"Ah! This is it, The Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place, most well
known entrance to Diagon Alley." Lily, Howard, and Maria Evans had been
traveling for about a half hour with a representative from the Ministry of
Magic who was from the Muggle Relations branch whose name was Mr. Winstead.
Of course, yesterday Lily had no idea there was such a thing as the
Ministry of Magic existed and couldn't tell you what a muggle was to save
her life. She could now see, plain as daylight, a tiny, grubbly-looking
pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Apparently her parents weren't having the
same luck.
"Mr. Winstead, I see no Leaky Cauldron." Howard Evans said, quite bewildered.
"Nor do I, Mr. Winstead, nor do I." said Maria Evans, squinting around at the surrounding shops as if she looked hard enough she would suddenly see the pub.
"I see it." Lily said staring at the door in front of her.
"Dear me! I completely forgot! This place has muggle-protection charms all over it so that muggles don't come wandering into Diagon Alley. That'd be quite a shock for them now wouldn't it, eh?" Mr. Winstead said to Howard. Perhaps if Lily's father had been able to see the pub that was directly in front of him he also would have been able to see the humor in the situation, but as he could not locate the former he was having some problems seeing the latter.
"If I may ask you to simply drink these potions then you will be able to see and interact with the magical community for eight or nine hours. There you go, good chaps!" Mr. Winstead had handed Mr. and Mrs. Evans two identical glass vials containing dark violet liquid. They uncorked the tiny bottles and swallowed the bottles' substances in one go. They blinked a few times then gasped. Lily suspected the door to the Leaky Cauldron has just revealed itself. In her shock, Mrs. Evans dropped her the miniscule glass bottle. Lily cringed with eyes tightly shut waiting for the delicate sound of shattering glass to reach her ears, but it never did. She opened her eyes to see the little bottle sitting in one piece on the ground beside her. That's impossible, it fell a good four feet! It had to shatter! thought Lily looking in awe at the bottle. She saw a large hand come into view and pick it up. Lily looked up at Mr. Winstead and saw him throw the bottle up into the air and catch it again.
"It's called unbreakable glass." He said. "No matter how far you drop it it'll never break. These two particular vials are also expandable so they can fit as much or as little liquid in them as you desire. They're quit handy. You should think about picking up one or two yourself Lily."
"Not to be rude, Mr. Winstead but don't we have to get into Diagon Alley in order to buy things?" Lily said with a small smile.
"Right you are, Lily!" with that they all filed one by one into the Leaky Cauldron. For a famous place it's not too cheery thought Lily observing the dark and shabby interior of the pub.
"Hello, Tom! I'll be coming back in a few moments to get the usual and chit chat but right now I'm escorting young Lily Evans and her parents Howard and Maria into Diagon Alley. Archie, I need to talk to you about the latest report! Oh! Sheryl, there you are, I was afraid I wasn't going to find you. It's awfully busy today." Mr. Winstead pecked the last person he addressed on the lips and waved two children over. Lily groaned inwardly as she saw a girl who looked about her age approaching. She looked exactly like the type of girls who used to tease Lily about having carrot hair and celery eyes. I thought I was going to escape all that here she thought dejectedly. Mr. Winstead beamed at the Evans family.
"Howard, Maria, Lily, this is my wife, Sheryl," the woman who he had kissed smiled to reveal perfectly even teeth. Her hazel eyes were warm and her medium brown hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.
"You must be the muggle family that my Jack is showing around Diagon Alley today!" Lily was about to question who Jack was when it occurred to her that it must be Mr. Winstead's first name. "I hope my husband hasn't interrogated you too much on muggle devices. It's a bit of a problem he has!" Sheryl whispered the last sentence in a joking way and Lily immediately became fond of her.
"Nonsense, Sheryl! I was perfectly well behaved, excusing that 1800s bit," Mr. Winstead said winking at Lily and her parents. They all laughed a bit then Jack continued. "And these are my children Matthew," he gestured to a tall and well built boy with dark brown eyes and almost black hair to his right. Matthew gave a small wave and smiled revealing yet another set of even teeth. Three out of four. This family is either friends with an orthodontist or have impeccable teeth in their genes thought Lily. "Matthew is a fourth year student at Beauxbatons. It's another wizarding school in France." Mr. Winstead explained. "and this," he said gesturing to the girl, "is Isadora. She's your age Lily, about to start her first year at Hogwarts." Isadora smiled. Four out of four thought Lily. Her eyes were the color of the sweetest blue of hyacinths and sparkled despite the gloomy interior of the pub. Her maple syrup brown hair seemed to glow on its own. She's so pretty, she'll never want to be friends with me thought Lily gloomily.
"I swear, Jack, if you call me Isadora one more time I'll disown you!" she said while beaming affectionately at her father. Lily's jaw almost dropped. She was expecting this girl's voice to be stuck up and prissy. Much to her surprise it was bubbling over with excitement and energy. "Lily, I'm going to beg you to call me Izzie, I detest the name Isadora as it makes me feel like a boat." Lily laughed and immediately felt comfortable with this new, joking girl.
"All right, all right!" said Jack, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Izzie," he put extra emphasis on the word, "would you like to show Lily around Diagon Alley while Sheryl and I show Mr. and Mrs. Evans around?"
"Will do, captain!" said Izzie with a laugh.
"Sweetheart, be a peach and bring Matty with you until he finds his friends from Beauxbatons. Won't you?" asked Sheryl.
"Oh thanks, Sheryl! You make me sound like an old discarded toy that has to be carried until it can be thrown out!" said Matthew putting on a hurt look. Lily could easily tell he was joking.
"I don't mean it like that, and you know it!" said Sheryl laughing. "Now the lot of you get on before my hair starts falling out!" Izzie was in the process of leading Lily and Matthew to the back exit of the pub when they were called back by Mr. Winstead.
