Petunia and Lily Evans went to school, and worried about homework, and complained about chores, and fought with each other over the silliest of things, before making up and being happy once more. Their lives were completely ordinary. Until they weren't. The day Lily Evans flew.

Lily had convinced her sister to go to the park, and both girls had headed straight for the swings. They were competing, trying to see which sister could jump from the highest, and fall the farthest away. Both were unaware of the boy with black hair watching from the bushes. Lily swung as high as she could, and let go. She soared through the air, her red hair streaming behind her as she was filled with a warm feeling and spun in the air, landing on her toes (Lily had begged her parents to join Petunia in her ballet lessons, and when Lily turned six they acquiesced). Petunia watched her sister fly through the air, a frown on her face. Lily shouldn't have had the momentum or the time to spin two and a half times, nor should she have practically hovered at the apex of her leap. Petunia wiped the frown away when Lily looked at her though, replacing it with a proud smile.

Petunia questioned Lily about what she had just accomplished, and Lily explained about the warm feeling in her gut. When Petunia asked, Lily tried to remember the feeling, and bring it forth. Maple seeds that had fallen across the playground from a tree nearby spun and rose in a beautiful dance, the two sisters at it's center. Lily's eyes were closed and she was peaceful, the warm feeling filling her up, and Petunia was scared, yet in awe.

Lily's feet rose a few inches off the ground, and Petunia's head snapped to her sister at the movement. Petunia reached out, uncertain if she was trying to bring Lily back to earth or join her in the air. Her sister made the decision for her though, when Lily reached out and took Petunia's hand with her eyes still closed. Petunia was lifted off the ground, her hair blowing behind her like Lily's. Neither girl noticed the dark haired boy falling out of his bush and running away.

She was terrified. This wasn't right. This wasn't natural. Then, just when Petunia was about to wrench her arm away, Lily opened her eyes. Lily's green eyes held an intense joy, but also such profound fear that Petunia instinctively gripped her sister's hand harder, as if by just that simple action she could protect her baby sister. That was when Petunia realised. Lily was scared of her. Scared of her reaction to this unnatural thing the young girl could do.

Petunia decided then and there: she might not understand her sister's weird power, she might even be afraid of it, but she could never be afraid of her sister. This was Lily. Sweet Lily that cried when the mean boys at school stepped on a frog. Protective Lily that punched one of those selfsame boys when he threw mud on another girl's new dress. Loyal Lily, that took the blame for Petunia when she broke one of their Grandmother's antique dishes.

Petunia loosened her grip, grabbing her sister's wrist and pulling it away. The dance of maple seeds slowed, and Lily's eyes flashed with hurt, before Petunia used her now free hand to pull her sister into the tightest hug she could muster. Lily's arms flew around her sister, eager to return the hug.

The two girls hugged desperately for what felt like hours, but was only a minute or two, before Lily sagged against Petunia and both girls drifted to the ground. The maple seeds stayed in the air for a little longer, caught in the breeze their dance had caused.

Petunia landed lightly, and stood steadily, but Lily, who was looking like she had run a mile in thick woolen clothes, leaned on her sister as soon as her feet touched the ground. Petunia helped Lily sit on the soft grass, and brushed the red hair from the red face as Lily leaned on her shoulder.

The girls lounged in the shade, Lily with her head in Petunia's lap, and Petunia talked about how Lily had probably done too much of whatever it is she could do, and how they could make it easier to use her ability and if the library was likely to have any helpful books. Petunia talked until she realised Lily had fallen asleep, then smiled and hummed a lullaby mum sung when they were younger. Petunia let Lily sleep for another several minutes, before gently rousing her sister. When Lily woke up, she remarked that Petunia's voice was very soothing and that she felt better already. The girls stood up and neither mentioned that Lily leaned into Petunia most of the way home, still exhausted.

When the girls got home, their mother listened with bated breath to the story. Both girls left out the harrowing minute or so when Petunia realised her sister was afraid of her, and when they finished the tale with Lily's nap, their mother looked solemn sitting in her favorite chair across from the sisters on the couch.

