Chapter 02

Eleanor had felt that she was "scanned", inexplicably she knew that someone was trying to magically verify that she was Petunia Evans.

A black dog crossed her path to her lodgings, of course, she deduced immediately who it was. Beyond being a bit startled by the sudden encounter, she proceeded to treat it like any other pet, she reached for a dog bone in her backpack.

In her mind, she saw clearly what she wanted and tingling began in her palm, then instinctively she reached inside the backpack and pulled out something that wasn't there before.

- "Enjoy," She said after tossing the edible cowhide bone.

It wasn't the first time something she imagined or wished for materialized, as the days went by her "skills" were becoming present.

She did not witness the mocking laughter that echoed in the direction of Padfoot, namely Sirius Black, who along with the rest of the marauders supported Lily in the "investigation" into Petunia, as the redhead suspected that her sister had been impersonated. It was daily news that the Death Eaters were attacking Muggleborns, mainly families of wizards and witches of this origin who attended Hogwarts.

Being alone they chatted about the resolution of their "investigation".

- "It's her Lily, all the spells we used to support that conclusion" - Remus explained.

- "Yes, you must accept it, Lily, your hateful sister decided to change and even Padfoot got a treat," - Said James smiling at his friend.

- "Nobody changes so suddenly, I know my sister and she's... I don't want to admit it, but she's a bit of a bitch," - Replied Lily.

- "Sometimes the pressure forces you to change," - Said Pettigrew without looking at them, - "Maybe she found herself at a crossroads in her life and decided to be different."

- "I don't know, is that so?" - The witch asked thoughtfully.

Petunia had taken a great turn in her life, the sister she knew was a minor villain with her since her discovery of magic. Petunia was a hateful, envious, selfish, and jealous woman, something she with difficulty managed to accept, still, she loved her because she knew that somewhere in her heart she was still the protective and loving child of her childhood.

Lily could not conceive how her sister suddenly became a stranger, Petunia changed her look, went for walks aimlessly, sang, and listened to music at the same time without caring if there was an audience. Where was the introverted Petunia, who changed her sister's mellowness?

.

After a month the situation calmed down, the Evans family justified Petunia and no longer suspected her, everyone drew their own conclusions and Eleanor did not deny or confirm anything, leaving them to believe whatever gave peace to their heart, after several visits she grew fond of them.

As fate would have it, Eleanor crossed paths with Vernon, it was a strange situation, especially when the man didn't recognize her, he tried to make conversation and get her phone number to ask her out, even though Eleanor said she had a boyfriend.

She felt sorry for Vernon because he seemed nice and she hesitated to give him a chance, but something was holding her back, as it would be cruel to give him hope because of a feeling of guilt, so as a consolation and apology, she kissed him on the cheeks as she said goodbye, if things were different he would be with his beloved Petunia.

It was time to get to know the magical commercial sector, to see Diagon Alley with her own eyes. Eleanor entered the pub with confidence, she asked the owner to open the entrance without giving reasons that could cause later complications. It was a fantasy image, when the entrance opened her heart was beating fast and it was like being in another universe.

The first thing she did was to go to Madame Malkin to get a robe so as not to clash with the clothes of the place. She noticed people with parcels coming and going with children.

"How could I forget? It's school shopping season."

The windows of every store offered specials on their products. Eleanor walked past the famous "Owl Emporium," "Quality Quidditch Supplies," and the "Flourish and Blotts" bookstore, among other businesses.

Then, she remembered that she needed "magical" money, so she changed her target and headed straight for Gringotts Wizarding Bank, an institution that controlled all the banking power in the magical world, which not only made it a bank too big to fail, but also too magical, as no other bank could absorb it, nor could any central bank on the planet mint its currency.

The large white ivory building had 2 expressionless goblin guards at the door; among the bank's functions were both storage operations for valuable items and those related to currency exchange, the latter of which was Eleanor's goal.

