Obsessively Normal

It was happening again. Just when she thought she had her life all planned the way she wanted it, it was happening again. Eighteen-year-old Petunia Evans was practically engaged to Vernon Dursley. Vernon was ambitious and very normal. He had been a member of the wrestling team at Smeltings. Petunia thought he would make a very good husband.

But Petunia’s freaky sister, Lily, threatened to spoil everything. Lily wasn’t normal. She didn’t dress normally, and she didn’t act normally. Fortunately, she wasn’t around very much. Petunia told friends that her sister attended a boarding school for delinquent girls, way up north somewhere. She was gone from the beginning of September until the end of June, though she usually came home for a short visit during the Christmas holidays. Petunia tried to pretend she didn’t exist, as much as possible, but the other day Tina had made a remark about Petunia’s freaky sister, right in front of Vernon.

That was when it had happened. Tina’s long bleach-blond hair was suddenly standing straight up on end. She looked like one of those experiments in the science museum, where you put your hand on the electric ball and your hair frizzed out. Except there was no electric ball. Tina went running home in tears, trying to make her wayward locks lie flat.

Petunia tried to explain it away. A strange atmospheric condition had caused it. An unusual burst of static electricity had descended on Tina, despite the fact that it was a very humid summer day. But Petunia knew, deep down, that these were hardly believable. And she knew, in an even deeper place, a place she seldom acknowledged, that she, Petunia, was responsible.

Something like this had happened before. Petunia hadn’t realized what it had meant at the time. She had been twelve; she remembered because it was the same week she’d had her first period. Lily had borrowed her necklace without asking -- her favorite necklace, the one Petunia had told her never to touch. Petunia was furious, and suddenly the necklace had tightened around Lily’s neck, almost choking her. When Lily was on the verge of passing out, the necklace broke and fell to the floor. Both girls had been frightened by the incident, but neither could explain it.

Not then, anyway. But later, when Lily had gotten her acceptance letter from that -- THAT school, the school Petunia didn’t name, not even in her thoughts, it all became clear to Petunia. She remembered hearing her parents discussing it. Apparently they believed that Lily had always shown the ability to do that -- THAT thing, the other word that Petunia couldn’t bear to think about, let alone name. The M word. They remembered times when Lily was young and her bottle had jumped off the floor into her outstretched hand, and later how the color of one of her dresses had changed -- she’d wanted yellow, and the store only had blue. They’d bought blue, but when they’d taken it out of the box at home, it was yellow. They hadn’t understood it at the time, but Petunia remembered her parents saying, “We should have known.” It had all become clear when the letter from THAT school had arrived. Lily had been thrilled, but Petunia had been terrified. She remembered the necklace incident, and worried that it meant that she, Petunia, was also -- she couldn’t bear to even think it.

She’d tried to force the idea from her mind, and it appeared to have worked. Until now. Now she was finished with school, and, in all likelihood, soon to be engaged. But the look on Vernon’s face, when he’d seen what happened to Tina’s hair, told Petunia he would never marry her if he had any notion at all that she was responsible. She had to do something, and fast.

Lily had all sorts of strange school books. Petunia was terrified of them -- the pictures in them even moved! She was always afraid Lily would leave one of her books where one of Petunia’s friends might see them, but she kept them safely in her room almost all of the time. Maybe one of these books had the answer to her problem. Petunia waited until Lily was asleep and crept into her room and grabbed two of her books and hurried back to her own room.

Achievements in Charming seemed to be an in-depth discussion on how to accomplish that horrid thing Petunia refused to name. It didn’t say anything about how to keep it from happening. He Flew Like a Madman wasn’t a textbook at all. It was a biography of "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn, someone even more freaky than Lily and the crowd of her friends Petunia had seen when she’d been forced to see her off on that ridiculous train that took students to her freaky school. These books were no help at all.

