Not a POV we will get to see often, but to me it made sense to show Petunia's perspective on this one.

PETUNIA I

The stain would not go away. She sprinkled the surface of the counter with cleaning products, and yet despite all the scrubbing she did, the patch refused to totally disappear. But she could feel she was getting to it. It was slowly getting smaller.

They had finished dining about half an hour ago. She and Vernon dined alone, like it often happened since summer began.

Petunia Evans Dursley was the embodiment of the satisfied, happy married woman. Her husband, Vernon Dursley, with who she shared almost twenty years of her life so far, was the director of Grunnings, a large company specialized in the manufacturing of drills and other construction tools. It was in this company, where she once worked as a typist, that Petunia met her husband, back when he was junior executive for the society. Ever since that day, they had gone a long way together.

Petunia left her job the day she and Vernon married. Her new husband promised her to provide for everything she would want. Petunia didn't plan to live like a princess, but she loved Vernon for saying such a thing. Being praised and admired by a man like him was everything she hoped for. Vernon allowed her not to work, and Petunia was delighted that her main concern in life became ensuring that her husband wouldn't have to be worried about anything when he came home. Within a year following their wedding, Vernon was named director of Grunnings. Not long after, Petunia got pregnant and gave birth to their son, Dudley, the only one person in her life who she loved more than she loved Vernon.

The years that followed fulfilled her even more. Vernon progressively bought shares in the company for which he was the director, becoming the main, then the majority shareholder of Grunnings, while he made it grow exponentially. Two years ago, he signed a huge contract with Mason Builders, a large real estate development company, becoming the sole provider of tools for the corporation. This sent the profits of Grunnings to the stratosphere. He had promised Petunia that he would buy her a vacation home in Majorca the day after the deal was signed. However, after conducting some research, he came back to Petunia with bad news. He yelled after the developers and the lawyers who couldn't get him the money he wanted from the Masons right away. He couldn't buy this summer house in Majorca without taking a huge mortgage. Petunia had understood. She told him they would get their second house when the time came, swearing to him that she could wait. Instead, Vernon promised her that he would get the house very quickly.

Petunia only had to wait two years to get that summer house. It was in part of her fault. She probably asked too much money from her husband to decorate the house. Vernon had finally bought their second residence last month. In two weeks, they would go there with Dudley to spend a part of the summer. Petunia couldn't wait to be there. She couldn't wait to make all sorts of arrangements to decorate the house to her taste and make it perfectly clean. But in the meantime, she still had that patch at 4, Privet Drive, to remove. And it came slowly. Very slowly.

Another thing that truly fulfilled her these last few years, more than Vernon's success in his career, more than his new cars, more than the house in Majorca which was paid in cash, without mortgage, it was her son, her Diddy, who made her happy over all else.

Dudley was a marvelous, charming, intelligent and brilliant boy. Petunia saw it from the very beginning. Despite the persecution he suffered from professors and other students at Smeltings, her Diddy had grown into a charming young man, with many friends and great talent. This talent had showed up when her son began boxing. Petunia was afraid at first, but Vernon reassured her and convinced her that everything would be fine. And as always, Vernon was right. Her little boy had recently become the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast. His father was prouder than ever of him.

The only disadvantage in all this was that Petunia got to see her son more rarely than ever. He spent most of his days with his friends, and only came back quite late, well after dinner. Petunia loved that her son got so many friends who invited him all the time. She was glad that he was so popular. But she also wished she could see her son more often. She didn't get to see him much while he was at Smeltings, and his competitions further reduced the time she could spend with him. She missed the time when he always asked her for a second portion at dinner. He loved her meals so much. She always waited until he returned to wish him a good night, and in case her boy would need anything.

She finally managed to erase the patch when the doorbell sounded. Quick as always, Petunia stood up from her work.

"I'm answering, Vernon," she said.

Her husband was tired enough of his job today. No need to tire him further with impromptu visitors. As she removed her apron, she thought that it was unlikely to be Dudley. She wouldn't have minded, but it was too soon to be her son coming back. It was probably some street hawker trying to sell a new security system with a discount, or someone selling chocolate for a supposed fund raising to build schools in Africa. Petunia knew how to deal with these people. No need to bother Vernon for this.

She left the kitchen and went to the door. She turned the knob and opened it.

"We are not interest…" Petunia began, but she stopped as she saw who stood on her porch. This was no hawker. Instead there was a woman with dark red hair arranged into a ponytail, whose bright green eyes bore on her.

"Hi, Tuney," her sister, Lily, said.

It had been over three years now since the last time Petunia saw her little sister, back when she lived at Northampton. She didn't have any contact with her ever since. As a result, Petunia was thunderstruck, almost unable to move or to breathe for a very long time. Of all the people she expected to ring at her door this evening, her sister was certainly the last one she expected.

"Petunia. Who's that?"

The voice of her husband who yelled from the living room where he was watching the news brought her back to life. Petunia looked towards the living room, whose wall hid her husband, then back to her sister, trying to reconcile these two aspects of her life which she tried to keep separated since the day she discovered Lily's powers.

"Only a salesman. I got rid of him. But… I think someone walked in our flowers," she said, eyeing her sister.

"Damn it! Can't they be more careful?" her husband roared, with good reason, even though Petunia just lied to him, which wasn't in her habits.

"I'm going to take care of it."

"Okay. Tell me if you need help, Petunia."

Another thing she loved about Vernon. He was always there to help her. Petunia silently moved to the outside and carefully closed the door behind her. Then she turned towards her sister, who remained impassible the whole conversation.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered to her little sister, not wanting Vernon to know that her sister was on their porch.

"We need to talk, Tuney. It's important," she said.

"You could have called, so we would meet somewhere else."

Petunia was angry. After her sister lost her husband, she had been there for her, despite the disapproval of Vernon. She even continued helping her after Vernon said it wasn't a good thing to be related to people like her. Petunia agreed with him, but Lily remained her sister. And deep down, she knew that Lily would have done everything to help her if Petunia had been the one to lose her husband. She was ready to lie to her husband if it meant helping her sister when needed, as much as she hated it.

