Author's Note: Hello again, I decided to post again tonight because I got
two reviews in 10 minutes. It explains a bit more then the last one and is
a little more exciting. Thanks to Amor18() & Skysong!
Amor18(): I hope this helps you with what you mentioned in your review.
Thanks for reading! Please read & review! ~ Frankie ~
Chapter 2: Getting Supplies & Meeting Enemies
The next day Seamus woke Lily up at the crack of dawn and told her to get dressed. Lily did so quickly and they ate a small breakfast before setting off in the family car. Lily was so full of questions she didn't know where to begin, but she figured that a lot of the questions would be answered that day.
About halfway to London Seamus asked, "Did you get a chance to look over your list?" Lily shook her head and Seamus pulled a yellowed piece of parchment from his pocket. It read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Uniform
First Year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed had (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
One set dress robes
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
Course Books
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 glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Lily looked over at her father, her eyes wide with shock, "This is all in London? Where on earth are we going to find it?" she asked looking nervous.
"Yes, all that's in London, if you know where to look," Seamus said and parked the car. They got out and Lily practically clung to her father's hand. "Don't worry my Water Lily, everything will be okay," he said and they walked down the street to a barely noticeable little pub called The Leaky Cauldron.
They entered the dimly lit shop and Lily's eyes saw her first batch of witches and wizards and other magical folks. "Oy! Seamus!" a voiced called from a darkened corner where a man about 3 times the size of a normal man sat, waving at them.
They walked up to the giant man and Seamus said, "Good day Hagrid, this is my lovely daughter Lily. She's starting at Hogwarts this year," and gestured to Lily, who stood half hidden behind her father.
"G'day lil lady, 'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys n' Grounds at Hogwarts," Hagrid said, smiling a friendly smile behind his miles and miles of dark beard and stuck out his hand to shake hers.
"Hello Hagrid," Lily said, and stuck her hand out as well, and Hagrid grasped hers gently.
"So, startin' at Hogwarts, yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts, I did n' still do. I best be off though, got sumthin to do for Professor Dumbledore, be seein' yeh 'round Lily," Hagrid said and lumbered off.
"Don't be scared by Hagrids' size Lily, he's one of the kindest men I know, met him at Hogwarts when I went. If you ever need someone to talk to, Hagrid's the one to go to." Seamus said and led Lily to the alley behind the pub. He pulled his wand out of his muggle jacket pocket and tapped the bricks above the garbage can twice and then three times and the bricks moved and reshaped themselves until there was an archway there large enough for even someone Hagrid's size to fit through. This archway led to the most unusual place that Lily had ever seen. It was full of people, all different kinds of people, all wearing robes of different colors and sizes. There were owls and cats and other magical creatures in the window of a shop called The Magical Menagerie. There was a large white building at the far end of Diagon Alley, which was called Gringotts, which was where they were headed first.
Seamus and Lily entered the bank and she was stunned by all the different kinds of creatures and how mean the goblins looked. They had one wild and crazy ride through the tunnels in a wobbly cart to the Evan's vault where Seamus collected some money and put it in a bag and said "Think of it as an allowance of sorts for the wizarding world. Galleons, Sickles and Kunts. The gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, seventeen to a galleon, the bronze ones are kunts, twenty nine kunts to a sickle, its pretty easy once you get used to it," as he handed her the pouch with the money in it.
They left the bank and walked back into Diagon Alley where the sun was shining hotly on the bricks of the walk. "What do you want to get first Lily?" Seamus asked her, looking down at her expectantly.
"I- I don't know, how about doing it in order?" Lily asked apprehensively as she looked down at the paper in her hands which said Uniform followed by a lot more information.
"Alright then, to Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions," Seamus said, grasping Lily's hand and heading off down the alley. They passed a number of people, some who looked just as nervous as Lily and others who this seemed to be very old to. Others who were wandering aimlessly. They walked into a shop and an older looking woman came up and asked, "Hogwarts dears?" Seamus nodded politely and watched as she led Lily off to be measured for robes looking terrified. Seamus smiled and mouthed, "Don't worry, I'll be right here." Lily nodded and followed the kind old woman to a platform which she was told to stand on and was then draped with a black robe which she measured to the correct length and things.
