"I will not have it," Petunia Dursley said, pursing her mouth into a small moue of disgust. She lowered the letter and stared at her one-year-old nephew still sleeping soundly in the wicker basket, now inside their parlour. He hadn't stirred when she opened the door noisily, alerted by the milkman. It must be a charm. "I will not have it, Vernon! Do you know how difficult it was for me when we realised Lily had magic? It became 'Lily this, Lily that!' in our house! 'Lily is so special she can do nothing wrong!' And then that school! Heaven forbid anyone else wanted to learn magic too! You do not have to practise something to be able to enjoy it!"

"Yes, Pet," Vernon said. He had heard all this before. And he had met Lily and her husband at their respective weddings where he had been awed and, truth be told, scared at the sights he had beheld. He did not know if he wanted such things in his home, and if Pet was averse… Should they give the child away? Who will know? "What shall we do?"

Do? Petunia thought of her son. Dudley will be jealous. It was unavoidable. Might he have magic too? After all, Lily had it supposedly out of the blue—who knew which kids were skipped? No, she was sure he didn't have; that unsettled feeling she always had with Lily and her cronies was absent. Lily, who—

"We should hide him," Vernon said when she didn't answer. "We could pretend he didn't exist. Do the minimum required and maybe he'd never know he was special—"

"He's not special!" Petunia snapped. "Magic does not make anyone more special! He's different, Vernon, that's all! Dudley could be different too for all we know! And if not with magic then something else! He could become a world-renowned pianist!"

Vernon's face fell at the outburst. He hated when she was upset with him. "I'm sorry, Pet… I didn't mean…"

But Petunia was hardly listening, already choosing their path. "Take him to Dudley's room, Vernon. Of course they didn't bother to bring his cot! They wouldn't think of it, would they? Why would people who inform you by letter that your s—You'll have to go out and buy one." She paused. "The same as Dudley's, I'll not have either one of them more special than the other!"

"Yes, dear." Vernon hurried with the sleeping toddler up the stairs and gently placed him into his son's cot. He watched the boys a moment and reached out to smooth an errant curl off Dudley's brow but stayed his hand. Better he didn't wake him just yet, Petunia needed time to absorb this new state of affairs.

What a mess. He had known something was up last night. All those owls. Should he be glad that it was them receiving the bad tidings and that it was not Lily and James Potter instead deciding what to do with his son? Of course he shouldn't, but he was. He dawdled nervously in the room, picking up a discarded soft toy and putting it in with the boys. Any moment now it will sink in with Pet, and he knew she wouldn't want him to see her when it did. She had a… a thing… for wanting everyone to think her normal. What was more normal than crying when your sister had died? He didn't know but he was sure Pet would. He glanced at the boys when they cuddled into each other, holding his breath, but they didn't wake. Dudley, he was happy to notice, had a little more size to him than his cousin. Then his wife was calling and he hurried down again to where she stood ready with his jacket and keys at the bottom of the stairs.

"The exact same cot," she instructed. "Don't bother with clothes or anything else for now, they can share. No, we'll need more diapers." She hurried him out of the door. "And formula, he'll still want milk. Lily used the same as us." She frowned, pressing her hand to her forehead, trying to remember the brand. They had a can in the kitchen, damn it. She's been using it nearly two years, how could she forget the brand.

Vernon did not ask how she knew what Lily used. She usually pretended she didn't have a sister but he was aware they visited. Family wasn't something you could easily escape. Look at Marge. She dotes on Dudley and had little time for Petunia but they came as a package deal. "What are you thinking of, Pet?" he asked concerned. He hated to see her upset. If it was up to him her life would be worry free.

"The brand! I can't remember the brand," she said impatient but didn't move to go check.

"I know it, dear." Vernon chanced a peck on her cheek and she leaned into him before remembering the neighbours. "I'll be off then."

Only when Vernon was gone, his car disappearing around the corner did Petunia return to the house. She picked up the letter and took it through to the kitchen where she placed it carefully on the table and made tea, her mind filled with a thousand thoughts all vying for attention. Why couldn't Dudley become a world-renowned pianist? How soon would they have to start the lessons? Of course, if she wanted to treat them the same then Harry would need them too. Art classes. They could start that from now, she was sure. Perhaps a tutor… French! They could learn another language, the younger the better they always say when it came to languages. Certainly they must be right, it had been quite difficult to learn in school. And she would have to tell them about the magic; it should come as no surprise to Dudley when he learns he doesn't have any.

Tea made, Petunia settled at the table, taking care not to rattle the delicate set. She took a dainty sip, admiring the near-transparent porcelain, how her fingers didn't tremble, and finally she couldn't avoid it any longer. Dudley would wake soon and there would be no time. Dudley and Harry. She picked up the yellow parchment, her heart rate notably speeding up. Lily. She needed to see the words again. Best read it while Vernon was out. He didn't like her to be upset.