Chapter 3: The Key to NowhereChapter Text
"Tuney! Wake up!"
Petunia awoke with a jolt, it took time for her to know where she was, her eyes met with Lily's bright green eyes that shook with excitement, light flickered on her small round face.
"Lily." Petunia groaned, pushed Lily away, though this barely made any distance between them, as they were cramped in the back of their car, like sardines, Lily sat back, still touching shoulders.
Petunia looked beside Lily, a thin, sallow-faced sour looking woman who resembled Severus in every way, who sat right beside her. The woman stared back at her, she had an expression as if she had smelled something bad other than the dingy old clothes that she was wearing.
Petunia remembered the words she first asked the woman. "Why are you blaming Severus?" She had asked her. Their eyes met and she immediately averted her eyes, Severus stared back at his mother and Petunia awkwardly, being unusually quiet than normal.
"We're here!" Squealed Lily, her entire body shaking as she looked on outside the car's window. "How did you fall asleep?! I've been shaking all this time!"
Six people exited the car, Mr. And Mrs. Evans looked around, a confused expression on their face, their eyes gliding from one shop to another, yet never falling onto a tiny, grubby looking pub that stuck out like a sore thumb. Mrs. Snape looked onto the pub, her eyes glancing at everyone.
Petunia stared back at her, she had nodded towards that dark, shabby looking place, it looked very run down, not the magical store Petunia had imagined, which would've mostly consisted of a pretty cottage covered in moving plants.
"Excuse me? Mrs. Snape? Is it one of the stores here?" asked Mr. Evans, expecting an answer from the sallow-faced woman he stood there awkwardly waving his hands.
Instead of answering, the woman, Mrs. Snape nudged Severus who was standing beside her. Her thin hands lightly grabbed onto Severus's shoulders as Severus cleared his throat.
"Right here." Said Severus, his voice slightly proud as he spoke and pointed at the tiny pub. "The Leaky Cauldron."
Lily had quickly grabbed their parents' arms and followed Mrs. Snape who was guiding Severus inside. Petunia stared at the tiny pub for a bit, her hands fiddling with the ring hung on her neck, her eyes glanced away for a moment, and fell onto an alley on her far right.
There, in the shadows of the alley, Petunia could barely make out an outline of someone wearing a dark cloak, helping whoever it was to blend into the darkness.
Petunia flinched, she was reminded of that day, a dark cloaked man lurking in a dark alley was the last thing she wanted to see. She quickly shook her head and walked inside the dingy old pub.
The inside was as unremarkable as its outside, Petunia thought to herself. The place was as old as the outside, dark and shabby. Petunia could see a few oddly dressed people drinking mugs of beer, laughing loudly at whatever the wizard was hiding in his coat.
Isn't it broad daylight? Petunia couldn't help but stare over at the group, it wasn't what she was expecting to see first when she entered the wizarding world.
The men pointed and laughed at the man who started turning red, redder, redder than what a normal person could, the two in front of him laughed even louder than before.
Seeing this, Mr. Evans squeezed everyone together, making all four of them walk awkwardly behind Severus and his mother. Then, a man whose head was balding, a few strands of hair holding on, slammed two more mugs in front of them, while the third mug quietly floated down the table.
"Now, you three better quiet down! The other customers had started complaining."
"Come on! Tom!"
"Shh!"
Mr. Tom's words were final, the three looked down and continued talking, though much quieter than before. Mr. Tom smiled, his black eyes falling towards the Evans's huddled tightly together.
"Muggle family, eh?"
"Ah! Yes!" said Mr. Evans, glancing towards Mrs. Snape who had stopped to talk to an old woman wearing an odd old hat behind the counter. "We're just waiting for a friend to continue towards the shops."
"First time?"
"Yes... Our girls are starting at Hogwarts this year." Mr. Evans nudged Petunia and Lily forward. Petunia decided to give a curtsy, it made her embarrassed but Lily followed her example and did the same.
