Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter, if I did Teddy would still have his parents. Furthermore, I do not own any contents that may be used from the books.

Congrats to my new beta SweetDeamon, you deserve a blood pop and some of Honeyduke's finest chocolate

This chapter is kind of tedious, but it is Gemini's first time in Diagon Alley so she will describe everything she sees in detail.

The rest of the week went by quickly. After our little heart to heart Severus seemed to warm to me; at least that's what I think. He no longer openly scowled at me; and only made biting remarks when I would say something foolish. I suppose that was an improvement.

I believe the week sped by because we started Occlumency lessons. Severus said it was unsafe for me to leave my mind unprotected and open. I think he's worried someone will break it, which he told was possible if the mind is put under enough stress. He said the Dark Lord was fond of doing that to his victims. Gave him his jollies that way if you ask me.

I secretly had the suspicion that Severus knew the Dark Lord wasn't gone forever. But when I broached the subject with him, he told me to keep my mind out of others' business and to work on my mental blocks.

Though that was all fun, I was rather excited to be going to Diagon Alley. Severus spent most of the time (when he was not invading my mind) in his cellar making potions for the matron of the infirmary who was anticipating the upcoming school year. He has forbidden me from entering, not wanting me to cause mischief or accidentally setting fire to his house.

So for the last few days I've been bored out of my mind staring at the ceiling of my room and randomly changing my hair; though I'm still partial to the rainbow of colors it normally is and the layer of black I've taken to adding underneath. It all compliments each other rather nicely if you ask me.

A knock on the door ceased my thoughts, causing me to lose concentration on my morphing abilities. My hair was stuck on a blue shade as I told my guardian to enter.

"We leave promptly at ten tomorrow morning. I assume I will not have to wake you up." With his message delivered, he turned out of my room and disappeared into his own.

Most people would be put off with such a curt demand, but I've come to learn that that is just how my cousin is. He keeps people at arm's reach, never letting them too close. He can be bitingly sarcastic to someone he dislikes; as noted the day Professor Dumbledore dropped me off. And he was far too reserved for it to be healthy. Honestly, the whole time since I've been living with him and he hasn't smiled once! Just a faint twist of the lips or a sardonic smirk. I believe it must be a family trait seeing as how I rarely show my emotions either.

I snapped out of my musing and glanced at the clock Severus had bought for my nightstand. I remember walking to the corner store where he bought it, the outside looked like the rest of the town and the inside wasn't a big improvement. My cousin had muttered something under his breath about muggles, which I learnt is the proper term for a non-magical person.

The clock read half past ten and I figured now was as good as any to get some sleep. Having already been dressed in my dressing gown, I got up off my bed, dimmed the lights and watched as my room was bathed in darkness. I switched my eyes to a cat's and made my way back, settling into the sheets and resting my head on the pillow, willing sleep to come.

I woke up to the sound of thunder and rain pounding on the roof. I rolled over, glancing toward the clock and noticed it was just shy of eight am. I knew Severus was being serious about the time we would depart, so I shoved off the covers and was just getting to my feet when I realized I still had cat eyes so I scrunched up my face and turned them amber. I headed towards the loo to take care of my morning piss and to have a shower. Once I was finished I brushed my teeth and left my hair to dry by itself. I walked towards my room clutching my towel and headed towards my wardrobe, looking at the minuscule collection of clothes that I had brought with me and deciding on a pair of trousers, my scuffed trainers and a jumper.

I looked down at myself to check that my appearance was appropriate for the day ahead; and headed down the stairs where I found Severus already seated in his armchair reading the wizarding paper The Daily Prophet. He peeked over the top of the paper, nodded once his greeting and returned to his reading. I walked over to the sofa and gingerly sat, cringing when it gave a loud groan of protest. I reached towards the table and clasped the handle of the teapot, grabbing the only available cup before pouring myself a cup of tea. I settled the teapot back on the tray and grabbed the milk next, generously pouring until the tea was a light brown. Then, I scooped up three cubes of sugar and stirred them into my drink. Putting the spoon on the tray I lifted the cup to my lips, savoring the warmth as it drifted down my throat.

