The next morning, Petunia contacted the lawyer that had worked for her parents and had been executor of their will. As he also took on cases involving divorce, he agreed to Petunia hiring him after hearing her out. Mr. Webster, the lawyer, promised to have everything drawn up in a week and would then notify Vernon about the divorce proceedings. Since Petunia had no wish of getting money or anything else from her soon-to-be ex-husband, it was quite likely that she would get her divorce with very little fuss. Add to the fact that he didn't want a niece or daughter that were magical, it was almost guaranteed that he would agree to the divorce at once.

The next piece of business was to find someplace to stay that did not involve a hotel. While the hotel Petunia, Emily, and Diana were currently staying in was cheap, it would take awhile for the divorce to be settled. The cost of staying in the hotel for a month would end up being more expensive than a month's rent for a small flat. After combing through the ads in the newspaper, she called a number and arranged a tour for the advertised flat that she thought might suit.

The next day, Petunia dropped Emily and Diana off at a child care center for the day and viewed the flat. It had a living room, a tiny kitchen, two small bedrooms, and a bathroom. The rent was two hundred pounds a month, mainly due to the fact that it was small and in one of the lesser off neighborhoods (though not the truly poor part, where it could be dangerous.) She decided to take the flat, for the next few months at least, and as there weren't any other takers, was able to sign the lease right away. Petunia wrote out a cheque for five hundred pounds to pay for the first two months' rent, and then left to purchase some used furniture and meet with Mr. Webster again.

After three days, Petunia moved in the flat with her daughter and niece and called Vernon, informing him of the divorce. "And don't you dare contest it!" she snapped. "I don't want anything from you, including money. I have the money my parents left me, and I'll get a job. You never have to see me, Diana, or Emily ever again, except for the day in court when the divorce is made final. You can go about your merry way and find some other woman to marry who won't have any 'inconvenient' relatives or produce a child that's magical."

Vernon made a sound that showed his disgust for the word 'magical' and then demanded, "And what if I do contest the divorce?"

"Then I will happily tell the world that you were abusing my niece and were on your way to abusing my daughter as well."

"Fine. You can have your divorce. Good-bye." With that, he hung up the phone.

After sixth months, the divorce was made final. It would have taken less time if the judge and Vernon's lawyer hadn't been so busy with other cases. When that was done, Petunia reverted to her maiden name of Evans and changed Diana's last name from Dursley to Evans as well. After that, Petunia began looking for a job near London, but not in the city itself, for she preferred to have Emily and Diana grow up in the suburbs. To avoid having to spend more of her inheritance than necessary, she took a temporary job, working part time as a waitress, and left the two girls at child care center while she was at work.

Job-hunting was something of a chore, especially considering that Petunia had only held two jobs before she'd gotten married and became a homemaker. The first job had been a part-time store clerk, back when she had been attending college. When she had graduated, she had then worked for two years at a medical clinic, filing patients' records, scheduling appointments, and some receptionist work.

After five months of being a waitress and going to interviews that didn't bring any result other than that she wasn't hired, she finally found an advertisement of a dental clinic that had an opening. The job was essentially the same as the one she had in the medical clinic. The salary was decent and it looked promising. Petunia instantly called the clinic and set up an interview with the Drs. Grangers, husband and wife, who ran it.

The interview, which was with both dentists, went quite smoothly. At the end, the wife said, "Well, you seem to be well qualified for this position, Ms. Evans. Not many other people have applied, so you there is a good chance that you will get it. We will call you within three days to set up a second interview if my husband and I decide that we will likely hire you."

"Thank you, Dr. Granger," answered Petunia. "I hope I will be able to work for the two of you at your fine clinic."

On the second day, the husband called to set up a second interview. At the conclusion, Petunia was offered the job. "Thank you, Dr. Granger. I accept. I just have a small matter of moving from my flat in London to a place here."

"Do you wish to live in a house or a flat?" asked Mrs. Dr. Granger.

"A house," responded Petunia. "I have a daughter and niece and would like to raise them in a house."

"It just so happens that there's a house for sale on our street," said Mr. Dr. Granger. "It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a W.C., and a lovely view. It's not that expensive, either, since the owners want to sell the house as quickly as possible. You can buy it if you find it to your liking."

"And during the time it takes for you to finalize the purchase and move in, you, your daughter, and niece can stay with us," added Mrs. Dr. Granger. "How old are the two girls?"

"Emily and Diana are five," replied Petunia. " Diana, my daughter, is older by a month and a half, though. And thank you very much, Dr. Granger."

"You can call me Cecilia and my husband John, rather than Dr. Granger, so as to avoid confusion as to which one of us you're referring to, Ms. Evans."

"Then please call me Petunia," said Petunia with a smile. She liked the two dentists immensely, and felt that Cecilia Granger would be a better friend than Yvonne, who had been her friend since primary school.

"All right, Petunia," said John. "We have a daughter named Hermione, who will turn six in September. Perhaps she will become friends with your daughter and niece."

Cecilia smiled. "That would be wonderful! Hermione spends too much time reading and needs to take some time to play. It's nice that she's reading at a level advanced for her age, but she has to spend some time playing with other girls."

"I can understand, Cecilia. Di and Em had me teach them to read when they were three. I taught them the alphabet and sounding words out and by the time they were four, they could read simple picture books. Their reading has improved, though I don't think their level is as advanced as your daughter's."

There was some more conversation, in which Petunia revealed that she was divorced and explained why, leaving the part out about magic. The Drs. Granger sympathized and then Petunia left.

By the weekend, she had seen the house for sale and made an offer. As the money from the sale of her inheritated house was enough to cover most of the cost of the new house, the owners decided to sell to her a week later. During that time, Petunia started work, enrolled Emily and Diana in the local primary school, where they'd be starting kindergarten in three weeks time, and temporarily moved into the Grangers' home.

Hermione, after meeting Emily and Diana, decided that she wanted to be friends with them, and vice versa. As neither of the two girls could pronounce Hermione's name properly, they shortened it to "Mia". The older girl accepted the nickname, especially as she had some difficulty with the pronounciation of her name as well.

By September, Petunia had moved in the new house and was firmly settled in her new job. The Drs. Granger were very nice to her and she was efficent at her work. Emily and Diana started school. Life appeared to be quite pleasant.