"I'm afraid Vernon will have to be there for this discussion," Lily said.

No. That was out of the question. Petunia was ready to tolerate being exposed personally to… magic, if that meant helping her sister in times of need, but she refused to have her husband in contact with it. However, there was something odd in her sister's behavior. Something that told Petunia that something grave had happened.

"What's going on?" she asked her little sister, still whispering.

Lily closed her eyes, then inhaled deeply. "He's back."

Petunia blinked. "Who is back?" Whoever this he was, she felt that it wasn't good.

"Voldemort."

Petunia knew the name. She knew it only too well. She remained there, frozen, for quite a lot of time.

"What do you mean? He's back?" she finally asked.

"Tuney, you know the world in which I live," her younger sister reminded her, as if to only humiliate her further. "You know there are things that happen there… that could never happen in your world."

Petunia pursed her lips. Voldemort. This was the man who murdered her brother-in-law, although she never liked to think of him that way. "So?" she asked, feigning indifference.

"He's after me, Tuney. He's also after Harry. And I believe… he's going to be after you as well."

This time, Petunia panicked. "What? But… I am not… We are not… My family is not… Why would someone… like you have anything to do with us?"

"Because he wants to kill me and Harry, and he will do everything he can to reach us. Including pick on the family I have left." She stared right into Petunia's eyes. "I need to talk to you and Vernon. Both of you. It is your lives and the life of your son that are at stake."

Petunia looked at her sister. A sister she both loved and despised. A sister who abandoned her at the age of eleven to go at a school where they taught her weird things. Her parents were so enchanted when they found out their little daughter was a witch. Petunia was the only one to see what this really was about. And today, all her fears were confirmed. Petunia had done everything she could to keep her family away from all this madness, away from all this freakish stuff that got the husband of her sister killed. She wanted to lash at Lily for bringing her family into this. But she could also recognize when this wasn't the time to lash and to listen instead. And she saw in Lily's gaze that this was a very serious situation.

Reluctantly, Petunia made a move of the head, meaning Lily should follow. She opened the door, allowed her sister in, then closed it behind. "Go in the dining room and wait there. Just give me some time to warn Vernon."

Lily nodded and went her way. Looking at her sister walk in her own house made Petunia feel weird. She did everything to keep… magic out of her life. That meant keeping Lily out of her life as much as possible. That was one of the reasons why she never tried to contact her after her sister decided to go back into the wizarding world. Petunia could suffer spending time with her, helping her with her son as long as they were in the normal world, her world, but visiting them in the other world, that was too much. Too much for Petunia who only wished to have a normal life. A normal life which apparently was turned upside down tonight. She walked to the living room, where her husband was watching the news.

He was sitting on the couch, listening to the announcer talking about the leadership election in the Conservative Party.

"Completely stupid," he said. "He remains Prime Minister, but resigns as leader of his party. What kind of country are we in? I begin to miss Thatcher."

Her husband had never liked Margaret Thatcher. Truth be told, he never liked politicians much. He had expressed some hope when John Major arrived in power, but quickly became disillusioned about the new administration.

"Vernon," Petunia began, "there's someone in the house who needs to talk to us."

Her husband turned to her, frowning. "Someone in the house? Who?"

"My sister," she reluctantly said.

Vernon jumped from his couch right away. "What is she doing here? Did she ask something from you? Don't worry. I'll make it clear that we don't want her in our home."

"No, Vernon. Please." Her husband looked flabbergasted. He certainly didn't expect her to take the defense of her sister. "She says it's important. And I think it is. She needs to talk to both of us. Please. Let's just… listen to her."

Vernon looked confused for a moment. Then he approached her with a very serious expression. "The moment you don't want her in our home anymore, tell me. I'll kick her out."

She appreciated his will to protect her, but she was afraid that tolerating her sister's presence in their home was a lesser evil. They went together to the dining room, where they found Lily sitting at the table.

"Hi, Vernon," Lily told him. Vernon sat down heavily in front of her while Petunia remained standing behind him.

"I tolerate your presence inside our home," he said, reflecting Petunia's thoughts, "because Petunia asked me to. The moment we don't want you here anymore, you get out."

"I'm afraid you need to hear what I came to say, Vernon. If your lives were not in danger, I would not have come here."

Vernon pierced her with his gaze, then looked to Petunia, then back to Lily. "What do you mean, our lives are in danger?"

Lily looked at Petunia with a questioning gaze. Petunia shrugged. She didn't dare to tell him herself. Lily returned her attention on Vernon.

"Voldemort is back," she declared.

Vernon didn't react. "Vol-what?"

"The man who killed her husband."

The words got out of Petunia's mouth without warning. Vernon looked at her for a moment, surprised. Petunia remained where she stood, somewhat petrified.

"Wait," Vernon said. "He's dead. I know. That's what you told us. That man got killed."

"No, he didn't." Lily clarified. "He survived. Under a weakened form. He was… some kind of spirit, if you want. But a week ago, he managed to get a new body. He's back, and just as powerful as before."

Despite her dazed state, Petunia watched her husband carefully. Vernon didn't suffer hearing about things like spirits and resurrection. They were way out of the ordinary. She sent a warning glare to Lily. She could at least announce him the news in a more… normal way. But Lily didn't seem to care about it. She only sent her own glare at Petunia, meaning that this was not the time for smooth words.

"And we believe that he will go after you now," her sister concluded.

Vernon's reaction didn't wait. "What do you mean? What would people… like you have to do with us?"

"Vernon," Lily said on an impatient tone. "We are talking about one of the most powerful wizards of all time."

"Do not say that word here!" But Lily ignored him.

"He was defeated by me and my son, and he was forced into hiding for thirteen years. Now that he's back, one of his greatest wishes is to kill us. And he will not hesitate to use you to reach his ends."

"What do you mean, use us? This… Voldething, what could he want from us?"

"Information. About me and Harry."

