The Apprentice

by gingerdream

They were at war and Petunia just felt like an inevitable concomitant of the process while growing up. Lily would marry well, Severus is smart and Petunia was destined to be the normal one. Petunia knew she would reach that expectation, but her road to normalcy was definitely abnormal. AU where Petunia attempts to be a decent person. Slightly OOC Previously: The Vase

27. Filler 2

TW: Mentions of infidelity and homophobia (I think)

Filler 2

Petunia stomped home behind Damocles. He was never supposed to see her like that. Not that she was ashamed of her behaviour, she wasn't. There was just such a clear line between work and her personal life. However even in the few days that she had lived with Damocles the lines had clearly been blurred.

"I thought that you weren't dating anyone?"

"It doesn't make a difference; you weren't supposed to be there."

Petunia sounded petulant and childish. She really wasn't willing to deal with him as they walked to an apparition point. Any enjoyment she had gotten out of the night was completely ruined. She held the edge of his robe as the apparated to Belby Cottage.

She threw the jacket she was wearing onto the coat rack and moved straight to the kitchen. A house-elf immediately popped in as Damocles followed her. She rummaged through the cabinets ignoring both Damocles and the house-elf. They were both saying things that Petunia really didn't want to hear.

"What don't you get, you had no right to pull her off of me. I was having fun, she was having fun," Petunia ground out.

Never in her entire history of going out had a night ended that badly. Petunia had been following the girl for a while. There was this almost instant fizzle. They had seen each other in the club for a while, this was a woman, one Petunia saw when she went the chemists near Darren's flat.

She wasn't from here; her clothes were fun and she had a necklace made of gold around her neck.

"Do you even know who she was?" Damocles asked.

Petunia thought it was a strange question. Of course, she didn't really "know" who she was. Petunia very rarely did when it came to the people she kissed at clubs.

"That was Indra Patel, wife of the Indian Ambassador to the Ministry. He would have killed you if he ever found out."

Petunia's blood ran cold. It was as if even when she didn't want to deal with wizarding problems it brought itself into her life. It wasn't fair, every moment she spent wanting something for herself meant that she was straying away from being normal. Once she would have thought that living in her own definitions was worth it; now she wasn't too sure.