Chapter Three
"Petunia?"
Still pink-cheeked and fingering her stringy hair in front of her face, Petunia turned to find their next-door neighbour, Mrs Diya, smiling down at her.
"Mrs Diya, you're… here? I mean…"
Priya chuckled and touched her shoulder gently.
"It's alright, yes, Darius grew up in this world, I married into it, Sham inherited his father's gifts, and one day our little Xhara will walk the halls of Hogwarts, or one of the other schools. So, I guess Lily got a letter, is she excited?"
Petunia smiled and nodded, genuinely happy that she knew magickal people other than Lily and secretly hoped to one day learn more from the Diyas.
"Lily's very excited Mrs Diya. Mum and Dad are in there getting books for her," she said, gesturing to the store behind her, "there are other magic schools?"
Priya nodded, "All over the world, Xhara prefers Hogwarts, for a terrible reason I'm afraid. I hope she considers the other potential schools before she makes her decision, but our little girl has a crush and refuses to see reason. All I can do is hope she grows out of it."
Petunia listened absently as just then, the group that had been making fun of her, came out of the store; thankfully, none of them saw her as Mrs Diya's form blocked any view of her. Her eyes followed 'Adonis' for a bit and she quickly looked away; she was not about to be embarrassed in public.
Priya had seen Petunia's interest but all she said was, "I'm going to say hi to your parents. You'll be fine out here by yourself?"
"I'll be okay, Mrs Diya, but could you show me where the second-hand book shop is."
"Oh, it's just over there." Priya pointed to a store with books lined on a small table. It was closer than she'd thought and when Priya disappeared into Flourish and Blotts Petunia hurried across the cobblestone street.
The interior of the shop was actually quite cozy and it reminded Petunia of the time they all visited Great-Uncle; she had spent most of the time in his library with him or by herself, when he was entertaining her parents. The scent of old books pervaded the room and Petunia felt herself relax since entering Diagon Alley.
Book shelves lined the walls and some stood back to back creating small aisles, the cashier's counter was closer to the centre of the room. Realising that she was wasting time, her parents weren't going to remain in the other store for long, she quickly searched the bookshelves. By the third shelf, her excitement had faded; the books were Spelled in some way, it was the only explanation for why she kept seeing Mathematics, General Sciences and others like Alice In Wonderland and Grimm's Fairytales.
Then she remembered, Balore had also said that she and her parents needed to be in his vicinity to be able to see the books. Giving up at the last shelf near one wall of books, she pivoted slowly as she looked at the books sadly. Her parents wouldn't return here for her and she didn't want to ask their guide, he had other families to think of.
With a sigh, she turned to leave when something caught her eyes, a word… magick. Petunia spun to face the wall where she'd seen it and hurried over to a shelf just above her eye level. Excitement returned as she found five books that seemed magickal to her, and they were all written by the same person; Lefan The Squib
The Magick Within - A Brief Insight Of A 'Squib'
Inscribe & Cast Your Own Spells
A Chronicle Of Potions - Vanquishing, Healing and Others
Magickal Beings - Dangerous and Benign
Good Versus Evil - The Unending Saga
Since these were the only books Petunia grabbed them all, she heard a shuffling sound and looked up to see that the exact same books appeared in the space that had been left. Unfazed by the bit of magic, she went to the counter to pay for the books.
The man behind the counter looked at the books then back up at her with a kind smile, "I guess as a muggle-born you'd never have read these before," He lifted Good Versus Evil and pointed at it, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard is an all time favourite."
Petunia frowned, and she felt her hopes drop; had she been tricked? The man went back to cash everything and she peered at the book, it still looked the same to her.
"Three galleons, little miss," he said, packing the books into a bag for her, the last book Magickal Beings he brandished before he placed it in the bag, "Enchanted Encounters, another good one, it's a series you know. I have the others when you're ready, if you end up liking this one."
Petunia paid the galleon and took the bag with a smile, though, she was still confused.
The wizard couldn't see what she was seeing; the other books, the maths and others, were Spelled books to keep people like her from seeing a magical book. Yet, this wizard was seeing wizarding story books, while she saw magickal texts. Chills covered her body as realisation hit, and Petunia's smile widened as she left the store; she held the bag of books to her chest, and thought, a wizard couldn't see what she saw… and that… that was magickal.
~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~
Petunia trailed behind her parents as they fussed over Lily, who was making ridiculous cooing sounds at her new owl. Lily hadn't wanted any other animal and so everyone had stopped off at Eeylops Owl Emporium. Now they were heading to the Magical Menagerie as the Sinistras insisted on getting their niece a pet; Petunia was beginning to sense that Aurora was either extremely frugal or she was uncomfortable spending her aunt and uncle's money.
