Petunia And Lily Evans

Part 1 - A Small Brown Owl

Petunia Evans flipped her long brown hair as she trotted downstairs for breakfast. The smell of frying food wafted down the hall, making her stomach rumble. The thirteen-year-old entered the kitchen with the clean white tiles and wooden table. Petunia's father, Roger, was sitting at the table, eating toast and reading the paper. Petunia had never liked the rough oak table with its natural markings and cracks, but her father had made it himself and was very proud of it.

She glanced at the pale blue fridge, on which her most outstanding pieces of schoolwork were held up by colourful novelty magnets, along with a drawing of a unicorn. The girl sighed; that silly picture had no doubt been drawn by -

"Lily!" Her father's voice spoke as another, slightly shorter girl charged into the room, grinning from ear to freckly ear. Petunia scowled at her sister's pretty little face and shock of long red hair. It had been Lily's eleventh birthday yesterday, and the excitement seemed not to have worn off yet - at least not where the rest of the family were concerned. The snobby girl could care less; she had more important things to think about, like which popular girl she would have sleep over this weekend.

"Hi Dad, Mum," she said when their mother Marlene turned from where she was feeding their Beagle, Buster. "Hi, Tuney!" was added in quick succession, but Petunia just rolled her eyes, sat down at the rough-hewn table and picked up some toast from the stack.

At that precise moment, there was a loud SLAM, and they all whipped around to see a small brown owl fluttering outside.

"What in the name of-" Marlene stammered, as she hurried over and opened the window; the owl was pecking stubbornly at the glass.

The owl flew into the house immediately, along with a gush of cold winter air that gave them all goosebumps. Petunia watched in utter shock as the owl landed on the dining table, staring at Lily with its big yellow eyes.

The children were confused beyond belief, but Mr and Mrs. Evans' faces had lit up. Quickly Mr. Evans untied a letter from the owl's leg. It took flight instantly, swooping out the window.

Bewildered, Mrs. Evans closed the window. Petunia watched, just as shocked, as her father handed her sister the owl's letter. The older girl stretched over the table and briefly took in what it said on the front, in emerald green, handwritten letters that almost seemed to glow:

Ms. Lily Evans

Bedroom At The End Of The Hall

Cokeworth

Their parents seemed very excited, what with their beaming smiles and Mr. Evans' repeated encouragements of "Open it! Open it!"

Meanwhile Petunia felt a mixture of jealousy and fear. Jealousy, because the girls hardly ever got mail addressed to them personally (Lily had received a few birthday cards from relatives recently, though none sent by owl nor written in green ink), and fear because who sent letters this way, and also knew exactly where her sister's bedroom was? Is someone spying on the house?

Petunia didn't have much time to theorize, however, because Lily ripped open the letter, read it through in about ten seconds flat and squealed in excitement.

"HOGWARTS!" she yelled with even more excitement than she had when they got Buster as a puppy. "I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO HOGWARTS!" She hugged her parents in turn, shaking with joy.

Meanwhile, a tight ball of anger had formed in Petunia's stomach. Oh, she had heard of Hogwarts, all right.

Severus Snape, a weird little boy and one of Lily's friends, lived nearby. He had told Lily that he was magical, with his mother being a witch, and he said that Lily was a witch too.

Petunia and Lily hadn't believed him at first, thinking he was utterly insane. But her little sister had exhibited some minor magical powers in her life, so Petunia was forced to believe it.

Their parents had sworn them to secrecy, ordering them never to tell anyone about the wizarding world. Both their parents were Muggles, and both their maternal grandparents were the same, but their father's mother Florence had been a witch, and had told her only child a bit about it, and sworn him to secrecy just the same. Roger Evans had kept his promise until his daughters discovered the wizarding world not through him, but through Severus.

Ever since Severus had told Lily she could do magic, she had always been so sickeningly happy about it. Lily Evans was not one to gloat, but Petunia knew she felt extraordinarily special because of it, like being different, being a witch, made her better than Petunia.

Ha! Better than Petunia? Her older sister, the superior sibling, with all her friends and good grades and awards and popularity at school? As far as Petunia was concerned, all this only served to make Lily a freak. An abnormal, weirdo freak, just like her stupid friend with his greasy black hair and big ugly nose.

"Ah, I remember my mother telling me about Hogwarts," Mr. Evans said, clapping his red-haired daughter gently on the shoulder. "Sounds like a wonderful place."

Lily grinned wider than she ever had before, while Petunia just scowled.

Why didn't I get a letter when I turned eleven? Aren't I good enough for this Dumbledore person?

Then she shook her head, blinking her sharp, dark green eyes.

No. I don't want to be a witch. They're just freaks. Stupid freaks.