Chapter 3

Much of the car ride was spent in silence. Jaguar gripped Remus' forearm tightly, and gazed out the window. Remus watched Ari and her friends gossip quietly about all of their friends at Hogwarts. Nivea was singing loudly to her own music on the radio, while Lily and Susan Black marveled at her. James was quieter than usual. And even Sirius didn't say much. They whispered back and forth about the new brooms they wanted to buy.

Nivea pulled into a parking garage in a very muggle part of London, and as the children exited the car, they stared around nervously. None of them were very acquainted with the muggle world. One of Ari's friends was muggle-born, but not from London, and she was entirely unused to such a big city.

Jaguar followed behind her aunt, staying very close to Sirius. It wasn't the strangeness of the city that bothered her. It was how little she knew about her family. Now she could see… Remus had told her before; pure blood families had too many secrets. They were all dark and scary to normal, middle class people. Old families, with extreme wealth beyond your wildest dream, and magical powers, had no reason to get to know each other.

For example, Jaguar had never known that Nivea worked in the muggle world. But when James asked her how if she came here often, she had replied, 'Of course. I work here.' Jaguar found herself wondering what Nivea's job was. But, with her mother being Guardian of Secrets, and head of the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, Jaguar had learnt not to seem overly curious. It was much easier to find the answers you were looking for if you simply snooped around until you discovered them on your own.

Nothing much happened as the group walked through the streets of London. Nivea, peering over the top of her sunglasses, knew exactly where they were going, and strode in that direction purposefully. Susan Black seemed comfortable with the city as well. For a moment it surprised Sirius, but he supposed most children his age didn't know much about their parents. Ari and her friends spoke loudly, rapidly, in a speech that was punctuated frequently by things like, "Are you serious? Oh my God!" And the like. Ari's eyes shone strangely, as though she were brimming over with some uncontrollable emotion. She didn't speak one word, content to let herself be led through the city. Jaguar moved nearer to her, wondering what went through the girl's mind. Sometimes she would swear Sirius' sister was missing a few marbles.

Ari looked at Jaguar wildly, as though she were trying very hard to control herself. She opened her mouth to say something, then shook her head, and gestured about herself with both arms, the expression on her face rapturous.

Finally Nivea halted at the entrance of a very dark looking alleyway. The children peered into it. The weather was very hot, and the sun was bright. But the alley appeared to be lit by moonlight. It was extremely eerie. Jaguar moved slightly closer to Sirius, unconsciously. Lily, seeing this, giggled. Jag scowled and moved away from him.

"Shut up, Lily," she snapped. Lily rolled her eyes dramatically.

Tilting her head to look over the top of her sunglasses, Nivea started down the narrow alley. "C'mon kiddos," she called over her shoulder. "Don't stop."

Ari and her friends walked forward briskly, as Annabelle whispered frantically to the two girls who had never really been to London before.

Jaguar stepped forward to follow them, but Susan Black stopped her. "I see Nivea has forgotten herself again." The woman smiled, wrinkling her nose. "Just because she's invincible doesn't mean everyone is. Do not stop as you're walking. You may want to. Never go through this alley in any weakened condition. Don't look too closely into the doorways. Try to keep your eyes straight ahead." She took a couple steps forward, before turning back. "Remember, nothing in the alley can hurt you."

James stepped into the alley behind Susan, followed by Jaguar and Lily, who were now slightly nervous, and stood very close together. Sirius and Remus rounded off the group.

Suddenly, they were plunged into darkness. Jaguar felt hungry suddenly. Her stomach felt empty. Like it had never been filled before. She felt like she was dying of hunger, as her stomach clenched around itself. She longed for the taste of food on her tongue. The texture in her mouth…

Lily felt a pressure on her bladder suddenly. She was nearing a very embarrassing moment when Jaguar reached out and grasped her hand tightly. It was distracting enough for Lily to gain a hold on herself.

Remus was overcome by tiredness. Mental, physical, emotionally exhausted, he stumbled and nearly lost his footing. Sirius had the most horrible thirst he'd ever felt in his life, and he could hardly draw breath in to breathe. James, leading them, was overcome by an urge to sing, but couldn't get any words out of his throat. He rubbed it with his fingers, more frustrated than he'd ever been in his life.

And just at that moment, he passed the first door. It seemed to be some sort of club, from which music drifted out. And he knew with a certainty that if he were to enter the club, he would be able to sing to his heart's content. No matter if he couldn't sing. There was nothing more he wanted to do at the moment. Jaguar stumbled and nearly fell as she passed the first door, and the rich aroma of food swept over her. "Lily," she gasped. "Stop!"

