Chapter 5: The Playground

"LILY! Have you seen my necklace?"

Lily sighed as she listened to her sister yell frantically about her missing jewelry.

"No, Tuney, I haven't seen it," she said in a tired voice.

"Then where on earth is it?"

"Haven't got a clue."

The day went on like any other summer day. Lily was just finishing up her History of Magic essay for the summer homework.

A few minutes later, Petunia marched up to Lily's room and wrenched the door open without bothering to knock.

"Do you mind?"

"No," said Petunia. "I need to borrow a necklace."

"Help yourself," said Lily, gesturing to her desk. Petunia quickly took one and went back to her room without saying thank-you.

Lily sighed, closed the door, and resumed with her homework.

This summer had been exactly like the last, with Petunia rarely speaking to her unless it had something to do with her jewelry. Lily gazed out of the window, where a few blocks away was the rusty playground she had spent most of her time as a child…

Lily and her sister were swinging on the swings in the playground. Lily started swinging higher and higher, getting ready to jump off the swing.

As she started to let go, she distantly heard her sister yell, "Lily, don't do it!"

It was too late, though. She had already let go of the swing and she soared through the air with a wonderful, light feeling in her stomach, giggling as she landed gracefully on her feet.

"Mummy told you not to," said Petunia angrily.

She had stopped the swing and stood up.

"Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily."

"But I'm fine," Lily giggled, picking up a flower from a bush yards from where she stood. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."

Petunia looked around, and Lily knew she was making sure no one else was watching them. She reluctantly dragged her feet forward, and Lily made sure she was within view of the flower sitting in her palm. Lily seemed to be controlling the flower; it was moving its petals in a highly unusual way.

"Stop it!" Petunia shrieked, shielding her eyes from the flower.

"It's not hurting you," said Lily, closing her hand on it and throwing it to the ground where it was before.

"It's not right."

Petunia's pale eyes followed the flower as it fell to the ground, inches from the bush.

"How do you do it?" she added.

Lily was about to answer that she didn't know- sometimes she just made things happen.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said a slightly excited voice from the bush.

There stood a small and twiggy boy with sallow skin, greasy, pitch black hair, black eyes, and oddly mismatched patchy clothes with an extremely oversized coat. Petunia had shrieked and ran back to the swing set; Lily was startled, too, but she was curious about what this boy was talking about.

"What's obvious?" she asked as a dull flush suffused his sallow face.

As though trying to block Petunia out of the conversation, he lowered his voice so it was almost a whisper and said, "I know what you are."

Lily was perplexed- what did he mean, he knew what she was?

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're … you're a witch," the boy said, his voice now a whisper.

She glared at him. Who was he to tell her she was a witch? What did he know about her, anyway? Had he been spying on them at the playground behind the bush before this?

"That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"

She turned on her heel and walked away to the swings, where her sister was clinging on to one of the swing poles. Lily grabbed the other one, watching the skinny, pallid boy flap after them, his cheeks highly flushed now.

"No! You are. You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while."

So he had been stalking her.

"But there's nothing wrong with that," he added quickly. "My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

Lily stared at him skeptically while Petunia shrieked with cold laughter.

"Wizard! I know who you are. You're that Snape boy!"

Petunia turned to Lily.

"They live down Spinner's End by the river," she added to Lily. "Why have you been spying on us?"

The boy looked uncomfortable.

"Haven't been spying," he said defiantly. "Wouldn't spy on you anyway, you're a Muggle."

Petunia looked highly affronted.

"Lily, come on, we're leaving," she said in a shrill, bossy voice.

Lily immediately followed her sister, glaring at the boy. Who was he to call her sister some unknown, but obviously insulting word?

She walked through the gates and followed her sister back home.

PS: Sorry, but I HAD to write that chapter! I always wanted to write that from Lily's POV!