*This would be Amy...thank you for the reviews! Rinoa, just try to log in over and over again, that's the only way I can work that site sometimes...curse those WB people...*
The next morning, Lily woke up early and started to get ready to go to Diagon Alley. She was still pretty clueless as to what her grandmother was hiding, but the redhead swore to forget about her fear today, and just enjoy the day with Carrie.
Lily slipped into a pair of sweatpants, a plain black shirt, and put her hair in a messy ponytail. Then, she put on her cheap black watch, and didn't even bother with make-up. It felt good to be able to be herself for once. She put on a pair of black shoes, and ran down the long flights of stairs (she was feeling too energetic for the elevator) and waved an enigmatic hello to Borris.
Her butler was dressed in his normal suit and tie, his hair combed and his face cleanly shaved. The look suited Borris very well...so, neat, and clean. Lily hopped into her limo, and asked Borris to pop in a punk rock CD. It was the first time she had listened to her kind of music in a long time, and she was happy to hear it again.
"Ah, it's good to be me..." She muttered.
The limo pulled up by a small yellow house on the side of the road, Carrie's house. Lily straightened her pants, sent Borris a thumbs-up, and rang the doorbell of her best friend's chipped white door. Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, and a annoyed 15-year old swung the door open. She was dressed in lojng black pants and a red shirt. Her hair was a total mess and sticking up everywhere. Her fingernails were painted black and chipping quickly. It was definitely Carrie.
Suddenly, the bored expression left the face of Carrie, and a grin lit up on her face. "Lils!" She shrieked, and threw her arms around the redhead. Then, she eyed Borris rather strangely and asked, "Who's this?"
"This is Borris, my butler -- the one who knows about Hogwarts and..."
"Oooh, Orri! Hey, yeah, I've heard lots about you man!" Cried Carrie, and threw her arms around the 40-year old man as well. Borris looked uncomfortable and patted Carrie's back rather awkwardly while mouthing, "Orri?!"
Lily laughed. Her best friend was absolutely obsessed with nicknames. Orri was her nickname for Borris, she called Dumbledore Alby, and the Marauders were dubbed the "Rauders." Carrie made up random nicknames for everyone, and the two always had a laugh over her strange obsession.
"Well, then...let's go!" Cried Carrie, once Borris had gotten over his shock over his new name...Orri.
Carrie gasped when she saw the shiny black limo parked right outside her shabby house -- but soon smiled. "You know, I really sometimes like the fact that you're rich..." she said, and hopped into the car.
The two sang along to their punk rock songs so loudly during the car ride that Borris had to put Lily's "BLACK DEATH" earmuffs on. He yelled over the two girls' singing, "Could you keep it down?" Neither of them listened, and kept on singing right on until they pulled up on a the street.
It was a street in the middle of London, filled with rushing Muggles going on about their business. However, these two girls looks so...unaffected by all the rushing. While everyone had messed-up hair from the wind, and kept checking their watches, and had a cross expression on their faces...the girls didn't. They seemed out of place in such a busy, fast world. Lily and Carrie's walking was calm and cool, both of them were smiling, and they seemed so untouched by the tense mood. They were the kind of people that seemed like they could accept anything, and live through anything. They just seemed...strong.
Lily and Carrie however, did not notice that they were out of place in this Muggle street, and, laughing and joking, walked up to a small, shabby lot squeezed in between two, huge, Muggle buildings. It was a small cot-sort of place, and had a squeaky sign that said, "LEAKY CAULDRON" posted near it. It was the kind of place that the normal human eye would miss at first, and only when they were lead directly to the place, would they notice it. But these two girls walked right to the place as though it was their destination.
And it was.
Lily and Carrie walked into the shabby Leaky Cauldron, and surprisingly, everyone who was there had that strange...air around them. Everyone's eyes twinkled with the mystery of kept secrets, and instead of the cross, frustrated faces that many outside bore, most were laughing and talking cheerily. They just seemed like the kind of people who didn't belong in the busy streets of London.
