brazenly, her defiant expression almost a dare, and started spouting off philosophical gibberish about moral relativism and personal choice. Knowing that her sister could never complete with her when it came to debates, the teenager kept prattling on until her sister begged out of the conversation. From that point on, Petunia tried to keep her concerns to herself, not wanting to rock the boat even more.
She told her he was bad for her, but Lily just grinned saucily and made a quip about not being the only one with a penchant for bad boys that had the older girl wondering if she'd happened across her secret stash of romance novels the same way she'd once happened across the letter to Dumbledore. Ignoring any objects levelled at her about how the boy had been the subject of many a furious or distraught missive over the years, the seventeen-year-old merely stated that people could change and stubbornly continued to date him. Meanwhile, Petunia made sure the house was always stocked with ice cream and tissues, anticipating their eventual break up even as she hoped, for her sister's sake, that it would never come.
She told her she should get out while she could, but Lily just sent her a look of utter indignation and told her that she wasn't a coward. The wizarding world apparently grew tenser by the day, but the recent graduate stayed under its shadow and kept running back into the thick of it like a tennis ball who could never stay long on the racquet. Despite her sister's assurances that she would be alright, Petunia couldn't help but feel terrified every single time the younger girl and her fiancé finished their stay at the Evans' house and eagerly returned to the fray.
She told her it would kill her, but Lily just snorted and said that anything and everything had the potential to be lethal in the right situation. It was, or so she said, pointless to let the fear of death stop you from doing something you felt passionate about. But, as the newlywed soldier knowingly risked her life for something that was naught but the shadow of a dreamland of a future in which everyone would be treated equal, Petunia struggled to find the words to ask whether or not sparing one's family the terror and heartache might be reason enough to stay safe.
She told her, but Lily just never listened.
And Petunia was right.
A/N:
Character Versatility Challenge – prompt: Petunia Dursley
If You Dare Challenge – What If I'm Right?