"Oh it's great how we are all going to support your sister. I know we are all looking forward to it so much."
Ivy Evans said this to her daughter Petunia in the way that she usually does, as if she is making some pronouncement that all of the world ought to listen too. The tone was more fitting to having been made from the balcony of the Vatican but, as it were, Ivy was just sitting in front of a mirror, making sure she looked as proper as she possibly could - as she always did when she was going to see someone outside of the family.
Petunia thought how little she was actually looking forward to it, but one of the first lesson that bitter experience had imparted to her was to not contradict anything that her mother said. She actually wanted to go see that new comedy that was coming out. To be honest, she didn't actually want to see it; she just knew that everyone would be talking about it at school — the last thing that Petunia wanted was to seem dumb or out of the loop.
Instead she was going to have to go to visit her sister's freak school and watch Lily play some strange game with magic. Petunia barely even kept up with sports that normal people played, much less a game played by some secret society that only a few knew about. Lily had told her about it before. It was played four balls, two of which tried to kill you by knocking you off a flying broomstick to your death. To her, it was somewhere between silly and downright dangerous.
Petunia, rather than voicing her unhappiness, expressed it in her body language. This was another lesson that Petunia learned early on - to verbally contradict Ivy was a good way to be berated for a half an hour - if you were lucky. She hoped that her mother was able to see her sitting at the kitchen table with her shoulders slumped, face downcast, and responding only monosyllabically. Her mother, as usual, didn't notice.
"Isn't it so nice of that teacher of Lily's to arrange for us to come…what was his name again…Slornwrath…Slagwidth…Slugworth…"
"Slughorn" Petunia responded, with no variation or expression in her voice.
"Yes dear, Slughorn," her mother continued "apparently Lily just mentioned that it would be nice if all of us could visit sometime, and he said that he could arrange it. He just loves having Lily in his class; she is one of his best students. It is so nice that someone is representing the Evan's name well academically. And he is delighted that he could help out some muggles to see a game.
Petunia tended to fade into the background anyway, and was no stranger to being on the edges of any interaction that involved her mother. So it was no surprise to her that her mother forgot that she was there on the day that Slughorn came to tell them that they could come watch. Her mother was busy that day putting on her best show - content to bask in the admiration, or imagined admiration, of all who surrounded her. She even had started bandying about the knew word that she had learned - muggle.
Petunia didn't think that the word meant exactly what her mother thought it did - or that at least it had a different connotation. Ivy thought that the entire world was centered on her; Petunia, on the other hand, was no stranger to being talked down to. And it was clear that when he came, Professor Slughorn was talking down to them.
"Of course, my dear, it is no problem! Anything for our little genius. I am, of course, able to arrange for you to visit Hogwarts. However, quidditch might be a trouble for you to follow, being muggles." There was a slight emphasis on the last word, almost like when someone wants to emphasize how difficult it is to make them understand something.
"Muggle sports are quite different than the game of Quidditch, but all of the students at Hogwarts just positively obsess over it. The students with the talent are usually quite eager to meet with people in the League that I know. I get a bottle of firewiskey every year from Cordelia Thistlewick. She is the recruiter from the Hollyhead Harpies. I feel quite good about their chances at the cup this year."
Petunia didn't think it was all that complicated - only a little bit more than basketball. And she didn't get the point of name-dropping celebrities to people who you thought were too stupid to understand the sport anyway. Ivy didn't catch the veiled bigotry in Slughorn's words, and was acting very in-the-know about Slughorn's references. She was too busy basking in the reflected glow of her younger daughter - and noting that the clothes, jewelry and company that Slughorn kept meant that he likely had a very deep bank account (or vault at Gringotts, as it were).
"Lily is such a special girl," Petunia heard her mother say, "it is so nice that a teacher is taking such a special interest in her. She not only got the brains in the family but is beautiful as well, don't you think, professor."
"Why, yes…I suppose so — " Slughorn started.
"I do wish that the girls' father would be able to come as well." Ivy cut the wizard off, "But he is so busy working so that we are able to afford things. Who knows maybe one of the girls will be pretty enough to find an older, rich man and all of our money troubles will be gone! I know you might feel the same way, since there seems to be a special bond between you and Lily."
It was this last statement that shocked Petunia, even after a lifetime of inculcation against the way that Ivy Evans worked. It wasn't the blatant lie about Daniel Evans - he was far more likely to be off drinking himself into a stupor or in some stranger's bed than hard at work. It was the subtle insinuation that Ivy was pushing Slughorn to pursue Lily (for Petunia know that her mother never considered her "pretty enough" - or anything enough) romantically. She thought it even beyond her own mother to try to get a man twice (or maybe even three times) Lily's age to marry her.