Borris walked into the shop and felt an overwhelming sense of magic. Even though there were little kids in the shop, it just seemed to him that even those 5 year olds could be counted as superiors to him, because at such a young age, they knew...and believed in so much.
Then he spotted a small kid with moss-like, green skin and long, yellow fingernails. He wondered if the kid was getting ready for Halloween, and leaned into Lily and asked, "Is Halloween in August in the magic world?"
When Lily shot him a confused look, he pointed to the kid in the mask. Lily's gaze followed Borris's finger, and then a scowl came over her face. She pointed the "kid" out to Carrie too, and a similar expression formed on her face, too.
"Borris," whispered Lily cautiously, "If you went over to that 'kid' and tried to yank off his mask, all you would feel is warm, live, warty skin."
"What in the hell do you mean?" Asked Borris, his face growing alarmed.
"See, Orri--that's a goblin," said Carrie simply. "They're kinda...greedy, and they gamble all the time. They usually owe lots of money, and try to cheat you out of yours. So hold on tight to your wallet."
Borris nodded and clutched his pocket protectively, and the girls followed his example.
"OK Lily, be careful, I don't want you getting in any trouble..." started the butler.
"I know, Borris."
"And don't use too much money, I don't want you to run out..."
"I know, Borris."
"And..."
"Borris," said Lily firmly, "you sound like my father or something! I'll be fine, you know I can take care of myself..."
"Yes, but I feel like a father to you, Lily, you know that---"
"But you're not. And you can't be. Come on, you know that."
Borris looked at his almost daughter sadly, and knew she was right. He worked for Madam Evans, the woman who wished the worst for Lily, and if he ever tried to adopt the poor redhead and give her a better life, it would become a huge scandal and the madam would find some way to twist the law around and arrest him.
"Yes. I know. I'll pick you both up at 6:30." He said, nodding at the two girls, and he walked out of the Leaky Cauldron sadly.
Lily watched the retreating back of her butler, and then turned away, fighting back the tears.
"Hey, you want to get a butterbeer?" Asked Carrie, sensing that Lily was feeling a little depressed. The redhead smiled at her best friend and nodded.
"Hey Tom! Could we have two butterbeers please?" Shouted Carrie over the mayhem, and a young man somewhere in his 30's with slightly crooked teeth and a bit of a stomach looked at them. Suddenly, the man's face split into a wide grin.
"Lily! Carrie!" He exclaimed, and came out from the bar, ignoring his other customers. "I haven't seen you two in so long...firs' time I met you, you were two teeny firs' years..."
Lily laughed as she remembered the memory of her first time in the Leaky Cauldron.
It had been a nice, sunny, quiet day that Lily had first visited the Leaky Cauldron. At first, her grandmother was very paranoid about magic, and had forbidden her granddaughter to go to Hogwarts. Angry, Lily remembered leaving the house with a bunch of stolen money from Borris, and walked and walked until she finally stumbled upon the Leaky Cauldron. At that time, the girl felt lost, abandoned, and stupid for leaving the house, and was on the verge of tears.
Lily remembered walking into the cauldron, and asking Tom softly if he knew the way to Diagon Alley. Taking one look at the poor girl, Tom gave her two free butterbeers and asked her if she was a Muggle-born.
"Huh? What's a Muggle-born?"
"That's what you call a magic person who was born from non-magic people."
"Oh...well then, yeah, I guess..."
Suddenly, a boy who was sitting across the counter whipped his head around and asked, "Muggle?" He had raging red hair, just like Lily's, and soft blue eyes. He quickly stuck his hand out and said, "Arthur Weasley. Now, are you a Muggle born?"
"Er...yes."
"Really? Hmm...that's interesting. You know, I have always wanted to ask this question. What is elekity?"
Lily had spent the next hour or two, sipping butterbeers and explaining about the Muggle way of life. Electricity, TV, computers, why Muggle pictures don't move...Arthur and Tom both seemed intrigued by Lily and they seemed to want to know more and more. Eventually, Tom abandoned his own customers, told everyone to get their own drinks, and listened to Lily intently. Lily, who had felt she had made two new friends, was very grateful towards the two, and kept on talking for a long time.
