A/N: Okay, hi peeps! First I want to thank you all for reading my Lily fic (as I call it) because this story is sooooo much fun to write!! :) And I don't know if I started the next chapter of Ginny's Hogwarts or not and I would go check but my brother's on the other computer where all my Ginny files are saved...:( This computer is brand-new and has like absolutely nothing on it and the only reason I'm posting my Lily fic is because I actually have it saved on a disk. (*gasps from the audience*) Anyway, in this chapter...well, I'm not going to tell you! :P Just read and review please!
Two
Diagon Alley
"Mom! Dad! I got my Hogwarts letter!" Harry yelled, running down the stairs.
"Wonderful!" Lily said, looking up from the book she was reading on the effects of certain potions ingredients. "Did you open it?"
"Not yet," Harry said. "I want you and Dad to be here,"
"JAMES!" Lily bellowed. "Come here!"
The sliding door from outside opened and shut, and footsteps walked through the kitchen and into the family room.
"What, Lily?" Came a voice from the doorway, but no one was there. Lily heard somebody giggling. "Hi!" came Melody's voice.
"James," Lily scolded.
"What?" James asked. "Your cloak," Lily put her hands on her hips.
"Oh, my cloak!" James said, ripping off his invisibility cloak and appearing out of thin air, Melody perched on his shoulders.
"Harry got his letter," Lily said
"Open it, Harry!" James said, noticing the unopened envelope in Harry's hand. He ripped it open and unfolded it, reading the letter with excited eyes.
"Where's your list of supplies? Lily asked. Harry forked it over.
"Wonderful," Lily said. "This looks like a trip to Diagon Alley!"
"Diagon Alley!?" Harry and Melody shrieked in happiness. They had heard so much about it, but never actually been there. It was too dangerous for them to all go out as a family.
"I think we'll be able to go in about..." -Lily considered the status of her potion- "...oh, say, two days,"
Harry and Melody cheered and bounced around the room.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Lily smiled as Harry came down the stairs.
"Thanks, mom!" Harry said, smiling and sitting down at the table.
"I fixed you some blueberry pancakes, and bacon, and scrambled eggs, and toast, and here's some syrup, and jelly, and a glass of milk, and some orange juice, and your silverware-OH! And butter!" Lily said, zooming around the kitchen and setting plates and glasses and things down in front of Harry.
"Thanks!" Harry said, smiling and digging in. "It's delicious!" he said, with his mouth full of blueberry pancakes. Lily beamed and walked out of the kitchen to the bottom of the stiars.
"Ohm James! You better get down here while I'm still in the mood for cooking!" she called up. "You, too, MelodY!"
Lily was an excellent cook, but she was very tempermental and only cooked when she was 'in the mood.' If you missed mealtime, you were on your own. And if you missed a special meal, you had to feel Lily's wrath for a day afterwards.
James and Melody came bounding down the stairs and rushing into the kitchen. Lily smiled, satisfied, and cooked up another batch of blueberry pancakes.
When they were done, Lily cleared the plates with a wave of her wand.
"And now, presents!" she announced, ushering everyone into the family room. "Accio presents!" she called as soon as everyone was seated. Three dinky little packages flew down the stairs and landed on the coffee table in front of Harry. His face fell, and he stared, blinking, at the tiny packages in front of him.
"And the rest of them!" Lily glared at the stairs. Huge packages zoomed down and landed, covering the table and making huge piles up to Lily's chest. "That's better!" she said, satisfied. Harry smiled widely and picked up the first package, ripping it open. It was a bag of joke products.
He kept opening, present after present, boxes of candy and jokes and Quidditch robes (with his favorite player's name on the back), Quidditch Through the Ages, and a broom servicing kit. Finally there was only one present left. It was a long, thin, package, almost longer than the coffee table.
Harry ripped off the paper and tore open the box. Inside lay a brand-new Nimbus 2000. Harry stood, speechless, gaping at it. Then he lifted it out of the box, got on it, and started zooming around the house, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I'll take that as a thank-you!" Lily yelled as Harry zoomed back into the family room. Harry stopped flying, hopped off, ran over to his mother, and gave her a huge hug. "Thanks, Mom!" Then he ran over to his dad and hugged him too. "Thanks, Dad!"
"You're welcome," Lily and James said at the same time.
"Hey, Melody, do you want to go for a ride?" Harry asked. "Yeah!" Melody said, her eyes lighting up. She and Harry hopped on the broom and took off.
"Hey! No!" Lily yelled. "You two take that outside! And take your father's cloak!" Harry and Melody came back and Lily gave them the cloak. "Now beat it!" she said, smiling. She sighed and collapsed on the couch next to James, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"So, are you ready for Diagon Alley?"
"All right, all right, let's move it, people!" Lily yelled the next morning just after breakfast. James, Melody, and Harry hurried into the family room. Lily flicked her wand at the fireplace and soon a brightly lit fire was crackling.
"Harry, do you have your Hogwarts list?" Harry nodded. "James, do you have your potion?" James nodded. "Melody, are you ready?" Melody finished fussing with her hair and nodded.
"What do you guys need the potion for again?" Harry asked.
"It's called a Polyjuice Potion, Harry, and it's so no one will recognize us."
"How will nobody recognize you?"
"We're going to turn into someone else," Lily replied.
"Who are you turning into?"Melody asked, alarmed.
"Melody and Sirius," Lily replied.
"Shouldn't we be taking some of the potion too?" Harry asked. "I mean, since we look so much like you."
"Well, I thought about it, and decided we'd just have to risk it," Lily shrugged. "It would be too complicated. Well, here we go!" she pulled out her potion. "You ready, James?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," James shrugged and pulled out his potion. They both drank at the same time and started transforming. Harry and Melody watched in shock as their parents started changing and molding into the familiar faces of Melody and Sirius.
