Lily Evans and the Lefay Torc

Lily Evans and the Lefay Torc
by ErtheChilde

"There are very few people who could claim ownership over this particular item. I am sure once you have a moment to examine it, you will realize why you are one of them and why it is of the utmost importance that you accept that."

- CHAPTER FIVE - Goblins and Gits

Over the next few days, Lily recovered slowly, despite Severus nipping out every so often to sneak herbs and strengthening potions from his house, and the doctor - "The Muggle Quack," as Severus referred to him contemptuously - attributed her weak health to severe exhaustion.

"It's a known fact that redheaded people are weaker in constitution," the man harrumphed impressively as he put away his instruments a week after the fateful tumble into the river. "Given to consumption if not worse. I wouldn't be surprised if she's always weak after this."

However, contrary to his words, a fortnight after his visit, Lily took a turn for the better and continued to improve steadily, so that by spring holiday in mid-February, she was back to her usual cheerful self.

Severus had become a more accepted guest in the Evans household since dragging Lily home, although Petunia continued to go out of her way to make him feel as unwelcome as she possibly could, loudly talking about skin diseases and glandular problems she had learned about in biology class that might account for Severus regrettable looks. She continued to try to eavesdrop on Lily's and Severus's conversations about Hogwarts, which made Severus all the more eager to escape the Evans house once the weather had warmed and they could go outside. Lily was more than willing to return to the fresh air; however, despite her full recovery, she developed a deep aversion to the cold and was always bundled up in as many layers as possible.

She borrowed Hermod one day to notify Hogwarts that she would be attending, but would require financial help to pay for it - not a week later, a letter arrived informing her that arrangements were being made at a bank called Gringotts with regards to helping her pay for her education. Initially, she was worried that her parents still wouldn't be able to pay for her, but Severus, who was also taking advantage of the school fund, assured her that there was more gold in Gringotts than even existed in the Muggle world.

The rest of the school year passed in a blur, with Lily paying only half as much attention as she should have - which resulted in rather abysmal marks in all of her subjects by the end of the term; she was too preoccupied waiting for school to let out, so that she and Severus could sneak off to the thicket. Mindy Peters and her friends avoided them completely now, ever since Mr. Evans had marched down to Spinner's End to chew them and their parents out about their involvement in the near drowning. Sunny afternoons were spent pouring over whatever book Severus had managed to smuggle out of his house. Most often they were Potions books, as Severus insisted they were the least likely to be noticed missing in his house, and many an afternoon was spent with the two of them quizzing each other on various properties or ingredients. To Lily, it was no different from learning to cook, which her mother had said that she had a talent for, and while she was open to learning new things, she flatly refused to even look through a book Severus brought one day which showed a stylized drawing of a snarling man-beast on the cover.

"Learning Potions and Charms incantations, that's one thing," she told a disappointed Severus, "but I don't want to learn how to curse anyone. You know my temper - what if it slipped out accidentally when I was angry at someone?"

"It'd be a good laugh," Severus told her in his dry humour, and she frowned at him. His expression changed to a slightly guilty one. "I'm joking." When she raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, I'll put it back." Upon returning, he said moodily, "It's just as well. We should go through Forgetfulness Potions again - you keep mixing up echinacea and ephedra, though I don't understand why..."

"You ought to be a teacher one day," Lily told him admiringly. "You know so much."

Dull colour flashed across Severus cheeks. "Yeah, sure. Who in their right mind would make me a teacher?"

"Someone who wants their students to actually learn something and not sit in class all day with their tongues lolling out waiting for recess," Lily retorted. "I think Mr. Grover could learn a thing or two from you."

"Before or after he uses me as an example of someone not going anywhere in life?" Severus hedged, but still seemed pleased by the praise.

Lily had been marking off the calendar since her disastrous birthday, counting down the days left of school until summer vacation, when her mother had promised they would make a trip to Diagon Alley. Between Petunia's scoffing and Severus' excited attempts to tell her what he had already seen there, Lily had worked herself into a bit of a frenzy by the time of the last Sunday in July.

Early in the morning, Lily and Severus squeezed into the back of Lily's parents' old Ford Thames - Petunia flatly refused to come, insisting that she had been asked by Mrs. Roberts next door to mind the children for the afternoon - and the four of them set off on the drive to London. The drive lasted several awkward hours, punctuated by Lily's parents trying to ask questions about what they were about to see, and Severus giving moody, one-syllable answers that made Lily want to kick him. She knew that he didn't relish the idea of having to cart her parents through Diagon Alley with them, but as Lily pointed out, how else were they supposed to get her there? Severus' mother had given him a small amount of money which had been miserly counted out to cover only a lunch in the town and nothing more. It would have been impossible for him to get to Diagon Alley without Lily's parents offering to bring him along.

They arrived in the city around ten o'clock, and while her father looked for parking for the day, Lily and Severus consulted the map from her acceptance letter and a regular Muggle map, comparing the streets and pathways until they managed to make them coincide.

