Seven by shoelacy

Seven by shoelacy

First

Lily Evans, small, frail, and eleven, is rushing to her first class, her first ever class as a witch, and is focusing all of her concentration on keeping herself upright under the strain of her books. She is almost there when something that feels like a log finds its way in front of her feet. Before she knows what’s happening, she and her books are sent sprawling across the stone floor. She looks back for the log but sees nothing. She hears laughter as she begins to gather her books and looks up in time to see four older boys wearing green scarves—indeed, it was an unusually chilly September day—tucking their wands back in their sleeves.

“Better watch your step, Mudblood,” one of them says. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” The other three laugh at a joke unknown to her and follow the first down the hall.

Perplexed, Lily picks up her last book, makes her way —slowly this time—to class, and wonders what it means to be called “mudblood.”