Chapter 1
Missus Dursley of 4 Privet Drive was proud to say she was perfectly normal, thank you very much. She didn’t hold with all the nonsense and unnaturalness that her sister took on with. In fact, Missus Dursley hadn’t even seen her sister in over 2 years, not since she married that Potter boy. She got a postcard from her last year about a month after her Dudders was born, saying that she had a son, and that was that.
Mister Dursley shook his newspaper closed, stood up, pecked her on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye. But instead, he took a spoonful of mashed banana to his face. Missus Dursley covered her mouth to keep from laughing, but Mister Dursley noticed, and stormed off upstairs to change. Frowning, Missus Dursley cooed at Dudley, and cleaned his face, before gathering the dishes off the table. As she was cleaning, she heard the front door open, then slam shut.
Frowning to herself, she started her daily chores of cleaning the house, and reading her gossip magazines. Around midday, she gathered Dudley up and took him out into the garden so she could pull some bothersome weeds. Setting Dudley on the ground, she pulled on some gloves, knelt down and started to prune her Begonias, when Dudley squealed in delight. Turning around, she saw a Gray Tabby sitting on the low garden wall.
“Hello, sweet Kitty.” She said, “where did you come from?” The cat merely blinked at her.
Shrugging her shoulders, she turned around and continued her gardening. Dudley continued to squeal, and play, causing her to smile. She truly loved her child, and she was starting to realize that his father probably wasn’t the best roll model for him to be around.
‘Best not think those thoughts, Petunia’ She thought to herself.
Finishing up her gardening, she checked her watch. “Come on, Dudders, time to get started on dinner.” She said, gathering him up. Glancing at the low garden wall, she noticed the Tabby still sitting there. “Are you hungry?” she asked it. It blinked, and jumped off the wall, following her into the kitchen.
She pulled a can of tuna out of the pantry, opened it, and set it on the ground for the cat, before starting to gather ingredients for a nice stew. As she got the pot on the stove, and began adding the meat and potatoes, the cat was scratching at the door.
“All done? Well I guess you’ll be on your way then, wont you?” Petunia asked, giving the cat a scritch behind its ear. She opened the door, and the cat took off at a run out into the garden. Smiling to herself, she remembered the cat her cousin had, and a wave of sadness came over her. She hadn’t thought about Jonathan in nearly 15 years. Last she heard, he was living in London with a new wife and was working for a law firm, but that was, oh gosh, 3 years ago now?
Shaking her head to escape this train of thought, she continued to get dinner ready for Vernon. She picked up the empty can of Tuna, Vernon wouldn’t like that she had fed a stray, she threw it in the bin. Petunia pulled out a jar of smashed peas for Dudley, and began the process of feeding him.
After Dudley ate, she got him down for a nap, then made herself a cold cut sandwich. Petunia turned on the Telly. She didn’t like to admit it, but she really enjoyed watching the Dr Who program she used to watch with Lily as children. She only got the chance to watch it while Vernon was at work, as he didn’t approve of “Make Believe”.
Allowing herself this hour to enjoy the silliness, she laughed as The Doctor got caught in a time loop, and fixed it in his usual way. Glancing at her watch again, she stood up and went about setting the table for dinner. Vernon would be home soon, and with him, gone would be the calm of her day. Getting Duddly into his highchair, she heard the front door open, and close again.
“Something smells good, Pet” she heard him say in a falsely cheerful voice, “Is that a beef stew?”
“Yes, it is, Vernon dear, it’s much to cold out to not be inside and have a hearty meal to eat.” Petunia replied, giving him a peck on the cheek. Taking his jacket, she hung it on the coat hook, and reentered the kitchen. He was already tucking into his meal.
“How was your day, dear?” he asked her. Humming to herself, she grabbed her spoon.
“It was good, did some gardening whilst the weather was agreeable.” Then she had a thought, “I saw a cat today, got me thinking how nice it was having one growing up. Dudley seemed to enjoy it.”
Vernon’s head shot up. “A-a cat, you say?”
“Yes, a Gray Tabby cat, it seemed sweet.”
His face turned a bright shade of red. “Absolutely not! I wont have a mangy animal in my house!”
Petunia wilted slightly. “No need to get angry, Vernon dear, it was just a thought I had.”
“Yes, well, with the day I had, I dont want to hear any talk of this nonsense. I was hugged, hugged! By a complete stranger today, and called something like a slur by the man.” Here, he looked a bit nervous, “said something about the Potters.”
Petunia looked at him in surprise. “Lily?”
“The man didn’t say, just something about a boy, Harold, I think he said.”
“Harry…” Petunia whispered, with a far off look in her eye.
“Yes, Harry, thats what it was. Anyway, theres no way they meant your sister or that good for nothing husband of his.” At those words, he stood up, kissed Dudley, and walked into the sitting room to watch the news. Petunia began to clean up the dining room and kitchen, before gathering Dudley into her arms and walking into the sitting room, just in time to hear a report about…owls.
Vernon looked tense, and quickly turned off the telly. “I’m going to bed, Petunia dear.” He said, before abruptly leaving the room and heading up the stairs. She stood there a moment, just staring at the blank screen. Surly the talk of Potters, and Owls had nothing to do with Lily. Petunia got a nervous feeling in her gut, but she knew she had no way to solve this problem tonight.
‘I wish I had kept that phone number Lily gave me for a Peter Pettigrew.’ She thought. With no other ideas, she took Dudley up the stair and into his bedroom. Tucking him in, she softly hummed a song her mother always sang to her and Lily,
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it's all right
Kissing Dudley on the head, she left for her and Vernon’s room to get ready for bed. He was already asleep when she entered, so she quietly got ready, and climbed into her side. She tossed and turned all night, at one point she thought it got darker on the street, and she swore she heard a motorbike, but she dared not get up to look.
When the alarm clock went off at 6 in the morning, she got up and put on a dressing gown before heading downstairs to put the milk bottles out. As she opened the door, she let out a gasp as she saw a small baby curled up inside a few blankets.
“Vernon!” she yelled, “Vernon! Come quick!”
She heard him come crashing down the stairs as she picked up the baby, and gasped as it opened his eyes. ‘Lily’s eyes’
“Vernon, I…I think this is Harry, our Nephew.”
“Your Nephew, I’ll have nothing to do with the freakish offspring of theres.” And with that, he walked away to get ready for work.
Hours later, after she had Fed both Harry and Dudley, Vernon was gone. Petunia picked up the phone, and dialed a number. The phone rang three times, before a woman answered.
“Bell Residence, this is Samantha, how may I help you?”
“Hello Samantha, my name is Petunia Dursley, and I’m your husband Jonathan’s cousin. I need his help in divorcing my husband.”