"Howard or Maria, you will need to give Lily money to buy her school supplies with. Of course, she'll need to stop at Gringotts, the wizard bank, and exchange her money first." said Jack. Howard took out his wallet and handed Lily a hefty sum of money. Lily looked at her father in awe.
"Get yourself a nice congratulations present from your mother and I." he said smiling at his youngest daughter.
"When you're done with all your shopping everyone will kindly meet up at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor. " said Sheryl looking at her gold watch.
"OK, Sheryl. Can we go now?" asked Izzie, obviously impatient to get going. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Lily's hand and brought her to the back of the shop.
"Matt, do the honors." said Izzie crossing her arms. Lily couldn't begin to imagine what honors Izzie was talking about because all that was in front of them was a brick wall and a couple of trashcans. Matt pulled his wand out of his back pocket.
"Three up...two across..." he muttered. He tapped the wall three times with the tip of his wand. The brick he had touched quivered and wriggled until a small hole appeared in the center of it. It widened and a second later they were facing an giant archway. Peering over Matt's shoulder, which was quite hard as he was very tall, Lily saw a cobbled street that winded and twisted out of sight.
"Well, Lily, this is Diagon Alley." Izzie said smiling. They stepped through the archway and Lily glanced over her shoulder to see the archway shrinking until it disappeared. Lily's eyes widened so that she could take in all the amazing sights around her. There were shops containing everything and anything that anyone could imagine. Cauldron shops, Apothecaries, Eeylopes Owl Emporium, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Madam Milkin's Robes for all Occasions, and Charlie's Chocolates. There were too many things for Lily to take in. She had to use almost all of her self restraint to stop herself from leaping into every store.
Lily felt a slight tug on her sleeve and she realized that Izzie and Matt had stopped in front of a snowy white building that towered over the rest. It seemed as if when all the young buildings were playing hide and go seek this gigantic structure got separated from its' friends and decided to stay with the smaller shops.
"Lily, stay close to me and don't touch anything!" said Izzie. Lily nodded her head as they passed what was surely a goblin.
"Is that-?" she began to question.
"Yes." Matt cut her off glancing at the creatures they were passing. After one frightening chat with a goblin at the high counter, Izzie did most of the talking, Lily has all her familiar pound notes exchanged for golden galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts. It took a bit of reminding from Matt and Izzie but Lily soon had the currency system down.
"Where do we go now?" asked Lily, pulling her supply list out of her jeans pocket.
"Best be off to Madam Milkin's," replied Izzie, "before it gets too crowded."
"So Matt," Lily started, "why don't you attend Hogwarts?" Matt smiled at her and began.
"Well back in my day," ("You're fourteen, not forty!"-Izzie) Matt grinned, "Back in my day Hogwarts had a student exchange program. Once you reached third year the top four student sin the class were offered the opportunity to study abroad. I accepted, being number two in my class. I had the choice of going to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. Seeing how Durmstrang is known for is bad magic and deep interest in the dark arts I decided I'd be best to keep my nose out of there and went to Beauxbatons. Now, usually the exchange students come back to finish their schooling at their original schools, but I was in love with Beauxbatons and couldn't bare to go back to Hogwarts, now that I considered Beauxbatons my home. So Dumbledore, and my parents made some arrangements and I now get to go to Beauxbatons every year." Matt finished up with a content look on his face.
"In other words," Izzie said, "he's a Hogwarts traitor!" she, Lily, and Matt all laughed until they reached Madam Milkin's. They all got fitted and purchased their robes and cloaks. The trio continued down the list until Lily had everything except for her wand and an owl, which Izzie assured her she would need in order to be kept up to date on home happenings. Matt split off from Izzie and Lily when he saw a group of his Beauxbatons friends. So it came to be that Lily and Izzie entered Ollivander's wand shop alone.
"I was with Matty when eh got his wand but I don't remember a thing about it." said Izzie in a hushed voice. Rows upon rows of boxes occupied the shelves in the store. In fact, they seemed to be like some sort over overactive fungi as the mounds of boxes had begun to inhabit the floor, chairs, and desk in the front room.
"Is anyone here?" Lily whispered to Izzie. There were no signs saying to keep quiet, nobody shushing them to keep their voices low, it was just the sort of place that you whispered in. Besides, Lily thought, if all those wands decided to gang up on me for being too loud I'd never make it out alive!
"Good afternoon." said a soft voice. The girls subconsciously grabbed each other's hands. An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Er, hi." said Lily.
"Lily Evans." he stated while his pale eyes swept over her as if checking her for flaws. Once he was satisfied with her his creepy eyes moved on to Izzie. "And Isadora Winstead, but unless I am much mistaken, you like to be called Izzie. Do you not?" he questioned her.
"Yes, sir" she mumbled looking down and scuffing her sneaker against the dusty, wooden floor.
"Well, Miss Evans, we'll start with you." he clapped once and a tape measure that Lily had not noticed sprang to life and began to measure her in every way imaginable. Mr. Ollivander picked up her right arm and examined it.
"Interesting, very interesting..." he mumbled. The way he said it, Lily couldn't be sure if he was talking to her or the wands that infested the shelves. "Well, I will find the match for you!" he cried so suddenly that Lily almost jumped back. "Or rather, the wand will find its' way to you." he said peering into her eyes. Lily was lost in those silvery, pale orbs. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. Finally, Mr. Ollivander snapped his head to the side and began to scour the shelves for a box.
"It must be here. It must be here." he repeated to himself. He disappeared into the back of the shop so that Lily could no longer see him but still hear him chanting "It must be here. It must be here." Just as Lily was about to back out of the store Mr. Ollivander exclaimed, "Ah-hah! I knew it was in here!" and came shuffling back into sight holding a box so dusty Lily couldn't even decipher the original color of it.
