The months leading up to September couldn't have passed any slower. Though her new pupil made things easier, she was trying to cram four years of voodoo into six months. She went through divination, hexing powders, charm powders, paper curses, hag stones, evil spirits, reading vibes, reading palms, tarot cards, crystal balls, fungi growth, eldritch beast, how not to get corrupted by sinister mask hiding in abandoned buildings ("don't worry I doubt that'll happen to you."), zodiacs, astrology, and many other things that seem to have no business being magic.
Severus was a good student, he paid attention to her and never once complained about the heavy workload. And for that he yielded great results, he had a big weakness when it came to fortune-telling but was a natural at potions and powders. Lily ran out of lessons for potion making and had to write to Facilier for help, he laughed at her and said "Heck if I know."
While Severus was a good student Lily was not, she had found her school boring. None of the teachers wanted to be there and all of the kids had a stick up their asses. So she skipped her least favorite classes and made potions in the bathroom; her father had been called in many times because of the "drugs" Lily was making. It also didn't help that she wasn't trying to make friends. After all, why have friendships when she'll be leaving for another school in a couple of months?
Petunia didn't appreciate her sister's social standings and often complained about it, to which Lily would retort "it was either the dumb troublemaker or literal hellspawn witch, I chose the lesser one." Petunia stopped complaining after that, but she still stayed far away from her sister in public. Lily didn't mind, she knew her sister had a fear for the unordinary and she won't push her… too far.
But finally. Finally. School had passed and break was well on its way out, for once in Lily's life she was excited about the end of summer.
McGonagall had promised to come back on the Monday of the last week of August to bring Lily and Severus to Diagon Alley, the magic center for shopping.
Jumping out of bed with too much enthusiasm for the early morning she pulled on the outfit she had laid out. It contained her special pocket-filled coat and a cool skirt that swished around her ankles, Professor McGonagall said that wizarding folk wore robes so Lily went with the closest thing. Spaghetti and Fettuccine were hopping from their place on the ground begging to be carried, Lily laughed and picked them up.
"You guys are excited as I am." with a nod to herself in the mirror she went into the kitchen. Lasagna was once again making breakfast and her father was sitting down reading the newspaper. He gave a quick smile to Lily before drinking his tea with a gulp.
"You promise to behave yourself with Professor McGonagall?" Lily nodded, "good, remember to stick with her at all times and don't wander off with Severus alright? Hold her hand when you cross the road, and-"
"Dad, I'll be alright," she said, cutting off the growing rant, "I'll be good and stick next to Professor McGonagall, don't worry." She grabbed a flapjack and sat down next to her dad. He sighed, kissed her, and went out the door.
"I love you alright, tell Tuney when she wakes up that I love her too." Lily waves him out with a smile.
"Yeah yeah, love you too."
Lily scraped the rest of her plate in silence watching her three dolls mess around. Her nerves were coming back now that her father left and she began bouncing her knee. Handing her plate off to her shadow Lily grabs her father's discarded newspaper and flicks through it, glancing at the clock every few seconds. Half-past ten Petunia stumbles in, bleary-eyed; she doesn't even flinch when a plate is handed to her by an overeager doll.
"Dad said he loved you," Lily said, placing the newspaper down, it wasn't like she was reading it. It was more of a prop than anything else. "When he left, he told me he loved you." Petunia nodded and stuffed more flapjacks into her mouth.
"That's good, it'll be awkward if he doesn't." Lily smothered a laugh, morning time Petunia was always so blunt in the perfect of ways.
"Oh and I'm going to Diagon Alley with Severus, would you like to go with us?"
"Can't promised Mrs. Rossita that I would babysit for her," Petunia stared at her plate mulishly, either she wanted more flapjacks or she didn't want to babysit. Lily patted her arm in poor comfort but then a knock came from the door.
"That'll be her!" Lily shouted excitedly and ran to greet her Professor. Opening the door she saw Mcgonagall in robes (she was wearing a more muggle attire before) and Severus with her, "Hello Professor, Sev; let me grab my bag and I'll be ready."
Leaving the door open for her two guests to walk in she went back to her room. In the past months, it had gone from no personality to a torrential mess that not even Petunia could fix, and Tuney prided herself in cleanliness. Stepping past a melted pot she grabbed her satchel filled with emergency voodoo crafts and her savings from the emporium. Lily figured the best way to spend the money she had made was on more magic.
