Sweet Lily
Chapter One: A Magical Beginning
Lily Evans, an eleven-year-old girl from England, was currently sleeping peacefully in her bed. It was a fresh, new day of the summer. And any day of the summer was excellent, in Lily's opinion, as any day without school was a marvellous day. Even though she had over average marks in all of her subjects, it didn't mean that she actually enjoyed the six hours studying in the building full of boys and girls of various ages. She was just naturally clever, as she was naturally pretty.
Lily hated her hair. It was a glorious red colour in the form of lush, buoyant curls. It was annoying to brush, but when it was groomed, Lily looked positively stunning. Her eyes were a bright green, glittering like polished emeralds. Lily's skin was fair and white, with just a sprinkle of chocolate freckles across her dainty little nose. She had a petite figure and a charm that impressed all. She was kind, polite, but at the same time, fun and irritating. Her parents adored her.
Petunia Evans, on the other hand, was Lily's fourteen-year-old sister. Petunia was also attractive in a way, but certainly not as much as Lily. Petunia had straight, shoulder length hair, which was a blonde colour, streaked with bits of brown. Her eyes were a cold sky blue and her skin fair aswell. She was kind of lanky and tall, with bony legs and a very long neck. Petunia was undoubtedly not as smart as Lily. She had to work harder to get a good result. She was haughty at times and showed little sisterly love, but that was considered normal. Petunia envied Lily with her intelligence and beauty, but never showed it.
Mr Mark Evans and Mrs Laura Evans knew only of a tiny rift between their two daughters. They seemed blind to the fact that Lily and Petunia were constantly arguing and quarrelling behind their backs'. Mr and Mrs Evans were both awfully proud of their daughters, despite the fact that Lily and Petunia were like chalk and cheese. They just thought they were an ordinary, happy English family.
Lily awoke from her slumber finally, just as the clock beside her bed struck ten in the morning. The girl yawned and stretched, thinking that this day was just another average summer morning. Lily stood up and dressed into some comfortable clothes, brushed her hair, brushed her teeth in the bathroom, and slowly stumbled down the stairs.
"Morning, mum," Lily greeted sleepily, sliding into a chair at the four seated, oak table.
Laura Evans was standing contentedly a few feet away watering a very green and leafy plant. She turned to her youngest daughter with the watering can still in her hand.
"Good morning, Lily. Tamara came over earlier. She's expecting you soon. I suggest you have breakfast then head down to her place," Mrs Evans said, smiling warmly. "And you've got a letter in the living room."
Lily nodded groggily, snatching an apple from the fruit bowl, rising to her feet and making her way out of the kitchen.
The living room was where all the special meals were held. These included birthdays, Christmas, Easter and anything else that was remotely extraordinary. The floor in the room was covered with a soft, spongy pale green carpet. The walls were also green and the chandelier, when turned on, let off jade light instead of the plain yellow. The polished table glistened and shined with the emerald cushioned chairs. A single envelope lay alone on the table.
Lily picked it up, but nearly dropped it with shocked from what it felt like. It was made from parchment, strangely enough. The texture of the envelope was slightly rough and bumpy. It was a pallid yellow with elegant bottle green writing.
Miss L. Evans
Second Smallest Bedroom
67 Wingnut Close
Little Whinging
Surrey
Lily scrunched up her nose in thought. They knew where she slept? Shaking it off, she turned it over. The envelope was sealed with a little picture of a snake, lion, badger and eagle surrounding a letter 'H'. Lily ripped the envelope open and pulled out a wad of parchment, not unlike what the envelope was made from. The letter itself was also written in the stylish green writing.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIDARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
Lily stared, her nose all scrunched up. It was a habit she had kept all her life. What in the world was this letter going on about? Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What type of joke was that? Lily skimmed the books and equipment list. None of these things you could buy. Well, unless you bought one of the fake wands for young kids.
Lily was jolted from her muddled thoughts when a loud knock sounded from the front door. She dropped the letter on the table and swung the door open.
