Shopping time

[Sorry for the long wait and I AM BACK.... Read the An at end if you want to know more. Also no schedule anymore as it's too stressful. I will try to upload once a week but no guarantee. Hope you like the chapter]

_*_*_*_*

It's been a while now and I have been visiting the park a lot more frequently. My study sessions with 'mother' have slowed down as I have nothing new to learn currently at my level.

I have reached a basic level in occlumency and a few levels lesser in legilimency. I am not even sure about the latter as it has been tested only on a muggle.

Anyway it seems my luck finally turned up as I spot the very person I had been wanting to meet. I was seated on top of a thick branch of a tree atop the mound in the park.

'What was I doing up there ?'

Well I was reading a book...Hogwarts: A history to be specific. It was a really boring read but it had some information about the castle which would save me some time when I go there so I endured but not today it seems.

I spotted two girls about my age arriving at the park. One of them had wavy auburn hair and green eyes. This one was no doubt Lily Evans and she was here with her sister Petunia who had black hair and I wasn't bothered to notice more.

I calmly observed them as they began playing or atleast tried doing so. Petunia kept getting angry at Lily while Lily just whimpered and followed her like a lost puppy.

I wanted to step in seeing as she was vulnerable now but didn't as I saw Lily using magic to gather flowers and change their color.

After doing so, she walked towards Petunia.

"Tuney, look what I made for you"

She hands her sister the flowers whose expression changes from anger to shock and finally morphs into a happy smile.

"For me...Lily? Where did you find them..these are simply lovely."

"I found them with my gift Tuney...see I even changed the colors to what you like. My gift is not evil like you said. Do you like them?"

Petunia's grin froze as her face curled up in disgust but I could see the hidden envy in her eyes.

"You….made them?"

Lily nods.

Petunia drops the flowers and with unhidden contempt says, " Lily...I told you not to use that freakishness of yours but you don't listen, do you?"

"You think you are better than me if you do these freaky tricks of yours?"

Lily looks aghast. "But...Tuney...I just.."

Petunia interrupts her, "I don't want to hear any of it Lily. I thought you would change but...no, you showed me that freakishness again after I told you not to...You may have charmed Mum and Dad with it but if you think you can do the same with me then you are mistaken."

"...Sorry Tuney..I am sorry..I won't use my freakishness again. Please forgive me.."Lily says as her tears start falling down.

"No Lily, I can't as you have showed me that you are still a freak….and that you will always be one." Petunia replies and storms away.

It seems that she didn't need to grow up to be an envious bitch. Honestly, the venom in her voice shocked me. It seems that in this timeline or version of the Potterverse, the two sister's relationship is already in tatters.

Well that's less work for me I guess...Lily is all alone now and it would be easier to manipulate her now that she is vulnerable.

'Why would I want to do that?'

Well for starters she is a witch my age and one that is going to be a very good one in the future if her talent is the same as canon. She would make a good assistant if I succeed in turning her to my side.

Another reason, the slightly nefarious one is that I need a guinea pig that can use magic so that I can test things I normally can't with a muggle so Lily will do fine in that role for now.

Of course I won't test anything dangerous as I still need her assistance. I could try turning her to my side but it requires trust and manipulation, lots of manipulation if I want her to see the world like me.

I jump down from the tree as the soft grass softens my landing. I walk towards Lily who hasn't noticed me yet as she is busy sobbing on the grass floor.

"Need this?" I ask her as I take my handkerchief out.

She looks surprised and takes it before quickly wiping her tears away.

"Thank You…"

"No problem I am happy to help a damsel in distress…"

Her face gains a smile at that and she gets up dusting her clothes.

"Oh...how impolite of me, I forgot to introduce myself...I am Severus. Severus Prince" I say as I offer my hand.

She grabs it and says, "I am Lily. Lily Evans. Thanks for your help."

"Nice to meet you Lily….though I do wonder why your friend was mad at a lovely lady like you."

Her face flushes upon hearing that. "She was actually my sister. We used to get along well but ever since my gift manifested…."

She stops as she realises she was revealing too much to a stranger she just met.

"What is your gift..?"I ask to probe her further.

"I...I am sorry but my mum told me not to talk about it…." she looks down guiltily at her feet.

"Well I did notice you changing the colors of those flowers…."

"Y-you did?! How? Where were you?" She asks as panic begins setting on her face.

"I was sitting on top of that tree.."I point at the one. "....reading a book. Nobody ever comes to this park usually so I like the quiet and peace I get here."

"Oh…" she says.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone about your gift as I too have a 'gift' as you call it."

