Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize basically belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
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Chapter 2: Knockturn Alley
The rest of the summer dragged for Lily. She could hardly wait for September to come. Her enthusiasm for magic and studies seemed to confirm to her parents that they had made the right decision to send her to Hogwarts.
Lily's upcoming education in magic dominated most of the conversations during the holiday. They still enjoyed seeing the sights of Italy however Petunia seemed to be much more quiet. Not only were her parents practically ignoring her while fawning over Lily, but Petunia was also losing her best friend and sister to magic. Lily would be far away for the next seven years learning to do strange things. It just seemed unnatural. Still, she tried to cheerful for Lily's sake.
After they returned home, August 30th arrived with relative speed. Lily waited impatiently by the door for Mr. McMillan. Every once in a while she would peek out the window to see if he was approaching the front walkway. Just when she started to think that he would not show up she heard a loud crash coming from the living room followed by a scream.
Lily and her parents rushed into the living room to find Petunia crouched behind the couch shaking from fear. When they looked up they saw half the living room covered in soot and in the middle of the mess was Mr. McMillan, dusting himself off and grinning at them. The Evans just stood there dumbfounded when he realized something and pulled out his wand. He waved it and said, "Scourgify!" and the living room suddenly had no evidence of the soot that had been scattered about.
"Wow! That was amazing! I suppose you wouldn't be able to show Lily how to do that? It would make my life so much easier." exclaimed Mrs. Evans.
"I am afraid Lily won't be allowed to do that outside of Hogwarts until she is seventeen," he replied. Looking at Lily, he said, "Well, we must be going. We will be traveling by Floo powder."
He showed Lily how to use it. She eyed the green flames with uncertainty but if she was to join the magical world she would need to take some leaps of faith. She was told to say 'Diagon Alley' clearly, however when she stepped into the flames she felt a lump in her throat and muttered something that sounded a bit different. She felt a spinning sensation and she was flying through the system when she suddenly felt herself slow down and come crashing out of another fireplace. She lay still trying to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her.
She slowly got up and looked around. She was in some kind of shop filled with scary looking objects. Some looked like they could be used as weapons and others were just plain strange. Was this where she was supposed to be? Mr. McMillan said he would be right behind her. She waited for a moment until she heard a gruff voice behind her say, "What's a pretty little Mudblood like yourself doin' in my store, eh?"
Lily turned around and gasped as she saw that the man was tall and had a large jagged scar across his face going from one cheek across his nose to the other cheek. She muttered, "Uh, erm, terribly sorry sir, erm, I think I, uh, came to the wrong place. Is this Diagon Alley?"
He made a loud sound almost like a laugh and gave her such a frightening look that she ran out of the shop into the alley. She kept running, not sure where she was going until she crashed into something, or rather someone. As she looked up she saw a pair of pale eyes belonging to a boy about her age. He had the palest blond hair she had ever seen on a boy. His eyes, though, weren't just pale, they had a cold and vicious glint to them that sent shivers of fear down her spine.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," she explained.
The boy just looked at her with disgust. "Clearly, you weren't. You look like you must be a Mudblood with your Muggle clothes and clueless look about you. You will soon know better than to come to Knockturn Alley where the likes of you don't belong. Maybe I should teach you some manners." He pulled out a wand.
Again Lily felt the need to run. She didn't have to be part of the magical world for long to realize he wasn't likely going to shoot lilies out of his wand at her. As she turned and sprinted away she could feel his footsteps following her. She heard him mutter something only to feel something hit her in the back and knock her to the ground a second later. She was unable to move. She could feel him approaching her and dread started to pour into her. She was defenseless. If only she could move…
Just as she thought he would kill her or at least really hurt her she heard a commotion. She felt the spell starting to wear off and was able to move a little bit. Gradually she turned over and saw the blond boy being pummeled to the ground by a boy with slightly long black hair. There was a fierceness about his black eyes. Not out of cruelty, Lily thought, but out of a need to protect her. The blond boy's wand was laying on the ground several feet away and he was nearly unconscious when the boy with the black hair jumped up and grabbed Lily's hand. By this time the spell had completely worn off and Lily was able to stand and run alongside the boy as he led her through the alley and out into a larger brighter alley. Finally he stopped running and turned to her.
"Are you ok? Did Malfoy hurt you?" he asked.
"I am fine although that is the first spell that has been performed on me so I feel kind of strange. I will be fine though. I owe you my thanks," she said with a smile. "My name is Lily Evans."
"Nice to meet you, Evans. I am Sirius Black," he replied with a twinkle in his eye. Lily's smile grew wider. "What were you doing back there in Knockturn Alley, anyway? It's not like a pretty lass like yourself belongs in a disgusting place like that."
"I traveled by Floo powder, my first time. I don't think I was very clear with my enunciation. I ended up in a shop in that alley and then got lost. What were you doing there anyway? You seem too nice to be in that sort of place," she said.
"I don't like that place, however my mum does and she needed to do some shopping there." Sirius' eyes darkened as he answered her. He paused, then brightened again. "You must be Muggleborn."
"I am, although I am starting to think that might not be such a good thing in the wizarding world," Lily replied sadly.
"Why?"
"The way wizards have treated me so far, except for you and Mr. McMillan, of course. They look at me like I am a freak. One even called me something, I think it was Mudblood. Whatever it was it didn't sound nice," she sadly said.
"You might as well find out now that there are people who feel that wizardry should be confined to all-wizard families, or Purebloods as they call it. More like inbreeds if you ask me. They think they are better than people with Muggle families," he said with a scowl.
"Are you from a Muggle family, too?" she asked.
His face took on a hint of sarcasm. "I wish, but no. My family is one of those crazed Pureblood families. Just so you know, I think they're full of crap with those notions." He walked her up to a small shop with a display case full of books. It said Flourish and Blotts on a sign above the window.
Just then Lily heard a gasp and turned to see Mr. McMillan running up to her with a look of immense relief. "There you are! I was so worried that I wouldn't find you, then what would I tell your folks?" he exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Mr. McMillan, Sirius here helped me find my way." She turned to Sirius. "Again, thank you so much for helping me. I don't know what would have happened…"
"Forget about it. Always glad to help a damsel in distress." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "With that, I must be off, before my loving mum misses me," he added with dry sarcasm. "I will see you at Hogwarts, Evans. I will also be starting my first year."
Lily smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful! See you there!"
With a wink and a grin, he turned and walked back toward Knockturn Alley.
Lily had been frightened by her initial experiences in the magical world in London, but they quickly turned positive when she met Sirius, her first magical friend. She was relieved to know that she would have a friend at Hogwarts. While she was excited about going to school, she had been extremely nervous that nobody would accept her.
"Ready to explore Diagon Alley, Lily?" Mr. McMillan asked.
"You bet!" Lily happily replied, following him into Flourish and Blotts.
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Thanks to Remus'sweetie, mae513, and Fizzy for the reviews. Fizzy- sorry, wasn't James in this chapter. Not to worry, though, for if you hang on until the 3rd chapter then you won't be disappointed. As for the chapter length, most of this I wrote some time ago so the chapter length is pretty set, however they may get a little longer as the story progresses. I am also doing some revisions so that may add a little length.
I know a lot of this is introductory and we haven't hit the meat of the story yet - hang in there and keep reading and please leave a review!
Next chapter is more of Diagon Alley and we meet yet another well loved character - a vital one to the entire story (hint hint hint).
Cheers!
MsNorris