Lily's friend since grade two was standing in the doorway, a triumphant smile planted on her face. The girl was taller than Lily by barely an inch. She had ringlets the colour of dark chocolate dangling down past her shoulders. She had darker skin than Lily and dark, dark blue eyes.
"I was just heading over to your place," Lily admitted, letting Tamara through and leading her up the stairs.
"Well, I got here first," Tamara answered shortly, still wearing her mysterious smile as the two girls seated themselves on Lily's spongy bed.
"Why have you got that stupid grin on your face?" Lily asked irritably, curiosity getting the better of her.
"You got it," Tamara said briskly, grinning happily.
"Got what?" Lily inquired, very confused.
"The letter, silly! You got the letter!" Tamara squealed, bouncing on the bed, causing quite a racket.
"Will you keep it down! I'm on the phone!" came an infuriated voice from outside Lily's room.
It was Petunia. Lily wrinkled her nose.
"Sorry, Petunia," she grimaced. "Now, 'Mara, what's this letter you're so excited about?"
Tamara's smile lingered for a second, her face falling.
"You mean you haven't got it?" Tamara said in a whisper. "But Father said it was sent. But then the Ministry aren't always that reliable. The charms might have gone wrong! I got mine though… Ugh!"
Lily stared at her babbling friend. Perhaps the parchment letter was it?
"I did get a letter, Tamara," she confessed as Tamara's head shot up, her smile returning.
"Really? Where?" she said breathlessly, jumping to her feet and clapping her hands.
"Um… Downstairs. I don't know what's so special about it though," Lily said, puzzled as she ran down the stairs to catch up to Tamara.
Lily trailed after Tamara into the dining room, gesturing to the yellow paper on the table. Tamara snatched it up, whooping.
"This is it, Lily! This is the letter!" she shrieked, throwing the letter to the floor and hugging Lily tightly.
Lily embraced Tamara back, but with baffled thoughts zooming round her head.
"Tamara, what's going on? It's just some trick," she said.
"It's not a joke, Lily," Tamara began explaining, finally calming down. "You're going to Hogwarts! I'm going to Hogwarts! We're going to Hogwarts!"
Tamara let out another excited yell and danced round the table, Lily watching her.
"Hogwarts? Is it real?" Lily said.
"Of course it's real, Lily! Father and Mother went there! And so does Nathaniel!" Tamara explained, sighing happily. "And now it's out turn!"
"I thought Nathaniel went to a boarding school in England?"
"Well, I couldn't really say that he went to Hogwarts, now could I? But when Father told me you were a witch, I came over he straight away! Mother says that we'll take you to Diagon Alley to get our school stuff in a few weeks. And she'll be coming to talk to your mum as well to explain about you being a witch," Tamara blurted, her grin never fading.
Lily was thoroughly bewildered now. Diagon Alley? Witches? Hogwarts? But her thoughts were interrupted by a loud rap at the door.
"That'll be Mother for sure," Tamara predicted confidently, following Lily to the front door.
Lily opened it and there stood a beaming Renata Scott. She had the same hair as Tamara, but her eyes were a periwinkle blue instead.
"Good morning, Lily," Renata greeted warmly. "I suppose Tamara spilt the news."
"Good morning, Ms Scott. She certainly did," Lily replied, returning the smile, but more uncertainly. "I'm afraid I don't fully understand though."
"That's quite all right. Oh, hello, Tamara," Renata added, noticing her energetic daughter in the background. "Lily, is your mother home? I've come to settle some matters."
"Yes. Come in."
Lily led Tamara and Renata into the kitchen where her mother was jiggling a teabag in a steaming mug.
"Renata! What a pleasure! Please have a seat," Mrs Evans welcomed her guest. "Would you like a cup of tea? Coffee?"
"Nice strong cup of black coffee, if you don't mind," Renata said, seating herself at the table.
Tamara and Lily more noisily sat down side by side. Mrs Evans poured the boiling water into the cup and cautiously brought it over to the table and placed it before Renata.
