Harry Potter and The Universe In Which Petunia Is Actually A Decent Human Being

Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Hey everyone!

This is my first time writing a story like this, so please enjoy it!

A quick reminder that my native language isn't English, so if you spot any mistakes please tell me!

Trigger warnings: verbal abuse, name-calling, verbal fighting, racism

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When Petunia Dursley takes in Harry Potter, she does not expect to love him. He reminds her of her sister and her husband, both freaks from a world so unlike her own that it feels surreal. But she takes him in, a boy with black unkempt hair, a lightning scar on his face and the green eyes of her sister, but she doesn't love him. At first, she doesn't cuddle him like she does with Dudley, she doesn't kiss his forehead when she says goodnight, she doesn't buy cute clothes for him, and she doesn't take pictures of him. She does get him his shots, and feeds and changes him, and gets him some clothes, but that's about it. It's more than Vernon does, anyway.

In the first few months after taking him in, whenever Petunia looked at Harry, all she could see were her sister's eyes, and her stomach would flip over and over. But as the months progressed, somehow, Harry's eyes became their own. Harry was her nephew, not her sister's shadow to be treated like a freak. And slowly, Harry got more cuddles, and more goodnight kisses, and more and better clothes. When Vernon mentioned it to her one evening, she shrugged. "It's not as if he's getting spoiled for it. Every child needs a healthy amount of attention, and you wouldn't want him to be more of a freak then he already is, would you?" The words left a sour taste on her mouth and a heavy feeling on her stomach. Vernon murmured something in agreement.

When they celebrated Dudley's second birthday, he received far too many gifts for a two-year-old to possibly play with. Vernon got him a big toy car which Dudley loved. He and Harry would often sit on the ground, swarmed by other gifts, playing with it and making car noises to the best of their abilities. When Harry's birthday came around, all Vernon got him was a fast food meal with toy parts he could choke on. Maybe that was Vernon's intention. But it didn't matter, because as soon as Petunia saw what he had gotten Harry, she started arguing with him.

''Why,'' Petunia said, displeasure clear in her voice, ''did you buy that for him?''

Vernon scoffed. ''It's not like anyone would care if the brat would choke on it.''

A beat of silence. Then Petunia's voice pierced through, quiet but deadly. ''What did you say?''

Vernon crosses his arms. ''Come on, the child is a freak, just like his parents!''

''What did you just say about my sister?'' Petunia yelled, furious. How dare he talk about her sister like that. Sure, she may be bitter because Lily was always better, Lily could do nothing wrong, but she still was her sister, and no one insulted her. Not on her watch.

''I said, he's a freak, just like his parents!'' Vernon repeated, now yelling. He took a step forward. ''Are you deaf or something?''

But Petunia could barely hear him above the ringing in her ears. He insulted Harry, insulted her sister... how long before he insulted her and Dudley too? Or worse, hit them?

''I heard you perfectly fine,'' she bit back after a moment of awkward silence. "However, why you think it would be okay to neglect a child is above me. Do you have no human decency?"

"Please, that boy is hardy human," Vernon scoffed. Petunia clenched her fists. The nerve.

"How could you say that?!" Petunia shrieked, furious.

"How can't I? That boy is a monster, and he needs to learn his place!" Vernon bellowed.

"Oh really? Then what about me, since I'm related to him!" Petunia said defensively.