Mr. Ollivander handed Lily the wand and said in that soft voice of his, "Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Lily grasped the wand and felt warmth flood through her veins. It was like her blood had just warmed up after she had stepped into a blizzard. She sighed feeling quite content just to sit there holding the wand firmly in her hand. But no. That Ollivander man told her to swish it around. So, feeling quite foolish, Lily brought her arm above her head and let it come flying down. Much to her shock, Red and gold fireworks seemed to explode from the tip of her wand. Izzie clapped and grinned like a maniac. Lily beamed at Mr. Ollivander while he smiled proudly at her, the look on his face reminded Lily of the same one her father wore when she sang at the Christmas recital three years ago.
"Miss Winstead, time to let a wand make its way to you." said Mr. Ollivander directing his attention to Izzie.
"OK! Lily, why don't you go into the shop across the street? I think you'll like it in there." said Izzie pointing out the front window. "Just leave your cauldron here."
"OK, meet up with me once you're done getting your wand." replied Lily, already opening the door to leave the wand shop. She quickly crossed the street and looked up to see a soft yellow sign baring the words Gretel's Glass and Gifts. Lily entered the store and heard a small bell ring. Glancing above her, she saw a small bell attached to the door. Lily directed her attention back to the contents of the shop and gasped. In glass cases and high tables all around her were gorgeous glass figurines and delicate crystal bottles. But what the table that drew Lily to it was made of dark cherry wood, polished so brightly she could almost see her reflection. On it were spun glass spheres of all sizes, each of them containing different colored smoke. To her right Lily saw a sign reading,
Finest Unbreakable Glass in Europe.
Custom made to your likings.
Lily glanced around and saw that she was the only person in the shop. Strange, no shop keeper, either she thought. One of the glass balls twinkled at her and her eyes focused on it. The smoke inside sparkled merrily. Lily glanced around once more and, assured that nobody was going to scold her, picked up the twinkling ball. The smoke immediately turned a dark blue. Just then, she heard the bell ring again. She spun around to look at the door, but saw no one. Lily turned around several times, but still saw nobody else in the store. Weird, maybe I was imagining things, she thought. Looking back at the sphere still clutched tightly in her hand, she heard the bell ring again. I didn't imagine that, she thought and spun around once more to face the entrance. This time Izzie was standing there clutching her wand and grinning.
"What've you got there?" she questioned, walking over to the table Lily was standing beside.
"I'm not quite sure what they are, but they're made of unbreakable glass. Watch!" said Lily holding the blue filled ball out in front of her and letting it drop. Izzie gasped and cried,
"No, Lily!" her eyes widened as the sphere sped faster and faster towards the wooden floor where she knew it would shatter. Lily looked away from the ball to stare at Izzie's horrified face. She looked back down expecting to see the ball laying on the ground, in one piece, but instead saw a boy laying on the floor with messy black hair that stuck up in the back, hazel eyes, round spectacles, and a goofy grin on his face. In his hand was the ball, though the smoke inside had now turned a baby pink, as had his cheeks when he saw the smoke. He stood, brushed himself off, and extended his hand towards Lily. When standing his height was greater than her own by a few inches.
"The name's James Potter. Who are you?" he asked shaking Lily's hand. She blinked a few times and replaced the confused look on her face with a smile.
"I'm Lily Evans. This is-" she was cut off by James, who grinned and said,
"Izzie Winstead. Long time no see." Izzie rolled her eyes and smiled at Lily.
"James and I have known each other for practically as long as I can remember, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Our parents entertain the same circle of friends." Izzie explained to Lily.
"Ah, I see." replied Lily. Now she turned to James, "Mind telling me why you made such a gallant effort to catch the ball? It wouldn't have broken."
"But it would have. These balls aren't made of unbreakable glass. They're called Verax Spheres. When you hold them the smoke color changes to match your mood. Since it works like an emotional mirror, breaking it means seven years bad luck." James said gently placing the ball back in its holder on the table.
"Oh, wow! Well, thanks then!" said Lily staring at the ball.
"What all that nonsense really means is that Jamsie here is your knight in shining armor! You owe him your life." came a sarcastic and witty voice behind Lily. She turned around and found herself face to face with three other boys. The one who had spoken was about the same height as James, except his eyes were the color of dark chocolate. His hair was also dark, though it wasn't black, instead it was the darkest brown Lily had ever seen. His olive skin contained two dimples that stood out boldly while he smiled. Next to him was another boy, only slightly shorter, who had sandy, light, brown hair, and light blue eyes. He was also smiling, though his looked slightly forced, as if it hurt him a little to do it. On the other side of the dark haired boy was a short, mousy looking boy with watery blue eyes and light blonde hair.
"Oh boy, the goof troop is here." said Izzie rolling here eyes, yet again. "Lily, this is Sirius Black," the boy with the olive skin bowed so that his hair fell into his eyes. After blowing it out of the way he said with a wink,
"At your service my fair maiden." said Sirius with his doggish grin.
"Remus Lupin," continued Izzie. The boy with light brown hair and blue eyes smile became more relaxed and waved slightly.
"and Peter Pettigrew They call themselves the Marauders. Ask them why when you have some extra time." Izzie said gesturing to the last boy. He smiled at Lily revealing a tiny set of teeth that made Lily wonder if his teeth had grown since he was four.
"Guys, this is Lily Evans. She's a muggle born and she's about to start Hogwarts this year." Izzie finished up.
"My dear Izzie," Sirius stated in mock shock, "You mean to tell me that we will be spending seven whole years in this gorgeous creature's presence?" As he finished he over exaggeratedly motioned his hands toward Lily. Lily blushed and laughed thinking to herself that Sirius looked like an overgrown bird that didn't know how to fly.
"Sirius stop it. You're going to take someone's eye out. That, and you look like an overgrown bird." Remus said with a sigh.
"I was just thinking that!" Lily exclaimed, still laughing.
