Chapter Seven: A Snapshot of Lily's Past
"Lily!" A woman's deep, melodious voice floated into the room, the door of which was propped open by a curious cat that was waving its paw.
"Yes mum?"
"Have you practiced yet? You know I won't let you go riding until you do."
"Yes mum," Lily groaned, cleaning up the mess on her bed and dragging out her oboe case from inside a drawer, along with some music.
She began with some scales, but the scene speeded up so it was like watching a video fast forwarding. It returned to normal speed as she put her music away and hopped down the stairs eagerly, a riding helmet dangling from her fingertips.
Lily hopped onto her bicycle after saying good-bye to her mother and rode through the breathtaking scenery of Hertfordshire (a/n. Being an ignorant American, I can only beg all you English out there to forgive me of any mistakes I may make in English geography.for all I know, Hertfordshire could be an English version of Manhattan) before turning into the lane of a country estate.
Slim birches lined the lane, with brilliant red geraniums at the feet of the trees. Lily pedaled slower and slowed to a stop at the door of the large stone mansion. On either side of the mansion was impeccably kept emerald green grass. She pulled a cord by the door and waited.
Soon a butler answered the door but a girl came barreling out and hugged Lily around the waist. A boy followed and I gasped-it was Harry. The three of them all wore riding clothes and hopped onto bikes, pedaling quickly to the back of the estate, to a large green pasture enclosed by a white picket fence.
Inside the pasture were several horses. Lily whistled and a blood bay trotted up to her. She mounted, and galloped off.
Lily was an excellent rider. She could compete, if she really wanted to. I should know-I was a competitive rider before I gave it up to become a prefect. Harry and the other girl were also riding, but not as well as Lily. A lady was watching them from another gate.
"Would you mind terribly if I rode him once?" the lady asked Lily, gesturing to the horse Lily was on.
"I don't know," said Lily dubiously. "Crimson Fury wasn't named that for nothing." She reined in the colt and he stamped impatiently.
"Aw, shucks. If you, an eight-year-old can handle that, I most certainly can," said the lady.
"What I mean is, he doesn't really like strangers," Lily slapped Crimson Fury lightly when he tried to nip the lady. "He has a tendency to throw riders he doesn't know or trust."
"And he trusts you, I suppose?"
"Oh definitely," said Lily, her face eager and bright. "I've raised him since his mum died three years ago."
"Are you telling me you raised him as when you were only five?"
"Well, the bulk of the responsibility went to Harry, but Crimson Fury knows me. He's known me ever since he can remember, whereas he's only known you for a week and half."
"Trust me, I can handle this," said the lady, grabbing the bridle. "I'm a trained rider, don't you know that?"
"Well, yes, but Crimson Fury is not just an ordinary colt."
After some coaxing Lily reluctantly handed the reins over and watched nervously from the fence, chewing her lips in anxiety.
Everything seemed to go well until Crimson Fury started acting up. Instead of jumping off, like any sane person, the lady stayed on and was determined to break his spirit. Crimson Fury began bucking and rearing and tearing off in all directions. Harry was waving his arms and yelling at the lady, Roxanne, to get off.
Roxanne fought Crimson Fury until he came to a very abrupt stop after galloping for quite a while. Roxanne was caught off guard and flew over his head with a scream. Crimson Fury, still frantic, trampled all over poor Roxanne.
Lily was horrified and ran up to Crimson Fury, screaming and sobbing at him to stop. She pulled at his bridle and forced him to calm down. The other girl was in hysterics. She slid off her horse in a dead faint. Harry propped her up on a fence before running to help out Roxanne, whose limbs were at funny angles, and was bloody all over.
"I'll go get help," Lily gasped out, flapping the reins, and she and Crimson Fury bolted off. Harry dragged Roxanne to where the other girl was, leaving a wet red mark in the green grass.
I was disgusted and thought I would faint too. Seeing two mangled, bloody bodies in one morning was most certainly not making my day. But I focused my attention again as time speeded up and we were now at Roxanne's funeral.
