Lucy looked at the list again before she looked up at Severus.

"Everything?"

"Yes Miss Mathers, for the millionth time, we will be purchasing everything on that list," Severus said with a bit of force this time so that maybe the eleven-year-old would actually get the message.

"But how will we carry it all?!" She demanded in awe.

"We'll stop at Maver & and Daughters first and pick up a school trunk," Severus said plainly.

"Oh! Well, that makes sense." 

"This we'll go to Madam Malkin's and get you fitted. Harry needs a hem taken out, so during that Severus or I procure lunch. Then we'll zig-zag down the alley and finally stop at Ollivander's. Does that sound good?" Emmeline asked. Severus frowned. 

"I think it would be better to go up the alley on one side after Maver's before going down the other."

"Still rather conveniently ending at Ollivander's." Emmeline agreed with a smile.

"Indeed," Severus said with a smirk.

"Can we stop talking about what we're gonna do and actually go do it!?" Harry begged with a grin. "Tracey said she would be going shopping as soon as she got back home!"

"Whose Tracey?" Lucy asked. Harry blushed 

"Erm, well she's... just a friend."

"No way!" Lucy cried in shock. "You have a girlfriend?!"

"Hey!" Harry cried. "Why'd you say it like that?!"

"Harry's got a girlfriend, Harry got a girlfriend!" Lucy teased.

"Quit it!" Harry shouted.

"Lucy, stop tormenting the poor dear," Emmeline said with a chuckle.

"So what can I know about Tracey?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"She's my age, she's in Slytherin house, and we sell potions to our fellow students together." Harry listed. "And she just got back from a family trip to Japan. If anyone asks, her mother was going to a health retreat, but it wasn't as effective as they had hoped and Tracey doesn't want to talk about it. But between you and me, she had an awesome time going to all sorts of festivals and trying all sorts of food and seeing a bunch of cool things. She sent me a few pictures I could maybe show you later."

"Why would she say it was a health retreat for her mom?" Lucy asked in confusion. Harry groaned.

"It's a really long and complicated story," Harry explained. "Just stick with it if anyone asks okay? Not that I think anyone will. But just in case." Lucy nodded slowly, still looking confused.

"Come along," Severus insisted. "The sooner we get to Diagon the sooner we can get back." Emmeline chuckled before she put a gentle hand on the children's backs and ushered them out of the house.

Lucy sat down on a bench with a loud groan. 

So. Much. Shopping! 

"Are we done yet?" She asked weakly. Severus chuckled as he sat down next to her.

"Not quite darling. We still have to get you some flying gloves, quill and parchment, potions supplies and your wand." Emmeline read as she crossed out her list. Harry groaned and slid down the bench.

"I don't remember it taking so long when I started Hogwarts," Harry complained.

"That's because Hagrid went out and bought most of your supplies for you while you were getting your wand and robes." Severus reminded him. Harry blinked. 

"Oh... well why didn't we do that then?"

"Because leaving an eleven-year-old unsupervised in a busy shopping district is the most idiotic, irresponsible, unprofessional-" Severus began, growing more and more upset as the rant got into high gear. Emmeline cleared her throat to cut him off before he really started.

"It wouldn't be right." Emmeline insisted. "Lucy is under our care to help her adjust to the wizarding world. So we should be there to explain things and provide assistance." 

"Yeah!" Lucy piped up with a scowl. "Are you saying you want to ditch me?"

"No!" Harry insisted with a blush. Then he realized the girl was giving him a cheeky grin. "Oh, you-" he began before he dove at her and tried to put her into a headlock so he could ruffle her hair, despite her squealing of protest.

"Alright, alright!" Severus barked. "No roughhousing."

"Sorry," Harry said with a blush. Lucy was frantically fixing her missed hair with a slight whine. 

"Harry!" The teen looked toward the voice and beamed

"Ron!" He got up and gave the teen a tight hug. The tall ginger pulled back with a grin before he looked over at Lucy and blinked.

"When did you get a sister?!" He asked, flabbergasted. Instantly Lucy blinked and shrunk into herself a bit. Harry for his part winced.

"Uh... well you see...she's not really my sister." He muttered. Lucy perked back up again in confusion. Not really? What did that mean? "She's a muggle-born from my town. We're helping her get all of her supplies and stuff."

"Oh! Cool!" Ron said with a grin before he walked up to her. "Nice to meet you! Name's Ron! Ron Weasley!" He said with a friendly outstretched hand.

"Lucy, Mathers." She said with a small smile and a shy handshake. Ron turned back towards the crowd.

