A week passed and occasionally Petunia would dream of a future that she truly found hard to believe. A future that she absolutely dreaded. It was Lily and Potter. Lily and Harry. Lily and their family. Lily. Just her poor little sister Lily—she couldn't believe that Lily, her little baby sister Lily was going to die before her.
It was so unbelievable, yet it felt so real.
Petunia had come to the conclusion that it was probably real. The "dreams" that she had weren't really dreams but rather her actual future. If magic is real then surely being sent back to the past should be possible.
Before Petunia knew it, the time had finally come for Lily to leave for Hogwarts. And of course, today was no different. Lily woke her up a little too early–actually way too early because the sun wasn't even up yet.
"God, Lily, it's not even time yet," Petunia grumbled, shoving her face back into her pillow.
"Oh come on, Tunia!" Lily pleaded, tugging on their blanket, "Please, help me get ready?"
Petunia ignored her in favour of trying to snooze once again, but the younger girl was persistent. Way too stubborn. She was as stubborn as a bull and that was to be expected, she did take after their mother. After two more minutes of tug and war, Petunia finally gave up and sat up, glaring at Lily who just grinned and for once, Petunia missed when Lily walked on eggshells around her.
"Have you showered yet?" Petunia asked.
Lily looked sheepish. "Not yet."
"Go shower, you dune," Petunia threw Lily's pillow, missing the red-haired girl by an inch as she scrambled out of their shared bedroom.
Petunia listened carefully until she heard the shower running. She groaned and shoved her face back into the pillow. She was dreading this day; she was so jealous of Lily—jealous that even though she wasn't a witch like Lily. She still wished that her own Hogwarts letter came but it was clear as day that it wasn't going to come. Petunia sighed; she was so nervous being alone with their parents. She didn't want to be left alone and have her ears talked off singing praises of how happy they were to have a witch in their family, she didn't want to hear about them constantly wondering what Lily would be doing today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
She closed her eyes and tried to sneak in a little bit more sleep.
Tried being the keyword.
It was clear as day that she wasn't going to get any sleep.
So, instead, Petunia tried to imagine her happy place. Thinking about a green grassy place on a nice spring day, enjoying a nice relaxing day with her family, and maybe, just maybe, a secret rendezvous with her partner. Petunia tried to catch a glimpse of her partner's face. She could make out his tousled hair, gleaming warm brown eyes–and oh no.
She sat up, feeling dreadfully hot under her collar.
The door creaked open, and Lily entered, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Why's your cheeks so red?" asked Lily.
Petunia placed her hands on her cheeks and sure enough, they were burning hot. Goddamn it, she was acting like she had been caught doing something that she shouldn't have been doing.
"None of your business," she snapped back.
Lily raised her hands in an effort to cool Petunia's temper, but the older girl turned around and opened the window, inhaling the beginning of the autumn air. She closed her eyes and tried to the use the autumn wind to cool her down and very well tried her damn hardest not to think of that bloody Potter.
Stupid bloody Potter.
Damn it.
Out of all the possible friends she could have made, it just had to be Potter.
Was it fate? Telling Petunia that no matter how hard she tried to get rid of Potter, her little sister will always end up being entangled with him?
Dear Lord, she hoped that wasn't the case.
"Tunia?" Lily called out as she slipped into her clothes, a nice pleasant lilac silk skirt just above her ankles and a white blouse with ruffles in the middle. "I'm ready."
Petunia motioned for her to come and sit in front as she began to braid Lily's hair. It had initially been weird to touch her sister again especially since she had never touched her younger sister ever since they found out about Lily's magical abilities.
It felt a little bit weird. But also, normal to return to their usual relationship.
Granted, it had only been a couple of days but still.
Petunia continued to work through Lily's hair, making sure each strand was tight so that the fish braid would come out neat and tidy. Below, she could see Lily scratching her hands, a habit that she had developed whenever she was nervous.
"Excited?" Petunia asked, trying to appease the silence.
Lily nodded–winching a little when Petunia pulled on her hair a little too hard.
The older girl hissing under her breath. "Don't move!"
"Sorry."
Petunia removed the previous strand and re-braided it to make sure that it was consistent. Then she continued. "Don't be. You'll have a good time there."
She knew that Lily would have a good time. She had sent them letters. Always. About everything. Mainly all the magical things she had learned. Occasionally she would complain about Potter and his gang—despite all that, she still ended up with the Potter that she greatly despised.
It was a bit amusing in Petunia's opinion.
"I hope so. I don't know, it's just…It's the first time I'll be away from Mum and Dad and you…"
"You won't be alone," Petunia pointed out, tugging a little harder than she had intended which earned a small whimper from her sister. "You'll have that greasy boy–I mean Severus."
"Yes. Yeah, I'll be with Severus, but I wished you could have joined us," Lily muttered softly.
Me too.