"I hope this teaches a lesson to you, Lily," said a man, as the two of them looked down at the body lying in state. "Never go riding without an adult present. And you are grounded from riding for five years."
"Five years!" Lily choked out, her eyes saucer wide. "Father, please!"
"Lily, I can't risk another of my sisters dying on your account."
"I didn't mean for her to die!" Lily cried desperately. "I didn't mean to kill her, truly!"
"I'm sure," said Mr. Evans. "But what's done is done." He coldly turned his shoulder and Lily sank to the ground hopelessly, not even caring that she was getting her black dress muddy.
I was pulling through that vortex again. When I opened my eyes I was in the hospital wing again, next to a more recent version of Lily. Harry was watching me, his eyes clouded with an unknown emotion, one I'd never seen him experience before.
"What was that.?" I trailed off.
"A memory Lily herself gave me. Though I shared the memory too, it's quite fascinating to see if from Lily's point of view," said Harry. "It's probably why Lily was in such shock today. I want you to understand this. I can't stand to have you think she's deranged."
"Of course not," I said, patting his hand reassuringly. "I totally understand now what she's going through."
Harry gave me a tiny smile. "No you don't. Nor do I, or anyone else, except Lily herself. There are plenty more of that nature that she went through, but I don't know how much she has revealed yet. I can only hope that the memories she did reveal to me are all that she's experienced, though I know there's more."
"How horrible," I said, looking at Lily.
Her face was scrunched up in terror, but was now beginning to relax. It was not long before it was smooth and her face placid, the grip on her blanket loosened. I noticed that beads of sweat had rolled down her face and dampened her hair, along with her tears.
"Who was the other girl?" I asked, suddenly remembering the other girl in the memory Harry showed me.
"Jeanine, my sister," said Harry. "She's a year younger than Lily."
"Oh, I see."
Lily was hospitalized for the day, and while she was there, I pondered the memory Harry gave me. I shook my head as I did my after-school-hours patrol, the two-hour gap between the end of classes and the beginning of dinner.
Only eleven, and having a life like that! Poor girl!
"Lily!" A woman's deep, melodious voice floated into the room, the door of which was propped open by a curious cat that was waving its paw.
"Yes mum?"
"Have you practiced yet? You know I won't let you go riding until you do."
"Yes mum," Lily groaned, cleaning up the mess on her bed and dragging out her oboe case from inside a drawer, along with some music.
She began with some scales, but the scene speeded up so it was like watching a video fast forwarding. It returned to normal speed as she put her music away and hopped down the stairs eagerly, a riding helmet dangling from her fingertips.
Lily hopped onto her bicycle after saying good-bye to her mother and rode through the breathtaking scenery of Hertfordshire (a/n. Being an ignorant American, I can only beg all you English out there to forgive me of any mistakes I may make in English geography.for all I know, Hertfordshire could be an English version of Manhattan) before turning into the lane of a country estate.
Slim birches lined the lane, with brilliant red geraniums at the feet of the trees. Lily pedaled slower and slowed to a stop at the door of the large stone mansion. On either side of the mansion was impeccably kept emerald green grass. She pulled a cord by the door and waited.
Soon a butler answered the door but a girl came barreling out and hugged Lily around the waist. A boy followed and I gasped-it was Harry. The three of them all wore riding clothes and hopped onto bikes, pedaling quickly to the back of the estate, to a large green pasture enclosed by a white picket fence.
Inside the pasture were several horses. Lily whistled and a blood bay trotted up to her. She mounted, and galloped off.
Lily was an excellent rider. She could compete, if she really wanted to. I should know-I was a competitive rider before I gave it up to become a prefect. Harry and the other girl were also riding, but not as well as Lily. A lady was watching them from another gate.
"Would you mind terribly if I rode him once?" the lady asked Lily, gesturing to the horse Lily was on.
"I don't know," said Lily dubiously. "Crimson Fury wasn't named that for nothing." She reined in the colt and he stamped impatiently.
"Aw, shucks. If you, an eight-year-old can handle that, I most certainly can," said the lady.
"What I mean is, he doesn't really like strangers," Lily slapped Crimson Fury lightly when he tried to nip the lady. "He has a tendency to throw riders he doesn't know or trust."
"And he trusts you, I suppose?"
"Oh definitely," said Lily, her face eager and bright. "I've raised him since his mum died three years ago."
"Are you telling me you raised him as when you were only five?"
"Well, the bulk of the responsibility went to Harry, but Crimson Fury knows me. He's known me ever since he can remember, whereas he's only known you for a week and half."
"Trust me, I can handle this," said the lady, grabbing the bridle. "I'm a trained rider, don't you know that?"
"Well, yes, but Crimson Fury is not just an ordinary colt."
After some coaxing Lily reluctantly handed the reins over and watched nervously from the fence, chewing her lips in anxiety.
Everything seemed to go well until Crimson Fury started acting up. Instead of jumping off, like any sane person, the lady stayed on and was determined to break his spirit. Crimson Fury began bucking and rearing and tearing off in all directions. Harry was waving his arms and yelling at the lady, Roxanne, to get off.
Roxanne fought Crimson Fury until he came to a very abrupt stop after galloping for quite a while. Roxanne was caught off guard and flew over his head with a scream. Crimson Fury, still frantic, trampled all over poor Roxanne.
Lily was horrified and ran up to Crimson Fury, screaming and sobbing at him to stop. She pulled at his bridle and forced him to calm down. The other girl was in hysterics. She slid off her horse in a dead faint. Harry propped her up on a fence before running to help out Roxanne, whose limbs were at funny angles, and was bloody all over.
"I'll go get help," Lily gasped out, flapping the reins, and she and Crimson Fury bolted off. Harry dragged Roxanne to where the other girl was, leaving a wet red mark in the green grass.
I was disgusted and thought I would faint too. Seeing two mangled, bloody bodies in one morning was most certainly not making my day. But I focused my attention again as time speeded up and we were now at Roxanne's funeral.
"I hope this teaches a lesson to you, Lily," said a man, as the two of them looked down at the body lying in state. "Never go riding without an adult present. And you are grounded from riding for five years."
"Five years!" Lily choked out, her eyes saucer wide. "Father, please!"
"Lily, I can't risk another of my sisters dying on your account."
"I didn't mean for her to die!" Lily cried desperately. "I didn't mean to kill her, truly!"
"I'm sure," said Mr. Evans. "But what's done is done." He coldly turned his shoulder and Lily sank to the ground hopelessly, not even caring that she was getting her black dress muddy.
I was pulling through that vortex again. When I opened my eyes I was in the hospital wing again, next to a more recent version of Lily. Harry was watching me, his eyes clouded with an unknown emotion, one I'd never seen him experience before.
"What was that.?" I trailed off.
"A memory Lily herself gave me. Though I shared the memory too, it's quite fascinating to see if from Lily's point of view," said Harry. "It's probably why Lily was in such shock today. I want you to understand this. I can't stand to have you think she's deranged."
"Of course not," I said, patting his hand reassuringly. "I totally understand now what she's going through."
Harry gave me a tiny smile. "No you don't. Nor do I, or anyone else, except Lily herself. There are plenty more of that nature that she went through, but I don't know how much she has revealed yet. I can only hope that the memories she did reveal to me are all that she's experienced, though I know there's more."
"How horrible," I said, looking at Lily.
Her face was scrunched up in terror, but was now beginning to relax. It was not long before it was smooth and her face placid, the grip on her blanket loosened. I noticed that beads of sweat had rolled down her face and dampened her hair, along with her tears.
"Who was the other girl?" I asked, suddenly remembering the other girl in the memory Harry showed me.
"Jeanine, my sister," said Harry. "She's a year younger than Lily."
"Oh, I see."
Lily was hospitalized for the day, and while she was there, I pondered the memory Harry gave me. I shook my head as I did my after-school-hours patrol, the two-hour gap between the end of classes and the beginning of dinner.
Only eleven, and having a life like that! Poor girl!