Posts about Petunia Dursley
(a glimpse into Petunia's downward spiral from this one shot of mine)
Once, Petunia used to take great care of her appearance. Pride, even. It soothes the lingering burn of envy that she has from her childhood: she's always thought it was unfair why Lily had to have those bright green eyes, why Lily was striking and and perfectly lovely, why Lily won the genetic lottery while Petunia was just plain.
Her mother had insisted otherwise. Even Lily had insisted otherwise. Petunia snaps at them one day, I don't need your pity, stop doing that! I know what I look like!
It wasn't until she meets Vernon that she believes otherwise.
"Nonsense," he says, dismissing her worries. "You're a classic sort of beauty. An english rose among these harpies. They don't make them like you anymore, Pet."
He gifts her a beautiful, ivory vanity table when they move to their new home. Every morning, she admires her elaborately done curls in the mirror. Every night, she applies the lotion Yvonne swears by (it really does slow ageing!), not seeing plainness in the mirror anymore. Looks at her blue eyes, and not wishing they were different.
It's a habit, over the years. Peering at the hallway mirror to see if her hair was fine, smoothening non-existent creases in her outfit.
Petunia Dursley doesn't look at mirrors anymore.
("No," she whispers. "You're not real, you're not real, you're not - "
"Am I not, Tuney?" the woman smiles, green eyes twinkling with mirth. Petunia squeezes her eyes shut. "This isn't real." she tells herself, with more conviction. "It's just the heat getting to me, and nothing more."
"I suppose you are rather tired of my eyes. You've been seeing them for years, after all. In my son, in my grandniece," the voice says, deliberating. She can hear it crystal clear, even if her eyes are shut. It's all in my head. I'm just hearing voices.
There's quiet, for a minute. Silence, as if the voice was never there.
She exhales. Hesitantly, Petunia opens her eyes.
The space where her eyes should have been is empty, as if someone has gouged them out of the socket, but the mouth lifts into that same, amused, mocking smile -
Petunia screams. She wrenches the mirror off the wall, flinging it away with all her might, watches it shatter across the floor.
Hundreds, thousands of pairs of eyes stare back at her from the broken shards.)
-
It's a nice day for a drive, Petunia decides years later. Her mind is blissfully blank, peaceful even. Had it ever been so quiet? But why? a small, reasonable part of her questions. She silences it, instead, searching for the car keys. The drawer is a mess but she still finds them easily.
The car, sitting unused since Vernon's death, starts up easily as if brand new. Petunia doesn't question it. She drives, with ease, even though she hasn't been behind the wheel in years. Petunia doesn't question it. She somehow knows exactly where she's going, and has no clue about her destination all the same. Petunia doesn't question it.
She is going to be free. She is finally free, free from the torment and the horrors and Lily. No more. She will never, ever step foot inside Number 4, Privet Drive again.
She is free.
Petunia catches a flash of green eyes in the rear view mirror, and swerves —
A while back, I wrote a couple of one shots based on Petunia Dursley and her granddaughter. A lot of lovely folk on this sub encouraged me to post them on ao3, and i finally have!
a perfectly normal granddaughter (part one) (Petunia's POV)
Summary:
It was the green eyes. Those disconcerting (familiar) green eyes. Had they been any other colour, Petunia might not have been unsettled, and the first seeds of unease wouldn't have crept in. Petunia ignores the twinge of relief when the baby starts fussing, promptly handing her back to her mother.
Grandchildren were supposed to be a gift. But for Petunia Dursley, nothing turned out to be further from it.
Summary:
Mum had been lonely after Dad died, yes, but she had gotten by fine. She was fine. Until one day, she wasn't.
The first time Dudley feels something is truly off is when Mum calls him in the middle of the night. “The cupboard, there’s something in the cupboard, Dudley!”
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I will be posting the other two one shots in this series by tomorrow, and I do plan on writing more. A big thank you to everyone who read them! <3