"Ah I suppose that is true. In any case I have to get back to the castle - you know… I am so busy as a teacher… I will be back to pick you up on the day of the match." Slughorn said in a flustered sort of way, quite different that the grandiose style that he usually affected. He apparently also thought that the idea was quite inappropriate
Bigoted and pompous, Petunia thought, but at least not lecherous. I suppose that counts for something.
"PETUNIA!" Her mother yelled.
Roused from her reminiscence, she startled and jumped in her seat at the kitchen table "What's the matter?!" she said.
"I have been calling your name! Why were you ignoring me? I knew you wouldn't be paying attention to what I was saying, just like your bastard father. He ignores me and goes off with whatever floozy he finds at the bar. I just try and try to be a good wife and mother and this is the thanks that I get. An unfaithful husband and a spoiled daughter. What did I ever do to deserve this? I —"
Just as Petunia was mentally preparing for, once again, hearing everything that was wrong with her, the flames in the fireplace shot green and out stepped the Professor. As if someone flipped a light switch, Ivy changed from vitriolic to hospitable and welcoming as she turned to greet Professor Slughorn.
"Professor," she said in her 'public' voice, "how nice to see you again. I assume Lily is going well." as she extended her hand
"With such lovely family as you, how can she be anything else?" Slughorn responded, taking Ivy's hand and kissing it in an old-timey gentleman sort of way that no one actually does anymore. "Our little star athlete is preparing for game day. While I must root for her adversaries, being my own house, I must admit I am a bit partial to whatever team Lily is on."
"Oh yes, of course" Ivy responded "one must always keep up appearances."
"And this must be Lily's older sister!"
Petunia walked up and extended her hand. Slughorn opted for a simple handshake rather than the old-school greeting he had done with Ivy.
"You know she talks about you quite often! She does look up to her older sister quite a bit."
"Really?" Petunia said confused. Who would ever look up to her?
"That sound just like our Lily," Ivy interjected "she is so nice to everyone, and always tried to make her sister feel included in things."
"She is quite a special girl," Slughorn said, "but enough small talk, we should get to the school so we don't miss the game!"
It had only just occurred to Petunia that she had no idea how they were going to actually get to Lily's school. She knew that Slughorn had walked through fire to get here. It didn't sound very appealing to her to do that. She actually wasn't sure that she would be even able to do that, since she wasn't magical like he was.
He pulled out a few pieces of metal from the pocket of his suit jacket and fit them together into a small ring. He placed it on the sitting room table. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a long piece of wood. It was his wand - Petunia knew that Lily had one just like it. And she didn't.
He waved his wand over the ring and simply said one word - portus - before putting his wand back into his suit jacket.
"Now we should all grab the ring together and we will be off in a few moments." he explained. After the picked up the ring, each holding a section, he continued "and whatever you do, don't let go until we are on solid ground."
Before Petunia had time to ask what exactly he had meant they that, they were flying around in circles, spinning around the central focus of the ring. Petunia focused all of her might on not letting go. Then all of a sudden - THUD - her feet, and promptly the rest of her body, hit solid ground. Regaining her composure, it seemed that her mother also landed in the same way. It looked like Slughorn was the only one who landed on his feet and maintained anything close to what could be called "grace", although his rather large frame made that word feel inappropriate.
As Petunia looked at her mother, she saw that she was looking at Slughorn with an expression that she herself was all to familiar with, although not used to seeing except behind within the halls of her own house, and never when those who did not live behind them were present. If she had to label it, the closest that she could say would have been "murderous rage." But because of the way that they were positioned, Slughorn couldn't see Ivy' face, and by the time that he turned to her, she had resumed the more affable mask that was her public persona.
"Don't worry, it can be a bit bracing the first time your travel by portkey, but you get used to it in time." the professor said.
Petunia thought that she would rather take his word for it.
Ivy responded, "Oh yes, I suppose so…it that how you wizards get around all the time?"
Slughorn laughed "Oh heavens no. It is only one of many, but by far the easiest to sneak two muggles into Hogwarts. The main one is of course Floo, but stepping into a fireplace seems to be something most muggles have a hard time with.
Then of course there is apparating, akin to what you muggles call…what is the word again…oh Lily told me once…ah, that's it, teleportation."