"Well, he won't get anything from us. We don't know you. You are strangers to us. Dudley probably doesn't even know you exist."

"It doesn't matter. He will go after you. If only to try to hurt me. You may think what you want, Vernon, but you are my sister's husband. I care about her, and by extension, although I do not pretend to like you, I do care about you, and about my nephew as well."

Petunia's husband looked about to explode, maybe in part because Lily dared to call Dudley her nephew, but she continued.

"He's going to kill you, Vernon." That got an effect on Petunia's husband. "He's going to torture you, either to get information on me, or for pleasure, and when he's done extracting all the information and pleasure he can, he will kill you. You, Petunia, Dudley. He will kill the three of you."

Vernon remained speechless for a very long time. He looked at Petunia, who told him only with her eyes that it was true. He turned back to Lily.

"What… Why would he come after us?" he asked. "We haven't seen you in years. We don't even know you. You could die tomorrow, and we wouldn't know about it. Or care about it, for the matter."

Petunia's heart tightened at those words. Because she knew they weren't true. She would know. And she would care. However difficult her relationship with Lily was, she remained her sister. She even attended her brother-in-law's funerals when he died, for her sake. If she would attend his funerals, she hardly imagined herself ignoring her own sister's death.

"Well, for Voldemort, it will not matter. If only to hurt me, he will murder all of you."

"Stop that!" Vernon roared. "You come here, unannounced, after who knows how many years, to tell me that my family is in danger from a man who died long ago? I won't have it! I will not let you ruin the life that Petunia and I have built for us and Dudley, far from all those stupidities and weirdness!"

"Vernon, you can deny the existence of magic all you want and stay away from it all you want, Voldemort will come to kill you."

"Enough! I don't want to hear anymore of this nonsense! Get out of our house!"

He stared at his sister-in-law with all the hate he had for abnormal things. But Lily stared blankly in return at him, seemingly unaffected by his outburst.

"What are you going to do, Vernon? Call the police so they will expel me? I think we both know I can easily convince them to turn away."

She put her hand somewhere in the folds of her dress. Petunia had to give it to Lily, at least, she came to see them wearing normal clothing, not those strange robes people of her kind usually wore. But however appeasing that might have been for Vernon, it ended the moment she put her hand back on the table, a fine piece of long wood between her fingers.

Vernon strangled himself at the sight of the wand, and Petunia had to contain a small shriek. Vernon looked at her sister with a mixture of hate and fear. Lily remained imperturbable.

"He's going to kill you, Vernon," Lily repeated. "All of you. Your only hope to survive, it's to hide. My friends and I, we can help you. But only if we hide you quickly. The more we will wait, the more your lives will be at risk."

Vernon seemed about to say something, but no sound looked able to leave his mouth. Finally, he blabbered. "Get out. Get out of my house!"

And then he stormed out of the dining room, leaving the two sisters together. Petunia kept staring at the wand. Not in fear, like Vernon did. She knew Lily wouldn't hurt her. She might have thought of her sister as a freak, but she also knew that her sister would never do anything to hurt her. She saw her use it often, and never did Lily use it against Petunia. At the same time, this little piece of wood always instilled a certain impression, a certain weird curiosity in Petunia. Once, she had sneaked into her sister's bedroom and tried to… No, it was better to not think about it.

"I'm sorry," Petunia told her sister, sincerely thinking it. "I'll talk to him. He just needs some time to accept all of this."

"Time is something we don't have in quantity right now," Lily told her.

"Is it that serious?"

"Yes, it is."

Her sister was not joking at all. Petunia felt that she needed time as well to accept what she was just told.

"Do you want some tea?" she asked Lily, realizing that she didn't offer her some when she arrived. Petunia also felt she could use some tea right now.

"Do you have some tisane?" her sister asked her.

"Yes. I can prepare some."

A minute later, they were sitting together at the table, face to face, a cup of liquid between their hands, Petunia having taken place on the chair that her husband left a moment ago.

"Lily… can you… Tell me what happened? How can this man be back?" Petunia asked, her fear and curiosity getting the better of her.

Lily spent the next hour explaining her what happened over the last three years since they last saw each other at Northampton. Petunia asked a lot of precisions, and with each new information Lily gave, she had more questions and felt worse each passing minute. A stone able to make someone immortal. Her sister and nephew getting close to being killed several times. A snake able to end someone's life with a simple gaze. A man capable of turning into a rat. Petunia felt she was going to call an exterminator in the morning. Dragons. Mermaids. Giant spiders. Potions that could change someone's appearance and turn him into someone else. Others that could bring someone back to life with someone else's blood, bones and flesh. In an entire hour, Petunia heard more about the magical world than she heard in the last twenty years.

When Lily was done explaining everything, she looked exhausted. Petunia, on her side, was more than exhausted. She was close to a panic attack.

"You should never have left," Petunia said. Her sister looked at her, frowning. "You should never have gone back to the wizarding world. You should have stayed here, in the Muggle world. You and Harry would never have been involved in all this. Your lives would never have been in danger."

It felt strange, foreign to Petunia to use those words. But she just spent so much time listening to what happened in this world that her tongue used its words despite her best instincts. Anyway, she didn't care much about the words she used right now. What she cared about was how her sister put her life and the life of her son in danger only by returning into this world of freaks.

"Believe me, Petunia, there are many times when I wished I could go back to my ancient life. But the truth is, from the moment Voldemort decided to kill me and Harry over thirteen years ago, the world in which we lived didn't matter. He would have hunted us down, no matter the place where we were."

"Then… You should never have gone to Hogwarts in the first place," Petunia snapped. "This world is dangerous. Look at everything you just talked to me about."

"And you really believe that your world is not dangerous, Tuney? You think I'm not aware of the troubles in Northern Ireland? Or the bombings in Great Britain? Or the hundreds of murders that happen in this country every year? Not to mention what's going on across the world. The ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia. The genocide in Rwanda. Not to mention all the other conflicts and troubles in Africa, South America, and in Eastern Europe since the Soviet Union collapsed. I just spent half a year travelling through Europe. The troubles that you see in your world are impacting the wizarding world, just like the events in my world are impacting yours."

