"Didn't you see anything suitable?" Mom pushed open the door of the robe shop and came in only after Draco and Mrs. Malfoy had left. I heaved a sigh of relief. If she hadn't come any later, I really wouldn't have been able to fend off Madam Malkin's enthusiastic sales pitch. I mumbled that I didn't like any of them and hid behind my mom. I really didn't want to try on those strange robes and dresses anymore — but it would seem impolite to have kept Madam Malkin waiting for so long and then not buy anything at all. That's why I don't like shopping.
"I think that dress is quite nice," Mom said, looking at the long dress that Madam Malkin was waving at her, the one I had just taken off. "The deep red color really brings out your complexion."
"That's exactly what I told her, ma'am. You won't find a rose pattern like this in any other ready-to-wear store," Madam Malkin immediately turned her attention to my mom. "The young lady looks stunning in it — really stunning. I bet all the young wizards who see her will be so smitten that they'll lose their appetite and sleep."
"Stop it," I felt my face flush. "Then I'll buy this one. Just stop talking."
People on the street all looked anxious and were walking in a hurry. They gathered in groups of three or five and quickly moved from one shop to another, as if they would be captured by the Death Eaters leaping out from the wanted posters if they walked alone on the street. The colorful and exaggerated posters for author signings that used to be at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts were nowhere to be seen. The official safety manuals published by the Ministry of Magic and distributed for free to everyone were stacked high outside the bookstore. They were constantly being taken away, and new ones kept appearing.
"Mom, did you investigate the Malfoy family again later?" I walked beside my mom, holding a large pile of new books. After thinking for a while, I still asked, "After Lucius Malfoy was sent to Azkaban, the Auror Office shouldn't be prevented from conducting a search by the previous reasons, right?"
"Of course, but we only found some trivial things," Mom replied as she checked the shopping list I had written. "If an experienced and wily wizard family wants to hide something, the Ministry of Magic's surveillance order won't be of much use. — What's wrong, Iris? Have you discovered anything?"
"No," I hesitated for a moment and then shook my head. I thought what was in my mind was a bit ridiculous. "I just — wow, Mom, did you see over there?"
Mom looked in the direction I pointed. The window of that shop seemed to have absorbed all the colors that had vanished from Diagon Alley. The passers-by around had expressions similar to mine, and most of them couldn't help but stop and stand there to admire the goods that were flashing and dancing in the window. Even though we were still half a street away, I could see that the shop was packed with people and was extremely lively. Outside the shop, just like other stores, there was also a huge purple poster pasted up — at first glance, it didn't seem much different from the posters of the Ministry of Magic, but there were dazzling yellow characters flashing on it:
Why are you worrying about You - Know - Who, when you should be worrying about You - No - Poo? The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation!
Mom couldn't help laughing. She asked me if I wanted to go in and take a look. Before I could answer, she flicked her shoulder-length short hair and said cheerfully, "Mom wants to have a look. Keep me company, will you?"
Squeezing into Fred and George's shop wasn't an easy task — dear readers, you can recall the bustling scenes of their new product launch events in Diagon Alley every summer vacation. I heard that this year, quite a few wizards tried to forge fake admission tickets to sneak in. The full set of new product experience tickets and new product lucky bag cards in the front row were being sold for more than five times their market price. All in all, the business talents of the Weasley twins are far more than what's briefly described in the collection of media interviews titled Weasley and Weasley: Our Road to the Kingdom of Jokes from Scratch. Even during that period when everyone was on edge and the situation was extremely unstable, people were willing to put aside their fears for a while and squeeze into that small shop which hadn't yet become a landmark building in Diagon Alley.
The atmosphere in the joke shop was worlds apart from that outside. All kinds of cardboard boxes were stacked up to the ceiling. The shelves of the Skiving Snackboxes were almost empty, and a female shop assistant whom I didn't recognize was restocking them. A group of children stared longingly at the trick wands that were right within their sight. Some students looked curiously at the quills that were demonstrating how to automatically ink and check spelling — but we simply couldn't squeeze in to take a look at the really popular products. There were crowds of people in front of them.
"Hey! Iris!" One of the twins poked out a head with flaming red hair from the crowd and waved at me. "Aunt Lily is here too!"
"Harry and the others just left," Fred pushed his way out of the crowd and shook hands with my mom. Then he turned to me and said, "I don't know where they sneaked off to before. They insisted that they were in our little room, and Mrs. Potter had no way to deal with them — Do you want to see if there's anything you need? Come over here. We have the intention of competing with the glamorous witches for business. At first, we just wanted to make color-changing lipsticks to play tricks on people, but we never expected that they would be snapped up by the witches all at once. To be honest, we never thought that it would be easier to earn money from witches than from wizards. Here, take this. It's the most popular shade, and it's going to be out of stock again — although we don't really understand why they think this red color looks the best."
"What's this?" Mom asked curiously, looking at a large pile of fluffy balls of various shades in the cage. They were rolling around and screaming. "It looks a bit like a Pygmy Puff, but — "
"Miniature Pygmy Puffs. We named them Diddly Dums," Fred said with a grin. "They're really popular with girls, and they're easy to keep."