Balore stopped in front of the pet store, "While the Sinistras are selecting their pet, as that can sometimes take a while, how about I take you all to Slug and Jiggers and the Sinistras can meet us there, sounds good?" Everyone agreed, and when Aurora and her guardians went in to the store, Petunia followed behind them.
"Mum, dad, I'm going to see the pets with the Sinistras," she said, going quickly to the door.
"Y-yes, okay honey."
Petunia realised long ago that once she didn't actually ask, her parents would allow certain things. Besides, doing it this way while everyone was in a hurry, Lily had no chance to tag along to see what Petunia was up to; not that she was up to anything, she just wanted to look around without Lily's smirking and questioning about the books she was obviously carrying.
In the noisy store - children were gushing loudly over the equally excited animals - Petunia relaxed again. She smiled and began to look around at the animals.
"Petunia, come see this." Aurora had taken to Petunia and chatted about anything exciting that caught her eyes. Petunia didn't mind, she liked the intelligent girl and even better it seemed as though Lily wasn't too happy with this, so Petunia was able to be genuinely happy without having to force the emotion. A part of her wondered how wonderful it would have been if Lily wasn't so terrible, was just a normal little sister… the two of them could be having as much fun as she was having with Aurora.
At a small barrier, to prevent them from wandering away, Aurora and Petunia cooed at a kindle of kittens pattering about the enclosure. The mother - a strange looking cat with long ears and what seemed to be a lion's tail - sat looking around at her growing babies with two sitting next to her, and when the girls had approached she'd transferred her stare to them.
"They're called kneazles and are just like cats except that they're magickal and really, really intelligent; they can understand you when you talk, but they can communicate if they bond with you."
Petunia nodded as she listened to Aurora, she would have loved to have a cat of her own but she didn't want Lily hurting any animals she brought home. That poor owl…
Mama cat touched noses with the two kittens next to her and brused against them, before she sat again, and returned her attention to her other kittens. Petunia watched in awe as the two kittens approached the barrier directly in front of her and Aurora.
The grey bundle with blue eyes stood and leaned on the barrier in front of Aurora, while the black bundle with the brightest green eyes, did the same in front of Petunia. The girls glanced at each other before they smiled and lifted the respective kittens.
Aurora gasped and Petunia turned to see the kitten snuggling in the girl's arms turn into a British Shorthair.
"Ooohh, you're so pretty. Aunty, Uncle… I found one!"
The Sinistras gasped and rushed over from the tiny-monkey habitat, "Oh god! Honey, you're… you're okay!" Her aunt sounded relieved and Petunia wondered why. "Honey, why don't you pick out something else."
"But… she chose me, Aunty and I feel fine."
"Denise, I told you; Aurora belongs here and besides, that's a kneazle. It's impossible for her allergies to act up, and it would be cruel to turn a familiar away." Mr Sinistra knelt in front of his niece. "If she chose you, it means that she's already started to bond with you, no matter how short a time has passed. She won't want to be with anyone else, and if you leave her..."
Petunia stroked the kitten in her arms as she tried not to seem intrusive to the Sinistras' conversation. She hoped they let Aurora keep the kitten, it was the only thing Petunia had heard the tiny girl ask for. Her little black bundle of fur was now sleeping and she moved to place it back in the enclosure.
"Miss Evans," Petunia paused and looked up at the kind, dark features of Mr Sinistra, "I know you're… not like your sister, but what I said goes for you as well; this kitten chose you, are you really going to leave it behind?"
She didn't reply, instead, Petunia looked down at the kitten now awake and staring at her with it's tiny green eyes. She didn't want to leave the kitten, but she also didn't want to take it home where Lily might decide to hurt it. The little furry head cocked to the side as the kneazle stared at her, and she remembered that Aurora had said they were intelligent. Maybe if she warned the kitten enough times he'll learn to stay away from her sister and - just in case - her parents as well.
She grinned and hugged her kitten to her, "Thank you, Mr Sinistra. I'll keep him safe."
~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~
It was the morning of September first. The Evans' family had just crossed the barrier from King's Cross to Platform 9 3/4 and Petunia's gaze perused the crowded platform. There were students with giant toads or strange looking cats in their arms, there were owls in cages hooting at each other, and some of the students were strolling around already dressed in their long black robes.
She felt her heart skip a beat as she thought of Voltaire who was currently being taken care of by the Diyas after Lily had complained to their parents about rashes appearing on her skin.