Their mother explained that she didn't understand what was going on, but that she didn't want Lily using whatever ability she had, especially out of the house, and demanded a promise from the young girl.

Petunia, who had been holding Lily's hand, slowly pushed their hands behind Lily's back. Once their hands were out of sight from their mother, Petunia crossed Lily's fingers. Lily shot Petunia a confused look, and Petunia smiled and nodded reassuringly. Trust me Petunia's eyes begged, and so Lily made a false promise, despite hating to break her word.

The girls visited the park every day, and when their mother asked, Petunia replied that she was trying to keep Lily's mind occupied and off her powers. When they got to the park though, Petunia and Lily would go through their paces. They ran the perimeter of the park as many times as they could in five minutes, and then Petunia would pull out the notes the girls had made on how they could improve Lily's powers. Petunia made her try all sorts of crazy things, from levitating the two of them, to making the leaves dance and make pictures in the sky, to changing the color of things, all with varying degrees of success.

One day, during one of the many breaks Petunia insisted upon to keep Lily from getting exhausted, they decided to play on the swings. Lily was using her powers to push them higher, and both girls were shrieking in laughter. They jumped off the swings while holding hands, and flew into the air, soaring like trapeze artists, staying up far too long, and landing far too lightly.

Lily picked a flower from a bush, and, looking at her sister shyly, made it's petals open and close in a spiral. Petunia squealed and hugged Lily, exclaiming that her sister had been practising. Petunia pulled back, looking at the flower in awe. When she asked, for the thousandth time, how Lily did it, both sisters ignored the longing in her voice, because Petunia had decided that since she didn't have any powers of her own, she was going to help Lily master her gift to the fullest potential.

What they couldn't ignore however was the boy tumbling out from the bush they were next to. Both girls jumped, and Petunia pushed Lily behind her, hiding her sister and the dancing flower. The boy said some horrible thing about how he had been spying on them and then called Lily a witch.

Petunia realised that she knew where the boy lived: in a rather poor part of town, by the river. The boy insulted Petunia with a word she didn't know, but no one could mistake the tone it was said in. Both girls glared at the boy as they left, and the sisters walked home.

. .

For the next year, Petunia used her library card to check out all manner of books. She went from superhero comics to stories with dragons and princesses to meditation books and anything else the girls thought would help Lily.

They also, reluctantly, spoke to the Snape boy about magic and Hogwarts. Both refused to allow him into the sisters' practise sessions. Petunia refused because if Lily really was going into a world with others like her, she'd need to be more powerful than the others, and know tricks they didn't, and Lily refused because Snape couldn't stop being rude to Petunia.

On Petunia's 11th birthday, both girls raced for the mail, hoping against reason for a letter. When no letter arrived, Petunia was snappish and surly for several days, refusing to take Lily to the park or to help her practice. Until Lily crawled into her big sister's bed and talked about how she'd convince the headmaster to let Petunia in, and if he refused, Lily would teach Petunia herself, like Petunia had her for the past two years.

When they finally returned to the park, Snape was there, and he made some awful comments about Petunia's lack of both magic and letter. A branch overhead cracked and fell, heading straight for them with the weight of Snape's magic on it. Petunia, with no magic and no letter, shoved Lily away from her, and the branch caught her shoulder instead of her sister's head. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she ran away, refusing to let Snape see her cry. Lily accused Snape of doing it on purpose, for which he had no defence, before running off to comfort her sister.

. .

On Lily's 11th birthday, both girls raced for the mail, knowing there would be a letter. There were bills for their parents, a gardening periodical for their mum, letters which contained the two girls' markings for the first semester of school, and another. This one was written on a funny kind of paper, more yellow than the nice white Petunia was used to, and was sealed with wax embossed with what the girls recognised as The Hogwarts crest from Snape's descriptions.

