Lily's Place
Chapter 1: Prewett Nature Park
Harry Potter FanFiction
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Summary: A collection of short stories about Lily from fifth year on, all taking place in her "silent place" as she calls it. This story will include Lily's friends in later chapters. Inspired by a place near where I live.
Disclaimer: If you think that I own Harry Potter, please note that my name is not JK Rowling, and that there might be a spot near Prof. Lockhart in St. Mungo's for you!
Every afternoon after classes, or if things were just getting too hectic, Lily had a place to go. In her mind she just called it her Silent Place, but in reality it was known (or unknown) as Prewett Nature Park. The park was named after the family who had donated the land to the town of Hogsmeade. It was only three-quarters of a kilometer from Hogwarts, but no one seemed to know about it! She was okay with it being empty every time she went there, of course, that's why she went.
Fifth year was hard. Each year had gotten progressively harder, of course, but fifth year was O.W.L. year and every teacher had given the class a lecture on it. Lily was still excelling at almost everything (she was only scraping Acceptable's in Transfiguration) but it wasn't getting any easier.
The bell rang, signaling the end of Potions with Professor Slughorn. Lily dipped a flask in her potion, corked it and set it on the professor's desk. She then Vanished the contents of her cauldron and rushed out of the dungeon before Potter could find the time to ask her out. The day was over and it was time for a walk.
Setting off from Gryffindor tower at a quick pace, Lily managed to avoid the Marauders and her friends Severus and Marlene. She slowed her pace as she exited the Entrance Hall, and walked over the grounds, past the Black Lake, around the forbidden Forest, and finally to the entrance to the boardwalk over the wetland park. It was only late September, so the sky was gray and raining. The plants were changing from green to bright reds and yellows, birds sang in the bushes. As for that, the only other sound one could hear were the light clump clump of her footsteps on the wet boardwalk. She got to the viewing platform on the end where one could see Hogwarts and the Black Lake, without being seen yourself. Here she could sit and read whatever book had caught her eye at the library, or sing to herself, or just think about what was happening at school, her favorite lines from a book of movie, or a funny incident in Defense Against the Dark Arts that morning. It was her Silent Place, her place of reflection.
Lily had discovered the park in first year. Her mother had always told her that taking a walk could help one calm down or solve a problem. The first few weeks of Hogwarts had overwhelmed her, so that's what she did. On her second walk around the grounds, she had come upon the park and fallen in love with it immediately. The way the birds sang, or the large trees hid the place from sight of the school, or the fresh smell, so different from the slightly musty smell of Hogwarts. Whatever it was, it kept her coming back.
Lately, though, she had been coming less and less often. She never seemed to have enough time, or she had too much homework, or she just plain forgot. That was what made Lily realize how much she needed the place.
Today, as she walked back from the viewing platform, rain began to fall. She tipped her head back and laughed, pulling her hair out of its usual bun and shaking it out. The raindrops fell in her eyes and she blinked rapidly. Back at the entrance to the boardwalk, she put her bun back in (she never wore her hair down when she wasn't alone) and checking in it in her little hand mirror; she realized that the drops on her face looked like tears. She hurriedly wiped them off, hoping superstitiously that they were not some sort of bad omen.
A/N: Does anyone know when Britain adopted the metric system? And is half a mile about three-quarters of a kilometer? I just guessed. Thanks lots for reading. Now, you could really make my day if you could review!! I have lots of chapters planned, but they won't come unless someone reviews:-)