Chapter 3 - Osiris
No sooner had Sirius Black dismissed himself from the conversation he had been having with Severus Snape and headed towards the back alley behind The Leaky Cauldron, then Severus, still standing flabbergasted in the middle off the Inn, heard a familiar rush of wind and rustle of soot that could only mean that someone else was about to arrive in the fireplace by floo powder. Finally, it was his mother.
Severus was about to open his mouth to ask her what had taken her so long, but then quickly swallowed his words as he noticed the still wet traces of tears on her cheeks. It was obvious to him, that she and his father, Angusta, must have had another one of their rows. Most likely it had occurred just after he himself had thrown down his floo powder and started his journey. He was now cursing himself for letting her convince him to go first, not that he wanted to face the wrath of his father either, but he hated the way his mothers face looked after she had been crying.
Juniper must have noticed Severus staring at her, for she quickly brushed herself off, wiped her face, and straightened herself up to her usual sophisticated appearance as if nothing had happened. She grabbed Severus by the hand and they headed out the back door and into the alley. He stood staring at the non-distinct alley that consisted quite literally of nothing but three brick walls and some muggle garbage cans fashioned out of steel with lids half off and flies buzzing around them. Severus wondered for a minute how someplace so ordinary could possibly contain the entrance to the wondrous street he knew lay beyond, but then quickly remembered the charms and spells which guarded the entrance to his own family's home.
"Watch very carefully", Juniper said to him "Soon enough you'll be doing this on your own and I wouldn't want you to be stuck here in the alley forgetting how to get in!"
Severus was indignant at the insinuation; if he were smart enough to memorize every spell book in the family library surely he would be able to get into Diagon Alley. Soon enough Juniper tapped one of the bricks in the wall with her wand, and it moved aside. One by one the other bricks followed as if repelled by one another until an archway lay where the wall once was. Beyond the archway, hundreds of witches and wizards shuffled back and forth between shops with great wooden signs in varying scripts announced to the world their wares.
"First thing we will need to do," stated Juniper," Is to go to Gringotts bank. I apologize in advance, that I am not going to be able to get into my vault as your father would not give me the key before I left, so all I have for money is what I have in my possession. However the good news is that I have been squirreling away money without him knowing about it for years, so you would always have whatever you needed when you went to Hogwarts. May I present to you, your very own Gringotts bank key." And with that Juniper pulled a very small golden key out of her money purse.
Severus took it from her and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, admiring the way in which it glinted in the sunlight, a small number 856 was etched into one side. They both continued on towards the large white building off in the distance. As they got closer, Severus was repelled at first by what he saw, a loathsome little creature shorter than himself wearing a red and gold uniform and guarding a pair of large bronze doors. He had remembered reading about Gringotts Bank in the book "Wizarding England: Notable Places and Their Histories" and how the entire place was run solely by goblins, but it was quite a different matter to see one in person.
They entered first through the large bronze doors, then through a set of silver ones guarded by two more goblins, finally entering a great marble hall. They walked up to the first available counter, where a fourth goblin sat on a high stool surrounded by various banking scales and ledgers. Severus could see that in either direction and on either side of the hall lay at least a hundred more similarly equipped counters with varying wizards transacting business of their own with the goblins which sat behind.
"Key please..." The goblin spoke, as Severus realized his mother had already begun the process of explaining to the goblin that they were here to make a withdrawal. He timidly handed over the small golden key, still a little leery of the goblins. "All right then Young Master; I shall call someone to take you and your mother to your vault."
Soon another goblin came and led them off the main floor and through one of the side doors. This led to a much less fancy area, more like a mining shaft than what you would expect to see in a bank. A little cart pulled up to the rail in front of them and the goblin held open the door and ushered them inside. Severus braced himself, he was sure this was about to become almost as unpleasant as his floo powder experience, and he quickly found he was correct as the cart started moving on its own hurling itself up and down and twisting and turning much in a way that Severus had once read about a contraption called a "roller coaster" that muggles built for amusement. Finally the cart stopped, the goblin put the small key in the vault door and waited as it opened and some green smoke cleared away. Severus guessed that this was one of many protective measures to be found, if you tried to get into the vault without the key, the green gas most likely poisoned you or at the very least knocked you out until the authorities could retrieve you.
