29th June, 1991

Seven years had passed since the day the Dursleys had been sent to jail.

A lot had happened in those precious years.

Shortly after Susan's fifth birthday, Amelia and Sirius had signed Harry and Susan up for karate classes, and shortly afterwards, Hermione and Ron had joined in, having both wanted to come along.

Molly had sent the Weasley twins as well, hoping that karate classes would instill some discipline in them. Unfortunately, it had only led to them causing more havoc, using their moves and screams of 'Haiyya' to scare poor Percy and causing Molly to scream and Ginny to laugh at their every single antic. It had however had some good results though, as together, they had been able to defend Harry, Susan, Ron, Hannah and Hermione from bullies trying to steal their lunch.

Only one time, when Harry was around eight, the twins had fallen sick and Harry had been chased by some bullies who were also attending karate classes, though not at the same dojo as Harry and his friends. Harry had been outnumbered and separated from Ron, Hannah and Hermione, and had gotten panicky and had somehow found himself on the roof of the school building.

He had gotten into trouble with the headmistress. Luckily, Mrs. Blackberry had let him off after giving him a lecture about how it was dangerous to be doing such stunts at a young age and about how he should not have been panicky and stood his ground, or should have gone to a teacher or at least called out for help.

Even lashing out in this situation would have been acceptable, because it would have been taken as a case of self defense.

Luckily, it had not gone worse, and Harry had considerably improved his karate skills and had been able to defend himself from bullies on multiple occasions.

Of course not that it had happened much since the teachers, particularly Ms. Leanne had been keeping a strict vigil on the children during recess.

Harry and Susan had also been learning about the basics of magic from their parents, as Sirius and Amelia had felt it important for them to know at least some amount of magic before going to Hogwarts so that picking up concepts would be easier, not to mention, they would have some knowledge of magical self-defense if it was required.

Currently, Sirius and Amelia were sitting on the sofa in the living room, facing the fireplace, holding out their arms to their children even as the little ones, or rather, not-so-little ones rushed over to them.

Harry ran into Amelia's arms, and she promptly kissed his cheeks and placed him in her lap. Sirius hugged Susan and allowed her to sit on his lap.

Neither of the parents could help feeling a tinge of bitterness over one fact.

Their children had grown up from babies to big kids who would soon be attending Hogwarts.

Harry and Susan had graduated from Primary school only a few days ago, having achieved high nineties in math and science, and with Susan and Harry having both come second and third in class, the first being Hermione of course, who was the smartest among the group of children that they were friends with.

"Mum", Harry asked, "When will I get my Hogwarts letter?"

Amelia replied, "Soon baby, on your eleventh birthday."

Sirius added, "Yup, just as Susan got it on her birthday last year."

Susan smiled a little naughtily and said, "That's the good thing about being older than you by a few months!"

"Susie," Harry cried out, "I'm only a few months younger than you, and I'm in the same year as you!"

"Calm down children", Amelia said, "After all, no matter what, no matter how old you are, you'll always be my babies. Ain't it true?"

Just then, Sirius placed Susan on the sofa and said, "I think I'll go check the mail, see if anything has come."

He went up to the front door, and sure enough, there was an envelope right below the mail slot.

He took it and read the sender's address, and then, he frowned, upon seeing the sender's name.

Petunia Evans.

The name Petunia sent his mind into a whirlwind of thoughts, the first being how angry he was towards her for what she had done to Harry all those years ago, and the second being not knowing what to do.

He was tempted to just burn it on the spot, but ultimately decided against it.

"Amy," Sirius called out, "I'm not sure what to do with this letter. It's from, uh…"

"Whom is it from?" Amelia asked.

Sirius looked at her and mouthed, "Petunia."

Amelia frowned at once, and placing Harry on the sofa, she went to see what Sirius was holding.

Sure enough, it was a letter from Petunia Evans.

But something was strange about it.

It said Petunia Evans and not Dursley.

Had she divorced Vernon?

What had happened? What was going on?

Such thoughts were flying through Amelia's mind as she looked at the envelope.

She turned to the children and said, "Susie, Harry, you're going to have to be upstairs for a few minutes."

"What?" Harry asked, "But why?"

Amelia said, "It's something important. We'll call you down once it's finished. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Okay Mum," Susan replied and led Harry upstairs.

As soon as the children were out of sight, Sirius and Amelia sat on the couch facing the fireplace and opened the envelope to look at the contents of the letter that was inside it.

And then, they saw what was written in the letter.

Dear Harry, Susan, Sirius and Amelia,

I understand that perhaps, upon seeing my name on the envelope, you will probably not want to read this letter at all, but please, I beg you to read what I have penned down, although I know that it will never be enough.

First of all, I do not know how to start this letter, because a simple apology will never make up for the abuse that I showered upon you, Harry, my nephew. It is a shame that it took years of being in prison to see things the way I should have all those years ago.

There is something you need to know.

Harry, you were never a freak. Nor was your mother Lily a freak for that matter. If there at all was one, it was me. I was the freak who was mean to you to say the least. No, I was a monster. I was a cruel aunt, a terrible aunt to you, simply because you were magical.

Actually, I did not ever hate magic. I loved magic when I was a small child, and when I saw Lily showing signs of magic, making flowers bloom faster than they do, especially lilies, every time she gave one to me, I wanted to do it too.

