The Evans (including Petunia, who was forced to come) were now waiting at their front lawn waiting for- well, they have no idea. It was already ten o'clock and nothing was in sight of anything.
"Wonder what and where could it be?" said Mr Evans anxiously, staring at his watch.
Then suddenly with a blink of an eye, a bus had screeched to a halt exactly where the Evans where standing with gigantic pair of wheels and headlights. Lily raised her head and saw, a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared into thin air. Gold lettering over the windscreen spelled The Knight Bus. Petunia, frightened tried to go back inside the house but Mrs and Lily Evans got a hold of her arms and pulled her back.
"Err- I say um, is this going to 'Diagon Alley'?" Mr Evans spoke shaking, but trying not to show. A conductor in a purple uniform stepped outside and began to speak loudly.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport, for stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand and step on to the bus. My name is Sally Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morn-"
The conductor had stopped suddenly and stared at the Evans, who's faces where baffled and their mouths slightly open. "Muggles aye?"
The Evans had no idea what the word 'muggle' means just stood their on the spot staring at Sally, she was probably around her thirties and with large overhanging ears, magnified glasses and had her half-grey and half-black in a bun. Lily had stopped gazing at Sally and spoke.
"Umm, Miss Shunpike-"
"-Mrs"
"Oh! Sorry, Mrs Shunpike, um well, I'm a first student at Hogwarts and this is my family-" Lily was interrupted again.
"Ooh yes! Professor McGonagall told me about chor family, last name please?"
"Err- Eva-Evans"
"Yep! Got cha right here for Diagon Alley, right?"
Lily nodded.
"Well in you all get", said Sally gesturing for them to come in. "All you be riding for free."
The Evans amazed, walked inside the bus. There were no seats. Instead, half-a-dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles unlit in brackets beside each bed, revealing the wood-panelled walls.
"All you 'ave these," Sally gestured to each of the Evans to sit on 4 beds she had pointed out. Lily sat and stared around the bus, she saw men and women with pointed hats and were dressed in robes. Are those witches and wizards? "This be Ernie Prang," she tapped the man sitting on the armchair in front wheels.
Ernie Prang turned around and nodded to the Evans, brown hair and around twenty or twenty-five years old, he was rather good looking to Mrs Evans' opinion and when he winked at her, she turned slightly red.
"Take 'er away, Ern," said Sally, as she sited herself down and ticked off the Evans' name on the clipboard.
There was an incredible loud BANG!
They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. The Evans watched the buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus' Way. Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron.
"'Ere we are then," said Sally.
Most of the witches and wizards were also getting off. The Evans stepped off the bus last, for they were busy admiring the Leaky Cauldron.
"Err… are we in Diagon Alley?" asked Mr Evans
"O' course you are, just go through there and Tom'll show you the way," said Sally, pointing at the Leaky Cauldron.
It was a tiny place. Even Lily wouldn't have noticed it was there. People hurrying passed it and not one took a glance. On one side of the Leaky Cauldron, there was a big bookshop and her eyes slid from the big bookshop to the record shop. Lily lead the way, as she walked slowly to the pub, Mr Evans was right behind her, Mrs Evans behind Mr Evans and Petunia holding Mrs Evans' arm tightly as she followed. Her face had the utmost disgust of everything she saw, although it was quite hard to see since it was very dark and shabby.
A few people were sitting at the bar, drinking tiny glasses of sherry and what looked like chocolate drinks. Two boys, around Petunia's age, were arguing loudly about a word that Lily hasn't heard have before: 'Quidditch'. Lily was at the bar behind the two boys arguing, when she couldn't help herself over-hearing what they said.
"That Potter! He thinks he's everyone's favourite. Just wait until school comes-" one of the boy was grinding his teeth then pounded his fists on the bar. "-Potter! And his reckless friends think they're bunch of 'hot-shots', always getting away with trouble-." she had enough of the boys blabber and was about to ask the bar man where Diagon Alley was when she was suddenly knocked down. "Watch where you're going!" demanded the boy as he got off his seat without realising that Lily was behind him.