Petunia woke up with a migraine on Dudley's birthday, but she took three Paracetamols and smiled through it. It was Dudley's special day, after all.
She kept smiling when Arabella called to say she wouldn't be available to mind Dahlia during the party today, as she'd apparently contracted an ailment called Black Cat Flu and didn't want to spread it around. She kept smiling when Rachel apologetically declined to fill in due to a plumbing leak flooding her basement the day before. She kept smiling when Dudley's breakfast accidentally ended up on the floor as a result of his vigorous bouncing at the table. Thank God it was Sunday, so Vernon was home to take Dahlia in hand when the crash caused her to start screaming in her surprise.
Her smile turned to a more genuine one when Harry slid his plate across to his cousin, "since it's Duddy's birthday." Her nephew then slipped off his chair to help pick up the fallen silverware and clumsily clean up the mess for her. It wasn't perfect, but she'd take it for now while she whipped up another serving of bacon, eggs, and toast for Harry. It was a relief when Severus arrived to escort the boys outside to play while she sat down to nurse Dahlia. Vernon proceeded to the station to pick up Marge. Her husband returned with his sister in short order and immediately left again to pick up the luncheon and cake they had ordered for the party. Letting someone else cook was the one concession Petunia was willing to make to her own fatigue; she had always lovingly prepared Dudley's birthday dinner and cake herself before.
Petunia ushered Marge and her dog to the backyard for the animal to play fetch with Severus and the boys. For once though, as soon as the older woman had greeted the boys, Marge was content to leave her dog to someone else's supervision while she instead joined Petunia in the kitchen to coo over her niece.
"Oh, look at this precious tubby-bundle! You and Vernon must be so pleased with her, Petunia, she's darling! Look at these chubby cheek-ieeees!" Marge lightly pinched said chubby cheeks, causing Dahlia to rouse from her fitful, post-feed slumber and wail. "Oooooh, what lungs my niecy-poo has! Hello, sweetie. Hello, baby. Hello, darling. Bop-bop-bop..."
Be grateful for the extra hands, Petunia reminded herself, even as Marge's overly-loud babbling set her head throbbing again. She put the kettle on and knelt to wipe up the smears under the table Harry had missed. She should have just asked Severus to clean it when he arrived, but it had slipped her sleep-deprived mind in the shuffling of the baby.
Dahlia's tears calmed somewhat by the time the tea was steeped.
The Polkisses arrived next. Mrs. Kimberly Polkiss had picked up the elder Jones child in addition to her own three. They dropped a stack of gifts in the parlor and headed out to the yard. The rest of Dudley's friends arrived in short order until there were a dozen young children running around outside under Severus' and Kimberly's supervision.
Dahlia was screaming again with the constant interruptions. Marge took her up to the nursery to stay out of the way, but Petunia could still hear the distraught infant through the ceiling. She wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and curl up with her baby, but here she was bagging up party favors and setting out plates and cups. What had she been thinking to promise Dudley a normal birthday party barely a month after having a new baby?
It all came crashing down far too soon. Vernon returned with the food. The children came in from their games, beaming and chattering excitement. Kimberly headed upstairs to relieve Marge while everyone ate, but Dahlia was fed up with the day of upheaval. Her screams renewed with the handover, and then little two-year-old Alena Polkiss got upset as well with her mother out of sight and started to cry.
"Ally, Ally, don't cry! Mummy's just upstairs and will be right back," Robin Polkiss sang to her little sister. Robin and Harry set about making silly faces and noises at the toddler to distract and amuse her. It was loud, and it didn't work. Alena slammed her little hands onto the floor and howled in outrage. Robin looked to Petunia uncertainly. "Should I take her up to Mum, Mrs. Dursley?"
Petunia's head started throbbing again at the very thought of two screaming children winding each other up. "No, no, dear, I'll just pop upstairs and switch off with your mother."
"Nonsense, Petunia," Marge said around her last mouthful of fruit salad. "I'm done eating. I'll go snuggle the tyke while you lot open presents. Just save me a piece of cake."
Dudley's head snapped up from his own plate, brow furrowed. "You're not staying for presents, Auntie?" His lower lip pouted ever-so-slightly.
Marge smiled at him indulgently. "Never you mind, you're still my favorite neffy-kins, sweetie. But Aunt Margie needs to spend time with her little niece, too."
"But you came for my birthday..."
"I can go up," Severus offered and started to stand.
"You've not even finished your lunch, Joseph," Marge objected.
Alena hollered louder.
Petunia winced shook her head. "No, she'll want Mummy to calm down in this state..." She lay her napkin down next to her plate and stood up.
Dudley whimpered. "Mummy, you can't go! I want you to watch..."
"I know, Dudley, but Dahlia needs me, and Alena needs her Mummy." She headed for the door, and Dudley started to cry, too.
"Quiet, Dudley," Vernon and Marge scolded together. The cry turned into a hearty wail.