"Now, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Ah, yes," Renata said softly, sipping her coffee. "I do believe young Lily received a letter today."
"I have it!" Tamara chirped, throwing the envelope and its contents on the table.
Mrs Evans carefully picked it up, studying the letter intently. After a few minutes, she dropped it back on the table wearing a perplexed expression, not unlike Lily's.
"That is a most peculiar letter," she said lightly, taking a gulp of her tea.
"Yes, it would be to you," Renata agreed. "But to other people, Tamara and myself for example, it is completely normal."
Mrs Evans looked up from her tea and looked at Renata inquisitively.
"What do you mean?"
"Please don't be shocked, but I am a witch," Renata informed warmly. "Lily and Tamara also witches, and Hogwarts allows them to be trained up properly. It is a marvellous school and I do hope that you allow your daughter to attend."
Mrs Evans gaped wordlessly. Lily fiddled impatiently with her thumbs, waiting for someone to do something.
"How can that be true?" Mrs Evans whispered with wide eyes.
"Let me show you," Renata offered, putting her hands into her blouse and pulling out a long, thin stick of wood. "Hmm… Something simple will do."
Lily watched in awe as Renata swished the stick around and muttered something inaudible. Instantly, Renata's hair turned a bright, vivid pink. Tamara grinned at her mother and Mrs Evans gawked speechlessly.
"If you allow Lily to attend Hogwarts, she'll be trained up to do things like that. You should be extremely proud. It is quite rare that a magical child was born into a Muggle family," Renata said, waving her stick again to make her hair the normal colour.
"What's a Muggle?" Lily spoke up, curious, her numbed senses going back to normal.
"Oops. Sorry, dear," Renata apologised.
Before Renata could answer, Tamara butted in.
"A Muggle is a person that is non-magical," she said cleverly.
Lily and Mrs Evans nodded in understanding.
"So, about this Hogwarts place," Mrs Evans said. "How would Lily be able get all the equipment? I'm quite sure that I've seen none of these things."
"Diagon Alley is the place," Renata answered. "I would kindly take Lily to Diagon Alley if you allow it."
"Well, it's worth a try," Mrs Evans said reluctantly, not really believing that witches and wizards existed. "But I would like to come along though."
"Of course. How about the fifteenth of August? I'll come by and drive you there," Renata said, sipping her coffee.
"That would be wonderful. Mark can look after Petunia as he has the day off," Mrs Evans granted, plucking a purplish cherry from the fruit bowl.
"Great. Now I really must be going. I've got a chocolate pudding in the oven," Renata said, gulping down the last of her black coffee and rising to her feet. "Lily is welcome to visit if she wants."
"Yes please!" Lily piped, jumping at the chance of visiting a real magical home. "Can I please go, mum?"
"Yes, Lily. But be home by five," Mrs Evans said, taking the two coffee mugs and placing them in the sink.
"Thanks!" Lily said happily, following Tamara and Renata out the kitchen and through the front door.
"I can't believe that you're going to school with me!" Tamara cried merrily, skipping beside Lily.
"I know. I'm a witch!" Lily exclaimed incredulously.
"Isn't that great? I thought we'd never see each other again until Father said that a letter was sent of to you!"
The Scott house was just up the road from the Evans place. The Scotts' house was a two-storey home that looked extremely normal to Lily. There was a pebble path worming through the sweet-smelling garden of brilliantly coloured flowers right up to the front door. Renata opened the door and Tamara and Lily walked through.
Tamara ran through the house and began climbing the stairs with Lily in tow. But before they could reach Tamara's room, a tall boy blocked the way. He had dark hair and it fell over his green-blue eyes. He was wearing pale jeans and was purposely annoying his little sister.
"Nathaneil!"
Tamara shouted, pushing her brother in the stomach.Nathaneil's cheeky grin grew wider.
"Why should I? I hear you're a witch, Lily?" he added to Lily.
