Secrets of the Past

Secrets of the Past-Chapter 2

Lily rocketed through the invisible tunnel, being pulled along. When is this going to end? She thought to herself. Surely enough, seconds later, she fell face first on a sidewalk.

Looking up, she noticed several people staring at her. She quickly thought of a lie and turned to the people and said, “Oh, sorry, I must have tripped when I walked off the bus.” She smiled at them, even though most of them still stared, and walked away.

Where the hell am I? She thought quietly to herself, looking at the strange stores around her. Oh no! she just now put two and two together. The Portkey! I must have fell on it! Looking around on the ground in which she fell, she tried to spot the little metal ball. There were too many people moving about on the sidewalk. Too many feet moving about. Lily crawled on her hands and knees trying to find the little ball. She spotted it across the sidewalk in the gutter.

She reached down for it, “Ah ha! I’ve got it!” she held the ball up triumphantly. More people stopped to stare at her. “Oh, er…sorry, I found all the change I lost when I tripped out of the bus.” The people seemed to accept this idea, as they started moving about again.

Well hey, at least I’m not lying too much…she thought to herself, she straightened her jeans and shirt and started walking again.

She was just now getting a good look at her surrounding. There were women wearing weird dresses with gloves and hats, their hair all up in curls. Men walked around, some in suits, others in old-fashioned shirts and pants. Also, all the big old cars were rolling by. But it looked about the same as her Muggle London.

So where am I? She once again asked herself. She remember James saying something about the time traveling Portkey, but he also said that is shouldn’t take you back more than 10 years or so. And this is definitely not ten years ago. She started walking up the road.

Some women looked her way and turned up their noses. She now noticed she was the only female wearing jeans, and not only just the only female, about the only person wearing them too. Apparently jeans weren’t too common around here.

A thought suddenly struck her. Wait, my wand? Where’s my wand? She started patting herself. Ok, don’t panic, don’t panic. No luck, she was panicking. I must have left it on the table at Hogwarts, or dropped it when I touched the ball. She looked around once more. Wait. She walked back to the spot in which she fell, and looked around again. She saw a bit of wood sticking out from behind an old machine outside a barbershop. Ah ha! There it is! She reached for the little piece of wood.

And she almost cried out. It was her wand, yes, but it was also only half of her wand. She looked around for the other piece, but couldn’t find it. The people must have kicked it away before she could get to it.

Lily felt like crying. What was she to do? She was stuck in god knows what time, without a wand, and only a little Muggle money left over from her shopping day before. But wait, she thought to herself again. If this is Muggle London, surely the Leaky Cauldron will be around here somewhere? She got up to put her plan into action.

The streets were almost the same; she could navigate them at least. They all didn’t have the same names, but most of them did. She went past bookstores, clothing shops, and an ice cream parlor, still not finding the pub.

Well, it should be around here somewhere!  She was almost fed up with this. She was looking down, thinking to herself, as she rounded the corner. But of course none of the stores are th—

She walked straight into someone. The baggage he was holding, which was wrapped in a rough brown paper, all fell from his arms and he and Lily went tumbling to the ground.

“Oh! I am so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” She started picking up the man’s packages, hoping he wouldn’t be too mad at her. She just wanted to get home, if there was any possible way.

“No, no, my mistake indeed,” the man said, as Lily looked up. She almost dropped everything she had been holding. The man…the man looks just like James! He smiled at her, as he picked up the rest of his items. “I have been rather clumsy today. My fault, really,” he tried to assure her, but she was still staring openmouthed at him.

“Well, what is it? I don’t have something on my face do I?” he smiled once again.

“No, it’s, it’s just that you remind me of someone, that’s all,” she looked down again, on the verge of tears. She missed James, and wondered what he was doing right now.

“Of who, dear?” he asked her.

“No one, it’s okay,” she sat down on a nearby bench with her head in her hands. She didn’t want to cry in front of this strange man. He was reminding her of James as each minute passed and she really wished he would go away.

