Lily could hardly sleep the next ten days for thinking about being a witch. She had taken to running to the library every possible moment to research witches, wizards, warlocks”anything, really. However, her queries only turned up fictional wizards, like Gandalf and Merlin. So she read The Lord of the Rings and The Once and Future King. Mrs. Evans once poked her head through Lily’s open bedroom door only to see her daughter point at a dusty old top hat rummaged from the attic and mutter something that sounded like “Abracadabra.” Violet chuckled as no white rabbit emerged, only a moth and some dust mites. Lily only sighed. “Do you think I’ll be able to do it, Mum?” she pondered, turning her head slowly towards her mother. Violet sat on the bed and pulled Lily close.
“Do what, Lil?” she prodded gently.
“Oh, you know, cast spells and stuff. I mean, maybe it was a mistake! Maybe the letter was meant for some other Lily Evans, and I don’t have magical powers! And d’you think there’ll be anyone else there with, well, no offense or anything, but d’you think there’ll be any other kids from non-magical families? I’m just so worried!” Lily fiddled with her shirt nervously as she raised her glossy green eyes at her mother.
“Lily, whoever this Albert Dumbledon is””
“Albus Dumbledore, Mum.”
“Right”him. Anyway, whoever he is, he must be smart, right? To have that magic school and keep it hidden from all us non-magic folks? Hmm? And if he has sense enough to do that, then he certainly has sense to know which kids to pick. And that’s why he selected you! It was not a mistake, I’m sure you’ll be magicking things all over the place in no time at all. And if you want more proof, have a look at this. That owl dropped it off this morning while you were up here becoming the next Houdini!” She winked and dropped another thick envelope into Lily’s hands.
“Right. Thanks, Mum. This will set me straight,” she said unconvincingly. Unless it’s a note confessing the mix-up! It wasn’t. Instead, out fell a train ticket marked for September the first and a letter, written again by Minerva McGonagall, which gave instructions on how to buy the required supplies. Lily’s brow furrowed when she got to the address of the “Leaky Cauldron””a pub that was the first stop for supplies.
“Charing Cross Road? But there’s no pub there, only Stevens Records and that giant Humphrey Book Barn. This can’t be right!”
“Well, maybe it’s new!” hypothesized Mrs. Evans. “Although, I can’t imagine a huge market for a pub on a busy street like that! Maybe it’s more like a café! I’ll bet it’s really chic! Then again, maybe not, if it sells all these magical things. Right? This Cauldron place is where we’re going to buy your supplies for the term?”
“Um… I don’t really know, Mum. The letter just says to go there, not necessarily shop there…”
“Well either way, we’ll go on the thirty-first, ok? That’s when we’ve got to drop poor Petunia off at that dratted extravaganza, so we’ll just swing through London as well. Your father has taken off work because he’s near fainting at the thought of a magic supply store, although I told him not to get his hopes up for any exploding stamps or anything. I keep telling him…”
But Lily heard no more of her mother’s musings as Mrs. Evans wandered out of the room, still talking to herself. The only thought focused in her mind was this Leaky Cauldron, and whatever wonders lurked beyond its doors. She imagined a grand department store somehow wedged in between the two huge shops that bordered it. Talking clocks and sparkly dresses were just making their debuts in her mind’s eye when her reverie was interrupted by Petunia.
The eldest Evans daughter had remarkably sorted out her hair crisis with lots of hard work and hair dye, and Petunia considered her new hairdo quite stylish. Nothing, though, could ever bring Petunia to forgive her sister for almost ruining the “bash of the century.”
“So, Lily,” she sneered. “I suppose you’re still excited about your little freak school. Well, don’t get too worked up, because I heard Mum and Dad saying that you fell for their plan splendidly.”
“Petunia, don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” Lily shot back, although her curiosity was piqued. What plan?
“Ha! I guess you thought this school was real, right? Well it’s not! You’re a silly git, because Mum and Dad set up the whole thing as an excuse to ship you to some boarding school in Check-oh-vakia. Didn’t you guess that?”
“Do you mean Czechoslovakia? Petunia, do you have any idea what’s coming out of that mouth of yours, or have the hairspray fumes just got to your head?” This retort was met with a momentary look of disgust, but Petunia regained her composure.
“You can talk all you want, but if you put the clues together, you’ll see it’s just been a big joke. Look, McGonagall is the name of Dad’s boss, and Dumbledore is some nonsense word in the children’s book Mum’s reading for her class! Hogwarts? That was the name of a talking pig in a cartoon, and… and…” It was clear Petunia was running out of ideas. Lily seized the opportunity.
“Oh really, Petunia. Dad’s boss is named McGonagall? It must be his first name, because his surname is McCauley! And the book Mum’s reading happens to be a nonfiction one about that American John F. Kennedy”she finished the children’s novel two weeks ago. As for the pig named Hogwarts? Wow, Petunia, that was a stroke of sheer brilliance. You’ve got me there. But really, come off it. It wasn’t a joke.”
Disgusted, Lily turned back to her letter. Petunia sat for a minute, trying to figure out how Lily had bested her. Finding no logical comeback, she resorted to her now-trusted comment of “freak” and stormed out of the room. Lily sighed, but couldn’t help a giggle. How long had Petunia been planning that one?