"Melody is so much skinnier than me," Lily-now-Melody complained, looking down at her very slightly loose outfit.
"You're gorgeous, Lily," James-now-Sirius said. "And remember, you've had two children," Lily-now-Melody made a face. "Besides, what are you complaining about?" James-now-Sirius added. "Sirius has far too many muscles." Melody and Harry giggled.
"Let's go!" Melody said impatiently.
"Okay, okay," Lily-now-Melody said, grabbing the jar of Floo powder from the mantle and throwing a handful into the fireplace. "You first, James," James stepped in, yelled "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. "Now you, Harry," Harry did the same. "And you, Melody," Lily-now-Melody bid her daughter good-bye, looked around the house one more time, magically locked all the doors with her wand, threw in a little more Floo powder, walked into the fireplace, and left.
When Lily came to a dizzying stop at Diagon Alley, she looked around for her family and walked over to them. "All right," she said. "All here?" everyone nodded.
"First stop, Gringotts!" James said, and he led the family down the street to the large white building. They entered and walked up to a desk. Harry and Melody looked around, fascinated, at all the goblins as they went about their work.
"I'd like to go to Lily and James Potter's safe," James said, sliding a key over the desk. The goblin examined the key and nodded.
"Very well. I will have a Dorfackle take you there. Dorfackle!" Another goblin came over. "Lily and James Potter's safe," he said, handing Dorfackle the key. Dorfackle nodded and motioned for them all to follow him.
They walked down a narrow stone hallway which got very steep. They stopped walking and Dorfackle whistled. A small cart came hurtling toward them, and everybody climbed in. The cart went hurtling down the tracks, making turns so fast Harry couldn't keep track of them. It was an underground maze of train tracks, safes, vaults, and twisting passageways. Harry was afraid they might get lost. Was Dorfackle sure they were going the right way?
Then the cart slowed down and stopped, and Dorfackle hopped out first, opening the vault with James's key. Harry's and Melody's mouths dropped open at the sight of piles and piles of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.
"Oh my God, we're rich!" Melody exclaimed. James chuckled.
"That happens when you hardly go anywhere except work for eleven years," he said. "Well, fill your pockets! We have a lot of shopping to do," Melody and Harry dove at the piles of money and filled their money pouches until they were bulging with Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. James and Lily smiled at each other and each took their share. They climbed back in the cart and went hurtling back up to the main of Gringotts.
They walked back out into the sunlight of Diagon Alley. "Where can we go first?" Harry asked excitedly. "Well, why don't you and I go get your school stuff, and James and Melody can go off wherever they want."
"Why don't I go with Harry?" James suggested. "I mean, Melody might want to go shopping for girly stuff, and I don't know anything about that. I wouldn't be much help to her," Lily rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, and you would be SUCH a help to Harry," she said sarcastically. "You two would probably spend all your time in Quality Quidditch Supplies and accomplish absolutely nothing."
"What's wrong with Quidditch?" Harry said. "I need some stuff to really show off my broom at school!"
"You won't be taking that broom to school," Lily said sternly.
"Why not?" Harry exclaimed furiously.
"It says right on your list, first years aren't allowed their own brooms," Lily said. Harry took out his list, unfolded it, and scanned it until he got to the bottom. There it was, in bold black letters:
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS AREN'T ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Darn," Harry said.
"Come on, let's go, Harry," Lily said, ushering him off. "We'll meet back in front of Gringotts in an hour!" Lily yelled over her shoulder. "Okay!" James yelled back.
"First stop, Madam Malkin's!" Lily declared. "You need your school robes." She walked him inside the store.
"Madam Malkin!" Lily said, spotting the owner of the store and waving. "I have a Hogwarts student for you!"
"Wonderful!" Madam Malkin smiled, walking over. "Oh, Ms. Cauldwell, those dress robes you ordered finally came in!"
Lily leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's Lily Potter,"
"Oh!" Madam Malkin said, her eyes widening. "Sorry about that. I'll remember the right color this time." she smiled and went about business as if nothing was wrong. Lily smiled, satisfied that her secret hadn't been blown. She saw Madam Malkin lead Harry over to a fitting stool and went to go browse the dress robes.
Harry was put on a stool and had a robe slipped over his head. Madam Malkin started fitting it. "Hello," said the boy next to Harry in a drawling voice. "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes," Harry nodded.
"My father's next door buying books and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow,"
Harry smiled and thought it sounded like the kind of thing Sirius would do--but without the bullying. "No kidding!" he agreed.
"So, have you got your own broom?" the boy asked. Harry nodded, a big smile on his face.
"I got a Nimbus 2000 for my birthday!"
"Really?" the boy asked, looking slightly impressed. "Play Qudditch at all?"
"All the time!" Harry replied. "My dad's had me on a broom practically since I could walk. He says I'm an exceptional flier and I'll be a Seeker as soon as I'm old enough to get on a house team,"
"Me too," the boy said in agreement, giving Harry a smile. "Father says it'll be a crime if I'm not picked for my house team--looks like we'll be competition for each other if we get in the same house. Know what house you'll be in?"
"Not really, but I hope I'm in Gryffindor. That's the house my dad was in. But then, my mom was in Ravenclaw, so I don't know for sure." Harry shrugged. "What about you?"
"I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been. I don't think Ravenclaw would be too bad--but imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
Harry almost laughed. "I wouldn't really leave," he said. " I mean, from what I've heard, Hufflepuffs are nice, but they're not really known for their glory, are they?"
"I'll say," the new boy shook his head. By then their fitting was almost done, and Lily-now-Melody came over to watch.
"You're not here with HER, are you?" asked the boy, looking at Lily-now-Melody with contempt. Harry blinked.
"Yes," he said slowly. "Why?"
