P.EVANS + J.POTTER
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aching realization
PETUNIA WAS THE FIRST TO awaken on Christmas morning. With her stomach rumbling in hunger, the youngest twin jumped from her bed, immediately climbing over her messy flooring to get to the hallway.
Her bare feet thudded against the hardwood flooring as she rushed in front of Lily's door, quietly knocking to wake the red head up. And then, just after the third knock, Lily opened the door, giving a tired and annoyed look to her sister.
"Can you not?" She spoke groggily, pushing back the hair that continuously fell in her face. Though, despite Lily's words, Petunia's face still lit up as that was the first time she heard her voice in months.
"Good morning, Lils!" She responded cheerily, bouncing on her heels, "And Merry Christmas."
"Yes," Lily responded shortly, "Merry Christmas," She added, this time with a short smile appearing.
Petunia's smile grew.
Christmas day was both Petunia and Lily's favorite holiday. Typically for the two girls, the twins would wake up early and bundle up, running outside to play in the crystal white snow. No matter if it was a fort, snow angles, or a snowball fight, the two would always have a blast.
And, as their noses and cheeks would burn red, Thomas Evans would call them inside, already having hot chocolate with candy canes prepared for them.
And, of course, the gifts.
With that in mind, Petunia suggested to go outside like they used too, but Lily looked bothered by the suggestion, seeing as the snow continuously fell by the second.
"Aren't we a little too old for that?" She asked wearily, earning a playful eye roll from her sister.
"What? Too old to go outside?" She spoke jokingly, "No one is ever too old for a snowball fight."
Though, despite her response, Lily still wasn't convinced by her sister. So, instead, she walked back into her room and placed on a pair of warm socks before grabbing her quill and some parchment, making her way past her sister and into the living room.
Petunia felt defeated for a moment.
"What are you doing then?" she asked curiously, following her twin into the room and sitting beside her.
Lily sighed at her action.
"Writing a letter, wishing my friends a happy Christmas," Lily responded, keeping her eyes focused on the paper in front of her.
Petunia, still more than curious, found herself glancing down at her sister's parchment, reading the words as they were written down. And as she did so, though the girl didn't admit it at the time, her heart lurched as she saw the continuous lines Lily would write down for her friends. It had only been a day since the red head had last seen them, so Petunia was confused on how she had so much to say to them.
Petunia received four letters in total from her sister, and from what she remembered, she'd gotten 6 total lines. Now, from what the blonde could see, this single piece of parchment already had half of its page covered in writing.
Her face softened into a frown.
"Good morning my girls!" Thomas Evans morning voice erupted into the small home.
Gaining the attention of the twins, Petunia watched as her father made his way into the kitchen and she soon joined him, not wanting to see Lily's letters any further. Isabel Evans came down just a moment later, joining the other two.
No words had been spoken between the trio, as they all seemed to still be waking up from the early morning. Though, once Lily walked into the kitchen, it seemed as if her parents finally found their voices.
"Tell us dear, how is this wonderful school?" He asked happily, sliding her a mug of hot cocoa. Petunia eye'd the mug semi-patiently, but seeing as her parents were so distracted with Lily, she eventually decided to make her own.
"Lovely!" Lily smiled brightly, "Making lots of friends and my grades are rather high," she stated proudly, watching as her parents matched her expression.
Petunia, once again, joined her sister's side as she now had her own mug — listening intently at her sister's answer.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Isabel spoke next, "Having a witch in the family. Too bad Petunia here couldn't hit those genes as well."
Petunia merely nodded in response, trying to hold back the falter in her smile. And as she tried to ask a question of her own, her parents quickly interrupted her, letting their own voices overpower her small one.
Again, that led Petunia's smile too slowly fade and even caused the girl to zone away from the conversation. However, once the word 'gift' was said, Petunia excitedly stood from her seat.
"I'll be back! It's in my room!" She called out, already making her way too her room before she could receive a response.
Petunia's heart beat rapidly in excitement as she held the gift firmly in her hand. Making her way back too her family, who decided to start opening gifts without her, Petunia gently placed the gift in her lap as she sat on the cold flooring.
Wrapping paper was already messily thrown onto the flooring as Isabel continued to sort out the gifts. Petunia couldn't hold back her grin as two boxes, from each parent, was placed in front her — and the same could be said by Lily, who had received an abundance of gifts from her parents.
Petunia didn't mind the uneven amount of gifts, knowing that Christmas wasn't just about the presents — She was just happy to have her entire family with her.
Lily was opening her gifts excitedly, thanking her parents profusely at each one and Petunia gleamed at her happiness.
She waited rather patiently for Lily to finish opening her gifts before giving her the small box, and Lily looked thoughtful momentarily, gently lifting the lid.
"Oh!" She stated awkwardly, grasping the chain that was already on her neck, "Thank you.."
Petunia didn't seem to notice her uneven tone as she sat herself beside the girl, unhiding the matching necklace from her neck, "They match, see!" She stated proudly, "I was thinking we could put a picture of us—" The words that left the girl's lips slowly disappeared as Lily pulled the chain from her own neck, showing a replica of Petunias.
"Marlene actually gave me this on the train ride home," Lily explained, opening up the locket for her sister.
Petunia glanced down to see her sister and two girls smiling happily. And, though she just assumed her eyes were playing tricks on her, she even thought she saw one blink.
"Oh."
Lily gave her sister a small frown, pulling her into a side hug as she placed the necklace back into her sister's palm.
"Maybe you can give it to someone else!"
P.EVANS + J.POTTER