Before the End

LILY V

July 24^th, 1971

Once they were out of Gringotts, Lily asked what a Muggle was.

"A Muggle is someone with absolutely no magic," said Mrs. More. "Such as your parents and your sister. You are therefore a Muggle-born witch. It's only fair to warn you that some wizards are prejudiced against Muggle-borns and Muggles. They're mostly from the really old wizarding families, but the Mores are very old and we aren't prejudiced. It's just that some wizards think they're better than Muggle-borns just because they're Pureblooded. It's become worse lately. Someone's stirring them up." She coughed. "Look at your money, will you, Lily?"

Lily did. She noticed that the bag was not nearly as heavy as it should be with gold and silver in it as she took out three of the many coins: a large gold one, a silver coin, and a small bronze coin.

"The gold coins are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the bronze ones are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to the Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle. Don't spend it all now, you'll need some at school. Where do you two want to go first?"

"Flourish and Blotts," said Annetta immediately.

"Flourish and Blotts is a bookstore," Mrs. More explained. "Bookstores are like Summoning Charms to Annetta. You would want to go there first. We'd actually better get you cauldrons first, so you have somewhere to put everything."

The cauldron shop was absolutely full of cauldrons, cauldron-cleaning products, cauldron stands, ladles, spurtles, stirring rods, and some things Lily couldn't identify. Mrs. More quickly bought two size three pewter cauldrons and stirring rods and they left.

"Now can we go to Flourish and Blotts?" Annetta asked as soon as they had left.

"All right," said Mrs. More, and they headed towards an old bookstore, which, in Lily's opinion, was just what a wizarding bookstore should look like.

This idea was reinforced once they entered. The bookstore was very dusty and full of books and bookshelves, which obscured the counter that was somewhere in the back of the shop, where Lily could hear two people discussing prices.

The books themselves were amazing. There were books the size of paving stones bound in leather and books the size of postage stamps (though much thicker) bound in silk. Some books were thicker than encyclopædias, and nearly all of them were rather thicker than most of the books Lily had read. Some of them had nothing in them at all, and some of them were in very strange languages. Annetta seemed able to read them, though; she took two of the books of the shelf and opened them. One of them was in English characters in a language that looked slightly familiar, but not very, and the other was in some script that might have been Greek, or something similar.

"Put those down, Annetta," said Mrs. More. "Your school books are over there, and you don't need any more books." Annetta sighed, and she and Lily walked over to a section marked "School Books."

Their schoolbooks were easy enough to find. Lily also took a book called Hogwarts, A History; she wanted to find out as much about Hogwarts as possible. Annetta took Hogwarts, A History, and several other books called thingslike Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes and Powers You Never Knew You Had and What To Do With Them Now You've Wised Up.

Mrs. More took one look at Annetta's books. "About half of those, please." Annetta went back and returned with Hogwarts, A History, Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes, and A History of Muggle Awareness and Perceptions of Magic. They paid for their books and left.

"Where now?" asked Annetta.

"Madame Malkin's?" Mrs. More suggested. "It's the robes shop."

"All right," said Lily. She hadn't said very much recently. She was trying not the think about Mrs. More's speech. She had thought that the wizarding world would be - well, perfect - that there wouldn't be any real prejudice. But that was impossible. Still, she wished it were true.

Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was a very bright, cheery shop. Lily found it very difficult to brood over things there. She gave it up quickly and looked around. The auburn-haired woman who had waved at Mrs. More was hanging up a display of robes in the newly cleaned window. More robes hung on the walls, as saleable decorations.

"Hello," said a smiling woman behind a desk. "What will you be wanting?"

"That's Katherine," said the woman in the window, almost running over. Lily saw she couldn't be very much older than eighteen. "My aunt, you know. She's an Obviamir, she's probably brought her, I mean the redhead, to get her Hogwarts supplies, and that's Annetta, my cousin. She's starting Hogwarts this year, you know. Hello, you're Muggleborn, aren't you? I'm Rosalind Catsworth, who are you?" She said this very quickly.

"Um," said Lily. "I'm Lily Evans. Hi."

"Hello, Rosalind," said Mrs. More. "Lily, this is my niece, Rosalind. Hogwarts robes, for both of them," she added to the woman behind the desk.

"Just in there," said the woman, presumably Madame Malkin, and Annetta and Lily walked through a door at the side of the room while Rosalind went back to arranging robes in the window.

"How do you like my cousin Rosalind?" asked Annetta, grinning, while they were fitted for robes. Lily didn't answer immediately when she realised that she was being measured and the robes were being cut and sewn by measuring tapes, scissors, needles, and spools of thread that were floating in mid-air.

"She's nice," she said, once she was used to it, "but a little, um, energetic."

"Isn't she? She's nineteen, she left Hogwarts last year. She was in Hufflepuff, but the rest of my entire family was in Ravenclaw, both sides, and everyone expects me to go there too."

"What?"

"Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin are Hogwarts houses. You're Sorted into one at the beginning of your first year. Ravenclaw is for really clever people, Gryffindors are brave, and Hufflepuffs are people who are hard working and just, but most people think they're just not good at magic. Slytherin is for people who are ambitious and cunning. Most Dark wizards were from Slytherin, and most of them are prejudiced against Muggleborns, but not all."

That was the longest speech Lily had heard Annetta make so far. She hadn't said it half as fast as her cousin had, but it surprised Lily a little.

Madame Malkin came in then. "You're done, are you? Good." They took the robes off, and she called the measurements quickly through a door. Very soon they each had three sets of plain black robes and were leaving the shop.

"To the Apothecary now," said Mrs. More.

The Apothecary was full of very interesting things, but it smelled awful. There were barrels full of frog livers and lizard tails, and shelves on which rested jars holding things Lily really didn't want to know the names of. They quickly bought small sets of ingredients for potions and crystal phials.

They bought scales and telescopes in a small establishment full of strange looking instruments and lots of dust. A stationary store sold parchment, quills, and ink. And then there was only one thing left - a wand. Lily had been looking forward to this.

The wand store was extremely old. A sign said "Ollivander's - Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC." The only thing in the display window was a wand resting on a faded purple cushion.

The inside of the shop was absolutely full of shelves, and on the shelves were hundreds and thousands of narrow boxes. A spindly chair stood in front of a long counter. There was quite a lot of dust, and no one was in the store.

Lily turned to look at the shelves, and when she turned again, an old man was behind the counter. He had very eerie, moon-like eyes, and looked as if he had been selling wands since 382 BC.

"Katherine Catsworth More," he said. "Pine and unicorn hair, 9 inches, wasn't it?"

"It was," said Mrs. More. "My daughter Annetta and Lily Evans need their wands."

Mr. Ollivander turned to them. Lily wished he'd blink.

"The wand chooses the wizard," he said. "You must simply keep trying wands until one fits. There is a wand for each of you somewhere here. Every Ollivander wand is made of wood, with a core from a magical creature: a dragon heartstring, a unicorn tail hair, or a phoenix feather. Some older wands have different cores. All of the wands in this shop will last you a lifetime. Every single wand is different, because every single tree and magical creature is different. Which one of you will go first?"

Lily and Annetta looked at each other. "I'll go first," Annetta said.

"Which is your wand hand?"

"Left."

Mr. Ollivander snapped his fingers and a long purple tape measure flew toward him. It began measuring Annetta completely of its own free will as Mr. Ollivander began searching the shelves.

"That's enough," he said, as the tape measure measured the length of Annetta's left leg. "Here," he added, bringing a box, "Holly and dragon heartstring, eleven inches, inflexible, try it."

Annetta waved the wand, but Mr. Ollivander almost immediately snatched it away.

"Maple and phoenix feather, seven and a half inches. Go on."

This continued for a few minutes.

"Cherry and phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches."

Annetta waved the wand, and several blue and gold sparks shot out of the end and danced around the shop.

"That will be it, then," Mr. Ollivander said, putting the wand back in its box. "Now, you, Miss. Evans. Don't worry, there's a wand for everyone somewhere here ... Right or left?"

"Right," said Lily, and the tape measure returned.

Mr. Ollivander came back when it was measuring the width of her eye. "Oak and unicorn hair, nine inches, pliable. Give it a wave."

Lily did, trying not to feel stupid. Nothing happened.

"Twelve and a half inches, holly, dragon heartstring."

Nothing again.

"Seven inches, ash, quite springy, phoenix feather."

"Eight and a quarter inches, beech, unicorn hair."

"Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, supple."

Lily took hold of the wand. It was very hot. She began to wave it - then gasped and jumped back as it flew out of her hand.

"It doesn't want me," she said, somehow knowing this. "It - It's waiting for someone else, not me, it doesn't want me..."

"Curious," said Mr. Ollivander. "Ash and dragon heartstring, thirteen inches."

Lily tried what felt like hundreds of wands, but none of them worked. She was beginning to be afraid - what if she had received her letter by mistake and she wasn't magical at all?

"Willow and griffin feather, ten and a quarter inches, swishy, very nice for charm work. This is one of the older wands. Very interesting ... Go on."

This one felt different from all the others. Lily raised it in the air and brought it down, red and gold sparks shooting from it.

"That one," said Mr. Ollivander. "Odd..."

"What?" asked Lily.

Mr. Ollivander focused on her. Lily felt rather nervous.

"That wand," he said, "is almost a thousand years old. Don't worry, it still works very well, all Ollivander wands do ... but it is the twin of a wand that belonged to a very famous wizard ... a very famous wizard indeed...

"That will be seven Galleons each, please."

He wouldn't say anything more, and they paid and left the shop.

"Mum," said Annetta as soon as they were out. "I need to go to Flourish and Blotts."

"Annetta, we just went there."

"I know. I need to get some books on something."

"What?"

"Please, Mum."

"Why?"

"Please."

"All right..."