Suddenly, Lily took her hand and pulled her a little away from their parents, who were gazing around the platform in awe.
"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen —" Lily caught her hand and held tight to it, even though Petunia tried to pull it away.
"Sorry... you're sorry!" Petunia stared in disbelief at her little sister and caught a familiar gleam in her eye. "What are you playing at, Lily?"
"Maybe once I'm there — no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"
"Change his mind about what?" She pulled her arm from Lily's grip and absently rubbed at the spot - Lily's touch had always felt dirty... tainted - as she spoke softly. "You know what Lily, I'm glad you'll finally be gone to that school; you're a sick and evil little freak."
"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you."
Petunia felt shame and confusion course through her; Lily had spoken loud enough for others around them to glance in their direction.
"Beg? I didn't beg! What-" she stopped short as she realised that Lily was doing what she did best; manipulating those around her and humiliating her big sister as much as possible.
"I saw his reply. It was very kind."
Then Petunia remembered that she'd written to the Headmaster asking for his help to break the curse. When Lily had gotten her acceptance letter with a notice that someone magical would be coming to their home to explain more, Petunia had quickly written the letter addressing it to the name of the Headmaster their father had read out loud.
When the stern-faced witch, with black hair pulled into a bun, had come a day later, Petunia had raced outside before the professor left and asked her to deliver it.
The professor looked at the dirty-blond girl with a frown, "Only magickal children are allowed at Hogwarts, Miss Evans."
"I know, professor," Petunia replied, trying to hold back the curse long enough for the witch to take the letter, she could already feel the anger boiling to the surface, "I'm just asking for some help, ma'am."
"Very well."
The very next day, Petunia had gotten her reply. It had been brusque, condescending and ended with well-wishes for her future endeavours. Dumbledore's letter contained utter poppycock about Lily doing 'accidental' magic, that Petunia's jealousy would hurt her sister; that Lily surely loved her and that muggles were not allowed at Hogwarts. Great-Uncle Qal had been right, she thought, wizards are a myopic - she'd looked it up in the dictionary - bunch.
Now, here was Lily, playing on the sympathies of the crowd and making her look like the jealous sister Dumbledore had called her.
Petunia felt the anger swell and noticed Lily's glance toward Snape standing nearby with his sour-faced mother. The brats had both been poking around in her room, she guessed, as Snape would have been able to recognise the marker on the otherwise normal-looking envelope.
Lily was looking at her in mock sadness and sympathy, and for once Petunia wanted to give in to the hate and rage coursing through her. She wanted all these magical folk to know that they were allowing an evil freak schooling along with their children.
"Promise me you'll never give in, ma cherie, no matter how much she belittles you, Lily will never be as powerful as you are, Petunia."
Her Great-Uncle's words resonated within her and she clasped the small charm around her neck. It was because of the charm that Uncle Qal had given her during his visit two years ago, that any new curses Lily tried on her failed every time.
She didn't know where he'd gotten it, but Petunia was ever so grateful for the protection the charm provided.
Then it dawned on her, Lily was going away for months, she won't have to endure unfair punishments… she could bring Voltaire home. Her anger fading, she focused on Lily in front of her and did something she hadn't done since Lily was a baby; she pulled her into a hug.
"I'll miss you so much, Lily," she said, thinking of the happiest times she'd had with her parents before Lily's curse, "you're lucky to be going to Hogwarts and I'm so happy for you. That's all that matters."
Petunia held her sister at arm's length, and her smile widened at Lily's struggle to keep annoyance and anger from showing on her face; she pulled Lily close once more to whisper in her ear.
"Beat that, freak."
Petunia stepped away, and their parents engulfed Lily in a hug, gushing about how proud they were of her and urging her to write home often.
"Good luck to you too, Severus," Henry said to Snape - his mother had apparently already left after loading his trunk onto the train - waiting nearby for Lily.
Petunia looked away, staring blankly at the other bystanders; she'd glimpsed the poorly hidden longing in Snape's dark eyes, for the blatant - excessive - affection the Evans' showered on Lily. Petunia guessed that there wasn't much love in the Snape home as she'd seen the bruises sometimes when he came over to their house.
Though Petunia felt a stirring of sympathy for him, Snape didn't respect those who didn't have magic; he hated Petunia, and he didn't trust her parents, no matter how nice they were to him. Not that her parents overt 'niceness' was real; it was all Lily.
A familiar voice sounded close by, and Petunia blinked; her gaze cleared in time to notice the blonde hunk from Diagon Alley, 'Adonis', getting on the train with a group of boys, she quickly looked away to prevent any more name calling or insults.
