Like Magic

Chapter Six

"Petunia is in my trunk," said Lily. "She has run away to Hogwarts."

The boys stared at her. Sirius was the first to laugh. "You're joking!"

"She's there, I saw her!" cried Lily, suddenly breaking from her control. "I opened my trunk to get my night-gown and there she was, sleeping."

"You left her there?" yelled Peter.

"What was I supposed to do, introduce her to my roommates?" snapped Lily.

"She can't stay in your trunk forever, Lily," said James.

"I know that! But what am I going to do with her?"

James had already turned back to his trunk and was digging in it, eventually pulling out a long silvery cloak. "I'll bring her back here," he said. "Since we all know she's here, she might as well stay with us."

"She can't be left alone with you!" said Lily. "You're -- you're boys."

"Well noticed," said Sirius.

"We're not going to do anything to her, Lily," said James patiently.

"Speak for yourself! Is she cute?"

Peter resisted the temptation to throttle Sirius. "I'll watch her, Lily. She'll be safe with me. And she knows me, so if she wakes in the middle of the night she won't be afraid."

Lily worried her lip, thinking. This is all my fault. If I hadn't kept on about Hogwarts all these years -- whatever possessed her to jump into my trunk like that? Oh -- the train -- what did we say that she might have heard?

"All right," she said. "But only if Peter stays with her."

James threw the cloak over his shoulders, so that only his head was visible. "I'll follow you back to your room, Lily," he instructed. "And then I'll get Petunia when you open your trunk and bring her back here. We can bring her down to breakfast in the morning underneath the cloak."

"But how do I let you back out again?" asked Lily. "Everyone was awake when I left, and I can't just leave the door open to the hallway, Erika will throw a fit."

"I can follow you and knock on the door," suggested Sirius. "So you can open it for James and Petunia to come out."

Lily sighed. "I want her to stay with me."

"She can't," said Remus. "Megan couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it."

The walk back to her room was possibly the longest in Lily's life. Every step she took she felt as though she was walking towards her own doom. Suppose Pets has woken up already. Suppose they know she's there, and McGonagall is already sending her home! They would just send her home, wouldn't they? She hasn't really broken any rules, they can't just send her to Azkaban, she's only a baby! Mummy and Dad are going to really be mad at her this time - don't they realize she gone yet?

The lights in her room were out, but the moonlight was enough to see by. Lily quickly knelt by her trunk and opened it. Petunia still slept at the bottom, and Lily and James both lifted her out of it.

"Wait," whispered Lily, and leaned over to kiss her sister's cheek before covering it with the cloak. "Take care of her, James, please."

"Trust me," replied James, and there was a loud knock at the door. Across the room, Megan sat straight up in bed.

"It's midnight, go away!" she shrieked. Lily flew to the door and opened it wide. She felt the swish of the cloak as James and Petunia left the room. And then she noticed Sirius.

"Sirius!" she choked. "You're still in your boxers!"

"Sirius Black in his boxers? Come in, come in!" cried Megan, and crawled to the foot of her bed. Instantly every light in the room was on.

Sirius couldn't help himself. He sauntered into the centre of the room, pausing when he could see every inhabitant. Carol cowered under her coverlet, and Erika sat up with a bemused expression on her face. Megan sat at the foot of her bed, holding on for dear life to the bedpost, practically drooling.

"Now, dolls, there's plenty of me to go around," said Sirius, winking at Megan. "Hi, there, sweetheart!"

Lily had been holding the door open in shock. "Sirius!" her voice in a stage whisper, "You have to leave now!"

"No he doesn't!"

"Yes he does!"

Sirius turned to her. "But you haven't given me my goodnight kiss, Lily!"

Carol shrieked and dove the rest of the way under the coverlet. Erika groaned and fell back against the pillows. But Megan -

"I'll give you one!" And she might have, had Lily not already grabbed Sirius by the arm and tossed him into the hallway, out the door, slamming it behind him.

Sirius fell against the wall, slumping down to the floor. He was grinning -- until he saw the bunny slippers standing next to him. He followed them up -- to find the Head Girl Arabella Figg standing with her terry-cloth robed arms crossed, standing over him, looking extremely cross.

"Nice curlers, Arabella!" said Sirius cheekily.

Arabella leaned over him until her nose practically touched his forehead. "I don't even want to know, Sirius, what you are doing here in the girls dormitories at midnight, half naked -- " and here her eyes flickered downward and grew wide. Sirius's grin only grew. "But if you aren't out of my sight in ten seconds," she spluttered, "the five points I'm taking from Gryffindor will be twenty."

"Right-o, Arabella!" said Sirius, standing. "Nighty-night!" And he walked down the hallway, whistling.

* * * * *

The boys huddled around Peter's bed. At the centre of it lay Petunia, still fast asleep and still wearing the pyjamas she'd worn since that morning.

"But she can't stay here forever, can she?" whispered Remus. "I mean, her parents will have noticed that she's gone by now."

"Like they'll even care," snorted Peter. He was brushing the hair off of Petunia's face. "Can we sneak her in with the first years? Maybe say she missed the train? She can live with them, and take their classes, just like normal."

"And what happens the first day in Transfiguration when her matchstick doesn't turn into a needle?" retorted Remus. "She doesn't even have a wand, Peter!"

"We can get her one in Hogsmeade. Say she left it at home."

"It wouldn't work anyway, she's still a Muggle," said Sirius.

There wasn't any warning. Peter simply threw himself at Sirius, knocking them both to the floor. "Take that back!" he howled, and it as was though all the pent-up fury he'd been holding on to since the day Petunia hadn't received her letter was unleashed in one spectacular punch towards Sirius's nose. Sirius, after the initial shock, naturally punched back, and within moments the two boys were rolling around on the floor in an old fashioned fistfight.

James and Remus stared, open-mouthed for a moment. Remus groaned.

