Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. There.

Eleanor Larathiel - Eh... a bit quicker? I send you this just last night! A bit quicker, you can say that again. :) Nice. I would love to bèta-read 'Weg'. I'll get to be the first who reads it :). I will be patient. I have to be. I can't force people to read this. Switching to dutch now. Er is heel veel wat je gewoon niet letterlijk kunt vertalen van Engels naar nederlands en andersom. Daarom is het fijn om iemand te laten bèta lezen. En dat stukje: I slip into the black dress." "I saw my reflection in the mirror.". Dat moet gewoon "I see my reflection in the mirror' zijn. foutje. Komt inderdaad omdat Rowling haar verhaal in de past schrijft en ik in de presence. En het stukje dat ik heb toegevoegd... is dat stukje met de zilveren deuren. Was ik vergeten in het nederlands. :) You like it? Ik heb msn, maar ik ben niet vaak on-line. Maar misschien gaat dat nog veranderen... :) Bedankt voor het snelle bèta lezen! PS. Ik vind het niet erg dat je mijn naam verkeerd hebt gespeld, moest het alleen ff zeggen.

duj - Thanks for your compliments :) Thanks for reading :) Thanks for reviewing :)

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CHAPTER THREE
Diagon Alley

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Caressing the beautiful fabric of the dress, I think of the man who bought me the dress, even while he doesn't know me. Wait, I don't even know his name. That's kind of rude of me. I really should ask him his name later, when he comes back.

It's quiet in my head. A bit too quiet, seeing how I will have to change clothes now, makes me feel nervous, I can't 'feel' anyone. What if someone just came bursting in? Thankfully there's a lock on this door. I quickly lock the door and look around the room again.

It's not big. Just big enough for one person. Where did 'the man' sleep?

I touch the dark dress again. It's so beautiful. And I am allowed to wear that! Trusting the lock on the door I undress and begin washing myself. Washing feels so good after all this time. I was really filthy. Thankfully the bruises on my body are slowly fading.

Besides a dress, the man had also bought me shoes and underwear. I toss my own ragged underwear in a corner of the room and put on the new, clean underwear and green tights. They match my headband beautifully. I slip into the black dress. I see my reflection in the mirror and smile pleased, it fits me and it suites me beautifully.

Now I can take a good look at myself. I'm not that unattractive. Well, I don't think I am. I only have to comb my hair, and everything would look perfect. That will be quite a job. My long, curly hair doesn't like to be combed. Without a second thought I take of my headband. At once thousands thoughts invade my mind and I have to grasp on to the sink to prevent me from falling. My God! No wonder I always had such a headache. It never had that force, but I think it's because of the headband. After having it on for a while, the thoughts are unbearable when I don't wear it. Quickly I put it on again. Well, I guess I have to comb my hair while wearing it. It went better then I would have thought. I seat myself on the bed and try on my beautiful black polished shoes. They fit as if they were specially made for me.

I look in the mirror again and almost don't recognise myself. Before me I see quite a good looking ten year old. I smile and see for the first time that I have dimpled cheeks. I look cute! Quickly I stop smiling. I don't want to look cute!

A nock on the door startles me. That has to be 'the man' so I quickly unlock the door.

"Are you ready?" He asks. "Breakfast is ready."

He eyes me. "I see the clothes fit."

I nod and it occurs to me again how serious the man looks. He avoids my gaze. For some reason he seems to be wearing a sad expression on his face. But I can't be sure of it because I'm wearing the headband. Without it, I would know in an instant why.

"Are you coming?" He asks, but I stay put.

"Well?"

I step up to him and offer him my hand. I hope he understands I'm trying to make acquaintance, that I would like to know his name. He looks at my hand. His eyes wander to my face and I see it begins to dawn on him and shakes my hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ramona Moonlight. My name is Severus Snape," he says in an official tone. "Professor of Potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, head of Slytherin House."

I startle. He's a teacher? I didn't expect that. He doesn't look like a teacher. Well, the sort of teacher I would expect. But if he says so, well then he is. I smile. He turns his head quickly as if avoiding me and leaves the room. A little disappointed I follow him and lock the door behind me. I hurry after him and while doing so, all kind of questions rush through my mind. 'What is Hogwarts?' and, 'What does he mean with 'House'?' We arrive downstairs in a dingy tab-room. It's crowded with strangely dressed people with pointy hats and long cloaks. I see the bald bartender looking our way and putting away his dishes. He walks towards us with some cautioun and I can't blame him. Severus looks extremely dangerous. Does he know he always had that menacing look on his face? Maybe it's his 'neutral' look. With a toothless smile the bartender welcomes me.

"Welcome at the Leaky Cauldron, miss."