But yet, every wish cannot be fulfilled. The man had noticed her crying and sat down next to her. “Shh…it’s ok, it’s not your fault, I ran into you.” He tried to comfort the sobbing woman with no luck. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Lily. Lily Evans,” she still kept her head in her arms.

“Ah, Lily, a pretty name. Mine is Rid—Richards, Terrence Richards,” he looked down at the crying girl wondering if she has heard the hesitation. Apparently she didn’t, as she just kept crying into her arms. “Now dear, I know you still can’t be crying over the fall. What’s wrong?” he asked sincerely.

Man, she really wanted this guy to go away. Suddenly she looked up, an idea in her head. Scare him, she thought.

“What if I told you something?” she asked slyly.

“Told me what?”

“What if I told you I was a witch?”

“A what?” he asked, puzzled.

“A witch,” she said, smiling. Her plan was working, any minute now he would walk away and think she was psycho.

“Well then, I would laugh, then tell you I’m a wizard.”

“Ug!” she dived back into her hand. This guy is completely nuts! Apparently he was just playing along with her, probably trying to make her feel better still.

“You don’t believe me?” he asked.

“Of course I don’t believe you.”

“Well, why not?”

“Why should I?” she threw the question back at him.

“I could show you,” he said softly. He took her hand and walked her to a park around the next block. Lily was still wondering what this man planned on doing; she didn’t want him to make a fool of himself trying to be a wizard!

“What should I show you then?” he asked.

She glanced around. She didn’t want to tell him to do anything too big, in case someone saw him. After all, even though she didn’t know the guy, she didn’t want other people thinking he was as crazy as she thought him.

Lily continued to look around their settings. There was a table under a tree off to her right, a play ground a little further. To her left was a small lake. Behind them, the roaring crowds of Muggles and cars.

Her eyes fell on a heavy stone she was sure no one could pick up without the use of a machine. Making sure no one was watching, she pointed to the stone and said, “I want you to levitate that.”

“Levitate. Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, okay then.” He took a small stick out of his pocket, which Lily assumed was his ‘wand’, pointed it at the stone and said, “Wingardium Leviosa!”

She looked on dumbstruck. The man apparently was a wizard, she could not believe it! He looked at her stunned face and put the stone gently back in place with a movement of his wand. “Satisfied?” She merely nodded in return.

“No way. What school did you go to then?” she asked, still not believing him.

“I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. How about you?”

“What?” she didn’t know what he was asking her.

“What school did you go to? You said you were a witch.”

“Oh…I…uh…went to Hogwarts too.”

“Really? What house were you in then?”

This man is really too nosey. “Gryffindor.”

“Oh…I was in Ravenclaw, I must have seen you there sometime.”

“Yeah, must have,” she replied. She really needed to get away from here.

“Well, why don’t you perform a bit of magic for me, then, Lily. I want to see what you can do.”

“You know, I really should be going—“

“Why?” he stopped her, his hand around her forearm.

“I broke my wand,” Lily said quietly.

“Well, then we’ll go to Diagon Alley together and purchase a new one. Come along, follow me,” he still had hold of her and was leading her back onto the crowded streets.

But how shall I pay for this? I’ve only got a bit of money that could be changed back. Surely it should be enough.

Lily sighed heavily, and reluctantly fell into his pull.

~*~*~*~

“Right, three up, two across…” Richards muttered, and stepped back as Diagon Alley appeared before their eyes. “We’ll go get some money for you at Gringotts then?” he looked back her, but she kept her eyes focused to the ground.

If she looked up, she would have seen a very different Diagon Alley. There was, of course, Ollivander’s, Madam Malkin’s Robe shop, and Flourish and Blotts (except there was a ‘Grand Opening’ sign on it) but there was no Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream shop, or the little stationary store Lily loved to go to.

