Petunia and the Little Monster

June 1973

A small snake with wings was wrapped around the girl's slender wrist like a precious gem bracelet, its scales glittering from bright turquoise to deep emerald. Its beak rested on the back of her hand, inquisitive yellow eyes watching as Petunia carefully wrote down line after line of meticulous observations.

While 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' had been decidedly unhelpful when it concerned the care of the magical egg, it contained enough information about Occamy that Petunia felt confident the first few days - she knew that Occamy were omnivorous, eating everything from fruits and insects to meat and fish. She knew that they were born with enough intelligence and strength to defend themselves. She knew that they could shrink or expand their mass at will, something that she hadn't quite comprehended until she actually saw it.

What hadn't been written in the book was how attached they got. Petunia had been spoiled by Aspen, who despite being young, hunted by himself, slept by himself and generally didn't demand more than her companionship and some pats.

The Occamy was different. The first time Petunia had left it alone in the shed, thinking that she could hardly bring it with her to school, a splintering sound had alerted her before she even took five steps. Turning around Petunia was confronted with a sight that almost made her faint from shock.

The old boards were barely holding the shed together, creaking and groaning torturously, while a gigantic body pressed against them from the inside, the formerly miniscule, iridescent scales now as big as Petunia's head. One of the windows had burst from the pressure and a shower of glass rained onto the dry grass, making space for the tip of a violet and green feathered wing.

The first thought Petunia had at that moment was to thank God that her parents had already left for work. The second had been that it seemed she wouldn't leave the Occamy behind after all.

Since that day it either resided in her bag, or even more often, wrapped itself around Petunia's arm like a clinging plant. That behaviour was also where Petunia came up with its name: Ivy. And because that sounded like a girl's name, Petunia also decided on its gender, despite not having any indications if the little snake was actually a boy or a girl.

Severe attachment issues wasn't the only thing the book failed to prepare her for. Ivy also slept irregularly, often waking Petunia up at night because she was bored or hungry. Both could be alleviated the same way: Petunia would start throwing small berries or dry shreds of meat into the air, and Ivy happily swooped after them to catch and devour them, chirping eagerly. Not having had a good rest for nights on end, deep circles marred Petunia's pale skin, making her blue eyes look even more washed-out.

Likes catching grasshoppers, she wrote her last note, the ink quickly drying on the page. Whenever they were outside and Ivy spotted something rustling in the grass from her hiding spot underneath Petunia's sleeve she was hard to stop. It was no problem on the afternoons after school, when Petunia did her homework in the shade of the shed and Ivy chased mice and bugs alike through the field. But it was a different story in school or in town. Honestly, Petunia had never appreciated how well-behaved Aspen was and how convenient his invisibility truly was for her until Ivy had been born.

The only reason her parents hadn't found out yet was because they would never expect their boring, rule-abiding and unmagical daughter to hide some kind of monster from them. So even if Petunia was wearing long sleeves despite the heat and always carried her bag around even if she wasn't on her way to school, they barely noticed. Only the broken window had required some explanation, but after Petunia simply claimed to have no idea either, they had let the matter rest and her father had installed a new one over the weekend.

But now Petunia was facing a bigger challenge. Lily would be back by the end of the month, returning for her summer break. And no matter how indifferent her parents were to Petunia's oddities, Lily wouldn't brush them off so easily. Not only that, they would share a room! How should Petunia hide Ivy from her sister if she woke her up by chirping every night?