***
The morning of the thirty-first dawned clear and bright. Lily jumped out of bed as soon as she felt the sunlight on her face, and hastily put on her favorite jeans and a tank top. Not stopping to brush her hair, she raced downstairs, anticipating a quick breakfast and an even quicker departure to London. She was greeted, however, with an empty kitchen, and a clock that read ‘6:30 AM.’ She grumbled, and ambled into the living room to flip on the television. As soon as she sat down on her preferred overstuffed chair, however, she realized just how tired she was. Her eyelids slowly drooped as she listened to a dim report from the foreign desk: “Officials in the small, Communist State of Albania today report more strange fires in their densely forested regions…” Lily was asleep in less than a minute. When Spencer and Violet came downstairs two hours later they found her, open-mouthed, snoring loudly as cartoons blared. Spencer roused her gently as Violet went to start making French toast.
Soon mother, father, and daughter were sitting down to the table. A clunk on the staircase nearly made Lily choke on her juice, but she recovered in time to see Petunia stumble in on four-inch white heels. The rest of her outfit was even more comical. She wore tremendous bell-bottom jeans with a hem that dragged on the floor, paired with an outrageous pink tank top with fuzzy yellow fringes around the sides. A different earring graced each ear: one a large silver hoop, and the other a long golden chain. Her hair, if possible, was even more shellacked with hairspray than usual, and a lime-green headband was held firmly in place by pins. Lily gagged again as she caught sight of Petunia’s makeup, and had to dip under the table to hid her snort. “Good morning, all,” said Petunia casually as she sat down to the table. “French toast this morning?”
Mrs. Evans just stared mutely at her daughter. Mr. Evans, however, did have something to say: “Is it… is it a costume party, Petunia?”
Petunia looked mortified at the very thought. “Oh no, Father,” she drawled sweetly. “This is the latest fashion,” she added with a haughty lilt, as if speaking to these mere fashion mortals required vast amounts of time and effort. Lily chuckled as she took a bite of French toast. Not even her most fearful temper could have conjured up this mess.
An hour later, Lily watched bewildered from the backseat of the family car as Petunia clambered in, tripping several times on her hem. Petunia shrugged it off as if nothing had happened, and prodded her father to get on with the driving. Lily heard a faint mumbling from him, and something about a chauffeur, but then they were off. It seemed to Lily like the drive to London had never taken so long, and she was dismayed that her parents insisted on meeting the Grants once they arrived at the “party grounds.” However, to Lily’s delight, these grounds were nothing remarkable”merely a picnic table set up next to a tent. A small group of children were milled around one lone pony, and the air definitely did not smell of lobster. Lily squirmed with glee as she saw the disappointed look on Petunia’s face. The day was getting better and better.
Finally, after the Evans had practically dragged Petunia out of the car, they arrived in London. Spencer dropped Lily and Violet off right near the record store and went to park the car. When he returned, he found his wife staring blankly at the space (or lack thereof) between Stevens Records and Humphrey Book Barn. There certainly was no pub there. However, his daughter had a most peculiar look on her face, and kept glancing back at her parents. She turned hesitantly back to the storefronts and asked, “Can you see it?” As the answer was a resounding ‘no,’ she took her mother and father’s hands, and led them slowly to the point where the two buildings touched. Passersby must have gaped at the sight: three people, hand-in-hand, slowly walking toward a solid wall. However, as the trio neared the spot, the strangest thing happened. Suddenly there was a pub there! A run down, dirty little tavern with a battered sign proclaiming ‘The Leaky Cauldron.’ Lily professed triumphantly that she had seen it all along, but all the elder Evans could profess was shock.
“Well! I never! I suppose… has it always been there?… but no…” said Mr. Evans.
“So much for it being chic!” exclaimed his wife.
But Lily was fascinated. Letting go of her father’s hand, she pushed open the creaky old wooden door. Inside, she found a dimly lit but clean bar, with little tables everywhere. It smelled faintly of ale and cedar, and all sorts of strangely dressed people were staring at the clearly non-magical trio that had just walked in. The Evans felt like spectators at some sort of new-age fashion show, as robes of emerald, scarlet, and deep purple greeted them from all angles. A middle-aged, balding man suddenly looked up from behind the bar and waved them over. With a huge gap-toothed grin, he pronounced himself Tom, the proprietor of the pub, and then said: “And you must be Muggles!”
“Muggers!” said Violet, in a state of shock. “I should think not! I say, are all you lot this rude? We certainly did not come to rob you or pick your pockets!”
“No, no, darling, not muggers, I think he said Muggles… Different ending.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Evans tried her best to apologize profusely as the color drained from her face. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, you see, we have no idea what sort of thing this really is, our daughter got a letter and our other daughter’s hair turned purple and there were owls, and then we walked in between two buildings and then…” However, her attempt was in vain. Tom the barkeep looked at her with a strange twinkle in his eyes, and then laughed.
“Beggin’ your pardon, Ma’am. Common mistake. Muggles, you see, are what we wizarding-type call non-magical folk like yourself. Best to get acquainted with that term, ‘cause it’ll come up a lot now that you’ve got a witch in the family!” He turned his kind eyes down toward Lily, who was still red from her mother’s embarrassing mix-up.
“Yes! Well that makes perfectly good sense then! Muggles… A most fascinating term!” Spencer remarked as he stared around the bar. Violet was still struggling to form a coherent sentence, and Tom just chuckled more.
“Excuse me, Tom?” Lily said timidly. “I got a letter from Ms. McGonagall saying that I was to come here to buy my supplies”can you show them to me?”
Tom again turned to her. “Certainly, miss, but you won’t be buying supplies in the ‘Cauldron.’ Diagon Alley’s the place to go for all your term needs.”