But she didn’t see all of this. There were numerous wizards and witches eyeing her, probably because of her odd dress style.

“Well, here we are, Gringotts,” Terrence smiled. “Let’s go get you some money.”

She walked in through the double doors, seeing even now how the building still had the white gleam it did in her time. She walked again through the hall, and found herself going to the same desk she went to just yesterday. Strangely enough, there was the same goblin, though perhaps a bit younger.

“Key?” even his voice now had a bit of mockery in it.

“Well, I was just wanted to change some money,” she handed him all the rest of the Muggle money she had changed for the previous day, praying it would be enough.

“One moment please,” he eyed her, sneeringly.

Terrence drummed his fingers on the desk waiting for the goblin to return. He looked impatient. Lily spoke up, “If I am keeping you from something, sir, I beg you, do return to it.” Oh how I beg you return to it.

“Not at all,” he looked towards her. Taking her in, he saw that he had long, red hair, and bright, green eyes. She looked so young, so innocent, so carefree.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Why?” she replied, trying to evade the question.

“I was just wondering, beca—“ she cut him off.

“I’m 19.”

“Oh, ok then,” he looked back down at his fingers, which were still drumming across the wooden desk.

“Well?” she added, impatiently.

“Well what?”

“How old are you?”

“I’m 21.”

“21! No way. I thought you would be much older than that,” she said, before wishing she could take it back. She felt the blush rise to her cheeks as she decided to look at her favorite spot on the floor.

“What can’t you believe about it?” he chuckled softly.

“You just seem—so much older, I don’t know.”

Richards was about to reply, but the goblin announced his return.

“11 galleons, here you are,” he pushed over a little pile of gold coins.

“Thanks,” she muttered before walking back to over to Terrence.

“Ready?” he asked her.

Lily nodded as they set off for Ollivander’s.

~*~*~*~

As they were edging slowly through the crowd in Diagon Alley, Lily saw a familiar snowy white head bobbing through the crowd.

“Dumbledore!” she cried, instantly perking up.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry!” Lily apologized to the old wizard. She completely forgot about what time period she was in. She had never gone to Hogwarts yet. “I went to school in…Beauxbatons! I’ve read all about you though, Headmaster and all, that’s how I know you!”

 “But dear, I’m not a Headmaster. Dear me no,” he chuckled softly to himself. “I am just the Transfiguration teacher.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Lily mentally kicked herself. “Right, I must have confused you with…”

“Armando Dippet.”

“Yeah, Professor Dippet,” she looked down at her shoes once again. “Well, I better being going, Professor. It was nice…er…meeting you.”

“Yes, and you too Miss…?”

“Evans, Lily Evans.”

“Right, Miss Evans,” she looked up and saw his eyes twinkle. “I will see you later, I have no doubt.”

He walked off, leaving her confused in his words, like he was always good at doing to her.

~*~*~*~

She started off walking towards Ollivander’s again, when she realized Terrence was nowhere to be found. She looked around for him, and saw him walking towards her.

“Where did you go?” she asked, wondering why he had left her.

“I dropped a few of my things off at my room in the Leaky Cauldron. I was staying there for a while, but I’m checking out tomorrow,” he eyed the crowd. “You were talking to Dumbledore.”

“Yes, and…?”

“Well, I walked up behind you when you told him you had went to Beauxbatons Academy, but then you told me you went to Hogwarts. How can that be?”

“Well, I…er…I transferred from Hogwarts in my first year to Beauxbatons and Dumbledore really never got the chance to know me.”

“I don’t think that sounds like Dumbledore. He remembers everybody.” Lily was looking down again, but if she had looked up at that moment, she would have seen intense hatred in Terrence’s eyes.

“Well, you know some people. Absent-minded and all. Now let’s go get my new wand,” she laughed as she pulled Richards away towards Ollivander’s.