"I thought they'd grown out of this," he sighed, and reached in and pulled Sirius off of Peter, who had been having his head banged into the floor. Sirius's nose was bleeding, and Peter had the beginnings of a very colourful black eye.

"Stop it, you two," hissed James angrily. "I will not deal with the two of you at each other's necks all year again. Do you really have to fight the first night back? I am tired, Remus is tired, and I just want to go to bed and we can deal with this in the morning. Agreed?"

Sirius shrugged Remus's arm off of him. He felt his nose gingerly. "Fine. Good night!" He stomped off to his bed on the other side of the room. James sighed and followed to his own bed.

Peter crawled up onto his bed next to the sleeping Petunia, and went back to stroking her face. Remus sat on the other side of her. "Think she'll sleep through the rest of the night?" he asked quietly.

"Probably, if she slept through that."

"I'm serious, Pete, we can't keep her here all year," said Remus. "Someone's bound to notice. And she really can't stay with us - remember tomorrow night's the first night of my change, she's gonna notice I'm gone - "

"I know," said Peter, a bit cross. "Let me think on it a bit, Remus, won't you? Like James said, in the morning."

Remus sighed -- he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, he reflected. "All right, then. Goodnight, Pete."

"Night, Remus," said Peter softly, never looking up from Petunia's face.

* * * * *

Petunia wasn't sure where she was when she woke up, except that she had a lot of room to move around. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the trunk, but a very soft bed with burgundy curtains all around, and a burgundy coverlet over her. She slowly sat up, wondering who had put her there and when.

Lily, she thought, this must be Lily's bed, and Lily's room -- I wonder where Lily is?

She crawled to the foot of the bed, and stuck her head out the curtains into the circular room. There were three other beds in the room, and someone in one of them was moving. "Lily?" she asked tentatively.

But it wasn't Lily's head that popped out. In fact, it wasn't a girl's head at all. It was the head of a dark-haired, freckled boy.

"Hello," said Sirius Black.

Petunia screamed. She flew off the bed and towards the door on the far side of the room. The door opened just as Petunia got there and she ran head first into -- nothing. Petunia fell to the floor.

"Oof!" said a voice, and suddenly a head appeared out of nowhere, floating in mid-air. "Hey, you're awake!"

"You're -- you're a head!" cried Petunia unintelligibly, and began to scoot away from him back into the room, backing straight into Sirius's legs. She yelped again, and ended by cowering between the two, whimpering.

James gave Sirius one of his looks. "What did you do to her?"

Sirius looked hurt. "I didn't do anything! I just said hello!"

James shook his head and knelt before Petunia. "Look, see, it's an Invisibility Cloak. It makes whoever wears it invisible. You can wear it later, if you like."

Petunia raised her head from her arms, looking at him. James thought she might have been crying. "Where's Lily?" she asked, her voice nearly breaking.

James's heart melted. He'd heard so much about this little sister, and seen so many pictures of the frail, skinny dark-haired thing, that he couldn't help feeling sorry for her now. "She's downstairs at breakfast. We thought you might go down with us, but then you were sleeping so hard we figured it best to let you get on with it."

"We missed breakfast!" groaned Sirius. James glanced up at him.

"You did," he said. He turned to Petunia. "But I brought you something. Lily said your favourite was sausages and tomatoes?" He handed her a napkin filled with them. Petunia's eyes grew wide.

"I haven't eaten since -- " her voice trailed off. James tousled her hair.

"Tuck in," he said a bit sternly. "Then we're going to meet Lily in class. It's Charms and Transfiguration this morning, and then Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon. Lily really wants to see you, but you need to eat first, right?"

Petunia nodded, and began eating the sausages. James smiled at her, and went to Sirius, who'd begun dressing.

"Tomorrow night's the full moon," he said quietly to his friend. "Remus is already starting to look like a train wreck."

"Well, why not?" asked Sirius. "He's going to change tonight, too, and he spent half the night in jitters anyway -- it didn't help that there was a girl in the bed next to him."

James looked over at the girl in the centre of the room. She was eating the food a bit more slowly now, and he thought she might have been straining to hear what they said. He lowered his voice.

"All the same -- we have to figure out what to do about her. She can't stay in this room, especially once Remus comes back. I don't know where she can go, but it can't be here."

Petunia studied her last tomato. She didn't want to eat anymore, despite how hungry she had been a moment ago. I wonder why this Remus boy can't have me here, she thought to herself. I wish I could stay with Lily. Why isn't she here? And where is Peter? This isn't how I thought it would be at all!

She looked up to see James standing before her again, holding the cloak. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm James Potter," said the boy. "And that's Sirius Black, who scared you earlier. Lily had you stay with us last night, because you couldn't stay in her room. We have two other roommates, Remus Lupin, and you know Peter already. You were in his bed, matter of fact. He wouldn't have left you, but McGonagall wanted to see him straight away and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"You going to eat that tomato?" asked Sirius. Petunia looked at him and held onto to the tomato tighter. Sirius shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Ready?" asked James. Petunia stood up, and he draped the cloak over her. "Look in the mirror," he said, pointing into the corner. Petunia looked and gasped. Except for her head, she was entirely invisible. James pulled the hood over her, and then she disappeared.

"Oh!" she gasped. "I'm gone!"

"You need to stay very close behind us," cautioned James. "And don't say anything. And keep covered up by the cloak, no matter what."

James grabbed his rucksack from the end of his bed and they left the room. James and Sirius walked quickly, and Petunia was hard pressed to keep from tripping over the too-long cloak to look around her. After what seemed like twenty minutes they arrived at a long classroom with benches on either side. Petunia spotted Lily and quickly sat next to her. Lily, having seen James enter and knowing Petunia would be with him, was looking around the classroom, trying to find her sister. Petunia reached and squeezed her hand.

Lily turned toward the empty space beside her and smiled, squeezing back. "I'm glad you're here, Pets," she murmured before turning towards the professor, now beginning class. Petunia leaned back, content. She was at Hogwarts, sitting in a classroom, and her sister still loved her. All was right with the world.

* * * * *

The morning flew by. Petunia had great fun watching the Charms class learn Summoning Charms with pillows (Sirius had been whacked in the head with a misdirected charm on a book). In Transfiguration, Lily had turned her pincushion back into a hedgehog after receiving full marks from Professor McGonagall, and slipped it underneath the Cloak so that Petunia could play with it.

Lunch was greatly amusing as well. The Great Hall was loud with the accumulation of several hundred students, and no one noticed that Lily and her friends were talking to empty air. The enchanted ceiling made Petunia laugh, and she was content to listen to the gossip around her, and feed her hedgehog scraps of her roast chicken. The boys were busily pointing out various people to her.

"That's Vector, the Arithmancy professor," said Remus. Remus's eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles under them. Petunia wondered if he had been ill over the summer. "And that big one at the end, he's Hagrid, he's the groundskeeper."

"He's bigger than anyone I've ever seen!" said Petunia.

"But he's the nicest guy ever," said James. "Cries if he thinks he's hurt your feelings."

"There's the Headmaster, sitting in the centre of the table," began Peter, but Petunia quickly interrupted him.

"I know him!" she said, excited. "He's the one who gave me the book in Diagon Alley, do you remember?"

"Oh, that's Dumbledore," said James. "He's pretty cool too. Last year Sirius and I got into trouble for shooting fireworks off the Astronomy Tower on Valentine's Day -- they were huge red and purple hearts, and we'd put people's names inside of them who were all paired off -- "

"Not all of those pairs were public knowledge, you know," said Lily sternly.

"Well, they should have been," retorted Sirius.

"But Dumbledore thought it was funny. He still gave us detention, and made us write apologies to the people who got hit by the falling embers -- "

"No one died," complained Sirius.

"Bertha Jorkins's hair was burnt entirely off her head," said Remus.

"Yeah," said Sirius dreamily. "That was great."

"I've never seen Professor McGonagall so mad," said Lily sternly.

"But I think Dumbledore laughed, after we left his office," said James.

Petunia looked closer at the Headmaster. He was chatting amicably with Professor McGonagall, who was primly cutting her chicken. The hedgehog bit her finger gently, and Petunia reached for another scrap. Perhaps Dumbledore would be nice enough to let her take some of the classes with the first years. He looked like he might understand her dilemma.

Lily stood up. "It's time for Magical Creatures, and I don't want to be late. You know Professor Kettleburn always gives the latecomers the crankiest animal."

The boys grumbled about being pulled away before finishing their puddings, but Petunia jumped up and followed her sister. The morning lessons may have been interesting, but this one may prove to be the best of them all. Besides, she thought, maybe if I can show that I can handle this class, they'll let me stay.

The paddocks where Care of Magical Creatures were held was located at the far end of Hogwarts grounds, so it took a while to get there. Petunia looked around her, amazed at the difference the daylight made. "I can see the castle!" she exclaimed, catching sight of the ivory colored stones.

Sirius looked at her funnily. "Well, sure, you're not blind, are you?"

"Shut it, Sirius," said James automatically. "Sure, Petunia, you're with us. You saw a ruin last night, right?" Petunia nodded. "Well, as long as you're with us, you'll see Hogwarts as we do. That's why you have to stay close, because if you get too far away you're only going to see the ruin."

They had reached the paddock, and joined the rest of the students there. In the middle of the field was a round little man, with so many plasters on him he looked a bit like an Egyptian mummy.

"Today," Professor Kettleburn announced, "we are going to be studying Crups."

"So bloody what!" said a dark haired boy. His hair was greasy and his nose was a bit hooked. Petunia thought she recognized him a bit. "I had one of those when I was a kid."

"Well then, Mr Snape," said Professor Kettleburn, "then perhaps you could tell us more about them?"

"They're dogs, but they're bred specifically for wizarding use," began Severus Snape. "They can be particularly vicious, which makes them really excellent for setting on those who annoy you." He looked pointedly at Sirius.

"Remind me to get one and train it to recognize him," Sirius whispered to James.

"Right," said the professor. "Crups are born usually six to eight a litter, and must be removed from their mothers at once. Which isn't really a problem, because they can eat anything from regular dog food -- not that I'd recommend it, doesn't sit well with them -- to your every day garden gnome." He opened the kennel near him and led out a small terrier on a leash. It looked exactly like a Jack Russell terrier, without a tail. "Now, Copper here is just a few months old -- easy there, boy -- and he just had his tail removed about six weeks ago. Hold on, fella, I'll let you loose in a moment! Now, the one thing you must remember about Crups is that they're very loyal to their wizard masters, but vicious towards any Muggles they encounter -- not that we have to worry about that here!"

The class laughed, but Peter and Lily stiffened. Petunia felt a sudden chill, and she gripped her hedgehog tighter. The hedgehog immediately began to squirm, not liking the sudden tension around her. The dog began to sniff the air, its ears pricked forward.

"Now, Crups have forked tails, which is how you know them from regular dogs," the professor was saying, "thats why you have to remove it. Easy boy. Although I don't know why, since you shouldn't get them near Muggles in any case." The dog was squirming against the leash, and Professor Kettleburn was losing. "Copper, stay still. Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into --- get back here!!!"

Copper the Crup had pulled his leash out of Professor Kettleburn's hands and taken off straight for Lily and Peter -- and Petunia.

Petunia promptly dropped the panic ridden hedgehog in her fright at seeing the charging Crup closing in on her. The hedgehog began a rapid waddle toward the safety of the forest. Petunia followed the fleeing hedgehog with as much speed as was possible. She heard the class shrieking as they ran or climbed the fences to escape the crazed Crup.