Great, Petunia thought to herself, these wizards can just up and go anywhere they want at the drop of a hat. It's a surprise the Bank of England hasn't lost all of it's money in some magic trick.
"But apparating is quite a bit more uncomfortable than portkey. And you can't apparate directly into Hogwarts, so we would have to go on a bit of a trek from the nearby villiage. Which may be difficult for the two of you."
"A bit of walking was never an issue for me." Petunia ventured, feeling a bit insulted. By the rare approving look that her mother gave her, Ivy felt a similar offense had been taken against herself.
"Oh no, my dear, of course not." Slughorn said, "I am sure you are both as fit as the proverbial Hippogriff. The issues is that there are quite powerful spells that stop muggles from entering Hogwarts. The defenses are quite impenetrable. Why, a muggle could be standing right next to it and not even know it's there at all! "
They don't even want us to come in, Petunia thought, Why even bring us in if they hate people like us so much?
A medieval castle like one you might find out of a book of fairy tales, surrounded by greenery overlooking a still lake that reflected the serene sky above, and a forest around the outer edges of the grounds, forming a ring that separated the Hogwarts grounds from the mundane existence of places like Cokesworth - separating the world of Lily from the world of Petunia.
"Well, shall we be off then? Follow my lead."
As Petunia and Ivy turned to follow Slughorn, they saw a large stadium with six rings standing tall above the stands. Students were already filing into the stadium, their energy filling the air like electricity. This was obviously a match that was greatly anticipated.
They walked for awhile, until they were almost to the stands. Suddenly, Slughorn came to a stop.
"Wait here for a moment, ladies. I will be back soon." He disappeared into the closest section of the castle. Petunia took this opportunity to create as much distance between herself and her mother as possible while still staying "here." It was then she heard someone behind her.
"What is someone who is your kind doing here?"
She thought she recognized the voice from somewhere, but it wasn't until she turned around that she placed it. She was face to face with Severus Snape. He was every bit as unpleasant as we was in Cokesworth. The only difference was is that here he seemed to have a group of - well she wasn't sure if they were his friends - but people who hung around him nonetheless. One was a very aristocratic young man with long blonde hair who dressed even more expensively than Slughorn. Two who were, had Petunia not known any better, looked as though they were more ape than human. The last was a young woman with dark hair and a piercing eyes that seemed to linger far to long. Despite the superior numbers, Petunia decided that she it would be a cold day in hell before she would show fear in front of Severus Snape.
"At least our kind knows how to wash our hair. Which is more than I can say for you, greaseball" She retorted. By the angry look that arose in Severus's eyes, she could tell that she hit her mark. Then it cooled and a smirk replaced it.
"You know it's different here than where you're from. Here we're allowed to use magic. It would be a shame if someone were to hex, with you not being able to block or fight back at all. I mean, we could do whatever we want to your kind and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it." He looked back at the castle to see Slughorn reemerging. "Watch your back, Evans."
As the group walked off, she sat stunned. Until now, it was not a thought that had ever crossed her mind. It was obvious to her that much of wizard-kind had nothing less of derision for non-magical folk. Even Slughorn, who didn't seem to have the same level of hate as someone like Severus and his gang did, thought that muggles were some sort of oddity, to be ogled and looked down upon like some animal at a zoo. And the people who felt this way had the power to change the laws of nature. They were, in effect, like gods walking among men, and it was up to the foolish mortals like her to not get flattened beneath their feet.
Petunia was ripped from her train of thought by another familiar voice from behind her. "Mom! Tuney!" she heard it say.
She saw her sister run up to their mother and give her a tight embrace. She then ran over to her sister and gave her one as well. It was then that Petunia first caught sight of what Lily was dressing in. Rather than modern muggle clothing, or the robes that Lily had shown off after getting them in that wizard marketplace, it was something in between the two. Rather than the long flowing robes, Lily wore pants with kneepads on them. The top half of her body was also covered in padding, and had a sort of half robe that was opened in the front, a red a couple of shades darker than her fiery hair. She had a beaming smile on her face.
"I can't believe you are actually here! I mentioned to Professor Slughorn that I would have loved for the two of you to come and watch a game of quidditch sometime, but I never thought he would actually make it happen!"
"Of course dear, we would move Heaven and Earth to make you happy." Ivy responded. While Petunia did have a bit of jealousy, or even envy, towards her sister (after all, who wouldn't want to be a god?), this was the part of being with her that she hated the most - her mother speaking words to Lily she could never hope to hear herself.