I give him a small smile and it seems enough, because he shifts his attention to Severus.

"Is everything in order, sir?" He asks.

"We're hungry." He answers with his dark voice. "Do you have our meals ready?"

The bartender nods and beckons us to follow him to a small table in a quiet corner of the pub. I examine the strange looking people who are looking back just as curious. Quickly I look at the ground.

"The young lady is starting Hogwarts this year?" The bartender asks as we sit down.

I nod shyly.

"Then you're in the same year as young Harry Potter. Maybe you'll be able to talk to him." The bartender continues as if it should be a great honour for me to talk to this Harry Potter guy. But who is Harry Potter?

"Harry Potters' comings and goings do not interests us." Severus says icely.

While saying Harry Potters name he got a strange look in his eyes.

"Excuse me." The bartender says shocked and I'm getting more and more curious about this Harry Potter. I look at Severus with an asking look. He looks at me, but goes on talking with the bartender.

"Actually we are very hungry, aren't we Ramona?" He asks and I nod eagerly. A loud grumble was coming from my stomach. After nodding the bartender leaves for getting our dinner.

"You want to know about Harry Potter?" Severus asks.

I nod.

"First thing you need to know is that not all wizards are good people. There are wizards who use their powers to hurt people. Twenty years ago one of those 'bad' wizards went to search for followers. Sadly he got them. Many of them were people searching for more power also, others joined him because they were scared of him and others… for more personal reasons."

Is it just me or is Severus looking more and more miserable?

"This wizard killed everyone who stood in his way to more power. He killed the parents of Harry Potter, but when he turned his wand to Harry, the spell reflected and he disappeared. Harry is the one who 'saved' us from the Dark Lord. People act as if the boy has special powers or something. But if you ask me, he killed him with pure luck, nothing more, nothing less." Severus began to sound more and more sarcastic. I have the feeling he doesn't like this Harry Potter much. The bartender returns with our food. The hot chicken soup smells delicious, but I want to hear more about this Dark Lord so I keep looking at Severus intensely. However, he begins eating his soup and I think I'm not going to hear more about the subject. Severus notices my stare and sighs.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not helping one bit. I don't know why Dumbledore asked me to pick you up." He looks at his bowl of soup. Again I have the feeling he's lying or holding something back. There is more, much more than he's telling me. But, I respect his privacy. I let him keep his secrets.

"I can't stay much longer." He suddenly says.

I startle.

He might not be the most talkative person, but I like having him around. He makes me feel safe.

"I have to return to Hogwarts. I have to prepare my lessons. We will go to Gringott's to get you some money so you can buy your school supplies tomorrow. It's too late to do that now."

He starts eating again. Leaving me with more questions. What's Gringott's? Who's money?

He sees me looking again and lays down his spoon.

"Your mother has left you some money. In the wizarding bank, Gringott's." He says curtly and starts eating again.

I start eating too, uncertainly. What he said keeps swirling through my mind. My mother left me some money. My mother. Who was she? What kind of person was she? How was she… killed? I don't even know her name. Sometimes it's like I remember things. I was one year when they took me to the orphanage after all. I have to had spend my first year with her.

"Are you coming?" Severus says pulling me out of my thoughts.

He helps me into a new cloak. A beautiful green one. It's beginning to be my favourite colour. Still thinking about my mother I follow him through a door in the back of the pub. We're standing in a small, walled courtyard. Severus takes out a stick – is that a wand? – and taps the wall opposite three times. To my amazement a small hole appears and gets wider and wider. Until it's big enough to let us through to a cobbled street, which twists and turns out of sight. The little shops look like they've come straight out of a storybook. During the day the streets should be packed full of people, but now it's really quiet. Quite eerie.

"This is called Diagon Alley." Severus says as we walk. The streetlights spread their serene glow while I look at the shops. Severus is giving me instructions to where I should go to buy certain supplies. No, he's helping me remembering it, as if I already know all this, but I have forgotten it.

"You can buy your cauldron over there." He says pointing at a shop nearby. 'Cauldrons – All Size – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self Stirring – Collapsible' says a sign.

"And maybe you'd like to buy an owl. They are really useful creatures. You can buy them at Eeylops Owl Emporium."

I can hear the owls screech. Too bad I can't see them for the shutters are closed.

"You can buy your robes at Madam Malkin's shop and your books at Flourish and Blotts. Please make sure you buy at the Apothecary some extra black beetle eyes. They never put enough of them with the basic potions ingredients."

Black beetle eyes. I'll try to remember that.

"As for your wand you should go to Ollivanders."

I can't see the shop anywhere, but Severus doesn't spend any more attention to it.

"Here we are."