"She's my--" the boy cut himself off. "She USED to be my aunt." Harry blinked, his brain slowly making the connection. Lily looked like Melody--Melody used to be married to Lucifer Malfoy--Lucifer Malfoy was Lucius Malfoy's brother (not to mention Voldemort's)--Lucius Malfoy had a son named Draco--was Harry talking to Draco Malfoy???
"Are you Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Draco said. "Who are you?"
Before Harry could answer, Draco was told he was done and stepped down. Harry sighed in relief. That could have turned into a very sticky situation. Several seconds later, Harry was done too. He paid for his robes and left with Lily-now-Melody.
"Who was that you were talking to, and why was he giving me funny looks?" she demanded.
"Draco Malfoy, and you look like Melody, remember?" Harry supplied. Lily gasped, realizing the significance of that situation. "Is his father here? Did he tell you?"
"He said his father was buying books," Harry said as they headed toward the book shop. Lily quickly steered away from the book shop and headed to the Apothecary instead. "We can buy your books later," she said, knowing that running into Lucius Malfoy could cause serious problems.
They entered the Apothecary, which had a horrible smell, but held absolutely fascinating things like claws, beetle eyes, and fangs. Lily went up to the counter and asked for a basic store of potions ingredients for Harry, then asked for things like boomslang skin, unicorn horns, and gillyweed that students didn't normally use. Lily came out of the store with a lot more potions ingredients than Harry.
"If you fail my class, I will kill you," Lily whispered to him as they left that store. "By the time I'm done with you, you're going to know these potions ingredients like the back of your hand!" Harry gulped. He didn't feel Potions would exactly be his strongest subject, but then again, having your mom as the teacher had to have good points too, didn't it? She wouldn't seriously FAIL him, would she???
"All right, on to the other most important school supplies!" Lily declared. "Your cauldron and scales!" She bought him a nice, sturdy pewter cauldron and a set of high-quality scales. "These are the best they make," she told him. "100% accuracy guaranteed," His mother took potions a little too seriously.
"Well, let's try the book shop again, shall we?" Lily said, and they walked back to Flourish and Blotts. Harry gave the owner his list, and Lily went off to see if there were any new books on Potions or ingredients. They left and proceeded to buy Harry a nice telescope for Astronomy. Then Lily realized an hour had passed and they walked back to Gringotts. Lily took out a flask and swallowed some more of the Polyjuice Potion, securing her appearance as Melody for another hour.
"Hi," James-now-Sirius said, waving happily at Harry and Lily-now-Melody as they approached. Melody waved at them too, but quickly, because she was using both her hands to support a-
"Cat?" Lily demanded. "James! You let her buy a cat!?"
James shrugged. "It was really sweet and she really wanted it and after all, Harry had his Nimbus, and we're going to get him a pet for school, right? So I figured we should let Melody get a cat if she wanted a cat." Lily sighed in defeat. "Oh, fine," she said, looking over Melody's gray tabby. "Have you named him yet?"
"It's a she!" Melody announced. "And I've named her Athena," she set Athena down on the ground.
"Are you sure she's not going to run away?" Lily asked.
"Yes," Melody said. "Athena's a good cat!"
"So, what's this about me and a pet?" Harry inquired.
"Pick a pet! Any pet! Owl, cat, or toad!" James said.
"I want an owl," Harry said. He'd always wanted his own owl, and his family had never had one, for fear they would get caught. They headed to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Harry picked out a snowy white one.
"I wonder what I should call it?" Harry wondered, examining his owl.
"Aphrodite!" Melody said.
"No!" Harry objected. "What is it with you and all these Roman goddesses?"
But Harry's owl seemed to have taken a liking to the name Aphrodite already. "We are not going to call my owl Aphrodite!" Harry insisted. The owl hooted when Harry said 'Aphrodite.'
"No!" Harry cried. Melody started laughing. "Guess you don't have a choice!" she stuck her tongue out at Harry. Harry glared at her.
"All right, on to Ollivander's!" Lily declared. They started walking to the wand shop, but before they got there, Lily saw a familiar face in the crowd, ran up to her, and said "Gertrude! I haven't seen you in ages!" the woman looked at Lily-now-Melody with a surprised look on her face.
"M-melody?" she asked in slight disbelief. She hadn't really been friends with Melody Cauldwell at Hogwarts, but Melody sure looked happy to see her. Had she missed something...?
Melody wrapped her in a hug and whispered in her ear, "It's Lily,"
"Oh!" Gertrude said. "Hi!" she pulled back from the hug. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Well, Gertrude Nessom, you've been pretty hard to get a hold of yourself!"
"Oh, it's not Nessom anymore--it's Longbottom!" Gertrude announced, showing off her sparkling wedding ring.
"Wow, so much has happened!" Lily said, shaking her head. Gertrude nodded fervently in agreement. Harry, Melody, and James-now-Sirius came up behind Lily.
"Oh my goodness!" Gertrude gasped upon seeing Harry and Lily. "They look so much like their parents!" she whispered. "I have two of my own," she said. "What a handful!"
Lily laughed. "Tell me about it. This is Harry, and this is Melody." she said, pointing.
"They should be around here somewhere..." Gertrude said distractedly. "Neville! Nicole! Come here!" she called. In several minutes a boy and a girl appeared by her side. "Neville, Nicole, this is Harry and Melody. " she introduced. The kids looked at each other and waved.
Lily and Gertrude got into a loooong conversation about Hogwarts and the good old days and blah blah blah...Harry started talking to Neville about Quidditch and Hogwarts and school houses. They were just about to discuss the Sorting Ceremony when James broke up Lily and Gertrude's conversation and they headed to Ollivander's.
"And she says I waste time," James muttered under his breath as they left. "I heard that," Lily glared over her shoulder. James shrugged. They reached Ollivander's and entered the dusty old wand shop.