Petunia ran blindly into the woods before realizing the baying of the Crup had died away and the cries of the class had considerably quieted as well.

The tension of the past week began to pour from her in waves. Collapsing against a tall oak she wrapped her arms around the trunks gasping for breath. Her breathing wouldn't slow as the breaths became sobs. Tears streamed down her thin cheeks running in a river over the sharp jaw line and on to the Invisibility Cloak, which lay in a puddle at her feet.

A small tinkling sound invaded her crying. Managing to hold back the worst of the heart-rending sobs she looked at the area the tinkling had come from. A flurry of tiny wings; not much larger than a moth; beat frantically in the bushes. Then she noticed a tiny pale body with wings that were not moth-like at all. Holding her sobs and breath back, she watched as the Fairy dashed across a small clearing and deeper into the woods. Delighted Petunia let go of the oak and followed the Fairy. It noticed the person following, and hovered a moment in consideration before fleeing.

"Oh, don't you like me either?" Petunia cried out and burst into the tears she had held back briefly and sank to the floor of the forest.

The tree roots rose from the ground in large ropes. The one Petunia sank into was a semi circle that held her in a mother's embrace. The Invisibility Cloak lay in a puddle around her. She rested her head on her arm, crying in frustration and bitterness.

Feeling a scratching on her leg, Petunia looked up to see the hedgehog looking up at her. Petunia picked up the hedgehog and cuddled it.

"Did that dog scare you too?" she asked the squirming creature. "It must have smelled you, poor thing. I suppose it gave up pretty quick. Oh! I have the tomato left over from breakfast!"

Petunia pulled out the napkin with the tomato and offered it to the hedgehog. This would have been perfectly all right, had it truly been the hedgehog that had run away earlier. However, this was a knarl -- an animal that was entirely identical to a hedgehog except in its reaction to receiving food. Instead of accepting the offered food, the animal bared its teeth and leaped at her. Petunia shrieked, and jumping up, ran deeper into the forest.

The forest was overgrown with brambles, low hanging tree limbs, tree roots that tripped the feet of even the most fleet of foot. The tree limbs had bony like twigs that caught at the Invisibility Cloak pulling at it and nearly being torn from her head. The deeper into the forest she went the cooler the air became. Petunia developed a stitch in her side and slowed her trek. It seemed as though bushes would leap in front of her, blocking her path. Petunia struggled to keep moving, frightened. It seemed at every turn she saw another figure moving through the trees. Finally, she fell into a small clearing.

"Where am I?" she whispered, looking around. "Why did I run farther into the forest?" She clutched the cloak tightly around her, shivering.

There were strange noises with in the forest. Hoots, birdcalls, and animal sorts of calls. Petunia stood quite still, looking at her surroundings, and rapidly realized that the trees all looked quite old and fairly spooky. They twisted and turned in strange contortions, and brambles were everywhere. Up in the tree crowns were mossy like things dangling down. It was quite dark here, though it was only mid-afternoon.

Twirling around she felt fear begin to build again. "Where's the clearing and castle?" she cried out loud. Clutching the cloak closer around her self, Petunia shivered uncontrollably.

Hearing a small movement again next to her she nervously looked over hoping it would be the Fairy again. She saw the backside of a foal. "Oh, look at you, little horse," she said gently. A stamping nearby caused her to look again just behind the foal and she saw a unicorn mare. The mare eyed her warily. Petunia raised her hand to touch the foal when the mare nickered and the foal turned and trotted to the mare's side.

"How do I get out of here?" Petunia pleadingly asked the unicorn. Swinging its head to the left it looked back at Petunia and looked again in that direction. "Thank you," said Petunia and she trotted off in that direction.

The brambles made the trotting difficult so she had to slow to a careful walk and step over some very large tree roots. The Cloak was pulled off and she stopped to put it more firmly on her shoulders. Petunia looked around herself again as she rearranged the garment. Shadows were lengthening rapidly.

Something moving about in the bushes caught Petunia's attention. She stared at the quivering leaves for a moment before slowly backing away. "That's bigger than a hedgehog," she murmured to herself. "I wonder -- "

It was certainly not a hedgehog that leaped out of the bushes. It was ten feet tall and green, with a head that looked two sizes too small for its body. A strong odour came from it like unwashed clothes. The head had ears that stood out straight from its head (like Prince Charles thought Petunia, and half giggled out of her sudden fear). The creature's feet and hands were huge. In its right hand was a club twice as thick as Petunia's body. Petunia rapidly realized that this was probably not a benevolent creature and she felt her knees begin to quake. She was frozen in fright at the size of the green Forest Troll.

The Troll stared back at her dully and began to sniff the air around him. It grinned a large, menacing, gruesome smile -- teeth yellowed and uneven, the gums a blood red.

The forest troll looked at Petunia for a moment. Petunia looked at it. And then --

The troll took a step towards the girl. Petunia's fright gave way to full-fledged panic, and she turned and began running through the trees.

Petunia could hear the Forest Troll smashing through the forest behind her. It was lucky chance it chased her toward the forest edge. Petunia saw the trees thinning and ran as fast as she could until she cleared the trees.

"The castle -- oh!" she cried out.

There was no castle standing before her, but an old dilapidated ruin of a building, dark and oppressing with broken glass and stones scattered. Hogwarts Castle had disappeared.

* * * *

Lily and Peter stared at each other in horror. They had known the instant that Petunia had left them, because the Crup had suddenly stopped its chase and sat down, panting, with a bit of a grin on its face. Professor Kettleburn caught up to it, breathing hard.

"Copper, you stupid animal," scolded Professor Kettleburn. "Did you have fun scaring that poor hedgehog away? And you!" he said, turning on Lily. "What were you doing carrying a hedgehog to this class! How many times do I have to tell you students not to bring your pets with you! Five points from Gryffindor for disrupting my class!"

