Oh, Julia. This is just...amazing. I was utterly entranced by your writing, the beauty and the frailty of the prose, and it really brings out that idea of perfection in your story, and what a delicate balance Petunia maintains in her life. You've just written her in such an incredibly compassionate manner, and that's my absolute favourite thing I'd love to find in writing - characters wrought with compassion. And Petunia...poor Petunia. Struggling to deal with so many things - the incredible shallowness of her suburban life, her repressed grief at Lily's death and her lasting resentment toward Lily and Harry and how she has been excluded from the world Lily is privileged to belong to...

There are so many brilliant details and you convey Petunia's feelings, especially toward the mystery stranger, in such a subtle way: She’s nearly forgotten him, except in those unsatisfying moments at night when Vernon is asleep beside her and her thighs are still tingling, warm, not quite finished. Gah. I can't even. And yes, Petunia really does immerse herself in all the tiny details of her life, attempting to convince herself that her life is perfect in its hollowness and that she is absolutely not in denial. The roses, the eavesdropping on neighbours, the baking soda, the smiley facade...these are all so canon and yet you've really taken them further and added your own personal touch to them. I might be grossly misinterpreting your fic; I don't know :P

And gaaaaah. Remus :( :( :( :( My heart just dropped like a cannonball when he said that awful awful line: you're nothing like her after all. *SOBS* This piece. I dunno. So full of pain. So full of quiet pain and smoothed-over desperation and you've brought all this up so beautifully. And that lovely change of tone toward the end. Anyway. I really loved this. I think you're an amazing writer.

teh

Author's Response: Thank you so much, teh. After reading your own beautiful, amazing, magnificent writing, it means a lot to receive this review. Petunia was hard to get right. On the one hand, I needed to conjure some sympathy for her as the main protagonist. The reader needs to be compelled to want to read about her, since she is already a disliked character. On the other hand, I could not forget or ignore the horrible life she provided for Harry. Although it was a challenge, it was also interesting juggling those two aspects of the character. In canon we see a woman who relishes keeping her home for her husband and son, but then we also see this explosively bitter side to her towards her sister and nephew, and such ferocious jealousy. Jealousy is borne of dissatisfaction so I am just so happy to see that my interpretation of her character resonates with you, Carole, and my other reviewers. Remus is my favourite Marauder, and when I was challenged to write a drabble pairing Petunia with anyone but Snape or Vernon, my mind jumped to Remus immediately. I can imagine him secretly visiting Harry, watching from a distance, not just to check on Harry but also as a personal comfort after all that he has lost. Harry is the tether to his past life and the people who made him happy. But what would he think of Petunia? The sister of the woman who had been so kind towards him and so many others? What he said to Petunia was so cutting because I imagine he would be disappointed to discover Petunia's true nature after hoping to find another soul like Lily. Again, thank you so much for your review. It brought a smile to my day :D Julia xoxo

Wow that was so amazing. I really liked how you went deeply into Petunia's emotions, the way she miss her sister. Still, I'm a bit confused. Is the man Sirius?

Author's Response: Thank you! The story takes place after Sirius went to Azkaban. It's Remus :)