"You'll have to excuse Sirius, he got hit one too many times in the head with a bludger, if you know what I mean." said James, smiling at Lily and leading her out of the shop. Izzie, Remus, and Peter followed them out.
"Actually, I don't know what you mean." said Lily perplexed. "What's a bludger?"
"Sirius, get out of that shop before you break something!" called Izzie. Sirius came bounding out of the store and jumped onto Izzie's back, knocking her to the ground. "Get off you great goon!"
"Oops! I'm pretty daft sometimes." said James stepping calmly over Izzie and Sirius who had landed in front of him and Lily. Lily followed his example and stepped over them as well, though with not nearly as much ease since her legs were shorter. "A bludger is one of the balls used in Quidditch."
"What's Quidditch?" asked Lily.
"Patient, flower! I'm getting to that. Where's your cauldron?" replied James.
"Oh! Thanks for reminding me! Izzie and I left them in Ollivander's." said Lily smiling as her new knick-name. Sirius rolled off Izzie and bounced towards Lily.
"You left your cauldron's in Ollivander's? Want me to go get them?" asked Sirius, already heading towards the wand shop.
"Sure." said Lily, speaking for herself and Izzie.
"Good for nothing little prat. I hope he breaks his leg on our cauldrons." said Izzie brushing some dirt off herself. Lily and Remus grinned at each other.
"But you do know that he would make you carry him then, don't you?" said Peter. They all laughed because they knew what Peter spoke was true.
"Anyway Lily, Quidditch is the wizarding sport played on broomsticks..." once James had finished explaining the rules and given Lily the low down on Quidditch (with frequent additions from Remus, Peter, and Izzie) he started looking around for something.
"Lost something?" asked Lily. James grinned.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. He's about this tall, has dark hair and dark eyes and goes by the name of Sirius." said James. No sooner had the words left his mouth sis they hear what sounded like boxes falling. The next moment they saw Sirius sprinting out of Ollivander's holding Lily and Izzie's cauldrons with Ollivander chasing after him.
"Come back here, Mr. Black! You knocked over those boxes now you are going to pick them up!" Mr. Ollivander yelled, shaking his fist at Sirius from the doorway of his shop.
"Run!" shouted Sirius as he passed the group. They began sprinting after him and didn't stop until they were a good fourteen shops away from Ollivander's. They all bent over to catch their breath then began laughing hysterically.
"What'd you do?" asked Remus, still panting slightly.
"I just touched a box! It was begging me to! Then a whole stack of wands just collapsed." Sirius said, quilt etched all over his face.
"The box that you touched didn't happen to have the words 'Do not touch' on it, did it Sirius?" asked Remus, now standing upright.
"Maybe..." replied Sirius in a sly voice. "Guess we'll never know, will we?" with that he grinned and started walking away.
"Sirius, wait! I still need to buy an owl!" cried Lily. Sirius turned back around, grabbed Lily's cauldron in one hand, Izzie's cauldron in the other, cried
"Follow me, damsel in distress! I will show you where to find such a bird!" and walked into Eyelops Owl Emporium with the others not far behind. As they entered the shop Lily saw hundreds of jewel like eyes peering at her between the bars of numerous cages.
"Which one do I choose?" exclaimed Lily walking around the shop and looking at the many different birds. Close to the back she saw the back of a bird. It seemed forlorn, facing the wall its' cage was next to. All the other birds were staring at her curiously as she passed whereas this one wouldn't even glance at her.
"Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?" she asked the bird as if it could answer her. The shop owner came over to where Lily was standing. James glanced over at her.
"Oh, ever since this bird's brother was sold he hasn't been very energetic. You probably want to look at one of our better birds. He's most likely going to be put down anyway. He's not good for anything other than a lawn ornament I'm afraid." said the shop keeper. Lily gasped. She couldn't let the poor thing be put down! The bird turned around and looked Lily in the eye. She gasped again, though this time it was out of awe. It's eyes were the same color as tropical waters. And it wasn't just any bird! It was a toucan! Lily simply had to get that bird!
"How much does he cost?" Lily questioned.
"Oh honey, you don't want him!" said the shopkeeper shaking her head.
"How much does he cost?" Lily asked again, this time a stubborn tone shining through her voice. The shopkeeper sniffed disdainfully.
"I'll give him to you for seven galleons since he's good for nothing." she replied.
"I'll take him." Lily said picking up his cage. He's surprisingly light for such a large bird! she thought. Lily carried him over to the counter and pulled out her leather money bag that she had purchased earlier in the day. The shopkeeper walked behind the counter and folded her arms.
"We have a special all this week. If you buy any bird then you have the option of a free three year subscription to the Daily Prophet. Would you like that?" asked the girl.
"Yes, she'll take it." said Izzie. Then she turned to Lily. "It's a good deal. The Daily Prophet is the wizarding newspaper." Lily nodded her head, placed seven gold coins down on the counter, picked up her new bird and walked out of the story with the others in tow.
"What are you going to name it, Lily?" asked Sirius with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"No, Sirius, you can't name it. His name is going to be," Lily paused for a moment and looked into the bird's eyes. "His name is going to be Raleigh." she concluded smiling.
"That's a cool name," said Peter. Lily glanced up and grinned at him.
"Thanks Pete!" she said.
"Lily, we really should get going to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor, you know, to meet out parents." said Izzie gesturing to her watch.
"Yeah, we probably should." Lily said with disappointment. James slung his arm over her shoulder and said,
"Don't sound do glum! You'll see us on the train!"
"Yeah, and if you miss seeing my gorgeous face I'll send you pictures of me." said Sirius grinning.
"I think the last thing she wants to see in a letter is your mug." said Remus rolling his eyes.
"That's what you think." said Sirius smugly.
"Good-bye boys!" said Izzie waving and walking away with Lily.