Sneaking back into the room, Petunia put the books back and looked around for others. The only others she could see were a few ordinary novels that Lily had checked out of the local library. The rest must be in her trunk. She tried to open the trunk, but it seemed to be locked. At that moment, Lily shifted in her sleep. “Leave him alone, Potter!” she muttered. Petunia froze, but soon realized Lily was only talking in her sleep. She’d have to come back some other time.

* * *

The next morning, Petunia’s mother announced she was taking Lily shopping for the items on her school list. “Do you want to come along with us, Petunia?”

“No, Mum, I’ve got to work this afternoon. And I’m going to be seeing Vernon tonight. Don’t expect me back till late.”

“You can’t leave until we get back. I need you to keep an eye out for Tony,” said Petunia’s mother. Tony was Petunia’s younger brother.

“Why can’t Tony go shopping with you?”

“I’ve got a football game at one o’clock,” said Tony. He was too little still to play real football, but he and his friends tried to organize games during the summer at a nearby field.

“Well, okay, as long as I’m not expected to watch this game,” said Petunia.

“No, dear, I just want someone to be home in case he gets hurt or something,” said Petunia’s mother.

When Petunia’s mother and sister had left, Petunia plopped herself in front of the telly to wait for a chance to sneak into Lily’s room again. Tony decided to watch, too. Finally, Petunia got up and made lunch for the two of them, and then it was time for Tony to go play football with his friends.

As soon as he had left, Petunia hurried upstairs to Lily’s room. Daylight didn’t reveal any books that she hadn’t seen the night before, so the rest of them must be in Lily’s trunk. The trunk was definitely locked, though. Petunia had hoped it was only stuck, or that she hadn’t been able clearly see the latch in the dark. But she couldn’t get it open, even after several minutes of trying. She couldn’t see a lock or key, but she couldn’t get it open, either.

Petunia was about to give up. She was just checking under the bed when she heard the flutter of wings. Turning, she saw a large barn owl settling onto the bed. Still on the floor, Petunia crept backwards, crab style, trying to get as far from the bird as possible. This was another one of the strange things about those freaks. They couldn’t use the post like normal people. They sent letters attached to the legs of owls.

This owl seemed harmless, however. It made no move toward Petunia, even when she finally found the nerve to stand up. Glancing around, Petunia found a bowl of nuts and placed it on the bed in front of the owl. It ate them gratefully and then stuck out its leg toward Petunia. She saw a note attached to it. After hesitating for a long moment, she untied it. The owl made as if to leave. Petunia, desperate for a solution to her problem, called out, “Wait! Please.” The owl looked at her for a moment, then flew to the top of the wardrobe, tucked its head under its wing, and went to sleep. Petunia was still standing in the middle of the room, holding the note she’d untied from the owl’s leg, her mouth hanging open. She hurriedly closed the curtains on the window.

Sitting on the bed, she unrolled the note and read it. It was short, and written in small, dark letters:

Evans:

You don’t have to stand up for me. I don’t need your help. I will never be friends with Potter. Bog off!

S. Snape

Petunia wasn’t sure what this meant. It was hard to tell whether the writer was male or female. But it did seem that this Snape person wasn’t a particular friend of Lily’s. For some reason, Petunia felt more comfortable asking this almost anonymous person for help than asking Lily. Lily would gloat and fuss and tell their parents, which was the last thing Petunia wanted.

Taking a seat at Lily’s desk, Petunia took out some paper and a pen. Fortunately, Lily still kept a few normal items like this in the desk she had at home, and Petunia wouldn’t be reduced to using those -- those strange types of writing implements and odd type of paper that her crowd used. Petunia thought for a while, and started writing.

Dear S. Snape:

Please excuse my presumption in writing to you. I don’t really know who you are, only that you are corresponding with my sister, Lily Evans. Lily and I are not on the best of terms, but it seems I am in need of help from someone like her, and I don’t know where else to turn.

I have always been what I believe you people call a “Muggle,” and I like it that way. Recently, however, I’ve noticed that when I get angry, certain things happen. I don’t mean them to happen but I can’t seem to control it. I want to make it stop. And I want this kept confidential, especially from Lily. Can you help me?

