She'd smoothed the wrinkled paper between her hands to the point that it was softer than cats fur, and more delicate than onion skin. The words had long blurred from the restless twisting and twiddling of her fingers. Shoving her inky hair behind a almost inhumanly pointed ear she couldn't resist reading the top line of the letter for the hundredth time.
"Dear Miss. Raina Che'vock
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
In vain Rain tried to block out the first-day-of-school questions 'How are you going to make friends? You've barley studied, has everyone else already memorized their school books? What if you trip and fall on the steps in front of everyone? What if their all stuck-up pureblood snobs?'. Hoping for a distraction she glanced around the Knight Bus, immediately regretting her action as she met her twins jealous eyes across the aisle.
"Left Ernie! I said left!" A shrunken head told the very young bus driver sitting in the drivers seat. Rain was violently thrown into the boy next to her, his black hair snaked down her arm in greasy tangles before he backed up hastily. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as they stared at each other, not entirely sure what to say.
"Rain, Apologize! Your so clumsy!" Her twin snapped, never missing the chance to correct her sister. The twins were the opposite of identical, while Rain was all straight lines and shy curves with delicate feminine cheekbones and and pointy elvish face, her twin, Ashley, was all bold curves that left no mistake that she was a girl. Ashley could have been a model in the Muggle world, pretty and blond with pale blue eyes. Rain was hair was so black it looked like she'd died it with ink, her blue eyes were so dark they looked violet. Rain clenched her fists and silently turned to look out the window, she wasn't about to give her sister the satisfaction of doing was she said.
Ashley rolled her eyes and leaned over to talk to the girl next to her. "Excuse me, are you going to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies?"
The girl raised her head up from the sheet she was writing on and blinked her bright green eyes in surprise. "Yes, are you?"
Ashley grinned at her, she was looking to find a new clique, this girl was pretty enough to fit in. The sly look Ashley sent her sister quiet clearly said 'Look I'm already making friends, unlike you'. "Umm-humm, I'm starting school in September. I'm going to Beauxbatons. My sister-" She said the word as if it burned her mouth. "-is going to Hogwarts."
The relief of finding someone who might go to the same school drizzled off Ashley's face as the green eyed girl next to her spoke. "Is their something wrong with going to Hogwarts? It's where Severus and I are going!" She said it half tartly half worriedly as she gestured to the boy sitting next to Rain.
"Of course there's nothing wrong with Hogworts!" Ashley back peddled quickly, her face scrunched as she said it. "Its just... I've heard stories you know, especially about Slytherin."
Before the girl could reply, Severus, the boy next to Rain protested. "Theirs nothing wrong with Slytherin! My families been in it for generations."
"And I think we can all see why." Ashley said nastily, bumping her shoulder into the girl next to hers for support. Instead of laughing nastily as Ashley clearly meant her to, glaring the girl scooted away from her. "What, you want to be in Slytherin too, Christmas?" Ashley nicknamed her new enemy for the combination of her red hair and green eyes.
"It's Lily. Lily Evans." She spat.
"Sure, Christmas." Ashley said with fake sweetness, pointedly ignoring Lily's name. She stood up and smiled down at them regally, as if she was a Queen and they were peasants. "Excuse me, I think my maids calling, sister dear?" Rain shook her head mutely and returned to gazing out the window at the scenery racing past. She waited until the click of Ashley's uncomfortable high heels faded before she glanced at Lily again- and was met with a full on glare.
Rain met her eyes squarely. "Do you have a problem with Slytherin?" Lily growled.
Without missing a beat Rain said casually. "Actually I think I prefer Ravenclaw myself."
There was silence as the two girls sized each other up, before Severus let out a badly disguised laugh. Startled out of there minuscule fight Lily and Rain seemed to realize the absurdness of what they were doing and smiled at each other. More out of wanting to start a conversation than actually curiosity Rain asked Severus, "Why do you want to be in Slytherin?"