"Sir, I think that was one of Professor McGonagall's hedgehogs," called out Severus, who was feeling somewhat cocky. James and Sirius glared at him. Sirius began to grind his fists together, making sure that Snape saw him. Snape looked a bit worried.

"Miss Evans, is this true?" asked Kettleburn sternly.

Lily couldn't answer him. She was looking everywhere, hoping for a glimpse of her sister. But with the Invisibility Cloak, there was no way to even know which way she had run.

"Miss Evans, answer me!"

"Yes, sir," said Lily, snapping back to reality. "I -- I thought he was cute."

Kettleburn glared at her. "Well, you've lost him, it seems. You'd better go to Professor McGonagall and explain how you lost one of her practice creatures. Go now! The rest of you, there are ten more Crups in those kennels there, and they need to learn how to heel. Get cracking!"

Lily began walking to the castle, the boys staring after her. "Where did Petunia go?" Peter asked James, half afraid and half angry.

"I don't know," said James, "but she's in trouble. Because I'll bet she can't see us, since she's too far away and the charm that lets her see Hogwarts is broken now, and we can't see her because she's wearing the Cloak."

Peter's face went white. "We've got to find her, James," he said urgently. "If she's loose on the grounds -- anything could happen to her."

"I know," said James grimly.

* * * * *

Severus Snape kept his eyes on the remaining Marauders for the rest of the class. Sirius would stare menacingly in his direction from time to time, and James kept glancing towards the castle where Lily had disappeared. But Peter was clearly not paying the least bit of attention to the class, instead looking around the grounds, as if he was searching for someone.

Odd, thought Severus. That hedgehog appeared out of nowhere. Like it Apparated, almost. But animals can't Apparate, and nothing can Apparate on Hogwarts grounds anyway. It was like it was invisible until it wasn't anymore.

And it's not like Evans to take an animal from class anyway. She never felt sorry for one of McGonagall's creatures before. Probably she's upset about her sister being a Muggle. Wonder if that has anything to do with it?

Severus realized that his classmates were gathering their things and heading back to the castle, and quickly leaned over to pack his books back in his bag. When he stood up again, he found himself staring into the eyes of Sirius Black.

"Noticed a hedgehog, did you?" asked Sirius, pounding a fist into an open palm.

Severus Snape gulped, glanced at Remus and James on either side of the boy. Peter and Lily, he noted, were nowhere to be seen.

"What, Black, can't beat up on Pettigrew today?" asked Severus, gathering his courage. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's right, I forgot. Lily's sister is his girlfriend, and it turns out she's a Muggle, is that it? Pity about that."

Sirius stared at him, blinking. Then he nodded slowly. "Yup," he said. "Slimiest git ever." And threw his punch directly at Severus's nose.

* * * * *

Lily felt like her legs were made of lead and she climbed the steps to McGonagall's office. She stood outside for a moment, and then took a deep breath. Maybe she has class right now, she thought hopefully, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came McGonagall's voice.

Lily sighed and pushed open the door. McGonagall was sitting at her desk, covered in papers and matchbooks, pincushions and tennis balls. The walls of the room were lined with various cages holding mice, hedgehogs and toads. McGonagall looked up from her writing and her eyebrows went up. "Miss Evans, shouldn't you be in Care of Magical Creatures right now?" she asked sternly.

"Professor -- " Lily gulped. "I took my -- er, your hedgehog with me from class today, and -- well, it got away from me outside when today's lesson chased it and I lost him."

McGonagall looked at her thoughtfully. "I wondered why I had one less hedgehog after class. No matter, you aren't the first who thought to free one of my animals, and I dare say you won't be the last. He'll return soon enough. Was that all, Miss Evans?"

"Yes," gulped Lily.

"I don't know that I believe you," said McGonagall. Lily's mouth fell open. "Oh, close your mouth, Miss Evans. If you'd only been worried over the hedgehog you would have been relieved to hear I wasn't concerned. Instead, you're still looking as if Dementors were chasing you. Sit down, please."

Lily sat in one of the large chairs, but didn't say anything. McGonagall kept writing, glancing up to look at her every so often.

"You know I received an owl from Peter Pettigrew's mother early this morning," she said conversationally, not even pausing in her work. "I wouldn't mention it, except that in a way it concerned you, Miss Evans."

"Me?" asked Lily.

"Have you had an owl from your parents today at all?"

"No, Professor."

"Hmm. Perhaps I shouldn't say anything -- "

"Its Petunia, isn't it, Professor?" asked Lily, a bit too quickly. McGonagall stopped writing long enough to look up at her. Lily looked down at her hands.

"Yes," she said finally. "It appears that Mrs Pettigrew went over to look in on your sister while your parents were taking you and Peter to the train station. She knew Petunia hadn't gone with you as she saw only the four of you in the car. Well, Petunia wasn't in the house either, and Mrs. Pettigrew thought it best to inform us."

"Why?" asked Lily. "It's not like you'd care, since she's a Muggle." Lily clamped her hand over her mouth, eyes growing wide. McGonagall looked at her from above her spectacles. "I mean -- I didn't mean -- "

"I do care, in fact I care a great deal what happens to your sister, Miss Evans," she said shortly, "because Albus Dumbledore cares, and what it important to him is important to the rest of us."

Lily was silent. "Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, slowly. "I don't understand."

McGonagall's mouth quirked. "To be quite honest with you, Miss Evans, neither do I. But rest assured, we most certainly are concerned regarding your sister. In fact, I believe that we have trained search wizards looking for her across Southern England now. I don't suppose you know where she might have gone to, Miss Evans?"

Lily stared at her hands for a very long time before looking up into McGonagall's eyes. Trained search wizards? Looking for Pets? But why is Pets so important to them? "No, Professor," she whispered. "I don't."

McGonagall looked at her sharply. "Well, then, I think that will be all. You may go and -- join your classmates. I suppose class is continuing, you shouldn't miss much of it."