“Oh…” Lily’s eyes showed her confusion. “Well, where””
“Go out of the pub into the small patio back there, right? Then take your wand and tap… Blimey, that’s right,” he said, smacking himself on the forehead at Lily’s glance. “Ain’t got a wand yet, do you? Well, go over to that man at the table in the corner there”yes, in the blue robes, and introduce yourself. He’ll take you out into the Alley. All right then?”
“Thanks so much Mister... Tom! By the way, I’m Lily Evans, and these are my parents, Spencer and Violet.” Tom shook everyone’s hands and offered them all a drink, which they promised to have as soon as the shopping was over. The three then went to the aforementioned table, with Mrs. Evans still shouting apologies over the low din of the crowd. Upon reaching the table in the corner, Lily tapped the wizard on the shoulder. “Excuse me, sir, but my name is Lily Evans, and I’m going to Hogwarts this fall, and””
“Hogwarts!” the man jumped up as his hat slid off his head. He was another kindly-looking wizard with knobby, roughened old hands and a small scar down his right cheek. “Hogwarts! Mighty fine school, mighty fine school. Went there myself of course, more years ago than I care to remember! Name’s Bartholomew Bainsfair, and it is certainly a pleasure to meet you, dear Lily. These must be your parents! Hello, hello. And I suppose you want to enter Diagon Alley! I’m afraid that’s out of the question though, unless you can answer me a few questions.”
Lily felt all the color leave her face as she looked at Mr. Bainsfair with growing horror. She didn’t know anything about the wizarding world, how on earth would she be able to answer questions? Mr. Bainsfair seemed to sense her dread as he burst into a raucous laugh, “Oh, only joking! Only joking! Come right this way, out this door, there you go.”
Lily (feeling thoroughly relieved) and her parents stared blankly at the solid brick wall before them. Maybe this Bainsfair fellow was actually as crazy as he seemed… But he continued: “Tap this brick… Eh… which brick? Oh yes! This one! And voila! Behold the magic!”
The Evans beheld it. It seemed to Lily the most magnificent thing ever. Two trash bins suddenly slid to the side of the small enclosure as the tapped brick wriggled and squirmed, then joined its fellow bricks in re-arranging themselves to form a giant archway. The sight beyond the arch greeted the family as nothing before ever had. Bartholomew smiled a knowing smile, and Lily dimly heard, “You’ll be wanting to go to Gringott’s first”that big marble building over there. They’ll exchange your money for you.” Lily nodded, not fully aware that her mouth was gaping open, and stood transfixed beneath the entryway.
The hustle and bustle in Diagon Alley was nothing more than it would have been on Kensington Street at Christmastime, but it was so much more colorful! Witches and wizards (she assumed) of all shapes and sizes poured in and out of the rustic-looking buildings, with various and sundry bundles tucked under their arms. All sorts of merchandise spilled out from myriad stores lining the twisting, cobbled road. Lily stood rooted to the spot, and only moved when her father made a half-formed comment about currency exchange”though it was hard to hear him over the squawking of owls and lively clamor of hundreds of witches and wizards doing their shopping. They slowly made their way to the grand white building at the head of the street. Nearing the entryway, Lily looked up and saw an ominous message engraved in the white stone. An involuntary chill ran down her spine as she saw two uniformed creatures opening the door for her and her parents. Are these…dwarves? Elves?
“We are Goblins, madam, and if you’d please be so kind as to not stare.” Apparently Violet had asked one goblin the same question Lily was thinking, and she”like her mother”colored at the reprimand. Fully embarrassed, yet with satiated curiosity, the Evans walked into the large hall of Gringott’s. A long counter was at the back, and hundreds more goblins were perched on tall stools behind it, performing all sorts of odd jobs. Wizards stood in queues in front of the counter, and the Evans joined one of these lines.
When it was their turn, only Lily had enough sense to stop gaping and speak, but the goblin beat her to it. In a slightly perturbed, yet forcibly civil voice, he said, “Yes, you must be a Muggle bound for Hogwarts. I’ll give this to you quick, so take mental notes, please.” He held in his gnarled palm three different coins; one bronze, one silver, and one gold; small, medium, and large-size, respectively. “The small bronze one,” he gestured, “is called a Knut. K-N-U-T. The medium one is a Sickle. S-I-C-K-L-E. And the largest one, that’s a Galleon”yes, like the sailing ship, and spelled just the same. Now, here’s the tricky part.” He grinned a sinister grin. “There are twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon. I’ll repeat that””
“Oh, no need, um… Sir. I think I’ve got it. Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon?” Lily reeled off.
The goblin looked dismayed at being cut off, and fixed Lily with a curious stare. “All right, a good memory, I see. Well, are you any good at arithmetic? How many Knuts to a Galleon, eh?” Lily supposed she could have figured it out given a little time and some paper, but this goblin look very agitated, and her shaky confidence was wavering.
Instead, she said demurely, “Um… I’m not sure, Sir, but do you know the exchange rate for our… um, Muggle money?”
“Of course I know the exchange rate! I work at a bank!” he snapped. “How much Muggle money are you wanting to exchange?”
