When he went into Tuney's backyard, he'd assumed the person smoking on the other side of the shed was a young neighbor engaging in a bit of unhealthy teenage rebellion. He'd rather been looking forward to snapping some insults at the teen for both trespassing and smoking. The universe, it seemed, had a sense of humor, and very much enjoyed messing with him. He raised an eyebrow in surprise when he rounded the corner and found Tuney with a cigarette between her lips.

"I thought you quit." His voice startled her and she jumped before glaring at him. The basis for this statement was simply the fact that he hadn't seen or smelled evidence of cigarettes since his arrival at the Dursleys. That didn't mean she'd quit smoking, however, only that it wasn't a regular habit for her anymore.

He presumed his assumption to be right, however, when she didn't say anything and simply turned her gaze back to the privacy fence, and took another drag.

Severus leaned against the shed next to her. They were both silent. Snape figured he probably only had a minute or so before she finished the cigarette to figure out what to say. And even though he had a better grasp on how he felt about Tuney, now, it didn't mean he knew how to explain that to her.

"I'm going to do my best to make sure neither Harry nor I have to come back here next summer." He stated in a voice that he hoped didn't sound as unsure about the likelihood of that happening as he felt.

Tuney snorted in disbelief.

He thought of Lily. He thought of Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

He thought about Harry.

"Fuck it all to hell, Tuney, we can't keep doing this." He shook his head, and briefly contemplated taking the pack of cigarettes and lighter from her hand and helping himself to one even though it had been years since he'd smoked. "We both know that we can't really hate each other. Not like we pretend to, at least."

"Are you willing to make a bet on that, Sev?"

"You would have called a social worker or written back to Dumbledore if you didn't care about Harry. You never would have been at Kings Cross to pick him up if some part of you didn't care. Even if you only care about Harry because of Lily, you still can't help but care." He paused for a moment, "And you hate that you can't not care." He hesitated, "As for whether we can hate each other... we can't hate each other because Lily loved both of us."

"You don't know anything," Petunia stated before dropping her cigarette butt into the grass and crushing it with the toe of her shoe. She remained leaning against the shed, however, so Snape took that as a sign to continue.

"I know that even though you neglected and hurt my... son." The word sounded less foreign and odd in his mouth this time. "Locked him in a cupboard, nearly starved him, and refused to love him. Despite that...you're still Lily's big sister. And - regardless of whether we like it or not - Lily and Harry make you and I family." He paused, "Admittedly an extremely fucked up and very distant family, but a family."

"You should know about fucked up families."

"So should you," he shot back sharply and without hesitation.

They lapsed into silence again.

"I quit when I found out I was pregnant with Dudley. That was my first one in almost thirteen years." She opened the box, taking out another cigarette.

Snape nodded, "We all make bad decisions at times."

She snapped her head around to look at him with narrowed eyes but didn't reply.

Severus thought about what he'd said to Harry. Considering the ramifications of trying something similar with Petunia.

He decided that was a horrible idea.

"I was so jealous of her," Petunia whispered, she hadn't lit the cigarette in her hand. "And of you."

Now, it was Snape's turn to snap his head sharply towards Tuney.

"Lily because... well... you know why," she paused for a moment. "And you for some of the same reasons and... because your father managed to get sober when mine couldn't. He tried, though. He tried so hard...until he stopped trying."

"I know," Snape hoped he sounded reassuring. And he did know how Mr. Evans had tried to stop drinking. Knew the man wanted to be better for his family. In a way, it was both fortunate and unfortunate that Mr. Evans was the definition of a functional alcoholic. But just because most of the world didn't see the hurt didn't mean that the pain wasn't there.

"Anything I do or anything I have is always going to be less than what everyone else has or does." Petunia's statement hit a nerve in a way that Severus knew it shouldn't. He'd tried to convince himself so many times that his life was not a horrible one. That he had all he needed. A part of him knew that to be true. Another part agreed with Tuney.

Even if he wanted to reassure her Snape didn't know how. But Lily would want him to try. If Harry were privy to this conversation he'd probably try, too. He'd fail. But the boy would try.

"At least you don't live in Cokeworth anymore."

Tuney looked at him, her lips twitched before she let out a few chuckles. "There is that."

"And Harry is terribly jealous of Dudley because of how much you love your son." He didn't know for sure if that was true. Harry had not said that to him. But he couldn't imagine a neglected child not being jealous of another child who had loving and doting parents. "Your husband is...a good provider for your son."

"Did it hurt for you to say that?"

Severus hesitated, "I've never known what you saw in him."

"I've never known what Lily saw in you."

That was a fair point, Snape conceded, but wasn't about to tell Tuney that. "Do you remember when I made that tree branch hit you?" A glance at Petunia's now frightened face told him she did remember. "Lily was so angry at me. But she was angry at you, too, because of all the things you said about me." He couldn't bring himself to smile at the memory even though he could so clearly see Lily's determination and frustration in his mind. "She spent the next four days trying to force us to apologize to each other and get along. She was relentless."

Petunia gave an amused snort, "you didn't have to live with her. It's the only thing she would talk to me about."

"Eventually," Severus continued, "we gave in. We tried to get along, and Lily was so damn pleased." Snape felt a small smile flicker over his lips before it fell away to be replaced with a sad smirk, "Can you imagine if she suddenly appeared, now?"

Petunia chuckled in sad remembrance, "She'd be furious. She'd probably invent a few new swear words to describe us. I think her temper and stubbornness got worse the older she got."

Snape nodded in agreement, "Just like yours. Honestly, I never thought I'd have to face that type of rage again, then there you were at Kings Cross."

"What does it say about you, Sev, that despite inspiring such a reaction you're still hanging around?"

He shrugged, "That I'm determined?"

"A determined idiot... and masochist, no doubt."

"On the off chance that there's an afterlife, and we'll join her there one day, let's not piss her off more than we already have, hmm?"

Petunia turned to face him better, the cigarette in her hand forgotten. Her voice was filled with sarcasm, "What did you have in mind? Weekend holidays together as an extended family? Christmas and Easter family fun?"

Snape sneered at the thought, "I was thinking of Christmas cards with an annual update on general well-being."

"Except you and the boy will be here next summer, I'm sure. Dumbledore will allow nothing else."

"I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen."

"And what of my family?" Tuney asked, "If the boy doesn't come back then my family is left without the same protections that keep Harry safe."

"Without Harry living here then you're already safe," Snape reassured her.

"I hate this."

"As do I."

They fell into silence for a few moments before Petunia spoke again, "There's an Indian place a few blocks away. I'll call and have a curry delivered. Tell that brat of yours that we'll be eating soon."

"Christmas cards, then?"

Petunia rolled her eyes, "We're sending them by post, and I don't mean owl post."  

"I'll send you the address when I know it. We're going to have to move from Spinner's End."

"About time."

Snape snorted, "It's impossible to sell homes in that ghost town. The best anyone can hope for is a fire and the insurance money."

"I'm looking forward to you leaving." 

"So am I." 

"Severus?" Petunia's voice waivered slightly, "Do you think Harry will ever forgive me?"

"I think, he already has." He didn't bother looking at her, "The boy is incorrigible, hopelessly optimistic, a pain in the ass, and has an uncanny ability to make those around him want to be better." He sighed heavily, "He is his mother's son."

"I'm fairly sure he gets being a pain-in-the-ass from you."

Snape shrugged but smirked, "It could also be a learned trait from living with you for a decade."

"Doubtful. His talent for the art is far too natural to be anything other than genetic."  

"You should know."

"I do know, because I spent far too much of my childhood chasing after you and Lily. Now, are you going to get your boy down here for dinner or not?"