Petunia had not known, upon boarding that plane, that she was already with child. As such, she did not live her life as a pregnant woman might have.

Arriving in through JFK, the first thing she did was rent a locker in Grand Central Station and stash her luggage —of which there was little other than clothes and cash, the latter staying with her. She went into the nearest high end clothing shop and changed into a sharp pencil skirt, jacket combo and slid into a new pair of heels. Petunia Evans is not the first woman to be born with a too long neck and too long front teeth —neither of which cannot be overcome with conscientious wardrobe and makeup choices. And so, Petunia used what she could and set out to the Financial District. She found four separate firms looking for an assistant —only one of which allowed women to work in other areas of the firm. That was the one Petunia went after most voraciously.

You see, Petunia Evans-never-to-be-Dursley officially only had experience as an assistant at Grumans. However, Petunia knew that validating such a thing in 1979 was neigh impossible. And so she lied. “Yes, sir, I worked on the floor of an English firm — Gravestones, have you heard of them?” “Project management is my specialty, sir.” “Oh my, I’ve always believe in the American Dream —and so here I am.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It did not hurt that a little extra leg in 1979 went further. It did hurt, however, that they would have to sponsor a Visa. And fortunately the old school Petunia of 1978 was gone and the current Petunia had very few qualms about wearing a lower cut shirt to show off for the man hiring her. She was able to start the very next week.

And like that a month was gone.

A month without menstruation for a body that is so regular she could be the basis of her own calendar. Petunia went straight to the doctor. Oh was she vexed. A Dursley spawn! Within her!

Next came a move she had to psyche herself up to make. Within weeks she was sleeping with a partner at her firm. A man by the name of Charles Ulright. He was the exact opposite of Vernon. Including that he was married.

Petunia, skinny as she was, took months before she began showing even the slightest —and then another two months of strategic clothing to keep it hidden. It was at month six she approached Charles and said, “Leave your wife or buy my silence. The baby is yours.”

Charles, peach that he was, said, “How much?”

Petunia’s answer had been, “A lot.”