Chapter 1- Diagonally! Or was it Diagon Alley?
Disclaimer- I'm afraid I don't own Harry Potter. Darn.
Sometimes, Severus Snape wondered why he bothered being on Dumbledore's side of the war at all. The man was a barmy old coot, as all the students said, and he was always using Snape to do his dirty work. This time, though, the man had cheekily sent him off to escort the famous Potter Twins, Girls-Who-Lived to Diagon Alley. Snape didn't like children at all, let alone the children of his childhood rival, James Potter; to him, they could never be Lily's children, only Potter's children.
In his hands was a letter, script tidy and precise, signed Harriett and Evelyn Potter.
'Professor McGonagall,
We send our sincerest apologies to you, but we must request more information regarding 'magic' and 'Hogwarts'. Forgive our suspicion, but as we have never heard of 'Hogwarts' and had believed magic to be fake, surely you must understand we wish not to make fools of ourselves. Therefore, if you could send us a letter explaining, or, if possible, spare us a visit so as to answer our completely understandable questions, it would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
Harriett and Evelyn Potter.'
Those were the exact words on the now crumpled paper. Severus grumbled quietly to himself as he crossed the Hogwarts grounds to the apparition point just past the wards. Of course, the two attention-seeking celebrities would not only want special treatment during the seven years they would be at Hogwarts, but before they even got there as well! With a sharp twist on his heel, Snape appeared at the nearest designated apparition spot to the brats' house.
With long strides, cloak billowing behind him, he made his way to Number Four Privet Drive. He noticed upon his approach, however, that there was something seriously off about the otherwise normal house; a feeling permeated the air, chilling as if the house was inhabited by dementors and thick as if it were on the ocean floor. The curtains were drawn, and he could hear a shouted half of a conversation. In between the shouting, there were long periods of silence, which must be the other person arguing back, but they were calmer than the first and their voice didn't carry through the walls like the other person's did.
Deciding to interrupt this heated conversation, his fist beat out three sharp knocks. The silence that reigned was different then the second half of the conversation, because he could hear a pair of feet that had been pacing before still in their movements and he was sure that he could have heard a pin drop on the other side of the door.
The pacing feet moved once more, and he heard the voice of a young girl direct someone else to 'Please answer the door' while the girl 'took care of things in here.' A second pair of feet, whose stride was almost identical to the first, reached the door in seconds, and the door was whisked open.
"Hello, sir, how may I help you?" Her pitch black curls, too messy to be anything but natural and only cute in the vaguest of senses, bounced as she tilted her head in much the same way Lily would when they were young and still best friends.
Severus cleared his mind of the memories of Lily before replying, "I am Severus Snape, potions master of Hogwarts. I was sent here to escort Harriett and Evelyn Potter to Diagon Alley?"
Killing curse green eyes flashed in understanding across from him. "Ah. We were expecting you. Please, come in, Evie should be about done explaining the situation to our darling Aunt and Uncle by now."
The girl looked no older than nine, but the last he heard Petunia had only had one child and that child was male, so this must be Harriett Potter. She led him into the sitting room, calmly offering him a cup of tea and ignoring the four people already in the room. He denied, looking towards the others in confusion.
Petunia, who hadn't changed much from their childhood, sat on a couch with a whale of a man and a boy who looked like a pig. Her face was contorted as if she had swallowed a gallon of lemon juice. Pacing across the room from the muggles was a clone of the girl who had led him here, who must be Evelyn. Her face was blank, but her eyes betrayed her by showing a cold, murderous anger, not unlike the look he had seen more than a few times in the eyes of Voldemort himself. If it was possible, the slight glow of her eyes made their color seem even more like that of the deadliest curse ever made.
"I wasn't asking for your permission; we don't need your permission. Our choice has been made, and you are not at liberty to disrespect it." Evelyn's pacing had stopped, and while she wasn't facing them, her eyes traced their every movement. She registered every fidget, tensing as the whale-like man jumped up, causing the room to shake.
"YOU LISTEN HERE, GIRL-" Vernon (Severus believed his name was) didn't get very far in his shouting, as the windows behind Evelyn blew out. This, he assumed at first, was because of her, but her eyes hadn't changed. In fact, Evelyn looked calmer now that Vernon was shouting.
Harriet, on the other hand, was shaking violently, the calm green eyes from earlier now filled with explosive fire. As she spoke, her voice was laced with unhidden malice. "Vernon, if you know what is good for both you and your family, I would suggest you do no not take up that tone with my sister." The tray of tea in her hands jittered as she spoke, and it was a good thing she hadn't poured any or else there would be tea splashing everywhere.
Evelyn padded over, placing a hand on Harriett's shoulder and leaning over to whisper in her ear. Severus was just close enough to hear. "Remove yourself from the situation, sister. I can handle this." Apparently, Harriett trusted her sister's word because she took a deep breath and left the room, passing the tea tray to Evelyn.
Five cups of tea were prepared in a matter of minutes, the silence of the room coming from all sides. The Dursleys, it seemed, were too shocked at Harriett's outburst to say anything, while Evelyn seemed to be contemplating her next course of action. She stood, passing him and each of the Dursleys a cup of tea before sitting and sipping at her own, looking completely at peace even surrounded by shards of glass.