"Yeah, that's the way we went," Severus said, pointing out the most direct route toward Charing Cross Road, and once Mr. Evans met up with them, they set off.

They passed book stands and record stores, corner stores and diners, but nowhere that Lily really expected to find anything to do with magic. Ordinary people walked to and fro, occasionally bumping into the family without even an apology ("Hmph, townies," her father groused.), and downtown London looked so far removed from anything that Severus had told her about Diagon Alley, that Lily felt a mounting disappointment.

"That's it, there," Severus said, coming to a sudden halt. He pointed down a destitute alley way which opened on another, dodgier looking street. "The Leaky Cauldron."

Her parents didn't see it, and protested when Severus took off down the alley, followed after a brief hesitance by Lily. When they came to the parallel street, Lily thought for a moment that Severus was simply playing a joke on her and her family. She didn't see anything.

And then she blinked, and all of a sudden she noticed it.

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub wedged between a big book shop and record store, looking as though it had been crumbling for decades. Lily's parents arrived beside her, slightly out of breath, and rather annoyed.

"See here, young man, you can't just go running off in the middle of the big city," Mr. Evans lectured. "Your parents trust us to keep you out of trouble while you're here, so you'll mind us."

Severus looked as though he had more doubts about Lily's parents' ability to take care of him than about his own parents wanting him to stay out of trouble, but at a meaningful glare from Lily, he swallowed whatever unpleasant thing he was about to say and replied coolly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Evans, but you wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't pointed it out."

"Seen what?" Mrs. Evans wanted to know, looking over Lily's head. Her eyes slid from the book shop to the record store. "Is it behind those stores?"

"Between," Lily piped up, before Severus could make a cutting remark. 'Honestly, he's being a total pillock today.'

She pointed. "See between them?"

It was several minutes of staring, in which Lily was sure her parents were about to burst a blood vessel, before they saw it, and once they did, they exclaimed loudly about how they couldn't believe they had missed it.

"Not exactly inconspicuous next to the newer buildings, is it?" Mr. Evans boomed jovially. "Though, you'd think wizards could afford better upkeep, don't you think?"

"Quite." Mrs. Evans nodded. "Why on earth would they sell books and magic inside a pub? It's not very proper, is it?"

"Let's just go inside," Severus muttered quietly, and the four of them crossed the street.

The interior of the pub was worse than its facade, if possible. It was dark and shabby, and smelled of tobacco and sulphur and something else that Lily couldn't quite identify. A few older men were sitting in a corner, whispering excitedly over what looked like a newspaper - and was it Lily's imagination, or were the pictures moving? - while an old woman who resembled Lily's grandmother except for the shocking purple cloak and the hookah pipe she was smoking sat at the bar, talking to a middle-aged, balding bartender. The noise inside the bar ceased the moment that they walked in.

"Can I help you?" the barman asked, slowly reaching for a glass to wipe and eyeing them suspiciously. Lily noticed that the very air in the place was suddenly extremely tense.

"We need to buy our Hogwarts supplies," Severus said loudly, with a confidence he wasn't usually prone to. Lily wondered if she was the only one to hear the pride in his voice.

Immediately, the tension eased, but did not dissipate, and the bartender smiled, revealing several missing teeth.

"Of course, of course," he said cheerfully. "Come right along - sorry for the rudeness, sirs and misses - can't be too careful these days. Follow me, follow me..."

He hobbled out from behind the bar, motioning for the Evanses and Severus to follow. Severus went after him immediately, but Lily paused slightly, waiting for her parents to follow. The older men in the corner watched them go, and Lily heard a whisper and then an unpleasant laugh from one of them. The barkeeper led them through a narrow corridor that opened into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing by a dustbin and some weeds creeping up the cobbles.

"Always remember, it's three up and two across," the barkeeper explained, and before Mr. and Mrs. Evans could ask what that meant, he had taken out a gnarled, knobbly looking wand and tapped the wall three times.

The brick he had touched wiggled and trembled, and began to fold out on itself, a small hole appearing in the middle. It grew wider and wider, until seconds later an enormous archway had formed, big enough that even a locomotive could have fit through it. But it was what lay beyond the arch which had Lily and her parents gasping with amazement and Severus smirking smugly.

The cobbled street twisted and turned out of sight, making Lily dizzy, but she refused to look away, almost completely sure that it just went on and on with no end. Whatever infinitesimally small amount of doubt she had retained about Hogwarts being real was forever shattered as they walked tentatively into the sunlit alley ("Wasn't it overcast on the other side?" Mrs. Evans whispered nervously to her husband, who seemed too awed to answer her.).

"Don't worry about getting back," the barkeeper told them before the brick wall closed up in front of him. "Just knock when you need to get through and we'll hear you." He grinned at Lily and Severus. "Of course, if you're getting your wands today, you'll be able to get out yourselves, eh?"

