Diagon Alley was packed much to Severus' dismay. He stood there transfixed at the archway as the numerous people moved from shop to shop like a group of army ants. Severus jumped as he felt someone touched his arm, with a quick glance to his side, he saw Avielle's hand resting on his arm, she nodded once as if she was telling him he could do this. He turned his gaze from his sister to lily who was managed to work her way through the crowd.

"Come on Sev" She whispered softly "The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can leave." He nodded in agreement, his heart was racing and his palms were sweaty as he wiped them on his jeans before he stepped over the threshold and out into the hustle and bustle of the street.

Severus focused solely on his sister as she walked besides him, taking the same path Lily had before she was swallowed by the crowd as swarms of people rushed from one side if the street to the other. He sighed internally as he looked down at his moving feet. He had expected her to leave them behind, he understood that she was ashamed to be around him, but did she have to make it so obvious? Apparently so. Maybe he just should have stayed home, he was sure he could have feigned something that would have made his mother force him back upstairs, and frankly he probably would have preferred that better. At least then he would not have the aching in his chest.

He managed to stay away from the worst of the crowds as Eileen forced her way through the clumps of people breaking them up enough so he could manage his way through without having a break down. The roar of voices died away as the alley way began to widen and the crowd thinned, causing him to relax by a fraction. Maybe he could do this after all, as he gazed around their surroundings. The shops that surrounded the wizarding bank were second hand and discount shops, places the majority of new and returning students avoided, but they were the places his mother frequented when it came to purchasing their school supplies.

Severus sighed as he shoved his hands in his pockets and ascended the marble steps to Gringotts. He had no idea what they were doing there, as far as he knew they had no money in the bank, they didn't even have a vault as far as his knowledge went. Of course he knew his mother was a pure blood, but that didn't really mean anything, not all purebloods had enormous wealth or tons of money stashed in the underground vaults that were supposedly guarded by a dragon. He stopped a few feet away from his mother, close enough to where it was obvious he was with her but far enough he would not be listening in on the rather heated discussion she was having with the goblin like his sister was.

Lily groaned internally as he father made them wait outside for Severus and his family. She wanted to do her shopping by herself and not have to worry about her housemates seeing her with him. It was hard enough to deal with them when she and Severus had to work together at the end of last year, and if they saw them together now, she would never hear the end of it. But she couldn't bring herself to tell her father about her dilemma though. She didn't think she could handle the disappointment in his eyes and features as he processed the information as he developed his opinion on the matter, she definitely didn't think she could handle the disappointment if it was directed at her.

With a sigh, she shoved her hands in her jean pockets and stared out into the crowd and groaned internally as she spotted the unmistakable mass of unruly black hair that could only belong to James Potter. Next to him was the mass of long black hair that belonged to his best friend and sidekick, Sirius Black. They were the worse of the perpetrators when it came to bagging on her when it came to her once Slytherin Counterpart.

"Evans" James greeted as he stepped up on the marble steps flashing her one of his cheeky smiles while Sirius shook his head. "What a pleasant Surprise"

"What are you doing here James?" she asked as she took a glance at her father, who was admiring one of the marble pillars behind her.

"I thought it would be obvious" he grinned. "You know, since school is staring and all that Sirius and I are getting our shopping done."

Lily rolled her eyes. "The only thing that the two of you are possibly buying are things for Quidditch..." She stated, her eyes flashing over to the door, hoping James and Sirius would be gone before they even had a chance to lay into Severus. That would be a disaster, especially since her father was so close and Severus' mother was here, let alone Avielle who wouldn't think twice about laying into James and Sirius quicker than they gave it.

"Quidditch is a part of school" Sirius grinned as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's the best part, besides, we have Remus, why do we need our own textbooks when we can just borrow his?" He asked. Just as Lily was about to retort, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Avielle and Severus. She groaned internally, this was going to be interesting.

"Well look what we have here" Sirius sneered as his eyes caught a glimpse of their favorite play thing.

"Snivellus" James grinned as he looked away from Lily, his eyes alive with the possibility of starting his favorite thing in the world: making Severus' life hell. "What brings you here? Depositing your weekly earnings from the corner" Lily's heart cringed as she saw Severus flinch at the comment, the grasp he had on his sisters arm looked rather painful, though the only look that was readable on her face was anger.

Sirius broke out laughing and all Severus did was look down at his feet in shame. Lily couldn't tell by the way his hair fell, but if she didn't know better, she could see the glimmer of tears in his eyes. He muttered something that only Avielle could understand. But whatever it was, she didn't move, instead she just stood there and glared at James and Sirius. He tugged on her arm pleadingly.

"Please." She could hear Severus beg, his voice cracking slightly. He didn't to do this. He didn't want to face them, he wasn't even looking at them as they laughed at him.

"Leave him alone" Avielle finally growled at them. James and Sirius' smiles faded from their face as the laughter died.

"Look Sirius, He has a new defender" James sneered as he took a step forward. "What's wrong Snivellus, you can't defend yourself?"

"I said leave him alone you toe rag" Avielle Sneered at James as she finally started to move. "Just because you only get satisfaction from selling yourself on a dingy corner doesn't mean Severus does." Her eyes burned with anger as she stalked off. Severus' grasp on her arm still looked painful. Slowly, Lily turned to watch them enter one of the used book shops. As she finally stopped and watched the door shut behind them, her heart sank. The look on her father's face was unmistakable. He had heard what James had said, he had seen her just stand there and let Severus be bullied.

Severus allowed Avielle to guide him to one of the stores they frequented for their school books. He managed to keep himself together until they were far enough away from the door and prying ears before he released her arm and sunk to the floor. His body trembling as he cried softly. He heard the rustle of fabric as Avielle sat next to him. Her arms pulling him to her. He flinched slightly as she did so, but didn't pull away. Instead he leaned on her shoulder, shaking as tears ran down his face. Potter's comment had reached an all-time low, and he knew it. There was no way he could have found out right? He was certain Lily had not pieced the puzzle together unlike her father, and her father had no connection to James and Mr. Evans had always liked him. James must have come up with that response by himself, but that didn't stop the pain as the comment sunk in.

He sat there for a while, gathering himself, listening to the comforting words Avielle whispered to him. He was thankful that the shop was empty except for them and the man who owned it. By the time he had composed himself well enough his mother came bustling into the shop. Her eyes alight with worry before looking Severus up and down. Her eyes lingered on his red rimmed ones before pulling him into an embrace. "Come one, we will get both of you, your things so we can head home" she nodded before pulling them along to look for some of the better looking textbooks.

Severus ran on auto pilot for most of the time, but he took notice when they had finally reached Madam Matkins shop almost everything that had been purchased after the textbooks had been new, even the robes that his sister was currently trying on for the both of them. He was confused and just wanted to go home and sleep, but he still had that awkward car ride home