The Girl By The Lake

Chapter 1: The Lake and the Stars

Penny stared at the water. She had often heard stories, myths perhaps, about a giant squid living in the lake (though she'd never seen it for herself). Even if she lived in a world full of magic, there were still some things she believed needed to be seen with her own eyes.


She leaned back, letting her back rest on the old oak tree behind her, turning her gaze to the sky above. It was night. The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight. She liked it that way, she could see the stars better. It was dark too, but she liked that. The darkness made her feel safe. Alone, but safe.


She concentrated on the stars, deep in thought. She never really paid much attention in Astronomy class, so she couldn't point out Jupiter's moons (or tell you how many there were) and she didn't know many constellations, but nevertheless, she still liked to look at the stars. She admired how they all shined as brightly as they could in spite of the darkness of the night. Her favorites weren't the biggest or brightest ones, but the tiny, small ones that twinkled and said: "look at me, I can shine too!"


Penny turned her gaze back towards the lake, thinking she saw a ripple in the water. Could it have been a tentacle of the giant squid? No, it was just a duck. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, making herself as small as she could.


"Penny?"


She had been so lost in thought, she hadn't even heard Harry walk up. He looked tired as usual, and skinnier than normal. His glasses were crooked and his hair stood up in all directions, despite its dampness. He was soaking wet. There were blood stain on his shirt and mud on his shoes. Where did Dumbledore take him every month? He had his father's Invisibility Cloak in his hands. Clearly, he just got back from another excursion with Dumbledore and had snuck out to see her.


"What are you doing out here?" he asked.


"Getting some air," Penny replied. She turned her gaze back towards the water.


"Air?" Harry walked a bit closer to the tree, a bit hesitant to approach.


"Yeah, air, you know, the stuff we breathe," She smirked and looked at Harry to see his reaction, then immediately regretted it and looked down at her hands, which she put in her lap. She began to pick at her cuticles, a bad habit.


Instead of replying, Harry sat down and leaned his back against the other side of the tree and looked into the Forbidden Forest. They sat in silence for a long while, which Penny appreciated. Until Harry decided to say what he came here to:


"It's not your fault you know," not a quiver in his voice.


"Harry-" Penny felt a rush of tears and looked back up to the stars. She tried to stop them from rolling down her cheeks. The stars weren't as bright as before. Were there clouds in the sky? Or was her just vision starting to blur from the tears?


"I just mean, you shouldn't blame yourself."


The tears pursued her and she felt it start to rain. She couldn't stop the lamentations now, but it didn't matter, her face was wet from the rain anyway. She stopped fighting the tears.


"I don't blame myself," she said, matching the unwavering voice Harry had used a moment before. It surprised her. She bit her tongue so she wouldn't say what she was thinking. Harry didn't respond immediately. Penny felt the water fill in her shoes and soak her socks. Her robes felt heavy and her hair was wet and flat. She couldn't see Harry, but she imagined he looked the same as he did before it started to rain. It made her loathe him even more.


"I blame you," she said. She didn't even realize she had. She regretted saying it aloud, but she did mean it.
 A long silence followed and Harry was so quiet Penny almost forgot he was there. 

Eventually, she heard Harry get up and walk around the base of the wide oak tree. The tree they used to spend hours at together, laughing and talking. But that was a long time ago. She kept her gaze on the lake, determined to find the squid, determined not to look at Harry. He didn't say anything, he just dropped something by her side and walked away. Each footstep getting quieter than the last.


She was alone. Wet and alone. Normally, she liked the dark and she liked to be alone, now she felt miserable. She started to pick at her cuticles again.

After a while, she decided she would go back to her dormitory. She didn't much like sitting in the rain. However, before she got up, she noticed something on the ground beside her. Harry's Invisibility Cloak. He left it there so she wouldn't get in trouble for being out of bed after curfew. She reached out a hand and felt the fabric. To be honest, it didn't feel like fabric at all. It felt like...magic. Well, she couldn't know, of course, what magic felt like but, if she had to guess, this is what it would feel like.


He left it here so I wouldn't get in trouble, Penny thought. As much as she hated Harry, she found she also loved him so, so much.


But that still didn't mean she could forgive him.