Chapter 8: Diagon Alley.

To his delight, the next day Lily, said her parents had agreed and would be grateful if he could show them around. So a few days later, on a sunny day in mid-August, Mr. and Mrs. Evans took their daughter to London. They had left very early in order to make it to the London address by 9 o'clock at the latest.

After a short trip on the underground, they found themselves in a busy street lined with shops. John and Rose Evans were already starting to look doubtful as they searched for the pub they had been told to go to, but Lily could hardly keep still with excitement. She had told Severus that she would meet him outside the Leaky Cauldron.

Her father was already saying that the address must be wrong, when Lily saw him. He was standing near a small dingy-looking pub, with his hands in his pockets, looking through the shop window of the bookstore next to the pub.

'Hi, Severus, we're here.'

He turned and smiled. He had been waiting for over an hour.

'Hello, Severus. Nice to meet you again. Are your parents in the bookshop? '

"Uhm, no, Mr. Evans. I'm on my own.'

'On your own?! But, my dear, in London? It's so far from home, and you're too young to travel...'

'It's Ok, Mrs. Evans. I've come by Floo Powder. It's an almost instantaneous way of travelling. There's no danger....'

Her parents looked at him uncomprehendingly. Then her father, still looking a bit worried, asked him if he knew where the pub called 'Leaky Cauldron' was, for he could not see it anywhere.

Lily stared at her father in amazement – the rusty sign of the Leaky Cauldron was practically hanging over his head.

'Daddy, its right here – look!'

But his eyes slid from the bookshop to the record shop on the other side of the pub. Her mother seemed equally bewildered.

'Where?'

'It's Ok, Mr. Evans, perhaps if I step in the doorway....'

As soon as Severus put his foot on the doorstep, Lily saw her parents' eyes almost pop with astonishment as they saw the old pub squeeze itself out from between the neighbouring shops.

'I think muggles can't always see it.' Severus whispered to Lily as they went inside.

'Its – it's like magic!' Rose Evans gasped, before realising what she was saying.

They were hardly less surprised once inside, and their eyes adjusted to the half-light of the candlelit interior. Tom, the bartender, came to greet them. He seemed to realise immediately that they were muggles, and tried to put them at ease, introducing himself, and asking them if they wanted anything to drink.

"Ehm – no, thank you, I don't think so – we...er... have to go to this Diagon Alley place to get our daughter's school things , she is starting first year at – '

Mr. Evans was distracted for a moment as an empty goblet floated by his nose towards the bar.

'Another firewhisky, please' shouted a venerable warlock in long, spangled robes from a dark corner. Mr. Evans dragged his eyes away from the goblet with difficulty.

'We're with young Severus, here. He kindly offered to show us around.'

'Oh, you're with young Master Snape. Yes, he has been here not so long ago. Well, let me open the archway for you. Follow me.'

And with that, the bartender put his arm around Severus's shoulders and led them to the backyard. Then he took out his wand, but Severus beat him to it, tapping the brick three times with his own wand and stood watching the bricks shift themselves round to form an archway.

Tom was laughing. "Well, I see you're in good hands, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Mr. Snape here learns quickly. Good day to you all.' and with that he went back inside.

Lily and her parents stepped through the archway after Severus.

'I think you should go to Gringott's first. You have to change muggle money, I guess, Mr. Evans'. He got no answer. 'Mr. Evans?'

But John and Rose Evans were standing still gaping at the scene around them. Lily however, had already run to the first shop.

'Mummy, look!' She squealed in excitement 'a gold cauldron! And ... it's … its… Wow! It's the phoenix you told me about!'

She ran back to her parents, who were still standing transfixed

'Come on!'

She grabbed her mother by the hand and pulled her towards a shop called 'Eelops Owl Emporium', where a bird with astoundingly beautiful, red plumage was tethered by a leg to a perch outside the shop. As Lily pressed her nose to the shop window, many large, glittering, amber eyes swiveled toward her, for the shop was full of different kind of owls, each on its own perch. Big ones, small ones, white ones and brown. Then the Apothecary caught her eye next and she was soon reading the signs stuck in the shop window: - Dragon Liver, 16 Sickles an ounce; another sign advertised Fire Salamander tails, for brewing potions to cure colds. She realised Severus was looking at her, grinning.

'We need to go to Gringotts bank first. I think you should tell your father. We have to come here, to the apothecary's later, anyway.'

Lily started off towards her father, but got distracted by a group of rowdy boys looking at a shop window full of broomsticks.

'Don't tell me...!?' she said, pointing at the broomsticks.

'Yep. Flying broomsticks!' Severus said 'They'll take you anywhere, anytime – and fast! That's the new Nimbus 1500 series, I believe. Wish I had one!'