"I'm so happy you two are here." Lily said, "Slytherin is stiff competition, but I know with the two of you rooting for me, I'll make sure that we pull through."
"I know you'll do great honey," Ivy said, smiling kindly at her younger daughter, "and remember no matter if you win or lose today, you'll always be Mommy's special little girl." Another knife driven into Petunia's heart.
Lily responded by giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I have to go back to the locker room. We have to go over some last minute strategies to kick the snot out of Slytherin. I hope the three of us have more of a chance to talk later!" And with then she turned and walked gingerly to the part of the castle that she and Slughorn had previously emerged from.
Slughorn, always one to appreciate talent, gracefully took the lead in the conversation. "Ah, our dear star athlete, positively brimming with enthusiasm! Let's make our way to the stands, shall we? We must be ready for the game. Ladies, do me the honor of following me."
With this he turned and stated walking towards the stadium. Ivy and Petunia walked a little behind him, just out of earshot. It was then time for Ivy to turn to a combination of pastimes that she naturally fell into: praising Lily and criticizing Petunia.
"Lily looked so good, don't you think? So sporty and tom-boyish in that outfit. I know that all of the boys must be going mad after her. No question as to who inherited my good looks. Of course she wouldn't just run of with any boy - she's the one that got the brains and the good sense also. There really is nothing that my little girl can't do - she was so lucky to have a mother like me, who could provide her with a good path to follow. Of course, you also provided her a good lesson."
Petunia's heart skipped a beat. Was her mother actually going to say something good, or at least kind, about her when there was no one around for who's benefit she was preforming?
"You taught her not to be a recluse, and to be more outgoing. She saw how you have no friends and put herself out there more."
Petunia's heart sank again. Her mother was, as she often is, rather off the mark. While Petunia was no social butterfly in the way that Lily was, she did have friends. They were more the type to talk quietly in coffee shops and libraries than going to parties. But that is not what her mother considered "social" enough. In fact, her mother only was interested in her life when she brought home the latest gossip about some happening at her school. Although her mother barely knew anyone that went to school with Petunia, being "in" on the secret seemed to provide its own perverse pleasure to her.
By this time, they were at their seats in the stands. The student body was settling into their seats, the excitement still on a fever pitch. Looking around at their neighbors in the seats around them, Petunia surmised that they were sitting in the staff section - all of the occupants here quite a bit older than school aged. Glancing around the stands, Petunia saw they seemed to naturally be sectioned into four partitions - red, green, blue and yellow. Petunia remembered that Lily had mentioned something about the school being divided before, and it looked like red was her team color. Maybe the other colors belonged to the other parts of the school?
It was time for the match to begin. A woman the looked rather a lot like a hawk walked out onto the pitch, as did two groups clad in uniforms. The two groups, one in green and one in red were made to stand on either side of the hawk-like woman and after she said a few word to them they hook hands. While what the woman said was lost in the sound of the crowd, Petunia guessed based on what the muggle athletes that she knew told her (she once went on a few dates with a footballer from her school) to be something about fair play and sportsmanship.
Each team mounted their brooms and at the sound of a whistle took off into the air. As they did the woman (who Petunia took to be some sort of referee) threw a large dark red ball, which several players sped towards until one of them caught. Then three other balls, two large ones resembling cannon balls and a smaller golden one, barely visible, sped off under their own power into the air.
From then on it was a flurry of activity. Petunia remembered Lily explained the rules once, but didn't she didn't remember all of them. But from what she could tell, there were people who threw around the big red ball, one on each team that had the job of blocking goals, and also two each team who seemed to have the exclusive task of trying to kill people by shooting the cannon balls at them and having them fall to their death.
Ivy was, of course, riveted on Lily. When Lily would do something good (which both of them were only able to judge by the reactions of red section of the crowd) she would sometimes mutter things such as "that's my girl" or "I know your the best."
Between the confusing game and being next to her mother, Petunia wanted to be anywhere but there. She thought of an excuse and turned to her mother.
"I am going to go see if they sell snacks anywhere. I'll be right back."
"Yes dear, whatever you say." What Ivy's response, without even turning her head or acknowledging what she had said.
Petunia got up and made her way down the stairs that they had earlier climbed, until she was out of the stadium completely. Looking around, she decided to walk along the edge of the forest. That way she could still be close enough to the match to hear the announcer so that she could be back by the time that it was time for them to go back home. She made her way over and started to slowly walk along the treeline, kicking a rock that she had found on the ground as she thought to herself.
