Chapter 1
FROZEN HEART
There's been a tale told many times before of two sisters—one with power and one without. In many variations of this tale, the sisters were torn apart. And in others, they were brought together.
And this is just another variation.
VUELIE/LET THE SUN SHINE ON
On the 3rd of September 1958, Petunia Evans was born. Single child to Gregory and Carol Evans. Carol Evans struggled for years to get pregnant and when Petunia was born she was their ‘little miracle’.
Lily’s birth was unplanned. After struggling for years to get pregnant with a child, Carol and Gregory never expected to get two in the span of two years. On the 30th of January 1960, Lily Evans was born, younger sister to Petunia Evans.
On the day of her birth, Petunia sat in the chair of the hospital room with baby Lily in her hands. She doesn’t remember that moment but she remembers the story. Her parents remember them both just staring into each other's eyes. Sisters.
When Petunia was 4, her parents skipped her ballet recital. They both had full intentions of being there. Watching their beautiful daughter dance onstage in a beautiful tutu and ballet shoes. In a last-minute change of events, Lily had gotten sick, badly. As they drove Lily to the hospital, Petunia performed on stage, eyes frantically searching for her parents in the crowd. As Petunia waited at the stage door for her parents to pick her up, Moira, the mother of another girl in her ballet class came and took her hand. Moira had been the one to congratulate her. Moira drove her home. Petunia put her ballet shoes away that night. And quit ballet classes the next day.
A LITTLE BIT OF YOU
Petunia and Lily were close. They rarely fought and were each other's best friends. Petunia remembers the day that she started elementary school like it was yesterday. They stood outside their house that morning. Lily had tears streaming down her face. Petunia was in a dress, a school dress. She remembers how much older she felt. How much pride and excitement she held for her first day. But Lily, two years too young to join her in elementary school, was distraught. Petunia's memory will forever be tainted by the day that she left her sister. Instead of the pride she remembers feeling, she feels resentment, toward her sister, for tainting the perfect memory that she wanted of that day.
When Lily was 5 she crawled into Petunia's bed and shook her sister awake. Petunia remembers pushing her away and burying herself in her blankets. “Do you wanna build a pillow fort?” Lily had dragged her all the way to the living room. Lily took out blankets from the closet as Petunia dragged chairs and tables into place.
Petunia was always scaring Lily. Jumping out from behind corners to catch her unawares. That night when they made their pillow fort, Lily asked Petunia to grab pillows from upstairs. On her way back down the stairs she was extra quiet, creeping up behind Lily until she finally yelled “Boo!”
Petunia never told anyone but when she scared her sister, the table moved. Lily wasn't strong enough to move it herself let alone move it without even touching it, but the table flung across the room and hit Petunia square in the face. That's how she got her scar, a small cut on the edge of her eyebrow.
DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN
The letter came on a dreary Monday. Flung through the letter opening in the door with the other mail. It was the first letter Lily had ever received from someone who wasn't a friend. The seal was wax and unlike anything they’d ever seen before. Their parents were so proud of her. Basically hosting a party in her honour. Petunia remembers sitting on the stairs with her maths test in her hands with a blaring red 97% written up the top, ready to show her parents. But she never did.
When Lily left for school, Petunia had tried to send her a letter. She had tried everything but her letters always came back unread with an owl who looked proper and prim. It was like the bird was taunting her, saying ‘I'm better than you, I’m actually magical, not just a miracle’. So she stopped sending letters.
Petunia remembers the day like it was yesterday. She remembers walking to school, her dress at her knees and her blazer draped over her arm. It was warm, summer had just started and the flowers had begun to bloom. Once at school, she noticed a young kid, with short blonde hair and a small figure. They seemed lost. Confused. Scared. Petunia remembers walking up to the kid and putting her hand on their shoulder.
When the kid turned around they flinched at the touch. “Hey, how can I help?” Petunia whispered, leading the kid over to a quieter space. They hadn’t been crying before but now they were. Petunia just held them in her arms. Feeling deja vu from the many times she held her own sister. The kid with the blonde hair was a boy. And the boy with the blonde hair’s name was Ulf.
The day they met, Petunia remembers how Ulf followed her around. He spoke English with an accent. Forgot words here and there but he and Petunia became very close friends. Ulf was probably the first proper friend that Petunia had. But then he just disappeared. It was like he’d never existed.
Petunia comes home to the sight of Lily at the dining table. She had forgotten that today Lily would be coming home. She had pushed it to the very back of her mind. Not wanting to acknowledge it. Her letters hadn’t gone through and she was still hurt. Her effort had been squashed and her pride squandered.
The holiday was horrid. Days of sweltering heat paired with sour looks and guilt. She remembers when she and Lily were still friends. She wonders what caused her sister, her best friend to just leave. To disappear and come back a different person. She blames the school. Everything was fine until that ivory letter dropped through the letterbox.
Petunia had just turned 19 when her parents died. Lily was 17, ‘legal’ in the ‘wizarding world’. She hadn't talked to Lily since the summer. But that was fleeting. After her parents died, Petunia felt it right to get back in touch with her sister. That's what her parents would have wanted. She thinks. She thinks they might have liked to see their daughters getting along again.
The letter she sent read:
Lily,
You weren't at the funeral and people are asking where you've been. I tell them you’re at school so they stop asking. At the funeral they kept saying, "Have courage," and I'm trying to. So that's why I’m writing to you. We only have each other, It's just you and me. I think Mum and Dad would want us to be close again.
I hope you and Potter are doing well.
Your sister,
Petunia
And Lily never answered…