Inside was a decent, though not impressive pile of wizard money, consisting of bronze knuts, silver sickles, and gold galleons. There were also two or three large emeralds that looked suspiciously similar to the one that Juniper wore in her clasp. Severus now realized why there had never been any mention of an inheritance when his grandmother Wensley had passed away, it was because what little she had Juniper had split with her sister and hidden her portion away in this vault, most likely afraid that her husband would find it and waste it away on alcohol. He felt a little guilty, taking what little memory Juniper had left of her dear mother, but his mother's face assured him that it was all right. For her, the most joyous thing she could think of was to see her only child make a better life for himself.
"There should be enough here to get you through all seven years, as long as you don't spend it frivolously" she finally spoke " in case this should happen again". Severus hated to think his entire Hogwarts career would be spent full of more fights between his parents, and more desperate attempts to escape the house in order to buy supplies, but he had a sinking feeling that a day like today would become more the norm, when he was at home away from Hogwarts protective walls.
After he had grabbed what seemed like a sufficient amount to cover the items on his list, Severus and Juniper climbed back into the cart and began the dizzying ascent back up to the main hall. They headed back out the silver and bronze doors and back into the busy street of Diagon Alley. Juniper led him to the right past a joke shop named Gambol & Japes and towards a second hand robe shop. Severus blushed a little; his family was by no means poor even though they were no longer as well off as they could have been, if only his parents hadn't had that fight, he wouldn't have to be spending quite so frugally. They entered the shop and went over to the racks. They quickly found three sets of the least tattered black robes they could find. Severus quickly tried them on to make sure the lengths suited him, hoping desperately that no one else would enter the shop. He detested to think of what smart comment Sirius Black, whose family he knew were quite rich, would say on their first day of school if he knew Severus had to wear someone else's scraps.
The robes fit quite well, and overall didn't look so bad for second-hand. Severus and Juniper also purchased the other required clothing from the list which consisted of a black winter cloak, a pair of protective dragon hide gloves, and a black pointed hat which Severus hoped he didn't have to wear often. Despite the unmanageable greasiness of his hair, he just couldn't stand hats of any sort, he hated the way they weighed on his head as of some dreaded thing had crawled up and died there.
They headed right again two buildings over to Ollivanders wand shop. Severus swallowed a squeal of glee, he didn't want to seem like a child in a toyshop, but he had been so looking forward to his first wand. He couldn't wait to take it home and start practicing the allowed list of spells he was given with his acceptance letter. An old man with pale eyes greeted them from behind the counter. Severus wondered if this was the same Mr. Ollivander that his parents had both got their wands from, he had remembered hearing from their stories that Mr. Ollivander had been old even then, but wizards tended to have life spans quite a bit longer than average (provided they didn't miscast one of their spells and accidentally blow themselves to smithereens) and decided the two men were probably one and the same.
"Juniper, so nice to see you again, red oak, ten and five eighths inches, twangy, with hippogriff feather wasn't it?" Mr. Ollivander pondered at her.
"Yes sir, it was, I guess it's true what they say that you remember every wand you've ever sold. I have it still" she replied.
"Bless you dear, that means you took good care of it. I have always said your first wand is the one most suited for you. Obviously a replacement can be found if something happens to it, but there is something special about the first one that chooses you. And you young man, you must be Severus; I've been expecting you. I'm very interested to see what you end up with; your parents were such good students in their age" Mr. Ollivander smiled at him.
Mr. Ollivander was soon climbing onto a rolling ladder, searching through thousands of boxes all different sizes and colors, mumbling to himself "no, no, maybe, hmm" until he finally settled on a medium length box with a purple cover. "Walnut, eleven and one quarter inch, wispy, with unicorn hair; go ahead try it on,' Severus grabbed it cautiously and gave it a little swish, nothing happened. "No, no, no I guess that won't do," and Mr. Ollivander grabbed it and returned it to the shelf searching once again until he pulled out a longer box with a blue and red paisley patterned top.
