Part of:
The Start and Stop Challenge - Word: letter
Are you crazy enough to do it Challenge? - Prompt: 197. (feeling) Confused
Another letter. Another one. Petunia made a step backwards.
'Remember my last.'
As she stared on the envelope, she felt how her eyes slowly filled with tears. Quickly, she swallowed and tried to wipe them away without anyone noting they were there.
'What...,' Vernon mumbled. Petunia straightened herself. 'The boy is staying,' she said. Then she turned to Harry. 'Go to your room, and stay there. No dinner.' He nodded, looking utterly surprised, but his face was nothing to Vernon's who stared at her in disbelief. 'If he goes, the neighbours will talk,' she said in a snapping voice, hiding her feelings, and without another word, she left the living room and went inside the kitchen.
There, she stared out of the window. Somewhere from far away the owl must've come from. She remembered how she had been correspondending with Dumbledore, so long ago... And she remembered Lily, beautiful Lily, off to Hogwarts without her... How she had longed to come with her... Lily and that horrible boy had read their letter. Petunia remembered the familiar feeling of loathing.
But the last letter, the one letter, noone had ever read except for her. The night Lily had been killed, the promise she had made to Dumbledore... it all came up now.
And now, indeed, tears came up. If she'd been a witch, she could've gone with Lily, they had never argued, she could've protected her. Maybe everything would have turned out different, maybe Lily would be alive, maybe she wouldn't be stuck with her son, maybe they would have sorted things out. Maybe.
She didn't even know what she was feeling herself. She didn't feel any sympathy towards her sister, and yet... endless sadness... Right now she actually notice she missed her; really missed her, but the feeling was covered by loathing... Confused, she wiped the tears away, carefully took the envelope and put it into the bin. Doing that, she felt a bit better. It would be fine. No more letters were to be expected today.