A magical love affair - Severus Snape x Petunia Evans

Chapter 3 - Misery loves company!

Spinner's End, Cokeworth, July 2000

Petunia stopped her mad run abruptly, clutching her sides and breathing heavily. She imagined that she looked like a mess. Tear-stricken cheeks, tousled honey-blond curls, sad eyes and dressed in a ruffled cream floral dress. Her legs hurt from her flight at top speed because her dark red high-heeled sandals weren't the right shoes for a run. Besides that, her heart was pounding wildly due to her exhausting exercise, so that she could hear its loud thumping "kogong, kogong,..." clearly vibrating in her ears. And she needed to bend over, loudly huffing, thanks to her stitches. Petunia thought mockingly that she really needed to train more to stay fit enough to run out on her boyfriend every time he treated her unfairly. But Petunia wasn't an athletic girl who jogged in her free-time to stay fit or loved to dance. She absolutely hated every sports because she didn't have the muscles to win in any competition or the willpower as well as time to exercise a few times a week. Sure, training kept you fit and could help you to forget your sorrows for a while, but Petunia didn't see the appeal in sweating your body fat out in a shirt and shorts or working out until exhaustion in a bleak, cold fitness studio. Furthermore, Petunia didn't need to lose some pounds because she could always maintain her thin, curveless figure thanks to her healthy diet and fortunate genes. Consequently, she was now out of breath, tired and sweaty, so that she desperately needed to find a spot to rest for a while.

Thanks to her disorientated, aimless running through Cokeworth, Petunia didn't know where she was at the moment and needed some time to orientate herself. Turning her head in all directions and looking around at her environment, she realized, that she must have gotten to the bleak, broken and foul-smelling impoverished former industrial area of Cokeworth, Spinner's End. Everywhere she could see the dirty, broken and decaying brick houses of the now jobless, former industrial employees. The garbage piling up on the rotten, misshapen front yards and broken, corroded cars parking on the streets. The foul smell of rotten, moldy and sour foods, industrial exhaust gases and vomit lingered in the air and almost forced Petunia to empty her stomach. She needed to get out of this area very soon because it wasn't safe for a lonely, hurt and confused young lady to venture out here alone. Behind every corner, an alcoholic could insult her verbally, a high drug addict could attack her physically, a criminal thief could try to steal her purse or a sick pervert could sexually assault her. With panic in her eyes and an uneasy feeling, Petunia taxed her brain for some nearby spot where she would be safe. After one minute of thinking, it suddenly dawned on her.

Nearby, five minutes away from this area, was a green park with lovely willow and cherry trees, where Lily and she had almost played hide-and-seek, skipped rope or gone on the swings every day in their childhood. Petunia knew that the playground nowadays was neglected, overgrown and covered in garbage, because the community hadn't got the money to lawn the grass, weed the grounds or maintain the swings, climbing frame or rocking horses in good shape. Therefore, the play equipment was rusty, broken or covered in weed and no children visited here anymore. Sure, some lonely teens, depressed adults or adventurous kids still visited it occasionally. But Petunia hoped that no one would be there today because she wasn't in the mood to talk to someone or explain her tear-stained cheeks. She only wanted some time alone to think about her life and reflect on her relationship with Vernon. Sure, she realized that wallowing in self-pity and despair wouldn't improve her mood, heal her hurt soul or change her miserable life, but she couldn't run to her parents to confess her sorrows to them due to their strained relationship. And she wouldn't pour out her soul to her perfect sister Lily due to their difficult relationship riddled with emotions like envy, jealousy, resentment and mistrust. So she would bottle everything up inside her again and hope that she would be brave and sane enough to break it off with Vernon in the morning. Although Petunia knew, if she was being honest with herself, that she probably would apologize for her behavior to Vernon in the morning and beg him to not leave her out of fear for ending up alone like an unloved, barmy and isolated old maid.