"Scott's pine, thirteen inches, springy, with dragon heartstring", Severus tried this wand out as well, and as with the first one, nothing extraordinary happened. "Hmm, Severus, what at the moment is your favorite book?"
"I'm partial to all of them, though at the moment I am particularly fond of "Portents and Potions" by Jylia Jarsgood." Severus replied.
"As I thought, I believe I'm going in the wrong direction," Mr. Ollivander returned the long box and returned with a rather short looking box with a black and green swirled cover. "Mahogany lacquered black, eight and one half inches, rigid, with a liquefied moonstone core". Severus looked at the short wand suspiciously; this certainly did not have the impressiveness one would hope for. "Can't I have one that's a bit longer?" he queried. "Severus, all the short wand means is that you're destined to do great magic without a wands assistance. The simple fact that your favorite topic seems to be potions, which require no use of a wand but rather a skillful hand, seems to indicate to me that you didn't need the medium and longer versions that didn't work for you. I can try to find something else if you like but I suggest you try it out, I think you'll find you like it, and if I may add the black lacquer quite suites you." Severus took it grudgingly, but as soon as he held it in his hand he could feel it, the power of magic, now in his grasp. He was a bit partial to the black lacquer. He supposed he could get used to its short length, after all it would make it more portable and easy to conceal, and he did feel a bit emboldened by Mr. Ollivanders prediction that he would excel in other things. He decided to keep it; he thanked Mr. Ollivander for his assistance and paid him.
They stepped back out of the shop, this time to the left and walked a long ways down the alley, back past the second hand robe shop, and Gringotts Bank. Across from the bank Severus spotted a turn in the road labeled Knockturn Alley, he wondered briefly what shops lie down there, but didn't get to find out as they continued on past it. He then saw to his left "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions" they were having a street sale which advertised all types of robes, self folding, self ironing, spill proof, spangled, and he suddenly thought of his own simple black robes in hatred. It soon wore off when he remembered that the school uniform didn't allow any of these types of fancy robes anyway. On his right side he saw the famous "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor" which he remembered Sirius Black mentioning, though he did not see him there. They turned into the next building after Madam Malkin's on the left, which was "Flourish & Blott's", this I where he would get all his spell books for the coming year.
Inside it was not too crowded, as the real busy days that proceeded the school year were still over a month away. Mostly there seemed to be a lot of adult witches and wizards browsing various books for leisure. The manager of the shop greeted them kindly and quickly stacked their arms full of books. Severus decided they must not change the required reading very often, as these seemed to be the exact set of books his mother still kept in the study, only newer editions. He was surprised she didn't suggest they save money by using the ones back at home, but as over thirty years had passed, she must have decided to not chance him failing a class because he was supposed to study levitating spells on page 32 where her old books had it at page 103.
They left Flourish & Blott's and crossed over to the magical instruments shop where they purchased the telescope he would need for astronomy, then continued up the road back towards The Leaky Cauldron, passing on the way Quality Quidditch Supplies, the thought of which made Severus' stomach turn. He loved to watch Quidditch, in fact his father was even an assistant coach to the Berkshire Bludgers, but of course he hated flying. This was a great annoyance to his father, who had hoped one day to appoint his son as a star player. Severus resigned himself to the fact that if he were going to be involved with the school teams at all, it would have to be as announcer.
Across the street at Eeylops Owl Emporium there was a small group of other children; which were most likely also current or upcoming Hogwarts students, peering through the front window. Severus who at first couldn't possibly think what could be so exciting about an owl shop that would draw a small crowd, noticed a sign in the corner of the window that scrolled out in calligraphy as if written by an unseen hand; it read repeatedly: "Limited Time Only, Rare and Exotic, Imported from the Deepest Portion of the Amazon Jungle, Our Very Own Strix Negrolineata, The Beautiful Black and White Owl of Central America". Just beyond the sign, an young owl measuring about a foot high flapped its wings, which with their brilliant black and white plumage resembled two small zebras. The breast of the bird was white as newly fallen snow and Severus guessed felt as soft and downy, but what caught his attention most was the face of the animal, two bright and large yellow eyes framed by black until the beak, where it then continued to fade into the white below in a striped pattern similar to the wings. It looked as if it were wearing a gorgeous black silk mask, and this was just the thing that made Severus instantly smitten with the owl in the window. "But alas," he thought "after what mum's just told me about keeping my money in the bank there is no way I could possibly afford such an exotic animal". His head arced backward longingly as his body continued on towards the apothecary with his mother.