Severus blushed shyly and replied "Its where all of my bloodline have gone, the Prince's, and supposedly its where all the people who are cunning and good at the Dark Magic go-" His blush deepened as if he were embarrassed as he mumbled. "I kind of have a knack for the Dark Arts."
"So," Lily started, changing the subject from Severus's awkward confession. "Are you a pureblood?"
"Lily!" Severus hissed. " You cant just go around asking people if-"
Rain ignored him, "I'm a pureblood, are you two?"
Lily shook her head and said " Muggle born" at the same time Severus mumbled "Halfblood"
Rain's eyes widened curiously. "What's it like growing up in the muggle world?"
"What's it like growing up in the Wizarding world?" Lily countered.
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"Children, this is your stop!" The kind old conductor announced, smiling at them from the front of the bus.
The three students-to-be returned his smile distractedly. "True, but how do microwaves and stoves work? I mean I've heard of fires trapped in a bottle, do you think its the same thing?" Rain continued their conversation as she helped Severus gather up his belongings.
"I don't actually know, but I'm sure their strictly non-magic, could it use something like a gas lamp? Or somehow heated with electricity?" Lily grabbed Severus's offered hand to steady herself as she stepped nimbly off the the metal platform and onto the street. Behind her Rain jumped off unceremoniously, having to steady herself by grabbing Lily's shoulder when she landed on the unsteady ground. "This doesn't look like Diagon Alley!" Lily spun back to the bus, but it was already speeding away, overflowing trash cans leaping out of its way.
"Did they drop us off at the wrong stop?" Rain asked, squinting around. They stood in front of a tiny, grubby-looking pub, squatting between a bookshop and a record store. A sign half off its hinges declared this creepy looking pub to be 'The Leaky Cauldron'.
"I didn't see your sister get off, she was going here too, right?" Lily worried. "Should we go inside, or should we wait for the bus to come back?"
"We don't have a wand, so we can't call the Knight bus. Our only option is..." Severus trailed off, all their eyes glued to the pub.
"Right." Lily squared her shoulders and looped her arm though Severus's. "Lets go." They walked shoulder to shoulder, right up to the door, Rain grabbed the doorknob. The other two stepped back to give her room as she yanked open the door. Blocking their view of the pub were two bickering women. As the women stepped back to let them pass the trio heard a snippet of conversation.
"When my Sirius is in Slytherin-"
"-Lucius has already met the head of Slytherin, and do you know what he said?"
But then the two paused to see who walked passed them and started to whisper excitedly. "Daughter of..." "Pureblood" "Marriage" "Pretty babies", and then more clearly: "But look at the company she keeps! Isn't that Eileen Prince's son? She married a Muggle you know, what a scandal!"
Lily glanced at her old and new friend, Rain was looking away from her, frowning into the smokey haze around the bar. The only evidence she'd even heard the gossipers was her hands clenched in her hoodie pockets. Severus bent his head so his long hair covered his face. For a moment Lily felt lonely and out of place, she didn't have a drop of wizard blood, unlike her friends. Rain set off determinedly toward the bar pushing past a man with only two fingers.
Rain stepped up to the bar and attempted to hail the African-American bartender. He finished pouring a spider webbed metal wine glass of something that looked suspiciously like blood, before walking over to her slowly, he leaned down to be eye level with her. "Welcome to 'da Leaky Caldron, something you'd like darl'n? A nice c'se of Butter Beer? Maybe s'mething to make ye' a wee bit taller?" He droned in a surprisingly thick Scottish accent that didn't match his skin color.
She ignored his comment on her lack of height and asked tartly "The Knight Bus dropped us off at the wrong place, do you know how I can get to Diagon Alley from here?"
"Diagon Alley?" The bartender threw back his head a roared with laughter. "Ya' 'ear that boys? Little tike can't find 'e Alley!" The entire bar laughed, a smoking women clothed in a tent of blue fabric sitting at the bar gave them a pitiful look.
