The Muggleborn Witch

Chapter 3: Diagon Alley

Lily stared at the road ahead of her with her mouth wide open. It wasn't beautiful, but it was... magical. Even Petunia's jaw dropped before she quickly corrected her face into a scowl. She wasn't allowed to like this. It wasn't her world and never would be. The bartender grinned at them and nodded. "Welcome to Diagon Alley." He walked away leaving the Evans family standing by the entrance in shock.
Soon enough, they were pushed into the crowd by a family of wizards with lots of children. "SIRIUS!" one of the women snapped. "Hurry up I don't have time for this!" A boy with brown curly hair trotted after them his head down and a frown etched on his face.
Why wasn't he happy? Lily wondered. This is the best place in the entire world!
"Come along Lily," Mr. Evans said grinning. "We'd better go and get all of your supplies."
Lily nodded and they all stepped further onto the road. Lily looked down at her letter and looked at her list. "It says we need to go to the bank first to get Wizarding money. It should be right about there..." she said pointing straight ahead. She looked up and gasped. Ahead of them was a magnificent white building that looked like it could tip over any second. Without waiting for her parents or even Petunia, Lily sprinted off into the crowd, her family quickly following behind.
When they got to the bank, they were greeted by several weird looking creatures with long noses. Inside the bank it looked even better than on the outside. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and everything was spotless and perfectly in order. Eventually, they stepped up to one of the creatures, whom Lily soon discovered to be a goblin. They exchanged some money for enough Wizarding money to get Lily's school supplies and then some extra.
They left the bank and continued into the busy pathway again. They spent hours going into all of the shops, buying school supplies for Lily's list, and just wandering around and taking in this little piece of the wizarding world that they would get to see together as a family.
By the end of the day, they were all very tired. Lily looked down at her list for the hundredth time that day, even though she knew what was missing. "All I need is a wand." she said. This was the part that she had most been looking forward to. A wand sounded so amazing!
"We'll wait outside for you here darling," Mrs. Evans told her. "You go ahead inside."
Lily gave them a small smile and ran off into the alleyway. She stopped in front of a small shop with an old sign swinging above the door: Ollivander's Wand Shop.
As Lily gives the door a push, it gives a slight creak and opens to a small store lined with shelf after shelf of boxes with wands tucked inside.
A voice shook her from her thoughts. "Hello there, miss," he said. "I assume you're here to buy a wand?"
Lily nodded quickly at the man that stood in front of her. "Yes, sir."
He nodded at her and walked away from her and towards a shelf, talking while he moved around several boxes. "And what's your name?"
"Lily. Lily Evans."
"Please to meet you. My name is Garrick Ollivander." he walked back towards her and handed her a box. "Go ahead and open it."
Lily slid the top of the box off and looked at the wand inside. It was beautiful. It had small flowers engraved that became smaller as you went further towards the tip of the wand.
"Go ahead and give it a swish," Mr. Ollivander waved to the box.
Lily picked it up slowly and gave it a small flick of her wrist. Several of the boxes around her immediately tumbled to the floor. Lily quickly put the wand back in its box and stepped away from it carefully.
"Not to worry, not to worry," Mr. Ollivander said. "We'll find the right one for you."
He came back a few minutes afterwards with another box in his hand. He put it in front of her and watched her as she slipped the wand out. It was a bit longer than the last one, and had a spiral running up the sides.
Lily gave it a smaller swish and she immediately felt a shiver go up her spine. But she didn't feel cold. It was the most wonderful feeling she had ever felt. She felt warm inside, as if a light had just been turned on inside her.
Lily could already tell that this was something she would never be able to forget.