Severus quickly discovered that the Apothecary was by far his favorite shop in all of Diagon Alley. Although they were only there to purchase a brass scale and a set of glass phials, Severus found himself quickly distracted by the many magical herbs and ingredients stored alphabetically along the wall. The items ranged from the mundane to the very unusual, just in the "P" section alone (which of course was where he would find the phials) he saw; Palladium, Palm, Palma Rosa, Pansy, Papalo, Papaya, Paprika (Native & Boldog), Parsley (Aphrodite, Chinese, Forest Green, Green River, Hamburg, Japanese, Moss Curled, and Piert), Pasque Flower, Passion (Flower & Fruit), Patchouli, Pau D'Arco, Pearls, Pellitory, Pegasus Feather, Pennyroyal, peppermint, Periclase, Perilla (Green & Purple), Peridot, Periwinkle, Peryton Horn, Phirna, Phoenix (Feather & Tears), Physic Nut, Pig's Ear (Plant & Animal), Pimpernel, Pine, Pinkroot, Pipsissiwa, Pixie Skin, Plantain, Platinum, Pleurisy Root, Pogrebin Hair, Poke Weed, Pomegranate, Poplar, Poppy, Porcupine Quills, Porlock Hoof, Praseodymium, Prarie Clover, Prickly Ash, Prickly Pear, Prince's Feather, Privet (Native, Chinese, and Golden), Psyllium imported from India, Pumpkin, Puffer Fish Eyes, Puffapods, Puncturevine, Purslane, Pyrethrum, and Pyrope.
Severus could have stayed in the apothecary all day, just browsing the possibilities of so many components. He couldn't wait to find out what each and every item was used for. He only wished he could take some home and practice making interesting potions, but of course such things were not on the list for first years as many of them were potentially dangerous without training and supervision. Everything he would need for classes would be provided for him at the school, so there was no reason to purchase any. Juniper practically had to pull him away from the wall as he started inching towards the "Q" section. Worried they would be stuck there all day if she let him wander too far, she quickly paid for the two items and pried him out the front door and across the street to purchase a pewter cauldron across the street, the last item on their shopping list.
Severus had been quite sure they would be on their way back into The Leaky Cauldron, as the secret door lay literally inches from the door of the cauldron shop, but instead they headed back towards the direction of the Eeylops Owl Emporium. Severus wondered what their purpose was. While an owl at school would be useful since he would want to give him mother updates on how his classes were going, and also liked to peruse The Daily Prophet for interesting articles, he could very easily use one of the school owls. So he was curious as to why they would be purchasing one especially on a tight budget. He began to suspect perhaps this was going to be his reward, a kind of congratulations of sorts, from his mother on his acceptance. He was taken aback however when he saw Juniper direct the shop clerk quite plainly to the owl he had seen in the window earlier.
"But mum, we really shouldn't..." he began to protest, wondering how his father would handle it when they came back from Diagon Alley with such an obviously pricey purchase after he had made himself quite clear he didn't want Juniper spending "his" hard-earned cash.
"Don't be silly dear; I'm not sure which was harder, prying you out of the Apothecary or by this precious animal! You deserve something and as it will obviously be quite useful I'm willing to spend what I had in my purse to give you a heartfelt congratulations."
Severus still couldn't believe it, as he stuffed most of his new school items into a space expanding sack. The only item he left out was the shiny new cage containing his new owl which he brought into the fireplace back at the Leaky Cauldron with him. He looked at the owl's masked face trying to decide what would suit him, and narrowed it down rather quickly to Osiris. Osiris blinked his large yellow eyes back at Severus in agreement, before Severus then shouted "Rooksnest", threw down his floo powder, and began his voyage back home.
