Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter.

Petunia was doing her favorite activity: cleaning her house. It had been three years since she returned home. She remembered being forced to leave suddenly, being forced to go into hiding with her family. Vernon was annoyed. He never let go of his theory that the whole situation was just an elaborate plot to steal the house. She knew differently though. No matter how hard she tried, she could never forget her sister's death. She knew that going into hiding had probably saved all three of their lives.

Vernon and Dudley complained almost the entire time they were away. She would outwardly agree with their criticisms, but she was secretly terrified, especially for her son. Eventually Dudley became more solemn when he started listening to something called "Potter Watch." Apparently, it helped him finally understand the seriousness of their situation.

They were told they could go home just as abruptly as they were told they had to leave. She was so relieved when she walked back into #4 Privet Drive. Their lives quickly returned to how they were before. Vernon went back to work, and Dudley went back to school.

They told the neighbors that they been away for reasons related to Vernon's work, and that they finally kicked their no-good-nephew out for good after discovering he was dealing drugs. The other housewives on the block told Petunia how good a mother she was for shielding Dudley from his cousin's bad influence, and how good a wife she was for being so supportive of her husband's work. Petunia realized she had everything she ever wanted: a hard-working husband, a well-raised son, and the envy of her neighbors. She couldn't understand why she wasn't happy.

Petunia finally finished tidying up. Vernon was at work, and Dudley was currently attending a class at the local community college. She had the house all to herself, and she planned on taking advantage of it. As soon as she put away the cleaning supplies, she was going to take a nice, long, soothing bath.

Carrying an armful of cleaning supplies, she opened the cupboard under the stairs to put the broom away. As she reached into the cupboard, she suddenly lost her balance and all her cleaning supplies toppled to the floor. She signed and bent down to pick everything up. As she gathered up her things, she saw something glinting in the corner of the cupboard.

Curiosity got the better of her and she abandoned her cleaning materials to inspect the object. She held it up and saw that it was a metal toy soldier. She momentarily wondered how one of Dudley's old toys ended up in the cupboard, but then she remembered. This wasn't Dudley's toy, it was Harry's.

She and Vernon would occasionally give Harry things to entertain himself with while he locked in the cupboard. This little soldier had to be lying there for almost 10 years now. A wave of nostalgia hit Petunia, and she quickly had an epiphany. The reason Petunia hadn't been happy since returning from hiding was that, deep down, she missed her nephew. (As much as she hated to admit it) a small part of her felt guilty for the way they had treated Harry. He was only a child after all.

Still grasping the toy, she sat down and looked at her walls. They were covered in photographs of Dudley. She suddenly wished they had bothered to take just one picture of Harry. It would be nice if she had an image of him to look back on.

The next few days passed, and Petunia couldn't shake her feelings of depression and guilt. Vernon never noticed that something was wrong with her. Dudley, however, was unexpectedly more perceptive than his father.

One night, Dudley came into the kitchen as Petunia was cleaning up after dinner. Vernon had fallen asleep on the couch, and they could both hear him snoring in the next room.

"Mum," Dudley asked tentatively. "Is something wrong? I don't really know why, but lately you've seemed off somehow."

Petunia was initially going to lie and say that everything was fine with her, but she swiftly decided against it. If she couldn't tell the truth to her own son, who could she be honest with?

"Dudley, you're an adult now, and I think we should be able to have serious conversations with each other. I've actually been 'off' ever since we came out of hiding. Don't tell daddy this, but I found one of Harry's old toys in the cupboard a few days ago. Ever since, I've been feeling more and more guilty about how your father and I treated him."

"I understand mum. I feel guilty about Harry too. I'm not sure if you and dad realized, but I bullied him," Dudley replied.

"On Dudley, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You were a child. It was our responsibility to correct your behavior, but we failed to do so," Petunia told him.

They sat in silence for a moment before she continued, "In complete sincerity, I miss Harry in a strange sort of way."

Dudley nodded.

"So do I… You know, I've actually talked to Harry a few times since we've been back."

"You have?!"

"Well not exactly talked. We've written to each other. Shortly after we got home, an owl came to the window while you and dad we out. He was carrying a letter from Harry. He just was checking to see that we got back alright. I wrote back telling him that everything was fine with us and asking if he was okay. We've exchanged letters a few times since then."

"So, he's doing alright?" Petunia hesitantly questioned.

"He's doing more than alright! Apparently, he basically saved their world. After he ended the war, he was offered a really good job in the wizard government. He also moved in with his girlfriend and her parents. I thought that living with your girlfriend's parents sounded horrible, but he says that they love him! According to Harry they treat him like a son. And Harry's best friend also lives there. He's Harry's girlfriend's brother."

Petunia smiled. "I'm glad he's doing so well, despite all your father and I put him through…"

"Hey, maybe we can meet Harry for lunch or something? I don't know if he'd agree to it after everything, but if he does we can both apologize to him." Dudley suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," she agreed.

"Great," said Dudley. "I'll write to him. He gave me his address, so I can send it through the regular post. I'll tell you when I hear back from him."

"Thank you popkin," Petunia responded. "Just remember not to tell your father about this," she warned.

"Don't worry," said Dudley. "I won't."

(To be continued.)