After two hours, Arthur decided that he needed to go shopping for school supplies, and took Lily with him. The third-year gave an extravagant tour of pretty much the whole of Diagon Alley, and even bought her an ice cream cone! Lily was very pleased with her new friend, when a boy with short blond hair ran up to them.
"Arthur--we were pulling a prank on the Slytherins, and now that annoying second-year is yelling at us!"
"Huh? Oh, that Molly kid--I'll take care of her. Lil, thanks for teaching me about Muggles! I'll see you later!"
Then, he ran off to where two ugly-looking boys were lying on the ground, both sporting purple hair. Lily tried not to giggle and guessed that those were the "Slytherins." A stout-looking girl with wild red hair just like hers stood with her hands on her hips.
"Arthur Weasley!" She screamed shrilly. "Stop harassing Slytherins! Just because we're Gryffindors, doesn't mean--"
"Shut up, Molly. You're only a second year. You know you can't beat us third-years."
"Yeah, right, Weasley." Sneered the temperamental girl. "I will kick your bloody arse if it's the last thing I do!"
Lily remembered thinking, Go get him, girl... before she was pulled out of her memory by Tom.
"Lily?! Hello, are you still there?" Asked a worried-looking Tom, as he waved his hand frantically in front of her face. Lily smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, sorry...I was just remembering the first day I came here..."
Carrie interrupted and said, "Come on, Orri is going to pick us up soon, so let's go shopping!"
"Shopping? Ergh...you sound just like my niece...I thought that maybe I could explain to her about how elektikity works or something, but all she wants to do is shop..." sighed Tom.
"Tom!" exclaimed Lily, almost angrily. "You know we're not like that. We're not like those preps who spend all their time talking about guys...you know that!"
Tom smiled at the two girls, gave them a thumbs up and said, "Yes, I know that. I'm just joking...now run along, go get your school supplies!"
"OK! Bye Tommy!" Shouted Carrie and ran out of the bar, heading to the brick wall that lead to Diagon Alley. Lily followed her example after waving at Tom.
"Ah, good girls they are..." said the man quietly to himself, and then turned back to his customers.
The next morning, Lily woke up early and started to get ready to go to Diagon Alley. She was still pretty clueless as to what her grandmother was hiding, but the redhead swore to forget about her fear today, and just enjoy the day with Carrie.
Lily slipped into a pair of sweatpants, a plain black shirt, and put her hair in a messy ponytail. Then, she put on her cheap black watch, and didn't even bother with make-up. It felt good to be able to be herself for once. She put on a pair of black shoes, and ran down the long flights of stairs (she was feeling too energetic for the elevator) and waved an enigmatic hello to Borris.
Her butler was dressed in his normal suit and tie, his hair combed and his face cleanly shaved. The look suited Borris very well...so, neat, and clean. Lily hopped into her limo, and asked Borris to pop in a punk rock CD. It was the first time she had listened to her kind of music in a long time, and she was happy to hear it again.
"Ah, it's good to be me..." She muttered.
The limo pulled up by a small yellow house on the side of the road, Carrie's house. Lily straightened her pants, sent Borris a thumbs-up, and rang the doorbell of her best friend's chipped white door. Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, and a annoyed 15-year old swung the door open. She was dressed in lojng black pants and a red shirt. Her hair was a total mess and sticking up everywhere. Her fingernails were painted black and chipping quickly. It was definitely Carrie.
Suddenly, the bored expression left the face of Carrie, and a grin lit up on her face. "Lils!" She shrieked, and threw her arms around the redhead. Then, she eyed Borris rather strangely and asked, "Who's this?"
"This is Borris, my butler -- the one who knows about Hogwarts and..."
"Oooh, Orri! Hey, yeah, I've heard lots about you man!" Cried Carrie, and threw her arms around the 40-year old man as well. Borris looked uncomfortable and patted Carrie's back rather awkwardly while mouthing, "Orri?!"
Lily laughed. Her best friend was absolutely obsessed with nicknames. Orri was her nickname for Borris, she called Dumbledore Alby, and the Marauders were dubbed the "Rauders." Carrie made up random nicknames for everyone, and the two always had a laugh over her strange obsession.