"You are going to want to change that ridiculous hair color before we go," Severus said, "you aren't going to want to bring unwanted attention to yourself." Not once did he lower the paper to talk directly to me. I scoffed to myself and changed my hair to match his; silently sniggering at my joke. He lowered the paper enough to send a piercing glare toward me, then resumed reading. This caused my laughter to escalate as I changed my hair to black (though no longer greasy), and made it shorten to just before my shoulders into my usual choppy layers. I decided to forgo the curls since they made me look like my mother.

We sat in silence for about an hour as I polished off my breakfast. Once it reached ten Severus stood from the armchair, folded his paper and beckoned me to follow. We headed towards the long hallway that led to the front door. Severus grabbed his cloak then transfigured a second one into a cloak that would fit me.

Heading outside we lifted the hoods to shelter our faces from the rain that was still falling. Severus led us into the alleyway that Professor Dumbledore and I used when we first arrived at my cousins' house. He grabbed hold of my upper arm and without as much as a warning we disappeared to London.

The feeling of being forced through a tube was back, my breakfast threatening to reappear as we arrived in an alleyway right next to a pub with the name, The Leaky Cauldron. My charming cousin didn't give me any time to recover as I was dragged into the dingy looking building. There, a few people acknowledged greeting nods towards the man at my side while staring at me either in confusion or with suspicion, I couldn't tell which. When the nauseating feeling left me, I tore my arm free of his bruising grip and walked alongside him with my head held high. I would not tolerate him dragging around like a child or as if I were beneath him. As far as I am concerned we are equals until school starts. Then reluctantly I would have to abide by his rules as a teacher.

Reaching the back of the place, Severus opened the door and led me through to a wall. I saw him whip out his wand, but before he could use it I caught his arm and asked, "What the bloody hell was that?" Seeing an eyebrow raised I continued, "The tube squeezing my bloody body."

He sighed and lowered his arm holding his wand. "It is called apparition you stupid girl, as I'm sure the Headmaster told you upon your arrival at my doorstep; it is the fastest way to travel in the wizarding world. Now stop making a spectacle of yourself and release my person from your grasp." Without waiting he jerked his arm free and raising his wand again he tapped the bricks in some kind of order. I watched in amazement as they separated and I got my first glimpse of the shops.

'This is bloody amazing' was the only thing going through my mind. My face must have shown how I was feeling for Severus snorted next to me. Giving him a dirty look I strode forward, taking in the sights with glee. You can feel the energy this place has. The people were joyfully trotting from place to place, some tugging the hands of small children; while others were gossiped behind their hands.

Severus grabbed my shoulder, turning me to face him. "We will go to Gingott's first. Then you will stay in Sugarplum's Sweet Shop, while I get my shopping done. You will not follow me. Afterwards we will collect your school supplies." He let go of my arm walking forward, expecting me to follow him.

I had to calm my temper as I felt my eyes turning red. I took a calming breath, forcing my control over my abilities so as not to cause a public stir. My morphing under control again I marched after Severus, slowing my pace to be able to walk side by side with him. He turned in my direction with a strange gleam in his dark eyes. The look caused my insides to warm as I recognized it. He was pleased I was able to control my abilities and douse my anger; 'Instead of acting like a child.' My mind whispered darkly.

When we arrived in front of the large white structure that I assumed was Gringotts, I stuffed my hand in my trouser pocket ready to pull out the key I had placed there, when Severus' hand encased my own. He gave a small shake of his head eyes drilling into mine, signifying that I was to keep the key where it was for the time being. Withdrawing my hand from the pocket I walked with my guardian towards the doors pausing to read the inscription.

"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."

A shiver escaped me as I thought of the horrible punishments that could happen. Severus had told me beforehand how the bank was run by goblins and how they were notoriously greedy about their money, going to extremes to protect it.