Here, Spencer stepped in. “I think 300 pounds ought to do it for now.” He handed over the crisp notes, and received a medium-sized scarlet bag with a large embroidered “G” near the tassel. The goblin next proceeded to fill the bag with handfuls of Knuts, a few score of Sickles, and a couple dozen Galleons. He smiled curtly and reminded them that Gringott’s did accept private bank accounts, should any money wish to be transferred into the young lady’s care. Spencer thanked him, and the three moved out of the pristine marble hall back into the hubbub of Diagon Alley. Mr. Evans was remarking at how efficient the bank seemed, and lamented that the bank he worked for could not hire goblins. “They are so to-the-point, don’t you think Vi?”
“Oh, yes dear,” said Mrs. Evans distractedly, as she looked around in wonder. None of the three knew where to start first. Fortunately, the bustling crowd jostled them into the doorway of a large shop called Flourish and Blotts. It was a giant bookstore, but unlike any shop Lily had ever seen. She was used to the immaculately organized rows of stores like Humphrey Book Barn, and this store was anything but immaculate. Books of many different sizes and colors were piled haphazardly on dusty shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Many of them talked, read themselves, turned colors, or changed places. The subjects were amazing as well. In the Animal section, Lily saw books on dragons and unicorns”two creatures she was sure did not exist. The Fiction section screamed (sometimes literally!) titles like The Hag Who Came in from the Cold and Spells and Sensibility. Lily reluctantly made her way toward the crowded “Textbooks” area, expecting to find a more mundane selection of books, but as she withdrew her list, she was excited once more. She gazed in awe at the selection of texts, and imagined the classes that would be taught from these pages.
***
“Are we walking, Mum, or taking the car?” Remus Lupin asked as the clock struck ten on the morning of the thirty-first.
“I think your father wants to walk”Charing Cross really isn’t too far from here, you know. Right, John? We’re walking?” Rhea Lupin asked her husband.
“I think so. What is it, five days ‘til? You’ve probably got a bit of pent-up energy, eh Remus?”
His father was, of course, referring to the upcoming full moon. “Four days, Dad.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I should have guessed by the state of your hair!” He winked at his son.
Remus managed to smile back. His Muggle father tried so hard to make light of the situation whenever he could. It’s not like it was a generally laughable state, being a werewolf, but John Lupin really had no way of knowing how much pain his son went through twelve times a year. So Remus would indulge him.
It was true, also, that he had a lot of pent-up energy. He wasn’t sure if this was due to his impending transformation or to the extreme nervousness he was starting to feel about Hogwarts. Everything about his schooling had been settled with Professor Dumbledore, of course, but today”the journey to Diagon Alley”would be Remus’ first test for himself. There would surely be Hogwarts-bound students doing their shopping today, and Remus was determined to act perfectly normal and, if he could, make some friends.
An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as he looked outside the foyer windows to Grimmauld Place. It was a sticky summer morning, but he still felt so cold. Nerves. It was all nerves. His foot started twitching”a purely animal instinct he hadn’t yet learned to master. “Should we go, then?” he asked his parents, who were now looking at him with their usual mix of pity, worry, and pride. It was a funny thing to see his parents regard him this way. Few people could wrangle such a combination of feelings into one look, but the Lupins had most definitely mastered it. Day in, day out, the same look. Remus sent them a look of his own, imploring them to please get a move on.
So the Lupins departed. As they drew near Number Twelve, Remus saw the Black family cross their own threshold onto the street. The Lupins and the Blacks rarely interacted with each other. In fact, the Blacks were considered by almost everyone on the street to be extraordinarily supercilious and not to be dealt with. And that, apparently, was how Mr. and Mrs. Black liked it.
The Blacks had two boys, Remus knew. One was just as bad as his father”Regulus was his name, or something funny like that. The other, however, at least smiled at Remus whenever he passed. Sirius. Sirius Black. Though the Lupins had moved to London from the country three years previously, Remus and Sirius had only ever had three or four encounters”one involving an extremely tense moment and the accidental setting-on-fire of the bushes in front of Number Eleven by Remus. He had been so nervous that day, on edge as the moon was approaching, and if Sirius had found out he was a wizard”well, then there would be no way there would ever be a possibility for friendship. Surely the Blacks would not hold for such nonsense. And though Remus definitely recalled the curious look on Sirius’s face, neither boy had ever spoken about it again. Actually, they hadn’t spoken to each other at all since then, but that was beside the point.
“Hello, Mrs. Black,” said Rhea as politely as she could.
As expected, Mrs. Black gave no response, merely moved the wrinkled corners of her mouth into what could perhaps have passed for a smile. Perhaps.
Remus glanced at Sirius just in time to see him roll his eyes. Remus had trouble stifling his laugh, and flashed a covert grin at Sirius. Regulus Black, the younger boy, watched the exchange with a frown, but didn’t say anything.
“Bye, Remus!” Sirius called suddenly as the Lupins moved on. Remus turned around, unsure of whether to risk a wave. He decided to give a little one to Sirius, carefully avoiding the eyes of Mrs. Black, who was no doubt infuriated with her son.
“Horrible, horrible family,” Rhea said under her breath. “I didn’t realize you were friends with one of the boys?” She was giving Remus another one of those looks...
“Oh, I’m not really friends with him. I’m actually really surprised he knew my name. But yeah, he’s not too bad.”
“Still, you should watch out for him. Don’t want him or his family to... get wind of your... situation,” John said to his son.
Remus nodded, though it pained him to do so. Was he doomed to be perpetually friendless? Because nobody could ever... get wind of his... situation? When his parents put all those pauses in their sentences it was almost as bad as the Lupin Look. Remus hated that they had to speak in code like that. But surely it was for the best...