"And y'er what, fir't years?" The bartender scrutinized them with deep brow eyes. "Lookin' f'ur Olivanders an' the like?"
Rain slammed her finger up into his face, pointing at the spot between his eyes. "Are you going to tell us how to get there or not?"
Grabbing her finger the bartender rudely yanked it over his shoulder, throwing her off balance. "See da' door?" Glancing at the back door her finger was now aimed at, she nodded.
"It'll lead us to Diagon Alley?" Rain tried to confirm, but the bartender had already moved to his next costumer.
The women in blue gave one last drag of her pipe, the smoke that leaked out her mouth when she exhaled was in the shape of a detailed 3D racing horse. The women rolled her eyes in the bartenders direction, before grabbing her old lady handbag off the floor and stepping carefully over to Lily. "Looking lost my lambs? I'll help you get through the boundary." She gestured with one long purple fingernail for them to follow her. She walked to the back door, twisting the knob, not looking to see if they were following, and disappeared through it.
"Lambs?" Severus hissed under his breath as he carefully maneuvered to the back door, Lily behind him with Rain in tow. The women led them out into a small, walled courtyard, host to only a few scraggly weeds. Drawing out her wand she silently tapped a brick three times in a row, before stepping back to let them get past her. The bricks seemed to peel away, like turning the page in a thick book. Unveiled in front of them was a long cobblestone street, lined with all sorts of stores and filled with all sorts of bustling people.
"Come on, hurry it through!" The Witch shoved from behind, they tumbled through just in time to see the entryway behind them peel shut as if it were never there.
After a moment of bewilderment, Rain turned to the two excitedly "Have you already got money, or do we have to stop at Gringotts?"
Severus nodded mutely, Lily said. "Severus's mom helped us change out money."
"Right." Rain dove into her pocket and drew out the packing list. "Should we do this in order or just go down the line of stores?"
"Lets just go in the stores, and we can cross stuff off the list." Severus leaned over her shoulder, his lips moving soundlessly as he read the list. "First is a cauldron." He started toward a store with a obvious pile cauldrons sitting outside. It was bright and warm inside, a pudgy women siting at the desk in the back stood up and came over to them.
"In need of school cauldrons?" The witch asked, to the three's nods of various enthusiasm. "What year, dearies?"
"First, we need pewter, size two." Lily answered for all of them, but the witch's smile was lost on her as Lily spun around, trying to take in the whole store at once. The witch raised her wand and three cauldrons sailed down from the top shelf to land safely on the counter. They paid for them (Lily counting out the money in Rain's hand) and moved on the the next store, calling "Thank You"s over their shoulders.
Next in line was the Apothecary, where it was cool and dim. Strange things lined the walls and hung from the ceiling, bright powders, and noxious looking liquids, it smelled terrible. Severus and Lily examined 'Ground Unicorn Hoofs', while Rain talked to the clerk about basic incidence for potions. Rain bartered and was able to get them all brass scales, phials, silver telescopes, and potion ingredients extremely cheap. There after they let Rain handle all their money. Outside they headed for the bookstore, after dragging a fascinated Lily away from a huge window display of brooms, reminding her they weren't allowed.
Inside Flourish and Blotts the air was perfumed with the smell of new ink and dry pages. After handing over their course books list to a harried looking assistant, they broke up to each explore their own types of books, Severus to the Dark Arts section, Lily to the Charms, and Rain to Ancient Runes. As Lily flipped through a book about how to charm a fish into tap dancing, a horrid screaming came from the section Severus had wandered into. A tired looking employ push past her with his wand raised. Worried about her friend she dashed after him, stopping in front of a amused looking Rain leaning on the end of a bookshelf that was the entrance to the Dark Arts section. Rain grinned wryly when she saw Lily, "I swear, I told him not to open it!". Leaning around her, Lily stuck her head around the bookshelf. Severus and a few assistants were trying to wrestle a screaming book closed. The book was bound with tan leather, a face seemed to be pushing out from the pages, It was the thing screaming.