But I could not. I was not magical like my sister, and I was so desperate. I would watch what Lily did, and try to do the same, but I just couldn't.

And in my sorrow, I became jealous of Lily. I was so jealous of her that I started resenting her, hating her for her wonderful gift. I started trying to pretend that I hated magic just to make myself not feel bad for not having it in me. I was so driven by it that I started calling her a freak. I threw away every lily that she gave to me and shouted at her that she was a freak.

My parents were proud of her magical abilities, and I felt that she was so much more loved and appreciated than me. But I was just being avaricious. In truth, my parents loved me very much. I used to play the piano and they would clap for me and give me so much attention every time I played. Every time I confided in them that I was feeling so lost and unloved, they always gave me extra attention and affection and told me that they loved me for who I was and that just because Lily was special in her magical way, it didn't at all make me any less special that I wasn't magical.

But I failed to see it. I let myself become so blinded that I never even acknowledged Lily whenever she tried to help me out.

When Lily got her Hogwarts letter, I wrote a letter to the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, asking if there was any way I could come. He wrote to me, politely but firmly explaining that magic was not something that could be given, it had to be inside of you. So, I could not go. And in that moment, I hated myself for not being magical, I despised Lily for being magical, and I just did not want to be around her or have anything to do with her, and when my parents and I saw her off, I passed her off as a freak who was going to a freak school to learn freakish things.

I hardly, well pretty much never acknowledged her even when she tried to show me how much she loved me.

Then, I met Vernon, and he treated me so kindly. He made me feel special, and he loved me despite me having such a sister, who in his opinion was abnormal. There's something you need to know about him. He is bigoted. He is a racist, and my parents and sister knew that and warned me about it, but I did not care. I just wanted nothing to do with Lily.

And I got influenced by him, without even realizing what it was doing to me.

Then when you showed up on my doorstep, I didn't know what to do. Part of me just wanted nothing to do with you, but you were still my sister's child, and I just couldn't not keep you. At first, I did care for you, but then soon after you arrived, you showed signs of magic, and then, all my jealousy came back. I just decided that I would never love you like I should have. I believed I was doing what was right, even though, deep down within, I knew it was wrong.

I put you in a cupboard, I starved you, I showed affection to Dudley and spoiled him while all you got was slaps, beatings, scoldings, and nothing good. Vernon and I had no regard for your happiness and just saw you as a freak.

I have no excuse to justify my actions, and whatever benefits I might have gained from raising you, I don't deserve it.

I heard that Amelia and Sirius adopted you. You certainly have been much better off with them than you would have been with me.

Dear Sirius, I heard that you were framed and that was the reason why you could not take care of Harry for three years. If only I had thought to try and find out more, if only you had not gone through all that, Harry would have been much better off. You and Amelia have been far better parents than Vernon and I have been.

Dear Susan, you have certainly been raised well. You surely must have been a far more loving sibling to Harry than Dudley has ever been, and to think I allowed it.

Dear Amelia, I sometimes wish you had been Lily's sister and not me. You would have certainly never treated her badly like I did.

Dear Harry, I know I have no right to ask this of you, but I wish deep within me that I could have another chance. I want to meet you, to say how sorry I am, tell you how loving your mother was, how she loved me despite all that I did to her. But of course, if you do not wish to see me, then I will understand.

Sincerely,

Your Aunt Petunia

Amelia and Sirius looked at each other, clearly shocked by what they had just read.

Sirius broke the silence by saying, "I have to admit, I never ever would have expected someone like her to feel remorseful about what they did and want to make up."

Amelia said, "Honestly, I don't know if I can ever forgive her for what she did to Harry, but if she really wants to make up…"

Sirius said, "At least if Regulus had wanted to apologize to me and come away with me, then I would have forgiven him, but Petunia, well, I can't exactly say, but I am never forgiving Vernon. He's a stuck up, bigoted man who will never admit that he's wrong."

Amelia said, "I completely agree. Do you remember when Lily's parents were murdered and Vernon shouted curses at Lily during the funeral?"

Sirius replied, "Oh Merlin's Beard! I can never forget that horrible day! I remember you were there, and you were so angry you yelled at him like hell!"

Amelia added, "And you and James were so angry that you hit him. And if I remember clearly, Minerva had to stop you from beating him to death."

Sirius sighed and replied, "All too well and true. The question is, what should we do?"
Amelia said, "I honestly cannot forgive those Dursleys, but if Petunia is really sorry, then Harry probably should know."

Sirius said, "Yeah, we can't keep it from him forever. And if Lily were alive and Petunia wanted to make up with her, Lily probably would have forgiven her."

Amelia replied, "Assuming Harry had not been in the equation, getting abused by that woman."

Sirius said, "We should think about this, but you're right. If Petunia is really sorry, then Harry should know. The question is, when?"

What should Sirius and Amelia's decision be?

Please vote for any one of the options:

1)Explain everything to Harry at once and meet with Petunia.

2)Push it to a year later.

NOTE: No reconciliation at all is not an option. I frankly will not be surprised if you feel Petunia should not be forgiven.

Also, although many do say Petunia was neglected, there is no mention of it in the books or the movies. The only related thing mentioned is Petunia saying that her and Lily's parents were proud of Lily for being a witch.

Please vote by latest 8:30 pm IST, 31/5/2023.