"Come on stupid girl, we haven't all day." Hearing the drawling tone of my cousin caused me to snap out of my musing. When we entered the main floor I resisted the urge to squirm. The eyes of the goblins were penetrating. Their main focus rested upon the gold they weighed, but they kept subtle eyes on the ones who entered the bank.

Severus and I stood in front of a high desk while we waited for the goblin in front of us to finish his processing work before turning his attention on us.

"We are here to make a withdrawal." Severus spoke in his monotone drawl giving nothing away. It was times like this I wished I could be more like him. Having control over your emotions would be quite beneficial after all; especially in circumstances such as mine.

My guardian turned to me with a look and I realized I had missed what had been said. My pale cheeks gaining a faint crimson hue, I guessed what the look was for. Reaching for the key in my pocket I handed it to Severus and he presented it to the goblin for inspection. The goblin's eyes widened slightly at the sight for reasons unknown to me. He spoke quietly with my cousin, both glancing at me every once in a while, making me uncomfortable. Finally, with a sigh Severus grabbed my hand as the goblin withdrew a piece of parchment. My cousin pressed my finger on the page and I watched as my blood was drawn out onto the parchment painlessly. My eyes widened as the names of who I guessed were relations started appearing in blood on the page.

I studied the parchment as branches upon branches of my family tree were unfolded, my name in the middle. The goblin stared at it for quite some time before calling over another goblin while rolling up the parchment stuffing it in his desk drawer. He handed him my key and he exchanged a few words causing our new chaperone to nod, then he led us forward to the carts that led to the vaults. Before we left the goblin whispered something into Severus' ear, causing my guardian to give a nod.

As we followed our guide to the cart I asked Severus the question that had been burning in my mind since I saw my blood appear on the parchment.

"How did that bloody bit of parchment take my blood and what were all those names for?" I spoke low enough that our chaperone wouldn't hear our conversation.

"Stupid girl, your vault is a high security vault. Since you have never been here and thus your identity is unknown, you need proof of who you claim to be. Your blood cannot lie and is thus the most efficient way of proving your authenticity." Severus turned his head away from me, signifying the end of our discussion.

We arrived at my vault after a nauseating ride in the cart with me swearing a blue streak and Severus composed as always. I look up at the looming door and watched as the goblin inserted the key. Then to my surprise he laid his palm on the door as well. The door opened but before I could walk forward Severus held me back and brought out his wand. He began muttering words I could not hear, and dragged me forward. Bringing my hand up in the air I expected it to fall through the opening into the darkness that shroud whatever lies in the vault, but was surprised at how it stayed suspended as if I was touching something solid. The walls surrounding the vault suddenly glowed brightly only to die out as fast as it began. Cautiously stepping forward my jaw dropped. The room now properly lit contained more gold and other treasures than I had ever seen before. Severus stepped in behind me and his eyes widen in size. Obviously he didn't expect so much either.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Severus stepped forward and produced a small pouch. He started gathering coins but the pouch never seemed to get full. Once he was satisfied with the amount he had gathered, we headed back towards our cart and out of Gringotts. Keeping hold of the money and key, my guardian led us to a shop on our right. The sign read: Sugarplum's Sweet Shop and it was filled with bustling witches, wizards, and children.

Handing me a few coins from the pouch, Severus directed me to the opening of the shop.

"You will stay here till I fetch you." Without waiting for a reply he walked back towards the bank down a set of stairs until he was out of my sight. Sighing I turned around and headed into the store to begin browsing for purchases. Nothing catching my interest I walked forward into the shop and picked up a chocolate bar. Knowing it would not sate my sweet tooth I walked down more aisles, coming to rest upon a peculiar brand of lollies. 'Are they made with real blood?' I wondered to myself, reading the sign: Blood Pops. Quickly looking around to make sure no one was in the aisle with me, I tore the wrapper off and stuck the lolly into my mouth. It tasted like blood and strawberries. The bizarre combination was decidedly to my liking, making me pick up every lolly the shop had to offer.

