Petunia Evans was a very responsible five-year-old. She was so responsible she was trusted to watch her little sister Lily while her mum napped, which was why she decided she was old enough to answer the door when it rang.
The door was harder to open than she had thought, but she was able to open it in the end. She winced when it hit the wall before turning her attention to the blanket before her.
A soft, dark orange blanket sat on the porch, moving slightly. It intrigued Petunia; she'd never seen someone leave a moving blanket on a porch before.
Leaving the door open because she didn't have time to close it (obviously) Petunia ran up the stairs, calling her mum as loudly as she could.
"Petunia, dear, I'm right here," Petunia's mother smiled tightly down at the girl. Her eyes kept glancing to the room she just stepped out of: Lily's room.
Petunia looked sheepishly up at her mother. "Sorry Mummy, but there's something on the porch. Do people often leave moving blankets on other's porches?" she asked, looking up at her mum with wide eyes.
"Did you answer the door?" Mrs. Evans asked with wide eyes before rushing down the stairs. She didn't even answer Petunia's question!
Petunia followed her mother down the stairs, one step at a time because she could fall and hurt herself if she took two or more at once.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw her mother sitting on the couch, the blanket from the porch was resting on her lap.
"What was it Mummy?" Petunia asked, pulling herself onto the couch.
The little girl crawled over to her mother, peered down at the blanket, and found herself looking into some of the bluest eyes she had ever seen, almost the same shade as her own and her father's. His red hair matched her father's and Lily's, which made Petunia grin wide.
"Is he my new brother? I asked Santa for a brother, but he gave me a sister, do you think Santa sent my brother late?" Petunia asked excitedly, her fingers reaching forward to touch the boy. Petunia didn't understand the evaluating gaze her mother gave her.
"Yes, he is," her mother said slowly, making Petunia grin wider. Her eyes went back to the baby, who was starting to drift off to sleep, she would do everything to protect him.
"His name is Willow, right? That's the name I picked when I asked Santa for him."
She had said that seriously; she didn't understand why her mother laughed at her.
Petunia held her baby siblings close, her arms wrapped around the three-year-olds' ears as best she could. Their parents were fighting again. Her father was mad at her mother, something about bills and food and bastards; she didn't know what a bastard was, but it didn't sound good.
She just held her siblings close and hoped her parents would calm down soon.
Petunia watched as her brother and sister wandered over to the weird, black-haired boy on the playground. She had brought them out here as soon as she was old enough, and has been bringing them back every time the atmosphere in their house became too tense.
"Hello, my name is Lily, this is my brother, Willow." Her younger sister was the more talkative of the siblings, her bright red hair matching her attitude perfectly.
Willow waved tentatively when the boy looked up at them. Petunia couldn't hear his response, but she thought it had been something positive if the twins' smiles said anything about it. Petunia just hoped this kid could help distract her siblings from what went on at home.
"Petunia! Come meet Severus, he's four too." Lily grinned as she waved her sister over, the little boy looking up at her shyly.
Petunia sighed, she could already see the same look in his eyes that she saw in her siblings'. It looked like she had another child under her care, whether he liked it or not.
Petunia watched the six-year-olds playing in the grass before her and her lips kept twitching down. Severus was sporting another bruise today, his hair hiding most of it, but he had to look up at her when she greeted him, his noir locks slipping back to show the purpling skin around his eye.
She couldn't do anything to help, the last time she tried Severus only showed up worse, begging her not to help him anymore. It had broken her heart.
She felt bad for feeling grateful that it wasn't one of her siblings getting hurt at home—not that she'd be able to know if anything were to happen to them. Soon, she'd be going off to boarding school, leaving the twins in the care of her angry father.
Her mother had died a few months ago, and while it hurt to know she was never coming back, it hurt greater seeing that her siblings didn't seem to care that their mother was gone.
"Petunia! Come play with us," Willow cried out, a large grin on his face. Petunia was still overjoyed that Severus seemed to bring Willow out of his shell, making the boy much livelier.