"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia," Evelyn started suddenly after a few silent moments sipping her tea, "As you can tell, this is very important to Harry and me. Resisting this is only upsetting my normally calm and collected sister, and while this outburst isn't typical of her, I can assure you it is not the worst she is capable of." The serene expression that was previously on her face vanished, being replaced by a fierce scowl. "If you cause any more distress to my sister, I'm afraid I will get violent."
Snape's eyes widened a bit.
Calm green eyes looked to him for a moment before Evelyn turned back to the Dursleys, "Now if you are done with your pointless denial, we'll be on our way, is that clear?" The three shaking people couldn't have voiced their opinions had they been in the correct state to do so because the Potter girl immediately turned away from them and continued. "Good. Now, Professor, if you would follow me?"
The two of them made their way to the kitchen- only a few feet down the hallway- where Harriett was taking a few calming breaths.
"Harriett," Evelyn said, "It's time to go."
Evelyn's younger twin stood immediately, leading the three of them out of the house without a glance towards the Dursleys. As they walked down the path, she seemed to have calmed enough to speak once more. "Professor Snape, I know what you heard in there, and while Evelyn's silver tongue can get her out of almost anything, we'd appreciate it if you didn't mention what you saw in there to anyone."
Severus' eyes narrowed, but he chose to nod instead of saying anything. As he took the lead, he mentally scoffed. The Potter Twins were just the attention-seeking brats he thought they'd be, that was obvious from the little act they had put on.
His strides were long as he led them to the train station, but the girls kept up with relative ease despite their size. They couldn't apparate to Diagon Alley, not only because it was dangerous to side along apparate more than one person at once, but because Dumbledore had informed him to 'make sure they know the way there and back' so they could 'return as they pleased'. Severus couldn't believe Dumbledore was going along with the false front of ignorance the two girls put up. There was no way the two most famous girls in the Wizarding World would ever be left in the dark so long.
Within an hour, the three magical people had reached the Leaky Cauldron, and Snape led them through with little trouble. In the small courtyard, he explained how to get into Diagon Alley with as few words as possible. Focused as he was on ignoring the two girls behind him, he failed to notice Evelyn slipping off into the crowd. Harriett did, but she chose not to say anything.
Gringotts took very little time to get into and out of, as they only needed to go down into the Twins' trust vault and collect a few handfuls of coins. When Harriett asked about how wizarding currency worked, Snape was glad the goblin, Griphook, was there to answer.
"Seventeen silver Sickles to one gold Galleon and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle," Griphook explained.
"Four hundred ninety-three Knuts to a Galleon…" Harriett murmured almost immediately. The goblin hummed his agreement, almost impressed with her quick calculations.
After Gringotts, Snape led Harriett from shop to shop for what felt like hours. They collected everything on the school list, from the pewter, standard size two cauldron and crystal vials ("They are much less likely to break, and it isn't as if the two of you don't have the money to afford them." Snape had said.) to the telescope and brass scales, to the uniforms and books. Finally, Professor Snape led Harriett to a dusty shop whose sign had peeling letters and whose display had only a carefully dusted wand in a purple silk box on a pedestal. This was Ollivanders Wand Shop, and Harriet's skin prickled from the static-like energy she could feel even with the door closed.
A bell sounded as they entered the shop. From where she was, Harry could see piles of boxes carefully stacked on shelves which must have held wands. If she concentrated, she could practically hear the magic thrumming within each of the wands, each singing a song specifically for the Wizard or Witch they were made for. She could tell Evie had made it here before them, not because she could see her sister but because, like all twins, she had a sixth sense that told her Evie was nearby. Or, she assumed it was usual for all twins, the girls had never met another set in their (almost) eleven years.
"Ah, Harriett Potter, I've been expecting you. Though, I had expected you to arrive alongside your twin sister… And Severus Snape!" Said man heard nothing past that point, his attention finally returning to where he thought both of the Potter girls were.
The second girl was nowhere in sight. "Where is your sister?" He inquired to the remaining twin.
Harriett's mouth curled up a bit as she replied, "How should I know? She slipped off almost as soon as we arrived in Diagon Alley. I thought you knew." Her smile grew into a grin, "Guess not. Don't worry, though, Evie always knows the best time to reappear, and she always knows where to find me."
Just like that, Evelyn Potter strode out from the back of Ollivander's shop, a pair of boxes help in her grasp. A smile graced her face for the first time since Snape had met the girls as she spoke, "Mr. Ollivander, thank you for letting me explore your shop. It truly is a fascinating place. The magic in here makes my hair stand on end."
Ollivander smiled, but he didn't get a chance to say anything as Severus interrupted.
"Where have you been?" He was glaring at her as he spoke, "Now we have to go back to all the shops."
Harriet giggled, "No we don't! If you had been paying any attention you'd have realized I pick up double of everything. The two of us are the same size, so there's no real point in both of us being here for everything anyway." Without giving him a chance to reply, she turned to her sister, "How were your adventures, Evie? Did you find anything interesting?"
