Author's note: I only read recently someone's perceptive comment on the popular site I dislike very much, the Hogwarts letter does not arrive on a magical child's eleventh birthday. I don't know why I believed that, seeing as it was not a normal circumstance in which Harry received his letter. So I corrected the mistake!
Chapter 2 It's real for us
The dawn was coloring the sky above Cokeworth a yellowish pink and purple hue. Severus yawned. His parents had argued again that night. When his father had brought up his mother's mistake, he had hoped to find out more about it, but then it had turned into another rant. Shivering, he walked into the room his mum kept her collection of books in. She was a book hoarder; both magical and Muggle books she collected, though Severus was mostly interested in the magical ones. As he was browsing them, he spotted a spell book that he had never seen before.
"Dark charms for the damned: Jinxes for the Jinxed, Hexes for the Busy and Vexed and Curses for the Cursed. Three spellbooks republished for the price of one' it read.
Severus was interested. He had no idea why his mother had this strange compilation book in her collection, but he didn't care. The book had been gathering dust like all of the books, but somehow even more than the others. Severus wiped the dust off and opened it. The content looked, at first glance, no different from the content of 'The standard book of spells'. It was just a list of spells with incantations and the way they needed to be pronounced, along with the correct wand movements. But at second glance, it was very different. None of the spells had good outcomes. The worse the effect was that they created, the better the authors considered them. The effects ranged from turning things into worms and knocking people over to stinging people's flesh and control, torture or even…kill them. Severus found it very interesting. Something like this was what he had always hoped to find. This was magic that actually made a difference, as opposed to those everyday spells. He didn't have a wand yet, but he could at least memorize those incantations for when he did have one! That would give him an advantage for when he started school. He decided to take the book to his own room and spent several hours memorizing, but instead of putting it on his shelf next to Hogwarts: A history, The standard book of spells, An introduction to our society, A history of magic, One thousand magical herbs and fungi, Fantastic beasts and where to find them, Quidditch through the ages and Book of potions when he was done, he hid it behind them, because he knew his mother was not going to approve of it. Then he decided to see if Lily had come to the river like he had suggested. The idea excited him. He walked downstairs and put on his wizard coat.
"Where are you going, Severus?" he heard the unpleasant voice of his dad, who was watching sport on his newly stolen television and complaining because yesterday he ruined his car again by driving against a tree (for some reason he always got out unscathed himself). Not again, Severus thought.
"Practicing football with Andrew." he answered. Andrew was a Muggle that his dad didn't hate, the son of a man that sponsored the local football team , that his dad still supported after discovering that the sponsors of the team of Brightford paid the players for losing. Severus hoped that the mention of him would satisfy his father.
"Yeah, I don't believe that." his dad sneered. "Since when do you have friends?"
"I always have had friends." Severus said and hoped his father would believe him and shut up, but his dad laughed.
"That's why I never see them. You've been wandering around town with no purpose all the time, people told me. They asked me if that weirdo they always see alone is my son". He paused a long time after that. "Trying to hide something? If I'll find out they have talked about you again you'll regret it!" his dad threatened. Their tv turned black and he cursed. Severus quickly opened the door and started running over the cobblestone path towards the river. His heart stopped when someone ran towards him, Lily. She was wearing green pants now, and a flowered shirt.
"What's your first name, by the way?" she asked in her girly voice.
"Severus Snape" he said. He expected her to laugh. To his surprise, that didn't happen.
"Please tell me more about magic, Severus" Lily said, and hearing his name in her voice made Severus like it for the first time. He felt his heart beat faster.
"Naturally." he said and they sat down on the same spot again.
"The weather's too nice to be wearing a coat" Lily pointed out.
"I'm good. I'm not warm at all." Severus said. He felt sweat dripping down his burning back. Finally, with hesitation, he discarded his dark wizard robes, exposing the Muggle outfit underneath. He looked at Lily to see if she had changed, but to his relief, she didn't even look at it.
"Please, tell me more about Hogwarts" she whispered. "What can you learn there again?"
Severus sighed. He had been waiting to answer this question from someone for years. No-one else ever cared about Hogwarts, or had wanted to listen to him before. "Defense Against The Dark Arts." he begun, his voice a bit louder. "There are certain spells and curses – dangerous ones – that are not allowed, not even in the magical world. They can hurt badly, or kill you. It's necessary to know how to shield yourself against them. Spells and charms – every kind. Simple household ones, but also ones that could control the weather or make things change their form. Astronomy –studying the movement of the stars, planets and the constellations, because they are thought to be an influence on magical ability. History of magic – the history of the magical world. Herbology – there you are being taught about the magical plants and how to care for them. Potions – that's brewing concoctions with special abilities. You can brew potions that heal people, or make them sick. Transfiguration – you can learn to transform every object possible. If you want to turn a dinner plate into a mushroom, or vanish things, you can. You could even turn yourself into an animal, but that requires a lot of skill. Quidditch – that's flying, on a broomstick, a very popular sport…Students can choose to sign up for the team, I bet you'd be good at it. Alchemy – the study of changing metals and creating the elixir of life. Arithmancy – predicting the future with maths and numerology. Apparition – making yourself appear at any given location. It's cool, but it can be quite dangerous though. Ancient Runes – the study of ancient runic scripts of magic, to discover ancient spells and curses. They have created ways to control magic for over ten thousand years. Care of Magical Creatures – there you learn more about magical creatures. We have a lot of them, you know. From Manticores to Chizpurfles and Basilisks. Divination – that's not really a subject, it's just superstition. And Muggle Studies, but that's useless."
Lily was wide-eyed, listening with her mouth hanging open slightly. "I'm ten. I'll go to secondary school soon. It's a Muggle one, where they just teach regular subjects." she said while staring regretfully in the distance.
"No, you won't." Severus promised. "You'll get an invitation for Hogwarts in a year, too. By owl."
"Really? By owl?" Lily gasped. "Splendid! Will I have to do homework at …Hogwarts?"
"You need to read books, but you can't practice." Severus said. "You're only allowed to perform magic during the lessons, not even in the corridors, and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you'll get letters."
Severus needed to assure Lily that this rule didn't apply to them yet. She picked up a broken twig from the earthy ground they were sitting on and in her hand it became a wand that she was twirling gracefully. He enjoyed looking at it, because from the sight of it, wand-waving was a natural talent of Lily. Nothing happened yet, but soon she would get a real wand together with him. She doubted it because of her lying sister. Severus assured her that Hogwarts was only real for the two of them, and that someone would explain everything to her Muggle parents.
"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" Lily suddenly asked.
Of course it made a difference. In "An introduction to our society" by Irven Selwyn Severus had read that Purebloods were worth the most, then half-bloods, then Muggle-borns, then Squibs and lastly Muggles. But Lily would never want to see him again if he said that. Severus looked her again. Lily's unusually red hair and her unusually pale face was lit up by the golden green light shining through the trees. Her green eyes, bigger than his own, were luminous like foxfire. He said that it didn't make a difference. Severus knew he'd said the right thing, because Lily looked relieved. He commented on her magical ability, but she was not listening anymore. She was lying on her back, on the soft grass, staring at the sky...