The letter was addressed

Miss L. Evans

The Front Left Bedroom

Nine Victoria Lane

Cokeworth, Midlands

While worried that the magical people knew where her sister slept, Petunia had a much bigger concern. Lily was leaving. Snape had told them that If Lily didn't go to Hogwarts, her magic would be bound, and they would be made to forget all about magic. Petunia couldn't bear that thought. Lily's magic was as much a part of her as her kindness. Precious, precocious, special Lily, could not have her magic bound. So Petunia lobbied against their parents when Professor McGonagall showed up, and then pulled the woman aside before she left.

A quiet request, filled with longing and hope, was turned down by a voice tinged with sadness.

The teacher left, and the sisters locked themselves in Petunia's room while Lily comforted her thirteen year old sister. There was burning determination in Lily's voice when she demanded that they use part of Lily's college fund to buy two copies of every first year book, along with three times the suggested parchment, ink, quills, and potion supplies.

They also bought any book that caught the family's eye, Dicta-Quills for note taking during lectures, and disposable cameras and photo potions, to make the photos move. The sisters surprised each other with gifts. Petunia gave Lily a Foe-Glass, warning her to keep it with her and always pay attention to it. Lily gave Petunia a half-kneazle kitten. The feline was black with faint streaks of silver, making it look like the night sky. The half-kneazle was christened Celestia, and Lily remarked that her sister's Latin was coming along well.

. .

The train ride to Hogwarts was long. Two boys insulted Slytherin and Snape, who Lily had never got around to calling by his first name. On one hand, she wanted to defend Slytherin, because what was wrong with being ambitious and cunning? Petunia had those traits in spades, and had been exercising them since that first day on the swings. But on the other, defending Slytherin meant defending Snape, and he had made far too many comments about her sister for Lily to want to defend him. In the end, she left the compartment in the middle of the fight, and sat with a bouncy, energetic girl named Marlene, and a slightly strange but kind girl named Pandora, both of whom were first years.

Lily was sorted into Gryffindor, and enjoyed the feast. She took as many pictures as she could of the Great hall, the five tables, and a few of Marlene being an idiot. It seemed to be one of her key personality traits: lovable idiot. She also checked the foe-glass under the table, thankful that Petunia had gotten one that was easily shrunk and enlarged. There were one or two shadows in the glass, but both were pretty blurry, so she wrote them off as unimportant for now.

In the Gryffindor girl's dorm, she wrote a letter to Petunia and a letter to her parents. Petunias included a drawing of the sorting hat animated to show it being placed on her head and shouting Gryffindor, then on Petunia and shouting Best Sister Ever then the words changed to say Slytherin. Sending them both off with Damocles, her owl, she went to sleep.

. .

The teachers soon learned that Lily Evans was precocious but ready to learn. She often (almost always) turned in two essays, each different from the other. Sometimes they hit upon the same points, sometimes they were wildly different, but both were always well-reasoned and clear.

She also always specified which she wanted her actual grade to be for and which she requested to be graded if they had time. She earned O's with the occasional E.

Petunia was getting letters every two days with photos, updates on Lily's friendships, and all her notes and assignments. Petunia would then go through the notes and Dicta-Quilled lectures, complete the assignments, and send them back to Lily for her to turn in with her own essays, When Lily got Petunia's essays, she dictated them to her own quill, so that they came out with her handwriting and her hand didn't cramp from writing several feet of essays. She then turned them in, giving her own for her actual grade, and Petunia's for a false grade, AKA a "This doesn't actually count but if it did how would you grade it?"

The girls did this for years, until Petunia had read every book cover to cover on every Hogwarts subject, and Lily had earned twelve OWLS without the use of a time turner. She simply had Petunia read the books and teach her in the summers, along with helping Lily keep up with her muggle education.

Lily Evans came home with frog spawn in her pockets, turning teacups into rats for her sister's amazement, and neither sister felt left out from the other's life.

. .

Severus Snape continued his obsession over Lily Evans, trying relentlessly to gain her friendship, but he would inevitably say something insulting about muggles and Lily would ignore him again. Until one day, James Potter went too far (like usual) and Snape went too far (like always) and Lily forbade him from speaking to her. That didn't stop him from trying of course, going so far as camping outside the Gryffindor common room trying to get her to speak with him.

. .