"It was awesome meeting you guys!" Lily said. The last thing the four boys saw was a redhead and a honey blonde walking arm in arm around a corner, both carrying a cauldron and one carrying a large toucan, occasionally bumping each other on the side.
"This is going to be a fun year, isn't it?" asked James shaking his head.
"You can put your galleons on that one!" replied Sirius.
"Mr. Winstead, I see no Leaky Cauldron." Howard Evans said, quite bewildered.
"Nor do I, Mr. Winstead, nor do I." said Maria Evans, squinting around at the surrounding shops as if she looked hard enough she would suddenly see the pub.
"I see it." Lily said staring at the door in front of her.
"Dear me! I completely forgot! This place has muggle-protection charms all over it so that muggles don't come wandering into Diagon Alley. That'd be quite a shock for them now wouldn't it, eh?" Mr. Winstead said to Howard. Perhaps if Lily's father had been able to see the pub that was directly in front of him he also would have been able to see the humor in the situation, but as he could not locate the former he was having some problems seeing the latter.
"If I may ask you to simply drink these potions then you will be able to see and interact with the magical community for eight or nine hours. There you go, good chaps!" Mr. Winstead had handed Mr. and Mrs. Evans two identical glass vials containing dark violet liquid. They uncorked the tiny bottles and swallowed the bottles' substances in one go. They blinked a few times then gasped. Lily suspected the door to the Leaky Cauldron has just revealed itself. In her shock, Mrs. Evans dropped her the miniscule glass bottle. Lily cringed with eyes tightly shut waiting for the delicate sound of shattering glass to reach her ears, but it never did. She opened her eyes to see the little bottle sitting in one piece on the ground beside her. That's impossible, it fell a good four feet! It had to shatter! thought Lily looking in awe at the bottle. She saw a large hand come into view and pick it up. Lily looked up at Mr. Winstead and saw him throw the bottle up into the air and catch it again.
"It's called unbreakable glass." He said. "No matter how far you drop it it'll never break. These two particular vials are also expandable so they can fit as much or as little liquid in them as you desire. They're quit handy. You should think about picking up one or two yourself Lily."
"Not to be rude, Mr. Winstead but don't we have to get into Diagon Alley in order to buy things?" Lily said with a small smile.
"Right you are, Lily!" with that they all filed one by one into the Leaky Cauldron. For a famous place it's not too cheery thought Lily observing the dark and shabby interior of the pub.
"Hello, Tom! I'll be coming back in a few moments to get the usual and chit chat but right now I'm escorting young Lily Evans and her parents Howard and Maria into Diagon Alley. Archie, I need to talk to you about the latest report! Oh! Sheryl, there you are, I was afraid I wasn't going to find you. It's awfully busy today." Mr. Winstead pecked the last person he addressed on the lips and waved two children over. Lily groaned inwardly as she saw a girl who looked about her age approaching. She looked exactly like the type of girls who used to tease Lily about having carrot hair and celery eyes. I thought I was going to escape all that here she thought dejectedly. Mr. Winstead beamed at the Evans family.
"Howard, Maria, Lily, this is my wife, Sheryl," the woman who he had kissed smiled to reveal perfectly even teeth. Her hazel eyes were warm and her medium brown hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.
"You must be the muggle family that my Jack is showing around Diagon Alley today!" Lily was about to question who Jack was when it occurred to her that it must be Mr. Winstead's first name. "I hope my husband hasn't interrogated you too much on muggle devices. It's a bit of a problem he has!" Sheryl whispered the last sentence in a joking way and Lily immediately became fond of her.
"Nonsense, Sheryl! I was perfectly well behaved, excusing that 1800s bit," Mr. Winstead said winking at Lily and her parents. They all laughed a bit then Jack continued. "And these are my children Matthew," he gestured to a tall and well built boy with dark brown eyes and almost black hair to his right. Matthew gave a small wave and smiled revealing yet another set of even teeth. Three out of four. This family is either friends with an orthodontist or have impeccable teeth in their genes thought Lily. "Matthew is a fourth year student at Beauxbatons. It's another wizarding school in France." Mr. Winstead explained. "and this," he said gesturing to the girl, "is Isadora. She's your age Lily, about to start her first year at Hogwarts." Isadora smiled. Four out of four thought Lily. Her eyes were the color of the sweetest blue of hyacinths and sparkled despite the gloomy interior of the pub. Her maple syrup brown hair seemed to glow on its own. She's so pretty, she'll never want to be friends with me thought Lily gloomily.
"I swear, Jack, if you call me Isadora one more time I'll disown you!" she said while beaming affectionately at her father. Lily's jaw almost dropped. She was expecting this girl's voice to be stuck up and prissy. Much to her surprise it was bubbling over with excitement and energy. "Lily, I'm going to beg you to call me Izzie, I detest the name Isadora as it makes me feel like a boat." Lily laughed and immediately felt comfortable with this new, joking girl.
"All right, all right!" said Jack, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Izzie," he put extra emphasis on the word, "would you like to show Lily around Diagon Alley while Sheryl and I show Mr. and Mrs. Evans around?"
"Will do, captain!" said Izzie with a laugh.
"Sweetheart, be a peach and bring Matty with you until he finds his friends from Beauxbatons. Won't you?" asked Sheryl.
"Oh thanks, Sheryl! You make me sound like an old discarded toy that has to be carried until it can be thrown out!" said Matthew putting on a hurt look. Lily could easily tell he was joking.
"I don't mean it like that, and you know it!" said Sheryl laughing. "Now the lot of you get on before my hair starts falling out!" Izzie was in the process of leading Lily and Matthew to the back exit of the pub when they were called back by Mr. Winstead.
"Howard or Maria, you will need to give Lily money to buy her school supplies with. Of course, she'll need to stop at Gringotts, the wizard bank, and exchange her money first." said Jack. Howard took out his wallet and handed Lily a hefty sum of money. Lily looked at her father in awe.
"Get yourself a nice congratulations present from your mother and I." he said smiling at his youngest daughter.
"When you're done with all your shopping everyone will kindly meet up at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor. " said Sheryl looking at her gold watch.
"OK, Sheryl. Can we go now?" asked Izzie, obviously impatient to get going. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Lily's hand and brought her to the back of the shop.
"Matt, do the honors." said Izzie crossing her arms. Lily couldn't begin to imagine what honors Izzie was talking about because all that was in front of them was a brick wall and a couple of trashcans. Matt pulled his wand out of his back pocket.
"Three up...two across..." he muttered. He tapped the wall three times with the tip of his wand. The brick he had touched quivered and wriggled until a small hole appeared in the center of it. It widened and a second later they were facing an giant archway. Peering over Matt's shoulder, which was quite hard as he was very tall, Lily saw a cobbled street that winded and twisted out of sight.
"Well, Lily, this is Diagon Alley." Izzie said smiling. They stepped through the archway and Lily glanced over her shoulder to see the archway shrinking until it disappeared. Lily's eyes widened so that she could take in all the amazing sights around her. There were shops containing everything and anything that anyone could imagine. Cauldron shops, Apothecaries, Eeylopes Owl Emporium, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Madam Milkin's Robes for all Occasions, and Charlie's Chocolates. There were too many things for Lily to take in. She had to use almost all of her self restraint to stop herself from leaping into every store.
Lily felt a slight tug on her sleeve and she realized that Izzie and Matt had stopped in front of a snowy white building that towered over the rest. It seemed as if when all the young buildings were playing hide and go seek this gigantic structure got separated from its' friends and decided to stay with the smaller shops.
"Lily, stay close to me and don't touch anything!" said Izzie. Lily nodded her head as they passed what was surely a goblin.
"Is that-?" she began to question.
"Yes." Matt cut her off glancing at the creatures they were passing. After one frightening chat with a goblin at the high counter, Izzie did most of the talking, Lily has all her familiar pound notes exchanged for golden galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts. It took a bit of reminding from Matt and Izzie but Lily soon had the currency system down.
"Where do we go now?" asked Lily, pulling her supply list out of her jeans pocket.
"Best be off to Madam Milkin's," replied Izzie, "before it gets too crowded."
"So Matt," Lily started, "why don't you attend Hogwarts?" Matt smiled at her and began.
"Well back in my day," ("You're fourteen, not forty!"-Izzie) Matt grinned, "Back in my day Hogwarts had a student exchange program. Once you reached third year the top four student sin the class were offered the opportunity to study abroad. I accepted, being number two in my class. I had the choice of going to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. Seeing how Durmstrang is known for is bad magic and deep interest in the dark arts I decided I'd be best to keep my nose out of there and went to Beauxbatons. Now, usually the exchange students come back to finish their schooling at their original schools, but I was in love with Beauxbatons and couldn't bare to go back to Hogwarts, now that I considered Beauxbatons my home. So Dumbledore, and my parents made some arrangements and I now get to go to Beauxbatons every year." Matt finished up with a content look on his face.
"In other words," Izzie said, "he's a Hogwarts traitor!" she, Lily, and Matt all laughed until they reached Madam Milkin's. They all got fitted and purchased their robes and cloaks. The trio continued down the list until Lily had everything except for her wand and an owl, which Izzie assured her she would need in order to be kept up to date on home happenings. Matt split off from Izzie and Lily when he saw a group of his Beauxbatons friends. So it came to be that Lily and Izzie entered Ollivander's wand shop alone.
"I was with Matty when eh got his wand but I don't remember a thing about it." said Izzie in a hushed voice. Rows upon rows of boxes occupied the shelves in the store. In fact, they seemed to be like some sort over overactive fungi as the mounds of boxes had begun to inhabit the floor, chairs, and desk in the front room.
"Is anyone here?" Lily whispered to Izzie. There were no signs saying to keep quiet, nobody shushing them to keep their voices low, it was just the sort of place that you whispered in. Besides, Lily thought, if all those wands decided to gang up on me for being too loud I'd never make it out alive!
"Good afternoon." said a soft voice. The girls subconsciously grabbed each other's hands. An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Er, hi." said Lily.
"Lily Evans." he stated while his pale eyes swept over her as if checking her for flaws. Once he was satisfied with her his creepy eyes moved on to Izzie. "And Isadora Winstead, but unless I am much mistaken, you like to be called Izzie. Do you not?" he questioned her.
"Yes, sir" she mumbled looking down and scuffing her sneaker against the dusty, wooden floor.
"Well, Miss Evans, we'll start with you." he clapped once and a tape measure that Lily had not noticed sprang to life and began to measure her in every way imaginable. Mr. Ollivander picked up her right arm and examined it.
"Interesting, very interesting..." he mumbled. The way he said it, Lily couldn't be sure if he was talking to her or the wands that infested the shelves. "Well, I will find the match for you!" he cried so suddenly that Lily almost jumped back. "Or rather, the wand will find its' way to you." he said peering into her eyes. Lily was lost in those silvery, pale orbs. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. Finally, Mr. Ollivander snapped his head to the side and began to scour the shelves for a box.
"It must be here. It must be here." he repeated to himself. He disappeared into the back of the shop so that Lily could no longer see him but still hear him chanting "It must be here. It must be here." Just as Lily was about to back out of the store Mr. Ollivander exclaimed, "Ah-hah! I knew it was in here!" and came shuffling back into sight holding a box so dusty Lily couldn't even decipher the original color of it.
Mr. Ollivander handed Lily the wand and said in that soft voice of his, "Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Lily grasped the wand and felt warmth flood through her veins. It was like her blood had just warmed up after she had stepped into a blizzard. She sighed feeling quite content just to sit there holding the wand firmly in her hand. But no. That Ollivander man told her to swish it around. So, feeling quite foolish, Lily brought her arm above her head and let it come flying down. Much to her shock, Red and gold fireworks seemed to explode from the tip of her wand. Izzie clapped and grinned like a maniac. Lily beamed at Mr. Ollivander while he smiled proudly at her, the look on his face reminded Lily of the same one her father wore when she sang at the Christmas recital three years ago.