Lily was standing next to a boy about her height with dark hair and even darker eyes which gleamed with mischief. He glanced over at her and smiled, "Sirius Black," he said holding out his hand for her to shake. "Hogwarts I take it?" he nodded at her robes.
Lily looked down for a second at her robes before grasping the boys hand and saying, "Lily Evans."
Sirius smirked, "Muggle-born?" he asked making conversation.
"If you mean my that my dad's a wizard and my mum's a witch then yes," Lily said utterly confused by the term, having forgotten to ask her dad about it.
"Ah, half an half. Did you just find out or something?" Sirius asked her as Madam Malkin adjusted his robes.
"Yes, dad hadn't really told mum, so she was a bit shocked. Got my letter yesterday and that's when I found out," Lily said.
"Then that means you don't know about Quidditch! I say, you'll love it! It's got 4 balls, 3 of them fly, 2 go around trying to knock the players off their brooms. It's a great sport," he said as Madam Malkin finished with Lily's robes and told her she was done. "I guess I'll see you on the train, maybe we'll be in the same house," Sirius called as Lily walked away and waved as she left the shop with her dad.
"Seemed like a nice boy," Seamus said and led Lily to the next shop as she nodded.
"What's Quidditch?" Lily asked quietly keeping her voice low to avoid embarrassment.
"What's quidditch? Oh my, it's our sport. Wizard's sport. There are 4 balls. 1 quaffle, 2 bludgers, and 1 golden snitch. The quaffle is passed between 3 players per team called chasers; who try to put the ball through 3 hoops at each end of the pitch, the bludgers try to unseat the players and are directed by the beaters, two of them, who carry bats to direct them. Then the snitch is a very small ball that is super fast and hard to see, it flies around and the seeker tries to find it and catch it before the other teams' seeker, it ends the game and gives the team that catches it 150 points. It's a lot of fun to play and a lot of fun to watch too. I'll take you to a game next summer if you like, but you'll probably see many games at school this year," Seamus explained as they walked into Flourish and Blotts book shop to get Lily's school books, which didn't take very long. Before they knew it they were off to get everything else, saving the wand for last.
Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. read the faded sign above the door to the shop. They entered to find a dusty shop filled wall to wall with shelves which were piled with lots and lots of small boxes of different colors. Lily looked around in awe at the boxes; there were hundreds perhaps thousands of the boxes which she assumed would contain one wand each. She was knocked from her reverie when a soft voice called out of the shadows, "Good afternoon," which caused both Lily and Seamus to jump.
"Ah, good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," Seamus said a little shakily, tightening his hold on Lily's hand a little, in reassurance.
"Seamus Evans, walnut; I believe, twelve and a quarter inches, pliable, nice for charm work, with a unicorn hair, correct?" the quiet man with eyes like moons staring at them from his head, which was covered in white hair asked without expecting an answer. Seamus nodded and Mr. Ollivander turned to Lily, "Your daughter, I presume. Thought I would be seeing her soon, too bad her sister didn't have the magic in her," he said as quietly as before, taking a measuring tape from the table behind him.
"Now, Miss Evans, which would be your wand arm?" Ollivander asked Lily.
"Um, I'm right handed," Lily said a little shake in her voice at being addressed finally. Mr. Ollivander nodded and began to measure Lily's arm and a number of other strange places like the distance between her eyes before he waved his hand and the tape clattered to the floor while he pulled a number of boxes from the shelves and set them on the spindly chair in the corner of the cramped room.
"Now, Miss Evans, this one is ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy, try it out," Mr. Ollivander held out a wand to Lily, which she grasped and held for a second before he said, "Give it a wave." Before she could move it more then a fraction of an inch, he'd grabbed it from her and handed her a new one, "mahogany, eleven inches, pliable. no, that's not right. try this one. Willow, ten and a quarter inches, swishy, good for charm work," he handed her a yellowish brown wand and the instant that Lily touched it she felt a warmness inside of her, and a calm yellow light shot out from its tip. Mr. Ollivander smiled and said, "Well done, very well done." Lily blushed readily at Mr. Ollivanders' praise. He took the wand back and placed it again it it's box and brought them over to the register. "You'll do well in Charms, Miss Evans, that much is clear," he said and then stated the price which Lily happily produced from the pouch in her pocket and they left the shop just as a man and a younger replication of him walked into the shop.
