Prologue

A knock sounded at the door of Number Four, Privet Drive early on a cool autumn morning. The woman who lived there set down the bowl from which she was feeding her son and went to answer it, tightening the ties of her dressing gown as she went.

She opened the door, a faux pleasant smile pasted on her face. It quickly died, however, when she saw who was on the other side. "Professor," she gasped.

"Hello, Petunia," the older man said solemnly, the usual twinkle in his eyes missing completely. "May we come in?" he asked, gesturing to the small bundle in his arms.

"Oh, Harry," Petunia sobbed, taking the baby gently. "What happened, Sir?" She questioned the man, as she let him into the house and shut the world out.

The tall man didn't reply until they were both seated on the small, fashionable sofa. "I'm afraid the worst has happened, Petunia. Lord Voldemort paid the Potters a visit last night, on Black's word. James tried to hold him off, even without a wand, the brave boy. And then your sister did the same, giving her life for Harry's. I'm so sorry, Petunia. They are both gone."

Tears poured from Petunia's eyes, soaking her nephew's blanket. She clutched him closer as he began to wake.

"What is the meaning of this? Petunia, I thought we had agreed that none of your kind would visit the house. I don't want Dudley around those sorts," a wide man blustered as he came into the room.

"Vernon, Lily and James... they're gone, Vernon. My sister is gone!" Petunia sobbed.

"Well now, that's too bad," he attempted to soothe. "But really, that's what you get mucking about with those wizarding types."

"'Those wizarding types'." Petunia's voice was deadly quiet as she echoed him. "May I remind you that I am one of 'those wizarding types'? And that is my sister and her husband you are talking about. Not to mention that your son has magic, as well."

"Nonsense, Dudley is as ordinary as you or- well, as ordinary as I am," the fat man protested.

"You didn't see him making his bottle levitate to him the other day. Or turn his bath bubbles pink," she argued back. Her nephew's protesting cry stopped her short. "Vernon, if you want to stay, then please allow Professor Dumbledore to say his piece. Otherwise, breakfast will be a little late this morning."

Vernon was quiet for a moment, not used to his wife standing up to him, before stubbornly sitting in the armchair. Petunia then turned back to the older man. "Please continue, Sir."

"I have a request to make of you, Petunia, and you, as well, Vernon. Since his mother died to save Harry, there is a protection in his blood. And you are the only surviving member of Lily's family, as well as his godmother, so I felt with you was the best place for him. I can place additional protections upon him that will keep him safe as long as he lives with you, if you agree to keep him."

"Of course, but is You-Know-Who still after him?" Vernon started protesting, but Petunia's stern look quelled him.

"After Lord Voldemort... killed Lily, he tried to do the same to Harry. However, because she died to save her son, the curse rebounded upon him. But I doubt very much that he is gone permanently. I am afraid that he will come back for Harry sooner or later, which is why we need to protect him as much as we can."

"Of course, I'll do anything, whatever needs to be done to protect him." Petunia clutched the small boy to her chest fiercely.

"What about Dudley? You already have one son!" Vernon exploded. "And having Harvey near him would be risking his life. I will not have you putting our son in danger for the son of your good-for-nothing sister and her wastrel husband!"

In the blink of an eye, Petunia was up, wand clenched in the hand not holding Harry. "You will never speak of her that way again. And if you think I would ever put my son in harm's way, you are quite mistaken. I will do everything in my power to keep both boys safe."

"I won't let you keep Dudley with that misfit!" Vernon was bravely, or foolishly, still arguing with her. "I will not allow him to be raised with... with magic! You will not keep that boy!"

"I will keep Harry, and I will keep Dudley. It's quite up to you if you keep Dudley, and me," she replied evenly.

Vernon huffed sarcastically. "Of course I will keep you two. You are my wife. You belong with me. But the urchin will have to go."

"You obviously misunderstood my terms. If you want me to stay, Harry will stay, as well," she repeated, emphasizing her nephew's name.

"No, absolutely not! I will not raise someone else's child! Especially not one with such a dodgy past! No, he has to go!" Vernon's face was starting to get red from anger, and his voice raised, causing Harry to cry out.