"Well, then...let's go!" Cried Carrie, once Borris had gotten over his shock over his new name...Orri.
Carrie gasped when she saw the shiny black limo parked right outside her shabby house -- but soon smiled. "You know, I really sometimes like the fact that you're rich..." she said, and hopped into the car.
The two sang along to their punk rock songs so loudly during the car ride that Borris had to put Lily's "BLACK DEATH" earmuffs on. He yelled over the two girls' singing, "Could you keep it down?" Neither of them listened, and kept on singing right on until they pulled up on a the street.
It was a street in the middle of London, filled with rushing Muggles going on about their business. However, these two girls looks so...unaffected by all the rushing. While everyone had messed-up hair from the wind, and kept checking their watches, and had a cross expression on their faces...the girls didn't. They seemed out of place in such a busy, fast world. Lily and Carrie's walking was calm and cool, both of them were smiling, and they seemed so untouched by the tense mood. They were the kind of people that seemed like they could accept anything, and live through anything. They just seemed...strong.
Lily and Carrie however, did not notice that they were out of place in this Muggle street, and, laughing and joking, walked up to a small, shabby lot squeezed in between two, huge, Muggle buildings. It was a small cot-sort of place, and had a squeaky sign that said, "LEAKY CAULDRON" posted near it. It was the kind of place that the normal human eye would miss at first, and only when they were lead directly to the place, would they notice it. But these two girls walked right to the place as though it was their destination.
And it was.
Lily and Carrie walked into the shabby Leaky Cauldron, and surprisingly, everyone who was there had that strange...air around them. Everyone's eyes twinkled with the mystery of kept secrets, and instead of the cross, frustrated faces that many outside bore, most were laughing and talking cheerily. They just seemed like the kind of people who didn't belong in the busy streets of London.
Borris walked into the shop and felt an overwhelming sense of magic. Even though there were little kids in the shop, it just seemed to him that even those 5 year olds could be counted as superiors to him, because at such a young age, they knew...and believed in so much.
Then he spotted a small kid with moss-like, green skin and long, yellow fingernails. He wondered if the kid was getting ready for Halloween, and leaned into Lily and asked, "Is Halloween in August in the magic world?"
When Lily shot him a confused look, he pointed to the kid in the mask. Lily's gaze followed Borris's finger, and then a scowl came over her face. She pointed the "kid" out to Carrie too, and a similar expression formed on her face, too.
"Borris," whispered Lily cautiously, "If you went over to that 'kid' and tried to yank off his mask, all you would feel is warm, live, warty skin."
"What in the hell do you mean?" Asked Borris, his face growing alarmed.
"See, Orri--that's a goblin," said Carrie simply. "They're kinda...greedy, and they gamble all the time. They usually owe lots of money, and try to cheat you out of yours. So hold on tight to your wallet."
Borris nodded and clutched his pocket protectively, and the girls followed his example.
"OK Lily, be careful, I don't want you getting in any trouble..." started the butler.
"I know, Borris."
"And don't use too much money, I don't want you to run out..."
"I know, Borris."
"And..."
"Borris," said Lily firmly, "you sound like my father or something! I'll be fine, you know I can take care of myself..."
"Yes, but I feel like a father to you, Lily, you know that---"
"But you're not. And you can't be. Come on, you know that."
Borris looked at his almost daughter sadly, and knew she was right. He worked for Madam Evans, the woman who wished the worst for Lily, and if he ever tried to adopt the poor redhead and give her a better life, it would become a huge scandal and the madam would find some way to twist the law around and arrest him.
"Yes. I know. I'll pick you both up at 6:30." He said, nodding at the two girls, and he walked out of the Leaky Cauldron sadly.
Lily watched the retreating back of her butler, and then turned away, fighting back the tears.
"Hey, you want to get a butterbeer?" Asked Carrie, sensing that Lily was feeling a little depressed. The redhead smiled at her best friend and nodded.
