Chapter 25: Foot soldiers

The men at the Grunnings factory were very different from the men Petunia was used to working with. At the factory in Cokesworth, there was an almost automatic sense of respect. They refused to give her anything too heavy, most of them didn't care that she knew more than they did. That the callouses on her hands looked like the ones on their own. To them, she was just another woman who would have served everyone else better if she was part of the typing pool.

Domacles, to a certain extent, was a far better companion. But he did everything without very much rhyme or reason. He worked as he pleased, slept as he pleased and definitely partied as he, please. Petunia wanted to scream her frustration but held it in. All of this would have been manageable had her entire body quieted itself, if only for a moment.

Pomona suggested going to see a Mind Healer, which Petunia could see the reason to, but then she had seen too many scary things at St Mungo's. The factory processed drill bits and Petunia liked the monotony of the work. They paid by the hour and that helped Petunia as since she was getting a pay cut her parents hadn't demanded a portion of her work cheque. Petunia thought her mother had something to do with that when she visited last, her mother hid a bruise well forming on her face. Those were all problems she was sure that therapy would not be able to fix.

Tobias also had been the definition of low, to the point where Petunia warned Severus to stay at Hogwarts. Their entire family unit was a mess, she never thought that death would impact them as much as it did. But it was a fundamental part of their life that was gone.

Domacles was weird though, he had bursts of chaotic energy, followed by weeks of absolute nothingness. He didn't care at times and then sometimes he cared too much. He cared when he threw parties for investors. There he wanted her to look pretty, to say nothing and have the galleons of funding roll in. He was predictable like that, it made him a man. Petunia decided to take Easter off, Ostera, was not a celebration she wanted to be a part of and Domacles, although very unhappy had given her permission to do so.

There would be too many Dark families loitering around, and by not being at the Belby property, she had enticed Lily to come back for Easter. The scarlet train screeched to a halt and Petunia waited eagerly to see her sister. The letters this year had been sparse and said nothing other than Lily was doing fine. Lily barely spoke like that unless things were decidedly not fine, it didn't matter at the moment. Lily was coming home to her and she wouldn't complain.

Lily jumped off the train with only a camping backpack and a broom. Petunia had planned a road trip to harvest ingredients. She couldn't tell why Easter was a good time to be harvesting other than Eileen had always taken them hunting for ingredients during this time. It took a second for Lily to find Petunia before her face changed.

She ran to her sister and caught Lily in a hug and was careful not to drop her. Lily wasn't wearing her usual robes, nor did she bother to hide that she was a muggle. Although it struck Petunia as odd, she did not question the decision that Lily made. It was clearly some sort of political statement that Petunia chose not to understand. Petunia could sense that Lily was frustrated, that came from years of knowing her sister's moods and reading between the lines of different tantrums growing up.

Petunia put her sister down. The Wizarding World didn't do physical affection. They were stiff and any sign of emotion could be a point of manipulation. There was something unsettling about that. It concerned Petunia that Lily was screaming rebellion. Petunia was not as close to her sister as she had once been, but Lily was scaring her in ways that Lily had as a child.

Those days should have been behind them. No, Lily agreeing to this trip was because of something else and Petunia had no choice but to trust her sister.

"I have the map and I assume you'll be able to follow," Petunia said, looking at her watch. She would have to beat traffic to get out and Lily could then hop on the broom and follow her the rest of the way.

Lily nodded in understanding and reached for the helmet Petunia had brought with her. That would always make Petunia grin, how her sister had zero fear when she was close enough to touch the clouds but thought her bike was a death-trap waiting to happen. Petunia thought that Lily would turn around and wave goodbye to this world. Her sister did not and settled on the back of the bike, hugging Petunia as Petunia made her way out of the city.

The moment it was safe to do so, Lily strapped the bags onto the broomstick, a Comet, and took to the sky. They hadn't ever travelled like this. Mostly because they didn't usually have the money to, but as long as they were back for the Easter service on Sunday, Petunia had gotten permission from her parents to monopolize Lily. Petunia had marked the forest where they would go ingredient hunting and she was exhausted by the time she made it to the isolated camping grounds.

The owners made no comment when she paid them for a week's stay in cash and a little extra. Lily, as usual, got them to love her within the first hour. That blessing meant that they wouldn't concern themselves with that the sisters would be doing. Lily had rented a magical tent. Petunia could have kissed her for thinking of that. The tent only held a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom but it would be enough space to preserve potions, ingredients and whatever else they managed to conjure up.

Petunia thought she would have longer than two hours before Lily dragged her down to the floor. Lily cut her palm open before giving the blade to Petunia to do the same. It was both a question and a challenge. Was Petunia brave enough to step into Lily's world of absolute honesty? Petunia sliced her hand and took Lily's bleeding palms into hers.

"With our hands joined, bleeding and blooding mingling, do you promise absolute honesty?" Lily asked.

"As much as you offer me."

The intention was what drove this kind of magic. Dark and something two girls shouldn't have known about never mind commit these same acts every time they needed to have an honest conversation. There was something incredibly twisted about. Fueled by pure intent and they usually demanded it off each other when they were worried. Neither of them was particularly known for being honest about their feelings.

"Why are you working in a factory?"

Petunia felt the compulsion from the question, it was like a knife to her throat, there was a possibility she would not die from answering the question, but it wanted her to be honest. She preferred this to truth serum though, at least she had the option.

"It's the only kind of work I've trained to do. Why did you decide to come home?" Lily looked hurt at the question and Petunia ignored that look. She needed to know what was going on with her sister in order to decide how best to protect her.

Lily breathed deeply. She probably had not admitted thoughts to herself then. "I needed to get away, to figure out where I am supposed to fit in all of this. I'm not muggle anymore but I'll never be wizard enough," Lily said. "That scares me because I can't imagine a life with magic and then I think of life without it and it doesn't make sense either."

"So where do you see yourself, joining the Aurors?"

"Never, they think that by keeping us all isolated they are preserving life. I don't know." Lily sounded like she really didn't know. "What about you Petunia? How long are you going to tiptoe this line?"

Petunia knew the answer to this question. "Until they don't want to have me anymore. Potion creation is addicting, better high than any drug you can find and I don't need university for it."

"So, you aren't going back to school after this year?"

Petunia shook her head. "There is nothing left for them to teach me."

"How can you be so sure?" Lily seems to always forget that sometimes because Petunia is older than her it means that she has a few iota's more wisdom. "Also, for how long have you been sober?"

Petunia pursed her lips. Lily picked good questions. The kind that Petunia didn't like. Maybe Lily might decide to work for the Department of Mysteries and get to ask the big questions they would all like the answers too. "Sober for the last two days and I'm sure. Enough about that though, what are your plans if you aren't going to join the Auror force?"

Lily didn't like how easily Petunia could get high or drunk and function as if nothing had happened. As if the habits she had were normal and healthy. That was a thought that sobered Lily a lot, Petunia could end up like their mom should the circumstances force their hands in a way that did not favour anything of them.

"I don't really know, I could look for Charms mastery, but then there is this war, who wants a mudblood working for them anyway?"

Petunia could have honestly growled out in frustration. "This isn't your war to fight. Keep your head down. I have connections."

The compulsion was like too much alcohol and flooded her body too quickly. Petunia could feel the honesty roll-off in waves. She took her hand out of her sister's and it was like her head was clear again. They wouldn't need to hold hands for this, the blood had long since dried and Lily hummed a healing spell to take care of the rest.

"You can't fight for the Dark, Petunia. Not when they will take you, use you and then kill you."

"What guarantee do you have that the light won't do the same? We are just foot soldiers of two sides who think they are different."