In contrast, Petunia's voice stayed level. "Very well." She disappeared with a loud crack, then reappeared within a minute, this time carrying her son in the arm that wasn't already occupied with her nephew. "Say goodbye to Father, Dudley. You won't be seeing him for a while," she told her son, who hid his blond head in her neck at her words.

"You can't take him!" The words were screamed at her, but she stood there calmly. "I won't let you take him from me!" Vernon advanced toward his willowy wife, obviously intending to use his massive girth to intimidate her.

With another crack, Petunia and the boys disappeared. A fourth crack brought Petunia back, arms empty, except for the thin stick that was clenched in her hand. "You will not take my son from me," she hissed. "You've wanted nothing to do with him from the moment he was born, other than to have the attention he brings. You will never take him from me. We are leaving, and don't try to stop me. I am done with your bullying me, and belittling me. I will take my son and our things, and I will walk out that door."

Sparks were spitting out of her wand, which was dangerously close to her husband's face. In fact, the mustache he was so proud of was under threat of going up in flames. But neither was paying any attention to it. Instead, they were looking into each other's eyes, pale green glaring into beady blue. Vernon, after several tense moments, finally replied. "Fine, but don't touch a single thing of mine, or anything I gave you. Especially not Mother's crystal."

"Like I would want those hideous glasses," she laughed scoffingly. "I only took them to be polite."

He huffed, clearly put out, then decided upon, "Fine. You have ten minutes to be gone from here."

"I only need five. I am a witch, after all," was Petunia's smirking response. "Oh, and you can get your own bloody breakfast."

The man stomped out of the room toward the kitchen. "Well done, Petunia," came the soft applause from behind her.

"Oh, Professor, I nearly forgot you were there. I'm terribly sorry you had to witness that," she said, rather embarrassed.

"I'm not," he replied, smiling kindly. "And I feel confident that Lily is proud of you. It's clear where she got her fire from."

A watery laugh escaped of its own accord, quite without permission. "Thank you, Sir. I'm not sure that's true, but thank you, all the same."

"I never lie," he said, the smallest twinkle coming back into his eyes. "Would you like some assistance in packing?"

"If you could keep an eye on the boys, I should manage the packing," Petunia requested. At his nod of acquiescence, she continued. "They are in the second bedroom on the right of the landing. Thank you ever so much."

"It is my pleasure, I assure you, Petunia."

Petunia's guess of five minutes to pack proved quite accurate. Using her wand for the first time in what seemed like forever made quick work of what would have otherwise been hours. Her suitcase was packed, as well as Dudley's, and shrunk to fit in her pocket. Upstairs, in the bedroom she had shared with Vernon for three long years, she slipped the huge ring off her slender finger and put it on the dresser, where he was sure to find it. Then, she made her way to the nursery, where she found the most revered wizard entertaining two small children by making stuffed animals dance.

Dudley saw her then. "Mummy," he squealed happily.

"Are you all set, Petunia?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Yes, thank you, Sir."

She quickly gathered both boys in her arms, awkwardly maneuvering their different weights. "Where will you go?" the older man asked.

"Mum left the house to us, to Lily and me," she began explaining. "Neither of us could bear to sell it, so it's just been gathering dust. It's as good a place as any," she added with a rueful grin.

"If you could bear my company for a while longer, I could help you get the boys there, at the very least," Dumbledore offered with a self-deprecating smile.

Now that her adrenaline had settled a bit from her fight with Vernon, Petunia had to admit it probably wasn't the wisest idea to Apparate with both boys, since she wasn't used to carrying more than one. And hadn't Apparated regularly in quite a while. She didn't want to splinch anyone, after all. "That would be lovely," she told him, feeling a little relieved. "The address is- unless you still remember where it is?"

"Of course. I very clearly remember you charming home."

"Very well, then. Shall we go?"

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Vernon?" The question was soft, but weighty.

Petunia let out a little sigh. "I should. I don't want to, but I should."

"Harry and I will be waiting for you by the front door," he said, taking the smaller boy from her.

She huffed again, but headed downstairs, nonetheless. Upon her arrival in the kitchen, Vernon looked up from the mess he had made frying eggs. "You're still here, are you?" he asked nastily.