"How are things at your house?" Lily suddenly asked.
Severus had thought that this conversation was about Hogwarts. He couldn't care less about things at his house. He didn't understand why Lily would want to bring up such an uninteresting topic. "Fine" he said immediately.
"They're not arguing anymore?" Lily asked.
"You disgraced me and my family with your filthy lie..."
"It - it was no lie! I did not know..."
"YOU'RE LYING AGAIN! DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID?"
"I - I regret it, too...But he doesn't eat a lot and his clothes are second hand...Come on"
"You're regretting your own son? You cold-hearted-"
"You nasty hypocrite! Last time I checked, you hated him!"
"What he turned out to be is all your goddamn fault! He's nothing like me!"
"If you hadn't been threatening to leave me..."
Severus confirmed that they were still arguing. He suddenly saw that he was holding a bunch of torn leaves. He shrugged it off with that he would be gone soon anyway, but Lily asked whether his dad likes magic.
"He doesn't like anything, much." Severus answered shortly. Then Lily called him by his first name again.
"Yeah?" he encouraged.
"Tell me about dementors again" she instructed.
Severus was really glad that they were talking magical topics again, and asked why she wished to know about them for.
"If I use magic outside school-" Lily begun. He reassured her that someone was not sentenced to the dementors so quickly, especially not someone like her. When he thought about it he almost said out loud the thought that was secret, that he thought she was too lovely for that, but at the same time he wondered what it would be like to be a dementor. Then he heard a rustling sound behind the trees. It was Lily's sister! She had been eavesdropping all the time. It frightened Severus. Did she hear, could she tell? Lily called Petunia's name as if it was a really nice surprise, but he didn't think so. He asked Petunia who was spying now, and what she wanted. Now it was the other way around. Now Petunia was the one that needed to leave.
"What is that you're wearing, anyway?" Petunia suddenly pointed out. "Your mum's blouse?"
Severus hated Lily's sister. He hated the sight of her ugly face. He hated how she just kept standing there, like it made no difference that this time she was the one who had been spying. CRACK! A branch from the tree Petunia had been standing underneath hit her, and she walked back faltering. Lily screamed. Petunia started crying. Lily shouted Petunia's ugly name, but she had started running, not looking back. Severus thought it was obvious she was not really hurting and trying to get sympathy, but Lily was asking him if he did it. It had been an accident; he hadn't planned to do it.
"No." Severus said.
But it didn't make a difference. "You did!" Lily shouted, backing away from Severus, which felt like he was also hit by a branch. "You did! You hurt her!"
Severus insisted that he didn't because he was scared that Lily wouldn't like him anymore, but she already looked at him like she had done the first day and shared herself by her sister's side again. When they were both gone again Severus kicked against the leaves. Once they would both get the letter, Lily and him, everything would change.
Lily and Petunia were sitting on the sofa drinking tea. Petunia swallowed back her tears. If I hadn't followed Severus to the river, then Petunia wouldn't have followed us and he wouldn't have hurt her, Lily thought, feeling guilty. Letters from owls, going to a magical school, a prison called Azkaban, a Ministry of Magic. Her head spun from all the strange and interesting new information, but she couldn't enjoy it anymore.
"Petunia, what happened?" their mother asked.
"I fell." Petunia answered, not looking back at her. "And I hurt my shoulder really badly."
"May I look at it?" Mrs. Evans asked. Petunia nodded and cried out from pain when their mother touched her shoulder. "Oh, it's just a bruise." Mrs. Evans said. "It will go away in time. Don't worry, Tuney."
"Alright, fine! I prefer to be alone right now" Petunia yelled and hurried upstairs.
"Why is she upset? Do you know something about it, Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"No." Lily lied and felt bad about it. She grabbed a piece of paper and started writing.
I didn't mean for someone to hurt your shoulder, Tuney. I am sorry. Love, Lily
Lily shoved the note under Petunia's room door. For the first time, she didn't get an answer. Somehow shocked about this, she went to her own room as well. Severus hadn't been lying about being a wizard, she knew now. The exact moment and precision with which the branch had landed on Petunia's shoulder had seemed too supernatural to be a coincidence. Lily had started to believe in magic, and it didn't even seem all that strange anymore. In half a year, she and Severus would get an invitation for magical school, Petunia just didn't know about it. Lily could never have imagined this. When it was dinner time, she knocked at Petunia's room.
"I only come out if you promise to never talk to that boy again!" Petunia yelled.
Lily was disappointed. Severus had hurt Petunia, and that had been very mean of him indeed, but if it wasn't for Severus, she wouldn't even have known about Hogwarts at all.
"That is unfair, Tuney! He's the only wizard here!" she yelled back.
"Selfish like always, aren't you!" Petunia screamed. Tears stung in Lily's eyes. Petunia was right. It was selfish of her to think about Hogwarts. She ate dinner with her parents, sausage and beans that tasted like nothing, and nobody said anything. Her parents frowned in concern. Petunia had never acted like that before. Eventually, their mother brought her dinner at her room.
"Oh, what could be the matter with poor Petunia? Twelve is a tender age" Mrs. Evans asked herself every ten minutes, until Lily, feeling guilty, offered to talk with her again.
"Tuney, come out, please!" she pleaded.
"Go away!" Petunia screeched back.
The next day, Petunia finally came downstairs again, to their mother's delight, but she looked surly and sent Lily angry looks. Lily felt bad, but she reckoned that she deserved it.
"Lily has been talking to someone from Spinner's End" Petunia suddenly said. "That Snape boy. I told her he was mean to us, but she didn't listen…"
Mrs. Evans's eyes got big. "Is that true, Lily?" she inquired. Lily was forced to confirm it.
"Someone was mean to your sister – and you still kept talking to him! Why?" she went on, sounding angry.
"He was not mean at first" Lily protested. "I wanted to give him a chance"
"I know that Snape – once had a narrow escape from an explosion. Never a pleasant fellow to begin with, but afterwards…They say his son's mentally ill" her father warned.
"Promise me that you won't talk to him again!" her mother demanded.
"But he's not mentally ill – he's a wizard!" Lily said. Her parents looked at her as if she had said she wanted to live on the moon. Petunia rolled her eyes.
"A wizard?" Mr. Evans asked in a somewhat interested voice, but his wife cut him off.
"When I was ten, I believed some pretty fantastical things too, Lily." she smiled sadly. "I thought I was going to become a head nurse…"
"You still can!" Petunia interjected.
"But I didn't really want to, after all." Mrs. Evans told her. To Lily, she went on: "I won't have it! Wizard on not, you should not talk to that boy again!"
Lily ran upstairs like Petunia, threw herself on her bed and buried her head in her pillow. She had never been one for dramatic actions, but this time she felt really angry. Why didn't they believe her? She knew that had to be difficult, but they had not even tried.