She entered at a slow pace, admiring the architecture, reading the signage messages and the main warnings against thieves; she walked in search of a free desk where to inquire and perform the transaction, finding the booth minutes after entering.

- "The current exchange rate for Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts is... 100 pounds equals 20 Galleons, 1 Sickle, and 10 Knuts. How much would you like to exchange?" - Said the goblin in response to the woman's request.

- "I want to change 2000 pounds and give me the change in the 3 currencies."

The goblin looked at her for a second without expression.

- "Well, that would be 400 galleons, 20 sickles, and 200 knuts" - Answered the goblin receiving the "muggle money" and counting the gold, silver, and bronze coins that he would deliver inside a cloth bag to Eleanor.

Malkin's store was located in a fuchsia-colored building with a large, long window, its large sign highlighting the name of the store. It also had among the garments on display a small sign, advertising up to 10% discount on selected lines, and Eleanor was curious about the designs being promoted.

Inside the place there was a couple with a child waiting, she said hello and in seconds the dressmaker from another part of the store asked to wait, then she looked at the mannequins with tunics trying to choose a discreet one; it could be seen that in the background were seated the companions and 2 children each one on a footstool while Mrs. Malkin was taking their measurements to make their tunics.

Eleanor chose an amethyst-colored tunic, with a few arabesque embroideries around the collar, sleeves, and near the hem, the tunic reached below the knees and she was also interested in a plain black hooded cloak, the delicate lining of which was a deep wine color. She requested a dresser to try on the tunic, then the dressmaker came by to make a few adjustments, impressing Eleanor with her speed. She also bought an olive-colored tunic, with the same embroidered designs as the one she was wearing, and another cobalt-colored velvet cape.

In front of the dressmaker-tailor was located the ice cream shop "Florean Fortescue", dressed in her new tunic and holding her package with the clothes she bought, she wanted to go and try one of their famous ice creams, so she crossed and joined the queue, in minutes she was served and after looking at her options she decided not to go for their classic flavors she asked for, so she chose a stracciatella ice cream with fresh mint, with the surprise that the inside of the cone was coated with delicious melted chocolate.

She went to the terrace and sat in a corner to savor her ice cream, observing the surroundings she felt the unreality of her new life.

A while later, Eleanor wanted to browse through the other stores starting with the Flourish and Blotts bookstore, the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as big as cobblestones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in silk covers; books full of peculiar symbols and some books with nothing at all, as was the classic description.

After browsing through several copies, she decided to buy a book on Magical Theory that cost 2 galleons and the well-known magizoology book: "Fantastic Animals and Where to Find Them was written by the famous magizoologist Newt Scamander, also worth 2 galleons.

Mrs. Primpernelle's beautifying potions caught her attention, next to that shop there was a "hairdresser's for ladies" that offered "beauty services", surely they were two related shops, and Eleanor considered changing her hair color again, she thought first to recover the natural blonde of "Petunia" and then to have a beauty treatment, buying those products that were useful to "beautify" herself.

She spent what seemed like hours, on face and hair masks, manicures, pedicures, etc., for someone who does not usually use many products, it was overwhelming the amount of products offered, logically she refused to buy so many, but she took what according to her "beauty advisor" were basic and essential. The final cost was not as high as she assumed.

She also went to Sugarplum, Diagon Alley's main magical candy store, where she bought the original Chocolate Frogs, which cost 10 Sickles each.

The walk itself was very entertaining, snooping through the second-hand stuff, looking at the flying brooms, magical items, Ollivander's shop front, and other wand makers' shops, as she dared not enter.

She also browsed the apothecaries, having to cover herself at times because of the strong smell, even when she was in the "magical beasts" store. She was tempted to get a pet, Eleanor liked animals only she never had enough space to have a pet, and on this occasion neither, unless she was going back to live with "her parents", however, the Evans might wonder how and where she got her pet, not to mention that the real Petunia seemed to dislike animals.