There was a sound of ripping pages, half the book was sat unmoving in Severus's hands while the other half flew out of the section, just missing Lily's head. It flew past a few startled shoppers before slamming into the wooden door with a painful-sounding smack. Over, and over, the thing slammed into the door, trying to escape, behind it the employs signaled to each other, they were going to trap it. But just then, the door opened, a startled wizard ducked as a flying book sailed over his head and out into the street. Everyone in the store watched as the book flew in front of the window, screamed one last time, and promptly ripped itself to shreds.
Severus ducked his head sheepishly, "I'll pay for it." After that there was a blur of motion, the books were shoved into their hands, they payed, and were graciously shown to the door. They were obviously meant to leave before they broke anything else.
Through the entire ordeal, Rain was trying to hold in laughter. "Well," She said breathlessly "I cant say shopping with you guys isn't an adventure!"
Juggling their books, they headed for Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Inside there were rows and rows of stands, covered in all sorts of fabrics. Lily reached out to brush a beautiful lime green scarf with her fingers, just before they touched the fabric a tall and lanky women materialized out of no where, grabbing her hand and yanking it away from the cloth. Lily cried out in surprise as the women held up her hand examining her fingers in the sunlight. "Did you touch it?" the women asked her. Lily shook her head mutely, as the women sighed in relief. She gestured to the fabric. "Look closely." Lily obediently bend her head, her eyes widened. Now that she was close to the fabric, she could see rows of tiny curved spikes were poking out of it, like Velcro. "All of those are filled with a fatal poison. If you'd touched one, you would be dead by now." The shopkeeper said calmly, as if she didn't really care if Lily had touched it.
Behind her, her two friends were watching, surprised. The shopkeeper clapped her hands together and smiled at them with mossy green teeth. "Right, school robes?" Lily and Severus nodded, but Rain shook her head.
As the shopkeeper led them away to stand on stools, and be fitted in the back of the store, Rain called to their retreating backs, "I'll find us gloves and hats!"
Severus helped Lily onto her tall stool, explaining quietly, "Most purebloods already have robes." Lily took in the information with surprise, she'd almost forgotten Rain was a pureblood. Standing on the stool she could see Rain attacking a box of gloves labeled 'Dragon Hide'. The tall shopkeeper pulled out a long knotted cord from her pocket, calling out how many knots Lily was as the women pulled it around her chest, shoulders, and waist. Next to her a male assistant was measuring Severus quickly. Lily couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks when she heard Severus was skinnier than her. When they hopped down, the shopkeeper spoke quietly with the male assistant before turning back to them as the assistant disappeared into the storerooms. "I have your size." She told Lily, then turning to Severus, "But you I shall give a few sizes bigger, boys always grow."
The assistant came back with their robes, helping them arrange the clothes and books so that they could carry it all. In the corner Rain was holding three hats in one hand and paying with the other (They were still letting her handle the money.) She winked at them and gestured that she'd meet them at the door. A few minuets later, they exited the shop and Rain handed out hats and gloves to them, she'd gotten Lily a beautiful light blue pair, the scales shimmering like diamonds. Severus she'd gotten a pair of dark green ones, that were threaded and spider webbed with silver, 'Slytherin Colors' Rain had explained. The two old friends shifted uncomfortably under the weight of all their supplies as Rain checked the packing list and led them across the street to and dusty looking store called 'Ollivander's Wands: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'.
A tinkling bell rang in the back of the shop as Rain held the door open so her two friends could get past. They stood in a tiny open space before the ends of huge narrow shelves so long they couldn't see the ends. On the shelves were hundreds of boxes, they looked like expensive boxes that you'd put expensive jewelry or Rolex watches in, perfectly square and decorated, if a bit dusty.
