Being Minnie's Daughter

Chapter 77

Petunia's POV

"Mum," I say quietly, walking into the kitchen gripping a letter tight in my hands. "I'm going to ask Lily to be one of my bridesmaids."

Mum turns away from the stove and grins at me. "That's wonderful sweetheart. What made you change your mind?"

I sigh and walk over to the spot on the counter where an owl sits in her cage. "I just feel like it's the right thing to do."

Mum sighs, "I never understood what drove you two apart. You two were two peas in a pod before that winter Lily got her letter. And then everything changed by the time summer came."

I know exactly what happened. Not that I would ever tell mum. It was that awful boy that drove us apart. He had magic and wanted to be with Lily, so he bullied me to take Lily all to herself. She even laughed when he humiliated me.

I quickly tie the note to the owl's leg and let it out the back door. Over the summer I found one of Lily's old diaries. I know she has a spell that protects them but somehow, I was still able to read it. She wrote pages about falling out with Severus after he called her awful names. I felt so relieved that they are no longer friends. Maybe Lily and I can go back to how we were.

I turn around and see mum is staring at me, waiting for an answer. I shrug. "I don't remember why we fell apart. But maybe this will be an olive branch for us. With Vernon and James around, we will never be best friends, but I would like to at least be invited to her wedding one day."

Mum smiles and walks over to me and gives me a hug. "That's wonderful Petunia, I am very proud of you for taking the higher road. I know it is not easy having a witch in the family. We are torn into two very different worlds."

I nod, knowing mum doesn't even know how bad the wizarding world is. The Daily Prophet still arrives in Lily's room every day. She forgot to cancel it coming to our house when she moved out to stay with James this summer.

I smile and walk to the living room and pick up one of my favorite books I'm re-reading for the millionth time.

About twenty pages in, I hear the back-door blast open and mum start screaming. I jump to my feet quickly but freeze when I see a green flash and hear mum go silent. I walk backwards slowly until my head hits against something hard. I turn around quickly and see the fireplace.

The fireplace!

I reach up onto the mantle and scoop a small amount of dirt into my hand. I must've seen Lily do this about a thousand times to go visit her friends over the summer.

I duck into the fireplace and pause. What do I say to get to Lily?

I close my eyes and drop the powder.

"Gryffindor Common Room."

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My feet slam into something first but then my whole body hits the ground. I feel myself roll a couple times before my momentum stops. I take a deep breath and open my eyes. I'm lying flat on my back staring up at a ceiling. Thank goodness I don't wear glasses. I don't think they would've survived the trip.

I sit up slowly, somehow still clutching my book and look around. I'm in some large room with some chairs and a desk. The walls aren't red though; there's creepy portraits everywhere.

I start swearing as I stand up. Obviously, something went wrong.

"Watch your language young lady!" A voice says clearly, making me jump. I look around the room quickly and find it empty, just like it was 2 seconds ago.