Existing in Radiance

Chapter One | Little Whinging, July 31 1983

Chapter One

Little Whinging, July 31st 1983

 

            The heat rose off the sidewalks in a haze, burning bare feet and melting popsicles. The playground was full of young mothers gossiping and fanning themselves, only glancing at their children every once and a while.

Across the playground sat a woman, alone and not even reading the novel in her lap. Instead she watched her children, a fair boy and dark girl as they toddled about, interacting with the other children and enjoying the array of new toys to be found. Not far from them two boys were in a scuffle, one considerably smaller than the other.

Sonia was only three, but already knew when something wasn’t right. She toddled over and gave the larger boy a big push.

“Shoo.” She said, crossing her arms and giving the large boy a piercing glare. “Shoo!” she said again, and he gave the smaller boy an annoyed look.

Andrew came over to join his sister and smiled at the smaller boy, then frowned “You hurt?” he asked, putting a finger to his own forehead.

The smaller boy touched his forehead, revealing the rest of a lightening scar. “No.”

“I Andy.” Said Andrew “Tha Sunny.”

The boy smiled shyly “Harry.”

The three had soon forgotten the scuffle earlier and began playing in the sand box. Hazel watched them with a smile, fully aware of who the little boy was. He looked just like James, as they all knew he would, but Lily’s almond shaped green eyes blazed brightly.

The children got along as well as they had before, and Hazel just enjoyed watching them. Every now and then she would come to this playground, watch Harry play mostly by himself, but sometimes with other children if that little rotter Dudley felt him alone.

It was the most painful think Hazel had ever gone through, watching her godson under the care of Petunia – the last person Lily had wanted to look after Harry. It had been exactly two years since the death of Lily and James, and every day Hazel felt the gaping hole left by her best friends. Not only had she lost them, but also Sirius – she refused to believe that he had really killed those Muggles. He was angry, yes, practically livid – but he would never kill.

Losing Sirius so quickly, with no real means of goodbye, was almost as hard as seeing Harry tormented by Dudley. Of course she still had Remus and Winston, but there was an emptiness that Sirius had once filled; she didn’t laugh as often, there were fewer jokes and very little who enjoyed playing a quick game of Quidditch while the twins were sleeping.

Hazel often thought of the day Sirius had asked to a Muggle film – why hadn’t she said yes? And then she thought of Remus and wondered how she could think that way when he was being so kind to her.

Her whole life was a mess, and Hazel didn’t know how to untangle and straighten it out.