A tear ran over her cheek and she started sobbing.
"Is this imagined school that Petunia told me about called Hogwarts?" Lily suddenly heard her mother's voice and looked up. Her mother was standing in her doorway. Petunia had told her mother about the magical school? That was strange. Lily nodded slowly.
"So what kind of school is it exactly?" her mother went on. That was even more surprising.
Lily listed all the subjects that were taught at Hogwarts monotonously and quickly. She told her mother about the letter that was supposed to arrive. "But I don't want to become a witch. I want to become a Muggle just like Petunia, just like you and everyone else." she finished. She did not look her mother in the eyes.
"A Muggle?" her mother asked. "What is that?"
"Someone who doesn't have magic." Lily said.
Suddenly, her mother got an earnest expression. "Lily, I have to tell you something." she said. Lily held her breath, and wondered what her mother was going to tell her. She hoped it wasn't bad.
"You have, indeed, always been a bit different from Petunia. Things happened around the house that didn't happen when you weren't there. That never happened to anyone else that I know of." Mrs. Evans began. "It started when you were very young. It was like you could control the household items and nature, making things appear or move when that was impossible. We even worried at one time if we should call a priest, but you always seemed so happy. However, when you were six and Petunia and you were playing tea with her stuffed animals, there suddenly was real tea in the cups. Petunia didn't know and it burned her hand. From that moment, we started punishing you when you accidentally did something unnatural, because I was sure that it had been an accident. I didn't think it would help, but it did. There never occurred any strange events again."
For a moment, Lily didn't say anything. She had not remembered the things her mother told her. She felt bad for having hurt Petunia, even though it had just been accidentally. Would Petunia still remember? She didn't hope so.
"Tuney knows it was an accident when she burned herself. She is not angry anymore. You were supposed to go to St. Adelaide's All Girls Boarding School just like her" Mother added, "but if you really get an invitation for Hogwarts in January, we can always see if we can arrange something." her mother's expression has become the one she also wore with birthday surprises.
Relief washed over Lily, and she felt more excited than she had in a long while. "Thank you, mummy" she said heartily.
"On one condition…" her mother hastily added. "That you won't talk to the Snape boy, or come near Spinner's End."
Lily wanted to protest that that wasn't fair, and that he knew everything about the magical world, but seeing her mother's expression and remembering that he had hurt Petunia, she nodded. Then, she went to Petunia's room.
"Why are you here?" Petunia asked. "I don't want to try crocheting the map of Cornwall again. Does mummy finally allow me to try out the vacuum cleaner?"
"No…" Lily began, swallowing. "It's about the tea accident…"
Petunia looked away. "I don't want to talk about that" she said firmly.
"But I wanted to apologize. From what I remember I just wanted there to be real tea in the cups, to make our tea party more realistic. Mummy told me you burned your hand…I should have told you…" Lily stammered. Petunia remained silent.
"Stop worrying about everything, Lily!" she eventually said.
In the evening when she tried to sleep, Lily heard Petunia's voice from downstairs, clearly audible: " It was just…there. Suddenly. The tea. There was no tea anywhere before we started playing, not a single cup. I was really scared. If that was an accident, it was also an accident when Rose chose Macy, that foreign girl in a wheelchair from my class whose crunchy pang sit have totally deep-fried her good manners, instead of me to go horse riding with."
One year later
The weather was as beautiful this summer as it has been before. Severus who was now eleven years old, had read 'Dark charms for the damned' countless times, but he still was eager every time he opened it. Jinxes, that made up the first part, weren't so bad really – more like pranks. Severus did not have a favorite, he liked them all, but if he had to choose one, it would be the tempest jinx or oppugno, he decided. For hours and hours he browsed aimlessly in his book. Still nothing; he began reading 'Magical constellations'. His mother shouted that he had to come down for dinner and they silently ate a disgusting-looking porridge. Then his father started drumming impatiently with his fork on the table.
"When, exactly, is that bloody letter supposed to arrive?
"Calm down. Everything will turn out fine. That letter will come one of these days, like I said!" his mother said in her toneless soothing voice.
When Severus went back to his room, there was a ticking against the window. He walked towards it. An owl with a lame wing struggled not to glide down the roof as it was demanding desperately for Severus to open the window with ticking against it with its beak. With trembling hands, he pulled. The window was stuck. He cursed and pulled again with all his might. Then, finally, the window started to open with a scraping sound, and the owl tumbled on the ground. It was holding a large, antique letter.
Severus Snape
Attic, Spinner's End number 19
Cokeworth
It had a red wax seal. When Severus tore it open, he blinked back something embarrassing and laughed aloud. Finally. His letter to Hogwarts had arrived. It felt like it was written just for him, but he knew that it was a standard letter. Dear Mr. Snape, it said, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had pictured the ink handwriting a thousand times, but now it almost seemed unreal. He was concerned however. He needed to send a confirmation by owl, but how? His mother did not have her own owl.
"MUM!" he shouted, but his mum was irritated. "I told you your letter would arrive." she said.
"But the owl that brought it – I think it's dead" he said. Begrudgingly his mother followed him into his room.
"It just has a broken wing!" she said. "Just my luck… Of course when I want to go to bed, there needs to arrive a wounded owl! Thanks for informing me!" She sighed deeply, like she always did, went to the bathroom and searched in her apothecary shelf. Eventually, she held up some dusty old bottle.
"This is Skele-Gro. You have to give a small little sip and don't let the bottle fall" she said while handing it over.
At first, it seemed like nothing would happen, but then the owl slowly got up and the wing that had used to hung limply alongside its body was now lifted along with the other one. The owl shrieked, flapped its wings and flew towards the old bookshelf, where it remained sitting with unblinking eyes. Severus smiled from relief.
He laid the letter down next to his pillow and read it over and over again. Pleased to inform you… List of necessary books and equipment…
And then there was something else, still filling him with joy, incomprehensibly. The existence of Lily Evans. Lily's name was the reversion of everything and something wonderful. He had met Lily again on different occasions, but she had never talked to him as long as she had then by the river. The times he met her, she had ignored him or even ran away. It also hadn't helped that Petunia had always accompanied her, looking at him with what had looked like deadly fear in her eyes. Once, he had demanded an explanation from Lily for her strange behavior and she had whispered what he had already assumed; that she wasn't allowed to see him, and that she was sorry. But when they would both go to Hogwarts, everything would turn out all right.
The next day, his mum said: "Let's get some obligations for my reputation by the child care investigation…I mean, let's get you some belated presents for your birthday at Diagon Alley"
"We are going to Diagon Alley now?" Severus shouted exhilarated.
"Shh! Keep your voice down" his mother hissed. She took a bit of the powder stored in the tin jar above our fireplace and grabbed his hand. She lit up the molded wood, threw the powder in the fire and the flames flickered emerald green. Severus looked at it in fascination. It was magic. It was brilliant that Floo Powder was able to turn something so dangerous for Muggles into something harmless for witches and wizards. Severus admired the inventor of Floo Powder. His mum stepped into the flames and grabbed his hand harshly. "Leaky Cauldron!" she said loudly.