Dark unruly hair, chocolate brown eyes and glasses, the younger boy was definitely the elder man's son. The older man smiled at the sight of Seamus and called out to him, "Seamus, good boy. It's good to see you; you've been cooped up in your office too long. This must be your daughter Lily, the one you're always talking about when I see you of good spirits. This is my son, James," the man said quickly and smiled charmingly at Lily, who looked over at James and smiled.
"Harold Potter, it has been quite a bit since I have seen you. James, you look well, starting at Hogwarts too?" Seamus asked with a smile.
"Yes sir, I'm really looking forward to it," James said smiling back, and looking over at Lily again, wondering why she attracted his attention so.
"Well, we really must be going. Lily's mother will worry if we're gone too long," Seamus said taking up the rest of Lily's packages in one hand and her hand in another and they started for the door.
"See you on the train Lily," James said and smiled at her and she replied, "Yes, see you," and they walked out the door.
Seamus pulled Lily aside outside the wand shop and asked, "It says on your list that you're allowed an animal, do you want one?"
"I don't know what I'd get Dad," Lily answered truthfully.
"How 'bout we go down to The Magical Menagerie as have a look, see if anything strikes your fancy," Seamus said and they headed down the alley towards the shop.
They stepped into the shop that was chockfull of many interesting creatures. Rats that skipped in circles, double-ended newts, fire-dwelling salamanders, various types of owl and cat, toads, and other creatures that Lily had absolutely no name for. "Good afternoon, how may I help you?" asked a younger looking witch in vibrant purple robes.
"My daughter Lily might be wanting an animal to take to Hogwarts with her, it's her first year," Seamus said with a smile to the witch.
"Ah, I see. Well, Hogwarts students are allowed owls, toads and cats, and sometimes rats. Personally, I would recommend either a cat or an owl, because cats can keep you company and owls can do the same while also delivering your mail and while toads are sometimes fashionable they go out of season easily and rats well are rather a pest," said the witch at which the skipping and dancing rats stopped their motions and stuck out their tongues at her which she didn't even bother with a glance but looked down at Lily as if it was her choice completely.
"I think that I would like an owl because Petunia has a cat and it's a menace and I wouldn't want a cat of mine to pick up traits from hers," Lily said quietly.
"Alright then, come over here and look at the owls. There are snowy owls, barn owls, screech owls, small pygmy owls," and she went on to list many more types of owls some of which couldn't be found at The Magical Menagerie but down the street at Eeylopes Owl Emporium. The one that sounded most interesting to Lily was only found at Eeylopes Owl Emporium, so they said good day to the witch and walked to the street to the owl shop went in and came out twenty minutes later with a cage and an owl, it was a grey female barn owl with yellow eyes and curved beak. Lily thought it was just about the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
They left Diagon Alley soon after that, but not before Seamus ran into a man from the Ministry that he clearly didn't want to be anywhere near.
"Seamus Evans, the muggle loving fool," a cold voice drawled from near the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
Seamus whipped around to see a man of average height and build, with a hooked nose and black, shoulder length greasy looking hair. "What do you want Snape?" Seamus asked calmly, though Lily could tell that her father would rather pound the man into the ground then have any sort of decent conversation with.
"Well Evans, I just wanted to get a look at what your half muggle daughter looked like, and my son Serverus needed his things for Hogwarts of course, so we made a little detour," the elder Snape said gesturing to his son who was a miniature of himself, except younger, but he had the same hooked nose and the same greasy looking hair.
Lily instantly wanted to call him a slimy git and walk away. Serverus Snape looked at Lily in the strangest way and Lily got the impression that he wanted to drag her off and do something entirely disgusting that only adults and crazy teenagers did. Eew!!, was the only thought that Lily had and then proceeded to clear her mind of any nasty pictures.
"Tell your son to stay away from my daughter Snape. If I hear one word from her about your son bothering her, I will find you and I will dismantle you with my bare hands, I promise," Seamus said and fire seemed to glint in his eyes.
"Now, now, Evans, that's not a good way to appeal to your little girl. She might think that you're a monster," Snape said with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
Lily hearing this said, "The only person here who I think is a monster is you. You're the one who is picking fights in public with the hope of angering my father so much that he'll attack you and ruin his reputation. Go home Mr. Snape, you aren't wanted here," she looked just as angry as her father and watched the surprise flicker in both of the Snapes' eyes. Seamus smiled down at his daughter; she was always the negotiator at home between Petunia and himself.
"Very well then Miss Evans. If you believe we're not wanted here, then we will leave your presence, but at Hogwarts you won't have your father there to protect you," Snape said and looked down at Serverus with a meaningful look.
Seamus looked about to jump Snape when Harold Potter walked over from where he'd been standing with James and said, "Leave him Seamus, what Lily said is completely right, he wants you to lose face with the wizard population. Let it go," he grasped Seamus's forearm tightly as the Snape's walked away.
"Yeah, you're both right. Lil, come here," Seamus said and picked Lily up in his arms and kissed her cheeks, "You are the most precious thing in my life right now, never forget that. Thank you for being my voice of reason," he smiled at her causing her to grin and a smattering of applause to break out in the people around them.
"No problem Dad, I love you," Lily said and burrowed in a little more.
"I love you too. Thanks Harold," Seamus said smiling and causing light to shine in his eyes. Seamus caught sight of James and asked, "James, you'll look after my Lily at Hogwarts won't you?" which caused Lily to blush.
"Of course, if she'll let me," James smirked up at them both.
"I imagine she will, eventually. Well, we really have to get going, her mother will start to worry if we don't get home soon," Seamus said to both of them.
"O' course, see you in the office Seamus; and I look forward to seeing more of you as well Lily," Harold said and took James by the shoulder and steered him away, while James watched Seamus and Lily gathered their packages and left by way of The Leaky Cauldron.
Thanks for reading! Please read & review! ~ Frankie ~
Chapter 2: Getting Supplies & Meeting Enemies
The next day Seamus woke Lily up at the crack of dawn and told her to get dressed. Lily did so quickly and they ate a small breakfast before setting off in the family car. Lily was so full of questions she didn't know where to begin, but she figured that a lot of the questions would be answered that day.
About halfway to London Seamus asked, "Did you get a chance to look over your list?" Lily shook her head and Seamus pulled a yellowed piece of parchment from his pocket. It read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Uniform
First Year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed had (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
One set dress robes
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
Course Books
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 glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Lily looked over at her father, her eyes wide with shock, "This is all in London? Where on earth are we going to find it?" she asked looking nervous.
"Yes, all that's in London, if you know where to look," Seamus said and parked the car. They got out and Lily practically clung to her father's hand. "Don't worry my Water Lily, everything will be okay," he said and they walked down the street to a barely noticeable little pub called The Leaky Cauldron.
They entered the dimly lit shop and Lily's eyes saw her first batch of witches and wizards and other magical folks. "Oy! Seamus!" a voiced called from a darkened corner where a man about 3 times the size of a normal man sat, waving at them.
They walked up to the giant man and Seamus said, "Good day Hagrid, this is my lovely daughter Lily. She's starting at Hogwarts this year," and gestured to Lily, who stood half hidden behind her father.
"G'day lil lady, 'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys n' Grounds at Hogwarts," Hagrid said, smiling a friendly smile behind his miles and miles of dark beard and stuck out his hand to shake hers.
"Hello Hagrid," Lily said, and stuck her hand out as well, and Hagrid grasped hers gently.
"So, startin' at Hogwarts, yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts, I did n' still do. I best be off though, got sumthin to do for Professor Dumbledore, be seein' yeh 'round Lily," Hagrid said and lumbered off.