"Hello." A old sounding voice said behind them, they all jumped, Lily almost dropping her cauldron, the wrinkly old shopkeeper hadn't been there a moment ago. "Set your things over there, preferably before you drop them on my floor." He gestured at the desk, before staring hard at Severus with his pale eyes. Instead of meeting his eyes, Severus examined the floor, his ego still hurt from the book accident. "Pine? Not at all pliable though, no, can't be flexible." The old man, who they presumed was Mr. Ollivander, whispered to himself quietly. "Name?" he asked Severus sharply.
"Severus Snape." Severus recited.
"Hmmmm." said Mr. Ollivander, studying Severus. He pulled a long tape measurer with silver markings out of his breast pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Oh, um...I'm left-handed." He replied.
"Hold out your arm." He measured Severus from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. Mr. Ollivander dropped the measuring tape and started to brows the shelves, instead of dropping to the floor though, as any normal propermeasuring tape would do, this one continued to measure the space between his eyes, then the length of his nose.
The trio could no longer see Mr. Ollivander, but he was still taking to them from down the shelves, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Severus. We use unicorn hairs, heartstrings of dragons, and the tail feathers of a phoenix. The reaction of the wand, makes somewhat of a prediction of your future. No two Ollivander wands are the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizards wand." The tape measurer gave a satisfied shake, flew to Lily, and started measuring the length of all her fingers.
Mr. Ollivander reappeared with a pile of boxes, he opened one to reveal a polished wooden stick. "Nine and a half inches, pine, unicorn hair good at Transfiguration." He lifted the wand up and offered the thicker end to Severus. Taking it, Severus waved it through the air hard, blue sparks shot out of the tip and straight as Rain, she had no time to duck. The sparks hit her in the chest, knocking her straight off her feet and into a shelf of wand boxes. Mr. Ollivander didn't even spare Rain a glance, but yanked the wand out of Severus's hands. "Not pine, no, no, not stiff enough either." As Lily helped Rain up, Mr. Ollivander disappeared back into into the shelves. Reappearing he held a pure black box in his hand, opening this box he revealed a thick lighter colored wand. "Try this one. Birch, completely stiff, Dragon heart string, eight inches." Severus grasped the wand carefully, as soon as he did a dragon made of white sparkles emerged from the end, it roared silently, before turning black and disappearing, all of Severus's pale skin seemed to glow before it slowly trickled back into the wand and ebbed away, lastly appearing in his fingernails. "Betrayal." Mr. Ollivander smiled at him creepily, before turning to Lily.
"Name?" He asked her, snatching the tape measure as is attempted to measure the with of her stiff arm.
"Lily Evans." Already knowing the drill she held out her right arm. He measured only the length of her arm before dropping the tape measurer, where it measured only between Lily's shoulder blades before flying at Rain and measuring her nose.
He snatched a peach-orange colored case off the desk, "Holly and phoenix feathers, eleven inches, nice a supple." As soon as her fingers brushed it, he snatched it back, "Matches the eyes." He muttered. Racing back toward the shelves he plucked up a box that was a lovely shade of brown. "American Scyamore, thirteen inches, dragon heart-string." Lily carefully brushed it with her fingers, when Mr. Ollivander didn't snatch it back, she grasped it firmly and gave it a wave. Green and purple smoke poured from the wand to make a thick burning cloud of dancers. Looking shaken Lily dropped the wand, the tips of her fingers black, Severus immediately launched towards her worriedly. He rubbed at her fingers thinking she was burnt, but the black substance was only soot.
"Third times the charm, Miss. Evans! Ten and quarter inches long, willow, swishy, nice for charms, unicorn tail." Mr. Ollivander snatched another box off the desk, this one was light blue, almost the color of the gloves Rain had bought Lily earlier. This time she was more cautious, lifting the wand lightly she delicately waved it. Beautiful flowers erupted from the wand, red centers bleeding into pure white with gold edges. Her skin, like Severus's, glowed, but it was more like her outer layer had suddenly become diamond and glittered when she moved. Then the flowers started to explode like tiny fireworks, one by one, when it got to the last flower a blinding light flashed, and she was back to normal. "A love prediction, congratulations" He told Lily.