No sooner had Sirius Black dismissed himself from the conversation he had been having with Severus Snape and headed towards the back alley behind The Leaky Cauldron, then Severus, still standing flabbergasted in the middle off the Inn, heard a familiar rush of wind and rustle of soot that could only mean that someone else was about to arrive in the fireplace by floo powder. Finally, it was his mother.
Severus was about to open his mouth to ask her what had taken her so long, but then quickly swallowed his words as he noticed the still wet traces of tears on her cheeks. It was obvious to him, that she and his father, Angusta, must have had another one of their rows. Most likely it had occurred just after he himself had thrown down his floo powder and started his journey. He was now cursing himself for letting her convince him to go first, not that he wanted to face the wrath of his father either, but he hated the way his mothers face looked after she had been crying.
Juniper must have noticed Severus staring at her, for she quickly brushed herself off, wiped her face, and straightened herself up to her usual sophisticated appearance as if nothing had happened. She grabbed Severus by the hand and they headed out the back door and into the alley. He stood staring at the non-distinct alley that consisted quite literally of nothing but three brick walls and some muggle garbage cans fashioned out of steel with lids half off and flies buzzing around them. Severus wondered for a minute how someplace so ordinary could possibly contain the entrance to the wondrous street he knew lay beyond, but then quickly remembered the charms and spells which guarded the entrance to his own family's home.
"Watch very carefully", Juniper said to him "Soon enough you'll be doing this on your own and I wouldn't want you to be stuck here in the alley forgetting how to get in!"
Severus was indignant at the insinuation; if he were smart enough to memorize every spell book in the family library surely he would be able to get into Diagon Alley. Soon enough Juniper tapped one of the bricks in the wall with her wand, and it moved aside. One by one the other bricks followed as if repelled by one another until an archway lay where the wall once was. Beyond the archway, hundreds of witches and wizards shuffled back and forth between shops with great wooden signs in varying scripts announced to the world their wares.
"First thing we will need to do," stated Juniper," Is to go to Gringotts bank. I apologize in advance, that I am not going to be able to get into my vault as your father would not give me the key before I left, so all I have for money is what I have in my possession. However the good news is that I have been squirreling away money without him knowing about it for years, so you would always have whatever you needed when you went to Hogwarts. May I present to you, your very own Gringotts bank key." And with that Juniper pulled a very small golden key out of her money purse.
Severus took it from her and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, admiring the way in which it glinted in the sunlight, a small number 856 was etched into one side. They both continued on towards the large white building off in the distance. As they got closer, Severus was repelled at first by what he saw, a loathsome little creature shorter than himself wearing a red and gold uniform and guarding a pair of large bronze doors. He had remembered reading about Gringotts Bank in the book "Wizarding England: Notable Places and Their Histories" and how the entire place was run solely by goblins, but it was quite a different matter to see one in person.
They entered first through the large bronze doors, then through a set of silver ones guarded by two more goblins, finally entering a great marble hall. They walked up to the first available counter, where a fourth goblin sat on a high stool surrounded by various banking scales and ledgers. Severus could see that in either direction and on either side of the hall lay at least a hundred more similarly equipped counters with varying wizards transacting business of their own with the goblins which sat behind.
"Key please..." The goblin spoke, as Severus realized his mother had already begun the process of explaining to the goblin that they were here to make a withdrawal. He timidly handed over the small golden key, still a little leery of the goblins. "All right then Young Master; I shall call someone to take you and your mother to your vault."
Soon another goblin came and led them off the main floor and through one of the side doors. This led to a much less fancy area, more like a mining shaft than what you would expect to see in a bank. A little cart pulled up to the rail in front of them and the goblin held open the door and ushered them inside. Severus braced himself, he was sure this was about to become almost as unpleasant as his floo powder experience, and he quickly found he was correct as the cart started moving on its own hurling itself up and down and twisting and turning much in a way that Severus had once read about a contraption called a "roller coaster" that muggles built for amusement. Finally the cart stopped, the goblin put the small key in the vault door and waited as it opened and some green smoke cleared away. Severus guessed that this was one of many protective measures to be found, if you tried to get into the vault without the key, the green gas most likely poisoned you or at the very least knocked you out until the authorities could retrieve you.
