AN: Thank you all for the great response, my muse was quite pleased to hear from you all, so as you've put her in such a good mood, she's decided to continue telling me the story.
"Oh, that's excellent timing. Petunia's just received her supplies list for Rowlings School as well," said Mrs. Evans over a piece of thick parchment paper.
"What, mum?" asked Lily, hearing her mother speaking to no one in particular. Lily again found herself playing with an owl, this time a large, fluffy gray one.
"Mrs. Potter has sent me a letter. She said that she was going to take James shopping for his school things this weekend and that she would be happy to bring you along and you can stay with them. You're going to meet them in London, and I can take Petunia for her things as well." Mrs. Evans smiled brilliantly.
"Mum, London is almost an hour away!" Lily whined.
The thought of being forced in the car with her elder sister for forty-five minutes was heart breaking. Lily, however, was quickly reminded that the Potter's were doing a huge favor, and if they were not, she would probably be spending not only the entire day with Petunia, but also the whole year. Suddenly, forty –five minutes seemed like nothing.
The week passed very slowly and with no interesting factors to make it less boring. Petunia had taken to calling Lily "freak" and "witch" at every opportunity. She spat the words as though they were the most disgusting things that could be uttered with out criminal offense. Lily only smiled at her.
At last Sunday had arrived. The weekend before school began was at last on hand. Mrs. Potter had said that she and James would meet Lily outside of a large bookstore, across from a large record shop. She looked quite anxious, twirling a strand of her light brown hair around her index finger. Mrs. Evans was smiling at her, while looking out for the Potters.
After five minutes, a dark haired woman with a cheery disposition and a boy with messy black hair, who was about Lily's age, appeared. They both had the same friendly brown eyes, and pleasant smile.
"You must be the Potters. I'm Rose Evans, and these are my daughters, Petunia and Lily. Say hello girls." Mrs. Evans urged her daughters forward.
Lily smiled nervously as she stepped forward, and extended a hand to Mrs. Potter, "Hello."
Petunia gave her familiar scowl and murmured, "'lo", not daring to offer her hand to a strange woman who openly admitted she was abnormal.
Mrs. Potter shook Lily's hand, still smiling. They agreed that they would all meet for dinner in muggle London at five o'clock.
"We'd better be off then," said Mrs. Potter, checking her watch.
"Alright. See you at five!" waved Mrs. Evans.
Mrs. Potter steered Lily and James to a small run down looking pub that Lily hadn't noticed at all when she had first passed it to get the bookshop. They walked in with the jingle of bells. Mrs. Potter waves to the almost toothless barkeeper and continued towards a brick wall. She opened her purse and removed a highly polished ruler-length stick.
"Three up, second on the left she muttered, as she traced the bricks with the stick.
She tapped on three times and it formed from a small hole into a large archway, revealing a large crowded street. People of all ages were walking around, talking about things that Lily had never heard of.
"I can't wait for Quidditch try outs! I hope I'm made seeker!" said one boy, about Petunia's age to his friend.
"The mandrake extract! We forgot to get it at the apothecary!" said a tall, grumpy looking woman.
Many people were wearing long swishing coloured robes. Others wore regular clothes. Lily thought that they must be the ones who were around muggles more often than other witches. The Potters were wearing muggle clothing, probably to seem more normal on the regular London streets.
"Well, shall we to Gringotts?" asked Mrs. Potter.
"What's that?" asked Lily quietly.
James looked as though he might laugh, but only smiled more broadly and said, "It's the Wizards bank. We don't have the same money as the muggles. Don't worry though, my dad wrote to your parents and they all got a vault set up for you."
Lily smiled as he relieved her nervousness. She already liked the Potters; they seemed like very thoughtful people. She was quite glad that they'd thought ahead. They were walking into a building of snow-white brick and lily saw a statue that looked like nothing she'd seen before.
"What is that thing?" she pointed at the statue.
"It's a goblin," James said quietly. "They run the bank. They're a bit creepy if you ask me."