Petunia met Vernon Dursley, a strong man with a promising job. They fell in love, and before they married, Petunia explained all about her sister, and the magical world, and her own working knowledge on it's many subjects. Vernon was shocked, and thought she was pulling his leg, until Petunia had him drink a Calming Draught she had brewed. He didn't quite know what to think about magic, and was a little scared of it, but he loved Petunia Evans, odd sister and potions and all. (Plus Lily liked him. That was all the recommendation Petunia needed)

Lily fell for James Potter, once he straightened up his act and stopped cursing people for a laugh. She explained all about her sister, and the muggle world, and how she had been sneaking Petunia a magical education for years. James was shocked, and thought she was pulling his leg, until Lily showed him some of Petunia's essays and their Dicta-Quilled counterparts. He didn't quite know what to think about how brazenly Lily broke the law, and was a little scared for Lily and her sister, but he loved Lily Evans, odd sister and law-breaking, and all. (Plus Petunia tolerated him now. That was the only recommendation Lily needed)

When the two couples met for the first time, it was a little tense, but then the sisters fell back into bantering like they always had and the men soon followed. Petunia asked James in-depth Transfiguration questions Lily hadn't been able to answer, and Lily talked with Vernon about how his company was structured and how he was planning to make it better with his upcoming promotion.

The sisters got married at two double weddings, one for the muggle side of the family plus James's parents, and one for the magical side of the family plus Petunia and Lily's parents. Both were a resounding success, with pictures of everybody for everybody. No one looked more radiant then the brides, one with a wave of flaming red hair, one with a ray of shining gold. Both sisters walked down the aisle, one on either side of their father. No one looked more dashing than the grooms, wearing first tailored muggle suits and then cut dress robes. Vernon was a little uncomfortable in the robes, but he didn't like the suit much either, and it was for Petunia, so he'd manage.

There was no peace for almost three years. Petunia got her new house hooked up to the Floo Network, but it was a private connection, with only two others on the line. One was to Lily and James' hideout where they lived with their beautiful baby boy Harry, the other went to an Order of the Phoenix safehouse, where they should go if the worst were to happen and they were attacked.

Petunia and Vernon were happy with their young son, and though both tried to ignore the war going on during the day, at night they listened to a wizarding radio and read the Daily Prophet. Three times a week, Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley went through the Floo to the Potter home, for a playdate and to relieve the Potter's loneliness. One night, Dudley was sick and so Petunia Floo-called to tell her sister they wouldn't be able to make it. Lily was disappointed, but reassured Petunia that they'd see each other in a few days when Dudley was better.

That night, Lily looked into the decade-old Foe-Glass as she had every day since she got it. It showed the crystal clear face of Lord Voldemort. She grabbed Harry and sprinted up the stairs as the door of the Potter's home blew open.

That night, James Potter died without a wand in his hand, standing between his family and the darkest lord in history. Lily Potter nee Evans barricaded the door to her son's nursery, and clung to the baby that had her eyes and her husband's messy hair. She turned her back to the door, so that when it blew inward like their front door had just minutes previously, her body protected her son. She placed him in the crib and placed herself in front of the darkest wizard alive, and refused to move. He demanded three times, and three times she said no, thinking not only of her son, but of her sister, her brother, and her nephew, who had a direct connection to the Floo here. Lily prayed they didn't change their minds and come after all. Voldemort threatened torture upon her and her loved ones if she didn't give up her son, and she defied him.

Lily Potter nee Evans died defending her family. That sacrifice, that willingness to accept death hoping to protect her family, cast a protective ward so strong it would not be broken for sixteen years, and even then would tie those it protected together forever. Lily Potter nee Evans died to protect her son, her sister, her brother, and her nephew.

Tom Riddle died when he split his soul into a diary. He died again when he split his soul into a ring. And again, and again, and again, Tom Riddle died trying to escape from mortality, unknowing that he was simply bringing it closer and closer. Voldemort was ripped from his body when his Killing Curse rebounded off of a shield of love and protection so strong he was forced to become a wraith.

Petunia Dursley nee Evans died a little when she opened up her door to see a baby and the looping script of the Headmaster of Hogwarts on a letter.