Lily nodded and moved towards the door.

"Oh, and Miss Evans -- ten points from Gryffindor for removing the hedgehog from my classroom. I can't let you off easily, understand."

"No, Professor," said Lily quietly, "I didn't think you had." And she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

McGonagall removed her spectacles and sighed. She wasn't entirely certain why Dumbledore was so concerned with the disappearance of Petunia Evans, and she was even less certain that she wanted to know. "Five points to Gryffindor," she said suddenly. "For being brave enough to come clean regarding a hedgehog. Although," she added grimly, "I don't believe the story to be true for a moment."

* * * * *

Remus had helped Sirius to the Infirmary after the fight, so that Madam Pomfrey could tend to his bloodied nose, but no one from Slytherin had stayed to help Severus with his black eye. James had reached his hand out to help him from the ground, but he'd refused it, and stomped off towards the Forest where he could tend to himself.

Damn them, damn them, damn them, he thought angrily to himself, stopping behind Rubeus Hagrid's hut, using his wand to ease his sore knuckles. He couldn't fix the black eye without a mirror and resolved to go without for a while. I don't want to go back to the castle anyway, they're probably waiting for me.

Severus leaned against the wall of the hut and stared at the Forbidden Forest. I wonder where that hedgehog was, until I saw it. When it appeared, it was behind Lily and Peter, but I don't think it came from either of them. Like there was someone else there, who I couldn't see. But I haven't heard that there are Invisibility Cloaks at Hogwarts. But if anyone had one, it would be Potter.

Severus looked over towards the castle, where he could hear voices speaking. He crouched down below the pumpkins in the garden and peered over them to see Lily, Peter and James walking along the grounds. They were talking amongst themselves.

"But Dumbledore and McGonagall both know she missing?" Peter was asking.

"Yes," replied Lily, "and Professor McGonagall even said there are search wizards looking for her." She was worried, even Severus could tell. "I can't figure out why."

"Doesn't matter, they aren't looking here," said James. "Come on, we haven't checked out by the Quidditch pitch."

The three began to move away, and Severus made his decision instantly. He quietly began to follow them.

Whatever they are up to, he thought, it can't be good.

* * * * *

It was shortly before sunset when James decided that enough was enough. They had searched the entire grounds twice, including the off-limits stables and paddocks, where Kettleburn kept the more dangerous animals. None of them noticed Severus Snape following them, and finally they had ended up back where they began, near Hagrid's hut.

"She's not out here," he said firmly. "Maybe she managed to hook up with some other students, and found her way back to Gryffindor tower after all."

"But she's still out here, I'm sure of it!" said Lily, her voice high. She wrung her hands. "Oh, James, what if we can't find her at all?"

Petunia looked up from her hiding place, which was surprisingly nearby in Hagrid's garden, between the woodshed and a fairly large pumpkin. The vegetable garden and the rather dilapidated woodshed had been the only bits of Hogwarts she'd been able to see. Her arms covered her head, and she'd been crying for several hours when she suddenly heard her sister's voice. Blinking, she looked up.

"Lily?" she asked nervously.

She couldn't see anyone near her -- at least, no one solid. But just on the other side of the pumpkin patch was something shimmering in the dimming light. She crawled out from her hole and began to move towards it.

"That's the dinner bell," she heard a voice say -- it sounded a bit like James. "We need to go, Lily."

"I can't eat, I'm not hungry," said Lily miserably, but her voice was growing fainter already, and Petunia realized that the shimmering figures were moving away. At the sound of her sister's voice, Petunia was up and running towards the figures.

"Lily!" she shouted, but the images took no notice.

"We'll just grab sandwiches and eat them while we keep looking," Peter was saying. The shapes moved closer to the castle ruins, and just as Petunia blinked, they disappeared.

Petunia stopped, shocked. "Oh!" she said softly. Her eyes began to fill with tears and she fell to the ground, trying desperately not to burst into another crying fit.

Severus Snape had not seen Petunia, but he was close behind her. He had stopped as well, but for a completely different reason. As the three people he'd been following all day entered the castle, they passed two people exiting, and Severus was desperate to get a good look where they might be going, in answer to a mystery he'd discovered last year.

Petunia's eyes were so blurred, she almost didn't see the two figures walking along the lake's edge. The voices woke her out of her reverie.

"You've had your dinner, Mr Lupin, is that correct?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey, but I don't know that it will help any," replied Remus. "I'll be hungry as a wolf in another hour, I expect." He gave a hollow laugh.

"Hardly a laughing matter, Mr Lupin," said the nurse sternly.

"No, ma'am," replied Remus solemnly.

Petunia wiped her eyes with her sleeve and stared. The two figures were coming all the closer to her. The shimmering forms walked by her -- and as they passed, it was as though something clicked. Petunia blinked very quickly -- she could see them, clear as before, clear as day.

"Remus!" she whispered.

Severus leaned in for a better look. He took a few steps forward, trying to see exactly where Madam Pomfrey was taking Remus -- and tripped over nothing.

"Hey!" he shouted, falling to the ground, and his foot caught on something as he fell. When he rolled over, he realized that there was a girl now tangled up with him, where a moment ago there hadn't been anyone at all. Except it was only half a girl, the rest of her being invisible, and she was staring at him with complete disbelief in her eyes. "Who are you?"

Petunia stared at the boy who'd tripped over her, and realized that he could see her. "You - oh!" she cried, and took a step back, pulling the Invisibility Cloak from under the boy. She stared past him, and saw that Remus was about to disappear behind the tree. "Remus!" she shouted, and began to run towards him.

Severus didn't waste a moment. He jumped up and ran towards the castle, racing through the Main Hall and into the Great Hall, where most of the school was sitting, eating their dinners. He ran straight up to the Professors Table at the head of the Hall. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, sat at the middle of the table, and looked up at him perfectly calmly.