They slowed down enough to look through the open door. Lily saw a luxurious bathroom with a toilet. She tried to dash toward it, before realizing that Jaguar was holding her back. "Jag!" she whined. "Let go!"

Jaguar stopped, nearly drooling at the sight and smell of nourishment. "No," she whispered. "It doesn't feel right." She pulled back slightly. "Let's just keep going."

"I can't!" Lily gasped.

"No such thing," Remus mumbled from behind her, stumbling over his shoelaces as he and Sirius approached. Sirius wheezed something that was unintelligible.

"You okay?" Jag asked.

He shook his head, and grabbed her other hand. "Let's keep going."

The girls ahead of them were fairing even worse. Ari's muggle friend kept attempting to throw herself on the ground, weeping loudly. Another friend kept trying to swat things away from her face and body, and scratching herself. Annabelle had her hands full trying to take care of those girls, and she kept swaying as waves of dizziness overtook her.

Ari was several feet in front of them, looking back and forth into the doorways, rapidly twisting her head. People were calling her from every doorway, and she couldn't see them. But she had a feeling that if she entered any of the buildings, she would meet the person she so desperately wanted to see. She felt as though without that person, she would die. "Come out!" she yelled into one of the doors. "I'm not going in there, because I know it's not really you!"

Nivea led the group, surefooted, as she kept walking rapidly down the long alleyway. Her sunglasses concealed much of her face, but it was evident that tears were spilling from her eyes. What was going through her mind? Who ever knows with Nivea? Whatever it was, she was doing her best to ignore it as she led the group. Her whole body was shaking slightly, but she forced herself to stand in an upright position.

What she had not told the people she was with was that this was not the only entrance into Diagon Alley. There were many less dangerous ways to get into the magical shopping district. She wanted to test herself. She hated this alley, but she wanted to show that she could resist it, and defeat the feelings that welled up inside of her.

Finally they emerged at the end of the alley, and were again bathed in sunlight. Nivea squinted, and wiped at her eyes, before clearing her throat and turning to address the rest of the group. Now that she was out of that horrible alley, the feelings had lessoned, although they had not disappeared completely (did they ever?).

"Well then," she said, forcing a grin. "Here we are. Diagon Alley. Shall we stop for lunch first?"

"No," said Annabelle. "Clothes shopping!"

Ari snorted derisively at her friend. "Don't be shallow." She turned to Nivea. "Yes, lunch first."

Jaguar who was hardly hungry at all now, looked around. She had been in this part of Diagon Alley briefly when she was younger, and Nivea had resided in a house here. It was the residential area of Diagon Alley. Very high class, so many just graduated magic school students from rich or pure blood families moved here. The streets were very wide, and not too crowded, although there were still a lot of people here. The shops nearby were the most expensive of wizarding shops. So pricey that even Nivea would think twice about some purchases. Not because she couldn't afford whatever item she had been considering. More because of principals. Why buy an expensive outfit when she could get the same one for a cheaper price, and it would benefit the family who owned the store she made her purchase from?

Jaguar and Remus walked next to Nivea, as James and Sirius fell back, chattering about the new Quidditch shop they had just passed. They kept twisting their necks back to look for it.

Annabelle was looking into every clothing shop they passed, and each time Ari caught this, she would poke Anna hard in the ribs and tell her to stop looking desperate.

"What would have happened if we walked through one of those doors?" Jaguar asked.

Nivea, who seemed quite out of it, and had been staring ahead of her silently, now looked down, lips slightly parted. It seemed to take her a moment to realize that Jaguar had spoken. She shook her head briskly. "No one knows. The people who have entered one of the buildings never come back to tell anyone. So either they die, get trapped there forever, go somewhere else entirely, or find something so great they never want to return to our little world. I'd prefer not finding out."

Remus said, "You're not curious, Niv?"

She smiled slightly, and shook her head. "Oh no. I'm sure it's very interesting. But I've got bigger fish to fry."

The use of the muggle term confused the children until they mutually decided to just ignore it.

Lunch was eaten at Ovio Bistro, a French restaurant run (or rather, owned) by the family of the French Minister of Magic.

Service was fast. The chefs had perfected their cooking magic over their entire careers, and now were quite adept at it. Besides that, Susan and Nivea were regulars at this restaurant, and were known to tip well. Not that the chefs were in need of any extra money.

The group ate quietly, in the dim lighting of the very exclusive restaurant. It was spacey, and as Nivea was a celebrity, they were shown to a large, circular table in the back, near a huge window overlooking the entirety of Diagon Alley.