"Yes, but this man would never have gone after you if you had not become a witch."

"I had no choice, Tuney."

"We always have a choice," she blurted. "We can always choose our life."

Lily looked at her with a sad expression. Petunia felt that her sister knew that, deep inside, she had wanted to follow her at Hogwarts a long time ago. But Petunia refused to admit it. And considering how things went for Lily in that world, she felt entitled to the opinion she just expressed.

"I know, Tuney." She was almost surprised by her sister's answer. "And I chose to fight Voldemort because it was the right thing to do. It wasn't an easy choice to make, but it was the right one."

"At what price?"

Lily looked down. "Sometimes, doing what is right means accepting sacrifices."

Petunia pursed her lips. Lily had always been the idealistic one in their family. In some small way, Petunia admired it, but she couldn't support it when it endangered her family and those she loved.

"And among the necessary sacrifices… does it include your family?" Petunia asked, almost accusingly.

"I never meant to drag you into this. But you must understand, Tuney. Voldemort and his supporters consider Muggles, including you, as inferior beings who barely deserve to live. During the last war, they killed many Muggles, and only for fun in most cases. You remember what they taught us about the Blitz and the Holocaust at school? Well, Voldemort is even worse than Hitler. I joined the fight against him for you as well. I didn't want you to live in a world where you risked being killed by one of his men at any moment."

Petunia looked away. Was that really the best argument she could give? In her eyes, Lily was trying to justify her actions more than anything. She was trying to find a reason, a higher purpose to explain the death of her husband. She could sympathize to a certain extent with her sister, but in Petunia's eyes, it didn't change the fact that Lily endangered her life, and the life of her whole family. Including the life of Petunia's nephew.

"How is Harry?" she asked.

Lily looked down. "Not good. He just watched one of his friends getting killed."

Petunia couldn't begin to imagine the effect it had on him. She tried to picture what it would inflict on her Diddy, and she couldn't.

"What about Dudley? How is he?" Lily asked her sister.

That, Petunia had no trouble talking about it. "He is… just as marvellous a boy as before. He has so many friends. So many people love him. Sometimes, I regret it. He barely spends time at home, even during weekends or even in summer… I guess this is adolescence."

Lily nodded, the shadow of a smile on her lips. "Don't tell me. I'm having the same issues with Harry. I have been entire months away from him while I was in Europe. During the year, I only see him occasionally, mostly for his Quidditch matches."

"He is still playing this?"

"Yes. Like his father. He loves the sport. Although I wish he didn't end at the infirmary so often."

Petunia nodded. "Diddy started boxing this year. He's great at that, but… I worry for him every time he jumps on the ring." Lily nodded in comprehensiveness. "Does Harry still play football?"

"I'm not sure. Last summer, he was thinking about abandoning the sport, but he continued nonetheless. This year, though… I'm not sure… with everything that happened…" Lily seemed to try to compose herself again. "You said Dudley has many friends?"

"Oh, yes. He's always invited by one of them, every day. He's at one of them's home right now."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

This was a question Petunia was unprepared for. "No. At least, not that I know of."

Petunia had no doubt that many girls found her son attractive. But now that she thought about it, she never saw her Diddy with a girl. He never introduced one to his mother. Truth be told, she didn't mind, for it meant that she would probably keep her son longer. Even though she didn't see him a lot lately.

"What about Harry?" Petunia, wishing to change the subject from her son. "He has friends?"

"Yes. Very good friends, in fact. There are two of them he's inseparable from. Ron is a boy of his age, with red hair. He has five brothers and a little sister. Hermione is a girl of his age as well, though a little older. She is an only daughter. Her parents are dentists."

"Dentists?" Petunia asked, bewildered that wizards could occupy such a profession.

"Yes. They are Muggles, like our parents." Well, that explained a lot. "They are Harry's closest friends. He spends all his time with them when he's at Hogwarts, and they try to see each other during summer, but that's not always possible. They don't live very close from us."

"And… any girlfriend?" Petunia returned a question Lily previously asked. At that, her sister rolled her eyes.

"Two."

Petunia's eyes opened very wide. "He has two girlfriends?" she was scandalized.

"No. Of course not. He… was with a girl shortly last summer. It only lasted a few weeks. He didn't even introduce her to me before he broke up with her."

From her facial expression, Petunia could see that Lily was upset about it. She would have been upset as well if her Diddy saw a girl and never told her. Her mind began to wonder if her son could be seeing a girl behind her back and his father's back.

"Now, he's with a girl named Susan. She's in the same year than he is, and she lives in the same tower than we do. They've been together for a few months now." Lily let a little laugh escape her lips. "It is strange. The girl's aunt is my boss at the Ministry of Magic."

"For a time," Petunia said, "I was one of my husband's employees. It was before we got married, but still…" She felt herself that the comparison was not very strong. "Do you have photos of Harry on you?"

Lily pulled a wallet from her robe and took a single picture out of it. "We went on vacation in France last summer. That's us back then."

Petunia slightly flinched when she saw that the two people on the photo were moving, waving their hands at her. One was her sister, wearing light clothes for a summer climate. The boy next to her had to be Harry. Petunia couldn't believe how he had changed. Last she saw him… She had the impression that her nephew was still a baby when she last saw him.

"He's changed so much," Petunia said. A part of her regretted that she didn't get to know her nephew better. She looked down, averting her gaze from the photo. "It doesn't seem like fifteen years have gone since the day Diddy was born. Sometimes, I surprise myself thinking that he is still a baby."

"Children grow up too quickly," Lily thought aloud.

For a long time, both sisters remained silent.

"So, what is going to happen?" Petunia asked. "If this man is after us, what are you going to do? How can you protect us?"

Her sister took her time to answer. "You will have to hide. Somewhere he will not be able to find you or reach you. The people with who I work have a few places like these. There, he will not be able to do anything to you."

