Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own Harry Potter.
The Knight Bus
One morning in mid-August his mother waylaid him on the way to the Evans' house.
'Severus I think it's time we head off to Diagon Alley to get your supplies for school.'
It was such an unusual occurrence to see his mother still at home when he woke up, not to mention the fact that she was actually making breakfast.
After a breakfast of porridge, Severus padded back up to his room and collected his list, folding the piece of paper he stuffed it into one of his pockets and met up with his mother at the front door.
Following his mother down the street in the direction of the abandoned mill Severus had to wonder how his mother was going to get both of them to Diagon Alley. Maybe she would Apparate them both there? Although apparition might be a little tricky on the way back with all of his packages.
His mother glanced around the abandoned mill taking in their deserted surroundings, she then raised her wand above her head
BANG
A gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt in front of them, making Severus jump back in shock and narrowly avoiding the nearest lamppost, which magically jumped backwards out of its way as well. The wheels belonged to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Over the windshield, there was gold lettering that spelled The Knight Bus
A thin, middle-aged man wearing very thick glasses and had on a purple uniform leapt out of the bus onto the pavement.
'Hello there Mrs Snape, who do you have with you today?' The man asked cheerfully peering at Severus who thought he looked quite like an owl with his circular glasses
'This is my son Severus Snape.' His mother waved him forward closer to the bus
'Hello there master Severus, welcome to the Knight Bus. We are the transportation service for witches and wizards throughout the community. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Ernie Prang, and I will be your conductor this morning.'
Severus followed his mother onto the bus, looking around Severus noticed that it was crammed with an assortment of mismatched chairs grouped haphazardly around windows. Some of these appeared to have fallen over when the bus stopped abruptly at Spinner's End; a few witches and wizards were still getting to their feet, grumbling, and somebody's shopping bag had slid the length of the bus: an unpleasant mixture of frogspawn, cockroaches and custard creams was scattered all over the floor.
'Did you say this bus can go anywhere?' Severus asked
'Yep,' Ernie exclaimed proudly. 'Anywhere you like as long as it's on land. Can't do a thing underwater. Here you go then, Mrs Snape, and young Severus.' Ernie led them over to two mismatched chairs on the first floor right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in front of the steering wheel.
'This is our driver William McTavish master Severus. William, this is Eileen's young lad, Severus. Now, are you off to somewhere different today Mrs Snape?'
'The Leaky Cauldron as usual please Earnest, we are off to get Severus his Hogwarts supplies' His mother replied
'Well that will be nine Sickles each, but for eleven you get a hot chocolate, and for thirteen you get a hot-water bottle and a toothbrush in the colour of your choice.' Severus' mother handed Ernie eighteen Sickles and was handed back two tickets.
'Take her away Will' Ernie hollered sitting down in the armchair next to the driver
The bus set off again, swaying ominously. It rumbled around Spinner's End, weaving on and off the pavement, then, with another tremendous BANG, they were all flung backwards; Severus, who had narrowly avoided falling by seizing a candle bracket, looked out of the window: they were now speeding down what appeared to be a motorway. Ernie was watching Severus' stunned and worried face with great enjoyment.
'This is where we were before you flagged us down,' Ernie chimed. 'Where are we again William? Somewhere in Wales?'
'Aye!' called William with a thick Scottish accent.
'How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?' Severus asked
'Them!' said Ernie contemptuously. 'Don't listen properly, do they? Don't look properly either. Never notice anything.'
'Best go collect Madam Marsh Ernie,' William prompted 'We'll be in Abergavenny in a minute.'
Ernie passed Severus and his mother's seats and disappeared up a narrow wooden staircase at the back of the bus. Severus, still looking out of the window was feeling increasingly nervous, William McTavish didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel.
The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans jumped out of its way as it approached and hopped back into position once it had passed. Ernie came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch wrapped in a travelling cloak.
'Here you go, Madam Marsh," Ernie proclaimed happily as William stamped on the brake and the seats slid a foot or so toward the front of the bus. Severus threw out his hands, bracing himself on the driver's armchair to stop himself from flying into it. He could see his mother had done the same.
Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered down the front steps. Ernie threw her bag out after her and rammed the doors shut; there was another loud BANG, and they were thundering down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way. From there they moved to the main street in the middle of a busy town, then to a viaduct surrounded by tall hills, then to a windswept road between high-rise flats, each time with a loud BANG.
One by one wizards and witches descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked very pleased as they did so.
'Right then Mrs Snape' Ernie clapped his hands happily looking like the only person who actually enjoyed the ride since Severus could not see the driver's face. 'The next stop is the Leaky Cauldron!'
BANG
They were thundering along Charing Cross Road, Severus watched buildings and benches, squeezing themselves out of the way. Severus vowed that as soon as he got his licence to Apparate he would never ride the Knight Bus again. William slammed on the brakes and The Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub.
'Thank you.' Severus gratefully uttered to Ernie as he helped peel him out of his seat, and helped keep him steady as he wobbled down the steps after his mother and onto the pavement.
'Bye Mrs Snape, master Severus, I suppose we will see you when you've done your shopping.' Ernie called hopping back onto the bus and ramming the doors shut.
As the bus took off for a running start down the road Severus patted his pockets frantically looking for his list, he sighed in relief when he finally found it. Pulling it out of his pocket he unfolded the piece of paper to double-check what he would need:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM:
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. Three plain white buttoned-down shirts
3. Thick knitted V-neck jumper (grey)
4. Three grey trousers (for males) or pleated skirts (for females)
5. Three Black thick tights (for females) or black socks (for males)
6. Two winter cloaks (black, silver fastenings)
7. One plain pointed hat (black) for daywear
8. One plain tie
9. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
10. Plain black shoes or dragonhide boots
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags
COURSEBOOKS:
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT:
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope set
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.
The Leaky Cauldron was a tiny grubby-looking pub. If Severus hadn't heard his mother talk about how famous the place was, he wouldn't have noticed the place was there. The non-magicals hurrying by didn't even glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big bookshop on one side to the record store on the other as if they couldn't see the pub at all. His mother steered him inside.
On the inside, the Leaky Cauldron was a very dark and shabby place. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a gummy walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know his mother; they waved and smiled at her bidding her a good morning and the bartender looked up from the glass he was polishing, saying 'Good Morning Mrs Snape, can I get you anything?'
'No thank you, Tom, I'm here with my son to get his Hogwarts supplies' his mother led him through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few pathetic-looking weeds. Severus watched as his mother took out her wand.
'Now you will be wanting to remember this for whenever you come here without me, the easiest way to remember what brick to tap is to count the bricks in the wall above the trash can, you want to tap the one that is three up and two across.' she tapped the wall on the brick she indicated three times with the point of her wand.
The brick she tapped quivered - it wriggled - in the middle of the brick, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing a huge archway, a cobbled street filled with shops that twisted and turned out of sight.
The sun shone brightly down on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver, Self-Stirring, Collapsible read a sign hanging over them.
'Welcome to Diagon Alley' His mother announced, smiling at Severus's amazement as they stepped through the archway onto the cobbled road. Severus looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into a solid wall. 'First stop Gringotts bank, for a trip down to the Prince Vault Severus. You'll be needing this.' His mother handed him a money bag.
Severus absentmindedly took the bag wishing he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as he walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: The shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, 'Dragon liver, Ten Sickles an ounce, they're mad….'
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Severus' age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. 'Look,' Severus heard one of them say, 'the new Nimbus One Thousand Five Hundred - fastest ever.' There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Severus had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon. There were even a variety of street peddlers who took up space in between shops out on the main thoroughfare of Diagon Alley. Severus and his mother passed a flower vendor, a vendor who was selling roasted chestnuts, and a jewellery vendor where a regal-looking woman, with long flowing black hair wearing emerald green extremely expensive-looking robes, was examining every single piece of jewellery very closely.
'Here we are, Gringotts!' His mother called out.