I lift the book with magic as Lily's eyes widen at the sight. I pull flowers nearby and have them circle me as I change their colors before finally dropping them one her.

"You are like me!"

"Well yes….I suppose and your sister was wrong Lily."

"What do you mean?"

"You are not a freak Lily."

"Then what am I?"

"You are a witch Lily."

And that's how I met and befriended Lily. After a bit of convincing, she finally accepted and admitted the truth of what I told her.

Over the next few weeks I kept meeting her and it was not long before 'I' was her most trusted friend.

The Lily as of now is not the same one as in canon. I told her the norms and regulations of the wizarding world. I told her about the houses and what they entailed and overall just general wizarding laws.

In canon, she had gone to Hogwarts without much knowledge about it and was thus influenced by the common prejudices and wizarding propaganda. She was sorted into Gryffindor and was heavily influenced by them.

She abandoned Snape because she believed what James and his 'friends' said. Snape being in Slytherin didn't help and their relationship slowly deteriorated until Snape snapping made their relationship come to a sad end.

I don't plan on making the same mistakes like Snape and I have the situation under my control now. Snape regarded Lily in a higher position than she ever did for him.

This time though it will be the opposite as I am the one who has the higher ground. Lily will be entering the wizarding not as a naive clueless muggleborn but as a cautious one.

I have painted the picture of a bleak and dull future for a muggleborn in her head and this will make her view the wizarding world as a not so happy place and she will rely on me.

…..

I finally introduced Lily to my mother and she was pleased and very happy to see me bring a friend home. She was even more happy when I told her that Lily was a witch.

It seems that she was worried about me not making any at Hogwarts with my mature attitude and now she was reassured and more relaxed.

I also met Lily's parents who were shocked and surprised to learn about the wizarding world. Of course, I had told Lily not to tell her parents much about the way muggleborns were treated as I didn't want her parents deciding not to send her to Hogwarts.

Lily who had started clinging to me agreed easily enough and didn't tell anyone. I didn't really have much use for her now but I was still curious about how she beat the killing curse. A certain senile old man said that it was 'love' but if that was the case, literally everyone who tried tanking a killing curse for their loved ones didn't love them enough.

There must be more to it than 'love' as while magic can be fueled by emotions. Its only fuel for magic not magic itself. But for now all I have are speculations that I have no way of understanding.

.....

[A few months later]

The day finally arrived when an owl came barging into my house with my much awaited hogwarts letter.

"Look Severus, your letter has finally arrived. Go on now, open it"

I did as told and after giving the owl something to munch on, I opened the letter.

The letter was in a dusty brown parchment and had a seal on it with the Hogwarts insignia.

The contents were as follows:

-*-*-*

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus DumbleDore

(Order of Merlin: First Class, Grand Sorc. ,Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards.)

Dear Mr. Prince,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31July.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

-*-*-*

Hmm….the letter was as expected and damn did Dumbledore have a lot of titles. It shows how much power he holds. Its a pity he doesn't know how to utilise it.

There was another parchment attached inside the envelope which stated the things a first year must have when they attend Hogwarts.

It stated the usual things like the uniform which required a set of robes, a pair of protective gloves and for some reason a pointy hat. I bet nobody ever wears those.

Then the books needed for the first years were also stated. I had most of the books as mother had the same books during her time in Hogwarts but she insisted on getting some new ones too as changes have been made over the years.

Of course some books remained the same while some had content added and some removed with this being more common.

The wizarding education system was one that bred ignorance and made people sheep minded. By hiding knowledge from the common populace, the Noble families kept their power and suppressed any one from rising against them.

Of course, another reason for this was the aftermath of Grindelwald's terror. A single man shaking their foundations scared them and after his defeat, knowledge that was common was removed and the fools reduced their strength doing so.

But they didn't understand that half-knowledge is more dangerous when compared to the latter. Voldemort with his half-knowledge about horcruxes went insane and left many bodies in his wake.

Well I don't plan on being ignorant and will grasp every knowledge I get and since I have insider knowledge, I will use the Room of Requirement to its fullest.

After looking through the list, I only needed some books, the robes and of course, last but not the least, a wand.

After a few days, Mother was finally taking me to Diagon Alley to shop for supplies. She had changed into her witch robes and even made me wear one.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I can't help but smile as I take in my new look. Gone were the days where my hair was oily and now I had proper dry hair which were still long.

We sold the house and moved out of the dirty Spinner's End. Mother wanted to move into Hogsmeade but decided not to as I have a friend here so we moved into Lily's neighbourhood.