Nivea lowered herself onto the soft velvet chair the maitre d pulled out for her.

"A menu, mademoiselle Cortez?" a waiter asked. Nivea nodded, and took the sheaf from him.

She gazed silently around the table. Her eyes, concealed behind her dark glasses, lingered for awhile on Jaguar Brazil. Her niece, like herself, was of the type of personality that immediately drew people toward her. Everything she did looked instinctive, easy. As though she had the perfect life. And really, Jaguar had a life that was as perfect as it was possible to obtain. She would never want for anything material. Nivea longed to grab her, to whisk her away from life. Her life. It won't always be this easy, Nivea wanted to say. But it wasn't her business. Everyone makes mistakes, and each person has to learn from them in his or her own way. Jaguar glanced up from showing something to Sirius, and looked straight into Nivea's eyes, even through the sunglasses. Nivea turned her gaze to Lily abruptly.

Her niece. Soon Nivea would have to find the time to take Lily aside and explain to her exactly why she had left her with her father for such a long time. There really was no reason. Only a feeble why. It would make up for nothing, and apologies could not take anything back. But the girl had a right to know.

Shaking her head, Nivea fervently wished that she was somewhere else. Odd. She was wishing that more and more often lately. Whenever she was around people. That was part of the reason she'd made no music lately. No acting roles. No photo shoots. She was so young, and looked even younger. But she was feeling old.

"Cheer up," Susan said, nudging Nivea from the seat next to her.

Nivea smiled at her. "I'm good." The two women fell into an easy conversation about Susan's husband, the Minister of Magic. From time to time, they looked up from their menus to survey the children. The only time they had to interfere was when Petunia and Ari got into an argument about the Soviet Union and whether democracy would ever spread to the entire world (Ari was adamant that all of the world would one day have one governmental system and religion, while Petunia maintained that this was impossible), and Jaguar had jumped in to say that no matter how much Ari pretended to be an American, she never would actually be one. Ari had flipped at that, saying that Jaguar could be narrow-minded all she wanted to be, but she would never be defined by what area of the world she had been born in.

Finally Nivea looked up and said, "You're all right. End of discussion."

Her voice sounded angry enough that all of the children shut up immediately, none of them having the nerve to stand up to Nivea. Finally, after glancing around at everyone else angrily, Ari asked, "How is that possible?" Her American accent faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained it. "How can we all be correct?"

Nivea turned away to summon the waiter over, ignoring the question, and Ari sank back in her seat, in a very annoyed, undignified way that was quite unusual to see from Ari Black.

The meal went by quickly, and the food was rich and delicious. At the end of the meal, the French Minister's wife came out of the kitchens to greet Nivea.

"Ah! Nivea Cortez!" she exclaimed in her strong French accent. "How glad I am to see you here again. It has been such a long time!"

"Ahaha. Yes it has," replied Nivea. "How have you been, Michelle?"

"I have been wonderful. I am so happy in England. You look beautiful."

Nivea smiled, and stood up to embrace the woman. "Merci bien." They exchanged bijoux.

Susan stood up as well. "My compliments to the chef."

Michelle Dawes gave a little shriek. "But no one told me Susan Black was here! I am so happy to see you!" The small blonde woman threw her arms around the other woman's neck. "And your children are all so big!"

It took nearly 20 minutes for Nivea to negotiate their release from the restaurant. She and Susan had to agree to drop by for tea sometime. No matter that Nivea despised tea.

Outside, in the hot summer sun, the children skipped ahead, leading the way through Diagon Alley. One of Ari's friends was explaining everything magical to Petunia, who had been shocked enough at the moving silverware in the restaurant.

Jaguar grabbed Sirius' hand, and together they ran into a joke shop, wide-eyed and excited.

Remus and James were close behind them, and they dragged Lily with them, although she had no real interest in the shop. She was much more excited about getting books about magic, and a wand. And maybe even a broomstick! She was too afraid to ask her aunt about that.

"Um no," said Annabelle. "Can we go off on our own?" The 13-year-old smiled at Susan Black.

Glancing at Nivea, Susan replied. "No, but I'll go with you. Niv, if we don't meet up again, I'll see you later."

The older girls rushed down the street, babbling about some hot guy that had a new single out, and about who was going to his concert next month.

Inside the store, Jaguar spent a long time examining a packet of things called "Bubble Busters". They were a bit like whoopee cushions, except that they were filled with red jelly ink that was supposed to mimic menstrual blood. You placed them on a seat, and waited for someone to sit down.