He went closer, trying to see over the heads of the group of older boys by the window.

'What's Quidditch?' Lily, who had followed him, was listening to the boys' rather loud conversation.

'It's a game – sort of like football, but played on broomsticks. Very popular in the wizarding world'

'These boys are saying they're on the Hogwarts Quidditch team...' she said, lowering her voice.

Severus gave them a disdainful look. They still hadn't budged from the window.

'Perhaps. Or perhaps they're just bragging – only the best get chosen for Quidditch. You know... some legends say it was a witch who actually invented the flying broomstick...'

'Really? I'd love to try it..'

'You will. At Hogwarts we'll have flying lessons. My Mum knows of course, but she doesn't have a broomstick anymore. Look, I think we'd better get a move on....'

Reluctantly, Lily came away from the shop window and went to speak to her father, who still looked dazed.

'Where to, Severus?' She said, tugging her father by the hand.

'Gringotts Bank. That big, white building over there.'

Lily looked up and saw a tall building of white marble, towering over the rest. When they got there she gasped, and turned wide-eyed to her friend.

'Yes, Lily, - Goblins'. He said, anticipating her question 'The Bank is run by Goblins'.

Mrs. Evans clutched Lily by the hand, and inched apprehensively around the liveried Goblin holding the door open for them.

'They – they look rather unpleasant, Severus.' Lily whispered, as her father went gingerly to the counter and spoke to the Goblin there.

'Well, they don't like wizards too much, but they know their job well. There are many vaults full of gold and treasure in a labyrinth deep underground and they've got it protected with loads of enchantments. Look at what's written up there...'

Lily looked to where he was pointing and saw an inscription:-

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.

She wondered at all the gold buried underneath London. She heard the goblin at the counter explaining the wizard currency to her father.

'1 Galleon is 5 pounds, or 17 sickles. There are 493 Knuts to every silver Sickle"

The goblin handed over the money to Mr. Evans, who looked at the bag of gold and silver in his hands in mute surprise.

Outside, Severus pointed out Mrs. Maulkin's Robe shop to Lily (he assumed she wasn't going to buy anything second-hand), and while Lily and her mother went to get her robes, Severus and Mr. Evans went to Flourish and Blotts.

Almost an hour later, Lily had finished from the robe shop and she and her mother went to the bookshop, too. At first Lily couldn't see where Severus and her father were, because there were quite a few people inside, especially boys and girls her age, all buying their schoolbooks. Then she saw him in a corner, dark head bent over a book. She came up behind him and tapped him on the back, making him jump.

'What're you reading?'

He held up the book.

' "Curses and counter-curses" by Professor Vindictus Viridian' she read off the cover.

'Well, they're useful to know. '

'Yes, who would you want to try them out on? Me?'

'Of course not, Lily' he said earnestly 'Never on you, you're ... I mean, these are for your enemies.'

'I'm only teasing you. I know you wouldn't. Wow, look at that book up there, it's at least 2 feet across! Let's have a look....'

Severus, with the aid of a footstool, managed to get it down. It was about charms and their application to the four elements. It was a handsome leather-bound volume with a beautiful, jewel encrusted clasp. Lily couldn't open it, but Severus tapped it with his wand and the clasp opened. They sat down on the footstool, the huge book open on their laps, and were soon engrossed in the beautifully-engraved pages, red head and dark head bent close together, lost to the world.

It was Mr. Evans who finally found them, as he came round the tall bookshelves laden with Lily's schoolbooks that he had just purchased.

'There you are.' he said, amused to find them in their improvised bookworm's corner, as they looked owlishly up at him.

'It says a wand on your list, but I haven't seen any wand shops. Care to show us where, Severus?'

'There's only the one shop, Mr. Evans – Ollivander's. I'll take you there now.' he struggled up with the book and placed it back on the top shelf.

Lily was chattering nineteen to the dozen on their way to Ollivanders. She kept wondering what her wand would be like. Severus had explained how all wands were different.

'Perhaps it'll be ebony like yours, Severus.'

'Ollivander has a theory about how certain types of wands run in families. He said ebony wands were quite frequent in my Mum's family, but then hers is completely different from mine, so I don't know.... Here we are'.

They went inside the small narrow shop, and a tinkling bell summoned Mr. Ollivander from the back of the shop. His pale gaze swept over them, and Mr. Evans had hardly even introduced himself, when Mr. Ollivander spoke

'Oh, Muggles – and your first time in Diagon Alley, I presume?'

'Er, yes, this is our daughter Lily, she'll be starting at Hogwarts next month, and this is –'

'Young Mr. Snape. I know. You're breaking in your new ebony wand, aren't you?'