Inside was a decent, though not impressive pile of wizard money, consisting of bronze knuts, silver sickles, and gold galleons. There were also two or three large emeralds that looked suspiciously similar to the one that Juniper wore in her clasp. Severus now realized why there had never been any mention of an inheritance when his grandmother Wensley had passed away, it was because what little she had Juniper had split with her sister and hidden her portion away in this vault, most likely afraid that her husband would find it and waste it away on alcohol. He felt a little guilty, taking what little memory Juniper had left of her dear mother, but his mother's face assured him that it was all right. For her, the most joyous thing she could think of was to see her only child make a better life for himself.
"There should be enough here to get you through all seven years, as long as you don't spend it frivolously" she finally spoke " in case this should happen again". Severus hated to think his entire Hogwarts career would be spent full of more fights between his parents, and more desperate attempts to escape the house in order to buy supplies, but he had a sinking feeling that a day like today would become more the norm, when he was at home away from Hogwarts protective walls.
After he had grabbed what seemed like a sufficient amount to cover the items on his list, Severus and Juniper climbed back into the cart and began the dizzying ascent back up to the main hall. They headed back out the silver and bronze doors and back into the busy street of Diagon Alley. Juniper led him to the right past a joke shop named Gambol & Japes and towards a second hand robe shop. Severus blushed a little; his family was by no means poor even though they were no longer as well off as they could have been, if only his parents hadn't had that fight, he wouldn't have to be spending quite so frugally. They entered the shop and went over to the racks. They quickly found three sets of the least tattered black robes they could find. Severus quickly tried them on to make sure the lengths suited him, hoping desperately that no one else would enter the shop. He detested to think of what smart comment Sirius Black, whose family he knew were quite rich, would say on their first day of school if he knew Severus had to wear someone else's scraps.
The robes fit quite well, and overall didn't look so bad for second-hand. Severus and Juniper also purchased the other required clothing from the list which consisted of a black winter cloak, a pair of protective dragon hide gloves, and a black pointed hat which Severus hoped he didn't have to wear often. Despite the unmanageable greasiness of his hair, he just couldn't stand hats of any sort, he hated the way they weighed on his head as of some dreaded thing had crawled up and died there.
They headed right again two buildings over to Ollivanders wand shop. Severus swallowed a squeal of glee, he didn't want to seem like a child in a toyshop, but he had been so looking forward to his first wand. He couldn't wait to take it home and start practicing the allowed list of spells he was given with his acceptance letter. An old man with pale eyes greeted them from behind the counter. Severus wondered if this was the same Mr. Ollivander that his parents had both got their wands from, he had remembered hearing from their stories that Mr. Ollivander had been old even then, but wizards tended to have life spans quite a bit longer than average (provided they didn't miscast one of their spells and accidentally blow themselves to smithereens) and decided the two men were probably one and the same.
"Juniper, so nice to see you again, red oak, ten and five eighths inches, twangy, with hippogriff feather wasn't it?" Mr. Ollivander pondered at her.
"Yes sir, it was, I guess it's true what they say that you remember every wand you've ever sold. I have it still" she replied.
"Bless you dear, that means you took good care of it. I have always said your first wand is the one most suited for you. Obviously a replacement can be found if something happens to it, but there is something special about the first one that chooses you. And you young man, you must be Severus; I've been expecting you. I'm very interested to see what you end up with; your parents were such good students in their age" Mr. Ollivander smiled at him.
Mr. Ollivander was soon climbing onto a rolling ladder, searching through thousands of boxes all different sizes and colors, mumbling to himself "no, no, maybe, hmm" until he finally settled on a medium length box with a purple cover. "Walnut, eleven and one quarter inch, wispy, with unicorn hair; go ahead try it on,' Severus grabbed it cautiously and gave it a little swish, nothing happened. "No, no, no I guess that won't do," and Mr. Ollivander grabbed it and returned it to the shelf searching once again until he pulled out a longer box with a blue and red paisley patterned top.
