Other People's Christmas

Snape's gloomy gaze fell on the middle-aged woman's face, instinctively searching it for traces of Lily. They were sisters by blood, so there were inevitably some similarities between them.

But he could not imagine what Lily would have looked like at this age, so naturally he could not see any familiar shadow in Petunia, including in those eyes.

"It's been a long time, Petunia Evans. Or should I call you... Mrs. Dursley now?"

The low greeting echoed in the cold wind of winter, tugging memories back through time. Decades later, Petunia still clearly remembered the day she first saw this man. That was when she learned that her sister was a Witch, that the miraculous power was called magic...

It had been a bright, sunny day. As usual, the two Evans sisters had sneaked into the nearly deserted Playground to ride the swing.

With the help of that power called magic, Lily let go at the highest point of the swing and flew into the air. Laughing joyfully, she threw herself toward the sky. She did not crash heavily onto the Asphalt. Instead, she spread her arms and glided through the air like a bird, hanging there for a long time before landing lightly.

"Lily, don't do that! Mum told you not to!" Her older sister kept repeating herself. For some inexplicable reason, her tone grew irritable. "Mum said you're not allowed to do that, Lily!"

"But I'm fine, Petunia." Lily giggled.

"How did you do that?" Petunia's eyes were filled with unconcealed envy.

"I don't know either."

As the sisters spoke, a boy jumped out from somewhere. He wore strange clothes, his hair was filthy, and he looked malnourished. He had no manners at all. "Isn't it obvious? You're a Witch."

Cold wind gusted along Privet Drive. Behind