CHAPTER THREE: A WITCH IN THE FAMILY
McGonagall and Lily returned, much to Petunia's disappointment. Lily put on her school robes, hat, and held out her wand while her parents proudly snapped numerous pictures. Petunia sneered throughout the whole show. Her parents were so proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia hated it; it was abnormal, after all. McGonagall had left later that day, and Lily had actually hugged her before she left. This had horrified Petunia.
She hated this turning point in her sister's life; Petunia was going to the same school, her parents barely knew she existed, and Lily was made queen of the world for being a witch. Petunia both looked forward to and dreaded the day Lily left. When Lily left, Petunia could finally have a break from her dreadful little sister. However, her parents would probably notice her less now that Lily was gone.
Months had passed since Lily left on September 1st. Petunia could not have been more right: her parents practically forgot that she existed. Petunia was hurt. Her own parents did not even care about her. She swore she would never treat her child like that. Petunia spent most of her afternoons and evenings locked up in her room, studying and hating life.
It was almost Christmas time, and one morning at breakfast an owl tapped on the dining room window. Her mother and father had practically squealed in delight, knowing this meant that their daughter had sent them a letter. They had let the owl in and untied the letter from its leg. They read the letter, their faces breaking out in smiles they reserved for Lily. Now that Petunia looked back on her life, she was pretty sure they had never smiled at her, much less about the fact that she was still alive.
"Well Petunia dear," her mother said, sitting down in a chair. "Your sister is coming home for Christmas! Is that wonderful or what?"
Petunia grunted and looked down at her plate. Her pillow was going to get a major pounding when she got up to her room. Petunia ate the rest of her breakfast slowly, trying to comprehend exactly what Lily's return would mean. For one thing, her parents might notice her more than once a week. Petunia snorted at this thought. Her parents were terrible. If Petunia had found out her daughter was a witch, she would never have let her go to some stupid school for magic.
Petunia's parents, however, could not have been more proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia had been drinking orange juice when she thought this, and angrily slammed the empty glass on the table. She pushed her chair away from the table noisily and stood up, glaring at her parents. Petunia ran to her room, jumped on her bed, and began to give her pillow a brutal beating. She hated her life! How she looked forward to getting married and starting a normal family of her own!
On the extremely cold morning of December 21st, the Evans family piled into the car and drove to Kings Cross Station, where they would pick up Lily. Petunia found herself almost glad that her sister was returning; having Lily back meant that her family would do more fun activities, have better and bigger meals, and, Petunia hoped, her sister was returning because she had learned that magic was stupid and foolish.
As Lily strode through the barrier leading to Platform 9 ¾, however, she was positively beaming. She hugged both of her parents and, much to Petunia's delight, Lily only greeted her. As they were walking out of Kings Cross, a voice shouted out to Lily.
"Hey, Lily, I cannot wait to see you at school again! Merry Christmas to you!" a boy with hazel eyes and very untidy black hair called out to her. Lily rolled her eyes at him and continued to walk out with her parents. The ride home was filled with Mr. and Mrs. Evans doting over how wonderful it was that Lily was home.
Over the next two weeks, Petunia's life returned to the torture she had almost become accustomed to. Lily was constantly describing Hogwarts to them, showing them spells, explaining what she learned in her classes, and mentioned that she had been put into a house called Gryffindor. Petunia just shook her head whenever Lily showed off her magic.
Christmas rolled around, and Petunia received coloring books and crayons. Lily received, much to Petunia's hatred and disgust, an owl. Petunia had scowled at her parents when she had opened her present, but her face showed downright hostility when she saw the owl. Brining such abnormality into the house! It was unthinkable!
One night, about 5 days after Christmas, the Evans family was gathered in the living room, listening to Lily describe some more things about the wizarding world. Lily had just finished telling them about a boy named James Potter who was in his first year at Hogwarts, was in Gryffindor as well, and who never left her alone. Then Lily pointed out that this was the boy who had spoken to her at Kings Cross Station. Petunia snorted. An abnormal boy, to be sure. She would not be surprised if her sister and this odd boy ended up married.
Lily began to tell her parents about wizarding security. She was describing the prison, Azkaban, to them. Then Lily began to regale them with a tale of what the guards were like. She explained how, when you got near them, all the happiness in you was drained out, and you felt nothing but despair, sorrow, and helplessness. Petunia wondered if there were any of these guards, called dementors, nearby. She certainly felt despair, sorrow, and helplessness all too often.
