A Cottage by the Lake

On one summer morning, Lily woke up to the most perfect day. Birds were singing outside, the sun was shining and her broom was begging to fly. She had her breakfast and washed the dishes - she had to do it by hand, because magic was not allowed outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - and finally went outside, her red curls swinging behind her as she ran. She climbed on her broom and took off, making sure not to fly too high, although the cottage in which she lived with her mother was miles and miles away from the nearest village. Living on the Lakeside was the best decision they had ever made. Lily could fly on her broom all day long, walk around the forest looking for herbs and plants for her Herbology essay and do her homework by the lake while her mother brewed potions for delivery in the basement. They grew most of their food, and the ingredients for Violet's potions were almost always available.

Lily played by throwing an apple and then speeding her broom to get it before it fell on the ground. Her broom, a Cleansweep Seven which she had gotten as a gift from her mother for entering the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, did its job well even though it was not the latest model - which Lily didn't need, because she was a beater and not a seeker. She had just thrown the apple towards the lake and was riding to catch it when she saw a seemingly-dying great grey owl, which she knew to belong to her aunt and uncle. Errol, it was the name of the ancient owl, had been to her house once before, to announce that Molly was coming to visit them. The old animal landed on Lily's broom in mid air, causing her to lose balance - and her apple, which she vaguely saw sinking in the lake -.

"Errol! What's wrong with you? You could have killed me!" Lily scolded as she barely managed to land her broom safely. She offered her arm to the owl, which seemed to be one wing-beat away from losing consciousness. Lily took the owl inside and took the letter tied to its leg. Errol flew - or something close to flying - towards the kitchen window and soon was fast asleep.

Lily opened the letter. It was addressed to her. It read:

Lily,

I'm worried about Harry. Have you received any letters from him? He hasn't answered any of my letters for the entire holiday. I think his relatives might have done something to him. Mom says that if he doesn't answer until friday we are going to get him.

Ron.

Lily thought for a moment. She hadn't received any mail from Harry on the holidays. But she had not expected any in the first place, because she wasn't that close to Harry. Lily was only exchanging mail with Hector and Susan. But now that Ron mentioned it, she became very worried about the boy - she knew that he was the only son of people who had been very close to her mother, and that he was a very nice person, with relatives who were not exactly concerned about his well being.

Something was probably not right. It was better, Lily decided, to tell her mother about it. As she folded the parchment to stuff it in her pocket, another owl arrived hooting through the window, and Errol squeaked grumpily. The bird was Helga, Lily's own barn owl, carrying another letter. It was from Hector. It read:

Good morning, Lils! (Or at least I expect this letter to arrive by tomorrow morning).

I hope everything is fine there. Me and my mom will arrive by floo on August eleven. We will use the Chocolate Tree fireplace. My mom has never travelled by floo, and she is excited about it.

See you soon,

Hector.

Lily went to her room to write answers to both Hector and Ron. She sat on her desk, watching the lake from her window. It was a beautiful sight, and even though the wooden floor squeaked a bit, that was the best bedroom Lily could imagine. It had a large bed; a place for her to study; spots for books about herbs and quidditch and for her broom servicing kit. There was also a perch for Helga - she didn't like to sleep in the cage - and a few pictures of herself; Hector; Violet and Racheln had been hanged to the walls. Violet had developed the pictures in a special potion, which allowed them to move. But her favorite picture was the only one that didn't move. There was only her; her mother; her father; Rachel and Hector smiling at the camera. It had been taken on a Christmas morning a few years before.

Lily rolled the parchment containing the letter to Hector and left it over her desk along with Ron's letter, which was still unfinished, and went down to look for her mother, who was probably still in the basement. But when Lily was about to go down the stairs to her mother's brewing site, Violet's voice came from behind her.

"What are you doing with your shoes inside the house?"

"Sorry mom! I forgot to take them off. Errol landed on my broom earlier and I had to take him inside."

"Oh," Violet said whilst bewitching the broom to sweep the floor, "Molly needs a new owl soon, or the poor thing will die in midair while carrying a letter."

"I'll wait a couple of days before sending him back. I think Ron might need Errol to send a letter to Hermione, but I think it would be the end of him," said Lily. "Hm- mom, have you ever heard of anything that could prevent letters from arriving?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ron just wrote to me. He says he can't reach Harry."

"Let me see," for a moment, all sounds came from the birds outside, and Violet seemed hesitant about something. "I suppose there is. Once I had a friend whose mother made their house elf intercept all of my letters."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she thought of me as a blood traitor," Lily made a sound of disgust after her mother's answer. "But anyway," continued Violet, "I suppose his relatives must be burning the letters. Lily told me about her sister Petunia - she hates magical people."

"Ron is worried. Aunt Molly said that if they can't contact Harry until friday, they will go and get him."

Violet seemed to think for a second, and then agreed "Write back to Ron and ask him to let us know if something else comes up. Now, either go back outside or take off your shoes. I'll deliver a Burn-Healing paste and then we will have lunch," she said, pointing her wand to the kitchen, where the food started to prepare itself.

Lily took off her shoes and went back up to finish her letter to Ron.

By the time she went down again, her mother had finished cooking lunch - she preferred to always do at least some of the cooking herself, especially the seasoning, but now the kitchen was cleaning itself. They were eating in silence when yet another owl - this time an unknown one - came flying through the window, once again disturbing Errol's sleep. The public mail owl made its way to Violet and offered her leg, to which there was a letter attached

Violet read it and a smile made its way into her lips.

"A friend of mine will be spending a few months here," she finally said.