"Don't be scared by Hagrids' size Lily, he's one of the kindest men I know, met him at Hogwarts when I went. If you ever need someone to talk to, Hagrid's the one to go to." Seamus said and led Lily to the alley behind the pub. He pulled his wand out of his muggle jacket pocket and tapped the bricks above the garbage can twice and then three times and the bricks moved and reshaped themselves until there was an archway there large enough for even someone Hagrid's size to fit through. This archway led to the most unusual place that Lily had ever seen. It was full of people, all different kinds of people, all wearing robes of different colors and sizes. There were owls and cats and other magical creatures in the window of a shop called The Magical Menagerie. There was a large white building at the far end of Diagon Alley, which was called Gringotts, which was where they were headed first.
Seamus and Lily entered the bank and she was stunned by all the different kinds of creatures and how mean the goblins looked. They had one wild and crazy ride through the tunnels in a wobbly cart to the Evan's vault where Seamus collected some money and put it in a bag and said "Think of it as an allowance of sorts for the wizarding world. Galleons, Sickles and Kunts. The gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, seventeen to a galleon, the bronze ones are kunts, twenty nine kunts to a sickle, its pretty easy once you get used to it," as he handed her the pouch with the money in it.
They left the bank and walked back into Diagon Alley where the sun was shining hotly on the bricks of the walk. "What do you want to get first Lily?" Seamus asked her, looking down at her expectantly.
"I- I don't know, how about doing it in order?" Lily asked apprehensively as she looked down at the paper in her hands which said Uniform followed by a lot more information.
"Alright then, to Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions," Seamus said, grasping Lily's hand and heading off down the alley. They passed a number of people, some who looked just as nervous as Lily and others who this seemed to be very old to. Others who were wandering aimlessly. They walked into a shop and an older looking woman came up and asked, "Hogwarts dears?" Seamus nodded politely and watched as she led Lily off to be measured for robes looking terrified. Seamus smiled and mouthed, "Don't worry, I'll be right here." Lily nodded and followed the kind old woman to a platform which she was told to stand on and was then draped with a black robe which she measured to the correct length and things.
Lily was standing next to a boy about her height with dark hair and even darker eyes which gleamed with mischief. He glanced over at her and smiled, "Sirius Black," he said holding out his hand for her to shake. "Hogwarts I take it?" he nodded at her robes.
Lily looked down for a second at her robes before grasping the boys hand and saying, "Lily Evans."
Sirius smirked, "Muggle-born?" he asked making conversation.
"If you mean my that my dad's a wizard and my mum's a witch then yes," Lily said utterly confused by the term, having forgotten to ask her dad about it.
"Ah, half an half. Did you just find out or something?" Sirius asked her as Madam Malkin adjusted his robes.
"Yes, dad hadn't really told mum, so she was a bit shocked. Got my letter yesterday and that's when I found out," Lily said.
"Then that means you don't know about Quidditch! I say, you'll love it! It's got 4 balls, 3 of them fly, 2 go around trying to knock the players off their brooms. It's a great sport," he said as Madam Malkin finished with Lily's robes and told her she was done. "I guess I'll see you on the train, maybe we'll be in the same house," Sirius called as Lily walked away and waved as she left the shop with her dad.
"Seemed like a nice boy," Seamus said and led Lily to the next shop as she nodded.
"What's Quidditch?" Lily asked quietly keeping her voice low to avoid embarrassment.
"What's quidditch? Oh my, it's our sport. Wizard's sport. There are 4 balls. 1 quaffle, 2 bludgers, and 1 golden snitch. The quaffle is passed between 3 players per team called chasers; who try to put the ball through 3 hoops at each end of the pitch, the bludgers try to unseat the players and are directed by the beaters, two of them, who carry bats to direct them. Then the snitch is a very small ball that is super fast and hard to see, it flies around and the seeker tries to find it and catch it before the other teams' seeker, it ends the game and gives the team that catches it 150 points. It's a lot of fun to play and a lot of fun to watch too. I'll take you to a game next summer if you like, but you'll probably see many games at school this year," Seamus explained as they walked into Flourish and Blotts book shop to get Lily's school books, which didn't take very long. Before they knew it they were off to get everything else, saving the wand for last.
Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. read the faded sign above the door to the shop. They entered to find a dusty shop filled wall to wall with shelves which were piled with lots and lots of small boxes of different colors. Lily looked around in awe at the boxes; there were hundreds perhaps thousands of the boxes which she assumed would contain one wand each. She was knocked from her reverie when a soft voice called out of the shadows, "Good afternoon," which caused both Lily and Seamus to jump.
"Ah, good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," Seamus said a little shakily, tightening his hold on Lily's hand a little, in reassurance.
"Seamus Evans, walnut; I believe, twelve and a quarter inches, pliable, nice for charm work, with a unicorn hair, correct?" the quiet man with eyes like moons staring at them from his head, which was covered in white hair asked without expecting an answer. Seamus nodded and Mr. Ollivander turned to Lily, "Your daughter, I presume. Thought I would be seeing her soon, too bad her sister didn't have the magic in her," he said as quietly as before, taking a measuring tape from the table behind him.
"Now, Miss Evans, which would be your wand arm?" Ollivander asked Lily.
"Um, I'm right handed," Lily said a little shake in her voice at being addressed finally. Mr. Ollivander nodded and began to measure Lily's arm and a number of other strange places like the distance between her eyes before he waved his hand and the tape clattered to the floor while he pulled a number of boxes from the shelves and set them on the spindly chair in the corner of the cramped room.
"Now, Miss Evans, this one is ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy, try it out," Mr. Ollivander held out a wand to Lily, which she grasped and held for a second before he said, "Give it a wave." Before she could move it more then a fraction of an inch, he'd grabbed it from her and handed her a new one, "mahogany, eleven inches, pliable. no, that's not right. try this one. Willow, ten and a quarter inches, swishy, good for charm work," he handed her a yellowish brown wand and the instant that Lily touched it she felt a warmness inside of her, and a calm yellow light shot out from its tip. Mr. Ollivander smiled and said, "Well done, very well done." Lily blushed readily at Mr. Ollivanders' praise. He took the wand back and placed it again it it's box and brought them over to the register. "You'll do well in Charms, Miss Evans, that much is clear," he said and then stated the price which Lily happily produced from the pouch in her pocket and they left the shop just as a man and a younger replication of him walked into the shop.
Dark unruly hair, chocolate brown eyes and glasses, the younger boy was definitely the elder man's son. The older man smiled at the sight of Seamus and called out to him, "Seamus, good boy. It's good to see you; you've been cooped up in your office too long. This must be your daughter Lily, the one you're always talking about when I see you of good spirits. This is my son, James," the man said quickly and smiled charmingly at Lily, who looked over at James and smiled.
"Harold Potter, it has been quite a bit since I have seen you. James, you look well, starting at Hogwarts too?" Seamus asked with a smile.
"Yes sir, I'm really looking forward to it," James said smiling back, and looking over at Lily again, wondering why she attracted his attention so.
"Well, we really must be going. Lily's mother will worry if we're gone too long," Seamus said taking up the rest of Lily's packages in one hand and her hand in another and they started for the door.
"See you on the train Lily," James said and smiled at her and she replied, "Yes, see you," and they walked out the door.
Seamus pulled Lily aside outside the wand shop and asked, "It says on your list that you're allowed an animal, do you want one?"
"I don't know what I'd get Dad," Lily answered truthfully.
"How 'bout we go down to The Magical Menagerie as have a look, see if anything strikes your fancy," Seamus said and they headed down the alley towards the shop.
They stepped into the shop that was chockfull of many interesting creatures. Rats that skipped in circles, double-ended newts, fire-dwelling salamanders, various types of owl and cat, toads, and other creatures that Lily had absolutely no name for. "Good afternoon, how may I help you?" asked a younger looking witch in vibrant purple robes.
"My daughter Lily might be wanting an animal to take to Hogwarts with her, it's her first year," Seamus said with a smile to the witch.