Then, Lily described the worst punishment in the wizarding world; not death, something worse. The dementors would kiss a human, and suck their soul out of their mouth. The human was then no longer alive, yet not quite dead. They wandered about aimlessly, knowing nothing, feeling nothing, being nothing. It sounded horrible. Petunia had gasped when her sister described this.
That night, when Petunia went to bed, she had some odd dreams. One of the dreams reminded her of a dream she had had when she was 8 years old. In her dream, she saw Lily, in her early twenties, saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched her sister fall to the ground, dead. However, in this dream there was another person present: a man. It was James Potter. He too was in his early twenties, and as with her sister, Petunia saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched him fall to the ground, dead.
Petunia had woken with a start after this dream. After panting for a while, she managed to calm down and went back to sleep. In her next dream, she saw a boy, with untidy black hair and alarmingly green eyes standing near a lake. She looked around and saw what had to be dementors gliding towards him. Then she looked on in horror as the dementors almost performed their terrible kiss on him. She saw something silver, then woke up suddenly.
Her sister had been knocking on her door. Lily ran inside the room and jumped on Petunia's bed. Today Lily was going back to her freak school. Lily could not have been happier; neither could Petunia. Petunia had despised having Lily back home, especially now that Lily had what her parents called 'skills' and 'remarkable talents'. Petunia liked to call Lily's abnormalities just that: 'odd', 'foolish', 'pointless', and, well, 'abnormal'. Petunia ushered Lily out of her room and got dressed.
Petunia's parents rushed her to eat breakfast so Lily could get to the station on time. After quickly eating, the family piled into the car once more and headed to London. Lily hugged all three members of the Evans family before disappearing through the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾. Petunia watched her sister go with disgust. Petunia had turned around to leave, along with her parents, when she saw that Potter boy. Petunia did not know this boy, but she knew that she did not like him.
The Potter boy rushed through the barrier, obviously having seen Lily. He shouted her name repeatedly, but his voice faded once he went through the barrier. The Evans family drove back home to Cambridge. The whole car ride, Petunia's parents spoke of how proud they were that Lily was a witch and had an excellent school to attend. Petunia listened in horror.
That night, when Petunia crawled into bed and turned her light out, she had one bitter thought:
Her family was so proud. They had a witch in the family.
McGonagall and Lily returned, much to Petunia's disappointment. Lily put on her school robes, hat, and held out her wand while her parents proudly snapped numerous pictures. Petunia sneered throughout the whole show. Her parents were so proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia hated it; it was abnormal, after all. McGonagall had left later that day, and Lily had actually hugged her before she left. This had horrified Petunia.
She hated this turning point in her sister's life; Petunia was going to the same school, her parents barely knew she existed, and Lily was made queen of the world for being a witch. Petunia both looked forward to and dreaded the day Lily left. When Lily left, Petunia could finally have a break from her dreadful little sister. However, her parents would probably notice her less now that Lily was gone.
Months had passed since Lily left on September 1st. Petunia could not have been more right: her parents practically forgot that she existed. Petunia was hurt. Her own parents did not even care about her. She swore she would never treat her child like that. Petunia spent most of her afternoons and evenings locked up in her room, studying and hating life.
It was almost Christmas time, and one morning at breakfast an owl tapped on the dining room window. Her mother and father had practically squealed in delight, knowing this meant that their daughter had sent them a letter. They had let the owl in and untied the letter from its leg. They read the letter, their faces breaking out in smiles they reserved for Lily. Now that Petunia looked back on her life, she was pretty sure they had never smiled at her, much less about the fact that she was still alive.
"Well Petunia dear," her mother said, sitting down in a chair. "Your sister is coming home for Christmas! Is that wonderful or what?"
Petunia grunted and looked down at her plate. Her pillow was going to get a major pounding when she got up to her room. Petunia ate the rest of her breakfast slowly, trying to comprehend exactly what Lily's return would mean. For one thing, her parents might notice her more than once a week. Petunia snorted at this thought. Her parents were terrible. If Petunia had found out her daughter was a witch, she would never have let her go to some stupid school for magic.
Petunia's parents, however, could not have been more proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia had been drinking orange juice when she thought this, and angrily slammed the empty glass on the table. She pushed her chair away from the table noisily and stood up, glaring at her parents. Petunia ran to her room, jumped on her bed, and began to give her pillow a brutal beating. She hated her life! How she looked forward to getting married and starting a normal family of her own!
