August 20, 1970 - Diagon Alley
Eileen took Severus and Cassie to Diagon Alley ten days before the departure of the Hogwarts Express. They used the tram to drive most of the way, then walked for a couple of minutes to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
"Tom, may you open the entrance for us?" Eileen asked softly, looking uncomfortable in the crowd of wizard-kind.
"Of course, dear," the barkeep grinned jovially, tapping several bricks in a specific order. He stepped back, and allowed the two kids to see Diagon Alley for the first time.
"Wow," Severus breathed, his eyes darting to every single person and shop visible.
"I like it," Cassie declared quietly, though her eyes betrayed her nervousness. She grabbed Eileen's hand for comfort, and the older woman glanced at her in surprise before softly squeezing.
"Let's go, darlings. We'll visit Gringotts first, and take some money out of the Prince vault."
Severus grabbed his mother's hand as well, though mainly because he didn't want to get lost in the throng of people. As they moved, witches and wizards pushed and shoved past, causing both he and Cassiopeia to cling to his mother's side.
Eileen, for her part, tried to shield them with her hands.
Finally they were inside, and all three of them marveled at the gleaming, marble hall. The walls looked as tall as the smokestacks on the factory building, and as pristinely white as the mill was black.
"My name is Eileen Snape. I would like to withdraw money from the Prince vault," Eileen told the goblin in front of them, who watched her speculatively.
"Do you have your key, Mrs Snape?"
Eileen withdrew a large, golden key from her pocket, and handed it to the goblin. He passed his hand over it, and golden sparks flew up over it.
"Very well. The amount?"
Eileen scanned the two of them over. At some point last year, she had Confounded Cassie's father, Hendrix, into allowing Cassie to be friends with Severus. It had been the only way she could allow her son's friend to come over – otherwise she would have been too worried for Cassie's safety. The little girl had confided in her some of the punishments that followed when she didn't listen to her father's orders.
When she had showed up to take Cassie this morning, Hendrix had thrown a small pouch of money at her, and told her not to show her face again. Frightened, she did not try to argue, and simply grabbed Cassie and left. The money would be enough if she bought most things second-hand.
"Thirty galleons."
The goblin withdrew a pouch, and handed it to her. Eileen bowed and they quickly left the bank.
Their first stop was at the bookshop, where they bought their school books second hand. Severus looked longingly at the Advanced Potion-Making section, but they left without buying anything extra.
Next, they visited Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Eileen winced at the prices, but in the end they each bought one set less of robes than required. They also bought a pair of gloves each, and new shoes for Cassiopeia. Unfortunately, the winter cloaks were too expensive, so the two children resolved to learn warming charms as soon as possible, so as not to be cold during the winter months.
After a quick stop for parchment, ink and quills, they arrived at their last stop, Ollivander's. The shop was as dusty as ever, Eileen remarked, and entering, they did not see anyone inside.
"Hello," Ollivander greeted, popping out of the back of the shop.
Severus and Cassiopeia shrank back a little, staring at the man with wide eyes. He was old. Extremely old, with messy, curly, white hair. His eyes were eerily gray, but seemingly very intelligent.
"Who do we have here?" he mused, "Eileen, I remember you. Blackthorn and dragon heartstring, yes? 10 and a half inches, slightly springy."
Eileen nodded her head, but seemed unwilling to speak.
"Severus Snape, sir. This is Cassiopeia Nazyalensky."
He regarded them curiously, then with a flick of his wand sent out a tape measure at both of them. It measured them, usual places and unusual - between the nostrils, really? - , and finally rested on the counter several long seconds later.
Mr Ollivander brought out three boxes at first, opening each of them for the two children to inspect. There was a red wand, with a defined handle and decorative carvings, in the first box. Ollivander described it as a bloodwood wand, with a phoenix feather core. One after the other, they picked up the wand – but were both immediately rejected – the wand shocking their fingers painfully.
"No..no," Ollivander muttered to himself, and handed Cassiopeia the second wand. It was made of Elm wood with a unicorn tail hair core. She waved the wand, glad that it didn't shock her, at least, but the wand refused to perform for her.
"Hmm, not unicorn hair core, not at all," Ollivander mused. "And not you either, Mr Snape."
He snatched back the three boxes, and brought out two more. "These, I think."
He handed the first one to Severus. "Go on, Mr Snape. Ebony and dragon heartstring, thirteen and a half inches, rigid."
Severus waved the wand in a big arc, and was immediately filled with warmth from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. "This one," he breathed reverently, admiring the simple yet beautiful jet-black wand. It was quite long, with a rectangular handle, and several runes carved into the sides.
"And Miss Nazyalensky?"
Cassiopeia took out the other wand cautiously, still wary from the one that had shocked her. She flicked it lightly, and smiled as silver sparks filled the shop.
Ollivander nodded his head, seeming pleased with himself. "An elm wand, with dragon heartstring at its core. It had a dark finish, you see," he explained, gesturing to the almost-black color of the wand, "but elm wood is naturally quite light. Eleven and ¾ inches, unyielding."
He looked at the both of them with a curious expression, and when Severus raised his eyebrow in question, merely chuckled. "You two are more alike than I thought."
The two kids flushed, and after handing the money over, quickly left the shop. They glanced around Diagon Alley one last time, and an hour later were both back in their own homes, unknowingly each doing the same thing – poring over their textbooks. While they knew that there was very little chance they'd be behind, the two of them still fiercely wanted to know as much as they could. It was also a comfort to them, a reassurance that they would be leaving this dreary part of their life soon, and starting a new adventure.