Coming back to the kitchen she smiled at the scene, her three dolls were trying to force-feed McGonagall some pancakes while Severus already was making his way through a third. Petunia was watching them all with an appalled look.
"Alright you three leave her alone," her words snapped the dolls to attention and they scurried off to different places, "sorry about that Professor, they worry too much."
"Never mind you, Ms. Jones, it was interesting to see such animation in the dolls," McGonagall stood up, holding an arm out to each of them, "now if we are all ready, grab onto my arms, we will be apperating to Diagon Alley. It is uncomfortable on your first go so keep that in mind."
Lily clutched Mcgonagall's arm tightly and Severus did the same. Closing her eyes she felt herself be twisted then solved into a too-small pipe that crushed her chest. Finally, with a sharp crack, she was out of the tube and onto the floor. She heard someone throwing up next to her but was more focused on easing the churning of her own stomach.
"Don't worry about it Minerva, we get this all the time. Let me clean it up for ya." A scraggly looking man said. He pulled out his wand with a quick motion and the puke vanished, being replaced with the scent of mint.
"Thank you, Tom," said McGonagall.
Lily stood up and took in her surroundings, she was in a pub. It wasn't a very nice pub, the windows were dirty, along with the tables, floors, and the inhabitants. But the place had a certain charm to it that made the whole thing work. A groan came from the floor and Lily turned to her friend.
"Oh come now Sev, it wasn't all that bad." Lily put her hands on her hips, tsking at the floored boy.
"Easy for you to say, I bet you enjoyed whatever the hell we went through." Lily chuckled and pulled him up.
"Seems like you have your hands full with these two, ey?" Tom said smiling merrily to McGonagall. She rolled her eyes but the twitch of a smile was on her face.
Flowing past her two charges McGonagall led them to the back alleyway. Flourishing her wand she tapped the bricks in a sequence. Two small gasps sounded when the bricks started to wiggle and move back, making a wider and wider opening big enough for a giant to pass through.
Severus had to restrain Lily from running off into the Alley. But there was so much stuff! Lily could practically feel the magic thrumming in the air. She looked around and stopped in front of each store trying to memorize everything she saw, broomsticks, potion shops, magic pets! She almost didn't hear McGonagall over her excitement.
"We'll go to Gringotts to exchange money and then get books, robes, and potion kits. telescope and cauldron next, and finally your wands. After that, we can look through the Magical Menagerie for a pet." McGonagall lightly pushed the children in the proper direction before drifting back and watching their faces light up with each thing.
This is why she became a professor, to see the faces of the next generation inspired by their world, to find awe in the simplest of things, and to wonder at the hardest of questions. But she couldn't dally on such thoughts, she has work to do.
Exchanging the money was a bit of a process, muggle currency was so different from magic. But it went off smoothly enough, though Lily looked like she wanted to steal a goblin.
Getting the books first might have been a mistake, Lily somehow managed to hide extra books in her pockets, Severus's hair, and even Mcgonagall's basket. McGonagall would be lying if she wasn't a slight bit alarmed by the books Lily got, each of them while not dark was still enough to scare adults.
Arguing that Lily could get those books when she has a better understanding of magic, a feeble argument but one that Lily couldn't contradict, the books went back to the shelf and the trio left the bookstore. After all, McGonagall didn't expect the apothecary to be as difficult as what child would like the smelly shop. She shouldn't assume things.
This time Severus was the one sneaking things past, he would ask the shopkeeper what each ingredient did, and if one interested Severus enough he'll stash it. This happened easier than Lily's book heist since the ingredients actually fitted into her pocket. McGonagall could feel her hair turning gray after she made Lily put back frog eyes… for the fifth time.
The robes, telescope, and cauldron all were bought easily without much fuss from either child. And finally, the time for wands came. The two children were chatting excitedly holding their bags of various goods but upon entering the wand shop they stopped talking. The store always had an otherworldly feel and it seemed Lily and Severus picked up on it.
"First years?" Ollivander asked with his whimsical voice, "oh, hello Minerva, fir wood and Dragonheart string 9½ inches. Well suited for transfiguration."
"Correct as always," She gestures to her charges, "I think you will have an interesting time with these two."
Ollivander looks them up and down a smile creeping over his face, "witch doctors! How curious, I have not had one in such a long time." He points to Severus.
