The Unknown Legacy

An Ancient World Revealed

Dumbledore went ahead and paid for Lydia to stay a night at the pub. He said he needed to discuss where she would stay with his colleagues. After he left, she went back out into "Muggle London" as the others called it. She found a hotel with a large lobby containing private phone booths to make a long, pricey phone call on her credit card to her grandmother back in America. She explained in Italian, (though they both knew English) where she was and what had happened. Her grandmother sounded a little miffed.

"Yes, your Aunt Maria WAS a witch. We knew you didn't have magical blood, and saw no point in telling you. I don't know if I really like the thought of not being able to contact you, but I guess you're there to come to terms with some things," her grandmother sighed, sounding worried, but defeated.

"I wish I could talk to you in person. I met a man here who says he knows how mom died. He said he knew of her through Aunt Maria," Lydia said and pushed her hair behind her ear and eyed a handsome man checking in at the front desk. She always tried to find visual distractions when she talked about such unpleasant subjects on the phone. Phone calls didn't require uncomfortable eye contact or interpretation of body language. Just an ear and a voice.

There was a pause. Lydia could tell her grandmother was struggling with the decision whether to ask over the phone or wait till her granddaughter returned home. Finally she spoke, knowing it might be a long time before Lydia came back now that she had a free place to stay.

"What happened Lydia?" she asked in a soft voice. Lydia sighed, unconsciously twirling her hair around her finger. Her grandmother hated it when Lydia did that.

"She was murdered," she said in a small voice. She heard her grandmother choke on the other end of the line.

The phone call had been quite emotional after that, and Lydia slept deeply that night. She didn't remember her dream the next morning, which was a good thing, for it was filled with the shrieks and pain of thousands of people dying at once.

When she gave it some thought, Lydia was almost sure she'd rather stay in the Leaky Cauldron then a large, crumbling castle. Though she'd run out of the room screaming that first night when her mirror told her to she wasn't wearing enough clothes. Not to mention the man in a painting on the wall kept asking what it 'was like to be a Muggle' when her back was turned. After a kind woman in the pub explained that moving pictures and talking mirrors were normal, Lydia realized it was a cozy place. And it was so different then any where she had stayed before! Since she had no money, she didn't see any chance of a prolonged stay at the Leaky Cauldron happening unless...

"Excuse me," she said timidly to Tom the bartender. He looked up. She smiled. "is there any place here that I can get my money exchanged for your type of money?"

"Follow me lass," he said and led her out to a tiny trash yard surrounded by a high wall. He took out his wand and tapped a few bricks. Lydia's jaw dropped as a small hole appeared in the wall from where he tapped and formed itself into an archway, opening to a busy street full of pointed hats and strange conversation. Tom then pointed all the way at the end of the alley.

"The big white crooked building all the way at the end is Gringotts. The goblins there can change your money for you," he said, then smiled at her face as she stared at the crowded alley that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "This is called Diagon Alley, just stick to the straight way and you'll be fine."

Lydia stepped through the archway and gawked at the shops on either side of the street as she walked. One shop proclaimed that it had been making fine wands since 382 BC. She wondered in the back of her head, what the goblins would look like when she arrived right in front of the building. She was a little intimidated to walk in before she saw a whole family walk through the magnificent gold doors. She hurried in after them, feeling braver. The inside was decorated with splendid marble, and she took the opportunity to look around the place, while waiting in line for a goblin at one of the windows to assist her. They were ugly little creatures, but dressed well none the less.

"Next," she heard. She looked up and saw one of the ugly little creatures looking at her with a grumpy expression. She walked up to the counter and gave him £300. Before she could even give him her request, he took the money, counted it then turned it into large gold coins right in front of her eyes. He put them in a sack and gave it to her.

"Thank you," she said and stared at the sack.

"Next," was his reply. Lydia shuffled out of the bank and looked around the alley. There were so many things for her to look at. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned the alley to her yesterday. She felt small and lost, though she could see where she'd come from at the other end of the alley. Tom had told her to just stick here and she'd be fine. Well she wasn't in the mood to get lost anywhere she didn't have a map for, so she walked slowly back up the alley.

As she walked, she spotted a little shop. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She couldn't tell what the shop was by the name, so she timidly stepped towards the window and peered in. The store was mostly filled with children and their slightly annoyed parents, most likely bullied into going by their children's incessant pleading after a day of shopping. She decided to have a look inside.

