Yesterday is Tomorrow (Everything is Connected)

Three: Take Control of Your Life

Yesterday is Today (everything is connected)

THREE

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Dirk: You've been making choices out of desperation for too long. Take control of your life, Todd. The minute you do, interesting things will happen.
- Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, "Horizons," 1x01 (2016)

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Petunia spent all summer talking up Cokeworth Secondary, telling Lily how excited she was that the two Evans sisters would finally be at the same school again, and how when Hermione joined in a few short years, they would rule the school. Petunia had a grand idea of using her gossiping skills and charm to sweet-talk the staff; Lily's temper and idealism would detract any naysayers to the Evanses plans; and Hermione's shrewd attitude and manipulations would ensure those that did protest against the girls would come to swift, school-level ends.

It would be glorious, was Petunia's thoughts, her eyes star-riddled.

Then Lily's Hogwarts letter arrived.

And things were never quite the same, again.

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In Petunia's mind - what Lily could do was... interesting. There was a potential there, for other... stuff. She supposed, anyway (she wasn't fully sold on the 'magic' thing of it, truthfully. It was all so... flamboyant. Not refined, not at all). Petunia didn't so much mind magic the way she minded Severus Snape.

The strange, long-haired boy from Spinner's End, with his used clothing and dismissive attitude against her (her! Petunia seethed), solidified her dislike. Then he went and told Lily she could and should perform magic out in public? Who does that?

Lily was enchanted, the idiot. Someone just like her!

Hermione could do magic, too, Petunia thought, although unlike Lily who thought it was neat to animate flowers, Hermione kept her magic - or superhero abilities, again, Petunia wasn't sold on the idea - to a strict minimum of usefulness. Like, cleaning their rooms. And putting the dishes away. And hiding the evidence of them gorging on junk food before dinner when their parents went out shopping, only to innocently say, in a very clean living room, "No, Mum, Da, we didn't even think about opening the snack drawer!"

Petunia didn't like the idea of Lily going away - they were supposed to stick together! Go to the same school, meet boys, fall in love, get married and live near each other and start having kids at the same time so they grew up together. Petunia had it all planned out; now Lily had to go and deviate from that plan? And if she got an invite to that Hogwarts school, so would Hermione.

Where did that leave her?

Alone, that's where.

So she wrote the Headmaster, Dumbledore, and asked to attend.

That stupid Snape boy - and Lily - how could she? - snuck into her room and read the man's reply, telling her that Hogwarts was for magicals, not muggles like her.

The rift began to grow. It splintered on September first when Petunia and Hermione said goodbye to Lily in London; the young girl couldn't stop saying "Severus told me" and "Severus said that". When did that odious boy take Petunia's place as a trusted, reliable, informative older sister? When had he stolen her best friend from her?

"You're a freak," slipped out that morning, in front of a solid, stone column at King's Cross.

Hurt blossomed in Lily's green eyes, and she protested, "I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say!"