As for money, we sold the house at a high price as Mother restored it with magic then mother started selling potions and made a bit of money with that.

And so we headed for diagon Alley in a muggle bus. A few people stared at our attire but we didn't pay it any heed. I wanted to apparate to experience the wizarding world equivalent of teleportation but mother didn't agree as it had been quite a while since she attempted it and didn't want to risk 'splinching' and me being a person who valued life above all (mine of course) complied.

After a while, we finally reached the place. Charring cross road was the name of the street and right in between a bookshop and a record shop was a dingy inn that was very out of place.

The people around didn't notice it though and walked past it as if it didn't exist. It was quite obvious to me now that this was none other than the Leaky Cauldron.

"We are here now, Severus. You see that old inn…"Mother said, pointing at the Inn.

"That's the Leaky Cauldron, the way to diagon alley is through this place. It has been warded with strong muggle repelling charms so no muggle will ever find it."

Once inside, I felt like I was in a completely different era. The pub was filled with people wearing clothes from the medieval ages. Robes, pointy hats, and all the generic witch or wizard attire.

There were some who were apparently trying to 'blend' in with muggles but they were the ones who stood out the most. They were wearing outdated clothes and looked homeless.

Anyway we made our way to the innkeeper who if I recall was named Tom. We asked him for passage and he obliged by opening the door to the back of the inn.

After a few moments of tapping walls in a pattern, the walls parted and thus allowing us access to Diagon alley.

Once we stepped in, I looked around and found myself in a place which could be described as a fantasy world rpg beginner's town with tons of npcs.

If the clothes were weird then the place was like a cluster of buildings all belonging to different eras and were built in ways that would make an architect cringe.

Well, this explained that the weasley's weren't the only ones without a proper building sense.

First, we went to Gringotts which was the first location we needed to go to withdraw some money. It was down the alley and it was an imposing white marble building.

The stairs led us to two bronze doors followed by two silver doors which were engraved with the words:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

After reading that fun poem, we were led inside by a goblin. Now Goblins were interesting creatures. They were fair-skinned short midgets who ran a bank for wizards.

The goblins looked uglier than human midgets and had longer fingers and toes than humans their size. They had dome shaped heads not unlike house elves. I wouldn't be surprised if house elves were related to goblins though its unlikely.

Well atleast the goblins weren't green and didn't give any exp when killed. I looked around the tall hall with its white marble and couldn't help but find it ironic that goblins, the short creatures, built something so tall whereas Hagrid lived in a house that a Hobbit wouldn't mind living in.

"Good Morning." said mother to a free goblin."We are here to withdraw some money from the Prince's vault."

"Have you got the key, Madam?"

"Of course, I have it. Here you go"

Mother hands him the key and the goblin nudges his glasses up as he scrutinises the key.

I was glad that the Prince's hadn't removed her from the family tree, otherwise I would have had to go to Hogwarts without much support.

"Well everything seems to be in order" he said, handing the key back.

"I will have someone take you to your vault. Adgrot!!"

Adgrot, the goblin, came to us after hearing the call and led us to one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What number is our vault, Mother?"I ask.

"Our vault is vault number 303"

I nodded as Adgrot opened the door which led us into the vault. The inside painted a different picture in stark contrast to the whit marble halls outside instead it was a near cave like mine with torches lit on the sides of the walls.

There was a railway track that went underground through a tunnel. Adgrot clapped and a cart came running upwards the track from the tunnel.

We got onto it and it started to move on its own and soon after going through a series of turns and twists, we stopped as we neared a passage.

The ride was mildly entertaining, much better than the ones in amusement parks but as for safety...just don't piss the goblin off.

The goblin opened the door to our vault and what greeted me was a pile of coins. There were gold coins, silver ones and many bronze one lying around. Of course, the Princes were not as rich as the potters or any of the other noble houses but they didn't have many expenses either so were not poor at least.

"What are the values of each coin mother?" I pick a few coins showing them to her.

"Well the gold ones are called galleons and they have the highest value, the silver coins are sickles and 17 sickles make a galleon and then the bronze ones are called knuts and 29 knuts make a sickle."

"I see...how much money do we have here?"

Adgrot answered, "This vault has 8000 galleons, 1300 sickles and 10000 knuts."

Hmm….not much but not too little either.

"Don't worry Severus, this should last for your term in Hogwarts and we will still have some left, besides your mother is not going to sit idle, I will work hard to earn money as well." She says, giving me a smile.

"Of course, mother"

After that, she withdrew 500 galleons and said that they will last us for a year and we left the bank.