The four of them were silent in wonder as they surveyed the day's activities, and even Severus took a moment to appreciate it. The occupants of the Alley did not spare a glance towards the newcomers that had appeared from the wall, and acted as though it were a regular occurrence - which, Lily surmised, it probably was. The sun was bright and shining cheerfully on stacks and stacks of cauldrons outside Potage's Cauldron Shop, and another edifice called TerrorTours had a large painted billboard out front, advertising cruises to the Bermuda Triangle, which was several stores over from Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions. There were a decent amount of street peddlers who had set up stalls between the shops along the main thoroughfare, selling a variety of items from flowers and roasted chestnuts, to charms to ward off evil and potions to cure any ailment.

"Dragon scales! Ten Sickles a pound!" a sales wizard called above a crowd of people, waving a bag of his merchandise around.

" - You're dreaming!" a bulky teenage girl shouted at a boy the same age where they stood in front of shop called Quality Quidditch Supplies. "The Holyhead Harpies will definitely make it to the finals this year, they've got Gwendolyn Morgan."

"That old hag should have retired after the Harrier's game in '53," her friend shot back dismissively. "I'm surprised she can even hold onto a broom any more - you'll see, the Tutshill Tornados will crush them."

"Why would I pay good Galleons for a cheap imitation Amulet of Horus, when I can charm up a warding spell in a blink?" an aged witch demanded of one of the peddlers, who offered to cut the price in half, thereby gaining the sale.

There were shops selling robes, shops selling various instruments that looked too fragile to do much but look nice, telescopes and quills, windows stacked with barrels of creature parts, or at least that's what Lily thought they were, piles of spell books and potions books that looked as though they were being held up by magic to keep them from littering the floor, parchments and ink wells, revolving globes that were so accurate it must have been like holding the universe in the palm of the hand...

"We should probably, er, see to the monetary side of things," Mr. Evans finally managed as they watched a short, stocky young witch in her early twenties pay for something with a gold coin the size of a hubcap; a baby with the same violently red hair that she had reached toward the pocket of her shabby robes, trying to grab a hold of her wand.

"Then we've got to go to Gringotts," Severus said importantly as he steered the Evanses toward a large, white marble building in the middle of the street that dominated the entire alleyway.

"That's the bank, then?" Mr. Evans asked as they reached the white marble steps of the place. He jumped suddenly, startled. "Good lord - what's that?"

'That' proved to be a strange, dark-skinned creature with slanted eyes, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet who was standing beside the burnished bronze entranceway, wearing a scarlet and gold uniform.

"That's a goblin," Severus said offhand, "and according to the books I've read, they don't like to be stared at by humans."

The Evanses moved up the stairs and shuffled through the door that the greeting goblin held open for them, and Lily imagined that its beady black eyes followed her as it bowed them inside, where a pair of uniformed goblins waited by a second pair of doors, these made of silver, that had words engraved on them. Her parents insisted on stopping to read them, and even Lily shivered as the message glinted warningly:

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.

"Mother told me they keep dragons," Severus whispered to Lily as they slipped through the doors and found themselves in a magnificent marble hall. Inside, there were hundreds more goblins sitting on high stools behind a long, teller counter. Some of them sported pointed beards of a similar style to the one outside the building, while others wore pointed hats. All of them were dressed in finely tailored clothing, busying themselves with the day to day affairs - weighing coins and gems in large brass scales, writing in large ledgers, examining coins through eyeglasses. On every side of the hall, countless doorways led off the hallway, with even more goblins leading people in and out.

The Evanses and Severus stood in line for a few minutes before a counter became free, and Severus went straight up to the goblin working there, and although he could barely see over the counter, he said, "My name is Severus Snape, and this is Lily Evans. We were told that there was money set aside for us from Hogwarts."

The goblin gave Severus a bored look.

"You have your letter, sir?"

"Letter?" Severus echoed blankly.

"Your letters from Hogwarts," the goblin answered patiently, his tone suggesting that he was talking to a very young, stupid child. "They're the only identification you have right now. No letters, no gold."

Lily and Severus exchanged glances; luckily both of them had thought to bring their acceptance letters with them. They brought them out, and the goblin looked at both of the pieces of parchment closely, and Lily knew in an instant that somehow, the creature could detect forgeries on sight. She shuddered to think what might have happened if their letters were forgeries...

"These seem to be in order," the goblin murmured, pushing them back over to Lily and Severus, who pocketed them. He continued on in his rather uninterested voice. "The school has set aside five hundred Galleons for each of you to put towards your first year. Each year that you require the school trust to pay your tuition, that amount will be added to your credit. Upon graduation of Hogwarts or in the event that you no longer require the trust to pay for your schooling, Gringotts will begin to charge interest until you have paid off your debt. Understand?" Lily and Severus nodded, while Mr. Evans looked as though he would like to say something but wasn't sure how to broach the subject with the odd looking creature.

