Chapter 2 (Lily Potter P.O.V.)
Lily Potter raced after her brothers, her short legs struggling to catch up with their longer ones. She was going on a picnic! She caught up to James and Albus who were already in the middle of the field.
"You're it!" Albus cried as he hit Lily on the arm. Lily sighed, rubbing her arm; she hated playing tag with her brothers. Tag meant she was always it, always trying to catch someone and rarely succeeding and the second she did she was caught again. Lily tried to chase after James but she never got close. She turned around and ran after Albus but couldn't quite catch him. Lily got more and more frustrated with the unfair game of tag and James taunting didn't help either. Finally Lilly sat down in the tall grass of the meadow and crossed her arms.
"This isn't fair!" She complained, "I can't catch anyone!"
"It is fair Lily. You just aren't very good." Said James walking over to where she was sitting.
"That's mean James," said Albus as he pushed the grass out of his path. "Teddy told us if there were any problems he'd be mad."
"Yeah James! Be nice!" Lily felt happy that Albus was on her side! Maybe James would agree to play something fun like princesses or evil witches, but that was not the case: Seeing his siblings gang up on him only made James less inclined to be nice to her.
"If you cant play properly then don't play at all!" huffed James, "Come on Albus lets play wizards and dragons!" That wasn't fair either! Instead of saying something though, Lily stormed off.
"Fine! I will," she shouted over her shoulder. James was being so unfair. It wasn't her fault her legs were shorter. Lily wished Rose were here. Rose would know what to do. Lily decided she would go exploring. She headed over to the tent where Teddy and Victorie were staying. Muttering a prayer that Teddy wouldn't be grumpy at her for interrupting his date she poked her head through the flap of the tent.
Teddy was cuddling Victorie. They were sitting against a pile of pillows and talking in low voices. Teddy leaned closer to Victorie just as she spotted Lily in the tent entrance. Victorie jerked upright causing Teddy to tip over onto the tent floor.
"What?" James asked looking bemused. "Did I do something?" Shaking with barley controlled laughter Victorie shook her head no and pointed to where Lily was standing. Teddy's expression went from confusion to relief to crossness as Lily tried not to look at him.
"What do you want Lily?" Asked James, "I thought you were supposed to leave us alone?"
"I-I-I-I'm sorry. I-I Just wanted to ask if I could go explore in the woods on the edge of the field." Lily stammered feeling quite uncomfortable and self-conscious.
"That sounds okay," Said Victorie who understood that Lily probably didn't want to play with her brothers. "Just try not to interrupt us again and stay close to the edge of the forest. It's small enough that it would be hard to get lost, but it's better not to risk it." Lily nodded her agreement and ducked out of the tent thank full that no-body had been to mad at her.
Lily headed to the forest stopping to pick a flower now and then. She reached the border of the forest and stepped past the first trees. It felt kind-of exhilarating going exploring without her siblings telling her about the monsters that hid behind the boulders and daring her to touch the snakeskins or bird nests they found. This adventure was hers and hers alone. Everything she found would be her discovery. Lily relished the calmness of the little wood, the way the air was cooler against her skin, the damp smell of the forest and the tickle of the plants she brushed past.
Making sure she could see the end of the forest, she started to look around. She poked at the squishy mud under a rock. She found a brightly colored rock in a small burbling stream and stopped to put it in her jumper. The forest felt grand and mysterious to Lily. It felt like it knew many secrets. Lily was so caught up in the feeling that being alone in the woods caused that she scarcely realized she had walked into a small rock face. Surprised, she looked around. She had been walking along the bank of the small stream which was gone. Feeling scared she scanned the ground for it only to realize it had simply narrowed into nothing. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and made sure she could see the end of the forest before she went to examine the rock face.
Lily felt a rush of exitement! There was a cave in the cliff! There could be all sorts of interesting things in a cave! Cool looking rocks, new places to hide, stalactites and stalagmites, (she couldn't tell the difference between the words.) bats and cats-the possibilities were endless! Taking a deep breath, she ducked through the entrance of the cave.