"Not for much longer. I just thought you might like a chance to say goodbye to your son." Then, without waiting for his response, she told Dudley, "Say goodbye to Father."

Once again, he buried his head in her neck, refusing to look at his father. "Go on, darling, say goodbye to him," she coaxed gently.

"Won't!" came the reply from the toddler.

"It doesn't matter," Vernon said brusquely. "It's clear that nothing good will come of him, anyway. He's just like his mother."

Too angry to reply, Petunia simply turned on her heel and walked to the front door. "I'm ready, Sir," she told Dumbledore.

The man had clearly heard the previous interaction, as his face was far too sympathetic, otherwise. "Let's be off."

Both adults spun on their heels, cradling the children. The small, cheerful, if rather dusty, living room they appeared in seemed to release a sigh, as if happy to have people in it once more. Pictures littered the walls, and nearly every horizontal surface as well, of two girls, one redheaded, the other blonde. As the girls in the pictures grew, their clothing changed, as well. They went from jumpers, jeans, and skirts, to robes. Several of the newer ones even moved. "I see this room hasn't changed much," Dumbledore said, looking around.

"No," Petunia laughed softly. "When Mum died,... Lily and I couldn't change anything, so we simply locked the door. Put a few spells on it, of course, to keep any unsavory types out." She shifted Dudley on her hip, looking for a clean place to put him down. Not finding any, she sighed. "I guess I need to clean before anything else."

"Allow me to help, please, Petunia." Dumbledore didn't wait for her permission before waving his wand. A pleasant breeze swept through the room, taking any speck of dust with it. She could tell it went throughout the house, before exiting out the back windows.

"There, now we can at least walk through without an assault on our sinuses," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

He stayed for a while longer, disappearing for a few moments, before reappearing with breakfast for the four of them. He also placed the enchantments on little Harry, just like he'd said. And just when Petunia felt she couldn't be the polite hostess she had been raised to always be for one moment longer, he stood up. "Well, Petunia, I will invade your home no longer. But should you need anything, never hesitate to contact me. I am simply an owl away."

"Thank you, Sir, for everything. I appreciate everything you've done for me, for us."

"Would you like me to add a few more wards to the house before I go?"

"Anything to help Harry," she said, relieved.

"Alright, then. I shall see myself out and do those wards right away. Goodbye, Petunia."

She watched as he walked towards the door, then turned to the two children in front of her at the sound of the door shutting. "Well, my darlings, it's just us three now."

"Mummy," Dudley replied firmly.

"Mu-mah," Harry repeated, echoing his older cousin.

"No, darling, I'm Auntie Petunia. I know it's been awhile since we've seen you, but you remember me, don't you?" She was very close to tears as she said this, looking into those emerald eyes that were so much like her sister's.

"Ah-ie Pet," Harry said dutifully.

"Yes," she laughed wetly. "Auntie Pet."

"Ah-ie Pet, wan Mu-mah," he whimpered.

"Oh, Harry, I want your Mummy, too," she whispered, as the barrier broke. She'd been so strong all morning, getting everything done, being the perfect hostess; she hadn't allowed herself the time to really feel what had happened. But now, she couldn't push it away any longer. Tears streamed down her face, clouding the boys' faces in her view.

"Mummy?" Dudley questioned, sounding very worried.

"Oh, my boys," she whispered, pulling them both into her arms.

Surprisingly, both boys allowed her to simply hold them, and their presence was strangely comforting to her. After some time spent crying, Petunia pulled herself together. "Boys," she started shakily. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"

Dudley cheered, and after a beat, Harry followed along, once again copying the older boy. Petunia laughed, sniffed, and began. "Once upon a time, there lived two little girls. One had beautiful, long red hair, and the other had thick, blonde curls. If you casually looked at them, you would not see any resemblance between the two. But if you looked closely, you would see similarities; the way they both cocked their heads to the left when deeply thinking, the way they both laughed easily and loudly, the way their eyes shined when they were completely, utterly happy. These things mattered, for you see, the two girls were sisters. More importantly, they were the best of friends…"

AN: I just changed a tiny bit, making it so that Mrs. Evans gave them the house. There will be a few more changes in the next two chapters, as well, but nothing major. Thanks for reading!