Standing in fire was a strange, but quite nice experience, Severus thought, though the smoke was somewhat irritating and induced coughing like it normally would. Other locations rushed past them so fast they were barely more than a flurry of colors and incomprehensible voices. The surroundings of their house at Spinner's End were replaced by a dark pub lit by oil lamps. There were a few people in odd clothing sitting at the bar, either Muggles or magical people.
"Hello! Going to Diagon Alley?" the barman asked. His mum nodded. When the barman saw Severus, he added: "Ah. To buy school supplies?"
"Yes, finally" she confirmed. "I survived five years of stories full of useless facts about that bloody school. "
Tom started laughing. Eileen stared back at him angrily and he quit. "We're going." she said. "It was not my idea to come back. Have a nice day."
They walked into the backyard. Eileen counted the bricks aloud and tapped the gateway one with her wand. The bricks started moving and an archway appeared. On the other side was a snow-covered street full of shops, such as Slug & Jiggers Apothecary – far better ones than any you would ever find in Cokeworth, Severus thought. The few people making their way through the snow were wearing robes – real wizards and witches, and not one of them seemed to have any problem with the cold. Severus saw a child run past them wearing robes as well, with the face of a troll.
"Gudrun! Come here!" someone yelled.
"I saw real Peruvian Vipertooth last vacation in South America…" a wizard walking past them told another.
Severus sighed. He belonged here, amongst the other wizards.
"So." his mum said. "Let's go to Gringotts first and then to Ollivander's, getting your wand, hm?"
Severus looked at the large, white, marble building of Gringotts in the distance and nodded. It looked quite majestic. They started walking towards it. Broomstix had a new racing broom, the Nimbus 1001, Severus saw, and there was a really fascinating glowing globe in the shop window of Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, although the shop looked a bit abandoned – probably because of the weather. He wondered what the way to Knockturn Alley was.
"Severus!" his mum shouted from a distance, and he could tell from her voice that she was impatient. "Hurry up!"
The crowd of people in purple, green, blue and black robes, with pointed hats, hats with feathers or comic faces or no hats at all and owls, toads or cats sitting on their shoulders retreated as Severus ran towards his mother, pushing some of the witches and other wizards away. As they walked the white stairs of Gringotts, she grabbed his arm. They went through the doors to the main hall, and there were real goblins standing before them, short and old-looking with beady eyes who bowed as they saw them. Then there was the big hall, made out of all white marble, with decorations and symbols engraved in the walls. And there were even more goblins sitting behind a long counter, inspecting and weighing coins, looking at diamonds through magnifying glasses, bookkeeping and talking to other wizards, witches and magical creatures. Goblins did not even need wands to perform their magic, Severus had read in 'A history of magic', and Gringotts was the greatest wizarding bank in Britain. But he did not have time to look around because his mum walked to one of the counters with a free goblin, dragging him along.
"Hello." she said. "I'd like to retrieve money from Vault 515"
The goblin did not answer, but just stared blankly in the distance. Eileen sighed loudly. "It seems like the manners of you goblins disappear little by little every time I come here. Back when I was young, we only had to step in the hallway and someone would hurry to help us! Oh, what did I expect, me and my bad luck. The great cards I've been dealt in life. Well, I'll give you some bad luck. Gornuk will hear about this development!"
The goblin from the counter next to theirs, whose clients were just walking away, leaned towards their direction and said: "Hobzilch is deaf, you need to communicate with sign language. My apologies for the trouble."
"On top of everything!" Eileen hissed. She drew the number of her vault in the air. The diamonds on Hobzilch's desk sparkled otherworldly. He answered very loudly in a language that was supposed to be English but had all the stresses wrong.
"So they expect me to be good at understanding gibberish too?" Eileen said. She handed over the large bronze key. Eventually, Hobzilch gave another goblin standing next to the underground passageway a message in sign language, and they walked towards him.
When they went through the doors it was as if they entered another world. The marble of the hall made place for what resembled the closest a cave, with large grey stones, lit by torchlight. The goblin pushed them in a cart that resembled one of the goods train wagons in Cokeworth, only made of wood and smaller. Suddenly, it started rolling over the track and then dived down, in a way similar as Severus had always imagined the rollercoasters he had never been in. It was quite nice and he was disappointed when, after what seemed like just seconds of stomach-turning falls and turns through the eerie depths under London, the cart eventually stopped before a large, dark grey, massive door.
"Vault number 551, Mrs. Prince. I will open it." the goblin said stiffly and climbed out of the cart.
"NO!" Eileen suddenly shouted. It echoed back in the empty space. She climbed out of the cart as well and pushed the goblin aside. The key fell on the stone floor. Eileen snatched it just before it could fall in the black depths beneath. Getting up with a pained expression, the goblin gave her a dark look.
"Bring me to Vault number 515 instead!" she demanded.
"As you please…" the goblin said in an annoyed voice and climbed back in the cart as well. Severus was excited and looked for the smallest glimpse of a dragon, but he did not see any. They went up again and finally arrived at vault number 515. In it were piles of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, that shimmered in the darkness. His mother grabbed a few and threw them in a handbag decorated with gemstones. Then, they silently went back in the cart again. The way back wasn't very thrilling, Severus thought.
When they stood on the cobbled stones of Diagon Alley again, he asked: "What was the matter with that vault?"
"This key is made to open three vaults" his mother explained. "I wasn't allowed to open any of them, but I already opened one. That can never be undone, so I want to keep it that way."
Severus was curious why, but he did not dare to ask any more questions, for fear of ruining his otherwise great day. They went to Ollivander's, the most respected wandmaker in the United Kingdom, according to some sources. It was a very special moment. A bell rung as they entered. At first, there was no-one to be seen, only very high shelves with countless old-looking carton boxes stapled on top of each other. Then, an elderly wizard appeared from behind one of them.
"Well, well…What a delight! Eileen Prince! Ash, unicorn hair, rigid, nine inches – am I correct?"
"No" Eileen said sourly. "Acacia, unicorn hair, flexible, ten inches it is now. Completely useless."
"I remember selling that one to your aunt Finola – She passed away I reckon? Tragic, tragic…And I haven't seen your husband either, I believe! Is he still satisfied with his wand?" Ollivander wanted to know, walking towards Eileen until they were almost nose-to-nose.
"My husband does not have a wand!" she said menacingly.
Ollivander took a step back. "Oh…" he said, sounding disappointed. "Oh…" He did not ask any more questions about it. Then he noticed Severus. "So that's your son?" he asked.
Eileen nodded. "Yes, this is Severus Snape" she said. Severus wanted to disappear.
"So you want to be chosen by a wand?" Ollivander asked him.
Severus nodded. "Definitely!" he said. He thought he saw Ollivander smile. "Please sit down on that chair" Ollivander quickly removed a few boxes piled on a dusty chair, "and then you'll be measured".