Mr. Ollivander turned to Rain, before he could say a word she sang cheekily, "Raina Che'vock, left handed."
He seemed startled before he said, "Your mother got her first wand here, she was a very...interesting women." Rain's smile seem to become fake, like she was trying hard to keep it up. Their eye's met and Rain didn't look away like Severus, she held his gaze, and he was the first to look away. "Maybe a wand like hers?" Rain said nothing, the air had suddenly become very tense and cold. "Hard, extremely expensive, rare, mahogany, nine inches, expensive purebred unicorn tail." beside Lily, Severus gritted his teeth, it was an obvious insult to Rain's family name. Rain smiled a cool, trained smile, and it was almost as if she were another person, not the girl who had told jokes and stories with them in the bus. She lightly grasped the wand and gave it a lazy wave, it was several minutes of tense waiting until in the very back of the store their was a loud crash, one of the huge heavy shelves had tumbled down. Mr. Ollivander ripped the the wand out of her hand much more violently than he needed too. Mr. Ollivander stared at the wand for a moment, then he looked between Rain and the wand several times, finally he told her quietly, "This wand is almost identical to your mothers, did you know wands match up with the soul? But yours...curious indeed" He twirled the wand between his fingers for a moment, before heading back between the shelves, something similar to respect in his eyes.
"I'll try to find you something entirely different, the farthest thing from it." They waited in silence until Mr. Ollivander returned, Rain not meeting Severus's eyes. "Now this, try this. Indian Rosewood, very long, fourteen inches, phoenix tail. Farthest thing I have from the last wand." This time when Rain grasped it, her fingers warmed and two wolves burst from the end, one white, one black. The two wolves frolicked and played for a moment before the the black one turned and disappeared, the white wolf sat alone, sniffing the air, it realized it was alone and wailed, howling mournfully and lonely until it to faded, all alone. Her skin glowed, or more like shined, like there was something under her skin, pulsing. Until it too faded, leaving the room seemingly darker than before, the mournful howl of the wolf still echoing between the shelves.
After giving Rain a peculiar look, Mr. Ollivander disappeared again to get them all plastic bags to put there wands in. Rain, who had their money, paid seven gold galleons for each, and even though it was over priced, she said nothing, wanting to leave this creepy, dusty place more than anything. After handing her friends their wands, Rain practically ran out of there. Standing on the sidewalk outside with bright cheery sunlight warming their skin, it seemed like the weird stuff that just occurred was only a bad dream.
"Well, that was certainly interesting." Lily said thoughtfully looking at the wand in Ollivander's shop window.
Next to her, Rain shivered, "I don't think I like Mr. Ollivander very much." She said it so quietly that the other two weren't sure they'd even heard her. Turning around, away from Ollivanders shop and gloominess, she smiled and abruptly looped her arms through Lily and Severus's and started to run. "Come on, ice cream, my treat!" She yelled.
"I can run on my own, let go!" Severus yelled in mock seriousness, laughing. Rain slipped her arm out of his, she and Lily racing far ahead of him. He could only barley see them in between the crowds of witches and wizards. Laughing and breathing hard they waited for him to catch up outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, looking a flavors through the tall floor to ceiling windows. The three had vivid debates about which flavor each should get.
"Something Muggly, huh?" Rain pondered, trying to find something Lily would eat. "I still recommend the Cockroach flavor, some of the cockroaches are still alive when you eat it." She said teasingly. "But Muggle like...?"
"Muggly? You made that word up! How about Blood flavored? Ooh! They have glowing ice cream, it shines so bright you can see it get digested through your skin on your stomach." Severus tried to get her to try it but she shook her head.
Finally Rain snapped her fingers. "Got it! Plumcot."
"Plumcot?" Lily asked skeptically, "Do I even want to know what that is?"
"Actually, that's not a bad idea. I mean, its Muggle fruits, normal stuff." Severus grinned at her.