***
After a brief, brisk walk, the family passed through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. “So your father and I are going to go to Fortescue’s for a bit, all right? And then we have to run a few other errands. Do you think you can get your cauldron and Potions supplies while we’re gone, and then we can all go to Ollivander’s?” Mrs. Lupin had a look of profound nostalgia in her eyes as she stood in the middle of the street. Remus nodded, and she handed him a bit of money from the sack. “OK, then, we’ll see you in a bit. And don’t just spend all your time in the bookstore!” she said, perhaps a bit too loudly. It wouldn’t be the best first impression if his fellow students knew he preferred Flourish and Blotts to Quality Quidditch Supplies.
“All right, Mum!” he said, going a bit pink. But as soon as his parents were out of sight, he did, in fact, head for the bookstore. There was something about the smell of old books that Remus really loved. Maybe it was the notion that they were permanent, unchanging”well, maybe not all the books in this store”but at least most of them. There was nothing quite like curling up with a good book. It was one of the only things that calmed him down before his transformations. Not like he didn’t enjoy Quidditch, mind you. Quite the contrary, in fact. He just wasn’t obsessed with it like most eleven-year-old boys, and had no real intention of trying out for his House Team once he got to school. But his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages was definitely careworn.
He was examining the new fiction selections by the front window of the store when something, no, someone caught his eye. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said to no one in particular. It couldn’t be....
Remus placed the book back on its shelf and peered out the window again. He pushed the door open and began to make his way across the street, weaving in and out of the crowds of people. No, really, it couldn’t be...
“Sirius?” he called, finally arriving in front of Eeylop’s Owl Emporium, where Sirius Black was indeed standing.
“I knew it!” said Sirius as he looked up and caught sight of Remus. His eyes grew wide with excitement. Remus thought he looked like he might start jumping up and down. “I just knew it! You’re a wizard, aren’t you?”
Remus nodded and grinned, an immense wave of relief washing over him. Somehow just knowing that Sirius was like him, would understand... All of his anxieties of the day began to fade away. Sirius Black was a wizard. Just to make sure, though, he asked: “And you?”
“Of course! This is brilliant!” Sirius said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe, after all these years...”
“Well, it’s not like your parents let us associate with each other,” Remus said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, he turned bright red, and rushed to apologize for any impudence. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean that your parents... I didn’t mean to say... I”” he stammered.
“Don’t worry about it, mate. You’re absolutely right”they’re nutters,” Sirius said, casting a quick glance around to make sure said nutters weren’t anywhere near.
“Where are they?” asked Remus, hoping he hadn’t offended Sirius too much.
“Probably down Knockturn Alley. I think my Mum fancies the owner of Borgin & Burkes.”
“Seriously?” Remus said with a laugh. “I’ve always wanted to go down that street”just to see what there is.”
“Not much. It’s actually a bit boring. I mean, there is some good stuff in Borgin & Burkes, but it’s pretty nasty...” Sirius trailed off, looked thoughtful for a moment, and then shrugged. “Anyway, are you going to Hogwarts, then?”
“Yeah, this will be my first year.”
“Mine too! Which House do you want to be in?”
“Oh, Gryffindor, for sure. My mum was in Gryffindor when she went.”
“Your parents are Wizards, too? How did my parents miss that?” Sirius asked, wide-eyed.
“Well, only my Mum’s a witch”my Dad’s a Muggle.”
“Does your Mum use magic around the house?”
“A lot of the time, yeah. It’s really interesting, actually. I’ve kind of lived in this half-magic, half-Muggle world. It’s kind of hard to explain. But she talks about Hogwarts all the time. She loved Gryffindor. If not Gryffindor, I think I would like to be a Ravenclaw.”
“Yeah, Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad. Gryffindor would be good, too. Really anything but Slytherin. Oh, it would make my parents so mad!”
“Why?” asked Remus, a bit horror-struck. Did Sirius have some sort of death wish?
“Oh, quite literally everyone in my family has been in Slytherin. Creepy gits. My parents think it’s the only way I can redeem myself for being such a lousy son.” Sirius gave a casual shrug, as if he was not the least bit interested in redeeming himself.
“But you don’t plan to do that at all, do you?” Remus asked with a smile.
“Not if I can help it!” said Sirius with a bit of a grin as he looked at his wristwatch.
“Oh, am I keeping you? I can go...” said Remus, glancing back at Flourish and Blotts.
“No, not at all! I’m supposed to meet my friend here, but he’s late, of course. If he ever shows up, I’ll introduce you...”
***
The very James Potter that Sirius was so anxiously awaiting was in Diagon Alley, but had yet to find his friend. Charles and Grace”who had Apparated to Diagon Alley”had met their son in the Floo Arrivals building, and were now insisting on discussing the course of the day with him, though he was drastically late for meeting Sirius. Quality Quidditch Supplies was so close, and yet so far....
“Let’s have a look at that reading list, son,” said Charles Potter. James handed it over, bouncing up and down on his toes impatiently. “These books are as old as I am, Grace!” exclaimed the elderly gentleman as he perused the list.
“I didn’t think that was possible!” she joked, winking at James. “Let me see… why, I guess you’re right. Old as dirt.”
James chuckled, while Mr. Potter chose to ignore the remark, and instead turned to his wife. “But seriously, Grace! We used these books when we were at Hogwarts!”
“Well I can’t imagine there have been huge developments in Transfiguration or Herbology or Potions”they’ve probably been using these books for generations!”
