Redemption (Dudley Dursley)

VIII. Petunia.

Now as she stared around her home on Christmas Eve whilst Dudley had gone looking for Felicity she felt more alone than ever. She had lost a part of her beloved son's trust, she had lost her husband, she had lost her marriage, she had lost her relationship, and she had lost the one thing that remained of her sister- that being Harry and she had already lost Lily. A gaping emptiness was creeping into her as she sat in the centre of the living room carpet which didn't even feel like her own. Her home didn't even feel like a home anymore with all she had lost. She knew Dudley had done the right thing and she knew that she had done what she should have done years ago with Vernon, so why did she feel immense levels of guilt?

Petunia knew that if she stayed in that same position that it wouldn't get any better so she shakily stood up, trying to keep her tears at bay. It was strange, the house being empty. There were no televisions quietly playing to create distractions, there was no yelling coming from Vernon, there was no arguing back and forth between her and her husband, there was no soft thuds coming from upstairs from the punching bag that hadn't been touched in over three years. It was just quiet and it was strange. She hesitated when she spotted the remote sitting on the couch but eventually decided against it. She had to gather her thoughts before Dudley came back with Felicity.

The cupcakes she had offered the young couple who were so completely besotted with each other it was as if they had hung the moon and stars for each other. It was a very cheesy reference and it was one she had only used once before- in fact it had only been an hour before. Petunia reached out a hand and picked one of the treats from the tray and now a small tear did fall from her eye. Triple chocolate cherry with vanilla buttercream. Lily's favourite. Even after all these years she still remembered her deceased sister's favourite type of cake. They almost never got eaten because they were far too sweet but she couldn't bring herself to stop baking them. Lily was too sweet as well, far too sweet to die in the way she had. She still didn't even know how she died exactly- only that it was a fatal spell that no one should have survived.

But somehow, her nephew had.

She knew there was a lot more to the story and she wanted to know what. There had to have been a reason that the spell had backfired when it touched Harry's forehead, there had to be reason that the man in question had gone after the young family, there had to be a reason that he by some strange force came back to life after supposedly dying. There was only one way she could find that out and that would be through Harry. She hesitated before pulling back the casing and took a small bite of the moist, rich sponge. From then, her memories began. Memories which she had blocked out for a very long time and were only now making their first reappearance in years.

//

Cokeworth was a small town, not much ever seemed to happen there.

There were only three schools in the area- two primary's and one high school. There was direct links via public transport to larger towns and cities yet for some reason- not many people lived there. It was a small community that was very friendly and everyone seemed to know everyone in some roundabout way. Right in the centre of the small town was a park which was occupied often by the local children but not two young girls. On the outskirts of Cokeworth was a glen of sorts, with trees all standing over ten feet tall and rivers running to places unknown. This was where Petunia and Lily Evans spent most of their time together.

The family were as a whole well-loved within the community but there was something not quite right. Those who were not immediate family were unaware of the said difference but it was very clear to the four Evans. It had started when the girls were six and five respectively. Petunia had only just started primary when she first spotted her sister who was also her best friend with a young boy who looked to be the same age as Lily outside of the gates. At first she didn't think much of it and carried on. This all came to a stop though when that same boy came by their spot.