Notice: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I appreciate reviews and opinions. Also, I may be splitting this story into another once Nikki gets to Hogwarts.

The Aftermath

Petunia had been laying in her bed for quite a while before she noticed the small figure huddled up in a chair by one side of the bed, her eyes closed in a restless sleep.

"Nikki?" she asked gently, at which the girl snapped awake and immediately knelt beside her bed.

"Oh Grandma! I'm so sorry. It's my fault that you fell isn't it? If I hadn't gone so high…it scared you! I'm sorry."

Petunia thought that she'd never seen anyone look at her so sheepishly. Her heart melted a little in response. But instead of forgiving her, she asked "How did we get here?"

"Silas' mum and dad brought us in their car after you fell." Petunia must've looked confused, because she then said, "Silas was the boy at the park, remember?"

Ah, yes. Silas, the dark-haired boy on the swings who had antagonized Nikki enough to make her reveal her secret.

"Yes, I remember," she whispered.

"I'm sorry Grandma. Mum warned me not to do anything out of the ordinary…"

"Your mother knows about this?" Petunia asked, outraged. "Does your father know?"

"Y-yes. He knows what I can do."

Petunia couldn't believe it. Her own son had decided not to tell his mother that his daughter had magic.

"They were scared, I think," said Nikki. "I don't know why…except that you fell. I should have been more careful."

Petunia knew why. They knew how much she and Vernon detested magic. Dudley had seen the way they had treated Harry.

"I'm sorry," Nikki said again. "I hope you can forgive me. How are you feeling?"

Fortunately, Petunia didn't have to answer, for just then Vernon came into the room, followed by Dudley and Carol.

"Mum!" said Dudley. "How are you? What happened?"

"I fell," was all that Petunia decided to say.

"Are you alright dear?" asked Vernon.

"Yes, I'm perfectly alright. There's no need to be so concerned. Dudley, why don't you take Nikki out into the hall with you and she can explain what happened."

"Okay Mum." Dudley said. Petunia knew by the look on his face that he suspected that it had to do with his daughter and her magical abilities. He looked very apologetic.

"Petunia…" Carol started, but Petunia immediately hushed her.

"We'll talk about it later."

"What's going on?" asked Vernon.

"Nothing dear. I wonder- did you talk to the nurse on your way in? Did she say when I might leave?" Petunia said, trying to distract Vernon from the conversation that had just been avoided with Carol.

"Yes, the doctor had some tests done and they are looking at them now. If it's a good verdict, then you can go home," said Carol.

"Good, good." Petunia replied, grasping for something else she might say.

"Vernon, perhaps you might go and find a cup of tea for Petunia. What do you think?" Carol asked tentatively.

"Would do you say? Would you like a cupa?" Vernon asked Petunia.

"That would be lovely," said Petunia, who was not at all thirsty for tea. But it would be a welcome excuse to get her husband out of the room.

"Alright then sweetie," Vernon sighed. He wasn't used to doing things for his wife, but these were extenuating circumstances.

As soon as Vernon left the room, Carol started blubbering. "What happened? Did Nicole do something in front of you? What…"

"Hush Carol." Petunia said sharply. Bring Dudley in. Leave the girl outside.

"Alright," said Carol quietly. She then got up and brought Dudley into the room.

"Close the door." Petunia said to Dudley as he came in, Nikki looking in from the hallway.

"So. We have another witch in the family. When were you planning to tell me about this?

o~*~o

It had been a long time since Harry had had a nightmare. After the war, he'd been plagued with them, seeing people die over and over again. They weren't limited to those who had actually died, either. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasleys were murdered in so many of them. Once he'd even seen his children dead from the hand of Voldemort. These types of dreams involving his children increased when James had started school last year. And, as always, he would wake up in a cold sweat with Ginny by his side, comforting him. He was glad of the nightmares' absence in recent months.

It was unexpected, therefore, for him to wake up with such a start tonight. But this nightmare (if you could call it that) was different. It started in the sitting room of the Dursley's house at Privet Drive. He was listening to his aunt and uncle argue about something, soon realizing that it was about him. "I want to make myself absolutely clear. I will not have that boy treated like he's something special just because he's able to do…magic," his aunt was saying, spitting out the last word. "I was willing to give the boy a chance but," she shook her head slowly, "he's too much like her, Vernon. And he threw that toy at Dudders. No—he won't get the same treatment as she did. My parents were always doting on her. No, in this family, it's the normal child that's going to be treated as the special one."