Lily nodded in agreement not taking her eyes off of the statue until she tripped on the steps into the building.
"Ohh," she sighed softly.
Her face had turned a bright scarlet colour. Both James and Mrs. Potter had knelt beside her to be sure she was all right. She smiled weakly at them and accepted James hand up. Lily's emerald eyes twinkled with a giggle at her own expense.
James was eyeing her curiously. She began to giggle harder and he also joined in the laughter. They were finally able to calm down after the first goblin doorman ushered them into the bank.
"They have security systems?" Lily asked curiously after reading the engraved warning to bank robbers. "It says 'Thief, beware, you'll fine more than treasure there.' "
He looked at her smiling in amusement, "Goodness, you are a muggle. They've got all kinds of security there. Curses, and dragons and all sorts of things."
"Wow," she breathed with amazement.
Mrs. Potter smiled at them. It was a perfect picture of innocent amusement. She went to the goblin behind the teller's counter and told them what she was looking for.
"All right James, Lily. This way, we've got to go down to the vaults," she called.
The ride to the vaults was worse even than the huge, loop-filled roller coaster that Petunia had once forced her to go on. It was very fast and very long. Blurs went by on tracks in a very dark and dank cavern-like passage. When finally they had gotten their money and left the bank, they had to sit for a few moments to collect their stomachs and heartbeats.
Their next stop was to a very crowded bookshop, where they were almost immediately pointed towards the books they needed.
"First years?" asked a very tired looking employee.
Both nodded. The clerk gestured to a shelf where four other children their age were picking up previously arranged sets of books.
They were rather anxious to get out of the shop when it was so crowded. They each took a stack of books, paid and quickly made their ways out, with only a short stop, in which James stood to gawk at a book with a wizard in very bright orange robes flying toward a small gold thing with fluttery silver wings.
After they had left, Lily asked, "What was that book about?"
"What book?" James asked bewildered.
"The one with the brooms. Wait. Why was the picture on that book moving!?" Lily asked with a surprised voice.
She looked down to see that the pictures on all of her textbooks were moving a bit. It was one of the strangest things she'd seen all day, and it had been a very strange day so far. James however, paid the moving pictures no mind and once again looked thoroughly amused with Lily.
"The book was about Quidditch. It's a really popular sport that's played on brooms. I want to play at Hogwarts, but I don't reckon I'll get the chance my first year. And about the pictures, you don't expect them to just… sit there, do you? I mean, they'd get frightfully bored, don't you think?"
"Muggle pictures just sit still. In Quidditch, they fly on broomsticks? Oh that would be so great. Have you ever flown at all?" she asked interestedly.
"Yeah, all the time. It's really fun. Too bad, first years aren't allowed brooms. We're supposed to learn 'properly' first." He sighed dramatically.
"Alright, why don't you two give me your lists, I'll go get your things from the apothecary, and you can be fitted for your uniforms and then your wands," Mrs. Potter said, once again checking her watch.
"Alright mum. We'll see you at Ollivander's then?" asked James.
"Yes, but it's getting a bit late, let's be going," she said hurriedly.
Lily and James jogged towards a shop with a sign that read "Madam Balkan's Robes for All Occasions". James led her inside and they stood waiting for a moment.
A plump, friendly, little witch in mauve robes called, "Just a moment, my dears!" and stuck a last pin into the robes of a very unhappy looking boy with dark, greasy hair. She waved her wand and took the robes that she had tailored and added them to a package. The boy scowled at James and Lilt and walked out.
"Alright then, you two." She stood them on stools and measured them. A short while later, they were fitted with their Hogwarts robes and also making their way out.
"Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands." Lily read, "since 382 BC. I'd hate to have to trace that back." Lily murmured.
James stifled a laugh, but as he opened the door they fell completely silent. They felt a sort of tingling in the air. It was similar to excitement; a feeling that was no longer contained but floating everywhere around them in the dusty shop. An old man with shining slivery eyes walked from a back room.
"Hello, young Potter. My you look just like your father. And who is your companion?" he asked.