Her first impression, upon stepping over the thresh hold, was it was a wonderfully antique toy store, but after looking at the odd items up for sale she realized that it was a joke shop. To her immediate left, were boxes labeled, "Joke wands! Pester your peers and annoy your parents!"

Next to them there were some plush teddy bears. A little girl of no more then five years was playing with one of them. Lydia wasn't sure what the joke was until the little girl gave the bear a hug and it transformed into a huge nasty tarantula, about the same size as the teddy bear. Lydia jumped as the little girl screamed and dropped it. The second the girl had let go, it transformed back into the cuddly teddy. A little boy who could only be her older brother came over laughing under his breath and looked at the bear for a price.

On the back wall towards the register, there were, "Dribble Cauldrons! Melt your friends toes!" The display showed how the cauldrons would suddenly sprout holes when heated to a certain temperature. Lydia was fingering disappearing ink bottles ("They disappear and leave the ink behind to splash your victim! Great for school time gags!") when a friendly voice sounded behind her. She turned around.

"Hi can I...help...you?" the voice came from a handsome red haired man about her age with freckles. She grinned at him. Lydia had been famous in her high school for liking redheaded guys, and there were only a few of them in her class. Once, three football players had heard this and dyed their hair red, but since Lydia never went to the football games, she didn't find this out till much later. She was embarrassed none the less at the thought of people changing their hair color to impress her.

Damn. Look at how dark her eyes are, and how perfectly beautiful she is. Damn Damn Damn, was all he could think. It took him a second or two to give himself a mental shake. She's too pretty for you.

"Hi, I'm-er George Weasley. Is there anything can show you?" he asked. She smiled not sure if she should keep him around by asking him to explain how the disappearing ink bottles worked, or to just stand there like a fool, gawking, smiling, and possibly even drooling. Finally she managed to speak.

"I was looking at this," she said stupidly. As soon as the words came out of her mouth she felt like she wanted to die. Of course she was looking at it, what a stupid thing to say. George Weasley didn't seem to notice, though he did notice her accent.

"You're American!" He exclaimed, getting some courage up to talk with her. "And you're dressed like a Muggle tourist too, were you looking around in the Muggle part of London?"

"Well that would be because I AM a Muggle tourist." Her teeth flashed when she smiled. "It's a long story," she added to his look of confusion. He didn't seem turned off by this and leaned back against a freestanding, triangular rack of bins packed with joke candies.

"Have you ever been to London before?" he asked and put his hands behind his head before glancing downward at what she was wearing; a red silk sleeveless top with a long flowing black skirt and a large amber pendant. Her hair was up in a high pony tail. She had an impressive body.

"Ye...no, this is my first time in London," she said. She'd almost told him that she was born here, but all that would do is lead to questions she didn't feel like answering. Much to her shock, George sprang from the rack and bowed low to the floor, making her forget her troubles for a second.

"Well then, Welcome fair Lady!" he said loud enough to startle the customers and get stared at. "Can I have the pleasure of taking thee out for a drink.?" Lydia was glad he was still bent over, so he didn't see her bright red face. If she'd been half as outgoing as George was, she'd have curtsied. But instead she just stammered her acceptance.

"Ok, when?"

"How about now? OY FRED!" George called towards the back room. Lydia was shocked to see another George poke his head out from the doorway. They were identical twins! "I'm going out, watch the place," he said. Fred almost looked grumpy, but then broke into a wicked grin.

"You're supposed to sell things to customers, not take them out." Fred said. He looked at the girl next to his brother and couldn't really blame him. She looked like a Muggle. An extremely beautiful Muggle.

"Right-o," George said and offered Lydia his arm. She couldn't seem to get the red to go out of her face. She took his arm and let him lead her out of the store, and towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"So, if you're a Muggle, how'd you end up here?" he asked, trembling slightly at the physical contact. She drew in a deep breath.

"It's a long story, but the short of it, is that I could see the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle street." She felt silly every time she said the word Muggle. It sounded like such a silly word.

"Well that's odd," he said. Lydia nodded.

"So I've been told dozens of times. They also tried to change my memory, but it didn't hold. Mr. Dumbledore said it looked like it slipped over my mind, as if it had nothing to grab hold of." She bit her lip and looked down, because she caught herself staring right into his eyes.

"You've met Dumbledore!? He's a great wizard! A bit mad though," George replied. "Did Dumbledore know what that meant? If anyone would know, it'd be Dumbledore. People say he's the greatest wizard in the world," George said as they walked through the archway back into the Leaky Cauldron.