Before leaving she bought a copy of The Prophet newspaper to read leisurely later, and passed by one last ice cream she would eat on her way back to her "current residence". With a vanilla and chocolate ice cream with multicolored sprinkles, Eleanor was about to cheerfully make her way to the exit when she heard a familiar voice.

- "Petunia, what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

Eleanor almost choked when Lily appeared in her line of sight.

.

1978 was the last year at Hogwarts for Lily and her friends, it was the year in which she formalized her engagement with the least expected person, James Potter, precisely one of the most annoying classmates of the school, well, annoying for her because during all her years at school, she had to tolerate being the target of the "gallantry" of the Potter heir. They were both selected to Gryffindor House, the House of the Brave.

She began her education at Hogwarts with her best friend Severus Snape, sadly they were separated in different houses and to make matters worse, rivals, it was difficult to maintain their friendship among so many negative opinions.

James and his friends used to annoy Severus too much with their stupid jokes, something that Lily always rejected from that quartet. Then with time, Severus got closer to bad company, he became friends with wizards that Lily thought were the scum of her generation, however, despite warning his friend about her concerns, he did not change course and moved away from her, of course, if you ask Severus, he would say it was the other way around.

In her sixth year, Lily agreed to give James a chance, by which time she had fallen out with her friend and cut ties after he called her mud-blood.

With daily dealings, no longer defensive, she changed her image of James and his friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew; and when graduation was near, she agreed to get engaged to her boyfriend.

She never managed to reconcile with her sister, from the moment it was discovered that she was a witch Petunia rejected her. Previously jealousy over the friendship between her and Severus was problematic, but when admission to Hogwarts came something broke indefinitely. It was no surprise to Lily that her sister made a scene when she learned of her marriage, during a school break she made it clear that she would not accept any of her friends. Besides, Petunia's boyfriend was a man who was "too much of a Muggle", as James would say, always looking to stand out and seem superior.

Lily somehow provoked Petunia to make her react, because her indifference hurt more than insults. When her mother wrote asking for her help to reconcile the family, she agreed thinking that it was enough of dodging the issue, she was determined to resolve it and put an end to it. But then Petunia inexplicably ran away from home, this confused her, and she was even more confused when she finally managed to meet her sister face to face, for she did not seem to be the same Petunia she thought she knew.

The red-haired witch had complex moments about how to deal with the subject of her sister, she commented to her boyfriend her impressions, regarding what she felt about her sister as a stranger. James proposed to keep an eye on her for a few days to discard doubts about any magical intervention, and so they did. Petunia led an "ordinary" life, among other activities she went to work, spent time in the park, went grocery shopping and ate junk food, and sometimes to the movies, nothing unusual or magical seemed to happen with her.

Lily had to accept that her sister was right, she didn't know her, in the last few years during the vacations, they spent little time together and always in the presence of their parents. During the last school vacation, Lily spent more time with the Potters than at home, so, it wasn't impossible that she hadn't noticed her sister's evolution if she held on to the image she formed from the few interactions they had alone in the last few years.

It was a nice day so they decided with James to go for a walk to Diagon Alley, soon auror training would begin at the academy and James wouldn't have much free time. He and Sirius applied before graduation and were admitted once the head of Gryffindor House sent their final grades.

Chatting with some fellow Hogwarts students they came across, Lily saw a familiar person coming, Petunia was casually strolling down Diagon Alley. She excused herself for a few moments with her classmates, James was so involved with the conversation that he let her go for a few minutes to greet her friend, because it was not unusual at that time to cross paths with friends and classmates from Hogwarts.

- "Hey, what's up? Nice day for a date, isn't it? If you'll excuse me, I'm out, so have a nice day with your boyfriend, see you later," - Said the blonde woman almost breathlessly, trying to run away from the situation.

- "Stop! You're not leaving without explaining yourself!" - Lily exclaimed, avoiding her sister's escape.

Lily was too upset to unintentionally provoke her.