I headed towards the cashier to pay for my purchases and the witch standing behind the counter gave me a horrified look. I didn't know what to make of it so I paid while still sucking on my lolly. Just to mess around with the witch I casually asked:

"Does the blood come in O negative as well?" The poor witch paled further as I walked out of the store laughing.

Deciding not to abide by his wishes to stay, I wandered around nearby shops, nothing catching my fancy. I was just about to enter the alley Severus turned had when a hand grabbed my wrist.

"I don't think you want to go down there." a softly spoken voice said. I twisted my wrist from the stranger's grasp and spun around ready to give a good tongue lashing to whoever thought they could tell me what to do. Honestly, it's bad enough with the sodding rules my cousin has for his house, I do not need a strange man telling me what to do with my bloody life too.

Struggling to keep my abilities under control I looked the man over. He was not what I expected. His face was lined with scars as if he was attacked by something with wicked claws. His light brown hair was flecked with gray and his clothing was shabby and darned in enough places that I lost count. My anger extinguished as quickly as it came, I couldn't help but pity the poor man in front of me. I knew what it was like having no money or clothing. Though the ones I was wearing were still in better shape than his.

"I'm sorry, but you are...?" Without waiting for him to answer, I stuck out my hand for a proper greeting. If the old crows taught me anything at the orphanage it was manners. They drilled them in and each time I forgot them I got the birch. So needless to say I was impeccable when it came to mannerisms.

The man in front of me looked shocked, then slowly, hesitantly reached for my hand. Grasping it loosely he let his hand fall as if burned. Feeling rather insulted I was about to let lose a less than polite remark when he spoke his name,

"Remus Lupin, you are...?"

"Gemini Prince. If I may, what is down there exactly?" Wanting to get back to the original topic, I pointed to the stairs, reading the sign on the wall that identified the place beyond as: Knockturn Alley.

"Those are the shops less than friendly individuals' waste time in. Not a place for a child or any respectable person really." He mumbled the last part under his breath. I wondered to myself why Severus would want to go to a place with a less than stellar record if what the man beside me said was true.

"My cousin is down there, he told me to wait in the sweet shop." I had no idea why I was telling a stranger my business but for some reason I liked this man. I reached into the bag that contained my spoils and took the chocolate out. Holding it out to the man I gave him the best smile I could muster, which in reality was more of a grimace. He looked like he wanted to refuse but I thrust the bar into his hands.

'Honestly' I thought, 'was this man ever shown kindness in his life?' Grabbing another lolly from my bag, having finished the previous one before I had run into Remus, I plucked the wrapper off, savoring the taste of blood and strawberries. I looked up from my sweet to see if Remus had begun eating the chocolate, but was met with the same horrified expression as the shop keeper had worn. Blinking, I attempted to defuse the silence that surrounded us. "Do you know if these come in O negative?" I asked him, and like the witch back in the shop his already pallor complexion whitened further.

"Err...I wouldn't know." He said. I kept silent, knowing he wasn't finished talking. "Not to be rude, but are you part vampire?" The hesitancy in his voice caused me to crack. Laughter escaping me in peals, I struggled for breath.

"Not that I know of, I just recently discovered the apparently acquired taste for these. They are rather delicious." I could see that he was still somewhat disturbed, but didn't get a chance to say anything as I was pulled back. I started freaking out further when I saw it was my furious cousin who dragged me behind him.

"I thought I told you to stay in the shop you ignorant girl, not to go wandering around with wolves."

I could see this statement was meant mock Remus, as he flinched and looked down at his shoes. My temper getting the better of me, my hair changed to red along with my eyes.

"Don't you dare Severus! Remus was kind enough to warn me just what kinds of dangers were lurking in the dodgy place you went to." I pointed towards the alleyway Remus had stopped me from going down; still not knowing if Remus was telling the truth. Judging by the way my cousin's face tightened I knew he was less than pleased with Remus and I.

"Did he also mention his condition? What was it your friends called it, Lupin? Your furry little problem?" The contempt in his words were biting, though Remus took it with an impassive face.

"Can we please not do this here, Severus? What happened back at school was long ago." Remus spoke in a monotone. His face still not giving anything away.