She died a little when she brought the baby inside, and he opened his eyes revealing the green eyes of her sister and an angry red mark on his forehead.

She shattered when she read the news of her beloved sister's death, quickly preceded by the death of her brother.

She sobbed when she realised that she was meant to take care of this child. This child that shared her sister's eyes and brother's hair, and a fresh cut given to him by the man that killed his parents and tried to kill him.

People know that Lily Potter nee Evans and James Potter were only twenty-one when they died, but people forget that Vernon Dursley was only twenty-seven and Petunia Dursley nee Evans only twenty-three when they read in a letter that their siblings were dead, and they were to take in their orphaned child.

Petunia fed and changed little Harry Potter. She cleaned his cut with antiseptic and bandaged it, and once she put him to bed with Dudley, went into their office. It was half potioneering lab, half regular office, and Petunia silenced the room with a potion she had created before she broke down. She screamed and cried and threw a fit, mourning the loss of her brother and sister, and when she was still angry but all cried out for now, she doused a parchment in a potion Lily had given her as a challenge to recreate (a thing she realised wouldn't happen anymore), then screamed all her anger at the parchment, composing a howler to Albus Dumbledore, the man who thought it would be okay to leave a baby on a doorstep in late autumn with the only explanation in a note.

Petunia demanded a full explanation, demanded to know what was to become of her siblings' house and their belongings, their will, who was planning their funeral, and she finally demanded that Dumbledore show up himself to explain everything, with none of his dissembling or avoiding her questions. She sealed the howler into an envelope, and whistled into the attic for Damocles.

He brushed his beak through her hair, warbling softly. She handed him the letter, and told him to peck Dumbledore till he answered. Damocles flew off, and Petunia went to take a peek in on the babies.

Harry was standing up, holding onto the bars of the crib, and looking at her. Petunia's breath caught, and she was trapped in those eyes. In Lily's eyes. But Lily's eyes were dead and empty of the spark that lived inside her, and these eyes were young and curious. Petunia picked Harry up and cradled him in her arms, swaying while she thought.

Petunia closed her eyes like Lily had that summer day fourteen years ago, searching for the magical warm feeling Lily had described. She didn't find it, but she did find something else. Love. Petunia Evans looked in her heart, and she did not find magic. She didn't find anything other than what had always been there, and what had always been there was a deep love for her sister, deeper than anything. Petunia would do anything for her sister, and later on, for her brother and nephew. And if it meant raising her nephew, then so be it. She would give him a happy home, and raise him with stories of his parents, and all the love they would have given to him if they could.

. .

Harry Potter grew up well loved and happy. He had a brother, and a mother-figure, and a father-figure, and his Aunt Petunia taught Dudley and he to make potions on the weekends. Harry Potter grows up perfectly aware of the wizarding world and his fame, but stays humble because of the teachings of his uncle: Always be kind, Always be humble, Always protect your own. Harry Potter grows up not the boy in the cupboard, but the boy who shares a bunk-bed with his might-as-well-be-his-brother. Who has a play room he shares with Dudley. Who has a good relationship with a not-so-obese Aunt Marge, and who saves the world not because he feels his life is forfeit, but because he was raised to help those that needed it.

. .

Harry Potter went through school an idol and an enemy. He sent notes and assignments to his cousin Dudley every other day, and Dudley sent completed essays back. His teachers thought it amazing that Harry kept the same habit his mother had, always turning in two assignments, always designating which to grade and which to look over. He went through dangerous adventures that his Aunt and Uncle pulled their hair out over, and invited his friends over to the house during summer. Harry was tall and strong, having been fed lots of healthy food by his aunt. Dudley and Vernon were tall and strong, having been fed lots of healthy food by Petunia. Damocles went off to Hogwarts with Harry (and Petunia really had no Idea how that bird was still alive. It had been more than two decades) and made the trip back and forth gladly, happy to be helpful once more. Harry pulled twelve Owls like his mother. He didn't receive his Newts because he was on the run, hiding from Voldemort and finding Horcruxes. Damocles barely avoided a Killing Curse during the Battle of the Seven Potters, for which Harry was forever grateful.