"It sounds good, I'll try it if-" you tell me whats in it, Rain had already entered the shop before Lily could finish her sentence, through the window they heard her ask for three large ice cream cones, one Tartare, one Tamarind, and one Plumcot. Lily banged her head on the window none too gently and groaned, "I'm totally gonna regret this, aren't I?" The door bells jingled as Rain banged into the door with her foot, with her hands full, she couldn't turn the door knob. Lily glanced skyward and volunteered to find an outside table if Severus helped Rain. She picked up the supplies they'd set on the floor when considering flavors, and set them down next to a tiny round table with four tall chairs. As she sat down an crazily grinning Rain appeared and handed her a cone that was made up of beautiful combination of the colors, red, orange, and dark purple. Severus's was coffee colored with odd black seeds sticking out of it, Rains was a drippy combination of brown and red, in her stomach Lily had a feeling the red sauce was real, warm, animal blood, poured on top like sprinkles. "What is Tartare?"
"Its a raw steak dish they serve in Asia for breakfast." Severus answer, always a scholar.
At the face Lily made, Rain spoke, with blood dripping down her chin, "Its really good, imagine rare streak, that's been frozen. Besides, don't knock my flavor when you haven't even tried yours!"
She'd been caught! Lily thought that if she just held it there, maybe slipped a little bit of it into her napkin, the others wouldn't notice she hadn't eaten it. But now they were both watching her expectantly. "Is there no hope that you'll tell me what's in it?" It was a hopeless question, Lily already knew Rain wasn't going to tell her. Not waiting for a reply Lily snapped her eyes shut, sticking out her tongue all the way. She just barley brushed the ice cream with the very tip of her tongue before snapping it back into her mouth.
"Good? Bad? Oh-my-god-it-tastes-like-poison?" Rain and Severus waited anxiously for a reaction.
Lily popped open her eyes and grinned at them. "This is fantastic!"
"Now," Severus said to Rain, watching Lily lick the ice cream like she was suddenly starving. "I think we can tell her what's in it."
"A plumcot is a natural complex cross hybrid between plums and apricots." Rain fiddled around in her bag and pulled out her packing list, she layed it flat on the table, smoothing it with her fingers. "I think we have everything that we need, so after this we go back to the Leakey Cauldron?"
Lily made a strangled sound through her full mouth and held up one slender finger to signal they should wait until she swallowed. "Theres one more shop I want to go to."
Rain tilted her head like a confused puppy, running her fingers down the list. They had everything they needed. "Where?"
Lily shook her head, net telling. "You'll see after we finish our ice cream."
With this new prospect of adventure, Rain said something along the lines of 'bottoms up!' and shoved her entire cone into her mouth. Her mouth bulged, partway open, until she managed to swallow it whole, which was clearly not a good idea. She started to cough wildly and her face burned a light shade of blue. Lily noted that the color of her skin when well with her eyes as Severus patted her on the back roughly until her skin color returned to pale and she stopped choking. Lily finished a close second, and the girls waited impatiently for Severus to finish his, the more they fidgeted the more he seemed to slow down. When Severus finally finished, the girls had already divided up all their loot and packed them up (his included, they weren't going to waste the time it would take for him to pack). Lily took the lead, and led them to the very tip of of Diagon Alley, to a store with a large red awning, above it was large tarnished gold letters telling anyone who walked by that the store was named 'Magical Menagerie'.
"I should have known." Severus sighed quietly.
"Right." Lily snatched Rain's list. "It says we can get a owl, a cat, or a toad. I'm getting an owl, so you two fight over the other two."
"Why do we have to get animals? And why can't we get owls?" Severus looked to Rain for support, but she was busy peering through the glass front window at a hamster the size of an alligator.
"Because I don't want to be the only one getting an animal, and their are three of us and three choices, so we each need to pick a different one."
