The month after finding out the truth (at least partially) about my history passed quickly, very quickly. I thought about the article quite often, and I couldn't help but wonder where Harry was, what he was doing at that very moment. Thinking about him made me feel sad, for two reasons. Because there was a good chance I would never meet him, and because there was a good chance he would never know that his family was alive and well.
I never told my parents what I found out that day, hoping they would tell it to me on their own. Most unfortunately, they never did. This, altogether, was not surprising, yet I felt a tiny pang of hurt inside, for I could not understand why they would keep a secret like that from me.
On this particular day in the boring life of me, I met up with a friend at the ice cream Shoppe downtown. It was the first time we had been able to go somewhere like this alone, and we were excited. Well, I was, anyways. While I sipped on a delicious chocolate milkshake, the girl next to me had her face buried in a book.
Typical Hermione Granger.
She's my best friend, actually. We've known each other since we were 5. At first I thought she was a show offy know it all. My opinion quickly changed when she defended me from some girls who were teasing me for the marks on my arms. I was very grateful, and she only ever asked once what my green marks were. She is a very great friend, albeit my only one.
"Hey, Mione'" I said through a mouthful of chocolately goodness. "Why don't you put the book down for a minute and try this ice cream? I'm sure…"I paused to read the title of her book."I'm sure The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe can wait."
She looked up at me like I was insane. I rolled my eyes. Here we go again. She seriously needs a life outside of reading. An idea slowly crawled into my brain, and once fully formed, it could not be permitted to lie idly inside my mind.
"Hermione. You know that lake outside of town?"
She nodded, barely paying attention to me.
"Well…." I paused for suspense. She glanced up at me impatiently, and I continued. "I heard someone say that C.S. Lewis got the idea for Narnia right after he jumped into the lake." I said the last sentence in a dramatic whisper, as if I was sharing an incredibly important secret with her and it was vital that she not tell anyone.
She slammed the book shut and raised an eyebrow. "Nonsense." She said, firmly, in a tone that suggested she did not want to hear anymore on the subject.
"Oh, maybe." I said off handedly, as if it were no importance to me. "But aren't you curious, even a little?"
Though Hermione prided herself on not believing rumors, nobody, not even her, could help but wonder if one is true. She was loathe to admit this, but honesty has always been one of Hermione's favorite qualities. "Maybe a little." She said hesitantly.
I smelled victory not too far off. "So…why don't we go visit the lake? Don't you find it weird that we live right north of the largest lake in England, yet we have never visited?"
She was nodding slowly. "Yeah, we should go there sometime."
Getting excited, I continued. "Why not now?"
Now Hermione started to look panicked. "Now? Leila, we can't go now. We have to stay here; it's where our parents expect us to be."
Dang it, I forgot about my parents. But the trip wouldn't take long, or so I hoped, so I decided to do it anyway. I could be quite persuasive when need be.
"Oh, come on, Hermione. It won't take long. We can just go there and take a look around, then come straight back here. Promise."
She eyed me suspiciously, but after a while she sighed and said "Okay, fine. Let's go."
I smiled. I fully intended to keep my promise. But as I should have known by then, nothing ever goes as planned in my life.
We ran through the streets of Ambleside, our tiny town of 2,600 people. When we got to the back roads, we slipped into the grassland and made a show of mimicking gazelles. I sure hope we didn't offend them. Within minutes, the lake was in sight.
Lake Windermere is truly a beautiful sight. Aside from being the only semi-famous landmark around, it was a perfect place for picnics, swimming, fishing, and all kinds of recreational activities. There even was a tire swing hanging high above the water on the hill, overlooking the lake. I beckoned Hermione forward, who was staring around in awe, and led her up the hill.
"C'mon, Hermione!" I said enthusiastically. "We'll have a better view from up here!"
It turned out I was right. Already a magnificent sight from the ground, it was even more breathtaking from up here.
I wrenched my eyes away from the water and focused on the plan.
I smiled knowingly. "You know, Hermione, they say if you jump into this lake you will have good luck."
"Sure." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Oh, she would pay for that. I was the master of sarcasm here.
"Well, C.S. Lewis must have believed it." I said. "Wouldn't you like to jump in the same lake a famous author did?"
She seemed to forget that that was a "rumor" (I totally made it up). Her face was showing signs of interest.
Now to clamp my jaws on my prey. "We could both go together, you know. That tire looks like it could hold both of us." I eyed it, and indeed, it looked like it would hold all of our weight. But I couldn't stop a nervous feeling clench my stomach.
"Oh, fine!" She said a little exasperated. I giggled. Plan almost completed!
We had to be at least 30 feet off of the ground. However, having started this damn thing, I was determined to finish it. Mum says I've always been like that. I grabbed my jade necklace quickly, and somehow that made me feel a little better.
Hermione & I reached out for the rope at the same time and pulled it tight. The tree branch it was hanging from hardly moved. That too, calmed my feelings of unease.
We were moving quickly now. We each placed one foot each upon the tire and walked to the edge of the hill.