Severus knew that this was an important part of being a chosen by a wand, but he still thought that it sounded rather ominous. He had always been short and rather skinny for his age and he had always hated it. The tape measure measured his arm. When it tried to measure his face and the space between his nostrils he cringed, and when it measured his neck in an uncomfortably tight way he harshly pulled it loose.
"Every wand is unique. I only use the most prestigious wand cores – phoenix feather, unicorn hair and dragon heartstring" Ollivander said, while examining his shelves. Then he grabbed a box, opened it and pulled out a wand. "Right then, Mr. Snape, just try this one – Cedar, dragon heartstring, flexible, ten inches. You only need to wave."
The wooden stick looked ordinary, it was difficult to imagine all the things it was capable of, but something about it, that Severus could not explain, was extraordinary. He waved with the cedar wand, but nothing happened.
"Hmm. No, that will not do. This one, then. Holly, phoenix feather, rigid, twelve inches."
There was a loud sound and ugly smoke. Hastily, Mr. Ollivander grabbed it back. "No, no. Try this one." he said.
After what seemed like a hour, Severus became just as concerned as the day before. When Mr. Ollivander handed him what felt like the thousandth wand, a dark and twisted looking one, Severus waved it thoughtlessly, no longer imagining he was jinxing someone. Great was his surprise when suddenly a faint silver sparkling mist spouted out of it.
"Finally! Blackthorn, dragon heartstring, rigid, ten and one quarter inches. Interesting, interesting." Mr. Ollivander said with narrowed eyes. "This could be a sign of a very tough challenge…Difficult times lay ahead…"
"We're not here for Divination" Eileen interjected. She handed Mr. Ollivander seven Galleons and without as much as a goodbye, she grabbed Severus's arm and pushed him out of the shop.
"Hold on when life gets tough, Mr. Snape!" Ollivander called after him. Severus had no idea what Mr. Ollivander meant by that, it had sounded like anxious nonsense, but he was glad that he had his wand at last. He wanted to try out spells immediately, but unfortunately that was not possible. He needed to wait until Hogwarts. They went to the robe shop, and a witch in colorful robes greeted them. She ordered Severus to stand on a stool next to a tall boy with red hair and browsed through the rack full of identical black robes, then eventually threw one over his head.
"Elspeth!" she called. "Help this boy, please!"
Elspeth, an attractive witch with blonde curls hurried towards Severus with a gentle smile.
"Git" the bloke next to Severus said with a raspy voice. When he turned his head, Severus was surprised, for one half of the boy's face was covered with a large, purplish red spot, that had a pattern of blood vessels bulging like leaves.
"Who are you?" Severus asked, but the boy did not answer. 'Git' had been an unusual insult, that he hadn't expected. As far as he knew, there was nothing about him that had ever induced any jealousy. Elspeth tailored the robes and eventually asked if he 'liked the way the robes felt'. Severus was glad that soon, he wouldn't have to wear frilly smocks anymore. They went to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment for a telescope and set of crystal phials and bronze brass scales, and Severus admired the glowing globes of the space with stars and constellations until his mum eventually dragged him away. They bought a cauldron at Potage's cauldron shop and some missing books at Flourish and Blotts.
At last, they went to a shop with all kinds of animals.
"Do you want a toad or something?" his mum asked.
Severus had never thought before about taking an animal with him to Hogwarts – it would be a nuisance to take care for, he supposed, but then again, a toad wouldn't need a lot of care, would it? It wasn't the most impressive animal, but it was an amphibian, and he liked cold-blooded animals.
"Yeah…I would like that I guess" he muttered.
His mum chose a lifeless-looking toad for him that she called Gluingel. "Be a bit more enthusiastic about it!" she snapped.
"Hello, er…Gluingel" Severus said awkwardly, even more aware of the fact that animals couldn't talk back. The toad looked briefly at him and then in another direction. Severus didn't know what to do with it, so his mum also bought a tank with rocks and plants that she put the toad in before she put it in her magically enlarged handbag. Then they went home, because Eileen was in a hurry.
Lily was eleven now, and this was the year that she would be going to Secondary School. She was up early because she couldn't sleep, but then she suddenly heard a ticking noise. Sleepily, she looked in the direction of the window. And she was immediately wide awake.
Small yellow eyes stared back at her, in a big round white-grey head with a curved beak. The rest of the bird's feathers were a curious, beautiful mix of white, grey, black and brown. It was a bird she had never seen for real, that she had learned at school was normally seen at night. A creature that looked unusual.
"It's real for us."
Lily had completely forgotten until that moment. With trembling legs she walked towards the window and opened it. The owl flew over her head and a big, antique-white letter fell into her hands. It read in elegant calligraphy:
Lily Evans
Church lane 17
Cokeworth
(House between the trees)
With shaking hands, Lily opened it. "HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY" it read. "Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards).
Dear Mrs. Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."
The list with required things included everything strange, such as robes and a pointed hat, a cauldron and a wand…Lily had no idea where she needed to buy such things. They were even allowed to bring their own animals. After having reread the letter about ten times, she went to sleep again, convincing herself that it had all just been a dream. After having sunken into a pleasant nothingness for a few hours, and a dream in which she owned a black cat and owned a large cottage in a mysterious village, she woke up from her mother's voice.
"Lily, wake up!"
Then, her mother's eyes grew wide as she noticed the letter from Hogwarts on her bedside table.
"What is that?" she asked. She looked from Lily to the owl which was sitting in the open window and back. "Where did that owl come from?"
Petunia, who had heard her and took a look as well, now stepped forward. "From Hogwarts, of course!" she said loudly. "You aren't going there anymore anyway, Lily, so you can throw it away."
I thought you believed Hogwarts did not exist, Lily thought.
"Not so quick." her mother interjected. She called the name of her husband, who soon arrived asking why she woke him up, but was stunned at seeing the letter.
"I think Lily should read it aloud first." Mr. Evans said. When she had done so, he read the list of school supplies and frowned. "Where on earth does one buy things like…" he squeezed his eyes, "a magic wand?"
"The Snape boy knows" Petunia said in an unpleasant voice. "He was the one who told Lily everything about Hogwarts!"
She said it in a way as if it was some kind of great reveal that would change everything, but the expression in their parents' eyes was just one of knowing exhaustion.
"Yes, I figured that out" Mrs. Evans said, "but in my opinion, that Snape boy does not have anything to do with the question of Lily will be attending Hogwarts or not".
Petunia looked very angry, for a reason that Lily did not understand.
"But how do I know where to buy my school supplies, then?" Lily asked hopefully. "If I just ask Severus…"
"No!" her mother said sternly. "You are not going to ask him anything!"
Lily examined the envelope some more. "'House between the trees'…" she repeated. "What do they mean, that shack that daddy made for us when we were little, back in the forest?"
"Let's see…" Her father read it as well. "That's a bit silly, Lily, why would they include that one? It's barely a shed. No, they cannot mean that."
"But maybe there is something in there!" Lily insisted. "A clue!"