"HEY! HERMIONE! I FOUND HARRY!" He bellowed, making Harry, Lucy, Emmeline, and Severus all flinch and wince to varying degrees.

"Ronald!" Hermione cried back as she made her out of the crowd, less loud, but more shrill. "Do you have to be such an obnoxious ignoramus all the time?! You probably deafened him with all your shouting!"

"Oh...Sorry." Ron apologized with a blush. Harry laughed before he gave Hermione a tight hug.

"So lovely to see you again Harry!" Hermione said before she pulled back. "You as well professors! And-" she blinked. "Oh! Hello! Who might you be?"

"Lucy," the girl responded with a smile. "The Snapes are helping find all of my school supplies. Cause my parents don't have magic."

"Oh!" Hermione said with a grin. "Well, that's nice of them. I'm guessing your parents are off staring at a shop display? My own were the same way you know! My dad stood outside Eyelop's for hours!" Harry winced as Hermione started going on about her parents adjusting to the wizarding world. Lucy's expression had crumpled a bit and she was staring at her hands in her lap. The more Hermione talked the tighter the grip on her dress became.

"Miss Granger!" Severus finally snapped after almost 5 minutes of incessant talking. "Kindly shut. up."

"Severus!" Emmeline hissed with a slight smack on his shoulder

"Oh... sorry," Hermione muttered with a blush. "I got a bit... carried away again...didn't I?"

"Yeah, a bit," Ron said with a chuckle. Emmeline cleared her throat. 

"It was very lovely to see you both, but I'm afraid we really should get back to our shopping." The woman said as delicately as she could without snapping at the girl for obviously upsetting Lucy. Couldn't the girl see beyond her own nose for- Emmeline took another deep breath and then stretched a smile over her frustration. "Be seeing you."

"Oh! Right, of course!" Hermione insisted as she latched onto Ron's arm. "Goodbye Harry, professors," she gave Lucy an encouraging smile. "Lucy. We'll see you all at Hogwarts!"

"Bye Harry!" Ron called back as he was dragged back to his family by Hermione. Lucy still looked a bit melancholic, though she had returned Hermione's smile with her own weak one. Severus saw this before clearing his throat.

"Fortescue's." He declared.

"Absolutely!" Emmeline agreed.

"Yes!" Harry cried with a fist pump.

"What's Fortescue's?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Only the greatest ice cream parlour ever!" Harry cried happily. "They have every possible flavour of ice cream you could think of! Candied pineapple, cheesecake, strawberry upside down cake, soft or hard serve. Every kind of popsicle dipped in all sorts of toppings!" Harry listed ecstatically.

"Harry had made it his life's mission to attempt to taste every single one of Fortescue's ice cream flavours," Severus replied flatly. "Which is a nearly impossible feat, as the man is inventing new flavours near every minute."

"Don't forget to brush your teeth tonight." Emmeline reminded scathingly.

"Do they have regular flavours too?" Lucy asked sheepishly. 

"Well sure," Harry responded with a roll of his eyes. "But why would you want that when you can have lemon meringue pie flavour topped with peanuts and whipped cream? Or peanut butter and Jam topping with chocolate drizzle? Or butterbeer?!"

"What butterbeer?" Lucy responded, flabbergasted.

"A disgustingly sugary mix between a rootbeer float and cream soda with a rich butterscotch aftertaste," Severus responded with a slight scowl. "The company makes an alcoholic version as well, but the non-alcoholic version is very popular with children." Lucy had begun licking her lips about halfway through Severus' description and was not looking at the ice cream parlour's crowded storefront with new eyes.

"Okay. Maybe I'll try butterbeer ice cream." She responded. The little family chuckled with her. The parlour was understandably crowded since today was one of the last weekends before Hogwarts, and as such many families were coming to Diagon for school supplies. It wasn't as hectic as it would have been if it had been the last weekend, which Harry vividly remembered from his first and second year, but the crowds were still decent and it would be easy to lose someone. Which is why the minute they entered the shop Harry instinctively grabbed onto Lucy's hand.

"Stay with me okay?" He said reassuringly. The girl looked at him again, a surprisingly nebulous expression on her face before she looked away again.

"Harry darling!" Emmeline called through the crowd before she finally cut through. "You father and I have just joined the line. Why don't you two go wait outside for a bit? Stay close to the entrance though."

"Yes, mum," Harry assures her before he left Lucy put, still clutching her hand. Harry immediately sat them down the minute the little bench near the entrance became available with a sigh and released her hand. As they sat Harry noticed Lucy's eyes trained on something down the street. He followed her eyes and felt his heart twist. The girl was watching a mother and father admire their daughter's new robes, complete with clapping and hugs and kisses.

