April 26th, 1978
The beating on the door was sending Petunia frantically through the flat. She threw the shirt of Sirius's that she had been wearing back at him, giving him a soft peck before running into her bedroom. The pounding was getting louder and louder. It sounded like he could come in the door at any moment. Sirius let his hand wander down to his pocket to make sure his wand was still there. He sighed in relief a little bit but he wasn't worried. Not about this muggle.
When Petunia emerged from the bedroom she was very different in many ways that Sirius picked up on. Her hair was in a bun, it wasn't messy like he remembered, but it was pinpoint perfect. Her black pencil skirt wasn't tight like his favorite red one and her button up shirt was tucked in, smoothed out, and completely wrinkle free. For someone who had very little time, she was ready faster than he imagined possible. She pulled and picked at everything she had on as panic and worry settled into her blood.
"PETUNIA! OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY!"
Petunia was sure the muffled shout could be heard by everyone and someone may have already called the officers. She turned to Sirius and almost cried. Vernon could be terrifying when he wanted to be. She felt like she had to cover up for him. He never liked anything too revealing on her. He disliked her hair down. He despised when she didn't wear makeup.
"Is my skirt too short?" She asked, fixing the hem under her knees.
Sirius got angry. He wasn't angry at her but he was angry at Vernon for making her feel this way. He was angry at his behavior. Sirius checked again to make sure his wand was in his pocket and didn't answer Petunia's exact question.
"You're perfect in every way," he said quickly.
If she heard him then she didn't react. She lifted a shaky hand to the doorknob and pulled it open to reveal a red faced Vernon Dursley. He took one look at Petunia disapprovingly and then his sights settled on the dark haired bad boy standing behind her protectively.
"I want explanations and I want them now!" He thundered, pushing past them and into the narrow hallway.
"What kind of explanation do you need?" Petunia asked shakily, closing the door to keep their argument locked in.
"Who the hell is this?" He shouted, pointing a stout finger at Sirius.
That was a question she couldn't really answer. They hadn't talked about it yet. She imagined they were together but that wasn't a move she needed to make.
"He's my…" he silenced her by putting a calm hand on her arm.
"I'm her boyfriend. Sirius. Sirius Black," he held his hand out to shake but Vernon stared at him like a fly on his food.
"Preposterous," he hissed.
"What's so unbelievable about that?" Petunia asked, finding her courage.
It waivered a bit but she was still on a high from Sirius's words. Boyfriend. It sounded wonderful to the tingles dancing through her body.
"That's what we are!" Vernon shouted, his face getting more red by the second.
"No we aren't," she answered.
"You're an impossible little tart, you know that?" Vernon shouted, throwing a hand up in the air.
Petunia had to move so the hand didn't hit her and she swore that she heard Sirius growl. It was low and deep. Threatening.
"What did you call her?" Sirius questioned, anger rising with every word.
"She's a tart. A floozy. A good for nothing, ungrateful little-"
Vernon didn't get to finish his nasty sentence. Sirius had him pinned up against the wall with a wand jammed next to his neck. Petunia's blood ran cold. Worry etched in her features as she tried to get them to stop.
"You can say whatever you want to me. Say one more thing about her and I'll make you regret every second," Sirius threatened.
"What are you going to do? Hit me with your little stick?" Vernon spat.
"Try me," he whispered, digging the wand a little harder in his neck.
A flash of fear ran over his face but it disappeared behind his true pompous character. He half smirked and out of anger he called her something so cruel that it sucked the wind out of her.
"Bitch," he hissed.
Sirius's vision went red. They had slurs in the wizarding world but he had heard this one a little too much to know that it wasn't something just used by muggles. He was getting ready to whisper an incantation that would have caused a lot of distress but a large hand wrapped around his wrist firmly.
Sirius looked to his left and saw James Potter with Lily behind him. Petunia was shaking and trying to run her hand up her forearms to calm herself. She wasn't scared of Sirius. She was a mix of everything. She was scared, angry, and upset but her body reacted like an earthquake every time she couldn't contain it.