"Well, let's take a look" her father said. Lily felt happy.
"There will be weeds there and earth! I won't go!" Petunia screeched.
"Oh come on Petunia, remember when you were little and liked going there? Be sociable and come with us" Mrs. Evans said.
"It's a stupid idea" Petunia complained as Lily put her coat over her nightgown, they put on shoes and walked through the garden towards the edge of the forest behind it. After a few minutes they saw the hut. There seemed to shine a light within it.
"Look! There's somebody there!" Lily whispered.
"Of course not. Now you are also seeing things that aren't…" Petunia began.
"Wanted to ring yer bell, but tha' would've been too conspicuous …" a low voice came out of the hut, sounding as if through a megaphone.
Then someone opened the ramshackle door and a man came out of it, a man who was so big that Lily wondered how he could ever have fitted in the shack in the first place, who was twice as big as her father and several times as wide, and had bushy black hair that partially covered his face. He almost looked like…a giant. Severus had never told her about giants! Indoors, a fire was crackling.
Petunia screamed so loudly that Lily thought that the whole town must have heard her, then she looked as if she was about to faint.
"Caution, looks like he's part of the Hell's Angels" Mrs. Evans whispered.
"Er…Hello." Mr. Evans said, trying to make it sound as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Who are you? What do you want from us?" Mrs. Evans asked shrilly.
"Name's Rubeus Hagrid, an' I'm no part of any outlaw biker's gang" the man answered. "Am quite jealous of their…What do yeh Muggles call it? Motorcycles though." He looked around him. "I'm here for Lily. Lily Evans. She lives here an' she just received her Hogwarts letter, am I righ'?"
"Yes." Mrs. Evans said slowly. "We – er – were just contemplating were to buy the supplies listed in the letter."
"Well, then I'm the person you need" Hagrid stated. "I'm the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts". There was a silence. "Hogwarts is the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the area of England, Scotland and Wales." he went on when no-one reacted. "It must've been quite a shock to discover yeh're a witch." He added, looking at Lily.
"Yes, it was" she answered, glad that he understood her.
"But I think yeh always knew, righ'? I mean, there must've been things that you could do that others couldn', tha' were nice?" Hagrid asked.
"It feels like I can fly," Lily said, "and I can do other things too, like making the petals of a flower move."
"Yeh can control yer magic?" Hagrid asked, sounding astonished.
"I don't know" Lily answered, feeling herself getting shy. Rubeus noticed and pat her on the shoulder, which felt like someone had put on her a backpack full of stones. "Yeh will find out. At Hogwarts yeh will learn proper spells" he reassured her.
"But where can we buy the school supplies?" her father asked. "Could you give us an address?"
"Oh, yes, of course, tha' was why I came here in the firs' place." Hagrid said. "Yeh of course don' know about Diagon Alley".
"What is Diagon Alley?" Father asked.
"It's one of the oldest wizarding shopping centres, and it's located in London." Hagrid explained. "On here I've written the way to reach it…"
He handed Mr. Evans a piece of what looked like parchment that had been folded way too many times and became soft so that the ink words on it were barely readable.
"Go…to…the Leak… Cauldron." Mr. Evans read. " May I ask another question?"
"Sure, ask away" Hagrid said.
"Where is the Leak Cauldron?"
"The Leaky Cauldron is in Charing Cross Road." Hagrid answered. "Next to Quinto Bookshop"
"Touch…The… third…brick from bottom…and the…second…brick…from left." Mr. Evans continued. "Which bricks?"
"Near the trash can, but the barman, Tom will explain everything ter yeh if y'ask him!" Hagrid finished. "Any more questions?"
"Where is Hogwarts?" Mr. Evans asked.
Hagrid frowned a little. "But tha's meant to be a secret, actually.." he said. "Yeh're Muggles. I could tell it to yeh two, I suppose. Hogwarts is built in Scotland, in the area of Moray, near the Convall hills and Mortlach."
"Scotland. That's quite – quite far away!" Mrs. Evans said loudly.
"But the students go there straight by train an' they can choose to go back in the holidays" Hagrid said with a hint of proudness in his voice, "and there's no school where yer daughter gets better education than at Hogwarts, I assure yeh!"
"We have time to decide until July 31th." Mr. Evans reminded his wife.
"Then yer confirmation letter needs ter have arrived." Hagrid added, "and owl post can be a bit slow at times, so it would be better if yeh decide right now and I can tell it to Albus Dumbledore…But if tha's not possible…"
"What do you want, Lily? Do you want to attend Hogwarts?" her father asked her. "Or do you want to go to your sister's school instead?"
Lily looked in the direction of Petunia, who did not look back. Going to another school than Petunia…She had done everything together with Petunia at that moment. It would be difficult. But then again, they would still see each other in the holidays...
"Spells and charms, every kind…"
She looked at Hagrid, who looked back in what seemed like (though she couldn't see it very clearly because of his heavy eyebrows and beard) eager anticipation.
"Hogwarts." she admitted, feeling herself smile. "Someone I know goes there, too".
"NO! YOU CAN'T MEAN THAT!" Petunia cried out.
"Do yeh know a witch?" Hagrid asked Lily, interested.
"No, a wizard" she corrected. "Named Severus. He lives here, too".
"Severus Snape?" Hagrid repeated. "That bloke whose mom married a Muggle?"
Lily nodded and looked at Petunia, who was looking like she had just heard she was terribly ill. "Sorry, Tuney!" she said sadly, trying to ignore Petunia's distress, but that was difficult. Had she really made the right decision?
"I mean…" she began, but her father cut her off. "How can we pay for tuition?" he asked Hagrid.
Lily wanted to try again, but Hagrid answered: "Oh, yes, forgot about tha'…Tuition's already paid. By our Ministry of Magic. School supplies are about twenty Galleons, maximum…But yeh can exchange Muggle money for Galleons at Gringotts."
"Wait! I want to say…" Lily tried to interject but again her father cut her off. "Well, thanks a lot for explaining the procedure to us, Mr. Hagrid." he said.
"T'was a pleasure! I'm looking forward to seein' Lily in September!" Hagrid said, beaming. It did not seem appropriate to change her opinion anymore, Lily thought, the decision was made. Secretly, she was really glad for it. She hoped, however, that Petunia wasn't too disappointed…She did not dare to look at her sister, feeling guilty.
"I hope you won't consider me rude for asking, Mr. Hagrid…" Mrs. Evans begun, her voice still shaking somewhat, "but may I ask how did you get so tall? Been fed Miracle-Gro?"
"No, I am part giant!" Hagrid confirmed. "Me father was a wizard – but me mom was a giantess. She left though, and me father died…'Bout twenty years ago…" He suddenly turned around. Lily saw that he was wiping his eyes with a big handkerchief, and she felt sorry for him.
"He… was…such…a…great…father." Hagrid muttered to himself.
"Why was he great?" Lily asked.
Hagrid looked up, startled, and smiled when he saw her despite his tear-stained face. "We would go everywhere…" he said. "We would make the nicest trips…" He coughed.
