Petunia Evans came to with a sharp jolt, the damp grass pressing against her cheek and the morning sun blinding her in streaks of gold. Her head throbbed faintly, but the awareness in her mind was entirely Fiona Bay's: razor-sharp, analytical, and entirely out of place in an eight-year-old body.
She blinked, confused, and then the scene hit her all at once.
Lily — six, fiery hair catching the sunlight like liquid fire — hovered a few inches above the ground. Her tiny hands wavered, tremors of energy rippling outward, making the grass beneath her shift as if the earth itself didn't know how to respond.
"Petunia?" Lily's voice wavered, high-pitched with worry. "Are you… are you okay?"
Petunia's chest clenched. The voice — so small, so concerned — pulled at her. She wanted to nod, to reassure her sister, but her thoughts were racing. 'Magic. Lily is magical.' Which as Fiona she knew as fact but the parts of her that were still Petunia were in shock.
Severus crouched at the edge of the small clearing, his dark eyes narrowed, every line of his tiny frame taut with tension. His gaze flicked constantly between Lily and Petunia.
Petunia tried to sit up, but her body felt strange, foreign. Her pulse raced and her vision swam, the world sharpening at the edges with sudden clarity as words and numbers floated before her eyes.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Her heart skipped again. The voice wasn't external; it wasn't audible in the ordinary sense. It slithered into her mind, calm, deliberate, and infinitely patient.
[SURVIVAL SYSTEM ONLINE
Host integrity: STABLE
Timeline: HARRY POTTER (Primary)
Previous Life: Fiona Bay (Human)
Current Identity: Petunia Evans (Squib)
Starting Assets: 2,000,000 SC]
'That was new. Sure the fandom had theorized Petunia might have been a squib but it was never confirmed. That meant one of the Evans parents had descended from a wizarding family.'
[SOULMATE BOND DETECTED
Identifier: Tom Marvolo Riddle
Status: UNSTABLE / REDEEMABLE]
Petunia's chest constricted. She could feel Lily's worry radiating outward like heat, a thin thread of panic that needed to be soothed. She could also feel Severus's attention: tight, calculating, wary, protective — focused almost entirely on Lily, while trying to predict how Petunia herself would react.
[MISSION ALERT:
Acquire basic emotional stability.
Recommended Items: Emotional Regulation, Trauma Resistance]
Petunia's fingers twitched, almost automatically, brushing the grass as if it were a keyboard. Numbers flashed in her vision, SC balances, abilities, and suggested purchases. She executed the recommended choices without hesitation.
[Emotional Regulation I (Steven Universe) —
1,200 SC]
[Trauma Resistance I (Steven Universe) —
2,000 SC]
[Notice: All abilities are integrated into your physiology permanently.]
[SC Remaining: 1,996,800]
A wave of calm rolled over her, smoothing the sharp edges of panic that had spiked when she first opened her eyes. Her body — eight, small, vulnerable — felt steadier, more in control, aligned with the mind of a woman who had lived another life.
Lily's hovering hands wavered as she lowered to the ground and rushed to Petunia's side.
"I didn't mean… I didn't mean to…" Her eyes were wide, fearful, uncertain.
Petunia's gaze softened. Gray eyes meeting sparkling emerald, she offered a small, tentative smile. "It's… okay, Lily," she said, voice steadier than she felt. "We are fine."
Severus's shadowed figure on the outskirts shifted slightly, his dark hair catching the sunlight. He remained silent, he looked at Petunia with wary suspicion.
Petunia could feel it — the pull of the system, the ledger that had appeared as soon as she woke, and the faint but undeniable thread that tied her to someone far away:
[SOULMATE BOND INITIALIZED
Recommended interaction: Observe and guide with discretion.]
She swallowed, taking a deep breath that drew in the crisp, early-morning air. The grass smelled faintly of damp earth and blossoms.
Petunia Evans sat up fully, brushing off grass and dirt, gray eyes flicking between Lily and Severus.
Petunia reached out instinctively, brushing a strand of hair back from Lily's freckled forehead.
Severus's eyes never left Lily, but there was a faint exhale of relief.
Petunia would take this new life one step at a time, this was her second chance at life and she wasn't going to waste it.