"Step up, tell me your name and wand hand."
"Uh I'm Severus Snape, and left-handed." He glances around the store slightly put off by the strange man. Ollivander nods and starts measuring him, leaving the measuring tape to float around Severus, he goes and pulls thin boxes off the shelf.
"Here try this, ebony wood phoenix feather 12 inches." but as Severus grabbed the wand it was snatched out of his hand. Ollivander pulled more boxes out, each one a different combination of wood, length, and core. As each wand failed, Ollivander got more excited. He danced around the shelves staring critically at wands before tossing them aside. After 15 or so wands he pulls out a dented box. "A bit of an unorthodox combination but interesting nonetheless, hawthorn with dragon heartstring, 10½ inches slightly rigid. Give it a whirl."
Snape gripped the wand and a tremendous roar of triumph came from the wand, startling everyone in the shop. Ollivander shouted with joy.
"The wand chooses the wizard, and this wand chooses you. Be careful though it'll be easy for others to win it over." Severus nodded at Ollivander's words and stepped back for Lily, who took a deep breath and began the long process of finding a wand.
It seems that Lily's was taking longer than Severus, and more destructive. While Severus broke a vase or knocked down boxes. Lily was breaking the windows, burning Ollivander's desk, and making the chair disappear. She was worrying that she'll ruin the shop before her wand is found. But once again the last wand did the charm.
"Willow wood and phoenix feather, 10¼ inches, swishy." Lily took the wand and gasped, she could feel the magic of it poking her own. Judging if she is worth its time, it swirled around her hand before settling in her heart, and with a flash of light, the wand was hers. Ollivander let out another whoop.
"My dear, Minerva, if you bring me students like these more often I'm afraid I'll die from pure joy." McGonagall let out a dry sort of a chuckle, she was not expecting the wand buying to take so long and now was behind schedule.
"If I bring you more of these students I will be stuck in your store forever." Ollivander nodded at that as his eyes drifted away, moving on from the conversation and to another world. McGonagall shook her head and escorted them out of his shop, leaving the galleons on his newly-repaired desk.
The excited chatter that had stopped when entering the store started back up as the two compared their wands. The walk to Magical Menagerie was quick and the children wandered through the store, petting cats, playing with dogs, and observing owls. McGonagall thought to remind them of the animal rule but stopped, it's not like anyone follows it. As long as they don't get anything dangerous she'll allow it. Severus and Lily separated, he to the reptiles, and her to the birds. Each one came back with an animal. Lily had a juvenile raven sitting atop her head wearing one of her bracelets, and Severus was holding a double-ended newt. McGonagall raised her eyebrow, both of them picked interesting pets.
"You'll have to keep it in a tank, Sev," Lily said, "I read one of the signs." Severus looked down at his newt with a small smile.
"I don't care, I'll get them whatever they need. Look at their eyes Lily," He held the newt to Lily's face, "they sparkle, Lily, sparkle. I've never had a pet before, my dad wouldn't allow it, but now that he's-" he stopped what he was saying and looked at Mcgonagall, "but now I can, and this little fella called me."
Lily stroked the newt smiling when she heard a pleasing garble. She scratched the raven on top of her head,
"I know what you mean, this idiot almost choked himself when he landed on my head. Completely ruined my hair, so of course, I'm keeping him." McGonagall coughed. For some reason, she felt like she was intruding on something very private.
"If you both have decided, let's buy their supplies, it is getting late." The friends went to the front desk and bought a stand for Lily, a tank for Severus's newt, and food for both pets.
The sun was setting when the trio plus all their new additions popped back to Lily's home, and what a commotion that caused. Her father and sister screamed, the raven cawed madly, Severus barfed again, and her dolls drew out the kitchen knives. Luckily for them, Mcgonagall was on the case, she vanished the throw-up, knives, and screams (don't know how she did that). Huffing tiredly she pointed her nose to Lily's father.
"I can't stay long, shopping took longer than expected and I have some more work to do at Hogwarts." She twisted away with a loud POP leaving the room silent.
"Well… who wants dinner?" said Lily's father.
AN:
UnnaVox: I enjoyed this one, perhaps even more than chapter 12. The scene with the pet shop was my favorite, little Severus and his double-ended newt (and his ass of a father is out of the picture, not dead but incapacitated). I have been doing a lot of brainstorming with Duo and am very excited for the chapters to come.