"Lily Evans," she said quietly.
"Alright, Lily Evans. Why don't you have a seat while we find a wand for Mr. Potter, or rather, while a wand for Mr. Potter finds him," he said in an eerie tone.
Lily a little and had a seat in the corner, watching James stand nervously before the old man. Mr. Ollivander had a silver marked tape measure draped over James's right arm.
Mr. Ollivander lifted his head quickly and walked to a shelf. He chose a small stack of boxes and carried them to the spot where James seemed to have become rooted.
"We'll see how much you truly do resemble your father, Mr. Potter. Twelve inches, Beech wood, phoenix father," he said.
James took the wand and gave it a wave looking rather uncomfortable. The old man quickly took it away and replaced it with another one.
This time, when James waved the wand, red sparks flew from the tip. Mr. Ollivander smiled with a bit of satisfaction. Lily was now standing nervously as James sat holding the box containing his wand very carefully.
"He'll be a strong wizard. Mahogany, eleven inches, phoenix tail feather. Yes, it's a strong combination. Good for complex magic. Now how about you, Lily Evans?"
He walked to the back room and returned with a slightly larger stack of boxes. Setting them down on a rather creaky wicker chair he removed the first wand.
"Hmm, eight inches, holly, dragon heart strings. Seems like it might be a good fit." He muttered.
She gave the wand a bit of a wave but nothing happened. He took it and went on to the next. And then the next.
She went through three, then five, then eight. Lily sighed, and began to wonder if there was actually any magic in her or if maybe there had just been a mistake. Mr. Ollivander looked a bit tired, but determined.
"Yes! Perhaps that's just what you need young lady!" he said as he walked quickly to the nearby shelf. "Give this a wave."
She took the wand, and a warm feeling swept her. The feeling that surrounded the shop had entered her through her fingertips. She smiled as she waves the wand and a spray of serene blue coloured sparks shimmered out of the tip.
"Perfect! This is quite an interesting wand, Lily Evans. It contains two hairs from the mane of a unicorn, one is golden, taken when it was a foal, the other is silver, just after it's horn had grown. The willow, of course, was the only possible choice to hold such a sweet combination. It fits you well, at ten and a quarter. You'll do quite well with this."
Lily beamed. She felt quite fond of this wand already. It was calm, and had a very sweet story to it. James smiled as well; he seemed pleased with both outcomes. The two paid their seven galleons and left the shop to see Mrs. Potter carrying two bird cages with clothes draped over them.
"Mum! You wouldn't believe how long it took Lily to get her wand!" cried James.
Lily blushed, "Well, I like it. I'm sorry to take so long though."
"It's alright dear," she said giving James a reprimanding look. "Well, I've got something for both of you!"
She handed each of them a birdcage. Lily lifted the fabric to see a small, snow-white owl with its tiny head buried beneath its wing. She grinned. James's owl was slightly larger and gray and his expression matched Lily's almost exactly.
"Thank you mum!" said James
"Yeah, thank you so much Mrs. Potter!" Lily said happily.
"In my letter to your mother I mentioned that I would be getting one for James so that it would be easier for hi to stay in contact with us. Your mother said that it was a wonderful idea and asked that I save some money from your vault to do the same. I'm very glad you like it." Mrs. Potter was beaming at them.
"Well, we'd better get back. Why don't we stop at the Leaky Cauldron and put our things away and then we can go and meet your family, Lily."
So off they went, and Lily discovered, that it was possible to enjoy herself with Petunia around. Mr. Potter (who did look very much like James) and Mr. Evans were both there, talking cheerfully about how proud they were of their children. Petunia had been staring at her chicken as though she was trying to cook it with her eyes.
That night, Lily hugged and kissed her parents good bye, after the promise of regular owls and excellent behavior. She could hardly sleep after packing her trunk full with books and scales, potion ingredients, robes, and a cauldron. Her wand was the last thing to be placed in before she shut and locked it. After giving her owl of soft scratch on the head, she finally lay down and tried to get to sleep.