"You know, my family didn't come to me the first time I went to Diagon Alley." Harry suddenly blurted out. Lucy blinked and turned to him with a frown. "In fact, they wanted nothing to do with magic. They tried to stop my Hogwarts letter from ever coming."

"But I thought your parents work there," Lucy remarked with a frown. Harry sighed.

"I wasn't living with them back then. I was living with my aunt and uncle." Harry sighed. "See my mum... isn't really my mum." Harry tried to explain. "I'm her adopted son. My real mum and my adopted dad died when I was a baby." Harry explained, completely glossing over Voldemort for a much much later date. "When they died, I was sent to my aunt and uncle. And they hated magic. Which also made them hate me."

"Is that why you stopped living with them?" Lucy asked quietly, staring at the cobbles below.

"No," Harry said quietly. "They died as well." Lucy looked at him before she reached over then grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. It was a sweet gesture that made his heart throb again. "Anyway, and all this to say, just ignore everything Hermione said. She doesn't realize how lucky she is..." The little girl smiled before she leaned her head against his shoulder. He grinned and leaned his head back to show her more support.

"Here we are," Severus began, extending two cones to the children. "Two butterbeer. I took the liberty of adding treacle topping to your Harry... though heaven knows it doesn't really need it." He complained. The boy had already practically inhaled his first bite with big eyes. Lucy's first experimental lick had her recoiling in shock.

"It's fizzy!" She cried in awe.

"Well, it is a carbonated beverage," Emmeline said with a raised eyebrow. 

"But! It's ice cream?! How do you make ice cream fizzy like a soda?!" Lucy questioned incredulously.

"Magic." The three others responded with grins. Lucy blinked then burst out laughing.

A wave of nostalgia swept over Harry as Lucy timidly pushed open the door to Ollivander's. The same dusty bell was ringing overhead, and the same dusty, almost claustrophobic atmosphere dominated the shop. Lucy looked around in awe while Emmeline gestured for Harry to sit with her in one of the chairs against the shelving opposite the wandmakers counter.

"Aw!" Ollivader cried, staring at the poor girl so much she gave a small scream. "Mr. Potter... I trust the wand is serving you well? Despite its... complications?" The man said smoothly. Harry was still momentarily taken aback by his strange appearance. "Well! Emmeline Vance! 10 inches, elm, dragon heartstring. Sturdy, good for swishing. Adept at charms. Finally getting to enjoy motherhood I see." He said before giving her a wink. The woman didn't look the slightest bit phased. He turned to Severus and raised an eyebrow. "Severus Snape. 12 inches. African Blackwood. Dragon heartstring... unbending and solid. Particularly jabby. Good for curses." Severus held the man's piercing gaze for several seconds, face blank and unaffected until the man turned away and finally landed his gaze on the little. Harry could have sworn he saw his father smirk. "Well hello, my dear. Might I have your name?"

"Lucy Mathers." The girl responded, looking perfectly calm. But Harry could tell from the way she was shifting her feet and clutching her dress that she was not in fact fine, but absolutely terrified. It was only her sheer will which was stopping her from shaking. 

"Lucy," Ollivander repeated before he smiled. "A lovely name." He held her gaze for a moment, and Harry watched as she slowly calmed down a bit. Ollivander smiled wider as she saw her calm a fraction. "Now then my dear, which hand would you say is your dominant?"

"Right," Lucy said confidently. The man nodded before suddenly whirling away and the dreaded tape measure Harry remembered came whirling out. Lucy froze and watched it with her eyes as it floated around her, taking the ludicrous measurements Harry also remembered. Surely the space between one's septum and upper lip couldn't possibly be necessary for a wand. Suddenly Ollivander gave a loud shout.

"Oh away with you!" He cried as he walked back into the room with a few boxes and a few loose wands. "Sorry, the tape is a bit... over-enthusiastic." He opened the first box. "Holly, unicorn horn. Nice and whippy." Lucy took it, only for the man to snatch it back and throw it away. "No no. Maybe- yes! Ash, phoenix feather. Gentle bend." But Lucy gave one swish and two trays of boxes suddenly flew off the boxes behind the wandmakers. Harry chuckled. He remembered doing something similar. Ollivander had turned around to inspect the damage. Lucy looked mortified and began stumbling over her own tongue.

