January 1981- Petunia
Petunia's hard won peace was interrupted by an elderly wizard wearing bright turquoise robes decorated with an elaborate moving underwater scene. Albus Dumbledore visited Potter Manor in the new year with bad news. Lily and James were ushered into the mansion's vast library while Petunia remained in their apartment with Harry. Professor Dumbledore had looked grim; Petunia felt a cold knot of uncertainty in the pit of her belly. The past few months had been positively blissful- she and Lily were now closer than ever, Harry adored his auntie, and she had even developed an appreciation for James' sense of humour. They had become her family in every sense of the word.
It seemed hours before Lily and James emerged from the library, their faces drawn and worried. To Petunia's surprise, she was called in to meet with Dumbledore. She had never spoken to him, aside from the letter she had secretly sent to him when Lily had just been accepted to Hogwarts. She felt a little embarrassed now, and wondered if he thought her a silly child still.
'Ah Petunia! Have a seat, my dear. Lemon drop?' Dumbledore welcomed her into the room. 'It's lovely to finally meet you.'
His eyes twinkled at her and she felt a little more at ease and greeted him politely.
'Now, unfortunately we've gotten some information that Potter Manor is not longer quite safe for any of you,' said Dumbledore, settling into a comfortable armchair. 'All of you must move, I'm afraid. I've already offered Lily and James a place, but it won't be possible for you to go with them.'
'What? Where shall I go? Back to the muggle world?' asked Petunia, a bit bewildered. She had come to think of Potter Manor as her home, although she knew rationally that she would have to move on someday.
'Unfortunately, yes,' said Dumbledore, gently. 'But you will be under my protection, as well as the Potters'. I shall be moving you to a warded cottage in a small village. You will be out of the crossfire there, and safe.'
Although the most terrible events had led her to Potter Manor, Petunia felt hollow at the thought of leaving it, and her family. She had come to love the beautiful gardens and had made friends with several of the house elves (much to Euphemia's dismay!). Her distress must have been written on her face as Dumbledore patted her hand gently and offered her several more lemon drops and several mint humbugs before leaving.
Not a week later, Petunia and Lily stood in front of Potter Manor, in the bitingly cold January air, saying goodbye. The sisters clung to each other desperately as time stole away their last moments together. Neither spoke the terrible truth- they didn't know if or when they would see each other again. So they told each other kind lies.
'Promise me you'll be okay,' choked Petunia, fiercely hugging her sister. 'Promise me, Lily!'
'I promise, Tuney,' said Lily tearfully as she cuddled Harry. 'We'll be together again when this is all over, I swear it. And you must promise as well.'
Petunia made her empty promise to her sister, pressed a kiss to Harry's head, and then watched bleakly as her sister, nephew and brother in law disappeared together with a soft pop. Save for her and Dumbledore (dressed in fuchsia robes today), Potter Manor stood empty and desolate. Euphemia and James' father, Fleamont, had already relocated to their mansion in France with their house elves. Now, only Petunia remained to be taken somewhere safe.
'Now, take my arm, that's a good girl,' said Dumbledore, cheerfully tucking Petunia's arm in his. 'Now I do hope you don't get seasick! Apparition can make one quite nauseous, especially the first time.'
'Oh, actually I d-' Petunia began, thinking of the one time she and Lily had decided to go boating. She had not stepped foot on another sea faring vessel since!
However, she was interrupted by the strangest sensation of being thoroughly squeezed and spun about. She imagined that this was what being in a dancing anaconda's embrace might feel like. Just as it had begun to get unbearable, it was over and her feet hit solid ground again. If not for Dumbledore's firm grip on her, she would have fallen over.
As her nausea subsided, and the world stopped spinning, she looked up to see where they had landed. They seemed to be on a little path in the middle of the woods. Tall, bare trees towered above them, and snow crunched beneath their shoes as they walked slowly to the cottage Dumbledore had promised her. Their walk was so relaxed, a passerby might have thought they were just a pair out for a country stroll. As they traipsed along the path, Dumbledore chatted with Petunia about her career in teaching, the books she liked to read, and the things she enjoyed cooking. He seemed delighted at her offer of pasta for supper one day. By the time they arrived at the ivy covered cottage, Petunia felt as though she and the elderly wizard were old friends.