Sincerely,

Petunia Evans

After re-reading it, Petunia took an envelope from Lily’s desk and wrote “S. Snape” on it. She didn’t know if she needed an address, but then again she didn’t know this person’s address so she couldn’t write it down. She expected that the owl would know how to take care of this.

She stood up and faced the wardrobe, looking up at the owl, who remained fast asleep.

“Um -- right -- you, owl!” she said.

The owl raised its head and looked at her.

“Will you take this back to the person who sent that note?” she asked it. Petunia was glad the curtains were still closed and none of the neighbours could see her talking to an owl.

The owl flew to the bed and stuck out its leg. Petunia reached for the string that had tied the other note and, after bunching up the envelope, managed to tie her note to the owl’s leg. “There you go,” she said. She stepped to the window and opened the curtain.

The owl immediately took off out of the window without a backward glance. Petunia looked around. She returned the pen to the place where she had found it, straightened the chair, and rolled the note back the way it had been when she‘d removed it from the owl‘s leg. She placed the note on the middle of the desk and left the room.

* * *

Petunia was in her room when Lily and her mother returned from shopping. A few minutes later, Lily appeared at Petunia’s door. “Were you in my room?” demanded Lily, in an angry voice.

“No, why would I want to be in your room with all your freaky things in there?” replied Petunia. What tipped her off? she wondered. I thought I put everything back just the same as it was.

“How did this get there?” Lily shot back, holding up the rumpled note the owl had delivered.

“Oh, that. Ugh, yes, I forgot, I was in there, briefly. There was an owl in there making such a racket, I was afraid the neighbors would notice. It was this morning, I knew you wouldn’t be home for a long while, so I went in to try to shoo it away. It refused to leave until I untied the note, the ugly bird!”

“How do you know it’s a note?” challenged Lily.

“Isn’t that how you people send your post? I’m not blind, you know. I don’t like how you people do things but I’m not completely unaware of how some of it works,” said Petunia. Immediately she thought she may have said too much.

“Well, stay out of my room,” said Lily, looking as if she wasn’t sure she believed Petunia’s story. Petunia saw that she went back to her own room, however, obviously deciding it wasn’t worth further argument.

* * *

That night, when Petunia arrived home, there was a letter on her pillow. One that looked very similar to the one she’d taken from the owl’s leg. She stood staring at it, with her mouth open.

“There was an owl here earlier, it brought you that,” said Tony, who had quietly crept up behind her. She hated when he did that. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Lily. She asked me if you went into her room and took her note from that owl this morning. I caught on to what was going on and lied for you,” he said, and she could hear the laughter in his voice. Petunia stood staring after him as he ran down the hall to his room. He never ceased to amaze her. She knew he wouldn’t tell, but she couldn’t stand that he knew at all. She just hoped he hadn’t read the letter. She shut the door and locked it.

The letter didn’t appear to have been opened. After examining it, she opened it and read:

Petunia:

I very much agree with you that our two kinds should be separate, so I will do what I can to help you be able to stay a part of your own group. It shouldn’t be difficult; if you weren’t chosen for Hogwarts, you probably don’t have very strong magical powers to begin with.

Petunia cringed at the choice of wording in that last sentence, but was relieved that this Snape person was going to help her. She continued reading:

Your biggest ally is your desire not to do magic. You must concentrate on that goal. The riskiest time is when you are angry or very emotional. You must control your feelings. Pick something to think about that will calm your thoughts and direct them away from the object of your anger. Pick an inanimate object to focus on, but not something you wear on your person, just in case. If you were to choose a necklace, for instance, it could be dangerous if you were wearing it. A small, smooth stone you can carry in your pocket would do nicely. Practice thinking about this object, even when you are not angry, so it becomes habit when you are in a situation that causes emotion.

If this does not cause these incidents to cease, write to me again. I will be at Hogwarts in three weeks’ time. I know your sister corresponds with her parents, even if she doesn’t write much to you. You should be able to intercept one of the owls bearing those letters if necessary, and use it to send a letter back to me. Good luck to you.