"Not here," James whispered, pulling him away from Vernon.
"Vernon Dursley, I presume?" James asked casually, his hand out for him to shake but he received the same treatment as Sirius.
"Who's asking?" Vernon spat.
"Forgive my manners. I'm James Potter, a friend of Sirius here, and this is Lily. She's Petunia's sister," James introduced.
Lily had a scowl on her face. Petunia knew she had heard him call her some pretty rotten things. Sirius was still furious. He had his eyes on Vernon and he wanted to hex him into something unworldly. He couldn't though and she knew why. Wizards weren't allowed to use magic on muggles. That's why she was glad James and Lily showed up when they did.
"I don't really care who you are. We're finished!" He shouted at Petunia.
"It didn't sound like you ever started," Lily said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Who would ever want to start something with this tramp?" Vernon hissed, narrowing his eyes at Petunia.
She felt the heat from his burn. He had never said things like this to her. She had never seen this side of him. This was not the Vernon that had been chasing her. This was someone new.
No one moved fast enough to stop Sirius. He lunged forward and punched him square in the jaw. The cracks could be heard throughout the flat and the shouts of pain from both parties were just as loud. Sirius's pain subsided and he was ready to go again but James stopped him quickly.
Vernon ran out of the flat so quickly that no one saw him except Petunia. She watched him flee down the staircase in panic as he clutched his jaw. Then it all settled in.
Tart. Floozy. Ungrateful. Good for nothing. Tramp. Bitch.
He had never even shown the slightest bit of wanting to say these things to her. He was always so upstanding in every way and boring to the point of tears. Not angry or verbally abusive. Things had been over between them the moment Sirius showed up in her life. After last night she had planned to tell Vernon that she was only interested in friendship and that his advances were no longer approved. She hadn't had the chance. She was glad it was over but the words stung at the back of her eyes with the tears getting ready to fall.
She turned and noticed Lily mending his hand right in front of her with her wand.
"Ice might help a little. I'll go get some," Petunia said quickly, going into the kitchen to grab a towel and put large cubes of ice inside.
She hurried, ignoring the tears streaming down her cheeks, and practically ran back out to the living room. Sirius eyed her carefully. He gingerly took the ice towel in his damaged hand and took one of her hands in his.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Vernon on the other hand…" she trailed off, giving him a light peck on the cheek.
"I'm going to change again. I'll be back and we can all go get lunch or something," she said quickly, hurrying off to her bedroom while letting down her bun.
When she closed the door she sunk against it with tears pouring down her cheeks. She sobbed quietly, only making noise when she inhaled, and tried her best to recover.
-XOX-
A few moments later, Lily came in just as Petunia was wiping her eyes. She was thumbing through her shirts in her closet. Something that went well with the jeans she had on but she couldn't find anything she wanted to wear.
"Tuney?" Lily asked, getting closer.
Hearing Lily's voice brought a fresh batch of tears to the surface. She was trying to move past it. She really was.
"I'm almost ready Lils," smiling a watery smile as she settled on a burgundy shirt that she was sure she hadn't worn in a couple of years.
"I don't think you are," Lily said sadly.
"I will be. It's just that some of those things he said were a little tough to take,"
"Not one of them was true!" Lily reassured.
"Maybe they were," she defended.
"That's crazy talk, Tuney,"
Petunia just shook her head in response and threw the shirt over her head. She ignored Lily's gaze while she brushed her hair. She knew the question was coming but she didn't know how to answer it.
"What's Sirius doing here so early?"
There it was. She had been trying to find an explanation all morning to give her sister but she hadn't come up with one. She had thought that, on some level, she already knew why but apparently not. When she looked over at her sister she saw her wiggle her eyebrows suggestively.
"We...well we…" Petunia couldn't say it.