"Do you want one, Iris?" Mom asked me.
"Um, no thanks," I shook my head. "I don't want to keep a pet anymore."
"Over there are some things that you two beautiful ladies will never need, like the pimple ointment for dealing with blackheads, pimples and other such pustules, and the long-lasting hair smoother — The advanced love potion, of course, has the production permission restricted by the Ministry of Magic. The effect lasts for up to twenty-four hours and can't be taken in combination. Aunt Lily, we don't sell this to anyone under the age of sixteen."
"After all, some people have to put in a bit of effort to make themselves charming. You'll never experience that kind of trouble in your whole life, Miss Snape," George suddenly emerged from somewhere and shook hands with the two of us. "I wonder if you were satisfied with the delivery we made to the Ministry of Magic last time, Aunt Lily? You're welcome to write to us with feedback at any time. After all, in the field of products for defense against the Dark Arts, we're still feeling our way forward."
"The Auror Office didn't receive those items. After all, you can't expect Aurors to catch Death Eaters relying on auxiliary products," Mom replied with a smile. "But I heard from my colleagues in other departments that they're really useful. Many of them want to buy a few more sets for their families."
"Our delivery business card!" George rummaged in his pocket and took out a card, then handed it to my mom. "If you need anything, just place an order via owl. We've specifically hired people to deal with owl orders, and it's more convenient than coming to the store to buy."
"Just take whatever you want," Fred said to me. "Consider it as us repaying the tuition fees of D.A."
"How can that be?" I had already taken out some Sickles from my wallet and was about to pay for the lipstick. Fred waved his hand and didn't take the money. "We're still counting on you to help us get an agency in the United States in the future. Besides, the startup capital for this store was lent to us by Harry. You're his girlfriend — "
"I'm not his girlfriend yet," I glanced at Mom. She was standing there with a smile, still looking at that cage of pygmy puffs, as if she hadn't heard our conversation.
"Saying 'not yet' basically means 'will be in the future'," Fred winked at me. "Hold on tight, Iris. You didn't see the way a group of Hogwarts girls were looking at him and Neville when they were in the store just now."
"Is it because he's the son of the Minister of Magic now?" I raised my eyebrows. "Isn't that a bit too shallow?"
"Love is a rather shallow thing to begin with. Otherwise, how could people be deceived by love potions?" Fred patted me on the shoulder.
There weren't too many things on the shopping list, but by the time we finished buying them, it was already the evening when the sun was setting. The mist that didn't match the season had quietly started to envelop the streets of London, making everything look even more desolate. The joy and warmth I had just gained from the joke shop were quickly replaced by a chill, as if there were invisible things hiding in the air and devouring them.
The people who used to sit around the tables and at the bar in the Leaky Cauldron, drinking and chatting in twos and threes, were all gone. The wrinkled and toothless shopkeeper Tom stood behind the bar gloomily, wiping a glass. I thought Mom would lead me to hurry through and find a nearby corner to Apparate just like when we came. But to my surprise, she sat down and waved her wand at the big and small bags of things we bought today, sending them back home.
"One glass of mint grape juice and one glass of mead with two ice cubes," she tapped the table lightly. It was hard to imagine that Tom could serve us the tray so nimbly. It seemed that the business here was as sluggish as that in Madam Malkin's Robes shop.
"Some bread, ma'am?" he said cheerfully. "I think you must be exhausted."
"No, thanks." Mom smoothed her stray hair and gave him a smile. To my surprise, she brought the glass with a floating mint leaf in the sparkling water in front of herself and pushed the glass of mead with the sweet aroma of honey towards me.
"I might go back to the Ministry of Magic at any time, so I'd better not drink alcohol. Although I think if we sit down and talk as two adults, we should have a little wine to add a sense of ritual," she took a sip of the sparkling water and winked at me with a confused look on my face.
"Are we going to... talk about something? What is it?" I felt a trace of anxiety, although Mom's tone was calm. My fingers ran across the water mist condensed on the outside of the glass due to the temperature difference. Looking at the ice cubes dyed yellow by the mead, I asked softly, "Why can't we talk about it at home?"
"Because what Mom is going to talk to you about next... Your ability to accept it may be higher than your father's, although we're just sitting down to explore a possibility," Mom was still smiling, but I felt a trace of familiar fear.
"I don't want to talk about this," I said immediately. "I don't think it's necessary — We're all sitting here safe and sound. There's no need to think about — "
"Iris," she gently held my cold fingers that were clenched around the glass full of ice cubes. "You have to accept this possibility. If one day, Mom is like Aunt Amelia... I don't want you to face that day without any psychological preparation and break down and escape from reality like Taurus — I'm really worried that if that day really comes and the situation at that time doesn't allow you to have time to break down, what should you do? So I must sit down and talk to you about this before you leave, no matter how... cruel this thing may sound."
"If you don't want me to break down, then fight hard to stay alive," I stared at the slowly melting ice cubes and said. "I'll go crazy. I'm sure I'll go crazy..."
