31 - Decision

During the next weeks, Petunia watches the boys with a heavy heart. She doesn’t want to take them away from their schools and friends, from everything they know. And she doesn’t want to make Dudley leave his father.

But if Mrs. Figg is right, Harry will lose much more if she does nothing. Whenever she watches him play, happy and free of concerns, she asks herself how anyone could possibly want to make him fight. He’s just a little child – a child who is scared of magic.

Petunia knows that it would break him, and she can’t let that happen.

.-.-.-.

32 - Proposal

“…have to leave, for Harry’s sake. It’s the only solution.”

Staring down at her hands clenched in her lap, Petunia waits for whatever Remus has to say. She was scared of telling him, scared of losing him. Recently, they’ve been talking about him moving in, but how could she ever ask him to run away with them?

His hands close around her own, large and warm.

“Petunia,” he says softly, and she raises her head to face him. He looks at her earnestly, and for some inexplicable reason, her stomach flutters.

“Once we got there, will you become my wife?”

.-.-.-.

33 - Preparations

Once the decision is made, things proceed quickly. They choose Canada, because they speak English there, and also because they have national health insurance, which is important for Harry’s therapies.

Secretly, Remus Apparates over to buy a house, look for a job, and enrol the boys at school. Petunia never asks how he managed to bypass the immigration process.

To her, the worst thing is not leaving – it’s not telling the boys until the very day they’ll move. She feels like a bad mother, especially toward Dudley, and she hopes and prays that he will not hate her for this.

.-.-.-.

34 - Arrival

When he awakes in the morning in a strange house, Dudley storms into the kitchen, demanding to know what’s going on.

Petunia tries to explain: that Remus shrank their possessions and Apparated them here, and also Apparated the boys while they were sleeping. That it’s for Harry. That they can’t go back.

Dudley stares mutely, his world crashing down around him. After some seconds, he turns and slams the door behind him.

She wants to follow and comfort him, but finds that the world is spinning around her. Moments later, Remus enters and finds her on the kitchen floor, unconscious.

.-.-.-.

35 - Repercussions

Petunia is desperate.

They’ve been here for two months, slowly settling into a routine, with their last names changed, their new jobs starting well, and no problems at school for the children.

The first full moon with Remus was awkward, but she is sure they will get used to it. Tentatively, they have started to talk about their wedding.

All seems well on the outside, and she could begin to relax, if it weren’t for one thing.

Dudley hasn’t taken to hating her, but she thinks that she wouldn’t mind so much any more.

It’s worse: now he hates Harry.
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