"Ah, I see. Well, Hogwarts students are allowed owls, toads and cats, and sometimes rats. Personally, I would recommend either a cat or an owl, because cats can keep you company and owls can do the same while also delivering your mail and while toads are sometimes fashionable they go out of season easily and rats well are rather a pest," said the witch at which the skipping and dancing rats stopped their motions and stuck out their tongues at her which she didn't even bother with a glance but looked down at Lily as if it was her choice completely.
"I think that I would like an owl because Petunia has a cat and it's a menace and I wouldn't want a cat of mine to pick up traits from hers," Lily said quietly.
"Alright then, come over here and look at the owls. There are snowy owls, barn owls, screech owls, small pygmy owls," and she went on to list many more types of owls some of which couldn't be found at The Magical Menagerie but down the street at Eeylopes Owl Emporium. The one that sounded most interesting to Lily was only found at Eeylopes Owl Emporium, so they said good day to the witch and walked to the street to the owl shop went in and came out twenty minutes later with a cage and an owl, it was a grey female barn owl with yellow eyes and curved beak. Lily thought it was just about the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
They left Diagon Alley soon after that, but not before Seamus ran into a man from the Ministry that he clearly didn't want to be anywhere near.
"Seamus Evans, the muggle loving fool," a cold voice drawled from near the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
Seamus whipped around to see a man of average height and build, with a hooked nose and black, shoulder length greasy looking hair. "What do you want Snape?" Seamus asked calmly, though Lily could tell that her father would rather pound the man into the ground then have any sort of decent conversation with.
"Well Evans, I just wanted to get a look at what your half muggle daughter looked like, and my son Serverus needed his things for Hogwarts of course, so we made a little detour," the elder Snape said gesturing to his son who was a miniature of himself, except younger, but he had the same hooked nose and the same greasy looking hair.
Lily instantly wanted to call him a slimy git and walk away. Serverus Snape looked at Lily in the strangest way and Lily got the impression that he wanted to drag her off and do something entirely disgusting that only adults and crazy teenagers did. Eew!!, was the only thought that Lily had and then proceeded to clear her mind of any nasty pictures.
"Tell your son to stay away from my daughter Snape. If I hear one word from her about your son bothering her, I will find you and I will dismantle you with my bare hands, I promise," Seamus said and fire seemed to glint in his eyes.
"Now, now, Evans, that's not a good way to appeal to your little girl. She might think that you're a monster," Snape said with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
Lily hearing this said, "The only person here who I think is a monster is you. You're the one who is picking fights in public with the hope of angering my father so much that he'll attack you and ruin his reputation. Go home Mr. Snape, you aren't wanted here," she looked just as angry as her father and watched the surprise flicker in both of the Snapes' eyes. Seamus smiled down at his daughter; she was always the negotiator at home between Petunia and himself.
"Very well then Miss Evans. If you believe we're not wanted here, then we will leave your presence, but at Hogwarts you won't have your father there to protect you," Snape said and looked down at Serverus with a meaningful look.
Seamus looked about to jump Snape when Harold Potter walked over from where he'd been standing with James and said, "Leave him Seamus, what Lily said is completely right, he wants you to lose face with the wizard population. Let it go," he grasped Seamus's forearm tightly as the Snape's walked away.
"Yeah, you're both right. Lil, come here," Seamus said and picked Lily up in his arms and kissed her cheeks, "You are the most precious thing in my life right now, never forget that. Thank you for being my voice of reason," he smiled at her causing her to grin and a smattering of applause to break out in the people around them.
"No problem Dad, I love you," Lily said and burrowed in a little more.
"I love you too. Thanks Harold," Seamus said smiling and causing light to shine in his eyes. Seamus caught sight of James and asked, "James, you'll look after my Lily at Hogwarts won't you?" which caused Lily to blush.
"Of course, if she'll let me," James smirked up at them both.
"I imagine she will, eventually. Well, we really have to get going, her mother will start to worry if we don't get home soon," Seamus said to both of them.
"O' course, see you in the office Seamus; and I look forward to seeing more of you as well Lily," Harold said and took James by the shoulder and steered him away, while James watched Seamus and Lily gathered their packages and left by way of The Leaky Cauldron.