After passing some time in quite contemplation, she heard a branch snap behind her. Like something had stepped on it. She remembered that Lily talked about something called "The Forbidden Forest" and that there were all manner of dangerous things in there. Had she foolishly stumbled upon some dark creature that would attack her for being here?
She turned and found that it was so much worse.
Standing where she heard the sound was one Severus Snape. After she turned, the other members of the group he had been with earlier spread out, so that on one side she was surrounded by the forest and on the others by those who hated her for what she was. Looking around at them, she could see that every one of them had their wands drawn. Seeing no way of escape, she decided to stand her ground — She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her afraid.
"Ittle Bitty Muggle come out to play." The dark haired woman said in a mocking tone. "I wonder if she even knows how much trouble she's in, coming to a place that belongs to the wizards and witches."
"Bella, I do wonder if they will have to call the obliviators." The tall blonde boy said before turning back to Petunia, "Those are the people who mess with your memories you know. But they aren't always that careful with it, I don't even know if you could keep a memory of your mudblood sister."
Petunia at that point let some fear slip through to her eyes. While she and her sister didn't always get along, she didn't want to forget her completely. And her memories, good and bad, were what made her her. She also noticed the derision in which he talked about her sister, and guessed that it was for the same reason why they said the name muggle with the same tone.
"If you want to know about my sister you should ask old Sev here." She retorted, "I'm sure if 'my mudblood sister' asked him to bend down and lick her boots, he would do it in a heartbeat."
Severus stepped forward, anger shining brightly in his eyes. "Shut the fuck up, bitch."
"Come now. Don't try to deny it. I've seen the way that you follow her around like a lost puppy dog. Have been since we were kids. You want to know something - Sev - she'll never love you. You might be friends now, but eventually she'll wise up and see what you're really like and leave you all alone. After all, how could someone like her fall in love with someone like you?"
Severus, hate in his eyes, stepped forward and slashed his wand in two long continuous motions. Petunia ducked just in time as two deep gashes scarred the tree behind her. The blonde laughed was the next to speak.
"It is no matter. To be attracted to such filth not surprising when living in a muggle cesspool like Cokesworth. And it isn't that our dear Severus loves the mudblood - it is simply that he desires her, nothing more. I have to admit, if you can get past the filth of her family, she is quite a pretty sight. And if she knows what is good for her, she'll submit.
There is a storm coming, Muggle. Those who are proper wizards, who are pure, know now is the time to take action. Those who know their place, those who submit and serve, might be spared. Those who are defiant." He paused for dramatic effect "will be punished."
The woman spoke again "and I think we just found someone who fits the bill."
The all started advancing, wands drawn. Petunia was quickly thinking of her options. A physical fight might be the best way out, since if you had magic all your life you probably had never been in a proper fist fight before. But the two ape like ones probably still had, and as she was running across the field back to the crowds she would be wide open for any of their spells to reach her. She could try running into the forest, but she figured that something in there would see her as lunch. No, better to try to punch her way out.
Just as she was trying to figure out which one was the best to punch (she was leaning towards Severus), a voice sounded from outside the circle.
"Now, now, is that any way to treat a guest?"
As soon as they realized who was speaking, all five of the assailants quickly stowed their wands and turned to face the interloper. Petunia looked up and saw what had to be the strangest person she had ever laid eyes upon. He had a long beard and a pointy hat, and was wearing a maroon robe decorated with yellow stars.
"Professor Dumbledore" the blonde said "this is all just a big misunderstanding. This muggle was simply lost, and we were simply offering our assistance."
"And, Mr. Malfoy, the menacing advancing upon her with wand, the cowering on the ground and the two new gashes in that tree are all in the spirit of that assistance, I suppose?"
Malfoy stood open mouthed without a retort. Dumbledore continued, "the five of you make your way to my office, we will discuss with incident more after I escort Miss Evans back to her mother."
The five Slytherins sheepishly walk off towards the castle. Dumbledore walks over to Petunia and offers a hand to help her off the ground. She takes it and is pulled up to standing.
"My apologies." The wizard said to her, "there are unfortunately so many who still think in terms of division and hatred, not realizing how much more we could all accomplish together. I hope you were not hurt.
"I'm fine." Petunia said. It is what she said often, and translated to "I am not in need of immediate medical attention." Which was true, at the moment.
"Well, then my intervention did not go in vain - although I am sure you could have fought them off if you had to. But I have forgotten to properly introduce myself. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts; you may call me Albus."
