P.EVANS + J.POTTER

4.5

P.EVANS + J.POTTER

<4.5>
new neighbors

WITH HER EYES NO LONGER RED or dilated, her head still holding an ounce of pain, and her stomach feeling the need to grumble — Petunia Evans woke up the next morning feeling sick.

       Her clothes covered floor gave a small amount of comfort to the blonde, however, since she fell asleep in an odd position — her body ached in all places.

      The bedroom door remained locked and Petunia forced herself up, immediately feeling queazy at her quick movement. Though, she tried to ignore it as she fell back onto her bed, rubbing her temples slowly.

      And as her head fell to the side, laying comfortably against her mattress, Petunia's eye caught sight of the jewelry she'd long forgotten about.

The matching necklace of Petunias laid nicely on the nightstand next to her, collecting dust as she stared at it shortly — carefully tracing the chain that was so similar to hers.

As it was still empty, Petunia grabbed and opened the locket carefully, thinking of the possibilities of what could be put inside.

Though, as she had no one else in mind for such a special locket, she gave it no second thought as she placed it back down — where it would peacefully lay for another few months.

And then she stood.

     Shuffling to the opposite side of her room, Petunia watched herself in the mirror, trying to practice the same fake smile she had worn for years.

And once she perfected it, Petunia straightened herself up and walked out of the room at once.

    "Good morning!" Her voice rehearsed to her parents, earning two smiles back.

      "Good morning, Petunia," Her father spoke back, again, never realizing the darkness in her voice. Instead, his focus was purely on the newspaper in front of him as he completed the daily crossword.

     Her mother, on the other hand, greeted the girl with a small smile on her face, simply nodding a hello as she continued to bake a batch of cookies in the oven.

Petunia's parents never knew about the fight that occurred between the twins — and they never noticed the thick tension from Lily's fourth year to fifth year, where the girls would no longer speak to one another.

They never noticed.

     Just like they didn't notice Lily's constant excuses to leave the room once Petunia would enter.

      Or how Petunia, who still thought about the fight regularly, would flinch when Lily would pick up her wand — remembering the night too clearly.

Petunia did not just hate witches and wizards after the argument, but now feared them and what they were capable of.

It was a night she couldn't forget.

But again, her parents never noticed.

      With a confused expression on her face, Petunia joined her mother in the kitchen, watching as the older woman paced around — trying to perfect the cookies that sat on a pan.

     And before she could question the odd behavior, Petunia's confusion grew, seeing as her mom pulled out her finest dish.

"What's the occasion?"

     Isabel Evans took a short break as she glanced at her daughter, gesturing towards the cookies and the plate. "We have new neighbors," She responded casually, grabbing a spatula next. "Johnathon and Alexandria Dursley, along with their son Vernon."

      Petunia, being curious of this news, found herself heading towards the living room, peaking out the window.

      Though, just a moment later, Thomas Evans smacked his newspaper on her head, causing a small yelp to escape her lips.

     "You're going to make them think your a stalker," he joked, watching her eyes roll, "Why don't you just go say hi?"

      Petunia's eyes widened at the suggestion and she soon looked to her mother for approval, now noticing as she held a small smile. "Yes, you can go say hi."

      For a moment, a part of the old Petunia had resurfaced and she quickly glanced back out, still not seeing the family of three. She could almost feel a real, genuine smile appear as an ounce of freedom was just offered to her.

"Okay!"

P.EVANS + J.POTTER