Lily nodded weakly, smiling.
"I'll move if you tell me when we're going to Diagon Alley," Nathaniel said, crossing his arms.
"Fine. We're going on August fifteenth," Tamara responded.
Nathaniel waved, turned around and walked into his own room.
"Nathaniel is so annoying," Tamara complained, opening the door to her own bedroom.
"So is Petunia. Do you have any magic stuff yet?" Lily inquired, interested. "Your house looks so normal."
"I could show you my comics," Tamara suggested eagerly, beginning to bury through her desk drawers.
Tamara handed Lily a book. She stared in astonishment at the front cover. The pictures were moving! The title, 'FELIA FISHHOOK THE FORGETFUL SORCERESS', was flashing orange and silver. There was a disorientated looking lady on the front. She was scratching her mop of violet hair. Other things, such as Muggle cars, people and other things were zooming around in the background.
"Wow," Lily breathed, turning the page.
"It'll be great at Hogwarts. Nathaniel said so too. He's in fourth year now," Tamara babbled.
"Where is Hogwarts?" Lily questioned absent-mindedly, flicking through the strange comic.
"Um… I don't know," Tamara said, furrowing her eyebrow. "No one knows I think."
The day sped by, and in no time at all, Lily was strolling back to her place.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Honey, time to rise and shine."
Lily moaned drowsily and rolled over, hoping that the voice would go away. It didn't.
"Lily, its half past nine. Renata is coming by in half an hour to take us to that Diagon Alley place."
This sparked Lily's attention. She opened her eyes and threw the soft covers off her body. Her mother was standing above her, looking down.
"I thought that would get you up," Mrs Evans said, a hint of amusement in her tone as she opened the door to leave. "But I advise you to hurry. The time it takes you to dress, you'll be ready by lunchtime if you're feeling quick."
Lily aimed a pillow at her mother, but missed by a mile. Mrs Evans laughed and left the room.
Mrs Evans was of course exaggerating greatly when she commented on Lily's dressing speed. Lily was downstairs, dressed and cleansed, in a mere fifteen minutes, with another fifteen minutes to treat herself to a hurried breakfast.
At last there came a knock at the door. Mrs Evans scuttled off to answer it and Lily quickly swallowed her last bite of blueberry jam toast, brushing away the many crumbs at the same time.
"Lily! Diagon Alley! Wow! I can't wait! Can you?"
Lily didn't even have time to blink before she was practically squashed by Tamara, who had hugged her tight as, dancing around the room. Renata's laugh sounded in their ears and Tamara and Lily broke apart. Or rather Tamara freed Lily from her embrace.
"Well, children," Renata said kindly. "I do advise we leave quite soon. The rush will be starting round eleven."
"How do we get there?" Mrs Evans inquired, swinging a bag over her shoulder as Renata led them to the door.
Lily snatched up her own backpack and placed a green hat on her hair as Tamara threw her own bag over her shoulder.
"We'll just use Cameron's car," Renata said.
"Won't it take a while to get to London?" Mrs Evans puffed, walking quickly to keep up with Renata's long strides.
Renata chortled.
"Of course not! You could say that Cameron upgraded the car with a few simple charms. I assure you that we'll arrive in good time."
The car was small and silver. Lily doubted that they'd be comfortable. But she was indeed wrong in judging a book by its cover. The car was actually quite spacious inside. At least five adult-sized people could sit comfortably on the backseat, if not more.
Tamara climbed in with Lily in tow. The seats were bright red and extremely soft. Once they were all packed in the car, the engine roared to life. The car backed out of the driveway and began speeding along the road at an alarming speed. Renata and Tamara were at ease with the absurd velocity, but Lily and Mrs Evans were extremely startled.
"Aren't we going a tad fast?" Lily said emphatically, gripping the cushioned seat as they hurtled past a traffic jam.
"Oh, it might be to you. But to me, we're actually going quite slow," Tamara said nonchalantly.