"Hello," Mr. Ollivander said upon their entry. "Harry Potter. I've been expecting you." He walked up to Harry and looked at him. "You look like James." His eyes flicked to Lily-now-Melody and James-now-Sirius. "Not being accompanied by your parents today, I see." It wasn't a question.
"Ms. Cauldwell," he said, addressing Lily-now-Melody. "Fourteen inches, willow, unicorn hair and dragon heartstring. Very unusual combination. I must say I've never made one like it before, nor will I make one like it again. Very tempermental, wasn't it?"
Lily nodded, recalling Melody's constant battles with her wand, but once she figured out how to work it, it performed excellently.
"Very powerful, that wand was, and excellent for dueling. And Mr. Black!" Mr. Ollivander said, turning to James-now-Sirius. "You, too, had an unusual wand. Twelve inches, oak, mermaid hair and sphinx mane. Also the only one of its kind. Also tempermental, correct?"
James got a very Marauder-type look on his face. He nodded. "Had a mind of its own," He remembered the time a Ravenclaw girl named Susie Ackerton (who had a crush on Sirius, which was hardly uncommon, since most girls either had a crush on Sirius or James) had tried to hand Sirius his wand back after he had dropped it in Charms class, and the wand had started letting out great smelly puffs of smoke and making loud noises and launching rocks out its end. When Professor Flitwick had come over to see what all the trouble was, he, too, picked the wand up off the floor (because Susie had dropped it in surprise), and it started smoking and making noises again. It only stopped when Sirius took it back or it was left untouched.
Apparently the wand didn't like being touched by anyone other than Sirius, because Sirius swore he hadn't put any kind of alarm on his wand (which could either be true or untrue--you never knew with Sirius) but James knew he had been telling the truth because he knew when Sirius was lying.
James snapped out of his reverie several moments later to see Harry trying out different types of wands.
"Thirteen inches, cherry, dragon heartstring and demiguise hair. Very unusual combination, but...go on, give it a try."
Harry took the wand and waved it about. Blue and gold sparks flew out of it. "Interesting..." Mr. Ollivander said, taking the wand back and putting it into its box. "It will be very interesting to see what becomes of you, Mr. Potter," he said, taking the box up to the register. "Very interesting..." he muttered, accepting the ten Galleons Harry paid for his wand.
"I'm sorry, but what's interesting?" Harry said, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Do you know what demiguise hair can be used for?" Mr. Ollivander asked.
"Er, no." Harry said.
"Spinning Invisibility Cloaks, Mr. Potter. Makes for a very unique and a very specialized wand---though in what you won't know until you use it. It will be very interesting to see what becomes of you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander repeated, then bowed them all from his shop.
"Well, that was very...interesting." James said as they walked down the street in no particular direction. Lily groaned. "Don't start, James," she said. James sighed. "Okay, okay," he said. "But only if we can get ice cream!" He sprinted off to Forlean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Melody giggled and ran off after him, Athena running at her heels. Lily groaned again.
"What am I going to do with those two?" she asked of Harry.
"I don't know, but would you mind holding Aphrodite?" Harry asked, shoving Aphrodite's cage in Lily's already-full hands and sprinting off after his sister. Lily sighed and reminded herself again that she was only twenty-eight...she was only twenty-eight...she shouldn't be such a stick-in-the-mud...
She met up with Harry, Melody, and James at the ice cream parlor. She set all her packages down on the table they were sitting at and collapsed in a chair. "I got you peanut butter and chocolate with marshmallows," James said, handing Lily a cone of her favorite ice cream over the table.
"So, how do we get sorted into houses?" Harry asked in between bites of his cone.
"Well, all the first years stand in a line, and you get called in alphabetical order, and y-" Lily kicked him under the table.
"James! Can't you let anything be a surprise?" James considered this for a moment. "No," he decided. Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, let this be," she said, giving him a pointed stare. James raised an eyebrow at her. "Lily, it's just the Sorting Ceremony. It's the thing all the rest of the students wish would get over quicker so they could eat. It's no big deal!"
"Well, fine, if you want to spoil the surprise of having to battle a hinkypunk for virtues in bravery, cunning, loyalty, and brains his first night there, by all means, go ahead." Lily considered what she had just said. "Whoops!" she said, putting a hand to her mouth and looking guilty.
"Lily!" James scolded. "Now look what you've gone and done, you hypocrite!" Harry sat there, unblinking, staring with horror at both of his parents. So did Melody. Lily saw the gaze on his face.
"Oh, Harry, don't worry, nobody's been killed, and the exam won't last long, it--"
"Harry, you'll be fine!" James interrupted. "Just do whatever pops into your head first. Trust your instincts to guide you, and the sooner you react, the sooner you can be sorted." They both looked at him reassuringly. Harry just gulped.
Later that night, Melody and Alex and Sirius and Remus came over. Melody and Harry got the older Melody alone and asked her gravely about the Sorting Ceremony. When she asked why they were so worried, they gave her Lily and James's explanation. Melody started laughing and couldn't stop until she was rolling on the floor.
"Hinky--punks--!" she exclaimed between laughs. "That's a good one!" she snorted and laughed harder. "Duel--bravery--cunning--" she snorted again, and she was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. Melody and Harry exchanged a Look and knew their parents had tricked them. When she finally recovered, they asked her what was really involved in the Sorting Ceremony. She just started laughing again ."Can't--believe--you--guys--fell--" (snorts) "--for--that!" She finally calmed down enough to tell about the Sorting Hat (in between giggles, of course), and when she was done, she started laughing again. "Hinkypunks!" she exclaimed, holding her stomach and laughing so hard it didn't even make a sound for several seconds. Melody and Harry rolled their eyes and left.
A/N: Okay, well I just wanted to thank you pplz who reviewed me and I actually had something to say but now I can't remember what it is...*sigh* Well, anyway, thanx to: The KRACILT's, da Funky One, Moony's Chick, Leah Samson, Niffler, and ~slytheringoddess~
A couple notes to those of you who asked questions in the reviews:
Their lifelines were bleeding because it's an omen.
