Petunia and the Little Monster

December 1971

It was two days after Christmas when Petunia found herself an outlet for all her bitter disappointment and envy.

The wretched boy came by, looking for Lily.

Petunia stood in the open doorway, some part of her mind noticing that the piercing black eyes were now at her height, not staring up any longer. The boy had grown quite a bit in the months she hadn't seen him. The loathing and disgust she saw in them was the same as before though.

"Where's Lil?"

Petunia looked at him a second longer in silence. A malicious spark lit in her mind, its fire slowly banishing the numbness from her limbs, burning bright and hot.

He couldn't hex her any longer. Lily had explained that they were forbidden from using magic outside school when her mother had asked to see some of those spells she was always bragging about.

Which meant Petunia didn't have to fear the wretched boy any longer.

The boy frowned in annoyance when she took too long to answer. Petunia gave a small smile which only deepened the furrow between his dark brows. "She's not here. Didn't she tell you? She's buying gifts for all of her new friends in Hogwarts."

The boy went pale around his nose, which Petunia realised seemed to have grown as well. The childish roundness had slowly transformed into something that was more hooked and sharp. "You're lying, Lil would have told me."

Petunia's smile bloomed. The best part about this whole experience was the fact that she was actually not lying at all. Mum had refused to take Lily shopping on Christmas and had held out until now to fulfil her favourite daughter's wish. Petunia stepped aside, offering the boy a way in. She knew he had seldom been inside the house - he and Lily usually met in the run-down town square, the fields or the small forest. "See for yourself, if you don't believe me."

The suspicion in his obsidian eyes mounted but childish curiosity and the need to prove her wrong won out. He slowly made his way inside, looking like a loud noise would spook him. He didn't have to worry; her father was at work, which meant Petunia had the house to herself. She waited until he was almost at the kitchen counter before taking a deep breath: "LILY!"

And to her immense satisfaction the boy whirled around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. This time Petunia's smile was still mean-spirited but more genuine. "See? She's not here."

The boy didn't answer, still watching her with his usual loathing. He looked misplaced inside their cream-colored kitchen with the gleaming appliances and blue pots, like a splotch of ink on a pastel painting.

"She hasn't talked about anything else since she came home," Petunia continued. "It was always about all of the new friends she'd made, Amelia, Alice and ... Edgar?"

The boy flinched slightly at the names. Satisfaction spread inside Petunia's chest. "Did you make any new friends, Severus?"

She knew he hadn't. He worshipped at Lily's altar, which meant no-one else would ever be good enough. He wanted her to be the only one he was close to and himself the only one she was close to - a pity that those wishes never worked out if you didn't ensure the outcome like Petunia had done all those years. Lily was too open, she quickly found things she liked and would never limit her affections.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Somehow with the way he was hunched over in her kitchen with his loose, dusty clothes and long, stringy hair he reminded Petunia of an alley cat that had wandered into her house and had been cornered. One step closer and it would either scratch her face off or hide behind the drapes.

"What do you care?", he hissed, quite like a cat as well.

"Well, however you might think of me, we've still known each other for years. Of course I'm curious."