Main Characters: Petunia Dursley
Prompt: Sorrow
Setting: A year after James and Lily's deaths
Sorrow
Sorrow is not what Petunia felt when her sister died; it was regret.
Regret that she had not spent enough time with her during her life; Regret that she'd never even tried to have a relationship with her after she'd gotten married; Regret that she'd never told her sister that she loved her.
She didn't even go to Lily and James' funeral. She couldn't bear it. And besides, Vernon was not keen on mingling with her lot, which would undoubtedly be present. Throughout her life, Petunia had felt a lot of things towards her sister: anger, love, guilt, disgust, and mostly jealousy. But never sorrow. She could not feel sorry for Lily when she was so perfect. She had lived a much happier life than Petunia did. She had had a much more enjoyable childhood.
It was hard to think of fond memories. The regret and the jealousy always seemed to dominate Petunia's thoughts when it came to Lily. But sorrow was never there. In her eyes, her sister had had this coming. It was punishment for being different—for being one of them—for being a freak. And Petunia was not sorry that her sister had gotten what she deserved for unknowingly making Petunia's life a misery.
When it had been exactly a year since Lily and James' deaths, convincing Vernon she was nipping to the shops (much to his disgust, as it meant he had to babysit Dudley and Harry), Petunia visited her sister's grave for the first time. As she read the inscription on the grave, and realised that six feet below where she stood, her sister's lifeless body lay, a tear slipped from Petunia's eye.
Tenderly placing a single white lily on the grave, that was the first time that Petunia Dursley felt real sorrow.