"I'm so sorry! I can help fix it! I can't believe I did that! I hope I didn't ruin things too much!" but when he turned back he had a smile and a steely glint Harry remembered. "Ahhh." He began "finally found the tricky one this year I see." Severus and Emmeline both blinked while Harry got a little grin and tilted his head. Lucy was tricky too? So Lucy tried every wand Ollivander had collected. And then a few more he grabbed a second time. The girl apologized profusely each time the wrong wand caused her to do some terrible damage. After a solid hour, Ollivander was starting to actually look stumped.

"My dear you are by far the trickiest person I have ever served." He readily admitted. Lucy bit her lip.

"Does... does that mean you don't have a wand for me?" She asked worriedly. The man quickly shook his head.

"I know I do! It's just a matter of finding it. It must be buried somewhere in n-" the man paused. He looked at the family in turn then down to Lucy and smiled before he turned away. Lucy blinked and turned to the others with a slight shrug. Harry shrugged back. Ollivander came back, not with the typical paper box, but with a small intricately carved wooden one instead. He set it on the counter and opened its creaky lid. Then he reached into it and pulled out the wand inside. Harry blinked. It was a complex colour, black with streaks of beige interspersed, and the handle was almost like the tree had been grown into it rather than carved. Ollivander's hands were shaking slightly before he offered it to Lucy. She took it and gasped. The man slowly began beaming.

"That, Miss Mathers," he began "is the very first wand I ever made." The girl blinked. "I was quite experimental in my youth. My father was always getting on me to shape up. Leave the fanciful designs and methods behind and stick to what worked. But I was adventurous back then. When I finished it, my father told me it would never choose a wizard. Too capricious he said." He reached to hold it again, and Lucy handed it over. He turned it in his hands, feeling the wood. "It's wenge, with a length of 11 and u32; inches." That drew a noise from Severus, who balked slightly. "Yes, you see the first hurdle-an unusual length for an unusual wood. Both are symbols of power. But Wenge is a very hard wood. So typically, it would work as a wand with half, let alone third, measures. So to subvert that, I hollowed it out using magic, so that it could mimic a lighter wood. If you were to snap it in half, which I would not recommend, you would find it not dissimilar to a bird bone." Ollivander spun it in his hands, smiling further. "And then, on top of that, rather than filling it with unicorn hair, which would lend it a stability and foundation, I chose a phoenix feather. Not from a tail plume, however, but from the crest on its head." Emmeline made a grunt of disbelief. Ollivander smiled and handed the wand back to the little girl. "As I said, my father always said it would never work. But I always told him that all the wand needed was someone with an adept mind, a strong soul, and, above all, a good heart." Ollivander said, locking eyes with the girl. Lucy beamed up at him.

"How much do we owe you?" Severus asked casually. Ollivander grinned.

"I've been waiting 73 years for that wand to choose its companion, Master Snape. There is truly no payment necessary." He looked down at Lucy, expression suddenly very familiar to Harry. "We can expect great great things from you, Miss Mathers. I look forward to seeing them."

Lucy was holding her chin up high with a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she left the wand shop.

"What's got you all snooty?" Harry demanded with a snicker.

"He said I have a strong soul," Lucy replied with a grin. Emmeline and Severus chuckled at her indulgently. Suddenly a cold feeling descended over Harry. Then a blinding pain flared up in his scar, making him double over in pain, slapping a hand over it.

"Darling?!" Emmeline cried in shock when suddenly a spell shot passed her ear. She whipped around in time to dodge another one.

"DEATH EATERS!" someone shrieked. And suddenly the Alley descended into chaos. Harry whipped around in time to see three more of the sinisterly robed men descended on the alley. He frowned for a moment because they didn't look like the Death Eaters he remember from the World Cup when he was suddenly being dragged by the arm by his mother.

"Lucy!" Severus bellowed to the girl who had ducked and dove for cover behind a bench. The girl screamed and then rushed to him. Without even a thought the man scooped her up into his arms and rushed for a sheltered alcove along with Emmeline and Harry. There were several loud cracks as the flashy-robed Aurors descended as well and began duelling with the death eaters. Lucy screamed when they first landed which had Severus placing a hand on her head and shushing into her hair.

"It's alright." he assured her "It's just the Aurors."

"They're like policemen." Harry clarified.

It was a pretty quick fight. These Death Eaters were not very skilled.

"Everyone!" came the loud voice of Sirius Black, echoing from a sonorous charm. "The Death Eaters have been apprehended! You can all come out now!" The Snapes slowly emerged from the alcove, Lucy still clutching onto Severus for dear life. And as soon as Severus looked down at the Death Eaters, tied up on the cobbles, his face fell. The reason for these Death Eaters' lack of skill was very apparent now. It was a group of five teenagers. Four would be seventh-year Slytherins led by one Marcus Flint. He let out a sad sigh, a weight of guilt descending on his soul. Suddenly Flint looked up at him and growled.