"I really hope that all the sadness will end here, and we don't have to endure any more goodbyes or lose any close people," she clenched my hand. Her eyes glistened with tears under the dim yellow light of the Leaky Cauldron, but this didn't affect the firmness in her eyes, just like a cluster of flames that would never go out in the cold winter. "Iris, Mom makes a promise to you here today. Correspondingly — Since this is a conversation between two adults, I also hope that you can give me a similar promise."
"I, Lily Snape, promise my daughter, Iris Snape," she took a deep breath and said slowly. "No matter what happens in the future and what kind of blows I suffer, I will grasp all the hope to live. If my family members are still alive, I will do my best to return to them. If... my family members, unfortunately... leave this world one step ahead... I will still try my best to live, look forward without carrying guilt and pain... and start a new life."
"Why don't you ask Dad to make this promise first?" I took a sip of the wine and felt a burning pain in my throat. Even the strong alcohol couldn't suppress the choking sobs welling up in my throat.
"Because I know he can't do it," Mom said softly. "But I hope you can do it."
"I can't do it either," I felt my hands shaking. "Why do you ask me to do something that Dad can't do?"
"You're only sixteen years old, Iris," Mom reached out and stroked my long hair. "Sometimes I think about how lucky I am to have a daughter like you. If I could turn back time, I really wish I could have been a more competent mother... spent more time watching you grow up instead of just giving you a belated goodnight kiss when you were fast asleep. I also hope... that I could have noticed earlier that you would be easily upset by those little quarrels between your father and me. Mom is very happy, my dear. Mom has already gained enough happiness because of having you and your father. This contentment allows Mom to fight... and even sacrifice without hesitation to protect the happiness of more people. Mom hopes that you can also feel this kind of happiness. Whether it comes from love, family, or career, it's waiting for you in your future. Mom doesn't want you to lose the qualification to experience it because of me or your father."
"Actually, from the day people meet each other, whether it's between a mother and a daughter, a husband and a wife, or close friends, meeting means that the countdown to farewell has already started. It's just that some hourglasses flow slowly, and some flow faster than expected, right?" Mom lowered her head and took a sip of the sparkling water. "We just keep moving forward like this, saying goodbye to some people and meeting new ones. That's what life is all about."
I lowered my head and took small sips of the wine in the glass. Soon, there was only a faint taste left in my mouth, the taste of the melted ice cubes diluting the alcohol at the bottom of the glass. Mom didn't say anything more. She quietly played with her hair and looked out of the window at the hurrying Muggles and the endless stream of traffic. The sky gradually darkened. It was not until the glass window could only reflect the shadows of the two of us that I put the glass down.
"I, Iris Snape, promise my mother, Lily Snape," I looked at the empty glass and said with difficulty. "No matter what happens in the future, no matter who I... lose, friends... relatives, I will grasp all the hope to live. I will try my best to live... and return to my surviving relatives and friends. I will do my best... not to feel pain because I'm alive, and I will also do my best... to look forward and start a new life, no matter how difficult it may be."
"Thank you, my dear," Mom stretched out her arms and pulled me into her warm embrace, her voice trembling slightly. "Thank you."
Both Mom and I fulfilled this vow that was so difficult to promise at that time. Although on the night my mother closed her eyes and left this world, I cried all my tears out in my husband's arms. She left very peacefully. She even told me at dinner that the newly planted lilies in the yard seemed to be about to bloom. My father had exhausted all his life's efforts to boil all kinds of magic potions to relieve her pain, but her life had been too severely damaged during those more than half a year of suffering. She firmly refused my request to stay by her side and take care of her and let me go to the United States without any constraints to start a new chapter of my own life — look forward. This was the sentence she said the most after the war ended. This belief allowed her to witness my wedding with her gradually weakening body and personally hand my hand to my husband together with my father; this belief allowed her to witness the birth of my eldest son and youngest son and show a beautiful smile that no wrinkles could hide when she heard them vaguely call her grandmother in their baby voices; this belief made her remember to gently hold my hand before her death and tell me that she entrusted my father to me and that she would be waiting for the day when we would be reunited on the other side.
Miraculously, on the night of her funeral, my husband and I found out that we were about to welcome the third child of our small family. We almost immediately believed that it would be a daughter, and she was indeed born in the season when the lilies in my father's yard were in full bloom. She had the exact same deep red long hair as my mother. She was like an angel specially sent to soothe my father's withered heart. Only her clear calls and lively laughter could make my father step out of his dimly lit room filled with smoke and into the sunlight. Whenever she jumped around in the middle of the watered lawn, holding my mother's old cloth doll and humming a song, I could see my gray-haired father smile a little, be in a trance for a while, and feel happy for a while in the bright sunlight. It was only at that time that I could fully understand what kind of feeling Mom meant when she said, "Feeling content because I have already gained enough happiness," and I also understood why she insisted that I make the vow of "looking forward" at that time. Especially when I watched my daughter, who had her name, grow up day by day and people started to mention my mother's dazzling and charming demeanor in the past because of her, I felt a kind of resilience and strength belonging to life — those who have waved goodbye will still exist in the memories of those who are alive. The best way to remember them is to carry this memory, look forward, and live well.