"Hello, Mr Snape," he said, as if Severus wasn't trying desperately to catch his breath. "You have something to tell us?"

"Sir, I was walking outside -- and I tripped, but I didn't see anyone, and when I looked, there was a girl there, and she hadn't been there before. And I heard Potter and Evans and Pettigrew talking, like they knew she was out there, and they said you knew ..." Severus gulped, still winded.

Dumbledore looked at McGonagall, who looked at him with wide eyes. "Yes, Mr Snape, thank you. I assume this all happened recently?"

"Yes, sir, she ran off towards the lake," said Severus.

Dumbledore and McGonagall stood as if it were one motion. Each had the exact same thought running through their minds. The lake ... is next to the Willow ... is where Poppy just took Remus Lupin, the one boy Petunia might recognize...

Severus watched them leave the Great Hall, hurrying as if their lives depended on it. He descended from the elevated table, and walked slowly back to his own. As he passed the trio he had spent the afternoon following, he paused.

"I suppose that was your girlfriend I tripped over, Pettigrew," he said to the boy. Lily spun around and stared at him, and James stood up quickly, but Peter didn't move a muscle. "Sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but last I saw she was running for Remus Lupin."

James grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her away from table, his face set. "Come on, we have to catch her," he said, and they ran. Peter stood up and stared at Severus eye to eye, his fists clenched. He had never, in his life, wanted to hit someone so much before.

"Peter! Come on!" yelled James, and Peter stared at Severus for another moment before turning away.

Dumbledore and McGonagall reached the front steps of the castle not a moment too soon. A young girl with dark hair, partially obstructed by an Invisibility Cloak, was running towards the Whomping Willow. She was halfway to the trunk when a large branch swooped down and scooped her up from behind, flinging her into the air.

"Petunia!" shrieked a young voice behind them, and Lily Evans streaked out of the doors from behind them, running towards her sister. Dumbledore whipped out his wand, casting a charm, and Petunia no longer was falling but floating gently down to the ground.

When Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall caught up to Lily, she kneeling next to her sister where she lay unconscious on the ground.

* * * * *

Petunia woke in the Infirmary some hours later. She blinked, trying to clear the fuzziness in her head. "I don't hurt anywhere," she said wondrously. "I was flying, and I fell. I thought I would hurt worse than this."

"You had a broken arm and a concussion, Pets," said Peter, sitting next to her. "Madam Pomfrey -- she's the nurse -- she fixed those right quick, and you're all better now." He squeezed her hand and smiled at her, but she didn't smile back. She glanced at the woman standing behind him.

"I lost your hedgehog," Petunia said to her. To her surprise, Professor McGonagall smiled.

"I know," she said. "But he is back where he belongs now. Never mind him. The headmaster and I were standing on the front steps when we saw you running towards the Whomping Willow."

"Is that what that tree was?"

"Yes. It threw you about fifty feet. Gave your sister quite a fright."

Petunia looked around. "Where is Lily?"

"She's writing a letter to your parents, telling them where you are," said Peter softly, still squeezing her hand.

"I have to go back?" cried out Petunia, sitting up.

"I'm sorry, but yes, you do," said McGonagall crisply.

Petunia was breathing hard. "But why?"

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Well, my dear, I'm afraid you simply aren't qualified to attend Hogwarts."

"Qualified? I have a wand!" She pulled out the wand Peter had given her three years before from her pyjamas and held it out to the professor, who didn't so much as glance at it.

"Miss Evans," said McGonagall carefully, "that is a toy wand, not a real wand."

"But it works, and it's mine!" cried Petunia.

"Miss Evans, it's enchanted. Anyone could make that wand produce sparks, even those with no magical ability -- "

"But -- " faltered Petunia, her lip trembling. "I can make it do things, I can."

McGonagall's eyebrows rose a bit. "You are not magical, Miss Evans. I am sorry -- "

Petunia's eyes flashed. "No, you're not. If you were sorry, you might let me stay. How do you know I'm not magical? That silly dog outside might have just wanted a bite of your hedgehog! He didn't know I was there."

Neither McGonagall nor Peter said anything to this. Petunia stared at them, and tears began to fill her eyes. "You don't even care," she sniffed. "You could fix my bones but you can't make me magical, is that it?"

"One either is or is not magical, Miss Evans," said McGonagall, her own eyes flashing. "And I most certainly do care, else we might have left your arm in a sling."

"I've wanted this for years, since Lily came, and you aren't even willing to give me a chance."

"A chance? Would that settle your mind?" asked McGonagall. "Well then -- that's easy enough. This, my dear, is my wand. Any magical person can use any wand to prove they are magical. You see -- "She gave her wand a flick, and the books on the side table rearranged themselves. "There! Take it, Miss Evans, and give it a wave. Then we shall see."

Petunia reached for the wand. She waved it.

Nothing happened. She waved it again, harder.

Again, nothing happened. Peter reached for it.

"Let me," he said. When he swished it, the curtains surrounding the bed opened and closed themselves. Petunia took it back and waved the wand again. Soon she was shaking it up and down and nearly hit it on the headboard before throwing it away from her and collapsing into the bed, sobbing. Peter reached for her, but she pushed him away as well.

"You promised, Peter," she sobbed, frustrated. "You promised I'd get a letter, and I can't even make a wand sparkle. You lied to me, I hate you. Go away, leave me alone."

Peter jumped back as though scalded. Professor McGonagall put her hand on his shoulder gently.

"Come, Peter," she whispered. "We'll let her be for a while."

* * * * *

Lily stared at the parchment in front of her, her quill still in her hand. She had been sitting in Professor McGonagall's office for some time, attempting to write her parents to explain about Petunia.

Dear Mum and Dad,

Please don't be angry at Petunia.

But that was as far as she'd managed to get. Half an hour of sitting here staring, and I can't get past the first sentence, she grumbled to herself.