Petunia wished she could join them. She spent the last couple of days daydreaming what classes would be like. How people would be spending their time. What kind of people she would meet and what kind of life people would lead after graduating school.
But still, it remained out of reach for Petunia.
No matter how hard she prayed, she would always be a non-magical person—a Muggle in their terms.
"It'll be fine. You can learn for us," said Petunia, her fingers working to close the braid. "Don't forget to write to Mum and Dad, I don't need them to be on my arse."
Lily giggled, admiring the braid before she pressed her face against Petunia's knee. She inhaled deeply before murmuring softly. "I'll miss you."
Petunia didn't answer.
She didn't know if she would miss Lily because her departure meant that she wouldn't have to listen to their parents endless gloating and paying their utmost attention to their witch daughter. Instead of answering, Petunia reached down to pinch Lily's cheek, earning a loud cry from her younger sister.
"Ouch, what was that for?" Lily slapped Petunia's hand away.
"Don't make this occasion such a downer," Petunia pointed out, walking towards her closet to pick out her attire for the day. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted a weak smile on Lily's face. "Go and get your friend. You know Mum hates waiting for people."
Lily nodded, getting up to find Severus. She stopped just enough to hear Petunia yelling at her to let their mum know that Severus would be joining for breakfast before they headed out for London.
.
/…/
.
Breakfast had been a boring affair. The ride to London had also been a boring affair and unfortunately, Petunia found herself stuck in between Lily and Severus all because of the chaos–they had unfortunately forgotten to check the time the train was leaving and now they were all rushing and would have missed the train if it wasn't for their father's insane and unlawful driving.
"For goodness' sake, greasy boy–"
"Petunia Evans!" Her mum's sharp voice rang through.
"–sorry, Mum," said Petunia before she lowered her voice and glared at the boy next to her. "Control your owl before I release it to the wild."
"Tunia, don't be so mean to Sev!" said Lily.
"Oh shut it," Petunia snapped back.
Her day wasn't getting any better and it didn't help that it was starting to rain and now she was going to get her favourite shoes wet all because they had forgotten to grab a couple of umbrellas on their way out.
Finally, for what seemed like forever, Mr. Evans parked the car and they all rushed off, Mrs. Evans ordering Petunia to grab a trolley for both Severus and Lily. The older girl rolled her eyes but still did as was told. They lunged all of Lily's and Severus' luggage on a trolley each and Petunia followed them at a leisure pace. But when they looked at the number on the ticket, it was a platform that didn't exist.
All four of them asking around for a platform that clearly didn't exist, but Petunia didn't bother to put any effort. She just stood guard with the trolley.
"Oh Lord, have we been pranked?" Mr. Evans asked, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
"No way," said Lily, frantically looking around. "Can't be. I'm sure it's somewhere here."
Severus and Mrs. Evans continued to look at Platform 9 and Platform 10 as if the platform they were looking for would just magically appear–pun intended.
"Petunia, help us out, won't you!" Mrs. Evans said in a tone that would only mean she was reaching the ends of her wit.
"I think we just have to run through the brick wall," Petunia stated plainly.
"What?"
They all looked at her like she grew a second head. Before any one of them could react, Petunia had pushed Lily towards the brick wall, a loud shriek leaving the younger Evans' lips–and then she was gone.
"PETUNIA EVANS!" Mrs. Evans' voice rang through the station.
All the people nearby paused, giving them a dirty look before they continued their way. Mrs. Evans grabbed Petunia by her arm, squeezing hard.
"You! What have you done to your sister?!"
"Mum, she went inside," Petunia answered.
Although it probably wouldn't seem logical to someone that didn't know anything about magic but that's what happened. Petunia turned to Severus and nudged her head towards the brick wall. Severus sighed and didn't seem to trust her.
But it was clear as daylight that between staying here with her or choosing to follow Lily, Petunia knew that Severus would no doubt follow Lily. Within seconds, Severus grabbed his trolley and ran towards the brick wall and just like Lily, he had disappeared and Mrs. and Mr. Evans' mouth fell open.
"What in the world?"
"How did you know about this?" Mr. Evans asked.
Petunia shrugged, "just a hunch?"
"Well, next time, ask before shoving your sister like that," Mrs. Evans snapped back.
The older woman dragged her towards the brick wall and Petunia was surprised that they had gotten inside–perhaps it was because they were relatives of a witch.
"Mum! Dad! Tunia!" Lily waved them over excitedly. "Over here!"
Petunia got closer and found Severus already standing beside her. They all squeezed through, pushing until they finally got to Lily and Severus.
"My oh my!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "There is actually a lot of people here!"
"Yup, well, our little Lils, make sure you have fun and enjoy your time, okay?" Mr. Evans said. "Don't forget to write to us. Oh Petunia, dear, can you grab Lily a water bottle from the vending machine over there–get two, one for Severus and Lily."