"Hey Tom! Could we have two butterbeers please?" Shouted Carrie over the mayhem, and a young man somewhere in his 30's with slightly crooked teeth and a bit of a stomach looked at them. Suddenly, the man's face split into a wide grin.
"Lily! Carrie!" He exclaimed, and came out from the bar, ignoring his other customers. "I haven't seen you two in so long...firs' time I met you, you were two teeny firs' years..."
Lily laughed as she remembered the memory of her first time in the Leaky Cauldron.
It had been a nice, sunny, quiet day that Lily had first visited the Leaky Cauldron. At first, her grandmother was very paranoid about magic, and had forbidden her granddaughter to go to Hogwarts. Angry, Lily remembered leaving the house with a bunch of stolen money from Borris, and walked and walked until she finally stumbled upon the Leaky Cauldron. At that time, the girl felt lost, abandoned, and stupid for leaving the house, and was on the verge of tears.
Lily remembered walking into the cauldron, and asking Tom softly if he knew the way to Diagon Alley. Taking one look at the poor girl, Tom gave her two free butterbeers and asked her if she was a Muggle-born.
"Huh? What's a Muggle-born?"
"That's what you call a magic person who was born from non-magic people."
"Oh...well then, yeah, I guess..."
Suddenly, a boy who was sitting across the counter whipped his head around and asked, "Muggle?" He had raging red hair, just like Lily's, and soft blue eyes. He quickly stuck his hand out and said, "Arthur Weasley. Now, are you a Muggle born?"
"Er...yes."
"Really? Hmm...that's interesting. You know, I have always wanted to ask this question. What is elekity?"
Lily had spent the next hour or two, sipping butterbeers and explaining about the Muggle way of life. Electricity, TV, computers, why Muggle pictures don't move...Arthur and Tom both seemed intrigued by Lily and they seemed to want to know more and more. Eventually, Tom abandoned his own customers, told everyone to get their own drinks, and listened to Lily intently. Lily, who had felt she had made two new friends, was very grateful towards the two, and kept on talking for a long time.
After two hours, Arthur decided that he needed to go shopping for school supplies, and took Lily with him. The third-year gave an extravagant tour of pretty much the whole of Diagon Alley, and even bought her an ice cream cone! Lily was very pleased with her new friend, when a boy with short blond hair ran up to them.
"Arthur--we were pulling a prank on the Slytherins, and now that annoying second-year is yelling at us!"
"Huh? Oh, that Molly kid--I'll take care of her. Lil, thanks for teaching me about Muggles! I'll see you later!"
Then, he ran off to where two ugly-looking boys were lying on the ground, both sporting purple hair. Lily tried not to giggle and guessed that those were the "Slytherins." A stout-looking girl with wild red hair just like hers stood with her hands on her hips.
"Arthur Weasley!" She screamed shrilly. "Stop harassing Slytherins! Just because we're Gryffindors, doesn't mean--"
"Shut up, Molly. You're only a second year. You know you can't beat us third-years."
"Yeah, right, Weasley." Sneered the temperamental girl. "I will kick your bloody arse if it's the last thing I do!"
Lily remembered thinking, Go get him, girl... before she was pulled out of her memory by Tom.
"Lily?! Hello, are you still there?" Asked a worried-looking Tom, as he waved his hand frantically in front of her face. Lily smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, sorry...I was just remembering the first day I came here..."
Carrie interrupted and said, "Come on, Orri is going to pick us up soon, so let's go shopping!"
"Shopping? Ergh...you sound just like my niece...I thought that maybe I could explain to her about how elektikity works or something, but all she wants to do is shop..." sighed Tom.
"Tom!" exclaimed Lily, almost angrily. "You know we're not like that. We're not like those preps who spend all their time talking about guys...you know that!"
Tom smiled at the two girls, gave them a thumbs up and said, "Yes, I know that. I'm just joking...now run along, go get your school supplies!"
"OK! Bye Tommy!" Shouted Carrie and ran out of the bar, heading to the brick wall that lead to Diagon Alley. Lily followed her example after waving at Tom.
"Ah, good girls they are..." said the man quietly to himself, and then turned back to his customers.