The goblin slid two large sheets of parchment over, which had been written on in black embossed calligraphy, and indicated with his quill at a line all the way at the end. "By signing these contracts, you enter into a binding agreement with Gringotts, and acknowledge the laws and penalties of that same body. Only after you sign will we be able to complete the opening of your accounts."

Severus signed his name right away, and after a moment's hesitation where she looked to her parents for their approval, Lily did as well. She had barely finished the 's' of her surname, when the goblin whisked the parchments away and held out two small gold keys to Lily and Severus.

"These are the only keys that will open your vaults," the goblin told them. "It's a rather...painful...process to replace a lost key, so my suggestion is to keep these safe." He handed Severus his first, and then Lily's. This time she was sure that the goblin was looking at her strangely, his eyes raking over her as thoroughly as he had looked at her letter to make sure it was genuine. There was a split instant when she thought he had nodded to her, as though he was sharing a secret with her, and then said, "We look with interest to your future -" with a pause Lily felt she was the only one to notice, " - as our esteemed customers."

The goblin now straightened up, and cleared his throat. "I will have someone take you down to both of your vaults -"

"Hold on," Mr. Evans finally spoke up, and gently moved past Lily. "Thanks for all your help, Mister - er -?"

"You may call me Master Bloodgale," the goblin said smoothly, and Severus looked angry, like he wanted to say something to the goblin, but then remembered something and fell silent, adopting a resigned expression. Lily opened her mouth to ask, and then remembered from the many readings of some of Severus' mother's wizarding history books that goblins believed themselves above human beings. This one was clearly amused by her father's blunder.

"Well, Master Bloodgale," her father said before she could stop him, "again, thank you for your help - would it be possible to change some of our money for your 'gallons' or whatever they're called? You can add them to Lily's vault."

"Of course." The goblin smirked, and his eyes fell on Lily again. "You're Muggle-borns, then?"

"I am," Lily said with more confidence than she felt, and added, "but Severus is half -"

"What difference does it make what we are if our money's good?" Severus interrupted, looking livid about something.

"Quite right," Bloodgale allowed, but the way he kept looking at Lily, like he found something rather funny, made her edgy.

Her parents quickly exchanged fifty pounds, which Bloodgale told them would already have been added to Lily's vault by the time she got there. Then he called for another goblin, called Boneflint, to bring them to their vaults.

"No Muggles," the new goblin informed her parents, holding up a hand. "Bank policy."

Mrs. Evans opened her mouth to argue, probably about how she had no intention of leaving her daughter in the care of goblins of all things, but Bloodgale had appeared beside them and gestured them to follow him. "You may wait in the waiting room. I assure you, it's even more splendid than the hall..."

That was the last she saw of her parents before the door Boneflint held open for them was closed. Lily started at the darkness after the brightness of the white marble, but all the same, followed Severus and the goblin through a narrow stone passage that was lit with flaming torches. It sloped abruptly downwards, and in the torchlight Lily could make out little railway tracks on the floor.

"Is there a train that can fit down here?" Lily asked stupidly, but Severus shrugged.

"I've never been down here," he told her. "Mother didn't bring me with her the last time we were here. I had to sit in the waiting area." He said this as though it was something to be ashamed of, and Lily wondered if her parents had been slighted somehow.

A small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them, and with the goblin's urging, they climbed in. There was a jerk, and they were off.

Lily's eyes and cheeks stung as the cold air blew past them, but she was too amazed at the underground world that surrounded her to close them. They hurtled through a maze of twisting passages and enormous monoliths that had tunnels and tracks built right through them. Stalagmites and stalactites emerged from the floor and ceiling of the caves, making the entire cavern seem like a giant, fang-filled mouth.

At last the car stopped before a small door in the passage, and Boneflint turned to Lily. "Key, miss."

She passed it to him, and he unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared Lily couldn't help but gasp at the neat mounds of gold, silver and bronze that were there. The vault was nowhere close to being filled, but Lily had never seen that much money in one place before.

'And it's all mine,' she thought with amazement, starting toward it, and then pausing. She glanced at Severus, who seemed as transfixed by the wizarding money as she was. "How much of it should I take, do you reckon? Not all of it..."

"I'd say half," he told her. "I mean...you can always come back later if you really need more. But we should be able to get by in the second-hand shops and still have some left over."

Lily nodded, and took the bag which Boneflint offered her, scooping a little more than half of her money into it.

The journey to Severus's compartment took a little longer, but soon he too had his pockets laden with gold and they returned to the blinking brightness of the main hall and Lily's parents.

"Where to first?" Mr. Evans asked once they were outside Gringotts.

"What's first on the list?" Mrs. Evans suggested, and Lily pulled out the second piece of paper in her package of parchment:

'HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Uniform:
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags at the hem and inner sleeve of each article of clothing.