Petunia pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind as she got up to play tag with her siblings.
Petunia waved to her siblings as her train left the station. Large tears fell from the twins' eyes as she sped off. Her heart almost broke when they asked her not to go, but there was nothing she could do. She had to go to school.
She just hoped nothing unfortunate happened while she was gone.
Two nine-year-old twins sat on swings in a familiar park. A third nine-year-old was behind them, pushing the redheads in turn.
"Guys, look," Lily exclaimed suddenly, pointing out before her. Willow stared wide-eyed at the floating stick before his sister.
"Are you doing that?" Severus asked from behind him, his voice holding something that sounded almost hopeful. Lily nodded enthusiastically, a grin on her lips.
A few words flashed through Willow's mind,
Wingardium Leviosa
He almost didn't notice when Lily gasped, so engrossed in trying to remember where that came from.
But he did notice it, reverting his attention back to his sister, who was several feet below him. Willow gasped before falling to the ground, his foot tangling up in the chain of the swing.
"You guys are magic," Severus stated, a grin on his face as he and Lily helped Willow to his feet.
"It looks like we'll be going to the same school after all."
Willow huffed out in his sleep, his head jerking to the right, then the left. Sweat making his hair cling to his forehead and his hands clenching painfully around the blankets.
Severus, only older, looking at him with fear in his black eyes, blood dripping down his face, tears intermingling with the red substance as they fell.
Bodies, hundreds of them, some wearing black, most not. Blood and destruction filled his vision.
A feeling of loss and pain and helplessness and hopelessness.
He tried to scream, to cry out, to get Severus' attention, anything. Nothing left his lips.
Severus yelled out something Willow couldn't hear. The sudden noise of thunder and screaming didn't allow him to hear Severus' words. A bright flash and he was blinded briefly.
Moments later the lights receded, only for Willow to watch as the life bled out of Severus' eyes—
"SEVERUS!" Willow screamed, shooting up from his bed, his breathing coming in short bursts. In his chest, his heart pounded fast, way too fast.
Lily sat next to him, their door barred against the banging of a heavy fist.
"Shut up in there!" their father bellowed before stomping away from the room.
"Are you okay?" Lily asked; her eyes filled with worry and her voice choked in concern.
Willow nodded before burying his head in his blankets, images that made him want to throw up filled his mind. He shook his head frantically.
"It's okay, I'm here." Lily moved to sit next to him, her arm hovering slightly over her brother's shoulder until the boy moved into her hug.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lily asked after a few minutes. Willow shook his head and Lily nodded. The two stayed like that for hours, until Willow was ready to talk.
Willow was overly grateful when Petunia came home. It was quieter when his sister came home. The now ten-year-old boy grinned and hugged his sister when she walked through the door, Lily right behind him.
"Tell us stories from your school," Lily begged, looking up at her sister with big hopeful green eyes, Willow shook his head in exasperation at his twin's expression. Petunia grinned as she sat them down in the living room to tell them all about her time at school.
It was still a good month before Petunia had to go back to school. She was sitting on the couch, cards in hand as the family played a game.
The doorbell was always a surprise when it rang, and this time was no exception. The three siblings watched their father stand from his spot across from Lily, placed his cards faced down on the table, before going to answer the door.
Their father's change of temperament had been sudden and surprising. Only two weeks before he was a very angry man who would glare at them whenever they were too loud. But then he had a screaming match with Petunia one night, and brought a cake home the next day, apologizing to them with a stiff back.
Willow knew he was trying, so he didn't say anything when his father would sometimes revert to glaring or sneering; it helped that his dad would look sorry after each incident.
Willow looked up in surprise when his dad returned with company. There was a tall, intimidating, and strangely familiar woman, standing behind him.
Willow didn't know why she was so familiar, but something was telling him that he was happy to see her, and he found himself grinning when she was introduced to them.
McGonagall. Professor McGonagall. She would be educating them about everything in the wizarding world.