"God," said Jaguar to Lily who was standing beside her, staring with an equal look of disgust. "That's horrible. I would never do that prank. And I really have no limits."

Lily giggled, covering her mouth delicately. "Yes, it's definitely awful." She picked up two packets anyhow.

Jaguar frowned at her slightly. "Just don't show those to Sirius or James. I wouldn't trust them with those."

Spending over an hour in the store, the five children spent over 100 galleons on prank supplies.

By the time they passed that amount, Nivea was becoming incredulous. Of course, cost was no issue to her, but she could hardly believe that there were so many practical joke supplies in the world. Since the children's parents would have disapproved, Nivea had the cost put onto her tab, and arranged for the purchases to be delivered later.

They moved on to the clothing store.

Stephanie Bellagina and Arnold Rastantian were both in their shop and the couple fawned over their costumers as though they were royalty. They were Nivea's favorite apparel merchants, and she spared no expense on buying what she needed.

Hogwarts robes were pretty standard, and easy to make, once measured. Bellagina had her dress makers working on those at once.

The children looked at all the robes racked around the store and through their catalogues before choosing dress robes.

Nivea took a very long time selecting one robe. She never wore the same dress robe in public more than once, and thus needed a new one for the upcoming Ministry Ball.

Lily, nearly overwhelmed, shrank back as measuring tape rose to take her inches.

"Stand tall, my girl," Rastantian admonished. "Unless you want robes an inch too short!" He studied the look on her face. "First timer, eh? I remember my first time to Diagon Alley. Yes," he said, laughing at her surprise. "It is obvious, and yes, I am muggle born."

The girl smiled at him. The extremely handsome man reached out to her, and she took his hand gingerly.

"You're a very beautiful girl," said Rastantian. "Your eyes are remarkable. You'd do well to match whatever you choose with your eyes, rather than with your hair." He showed her to a rack covered with emerald robes. "Choose one of these if you'd like. And I will personally do my best to make it as beautiful as you are. Ce n'est pas possible. But I will try." He winked at her, and let go of her hand. Lily was swooning and lightheaded, and could hardly stand by now.

She mustered up enough strength to throw Jaguar a superior glance. Her cousin glared at her vehemently, trying green with envy. Rastantian's wife, Bellagina, was fussing over Jaguar's robe choice. It was simple, light blue, knee length. Bellagina felt that it was a horrible choice for Jaguar's complexion, hair, and eye colours. Finally Jaguar agreed, just to shut the woman up, to buy the same dress, but in a pale grey colour, with flowing sleeves and a low cut top. Although Jaguar had nothing at all to show off when it came to her chest. She might not have minded being prodded if it was by Bellagina's husband. Bellagina was not an attractive woman. She was slightly overweight, and very plain looking. Freckly skin with a few pimples around her hair line. Light brown hair. Her husband, on the other hand, had perfect skin and black hair that draped softly on his shoulders in gentle curls. Jaguar wanted to run her fingers through his hair. The impulse startled her, and scared her in a way. But he was hot. The robe he was wearing pressed against his chest in all the right places. And his brown eyes were smoldering.

Jaguar and Lily were in love with him after five minutes. As he helped the boys find robes, they followed him like puppies.

"What do you think?" Jaguar whispered into Lily's ear. "Italian or Spanish?"

"I dunno," Lily whispered back. "Spanish, I think. Italians are more hairy. And he doesn't have much hair on the back of his hand. You know… The hand I was holding."

Jaguar sighed. "Lucky!"

Nivea and Bellagina sat down near the entrance to watch the shop attendants and Rastantian help the costumers.

"No," Bellagina was saying. "I don't find it annoying at all. Rather, I think it's very sweet."

"Sweet… Yes." But I'm not talking about Lily and Jaguar. They're children. When grown women—or even teenaged girls act that same way, does it bother you?"

Bellagina, who was not a friend of Nivea's and only ever sucked up to her so that Nivea would remain a costumer, looked at her suspiciously. "I suppose it might. Why?"

Nivea lowered her sunglasses. Then she removed them entirely and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Well. No reason really. Just a rumour I heard. Ah, but it's not important to you."

"No no no. Tell me."

Nivea tapped her chin with her fingertips. "Hm. Alright. Well, I've heard a rumour about Rastantian and Jezebel Morgan. Not just from one person, mind you. I hear it from everyone."