"But… Vernon's job? His company? Our house? Dudley's school? His boxing tournaments? His friends? Our friends? Our life?"

"I'm sorry, Tuney. But you will have to give up all of this. This is the only way to ensure your safety and to guarantee that you, Vernon and Dudley live. I know this is not easy, but this is the only way to protect your family."

Petunia stood up and started to pace in her dining room. She never wanted any of this. She never wanted to be involved in any of this. "Is there no other way?"

"Not if you want to protect your family, Tuney. No."

Petunia resumed pacing. Her whole life, all of it seemed to crumble around her. Her husband was somewhere in the house, either in the living room or in their bedroom, venting his anger. She would have to convince him that her sister was right. And Dudley, who was outside. What would she tell him when he came back?

She heard the front door open at this moment. She froze in place. The light had gone down outside the house. There was only one person who could be arriving at this hour. She heard the footsteps approaching. First, she thought about the mess the kitchen and dining room were in. She didn't have time to complete her cleaning before Lily arrived. Second, she thought about the reaction her Diddy would have in finding her with an unexpected guest. The door to the kitchen, which was connected to the dining room, slammed open under Dudley's push.

"Mom, I'm hungry. I want…"

Dudley froze just like his mother had moments ago. He stared in shock at the view of the woman sitting at their table, a cup filled with tisane, a wand in front of her. Petunia panicked. She had told Vernon about her sister being a witch when they started seeing each other a long time ago, but Dudley never knew who his aunt was. His parents decided in a common agreement to never tell him that magic actually existed, to protect him from the abnormalities of this world. Petunia wasn't even sure that he knew he had an aunt, other than Marge, Vernon's sister, who he loved. It probably was even longer ago since he saw Lily than Petunia saw Harry.

"Diddy! Did you have a good day with your friends?" Petunia asked, coming to kiss him on both cheeks, trying to behave normally. But her son kept staring at the intruder. She then turned to her sister. "Diddy, maybe you don't remember, but this is your aunt Lily. She's my sister. You were only a little kid the last time you saw her."

The words sounded very awkward coming out of her mouth. Dudley kept staring at his aunt, as if he didn't know what to do or think. Lily, on her side, remained mostly impassive. She finally stood up, smiling kindly.

"Hi, Dudley. It's been a long time. How are you?"

Her son didn't answer. He kept looking at his aunt as if she was a white elephant in their dining room. Petunia felt sorry for him. She hadn't prepared him to face such a reality. She and Vernon sheltered him from anything related to magic from his birth.

She didn't know for how long her son kept staring at the aunt he probably didn't remember, but in the end her Diddy turned towards his mother.

"I'll… just take some ice cream and head for my bedroom," he said.

He did so bringing the whole jar with him and a spoon. Petunia thought she would have to buy more ice cream tomorrow. Dudley left so quickly. He didn't look at his aunt a single time, and he seemed in a hurry to leave. He almost slammed the door of the kitchen behind him. Petunia felt guilty for her sister. Lily didn't deserve to be ignored by her nephew like this. However, she felt even more guilty for her son, who faced someone he probably hadn't seen since the age of five.

Petunia looked at her sister, somewhat afraid of how she might perceive Dudley's apparent indifference. To her relief, Lily didn't seem angry or even sad. She looked impassive.

"I apologize. I think he was too young the last time he saw you."

Lily nodded. She looked at her watch. "Sorry, Tuney. I've got to go. You will talk to Vernon?"

Petunia nodded. "We will have to abandon everything," she muttered, more for herself than anyone else.

"There is no better alternative, Tuney. You know what Voldemort is capable of. You know…"

"Of course, I know. How can you think that I don't?" Petunia snapped. Her voice was filled with anger. "You didn't only lose your husband that night, years ago. I almost lost my sister."

Her words almost strangled her throat. She stared in her sister's bright green eyes, hoping that somehow her own blue eyes could communicate what she didn't dare to say. Lily just looked back at her. Then they hugged.

"There are people watching your house, to keep you safe. Just in case," Lily whispered to her ear. "I'll be back tomorrow at the same hour. Convince Vernon in the meantime."

She left on that. Petunia saw her to the front door, then watched her from the window, walking away to disappear into darkness.

This night was probably one of the worst Petunia ever spent in her home. After her sister left, she went to wish good night to her son. He had fallen asleep in his bed, the empty ice cream jar into his hands. Petunia removed the jar cautiously to not wake him up, then kissed him on the forehead. Then she headed to the bedroom she and her husband shared. Vernon was still awaken.

They spent the entire night discussing. In Vernon's case though, that meant spending the entire night roaring. Petunia didn't blame him. Her sister had come into their home, uninvited, announcing they were in danger because of her, and that they had to abandon everything, their whole life they spent twenty years building. Vernon complained about Lily, about her husband, about the freaks the wizards were, about everything. It was hard to sustain, but Petunia knew that he wasn't angry at her. He wasn't screaming at her. He was simply venting his anger and frustration, something Petunia also felt, but which she chose to not express so verbally loud because she knew it would be useless. She tried to calm him down to let Dudley sleep, but when Vernon was in one of those rages, there was no way to calm him down. She heard her son complaining from the other side of the door, but Vernon didn't listen to him for once. Dudley finally went downstairs. She suspected that he was trying to sleep in the living room.

It took hours for Vernon to vent his justified anger. From time to time, he calmed down a little, and Petunia used those opportunities to make him understand that they had no choice. He then went into another series of screams and roars about everything her sister represented, before calming down again so Petunia could continue.

When the first light of morning came through the window of their bedroom, Petunia thought that she convinced him. Nevertheless, her husband went to work like every day as usual. She still made him promise to be there when Lily would come back.

The day looked very long to Petunia. She tried to keep herself busy like she did every normal day, but without success. She couldn't stop casting gazes to the clock, or watching outside the house, looking for the people who were watching her, without spotting anybody. Who knew. These were Lily's friends. They could probably make themselves invisible. She remembered her brother-in-law saying something about a cape that could make him invisible. What if those people had those as well?

