Work Text:
June 5, 1980
The wig was really uncomfortable. It was a mess of wild curls that constantly tried to make its way into her eyes. The dust and glass shards from their narrow escape on the back of a dragon clung to her.
But Petunia could barely pay attention to any of that. Her chest was constricted with worry over her siblings. She knew her combat skills would not be of much help in a magical fight but she still felt like she should be with them.
She hugged Daisy, hoping she wouldn't notice her trembling arms, and whispered "Good luck!" before hastily moving away so her sister could apparate.
That was when she heard a quiet gasp somewhere from her left. When she whipped her head around to look who made the sound, she almost gasped herself.
"David?!" she exclaimed, simultaneously with the crack signaling her sister's departure.
She took a step towards him but he backed away from her. It was then that she noticed that his eyes were tracking her every move, wide open, like those of a cornered animal.
Ah. Right. Normal people didn't appear out of nowhere with mysterious figures in gray cloaks with faces obscured entirely by shadows. That… just didn't happen, it was just Petunia who's life was that weird.
"It's okay, David," she started, raising her hands in a placating manner and slowly started walking towards him. "Can we maybe talk about this?"
David didn't appear to have heard her. His breathing was picking up. His back was pressed to their front door where he ended up when he didn't have anywhere else to move to avoid her.
Crap. Had she managed to scare off her boyfriend? It wasn't even her magic! …That didn't matter though. Deep down, she knew that she'd never be able to leave all magic behind, if she wanted to keep in contact with her family. And that? That wasn't even a choice. However much it would hurt her to break up with David, she would not trade him for her family. If David had a problem with magic, then it would be his problem and not hers. She had no time for prejudiced jerks.
Still… If she could only convince him that not all magic was bad… Surely most of it was just shock. She supposed that if she hadn't known about magic since she was a teenager and found out about it only now, she would probably have a similar reaction. Maybe. Probably.
"Look," she started again, "I know this must seem crazy to you, and maybe a bit scary, but-"
And nothing. She got too close and his instincts seemed to take over as he darted away from the door and towards her. He tried to avoid her entirely but she was too quick for him and she managed to grab his arm.
That was when it all went awry.
She suddenly felt a slight tugging behind her navel and a wave of nausea hit her. For a moment, she didn't have any sense of up and down, or space in general. Next thing she knew, she was vomiting, supporting herself on her forearms while laying on the floor, and there was a loud ringing that was presumably inside her head.
She was distantly aware of some panicked voices around her, someone calling out 'David!' a flurry of movement as someone helped the body laying next to her, presumably David, to stand up.
She groaned. She knew enough and more importantly was coherent enough to know that that was a portkey. It was one of the things that books on wards mentioned pretty often, and she has experienced enough of side-along apparition to be able to cross it off from the list of possibilities. Which basically left only a portkey.
The real question here was: Where did David Tonks, a muggle, get a portkey? She groaned again. Couldn't all muggles be just that for once? Did every muggle she knew have to end up actually being a witch or a wizard? What was next? Was she actually a witch too?
And yet… if David Tonks was a wizard, why was he scared of her? He would have no reason to be scared of magic then. Was he truly a muggle? Or maybe-
Her internal monologue was interrupted with someone clearing their throat. Petunia looked up and found herself looking at a tip of a wand that was dangerously close to her face.
"What were you planning, Bella?" asked the owner of said wand, and was that- was that Andromeda? Andromeda was a witch? And, wait. Bella. As in, Bellatrix. As in one of Narcissa's sisters, who's other sister's name was, coincidentally or not so coincidentally, Andromeda?
Petunia was starting to sense a pattern. And, for whatever reason, she didn't think her mind would come up with any other conclusion any time soon. Huh.
Andromeda was now looking down at her with… concern? No, more like alarm. Why would she…?
Ah. Right. She was giggling. Actually not unlike the woman she was currently dressed like, which was… a little concerning but whatever, Petunia was having a breakdown, she shouldn't be judged in that situation. It could be addressed at a later date, preferably when none of her siblings were in mortal danger.
"What were you planning?" repeated Andromeda more forcefully. "What were you doing in Cokeworth?"
Petunia tried to calm down, but that right there sounded just so funny. "Bellatrix-" wheeze, "in Cokeworth-" wheeze, "now that-" wheeze, "that would be the joke!" And more laughter.
"What?" asked Andromeda confusedly, talking to no one in particular.
"Yeah, I'm afraid she's- she's busy right now. Probably freaking out about who stole from her vault," said Petunia, with mirth in her voice.
"…Petunia?" tried David, who, Petunia noted amusedly, was trying to peek out from behind Ted, albeit unsuccessfully, because Ted was dead set on shielding him with his body.
"Yeah. It's just me." With that, she took off her wig and ran her hand through her real hair to untangle them.
Andromeda sighed, suddenly visibly exhausted. "Right. I'm going to need more of an explanation than that, but, in the meantime, would you like some tea?"
There was an awkward silence.
Petunia had already cleaned up her face, so it wasn't as awkward as it could have been, but that didn't mean much. Now everyone was staring at their own cup of tea, trying to avoid eye contact and subsequently the inevitable conversation.
Suddenly, a stag patronus appeared in front of Petunia and hurriedly said, in Daisy's voice: "Petun, everyone's fine, we won, don't worry, but, uh, Narcissa has gone into labor, so I'll come pick you up."
As Petunia took in Andromeda's face, she decided she really didn't want to have this conversation any time soon.
Ugh.