The quaint cottage, surrounded by trees, was straight out of a fairy tale with its cozy brick structure. There was a bright open kitchen and dining area, with plenty of windows. The drawing room had comfortable couches and chairs and even a fireplace. A little trapdoor in the floor led to the cellar beneath the house. Upstairs, the attic had been converted into two tiny bedrooms and a neat little bathroom. There were bookshelves covering the walls of the house, and Petunia realised they held many of her favourites. There was even a telly in the drawing room, and fairly modern appliances in the kitchen. A copy of the Daily Prophet- the wizarding newspaper- lay on the table; Dumbledore had ordered a subscription for her so that she would be able to keep up with the war news. Petunia was touched; despite all his other responsibilities, Dumbledore had gone out of his way to ensure that she was comfortable.
'Now, you shall be safe here. The house is warded, and Voldemort's death eaters won't be able to find you. And, before I forget…' Dumbledore paused as he searched his numerous pockets, emptying them of various sweets, quills and odd pairs of socks. Eventually he produced some papers.
'Aha! Here are the banking documents that Lily has provided for you… you needn't work if you don't want to,' said Dumbledore, smiling at her kindly, 'perhaps you can practice more pasta recipes.'
'Thank you Professor,' said Petunia softly, gazing about, 'for everything.'
Before saying goodbye for the last time, Dumbledore introduced her to a brown barn owl, Willow, whom she could use to contact him in an emergency. Then, he was gone, and she was alone again.
In the coming months, Petunia found herself settling into the little cottage and the sleepy village called Cullfield that was now her home. The villagers had been thoroughly curious about the single woman who had moved into the woods overnight, but their interest died down after a month when they had more entertaining things to talk about, such as the butcher's daughter running off with the young plumber!
Despite the money that Lily had provided for her, Petunia decided that it was time to get back into teaching. She offered tutoring to some of the local teenagers about to sit their O level exams and she soon had several eager students. The younger children were a bit more reluctant, someone having spread a rumour that she was a witch because she lived in the woods. Petunia had a good laugh about that; if only they knew! Eventually though, she found herself properly integrated into village life, attending services at a local church, shopping at the little market, and gossiping with some of her neighbours. Every day, she would scan her copy of the Daily Prophet, but saw nothing about Lily and James, and she was relieved. No news was good news as far as she was concerned. She hoped against hope that it would stay that way.
Halloween 1981- Lily
They had been stuck at Godric's Hollow for months. At first, Lily had welcomed their seclusion, believing that it would bring James and her closer together. He had been completely focused on the war effort, and they had not had many opportunities to be alone in their young marriage. Indeed, initially it was as though they were on a second honeymoon, and they delighted in each other's companionship- Lily was certain that she was pregnant again. She prayed that her second child would be born into a more peaceful world. Harry had also begun to display early signs of magic, and it was a source of endless fascination for them as he levitated spoons and vanished foods he didn't like.
However, after a few months, it was clear that they were both suffering from severe cabin fever. Lily ached for her sister and James badly missed Sirius, Remus and Peter. With only each other for company, they often found themselves irritable and unhappy. Only Harry's presence kept them from snapping at each other and Lily longed for a respite.
On Halloween night, that respite came in from particularly horrible source. Lily was putting Harry to sleep in his little room, while James idled downstairs. Suddenly, a crash sounded and the house shook; the front door had been breached, someone had broken in. Lily grabbed Harry and tried to calm him as he sobbed in fear. She could hear voices downstairs. James was shouting for her to run, then he was abruptly silenced. Someone else began to speak, and she knew that the Fidelius charm had failed.
'Potter… Silencio!' Voldemort hissed. 'Be quiet boy… I want you to see what happens when you sully pure blood with mud.'
She heard footsteps coming up the staircase, and her breath hitched in terror. She and Harry were about to die. Voldemort entered the room where she cowered with Harry in her arms. She could barely look at his horrible, inhuman face, with its snake-like features.
'Step aside girl, you needn't die. All I want is the boy,'
'No! Never!' screamed Lily, clutching her son.
'Very well,' shrugged Voldemort, 'Avada Kedavra.'
She closed her eyes and held on to Harry, waiting to die.
But death didn't come.
As Voldemort uttered the death curse, a green light flashed, followed by a pure golden light that filled the room. She heard an agonising shriek of pain come from Voldemort, and the house trembled violently. A terrible cacophony sounded throughout the building as glass objects shattered, windows broke and furniture came crashing down. A gust of cold air told her that the wall had collapsed, and she held on to her son to protect him. Abruptly, it all stopped, and a deafening silence assaulted her senses.
'Lily! LILY!' shouted James, freed from the silencing spell Voldemort had placed on him.
'James,' cried Lily, still on the floor of Harry's room. It was in shambles, but she and Harry were alive and uninjured- save for a small lightning shaped cut on his forehead- and Voldemort was gone.
Voldemort was gone.
AN: Thank you to all the reviews, follows and faves! Please let me know how you enjoyed this update! Look out for the update next week :)