"YOU'LL GET YOURS, TRAITOR!" he bellowed.

"That's enough from you!" one of the Aurors shouted before shooting out another spell that gagged the screaming teen.

"Come on," Emmeline began sadly. "We've finished shopping. Let's get out of here."

"Snape!" black shouted. The woman took a deep breath, seemingly trying to soothe herself, but it sounded more like a furious huff. 

"Black, I really don't have the time or energy to deal with you right now." Severus snarled as he turned to face the man. 

"Whose daughter is that?" Sirius demanded. Severus blinked and suddenly remembered that he was holding Lucy in his arms. He'd forgotten she was there for a moment, so natural it was to be holding her. Now that the adrenaline had worn off her considerable weight was suddenly making itself known as he had to adjust his grip slightly.

"She's a muggle-born that lives in our area," Harry responded quickly. "Her parents asked us to take her to get her things for Hogwarts." Sirius gave him a look, a mix between a sneer of distaste and scowl before he looked up at Severus again.

"Did you know that this was going to happen?" Sirius demanded. The man scowled

"Use your brain, Black," Severus snapped, "how in the name of Merlin could I possibly know about this?"

"Perhaps you're not so separate from your old friends as you've been letting on." Sirius drawled coldly. "I wonder, did you tell this girl's parents you used to be part of a muggle-killing terrorist organization? For that matter I wonder if the DFS kno-" Severus took a step forward, getting right into Sirius' space with a furious snarl.

"I swear to god Black if you so much as finish that sentence, I will show just how much I learn from those muggle-killing terrorists!" Sirius smirked.

"Tut tut! Threatening an Auror. "Quite a serious offence Mr. Snape. I've already had to give your fiance a warning you know." Sirius purred. Severus flinched and took a step back, though he looked as though he'd swallowed something very sour indeed. "Consider this my final one. Any more threats against the auror department and I'll be forced to open an investigation." there was silence as Emmeline, Severus and Harry all scowled at him

"You're a terrible person." Lucy suddenly declared with a disgusted face. Sirius blinked at her in shock. Severus looked down at her before he looked back at the auror. He was still transfixed, staring at the girl in confusion. Severus nodded before he turned around again, and led the family away. As they did Emmeline began to chuckle

"From the mouth of babes." Emmeline muttered in mirth. Then Harry started to snicker.

"Did you see his face?" he demanded with a grin. 

"Let's just get home," Severus said, suddenly becoming weary beyond his years. Then he went to put the girl in his arms down. But her grip around his neck suddenly became almost choking.

"Don't let go," Lucy whispered in his ear. "Please." Severus swallowed before he straightened up and adjusted his hold once again. 

"Darling," Emmeline called with a hand extended to Harry. The teen stepped to his mother's hand and then disappeared with a swift twist of the ankle, which Severus imitated shortly after. 

Severus sighed as he slid into his chair in front of the fire with a melancholy expression. He turned his eyes to Lucy, who was quietly nibbling on a biscuit as she drank her tea.

"Where's Harry?" He asked gently. The girl still jumped a mile, eyes darting to him with fear, before relaxing after the split-second recognition.

"He took Orville and Hedwig upstairs to send letters to his friends. To make sure they're alright." She explained into her tea cup. Severus hummed in response. There was a moment of quiet as they simply say and enjoyed the fire, punctuated occasionally by a loud pop of cracking wood.  "Thank you."

"Whatever for?" Severus demanded with a raised eyebrow. Surely she wasn't about to thank him for protecting her! That was just common decency.

"For... for carrying me like that." She whispered with a slight blush.

"I was only doing what would be expected of me," Severus assured her. Lucy gave him a nebulous look before looking away.

"My father has never carried me like that." She whispered. Severus blinked before he frowned slightly. "He only carried me when I was a baby. And even then, it was only for my christening and my baptism. Aside from that, my mummy is the only one who's ever carried me." Severus' grip on his own mug had become very tight. The next time he saw pastor Mathers they would be having... words. "It felt nice." Lucy suddenly mumbled. "Safe. Like I-" she trailed off, eyes growing sad. It took a second for Severus to recognize the expression.

It was the same as Harry's that first summer.

And suddenly another thought popped into his head.

He stared down at his mug and muddled through for a few moments.

It was a bold idea. And had the benefit from much less interference for certain interfering old bastards who would remain nameless. 

But he had a feeling it would require a certain amount of... persuasion.

He couldn't help a little self-satisfied smirk as he sipped his cocoa. 

Good thing he was very persuasive.