- "Eehh... I don't know what you mean, I just came for ice cream, see?" Eleanor showed the ice cream cone - "A few little things and I was going back the other way, it's no big deal."

- "You're a muggle," - Said Lily as if that sentence alone would explain the whole dilemma.

- "What's new, so what? The owner of the pub opened the entrance for me, you don't have to be a complete witch to walk around here. Have you become prejudiced?"

Lily blinked, feeling attacked.

- "Of course not, I'm not prejudiced!"

- "Then I don't see the problem with me coming to Diagon Alley and buying something different for a change," - Eleanor said, firmly holding the bag they gave her at a store so she could carry her purchases comfortably.

- "Petunia, in the last few years you have refused to come with me and our parents," - Replied Lily.

- "That may be, but according to my memories, they stopped including me in their plans long ago. It's been years since any of them asked me if I wanted to come or to take anything from here," - Eleanor said, drawing on her memories of Petunia.

Lily stood mute with a frown on her face at how displeased she was.

Eleanor considered for a few seconds how to get out of her predicament, seconds in which she didn't notice that her hair was changing its shade of blonde in a fluctuating fashion.

- "Tsk, she's a witch, not a Muggle."

- "I told you, they must be Muggle daughters fighting."

- "What a lack of decorum."

Two gossipy witches whispered close behind them, they stopped when they heard a Muggle woman enter Diagon Alley.

- "Gossipy women out! It's a private conversation," Eleanor said looking at them coldly if there was one thing she hated it was gossiping about people, regardless if she ever eavesdropped she never spread gossip around.

- "Tuney, please answer without further evading the issue. Since when can you see the Leaky Cauldron without me? Muggles can't get to the entrance of this place without a wizard or witch to guide them. Only someone with magic can see and find the pub. Isn't there something you want to share?"

- "Lily you look like a teacher. Maybe you should consider teaching, surely one of your teachers will know how to guide you."

- "Tuney, please."

- "It's all right... I don't know how long I've been able to see the pub, I didn't register the date. I just felt like walking around the place today," -Eleanor explained, playing with a lock of hair between her fingers.

- "Why didn't you mention it? Petunia, I would have liked to know... Maybe you have undeveloped magic" - The witch expressed her conjecture, a little excited by the possibility of renewing ties with her sister.

- "Lily, your boyfriend looks restless looking this way. You'd better get back to your friends," - Said Eleanor.

Lily turned around and with a smile tried to reassure him, motioning for him to wait, and she was on her way back to him.

- "This matter is not finished. It would be great if you came home, it's not safe for you to be alone. Less so right now, you know because of "them" " - Lily said the last in a low voice.

- "I will consider it. Maybe I'll see you in a few days."

Eleanor imagined why she didn't ask questions about it, because she didn't want to get involved, at least not at the moment, because she had no way to justify the facts she knew about Voldemort or what she remembered reading about the "marauder era", that is, before the "Hogwarts saga of Harry Potter".

Finally, the witch let Eleanor leave, she sighed with relief as she reached her peaceful space, left the shopping on the chair, and lazed in bed for a while.

The replacement was over, with no job she should look for another one but she didn't feel like it, something she could afford to do because she still had money.

She had considered opening an account at Gringotts, but thought to wait since his activities were in the "muggle world" and not the magical one, for the moment his investment account at the country's main bank was enough.

She also considered looking for an apartment, and justifying herself to the Evanses by saying it was rented, a plan that fell apart when she told Lily she was going back to Cokeworth with "her parents". She hoped they wouldn't make her cook, unlike Petunia she had no gift for cooking, she never managed to make a grainy rice or a cookie that didn't look like a dog's, but at least the taste was right and no one complained, she used to cook for herself almost every day, but of course, it's not the same to cook for yourself as for others.

- "I should look for a crash course in cooking," - She muttered to herself.

As far as gardening and other household chores were concerned, she could hold her own.

A week later "Petunia returned to the family home".