A cunning smile passed over Evie's lips as she said, "Perhaps. It seems you'll just have to wait and see."
Harry rolled her eyes, but she nodded anyway, "Anything I need to know?"
"Well," Evie began, "I got the two of us new wardrobes, met some new people, and learned some very interesting thing both here and at Gringotts."
Evie's sister looked impressed, "What a fruitful day you had today, sis."
"Every day is a fruitful day if you know what to do with it," Evelyn said.
Finally annoyed with their chatter, Severus sneered, "Are the both of you quite done with your mindless chatter?"
"Quite." The two intoned.
Ollivander, seeing his chance, finally spoke, "Miss Potter, I trust you found your wand?" Evelyn nodded, "And your sister's?" She nodded once more, "Well, by all means, let's put that magic sensitivity of yours to the test!"
Evie smiled as she handed one of the two boxes she was holding to Harry. Ollivander examined the wand as Harry pulled it out, "A peculiar choice, Miss Potter. Hawthorn, thirteen inches… Oh, one of my Grandfather's signature mixed cores: Phoenix and Hippogriff! Go on then, give it a wave!"
A warm and fluttery feeling spread through Harriett as she touched the wand, and when she waved it a cascade of shimmering lights erupted from the tip. Ollivander seemed excited by the prospect and said, "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! What a strong connection! It seems like such a long time since I've seen a wand fit a witch so well!"
Red spread over Harry's cheeks for a moment. "Evie," she said, turning the attention away from her, "What about you?"
The box in Evie's hand was opened and she took out a wand much lighter in color than her sister's. Light shimmered in the room once more as she gave the wand a wave.
"Another of my Grandfather's mixed cores, and that particular one I thought would never bond. Hornbeam wood, thirteen inches again, and chimera scale/phoenix feather core… Quite a unique wand, that one. It is curious, however, that you two would receive wands with those particular phoenix feathers. After all, the phoenix that gave those feathers gave one more, and that feather is in the wand of the man who gave you those scars."
The scars he spoke of were the only way (sans their personalities) to tell the twins apart. Each had a scar on the shoulder opposite the other, so when they stood a certain way the scars faced one another. Each was a lightning bolt shape, and together they formed a jagged 'v'.
Ollivander's words affected Evie more than Harry, perhaps because she already knew part of what this meant for them, "You're serious?" She exclaimed.
Ollivander nodded.
"What did we ever do to deserve that?" Harry was confused by her sister's words, but she knew better than to ask right now.
The old wandmaker smiled. "The two of you are sure to do great things. After all, You-Know-Who did great things, terrible, but great." Seeing their uneasy looks, he continued, "Don't fret, I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander." The twins chimed, smiling lightly.
Severus was about to pull them out of the room when Ollivander spoke again. "Evelyn, Harriett, how would the two of you like to intern here next summer? I know at least one of you has quite the talent for wands, and I'm sure you share that talent, Harriett. It would be nice to have some help around here, and perhaps in time if you show the initiative I'll make you two my apprentices."
The twins' mouths fell open in shock, and it took a moment for them to respond a stuttered "Thank you Mister Ollivander" in their usual perfect tandem. Evie continued immediately with "Maybe next summer you can explain to us the consequences of having sister wands to Voldemort's?"
"Of course," Ollivander agreed, "The two of you need to be prepared, after all. It is a very important connection, and it would be helpful to know how to take advantage of it."
Snape sighed, irritated at the amount of time they were wasting, and finally interrupted. "While I'm sure the children would be happy to stay and chat with you, Mr. Ollivander, we do have places to be today. We should be going."
"Oh, of course, Severus, of course. I shall see the two of you next summer, Evelyn, Harriett. Don't forget!" Ollivander said.
"See you next summer, Mr, Ollivander!" The twins said together.
On their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, when Professor Snape was a good distance ahead of them, Harry turned to Evie.
"It's strange that you only accomplished four things in such a long amount of time, Evie. What haven't you mentioned?"
Evie smirked at her sister, "Just because I only mentioned four things doesn't mean I only did four things. Alas, don't fret yourself over it, dearest sister; I did nothing your pure heart wouldn't be able to handle. You just wouldn't find my adventures today very interesting, I fear."
"It worries me that you thought I thought you did something bad…"
"Now, now, I never said that either. I said that you would be able to handle it." She thought for a moment before saying, "All in all, it was a pretty uneventful day for me."
Harry deadpanned, "Remind me again why I trust you on your own out there?"
"Rule number of of the Evelyn Iris Potter Code of Conduct: don't get caught."
A/N- I'm sorry for suddenly deciding to rewrite this. (I recently took a look at this story and decided to put my plans for the story in writing, so I'm making some changes to push the story in the right direction.) To those of you who read the first version, nothing much has changed. I'd still recommend rereading it since I put some nice stuff in there, but if you're feeling lazy you don't really have to. I will be going through the other chapters, too, so you could always just wait to reread them all in one go. I'll put an author's note at the top of chapter 5 when I get to it to go and reread stuff.
Anyway, hope you enjoy!