Set Books:
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
Defeating the Dark by Geraint Grigglesmere

Other Equipment:
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS'

"Uniform it is then," Mrs. Evans decided.

The four of them wandered down the alley, searching through the hubbub for a place that sold robes. They passed one shop, Twilfitt and Tatting's, which was displaying robes so ostentatious that even someone unfamiliar with wizarding styles knew that the robes in there would be too expensive. Severus pointed out a second-hand robe shop a little further down and they headed towards it, but Mrs. Evans took one look at the shabby robes on display, and one look at Lily, and suggested in a loud voice they might want to try somewhere else first. Lily and Severus both blushed, Lily because she wished her mother had been a little more subtle, and Severus because he knew he couldn't afford better than the second hand robes.

Mr. Evans broke the tension.

"How about you ladies wander up and see if you can't find anything that suits your fancy? We'll have a look around in here." He winked conspiratorially at Severus. "Men don't need all those extra bobbles and finery, right Sev?"

Severus nodded stiffly, and after saying they would meet up within the hour, Lily and her mother went in one direction, and Severus (looking rather put out) followed her father into the second-hand robe shop.

"I'm sorry that wasn't better put," Mrs. Evans told Lily with a sigh as they continued on for a few more minutes, "but wizard school or not, no daughter of mine is going out in public looking like a slattern. I'd have offered to buy Severus' robes too -"

"He wouldn't take them," Lily supplied quickly. "It's not that he doesn't like you, Mummy -" Lily still had some reservations on what exactly Severus did think of her family, "- he just doesn't like to be reminded about...well, about how things are at his house."

They stopped in front of a third shop for robes, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and Mrs. Evans breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, this at least looks better. Shall we, dear?"

They went inside together.

Madam Malkin turned out to be a squat little witch with taffy hair that was slowly turning grey, and dressed in an elegant lavender robe. "Hogwarts?" she asked with a kind smile. "Or perhaps you're looking for our dress robe collection?"

"Hogwarts," Mrs. Evans confirmed.

"Right this way," Madam Malkin said cheerfully. "We've already had at least twenty in today to get fitted. Only one left at the moment, but he's nearly done. We can start on you right away."

In the back of the shop, a small skinny boy with loads of messy black hair and hazel eyes that peeked out through round glasses was standing on a footstool while an older witch with sleek greying black hair, dainty spectacles and brown eyes, who could only be related to him, considered his long black robes.

"I think we'll have to go up another size, Greta," the woman sighed as Madam Malkin stood Lily on a stool next to the boy. "He might take after his father and not grow for another year or so - or he'll shoot up like a weed. I'd rather not have an owl three months from now, demanding new robes because he's bent over and split them up his backside."

"Mum!" the boy groaned, his eyes flitting to Lily and her mother.

"Well, you know where they are, Eireann," Madam Malkin replied jovially as she slipped a long robe over Lily's head and began to pin it to the right length. "Merlin knows but you're in here enough to make sure your designs are displayed exactly right."

"It's called merchandizing," the woman retorted wittily. "I believe it's a Muggle concept. And besides, you keep moving everything around in here - how am I supposed to find anything?"

"Oh, very well," Madam Malkin granted, and turned to Lily. "I'll be a moment, luv - and don't you touch anything, James Potter, or I'll know it!"

She disappeared into the front of the shop.

Lily's mother made a face. "Maybe I should go ask her to bring a larger size for you too. Your sister also went through a growth spurt just before she turned twelve. You might need an extra set."

She followed the two witches out. Lily and the boy regarded each other.

"So you're going to Hogwarts too?" he asked, although from the bored way he said it, he already knew the answer and was just trying to fill the silence.

"Yes," Lily said.

"I wish they'd leave off this uniform nonsense," he commented, more to himself than her and examined his half-pinned robe with a frown. "There's no point to it, really. The only thing that matters is the wand and the broom. Everything else is negotiable, I think."

"First years aren't allowed brooms," Lily said for lack of anything else to say, and felt immediately annoyed by this.

"Another stupid rule," James said dismissively. "I'm still going to bully Dad into getting me a racing broom. How else am I supposed to practice for Quidditch try-outs? I think it's a crime that first years never get picked to play for the house teams." He looked her over again, and Lily had the distinct feeling that she was being judged. "What's your team?"

"My what?"

"Your Quidditch team." He said it slowly, patiently, like she was somehow deficient.

"What's Quidditch?"

"What's Quiddi - are you taking the mickey?"

"No," Lily replied.

His look of disbelief morphed into one of sudden understanding. "Ah...you're Muggle-born." He looked her up and down again, as though really seeing her for the first time. "You are, aren't you? I've never met one of your kind before."

The way he said 'your kind' put her on the defensive.

"My parents are Muggles, if that's what you mean," she told him coldly. "And my friend Severus says there's nothing wrong with that."