"Miss Winstead, time to let a wand make its way to you." said Mr. Ollivander directing his attention to Izzie.
"OK! Lily, why don't you go into the shop across the street? I think you'll like it in there." said Izzie pointing out the front window. "Just leave your cauldron here."
"OK, meet up with me once you're done getting your wand." replied Lily, already opening the door to leave the wand shop. She quickly crossed the street and looked up to see a soft yellow sign baring the words Gretel's Glass and Gifts. Lily entered the store and heard a small bell ring. Glancing above her, she saw a small bell attached to the door. Lily directed her attention back to the contents of the shop and gasped. In glass cases and high tables all around her were gorgeous glass figurines and delicate crystal bottles. But what the table that drew Lily to it was made of dark cherry wood, polished so brightly she could almost see her reflection. On it were spun glass spheres of all sizes, each of them containing different colored smoke. To her right Lily saw a sign reading,
Finest Unbreakable Glass in Europe.
Custom made to your likings.
Lily glanced around and saw that she was the only person in the shop. Strange, no shop keeper, either she thought. One of the glass balls twinkled at her and her eyes focused on it. The smoke inside sparkled merrily. Lily glanced around once more and, assured that nobody was going to scold her, picked up the twinkling ball. The smoke immediately turned a dark blue. Just then, she heard the bell ring again. She spun around to look at the door, but saw no one. Lily turned around several times, but still saw nobody else in the store. Weird, maybe I was imagining things, she thought. Looking back at the sphere still clutched tightly in her hand, she heard the bell ring again. I didn't imagine that, she thought and spun around once more to face the entrance. This time Izzie was standing there clutching her wand and grinning.
"What've you got there?" she questioned, walking over to the table Lily was standing beside.
"I'm not quite sure what they are, but they're made of unbreakable glass. Watch!" said Lily holding the blue filled ball out in front of her and letting it drop. Izzie gasped and cried,
"No, Lily!" her eyes widened as the sphere sped faster and faster towards the wooden floor where she knew it would shatter. Lily looked away from the ball to stare at Izzie's horrified face. She looked back down expecting to see the ball laying on the ground, in one piece, but instead saw a boy laying on the floor with messy black hair that stuck up in the back, hazel eyes, round spectacles, and a goofy grin on his face. In his hand was the ball, though the smoke inside had now turned a baby pink, as had his cheeks when he saw the smoke. He stood, brushed himself off, and extended his hand towards Lily. When standing his height was greater than her own by a few inches.
"The name's James Potter. Who are you?" he asked shaking Lily's hand. She blinked a few times and replaced the confused look on her face with a smile.
"I'm Lily Evans. This is-" she was cut off by James, who grinned and said,
"Izzie Winstead. Long time no see." Izzie rolled her eyes and smiled at Lily.
"James and I have known each other for practically as long as I can remember, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Our parents entertain the same circle of friends." Izzie explained to Lily.
"Ah, I see." replied Lily. Now she turned to James, "Mind telling me why you made such a gallant effort to catch the ball? It wouldn't have broken."
"But it would have. These balls aren't made of unbreakable glass. They're called Verax Spheres. When you hold them the smoke color changes to match your mood. Since it works like an emotional mirror, breaking it means seven years bad luck." James said gently placing the ball back in its holder on the table.
"Oh, wow! Well, thanks then!" said Lily staring at the ball.
"What all that nonsense really means is that Jamsie here is your knight in shining armor! You owe him your life." came a sarcastic and witty voice behind Lily. She turned around and found herself face to face with three other boys. The one who had spoken was about the same height as James, except his eyes were the color of dark chocolate. His hair was also dark, though it wasn't black, instead it was the darkest brown Lily had ever seen. His olive skin contained two dimples that stood out boldly while he smiled. Next to him was another boy, only slightly shorter, who had sandy, light, brown hair, and light blue eyes. He was also smiling, though his looked slightly forced, as if it hurt him a little to do it. On the other side of the dark haired boy was a short, mousy looking boy with watery blue eyes and light blonde hair.
"Oh boy, the goof troop is here." said Izzie rolling here eyes, yet again. "Lily, this is Sirius Black," the boy with the olive skin bowed so that his hair fell into his eyes. After blowing it out of the way he said with a wink,
"At your service my fair maiden." said Sirius with his doggish grin.
"Remus Lupin," continued Izzie. The boy with light brown hair and blue eyes smile became more relaxed and waved slightly.
"and Peter Pettigrew They call themselves the Marauders. Ask them why when you have some extra time." Izzie said gesturing to the last boy. He smiled at Lily revealing a tiny set of teeth that made Lily wonder if his teeth had grown since he was four.
"Guys, this is Lily Evans. She's a muggle born and she's about to start Hogwarts this year." Izzie finished up.
"My dear Izzie," Sirius stated in mock shock, "You mean to tell me that we will be spending seven whole years in this gorgeous creature's presence?" As he finished he over exaggeratedly motioned his hands toward Lily. Lily blushed and laughed thinking to herself that Sirius looked like an overgrown bird that didn't know how to fly.
"Sirius stop it. You're going to take someone's eye out. That, and you look like an overgrown bird." Remus said with a sigh.
"I was just thinking that!" Lily exclaimed, still laughing.
"You'll have to excuse Sirius, he got hit one too many times in the head with a bludger, if you know what I mean." said James, smiling at Lily and leading her out of the shop. Izzie, Remus, and Peter followed them out.
"Actually, I don't know what you mean." said Lily perplexed. "What's a bludger?"