This statement was met with a grunt by Charles, who returned the list to James. “Well, if you’re going to be using these books, the classes’ll be no sweat for you, James, that’s for sure. Lots of homework some nights, but nothing you can’t handle,” answered Charles.
“Your father’s right,” Grace chimed in. “First year classes are only the basics. It’s O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that you need to worry about, but not for a few years.”
“Those are the big exams, right?”
“Yes, but I’ll wager you can wrangle up twenty or thirty Outstanding O.W.L.s, right Grace?” said Charles with a sort of proud grunt.
“My! Thirty? I don’t think that’s even possible, but we’ll just wait and see, right?” She looked positively certain James could get thirty, though.
“OK, well, can I go meet Sirius now? I’m really late...” James said, grabbing his father’s pocket watch and glancing at the time.
“Oh of course you can. Go, go!” said Grace. But as he ran away she pulled him back and tried to straighten his hair, but to no avail. She sighed and smiled at her son, whose bouncing had reached new heights. “Give me your list, Crazy, and I’ll pick up your supplies for you.”
“Thanks Mum!” he said, pressing the list into her hand. “See you in a bit!” He dashed away, leaving the Potters smiling in his wake.
It only took a few minutes for James to find Sirius, even through all the commotion and confusion of the Alley. He was talking animatedly to a tall, pale boy outside Eeylop’s Owl Emporium.
James snuck up behind Sirius, putting his finger to his lips to keep the brown-haired boy silent. He arrived just in time to hear Sirius say something as he looked at his watch: “I’m supposed to meet my friend here, but he’s late, of course. If he ever shows up, I’ll introduce you. His name is””
“James Potter,” he said, interrupting Sirius and thrusting out his hand.
Remus grinned as Sirius jumped. “Oy, Potter, you scared me! Cheeky little bugger.”
Remus kept grinning as he shook James’s hand. “Hi, I’m Remus Lupin.”
“Get this, James: he’s lived two doors down from us in London for years, but I had no idea he was a wizard! I guess I always suspected it, though, right Lupin?”
“Yeah, especially after I accidentally set Mrs. Hagemeyer from next door on fire when she scolded me!” James and Sirius both laughed.
“But that old hag deserved it, always hitting me with that blasted cane,” Sirius joked.
“Oh, I hate that thing! She really is a crotchety old lady, isn’t she? Well anyway, here I am, Remus Lupin, a wizard through and through, completely able to set people and things on fire.” He smiled again.
“Excellent,” Sirius grinned, somewhat mischievously, as if he was already planning targets.
***
About an hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin intercepted the three boys inside Gambol & Japes to take Remus to Ollivander’s, and James and Sirius decided to meander over to Madam Malkin’s for their robes (stopping, of course, at Quality Quidditch Supplies along the way).
“So Remus is your neighbor?” James asked as the boys joined a queue for their robes inside the crowded shop.
“Yep. Lives at Number Ten!” said Sirius as he idly fiddled with a rotating bowtie in a bin along the wall.
“But your parents never told you he was a wizard?”
“Ha!” Sirius said, putting down the bowtie (which was now emitting sparks). “I doubt they knew.” Pulling himself into an upright and perfectly haughty imitation of his father he said, “Nigellus and Algea Black do not mingle with the other inhabitants of Grimmauld Place!” Returning to his normal, slightly slouching posture he continued: “Anyway, even if they did know it’s not like they’d let me talk to him! But at least now I can have somewhere to sneak off to when we’re in London. It’s unbearable there usually.”
“Is he nice? I mean, I guess you don’t know him much, but...”
“Yeah, he’s pretty quiet, I think, but he did set that cow on fire, so that’s pretty neat! You should have seen the old biddy flame up! No permanent damage, of course, but oh man!”
James laughed as a harried shop assistant called him up to a vacant platform and started measuring him. After being fitted the boys moved to the back of the shop to pick up gloves and such, and were avidly discussing Quidditch (once again) in a back corner of the store when they heard a now familiar voice from the front”Remus was talking to a redheaded girl near the hat racks. James had never really paid attention to girls before, mainly being concerned with all things Quidditch, but something about the redhead made him forget about silly broomsticks”at least for a moment. She was quite pretty. “Who’s that with Remus?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“I don’t know mate, but it looks like they’re coming this way,” Sirius said.
***
As soon as she had collected all her textbooks, Lily took some money from her parents to go and buy her robes. A small chime sounded as she walked through the door of Madam Malkin’s Robe Shop. The main room was brightly lit, but smelled of mothballs. Lily was reminded of her late grandmother’s house. Three platforms for measuring stood in the middle of the room, each occupied by a young person with arms outstretched. A small queue was forming along the wall, and Lily joined it behind a tall, pale boy with longish brown hair. He gave her a small smile, turned to face the front of the store, and then turned back. He stuck out his hand, perhaps a bit timidly, and smiled again, wider this time. “Hi. I’m Remus Lupin. Going to Hogwarts?”
“Yes, I am! I’m Lily Evans. Are you going, too?”
Lily instantly liked this boy, her first Hogwarts friend! He seemed at once calm, yet slightly nervous. He had an easy, affable air about him, and she soon found herself engaged in conversation. “So, how long have you known you’re a wizard?” she asked.
“Well, all my life! My mum is a witch, and my dad’s a Muggle, but he’s fascinated by the whole thing, so I was pretty much brought up on it.”
Lily laughed at her stupidity. “Oh. Yes, I suppose you would be. It’s just weird for me, because I found out only ten days ago… It’s a big shock!”
