She took another mouthful of her salad, slowly ingesting it. She had bought it in the convenience store on the corner of the street when she got back from work. It was bland, tasting plastic, but it was nourishing enough.
The day had been hard at work. Lily had not talked about this to Harry. Maybe she didn't want to admit it to herself, but the company for which she worked wasn't faring well. They had lost one of their most important clients two months ago, and although numbers had never been Lily's force, she understood that the business was short of funds. Her boss couldn't afford to lose any major client, especially as he was currently going through a difficult divorce. He might be forced to liquidate his company. Lily expected to be dismissed at any moment. Several employees had already resigned, and most of them were looking for other employments.
But that wasn't the thing that preoccupied her mind lately. As always, it was Harry she thought about most of the time. She had spent his first week at Hogwarts waiting for his first letter. It had come last Saturday, in the form of Hedwig, the snowy owl she bought for him, waking Lily up in the morning by knocking against the window. She had almost snatched it from the poor animal, then almost ripped the paper when she opened the envelope. Her hands were shaking as she read.
Dear Mom,
My first week at Hogwarts has gone very quickly. I was afraid to look like a fool in class because I never practiced before and I just read books, but it seems most students are just as clueless about how to practice magic as I am. So far, I've had on class of each course: Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology and Potions. We are having our first flying lesson next Thursday.
Most professors are nice, though it can be difficult to not sleep in History of Magic with Professor Binns. I wonder if he was already a ghost when you were at Hogwarts. It can also be hard to not suffocate in Professor Quirrell's classroom, which is filled with garlic to protect him from vampires, but I think he's also afraid of us, his own students. The worst was Professor Snape, in Potions. I don't know why, but he seems to hate me, not to mention that he favours the House of Slytherin at every turn, which no other Head of House does, not even McGonagall.
I should have told you right away, but I was selected into Gryffindor. I already made a good friend, Ronald Weasley (but everyone calls him Ron). We share the same dormitory with three other boys, including Neville who we saw at King's Cross. There's also a girl named Hermione, who I somehow get along, but she always speaks about what she learned in advance or what she knows that others don't, which is a little annoying.
The castle is very strange. I only managed to get to the Great Hall without getting lost today. There are ghosts everywhere and there's even one, Peeves, who spends his time playing tricks to us all day. I would find this all very funny in other circumstances, but when he does it while we're still trying to find our way to the next class, we come to hate him...
The letter went on and went on. Harry also asked if it was true that Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' gamekeeper, was the one to get them out of their house ten years ago at Halloween. He invited Harry to his home close to the forest on Friday afternoon to talk to him. Lily had never told that to Harry, it was true. She didn't like to talk about that night. Furthermore, she wasn't conscious when Hagrid found them and brought them back to Hogwarts. This was probably why she never mentioned his name to Harry.
Lily had answered with a very detailed letter, even longer than the one her son had sent her. She remained awakened until long in the night to finish it and give it to Hedwig. It was probably a good thing that the snowy owl left in the darkness. It would attract less attention from the people in the neighborhood.
In her reply, she had told Harry the whole story about Hagrid getting them out of the ruins, but also how she and his father got to know him at Hogwarts. He was sometimes strange, like many people at Hogwarts, but he had a very good heart, and was truly a good friend. She also asked Harry to not hesitate and tell her if Snape caused too many problems. This man would not turn her son's life into hell.
The letter she had received was still on her dining table. She had read it again a few times since it arrived, even after she sent her reply to Harry. Now they were Thursday, at the end of the afternoon. According to him, Harry had his first flying lesson today. Lily wished she could have been there to see it. From the very moment Harry had straddled a broom, she saw he had a natural talent for it. Surely, he must have enjoyed this day. She only wished she could hear it with his own words, like she did for years.
The apartment felt so empty without him. Of course, there had been times when he angered her by making stupidities, and given his magical powers, they could be quite frustrating, but she would have given anything for him just to reappear the necessary time to start a fire on the table. Her days were empty outside of her work, and she thought ten times every hour about what her son might be doing on the moment.