"Sirius, get out of that shop before you break something!" called Izzie. Sirius came bounding out of the store and jumped onto Izzie's back, knocking her to the ground. "Get off you great goon!"
"Oops! I'm pretty daft sometimes." said James stepping calmly over Izzie and Sirius who had landed in front of him and Lily. Lily followed his example and stepped over them as well, though with not nearly as much ease since her legs were shorter. "A bludger is one of the balls used in Quidditch."
"What's Quidditch?" asked Lily.
"Patient, flower! I'm getting to that. Where's your cauldron?" replied James.
"Oh! Thanks for reminding me! Izzie and I left them in Ollivander's." said Lily smiling as her new knick-name. Sirius rolled off Izzie and bounced towards Lily.
"You left your cauldron's in Ollivander's? Want me to go get them?" asked Sirius, already heading towards the wand shop.
"Sure." said Lily, speaking for herself and Izzie.
"Good for nothing little prat. I hope he breaks his leg on our cauldrons." said Izzie brushing some dirt off herself. Lily and Remus grinned at each other.
"But you do know that he would make you carry him then, don't you?" said Peter. They all laughed because they knew what Peter spoke was true.
"Anyway Lily, Quidditch is the wizarding sport played on broomsticks..." once James had finished explaining the rules and given Lily the low down on Quidditch (with frequent additions from Remus, Peter, and Izzie) he started looking around for something.
"Lost something?" asked Lily. James grinned.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. He's about this tall, has dark hair and dark eyes and goes by the name of Sirius." said James. No sooner had the words left his mouth sis they hear what sounded like boxes falling. The next moment they saw Sirius sprinting out of Ollivander's holding Lily and Izzie's cauldrons with Ollivander chasing after him.
"Come back here, Mr. Black! You knocked over those boxes now you are going to pick them up!" Mr. Ollivander yelled, shaking his fist at Sirius from the doorway of his shop.
"Run!" shouted Sirius as he passed the group. They began sprinting after him and didn't stop until they were a good fourteen shops away from Ollivander's. They all bent over to catch their breath then began laughing hysterically.
"What'd you do?" asked Remus, still panting slightly.
"I just touched a box! It was begging me to! Then a whole stack of wands just collapsed." Sirius said, quilt etched all over his face.
"The box that you touched didn't happen to have the words 'Do not touch' on it, did it Sirius?" asked Remus, now standing upright.
"Maybe..." replied Sirius in a sly voice. "Guess we'll never know, will we?" with that he grinned and started walking away.
"Sirius, wait! I still need to buy an owl!" cried Lily. Sirius turned back around, grabbed Lily's cauldron in one hand, Izzie's cauldron in the other, cried
"Follow me, damsel in distress! I will show you where to find such a bird!" and walked into Eyelops Owl Emporium with the others not far behind. As they entered the shop Lily saw hundreds of jewel like eyes peering at her between the bars of numerous cages.
"Which one do I choose?" exclaimed Lily walking around the shop and looking at the many different birds. Close to the back she saw the back of a bird. It seemed forlorn, facing the wall its' cage was next to. All the other birds were staring at her curiously as she passed whereas this one wouldn't even glance at her.
"Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?" she asked the bird as if it could answer her. The shop owner came over to where Lily was standing. James glanced over at her.
"Oh, ever since this bird's brother was sold he hasn't been very energetic. You probably want to look at one of our better birds. He's most likely going to be put down anyway. He's not good for anything other than a lawn ornament I'm afraid." said the shop keeper. Lily gasped. She couldn't let the poor thing be put down! The bird turned around and looked Lily in the eye. She gasped again, though this time it was out of awe. It's eyes were the same color as tropical waters. And it wasn't just any bird! It was a toucan! Lily simply had to get that bird!
"How much does he cost?" Lily questioned.
"Oh honey, you don't want him!" said the shopkeeper shaking her head.
"How much does he cost?" Lily asked again, this time a stubborn tone shining through her voice. The shopkeeper sniffed disdainfully.
"I'll give him to you for seven galleons since he's good for nothing." she replied.
"I'll take him." Lily said picking up his cage. He's surprisingly light for such a large bird! she thought. Lily carried him over to the counter and pulled out her leather money bag that she had purchased earlier in the day. The shopkeeper walked behind the counter and folded her arms.
"We have a special all this week. If you buy any bird then you have the option of a free three year subscription to the Daily Prophet. Would you like that?" asked the girl.
"Yes, she'll take it." said Izzie. Then she turned to Lily. "It's a good deal. The Daily Prophet is the wizarding newspaper." Lily nodded her head, placed seven gold coins down on the counter, picked up her new bird and walked out of the story with the others in tow.
"What are you going to name it, Lily?" asked Sirius with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"No, Sirius, you can't name it. His name is going to be," Lily paused for a moment and looked into the bird's eyes. "His name is going to be Raleigh." she concluded smiling.
"That's a cool name," said Peter. Lily glanced up and grinned at him.
"Thanks Pete!" she said.
"Lily, we really should get going to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor, you know, to meet out parents." said Izzie gesturing to her watch.
"Yeah, we probably should." Lily said with disappointment. James slung his arm over her shoulder and said,
"Don't sound do glum! You'll see us on the train!"
"Yeah, and if you miss seeing my gorgeous face I'll send you pictures of me." said Sirius grinning.
"I think the last thing she wants to see in a letter is your mug." said Remus rolling his eyes.
"That's what you think." said Sirius smugly.
"Good-bye boys!" said Izzie waving and walking away with Lily.
"It was awesome meeting you guys!" Lily said. The last thing the four boys saw was a redhead and a honey blonde walking arm in arm around a corner, both carrying a cauldron and one carrying a large toucan, occasionally bumping each other on the side.
"This is going to be a fun year, isn't it?" asked James shaking his head.
"You can put your galleons on that one!" replied Sirius.