~*~*~*~

Lily and Terrence walked into the shabby old shop, the last in Diagon Alley. She remembered the place from when she first visited it, exactly the same, except, perhaps, the amount of dust collected on everything isn’t as high as it was when she first went in there.

When they walked in, a bell over the door symbolized their arrival. Lily sat down on the one chair in the middle of the room. Everywhere she looked, there were wands piled high, from the floor to the ceiling.

“Good afternoon,” a soft voice said behind her. Startled, she looked up into the eyes of Mr. Ollivander. “What may I do for you today?”

“I-I-I was looking for a replacement wand, mine seemed to have broke,” she answered, stammering a bit.

“Ah, and where did you get your first wand by chance then Ms…?”

“Evans. Lily Evans.”

“Yes, Ms. Evans.”

“Well, I got it from here.”

“Here you say? I remember every wand I’ve sold, Ms. Evans. And I don’t ever recall your name or wand being on that list.”

“Well, I assure, I must have been,” she murmured quietly. Or at least will be.

“Very well,” he looked at her a bit strangely before continuing. “Can you please describe to me your wand?”

“My wand was ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, and made of willow.”

“Ah very well, very well.” He moved up and down rows of boxes, muttering to himself as he went. Finally, he yelled from the back. “Ah ha! I have it right here.”

He walked back up the long aisle towards Lily, who sat in the chair. “Curious, indeed this is.”

“What’s curious, sir?” Lily spoke up.

“Well, as you know, or should,” he eyed her, “every wand is made for each individual wizard, no two wands are exactly the same as no two witch or wizard is exactly the same. Well, it just so happens there were two of this wand in the back. Now I wonder why that would be…” he trailed off and rang her wand up.

Of course! She exclaimed to herself. That is why the first time I went into Ollivander’s he was eyeing me strangely. He must have remembered this visit from the past!  

She moved towards the cashier until another thought struck her. Wait. If Mr. Ollivander knows, then that means that Dumbledore must have known too! She looked thoughtfully out the window, wondering why Dumbledore had never told her. Mysterious man, he is.

“That will be 9 galleons and 3 sickles, please,” Mr. Ollivander said, snapping her out of her daydream.

She pushed 10 galleons across the counter, then received her change and wand in a box. She moved towards Richards and the door when suddenly she heard a whisper in her ear, “I believe we shall meet again,” and then he drew off.

~*~*~*~

“What’s wrong with you? You seem preoccupied,” Terrence was walking her away from the wand shop and back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said firmly, hoping to draw him away from the subject.

“Lily…” he stepped in front of her, blocking her movement. “I want to know what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, and tried to move past him.

“Yes, I think you do. You’ve lied to me twice already, and to Dumbledore too. Why did you tell me you went to Hogwarts, if you went to Beauxbatons?”

“I-I…”

“And I know Dumbledore would have remembered you,” he spat the name bitterly.

“Terrence, I can’t, you wouldn’t believe me…”

“Try me,” he said, holding her in place.

Suddenly, she felt very exhausted. All the emotions she kept to carefully hidden swarmed up of her all at once. She began to cry and she leaned into Richards’s chest. Looking down on the once again crying woman, he put his hand around her awkwardly in a friendly hug.

“Shh…it’s ok. Shh…” he tried to comfort her, but the tears just seemed to be coming stronger.

So much like James! Lily sobbed in her mind. Why can’t I get out of here! I want to go home. Then of course, she remembered. The Portkey! If it’s a Portkey, it can take me back to modern time, right?

She fumbled inside her pocket for the small ball, still wrapped in Terrence’s arms. Finding it she held it in her hands waiting at any moment to feel the familiar hook behind her naval. She held it for a while, then sighing put it back down. Of course, it has to recharge. Finally, the tears subside, clearing her vision to look into Richard’s face.

“Why don’t you come up to my room with me? We can talk things over in there before I start packing.” He took her hand, and reluctantly, she followed him into the noisy pub.