"'Course there's not." He shrugged, and went back to considering himself in the mirror. He reached up and ruffled his shaggy black hair, and smirked at his reflection. "If I were you, though, I'd find out about Quidditch before you come to Hogwarts. It's not exactly the time for people like you to be ignorant about such important things, if you know what I'm saying?"

No, Lily didn't know what he was saying, but before she could point this out, Madam Malkin had returned and Mrs. Evans and the boy's mother, both of whom carried robes, were chatting animatedly with one another. The rest of the fitting passed awkwardly, as Lily avoided speaking to the arrogant boy, while their mothers chatted gaily with Madam Malkin as they presided over the alterations. James and his mother left several minutes before Lily and her mother, and she was thankful that neither of them looked back.

"Well, she certainly seemed friendly," Mrs. Evans said as they left the shop twenty minutes later. "Rather old to have a son that age, though, don't you think?"

Lily shrugged sullenly, still feeling annoyed at the boy's implications.

They met up with Mr. Evans and an uncomfortable looking Severus, who carried some bags from the second-hand robe shop. He fell in with Lily and while they wandered toward the second-hand book store, and she told him what the boy in Madam Malkin's had said.

"He was right to say Quidditch is a big part of the wizarding world," Severus said thoughtfully, "but it's not as important as he made it out to be. He's probably some brainless twit whose only ambition is riding around on a racing broomstick for the sake of showing off. Probably doesn't even have any talent."

Lily felt a little better after that.

They stopped for ice cream at Florean Fortescue's - Mr. Evans paid for Severus, despite the latter's protests - and then they continued on to the store which Lily had been waiting to visit since waking up that morning. She and Severus paused outside of Ollivanders, mouthing the words Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C..

"Dear me, there's been magic that long?" Mrs. Evans wondered.

For the first time, Lily felt a little uncomfortable with her parents in tow, and the knowledge that they were very much outsiders in this little world. Severus noticed her discomfort.

"Maybe we should go in alone," he suggested. "I've read that wands can be temperamental, and if the conditions aren't just right, we might end up with a dud. The less people in there, the better."

"I suppose," Lily said, agreeing with him, but at the same time not wanting to offend her parents. She looked at them out of the corner of her eyes. "I mean...if that's alright with you?"

"Of course," her father boomed heartily, ignoring the obvious misgivings on his wife's face. "I wanted to take a look at that joke shop a ways down. Here, we'll take those bags for you - meet you in half an hour?"

"If it only takes that long," Severus replied, pushing Lily into the store before she could change her mind and invite her parents along.

The shop was small, with almost no room to stand in the entranceway. It was as quiet as a library and there were thousands of narrow boxes piled on top of each other up to the ceiling. The entire place was lined with dust and a spider could be seen spinning a web in the window display.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice interrupted the silence, and Lily jumped. A man with pale eyes and greying hair stood beyond the counter, looking at Lily and Severus thoughtfully. "I am Mr. Ollivander. You are here for your wands." He was very direct, and to the point, but his curious blue eyes gave him an air of uncertainty. Lily and Severus barely had time to exchange glances, before he waved them forward. "Come on, right this way. The lady first - hold out your wand arm."

"My what?"

"Are you right handed or left-handed?"

"Right," Lily replied in bewilderment.

The old man pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings from his robes and began to measure her from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. All his movements were making her dizzy and Lily had the urge to ask him if what he was doing was quite necessary.

"The wand chooses the wizard - or witch, as it would be in your case," the man told them as the tape did its work. "Every Ollivander wand is made from the finest cuts of wood species and fitted with a powerful magical substance at its core, the product of which is a wand which will become as another appendage to you. Unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and heartstrings of dragons - these are quality cores - we do not offer temperamental wand cores like some of our competitors."

She was barely listening, not since she had noticed the tape measure stop measuring and pop back into Mr. Ollivander's pockets as the man climbed up a small ladder to remove a box from one of the many shelves.

"No two Ollivander wands are the same, you see? Just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same - just as every wizard has its own personality. It is why you will never have such good results with another's wand, and why one must be careful..." He was in front of Lily again, looking deeply into her eyes as he held out a long thin box, the top removed to reveal the thin wand within. "Especially in these times of great danger."

Lily blinked, wrenching her eyes from the wand as her ears caught the word 'danger'. Before she could ask what he meant, he thrust the wand into her hands. She stared at the wand in confusion, trying to get a good grip on it.

"Well, give it a wave," he said impatiently. "Oak and unicorn hair. Eight-and-a-half inches. Smooth."

Before she could though, he had taken the wand and given her another.

"Ebony and dragon heart string, eleven inches," he stated. She moved her arm to wave the wand, and seconds later it was wrenched from her hands and replaced.

"Birch bark and phoenix tail feather," he told her. "Fourteen inches, pliable."

Yet again it was torn from her hands and replaced. The process repeated until she managed to forcefully grab hold of a wand and give it a wave. There was a snap and a bunch of flowers streamed from the tip of the wand.

