Lily Evans and the Philosopher's Stone

by MsRavenclawgirl

Time-travel fic! Next Generation. Lily's best friend, who is also named Lily, goes back to Harry's first year to help him keep the Philosopher's Stone from Quirrell. Should hopefully be funny and interesting.

2. A Friend in Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2: A Friend in Diagon Alley

I woke up early the next morning, to be extra early for our appointment with Professor Dumbledore, buy I was still the last person out of bed. I hurried through my morning routine, so I would have time to read the letter Professor Dumbledore had handed me. When I was ready to go, I pulled it out of my pocked and opened the heavy parchment envelope. There were two pieces of the same heavy parchment inside. I chose the smaller one first. Written in the same emerald ink was:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Percival Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Maggie Cantamen

Maggie Cantamen,

Deputy Headmistress

I unfolded the other piece of paper. It was the mentioned list of supplies. It read:

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda

Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt

Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin

Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

I didn't understand any of the things on the list. I hoped Professor Dumbledore would help clarify things.

At nine o'clock, everybody was ready to go, so Dad called all of us into the sitting room for some important information. We all sat down and waited for him to begin speaking; none of us had any idea why he wanted to talk to us.

It was hard for him to decide how to start, and his voice was slow and fumbling. "I must confess that I have had a secret for the past twenty years. I do not believe it would have been possible to explain to any of you, but I am sorry for it all the same." His face showed the truth of his words. Pain was etched across his face as he thought of how he had betrayed our trust. "This world of magic to which we were introduced yesterday is not completely new to me. My sister was a muggle-born and attended Hogwarts. Even though I never met her, when I met my parents, they told me everything. I couldn't tell you because no one is supposed to know about the magical world and because I thought you would think I was crazy." We spent the next forty-five minutes questioning him about his sister and comforting him because he felt so bad about not telling us sooner.

Just as the clock was chiming 10:00, as had been agreed, Professor Dumbledore knocked on the door and half an hour later, the five of us were standing on Charing Cross Road, in London. Living so close to London, it was a street we visited often; we were all confused as to where this Diagon Alley could be, for we had never seen it. I looked at Professor Dumbledore, and saw that he was looking at the dingy, dirty bar just in front of us.

"You mean we have to go in there?" I asked him.

Before he could answer, my mum asked, "In where? The bookshop? The record shop? Neither of them sells anything you'd need at Hogwarts."

Distracted for a moment, I responded, "No. The bar between the bookshop and the record shop."

Mum was bewildered. She could not see any bar on the street, let alone right in front of her between two buildings which were very obviously side by side. I had always been able to see it, but had never mentioned it because I had always thought my family could see it as well. Professor Dumbledore intervened. "Yes Lily, we have to go into the Leaky Cauldron. You and I are the only ones here who can see it; it is shielded from muggle eyes." Now everyone was confused, and it took a minute for us to recover ourselves by reminding ourselves that this was a world of magic we were dealing with, and everything may not be as it appeared.

Professor Dumbledore walked into the pub, and we followed. The ghost of a hunchbacked, bald, and toothless old man behind the counter tried to get us to stop for drinks, but Professor Dumbledore smiled at him, shook his head, and said, "Not today Tom." We passed through the back door into a small, walled courtyard with nothing but a rubbish bin in it. Pulling out a wand, Professor Dumbledore tapped a brick in the wall three times.

"You'll have to remember this brick to come back to Diagon Alley," he said, looking down at me. "Three up, two across from the top of the rubbish bin, and three taps." I didn't see how I could remember that, but I tried to commit it to memory. As I was concentrating, I missed the hole that appeared in the brick wall and became a large archway. Professor Dumbledore drew my attention to it as he said, "Welcome to Diagon Alley." He led us down the cobblestoned street lined with shops. At the end of the street was a large, snowy white, marble building, which Professor Dumbledore said was Gringotts, the wizard bank. We reached the large bronze doors, where we saw our first goblin. We passed him in silence, following Professor Dumbledore's example, and walked through the bronze doors, now facing a pair of silver doors. I noticed that the silver doors had words engraved upon them and stopped to read them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

There were more goblins at the silver doors; we passed these in silence as well. Now we were in a vast marble hall. There must have been a hundred goblins behind the long counters, and many more goblins showing people in and out of the countless doors out of the hall. Professor Dumbledore approached one of the goblins behind the counter.

"We need a currency exchange from British pounds." I didn't understand what he meant, but it was apparent that the goblin did.

"Who will be providing the money for the exchange?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Evans. They are muggles, so I shall be helping." Professor Dumbledore brought Mum and Dad forward as he talked.