“I’d bet so. I don’t know many Muggles at all”besides my Dad, of course, so I can’t really imagine. Although I did just find out my neighbor was a wizard, so I guess that’s kind of strange… Oh wait, I think this is me next.”
Sure enough, Remus was called to a vacant block, and Lily giggled as a tape measure began flying all around his body. She thought it a little unnecessary to measure between his nostrils, but then again, maybe that was some strange custom in this world… She herself was called up shortly after Remus, and a haggard-looking witch began taking her size. “Hello, miss,” she said shortly. “I ‘spose you’re excited for school and all… I know I can’t wait for this frenzy to be over, right? Well, what’ll be your wand arm, missy? Right or Left?” she asked as the tape measure began swarming around with some black cloth, which soon wrapped itself around her body.
“Um… I guess right…” Lily was right-handed, and she assumed this was the correct choice. She stared in wonder as a small, pencil-thin pocket began sewing itself into the robe’s sleeve on her left side.
“Right. That little slot there’s for your wand… Easy access, eh? Quite an ingenious invention; it’ll save you the trouble of keeping it in your pants pocket! Well, you’re done now. Hats are over on the east wall”self-serving, thank Merlin, gloves are in that bin by the back, and cloaks are hanging on the west wall. Here are your three work robes. Thanks for shopping at Malkin’s. NEXT!”
Lily gathered her bundle, amazed at the speed with which the robes were made. She then moved to the hat wall, where a pointed red hat seemed to be selling itself to Remus. He politely listened to its sales pitch, and then moved toward the all-black section. She caught up with him there. “It’s so much easier in the Muggle world, you know,” he said as he tried on various black hats, “without talking clothing. That was the third hat that tried to sell itself to me!” Lily giggled again, and picked up a hat. In tandem, they moved towards the bins to collect their dragon-hide gloves. As they neared the cloak wall, Lily caught sight of two boys laughing gaily amidst some leopard-print wraps. Remus also saw them”evidently he knew them, as he steered Lily in their direction.
“Remus!” called out one as they approached; a taller boy with longer, black hair and twinkling gray eyes.
“Hey, Sirius. Hey, James. This is Lily... Evans, right? She’s going to Hogwarts with us.”
“Excellent!” Sirius said with a somewhat mischievous grin. Lily blushed. “Lily, it is great to meet you,” said the boy as he extended his hand without even an air of nervousness. “I myself am Sirius Nigellus Black, and I plan to be a Gryffindor. My ugly friend here is James Potter, and he plans to be Seeker for Puddlemere United, or Minister of Magic, at the very least.” The three boys laughed. Lily pretended to, although she was overwhelmingly confused.
Sirius must have perceived this. “Wait a tick! I think we’ve got ourselves a Muggle-born!”
“Oh yeah, forgot to mention that,” said Remus.
“No problem at all, mate. We’re mighty pleased to meet you, right James?” answered Sirius.
James opened his mouth, but no words came out. After an agonizing few seconds he finally came up with a lackluster, “Yes, very.”
Lily faltered. Sirius’s boisterous greeting had caught her off guard”mainly because she had no idea what half of it meant; it seemed filled with nonsense words to her. She shook Sirius and James’s hands in turn. “Um… Thank you, I think.” she managed to spit out, feeling supremely dim-witted. Frantically searching around for something, anything to say, she blurted out the first question that popped into her head: “Um… is there really a Minister of Magic? In the government?”
James laughed. Apparently he had found his voice: “Well, not in your lot’s government, no offense. We keep our own ministry. Keeps Muggles from bungling things up.”
“Oh,” said Lily softly, thinking that perhaps she should have kept silent. Great. This boy doesn’t like Muggles. I’ll bet he’s only being polite and doesn’t really want me at Hogwarts at all! He must have sensed her discomfort, though, as he began to backpedal very quickly.
“Well, er, I don’t mean to say that all Muggles are prats, of course. Most of you are fine. But you know how people in the government always have a tendency to… er…” It was clear James didn’t know the first thing about politics or the prats in the government. He continued, though, with apparently renewed confidence. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just…” Lily merely smiled cautiously as he trailed off. “Right then. Now that I’ve messed things up, somebody else take over!” Remus jumped in, as Sirius was laughing uncontrollably at James’s way with words, or lack thereof.
“Do you all want to go to Fortescue’s for some ice cream?” Remus asked, his eyes darting between the two boys and Lily. Lily nodded emphatically. Sirius was still laughing, but managed something like a nod. James, however, was far from laughter. He felt that he had wronged things up something awful, and a guilty feeling kicked around in his stomach. As he watched Remus escort her to the door he couldn’t help but feel a tiny pang of jealousy. No, it wasn’t tiny. It was pretty big, and growing with each step she took. James was driven out of his gaze by a slap on the back from Sirius, who gestured to the door of the shop, which Remus and Lily had just exited.
Together the two boys walked out into the street. As they neared the ice cream parlor, however, they saw that Remus and Lily had been sidetracked near the entrance to Knockturn Alley. James smiled as he saw Lily scrambling to pick up some packages from the ground, then groaned as he saw who they belonged to. A pretty, if somewhat haughty-looking girl with thick, dark brown hair stood glaring down at Lily with a look of utter disgust on her face. Behind her stood a few boys, some who were approximately twice Lily’s size, and none who looked at all pleasant. James and Sirius hurried over and helped Lily gather the packages. “You’ve got some suspicious books here, don’t you think, Bellatrix?” James sneered as he grabbed a black book titled 101 Unbeatable Jinxes.
