This one-shot was written for:
1. Fire the Canon's The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Round 2 - Holyhead Harpies - Chaser 2
"But once you knew a girl and you named her Lover, And danced with her in kitchens through the greenest summer. But autumn came, she disappeared, You can't remember where she said she was going to."- Perfect Sonnet, Bright Eyes
Optional: Freedom, Clipped wings, Dialogue: "Please tell me you're not serious. Please."
2. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - UnicornsAndRainbows20089's The Unheard Of Pairing Challenge - Petunia Evans Dursley/Cornelius Fudge
Setting: Summer. Breezy. Tears.; Year: 2000; Scenery; The Muggle Park; Item: Swing; Event: Going back to where it all started; Era: Between Trio and Next Gen
3. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - Exceeds Expectations' Camp Potter: A Challenge - Arechery (oneshots of 2k or more)
Mandatory: Write about a first. First kiss, first word, first murder...whatever you like.
Optional: door
4. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - Birthday Fic Exchange's Fanfiction, School of Imagination and Creativity - Science Assessment 2 – Compounds - Petunia Evans Dursley/Cornelius Fudge
Wordcount: 2941 words
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, all rights go to J.K. Rowling.
Autumn came and she disappeared
"What is your problem, Petunia?" the man, who seemed just like a whale when a person looked at him first, asked. The woman in front of him looked up and fixed her lifeless blue eyes on him.
"You were complaining again, Vernon," she said softly, not really trusting her voice. The man grimaced and looked at his wife.
"I just told you about my opinion on those hooligans, those freaks," he said solemnly and pompously and the blonde-haired woman knew that he would start on the topic once again.
"I..." she wasn't sure what she wanted to say, so she just pressed her lips together and didn't meet the eyes of her husband.
"Those... those freaks ruined you. You haven't been the same ever since those abnormal weirdoes made us leave our home and he... the boy, I'm sure he is in too," Vernon said heatedly and for a moment Petunia didn't answer.
"I need some fresh air and I will do the shopping. Dudleykins is going to be here for dinner," she muttered, but she didn't wait for her husband's answer, not even for his reaction. She just turned around and without even getting her purse for some money she left the house.
She was breathing heavily. She was sure she has seen a mop of red hair as she passed a house just like the one she has been living for more than twenty years. However, when she turned around and looked back she didn't see anyone. Later, when she crossed the street she heard a sound which reminded her to the way they travelled. However, her surroundings were deserted, no one was there. When she reached the tiny park she closed her eyes in hope of calming down and forgetting about those silly fragments of her imagination she has seen.
When she opened her eyes she was standing in front of a play ground, very similar to the one her sister... she loved so much. Where they were swinging all day and where... where everything has changed. However, what really frightened Petunia and made her respiration even worse was that she found the place even more similar to the one where she first met him.
Him.
The man she knew she would never forget. She looked at the stupid swings where everything has started. She still remembered perfectly and the parts which became shady and hazy over the years she didn't thought of him were clear once again. It was like a puzzle, puzzle of bits of memories which came to the surface when she heard his name again. She closed her eyes and the memories flooded over her and she couldn't do anything... she remembered.
It was the summer of 1998. It was her first summer as a married woman. She has been married to Vernon for a half year, but she waited for the summer time as others waited for the Messiah. The months she has spent with her new husband weren't as great as she hoped they would be. They were normal which she appreciated, far from anything unusual. However, she didn't even really saw her husband. Vernon was really into the business, he worked all day and slowly he managed to become more and more successful. It came with more money and Petunia didn't have to work anymore, she stayed at home. She cooked for him, cleaned out the house and she chatted with the neighbours. However, sometimes she felt... lonely. She felt like no one cared about her and she hoped that as the summer comes everything would change. But Vernon announced not much before June arrived that he has to work in another city, far from their home for the whole summer.
It meant more lonely days for Petunia, it meant that the circle of the grey every days wasn't broken. Petunia Dursley was completely normal. She only did things which would have never been called abnormal or even a bit strange. However, on a sunny day in June during the first summer of her marriage she didn't appear at four o'clock at the neighbours, instead she was walking down the streets and he only stopped when she reached the swings. Much like about twenty-two years later, she found consolation in the memory of her childhood.
She sat down on the swing and played with the ring on her finger, the ring which symbolized her marriage with Vernon. It was a sudden idea, the type she would have never made if she wasn't desperate, but she grabbed the ring and tossed it into her pocket.
"Excuse me, could you help me?" she heard and she looked up only to notice a man around her own age, maybe a few years older. He had dark hair and eyes. He was what you would call completely normal in appearance excluding his ridiculous clothing; obviously he didn't even know the meaning of fashion and style.