"Scott's pine, thirteen inches, springy, with dragon heartstring", Severus tried this wand out as well, and as with the first one, nothing extraordinary happened. "Hmm, Severus, what at the moment is your favorite book?"
"I'm partial to all of them, though at the moment I am particularly fond of "Portents and Potions" by Jylia Jarsgood." Severus replied.
"As I thought, I believe I'm going in the wrong direction," Mr. Ollivander returned the long box and returned with a rather short looking box with a black and green swirled cover. "Mahogany lacquered black, eight and one half inches, rigid, with a liquefied moonstone core". Severus looked at the short wand suspiciously; this certainly did not have the impressiveness one would hope for. "Can't I have one that's a bit longer?" he queried. "Severus, all the short wand means is that you're destined to do great magic without a wands assistance. The simple fact that your favorite topic seems to be potions, which require no use of a wand but rather a skillful hand, seems to indicate to me that you didn't need the medium and longer versions that didn't work for you. I can try to find something else if you like but I suggest you try it out, I think you'll find you like it, and if I may add the black lacquer quite suites you." Severus took it grudgingly, but as soon as he held it in his hand he could feel it, the power of magic, now in his grasp. He was a bit partial to the black lacquer. He supposed he could get used to its short length, after all it would make it more portable and easy to conceal, and he did feel a bit emboldened by Mr. Ollivanders prediction that he would excel in other things. He decided to keep it; he thanked Mr. Ollivander for his assistance and paid him.
They stepped back out of the shop, this time to the left and walked a long ways down the alley, back past the second hand robe shop, and Gringotts Bank. Across from the bank Severus spotted a turn in the road labeled Knockturn Alley, he wondered briefly what shops lie down there, but didn't get to find out as they continued on past it. He then saw to his left "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions" they were having a street sale which advertised all types of robes, self folding, self ironing, spill proof, spangled, and he suddenly thought of his own simple black robes in hatred. It soon wore off when he remembered that the school uniform didn't allow any of these types of fancy robes anyway. On his right side he saw the famous "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor" which he remembered Sirius Black mentioning, though he did not see him there. They turned into the next building after Madam Malkin's on the left, which was "Flourish & Blott's", this I where he would get all his spell books for the coming year.
Inside it was not too crowded, as the real busy days that proceeded the school year were still over a month away. Mostly there seemed to be a lot of adult witches and wizards browsing various books for leisure. The manager of the shop greeted them kindly and quickly stacked their arms full of books. Severus decided they must not change the required reading very often, as these seemed to be the exact set of books his mother still kept in the study, only newer editions. He was surprised she didn't suggest they save money by using the ones back at home, but as over thirty years had passed, she must have decided to not chance him failing a class because he was supposed to study levitating spells on page 32 where her old books had it at page 103.
They left Flourish & Blott's and crossed over to the magical instruments shop where they purchased the telescope he would need for astronomy, then continued up the road back towards The Leaky Cauldron, passing on the way Quality Quidditch Supplies, the thought of which made Severus' stomach turn. He loved to watch Quidditch, in fact his father was even an assistant coach to the Berkshire Bludgers, but of course he hated flying. This was a great annoyance to his father, who had hoped one day to appoint his son as a star player. Severus resigned himself to the fact that if he were going to be involved with the school teams at all, it would have to be as announcer.
Across the street at Eeylops Owl Emporium there was a small group of other children; which were most likely also current or upcoming Hogwarts students, peering through the front window. Severus who at first couldn't possibly think what could be so exciting about an owl shop that would draw a small crowd, noticed a sign in the corner of the window that scrolled out in calligraphy as if written by an unseen hand; it read repeatedly: "Limited Time Only, Rare and Exotic, Imported from the Deepest Portion of the Amazon Jungle, Our Very Own Strix Negrolineata, The Beautiful Black and White Owl of Central America". Just beyond the sign, an young owl measuring about a foot high flapped its wings, which with their brilliant black and white plumage resembled two small zebras. The breast of the bird was white as newly fallen snow and Severus guessed felt as soft and downy, but what caught his attention most was the face of the animal, two bright and large yellow eyes framed by black until the beak, where it then continued to fade into the white below in a striped pattern similar to the wings. It looked as if it were wearing a gorgeous black silk mask, and this was just the thing that made Severus instantly smitten with the owl in the window. "But alas," he thought "after what mum's just told me about keeping my money in the bank there is no way I could possibly afford such an exotic animal". His head arced backward longingly as his body continued on towards the apothecary with his mother.