At the bookstore, Annetta bought several books that she refused to show Lily. Lily finally stopped asking, and they headed toward the Magical Menagerie.

Annetta went off to look at kittens, but Lily was rather lost. Mrs. More noticed.

"Owls deliver mail," she said calmly. "Toads do very little. I'd recommend you get an owl, so you can write your parents. Annetta is going to get a cat. She has too many already."

Lily looked around, and decided she would get an owl. She had a cat at home, anyway, and Peony hated other cats.

There were hundreds of owls in the store, or it seemed like that. There were all kinds as well, including some not native to Britain: Scops owl, snowy owls, screech owls, eagle owls, and barn owls. They were all hooting in the darkened area of the store, and yellow eyes gleamed at her.

A small barn owl hooted directly at her, and Lily walked over to it. It had a heart-shaped face and brown and white feathers, and it nipped her finger when she held it out. Lily gently picked the owl up. It hooted again.

"I'll take you, I think," Lily whispered to it. It nipped her finger again.

Lily had enough money for the owl and seven Galleons, ten sickles, and twenty Knuts left, but she waited until Mrs. More and Annetta came back before paying. Annetta was holding a small, slightly odd-looking, orange kitten. It had slightly spotted fur and large ears.

"She's half Kneazle," Annetta said. "Isn't she lovely?"

She couldn't really be considered lovely, Lily thought. The cat was thin and had short fur, huge eyes, and a long tail, so it looked odd with large ears, as if it was only ears and tail and eyes.

"Let's pay, and then we'll have to leave," said Mrs. More.

They left the store and bought large trunks for their school supplies, then walked toward the entrance to Diagon Alley. Mrs. More opened the wall again by tapping her wand against it, and they headed back into the Leaky Cauldron.

"The Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross road," Mrs. More told Lily, "so you can go there next summer and look for it. Now, here's the fireplace. Arabella Figg's house is called Figbaum."

They quickly got back to Mrs. Figg's house without too much trouble, although Annetta's glasses broke again. Lily hoped she wouldn't have to use Floo Powder much. She didn't think she'd ever get over her fear of fire.

Lily walked home, holding her cauldron and the trunk she had bought at Diagon Alley.

Rest of summer, 1971

Lily named her owl Iris. The woman at the desk had told her the owl was female and not named yet, and Lily liked the name Iris. There had been a rainbow the day after she went to Diagon Alley.

Eve Consueta came over once, but Lily somehow didn't know what to say to her. Eve had been Lily's best friend. She was very mischievous and very trustworthy, but Lily couldn't tell her about Hogwarts - she didn't know why. Eve also seemed to be keeping a secret, so she left early, without even putting her usual rubber spider in Petunia's room.

Petunia became more and more antagonistic over the summer, so Lily spend most of her time in her own room, reading her books for Hogwarts.

* * *

Annetta spent all her time in her tower room reading. She liked towers, which was rather strange for someone like her.

She wouldn't tell what she was reading, but she got several books from their private library.

The Mores were very rich, and so were the Catsworths; her parents worked because they wanted to. Her father was an Auror.

Annetta was studying a certain period of history, a very important period for wizards. She frowned at the books. She still couldn't find the thing she was looking for. Actually, she wasn't entirely sure what it was, she just knew that there was something about what he had said...

She named her cat Umbrella. They had been caught in the rain after taking her to the Muggle vet in a village nearby.

* * *

James and Sirius had an eventful trip to Diagon Alley involving fireworks, frogs, and Gambol and Japes. Their mothers told them that if they ever did anything like that again, they wouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts. Of course, that didn't stop them.

James bought an eagle owl. Sirius warned him that if the owl got within two meters of his mice, he was clipping its wings. James warned him that if he clipped Hades' wings, James would force-feed him his own mice.

They spent the summer making their sisters miserable. This was exactly what they did every summer. And during the school year, for that matter.

* * *

Remus went to Diagon Alley a few days after Dumbledore visited him. He had been there before, of course, but the entire place looked different after a frog exploded in his face.

The boys who had attached the firework to the frog apologised, laughing - they had been aiming at someone else. The ones they had been aiming at were apparently their sisters. Remus and his father bought their supplies quickly and then went by Floo Powder to Quidditch Pitch 39, where Remus' mother was.

Remus spent the rest of the summer trying magic and reading anything he could find about Hogwarts.

* * *

Peter went to Diagon Alley the next Wednesday. Phoebe bought at least twenty books, some of them in strange languages. Peter decided not to ask what they meant.

Just before they left, as they were passing Gambol and Japes, several frogs exploded at them. The two boys responsible apologised to them and several other people. Three girls who looked like the boys had glared at them.

Peter spent the rest of the summer not going outside. That was how Conall and his friends had got him, and he wasn't going to give them another chance. He spent his time reading and practising magic. Phoebe got very angry with him after he accidentally turned one of her books into a frog. He hadn't meant to do it.

Well, he hadn't exactly meant to do it.