Author's note

Two chapters in a day!! To make up for months of suspense (I apologise again /) and the fact that last chapter was kind of short. Hogwarts will be soon by the way - but first, I present to you Diagon Alley! Lots of love fellow potterheads xx

Disclaimer

I don't own any of this, our queen JK does!

Chapter 4 - Diagon Alley

Emerald eyes snapped open excitedly as Lily awoke. Today was the day they would go shopping! Her mind racing with all the possibilities, she ran to her parents' room. After all, she could not go alone.

"Mum! Dad! Wake up wake up! Who's taking me to Diagon Alley?" she shouted.

Violet Evans was not amused. It was 7 in the morning on a Saturday, and this was not a time for shouting. Her head fuzzy from sleep, she put on her well-practiced grumpy face.

"Lily Evans! What have I told you about barging in here? At 7 on a Saturday no less!"

"I'm sorry Muuum. But you know how long I've been waiting for this! My first experience with the magical world!"

Mrs Evans softened at the glee on her daughter's face. She chuckled as she realised Lily had already put her coat on... but was still in her pyjamas.

"Aren't you forgetting something, darling?" she asked, amused

"What do you mean?" Lily was confused. She had packed her Hogwarts letter and everything she needed.

"Go look in the mirror"

Lily turned around. She was still in her pyjamas! Vexed, she ran to her room to get changed. Five minutes later, she was ready again. After a quick breakfast, the mother-daughter duo set off. They arrived in central London in good time, and, after ages trying to find a parking spot, they entered the Leaky Cauldron.

"Lily are you sure this is the right place? It looks kind of dodgy to me", Mrs Evans queried, unsure.

"Yes Mum I am, Professor McGonagall said to ask specifically for a man called Tom. Come on", her fiery daughter replied.

Lily marched into the pub, her head held high. It was a funny sight to all who saw her: a small ginger girl amidst a plethora of strange-looking fellows. She went up to the counter, ignoring the weird looks.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a man named Tom", she declared.

The barman chuckled.

"That would be me, and what wouls missy require?"

"I need to get to Diagon Alley"

"Sure thing, follow me"

The Evans followed him to a brick wall. Violet was confused as to how this was going to lead them to the wizard shops. He got out his wand and proceeded to execute a series of taps. Suddenly, the bricks began to move until they had rearranged themselves to form an archway... there, standing in all its glory, was Diagon Alley.

The street ran diagonally with its cobbled pavement and rainbow of shops. Wizards walked everywhere, their tall hats and cloaks swishing in the late summer breeze. The atmosphere was truly magical. Lily smiled a toothy smiled and headed along the streets (she had agreed with her mum to be allowed to obambulate whilst Violet sorted out money).

Lily had been wandering for a few minutes when she finally spotted it... Flourish and Blotts. The bookshop. She eagerly entered and was overpowered by the amount of books in there: the walls were covered with a vast expand of what seemed like an infinite number of books! Lily traced her finger along the hardback spines when she spotted a title she recognised from her Hogwarts letter: "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1". She excitedly opened it and began to read. This was amazing! There were so many spells to learn, so many new things...

Lily was so entranced in her book she did not notice that she was being watched. A boy of about her age had looked up from his copy of the book when she had barged in excitedly and had been deciphering her since, trying to pluck up the courage to start a conversation. After all, his father had said that the sooner he made friends, the better, but Remus Lupin was not an extroverted person (hence being in the bookshop). Looking up, Lily noticed the amber-eyed youngster staring.

"Hello! I'm Lily Evans! Are you a first-year too? I'm a muggle-born, you see, and I don't know much about magic so I'm trying to learn as much as I can before Hogwarts. I won't know many people there, I'm a bit scared... Sev says I'm bound for Ravenclaw but I'm not so sure. And you are?" she said this in one breath, gasping for air when she finished.

Remus was startled... someone was willing to talk to him? Stuttering, he formulated a response.

"Remus Lupin, pleasure to meet you". He had rehearsed this phrase many times before, hoping that he would meet someone nice.

"Yes I am a first-year too, though I'm a half-blood... I'm not sure about houses either to be perfectly honest, my dad was in Gryffindor but yeah, like you, Ravenclaw sounds like an option. I won't know anybody either... I've never really had friends"

He stopped. This was the most he had ever said to a stranger before... what would she think? Would she hate him? Remus was scared, very scared... one day or another, people would find out his secret and leave him. But, until then, he wanted to make friends, yes.

"So you know all about magic? That's so cool! I'll be your friend! Maybe we'll be in the same house, Gryffindor sounds awesome..."

The two chatted about classes, houses and platform 9 3/4 for a while until Violet entered.

"Bye Remus! See you in September!" she shouted as they left the store.

"Bye Lily, have fun shopping!"

"Who was that, Lils?", Violet queried

"Mum, I made a friend! He's kind of quiet but very nice", she replied cheerily.

The Evans went up and down shops for hours until at last the moment came. Lily was going to get her wand. They stepped inside the dusty shop when they were met with a silver-haired man.

"Here to get your wand, I presume? I don't recognise you... muggle-born?"

"Yes sir", Lily replied quietly. The man seemed... odd.

He measured her arms, murmuring things quietly. Then, he got out a long, narrow box. Out of it emerged a beautiful hazel wand, which he handed Lily. Feeling excited, she held it firmly when a warmth spread through her chest and small sparks emerged from the wooden stick.

"My, my! On her first try! We can expect great things from you, Miss Evans"

Smiling shyly, Lily carefully put her wand in her coat pocket. She could not wait to get home and try some spells... after all, she was not at Hogwarts yet!