Severus made sure Rain was out of earshot before whispering to Lily, "But you know me, I kill everything living. Remember the Immortal cactus I got for Christmas? Immortal. I killed it in two days!"
"Then get a toad, their indestructible! Seriously, look-" She raised her voice and yelled to Rain, "Rain, you get a cat!" Rain gave a distracted thumbs up and entered the store ahead of them. Only when they were alone did she drop her voice back to a whisper. "Please?" She gave him full on puppy-eyes, knowing that he could never refuse them.
"Fine. But Its gotta be a really really good toad." Lily gave him one of her brilliant smiles and flew into the shop, dragging a regretful Severus behind her. Inside it was stuffy and dark, the walls were crammed with cages. Above their heads a large tank of harshly colored snails was hanging from the ceiling, rapped around the top of the tank was a huge yellow snake. Across the room Rain called for Lily to come look at the 'Adorable Kitty', they split up as Lily headed over to see the animal and Severus followed a huge sign saying 'School Toads'.
"Oh, you picked a great one!" An shopkeeper's assistant told Rain as they watched a tiny short-haired Calico kitten press his paws through the netting of his cage. "I'm not sure I can part with this one." She admitted sadly. The kitten was mostly white, with big black and caramel splotches all over her fur that looked like she'd been splattered with paint, and had tiny jewel-bright green eyes. "He's not declawed, half-Kneazle, and he has a heart murmur, do you still want him?"
The kitten mewed cutely. "Do I want him? More than anything!! When can I have him?"
The assistant smiled, and together they lifted the kitten's cage and set it on the main desk in the front of the shop. Lily and Severus followed several minutes later. Lily had a plump Tawny owl that was russet and white, Lily was watching her with wide-eyed admiration, Severus had a squirming aqua and yellow Firebellied toad cupped in his hands. They walked out of the shop carrying two cages and one tiny terrarium.
"Okay, next stop is the Leakey Cauldron?" Rain asked them, scratching her kitty's chin through the bars of his cage.
"Yep, time to go home!" Lily yawned and grinned, the day had been full of surprises and fun but she was ready to call it a day. The three fell in step with her as she slowly started to make her way down the street. In reply to the darkening sky, around them shops were closing up, pulling in their outside displays, cleaning tables, and shutting off lights. In front of Flourish and Blotts, a boy was sweeping what was left of the screaming book into a dustpan. When they walked past him, Severus ducked his head and moved so Rain was between him and the store. As they passed a man holding up empty plates, he shoved them under there noses shouting 'Invisible pizza, won't keep, you can have it discounted!'.
Getting back through the wall was trickier, they all took out their wands a tapped practically all the bricks three times until a passing witch told them they only had to touch it with their fingers. Embarrassed, they quickly slipped through the barrier and back into the empty tavern. The bartender looked up when they entered, but when he saw it was only some kids, he returned to scrubbing a set of blue margarita glasses. They passed him silently, dragging their feet tiredly on the wooden floors. Outside they gathered around Severus as he opened his tiny black wand box, and admired his light colored wand for a moment before lifting it out of the cloth padding.
"So, how do we call it?" He asked them.
"Maybe you wave it, and say some thing like 'Come, Knight Bus'?"
Next too them, Rain chuckled. "Sorry, but its much simpler, just stick your wand in the air, like you calling a taxi." Seveus followed her orders, and a the purple triple -decker bus stopped in front of them seconds after.
"All aboard!" Called the old conductor, leaning out the front window to leer at them.
As Severus and Lily stepped onto the worn metal, Rain's feet stayed firmly planted on the ground. "I'll see you guys September first!"
Severus turned around in surprise. "Your not coming with us?"
Rain shook her head, "I have to wait for Ashley."
"Then, take care of yourself till September!" Lily leaned down and gave her a one-armed hug. Rain nodded and stepped onto the curb as the bus started to roll away, gaining momentum.
Lily and Severus waited until they couldn't see her shrinking silhouette against the sunset, before climbing into the warm interior.