Two Sisters and a Letter

The Houses Competition:

House: Hufflepuff

Year: 3rd

Category: Short (1500-3000 words)

Prompt: [Pairing] Lily Evans and Petunia Evans.

Word Count: 1512 words.

Petunia Dursley was not expecting much to happen today. She knew her husband, Vernon, would go off to work while she cared for their child, and she knew he would eventually come home before the streetlights went out. She knew that they would care for Dudley until he managed to fall asleep, then they would follow afterward. That's what normal days were like for the Dursley's, and Petunia was very happy about that. She loved her life, and she wouldn't change it for anything.

But today wasn't normal. When Petunia woke up and went downstairs, she heard the familiar sound of an owl chirping. She scowled, knowing it was from her sister and her husband. Petunia followed the noise over to their front yard and soon stood face to face with the owl. The owl chirped once more, nudging the envelope to her. She snatched the envelope from the owl, huffing to herself.

She doesn't care much about Lily, but Lily does. Lily probably sees something else in her, which was completely strange for her to think since Petunia had been rude to her for years, and practically ignored her afterwards. Lily has always been strange, she recalled. With her freakish magic and her kind nature, Lily was someone Petunia didn't understand, or rather, didn't want to understand.

Petunia walked back into her house, eyeing the envelope in her hands. It was fairly lightweight, so she suspected it was another letter. Lily hadn't sent a letter in a while, so it did seem likely. She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. On it, she recognized Lily's handwriting.

I know it's been a while, Petunia, and you don't really like me still trying to reach you, but I have important news. James and I have a son. We named him Harry, and he looks just like us. I can't wait for him to grow up, but I want you to watch him grow up too. I understand if you don't want to, but I hope you realize that there is no point to separating yourself from me.

Sincerely, Lily.

Had the letter contained any other words, Petunia would've ignored it. But a son. A child. Her sister had a son. Things were different than they were before. She knew she couldn't ignore Lily for the rest of their lives, but she had simply been too fond of being normal to try to fix their relationship. But, this was the perfect opportunity to rectify it. This was as normal as Lily was going to get. Babies were normal, and for now she could pretend Harry would be normal too, although she knew deep within her heart Harry would have magic just like his mother and father.

When Vernon woke up, he was as grouchy as ever. Dudley had woken him up late the previous night, wailing about something or other. He grumbled as he walked into the kitchen, starting to make coffee. "Hey, Pet," he sighed.

"Vernon," Petunia replied, trying to sound as serious as she could. "Lily sent us a letter."

Vernon furrowed his eyebrows. "What about it? Was it important?"

"Yes," Petunia nodded. "Here, read it." She handed the letter over to him, watching as he read the letter. For a moment, he just stared at the letter in disbelief, until his eyes suddenly widened.

"Petunia!" he exclaimed, "We have to go see them, see the kid."

"I know!" Petunia agreed. "I want to see my nephew, and I want to salvage my relationship with her."

Vernon looked excited, and Petunia wondered if he really had nothing against Lily after all this time. Maybe she had been the reason to make him dislike her too. Maybe her jealousy and insecurities had spun a story of Lily being too much of a freak, too unkind, too wrong. But Lily was never like that; it was just the horrible caricature of her that Petunia created.

"Do you think Dudley will like Harry?" Vernon asked, glancing over as he heard Dudley start to cry again.

"I'm sure he will," Petunia smiled.

Petunia had made a sincere reply to Lily's letter, and when the owl came back the next morning, she carefully gave it to him. The owl chirped, before flapping his wings to fly away back to them. Petunia wondered if maybe Lily knew this really was different, that she would want to see them. Or, maybe Lily was just hopeful.

Nevertheless, they continued to correspond to each other, talking about what has been going on with them, and they planned for Lily, James, and Harry to come over. Harry was only a few weeks old at this point, and Lily and James were still trying to get used to dealing with a baby. Petunia told her important tips when they exchanged letters, like how to tell the difference between when he is hungry and when he needed his diaper changed.

Then, on a Saturday evening, a day that Vernon would be off work for, Lily, James, and Harry came over to the Dursley's home. Petunia opened the door ecstatically, gasping as she saw the two, and the bundle of blankets that Lily was carrying in her hands. The baby's wisps of hair were jet black, just like James's, but he had Lily's green eyes. Vernon came to stand right by Petunia, gawking at the baby.

"He's beautiful," Petunia told her, grinning from ear to ear. Vernon nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Lily spoke, rocking him gently. Then, Petunia and Vernon stepped aside to let the small family in. James had been uncharacteristically silent, almost tactfully. Petunia was sure he was cautious of them; Lily may have accepted the fact that they were trying to reconcile, but James might not have, deciding only to be peaceful for her benefit.

The two led them over to the dining room, where a modest dinner sat before them on shiny white plates, no magic to be seen. For Lily, it was like being right back at home. James was still adjusting to the no magic thing; it was not often he found himself in the company of muggles.

Lily held nothing back when she began to enthusiastically speak about the joys of parenthood, and it was like there was nothing unpleasant between them. It was peaceful and civil like a conversation would've been back when Lily was on equal grounds with her. Back before she discovered she was a witch, and back before everything changed.

"Where's your son?" James spoke up, surprising both of the Dursley's. "Dudley, is it?"

"He's sleeping," Vernon answered, getting over the shock that James had apparently paid enough attention to know his name. Both Petunia and Vernon had the same beliefs about him; he was a callous, arrogant wizard. They had never particularly liked him, though that may have been due to the fact that he was so closely associated to Lily.

To Petunia, James was just another nail on the coffin. Another difference between the two. But if she was going to change the way she felt about Lily, she had to change the way she felt about James as well. Surely he's not as bad as he seems?

"Maybe our kids can be friends," James suggested, "and get along better than we have."

The four adults began to think about what it would be like to continue to be in each other's lives, to watch as their children grow up together. "That's not a bad idea," Petunia said.

From that point on, the four adults decided to put aside their differences and treat other the way they should: like family. In this world, family and love is all there is, so why should they push that aside? Love is stronger than hate.

Whenever Petunia and Vernon were in need of time away for a date night, Lily and James would watch over Dudley, and his eyes would lighten up at their use of magic. He also got along well with Harry. They played this weird game where one of them would poke the other's nose, and watch as their pupils shifted over to look down at their nose. It always made them laugh, and Lily and James would watch them adoringly.

Whenever Lily and James needed to deal with anything, Petunia and Vernon would talk Harry in as well. Although Harry was certainly more used to a magical atmosphere, he wasn't deterred from one that lacked in that aspect. Dudley would sometimes let him play with his stuffed bear, but only sometimes. He was fairly possessive of the stuffed animal and normally didn't leave it out of his sight. But Harry was his best friend, so sometimes he would let up.

The two families were so close that Petunia and Vernon loved Harry like he was their own son.

Petunia was so glad they got along so well, and she was so glad that she had given Lily the chance and didn't bitterly throw away that letter. Reconnecting had been a good thing after all.