"What's the average amount of money of a noble house ,mother?"

"Well…..I am not too sure as every house is different but most have atleast 15000 to 20000 galleons I think. This is of course not including the assets from their businesses."

That gave me a good idea of wizarding noble houses, if average houses had 15000 galleons worth money then what about the ancient houses?

The blacks must have atleast 50000 galleons in their vault not including the artifacts and other precious items there.

Well it seems I have a long way to go before being rich but I am sure I will reach there if I play my cards right as the upcoming war with Voldemort will reach its peak by the time I graduate.

It will have many opportunities and if I grab a few of them, I will emerge as a powerhouse after it ends.

-*-*-*-*-*-*

Once outside I asked, "So where do we go next?"

"Now we get your uniform." saying this, she led to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions.

It didn't take long before I was standing on a stool as the witch took my measures. She fussed over me a lot and it was quite annoying.

"Mother, is there no other shop for robes here? Something better?"

"No Severus, its very expensive to set up a shop here in Diagon Alley. Madam Malkin was lucky enough to get a place here years ago." She explained as she led me to our next stop.

"Hogsmeade on the other hand is much cheaper and its traffic is not any less than this place. I have rented a shop there to sell potions and if it does any good, we can live a comfortable life and you can even visit me once you are in your third year!"

I just give her an excited smile as I walk along with her. If her potions do well as she said then we will most probably move into Hogsmeade. Moving into Hogsmeade has both advantages and disadvantages.

I can practice magic freely and I can get supplies easily but the type of magic I can practice will be restricted. I will also have no test subjects and even if I acquired one will have no place to store them.

But since I can't do much with test subjects, moving into Hogsmeade is acceptable.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Our shopping trip continues and we go to various places to buy a cauldron, a telescope and other miscellaneous items.

I saw various shops selling many things but most were catered towards students as they were all selling quills, parchments, books and all the common stationary a young wizard and witch want.

It was quite crowded as this was the time when Diagon Alley got its most traffic as many people come here to buy supplies for students leaving for Hogwarts.

We stopped by Flourish and Blotts to get some books. It was not as organized as I expected from a book store and the books were kept in no particular order.

I got all the usual books like the standard book of spells Year 1, History of magic, Magical theory and of course the well known Fantastic Beasts and where to find them by Newt Scammander.

I got some other books about potions, herbs and defence against dark arts as well. I even got a book about alchemy after asking my mother politely and the book was written by none other than Supreme Mugwump, twinkling eyes Albus Dumbledore with the title Introduction to Alchemy.

As a person who wanted to remake the philosopher's stone, I had to start early.

"We are almost done with all your things now, only things left are a good wand and a pet."

"Lets get the pet first then." I answered as while I was excited to get a wand, I wanted to save the best for the last.

"Alright then, what pet do you want?"

I thought about it and pondered over the options. The owl was the common choice and had the use of sending mails but I didn't have much use for it as I don't think I am going to write letters any time soon and besides I could always use the owls in Hogwarts.

Next was the rat, this was probably the worst of all options as why pay money for one when you can just find one if you look around for a while.

The frog was useless and dirty and I didn't like frogs so that was out.

And finally there was the cat, cats don't serve much purpose either but they are cute and raise morale so I decided to get a cat.

"I would like to get a cat.." I answered.

"Very well, a cat it is then"Mother said and we went inside Magical Menagerie, the pet store for wizards.

"Welcome Madam to the best place for all magical pets, what may I do for you?" A clerk greeted us with false cheeriness.

After browsing around the shop, I finally decided on a black cat, which was the smallest and perhaps the youngest one here. There were other cats of various kinds like siamese, white, tabby but black was the most elegant of the four even more than the siamese.

It was she I learnt from the shopkeeper and I reacher for the spot under her chin and softly rubbed my hand over it as she melted into my hands and meowled softly.

I couldn't help but smile at the sight and I gently picked her up by holding the nape behind her neck and put her into my arms.

"I will take her." I said as I turned to look at my mother who nodded and proceeded to pay the shopkeeper.

"And I will name you Nox."

[Up for better names in comments]

Meow

"That's good enough I guess." I grinned.

We reached Ollivanders and the dusty shop was there with a sign that read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

I can't believe its so old, older than Diagon alley itself and it has survived so many years.

I was interested in wand lore and how a wand chose a wizard. Was it affinity? Or was it certain traits? Wands are an important part of the wizarding world or atleast the European one and western part.