Sincerely,

S. Snape

Smiling to herself, Petunia got ready to go to bed. She sat quietly on her bed in the darkened room and listened for a few moments. It sounded as if everyone was asleep. She quietly opened her door and crept downstairs, out of the back door and into the garden. Bending down, she felt around until she found a small, smooth stone. It felt cool and comfortable in her hand. Looking up, she saw that Lily was watching her from her bedroom window.

Determined to keep her secret, Petunia went back into the house and hurried upstairs, the stone safely hidden in her pocket. Lily was waiting for Petunia’s in her room.

“What are you up to, Petunia?” asked Lily.

“I’m not up to anything. I wasn’t tired, so I thought I’d go outside and look up at the night sky for awhile.”

“I saw you picking something up off the ground. What was it?” demanded Lily.

“I just -- I thought I saw a -- a mouse, that’s all.”

“And you bent down to try and grab it?” challenged Lily. “You’re terrified of mice, you’d never do something like that. I know you were in my room again today. Something very strange is going on and I want to know what it is.”

“I told you why I was in your room -- to prevent that freaky owl from making enough noise to alert the neighbors. Everyone already wonders about you and the way you dress. All that would be needed is for someone to see one of those owls, and they’d run our whole family out of town! Don’t you get it? I’m ashamed of you and your kind. Why would I want to sneak into your room or do anything with your stuff? It’s not normal.”

“And Vernon Dursley is normal?”

“Vernon Dursley is a very nice boy. Very normal. He wouldn’t approve of your kind at all.”

“I don’t need Vernon Dursley’s approval,” said Lily. She paused, looking at Petunia carefully. “I still think you’re up to something,” she said, turning to leave the room.

Petunia let out the breath she’d been holding. She’d been afraid Lily would find the letter from that Snape person, or would find the stone in her pocket and want to know what it was for. Petunia really couldn’t blame Lily for not trusting her -- she’d hardly been civil to her since she’d started going to that school. But she couldn’t afford to let Lily guess that the real reason was that Petunia was ashamed that she had some of the same magical powers.

Realizing this might be a good time to practice, Petunia took the stone from her pocket and sat down on her bed.

* * *

A week later, Vernon came to call at the Evans residence. Petunia was beside herself, because Lily had chosen that afternoon to teach Tony some -- some game. It was horrible, causing all sorts of explosions right in the dining room, in full view of the front door. To make matters worse, the explosions were causing scorch marks on the dining room table. Lily had her -- her wand -- Petunia didn’t like to think about that word -- but she had that thing out on the dining room table, too, to use it to fix the marks.

While all of this was going on, Vernon came to the front door. Petunia had been planning to have Vernon over for tea, but instead she quickly ducked out of the door and made up some story about why they had to go out instead. She could tell Vernon was surprised and puzzled, and not at all pleased. They ended up having a pleasant evening, though she made matters worse by not inviting Vernon inside when he dropped her off later. She was convinced he’d been planning to propose today, but had changed his mind because of her odd behavior. She came home exhausted from having to pretend things were normal when they were not, and frustrated because things were not going as she had planned.

When she got home, her suspicions were confirmed. Her parents asked her all sorts of questions about her evening. Usually they didn’t much care what she did, so she finally asked them why they were so curious. Her mother looked at her father, and then admitted that Vernon had actually talked to her father earlier in the week and said he planned to propose to Petunia soon. Petunia was filled with strong mixed emotions, and quickly grabbed the stone in her pocket and held on tight. She could feel it growing warm in her fist, but no abnormal things happened in the room, so apparently she was mastering the technique that Snape person had suggested. She was pleased Vernon had spoken to her father, and asked for his blessing on their plans. But she was worried he’d changed his mind because of -- because of Lily and her strange behavior. It was all Lily’s fault. Not just Lily, the whole family seemed to have embraced Lily’s -- Lily’s kind, Lily’s behavior, Lily’s whole lifestyle. They all were rather pleased about it -- all except Petunia, of course.