Remus and Sirius had come to see her in the days following Harry's departure for Hogwarts, trying to reassure her. Remus was particularly understandable. He had seen how alone she felt. But they couldn't replace Harry. There was a huge hole in her life, and she didn't know how to fill it yet. She wasn't even sure she wanted to fill it.
She realized she wasn't hungry anymore. She had only eaten half her salad. She threw it in the garbage without ceremony. Through the window, you could see the park in the light of dusk. Harry used to wander there during his last two months here. He was so eager to leave, and she desperately wanted to enjoy the time left with him the most she could. She hadn't gone into his chamber since he left, not even to clean it. Not knowing what to do of her evening, she decided to take a walk like Harry used to. Its regulars must be wondering where the boy with glasses and a lightning-shaped scar had gone. Lily was heading to the hall when something knocked on her kitchen's window.
The repetitive blows made her jump. Her heart raised in expectation. She wasn't expecting another letter from Harry before the weekend. Her expectations were rapidly crushed when she saw the brown-spotted owl tapping the glass with its nozzle. Lily opened the window and let him in, then closed back the window behind. The letter was kept inside an envelope just like the ones Hogwarts used for the return to class. It used the same green ink. Only this time, although it had the same address, it was Lily's name on it, not Harry's. She opened it and was about to read, but another letter fell to the floor. This one missed the school's official headline. Lily decided to begin with this one.
Dear Lily,
I should have written to you sooner, but I'm glad I can do it in these circumstances.
You son didn't lose time for getting into trouble. One of the students got injured during his first flying lesson, and Madam Hooch had to escort him to the infirmary. Your Harry then got the wonderful idea of flying while his teacher was absent, against her clear and direct orders. I caught him in the act.
Although he did it because another student had begun to fly and stole an object that belonged to the injured student, I cannot approve of what he did. Still, I decided to not report him and the other student, for the sake of them both.
I must admit though, that if he hadn't disobeyed orders, I wouldn't have watched him catch a small round object right before it reached the ground. He's really got a natural talent. I asked Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, and he agrees.
Although we usually don't allow first years to play Quidditch, I'm willing to make an exception for your son, but we need your authorization. He would be the Seeker for Gryffindor's Quidditch team. He will also need a broomstick, this goes without saying. If you ever can't afford one, the school can help to pay it in part or in total.
Please reply as quickly as possible. I don't want someone to tell me I should have expelled him before.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Lily was stunned. Harry, on the Quidditch team? And as a Seeker? In his first year?
Even in Lily's time, first years couldn't play Quidditch. She remembered how James still tried to apply for the Gryffindor team the year he arrived and got rebuked. And her Harry would join the team because he disobeyed a teacher?
She read the other letter. This was mostly the same as the first, without the details on the flying lesson, and an official tone and request for Lily's approval. She sat down, trying to recover from everything she just learned. All of this was so unexpected. Of course, Harry was talented. He loved flying for his very early age, when his father still lived. And when he got older, he loved it even more, always asking to bring him somewhere where he could train. Lily couldn't do it as often as he would have liked, but she had done her best all the same.
Still, her Harry, Seeker of the Gryffindor team on his first-year? This was unbelievable. She read both letters again to be certain that she had not dreamed. It was real. It didn't take Lily long to answer her former teacher of Transfiguration. Her positive reply was short, hastily written, and she sent the owl back with it right away.
What excited her the most was that parents were allowed on Hogwarts grounds the days their children would play Quidditch. Only the parents of players could attend those games, and only parents of players who were actually playing on that day. This would allow her to see her son much sooner than she thought.
Lily left her apartment right after giving her reply, but it wasn't to go to the park like she initially planned. Instead, she walked an isolated street and Apparated. She reappeared in a desert back alley in London. She then walked to the Leaky Cauldron from which she entered Diagon Alley.
