Petunia and the Little Monster

December, 1971 - Christmas

Lily had a lot of tales to tell about her magic school. Even days after arriving back home, she would spot something random around the house and suddenly be reminded of 'Hogwarts' or 'potion brewing' or 'the Great Hall'. Petunia's parents actively encouraged this annoying behaviour with questions and exclamations of awe.

Petunia, on the other hand, was sick of it. Her mood soured with each retelling and her only reprieve was found in the shed with Aspen. Lily had actually followed her inside once and Petunia had been quietly gratified when she noticed Lily still wasn't able to see the Thestral.

Aspen belonged to her, and only her.

Honestly, Lily's tales made Petunia think of Hogwarts not as magical but as spooky - it sounded more like a haunted horror house than a wizard school. Empty suits of armour that sometimes moved, cursed paintings whose eyes followed you around everywhere, staircases that led where you didn't intend to go and worst of all: actual ghosts. Lily had talked about them at length and Petunia shuddered just recalling the names. Something nicknamed 'Bloody Baron' couldn't be anything good. Why were they around the students, as some kind of mascot to boot?

For the first time in her life, Petunia might have been a smidgen glad that she wasn't magical. At least she didn't have to fear a nearly headless (whatever that might mean) man floating around her bed at night.

What did surprise her though was the fact that Severus took a few days to appear at their doorstep. Petunia had assumed the stinky boy would be glued to her sister's side as always, but apparently something had changed.

But it also wasn't like either of them had any other playmates to spend time with.

The reason Lily didn't have any, despite her sunny and easy-going disposition, was not because she was isolated because of her 'otherness'. It was because of Petunia.

Petunia had always been possessive and jealous. What she considered hers would never be shared with anyone else and from a young age she had viewed Lily as hers. She was after all Petunia's little sister and her first playmate. Why should she need anyone else?

Petunia had purposely occupied all her time and stopped others from befriending her. That was, until Lily's magic manifested and split the sister's bond like a scissor cutting through a silk ribbon, leaving Lily untethered and free to make new friends. And at that point another magical person like Severus was a much more appealing playmate than any regular classmate.

Petunia didn't put a stop to the budding friendship this time. Not that she couldn't - even though the boy had magic, it didn't make him invulnerable. He was obviously insecure and a few well-placed lies about Lily looking down on his oversized, secondhand clothing and unwashed hair would surely have seen him keep his distance.

But Petunia didn't want to concern herself with Lily anymore. She wasn't worth her time and effort. Petunia could abandon her sister, and Severus was her way of proving it.

And now Lily attended a school full of magical people and the wretched boy wasn't that special anymore - and no one was there to stop anyone from approaching her. Maybe the reason they didn't seem as close as before was that Lily had made new friends and the ignorant boy felt left out and forgotten.

Not that it was any of Petunia's business. If he had wanted to keep Lily for himself, he should have been more careful, like she had been back then.

Petunia watched them through the opened shed door while she carefully untangled the little knots in Aspen's stringy mane. The two of them were not playing like in the past - no magical flowers or flying leaves or other atrocities. They were just sitting huddled together, talking, the atmosphere more stilted.