Interesting, rather dark AU take on petunia, I like the idea of this darker, grittier Petunia who rakes her hands cross Sev's back. Is she a drug addict in the storY? Well this is a surprise compared to how proper petunia was later on. Yet I liked how you wrote this. Severus is very likeable and caring here. I do think Petunia was a better choice for him than Lily and it's great that she calls him her 'devil' XD

Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men? Haha, just kidding. Serious review time now. :)

The first thing I'd like to comment on is how well you keep Severus in character. It comes through clearly in the beginning when he thinks it's sad that he's the best she can do, and that he's learned to keep speaking to a minimum because he knows he'll most likely say the wrong thing. That sounds like a very Severus thing to think, almost like seeing into his mind and reading his thoughts.

[white lines of scar tissue that are the feathers of her broken angel wings] This is beautiful. Dark, sad and beautiful all at the same time.

Now there's a thought. Severus accidentally saying her sister's name by mistake. That could happen, in my opinion, so it's no wonder she leaves the lights on to prevent him from losing himself in the dark and mistaking her for someone else.

I love Severus in this. He's so kind and gentle, holding her and comforting her in the night when she starts crying. Bless his heart, he's so sweet.

I really liked this. These two go good together, and I like that Severus helps her when she's recovering from her drug problem. His emotions in this are very real, especially when he worries that she might not see him anymore once she gets better. And the ending was perfect, with Severus asking if he'll see her tonight, and she says yes unless he goes blind or she becomes invisible.

This is a very good story that shows how their relationship grows with time, from her going to him for help to her being there because she wants to, because she likes him. It's very nice. I feel as though I can't say enough good things about so I'll just end by saying well done, Lamia.

Interesting pairing! I hate hearing about Petunia having been abused, but I think it was a necessary step to make their relationship believable.

The idea that he can't speak around her without saying something that will send her running is sad and feels kind of stifling to me, but I loved the fact that they rely on physical rather than verbal communication. And it made his admission that he wanted her to stay even sweeter.

I also really liked how, even in a reality where Severus renounced the dark arts, Lily still chose James. Although that might just be my anti-Snily thing shining through.
The part about her being afraid that he might imagine Lily instead if the lights were out was heartbreaking. And the angel/devil exchange was also really well done, linking back to how she fell from grace in a way while he was raised from the hell of his childhood, allowing them to meet in this middle ground.

A beautiful read from beginning to end. Passionate, inspiring, flawless. The characters are lovely to read, their growth is phenomenal, their romance is beautiful in its fragility.

Keep it up.

~Athena~

I have a hard time picturing these two as a pairing but the way you break Petunia down here and have Snape helping her put herself back together is just amazing.

Getting involved in drugs isn't something I would have though Petunia would do but the way you've written it here makes it seem possible. She was a teenager under stress from being less perfect than her sister and started doing drugs to deal with the pain. And then she got addicted. And of course the abusive boyfriends don't help anything.

Their whole relationship is so SAD, I honestly didn't know where you were going with this and thought she was going to leave him again in the morning even after she was almost crying the night before because she knows she wants to be with him!

The breakfast is so awkward especially when they start trying to have a conversation. But yay for that little ray of hope at the end!

When you entered this into the competion, I wondered how a fic that you described as being dark, could convey me of your OTP. Well, like this, apparently. It seems quite fitting they these two would communicate with gestions what they couldn't say with words. I'm not too sure about the drugs abuse, but I can easily see Petunia in a(n) (string of) abusive relationship(s) and in a way, Severus seems like the right person to help her. Both of their uncertainties made for quite an interesting dynamic. I'm a bit confused as to why Severus would be having dinner at the Evans' when Lily ceased being friends with him (cause even if he were friends with Remus and/or Peter, I don't really see why the Evans would invite Severus over) but that doesn't take away from the story much. Overall, well done!

Ahhh. Bittersweet, if I had to describe it in one word. Moving. Painful. Beautiful – like a broken mirror.

The concept was not something I'd read if I came across it – Snape/Petunia? Do I /really/ want to read that? How could /that/ be written so that I'd enjoy and like it?
Apparently, like this.

I like it, a lot. I must admit, there is a small part of me that feels viciously satisfied at Petunia's troubles, because of her canonical behaviour towards Harry, but only a small part. The rest of me loves how Snape manages to hold her and put her back together each time, even though she keeps leaving...and loves how she keeps coming back. My mind jumps immediately to that scene in Forrest Gump where Jenny finally comes to Forrest, after all that happened to her...

This was surprisingly romantic for the two of them, yet sad at the same time. Your descriptions were very vivid and touching (heart-wrenching). It must suck to know that the only reason someone is with you is because they're damaged. You want to heal and get better but you fear that when they do, they won't need you anymore. But your ending shows that Petunia isn't going to leave him now that she's getting better. She realizes that Severus is who she needs to be with (instead of the drugs and the abusive relationships). Great job.