She wasn't in the mood of helping a stranger, who seemed like he arrived from another planet, but Petunia liked to be seemed as completely normal and what would Mrs. Matthews or any of her neighbours say if they saw her being rude and unhelpful with a lost man?
"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked as politely and kindly as she could at that moment. The man seemed hesitant for a moment then he fixed his brown eyes on her.
"I need to ask some questions if it would be possible," he stated and although Petunia wanted to frown she kept a straight expression.
"May I ask about what you would like to ask?" she questioned him and he nodded slowly.
"I'm working for... the Ministry and I have to ask some questions about the reaction of... everyday citizens," he said slightly nervously and while she found his behaviour slightly strange (and she wasn't fond of anything which was unusual), she thought that at least she would have some company besides Mrs. Matthews.
"I will answer the question if I can," she stated and the man nodded. Petunia looked away for a moment and she noticed that a dossier was in the man's hand now and he was holding a pen and he was looking at the writing tool suspiciously.
"Could you please tell me your name?" he said and Petunia looked at her hand.
"Petunia... Evans," she said eventually and the man nodded and wrote it down slowly as he wasn't sure he could write.
"What is your marital status Ms. Evans?" the strange man asked.
"Single," she stated softly, not trusting her own voice and the man smiled. Petunia wasn't sure what she was doing, but for the first time in years she didn't really care.
The man asked many questions, like how old she was, how long she has been living in the neighbourhood, how many times she checked the news. Was she religious? Did she believe in legends? What about aliens and the Loch Ness monster, what did she think about them. The questions were even stranger than the man himself. She had no idea why the Government wanted to know about her interests in news and mysterious nonsense. However, she actually answered the questions, which surprised her even more. If Vernon knew he would surely laugh even at the idea and say some awful things about the man who asked so many stupid things.
"That would be it, I think," he muttered as he looked through the papers in his hands. "Oh, no, wait. What is the strangest thing that ever happened with you, Ms. Evans?" he asked as he found a question he missed out. Part of Petunia wanted to laugh hysterically and say that when she found out that her sister was a witch, but she didn't want to ruin the image she built over the years, so instead she said something completely different.
"I've started talking to you," she stated half-heartedly. It was against everything she valued, it was impolite and surely, it ruined the appearance of her normal life, but she has already passed the point of caring. The man looked curiously at her and he frowned slightly.
"I'm not sure I understand you, Ms. Evans," he stated and Petunia fixed her eyes on him.
"Just forget what I've said... Mister?" she questioned him and he had a small, curious, but slightly confused smile on his face.
"Fudge, my name is Cornelius Fudge," he stated and she nodded.
"So, forget what I've said Mr. Fudge. It was my pleasure," she said and she turned around in hope of disappearing without being stopped. However, it seemed that he had other things in mind.
"Wait! Please, could you help me some more. I'm... I'm need of someone who is from the country. I've just started my job here after I've moved and I was told to... make some research," he stated and she suspiciously looked at him.
"Your accent... You are English," stated and he closed his eyes for a moment before he started talking.
"My parents are English, but I've grown up in... the States," he muttered and although Petunia wasn't convinced she stopped.
"What could I do for you?" she asked with a sigh and the man smiled a bit.
"I need to get to know the view of a Mu... of an English citizen. I've got to learn to see the World like you do so I can do my job... better," he stated and Petunia raised her eyebrows.
"What do you work exactly, Mr. Fudge?" she asked and he frowned for a moment.
"Call me, Cornelius Miss Evans. I'm making sure that the news you M... citizens get are true, but not very... frightening," he said and Petunia didn't seem impressed.
"You mean you lie?" That was a question Petunia Dursley née Evans would never ask on a normal day, but it wasn't just an average day, it was something more. Cornelius flushed a bit, but fixed his eyes on the blonde woman.
"I'm just making sure no one overreacts anything," he said and she nodded. "So, would you mind meeting up at twelve o'clock tomorrow in a Café?" he asked and although she had promised Mrs. Johnson she will meet her then she nodded.
"Bella Italia Café and Restaurant," she said and she turned around for the second time and left the strange man behind. She looked behind after she heard a strange popping sound, but he was gone. The next day she was sitting at the little restaurant looking at the clock.
"I'm really thankful that you help me, Miss Evans," Cornelius said after he greeted Petunia who nodded.
"Just get on with it," she muttered and the man nodded.
"You have told me yesterday you don't believe in supernatural or anything magical. What would you do if you saw something which isn't... rational?" he asked and Petunia started talking. Cornelius asked something and then the woman answered, this went on for hours.
"I should go now, Miss Evans. Would it be possible to meet up again?" he asked and a hopeful smile was on his face. The first answer that came into her mind was 'no'. However, she had to admit in a way she enjoyed herself. Vernon never cared about her opinion, he always assumed that she agreed with him on everything, it was a big change for Petunia and she liked it.