"Kick off together?" She asked me, and I could hear the shakiness in her voice. I felt guilty for ever bringing her up here, but I knew there was no backing out of it now. I nodded.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Always.", I answered weakly, trying and failing to sound confident.
"Let's get this over with," she muttered under her breath.
We counted together, "One—Two---Three!"
And so we flew. As soon as the swing left solid ground, we both realized we were terrified of heights. Screaming and flailing, we came ever closer to the lake.
"Ready?" Hermione shouted, braver than I was, even though it was my idea to do this. I didn't answer her, just jumped off, her following right behind me.
I didn't anticipate the coldness of the water. It hit me like an electric shock. It was so cold I didn't know if I could move my arms. I was terrified I was going to drown. But before I could really panic, Hermione grabbed my arm, steadying and calming me. We started swimming towards the surface.
"Girls!" A voice called from the edge of the lake. A tall, blonde woman, with Hermione's eyes stood at the shore of the lake. It was Hermione's mum, sounding relieved and angry at the same time. I gulped. Stupidly, I had forgotten to check the time before we left the Shoppe. We swam towards Mrs. Granger as fast as we could.
When we got to her mom, I realized for the first time that she was not alone. Standing next to her was a stern looking old woman holding a letter. She had her black hair pulled up in a bun and her glasses pulled up against her eyelids. She was wearing a dress, but she looked uncomfortable in it, like she's never worn one before.
Mione's mom was ranting about how she had no idea where we were, how dangerous it was to jump off the cliff, blah blah. I was about to claim responsibility for the whole incident--because it really was my fault, but the women started to speak.
"I certainly hope you do not do this sort of reckless thing while attending Hogwarts." She said sternly, looking at Hermione.
It took a moment for me to realize what this meant. When it sank in, it felt like ice had frozen over my heart.
"So……" I said coolly and cruelly, glaring at her. "Is there any reason you never told me?"
For the first time this afternoon, Hermione looked frightened. "Told you what?"
I didn't care that she was frightened. All that mattered was that she was getting what I wanted so much, and it wasn't fair. It just wasn't.
"Don't play dumb, Granger. You're no good at it."
In the back of my mind, it occurred to me that she must be Muggleborn, but again, I didn't care. I was indifferent to everything.
"What are you talking about, Evans?"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You are a witch. Now, why didn't you tell me?"
I was impatient. I wanted answers. I wanted to know how she could betray me like this.
She looked shocked and offended. "Wh-what did you just call me?"
This girl was so idiotic! How could she not know what she was? I shook my head. I didn't want to continue this conversation. "Never mind." I said simply, and I turned my back, and walked calmly back to my house.
As I walked, I heard her crying uncontrollably.
I don't even know why I reacted like that. Sometimes, I don't know why, anger overrides all my other feelings and thoughts, and something like that happens. My father has noticed this.
I really didn't mean to hurt Hermione. I was not thinking at all when I said those horrible things to her. Looking back on it, it's clear that she is a Muggleborn and honestly had no clue that she was magical. She did not deserve my scorn or nasty words, in front of her mother, no less. I can only hope that she finds it in her heart to forgive me.
I decided that I had better go talk to her. It had been an hour since the incident at the lake; surely the explanation would be over by now? At any rate, I would try.
Mum & my father had gone to the Ministry of Magic to make arrangements for me to be officially homeschooled. That was probably another reason why I was so upset today, and so rude to Hermione. Not that was any excuse, of course.
As I was 3 steps away from door, someone knocked on it. I hastily opened it to find Hermione there. She stared at me, and I stared at her. Finally, I broke the silence.
"Hermione, I am so so sorry for what I said at the lake. I didn't mean a word of it, I swear."
To my great surprise, she smiled. "I know you didn't, Leila."
I blinked a couple extra times than necessary. "You…know….what?" I said, genuinely confused. I thought for sure she'd be mad!
She laughed and shook her head. "Honestly, Leila, I know you. You are irrationally…..hostile when you're angry. Remember that time a couple of years ago, when you mouthed off to our teacher because she put you in the "stupid" row?"
I remembered that event pretty clearly. It had earned me a month's detention. But I certainly proved to Miss Morgan I was no fool.
"Yeah." I said, smiling. "Still, you certainly didn't deserve all of that. Especially when you were about to get news that would probably confuse you."
"Oh, I'm not confused. Professor McGonagall explained everything. Well, I suppose there is one thing I'm confused about."
"What is it?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew what it was.
"Why you can't go to Hogwarts."
I sighed, having been proven right, and opened the door wider. "You better come in and make yourself comfortable. It's kind of a long story."
Well, that was a much better and accurate version of Chapter 2! I originally wrote this a long time ago, and the writing was really bad, so I felt the need to revise it, and ended up pretty much rewriting it. So, even if you have reviewed Chapter 3 & 4(HPFF ), please review this one too, and tell me what you think! Thank you very much. And if you haven't reviewed, please do!