Nivea had a mean streak. She didn't really have anything against Bellagina. She just felt extreme pity for the woman. Nivea and Rastantian had been having "relations" for over a year, and Bellagina had never caught on. But Rastantian had recently broke things off with Nivea, claiming that he loved his wife. Nivea thought it was because she had turned 26 years old, and was now too old for him. Either way. She was going to get back at him. Nobody jilted Nivea Cortez. Their relationship had really been nothing to her, but she was going to use it to her advantage. And when Bellagina confronted him about it, and he called Nivea, she would seduce him. And, of course, Bellagina would walk in halfway through.

Lost in her fantasies, Nivea didn't notice when the children walked over to her.

"Here's your bill," said Bellagina tightly, looking furious. Nivea thought she was ugly enough when she was happy. Now she looked hideous and obese. "Your garments will be delivered soon. Ladies and gentlemen," she shouted suddenly, and the boutique slowly went silent. Rastantian looked at her in surprise. Then he saw Nivea standing behind and slightly to the side of his wife, and realization dawned in his eyes. Niv blew him a kiss, before whirling around to exit the store as Bellagina said, "I'm sorry, but there had been an emergency. You'll all have to come back later."

Jaguar was nearly rolling with laughter as they left the store. "Oh my God. I heard you tell her that her husband was having an affair with Jezebel!"

"Who?" asked Sirius.

"You met her," Jaguar said. "Remember."

Sirius just looked confused.

Nivea was in a great mood now. "What's next?" She said, skipping down the street.

"We need wands," said Lily, who was holding a list of the things she needed for school.

"Oh yes!" said Nivea. "Oh, that's the greatest. I only used a wand for two years, but Ollivander's is absolutely magical."

James agreed. "I went there when Anna got her wand. Wouldn't give me on though."

"Ooh," said Jag. "We also need new brooms!"

"Do you now?" Nivea smiled. "Hm. I don't know how I'll be able to afford all of that."

Shocked and humiliated, Lily said, "Oh no, Aunt Nivea. We could go return all that pranking stuff. It's not important!"

Incensed, Remus said, "Hey! Speak for yourself!"

Nivea laughed. "I was joking. Don't worry about the money. It's not important." They entered the main part of the alley. It was much more crowded here, and more diverse. Lily saw several creatures that were definitely not human. Gulping, she drew closer to Nivea. "This must be overwhelming for you," the woman said kindly. "I'm sorry if Jaguar and her friends are not more helpful. I had a muggle born friend when I was young, and we both were accepted into Hogwarts. He had a bit of an idea about magic from me. Still, he was stunned his first time here." She chuckled. "The look on his face."

Lily, although petrified by the prospect of magic and magical school, did her best to seem as though she were really interested in Nivea's old friend.

All of the children got their wands very quickly, with almost no troubles at all. Then it was Jaguar's turn. She ended up going through over 100 wands before old Ollivander gave up.

Defeated, Jaguar sunk into a chair. Her cheeks were flaming. Not from embarrassment, but because she was on the verge of crying. She crossed her arms over her chest, while Sirius looked at her worriedly, before turning to compare his wand to those now belonging to James and Remus.

Lily saw Jaguar, and frowned before coming over to sit beside her. "Are you alright?" she queried softly.

"Yes," Jaguar croaked. "I'm fine." But she wasn't. Her eyes were burning with suppressed tears. If she didn't get a wand, how would she ever learn magic?

Nivea came back from smoking a cigarette outside, and was filled in on what was going on.

"Why don't all of you wait for me outside?" Nivea asked. It wasn't in the tone of a question, so everyone except for Jaguar left the room. Nivea squatted down in front of her niece.

"Jaggie?"

"What!"

"Jaggie. Jag Jag. I love you."

"Okay then."

Nivea grinned.

"Why are you smiling? Do you think this is funny?"

"Oh no," Nivea said. "I'm sad. But at the same time, I'm laughing at myself because I ought to have expected it. When I was a child, I couldn't find a wand that fit either. We went through the entire inventory. My parents ordered wands from around the world… Finally my mother gave me her heirloom wand. She wasn't as good at magic as I was. So she couldn't do much without it, but she was able to get a replacement, so… Anyway, my wand has been in my family—our family for hundreds of generations. Since the time of Merlin, our ancestor. And, as legend says, it belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw.

Jaguar gasped. "Oh my God. That's… Wow."

"Yes. It is wow. But I have no practical use for the wand, since I never really even used it. So what will I do with it now? Maybe donate it to a museum..? Ooh. I might sell it."

The glare she received from Jaguar was enough to make them both giggle.

"I'll give it to you later. I haven't got it with me now."

"Thanks!" Jaguar exclaimed, throwing her arms around Nivea's neck and hugging her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Anytime. Now, let's get moving before your friends form a posse to get us."