The name was vaguely redolent of something in Petunia's past, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. "Nice to meet you" she responded, "my name is Petunia Evans."
"And very nice to meet you. Let's get you back to your family before they wonder where you are."
Petunia thought there was very little chance that her mother was actually wondering where she ended up, but in any case it was not good to argue, and she knew never to reveal what her mother was really like.
As they walked back to the quidditch pitch, Petunia recalled where she remembered the name Albus Dumbledore from. "Sir," she said "I wrote you a letter, awhile go. Asking to come to Hogwarts."
"Yes, my dear, I have an exceptionally good memory. In fact, I remember the contents of every letter I ever received. Even of some muggle magazines that accidentally got sent to me."
Petunia thought about all of the junk mail that came to the house and wondered if all of memory was wasted on surveys and tabloids. She also noticed that he said muggle without either derision or condescension.
"I was wondering if the reason I couldn't come is because they don't like people like me around here."
"Petunia. The only reason that you couldn't come is because Hogwarts is a school for those who are able to do magic. It is unfortunate that we are not able to give magic to those without. There are those like the students who you ran into today, who hate what they don't understand, but as long as I am headmaster, any student who can attend may call Hogwarts their home."
"So people like that…Lily isn't having a hard time because of who here family is, is she."
Dumbledore looked down at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Ah, the love of a sister," he opined, "despite yourself being attacked today, you are more concerned with how your sister fares than your own wellbeing. Lily is doing quite well, and has a rather large group of friends, who don't care a bit about her blood status. And, of course, above all, she is lucky to be loved by a sister such as you."
Petunia found all the bits about love a little cryptic, but she took away from it that Lily wasn't being bullied for having muggle parents, so she decided no to push any further. As they made it back to the quidditch pitch, Albus paused and spoke before they climbed back to the staff section of the stands.
"I will speak to your mother about what occurred with our wayward Slytherins today. Despite your attempts to appear strong in the face of adversity, what happened today must have been traumatic, and you need the support of those around you more than ever."
Petunia thought that support was among the last things that her mother would give her. "Um, sir. If it isn't too much trouble…I don't think it is good to tell my mom exactly what happened…she thought I was just getting snacks and…anyway I don't think it is really good to tell her."
Dumbledore looked into her eyes for several moments. It seemed to be almost not that he was looking at her but almost looking into her. "Perhaps you are right. And, of course, you can't return to the stands without something tasty in hand." He reached into one of the pockets of his robe and pulled out a bag of lemon drops, which he then handed to Petunia. After muttering her thanks, Petunia turned to walk up the stairs. However, as she did so Albus spoke once again.
"Petunia, although you may not have the sort of magic that we teach here, there is a greater and more powerful form of magic that is open to both muggle and wizard alike. It is the most intense of magic, and forms the very lifeblood of the human experience.
All of us, no matter where we come from, have the capacity for love. That is the most powerful magic that is available to all of us. No matter what has happened, or is happening, to us, we all have the choice to turn towards love or away from it. And a life without love is hardly worth living."
Dumbledore paused for a long moment before he continued.
"Please think about what I have said. Now I must go try to teach the same lesson to five of my students before it is too late." And with that he turned and headed back down the stairs.
Petunia went and watched the rest of the quidditch match sitting silently next to her mother. She wasn't quite sure what the old wizard had meant by all the talk about love. It couldn't make objects float or slash holes into trees. Was he just patronizing her, making her feel better because she was born unlucky?
After awhile, the match ended as cheers erupted from the red section of the stands. Gryffindor had won. They sat and had lunch with Lily afterwards, who gave play by play recaps under her mother's adoring gaze. Petunia didn't say much, but this was not unusual - she didn't get a word in edgewise much of the time that her mother was around anyway.
After they finished lunch, Slughorn again took out the ring and had them portkey back to their home. After pleasantries were exchanged, Slughorn took out his wand, turned on the spot and disappeared with a loud crack.
As Petunia was lying in her room at the end of the say, she reflected on the day behind her. It had shown her everything that she feared about Lily's freak school had been true. They hated her simply for what she was. And the only person who was nice to her she had decided was just patronizing her with all of his talk about love. How was some sentimental drivel supposed to help her?
She decided that she was going to leave all of it behind her. Let Lily have her freak world with all of the weirdness that went on there. She didn't need it. She was going to have a normal life, with a normal family and not have to deal with any of the freakishness that came with Lily's world. If they don't want her fine — she doesn't want them either.
With a new determination born, she drifted off to sleep.