When Lily came back, Petunia and Vernon were waiting for her together in the kitchen. Dudley was gone again. Petunia had not wanted to involve him in all this. Not yet.

"So, Tuney explained you what's going on?" Lily asked, without ceremony.

"Yes, she has," Vernon replied curtly.

"So, you understand that we have to move you away?"

"Petunia told me what you told her. And I decided that I don't believe you."

Petunia was under shock. Her husband looked at her, all the tenderness in the world for her. "I'm sorry, Petunia. I don't blame you for believing what your sister told you, nor for being afraid for me and Dudley." He turned back towards Lily, and his face turned cold again. "I've been thinking about this the whole day, and I say that everything you said is rubbish. You're just trying to have a good laugh at us. All of this is a horrible joke to mock ordinary, respectable people like us. This is the kind of stuff all people of your kind do!"

He said all that on an accusing tone. Petunia didn't expect this. She thought that she brought Vernon around, persuaded him of the urgency of the situation. But he seemed to have changed his mind during the day. She looked at Lily, afraid of her reaction as well. Her sister's expression remained stony. She stared straight into Vernon's eyes. But the quiet words she said afterwards shocked her even more than any outburst her little sister might have made.

"Are you actually as stupid as you look, Vernon?"

Petunia wanted to protest. Vernon's reaction might be unexpected, but Lily was still a guest into their home. She had no right to insult Petunia's husband under their roof.

"What did you say?" he said dangerously.

"Are you actually as stupid as you look? Do you really believe that I would lose my precious time only to make doubtful jokes at your expense? Especially now, when at every hour of the day, my son is in danger of getting killed by the greatest mass murderer in the world?"

"I'm not stupid! I know what people of your kinds are. I saw it from the very moment I met you. Yes, you and your husband!" Petunia was paralyzed. She was afraid of the direction this conversation was taking. "You are freaks, parasites who ruin the lives of normal people. People like us who simply want to have a respectable life, unlike you and your freak of a husband, and your freak of a son. And I will not let you ruin the life of your sister, my wife, and my son. I will not let you ruin Dudley's childhood like you ruined your sister's! Ruin your son's life as much as you like, I don't care, but stay away from our family!"

For a time that stretched indefinitely, Petunia's husband and sister stared at each other. To Petunia's horror, Lily's facial expression had turned into one of contempt and disgust towards the man Petunia loved. She watched apprehensively as Lily had her right hand into the folds of her dress, at the same place where she took her wand yesterday.

"Do you know what your son is doing right now?"

Her voice was controlled, but cold, and Petunia could feel that neither she nor Vernon would like what she intended to say.

"He's at the Polkisses. One of his friends invited him for dinner," Petunia answered.

"Yes, he is," Vernon affirmed, proud. "My son has lots of friends, he is successful at school and in sports, he is popular, and he will become a great man one day, you'll see. And I will not let you ruin his life," he warned, pointing a finger at Lily.

"His life is already in ruins," Lily then declared. "His friend did not invite him for dinner. He and half a dozen other adolescents of the neighbourhood are probably destroying a playground or smashing the face of a kid as we speak."

"Don't dare you say such things about my boy!"

The words had come out of Petunia's mouth without warning. There were lots of things she could tolerate, but not someone speaking ill of her little son.

Lily stared at her. "We've been watching you for longer than you've thought." A chill went down Petunia's spine. "Dudley is a delinquent. He and his gang of friends spend their time terrorizing people in your neighbourhood. Especially innocent children."

"Diddy would never do such a thing!" Petunia screamed.

"See, Petunia," Vernon said. "She spends her time lying. All she wants is to make our life miserable."

"Your life is already miserable!" Lily declared. "And you are responsible for this. I know how your raised Dudley. I know that you've been giving him everything he's wanted from the moment he was born. You spoiled him. You turned him into a little brat who believes that everything is owned to him in life."

"Our son is a great boy!" Vernon roared.

"And by refusing to believe what I say, you make it even worse for him. You're ruining his only chance to live!" Lily continued.

"We haven't ruined our son!" Petunia cried. "We have taken care of him from the moment he was born. We gave him everything so he could succeed in life. He is happy. He has a good life. Unlike your son."

Petunia almost regretted it the moment she said the words. Her sister's words about Dudley were unacceptable, but despite what Petunia could think of her sister and the life she chose, this wasn't something she should tell. But her sister's answer, which she awaited with apprehension, surprised her.

"You're not wrong." Petunia was stunned, and she felt her husband being stunned as well next to her. "Harry doesn't have the life I wanted for him. A life where he could simply grow up, without having to fear that someone would try to kill him. This is definitely not the life I wanted for him. But at the same time, I'm proud of him. Despite everything he's been through, he has remained a fine, good person." Lily looked straight at Petunia. "I'm sorry, Tuney, but I can't say the same about your son. I hope that he will change before he ends up in jail or worse." Vernon was about to protest but Lily continued talking. "But for now, it's irrelevant. Think what you want about wizards and witches. The only reason I'm here is because I don't want to see you die. Because that's what Voldemort will do when he finds you. He will torture you and kill you. And he will find you, I can guarantee you that."

For a long time, no one said a word. Then Vernon pointed a finger at her menacingly.

"We do not believe you."

For a rare time in her life, Petunia internally disagreed with her husband. She always agreed with him when he said something, but this time…

"Tuney." Her sister brought her attention to her. "If you want to live, if you want your husband and your son to live, you know that you have no choice."

"Don't talk to my wife this way," Vernon declared. "Get out…"

"She's right, Vernon."

Her husband turned to her. Petunia had spoken up, and he looked confused, even shocked.

"This man who she's talking about… He's going to kill us. I… I know he's going to kill us all."

"He will," Lily stated. "So tomorrow, you will pack your luggage, climb into your car, and people of the Order will escort you to a safe place where Voldemort cannot reach you."

"Tomorrow?" Vernon roared. "You want us to abandon everything overnight? You really are a crazy bunch of people."