The door opened, and Lily jumped up. "No, no, sit down Miss Evans," said Albus Dumbledore. "I was just coming to have a chat."

"I can't write this letter, sir," said Lily, her lip trembling. "I just -- can't find the words."

"No, I imagine it's not something that lends itself to an easy flow of words," said the headmaster thoughtfully, sitting down in a chair. "I dare say I would have trouble as well. No matter. I've already decided. In this little matter we can perform a simple Memory Charm on your parents, and they'll be none the wiser for Petunia's little trip here."

"Will you charm Pets, too, Professor?" asked Lily.

Dumbledore looked at her pleasantly. "Do you think we should?"

"Yes," said Lily quickly. "She..." her voice faltered.

"She has discovered by coming here that she does not belong in the magical world," filled in Dumbledore. "And for her, this knowledge can only be good. I would not take that away. I am willing to have your parents' memories altered, however, because it would only make it worse on your sister ultimately to have them know of her transgressions."

Lily remained silent. "Why is my sister a Muggle, Professor? Why me and not her?"

"Ah, Lily," sighed Dumbledore, "you are not the first to ask this question. I doubt that any child born of Muggle parentage does not at some point ask why he or she was born magical. It is not something I can explain, nor something our most prominent wizard scientists or doctors can attempt to identify. All I can tell you is that for some reason, some children have a spark in them that gives them the ability to do and see what others cannot. You have that spark, as does your friend Peter. Petunia, alas, does not."

"She wanted to come to Hogwarts so badly," said Lily mournfully. "And Peter and I encouraged her. We never gave her any reason to doubt that she would. I feel as though I've let her down."

"No, Lily, no -- never that. It wasn't your fault. Who is to say that Petunia would not have wanted this had you never been accepted at all?"

Lily was quiet for a moment. "I don't want this, if Pets can't have it too."

"Lily," said Dumbledore, resting his hand on her arm. "Don't wish that. Never wish for that. Your sister would not wish you to give up your magic out of love for her."

"She's my sister, Professor," said Lily. "I can't just let her go home."

"And as such, her destiny is entwined with yours. Each of us has a purpose in life, Lily. Yours demands that you spend your life in the magical world. Your sister, however, must follow a different path. I cannot claim to know her purpose, but it appears that she cannot fulfill it in our world."

Lily was quiet as she pondered this. "I wish I knew what it was. It might make this easier for us both to bear."

Dumbledore turned from her and began to fiddle with the tea service by the fire. "I believe you are taking Divination this year, are you not, Miss Evans?"

"Yes, sir," replied Lily, confused at the new line of questioning.

"What do you think of Professor Trelawney?"

Lily was quiet for a moment. "She frightens me a little. I think she likes knowing what will happen to us all, she keeps letting little things slip. Like how Sirius will have bloody nose by the end of the day, or that Arabella Figg will lose her favourite quill."

"Rather obvious predictions, those," said Dumbledore. He handed her a cup of tea, and Lily took it and began to swirl the liquid inside.

"I met her before I even came to Hogwarts," said Lily.

"Did you now?" Dumbledore took his seat again and looked at her.

"Yes, in the Leaky Cauldron. She was a bit odd then, too. She reached out towards Pets, and then ran off like she'd seen a ghost." Lily paused, and looked up at the Headmaster. "You don't suppose she saw something in Pets, do you, Professor?"

"I remember this now," said Dumbledore. "She came to me later that day, telling me of the strangest thing. You understand of course that Professor Trelawney is quite the expert in auras, and apparently your sister has a most unusual aura herself."

"Pets?"

"Sybill had never seen anything like it -- such a brilliant rainbow of colors, particularly in a Muggle child. And most unusual of all, that her aura should share a rather strong connection with a wizard. More so, actually, than a mere connection -- Sybill said it was as though your sister and this particular wizard shared the same aura."

Lily's eyes widened. "Is that possible? That anyone can share an aura with someone else?"

"Most certainly, since that seems to be the case here," said Dumbledore.

Lily thought for a moment. "Peter. She shares the aura with Peter! I know it, they've always been so close, like they were the same person." Dumbledore did not answer, but he smiled, and Lily rewarded him with a smile so brilliantly joyful that the slight misgivings he felt with telling her about her sister's aura dissipated. "So she will be with me forever, even if she isn't magical, because she and Peter will be together forever."

"In a manner of speaking," said Dumbledore. "Nothing in this world is written in stone, Miss Evans, particularly not the future."

"But if they share an aura, Professor -- it can't be good if it should break," said Lily.

"Auras are tricky things," said Dumbledore. "Sharing one is rare, even when both parties are wizards. That your sister is a Muggle makes her connection to Mr Pettigrew even more unusual. It will give them both great strength, should they care to nurture their connection, and let it grow into something more. Still, there is always danger in such a connection. You must take special care to love your sister the more for her sake."

Lily cocked her head to the side. "I don't understand?"

Dumbledore smiled ruefully. "Someday you will, of that I am certain. At any rate, you must understand that ultimately, your sister and Mr Pettigrew are in charge of their own fates."

"Pets and Peter," whispered Lily to herself, and smiled. Then she frowned with a sudden thought, and looked up at the Headmaster again. "Professor McGonagall said that other wizards were looking for my sister. Why would they care enough to look for her, when she isn't magical?"

"Why, because I asked them to do so, Lily. Simply that."

"But why did you -- "

"I have always thought that petunias were the prettiest of flowers," said Professor Dumbledore, smiling at Lily, who knew she wasn't going to get another answer. "Now! No more worries about that letter, now. Shall we say goodbye to your sister now? Mrs Pettigrew came as soon as we knew that Petunia had been located, and she has been apprised of the entire situation. She will be escorting your sister home, and I believe they'll be leaving soon enough."

Lily crumpled the letter she'd been not writing. "Yes, Professor," she said calmly, but her eyes were shinning. "I think it's time to say goodbye."