This is a very interesting ship I don't think I've ever read and Severus/Petunia fic before. The title in itself was really epic because it's quite metaphoric when describing these two. Petunia who always seemed so averse to magic and Severus averse to Muggles with the exception of Lily (who is Muggleborn) To me I feel as if Severus is trying to fill the space that was left empty when Lily married James as can be seen when Petunia tells him that Lily is pregnant and the sour way he responds. It seems that she really does like him though, and I'm unsure if that's because to her it's like forbidden and for him it's like well, if one sister isn't there the other will suffice. All in all a job well done.

-JadedEpiphany

Hey

Well . . . this was an unusual pairing but one I quite enjoyed reading about. It's great how you managed to convey so much depth into such a short piece, and how you managed to so perfectly illustrate a relationship between the two of them.

Petunia and Severus both have abusive backgrounds in this version of events and I think that that's what brought them together in the end - I wonder if Voldensnort is a presence in this one.

Overall, a great story that I quite enjoyed reading.

-Ciao Mate

Well I got around to reading this EVENTUALLY! And I really loved it tbh :D All the angst and lost and broken people who fail at communicating, that's my favourite thing! ;) The writing and the insight were very nice. The whole beginning I really really loved, with that whole communicating through touch all he'd never say in words, with him reading so many things on her body, all the signs of her brokenness, and doing his best to give her his presence and gentleness in return. Well-written intimacy that conveys strong emotion is the best thing. I also love the way you portrayed their personalities and their dynamic, Severus being so cynical and awkward with words and feelings, Petunia so insecure and certain she couldn't be what he wanted, and communication an utter fail between them. Love Petunia getting so emotional and tear-choked right after they had sex and his holding her tight and praying that she wouldn't cry. Love his own uncertainty, too, about his place in her life if she was doing a bit better and how she was always all too quick to leave him. Their history was very nicely portrayed, and their encounter over breakfast too—with all that silence, the awkwardness of the dialogue, Lily being a very sore subject for the two of them, not to mention that communicating is a thing. But there were little highlights, Petunia actually joking, his daring to voice that he didn't want her to leave, her progress. They're clumsy and tentative but they're really so sweet in a lost, cynical and insecure kind of way, and indeed it makes them very well suited. The ending is very sweet too actually ;) It's a really lovely exploration! You pretty much won me over to the ship there ;) Great job!

I ended up liking this a lot, actually.

Usually, it's sort of hard to get behind a Severus/Petunia story, but the way you've been hinting at things, stuff's different and I can see them coming to form some semblance of a romantic relationship. Especially, as Severus seems to let on, they don't do much talking. I feel if they did more talking, there relationship probably wouldn't work given that both seem to be a bit caustic in their language and each are more thin-skinned than they'd like to admit.

Great story!

Wow. I would never consider these two as anything but a crack pairing, but you've managed to make me ship them. And ship them hard. They fit together perfectly. Broken and damaged and accepting each other's faults, and clearly there is a future with them together. This was frankly an amazing fic. No typos as far as I saw. Incredible job!

I was curious to see what sort of fic would come out of that first/last sentence in the Chain Competition (or whatever it's called exactly).

Anyway, this was sad. Sad in that both Petunia and Snape seem to be leading empty-ish lives and unable to deal with emotions well, in addition to the more obvious it being sad that Petunia has been having such problems with life. I personally have a bit of trouble imagining Petunia having drug problems (abusive relationships I can imagine more easily) but nothing wrong with everybody having their own head canon. I also liked how the piece did end with a bit more of a cheerful note, and it would have been fun to read more banter between Snape and Petunia (although not necessarily in this piece, given this piece's tone).

For concrit, I was a bit confused about the dinner with Petunia and the Marauders-namely I couldn't figure out why would Snape be having dinner with Lily and the Marauders given Lily broke off their friendship. I also vaguely wondered why Snape and Lupin were talking, but that's a bit more believable, I think. (I just re-read that section, and I suppose there's actually a mention of him becoming friends with 'the rat and the werewolf' before the dinner, but it's such a brief mention it's easy to miss given that it kind of deviates from how most people think of canon).

Anyway, this was an interesting if depressing piece, and it's always interesting to see how you write Snape and Petunia together.

This was great! Very well written, and you did a wonderful job of capturing such a unique pairing. In a strange way, I like the idea that Severus would go to Petunia and help her through some of her troubles. It's tragic and sort of taboo and I think you did a really great job of showing that through their interactions and his thoughts.

The ending was perfect, what with the "'My devil'" bit. Great job!