Reborn as Petunia Evans with a System

Anna Watson's life ended as quietly as it had been lived. At the age of thirty, she passed away alone in a sterile hospital room, the beeping of monitors fading into silence. Orphaned at a young age, Anna had spent most of her life on the periphery of the world, unnoticed and unloved. Her only solace was the stack of books that kept her company through countless lonely nights. Among them, her favorite was the Harry Potter series—a world of magic, friendship, and bravery that felt like a refuge from the monotony of her existence.

The cancer had come swiftly, and her frail body had no strength to fight it. Lying on the stiff hospital bed, she gazed at the ceiling, tears rolling down her cheeks. There were no family or friends to hold her hand, no one to whisper words of comfort. Her breaths grew shallow, each one a struggle. With her final exhale, she closed her eyes, her heart heavy with the weight of a life unlived.

But Anna's story did not end there.

In the vast, incomprehensible void that followed, she felt something strange. Warmth. Light. A rhythmic, steady pulse. She wasn't sure if it was a dream, an afterlife, or something else entirely. Slowly, the sensation of being confined, surrounded, and held overtook her. Her limbs felt impossibly small, her body new and fragile. Panic surged through her as muffled voices reached her ears.

"Push! One more push!" a woman's voice urged. The sound was distant yet familiar.

Suddenly, Anna's world shifted. There was an overwhelming pressure, a rush of cold air, and then a wailing cry that she only realized was her own. She had been born.

Through blurry eyes, she glimpsed the face of a woman. Her auburn hair was damp with sweat, and her green eyes shimmered with joy despite the exhaustion etched on her face.

"It's a girl," the midwife announced, handing the tiny newborn to her mother.

Before Anna could make sense of what was happening, another cry pierced the air. Her heart raced as she turned her head instinctively toward the sound. Another baby—a twin. The realization struck her like lightning. She wasn't just any baby; she had been reborn as a twin.

"Two girls," the midwife said, her tone filled with wonder. "Healthy and strong."

The mother's voice came soft but clear. "Petunia. Her name is Petunia."

Anna froze. Petunia. The name echoed in her mind like a thunderclap. She stared at the woman, her heart pounding. Auburn hair. Green eyes. And then she looked to the other baby, who was being gently wrapped in a blanket. That baby's hair was the same fiery red, but when the midwife adjusted the cloth, Anna caught sight of her eyes—a piercing green identical to the mother's.

Her twin. Lily Evans.

The truth crashed over Anna in waves. She wasn't just anyone; she had been reborn as Petunia Evans, the bitter, jealous, and magicless sister of Lily Potter. Her chest tightened with panic. She wasn't in the golden era of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but in the Marauders' era, decades before the story she knew so well. And worse, she was doomed to be the one who despised magic, the one who turned her back on her sister, the one who would one day mistreat her nephew, Harry Potter.

But this time, something was different. Anna had been reborn as Petunia—but she was also herself. She was Anna Watson, with all her memories of the books she had read, the stories she had loved, and the person she had been. And, most shockingly of all, as she felt the faint spark of something warm and magical within her, she realized that this version of Petunia had magic.

Why had she been reborn here? Why as this character? And why did she share a twin bond with Lily? As her mother's voice murmured words of love and welcome, Anna's mind churned with questions. She had been given a second chance, a life tied to a story she adored yet feared. Her heart swelled with determination. If she had magic, then perhaps she could change things. Perhaps she didn't have to become the bitter, resentful Petunia Evans.

Perhaps she could write her own story in the world of magic.