It only took a mere twenty minutes to reach London. Renata screeched the car to a halt in front of a bookshop and announced their arrival. Lily and Mrs Evans stepped out of the car a little dizzily. Lily's mother was clutching her stomach and looking very sick.
"Don't worry, Laura," Renata told her jovially. "Wait til we get to the Leaky Cauldron. I'll shout for a round of drinks. That'll settle your delicate stomach down."
Mrs Evans straightened up a bit after being called delicate, but there was still a green tinge to her face.
Renata with her click-clacking high heels led them down the street a little, then coming to a stop.
"Here's the place!" she declared, grinning.
Lily looked up. In the tiny space between a bookshop and a record store, there was a small, shabby pub. It was hardly noticeable.
"I don't see it," Mrs Evans remarked, looking at Renata questioningly.
Renata didn't look at all taken aback.
"Use your mind, Laura. See, that's the problem with Muggles. They keep their mind locked away behind bars," she said, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Mrs Evans squinted at the space, and then her eyes were wide with surprise.
"I see it!"
"Wonderful," Renata praised. "But we can't stand here all day admiring the fact that you can see it. We must go in!"
Tamara, Lily and Mrs Evans followed Renata up to the pub and into aswell. Inside, it was dim and dark. The wooden tables were only half full with odd strangers sipping their drinks and nibbling their meals.
"Renata! Anything I can do for you?"
The person who spoke was the man wiping down the bar. He had only a few strands of hair and only five visible teeth when he grinned at the four girls standing in the doorway.
"Four of your special creation please, Tom!" Renata answered, seating herself on a stool at the bar.
Lily, Tamara and Mrs Evans followed suit and waited for their drinks as Tom vanished through a door. After a few minutes, Tom reappeared, carrying a four tall glasses with curly straws on a tray.
"Here we go. That'll be five Sickles and two Knuts," he said.
Renata handed him some silver and bronze coins that Lily didn't recognize.
"Drink up, children," Renata instructed, taking a sip of her drink. "You'll need the energy in this before we go to Diagon Alley."
Lily peered into her cup. It was filled with a suspicious vibrant blue liquid.
"It's really nice," Tamara reassured eagerly.
She had already drained three quarters of her glass. Lily, feeling a little daring that day, began sucking the liquid through her pink swirly straw. Tamara was quite right in saying that it tasted nice. There was no word or sentence to describe it. The drink was sweet, but not too sweet. It sent chills and thrills running through her veins, causing goosebumps to sprout about. There were flavours of peppermint, sugar, cream, honey and a load of other things mixed up together. It was heaven. And it was all gone.
"Marvellous," Renata said when Lily looked up from her empty glass. "We must be off now. The crowds will be forming right about now."
They all stood up and followed her through the back door. Outside, there was only a small yard surrounded by a tall brick wall, almost blocking out the city sounds, but not completely. Renata took out her wand and began tapping bricks just above the rubbish bin.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked curiously.
Before anyone could say a word, a huge archway appeared before them, revealing a semi-busy cobblestone street. It was a spectacular sight. Stores of every kind lined the street. People dressed in pointed hats and long, billowing robes filled the place, entering and exiting the shops calmly.
"Wow!" Lily murmured, staring with saucer-sized eyes and a mouth that touched to the ground at the view.
Tamara giggled beside her.
"Come on, Lily. There's no time to stand around gawking!"
Lily's mouth snapped shut and her focus travelled to Tamara.
"What?"
"I thought you were intelligent, Miss Lily Evans!" Tamara commented loudly, laughing. "But I'll excuse you this once."
"Oh, right. Where do we go first?" Lily said.
"Gringotts, I recommend," Renata suggested. "You'll be able to make an account, Lily!"
"What's Gringotts?" Lily asked while trying to look at everything around her at once.
"An international wizards bank," Renata responded, leading them through the crowds.
"It's run by goblins, Lily!" Tamara said elatedly. "I've seen them!"
"What!?" Lily and Mrs Evans said in unison.