No, Lily and James are not going to die. The story would be absolutely no fun without them.
And I'm going to shut up before I give anything away.
Bye!
~*Sierra Charm*~
Two
Diagon Alley
"Mom! Dad! I got my Hogwarts letter!" Harry yelled, running down the stairs.
"Wonderful!" Lily said, looking up from the book she was reading on the effects of certain potions ingredients. "Did you open it?"
"Not yet," Harry said. "I want you and Dad to be here,"
"JAMES!" Lily bellowed. "Come here!"
The sliding door from outside opened and shut, and footsteps walked through the kitchen and into the family room.
"What, Lily?" Came a voice from the doorway, but no one was there. Lily heard somebody giggling. "Hi!" came Melody's voice.
"James," Lily scolded.
"What?" James asked. "Your cloak," Lily put her hands on her hips.
"Oh, my cloak!" James said, ripping off his invisibility cloak and appearing out of thin air, Melody perched on his shoulders.
"Harry got his letter," Lily said
"Open it, Harry!" James said, noticing the unopened envelope in Harry's hand. He ripped it open and unfolded it, reading the letter with excited eyes.
"Where's your list of supplies? Lily asked. Harry forked it over.
"Wonderful," Lily said. "This looks like a trip to Diagon Alley!"
"Diagon Alley!?" Harry and Melody shrieked in happiness. They had heard so much about it, but never actually been there. It was too dangerous for them to all go out as a family.
"I think we'll be able to go in about..." -Lily considered the status of her potion- "...oh, say, two days,"
Harry and Melody cheered and bounced around the room.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Lily smiled as Harry came down the stairs.
"Thanks, mom!" Harry said, smiling and sitting down at the table.
"I fixed you some blueberry pancakes, and bacon, and scrambled eggs, and toast, and here's some syrup, and jelly, and a glass of milk, and some orange juice, and your silverware-OH! And butter!" Lily said, zooming around the kitchen and setting plates and glasses and things down in front of Harry.
"Thanks!" Harry said, smiling and digging in. "It's delicious!" he said, with his mouth full of blueberry pancakes. Lily beamed and walked out of the kitchen to the bottom of the stiars.
"Ohm James! You better get down here while I'm still in the mood for cooking!" she called up. "You, too, MelodY!"
Lily was an excellent cook, but she was very tempermental and only cooked when she was 'in the mood.' If you missed mealtime, you were on your own. And if you missed a special meal, you had to feel Lily's wrath for a day afterwards.
James and Melody came bounding down the stairs and rushing into the kitchen. Lily smiled, satisfied, and cooked up another batch of blueberry pancakes.
When they were done, Lily cleared the plates with a wave of her wand.
"And now, presents!" she announced, ushering everyone into the family room. "Accio presents!" she called as soon as everyone was seated. Three dinky little packages flew down the stairs and landed on the coffee table in front of Harry. His face fell, and he stared, blinking, at the tiny packages in front of him.
"And the rest of them!" Lily glared at the stairs. Huge packages zoomed down and landed, covering the table and making huge piles up to Lily's chest. "That's better!" she said, satisfied. Harry smiled widely and picked up the first package, ripping it open. It was a bag of joke products.
He kept opening, present after present, boxes of candy and jokes and Quidditch robes (with his favorite player's name on the back), Quidditch Through the Ages, and a broom servicing kit. Finally there was only one present left. It was a long, thin, package, almost longer than the coffee table.
Harry ripped off the paper and tore open the box. Inside lay a brand-new Nimbus 2000. Harry stood, speechless, gaping at it. Then he lifted it out of the box, got on it, and started zooming around the house, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I'll take that as a thank-you!" Lily yelled as Harry zoomed back into the family room. Harry stopped flying, hopped off, ran over to his mother, and gave her a huge hug. "Thanks, Mom!" Then he ran over to his dad and hugged him too. "Thanks, Dad!"
"You're welcome," Lily and James said at the same time.
"Hey, Melody, do you want to go for a ride?" Harry asked. "Yeah!" Melody said, her eyes lighting up. She and Harry hopped on the broom and took off.
"Hey! No!" Lily yelled. "You two take that outside! And take your father's cloak!" Harry and Melody came back and Lily gave them the cloak. "Now beat it!" she said, smiling. She sighed and collapsed on the couch next to James, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"So, are you ready for Diagon Alley?"
"All right, all right, let's move it, people!" Lily yelled the next morning just after breakfast. James, Melody, and Harry hurried into the family room. Lily flicked her wand at the fireplace and soon a brightly lit fire was crackling.
"Harry, do you have your Hogwarts list?" Harry nodded. "James, do you have your potion?" James nodded. "Melody, are you ready?" Melody finished fussing with her hair and nodded.
"What do you guys need the potion for again?" Harry asked.
"It's called a Polyjuice Potion, Harry, and it's so no one will recognize us."
"How will nobody recognize you?"
"We're going to turn into someone else," Lily replied.
"Who are you turning into?"Melody asked, alarmed.
"Melody and Sirius," Lily replied.
"Shouldn't we be taking some of the potion too?" Harry asked. "I mean, since we look so much like you."
"Well, I thought about it, and decided we'd just have to risk it," Lily shrugged. "It would be too complicated. Well, here we go!" she pulled out her potion. "You ready, James?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," James shrugged and pulled out his potion. They both drank at the same time and started transforming. Harry and Melody watched in shock as their parents started changing and molding into the familiar faces of Melody and Sirius.
"Melody is so much skinnier than me," Lily-now-Melody complained, looking down at her very slightly loose outfit.
"You're gorgeous, Lily," James-now-Sirius said. "And remember, you've had two children," Lily-now-Melody made a face. "Besides, what are you complaining about?" James-now-Sirius added. "Sirius has far too many muscles." Melody and Harry giggled.