She was afraid that saying it would make it disappear and it frightened her. Despite everything that happened in the last hour she wouldn't have changed anything. She'd live through it all over again just to be with Sirius. Some of it frightened her.
"Tuney!" she giggled.
Petunia blushed but a huge smile came through the tears. She remembered every moment and it made her tingle with anticipation. His hands on her and his lips on her neck. Those dark eyes that pierced through her and made her feel vulnerable. She liked it. If she was being honest, she loved it. It was something new to her and she was obsessed.
"So, what does this mean?" Lily asked excitedly.
"I'm not sure. I'm hoping that it means something good," she said with a smile, wiping the excess tears from her cheeks.
"I think it means that Sirius won't be sleeping on the couch tonight," Lily joked.
That's exactly what it means.
-XOX
Sirius sat on the couch holding the cloth full of ice to his swollen knuckles. He had punched him pretty hard, he was pretty sure he had dislocated his jaw, but he deserved it. Petunia had expressed that he wasn't very lively or spontaneous but she had never mentioned his verbally abusive tendencies. He wished he hadn't been a muggle so he could hex him but he wasn't that lucky. He had fallen for a muggle, after all. A beautiful muggle but a muggle nonetheless.
"How's the hand?" James asked casually, leaning back in the lounge chair.
"It's fine. What's taking them so long?" he wondered out loud.
He wanted to see Petunia. He was going to go in there but Lily suggested that she go first in case she was really upset. Of course Petunia was upset. Why wouldn't she be?
"I don't know. What's gotten into you, mate?" James questioned.
"What do you mean?" Sirius growled.
He knew exactly what James meant. He hadn't mentioned Petunia around James. She had been his best kept secret but he hadn't hid it well from Lily. He was constantly asking her questions about her sister.
"Why are you here early?"
There were so many questions floating around with none of them being answered. Sirius didn't know how to answer them. If he tells James about his feelings for the woman then he would never hear the end of it. He knew that James wouldn't approve. Not because she was Lily's sister but for other reasons.
"I came early to see her. We've been writing each other," Sirius said plainly.
James read through the bullshit.
"You've got a thing for her!" James practically yelled before Sirius's glare silenced him.
"No, I don't," Sirius lied.
"Yes you do! It's written all over your face. You're head over heels," James chuckled, folding his hands behind his head with his cocky attitude.
"So what?" Sirius questioned, standing up from his spot on the couch.
"I knew it. The moment you laid eyes on her you were smitten. Does being here early mean you've had relations with her?"
When Sirius didn't answer, James's eyebrows furrowed.
"It was her first time, wasn't it?" James questioned.
Sirius still didn't answer. James looked down at his hands and shook his head. He didn't approve. Sirius could feel it. He knew what it was like to take a virgin. James had always warned him about it because it creates feelings that you wouldn't have expected. What he didn't know was that he had fallen in love with her before any of that.
"That's not good, Sirius," James said, standing.
"It's exactly as you warned but I'm not letting her go," he said, standing his ground.
"There's a reason I warned it!" James hissed.
"It's just like you and Lily! Why can't I have the same thing?" Sirius argued.
"Because she's a muggle, Sirius! Lily is a witch and we are allowed to be together. If you stay with Petunia then you are only putting the both of you into more danger!"
Sirius hadn't thought about that. He knew that he could fall in love but he forgot about the war. Sirius continued to be stubborn and argued that he could keep her safe. He could do that for her and be with her at the same time. It would be hard at first but he was sure they could do it. They fit so well.
"I can keep her safe," he said simply.
James just shook his head and their conversation was put on hold. When Petunia caught Sirius's eye she looked much better than what he saw when she fled into the bedroom. Her eyes were still puffy but her smile covered up most of it. He waited months for a smile like this and he'd be damned if he was going to lose it.
"Are we ready?" Petunia asked.
Her voice was still a little shaky but she cleared her throat to rid her voice of it.
"Yeah, we're ready," Sirius said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and taking her hand in his.
They were definitely ready.