Just then, Lily and Snape also boarded the train, and soon enough the doors were shut, and the train was slowly moving off.
Petunia slouched and shuffled impatiently as she just wanted to go home and relax with her kneazle; it was a Saturday morning, and her favourite show would be on soon. Henry and Heather, though, were still waving at the departing train like all the other families.
The crowd began to disperse as people began to leave, and Petunia stared in fascination at the magickals' vanishing exit, keeping out of the way of the those that needed to go back through the barrier.
Petunia found the whole idea of the barrier ridiculous and the fact that non-magicals on the other side never saw people walking through a wall was unbelievable. She wondered how many of them thought they were going insane or disappeared without a trace because they saw something they shouldn't have.
Her parents weren't waving at the train anymore, but they were slowly walking in the direction the train had gone. Petunia huffed and folded her arms as it was becoming embarrassing; there were still some families mingling who were throwing the couple weird looks. The Diyas, holding their little girl between them, were one of those families.
With a frustrated sigh, Petunia went to collect her parents.
"Dad... mum, it's time to go."
The pair didn't turn or acknowledge her and their zombie-like, shuffling gait - now noticeable as she got closer - worried her. Petunia hurried around to block their path and froze; she didn't know whether to be horrified or disgusted at the slack-faced, drooling couple.
"Dad! Mum! Help, someone help them, please!"
~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~
St Mungo's Hospital
"They're going to need long term medical care…"
"The poor dear… it was obviously accidental magic…"
"At least she's in good hands at Hogwarts…"
Petunia sat quietly as she listened to the magic doctors as they spoke in hushed tones near her. It was clear that she was invisible to them as they spoke of her parents, sedated in a curtained off area of the large room, and Lily who was sitting nearer to the closed curtains leaning against the McGonagall woman who'd been to their home. The woman had brought Lily only a few minutes ago and already she was a 'poor wee thing'.
Petunia had chosen to sit near the exit, the furthest from her sister, as she waited for Great-Uncle to arrive. She gripped the seat near her legs and threw her perfect, little sister a dirty look.
I HATE you, Lily! You'll pay for what you did to my parents you FREAK!
Gentle hands came to rest on her own still gripping the seat, and Petunia looked away from Lily, but she refused to look up at Mrs Diya sitting quietly next to her. The couple had come with Petunia to St Mungo's, but Mr Diya had decided to take Xhara home while his wife remained, refusing to leave Petunia alone.
A part of her wished the woman had left with her husband, but Petunia was grateful for Mrs Diya's quiet company. Unlike their other neighbours, the Diya's were nice to her and paid her well for doing small chores and sometimes babysitting Xhara. She didn't want the curse to take over and make her behave horridly to the kind woman.
Someone hurried into the room and Petunia looked up, "Uncle Qal!" she raced to her Great-Uncle and hugged him tightly, pressing her face to his chest.
"Mon bijou, I came as quickly as I could. Thank you for contacting me, Priya."
"You're welcome, Mr Qalmor. If you'll excuse me, I'm going home to make sure Darius didn't burn down the house trying to cook dinner."
"Thank you for staying with me Mrs Diya," Petunia said softly, still holding onto her Great-Uncle.
"It was my pleasure, dear," with a sad smile to Petunia and a nod to Qalmor, Priya left.
"Ma chérie, please wait here," he said, walking her back to her seat, "let me find out what I can from these people."
Petunia watched as Uncle Qal approached the witch doctor that had emerged from behind the curtains and began speaking to Lily's teacher.
"Healer Thompson, I'd greatly appreciate it if you would direct your observations about my nephew and niece-in-law to me." He turned to the teacher without waiting for the healers reply. "Professor McGonagall, please escort my niece back to school; I will be corresponding with your Headmaster as to the state of my nephew and his wife when I have removed them to a secure facility." This was all said in one breath and Petunia bit back a smirk at the teacher's perplexed expression.
"But… they are her parents, sir, she should-"
"I will clear it with your Headmaster as to when arrangement for visits can be made." He said abruptly and gestured to the exit. "Now, please excuse me, Professor McGonagall, I must see to ma famille."
As they swept passed, Lily shot a glare at Petunia, hate brimming from her eyes.
Petunia smiled brightly, "Enjoy Hogwarts, Lily."
Not even the teacher's sniff of disbelief at Petunia's words, could dull the flare of happiness she felt, especially when she met Uncle Qal's eyes full of pride.
~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~
A/N - I just wanted to let my followers know that this and other stories (Awaken, Emrys! & Must Have Been Love) will be put on hold for the foreseeable future.