"Let's go!" Melody said impatiently.
"Okay, okay," Lily-now-Melody said, grabbing the jar of Floo powder from the mantle and throwing a handful into the fireplace. "You first, James," James stepped in, yelled "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. "Now you, Harry," Harry did the same. "And you, Melody," Lily-now-Melody bid her daughter good-bye, looked around the house one more time, magically locked all the doors with her wand, threw in a little more Floo powder, walked into the fireplace, and left.
When Lily came to a dizzying stop at Diagon Alley, she looked around for her family and walked over to them. "All right," she said. "All here?" everyone nodded.
"First stop, Gringotts!" James said, and he led the family down the street to the large white building. They entered and walked up to a desk. Harry and Melody looked around, fascinated, at all the goblins as they went about their work.
"I'd like to go to Lily and James Potter's safe," James said, sliding a key over the desk. The goblin examined the key and nodded.
"Very well. I will have a Dorfackle take you there. Dorfackle!" Another goblin came over. "Lily and James Potter's safe," he said, handing Dorfackle the key. Dorfackle nodded and motioned for them all to follow him.
They walked down a narrow stone hallway which got very steep. They stopped walking and Dorfackle whistled. A small cart came hurtling toward them, and everybody climbed in. The cart went hurtling down the tracks, making turns so fast Harry couldn't keep track of them. It was an underground maze of train tracks, safes, vaults, and twisting passageways. Harry was afraid they might get lost. Was Dorfackle sure they were going the right way?
Then the cart slowed down and stopped, and Dorfackle hopped out first, opening the vault with James's key. Harry's and Melody's mouths dropped open at the sight of piles and piles of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.
"Oh my God, we're rich!" Melody exclaimed. James chuckled.
"That happens when you hardly go anywhere except work for eleven years," he said. "Well, fill your pockets! We have a lot of shopping to do," Melody and Harry dove at the piles of money and filled their money pouches until they were bulging with Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. James and Lily smiled at each other and each took their share. They climbed back in the cart and went hurtling back up to the main of Gringotts.
They walked back out into the sunlight of Diagon Alley. "Where can we go first?" Harry asked excitedly. "Well, why don't you and I go get your school stuff, and James and Melody can go off wherever they want."
"Why don't I go with Harry?" James suggested. "I mean, Melody might want to go shopping for girly stuff, and I don't know anything about that. I wouldn't be much help to her," Lily rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, and you would be SUCH a help to Harry," she said sarcastically. "You two would probably spend all your time in Quality Quidditch Supplies and accomplish absolutely nothing."
"What's wrong with Quidditch?" Harry said. "I need some stuff to really show off my broom at school!"
"You won't be taking that broom to school," Lily said sternly.
"Why not?" Harry exclaimed furiously.
"It says right on your list, first years aren't allowed their own brooms," Lily said. Harry took out his list, unfolded it, and scanned it until he got to the bottom. There it was, in bold black letters:
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS AREN'T ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Darn," Harry said.
"Come on, let's go, Harry," Lily said, ushering him off. "We'll meet back in front of Gringotts in an hour!" Lily yelled over her shoulder. "Okay!" James yelled back.
"First stop, Madam Malkin's!" Lily declared. "You need your school robes." She walked him inside the store.
"Madam Malkin!" Lily said, spotting the owner of the store and waving. "I have a Hogwarts student for you!"
"Wonderful!" Madam Malkin smiled, walking over. "Oh, Ms. Cauldwell, those dress robes you ordered finally came in!"
Lily leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's Lily Potter,"
"Oh!" Madam Malkin said, her eyes widening. "Sorry about that. I'll remember the right color this time." she smiled and went about business as if nothing was wrong. Lily smiled, satisfied that her secret hadn't been blown. She saw Madam Malkin lead Harry over to a fitting stool and went to go browse the dress robes.
Harry was put on a stool and had a robe slipped over his head. Madam Malkin started fitting it. "Hello," said the boy next to Harry in a drawling voice. "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes," Harry nodded.
"My father's next door buying books and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow,"
Harry smiled and thought it sounded like the kind of thing Sirius would do--but without the bullying. "No kidding!" he agreed.
"So, have you got your own broom?" the boy asked. Harry nodded, a big smile on his face.
"I got a Nimbus 2000 for my birthday!"
"Really?" the boy asked, looking slightly impressed. "Play Qudditch at all?"
"All the time!" Harry replied. "My dad's had me on a broom practically since I could walk. He says I'm an exceptional flier and I'll be a Seeker as soon as I'm old enough to get on a house team,"
"Me too," the boy said in agreement, giving Harry a smile. "Father says it'll be a crime if I'm not picked for my house team--looks like we'll be competition for each other if we get in the same house. Know what house you'll be in?"
"Not really, but I hope I'm in Gryffindor. That's the house my dad was in. But then, my mom was in Ravenclaw, so I don't know for sure." Harry shrugged. "What about you?"
"I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been. I don't think Ravenclaw would be too bad--but imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
Harry almost laughed. "I wouldn't really leave," he said. " I mean, from what I've heard, Hufflepuffs are nice, but they're not really known for their glory, are they?"
"I'll say," the new boy shook his head. By then their fitting was almost done, and Lily-now-Melody came over to watch.
"You're not here with HER, are you?" asked the boy, looking at Lily-now-Melody with contempt. Harry blinked.
"Yes," he said slowly. "Why?"
"She's my--" the boy cut himself off. "She USED to be my aunt." Harry blinked, his brain slowly making the connection. Lily looked like Melody--Melody used to be married to Lucifer Malfoy--Lucifer Malfoy was Lucius Malfoy's brother (not to mention Voldemort's)--Lucius Malfoy had a son named Draco--was Harry talking to Draco Malfoy???
"Are you Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Draco said. "Who are you?"
