Chapter Text
Petunia stared at the baby currently lying in a basket on her living room table. Vernon was pacing back and forth, his face purple and a vein in his temple visibly throbbed. Petunia was rather worried he was in danger of inducing a heart attack.
“Who the hell do these freaks think they are? Just dumping the boy here. Why can’t one of their lot take him in?” he grumbled and complained, Petunia was hard pressed not to agree with her husband. If the boy was anything like his parents, and that was more than likely really, then he would have been better off with one…them.
“We should just dump him off at an Orphanage, or the Police or something. We have to think of Dudley, what if it rubs off on him?” Vernon decided, before noticing he was standing rather close to the baby and shuffling away.
“We can’t Vernon, that letter was written by the Headmaster of Lily’s school. He’s a powerful person in their world and could cause a lot of trouble for us if we just drop him off somewhere,” Petunia dismissed.
“Then what should we do! I’m not having him here with Dudley,”
Petunia thought. She knew she would be able to convince Vernon to take in the child but could she really care for the baby?
“I’ll take care of this. You need to get to work,” Petunia ushered her husband out of the door despite his protests, waved him off in the car and returned to the house. She checked on Dudley, who was still sleeping after a restless night. She made herself a cup of tea and settled in to think about her next course of action.
She knew she couldn’t raise her nephew. She held too much resentment and would undoubtedly take it out on the boy, or at the very least not stop Vernon from taking his ire out on the boy. Despite the subtle threats in the letter from the Headmaster Petunia couldn’t house her nephew, but if it was true that his relation to Petunia as Lily’s son would provide greater protection then it was clear what she needed to do.
Searching through the draws of the table in the living room she found her address book and flipped through each page until she found the number she was after. Grabbing the phone she punched in the digits and held the receiver to her ear. It rang three time before someone picked up.
“Hello?” a female voice answered, Petunia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Bella? It’s Petunia,”
“Pet! How are you? I haven’t heard your voice in ages, hows Dudley, Vernon? Have you been taking care of yourself? What’s that lout of a husband doing to help you out,” the woman fired off quickly.
“If you give me a minute I can tell you,” Petunia scolded. “Dudley is fine, he’s sleeping right now. Vernon is at work and he is helping thank you very much. Also where are you right now?”
“I’m in London for the week, why want to meet up for lunch or something?”
“Can you spare some time to come down here? It’s important, family important,”
“Let me rearrange some meetings but I should be able to get there by this evening if that’s okay with you,” Petunia agreed and they set the time for around 5:30 that afternoon. Hanging up Petunia went to check on her nephew. He was awake now but instead of crying like she was used to Dudley doing Harry was staring up at her with wide green eyes.
Petunia checked his nappy which was in need of a change and after cleaning him up she readied a bottle for him and fed the boy. Harry was such a quiet child, who fed with little fuss and was burped easily before being put down for a further nap. She inspected the lightning shaped cut on the boys forward before deciding to apply a little bit of antiseptic cream and a plaster.
She then went about her general day. Cleaning the house, cooking, looking after Dudley and now keeping an eye on Harry. She could almost forget that her nephew was magical, he acted so much like a regular baby.
5:00pm arrived and Vernon pulled up the driveway as Petunia put dinner down on the table. Both boys were napping again in the living room quietly. Vernon cast a look at his son and grimaced at his nephew but Petunia ushered him to the table before he could make a scene.
“Good news is I have Belladonna coming down soon so she can take the boy,” she only lied a little. Bella had no idea that Petunia was about to fob their 1-year-old nephew on her. She needed to keep Vernon pleasant with her sister to increase the chances of her agreeing, especially because Bella wasn’t very fond of Vernon.
“When will she be here?” Vernon grunted around his food.
“5:30 ish. She’s travelling down from London, let me do the talking,” she instructed sharply. She just knew if Vernon opened his mouth Bella would put Vernon’s own foot down his throat. Vernon just grunted again and continued eating, Petunia sighed but followed suit letting silence descend between them with the occasional scrape of cutlery against porcelain.
The doorbell rang at exactly 5:30, say whatever you wanted about Bella, but she was nothing if not punctual. Petunia smoothed her hair and skirt, wanting to look put together for her younger sister. Opening the door she withheld a groan. Bella had gone and died her hair again.
Just like Lilly and their mother, Belladonna had beautiful dark red hair whilst Petunia took their grandmother’s blonde locks. Bella spent her teenaged years playing with her hair in all manner of ways. Chopping it short, shaving one side, dying it every which way. Petunia constantly struggled to keep up with her sister’s antics half the time.
The last time Petunia had seen Bella she had her natural red hair curling under her chin and slightly curly. Now it piled high in a wild pony tail, died a pitch black but leaving her natural vibrant red in her fringe.
“Heya Pet!” Bella grinned enveloping her sister in a fierce hug before stepping past her into the house. “Where’s my nephew?” she headed for the living room, stopping only briefly when she set eyes on her Brother-in-law. “Fat man,” she drawled, causing Petunia to wince. Vernon grit his teeth but only nodded in greeting.
Bella walked to Dudley’s bassinette, peering in she gasped. “Petunia, why am I looking at two babies?” she asked, “One of which looks remarkably like another nephew of mine,”
“That’s why I called you,” Petunia handed over the letter that came with her nephew. “According to this, Lilly is dead. Along with her husband,” Bella’s eyes flew over the letter. Her green eyes so much like Lilly’s welled, and a pained noise left her throat.
“Not Lilly. No,” she moaned, before turning and lifting Harry into her arms. “Oh darling, I am so sorry,” she bounced the baby gently in her arms, face buried in wild locks. The boy looked confused but nuzzled into her hold all the same.
“Which is only a part of why I called you. Bella, this Dumbledore man says Harry need the protections of a blood relative of his mother,” Petunia began, rushing to finish as she saw her sisters shoulders tense. “And I’ve already got my hands full with Dudley,”
“You’ve got to be kidding! Petunia I’m nineteen, I’ve barely left college, my business is only just gaining traction I can’t take on a baby!”
“I can’t do it Bella! That they even had the nerve to suggest it is…is….ridiculous!”
Bella snorted, not at all impressed by her sisters reasoning. “You always did have the strangest definition of what was proper. The fact you think it ridiculous to be considered a candidate to raise your own nephew is what is in fact, ‘ridiculous’,”
“Bella, please,” Petunia begged quietly.
Bella looked between her only living sister and the babe in her arms. Blinking up at her with her sisters eyes, her fathers eyes. “Fine, but you owe me. I mean it! The whole nine yards, babysitting, toys, clothes, bottle feeds,”
Petunia let her sister rant on, refusing to let the relief make her cry, but she did swallow wetly and nod.