Severus quickly discovered that the Apothecary was by far his favorite shop in all of Diagon Alley. Although they were only there to purchase a brass scale and a set of glass phials, Severus found himself quickly distracted by the many magical herbs and ingredients stored alphabetically along the wall. The items ranged from the mundane to the very unusual, just in the "P" section alone (which of course was where he would find the phials) he saw; Palladium, Palm, Palma Rosa, Pansy, Papalo, Papaya, Paprika (Native & Boldog), Parsley (Aphrodite, Chinese, Forest Green, Green River, Hamburg, Japanese, Moss Curled, and Piert), Pasque Flower, Passion (Flower & Fruit), Patchouli, Pau D'Arco, Pearls, Pellitory, Pegasus Feather, Pennyroyal, peppermint, Periclase, Perilla (Green & Purple), Peridot, Periwinkle, Peryton Horn, Phirna, Phoenix (Feather & Tears), Physic Nut, Pig's Ear (Plant & Animal), Pimpernel, Pine, Pinkroot, Pipsissiwa, Pixie Skin, Plantain, Platinum, Pleurisy Root, Pogrebin Hair, Poke Weed, Pomegranate, Poplar, Poppy, Porcupine Quills, Porlock Hoof, Praseodymium, Prarie Clover, Prickly Ash, Prickly Pear, Prince's Feather, Privet (Native, Chinese, and Golden), Psyllium imported from India, Pumpkin, Puffer Fish Eyes, Puffapods, Puncturevine, Purslane, Pyrethrum, and Pyrope.
Severus could have stayed in the apothecary all day, just browsing the possibilities of so many components. He couldn't wait to find out what each and every item was used for. He only wished he could take some home and practice making interesting potions, but of course such things were not on the list for first years as many of them were potentially dangerous without training and supervision. Everything he would need for classes would be provided for him at the school, so there was no reason to purchase any. Juniper practically had to pull him away from the wall as he started inching towards the "Q" section. Worried they would be stuck there all day if she let him wander too far, she quickly paid for the two items and pried him out the front door and across the street to purchase a pewter cauldron across the street, the last item on their shopping list.
Severus had been quite sure they would be on their way back into The Leaky Cauldron, as the secret door lay literally inches from the door of the cauldron shop, but instead they headed back towards the direction of the Eeylops Owl Emporium. Severus wondered what their purpose was. While an owl at school would be useful since he would want to give him mother updates on how his classes were going, and also liked to peruse The Daily Prophet for interesting articles, he could very easily use one of the school owls. So he was curious as to why they would be purchasing one especially on a tight budget. He began to suspect perhaps this was going to be his reward, a kind of congratulations of sorts, from his mother on his acceptance. He was taken aback however when he saw Juniper direct the shop clerk quite plainly to the owl he had seen in the window earlier.
"But mum, we really shouldn't..." he began to protest, wondering how his father would handle it when they came back from Diagon Alley with such an obviously pricey purchase after he had made himself quite clear he didn't want Juniper spending "his" hard-earned cash.
"Don't be silly dear; I'm not sure which was harder, prying you out of the Apothecary or by this precious animal! You deserve something and as it will obviously be quite useful I'm willing to spend what I had in my purse to give you a heartfelt congratulations."
Severus still couldn't believe it, as he stuffed most of his new school items into a space expanding sack. The only item he left out was the shiny new cage containing his new owl which he brought into the fireplace back at the Leaky Cauldron with him. He looked at the owl's masked face trying to decide what would suit him, and narrowed it down rather quickly to Osiris. Osiris blinked his large yellow eyes back at Severus in agreement, before Severus then shouted "Rooksnest", threw down his floo powder, and began his voyage back home.