The air of the cave was chilly and a trickle of water ran down the far wall, but these things were not the first things Lily noticed-far from it! The first thing she noticed was the police box. It was smack-dab in the center of the cave and bright blue. It looked very out of place. Lily could tell it wasn't old or in bad repair, the paint looked fresh, the windows free of dust and not a cobweb on it.
Perhaps Grandpa Weasly had brought it here to work on it in secret. Lily knew that Mr. Weasly wasn't supposed to be fixing up old muggle things because when she'd gone looking for a shovel in the garden shed and found a toaster he had made her keep it a secret. The forest seemed a little far to bring a police box, but what other reason would there be for a police box in a cave.
Lily tried to open the door-to no avail. She gave up and decided to look for interesting rocks on the ground. She was behind the police box when she heard the doors open. Her heart beating fast she peered around the side to see what it was.
It was a man! He closed the doors behind him and crossed over to the cave wall and sat, facing the police box with his head in his hands. He looked normal. He had a riding jacket with a rip in it and a rumpled shirt on. He looked kind-of beaten down. Lily felt sorry for the man, and deciding he looked harmless decided to say hello.
"Hello," Said Lily shyly stepping out from behind the box, "Are you all right?"
"Who said that?" Said the man looking about, he spotted Lily pressed to the side of the police box and his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" Lily gulped before whispering her reply.
"I'm exploring. What are you doing here?"
"Thinking," Said the man.
"About what?" inquired Lily.
"Things," Said the man, "sad things. But I cant help it. I have nothing happy to think abbot."
"That's sad." Replied Lily. "But it doesn't make sense. There are always happy
things to think about. The taste of ice cream, pretty butterflies, wining a game of checkers... I'm Lily Potter-what's your name?" Lily probably shouldn't have told a stranger her name, but the rumpled looking man inspired a trusting feeling in her. Her words also seemed to have helped because the man sat up straighter and a tiny smile appeared on his lips.
"Those are very smart words," The man nodded thoughtfully, "I should like to remember
them. You seem like a smart girl. Tell you what. You can call me The Doctor." Lily nodded.
"Is that your real name?" Lily asked, the man shook his head. "Oh. I see. A doctor…that's like a muggle healer? One of those people who cuts people up and sews them back together?"
"Um…yes I suppose so. I've never really thought about it." The Doctor scratched his chin. "I suppose people have always called me that. I call me that. I sometimes wonder why but I like the name Doctor because doctors help people, don't they?" Lily nodded,
"I think so. Are you a muggle? Because you don't act like one." The Doctor looked confused.
"Um... No…I don't believe I am." Lily felt a rush of happiness.
"Oh I knew it!" She beamed at him, "Would you like to come to a picnic? You look like you need some happiness and picnics are full of that!"
"Oh… Well I don't know if that's the best idea.. I don't want to impose." Impose? Lily didn't think he would impose. Granny Weasly had probably packed enough food for ten the way she always did and her mother had always taught her to "be kind to those less fortunate then yourself." The Doctor certainly looked less fortunate. He looked raggedy and unkempt. Lily thought the food and company would do him good. Of course, there was always the possibility that the man was crazy, but he seemed nice AND he was a wizard.
After some reassurances that he would not be a problem, The Doctor agreed to come.
"Just let me duck into my TARDIS to change and spiff up and then I suppose I'll come. Thanks for the invitation."
"TARDIS?" Asked Lily.
"Time and Relative Dimension in-oh never mind that's the TARDIS." He said pointing at the police box. In a few minutes, The Doctor was changed into clean clothes and looked much less disheveled. Lily supposes he must have a closet and a faucet in his TARDIS. TARDIS? TARUS? TODUS? What did he call it? She supposed she could always ask again.
Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the cave, through the forest and into the meadow where they both stood squinting in the sunlight. Lily could hear her brothers yelling in the distance.
"Come on," she said, "Lets go on a picnic."