On the extremely cold morning of December 21st, the Evans family piled into the car and drove to Kings Cross Station, where they would pick up Lily. Petunia found herself almost glad that her sister was returning; having Lily back meant that her family would do more fun activities, have better and bigger meals, and, Petunia hoped, her sister was returning because she had learned that magic was stupid and foolish.
As Lily strode through the barrier leading to Platform 9 ¾, however, she was positively beaming. She hugged both of her parents and, much to Petunia's delight, Lily only greeted her. As they were walking out of Kings Cross, a voice shouted out to Lily.
"Hey, Lily, I cannot wait to see you at school again! Merry Christmas to you!" a boy with hazel eyes and very untidy black hair called out to her. Lily rolled her eyes at him and continued to walk out with her parents. The ride home was filled with Mr. and Mrs. Evans doting over how wonderful it was that Lily was home.
Over the next two weeks, Petunia's life returned to the torture she had almost become accustomed to. Lily was constantly describing Hogwarts to them, showing them spells, explaining what she learned in her classes, and mentioned that she had been put into a house called Gryffindor. Petunia just shook her head whenever Lily showed off her magic.
Christmas rolled around, and Petunia received coloring books and crayons. Lily received, much to Petunia's hatred and disgust, an owl. Petunia had scowled at her parents when she had opened her present, but her face showed downright hostility when she saw the owl. Brining such abnormality into the house! It was unthinkable!
One night, about 5 days after Christmas, the Evans family was gathered in the living room, listening to Lily describe some more things about the wizarding world. Lily had just finished telling them about a boy named James Potter who was in his first year at Hogwarts, was in Gryffindor as well, and who never left her alone. Then Lily pointed out that this was the boy who had spoken to her at Kings Cross Station. Petunia snorted. An abnormal boy, to be sure. She would not be surprised if her sister and this odd boy ended up married.
Lily began to tell her parents about wizarding security. She was describing the prison, Azkaban, to them. Then Lily began to regale them with a tale of what the guards were like. She explained how, when you got near them, all the happiness in you was drained out, and you felt nothing but despair, sorrow, and helplessness. Petunia wondered if there were any of these guards, called dementors, nearby. She certainly felt despair, sorrow, and helplessness all too often.
Then, Lily described the worst punishment in the wizarding world; not death, something worse. The dementors would kiss a human, and suck their soul out of their mouth. The human was then no longer alive, yet not quite dead. They wandered about aimlessly, knowing nothing, feeling nothing, being nothing. It sounded horrible. Petunia had gasped when her sister described this.
That night, when Petunia went to bed, she had some odd dreams. One of the dreams reminded her of a dream she had had when she was 8 years old. In her dream, she saw Lily, in her early twenties, saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched her sister fall to the ground, dead. However, in this dream there was another person present: a man. It was James Potter. He too was in his early twenties, and as with her sister, Petunia saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched him fall to the ground, dead.
Petunia had woken with a start after this dream. After panting for a while, she managed to calm down and went back to sleep. In her next dream, she saw a boy, with untidy black hair and alarmingly green eyes standing near a lake. She looked around and saw what had to be dementors gliding towards him. Then she looked on in horror as the dementors almost performed their terrible kiss on him. She saw something silver, then woke up suddenly.
Her sister had been knocking on her door. Lily ran inside the room and jumped on Petunia's bed. Today Lily was going back to her freak school. Lily could not have been happier; neither could Petunia. Petunia had despised having Lily back home, especially now that Lily had what her parents called 'skills' and 'remarkable talents'. Petunia liked to call Lily's abnormalities just that: 'odd', 'foolish', 'pointless', and, well, 'abnormal'. Petunia ushered Lily out of her room and got dressed.
Petunia's parents rushed her to eat breakfast so Lily could get to the station on time. After quickly eating, the family piled into the car once more and headed to London. Lily hugged all three members of the Evans family before disappearing through the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾. Petunia watched her sister go with disgust. Petunia had turned around to leave, along with her parents, when she saw that Potter boy. Petunia did not know this boy, but she knew that she did not like him.
The Potter boy rushed through the barrier, obviously having seen Lily. He shouted her name repeatedly, but his voice faded once he went through the barrier. The Evans family drove back home to Cambridge. The whole car ride, Petunia's parents spoke of how proud they were that Lily was a witch and had an excellent school to attend. Petunia listened in horror.
That night, when Petunia crawled into bed and turned her light out, she had one bitter thought:
Her family was so proud. They had a witch in the family.