"Good, good." The man nodded, looking impressed and rather pleased. "Ten and a quarter inches long; swishy, made of willow and the core is unicorn hair. You will do well in Charms, Miss..."

"Evans," Lily answered.

"Miss Evans," the man echoed thoughtfully. He turned abruptly and furrowed his brow at Severus. "You - you look familiar to me. You're Eileen Prince's boy, aren't you?"

Severus looked surprised, as though he wasn't sure if he should be pleased at the recognition or embarrassed. "Yes, sir."

"Hawthorne and dragon heartstring, nine inches, rigid," Mr. Ollivander rattled off, "not especially good for offensive spells, but rather good for defence, as I recall...yes, yes...let's try this one then -" He slid across the shelves on the rolling ladder and grabbed hold of a box. "Holly and dragon heartstring, twelve inches - that dragon was the same as your mother's you know - no? Not the right fit? Well, let's try another..."

The process continued for some time until Severus grabbed hold of one wand and a shower of silver rain burst from its tip.

"Birch, thirteen inches exactly," Mr. Ollivander pronounced with a nod. "Unyielding. The core is phoenix feather - those with phoenix feathers tend to be talented when it comes to the Dark Arts." Ollivander said to Severus. There was a warning in his eyes, which only softened slightly as he added, "Both in defending themselves and others from it, as well as performing it. Take care of it, young man."

Severus swallowed heavily.

They left the shop together after paying eleven Sickles and eight Knuts each, and once again met up with Lily's parents, who suggested they take a break for lunch. They returned to the Leaky Cauldron, where they examined their purchases while the barkeeper served them homemade stew and biscuits, and then returned to the alley for the rest of their shopping. They bought their supplies in the various second-hand shops, although Potage's Cauldron Shop was so reasonably priced that they both walked out with quality cauldrons. Soon Lily was toting around not only her brand new set of robes and her wand, but a collapsible brass telescope, well-balanced scales to weigh ingredients in and a large package of quills and ink. They visited the Apothecary for a supply of basic potion ingredients, although when Mr. and Mrs. Evans weren't looking, Severus added some dubious looking items to his pile and sent Lily a conspiratorial wink as he paid for them. She figured they were probably for one of the potions they had been studying together, and if she hadn't been just as guilty of wanting to get started on potion-making, she would have scolded him for not sticking to his school list.

They had less luck at Obscurus Books, which only stocked some of their schoolbooks.

"These last three you'll have to get at Flourish and Blotts," the wizard proprietor told them regretfully, passing back their school lists and the items he had been able to find. Severus had only bought one book, uncomfortably explaining that his mother had all of the rest from her school days. "They're new titles, and the only copies we had in, we sold two weeks ago."

And so they trekked back up the alley to the largest bookshop in Diagon Alley, which seemed to be in the middle of a vortex of people blustering in and out. There were so many people clamouring for certain books, that Lily and Severus hung back for a moment with Lily's parents, just watching all the activity with appreciation.

A harried wizard noticed them, and hurried over. "Hogwarts then?"

"Yes," Lily said, showing her list. "Just these last three, though."

"For both of us," Severus spoke up, and the wizard nodded distractedly.

"Just wait somewhere off to the side while I navigate this." He gestured to the frenzied activity and went off, muttering to himself. "Serves me right to set the Celestina Warbeck biography out on a weekend..."

Severus dodged a pale, pointed faced teenager marching past him with a pile of brand new books and made a face at Lily. "I think we might be safer if we stick to the walls."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, turning to tell her parents, but noticed that they were amusedly examining an illustrated copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She grinned at Severus. "I guess I'll leave them to it, then. I think they might be more amazed by what's in here than we are."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Severus replied, eyeing Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian. "I'm getting this."

"No you're not," Lily told him, hands on her hips. "You haven't got a wand two hours and you're already trying to get it taken away from you?"

"It's not bad stuff," Severus argued. "Look - see, it says counter-curses. That's to defend yourself in case someone decides to take a sudden dislike to you. It'd be useful."

"You haven't got enough money for it," Lily retorted smartly. "You've got schoolbooks to buy, and those are more important."

"I guess," Severus allowed, tearing his eyes away from the book, "but I could always see if the other place had it."

"Severus!"

"Alright, alright..."

"Let's go stand over there," Lily suggested, wanting to change the subject. "I suppose if we stay by the stairs we'll be easy to find?"

"Yeah, okay."

They pushed their way over to the stairs, but upon reaching them, Lily almost walked straight into Severus when he stopped without warning.

"Sev, what are you - ?"

But then she too saw what Severus was looking at, and found herself momentarily speechless.

A girl their age stood at the foot of the staircase, her shoulders hunched and her gaze firmly focused on the floor in front of her as though she wanted nothing more than to shrink into the shelves and books surrounding her, something Lily was sure would be impossible, because the girl in question was one of the prettiest girls Lily had ever seen. She looked like the child models in Lily's mother's clothing catalogues - she was tall, with waist-length silvery blond hair, full pink lips and dainty hands which were currently clutching her expensive looking robes like they were a lifeline.