Before Harry could answer, Draco was told he was done and stepped down. Harry sighed in relief. That could have turned into a very sticky situation. Several seconds later, Harry was done too. He paid for his robes and left with Lily-now-Melody.
"Who was that you were talking to, and why was he giving me funny looks?" she demanded.
"Draco Malfoy, and you look like Melody, remember?" Harry supplied. Lily gasped, realizing the significance of that situation. "Is his father here? Did he tell you?"
"He said his father was buying books," Harry said as they headed toward the book shop. Lily quickly steered away from the book shop and headed to the Apothecary instead. "We can buy your books later," she said, knowing that running into Lucius Malfoy could cause serious problems.
They entered the Apothecary, which had a horrible smell, but held absolutely fascinating things like claws, beetle eyes, and fangs. Lily went up to the counter and asked for a basic store of potions ingredients for Harry, then asked for things like boomslang skin, unicorn horns, and gillyweed that students didn't normally use. Lily came out of the store with a lot more potions ingredients than Harry.
"If you fail my class, I will kill you," Lily whispered to him as they left that store. "By the time I'm done with you, you're going to know these potions ingredients like the back of your hand!" Harry gulped. He didn't feel Potions would exactly be his strongest subject, but then again, having your mom as the teacher had to have good points too, didn't it? She wouldn't seriously FAIL him, would she???
"All right, on to the other most important school supplies!" Lily declared. "Your cauldron and scales!" She bought him a nice, sturdy pewter cauldron and a set of high-quality scales. "These are the best they make," she told him. "100% accuracy guaranteed," His mother took potions a little too seriously.
"Well, let's try the book shop again, shall we?" Lily said, and they walked back to Flourish and Blotts. Harry gave the owner his list, and Lily went off to see if there were any new books on Potions or ingredients. They left and proceeded to buy Harry a nice telescope for Astronomy. Then Lily realized an hour had passed and they walked back to Gringotts. Lily took out a flask and swallowed some more of the Polyjuice Potion, securing her appearance as Melody for another hour.
"Hi," James-now-Sirius said, waving happily at Harry and Lily-now-Melody as they approached. Melody waved at them too, but quickly, because she was using both her hands to support a-
"Cat?" Lily demanded. "James! You let her buy a cat!?"
James shrugged. "It was really sweet and she really wanted it and after all, Harry had his Nimbus, and we're going to get him a pet for school, right? So I figured we should let Melody get a cat if she wanted a cat." Lily sighed in defeat. "Oh, fine," she said, looking over Melody's gray tabby. "Have you named him yet?"
"It's a she!" Melody announced. "And I've named her Athena," she set Athena down on the ground.
"Are you sure she's not going to run away?" Lily asked.
"Yes," Melody said. "Athena's a good cat!"
"So, what's this about me and a pet?" Harry inquired.
"Pick a pet! Any pet! Owl, cat, or toad!" James said.
"I want an owl," Harry said. He'd always wanted his own owl, and his family had never had one, for fear they would get caught. They headed to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Harry picked out a snowy white one.
"I wonder what I should call it?" Harry wondered, examining his owl.
"Aphrodite!" Melody said.
"No!" Harry objected. "What is it with you and all these Roman goddesses?"
But Harry's owl seemed to have taken a liking to the name Aphrodite already. "We are not going to call my owl Aphrodite!" Harry insisted. The owl hooted when Harry said 'Aphrodite.'
"No!" Harry cried. Melody started laughing. "Guess you don't have a choice!" she stuck her tongue out at Harry. Harry glared at her.
"All right, on to Ollivander's!" Lily declared. They started walking to the wand shop, but before they got there, Lily saw a familiar face in the crowd, ran up to her, and said "Gertrude! I haven't seen you in ages!" the woman looked at Lily-now-Melody with a surprised look on her face.
"M-melody?" she asked in slight disbelief. She hadn't really been friends with Melody Cauldwell at Hogwarts, but Melody sure looked happy to see her. Had she missed something...?
Melody wrapped her in a hug and whispered in her ear, "It's Lily,"
"Oh!" Gertrude said. "Hi!" she pulled back from the hug. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Well, Gertrude Nessom, you've been pretty hard to get a hold of yourself!"
"Oh, it's not Nessom anymore--it's Longbottom!" Gertrude announced, showing off her sparkling wedding ring.
"Wow, so much has happened!" Lily said, shaking her head. Gertrude nodded fervently in agreement. Harry, Melody, and James-now-Sirius came up behind Lily.
"Oh my goodness!" Gertrude gasped upon seeing Harry and Lily. "They look so much like their parents!" she whispered. "I have two of my own," she said. "What a handful!"
Lily laughed. "Tell me about it. This is Harry, and this is Melody." she said, pointing.
"They should be around here somewhere..." Gertrude said distractedly. "Neville! Nicole! Come here!" she called. In several minutes a boy and a girl appeared by her side. "Neville, Nicole, this is Harry and Melody. " she introduced. The kids looked at each other and waved.
Lily and Gertrude got into a loooong conversation about Hogwarts and the good old days and blah blah blah...Harry started talking to Neville about Quidditch and Hogwarts and school houses. They were just about to discuss the Sorting Ceremony when James broke up Lily and Gertrude's conversation and they headed to Ollivander's.
"And she says I waste time," James muttered under his breath as they left. "I heard that," Lily glared over her shoulder. James shrugged. They reached Ollivander's and entered the dusty old wand shop.
"Hello," Mr. Ollivander said upon their entry. "Harry Potter. I've been expecting you." He walked up to Harry and looked at him. "You look like James." His eyes flicked to Lily-now-Melody and James-now-Sirius. "Not being accompanied by your parents today, I see." It wasn't a question.