Severus nodded, though he hadn't had really much time. He knew that magic shouldn't be performed outside school, but he wasn't yet at school, and in Diagon Alley, being a wizarding street, perhaps it would not be noticed.

'Yes, and the young lady requires a wand. Now let's see....' and Mr. Ollivander took out a tape measure, which started measuring Lily by itself, and moved off to the stacks of dusty, narrow, boxes lining the walls.

'You are a muggle-born. Hmmm. We need to get your measurements just right. I have no idea of what may be suitable – anything, really ...'

Lily was giggling and trying not to wriggle as the tape measure, that was trying to measure under her arm, tickled her. Finally the wand maker came back with a reddish-coloured wand.

'Here, try this: cherry and unicorn tail core, nine inches, springy.' Lily waved it, but nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander, snatched it out of her hand and gave her another and another ...and another....

When the counter was overflowing with open wand boxes and what seemed like an enormous number of wands of every size and colour, Lily gave Severus a worried look, but he seemed unperturbed.

'Don't worry. It took almost as long with me. I think he likes doing this.' he whispered, indicating the growing mound of wands on the counter. Lily wasn't so sure – she was muggle born after all, and Severus wasn't. However, as if to prove him right, Mr. Ollivander came back with another box, a relatively smart, new box, and he was positively beaming – it was clear he was enjoying himself.

'This is willow, ten and a quarter inches, swishy. The core is unicorn hair and it's excellent for charm work. Try it.'

He handed her the light-coloured, slim wand and as soon as she placed her hand around the delicately carved handle, her green eyes widened in surprise. Ollivander was looking at her closely. She waved it and a red, intense glow emerged from the tip.

That wand, my dear,' said Ollivander 'has chosen you'

Lily her hand gripping her new wand tightly, looked round at Severus. She held it up proudly for him to see. Her parents too came for a closer look.

'My own wand' Lily said softly, cradling it in her hands. She saw Severus looking at her, a half-smile on his face. 'Now I feel like a proper witch' she told him.

After Ollivander's they went to the Apothecary's for her potion ingredients, then to the cauldron shop and then finally her bought her telescope and brass weighing scales.

Her parents, who were becoming more at ease in the strange shops of Diagon Alley, were finding it increasingly difficult to prise the two of them away from each shop they entered, especially since they sensed that the day was drawing to a close.

However, finally they had bought everything on the list and Severus and Lily could find no further excuse to delay, so they all headed back to the leaky cauldron where Mr. Evans brought everyone a drink, and then they headed for home, the Evans laden with many packages of strange shapes and sizes.

Mr. Evans offered Severus to join them for the ride home, but he refused, since it was too slow a way of traveling, and his mother might notice where he'd been if he arrived in the middle of the night.

The remaining few weeks before they left for Hogwarts passed like a wonderful dream. Despite the frequent flare-ups at home ( even though his father seemed to have accepted the inevitable) , the days that followed were good for Severus - he practiced spells from his secret book on Dark Arts at night, stopping short of actually performing the spells, and during the day he went to the riverside grove with Lily.

Long, hot, hazy summer days in the dappled sunlight, discussing their soon-to-happen-adventure of going to Hogwarts.

For Lily, however, there was something that marred the happiness – Petunia was becoming colder to her, hardly even speaking to her and behaving like she had so long ago, when she had discovered Lily and Severus talking about magic by the riverside. Although, since having read the letter from Dumbledore, it did occur to Lily that Petunia was, after all, a bit jealous, she asked her mother if anything had happened to her sister. Her mother had answered that perhaps Petunia had expected Lily to go to her own school and was now feeling a bit left out in all the excitement.

'But, Mum,' Lily protested 'She didn't even want to come to Diagon Alley! She would have found it interesting, too. I'm – I'm sure she would.'

Her mother shrugged – she knew Petunia resented being shoved out of the limelight of being the eldest and going to boarding school, but there was no helping it - it was Lily's turn now, and it wasn't anyone's fault that it happened to be such a dramatically more interesting school she had to go to.

Rose's mind had been more at ease about Hogwarts since her visit to Diagon Alley – she had seen many families with kids shopping for school things there, and they all seemed happy enough. She had been, and still was a bit, worried that she had to send her youngest to school in such a closed, secret world.

Lily, having seen Petunia's letter, thought it was more than just being left out, but she said nothing else, and, seeing the bright early morning sun beckoning, she quickly put her sister out of her mind and eagerly went to meet Severus, as she did every day now. She usually took something of her new school things with her to the grove – today she'd take her moon chart – probably Severus would be able to explain it to her.

Stuffing it in her pocket, she skipped off happily into the bright sunlight, her dark red hair swinging in a ponytail.

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