While Petunia stood petrified next to mum's side, I let my attention wander around the hall. I watched the goblins working behind the counters, and the people going to and fro. One family caught my eye. The family was made up of a young married couple, and their three children. The man was of average height and slender build. He had untidy black hair, and kept a fringe, which I thought odd. As I watched him, his hair moved a little bit and I could see a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his forehead. That explained the fringe. He also wore round glasses. I could discern nothing more, so I moved to his wife. She was also of average height, but was taller than her husband. Her hair was bright orange, and her face looked kind and happy. The father was talking to the middle child, a boy with untidy black hair like his father's. I estimated him to be about 13. It was not a parental talk; they were chatting. The mother was talking to the youngest child, a girl with red hair, but her hair was closer to the colour of my hair than her mother's. She looked to be about my age and it was clear that the mother was comforting her daughter. I supposed that she was excited and nervous about her first year at Hogwarts, just as I was myself. The eldest child, another boy with black hair, although his hair was neater than his brother's and father's, was walking alone behind his parents and younger siblings. He appeared to be around 15 and was sulking for having to be stuck with his parents. I let my attention wander away from the family for a few minutes as I continued watching the activity in the large hall. I was surprised, therefore, when I looked for them again, to find they were heading towards me.

Harry Potter, the father I had been watching, had been talking with Albus, when he spotted Professor Dumbledore. He pointed him out to Ginny, and they altered course to talk to him.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry said as they got nearer. "I hadn't expected to see you here."

"I'm here escorting a new student." Professor Dumbledore replied, pointing to me. Mum and Dad had just finished the money exchange, so Professor Dumbledore accompanied Harry outside to talk for a while. Ginny led my parents after them, which left us children alone together. I walked up to the girl, Petunia treading on my heels as she followed behind me. The two boys ignored me and my sister as James started teasing Albus.

"Hello." I said. "My name's Lily Evans and this is my sister, Petunia."

The other girl had been looking terrified, but after learning my name, she spoke up, although she still sounded shy. "That's odd… My name's Lily too. I was named for my grandmother…, and I heard her maiden name was Evans."

Although Evans was a common last name, this seemed too much to be a coincidence.

"Tuney and I were named for our aunts. My father had a younger sister named Lily, and an elder sister named Petunia."

"Well, that's odder... I know my grandma Lily had an elder sister named Petunia…, but I never heard of her having a brother."

"We can go ask my father if his sister is your grandmother." Lily agreed to this plan, and we started walking over to Mum and Dad, who were talking with Ginny. While we were walking, I asked, "Are you starting Hogwarts this year?"

"Yes… I'm going to be a first year. You too?"

"Yes. My parents are muggles, so Professor Dumbledore just came to my house yesterday to tell me about Hogwarts."

"My grandma Lily was muggle-born too." We were silent for a moment as I cast around for another topic, and thought of her "Grandma Lily."

"It sounds like you really like your grandmother. Do you see her often?"

"She died when my father was young… But he loves to talk about her." This matched what information I had about my aunt, so I asked a question to support our theory.

"She and her husband were murdered, leaving their one year-old son, Harry?"

"Yes… How did you know that?"

"My father said his sister and her husband were murdered, but their one year-old son survived." By this time, we had reached the adults. Lily had become shy again, and clung to her mother, so I did the talking.

"Daddy, we think that her grandmother was your sister." Dad looked dubious, and nothing I said could convince him that this random family we met in this strange place was so closely related to us. But Professor Dumbledore heard what was being said, and spoke up.

"Ah yes. This was brought up last night." Looking at Dad, and motioning to Harry, he said, "This, Mr. Evans, is Harry Potter, your sister's son." Looking now at me and Lily, he said, "You are both named for the same person: Lily Evans, who became Lily Potter."

The two of us just looked at each other with excitement and amazement; there were no words for that moment. After a few minutes more, everyone wrapped up their conversations, realizing it was time to continue their shopping. Lily and I did not want to part, so I ran up to my parents and begged that I be allowed to continue my shopping with the Potters. It took a long time to convince them, but after a long debate, a suitable plan was formed. As Petunia was tired and over-excited, it was decided that Professor Dumbledore would escort Mum, Dad, and Petunia home. I would stay and get my supplies with the Potters, and they would take me home when we were done.

The first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where we would buy our uniforms. As soon as we said they were for Hogwarts, the four of us were whisked off into a back room. We all stood on short stools as our robes were hemmed. About half an hour later, we left Madam Malkin's and stopped at a store to buy parchment and ink. Then we entered Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore to get our textbooks. As we were from three different grades, and needed three different sets of books, this took a little while. Next was the Apothecary, which Lily and I found disgusting. The two of us needed a basic set of potions ingredients, so we got our sets first and waited outside while Albus and James bought more advanced sets.