"Hello there! My name is Tom, I'm the innkeeper here!"
"Hello! I saw you float that mug!"
Lily shouted, her words eager as it could get, she pointed straight at the table where the three men were having their funny conversation. The three men looked up, waving at them, they grinned as they pointed towards their mugs and made them float, bobbing in the air, like balloons stuck in a small space.
"That's amazing! We could do that too! But not as easily!"
"Lily, don't shout."
"But Tuney!"
Petunia stared at Lily, she could see her face, red with excitement, she trembled as if she would pop anytime. Petunia sighed, pressing her cold hands to Lily's cheeks, making her wince and wrinkle her nose.
Mr. Evans sniggered at the sight, he patted the two girls head, their hair messy once more. His shoulder relaxed, seeing the two act like they usually do made him more comfortable. He held his wife's hand that was clutching upon his shoulder and smiled at her.
The two shared a look towards each other, only Petunia paid attention to them as Lily was busy chatting with the innkeeper. Petunia could see, the two that were having second thoughts are now slowly changing their mind.
"Let's go."
Mrs. Snape's voice ended the conversation happening between the Evans's, the innkeeper and the three wizards. They all nodded and said their goodbyes towards each other, Mr. Tom waving his last goodbye, the group exited towards the door at the back.
All of them stood in a small, walled courtyard where flowers littered the green ground, vines covered the red brick walls. A stone path which led to the very back of the place where an old wooden stool stood, leaning in the middle of the wall.
Petunia stared at the place, it was what she would've imagined an entrance to a magical world would've looked like, though it was smaller, Petunia couldn't help but smile, she could've sworn the flowers made a humming tune, harmonizing with each other.
Everyone stood quietly gaping at the beautiful tune coming from the strangely shining flowers. While Mrs. Snape stood at the front of the stool, a long stick in her hand, with it she tapped the brick wall three times.
The brick she had tapped quivered, wriggled and there, a small hole appeared, it got bigger and bigger, forming an archway that welcomed them to a buzzling wide street, each side were shops filled with every odd thing one can imagine.
The sun burned brightly, illuminating the coloured outlandish robes most of the witches and wizards were wearing. A stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop blinded them.
"This is it... Diagon Alley." Severus with an air of importance, dramatically welcomed the Evans's towards the place.
Lily giggled at the sight till she pointed eagerly at the shop. Reciting the words from the letter they had read multiple times.
"One cauldron, pewter, standard size two! Come on Sev!"
"Ah! Wai-!"
Before Severus could protest, Lily had uprooted him from his stance, quickly grabbed him by the arm and tried to drag him inside the shop, but was stopped by Mr. Evans.
"Now, Lily. We need money for that."
Mr. Evans looked towards Mrs. Snape, she nodded and started leading them towards an imposing marble white building that towered over the neighbouring shops.
"Right there... Gringotts, the wizarding bank! We can exchange your muggle money for wizard money." Explained Severus as he pointed at the white building.
The group arrived at its burnished bronze door where someone, a head shorter than even Severus stood beside, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, he bowed as they headed inside.
The short man was short and fair-skinned. He had very long fingers and feet, dome-shaped bald head, and had pointed ears and nose. He nodded and welcomed them in with a small smile.
"Goblins." Whispered Severus, the three children had now huddled together while the adults led them in. "I've told you about them before, they run the bank."
Lily nodded at his words, she pointed towards the silver door that was now facing them and started reciting the words engraved upon them.
"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!"
"That's quite the warning." Petunia thought. Glaring at the boldly engraved letters.
The Goblins were very protective of their treasure, Severus had explained to them, it was to the point of keeping an entire dragon deep inside the bank or so Severus heard.
Entering through the silver door, they were greeted by the sight of even more Goblins, more witches and wizards conversing with them, some leaving through the multiple doors leading out of the hall.
"Is it true? A dragon resides deep inside?" asked Petunia absentmindedly. Staring at the goblin weighing a pile of emeralds as large as quail eggs with brass scales.