"Ms. Cauldwell," he said, addressing Lily-now-Melody. "Fourteen inches, willow, unicorn hair and dragon heartstring. Very unusual combination. I must say I've never made one like it before, nor will I make one like it again. Very tempermental, wasn't it?"
Lily nodded, recalling Melody's constant battles with her wand, but once she figured out how to work it, it performed excellently.
"Very powerful, that wand was, and excellent for dueling. And Mr. Black!" Mr. Ollivander said, turning to James-now-Sirius. "You, too, had an unusual wand. Twelve inches, oak, mermaid hair and sphinx mane. Also the only one of its kind. Also tempermental, correct?"
James got a very Marauder-type look on his face. He nodded. "Had a mind of its own," He remembered the time a Ravenclaw girl named Susie Ackerton (who had a crush on Sirius, which was hardly uncommon, since most girls either had a crush on Sirius or James) had tried to hand Sirius his wand back after he had dropped it in Charms class, and the wand had started letting out great smelly puffs of smoke and making loud noises and launching rocks out its end. When Professor Flitwick had come over to see what all the trouble was, he, too, picked the wand up off the floor (because Susie had dropped it in surprise), and it started smoking and making noises again. It only stopped when Sirius took it back or it was left untouched.
Apparently the wand didn't like being touched by anyone other than Sirius, because Sirius swore he hadn't put any kind of alarm on his wand (which could either be true or untrue--you never knew with Sirius) but James knew he had been telling the truth because he knew when Sirius was lying.
James snapped out of his reverie several moments later to see Harry trying out different types of wands.
"Thirteen inches, cherry, dragon heartstring and demiguise hair. Very unusual combination, but...go on, give it a try."
Harry took the wand and waved it about. Blue and gold sparks flew out of it. "Interesting..." Mr. Ollivander said, taking the wand back and putting it into its box. "It will be very interesting to see what becomes of you, Mr. Potter," he said, taking the box up to the register. "Very interesting..." he muttered, accepting the ten Galleons Harry paid for his wand.
"I'm sorry, but what's interesting?" Harry said, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Do you know what demiguise hair can be used for?" Mr. Ollivander asked.
"Er, no." Harry said.
"Spinning Invisibility Cloaks, Mr. Potter. Makes for a very unique and a very specialized wand---though in what you won't know until you use it. It will be very interesting to see what becomes of you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander repeated, then bowed them all from his shop.
"Well, that was very...interesting." James said as they walked down the street in no particular direction. Lily groaned. "Don't start, James," she said. James sighed. "Okay, okay," he said. "But only if we can get ice cream!" He sprinted off to Forlean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Melody giggled and ran off after him, Athena running at her heels. Lily groaned again.
"What am I going to do with those two?" she asked of Harry.
"I don't know, but would you mind holding Aphrodite?" Harry asked, shoving Aphrodite's cage in Lily's already-full hands and sprinting off after his sister. Lily sighed and reminded herself again that she was only twenty-eight...she was only twenty-eight...she shouldn't be such a stick-in-the-mud...
She met up with Harry, Melody, and James at the ice cream parlor. She set all her packages down on the table they were sitting at and collapsed in a chair. "I got you peanut butter and chocolate with marshmallows," James said, handing Lily a cone of her favorite ice cream over the table.
"So, how do we get sorted into houses?" Harry asked in between bites of his cone.
"Well, all the first years stand in a line, and you get called in alphabetical order, and y-" Lily kicked him under the table.
"James! Can't you let anything be a surprise?" James considered this for a moment. "No," he decided. Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, let this be," she said, giving him a pointed stare. James raised an eyebrow at her. "Lily, it's just the Sorting Ceremony. It's the thing all the rest of the students wish would get over quicker so they could eat. It's no big deal!"
"Well, fine, if you want to spoil the surprise of having to battle a hinkypunk for virtues in bravery, cunning, loyalty, and brains his first night there, by all means, go ahead." Lily considered what she had just said. "Whoops!" she said, putting a hand to her mouth and looking guilty.
"Lily!" James scolded. "Now look what you've gone and done, you hypocrite!" Harry sat there, unblinking, staring with horror at both of his parents. So did Melody. Lily saw the gaze on his face.
"Oh, Harry, don't worry, nobody's been killed, and the exam won't last long, it--"
"Harry, you'll be fine!" James interrupted. "Just do whatever pops into your head first. Trust your instincts to guide you, and the sooner you react, the sooner you can be sorted." They both looked at him reassuringly. Harry just gulped.
Later that night, Melody and Alex and Sirius and Remus came over. Melody and Harry got the older Melody alone and asked her gravely about the Sorting Ceremony. When she asked why they were so worried, they gave her Lily and James's explanation. Melody started laughing and couldn't stop until she was rolling on the floor.
"Hinky--punks--!" she exclaimed between laughs. "That's a good one!" she snorted and laughed harder. "Duel--bravery--cunning--" she snorted again, and she was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. Melody and Harry exchanged a Look and knew their parents had tricked them. When she finally recovered, they asked her what was really involved in the Sorting Ceremony. She just started laughing again ."Can't--believe--you--guys--fell--" (snorts) "--for--that!" She finally calmed down enough to tell about the Sorting Hat (in between giggles, of course), and when she was done, she started laughing again. "Hinkypunks!" she exclaimed, holding her stomach and laughing so hard it didn't even make a sound for several seconds. Melody and Harry rolled their eyes and left.
A/N: Okay, well I just wanted to thank you pplz who reviewed me and I actually had something to say but now I can't remember what it is...*sigh* Well, anyway, thanx to: The KRACILT's, da Funky One, Moony's Chick, Leah Samson, Niffler, and ~slytheringoddess~
A couple notes to those of you who asked questions in the reviews:
Their lifelines were bleeding because it's an omen.
No, Lily and James are not going to die. The story would be absolutely no fun without them.
And I'm going to shut up before I give anything away.
Bye!
~*Sierra Charm*~