"Do you want some tea?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"No, thanks." Hagrid said. "Normally I would but I need ter get goin'. But thanks for asking. Yeh're nice people." He walks towards the garden. "Yeh have a very nice garden." he added, looking around him, from the snow-covered moor grass to the leafless cherry trees and the winter plants that had survived. "Must be very beautiful in summer".
"Thank you" Mr. and Mrs. Evans said in unison. You couldn't make them happier than with praising their garden.
"Is he leaving?" Petunia asked Lily shrilly, pointing at Hagrid. "Didn't you tell him you'd go to a…a…Muggle school, Lily? Now it may be too late!"
Lily stayed quiet, not daring to answer, but Hagrid, standing by the garden gate, called bluntly: "Yer sister can think for herself. With her magical gift, she's going to Hogwarts"
Lily was relieved.
"But mummy, Lily has already been signed up for St. Adelaide's!" Petunia protested to their mother.
"That doesn't matter, dear. We can always write another letter that it was a mistake." Mrs. Evans said in a reassuring voice. Lily felt sorry for her sister, because she knew that Petunia wouldn't be easily reassured.
It was a nice day in spring, and the snow had disappeared from the streets of Cokeworth. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Lily and Petunia headed to London in very early. They had been to London several times, but Lily could not remember it very well anymore, though she remembered the Tower Bridge and Big Ben. After having parked the car in a garage, they walked past shops with interesting Chinese lampions and pottery with Chinese signs until they arrived in a busy road with red and white, elegant looking buildings that contained book shops, a store with men's wear, a perfume store and more bookstores.
They stopped at a second-hand antique bookstore that was called Quinto Bookshop. Next to it was a pub with a sign of a cauldron next to it. No-one else looked at it.
"There it is!" Lily said happily.
"Where? I don't see anything." her mother said.
Lily pointed at it. "Look, there. See?" she said. "In that grey building".
"Oh!" her mother suddenly said. "Yes, you are right! How amusing!"
They went inside and, after a long hesitation, Petunia followed them. There was a bald and odd-looking wizard standing behind a bar. He had almost no teeth left and his mouth was wrinkled. The rest of the pub was dark and empty; apparently this was not the right visiting hour.
"What can I get for you and at which percentage? Ho hum, run-off-the-mill or plastered?" the barman asked.
"We are... looking for Diagon Alley" Lily said uncertainly.
"Rubeus Hagrid told us that you would er…explain something. About the… gateway to Diagon Alley" her father added uncertainly.
"Ah! A new Hogwarts student!" Tom said. "Muggle-born, I assume?" he asked Lily. She nodded.
Tom led the way towards the back door of the pub that led to a small courtyard that looked badly maintained and was closed off from the rest of the world by a brick wall. Tom walked straight towards the wall and then touched a certain brick. Immediately the bricks shoved aside and changed the solid wall into a huge archway.
"There you go. Don't forget to come back to buy some firewhiskey!" Tom said.
"Thanks for your help" Lily said and she, her parents and at last, Petunia stepped into a busy street.
It was a street like no other. It looked ancient and modern at the same time, stuffed with all sorts of shops, and just from looking at them without even reading the signs or checking out the windows you saw that they couldn't possibly be Muggle shops, because they were…different. The most striking thing about the buildings was that construction-wise, they seemed impossible, about to collapse, and yet they didn't. Almost all the people at Diagon Alley wore long, flowing pieces of cloth, that reminded Lily the most of monk attire or something that used to be fashion in ancient Greece or Rome, but with a modern twist. Lily heard the hooting of owls and saw people hold all kinds of strange objects. She felt excited, and as she glanced at her parents, she saw that they were as excited as she was.
"This place…This place is wonderful!" her mother said.
"Brilliant" her father said, laughing from joyful disbelief. "Brilliant"
Even Petunia did not even make a single disapproving remark.
"Let's go get our wizarding money." Mr. Evans said. Lily nodded, but she still kept looking around and walked as slowly as possible towards the direction her parents were heading. Finally, a beautiful, formal looking white building rose up against the sky.
"Look at these creatures!" Mrs. Evans whispered. Lily followed her gaze, lingering on a strange short creature that might have looked human if it wasn't for his pointed ears, long fingers and tiny beady eyes. The creatures seemed to take their duty of protecting Gringotts very seriously, although they nodded in an almost friendly manner when they passed them. Inside was a second, shiny door, that looked like it was made from the purest silver. It carried an inscription:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there
Lily felt a tingle of uneasiness as well as enchantment after reading the poem. It was almost as if mere words carried a whole different form of magic themselves. She wanted to read it over, but her father already opened the silver door. Everything was marble, and there was a very long counter where lots and lots of goblins were sitting behind, doing the most curious things such as examining gold through a magnifying glass. One threw a hand of silver coins against the wall, making all the others look up.
"Rubbish. Fake silver!" he exclaimed furiously.
They walked towards the big counter. "I would.. I would like to exchange my Mu… " Mr. Evans begun with hesitation.
"Muggle money" Lily helped him.
"Very well." One of the creatures said. He pointed with one of his long fingers towards a bronze door with the inscription Muggle Money Exchange Office. "You can do so there."
"Thanks!" Lily said.
"At your service." the creature said.
They needed to wait in a little line, and a red-haired young man said "Pences! Real pences!" When it was their turn, the creature from the Muggle Money Exchange Office asked them how many Galleons, Sickles and Knuts they wanted to buy. Mr. Evans took the list with required school supplies out of his pocket and smoothed it.
"Er…It doesn't say how much everything costs" he said.
"A wand is seven Galleons, robes are five galleons and two sickles, books are between five sickles and twenty Knuts, and pets are usually one Galleon" a woman with light blonde hair next to a small blonde haired girl, two sandy-haired boys and a sandy-haired man helped him.
"Thanks, …what's your name?" Mr. Evans asked.
"McKinnon" the woman said. "Erin McKinnon. You're welcome"
"Before we can buy our supplies, we have to get some sort of trolley to put everything in" Mrs. Evans said when they were back outside. Lily agreed. Fortunately, they found a stall selling them.
"Magically enlarged trolleys...Very handy" the wizard behind the stall, who was clad in an orange robe with blue daisies on it and wore Muggle sunglasses, said.
"Which size do you want? Extended by how much inches? Standard, ten inches with a volume of a hundred inches costs five Knuts" he said. They bought one.
They walked towards a small shop called Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands sinds 382 B.C, and as they opened the door a bell rang. Lily was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of neatly piled up boxes all around, reaching the ceiling. Dust slowly whirled down from the seemingly endless cabinets, visible in the weak ray of sunlight shining through one very small little window. It set the shop in a very odd, almost ethereal light.
"This shop is creepy" Petunia whispered.