We're standing in front of a snowy white marble building. The burnished bronze doors are still open, while all the other shops are closed, and a strange looking creature is standing guard next to it. What kind of creature could that be. It was a small being, about a head shorter than me with a swarthy, clever face and a pointed beard. He got intelligent eyes pointed at us and says with accusing eyes: "We're about to close. You're just in time to get your money."

"Ramona? Come, you've heard what he said. They're going to close soon." Severus says.

I had been staring at the creature and suddenly a word pops up in my mind. Goblin. It's a goblin. I quickly catch up with Severus.

"That are Goblins, Ramona." He says.

Obviously he had seen me staring at the Goblin and I feel myself turning red and concentrate on my surroundings instead. Quietly I follow Severus through a pair of silver doors, 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.'

Severus sees me reading.

"Yes, many things guard the vaults and never has someone succeeded to steel something from Gringotts." Severus says with a concerned look on his face. "But two months ago someone did enter a vault that wasn't his and got away. Strangely he didn't take anything."

He looks at the words in the silver door deep in thought. I pull on his robe to let him snap out of it. He looks at me startled, but composes himself again and we walk further through the doors, into a big Hall, past a long table with Goblins weighing and measuring large diamonds and rubies, to a Goblin with his bureau on a platform. The Goblin looks at us disturbed.

"We would like to withdraw money from the vault of Miranda Moonlight."

Miranda Moonlight? Who's that? Is that my mother? My head spins.

"Miranda Moonlight died ten years ago." The Goblin says sourly.

"It's for her only daughter, Ramona Moonlight."

The Goblin bows over his desk to get a better look at me and Severus takes a step sideways.

"I see what you mean." The Goblin says after a long look that made me feel uneasy. "Do you have the key?"

It's like the question is meant for me and Severus at one time, who looks inside his pockets.

"Starlight." A voice sounds and I start.

A put a hand over my mouth, that voice was mine!

I try again, but the harder I try, the less sound comes from my mouth.

Nothing more came out of my mouth.

Severus looks at me astonished and the Goblin a bit too self-assured.

"Yes, that's right. That's the password." The Goblin says and I don't get it. "You see, only a real person with a blood-link to Miranda Moonlight can say the password and has to say it when it's asked. But only she can say it. You can try it, professor Snape, but you'll find it impossible to say it in here. This proves you ARE the daughter of Miranda Moonlight. Welcome back, miss Moonlight."

Severus still looks at me dumbfounded. He's holding an envelope in his hand. I look in his eyes and he snaps out of his confusion.

"No wonder this envelope says to go specifically to you." He says, giving the Goblin the envelope.

The Goblin opens it and studies the small key.

"This seems to be in order. Griphook!"

Another goblin came and took the key.

"Please follow me." The other says and I follow him holding the key close to my chest. Miranda Moonlight. So that was really the name of my mother. I look at Severus and make a promise to myself. Whenever I'm able to speak, I will ask him about her. He seems to know more than he lets go. The Goblin holds the door open for us and we come into a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the little railway tracks on the floor. We all climb into the cart and we shoot forwards. The cold wind blows stinging in my eyes and I close them. I hope everything goes well, because the goblin isn't steering. I press myself against Severus and to my surprise he wraps his arms around me.

Finally the cart stops.

"Vault 961." Griphook says and get out of the cart. "Key please." I'm trembling all over but I'm able to give him the key without falling over.

Griphook opens the vault and when I enter, torches flamed up and showed me a fairly big room. Astonished I looked around. I have no idea how much one of these golden coins are worth, but I sure do know what lies here is a fortune!

Everywhere I look there are piles of golden and silver coins, heaps of small bronze coins and I even see big diamonds.

"Yes, your mother came from a rich family." I hear Severus say behind me.

I turn around to look at him with questions in my eyes.

"Your mother came from a family with pure blood. That's what they call it when nobody from the family had children with a non-magical person. Her blood-line was one of the most purest and powerful. That's why…" He quickly stops and looks away.

That's why? That's why what? Why? I'm burning with curiosity, but the look in his eyes stop me from grabbing him by his cloak to beg him to tell more. He looks so… so sad. I can't find another word for it. That makes me turn around again to my money. My money! If I had known this all these years I've spend at the orphanage! Severus comes standing next to me.

"These are Galleons." He explains "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle."

He sees I'm still overwhelmed by all this riches and the information about my mother to get the money and picks up a small leather bag from the corner of the vault. He puts in some money and we exit again.

We get in the scary cart again and before I even can process all the information we're back outside again.

I have a lot to think about. My mother was called Miranda Moonlight and came from a blood-line with the most powerful wizards. That's why…

I don't know more and the 'that's why' keeps haunting through my mind even after I crawled into my big, comfy bed.

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