They had reached a snowy-white building, which towered over all the other little shops. A goblin wearing a uniform of scarlet, crimson and gold stood beside the banks' bronze doors. Severus guessed that the goblin would be about a head shorter than Lily. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they faced a second pair of doors, silver with words engraved upon them:
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.
A pair of goblins bowed as they walked through the silver doors, and they entered a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were seated on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on scales and examining gemstones through an eyeglass. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, with goblins showing people in and out of them.
His mother led him over towards one of the long counters that took up one side of the bank, Separating the individual desks was a low ornate divider looking like a miniature staircase bannister. Sitting at the top of the divider closest to the goblin was a long light, then the wood curved gently down to the end of the counter, separating the neighbouring Goblins.
Standing there in front of the massive counter Severus felt particularly small with his eyes just barely being able to see over the top of the counter and the goblin peering down at him from his seat behind the desk.
'Good morning.' Eileen said to the Goblin whose nameplate read Burgock. 'We wish to withdraw some money from the Prince Family Vault'
'What proof do you have that verifies you are allowed to gain access to the Prince Family Vault?' Burgock asked in a cold and calculating voice
'I have my son's and my own magical birth certificates to verify both my and my son's link to the Prince family.' His mother pulled out two long rectangular boxes from her handbag and handed them over to the Goblin. When Burgock opened the first box, Severus noticed an upside-down stylized E engraved into the wood. Burgock reached in with his long-fingered hand and lifted out a scroll.
As Burgock unrolled and examined the scroll. Severus itched to ask his mother questions like; what exactly was written on the scrolls? Was it like his non-magical one? And how she had acquired magical birth certificates? Because he was certain there was a non-magical birth certificate with his name on it hung up in the attic safe from his drunken father.
Having zoned out a little trying to work out the puzzle he must have missed Burgock examining the second scroll because Severus was jolted out of his thoughts when Burgock spoke once more.
'That all seems to be in order.' Handing back the scrolls that were once again nestled in their boxes, his mother tucked them away in her bag. 'I will have someone take you down to the vault. BOGROD!' Burgock shouted over his shoulder at another Goblin somewhere behind him that Severus couldn't see.
Bogrod turned out to be an old-looking Goblin. He came around the desk and led them towards one of the doors leading off the hall holding the door open for them. They stepped onto a narrow stone passageway, lit with flaming torches it sloped steeply downwards and there were tracks on the floor. Bogrod whistled and a cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They all climbed in and were off.
At first, they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Trying to remember what way they took was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know what way to go because Severus noted the Goblin wasn't steering.
Severus' eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the edge of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late – they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
'Do you know what the difference is between a stalagmite and a stalactite?' Severus called to his mother over the noise of the cart
'Stalactites hold tight to the roof and stalagmites try with all their might to reach them' His mother explained. A long while later the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall. Vault seven hundred and fifteen had no keyhole.
Severus followed his mother out of the cart and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling
'Stand back!' Bogrod ordered importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. 'If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there.'
'How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?' Severus asked despite himself.
'About once every ten years' Bogrod replied with a rather nasty grin. 'Just to make sure no thief lives to steal your money.'
Feeling a little nervous about the Goblins now, Severus eased forward and looked inside the vault. What he saw made his jaw practically drop.
Inside was a cave-like opening crammed from floor to ceiling with gold Galleons, mounds of silver Sickles, and columns of little bronze Knuts. There were also golden goblets, rolls of rugs, a few trunks, a bookshelf crammed with books and a shelf full of a multitude of potions in glass and jewelled flasks and bottles, Severus gazed at the vault in astonishment, it was incredible. There was no way his father could have known about this or he would have emptied it faster than Severus could blink.
'You shouldn't need your birth certificate to access the vault after today.' Bogrod explained as Severus gathered up handfuls of gold, silver and bronze coins and stuffing them into his money bag. 'Have Ollivander send us the details on the wand you are matched with and we can use that as identification next time.'
'The gold ones are Galleons, there are seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be more than enough for now,' His mother stated, eyeing the amount he had managed to gather and leading him out of the vault. 'It would be best to keep the rest safe for next year.' A muffled clunk came from behind them, the door had reappeared sealing up the vault.