Hyacinth and her mother arrived at Petunia's house, to help get ready for the shower, and greeted Petunia.
Petunia handed Hyacinth a little box. "I got you a little present."
"But, it's your baby shower."
"It's just a small gift. It doesn't mean much. I was just worried that you would have trouble with the sound of the baby crying."
It was earplugs. Hyacinth had always hated loud noises, especially persisting ones, so she didn't see it as a small gift.
Over a year later, Hyacinth walked out of the classroom, to see Petunia. She was surprised. She had not heard that Petunia was going to visit today. Hyacinth rushed up to her, and saw that there were tears in her eyes.
Hyacinth paced back and forth, in Vernon and Petunia's house.
"What is wrong with that child?" Vernon asked.
"My favorite sister tries very hard to appear normal in public," Petunia said. "She doesn't have to bother behind closed doors. She's not a freak, like Lily."
The next day, they went to the funeral. Petunia had been very upset about Lily not showing up, because she had gone into hiding.
Hyacinth kept repressing the urge to start screaming, pacing around, or rocking back and forth. Petunia eventually led her outside the building. There was nobody else outside, so Hyacinth screamed, paced around, and then stopped and screamed again.
Normally Hyacinth tried not to scream, when upset, but sometimes she did anyway. Her father would usually spank her for that, which would make her go silent and be unable to speak for a while. He had never listened when Petunia or their mother said he was too hard on Hyacinth, but she was still upset that he was gone.
Hyacinth went out to the swing set, which Vernon had taken down from the Evans backyard and put up in their backyard. She appreciated that, even though she knew that he only did it because Petunia had insisted.
Hyacinth reached for the swing, and it flew into her hands. She looked behind her, and then remembered that nobody else was even outside.
After her horse riding lesson, Hyacinth undid the horse's girth, wishing that she were tall enough to lift the saddle off of the horse's back. Suddenly, the saddle started levitating. She quickly got the saddle back on the horse, and looked around. It didn't look like anybody had noticed. The groom, who had just been helping another student untack, soon came to help her.
Petunia snatched the book out of Hyacinth's hands. "How did you get a book on magical equines?"
"Li-Lily gave it to me," Hyacinth said, reaching out for the book.
Petunia held it up so high that Hyacinth would never be able to reach it.
Hyacinth clenched her fist, willing her magic to stay inside of her.
"I'm sorry Lily is trying to make you crave for a world you'll never know," Petunia said, taking the book away. Seconds later, Petunia came back and held her arms out.
Hyacinth leaned into her sister's embrace. She was sad, but she tried to imagine what it would be like to crave for magic and not have it. She wondered if it was anything like how she craved to fit it, and how she wanted to be able to understand social situations and behavior, like everybody else seemed to.
She wasn't mad at Petunia. She felt horrible for her, and she knew she meant well.
Hyacinth felt as though something was wrong with her. If Petunia found out that she was the only one of multiple siblings who didn't have magic, she suspected that Petunia would feel the same way.
Petunia had always been Hyacinth's favorite of her big sisters. Lily was great, but she was no Petunia. Lily had hardly paid Hyacinth any mind until their parents had figured out that Hyacinth was a witch.
Petunia placed Harry on the table, and read the note. She gasped. "Lily is dead," she exclaimed. "In the event of her and Jame's deaths, her will states that Harry is to be raised by our parents," she said, glaring at Hyacinth, "alongside her witch little sister."
Hyacinth rocked back and forth, nervously. She tried to defend herself, but she couldn't get any words out.
"Mummy," Harry called. He soon started sobbing, and screaming.
Hyacinth took her earplugs out of her pocket and put them in. She could not blame Harry for wanting his mother. At the same time, he seemed as scary as Dudley.
Vernon picked up Harry, with one arm, and grabbed Hyacinth's wrist with the other. He brought them outside, where he dropped Harry onto the grass, and shoved Hyacinth to the ground.
Hyacinth sat up. She rocked back and forth, as she watched Harry. She wished that there was something she could do to help him, but she felt helpless.
Harry was no longer the only one who was screaming and crying.
Suddenly, Hyacinth's body started trembling. She couldn't concentrate on Harry anymore. She was soon lying on the ground, shaking.
Hyacinth had freaked out like that only once before. It had been after Petunia told her about their parent's deaths. When Hyacinth had finally stopped shaking, Petunia had held her in her arms for a long time.
Eventually, Hyacinth regained her ability to process things, and she was exhausted. She sat up, and looked at Harry.
Harry wasn't screaming and crying anymore. He was just sitting there, calmly. He was watching her, and he seemed very sad.
Hyacinth took her earplugs out. She crawled over to him, and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry," she said.
She considered kissing him on the forehead, which was something that she knew Lily often did, but she didn't. It seemed like it would be weird, since they barely knew each other, and she was worried that he would just get upset because she wasn't Lily.
Hyacinth held Harry's hand, and led him inside. They were greeted by a stern looking Petunia.
"I called your school and said you wouldn't be coming today, but most days you will still be going to school. People will get suspicious if you don't. I will be in charge of Harry while you're at school only," Petunia explained. "For the rest of the time, he's your responsibility. You can go out into the backyard with Harry for a maximum of one hour a day, as we don't want the neighbors to see you in charge of Harry for too long. I'll get a double stroller, so when I take Dudley out in the stroller Harry will come too, and you can walk beside us. We've got to keep up appearances."
"I-I don't know how to take care of Harry," she said.
"I'll teach you." She paused. "Why didn't anyone tell me that you were a witch?"
"They said that, if you found out, you wouldn't love me anymore."
"That's right. I don't."
Hyacinth looked down, sadly. She knew that Petunia would find out one day, but she was hoping that it wouldn't be until after she got her Hogwarts letter.
She looked at Harry. She told herself that things were worse for Harry. After their parents died, Hyacinth still had Petunia. Now that Harry's parents were dead, he had nobody, although Hyacinth didn't have anybody anymore either.
Hyacinth and Harry rolled a ball back and forth, on the living room floor. Harry seemed happy, but Hyacinth was sad. She could hear Petunia, in the other room, canceling Hyacinth's horse riding lessons.
Petunia hung up the phone, and joined them in the living room. She snatched the ball away. "What are you two freaks doing, playing with Dudley's toys?" Petunia scolded.
Harry looked like he was about to cry, and Hyacinth wondered if there was a way to stop him. On her hands and knees, she whinnied, pawed at the ground, and snorted. Harry laughed, and Hyacinth smiled.
That night, Hyacinth looked at the stairs. Dudley was considered too small to climb the steps, and Harry was even smaller. She had lifted Harry earlier, and found him very heavy. She wondered if it were even possible for her to carry him up the steps. She considered her and Harry sleeping on the living room floor, where the two of them had taken a nap that afternoon.
"Hyacinth," Vernon yelled, from the top of the steps. "Stop dilly-dallying and get up here."
Hyacinth picked up Harry, and started carrying him up the stairs. It was hard, and physically painful. About halfway, she set Harry on a step, and sat down beside him. Vernon scolded her again.
Hyacinth laid Harry down, after spending all day with him, in her twin-sized bed. She sang him a lullaby, while making a plush horse prance around. Afterwards, she kissed him on the forehead.
He looked up at her. "Mummy," he said.
"I'm sorry," she said, as she laid down beside him. "You should have your mummy."