A pale old man with white bushy hair came down from narrow winding stairs. The man had a penetrating gaze, with eyes that reminded Lily of her grandparents. His eyes were either light from age or because they had always been like this, but they were so light his irises resembled the faint light of the moon. The old man inspected them very intensely, until he said in a soft voice: "Ah, a Muggle-born witch coming to buy her first wand. Lily Evans. And you must be her parents and sister. Good morning everyone. My name is Garrick Ollivander."
"Good morning" Lily said in unison with her parents. This time they didn't ask anything, probably because they assumed Ollivander already knew everything.
"Good, good..." Ollivander cleaned up his counter by shoving some pieces of parchment on the ground. "My wands are excellent. I use the most powerful phoenix feathers, unicorn hairs and dragon heartstrings and use wood from only the best of trees. However, before you try my wands, I have to explain something first. The witch or wizard does not choose the wand. No, the wand chooses the witch or wizard. That's very important, you see. If the match between a wand and its owner is not there, you can wave as much as you like, but there won't be happening anything – no magic, at least"
Petunia snorted.
"But how do you know which wand will choose me?" Lily wanted to know.
"Ah. That's a good question. First I will take your measurements" Ollivander grabbed a tape measure, "and then I'll just give you a few wands to try that I have the feeling will match your temperament. Which arm is your wand arm?".
"Uhm…left, I guess" Lily said, because she was left-handed. She giggled when the tape measure unrolled and started measuring her arm and other body parts out of its own. Ollivander walked quickly along the cabinets in the room, sometimes pausing to grab a box or make it fly towards him by a snap of his fingers. Then he disappeared into the darkness of the back of his store, and after a few minutes he came back with his arms full of boxes. He opened one and thrust a small, long piece of wood in Lily's hand.
"Willow and phoenix feather, ten and a half inches, very swishy. Just try it" Ollivander said.
And Lily waved in the air with the wand, she suddenly felt a strange tingling in her whole body and was overwhelmed by a feeling that she could not describe. It was as peaceful as the feeling she had while floating in the sky, or taking a walk in the forest, and as powerful as nothing she had ever experienced before. Immediately a stream of firework-like sparks came out of the wand. Lily stared at it in amazement. Glancing at Petunia, she saw that even she was gaping in awe.
"Great! At my first try!" Ollivander said in a very pleased voice. "Yes, very supple, very good for charms... You have an excellent wand here, miss Evans! The vision I had…The vision I had was right. I saw you waving a twig of willow".
Lily beamed when Ollivander put her wand back in the box and put it on the table. 'That's seven Galleons" he said, and Lily's father handed them to him. In the meantime, Petunia had opened the box and grabbed the wand. She waved with it as well, but nothing happened. When Ollivander saw it, he looked at her sternly and turning a little pink, she quickly put it back. They left the shop. Lily wanted to admire her wand all day, but they had more things to do, so she put it in her trolley. When she looked at it, she was astonished to see that indeed, the space was lots and lots bigger than you expected.
"Tuney! Look!" she said. Petunia looked in the trolley and gasped. "I wish there were wardrobes like this" she said.
"What do we do next?" Mrs. Evans asked. They saw a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and went there to fit robes. The shop was stuffed with racks and racks of black robes. There was one special cabinet where robes in all sorts of colors were hanging, and even some very sparkly ones. Because Petunia liked fashion, Lily asked if she wanted to come along, but Petunia insisted that robes were unflattering curtains with sleeves made wearable by lazy people.
"Hello, are you looking for your Hogwarts uniform?" a witch said in a friendly voice. She was wearing a very unusual robe; it was light green with embroidered silver leaves on it.
"Yes, thank you!" Lily said.
"Come with me" the witch said and led her to two empty stools. "I happen to have no customers, so you're lucky." She instructed Lily to stand on the stool while she got one of the black robes from the shop and put it over her head. After she had tucked it in at the waist "it should not fit like a gunny sack, dear" and had taken in the sleeves and hem "you are quite petite" she was done.
They went into the book shop, Flourish and Blotts, which also had shelves reaching the ceiling, full of all kind of books. They asked the wizard salesman if he knew where they could find the required books and they floated towards Lily, who hastily caught them as they formed a pile. She quickly turned her back on a bookshelf with book titles such as Nasty Habits of Muggles and How To Cope With Them and Muggle Studies: Are They Really Neccessary? Lily could have spent a whole day inside, but they had more things to do, so they paid for the schoolbooks and left.
The next shop they entered was Scribbulus Writing Implements. Lily looked in awe at all the beautiful calligraphy on the framed sample texts on the wall. She tried to read one, but all it said was "Nil gerrae nuga nuga nil nil nil hariolor".
"That's one of me certificates of quality" the wizard behind the counter said, but then he squinted and made sounds as if his tongue was moving spastically in his mouth. Lily hastily put the money for a beautiful quill with inkpot on the table and left. They went into Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, which turned out to be a small and very dark, mysterious shop with showcases full of beautiful glass objects shining in the light of candles. Some even glowed by themselves. The owner, who had to be Wiseacre, was standing behind his dark, wooden counter and examined an ancient looking watch through a magnifying glass. He did not look up as they approached him.
"Do you sell telescopes, brass scales and glass vials here?" Mr. Evans asked.
"But of course. Lots of sorts" said Wiseacre. He made a gesture towards all the showcases and was immersed in looking at the watch again. They both took the cheapest of the telescopes, a beautiful glass vial set that Lily admired, and a set of fine brass scales. They went to Potage's Cauldron shop, that said "Cauldrons - All Sizes, Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring, Collapsible". The shop indeed lived up to its promise. It was chockfull of all kinds of cauldrons, some stacked on top of each other. Lily really wanted to get a collapsible cauldron because it seemed handy, but they needed to get a pewter one in size 2 instead. Fortunately, it wasn't too big to carry, although they looked rather ridiculous and Potage had to get his money (Six galleons and fifteen Sickles) himself. Fortunately, it fit in the enlarged trolley.
"We are almost done. Now, only the pets are left" Mrs. Evans said. They came across a shop called Magical Menagerie. It looked like a chaos inside, with everywhere birds singing, dogs barking and cats meowing and even strange fluffy creatures that Lily had never seen before. A black cat was limping past them. It had only one eye and looked like something out of a bad horror movie.
"That's Midnight" the owner called from out of the shop. "I've got her for seven years now, but nobody wants her".
Lily wanted Midnight for a pet. But her mother said that she needed to get an owl with the argument "A cat can't send letters home".
"But what if that poor thing dies there?" Lily asked depressively.
"If that cat is still there after three years, we will buy it" her mother promised and that reassured her somewhat. They went to Eelops Owl Imperium instead and bought a pretty snow owl that Lily called Elisedd. Mrs. Evans bought icecream that they ate like in one of their vacations. Then they went home. Satisfied, Lily sat in the car, watching the busy city make place for country land and the industrial surroundings of her hometown. She could not wait for more fantastic things to happen.
The dialogue of Severus and Lily from "…and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you'll get letters." till "You did! You hurt her!" is copied from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, page 666-668. The content of the Hogwarts letter and the Gringotts poem is copied from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.