The Dursleys of Number 4 Privet Drive were about to have a very normal dinner, thank you very much. The salted chicken with steamed vegetables sizzled in the pan as Petunia plated the food and set the table for dinner. Petunia lightly hummed as she danced across the kitchen to the dining table. Vernon was watching his television soap and Dudley was having tea with his friends.

She was interrupted by a tapping on the window. Stopping and turning towards the sound, a scowl appeared on Petunia's face as she took in the sight of a large tawny owl sitting on the windowsill. Her scowl deepened when she noticed a letter tied to its leg.

Marching over to the owl, Petunia wretched the window open and tried to shoo the owl away. The tawny bird hooted at her as it swooped into her kitchen. It settled on the back of a dining chair and held its leg up for her to take the letter, gazing at the woman with wide intelligent eyes. Staring at the owl, Petunia couldn't determine if it was worth trying to throw something at the bird for it to go away. Deciding she didn't want to get scratched, she slowly walked over the prideful owl and untied the letter, staring down at the envelope in her hands.

Once the owl was relieved of its parcel, it circled the silent woman once, clipping her lightly on the head with its wing before flying out the window. Petunia looked up as the owl disappeared, feeling like she was forgetting something important, but it was just out of her reach. Pushing the feeling away, she sat down at the set dinner table and placed the envelope on the smooth surface.

Vernon walked into the room at that moment and stopped where he stood at the sight of the letter. An angry blush slowly spread across his face before he loudly asked, "Petunia, what is this?" He tried to keep is breathing calm, but he recognized the stationary that laid in front of his wife.

"I'm not sure yet Vernon, I haven't opened it yet," Petunia replied in a quiet voice, lost in thought as the image of the letter tugged at her mind some more. The feeling always happened when one of the magical owls brought a letter to the house.

"Well open it then!" Vernon roared, bringing Petunia out of her thoughts. She flinched minutely before picking up the letter and gingerly opening it. Her thoughts racing, coming up with different things the letter might say. A pit of unease rested in her stomach as she skimmed the contents of the letter and felt tingling run across her skin. Strangely she felt lighter than she had since she was a child, like weights had been removed from her body.

The expression of disbelief bloomed across her face, her skin paling to a sickly color. Petunia glanced up at the red face of her husband, a deep dread replacing the unease she felt. She wasn't sure whether to believe the words she had read, and she wasn't sure why she was even considering they might be true. After all she knew, the letter could be full of lies as a prank from the freaks. But something inside her told her to trust what the letter said. A picture fell out of the letter and a sob built in her throat as emotions tumbled around her mind. If what the letter said was true, and the picture was real, with the minimal information it gave, her entire life had been a lie. She reread the last line of the letter again before she came to a decision.

Vernon stood in the doorway, getting more impatient the longer Petunia sat in silence. "Well? What does it say?"

Petunia deliberated with herself. According to the letter, if she followed its instruction, Dudley would be with her soon. If she didn't, she'd never know what her life should have been like, and Vernon would get worse with his anger in the next coming years.

Taking a deep breath, Petunia calmed her emotions and looked up to Vernon, a small smile adorning her face. "Nothing to worry about, I'll take care of this before Dudders gets home. I'll be right back dear."

She stood up from the table, putting the letter in her apron pocket and giving Vernon a kiss on the cheek as she passed him to go up the stairs. Vernon accepted what she said with no fight and went back to his soaps, waiting for Dudley to get home before having a family meal.

Petunia, however, had other plans. As much as she loved Vernon, the man she married had changed so much over the years that she no longer recognized the carefree man he used to be. She felt like a web had been removed from her eyes and she could clearly see for the first time in a long time. Going into her bedroom, Petunia quickly found a decent sized bag before picking three of her favorite outfits and packing them away. Changing into pair of jeans and a nice shirt, she went to her vanity, and grabbed a necklace that she had since she was a child. A small silver charm of a snake circling a petunia flower made of rose quartz hung from a silver chain. She quickly put on the necklace, so she didn't lose it before finding the photo album she received from her parents. The photo album held pictures of her life from when she was born until her wedding day, where she continued adding pictures of her family. She never told Vernon she had taken pictures of Harry and added them to the photo album.

Harry, her sweet nephew who didn't deserve the treatment he received at the hands of his uncle, cousin, and her. She knew now that her actions weren't totally her own and she would get more answers soon. Petunia hoped she would be able to salvage the relationship with Harry and was willing to do anything to be real family to him.

After grabbing other items that meant something to her and putting them in her bag, Petunia went up to the attic. Her eyes did a quick sweep of the area before it fell on the shrunken chest that was resting high up on a shelf. She had put it up here after finding Harry on the doorstep, the chest the size of a matchbox had been tucked into his blanket. She knew whose chest it was, recognizing the color and lily engravings on the lid. Petunia strode over to the tiny chest and carefully picked it up, placing it into the top of her bag.

Taking the letter out of her jeans pocket, Petunia read out the words that would activate the portkey spell attached to the letter.

Petunia Annalisa Riddle.

A/N 12/06/2021: Heyyo there new readers and old friends! As you can read, I've taken a new path with this story. It will have the same plot points and pairings but as the years have passed, my writing has grown with me. It really is good to see you all again. Unfortunately, I can't promise routine updates just yet. I want to make sure I can actually get back into a writing groove before I fully commit to telling all you lovely people I can give you updates by a certain time.

Let me know what you think of starting the story off this way compared to the original. I'll update this chapter once I have it where I want it. I wanted to post this before my nerves took hold and I put it off again. Hopefully my muse stays with a vengeance! Much love my dear reader xoxo

A/N 12/13/2021: There's the first chapter updated and done! We'll see how it goes from here! Thanks for reading! xoxo