"Goblins," Tamara said straightforwardly. "You know? The little green things with long fingers, big feet and nasty looks?"
"I thought that they didn't exist!" Lily exclaimed.
"Lily, you thought magic didn't exist," Tamara said truthfully, grinning.
Lily silently agreed.
"Gringotts!" Renata stated.
An enormous gleaming white building towered above the whole street. They climbed the giant marble staircase up to the front doors. And much to Lily's shock and delight, two green goblins were standing haughtily outside the doors. They were about three-quarters of a head shorter than Lily with very green skin. Their hands, fingers, feet and toes were long and thin. Lily couldn't help but stare as they walked past the watching goblins.
Inside the building, hundreds more goblins could be seen darting about carrying and weighing rich treasures, leading people through tunnels and doors and doing other things you would not expect of little green beings.
"This is unbelievable!" Lily breathed as Renata began talking to a goblin that was standing behind a counter.
"A Miss Lily Evans would like to open an vault," she said professionally.
The goblin eyed Renata and nodded.
"Does this Miss Lily Evans have any other names?"
"Oh yes," Mrs Evans spoke up timidly. "Her name is Lily Marie Evans."
The goblin put his head down and began scribbling something with a quill. He then looked up and handed a silver key to Lily. How he knew she was the Miss Lily Marie Evans, she didn't know.
"You must have this key to open your vault, Miss Evans. Lose it, your riches will be lost forever. Your vault number is 799." The goblin turned his gaze to Renata. "Is there anything else you wish to do?"
"Yes. I would like to enter Vault 594. And could we please exchange some Muggle money?"
Ten minutes later, Lily had a bag full of gold, silver and bronze coins and another goblin was leading them through a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there was a train with several carriages lined up after.
Renata, Mrs Evans, Lily and Tamara all climbed in a carriage each and waited for the ride to come. It was as fast as lightening. Lily's hair flew like a banner behind her, clouding her mother's view. She gripped the sides of the cart so tightly, her knuckles went white as snow. The cold, underground air whipped past Lily as the train plunged round corners, past stalactites and stalagmites and sped up and down hills.
"I think I feel ill again," Mrs Evans said faintly as they stepped from the cart after the ride
Mrs Evans lent up against a wall and stood there clutching her chest and breathing deeply. Renata looked upon her with pity.
"Not to worry," she assured merrily. "I've got some capsules in my bag that'll fix you up pronto."
Renata dug through her little brown leather handbag. Lily watched in great interest as Renata's arm went much deeper into the bag than it normally would have done. When she withdrew her hand, she was holding a purple box with the words 'Gramma Gemma's Cure For Tum-Tum Twirlies!' flashing different colours.
Mrs Evans hesitantly took a neon pink capsule and swallowed it, looking greener than ever. But all of a sudden, her skin returned to its normal peachy colour and her expression changed from sickness to surprise.
"I feel wonderful!" Mrs Evans declared, delighted with results.
"Yes. The capsules are very fast at clearing up sickness," Renata agreed.
"Your vault, Mrs Scott," the goblin said silkily, stepping aside a great gape in the stone wall.
"Thank you. I'll just be a minute," Renata said.
Inside the vault there were towers and columns of gold, silver and bronze coins. Renata was taking out handfuls and putting them in a denim bag of hers.
"All done," she said at last.
The goblin closed her vault and handed her back a tiny key. The ride back was just as speedy as the first. And soon enough they were standing out in the baking sun looking admiringly at Diagon Alley.
"What first?" Lily asked, studying everything she possibly could as they walked along the cobblestone road.
"Books I think," Renata brought forward, pointing to a shop in the distance.
They advanced towards it, worming their way through the busy crowd. Flourish and Blotts was the store's name. They entered to find aisles and aisles laden with all sorts of books. Lily gazed in awe as she spotted a young lady flick through a book about love spells.
"This is so cool," Tamara squeaked, gripping Lily's arm and dragging her away.
"Do you reckon we could manage these spells anytime soon?" Lily said, indicating the book she was reading.