"Of course, Mr... Cornelius," she said softly and she even smiled at the strange man who wanted to get to know her. The next day they met up and once again Petunia talked more about her own opinion more than with Vernon since she met him. At first their conversations were awkward and formal. However, the meetings became regular and they became more and more comfortable around each other. Usually they talked about Cornelius' weird questions he needed for his job, but later on more personal questions were asked too.
Petunia had to admit that she found his company interesting. He was strange, the type of man she would never even talk to if she wasn't desperate, but he seemed eager to spend time with her and he seemed to enjoy their little meetings. He was probably the completely opposite of Vernon except that he liked power and money too. Besides that the two men were as far from each other as possible and Petunia liked the big difference between them.
She never mentioned anything of Cornelius to Vernon of course. Cornelius was her little secret and the same went to telling the truth about her marital status to her newfound friend. The two men were two completely different worlds in her life. Vernon helped the appearance of a normal wedded woman; he was her perfectly everyday well-earning husband, while Cornelius was the one who made her life interesting, who was concerned about her. With him Petunia felt whole, she was no longer unwanted and lonely.
As they grew more comfortable around each other their formal meetings in the Café turned more intimate. They took long walks in hand-in-hand, he asked her to accompany him to shopping and in late July after an exhausting walk, after a tasty ice-cream he invited her he even to his flat, but Petunia just shook her head.
"It's late, I should head home now..." she muttered and she didn't meet his eyes. However, Cornelius Fudge didn't like being rejected so he simply put his arms around her waist and kissed her softly. Petunia didn't react at first, she was shocked. Part of her wanted to slap the man, another part wanted to leave him just behind and never meet him again. However, she didn't listen to any of those parts of herself. She kissed him back.
"Meet me tomorrow?" he asked when he ended the kiss. She shook her head still in denial of what has just happened. She was unfaithful, she cheated on Vernon. She cheated on Vernon with a man Vernon would never approve of.
"The day after tomorrow?" Cornelius asked again and Petunia shook her head again.
"I... I don't know," she said and she left him there. In the next days she locked herself up in the house and she didn't meet Cornelius. However, a week later she accidentally ran in to him (literally).
"You are ignoring me, Petunia," he said after he greeted her.
"I-I... I can't do this," she stated, but she couldn't tell him that she was married.
"Please tell me you're not serious. Please." he pleaded and Petunia couldn't meet his eyes. "Why?" he asked and he looked at the blonde woman."Give us a chance, just one. Meet me tomorrow," he stated.
"No..." she said, but she sighed and nodded. The next day they ended up in the small Café their first meeting was held. Cornelius Fudge didn't seem the romantic type of men. However, he was still ten times more romantic than Vernon Dursley, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Petunia wasn't able to ignore him anymore.
"I like you, Petunia," he stated and she nodded.
"I like you too, Cornelius, it's just..." She wasn't brave or reckless as her sister was. Petunia was opportunist and consentient. She wasn't able to tell everything to the men in front of her and she really wasn't the type to be able to stand up for her. She knew whatever was between Cornelius and her it was just temporary and that even if she was never going to be truly happy she would grow old with Vernon. She wanted freedom, she didn't want to be a bird with clipped wings, but she couldn't do much, she wasn't strong enough. She should have been happy with Vernon, instead she felt miserable and her only source of happiness was a man she would never see again after summer.
Cornelius didn't care about the 'It's just...' part. He liked to be in control, he liked to be the boss. So without any answer he leaned closer to Petunia and he kissed her again. From that moment Petunia couldn't resist his charm and she let him closer to herself than she would have ever guessed.
However, it was a summer affair. When August ended and Vernon came back to their little neighbourhood everything has changed. Petunia didn't meet Cornelius at their usual place. When he went to the house where she told him she lived an old woman opened the door and said she didn't know any Petunia Evans, only Dursley, married to a fine man with good salary.
It was hard, but eventually Petunia forgot about him. Her memories became hazy; she didn't remember those chocolate brown eyes anymore. Her son was born, her sister was killed, her nephew arrived and the craziness started ruining her boring normal life. She learned the truth behind that summer only twenty years later, while she was hiding with her family.
He was a wizard. The only person who ever wanted to really know her was a freak. Her view changed, she changed. She needed more than twenty years to realize that it was enough for her. Vernon only ruined her.
She opened her eyes, but she remembered. She remembered the first time she actually fell in love, the first time she cheated on her husband, the first time she didn't feel miserable, but she was wanted, the first time someone called her 'Love', the first time she felt nervous before a date, the first time her heart was beating faster when she saw a man.
The first time someone truly loved her and she was in love.