"I've told you. That was just a well known rumour."
"There's no smoke without a fire!" Lily replied indignantly, "Maybe we can go see it when we go down your vault!"
Severus had turned red at this, he averted Lily's eyes and became quiet. Petunia, noticing this, tapped Lily's shoulder and shook her head. Lily covered her mouth, she had also turned quiet.
"Only Mrs. Snape is going down to their vault." Petunia had pointed out Mrs. Snape following a Goblin through one of the many doors leading out of the hall. "Mum and Dad are still exchanging money over there."
"Ah, yeah..."
The air between the three had turned quiet, which didn't last long as Lily squealed once again and pointed towards someone towering over both witches, wizards and Goblins alike.
"Is that?"
"A giant." Severus replied matter-of-factly. "I don't think that's a full giant though. They are usually more than twenty feet tall."
"Twenty!? You didn't say that before!"
"I just remembered."
Petunia could see the slight pink on his ears, she knew Severus had been reading more and more books to tell them more about their magical world. She had caught him last time, reading a pile of books that he immediately tried to hide under a bush when she spoke up.
Severus was trying his best to learn more, so he would have something new to talk about every time they met.
Petunia giggled at the memory, making the other two shift their focus towards her. Their eyebrows raised as they huddled even closer than before.
"What's funny?" Lily asked quietly.
"Care to share?" followed Severus.
"Don't want to. It's my memory." Petunia sniggered.
The three continued to bicker till Mr. and Mrs. Evans were finished exchanging money. They carried two heavy looking pouches that they immediately put inside Mrs. Evans purse. Mrs. Snape had also arrived back carrying a lighter pouch on her hand that she had immediately tucked inside her purse.
The group left the building and stood at the side of the road. Mr. Evans leaned towards the children, closer to their height, he smiled.
"So? Which one should we get first?"
The three smiled towards each other, they all knew what they wanted the most out of the list they were given. They all nodded, light in their eyes as they looked back at Mr. Evans.
"A wand!" The three had said simultaneously, Lily's voice loud and clear, Severus was quiet yet eager, Petunia was calm and reserved, yet a slight shaking in her tone.
Mrs. Snape led them towards a narrow, shabby looking shop, the peeling gold letter over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand laid on a faded purple cushion on a dusty window.
Mrs. Evans looked towards the place, a disapproving look on her face. Mr. Evans, noticing this, held her hand that was clutched in his arms. He sniggered and playfully pushed everyone inside.
With a ring of a bell, Petunia's stomach suddenly felt full, she became unnecessarily conscious of her dry throat. A single spindly chair stood on the side where Mrs. Evans sat to wait after trying and failing to give the seat to Mrs. Snape.
The inside was even more cramped than it looked like outside, stacks of narrow boxes reached the high ceiling, making a wall of boxes that looked like it was stabilized through magic. A man with pale silvery eyes greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning."
The old man's soft voice startled everyone but Petunia who had been staring at him for a while. The three adults behind them had quickly stopped their conversation. Mr. And Mrs. Evans stood beside the children, Petunia could see the sweat on her father's forehead and her mother's fidgeting hands.
"Hello... I'm Evans, Jasper Evans. This is my wife Dahlia and these are our daughters, they'll be starting at Hogwarts soon. And these are our friends."
Mr. Evans said all of this very quickly, obviously unnerved by the current situation, he still stood forward, glancing towards Mrs. Snape who once again remained quiet and unmoving.
"Ah! New to our world, aren't you?"
The old man concluded, he stared directly towards the Evans family, his eyes quickly glanced towards Mrs. Snape then towards Severus.
"This must be the young Prince."
"Prince?" questioned Lily, her eyes seemingly expectant.
"That's my mom's maiden name, Lily." Severus replied dully.
"Oh..."
Petunia giggled at the two, being poked by Lily, she looked around once more, meeting eyes with the old man, who had come closer than before, wide pale eyes shining like a bright full moon. A knowing glint in his eyes seemed to pass, Petunia was sure he recognized her though she didn't know why or how.
"Should we start with the eldest?" The old man had pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Well now- Ms. Evans. Which one is your wand arm?"
"I'm right-handed." said Petunia flatly.
"Hold out your arm." He measured Petunia shoulder to finger, wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, wrist to armpit then round her head. He blabbed about how no two wands are the same.
Petunia realized that the tape measure had started measuring her nostrils, annoyed, she tried to swat the tape away.
"That will do." Mr. Ollivander approached her with a long narrow maroon box in his hand. "Right then, Ms. Evans. Try this one. Aspen and dragon heartstring. 10 inches. Nice and whippy. Just take it and give it a wave."
Petunia glared at the stick on Mr. Ollivander's hand, its Ivory colour gave off a stylish appearance. She grabbed the wand feeling unsure she waved it for a second before it was quickly grabbed by Mr. Ollivander.
"No! How about this! Silver Lime, Unicorn hair, 13 inches. Quite springy."
Petunia tried to wave the wand once again before it too was quickly grabbed by Mr. Ollivander. Her eyes looked towards Lily and Severus who was too busy playing rock, paper and scissors to notice her gaze.
"Red Oak and dragon heartstring, 11 inches. Swishy!"
Petunia tried, over and over again, till a pile of boxes had almost reached the ceiling. Each box made her heart beat faster and faster. Sweat was starting to fall from her forehead as she got more anxious by the minute.
What if I don't get picked? Petunia couldn't help but have doubts, her mood was getting worse by the minute. When she looked up, she could see Mr. Ollivander, who was contrary to herself, was getting more and more excited every time a wand was added to the pile.
"Tricky customer eh? The wand chooses the wizard after all. But not to worry! We will find a perfect match."
"What if I don't get picked?"
Petunia's words slipped out, shocked, she quickly covered her mouth, glancing back to where her parents, Lily and the Snape's were. Their troubled expressions did not help with her worsening mood.
"Not to worry! We will find a perfect match! No such thing as a witch that won't be chosen by a trusty wand."
Petunia pondered, she quietly thought to herself that she might be the first one to become not chosen by any wand at all.
"Here. Hawthorn and Phoenix feather. 12 and 1/2 inches. Delicate yet feisty."
Petunia held the wand, warmth suddenly rushed through her fingers. She held it closer, swishing it down through the cold dusty air and a stream of violet and blue sparks shot out at the end like a small fountain that erupted and disappeared in an instant.
"Bravo! This one is not just adept at healing magic but also curses."
Mr. Ollivander clapped, glee in his eyes, he opened his mouth but closed it right after looking in the direction of the Evans couple. Petunia could see the thoughts flying in his head. She saw him sigh, yet he looked towards her with a smile.
"Very good Ms. Evans, that one was particularly hard to place. I am very pleased that it has finally met its pair."
"Is there something you have to say to me?" Petunia said bluntly.
Mr. Ollivander looked quite taken aback, though his expression quickly turned into a knowing look. He looked back towards the Evans couple once more before starting to speak.
"I have made another wand with the same core as that one. She quite reminded me of you! You are the spitting image of her when she got her own wand."
With those words, Mr. Evans had stumbled, knocking over the couple towers of piled up wands sitting at the top of the table beside the Petunia.
"Watch out!"
Mr. Evans had covered Petunia with his body, hugging her close between his arms, he braced for impact, a few moments passed, he stood there unmoving, covering Petunia's sight.
Petunia couldn't help but sigh. It was quite suffocating to be embraced tightly. She tugged his coat and spoke lightly.
"Dad, it's fine."
Mr. Evans had let go, staring back towards the pile, hundreds of boxes floated up in the air, they flew around and shoved themselves back into shelves they were taken from.
"My! I'm sorry if I've frightened you! Shall we continue with the other children?"
