By Any Other Name

What's in a name? That which we call a rose..

By any other name would smell as sweet.

Juliet, Romeo and Juliet

A low giggle escaped the girl as she flipped to the next page of her current novel. It was about another girl, who could move things with her mind. The child was absolutely enraptured by the story. She had snatched it from the library earlier that hazy summer morning and flopped down in her front yard to devour it. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and occasionally looking up to shout bits of encouragement to her younger sister, who was being thoroughly whipped at a game of kickball. Inspired by the story, the little girl reading glared up at the ball and willed it towards her. A cheer broke out as her sister caught the fly-ball with a single hand, and with a defeated sigh she returned to her book. The inability to perform telekinesis did not truly bother the girl. She had already journeyed to Mordor, slipped through the wardrobe, and flown on Pegasus. Telekinesis was nothing compared to the daily flights of fancy she was so prone to take.

The story was just reaching its climax when the low hoot of an owl broke into the girl's reverie. She blinked, sitting up to stare at the bird that had suddenly appeared in the dusky sky. It was still rather early for any nocturnal beasts to be out. She even had enough light to continue reading. Suddenly the owl swooped towards the ground and the girl noticed a letter clutched between its talons.

"How odd," she murmured to herself. At once her mind was whisking off onto a fantasy adventure. The owl was obviously only the beginning. She stood up slowly, following the flight of the owl until she realized it was headed right towards her. With a duck, she narrowly escaped being hit by the flying animal and watched in amazement when it shoved its envelope into her very own mail slot. With a squeal of excitement, she slammed her book shut and began sprinting towards her home. This was almost too good to be true. An actual fantasy coming true right before her very eyes! She wondered what sort of adventure that letter held for her.

"Lily!" shouted a parental voice from inside the house. The prancing girl came to an abrupt halt as she felt her heart plummet dramatically. A bitter taste filled her mouth as bile rose up unannounced. She felt faint as she stumbled a few feet backwards in a state of disbelief.

"I'll be right back!" the kickball playing younger sister assured her gaggle of friends. She wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. With an unpleasant grumble about always being interrupted, Lily Evans dashed towards her house. "Oh, come along, Petunia! I'm sure they'll want to see you as well," was her offhanded remark as she ran past her elder sister.

Petunia calmed her nerves. She nervously tapped the cover of her book a few times, breathing deeply as she reassured herself. Jumping to conclusions about an abnormal owl was a rather silly thing to do. The girl nodded to herself before she took the final steps into her home.

"Well? Have you any idea what this is about?" questioned Petunia's mother as she smiled warmly towards her youngest child. Lily shrugged nonchalantly before snatching the thick letter from her parent's hand, her eyes scanning the page.

"Here, Petunia. This seems like something you'd understand better than any of us," Lily placed the letter into Petunia's trembling hand and offered her a goofy grin.

Petunia found it was rather hard to swallow or even breathe as her eyes raced across the sheet set before her. It was very clearly addressed to Ms. Lily Evans, 34 Carlisle Street, Westminster. For a fleeting moment, Petunia believed it might just be a typo. An owl-delivered letter was surely something meant for her. Nibbling cautiously at her lip, she dared to read further.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. They can be found in Diagon Alley, just through the Leaky Cauldron in London. Also enclosed is a brief history of Hogwarts, an explanation of witchcraft and wizardry, and exact directions to the Leaky Cauldron.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Petunia re-read the letter a dozen times before she glanced up into the expectant faces of her family. She offered a weak chuckle before setting the letter down on the coffee table. An urge to leap for joy filled her as she stared down at the proof that all her wildest dreams weren't silly and nonsensical. Everything she read about, all the stories she spent hours imagining, they were all based on truth. Her eyes strayed back to the name on the address and such joyous urgings were quickly smothered. She was instead filled with a simmering rage. When did Lily ever race to the library? When did Lily ever get carried away by words and dreams? Lily spent all her time playing ballgames; she would never be able to appreciate a world of magic. Only Petunia could appreciate such a thing.

"Looks like rubbish to me," she murmured dismissively. "Just some nonsensical little joke."

"That's quite a pragmatic response for such a flighty little girl," giggled Mr. Evans as he jokingly placed his hand on Petunia's forehead. "Are we sure you're not ill?"

Petunia batted his hand away, snarling viciously at her father. It went unnoticed.

"Well, if 'Tunia says it's fake, it must be! She's read enough of those crazy books to be able to tell," Lily gave a shrill giggle as she pounced on her older sister, wrapping the bony girl into an enormous hug. "I'm headed back to kickball, wanna come?"

"No, I've still got a few chapters left to read," Petunia replied. For a moment she wondered if anyone could notice how painful it was for her to speak.

Lily nodded briefly before racing outside to rejoin her friends. Petunia swore she saw a hint of disappointment in her younger sister's bright emerald eyes. It was the very first time in her life that she didn't care. In fact, she wanted Lily to be disappointed. She almost hoped Lily would even begin to cry.

Petunia tossed the mysterious letter aside where it receded to the back of every Evans family member's mind save her own. She found it difficult to concentrate on anything except the letter and retired early to bed that night. She claimed that she wasn't feeling well.

The End of Chapter 1

Mizu-chan's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "By Any Other Name." I'm insanely excited to be writing it (even though it's all about Aunt Petunia!) What do you think of my version of things? Anyone have any other ideas as to what caused Aunt Petunia to hate wizards so much? Leave any theories in my review box, I'm interested to hear! Aunt Petunia is my favorite puzzle, hehe. I also want to thank my insanely amazing BETA, Magistera. It's due to her ability to put up with me and awesome suggestions that "By Any Other Name" is getting released, hehe. All right, well, review away. You know you want to.

Thanks for reading!