"1000 Junior Curses," Tamara read. "Probably not. Maybe in a year or so though."
After about five minutes of browsing, Lily and Tamara got bored and went to find their mothers. They found them reading off parchment and piling books into little wicker baskets.
"Mother, we're going to go get our robes then to Fortescue's," Tamara proposed.
"Okay. Here's some money," Renata offered, handing her daughter a small leather pouch. "We'll meet you at Fortescue's. So don't wander far."
Lily followed Tamara out of the bookshop and out into the hectic street. People were bustling in all directions carrying bags, holding children's hands and entering and exiting stores and shops.
"What's Fortescue's?" Lily said, trying to keep up with Tamara's fast strides.
"This really cool ice-cream place. But we've got to go get our robes first though. Hopefully that won't take long." Tamara shot a cheeky grin at Lily. "I'm craving a chocolate and mango swirl with pineapple pieces! Yum!"
Lily wrinkled up her nose in disgust.
"We're here! And look! It's empty!" Tamara said breathlessly, skipping energetically into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Once inside with the glass dor shut, the sounds from the street were totally diminished. Lily rightfully suspected that magic was involved.
"Good morning, children."
A kindly looking woman appeared in front of the two girls.
"Hogwarts robes?" she said, conjuring a tape measure out of this air.
"Uh huh," Tamara piped.
"Well, just stand up here and it'll be done in no time at all!"
Tamara and Lily each stood on a stool each. A piece of soft black velvet was draped over Lily and the fitting began.
"Where would we sleep at Hogwarts?" Lily said, itching her nose.
"There's four houses," Tamara said knowledgably, looking extremely proud. "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."
"Okay. So which house would we sleep in?"
Lily shifted slightly, trying to ignore the material tickling her leg.
"Um… We get Sorted into a house. I don't know how. Oh, and, Lily? You don't want to get Sorted into Slytherin. Nathaniel says they're a bunch of evil gits. Hufflepuffs are supposed to be softies and Ravenclaw are the smart people. Gryffindor are the brave people. It sounds like the best."
"All done," the woman said, handing them each a package. "That'll be two Galleons each."
"Tamara?" Lily whispered, elbowing the girl.
"What?" Tamara said, looking up from her pouch.
"What are Galleons?"
Tamara's eyes widened in understanding.
"I totally forgot you didn't know!" she exclaimed.
"Tamara!" Lily said, becoming impatient. "Just tell me. That lady is staring at me!"
"Sorry. The gold coins are Galleons. The silver are Sickles and the bronze are Knuts."
"Thanks."
Fifteen minutes later, Tamara and Lily were standing at the counter of Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, deciding what to get. Well, Tamara had already chosen a chocolate and mango swirl with pineapple pieces, leaving Lily to choose what she wanted.
"Um… How about a blueberry and peppermint sundae?" Lily said nervously, fiddling with her fingers.
:"Sorry, Miss. Sundaes are only available on Sunday. May I suggest a blueberry and peppermint Thursday?" said the young man behind the counter.
"Alright," Lily agreed, wondering what the difference was going to be.
It turned out that there was no difference at all between a blueberry and peppermint sundae and a blueberry and peppermint Thursday. Except perhaps that they had a different name for each day of the week. Tamara and Lily sat under the shade of a lime green umbrella, slurping their icy ice-creams.
"This is heaven," Tamara sighed, swallowing a pineapple piece coated in chocolate ice-cream and mango sauce.
"Uh huh. This is the best ice-cream ever," Lily complimented.
There was silence for a few minutes, but was broken by their mothers'.
"I see that you have stayed put," Renata stated. "I hope that you've just about finished. We've got to go get your wands."
Tamara and Lily bolted up, their ice-creams forgotten.
"We're finished," Lily said hurriedly, wiping away spilt ice-cream with a pale blue napkin.
Mrs Evans laughed.
"Well, come along then."