He then had everything the Dursleys had done to him over the years replayed in front of him. The insults, the yelling, the cooking and cleaning…everything. As he crawled back to his cupboard, however, there was someone else there. A little girl. Nikki. She was sobbing.

"If only…I didn't have magic…they would still love me," she cried.

Harry didn't know what to do. "There there. It's okay." He sighed. "They love you more than they ever loved me." Nikki looked up at him.

"Why?"

"Because," Harry thought for a moment. "You are their son's daughter, and you're named after Petunia. I'm just the child of a sister of whom my aunt was always jealous. Why would they care about me?"

Nikki just sat there, staring up at him. "You're still family," she said simply. "Plus…I think they do care for you, deep down. At least Grandma does."

Harry shook his head. "She's never shown it."

"I bet she wanted to though," she sighed, and Harry thought about a time not all that long ago when his aunt seemed to be on the verge of expressing something to him when she was leaving the house before the war. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by Nikki saying "What's so great about being magical, anyway? My own Grandmother hates me."

And then Harry was transported to the Hogwarts Express where his mother and young Snape were talking.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

She threw him a look of deep dislike.

"So she's my sister!"

And then the scene seemed to pause, except for Lily. "I wish…I wish she could've come to. Everything would've been alright if she'd had magic too," she sighed.

Then, she turned to Harry, no longer a girl but an adult. "You have to watch over Nikki, Harry. This is going to be really tough for her. Petunia's rejection really hurts, as you and I both know. The time is coming when she'll know what Nikki is and when she does, Nikki is going to need a supporting relative. Something that you never had growing up." She paused. "Petunia is going to need time to heal from the pain and shock this revelation is going to cause. But in time I believe that everything will be alright. It's about time the bond between her and I was mended." She looked away for a while, then turned back to Harry. "Nikki is the key to repairing and healing the bond that jealousy and spite has destroyed. Help her in any way you can. Remember this."

Before she faded away Harry shouted after her. "Wait! Mum!" Lily Potter turned and smiled at her son. "We named our daughter after you. I thought you should know."

"I do know. She's beautiful Harry. I wish I could be there in person. But as you already know, I'm there in spirit. Always," and with that, she disappeared, and Harry woke with a start.

The next day, the Potter's phone rang. This was such a seldom occurrence that it nearly scared them all to death when it started ringing. Ron and Hermione and their kids, Rose and Hugo were over. Ron turned to Harry. "Isn't that your felytone thing?" he asked. Lily looked at him for a moment, then shouted, "it's the phone! It's Uncle Dudley or Aunt Carol!"

"They're not our aunt and uncle," snorted James. "Dudley is dad's cousin."

"So what?" shouted Lily as Harry answered the phone with a brief hello.

"Harry! It's Dudley. Listen, something terrible has happened. Apparently Nikki did some magic while Mum was watching her today at the park. Well, Mum fell and hit her head and ended up in the hospital."

"Oh no," Harry breathed, stunned. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, yeah she's fine. She's agreed not to tell Dad, thinks it's a bad idea. But Harry…she's not at all happy about the magic. I don't think she's going to accept it very well. She was regarding Nikki indifferently, harshly even. I don't know what to do."

It was then that Harry remembered the dream from the night before. "You have to watch over her Harry…Petunia is going to need time to heal from the pain and shock this revelation is going to cause…Nikki is the key to repairing and healing the bond that jealousy and spite has destroyed. Help her in any way you can. Remember this."

He remembered it alright. And he was going to do everything in his power to help Dudley's little girl. The image of her sobbing in the cupboard under the stairs came into his mind.

"Don't worry Dudley. She'll come round. In the meantime, why don't you bring Nikki and Carol to our house for a little visit? I want to have a little chat with you, and with her."

So? What do you think? Should Petunia have treated Nikki better after her dream with Lily? What should happen next? Keep the comments coming! The more comments, the sooner I publish the next chapter.

Also, just to clarify, since someone out there is probably wondering…when Nikki was born, Lily was 3 ½ years old, Albus had just turned 6, and James was 7. Now that Nikki is 5, Lily is 8 ½, Albus has just turned 11 (he'll be going to Hogwarts in the fall!) and James is 12. (That also means that Nikki will be a first year student when Lily is in third year, Albus is in fifth year, and James is in sixth year.)