The two Evans's walked away from Mr. Ollivander. While Severus who won the rock, paper and scissors battle against Lily walked forward towards Mr. Ollivander.
Severus found his wand faster than Petunia, nine and a half inches, acacia and dragon heartstring, quite an unusual wood, tough and rigid. His pile of rejected wands that was more than half of Petunia's flew by, snuggling themselves back to their shelves.
"A rare wood indeed!" exclaimed Mr. Ollivander.
Severus stepped away, a smug look on his face, based on his expression, he quite fancied his new wand. He smiled towards Lily who smiled back, he stood beside Petunia who elbowed him and grinned.
"You like it that much?" teased Petunia.
"Well… I've been waiting for this my entire life." smiled Severus, his cheeks slightly pink.
Petunia smiled and looked towards Lily who was being measured by the floating tape. She was having quite a fun time.
Even though Mr. Ollivander was quite odd, he is a bit amusing. Petunia had thought to herself.
Petunia glanced back towards her father who looked quite shaken, his eyes darting from places to places, towards Mr. Ollivander, to Mrs. Evans and to Petunia. She could see him flinch when their eyes met, he smiled but Petunia could see the unease in his eyes.
"Dad? Are you alright?"
Mr. Evans glanced towards his wife, who Petunia could now see the same troubled expression on her face.
"I'm fine." smiled Mr. Evans, ruffling Petunia's hair.
Petunia could see that they are hiding something, but she does not want to press further. They will tell her if it's necessary, that's what they had always done. She took out her comb and started to fix her hair.
After a while, Lily received her wand. Ten and a quarter inches, long, swishy, willow and unicorn hair. She hopped back towards everyone, her smile from ear to ear, she proudly showed her wand to them.
"Great for charmwork!" said Mr. Ollivanders gleefully.
He must really like his job. Petunia felt exhausted while she looked towards Mr. Ollivander. He seemed too happy to part ways with his craft.
The group paid for a total of 21 galleons for the three children's wands. Mr. Ollivander bowed to them from his shop with a happy expression on his face.
"That's something." murmured Lily, unable to put her feelings into words. "Books! Let's go for books next!"
The group traveled through the shops. Buying everything they needed, books, robes, and a lot more. They stopped in front of a shop that had a broomstick displayed upfront.
"That's a broomstick!" shrieked Lily, her face almost glued to the glass.
"You said you weren't interested in quidditch?"
"That's different Sev! I still want to fly!"
"First years are not allowed their own broomstick. So we can get them when we're second years."
"Do you want to play quidditch, Tuney?"
"I can't say I'm not interested."
The three eleven year olds were busy in their own conversations while the adults were also busy on their own. Petunia's eyes glanced away for a moment, her eyes fell away from the crowd and into a dark alley.
There it was again, a dark cloaked man hiding in the shadows. Petunia couldn't help but flinch, but the other two were too busy with their conversation to notice.
The cloaked man stared back, he turned around and started to walk away. And like in a trance, Petunia felt compelled to follow. She started to walk towards that direction but she was immediately grabbed by the arm.
"Where are you going?" asked Mrs. Evans, her hands clung tightly on Petunia's arms.
"I- I was…" Petunia stuttered, she couldn't quite tell what she was doing.
"Honey, are you tired?"
Mrs. Evans had knelt in front of her, her hand caressed Petunias cheeks while she held her hand on the other.
"Ah yes!" Petunia replied instantly regretting her words. She still wanted to explore this new wondrous place.
"We should go rest at the leaky cauldron."
Severus suggested, pointing back from where they came from. Mrs. Evans immediately nodded and started pulling Petunia towards that direction, the others following right behind them.
"But I want to try the ice cream!"
Lily protested, her cheeks all puffed up, she tugged at their father's coat. Looking troubled, Mr. Evans stopped his wife.
"We'll go get ice cream while you and Petunia rest for a while."
