Author's Note: Sometimes inspiration just strikes and you've got to get it done somewhere.
Growing Up Granger
20 September 1977
Petunia was not going to cry. She absolutely was not.
She'd been sitting at her table for over two hours now, waiting for him to show up. The restaurant was lovely –expensive and classy, full of candles. She'd read the menu dozens of times and every time the food had sounded delicious. The moment she saw the inside she knew that it would be the perfect venue for a romantic dinner for two. The perfect setting for a first date.
Apparently Vernon Dursley thought otherwise. He'd seemed so nice when she met him at a party a few weeks ago. He was handsome and charming and he seemed to think the world of her. What's more he'd gone to Smeltings Academy, an old and respected public school so he clearly had money yet he'd been interested in her, when she'd grown up in a little industrial town. At the time he'd seemed too good to be true but why hadn't he shown up? Why would he go to so much trouble to book a table at an expensive restaurant only to refuse to turn up?
He'd assured her over the phone that he didn't have to work and he didn't have any other plans. Perhaps he'd been caught in traffic? Even so he'd been taking an awfully long time. Perhaps he'd just forgotten about her. Or perhaps he'd met another girl he liked more and couldn't be bothered to tell her.
After another half an hour of waiting she finally gave in to the requests of the waiters and ordered her meal. By the time she'd finished it there was still no sign of Vernon. When she paid the bill she stormed out of the restaurant and into the cold London night.
It really wasn't fair. If Vernon had been on a date with Lily there was no chance in hell he'd have stood her up. Lily had always been better than her-everybody thought so, even her parents (although they'd always claim otherwise). From the moment Lily was born she'd been second best. Lily had the brains, Lily had the looks, and she even had those freakish powers of hers that mum and dad thought were so wonderful. What did she have that could compete with that?
She held out her hand to summon a taxi to take her back home. She was so focused upon her task that she failed to notice the man heading in her direction until it was too late.
He bumped straight into her, knocking her right off her feet. When he'd recovered his own footing he held out a hand to help her to her feet, which she begrudgingly took. "Will you watch where you're going please!" she shouted at him. "Sorry" he replied "wasn't looking where I was going, too focused on the adverts". He looked a bit older than her but his dress sense seemed considerably older. In his glasses and tweed he looked like a lecturer. Probably goes to Oxbridge, she though bitterly- yet another person who'd achieved more than she ever would.
"Are you alright" he asked. "Yes" she lied. He pressed the issue "are you sure? You don't look alright". "I'm fine" she snapped and he shut up after that. A minute later a taxi finally pulled over for her "where are you going" he asked. "Islington" she replied. He gave her a surprised looked and said "really? That's where I'm going too". An unspoken question seemed to linger in the air, as the taxi driver grew ever more impatient. Finally she sighed and decided to answer it. She could do with some company and he at least seemed to care about her wellbeing. "Alright" she said "get in the taxi".
As they were speeding away he turned to her and asked "so-what is your name then?" "Petunia" she replied. "Hello Petunia" he said "my name's Henry. Henry Granger". He smiled at her. Perhaps this evening wasn't going to be such a waste after all.
Author's Note: So there you have it folks, the first chapter. I'm going somewhere with this, although I'm not quite sure where yet. This is based on the old cliché of having Harry be raised by the Grangers, although I'm hoping to go somewhere new and interesting with it. I can promise you one thing though- this story is not going to be a Harry/Hermione story. I don't think that pairing makes much sense in canon and it'll make even less sense when they're brother and sister. There will be no evil/stupid Ron or Manipulative Dumbledore in here either, so prepare to be disappointed if you're a fan of either. Fell free to read and review.