"You just made friends with a werewolf, you stupid girl." He spat.

That left me shocked. I had no inkling as to what a werewolf was like let alone that they actually existed. My only knowledge came from muggle nursery rhymes that were written in books. Before I could open my mouth though, Severus was dragging me by the arm towards Ollivander's Wand's Shop. I waved with my free hand as we left Remus.

Entering the shop the first thing I noticed was it was void of any furnishings save for a spindly chair in the corner and the counter. Walking around I made a little noise of disgust, for everything was caked in a fine layer of dust. Coming to stand in front of the counter I jumped in surprise as a man sliding in on a ladder appeared in front of me.

"Well, well, well, don't you look like your mother Miss Prince? Though I see some of your father in you as well." the man climbed off his ladder and came over to peer at me. I stood stock still, letting him examine me. I was acutely uncomfortable when he reached forward and grabbed my face in his hands. His silver eyes locked with mine. I broke the contact, looking at my cousin who stood off to the side with a disinterested look. It seemed this was normal behavior for the wand maker.

"Your mother was an excellent witch, easily excelling at some of the most dangerous spells known to wizard kind."

"My mother was a fool and a murderer." I was losing control as I peered at him with red eyes. Instead of jumping back in fear he simply beamed.

"You take after your cousin Nymphadora as well. Splendid!"

My eyes returned to normal as I processed this thought. I had a cousin like me? Who could do freaky things with their body?

"Now then, let's see which wand will choose you shall we?" He walked back behind the counter towards his ladder, climbed on and was off; stopping a few yards away as he picked up a box. He returned to us and handed me the wand inside. "Well, give it a wave!"

I flicked my wrist, causing the ladder to fly against the other side of the store with a loud bang. Mr. Ollivander took the wand back, muttering to himself. After about a dozen more unsuccessful attempts Mr. Ollivander went into the far back and came back with a blood colored wand. The wood was the brightest red I have ever seen. I took it and was surprised as a light shone out from its tip. When it dimmed the wand maker came over and took the wand away. "Curious, very curious." he said as he held it up to his face and examined it.

"What's curious, sir?" I hoped it wasn't another unsuccessful wand. It was becoming tiresome trying them all out only to end in failure.

"This wand was given to me by a close friend who died a long ago. What's curious is that this wand's core is thestral hair. The whole reason I had this was to study the connection thestral hair has with death. The wood is strong and durable, made from a tree in South Africa called Bloodwood. It's the only one of its kind besides the fabled Elder Wand to have thestral hair." When he handed the wand back to me and motioned for me to wave it, I took a deep breath and watched as the box on his desk floated for a few seconds then gently lowered itself to its former position.

"It seems this wand has chosen you Miss Prince, please treasure it." We paid and left to gather the rest of my school supplies.

'I'll definitely have to ask him what an Elder Wand is. A thestral too.' My mind whirled with all the new information I would have to ask Severus about later.

Arriving back at Severus' house later in the afternoon I ran to my room and started gathering the supplies Severus shrunk for me from my cloak pocket. Hearing my cousin entering my room I watched as they returned to their original sizes.

He set the cage containing my new little owl Apollo down on the desk and left the room, leaving me with my purchases. I opened my new trunk and loaded all my new cloaks and my uniform at the bottom, not forgetting my undergarments or socks. Then I started with the books and the cauldron.

An hour later I had finished loading everything save for my wand, and walked over to Apollo and let him out of his cage. He flew around before landing on my shoulder and I noticed a package clutched in one of his talons. Once I had taken the package Apollo went back to fly and I untied the string holding it together. Inside was a necklace engraved with three symbols of some sort upon it. Looking at the parchment inside the box I read:

Stupid girl,

The runes on this necklace each contain a meaning. The first symbolizes joy, the second ancestral property and the third need. Each represents you in one way or another, so I'll let you figure them out.

It was not signed but I knew who it was from. Unclasping the clasp I clip it around my neck and for the first time felt like this was home.

That I had someone who cared for me.