Abigail Potter adored shopping in all of its shapes and forms; she loved the uniformed rows created by the shelves in Flourish & Blotts, adored the stacks and stacks of fabric on display in Madam Malkin's, and could spend all day in any apothecary, delighting in the tidiness and sharp organization of the potion's supplies. She seized any and every opportunity to shop with both hands, and loved taking her children along to show them off whenever she got the chance.
Her son, however, felt much the opposite about shopping. James Potter hated shopping with a great and fiery passion, at least when he had to go with his mother. It was not that he didn't love his mother - he did love his mother quite a bit, in fact – but her love of shopping and her attention to every detail tired him. Also, it was only three days before James's first day at Hogwarts, and today, the 27th of August, was the perfect day for swimming. Instead, he was spending the day in Diagon Alley with his mother, shopping for school supplies. He didn't see why he needed brand new things; James's older sister, Amelia, still had a perfectly good cauldron and books, and even though his older brother, Harry, was quite a bit taller than him, altering robes was no big deal. He could even borrow one of his families' eagle owls to use for post. The only thing James needed was a wand. His mother knew this, and had purposefully saved it for last.
"Now… James." Abby snapped her fingers absentmindedly to gain the attention of her hyperactive son. "James, this is a very important moment in your life. We're about to purchase your wand," Abby Potter explained, practically dragging her scrawny son toward the door of Ollivander's Wand Shop. "Now that you're going to be attending Hogwarts, you'll need one. It's extremely important that you take care of it. Your father and I only expect to have to buy you one, you hear? One wand is supposed to last a wizard a lifetime. Harry and Amelia have had no problem with that, and we expect that you won't either. You wouldn't want to disappoint us, would you?"
James shook his head, looking up at his mother admiringly. Abby smiled at her son, satisfied that she had gotten the point across. Her smile pleased James immensely, but it was only momentary happiness. It was time to focus his full concentration on the task ahead. All of his life, he had been struggling to keep from disappointing his parents. He wanted desperately to please them, especially his father, Ben Potter, who was his ultimate hero. James understood that the only way to do this was by careful concentration and steely discipline when around his parent's. There was a time for mischief, and James knew instinctively that wasn't the time one spent with one's parents.
Just as his mother opened the door to Ollivander's, a hanging pot of red geraniums crashed to the ground at their feet. There was a strained sort of yelp and, when James looked up from the mix of soil and broken clay on the threshold of the shop, he saw a tall, blonde woman wearing decidedly Muggle clothing. Standing near the blonde woman, holding a wand loosely by the fingers of her right hand, was a young girl with bright red hair.
"Oh no! Sir, I'm so sorry," the redhead girl exclaimed, looking almost as mortified as the tall, blonde woman. "I'll help you clean it up...I promise!"
Ollivander merely chuckled before moving again toward the shelves lined neatly with perfectly labeled boxes. "Not to worry, my dear. We'll attend to it after we find your wand."
"Abigail," Dumbledore, who was sitting atop a small stool in a corner, said, his usually cheerful face becoming – if possible – even more cheerful. "How good to see you." He nodded toward James, his blue eyes sparkling. "Ah, James, I do hope you've had a lovely holiday. Care for a lemon drop?"
James took the offered candy. Albus Dumbledore was no stranger to him. In fact, Albus Dumbledore was a frequent dinner guest of his parents. James also owned approximately one hundred and fifty six chocolate frog cards that featured the famous wizard.
"What brings you to Diagon Alley, Albus?" Abigail inquired, her eyes darting with pointing interest from the Muggle woman and the redhead girl, who was obviously the Muggle woman's daughter.
"Just introducing some new faces to the Alley," Dumbledore explained. "This is Violet Evans, and her daughter, Lillian."
Abigail crossed the room, avoiding the spilt geraniums and potting soil with a learned sort of grace, approaching the blonde woman with a smile on her face. She extended her hand. "I'm, of course, Abigail Potter, as Dumbledore already said," Abigail said. "And this is my son, James. Viola! What a lovely name. I had a cousin named Viola…she was eaten by a rather large snake about five years ago. Quite a nasty business, that…"
"V-Violet. My name's Violet," the Muggle woman ventured. Though she shot a nervous glance at her daughter, Violet managed to shake Abigail's hand.
"Violet, then," Abby said. "Your daughter is going to be a first year?"
"Yes," Violet said. "She's set on going to the school…"
"My James's is a new Hogwarts student as well," Abby said. "He's my last at Hogwarts, my husband and I are very excited…"
"My husband and I aren't so sure. Lily was already enrolled at a fine school that her sister has attended for two years now," Violet said. "We want her to have the best possible education."
"Oh! Hogwarts is a very good school! It's the finest magical school the world…"
James was barely listening at this point. He was busy studying the redheaded girl with interest. This troubled him a little, but not enough to cause him to shift his eyes away. He had always gotten along with Beatrice Rockwood, and had even caught fireflies once with Caroline Casteel, but he had never taken the time to look at Beatrice or Caroline the way he was looking at this redhead, Lillian or whoever. She was tall for a girl, especially one of eleven. Her hair fell simply to her shoulders, without ornament or curl, but the wonder of it was that it was a bright, triumphant red. Her clothing was unabashedly, Muggle; her skirt and jumper were definitely not the sort of thing you saw in Wizarding London. Despite looking monstrously out of place, there was no way around it; she was obviously special and James liked her already. In fact, he found himself hoping against hope that she would end up in Gryffindor, just as he knew he was destined to do.
"Let's try this one," Ollivander said. "Nine and a half inches long, oak, dragon's heartstrings."
Lily took the wand and warily tapped it on the counter next to her. Several books that had been resting on the counter before now flew violently through the air. Violet Evans shrieked and made a run for the door. Dumbledore, however, intercepted her before she could leave.
"That's all right, Miss. Evans," Dumbledore said.
Ollivander pulled his own wand seemingly out of nowhere and shouted, "Imobilus!" The books dropped immediately to the floor with a loud thud.
"I don't think this is working out, sir," Lily said, shaking her head.
"Why, this is what it's all about! The wand chooses the witch, Lily," Ollivander said, momentarily disappearing behind the shelves. "Ten and a quarter inches long, made of willow, unicorn tail hair," Ollivander said, presenting the next wand to Lily, who looked a bit doubtful. "Come along, now. Don't be afraid of it. It won't bite."
Lily took the wand from Ollivander. She shot a glance at Violet, who nodded despite the fact she was obviously uncomfortable. Lily sighed and, after squinching her eyes closed, flicked the wand. A bright strand of rose and gold sparks emitted from the end of the wand, lighting up the entire shop and all six inhabitants momentarily.
"Looks like that's the one, then," Ollivander said. "Quite swishy. Perfect for a young witch with a talent for Charms work."
Dumbledore helped Violet and Lily choose the proper number of Wizarding coins – converted earlier in the day from Muggle money into the needed Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts at Gringotts – to purchase the wand.
"Hopefully, you two will be seeing more of each other at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, looking from James to Lily. "James here already knows quite a few of your classmates. Perhaps he can introduce you?
"Yes," Lily said, "I'd like that. I don't really know anyone."
"I'll introduce you to everyone!" James exclaimed, already excited by even the slightest promise of seeing more of her. This was a new and strange feeling for James, but somehow, he liked it.
"Right, then," Lily smiled, backing away from him. "I'll find you on the train, all right?"
He watched her and her mother go, led out the door of Ollivander's by Dumbledore, with bags of school supplies in tow. He didn't know it at the time, but it would be the first of one of the many times that James Potter watched Lily Evans walk out of his life.