The wand shop wasn't as impressive as Lily thought it would be. The inside was dusty and small. There were towers of boxes, no doubt containing wands.
"Mrs Scott!" a misty voice began.
Lily flinched. Where was the speaker?
A frail form came out of the shadows and gazed upon the customers. He had silver eyes and was very short and old.
"Mr Ollivander!" Renata greeted. "How nice to see you again. It's been two years?"
"Four actually," Mr Ollivander corrected absently, studying Lily with great intensity.
"We're after two wands," Renata said, getting down to business. "Lily and Tamara are starting Hogwarts in September."
"Delightful," Mr Ollivander answered vaguely, ducking down behind some boxes and returning with two tape measures. "If Miss Scott and Miss Evans please stand still. I'll be needing some measurements."
Lily wanted to ask how he knew her name, but kept her mouth shut and stood still. The two tape measures leapt from Mr Ollivander's hand and began flying around, measuring the two girls as the man disappeared behind some more boxes.
Lily gawked, cross-eyed at the tape measure that was calculating the length of her nose.
"That'll be enough," Mr Ollivander ordered, appearing once again clutching two thin boxes.
The tape measures instantly dropped to the floor, lifeless.
"Down to business. Ebony and phoenix feather, thirteen inches, for you Miss Scott. Very sturdy indeed," Mr Ollivander said, handing a wand to Tamara. "Miss Evans, try this. Maple with a unicorn hair. Eleven and a quarter inches. Bit thicker than usual, but extremely well against the Dark Arts."
Lily held the wand in her sweaty hands, just to have it snatched away and replaced by another. The same happened to Tamara.
"Yew and a dragon heartstring. Ten and a half inches. Swishy and flexible," Mr Ollivander said placing a wand in Tamara's hand. "Oak with phoenix feather. Nine inches."
Lily barely held the wand for one second when once again it was taken away. This happened over and over again for about five minutes.
"Miss Scott, Beechwood with dragon heartstring. Fourteen inches and very good with harmless curses. Miss Evans, Willow with unicorn hair. Ten and a quarter inches. Swishy and excellent for charm work."
Lily felt a tingling warmth that spread from her fingers all the way through her arm. She waved it through the dusty air, spraying red and green sparks.
"Wow!" Lily mumbled, staring at the sparks as the fell to the floor and vanished.
"Fabulous! I'll just place that in a box for you and we'll continue with Miss Scott, who seems to be extremely fussy!" Mr Ollivander said happily, taking the wand from Lily and carefully placing it in a blue box and tying it up with string.
Ten minutes later, they left the shop, grinning away. Tamara had gotten a twelve-inch wand made of kingwood containing a dragon heartstring.
The rest of the day was spent getting other school supplies. They went to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch after the shopping trip. With full bellies, they had another speedy trip in the car back to Surrey. Renata dropped off Mrs Evans and Lily, then continued down the street to her own house.
"We're home!" Lily announced marching into the house, carrying her wand and robes.
Her mother had everything else in her new cauldron.
Mr Evans exited the kitchen and beamed at his wife and youngest daughter.
"How'd it go?"
"Wonderful," Mrs Evans replied breathlessly. "But I have to admit, I'm exhausted! A nap might be good to me."
Mrs Evans carried some of Lily's stuff up to her room and went to collapse on the couch. Lily pulled out her brand new wand and went down the hall to show it off at Petunia. Lily knocked loudly on her sister's door. It was swung open and her snarling sister stood in the doorway.
"What do you want?" Petunia commanded, folding her arms and scowling.
"I've got a wand!" Lily squealed blissfully, swishing it around so Petunia could see.
Petunia's scowl turned into a look of horror.
"Go away you freak!"
The door was slammed in Lily's face. She frowned and went to read her new books.
A/N: Whoa! The first chapter! Okay, I've got some disappointing news. I probably won't be updating this often. Well, I'll try, but I've got another story I'm trying to complete aswell. And school. Damn school and homework! It all sucks! So, I hope you enjoyed it.