Bohemian Rhapsody

moment six: brave new world (February 1971).

On the morning of her eleventh birthday, Lily Evans received a letter. Her older sister, Petunia, had been sitting on the stairs after breakfast, and saw the shape being placed through the letterbox, and watched as it fell to the mat below. Carefully - for Petunia, unlike her sister, never did anything dashing or without cautious consideration - she stood up, and climbed down the stairs, bending down to pick up the curious new arrival. It seemed old fashioned, with musty yellow paper and black ink on the front. It definitely was addressed to Lily, but Petunia´s curiosity was aroused - even more so than when the Boy Next Door had been caught kissing the Girl Over the Street. She sniffed it. It even smelled funny. And it wasn´t like any other letter she had seen, and Petunia prided herself on having seen a lot for a thirteen year old.

She padded into the kitchen and silently sat down to breakfast, passing the offending item to her father. Lily was still asleep, having been allowed to sleep in due to her birthday. Mother was at the stove-top, cooking Lily´s favourite breakfast: Pancakes with sides of bacon and egg. Petunia hated pancakes. Her father made a show of the envelope to their mother, and then opened it, reading it to himself. He looked at it, puzzled, and read through it again.

"Dear," he said, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "You might want to look at this." Her mother wiped her hands on her apron and took the letter in two fingers, taking care not to leave a drop of grease. She laughed, and passed it back. "Surely it´s someone´s idea of a practical joke David? They can´t be serious, can they?"

"Mother, can I have a look at the letter?", Petunia piped up. She tried not to squirm in her seat, so desperate to find out what had happened, and how it involved her younger sister.

Mother went back to cooking. "No dear," she said fondly. "Whatever it is, it´s Lily´s problem, not yours. You can ask her when she´s up."

Petunia felt her shoulders slump. Maybe she could spend the day in her room, doing homework or something, avoiding the fact that there was something she didn´t know about. It was hardly that she enjoyed school, but at least it gave her something to do.

There was a knock at the door.

Petunia squealed, and jumped up. "I´ll get it!" She ran from the kitchen and back out to the hallway, and opened the door. There was a lady there she´d never seen before, with raven-black hair tied behind her in a bun, and a lime green pants suit on.

"Hello!", said the lady, bending down to greet the young girl. "Are you Lily Evans?"

"No," she said, shrinking back from the door. Why did everyone always want Lily? "I´m her sister, Petunia. Lily´s still asleep." And she tossed her pale gold hair back, as if unconcerned.

"Well, are your mother and father home?"

Petunia nodded.

"Could you see if I could speak with them? Tell them it´s about the letter Lily got today."

Petunia went back to kitchen, and announced the lady´s presence. Her mother and father shared a glance. Her mother took breakfast off the stove, and her father picked up the letter from the kitchen table. "Breakfast will be delayed a little today my sweet," her mother cautioned Petunia, planting a small kiss on her hair. She could hear the grown-ups talking outside in the hall, and could catch snatches of some of the things they said.

The lady spoke first. "Good morning, Mr and Mrs Evans. My name is Julia Redfern, and I´m one of the Muggle/Wizard liaisons from the Ministry of Magic. I´m here to discuss your daughter´s acceptance into Hogwarts´ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

There was a pause and then her mother asked if the lady would mind going into the study. Petunia couldn´t hear them for a while, and then suddenly her name was called.

She raced into the next room, brushing her long hair back from her face. "Yes, father?"

He smiled at her, and then back at the lady who was sitting opposite. Petunia noted that he was holding hands with Mother, and a nice black leather briefcase sat opened on the coffee table. Some pamphlets and documentation lay on the table - her mother was going through some of it. "Get your sister up, will you? There are some things she needs to hear about." He then turned his attention back to the lady and asked her something about primary education. Petunia stayed in the doorway, somewhat taken aback. Everything was about Lily. Everything was always about Lily.

After a moment, she turned and bolted up the staircase to her sister´s bedroom, right next to her own. Lily was snoring softly, her red-brown hair spilled out over the pillow like strands of copper. Petunia poked her not-so-gently until she awoke, emerald green eyes opening to the morning. "Father says you´re to come downstairs," she said, curtly, before turning to go to her own room and closing the door behind her.

She went to her dresser, and took out her hair brush, combing her long pale yellow hair, one hundred strokes each side precisely. Petunia heard Lily pad down the stairs to the living room, and the excited babble that lasted for about half an hour. She heard the door open, and goodbyes being made, and the lady left. A few minutes later there was a gentle knock on her bedroom door.

"Petunia?", her mother called.

Petunia didn´t respond, and as she guessed, the door was opened anyway.

"Petunia, come downstairs. We´ve got some lovely news." That being said, her mother closed the door behind her.

A few moments later, Petunia turned up in the living room, to find her mother and father seated on the couch, Lily cuddled between them. All were beaming, and Petunia was struck with sudden clarity: she was the outsider here. Some of the documents still lay on the table from the lady´s visit, although the briefcase was of course gone. Her father picked up one of the pamphlets, and passed it to her. Petunia took it, noting the title, navy blue against white. So Your Child Can Work Magic, it proclaimed. She looked up at her parents, eyes wide. Her father mistook her wide-eyed caution for surprise, even joy, and ruffled Lily´s hair. "That´s right Petunia. Lily´s going to be a witch."