"Duddy, it's okay," Harry ventured uncertainly.
"It's not! It's my birthday, and Mummy doesn't care!"
"Don't be a baby," Piers said with all the cruel derisiveness a four-year-old with a squeaky voice could possibly muster. That was the last part of the argument Petunia clearly heard as she left the room and made her way up the stairs. She couldn't deal with this right now.
"What's going on down there?" Kimberly asked. She stood in the entry to the nursery, lightly bouncing an angry Dahlia in her arms.
Petunia held out her arms to take the baby. "Alena needs you. Might need to have Vernon take the party back outside for a bit so everyone can calm down."
Her eyes softened in understanding. "Sorry about this, Petunia. I should have made other arrangements for Alena today. She's been anxious whenever I'm not there lately."
"No, I should have listened to your warnings and not held so big a party at all." She just hadn't wanted to tell an excited Dudley "no."
"Hmm. How's Dudley holding up?"
"He's the other screamer." Marge's voice drifted up to them, muffled but certainly too loud and harsh for the situation. Both mothers winced.
"Ah. Well. I'll see what I can do downstairs."
"Bless you." Petunia took Dahlia into the nursery and closed the door behind her. She held Dahlia on her shoulder and walked around the small room, humming lullabies until Dahlia's cries choked off into tear-thickened whimpering and sniffles. When the infant finally relaxed in her arms, exhausted, she sat down in the rocking chair and breathed in the relative quiet. She could still hear an ongoing tantrum downstairs, but not well. This room was calm. Serene. An oasis. An -
The peace was short-lived. Little feet pattered up the stairs, carrying angry screams with them. Petunia hastily transferred Dahlia to her crib, just in time for Dudley to burst into the room and throw himself at her waist. His face was red, and she doubted he could truly see past the tears streaming down his cheeks. Vernon lumbered up behind him. "Dudders, you'll wake the baby. We need to leave Mummy alone," he cajoled in an exasperated whisper. He tried to take Dudley's hand, but Dudley ripped away from him and yelled. Fortunately, his face was now buried in her skirts, but she knew he would set Dahlia off again if this continued.
"Swap," she said to Vernon. She then scooped Dudley up into her arms, grunting a little at the effort, and marched out of the nursery and into her and Vernon's bedroom. Poor Dudley wrapped his arms and legs around her with a heart-breaking fierceness, as if desperate not to let his mother go. She felt heat in her own eyes and laid her cheek against his hair. "I know, I know," she sighed, patting his back. "It's hard to be the eldest. It's so hard." She knew instinctually that's what this was about. After all, she was an oldest sibling, too. She knew how it felt to watch your parents seem to turn aside and ignore you. Watch them shower love and attention on a new baby and in turn receive less. She knew how it felt to suddenly feel less special. Only now, she was the parent and knew both how natural and needed the division of attention was, and how her love for her eldest never dimmed. It was the very reason she had tried to preserve today for Dudley, even knowing it would be a challenge.
Dudley nuzzled her neck, but he didn't say anything and kept crying, though a little softer. She sat on the bed and managed to wriggle around until she was half-reclined with Dudley next to her, his head on her chest. She kept rubbing his back and muttering soothing words as he cried. "I love you. I will always love you. You will always be my first baby. Even when I'm busy, I'll always have time for you..."
She wasn't sure how long it was before Dudley settled down and actually fell asleep, but eventually, Vernon appeared in the doorway. She smiled at him weakly. "He's napping. What's happening out there?"
Vernon's mustache twitched, and he edged into the room to sit down next to her. "Well, it's only an hour until his and Harry's usual naptime, I suppose. Dahlia's still asleep, but I'm sure she'll be waking up to eat soon."
"I can take her."
"Mrs. Polkiss told us to take the kids back outside - that's what set Dudders to run up to you."
"Oh. I told her to do that, but I guess that was wrong."
Vernon shrugged. "Not your fault, Pet. Anyway, Polkisses left. Last I checked, Harry and Sev started the rest on a game of football, and I've got Marge calling the other parents to let them know to come by early. I'll make sure Harry gets a kip too, once the rest of the kids are gone. Or Sev will."
Petunia nodded tiredly. The party was clearly over. "Good."
Vernon smiled suddenly. "He won't be resting until the guests are all gone, though. He apparently told Sev and Marge he had to host since you and I and Dudley were all 'busy.'" Dahlia stirred in the nursery, the little chirping cries signaling mild hunger before she got impatient and mad. "Righto, I'll collect her. Need anything else, dear?"
"Ibuprofen."
Author's note: clearly a bad idea to try to host a get-together only a little over a month after giving birth, but poor Petunia took such great pride in being a good hostess, and in Dudley, she thought she could make it work. She didn't anticipate the older sibling regression phenomenon including reprisal of tantrums. (Don't worry, I'm not revisiting that whole plotline, just this one event). Thanks for the reviews! It's good to be working on this story again.