"Yes sir," Petunia bitterly answered–it wasn't like they were going to need water.
She was almost positive that there was someone that would be selling snacks in the train and surely, they'll have water onboard. But Petunia didn't feel like arguing with her parents, so she turned and squeezed through, trying to push through the crowd of people until she finally found herself in front of the vending machine.
Petunia glanced at the weirdly dressed family before she turned her attention back to the machine. Pretending to think long and hard about what drink she wanted. She kept an open ear to the family, keen to overhear what they were going to talk about.
"Remember, Sirius, you have to be in the Slytherin House," a sharp voice stated–no, more like demanded. "And don't you dare embarrass our family by acting up."
"Whatever," the boy snapped back.
What an attitude, Petunia thought.
"Sirius Black, don't you get snappy with us," a man's voice drifted.
"Oh father, I would never," the boy, Black, replied with sarcasm.
But the parents didn't seem to recognize it as the older man hummed in satisfaction. Petunia, for the best of herself, glanced over her shoulder and found a pair of black-haired boys with wavy shoulder length hair. The slightly taller boy had longer hair and had the most striking grey eyes which looked rather cold. She must have been staring too hard because he glanced over and met Petunia's gaze who immediately turned back to face the vending machine.
"We'll be leaving now, we can't be mingling with muggles any longer," the man said.
"Agree," the woman stated, she grabbed the younger boy's hand. "It's making me hurl. Send good news, Sirius."
"Bye," the boy dismissed them drily.
Petunia randomly pressed a button, hoping that the boy didn't catch onto her snooping on their conversation. She bent down to grab the drink–winching a little when she realized that she did, in fact, not get them water but coke.
She shrugged and decided it would still be okay.
"Finally, got them out of my hair," Black stated, brushing his hair back.
Petunia couldn't help herself. "Is your name really Serious?"
Black looked a little surprised to see her talking to him. He gave a slow nod. "Is that a problem?"
"No. Just unusual."
"Well, everyone in my family is usually named after a star or a flower–"
"Me too!" said Petunia, "Wait. But your name is Serious. That's not a star or a flower."
"Yes, it is."
"S-E-R-I-O-U-S," Petunia spelled out. "That's not a star. At least not a star that I know of and I know a lot of stars."
She really didn't but she was almost an expert in bluffing.
"Not that serious. Sirius. S-I-R-I-U-S. Like the brightest star."
Petunia nodded, noting it down with all seriousness—pun intended. "Well, Sirius, it is seriously nice to meet you, I'm Petunia."
Black snorted. "Funny joke. Petunia, a nice name. Are you also a first year?"
Petunia shook her head. "My little sister is."
Black frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, are you an older student? I don't think any of my cousins have mentioned a Petunia before but then again if you aren't in the house of Slytherins, I doubt they would pay you any attention."
"Oh no, I'm just…normal. No magic."
"Oh. A muggle."
"I guess that means I won't be seeing you then?"
"Not unless you become friends with my sister."
"What's her name?"
"Lily Evans," Petunia stated, still holding onto the two cokes. "You'll recognize her. She's got red hair and green eyes."
Black cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you guys are sisters?"
Petunia playfully punched him on the stomach and Black, for his part, doubled over. Winking at the older girl. "You pack quite a punch for a delicate flower."
"Stop it, you!" Petunia can feel her cheeks burn.
"PETUNIA!"
"I guess that's your call?"
"Yup," Petunia scowled, and turned on her heel. "Nice meeting you, Black. Maybe next time, you can be a little more serious."
Black snorted. "Another lame joke–ah, can I write to you?"
Petunia paused. Remembering Potter. She had run away from him but Black, surely, Black isn't or wouldn't be connected to Potter so she saw no reason to reject the boy so she nodded and then ran back to her parents.
Mrs. Evans snatched the coke from her hands and frowned. "I thought we asked for water?"
"They had none," Petunia lied, smiling sheepishly.
"Alright," Mrs. Evans said, and passed each one to Lily and Severus, kissing their cheeks before she sent them off. "Send letters!"
Petunia waved them off, watching as they climbed into the train. Once she could no longer see them, she looked to see if she could spot Black but instead of seeing Black, she spotted a ball of fluffy black hair and glinting glasses–
"Petunia!"
Petunia stilled.
She knew that she should probably ignore that cursed Potter boy, but she couldn't stop herself and met his eyes. His mouth was moving, he was clearly trying to say something, but whatever he was trying to say was being drowned out by the sound of the train. Potter waved his hands wildly, eyes waiting for her to say something back—to return anything back.
When the train began to move, Petunia still didn't return his gesture, then his expression fell.
Petunia couldn't stop herself and when it seemed like the train would soon disappear, she raised her hand and waved.
Potter's face broke into a bright smile.
And Petunia did as well.