She wasn't noticed like the last time she came here with her son. At this hour, as night was about to fall, the pub was filled to the brim with customers. As for the Alley, it was just as animated at night as during the day, though with a different style of regulars. Those nightly customers were slowly taking the place of those who made their purchases during the day, but the day itself wasn't over yet, which meant even the boutiques that closed at night would still be open.
Lily had changed her clothes after she arrived in London, benefitting once again of her very special purse. It only looked like a casual purse that all Muggle women used to carry their identity papers and beauty material, but this one was made bigger on the inside by an Extension Charm. So she could change in her witch attire and walked on the Alley directly to the Quality Quidditch Supplies store.
She had seen Harry look for a very long time at that store when they walked by it last month. They didn't stop, for they had too many other purchases to do and nothing on his list was to be found in that store. But today, Harry needed something, and Lily had all the good reasons in the world to go into that store.
Lily herself had never walked into this place before. From both of them, it was James who loved Quidditch. Lily always had a limited interest for the sport, judging him too violent more than once. At the same time, Quidditch had its footprint on many beautiful memories she had. Quidditch games were a moment where all students were brought together in a great celebration. Lily had many fond memories where she watched a game with her friends, even in her very early years at Hogwarts. And of course, after James stopped acting like a spoiled child and they began to date, she spent a wonderful time encouraging him while he played as a Chaser.
The store was filled with brackets holding broomsticks of all sizes and styles, along with Bludgers firmly held by strong chains, Quaffles lying peacefully on shelves and even Golden Snitches, probably the most valuable products in the store. There were also books on the sport along with various items from the most popular teams in the world.
The store was also full of people, despite the hour. There was no season or time of day for this sport, and this applied to its fans as well. Lily started to look at the broomsticks, but she was uncertain which one would best suit Harry. She finally caught the attention of a salesman.
"May I be of help, Mrs?"
"Yes. My son just joined a Quidditch team and I need to buy him a new broomstick."
"You are at the right place, Mrs. We have the best brooms in Great Britain. I suppose your son is not with you?"
"No, he's not. He's at Hogwarts."
"Too bad. If he was here, we could get his height and weight, we could choose the best length and strength for his broom.
She told him his weight and height.
"Oh, your son is quite skinny," he commented.
"He's only eleven-years-old."
The salesman looked quite surprised. "I believed first-years could not fly at Hogwarts."
"Well, they made an exception."
The man looked quite skeptical but didn't press any further. "Due to his frame and age, we must choose a broom that will not only support him today, but also in many years as he grows up. Does he intend to play Quidditch for a long time?"
"I think so."
"Then we need something heavy enough so he may keep control of it today, but also that may support him later. What is his position?"
"Seeker."
The salesman showed quite more surprise. "Really? At this age? Well, due to what you've told me, he has the frame for it, and his age helps in those circumstances. Okay. So we need something that will be as powerful and light as possible. What range of price are you ready to consider?"
Lily thought about it for a moment. "What's the best broom you would have to offer?"
The salesman looked surprised again, but Lily also noticed the excitement in his eyes. He went to the window to show her what was displayed to all people walking in the alley. Some brackets held a sleek and shiny broom with a mahogany handle, a long tail of neat, straight twigs and gold letters near the top where you could read Nimbus Two Thousand.
"This the best model currently available on the market, from the latest shipment we received. Perfect for any position, but most particularly for Chasers and Seekers."
"Very well, I take it."
He gave her the price, which was much higher than she expected. Luckily, they were in the world of magic, not of Muggles. Lily gave them a written authorization to take the money in the vault six hundred and eighty-seven, the vault that was at her name since James died and that contained all their fortune, untouched for almost ten years.
Lily left the store with the broom packed into brown paper. She returned to her apartment very quickly thanks to Apparition and wanted to send the broomstick to Harry right away. She then realized that she had no owl. Hedwig was at Hogwarts, and she sent back Professor McGonagall's owl sooner in the evening. With an excited smile, she hid her purchase inside Harry's now unoccupied bedroom. Toys and books lingered there and there as she had not removed them already. She carefully placed the broom on his bed, thinking what a surprise he would get the next time Hedwig would come back from his home.