Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, would I really be writing fanfiction? Didn't think so. However, I think it would be pretty amazing if JKRowling did write fanfiction…
Note: This takes place 4 years before the epilogue…
The last place you'd expect Petunia Dursley to be would be a wizard village. Yet, that was exactly where she was at, Godric's Hollow. What exactly was she doing here, you ask? Petunia herself didn't even fully know.
She had come to see Lily's grave. The idea had been haunting her ever since she has gotten an invitation to Harry's wedding, ten years prior. Now, she was finally here.
Petunia shivered against the cool winter wind, pulling her coat around her tighter. Children ran around, giggling as they threw snowballs at each other, and chattering about what they hoped to get for Christmas. Yes, it was indeed Christmas, and instead of celebrating, she was walking around a strange village, to visit a grave. She took a deep breath and strode towards the graveyard.
James Potter Lily Potter
Born 27, March 1960 Born 30, January 1960
Died 31, October 1981 Died 31, October 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
She collapsed in the snow in front of the grave, her shaking legs unable to hold her. Lily, a mere 21 years old at death. How could she have died so young? What cruel twist of fate took her sister from her? She sat down on the ground in front of the grave, letting the tears fall, after so many years of holding them back.
"Why Lily? Why did you have to leave?" she whispered, "Oh Lily, I'm so sorry, Lily! For everything! I was horrible to you, and your son, and I'm so, so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?" She cried into her hands, as sobs racked her fragile body. The children stopped playing to look at her, the poor woman sitting alone, sobbing in front of a grave.
They looked at each other, and ran up a hill to a house, their bright red hair a beacon on the snowy night. She wondered, briefly, as the tears began to subside, about the children. Were they all related? If so, she didn't fancy being related to them, one the boys, obviously the eldest, had blue hair. Blue!
Two of the children - a boy and a girl - stood back as the other's ran on, looking at Petunia curiously. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the boy. Harry?
No, no it couldn't be. Harry was older than this, 32, if she remembered correctly, this boy couldn't be more than eight. Yet, the thin face and messy black hair were unmistakable. The girl beside him looked at her curiously, her red hair and bright green eyes reminding her of Lily when she was her age, which Petunia guessed was about 5, though her Lily's hair had been a darker red. Yet the two were obviously related.
The girl approached her, "Hi, I'm Lily! What's your name?"
Petunia gasped aloud, and the boy elbowed the girl, Lily, "Don't talk to strangers, Lils!"
"But she isn't really a stranger. She was crying over Grandma Lily's grave, so she must have known her. It's logic!"
"What do you know about logic, Lils? You're only five."
"Oh shut up, Al!"
Petunia cleared her throat to remind them of her presence, "Excuse me, did you say that this grave belongs to your grandmother?"
"Yeah." The boy, Al, replied suspiciously.
Before Petunia could reply, the girl, Lily, screeched, "Daddy!" and jumped into the waiting arms of a man who had approached them while they had been talking, "This lady knew Grandma Lily!"
He turned to look at Petunia, who froze at the sight of him.
"Petunia?" He asked incredulously. She nodded in response, and he turned to the kids, "Why don't you two go back to the house and play with your cousins?"
"Okay, daddy!" Lily exclaimed, dragging her brother up the hill.
He sat down next to her, and took a deep breath before saying, as casually as he could manage, "What are you doing here, Petunia?"
"I just... Came to see Lily." She replied stiffly, jerking her head towards the grave, "Who were those children?"
"My kids, Albus and Lily. I have another son, James, too."
She nodded stiffly, "What about all the kids they were with? I had to have seen at least 10 kids there! And they were all redheads! Except one, whose hair was blue!"
"13 including my three, the nine of them were their cousins. The blue-haired one is my godson, Teddy. He's a metamorphamagus. It means he can change his appearance at will. Turquoise is his favorite hair color…" He trailed off.
"How do you have so many nieces and nephews, when you were an only child?"
"My wife, Ginny, has four brothers with children…"
"She has four brothers?"
"Well, she had six, actually. One of them… died. And the other never married or had children…"
"That's a lot of children."
He laughed softly, "Yes, it is. But I dare say Molly enjoys all the grandkids."
"Molly?"
"My wife's mother."
"Ah."
"Hey, Lils. Where'd your father disappear to?" Ron asked from his perch in an armchair in the Potter's living room.
"He was talking to a lady me and Albus ran into! And he knows her." Lily chattered happily.
"Her name was… Petunia. And she knew Grandma Lily, because when we ran into her, she was at her grave!" Albus supplied.
"Who's Petunia?" Fleur asked.
"Harry's aunt… Petunia Dursley?" Ginny answered, and Molly's eyes narrowed angrily.
"Oh, those Dursleys. The nerve of her! She didn't even come to his wedding! Didn't even bother to reply to say she wasn't!"
"She can't be that bad," Teddy cut in, "When we saw her at Lily's grave, she was crying, so…"
"Still…." Molly trailed off.
"Well, I don't like her much either…" Ginny agreed.
"Why not? You've never even met her!" Fleur exclaimed incredulously.
Ginny's eyes flashed murderously, and she didn't answer.
"So, he's… gone then? Voldemort?" Petunia asked nervously.
"Yeah, he's dead."
"Good."
Harry looked at her curiously.
"He killed my sister. He deserved to die."
The two of them sat in silence, before Harry asked, "Would you like to join us for Christmas dinner? I don't think anyone would mind."
She shook her head, "Vernon's probably wondering where I am, so I should be leaving soon."
"Well, just drop by any time."
She nodded stiffly before turning to leave.
The last place you'd expect Petunia Dursley to be would be a wizard village. Yet, that was exactly where she was at, Godric's Hollow. What exactly was she doing here, you ask? Petunia Dursley had come to Godric's Hollow for redemption. And as she left, she knew she had gotten what she had come for.
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