"Lily it's time to wake up," Lily's mother said to her youngest daughter shaking her slightly. Lily sat upright so fast she knocked Milly right onto the floor in a heap.
"Okay!" Lily exclaimed. She sneaked a quick look at her clock and jumped in the shower. It was 9:00. If they left in thirty minutes, they could finish their shopping before noon and would be able to sit down somewhere for lunch.
35 minutes later Lily stared at her reflection in her full length mirror. Piercing almond shaped bright green eyes stared back at her. Lily Evans was beautiful in every way imaginable. She wasn't just one of those 'beautiful' people you see every day, she was rare. She had natural beauty inherited no doubt by her parents. Her long dark red hair cascaded down her back and was set in big spiral curls (Thanks to the curling iron she had gotten for her birthday). She wore jean shorts showing off her perfectly smooth tanned legs. Her navy blue camisole was layered over a dark brown spaghetti strap and revealed her shoulders and neck. Her wooden beaded necklace completed the outfit and matched her dark brown leather sandals perfectly.
"Perfect!" Lily said to herself. She carefully gathered her purse and set off for the kitchen.
"Breakfast?" Mr. Evans asked as Lily entered the kitchen.
"No, i'm not very hungry. Besides, we need to leave as soon as possible!" Lily said grinning broadly.
"All right then hon. Mum should be ready any minute now." Just then Mrs. Evans walked into the kitchen.
"Ready everyone?" She asked.
"Yes!" Lily said while at the same time Mr. Evans said "I think so."
"Okay then. Lily, you're sure you know how to get there?" Mrs. Evans asked sternly. "Only, I don't want to get lost."
"Yes mum. I told you, they mentioned it in my letter from Hogwarts."
"Okay honey. Let's go."
They entered the garage and Lily practically jumped into the car. "Go mum go," Lily said laughing. "Gees. I'm so excited!"
Mrs. Evans drove away [faster than usual and laughed at Lily's sudden enthusiasm. They parked outside of the old record store and got out of the car.
"Well, there's the Leaky Cauldron," Lily said reading the directions from her Hogwarts letter. "We're supposed to go in and ask the bartender for directions into Diagon Alley."
"Er.." Mr. Evans began.
"Where exactly is the Leaky Cauldron?" Mrs. Evans finished for him as she looked from the record store on the left to the big book shop on the right.
"Right there," Lily said slowly, pointing straight ahead of her.
"Oh, oh yes. I see it now." It was as if the bar had appeared out of thin air. In fact, Mrs. Evans was quite sure the bar did appear out of thin air.
They walked inside together and were greeted instantly by the bartender who claimed to be named Tom.
"Just this way, just this way," Tom said gesturing toward a back door. He led them out to a small, walled courtyard. Tom took out his wand and tapped a brick on the wall opposite them. Instantly the bricks disappeared as though they were melting away, and where solid stone once stood, an archway appeared revealing the colorful street of Diagon Alley.
"Enjoy," Tom said bowing.
"Thank you very much sir," Lily said smiling brightly. She and her parents stepped through the archway and into the magical world.
"Mum, dad, isn't this wonderful?" Lily said unable to keep her eyes off of the different shops. There were dozens of colorful displays showing spell books, cauldrons, wands, broomsticks, and much, much more.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were gazing in astonishment at the different shops too.
"What does your list say Lily?" Mr. Evans said.
"Hmm.." Lily once again was scanning the letter she received just yesterday from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Well, I definitely need robes. Let's get them first."
They set off down the street hoping to find a shop selling robes. And sure enough, robes of all different colors glittered in the window of a small shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
"Good thing your mother and I exchanged money through owl post ahead of time," Mr. Evans said winking at Lily. "It sure is busy today."
"It's the last day of the holidays, dear," Mrs. Evans said. "Everyone does their shopping today," she said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
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AN - More reviews,, more story: