Chapter 1
23 April 1990
Bright green eyes stared back at her from the medicine cabinet mirror in the Dursley’s bathroom on Number 4 Privet Drive. They were framed by dark eyebrows currently furrowed with irritation, for it was Sunday and Lilavati Potter was being forced to go to church. Again.
Lila ran to the bathroom to stall for time before the Dursleys wanted to leave, but she knew she couldn’t stall for much longer. Vernon, as dense as he is, he has been catching onto her trick the past few Sundays. This Sunday, when she had calmly told Aunt Petunia that she had forgotten to use the bathroom, Vernon had let out a low mumble and his hand tightened into a fist.
As she ran her sweaty palms down the front of her tacky, floral dress, Lila sighed. She’d have to find another tactic.
She gathered her nerve and finally left the bathroom and walked down the hall, passing Harry’s cupboard. She wanted desperately to tell her twin goodbye but Petunia had yanked him out of there by his hair earlier that morning, yelling at him over his cry of pain to tend to the back garden and he wasn’t to come back inside until they got back from church before shoving him out the back door.
So Lila had to brave this Sunday without any encouragement from her best friend.
She must have faltered in her step because Veron suddenly yelled from the entryway, “Get on with it, Girl! We haven’t got all bloody morning!”
Lila tried her best not to flinch in reaction while Dudley chimed in.
“Exactly! Thanks to you we’ve probably missed the fellowship meal! You idiot!” He went for her, fist raised, but Petunia finally spoke up.
“Don’t touch her, Dudley! We can’t have any marks showing during her baptism. What would the neighbours say? We already get enough looks because of those two.”
Dudley had the audacity to look ashamed. “Sorry, mum.”
“That’s alright, Duddikins. Now let's go!” Petunia gave him a fond smile before she led the way out the door and down the drive to Vernon’s car. Dudley ran past Lila to the backseat, jumped in, and slammed the door in her face.
“Dudley!”
“Get in the damn car!” Vernon spat at Lila from the driver’s side.
She yanked at the door, but it didn’t budge. “I can’t! He’s holding the handle!”
“Are you trying to break my car, girl?!” Vernon moved as if he was planning to get back out the car and Lila’s body froze.
She started pulling on the door handle with more urgency. “Dudley, let go! Let me in the car!”
Vernon unbuckled his seatbelt and Lila wanted to cry. She ran around to the other side of the car to try the other door but Dudley beat her to it.
“Dad, she’s doing it to the other door!”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?! Dudley!”
She stood there, sweaty palms yanking at the car door with immense desperation as Dudley smirked at her through the window, Aunt Petunia screeched about the neighbours from the passenger side, and Uncle Vernon marched around the car towards her, fat face turning scarlet with rage.
She stood there, shaking as he got closer, as her heart filled with despair, as he was right about to lunge for her, as the car door handle started to heat up to the point it burned. The entire car started to shake.
Skreeee BOOM!!!
Everything was silent at Number 4 Privet Drive.
All 10 year old Lilavati Potter could do was stand there, shaking in her tacky floral church dress, as she held the now detached back car door.
Strangely, it felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.