So a few months have passed since the party, and the day the friends have been waiting for has finally arrived! And it only took me a month to get up here! Fanfiction wouldn't let me post... I think the tumblebeasts are following me around the internet. I finally threw my hands up in disgust and posted this after a month of rewriting so that we can get through this rough patch and return to friendship and etc. From now on I'll stop skipping so violently, and we'll see some real rivalries/alliances form with much better detail. Yes, I do plot this thing out when I'm bored... Anywho, thank you for your kind reviews, I love reading them! Reviewers Alex and Invader Vinya get cookies and hugs, for being supremely helpful and for giving me a huge confidence boost respectfully. All other reviewers get cookies and a smile from Severus.

Was Severus everyone's favorite teacher? Was Ron a completley understanding friend who didn't go on idiotic rants about how much his life sucked when his best friends life was in danger? Did Hermionie marry Draco? No? Well then, put two and two together my friend, I'm not her.


Lily and Petunia were lying on their beds, tossing and turning. Finally, Lily rolled so her head hung over the edge and she could see her sister. "Remember when that Professor came to explain our owls to our parents?"

Petunia chuckled at the memory. A lady calling herself McGonagall had come knocking on the door, clearly expecting a very confused family of muggles. Instead she had found a miniature party as Severus and the girls celebrated the arrival of their letters. She had offered to show them a spell, and had instantly been bombarded with requests as the children recalled their favorite spells from Severus' textbooks. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, I was just thinking…." She turned to stare out the window. "What do you think she meant when she said the wand picks the wizard?"

Petunia groaned. "Lily, we'll find out tomorrow, can't you wait?"

"No I can't wait! Tomorrow we're picking up Sev and going to the wizarding world for the first time!" She threw a pillow in the air and caught it.

"Goodnight Lily."

"But Tuney…"

"Goodnight. I for one want to be awake when we go to Diagon Alley."

"Night…"

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Severus knocked on the door on the now-familiar house, and heard shouting coming from inside.

"He's here!"

"Now we can leave!"

And, in unison, "Mother! It's time to go!"

He grinned, and as the door began to open he braced himself for what he knew was coming. Two girls came running out, and grabbed him in a hug. Laughing, he hugged back and rolled his eyes as they started jumping and squealing "Today's the day!"

Mrs. Evans came out the door pulling on a coat, and Mr. Evans followed carrying her purse. "I take it you all are ready?" He asked dryly.

Severus slunk up to him, and quietly held out a bag of pounds. When Mr. Evans raised an eyebrow, he whispered, "For supplies." Mr. Evans nodded and pocketed the bag. Glancing at the girls, he pulled out the car keys and unlocked the car. "Hop in."

They scrambled into the backseat, Lily ending up stuck in the middle. The car ride passed with much squealing from the girls, though Petunia restrained herself better than her eager sister. They chattered on, continuing one of their favorite arguments- Which class would be the best at Hogwarts. As the car rolled to a halt, they were at each other's throats.

"There is no way History of magic will be fun Tuney!"

"Well what about Potions? You think that will be any better?"

"You're both so wrong, Defense will be the best!"

Jumping out of the car, Petunia shook her head. "Poor confused children."

Her father snorted at that, but kept a carefully straight face as he and his wife looked around. "I don't see the place the professor was talking about."

Lily gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? Look, it's right there!" She pointed at a gap in between two stores, but he couldn't quite see where. His vision kept straying from where he ordered it to go.

Petunia took her mother's hand, and Severus came up to Mr. Evans' side. "Remember Lily?" He asked quietly. "Muggles can't see it." As he spoke, he and Petunia ushered the adults forward, until they were a step away from a blank wall.

"Oh wow." Said Lily in a hushed voice. "We really are different." She stuck her hand out, and Mrs. Evans gasped as it went straight through the wall. "Relax mom, I'm just opening the door." A wall of sound came from the blank space, and the children walked through, pulling the adults after them.

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron!" Said a motherly woman as they walked into the pub. "Tom, come greet our customers!" A sullen boy came out, and stood by his mother's side. "Would you like some drinks?"

"We're here for school supplies." Said Severus after deciding that the Evans family was incapable of speech. They were looking around wildly at all the people, and he tried not to roll his eyes. So this is what his mother had meant that morning when she cautioned him against mixing muggles and magic.

"Oh of course, you must be Muggleborns! Well Diagon alley is right this way, I'll let you through." The adults watched in shock as she stepped through a doorway and pulled a wand out of her pocket. Tapping the brick wall at the end of the alley, she muttered under her breath. "That ought to do it!" Sure enough, the wall folded away, and Diagon alley was revealed.

As the adults slowly stepped forward, three squeals of delight were heard from the children. Severus clamped a hand firmly over his mouth, and looked around to make sure no one had heard him. Mrs. Evans smiled down at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is…" she said, looking around at the hustle and bustle.

"Amazing?" Asked Petunia.

"Perfect?" Tried Lily.

"Unbelievable." Finished Mr. Evans. They walked forward, trying not to openly stare at the sights and shops. Wizards and witches swarmed around, robes flowing and wands flashing.

"We need to go to Gringotts first, right?" Asked Petunia, looking to Severus for support. When he nodded, she grinned.

Lily, not one to be beaten by her sister, tugged on Severus' sleeve. "And then we go buy wands." He smiled at her in agreement.

They headed for the huge building at the end of the street, exclaiming at shops as they went. A group of children were crowded around a store front, yelling and shouting. A tall wizard dressed in flashy robes was holding a broomstick and wildly gesturing as he described its new features.

"What's that?" Asked Lily, pointing at the broom.

Severus glanced at it, and rolled his eyes. "A Nimbus 1001, the latest in racing brooms."

"Racing… brooms…?" Mr. Evans groaned. "I need to learn to stop questioning things, don't I."

"Yes dear." Mrs. Evans squeezed his hand.

They walked up the steps of Gringotts, and Petunia craned her neck to see the inscription.

Quietly Severus read it, the Evans family listening raptly.

"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."

"Wow…" chorused the girls. "Oh, Mom, Dad? You might want to watch out." When their parents raised their eyebrows, the children smirked at them. "The bank is run by goblins."

With that, Severus opened the doors and gave a mock bow to the girls. "After you."

They scurried through, and Severus barely heard Petunia whisper, "Let's give him sugar more often, this is the craziest I've ever seen him."

He smirked, and followed the Evans family through the door. If they thought he was ever going to let them trick him into drinking a soda and eating a pack of candy in the same sitting again then they had another thing coming.

"Welcome to Gringotts Wizarding bank, how may I help you?" Came a bored voice from behind a counter. Upon closer examinatinon, they spotted the goblin seated behind it watching them.

"Er, yes, hello, we'd like to exchange pounds for..." He looked to the children for help, and Lily stood on tip-toes to whisper in his ear. "Galleons…?" Said Mr. Evans, moving up to the counter.

"Ah yes, muggleborns. I assume you also want to set up an allowance from your muggle bank so that your son and daughters will have spending money?"

Mr. Evans glanced at his wife questioningly, and she smoothly took over. "That sounds lovely, though the boy isn't ours by right. If it's a reasonable amount though, we'd be more than happy to supply for him also."

The goblin shrugged, and produced a roll of parchment from his desk drawer. "All details and requirements are here, and if you'll sign at the bottom once you've made up your minds we can finish your transaction."

After a brief whispered discussion, Mr. and Mrs. Evans singed the paper. "We can't tell him, he'd think it was insulting." Whispered Mrs. Evans.

"I'm still not sure why we're doing it in the first place!"

"Just think how lovely it will be for him to have something to fall back on in emergencies John!"

"We're not the boy's parents, shouldn't that be their job?"

"You know his parents; for all that they do for him we might as well be his parents!"

"If you say so dear."

They took the three bags of money from the goblin, and smiled gratefully. "17 silver sickles to one gold galleon, 29 bronze knuts to one silver sickle, or 493 bronze knuts to one gold galleon if you'd prefer. Have fun shopping."

They gathered the children, who had been standing in a small huddle talking excitedly, and exited to the street. "Now then, which way is this wand shop?"

Severus pointed down the street to a sigh saying Ollivanders. "I have a feeling that would be a good place to start looking."

As they entered the shop, a man looked up and smiled at them. "Ah, welcome, welcome! I am Ollivander."

"I'm John Evans, and this is my wife, Violet." Mr. Evans replied, shaking Ollivander's hand

"I'm Lily Evans!"

"Petunia Evans, nice to meet you sir."

"Severus Snape." At this, Ollivander raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, Eileen Prince's son! Yew, unicorn hair, eleven inches, rather swishy, correct?" When Severus nodded, surprised, he smiled. "I never forget a sale. Well then, let's see if we can't find you three your perfect match! If you'd just sit here please…"

Severus found himself seated on a stool with different wands being thrust in his hands. He obediently waved each one, growing more and more impatient as they either didn't react or had disastrous results. Finally, after what must have been the fifteenth time the selected wand rebelled, Ollivander snapped his fingers. "I've got it!" He hurried to the back of the store, and came back clutching a wand box happily. "Perhaps… this!" Severus gave Lily and Petunia a long-suffering look, and even as they giggled he accepted the wand.

His eyes widened as the wood instantly grew warm in his hand. He waved it in an arc, and brilliant white sparks shot out the end. "Of course… Cedar, dragon heartstring, 13 inches, springy." He gave Severus an appraising look. "You'll go far if a wand like this has chosen you lad, mark my words." With a knowing smile he ushered Severus off the stool and called for the next customer.

After ten wands, Lily grew bored. She managed to shatter a lamp with one of the failures, and Severus had had to hold back laughter. Finally, Mr. Ollivander brought a wand out that chose her. As soon as she touched it it sent waves of magic through her, and she shivered delightedly. Waving it produced sparks similar to Severus', and she beamed at them. "Willow, 10 ¼ inches, unicorn hair. Rather swishy. An excellent match, very good for charms!" said Mr. Ollivander, shooing her away as he had done Severus.

Petunia was last, and she took longer than either Severus or Lily. By the twentieth wand, she looked hopeless, and was exchanging worried glances with the other children. Mr. Ollivander frowned and tutted at her, and then hurried to the back of the store. "Try this. Unicorn hair, ivy, 11 inches, and flexible." Petunia glared at the wand as if it had offended her, but sighed and picked it up. It felt warm compared to the cool feel of the others, and the moment her hand closed around it she was surrounded by rainbow sparks. "Wow…" she whispered.

"Indeed Miss Evans. A deceptively strong wand, I wish you luck with it." With that, he clapped his hands and turned to the parents, who began counting out galleons.

They went to buy robes next, and the children left the tedious fittings with bags of new school robes. Severus tugged at the set he was wearing self-consciously, but smiled when the girls both swore that they suited him perfectly. After robes, they headed for the school supplies store, where potions supplies were purchased. Each child got a set of never-ending ink quills and parchment, which the parents found absurd. It took much patient explaining on the salesman's part, but Mr. Evans begrudgingly bought them rolls of parchment and extra quills, muttering about notebook paper and pens throughout the entire ordeal.

When they left the store, Mrs. Evans elbowed him. "John, you're being ridiculous, I'm sure they don't appreciate your complaints."

"Oh come now Violet, you can't believe that they haven't discovered some sort of pen by now?"

"Nevertheless."

They bickered pleasantly as they walked to the bookstore, with the three friends ignoring them in favor of discussing the ingredients they had just bought. "I just… until now it didn't really seem real. And now here we are, with wands, robes, and potions ingredients!" Cried Petunia happily.

"We're real witches! And wizards of course." Said Lily, spinning in a small circle.

They stepped into the shop, and spent almost an hour lost in the books. The little store had books on almost everything unimaginable, from mindreading to fortune telling and beyond. Finally they bought the necessary books on the Hogwarts Supply List-First Years, and left.

"Well, that's everything!" Said Mrs. Evans as they walked back toward the Leaky Cauldron. "And it only took seven hours to finish exploring a single street. I do believe that's a family record. Now we get to return to boring old London until you three leave in a month."

The children grinned. "Only one month…" Said Lily dreamily.

"I don't think I'll be able to make it." Petunia moaned.

"We'll survive." Severus said dryly, but his eyes smiled.


For anyone who's as nerdy as me and has as much free time as me, this is the site i used to pick out the children's wands. ?showtopic=7791
It has the meanings of all cores and such, so you can see what Sev and co. are going to have strengths and weaknesses in. Coming up next: Brief summer and then Kings cross station!