Petunia Evans sat cross legged on the shag carpet in her bedroom, her pale blue eyes scanning the creased and crumpled letter reluctantly. She tucked a strand of her straw colored hair behind her ear because she was sick and tired of blowing it out of her face.
Oh! And Tuney! You'll never believe what happened after the boats!
Petunia harrumphed, crossing her arms heavily on her chest. She wasn't sure she did want to know what happened after the boats. She wasn't sure she wanted to know any of it! If her sister wanted to be at that freak school with her freak friends, that was her choice.
They put this old hat on my head and then next thing I knew it was reading my mind! I was terribly nervous because they made me sit on a stool in front of the whole school while it decided where I belonged.
Petunia almost felt sorry for Lily. Having to sit up there in front of everyone and be judged like a criminal in a courtroom. Then again, Petunia decided, that was what Lily wanted. She could have just as well stayed home and continued school with Petunia at Guildford Grove Primary School.
Then next thing I knew everyone was clapping! I was so nervous that I had missed what the hat decided! I got lucky because another first year boy, James, realized what was wrong and pulled me to the Gryffindor table with him.
James. What a common name. Drab, really. If Petunia had been the one on the stool instead of Lily she would have actually paid proper attention.
She felt the reverberation of the front door closing and wanted to go share Lily's letter with her mum. She stood up a moment, bit her lip in hesitation and sat back down. Before she shared the letter she should be the one to know all of the details first. Afterall, it was her letter!
My house is Gryffindor. I think you'd like it here. Gryffindor is full of the kind of kids that like to jump the cliffs at the lake and climb the highest trees. Kids like Tommy Elliot three doors down. I'm not really sure I belong, but we'll see.
Petunia snorted. Of course Lily didn't belong to a group like that. Tommy Elliot was an impulsive idiot anyway and tried to kiss all the girls. Lily would hate it there. A sort of backflipping butterfly glee sensation started to build in her stomach. If Lily had to be stuck around a bunch of Tommy Elliots she'd want to come home in no time. They'd settle back into their school and their routine. Oh, and that awful boy, Severus, would be gone. Things would be normal again.
Then there is the Slytherin house. I think they don't really get along well with the Gryffindors but they are kind of the same thing. They are like those kids that think they're going to become movie stars. You remember Margot Peretti and her mum forcing her into that acting class? Same thing. Weirdly enough, Severus got sorted there! Do you think he's going to be famous?
Severus? Famous? Only if Petunia was destined to be the next queen of England. The old hat must have been just guessing about where the students belonged. Maybe it wasn't a real talking hat at all. It might just be one of those magic tricks.
I haven't heard much about the other two houses yet. I know for sure that Ravenclaw is where all the smart kids go. I've heard a few rumors about Hufflepuff. One boy I met, Sirius, says that the Hufflepuffs are the leftovers who didn't get sorted anywhere else. His friend, Peter, says that it's full of the creative students. Another boy, Remus, told me that it was the home of the loyal students. I feel like I'm pretty loyal so I'm not really sure why I didn't end up there.
Petunia instantly thought back to the very beginning of last summer. Jeremy Bickers was teasing Petunia on the playground. He kept calling her "horse face" and tried to get the other kids to neigh at her. Lily's magic did that thing where it acted out and pushed the boy off the slide face first into the gravel. When the girls got back home, Mrs. Bickers had already phoned Mrs. Evans. Lily took the blame for the entire thing even though Mrs. Bickers had pointed her finger at Petunia. She probably could have been one of those Hufflepuffs.
Anyway, Tuney, I'm meant to be at my first class in fifteen minutes. I'm so nervous I've chewed my fingernails all the way down. Wish me luck!
Petunia smiled a tight smile despite the gnawing jealousy twisting and knotting in her stomach and folded the letter. Instead of taking the letter downstairs and sharing it with her parents, she sprawled out on the floor, gazing up at the painted flowers on her ceiling.
She pictured herself sitting in the boats on the enormous lake. Lily said she was so nervous she thought her shaking would tip the boat over. Petunia wouldn't be shaky or nervous. She'd be calm and sit with her chin up and shoulders back like her mum had taught her. Once she disembarked from the boat, she'd stand proudly in front of the hall full of students. When it was her turn to be called, the hat would have a hard time deciding where to put her. She was intricate and interesting. Not a simple girl with a simple house.
If Lily was a Gryffindor then Petunia could be one as well. She was just as brave as the next person, definitely more so than Lily. If her parents ever visited the lake, she'd prove it by jumping off the cliff. She'd jump before Lily could even think about jumping. Although her mum didn't know how to swim very well and didn't like those types of holidays anyway.
Then again, Petunia could easily be a Slytherin. She was very good at charades and her mum always said she was a "distinct beauty." Like one of those classic Hollywood actresses that were plastered all over cinema flyers. Much more beautiful and talented than Severus, that's for sure.
She could be a Ravenclaw if she wanted. She was, after all, the second best in her geography class. Not to mention she excelled at literature. She did find all that studying to be tedious though. She wasn't much interested in being that boring.
Petunia didn't want to be a Hufflepuff though. Not if they were the leftovers at least. Maybe if they were the creative ones. Petunia did pretty well in art class and was always thinking up new ways to decorate her bedroom.
Petunia closed her eyes, imagining the common room that Lily had described at the start of the letter. The smell of smoke and perhaps fabric softener swirled around in her mind so vividly that she thought at least for a moment she was there. The chattering of the older students. The idea that only a staircase separated the girls from the boys. Living in a giant castle. Petunia could imagine herself in all of it. She'd be so popular. The magical boys would like her much more than the dull boys she went to school with like Tommy Elliot.
The jealousy flared up again and she wanted nothing more than to force Lily to come home. To play with her and keep Jeremy Bickers from messing with her. To be her normal sister like she was before she fell into this infatuation with magic and that greasy haired boy.
"Petunia, dinner is ready. It's your favorite!" Her mother called in a sing-song voice. She sighed, pushing all of the feelings out of her heart. At least with Lily gone for the year her mum and dad would dote on her instead.
"Good luck, Lily." She whispered in a strained voice that reflected just how torn she felt.
A/N: Hi! This little one shot was written for beyond the rain's click and drag challenge on hpft. There were super neat gifs where you click on them as they flash and drag them out a bit and you can read a single frame to write about. My three were: Petunia, the sorting hat, and her imagination. I think a lot of people will read this story and wonder where the venom that is usually associated with Petunia is. I'd like to think that it developed over time. In this story she feels abandoned, hurt, and upset, but she still loves her sister. I think that's really at the root of a lot of Petunia's problems and I hope I portrayed that realistically for you.