Petunia turned and ran upstairs to her room. Slamming her door, she threw herself on her bed, sobbing. She stayed there for quite a while. Finally she got up and started packing her things. She decided the only thing she could do was to move out, now. She had a job, though it didn’t pay a lot. She could get her own flat somewhere, live on her own. Maybe it wasn’t too late for her relationship with Vernon. She fell asleep making plans for her future.

* * *

The next day, she left the house early in the morning. She spent the morning looking for a flat. But something very unexpected happened at the third place she looked at. She arrived, and Vernon was there, looking at the same flat.

“Vernon, I’m surprised to see you here,” said Petunia.

Vernon blushed, something Petunia had never seen him do before. “Well, I wanted it to be a surprise,” he said, looking down.

“What kind of a surprise?”

“Why don’t we go somewhere and talk?” he said.

“Okay,” said Petunia. Maybe he hadn’t changed his plans to propose after all.

Sure enough, Vernon drove them to a small tea shop and led her to a table in the corner.

“Petunia, I wanted to talk to you about this yesterday, but I wanted to have a flat all picked out first, and I didn’t like any of the ones I saw yesterday. The truth is, Petunia, I want to ask you to marry me. I’d like us to get a flat and get married right away!”

“Oh, Vernon, I was hoping you’d say that!”

“So, does that mean your answer is yes?”

“Yes! Yes! Let’s get married right away!” cried Petunia.

“Let’s go back and look at that flat where you first saw me today. I’d just finished looking at it when you arrived, I think you’ll really like it. What were you doing there, anyway?”

“I had a fight with my family and I decided to move out on my own. I was looking for a place to live, but I’d much rather live with you, Vernon.”

“In that case, we’d better make arrangements to get married as soon as possible.”

* * *

Returning home, Petunia went to her room to pack more of her things. Vernon had put a deposit down and the landlady had agreed to let Petunia move in immediately. They’d decided to get married that weekend. Vernon would remain at home with his parents until after the wedding. They had stopped and purchased bedroom furniture, and arranged to have it delivered later that day. Petunia was planning to take as many of her belongings as she could move today, and come back for the rest tomorrow.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked, not bothering to knock on the door, as usual.

“Packing.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m fed up with you lot. I’m moving out.”

“What did we do to offend you?” asked Lily in a puzzled voice.

“That’s the whole point. You don’t even get it. I almost lost Vernon because of you. I’m not spending another day here.”

“How could I have anything to do with you almost losing Vernon? What happened, did you have a fight? I thought Dad said you were going to get married.”

“We are. No thanks to you!”

“That’s great! Congratulations! When?”

“That’s none of your concern. You’re not going to be invited!”

“How can you not invite your own sister to your wedding? I don’t understand why you’re so angry. It must be a misunderstanding. I know we haven’t been getting along so well lately, but you are my sister. I didn’t mean that stuff about you being in my room.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Lily started helping Petunia pack. “Don’t touch my things,” said Petunia.

“I’m just trying to show you I care about you, trying to make you see that we’re family,” said Lily.

“The only way you can help is to get out,” said Petunia, pointing to the door. Lily left.

* * *

Petunia married Vernon Dursley that Saturday. Vernon’s family attended the small ceremony, but Petunia had not told her family where or when it was, so they could not attend. She also did not give them her new address. Her father managed to track her down and knocked on the door of her flat one day when Vernon was at work.

“Petunia! I’ve missed you,” her father tried to hug her, but she backed away.

“I’ve got a new life now. I’m not part of your life anymore,” Petunia said stiffly.

“I understand that you’re married. I’m hurt that you didn’t invite us to attend the wedding, but I still hoped we could see you occasionally. We are your family, after all.”

“You just don’t get it. If Vernon ever finds out about Lily and her -- her freaky school, and her freaky friends -- he’d never want me to be part of his life. I want to be part of his life, so you can’t be part of my life anymore.”

Petunia’s father stood for a long time, staring at her. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said sadly.

“Good-bye,” said Petunia, shutting the door in his face.