Mrs. Evans nodded, while Mr. Evans went towards Petunia, messing up her well combed hair once more, he smiled.
"I'll get you your favorite."
""Chocolate."" the two said in command, laughing at each other's grinning expressions.
The two arrived back at the leaky cauldron, they have decided to wait here and have a meal once everyone has arrived back. For now, Petunia was drinking some hot tea to ease her stomach.
"I'll just go to the lavatory for a minute. Make sure to stay put."
With those words, Mrs. Evans stood up and headed towards where the toilets were. Petunia continued eating, silently observing the witches and wizards passing through the bar.
A round face witch was giggling with a sharp looking wizard who was showing her something on the paper. They both wore long brown trench coats that gave off the impression of a detective. They continued their conversation while holding hands and drinking beer.
Hurrying inside was a plump woman holding an infant in her arms. Two boys followed her inside.
One was taller and looked older, he wore round glasses and a slightly haughty expression. But in an instant, when he met eyes with the infant, his face turned into a joking expression, making the baby laugh and clap loudly.
The other boy was younger, he looked like Petunia's age, same height. He looked very unbothered, unamused, his long hair was tied in a loose ponytail that laid on his shoulder.
All four individuals shared one glaring trait, they all had flaming fiery red hair. Petunia thought that they were very blinding to the eyes.
Petunia continued to observe the people around her until suddenly, a burning pain seared through her skin. She grabbed the culprit of the burning pain, a ring hung on her neck, atleast, it was supposed to be a ring.
There, laying on her palm was a key, with the burning pain gone, Petunia realized that it had the same intricate design as the ring, but it was now more visible, a beautiful bird was spreading its wings while trampling a snake.
Petunia had thought the design was just that of wings but it turned out to be more than that. She carefully examined every inch of it, noticing the slight pulsating glow of the bird's eyes.
Waving the key around in the air, Petunia realized that the glow in the eye would pulsate at different rates. She stood up and decided to point it around like a compass.
Everytime it pulsated faster, Petunia walked a few steps that way. She knew that she was not supposed to walk off but something about this bird's eyes made her feel compelled to follow.
Petunia had reached the wall leading back into Diagon alley. She walked behind a haughty looking pregnant young woman who was being supported by a fair headed sweet looking young man. They were both busy to see Petunia who had walked in with them.
Petunia continued to follow the direction the bird's eye wanted to go to. She was focused in noticing the slight differences in the pulsating lights speed that she didn't even realize the place she was in was darker and emptier that before.
The light in the eye was pulsating wildly, in front of Petunia was a shop larger than those around it. Still in a daze, Petunia entered the shop.
It was a large dimly lit wizard shop, whatever they were selling here definitely wouldn't be in any school list.
A glass case nearby held a withered hand, blood stained items, creepy looking masks and Petunia was sure, human bones decorated this shop.
Seeing all of this, Petunia realized this was not a place she was ought to be. The key in her hand continued to pulsate brighter and brighter.
Petunia looked outside through the dirty looking mirror, she could see that it was definitely not Diagon alley. She looked around as the key in her hand continued to shine brighter than before.
I have to stop this key for now! I'm putting too much attention on myself.
Petunia immediately went back to following where the key wanted to take her. Passing through multiple creepy, odd looking objects that varied from furniture, books, clothes to jewelry, she stood in front of a large black cabinet.
Inspecting it, Petunia saw one of its doors has a keyhole, wanting to shut off the light, Petunia shoved the key inside. Light started to spread across it from the keyhole, it formed a design similar to that of the key, a bird with large wings and long legs trampling down a snake.
The light flashed brightly and disappeared, leaving off the intricate design. Petunia pulled out the key, examining the cabinet she opened it slightly.
"What are you doing?"
Petunia jumped and looked behind her. There, a young boy with curly hair who was slightly taller than her stood behind her, a familiar haughty expression greeted her. With his arms crossed, he stared at the cabinet with his cold grey eyes.