"No, though he seemed to be interested in performing 'tests' on me. He promised they wouldn't hurt," she said, and stopped suddenly. George almost pulled her down because he kept walking. "I never told you my name."

"No you didn't," George grinned and pulled her along, so she kept walking. "I was going to wait and see how long you took to tell me."

"I'm sorry, I was a bit distracted. My name is Lydia Spinelli," she said cheerfully. She saw George say the name to himself once or twice under his breath, with a goofy, boyish grin trying to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"Lydia...It's a pretty name," he said. "Who named you?"

"My grandfather. My grandmother was..." Lydia stopped there, realizing what she'd almost told him that her grandmother had been too freaked out over the loss of her only daughter to do much of anything at the time. It wasn't a real big secret she was trying to keep from him, but right now she really didn't feel like discussing it. George noticed the abrupt stop, but decided to ignore it.

We all have out secrets, he thought, and then continued.

"But as for Dumbledore, he probably wants to see if you're immune to magic or something, though I really don't see how that is possible. No one is immune to magic. What would you like from the bar?" His erratic questions and sentences really didn't seem to follow each other as they properly should have. Lydia said she wasn't sure. George sat her down at a table and went up to the bar to surprise her with a drink of his choice. Soon he returned with a tank of ale and a glass of cream sherry for Lydia. She sipped the sherry with a dainty touch, she'd never had sherry before, but she liked it.

"I only just found out magic existed yesterday afternoon," she said and set the glass down. George swigged from his tankard and smirked.

"Wow, you really are a Muggle! I thought maybe you were one of those Muggles who's really close with one of their magical friends or relatives and knew about the magical world already. My dad would love to meet you. He loves Muggles and their inventions. He's always taking things apart and enchanting them, even though it's against a law that he himself wrote. Mum says he purposely wrote a loophole in the law that would still allow him to tinker with the rubbish in our garage."

"Ahh, he's lucky he had a hand in writing that law then," she said and sipped her sherry. George propped his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand.

"So, Lydia, tell me how old you are."

"Yesterday was my twentieth birthday," she said and smiled at his amused expression.

"I should buy you a present," he said absently, staring into her eyes. By now, Lydia had given up on trying not to blush. She would just have to accept looking like a beet when she was around him.

"You've only just met me today!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, but you're so..." He almost said 'beautiful, but it wasn't justice to the truth, and he didn't want to sound like he was really coming on to her. He settled for "Striking." This compliment didn't help lighten the reddish hue of her face.

"Thank you. You're quite handsome too," Lydia squeaked in a tiny voice. She couldn't believe she was saying this to a stranger, and virtually going to pieces in the process. She'd never felt so shy before. She twirled her hair around her finger in a nervous manner.

They sat in silence for a minute or two after their overt flattery of one another. Finally, Lydia spoke up.

"George, I lied to you," she admitted and set her glass down. He gave her a funny look.

"About what?" he asked suspiciously. Lydia sighed and launched into the explanation.

"I have been to London before, as a matter of fact, I was born here. I only lived here for a few months, because my mother was murdered before I was even born. I'm sorry for the deception, I just don't like telling people. Dumbledore told me that my mother was killed by...oh I can't remember his name now..." she lied again. She wouldn't forget that name for the rest of her life. She looked towards the ceiling. George had a pretty good idea of who.

"Was it You-Know-Who?" he asked in a hushed voice. Lydia shrugged.

"Dumbledore said people fear to speak his name, are we talking about the same guy?" she asked. George nodded immediately, his lips pursed together tightly.

"He's the only one we dare not name," he said, and then leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry," he added, feeling a bit insensitive. "How were you born after she died though?" he asked. Lydia looked up at him. She thought the question should have been rude, but somehow, she didn't feel that way with him.

"I was ready to come out when my mother died. The paramedics actually cut me out of my mother's body. Apparently, a baby can survive for a short time after its mother is killed," she said and gulped down the rest of the sherry to warm the familiar chill that came with telling the tale of her birth. George had no idea what a paramedic was, but he felt it would be rude to ask. He'd already fumbled on his last question.

"How long do you plan on staying in London?" he asked, changing the subject. Lydia wasn't sure.

"Well originally, I was staying till September fifth, but since Mr. Dumbledore wants me to stay at the school, and I have no clue where it is, so I don't know," she admitted. George smiled.

