Lily Is

Owls.

Alisha kept an eye out the next few weeks for owls, knowing full well an owl would eventually show carrying Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, something she didn't know how to feel about. And—

"I'm taking you to the shrink."

Alisha stared at her Aunt Petunia, eyes unblinking as her aunt did something so un-Dursleyish that she didn't know what to think, mainly since she knew the Dursley family liked to look as normal as possible.

"And you're not to say a word about it to anyone outside of the house."

Which was utterly a Dursley thing to do, not wanting anybody to find out another family member was having to see a counselor. However, Alisha found herself a bit anxious as she knew the Dursley family, or at least the Dursley family in the canon she read growing up, didn't have a problem telling their neighbors that Harry was going to a school for troubled children, so the fact her aunt was taking her to the shrink as she said shouldn't have been something Petunia would be worried about getting out.

And Alisha's response was—

"Why?"

"Because you're not acting like yourself."

"What does that even mean?" Alisha asked.

And Petunia stared as if she'd asked the strangest question of her.

"Because I don't think I'm acting strange at all."

"That's not what I said."

"But it is what you're implying."

"Nonsense." Of course, Alisha saying that would be considered nonsense by her aunt, who was a no nonsense kind of person, and the very idea that Alisha was acting strange was in her mind, or the mind of the Petunia from this world at least, a not at all normal thing. And, of course, Alisha didn't know how to react. "You're definitely not acting like yourself. Not since that day you..." Petunia paused, looking at her in horror.

"Why do I feel she's thinking about how I said something about magic the other day, the first day I was in this world and this body. Can't quite remember what I said, though."

"It was the other day when you were playing in the closet despite me telling you multiple times that place is for your brother when he wants some time by himself."

"You know, if you want to talk about not acting normal, it's not normal to keep kids in closets," Alisha blurted out.

"I don't keep your brother in the closet!" Petunia blurted out, glaring at her. "You know—or should know that spot is where your brother goes when he wants some quiet, but I made sure your shrink knows that so you don't start any crazy misunderstandings."

"I don't want a shrink."

"Well, you don't have a choice, but if you don't want a shrink, then there is even more reason for you not telling everyone about visiting one, right?"

And Alisha glared. This didn't stop the woman, who was her aunt yet a complete stranger to her, from taking her hand and walking her out towards the bus stop. And there was a neighbor watching, a lady holding a cat. She's seen the woman before, yet without being told knew the woman was Mrs. Figg, who Dumbledore placed so she could keep an eye on Harry, yet not once was Harry ever removed from the house despite the abuse.

"Squib," Alisha muttered.

"What?" Petunia asked. She looked up at Mrs. Figg. "I don't understand why you keep calling her that made-up word of yours."

Of course, Alisha knew the word wasn't made up, just as she knew in this world her name wasn't Alisha anymore, but that horrible Lily Petunia Potter-Dursley that her aunt used whenever she did something that greatly irritated her, which seemed like a lot.

And now, here she was getting dragged to the shrink despite not wanting to go. It wasn't as if she could scream abuse to get herself out of going. "No. Screaming that Aunt Petunia is abusing me when that isn't the case, and there isn't any proof..." She looked ahead. "Oh!"

"Oh, what?"

"I was just thinking about..." And Alisha suddenly clamped her mouth shut, entirely realizing that blurting out how she was contemplating how child abuse cases weren't as simple as suspecting something, for she'd heard quite a bit as an adult in the world she came from how social service couldn't just take a kid from a home because they suspected abuse to be occurring—they needed actual proof.

"I don't like how you clammed up."

"Why?"

"Because I can't help but think you're up to something," Petunia said, glaring at her as she continued to pull her towards the bus stop.

"I'm not," Alisha said, frowning, glaring, not happy that they were taking a trip to the shrink, something she knew she didn't need, or more of any symptoms of psychosis were likely to be the result of her having come from another world. "That's not something I'm looking forward to trying to explain to a psychiatrist."

"Something though is on your mind, and given the weird things that have come out of your mouth..."

"Aunt Petunia?" Alisha looked up at the woman, hoping that she was giving her best look of utter innocence, though it was hard to feel innocent—like a little kid—when she was mentally an adult stuck in a child's body. And the look on Petunia's face made her think the woman didn't trust at all what might come out of her mouth.

"Yes?" Petunia continued her Petunia glare, just as she had watched Alisha's every move the last few weeks as Alisha watched for owls while also watching Dudley and Harry play together, something that in her mind shouldn't be.

"Let's say I suspect a friend of being abused? What should I do?"

"Please tell me that this friend you think is being abused isn't someone you think is being locked in a downstairs cupboard even though they are not."

Which, of course, made sense, given the fact she'd falsely accused Petunia of doing just that, and Harry—Harry thought it hilarious that she's thought that, or at least up to a point where he'd told her it had gotten old, which only made her dislike this world even more as she couldn't get a grip on how she was supposed to act, what she was supposed to do in this world. "Uh, no."

"Any more details?"

"Well, they're stuck making breakfast."

"That's a life skill."

Which Alisha hadn't thought of, particularly since Harry was going to a school for troubled children—or so the Dursley family told people, would explain that to anyone watching, and a social worker wouldn't think twice.

"They're made to wear their cousin's old clothes."

"They're smaller than their cousin, though?"

"Is that important?" Alisha asked as the bus pulled up, and Petunia paid the fair. It was a decent conversation, better than the lack of discussion the last few weeks as she'd been refusing to do the last few weeks out of fear of being found out—that she was a person from another world and not the Lily that her family knew.

"Of course, it's important."

"Yes."

"Then it makes sense."

"But..."

"I know since you're the only girl and always receive new clothing that you don't understand the reason—goodness knows I was lucky to have a sister who was understanding and..."

"Lily?"

"Yes, for your namesake." Petunia frowned. "Lily took more issue with my choices in clothing, so if your friend's older sibling picks out the clothes, they might consider helping their older sibling, though some might be stubborn about any help they receive. However, if their parents pick out the clothes, your friend is out of luck. It's about saving money, money that can be spent on other things."

"Oh. Okay." This explained not only why nobody would report the Dursley family for that, but she also found herself wondering about Ron Weasley complaining about the sweaters his mother made, mainly since the Weasley family weren't wealthy. "What about corned beef sandwiches?"

"Corned beef? That's rather cheap, but if your friend's family is on a budget, it's what their mum or dad can afford."

"Oh." Alisha frowned, sitting down on the bus next to her aunt, wishing there was a way out of seeing the Shrink. She tried thinking of some of the other things. "And doing all the chores?"

"Well, that's not fair, but not necessarily abuse. It's—life is complex." Petunia frowned. "From the sounds of it, I don't think your friend is abused."

"Do you say that because the abuse isn't physical? You know, there is such a thing as mental and emotional abuse."

"What kind of books have you been reading?" Petunia asked.

Alisha flinched and looked away. "But it's real."

"Be that as it may..." Petunia sighed. "I think what you're talking about would be things like name-calling or telling someone they're dumb and can't do anything right. It's also a lot harder for the people who investigate abuse cases to figure out, but simply not being happy with the situation isn't abuse."

"It's complicated, isn't it?"

"Yes. Of course, it's complicated."

"If I say that the reason I've been acting weird..."

"You're still seeing the shrink."

"Shoot. That can't possibly be a good situation for someone from another world to be in. Not good!"