“Oh, Potter… What a nice surprise.” She returned his sneer. “And Sirius, what joy,” she said. James saw Sirius roll his eyes as Bellatrix Black surveyed him, a look of complete disgust etched on her face. “Cavorting with Mudbloods now, are we? I doubt that your mother will be very pleased!” She had an awfully chill voice, and James started to retort, but Sirius beat him to it.
“You leave Lily out of this, Bellatrix. She’s got nothing to do with you or your friends, and we’d all like to keep it that way, all right?”
“Fine with us, cousin dearest.” Sirius’s insult had apparently not fazed her in the slightest. “We’ve long learned not to associate with Mudbloods. I just wish you would have the same sense, but I guess there’s one in every family…” Her entire company sniggered, then walked back into Knockturn Alley. Lily was beet red, and murmured her thanks to Sirius.
“It’s no problem, really, Lily. I just hope you didn’t get frostbite when you ran into that frigid… well, into my lovely cousin Bellatrix Black,” he responded with a smile.
James smiled at Sirius’s remark, but felt jealous all over again, and mentally kicked himself for not defending Lily first.
“Yeah, she doesn’t seem very friendly,” Lily said with a short laugh, although she didn’t feel much like laughing on the inside. “And what did she call me?”
“Mudblood,” James answered, jumping at the chance to help Lily. “It’s a really, really awful term for someone like you. I mean,” he stammered as Lily’s face fell, “what I meant to say is it’s a really, really awful term for wizards and witches who are Muggle-born.”
“They say it because it makes it sound like your blood is dirtier than theirs”which is supposedly pure and all. But there are a lot of magical things in the world, and blood is just blood no matter what,” Remus added quietly, a somewhat forlorn look on his face. “You can’t change what you are, after all.”
“Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining it to me. I guess I shouldn’t let it upset me, though. Insulting my blood doesn’t really insult me, does it?” She managed a weak smile, though it really did upset her quite a bit.
The three boys just nodded in agreement and the somewhat more sullen foursome continued on towards Fortescue’s.
***
Lily pondered the day’s events the entire car ride home. Diagon Alley had been remarkable through and through. Her mother was enthralled by the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts. Her father, on the other hand, had returned to Gringott’s three times to admire their banking system. As a result of these trips, Lily now had a pretty sizeable account in vault number 117. But it was neither the shops nor the bank that Lily thought about now. It was the people. Three people, in particular. Remus had fast become a close friend. There seemed to be a common thread woven between the two, and they had promised to correspond over the next month.
She couldn’t quite tell what had drawn her to him. He wasn’t as crazily outgoing as Sirius and he was much better at expressing himself than James… But she knew these were just trivial matters. No, she thought that maybe the connection was deeper. Though they both got along well with James and Sirius, she couldn’t help but feel that she and Remus were sort of outsiders, and this comforted her. He was shy but not withdrawn. He was friendly without being aggressive.
The other two boys confused her, however. It was clear that all three were good friends or well on the way to becoming good friends, yet Sirius and James had seemed so different from Remus”so bold; arrogant even. They hardly seemed eleven years old. She was still taken aback by some of their remarks, and also didn’t understand many of them. Lily just supposed that wizards were raised differently, especially as she thought of the slightly sinister group she had run into near Knockturn Alley. They seemed to dislike Muggles very much, which she assumed was normal. After all, lots of groups disliked each other in her world; this distaste was probably bred into them. She was amazed at the difference though, between that girl and Sirius. Could they really be cousins? He was so fun and kind, and she was, well, not. I guess it’s usual to have one oddball in the family, she thought. Didn’t that Bellatrix even say as much? “There’s one in every family”? Sadly, though, she very much suspected the oddball in the Black family might actually be Sirius.
A thousand stars blinked sleepily at her in the darkening night sky. Her parents were having a lively discussion about the Owl Post (her father was very disappointed at the lack of exploding stamps), and Petunia had gone home with a friend from the party, leaving Lily alone with her thoughts. She glanced over at her new magic wand, lying in a beautiful mahogany box. Ollivander’s wand shop had been a highlight of her day, despite the fact that Mr. Ollivander was more than a little creepy. She had foolishly waved around two or three wands without a clue as how to work them. Finally, Mr. Ollivander’s long, spindly fingers had placed a thin, light wand in her hand. Immediately, she felt giddy all over. The chosen wand (made of willow, ten and a quarter inches long) had shot out many green and gold sparkles, and Lily was delighted to hear that it had a hair from the tail of a unicorn hidden in its swishy depths.
The revelation that unicorns did actually exist (dragons, too!) was only one of the many wonders of the day. She and the three boys had sat down for some ice cream at a fabulous parlor (she couldn’t remember the name), and Sirius, Remus, and James told her all about the wizard’s game Quidditch, a look of glowing delight on their faces. The thought of witches flying around on broomsticks made Lily giggle as she thought of the American television show “Bewitched.” She asked the boys if any of them wiggled their noses to cast spells, but they stared back at her as if antlers had recently sprung out of her head. Note to self: she thought. Not familiar with television shows.
In fact, Sirius and James hadn’t seemed familiar with many of the topics she had mentioned. Telephones were relatively unheard of, stamps also, and they had never even seen the London Underground, much less ridden on it. Lily could think only of the huge gap that must exist between their two worlds, and hoped that she could work hard enough to cross it….