"It's up north, quite a ways. The school train takes a good part of the day to get up there," he told her and sipped more ale. He offered to get her another sherry, which she at first insisted to pay him for both, but he refused.

"Your birthday was yesterday!" he said and set another sherry down in front of her. She started on the second glass when a kind voice sounded behind her. She turned around and saw Albus Dumbledore.

"I see you ventured out into Diagon Alley." His voice sounded pleased. "And found some company," he said and smiled kindly before he sat down.

"Hello Mr. Dumbledore," Lydia said. George greeted Dumbledore respectfully.

"Are you ready to make the journey to Hogwarts?" he asked, though clearly by Lydia's flushed face in the company of George Weasley, she was not. She bit her lip.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay here a few days," she said. "I still haven't been into most of the shops. I even went to the bank and exchanged my money," she said and hefted the sack of gold coins onto the table. "Which reminds me, I owe you for yesterday," she muttered as she opened the sack. Dumbledore held up his hand and shook his head.

"That won't be necessary, and of course you may stay here for a few days. The school term starts in a week and a half. Perhaps you can come up to the school on the train. If you were able to see the pub here, I think you'll be able to see the entrance to the station platform for the Hogwarts Express. During the staff meeting I called to order about you, the Muggle Studies professor was most interested in meeting you, and wanted me to ask if you'll come in for a question and answer session in his class."

"That sounds interesting. When does the term start?" she asked.

"September first," Dumbledore replied.

"Oh, I'm leaving for home on September fifth," she said. Dumbledore didn't see any problem.

"That's ok, we can get you where you need to be," he said as he looked at Tom, and ordered a Benjamin's Bubble Burp Brew. He explained to Lydia that it was an ale that made you burp various bubble shapes. Lydia giggled and looked to George. Without thinking about it, George winked at Lydia. They both flushed deep red and exchanged silly grins. Dumbledore failed to notice this exchange however, because he had just burped a star shaped bubble after his first sip.

The three of them sat there talking for the rest of the afternoon. Dumbledore burped a total of seven bubbles, in the shapes of a heart, a pyramid, a crescent moon, and several snitch shaped bubbles which of course Lydia did not recognize.

Over the next few days, George showed Lydia around Diagon Alley. She helped him a bit in the joke shop with sales when it got really busy. The twins had a mutual friend, named Lee Jordan, who also worked with them in the joke shop. They knew him from Hogwarts.

George was also surprised to learn that Lydia knew quite a bit of martial arts. He conjured up a straw stuffed dummy that tried to attack her, so she could show him the moves she knew. Most of them were self defense moves, but she sneaked in some offensive blows to the straw dummy too. She admitted that she didn't practice every day like she should and was therefore a bit rusty. George however was amazed at how her body moved with the ease of water over a smooth stone. Lydia was embarrassed, because she had been quicker and more fluid when she practiced everyday.

Fred and George were close to inseparable. One time, they tried to play a trick on her, the classic identical twin switch-a-roo at the pub one night. Lydia wasn't fooled though. She'd looked up and said, 'Hi Fred, what's up?' when he'd strolled in and sat down at the usual table. George was giddy at home, and almost annoying his family, chattering about the beautiful girl at the Leaky Cauldron. Lydia was beginning to love life in Diagon Alley, and had to keep reminding herself that this was not forever. She would be returning home in a week, and the prospect of leaving this fresh, new world behind was depressing at best.

George showed her Madame Malkin's robe shop after she complained of people staring at her Muggle clothes, and she'd bought a few robes. She bought a tasteful black robe set with pink trim and a pink waist corset to go along with it over top. She also bought a plain navy blue set and a white set. She even got a set of dress robes for fun. They were royal purple with black grape vine patterns running down the sleeves, low cut, and elegant. It also came with a matching floor length cape that attached to her wrists. She could see herself wearing them somewhere fancy, like a pricey restaurant back in the Muggle world, or one of her grandmother's formal Christmas parties she liked to throw.

She'd only gone out into the Muggle side of London once since her phone call to her grandmother to take George shopping in the Muggle trinket stores, so he could get a present for his dad's birthday. During the excursion, he'd carefully put his arm around Lydia's shoulder as they walked, causing her stomach to roll over nervously. At first, she decided that anything beyond a new cross Atlantic friendship with George would be entirely fruitless (and torturous), but as time went on, she would catch herself day dreaming about having a fling with George. She was so wrapped up in it all, that the real reason she'd come to London had been put on the back burner.

It was still simmering though, and refused to be forgotten.