Blinking with effort, Lily was slowly able to see past the girl's looks and notice that she seemed absolutely miserable.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked tentatively, pushing past Severus who still seemed slightly shell-shocked. The girl looked up in surprise at being addressed. Lily was startled again, this time by the clear quality of the girl's grey eyes. "You don't look very well."

"I'm fine," the girl replied, in a voice that sounded like music despite the clipped, precise enunciation. "I just...I don't like crowds."

"Then go outside," Severus told her, recovered now and looking at the girl as though he was angry at her for something.

"I can't," she murmured quietly, looking back down at her feet. "My brother told me to wait while he got my books. He'll be angry if he has to go chasing after me."

"Chasing? You'll only be outside," Lily pointed out, but when the girl vigorously shook her head, Lily looked around and noticed that she and Severus weren't the only ones who had been held spellbound by the girl. There was an almost complete circle of passersby who stared at her, whispering and pointing. While most of the looks were awed, some of them seemed almost cruel. Lily frowned. "Does your brother know how you feel about crowds?"

The girl shrugged, looking miserable, and despite the indefinable air of having been cared for and pampered, Lily felt sure that this girl was just as lonely and miserable as Severus had been before she had befriended him.

"I'm Lily," she announced, coming over to stand with the girl. "This is Severus. Are you starting Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," the girl said shyly.

Lily sent Severus a meaningfully look, and he stiffly wandered over to join them.

"Have you got the rest of your things yet? Sev and I only just got our wands - I'm not sure if I like Mr. Ollivander, though. He's a bit...off?"

The girl didn't get a chance to reply, because the pointed faced teenager that had nearly knocked over Severus suddenly appeared, bags in hand, looking down his nose at the three of them.

"Really, Persephone, I leave you alone five minutes and you to attract the two most unfortunate looking brats here," he drawled. "I'd say I was surprised at the company you keep, but I'd be lying. It's expected by now, I think."

The girl turned pink and muttered something under her breath, and shuffled over to follow him. Severus glared at the teenager, which was more than Lily could manage, because she was too angry to speak. The teenager looked like he wanted to say something else, but then decided not to, instead simply allowing his eyes to rove judgmentally over Severus' greasy hair and Lily's second hand books, before shoving Persephone out of the store. "I should tell Father about your low tastes - of course, when you consider your mother, it explains so much..."

"What a git!" Lily managed at last, several minutes after the two left. "Did you see the way he was bullying her? And what was his problem?"

"No idea," Severus replied angrily, although a glint in his eyes made Lily think that he knew exactly what the arrogant blond boy was talking about. She would have asked him, but the wizard who had been helping them appeared, carrying a pile of books which he passed to them.

"Best get in line," he told them kindly. "The afternoon rush is going to start soon."

"You mean this isn't the rush?" Severus inquired as they got into line, joined by Mr. and Mrs. Evans soon afterwards.

The sun was beginning to move downward in the sky as the Evanses and Severus made their way down Diagon Alley and back through the magical wall, through the Leaky Cauldron and into the streets of Muggle London. Lily smiled a contented smile as she looked back one last time at the pub that only she and Severus seemed to be able to see from the distance.

"We're really going, aren't we?" Lily whispered to Severus as they climbed back into the car.

"Of course," Severus said, examining the bag with his gold in it. He had spent the least amount that he could, and thus his bag was still significantly weightier than hers. "I think I'll take out a subscription to the Daily Prophet until school starts. They get owls to deliver the news, and it's not that expensive. Good way to learn about the wizarding world, don't you think?"

"I'm sure Petunia will love that," Lily deadpanned. "An owl showing up to our house?" She put on a shrill voice, meant to imitate her sister, "'Oh, what will the neighbours think?'"

Severus laughed out loud, a sound that was so rare that Lily's father glanced at them in his rear-view mirror, startled.

Immediately, Lily felt badly about what she had said. If her mother was right about Petunia being jealous, perhaps it would be best to downplay the whole situation when she was around?

She began to play with the charm bracelet her sister had given her, fingering the two flowers on it thoughtfully.

How was she supposed to be excited about Hogwarts, when her sister was being so obtuse about the whole situation?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If anyone wants to know, I've used various currency converters to get the approximate value of money in the 1970s as well as the Wizarding World Currency Converter at provided by the HP Lexicon, so the money at least should me more or less accurate. Regarding Snape's wand - I wasn't able to find anything on it in my research, so I made it up using Rowling's method of calculating Harry, Ron and Hermione's using birth trees from the Celtic wheel of the year (Birch for Snape), the number 13 which is a sacred number in Wicca (the lunar esbats) and unyielding (For Snape's personality)

Thanks for the beta, Kim!

As always, I'd really appreciate the feedback,

TBC