Harry Potter came home with frogspawn in his pockets, turning teacups into rats for his brother's amusement, and neither ever felt left out from the other's life.

. .

When Harry knew the Final Battle was about to start, he sent a quick note from Hogwarts to his family. It explained what was going on and that hopefully this would all be over by tomorrow.

When Petunia and Vernon got the note, they packed Petunia's potions into the car and left with Dudley in the backseat. It took them twelve straight hours of driving, and when they arrived, Hogwarts was smoking and partially destroyed. All three of them abandoned the car, Vernon and Dudley hauling Petunia's potions trunk as they all raced to find Harry.

A helpful student pointed them towards the Great Hall, where Harry was being swarmed by fans. Petunia used her sharp elbows and the men used their bulk to push their way through the crowd. As soon as Harry saw them, He ran to Petunia, grabbing her into a hug. Vernon and Dudley quickly joined them, and Hermione and Ron kept the well wishers away long enough for the four to get out of the Hall, Hermione helpfully floating the trunk after them.

After an hour of Petunia fussing over Harry in the Hospital Wing, (at the start of which she got into a screaming match with Pomfrey saying she was the only one that was going to treat Harry, and at the end of which Pomfrey and Petunia were best friends), Harry was confined to bed rest and had potions shoved down his throat.

. .

Harry was sitting with his family, holding the Resurrection Stone. He turned it thrice in hand before handing it to his Aunt, and looked up. There stood Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin-Tonks, and an old couple he recognises from the photo album on the living room shelf of Privet Drive. His Grandparents.

There are hellos and forgiveness and bittersweet tears, and Lily Potter nee Evans steps up to her sister, holding out her hand. Petunia reaches out for it, and their hands… connect. It's only for a split second, but that split second apparently means everything to the sisters, who are both crying.

Lily smiles, and thanks Vernon and Petunia for raising 'their boys' right, with an appreciation for the other's skills, then jokes about Petunia teaching Harry magic before Hogwarts. Petunia quips back with how much better a student Harry is than Lily was, both women hearing their nicknames from their sister's lips for the first time in almost a decade.

Lily steps forward so her phantom hands are cupping Petunia's face, and their foreheads would be pressed together if they could be.

"I love you." Both sisters speak at the same time, and then the spirits fade back to their afterlife.

. .

Harry Potter has four children.

The first he doesn't name: Theodore Remus Lupin was named by his parents: he is Harry's godson, named for his grandfather and his father.

He names the second James Sirius: his nearly identical look-alike, named for his father and godfather.

He names the fourth Lily Luna: his only daughter, named for his mother and Luna Lovegood, the women that planted their feet and told the world 'No. You move.'

But his third child, he names Evan Dudley, for his brother, and his mother and mother figure, and the love of two sisters and four brothers that saved the world.

. .

Daisy Petunia Dursley comes home with frogspawn in her pockets, turning teacups into rats for her brother's amusement. Harry Vernon Dursley never cast a spell in his life, but he'll protect and love his sister anyway. He is given an honorary diploma by Headmistress McGonagall for passing the non-practical half of the NEWTs with the highest score ever seen. The twins visit their cousins-the Potters and Weasleys-on weekends and holidays, and no one is excluded from the fun.

Rose Granger-Weasley kisses Daisy Dursley's cheek on her fifteenth birthday, and both are so embarrassed they skip the next family gathering. Good thing too, or they would have seen the not-so-subtle exchange of pounds and galleons between their aunts, uncles, and parents.

Harry Dursley, to everyone's shock, asks Lucy Weasley to marry him on christmas eve the year he turns nineteen. To resounding cheers, she accepts. There are half-serious threats passed around: If you hurt my sister/If you break my brother's heart, etc. Percy Weasley announces that there's no one he'd trust more with his little girl, and Molly jr tuts that Lucy should have told her.

Three generations of family, starting with two sisters, then two brothers, then a set of twins. What could have been torn and bitter is whole and loving, because of a sibling's love.