"We really must leave so early?" Petunia asked, shocking her husband again.

"Yes, you must. Each hour, each day you lose, you're risking your lives," Lily confirmed.

"Nonsense! This is all…" Vernon began.

"We will leave."

Petunia's decision was made. No matter the harsh words they just exchanged, Petunia believed her sister. She would never allow her son to be in danger.

"But… Petunia…" Vernon was at a loss of words. This time, however, Petunia wouldn't side with him.

"We're leaving, Vernon," she said, decided. "I will not let something happen to our son. I will not."

She pleaded with her eyes. Her husband looked totally dumbfounded. She never stood up against him. But this time, when her son's life was at stake, she wouldn't flinch.

"Good. Then in this case, I will return tomorrow with two other people. We will make sure that you are escorted safely to the safe place," Lily declared.

"But…" Vernon stammered. Petunia was resigned. She had accepted the truth. Her life as she saw it, as she desired it, was over. "Wait… You can't…"

"Vernon, that's enough!" Lily snapped. "You're leaving tomorrow, all of you. If you really care about your family, you will follow them. If you don't, then stay alone in this house. I will escort my sister and my nephew, and inform them when Voldemort shows up at this door to deal with you."

Petunia was paralyzed at the idea of being separated from her husband.

"You can't… You can't…" Vernon repeated.

"I can, and I will." She stared with intensity into Vernon's eyes, with contempt. "My husband sacrificed his life to save mine and my son's. I was ready to die for Harry that night as well. I was lucky to survive to see him grow. This is what we do in my family, Vernon. We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for others, even for strangers. So don't believe a single second that I wouldn't do anything for my sister and her child."

Vernon opened the mouth again to protest, but Lily interrupted him. "That's enough. I am done with you Vernon. I already had to deal with another couple of irrational parents earlier today. I have no time to waste on you anymore. Tomorrow, I'll bring both your wife and your son to safety. Pack your things if you want to join them."

And Lily left on that. She didn't wish them good night, nor did she address her sister a single glance before leaving.

The rest of the evening, and the night that followed it proved just as hard as the previous one. Vernon first seemed to reluctantly accept that they would leave, but then he opposed it vehemently, and Petunia had to convince him all over again, only for him to change his mind some more time after. Dudley complained loudly as they discussed even louder, since he couldn't manage to sleep. In the morning, the three of them were exhausted. Petunia and Vernon barely slept during the last two nights.

Breakfast was a poor thing. Petunia prepared it for the last time. She told Dudley that they were leaving at this moment. First, he didn't understand and thought they were going to Majorca sooner than planned, to which he complained. He said he had lots of things planned with his friends over the next few days. But then Petunia explained that they were moving, leaving the house for an undetermined time. Her little boy didn't understand. Petunia didn't dare to tell him the true reasons. If there was one thing she and Vernon agreed on, it was that they had to protect Dudley from abnormality. So instead they said that dangerous people were after his father for something he did in the construction sector, and that they needed to go into witness protection. Dudley still didn't seem to understand. But when they told him he had to pack everything he owned, he exploded. He didn't want to. Petunia wasn't glad to do that, but she forced her son to obey. To protect him, she was ready to force anything on him.

When Lily came back, she was with two other wizards, one with short dark air, and the other wearing ragged clothes, his brown hair turning grey. Stranger than this, they arrived in a car. However, normality stopped there. They wore robes. This time, Lily hadn't dressed normally either.

"You could have dressed normally," Vernon commented. Petunia hoped he wouldn't change his mind again. He did so about three times over the day.

"We have no time for this, Vernon," Lily said. "We must leave. Quickly. Are you ready?"

"Yes, we are," Petunia said. She was holding Dudley by the shoulder. He was staring with wide eyes at the three people in front of them and their clothing. He clearly never met people like these.

"Good. We're going to put all your belongings in the car."

"They're already in," Vernon said, hostile. He had spent the whole day packing the car.

"No. You're not taking your car. We'll drive you ourselves. We will transfer everything in ours."

"What? Out of the question!"

"We don't have time for this, Vernon."

"We're not leaving in this…" He bore a disdainful look at the small car outside. Petunia could understand. This car was definitely not a recent model, and way too small for everything they would bring with them.

"It's for your own safety," Lily argued. "The car is protected by spells. Within it, you will risk nothing."

This didn't convince Petunia's husband. It had quite the opposite effect, in fact. He wouldn't climb into a car with… magic.

However, Lily and her friends didn't leave him much choice. They used their wands to carry not only the luggage they placed in their car, but also all the furniture of the house. Sofas, televisions, beds, clocks, tables, chairs. Everything was levitated to their car, and everything fitted within it. As he saw objects flying and all entering a very small car, Vernon looked about to have a heart attack, which worried Petunia a lot. Dudley, on his side, looked both shocked and stunned, but also awed. They were then invited to take place in the car. It proved to be way more spacious from the inside than it looked from the outside. Vernon really looked about to get an attack, while Dudley didn't seem to understand what was going on. As they were about to leave, Petunia asked to be allowed on last moment in the house.

The inside of the house looked completely different now that it was empty. Petunia visited each room one last time. The last, the one where she lingered the most, was the kitchen. As she looked around to the empty walls, holes where they hung up pictures making the place look miserable, she couldn't refrain herself from staying behind as long as she could. Finally, the front door opened. She knew who was coming. Lily walked into the kitchen a moment later.

"It is time, Tuney," she said. Her hostility of yesterday was gone. Petunia's hostility was gone as well.

"I know." The words Petunia uttered remained partially stuck into her throat. She looked around. "I have lived in this house for twenty years. And now in a single night, I'm expected to leave."

Lily took her time to say something. "They will torture you, Tuney. If they think for a moment that they can use you to get to me, they will stop at nothing."

Petunia turned to look at her sister. Something threatened to come up from her throat. "Do you still believe I don't know what they're capable of?" Her voice was strangled. "You didn't only lose your husband that night in Godric's Hollow. I almost lost my sister."

