Waking Up in Petunia - The Breaking Point
It had been another quiet, suffocating afternoon. Petunia—Veronica—had taken her usual escape to the park, hoping for some peace as Lily ran off to play on the swings. The park was a quiet corner of the neighborhood, far enough from the watchful eyes of her parents and the ever-growing weight of their expectations. It gave her a small respite, a little bit of freedom. She could sit there, watch Lily, and think—without the constant prying of her mother.
But today was different.
As Veronica sat on the bench, trying to lose herself in her thoughts, she caught sight of something that made her freeze. Across the park, walking briskly toward the edge, was a woman who couldn’t be mistaken: Eileen Prince.
Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed the unmistakable dark bruise blooming under Eileen's eye—a black eye, swollen and bruised. Eileen’s hurried steps were a dead giveaway of her distress, and Veronica’s stomach twisted in a knot. She knew the story. She knew what Tobias Snape was like. The bitterness, the abuse, the way he spent his wages on alcohol instead of caring for his family. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots. But seeing it—seeing the actual, raw evidence of what Eileen had been enduring—was something she couldn’t just ignore.
Veronica's mind screamed at her. No. No more pretending. No more silence.
There was no way in hell she was going to sit back and do nothing. Not this time.
Her feet carried her before she even realized what she was doing, and in seconds, she was walking toward Eileen. The older woman didn’t seem to notice her approach, too focused on getting away from whatever home she was rushing back to.
When Veronica called out, Eileen started, her face wincing slightly as if she expected a confrontation. But when she saw Veronica standing there, her eyes clouded with concern, Eileen didn’t resist.
“Eileen! Stop!” Veronica called, her voice steady but filled with urgency. “What happened to you?”
Eileen’s lips pressed together in a tight line, but she didn’t answer at first. She hesitated, glancing around as if hoping no one was watching.
“I’m fine, Petunia,” Eileen muttered, voice strained. “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t give me that.” Veronica’s voice was sharper than she intended, but she couldn’t hold back the growing anger inside her. “I see the black eye, Eileen. This isn’t ‘nothing.’ What happened?”
Eileen seemed to shrink back, but Veronica stepped closer, her hand reaching out to steady her. Eileen’s eyes widened with a mix of confusion and reluctance, but for once, she didn’t pull away. And that was enough. Veronica wasn’t about to let her walk away and pretend it was all fine.
“Eileen,” Veronica started again, her voice trembling now, “you don’t have to take this. You don’t have to live like this. It’s not your fault.”
The words poured out of her, and she couldn’t stop herself. The years of anger at the injustices women like Eileen faced—stifled by society, suffocated by their circumstances—flooded to the surface. As someone who had lived in the future, where women were slowly but surely fighting for their rights, Veronica could not, would not, stay silent.
“Eileen, listen to me,” she began, her tone growing more impassioned. “You deserve better than this. You’re strong. You’re capable. You can’t let him tear you down like this. I know you feel like you have to make it work, like you have to keep your family together, but listen to me—you can’t help Severus if you don’t help yourself first. You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Eileen’s face softened, her shoulders sagging slightly as the weight of Veronica’s words began to hit her. But she still looked down, as if ashamed.
“You can ask for help, Eileen. There are people out there who will support you. You don’t have to hide your magic, you don’t have to hide your pain. I know it’s hard, I know it’s complicated, but please, you have to take care of yourself. For Severus. For your own sanity.”
Veronica could feel her pulse racing, the words tumbling out faster and faster. She had so much to say, so much to express, and she knew Eileen needed to hear it. She needed to understand that she wasn’t weak for asking for help. She wasn’t weak for standing up for herself.
“You deserve love that doesn’t come with bruises. You deserve respect. And if Tobias can’t give you that, then it’s time to stop pretending like everything’s okay,” Veronica continued. Her hands were trembling now, but she didn’t care. “You can go to therapy, you can get support, you can heal. And when you do that, you’ll be strong enough to give Severus the love he needs without feeling like you’re breaking inside. You can’t save him if you don’t save yourself first, Eileen. Please, for your own sake, get help.”
The words hit Eileen like a wave, and for a moment, there was silence between them. Veronica’s breath was ragged now, her chest rising and falling with the intensity of the rant that had spilled from her. She wasn’t used to speaking like this, not to people she barely knew, not about things that felt so personal. But in that moment, it didn’t matter.
Eileen didn’t speak for a long time. She just stood there, her eyes searching Veronica’s face, her expression unreadable. Then, finally, her voice came out soft but steady, “You don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like.”
“No,” Veronica admitted, shaking her head. “I don’t know what it’s like. But I do know you don’t have to keep living like this. You don’t have to stay in a broken situation just because it’s familiar.”
Eileen closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a shaky breath. Veronica could see the layers of pain, the years of fear and resignation that had built up around her. But in that moment, something in her posture softened, just a little. Maybe, just maybe, Veronica’s words had struck a chord.
“I don’t know if I can,” Eileen murmured, her voice cracking.
“You can,” Veronica said firmly. “One step at a time.”
For the first time, Eileen met Veronica’s eyes. There was still hesitation there, but it was tinged with something else—hope.
“I’ll think about it,” Eileen said quietly, almost to herself. “I’ll think about it.”
Veronica nodded, her heart still racing. She didn’t know if she had convinced her, but maybe, just maybe, she had planted a seed. A tiny spark that could one day grow into something stronger.
As Eileen turned and walked away, Veronica stood frozen for a moment, her chest tight. She wasn’t sure if she had made a difference. But she knew she couldn’t stay silent anymore. Not about this. Not when women like Eileen—women who had suffered in silence for too long—needed to hear that they weren’t alone.
As Veronica returned to the bench, her heart heavy with the weight of the conversation, she saw Lily laughing as she swung higher into the air. The innocence of it made her ache.
She had helped someone today. Maybe it was just a small step, maybe it was nothing. But to her, it felt like the first time in this strange new world that she had truly done something—done something that mattered.
She couldn’t change everything. But she could change this one thing. And that was enough. For now.