I was also curious about the wand cores and wood used. Why phoenix feathers, or unicorn hair, or dragon heartstrings specifically. I had my theories like only parts of a magical creature with most conductance are used but currently had no way to confirm them.

We entered the shop and I immediately felt the change in air. It had that distinct dusty odor, hard to explain but the kind of smell in ancient ruins or whatnot.

"Good Afternoon."A voice spoke behind us.

I was just a bit startled even though I kind of expected this.

"Eileen Prince, maple and unicorn hair, nine and a half inches, rigid."

"Yes though its been a while since I used it. Anyway I am here to get a wand for my son Severus here." Mother replied as she gestured me to go towards him.

"Ah so you are the young Prince.."

"Yes, nice to meet you Mr. Ollivander." I say looking around the shop.

"Yes..yes..and what is your wand arm boy?"

"Uhm..Right I guess, Sir"

"Alright give me your hand." he says and I comply.

He takes a look at my hand and makes his way to the back of the shop. He soon brings back many boxes stacked on top of each other.

Opening one up, he hands me a wand.

"Ash, with unicorn hair, 11 inches stiff"

I hold it in my right hand feeling a soft warmth in my hand, I waved it and there was a spark and thats it.

"No that definitely won't do." he says snatching it back. "Here try this, Ebony, with an old Hungarian horntail core, 9 and a half inches, flexible."

I waved it again and a vase in its direction exploded. Well that was startling…

But Ollivander seemed happier by the second.

"You are a tricky customer, Mr.Prince, but not to worry as I am sure we will find a perfect match for you." he said as a smile formed on his face.

He muttered something else but I couldn't make out what. He went further back into his shop and returned with more boxes saying something about unusual combinations.

"Here try this: Elm, with a ukranian ironbelly core, 10 inches rather bendy."

I once again gave it a wave in the vase's direction and this time there is a strong gust of wind as the boxes there fall down.

"Oh dear, this won't do either."

"Here have at this, I have a good feeling about this and feelings are important in wandmaking: Hawthorn, with phoenix core,13 inches, rigid."

I took it again but this time I instinctively knew that this wand was different from the others. It felt cool in my hands but also gave off a warm feeling. It was a pale brown wand with smooth texture. Feeling it around in my hands, I clutched it tightly and gave it a gentle wave.

This time there was a zap again but the broken pieces of the vase floated and repaired themselves. It was very magical...

Ollivander sported a curious grin and his eyes were twinkling like a certain old man.

"It is not the wizard who chooses the wand, Mr.Prince. It is the wand that chooses the wizard. 13 inches , hawkthorn with phoenix core. The phoenix gave its feather just before its burning day and as for the wood...it is very curious and contradictory, my old rival described them well."

"He said that hawkthorn makes a strange, contradictory wand, as full of paradoxes as the tree that gave it birth, whose leaves and blossoms heal, and yet whose cut branches smell of death. It is a good wand Mr.Prince but as I said that a wand chooses the wizard, it is upto the wizard to do what he wants with the wand."

"I see…" was the only thing I could say to that ominous statement.

I hold the wand in my hands as it gives off a welcoming feel and feels quite comfortable.

I take a look at my mother who nods and turns to Ollivander.

"What does the wand cost, Mr. Ollivander?"

"My wands cost 7 galleons, Mr. Prince. Nothing more and nothing less." Ollivander says and we pay him the money and leave along with a wand maintenance kit and a wand holster.

Once outside, Mother looks at me with a smile on her face, "Finally we have bought everything for your term Severus. Do you need anything else?"

I look around and see a shop called Rosa Lee's Teabag but thats not what caught my attention, it was the shop next to it that caught my attention.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was the name of the shop and my young body craved some. It had been a long time since I had ice-cream and I had never eaten magical ice-cream so naturally I was very curious to try it.

My mother seemed to have noticed my gaze as a smile crept up on her face, "Well it is a hot day, isn't it?"

"What do you think about having some ice-cream Severus?"

"I would like that very much, thanks mother."

And thus ended my day of shopping.

-*-*-*

[Author- I am back after a rather long hiatus you could say. This chapter should have been out long ago but sadly it got deleted just before I was about to upload it which killed my motivation to rewrite it and I just lazed around. It got harder to write as more time went by and this chapter is totally different from what it originally had been.

Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it. Please do leave your comments and reviews as that would make me happy as I love reading all your thoughts.

Also important note: There will be no update schedule for this as I have been too busy with classes and its very stressful to write with an impending schedule so while I will try to update once a week, there will be no promises as I write for fun and I hate getting stressed for something that I enjoy.

See you next chapter. So long till next time ~]