Both sisters looked at each other. There were so many things Petunia wished she could tell Lily. But they didn't have time, and she didn't think she had the force to say those things.

"Why don't you come with us?" Petunia surprised herself by uttering those words. "You say you will lead us to a safe place, where he cannot find us. Why not come with us? Why not be safe, you too?"

"Tuney, I can't."

"Why? Why, for once in your life, can't you just try to be happy and safe, instead of doing what is right and noble?"

Petunia was really tired of her sister. Always the best of the two of them. Even before she received her letter and went to that school for wizards, she was the best. Better than Petunia at school, even though she was the youngest one, better at making friends, better at making their parents and everyone in their family happy. During her childhood, when her parents asked for her help and Petunia said she didn't have the time, they always compared her to her little sister, the one who was always ready to help whoever was in need. The one who made everyone laugh in family reunions, who attracted everyone's attention. Even the boys only had eyes for her. Before meeting Vernon, Petunia had not seen any man who saw her for how worthy she was.

Then Lily had left. She spent almost all her time at this school, at Hogwarts. She came back with perfect results, able to perform tricks to which everybody marvelled. And while her little sister was having fun in a far away school, Petunia stayed at home, helping her parents, who rejoiced every time a letter from Hogwarts arrived where Lily described in details everything she did, the friends she made. And whenever she came home, Petunia's parents treated her little sister like their little princess. In the meantime, whether Lily was home or not, Petunia was invisible. And then Lily met this boy, who became her husband, who was just as abnormal as she was, on top of being arrogant and selfish. And he convinced Lily to join that organization, that Order of the Phoenix, to fight this Voldemort, a criminal who caused many deaths among people like them. That organization who almost got her killed.

This was what Petunia blamed James Potter the most for. Lily had always been idealistic. A long time ago, before she left for Hogwarts, Lily and Petunia had been coming home from the nearby park, and they saw a boy even younger than they were fall off his bicycle. He had nothing bad, only a few scratches on the legs and arms. But Lily rushed on him and tried to help him right away. She walked him to his home, leaving Petunia to come back home on her own. When she arrived, her parents asked where her sister was. They had asked Petunia to watch over Lily while she was in the playground. When Petunia told them that Lily had stopped because a child fell off his bicycle, despite the fact they were already late to come back home, her parents berated her for not staying with Lily and helping the boy. Petunia had done what her parents wanted. They gave them an hour to come back home, and she respected it. And she was the faulty one in that? It wasn't as if the child's life had been in danger. When Lily came back home, with some of the boy's blood on her dress, they hugged her and left Petunia aside, like always.

But this was nothing, nothing when compared to what James Potter brought Lily into. He endangered the life of Petunia's sister by convincing her to join the Order. He used her convictions against her. If Lily had not married that man, if she had not joined the Order, her life would never have been in danger. Petunia was relieved when Lily decided to live in the normal world. She even hoped to have a normal relationship with her sister. But Lily kept seeing the friends of her deceased husband, and she didn't think even for a moment to not send her son at Hogwarts like she went years ago. James Potter enthralled her so much that Lily now couldn't think about herself. She could only think about others, without considering a single instant the effect it would have on those she loved if she was injured, or if she died.

"I can't, Tuney," Lily answered. At least, she looked and sounded regretful. "Voldemort is after me. There is no place in the world where I will be safe."

"But you said you were bringing us…" Petunia protested.

"To a safe place, yes. This is a safe place for you. Not for me. No matter where I go, no matter where I hide, Voldemort will always go after me. And he will find a way to find me. That's why I cannot come with you. My mere presence will endanger your lives. Voldemort will not care that much to find you. You are not wizards. To him, you are no better than a small rock in his shoes. He doesn't care about you. That means he will have no problem killing you if he finds you, but he will not care enough either to search for you if you are well hidden. For him, you are not important. Me, however… that's another story."

Petunia pleaded her sister with her eyes. But it was plain that Lily would not cede.

"Why?" Petunia asked. "Why? Why does he want to kill you so much?"

Her sister pursed her lips. Petunia felt that she hesitated to tell her. "He has… personal reasons for that." She sighed. "Look, Tuney. There's something I never told you. It's that Voldemort wanted me to work for him."

Petunia's heart froze. "What?"

"Yes. You remember that boy who lived near our house when we were children? The one who told me I was a witch?"

"Yes." Petunia's members all turned hard. She had never liked this boy. In some way, she hated him even more than she hated that James Potter.

"Well… He joined the Death Eaters after we both left Hogwarts. And somehow, he convinced Voldemort that I would be more useful to his cause if I joined them. I was Muggle-born, but James came from an ancient family of wizards, and somehow, Voldemort must have thought it was worth a try. And of course, James and I, we refused to join him. We were already planning to join the resistance against him back then. And you cannot refuse Voldemort. Either you work for him or he kills you. That's how he operates. That's why he went after us in the first place. But he failed to kill me and Harry that night, fourteen years ago. And he wants to kill us both so he can prove no one can stand against him. That's why no matter where I go, he will hunt me and find me, eventually. That's why I cannot come with you."

The two sisters looked at each other for a very long time. The horn was heard outside. Petunia looked through the window, then back to Lily.

"So… Here it ends?" she asked.

"Here it ends," Lily confirmed. She made a movement of head towards the entrance door. "We must go now."

Reluctantly, Petunia walked out of the kitchen, throwing one last look at it, and went through the entrance door of 4, Privet Drive, for the last time. Lily came out behind her. Petunia pulled out her keys and locked the door. Lily pointed her wand on it, murmuring words Petunia couldn't understand. When she was finished, the two sisters went to the car. Vernon looked relieved to see her, and so was Dudley.

"Where are we going?" her son asked her.

"Somewhere safe," Petunia answered, placing the palm of her hand against his cheek.

"For how long?"

As Lily settled herself behind the wheel and started the engine, Petunia stared at the house that had been her home for so long. As the car moved forward, she wondered when she would get to see it again… if she ever saw it again.

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Next chapter: Lily