By this time, it was time for lunch, so we stopped back at the Leaky Cauldron. While we were eating, Ron and Hermione walked in with Hugo and Rose. They sat and waited for us to finish eating, so all of us could go around Diagon Alley together. I didn't know this new family that was talking to the Potters with such familiarity, and I tried to learn as much as I could about them from watching them. Ron was a bit lanky, and uncoordinated, but he was tall and well built. Hermione was much smaller, and had thick brown hair falling down her back. Her brown eyes gleamed with intelligence. Rose was Albus' age. She was thin, but not a stick and her red hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. Her clothes looked nice, but not as if she cared much about her appearance. Hugo was Lily's and my age. His light red hair was unkempt, and his clothes were disheveled. A mischievous light gleamed in his eyes, but I could also see kindness in his eyes too. He sat down next to Lily, and she introduced him to me. He was lost and awkward. He was used to spending time with Lily alone, or with Lily and their families, not Lily and another friend. I felt the same. I had just met Lily, and was still getting to know her. I didn't want a closer friend getting in the way of that. Lily saw this, and started a conversation so Hugo and I could get to know each other and become comfortable with each other.

After lunch was finished, Albus, James, and Rose were allowed to do as they wished. Ron and Hermione went off to buy their children's supplies to make up for the missed morning. Lily, Hugo, and I went with Harry and Ginny to buy our wands and a pet, and then to visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As we walked, we would stop in the various stores to buy our other supplies, such as our telescope. Our first stop was to Ollivanders. I noticed the sign on the door stating that Ollivanders had been making wands since 382 B.C. Before I could point it out, we were inside. Lily and Hugo had both been inside before with elder siblings, but it was my first time. It was a tiny, shabby place, and it was dead silent. There were thousands of narrow wand boxes piled all the way up to the ceiling. All of a sudden, a quiet voice made everyone in the shop jump.

"Ah… Mr. Potter. I remember so clearly when you stepped in here to buy your wand… And Mrs. Potter as well…"

Mr. Ollivander started by reminiscing upon selling a wand to Harry and Ginny. He passed over Ginny by stating what materials her wand was made of and what qualities it had. But he spent a long time remembering his first meeting with Harry. Lily whispered to Hugo and me,

"He does this every time Dad walks in here. I've already heard it twice. He repeated it each time Dad came in here for James' and Albus' wands."

After almost half an hour, Harry interrupted Mr. Ollivander's muttered soliloquy. "I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander, but we need to buy wands for these three children and we must be getting along to our other errands."

Mr. Ollivander looked as if he had just noticed Lily, Hugo and I. "Who shall go first?" he asked.

At this point, Ginny took over. "Lily Evans will go first. Then Hugo. Then our daughter." There were some protests over this decision, but Ginny reminded us all, "Guests first" and everything was settled.

The first couple wands Mr. Ollivander gave me felt like dead sticks of wood. The third wand, however, surprised me. A comfortable warmth spread up my arm and my wand glowed. This was nothing like the dead pieces of wood the first few wands had been. Mr. Ollivander seemed pleased. He muttered as he wrapped up my wand, and when he gave it to me, he said with pride in his voice,

"Mahogany and unicorn hair, 10 inches, swishy"

Then it was Hugo's turn. He tried about ten wands and got a wand made of oak and dragon heartstring, about 12 inches long. Lily had to try the most wands. As Mr. Ollivander pulled wands down from the shelves, he made several muttered references to the fact that she was a tricky customer like her father had been, and like her brothers had not. After trying about twenty wands, she left with a wand made of willow and phoenix feather, about 11 inches long. Mr. Ollivander bowed us out of his shop, and we were all glad to leave.

Our next stop was at the Eyelop's Owl Emporium to buy Lily and Hugo each an owl. Lily picked a small, female barn owl. Hugo picked a much larger male tawny owl. Lily named her owl Eglantine, from a book she had once read. Hugo named his owl Hermes, after the Greek god of messengers. I had decided while reading the list of required school supplies that I wanted a cat, instead of an owl, so we went to the Magical Menagerie. I picked a cat with fur so light grey that it was almost white. She was a shorthair, and was the softest cat I'd ever petted. She had started meowing at me to pet her as soon as I walked in the door. I named her Elyssa after my best friend from grade school.

After we had everything we needed for school, the five of us headed to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, George's joke shop. Unlike the other shops in Diagon Alley, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was exploding with colour and sound, and every inch of space was taken up by either merchandise or customers. Hugo bought some of almost everything in the shop, except from the muggle and witch sections. I bought a couple Self-Inking and Spell-Checking quills, and Lily bought a Reusable Hangman.

About an hour before dinner time, everyone finished their shopping. The Weasleys and the Potters parted ways as they left Diagon Alley. On their way back home, the Potters dropped me off at my house just in time for dinner. I had had a wonderful day, and I told my family all about it. Most of all, I was delighted to have two friends guaranteed for Hogwarts.

(A/N) Please, please, review. I need the feedback!

Next chapter: They're on their way to Hogwarts.