After leaving the little house that belonged to Flix, Snape walked through the winding alleys and returned to the bright sunlight of Diagon Alley.
At this moment, he still had one last item left to purchase, Muggle laboratory equipment.
The Leaky Cauldron was, as always, crowded with all sorts of wizards.
"I need a private room for one night, Tom," Snape said as he walked up to the bar, addressing the thin, shriveled bar owner with missing teeth.
His voice came out slightly higher than expected, the Aging Potion was slowly wearing off, and his vocal cords were returning to their seventeen-year-old state.
"Room Eleven is available, sir," said Tom, lifting his head. He turned and took a key from the wall. "One Galleon. I think you'll find it quite comfortable."
After paying, Snape took the key and quickly made his way down the passage beside the bar, through a narrow, wallpaper-peeling corridor, and up a creaky wooden staircase until he stopped in front of a door marked with a brass number eleven.
Opening the door, he found the room better than expected: a bed that looked rather comfortable, several polished oak furnishings, and even a small fireplace.
Closing the door, Snape waved his wand toward the fireplace. Instantly, flames leapt up from the grate, crackling merrily.
He removed his cloak and stretched out on the bed with satisfaction.
Outside, London's sky was changing rapidly, shifting from velvet-blue to a cold, dreary gray.
He closed his eyes, feeling the effects of the Aging Potion gradually fade. It was a peculiar sensation, his bones shrinking, muscles tightening once more, and a tingling sensation spreading across his scalp.
Half an hour later, he sat up and walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall. Seventeen-year-old Severus Snape had returned.
"Excellent," he murmured to himself. "Now it's time to enter the Muggle world."
From his small bag, enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, he pulled out a set of Muggle clothes: a pair of dark jeans, a gray T-shirt, and a black jacket.
Once dressed, he pulled a cloak and hood over the top, ensuring his wand was safely hidden within the sleeve of his jacket.
As he descended the stairs, Tom gave him a puzzled look with his cloudy eyes but said nothing.
Pushing open the small door of the pub, Snape stepped out onto Charing Cross Road. He quickly removed his cloak and hood, stuffed them into the small bag, and in a few strides, blended into the bustle of the Muggle world.
Charing Cross Road was lined with shops and bustling with people. It was an ordinary street, full of ordinary people, seemingly untouched by anything strange or magical.
In the streets of London in 1977, no one would give a second glance to a thin, tall boy dressed plainly.
Snape wandered aimlessly along the street, passing by bookstores, record shops, hamburger stands, fish and chip shops, and cinemas. He didn't know exactly where to buy laboratory instruments, but there was no hurry.
"If there were no magic," Snape thought, watching a mother pushing a baby carriage and a young couple walking hand in hand into a cinema, "this place would enjoy peace and prosperity for at least a few more decades."
Several sleek little cars were parked along the roadside.
After passing a cinema decorated with posters of James Bond and his Bond girl, Snape finally found his target: a shop with a sign reading "Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS)." In the window were displayed all sorts of glassware and metal instruments.
"That's the one," Snape murmured, pushing the door open. A bell jingled brightly overhead.
The shop was larger inside than it appeared from the outside. Shelves lined with unfamiliar instruments stretched out before him. A middle-aged clerk wearing thick glasses looked up from behind the counter.
"Hello there, young man. How can I help you?"
"Hello. I need some laboratory equipment," Snape said, trying to make his voice sound like that of an ordinary student. "A mechanical scale, a thermometer, a timer."
"We've got all those," said the clerk enthusiastically, adjusting his glasses. "Would you prefer one of the new electronic scales? Much more accurate than the mechanical kind."
"No, the mechanical one will do," Snape insisted. Magic and electronic devices never got along very well.
The clerk nodded and turned to fetch the items from the shelves.
"Anything else you need, sir?"
"Various sizes of volumetric flasks," Snape said, reading off labels on the shelves and stumbling slightly over the terms, "Kjeldahl flasks, Griffin beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, a five-thousand-milliliter round-bottom flask, and these protective lab items."
"Young man," the clerk suddenly stopped, raising his head warily, "what do you need all these things for? Who sent you to buy them?"
"For experiments," Snape said, pretending to be calm. "Uh, our chemistry teacher asked me to get them."
"What's your chemistry teacher's name? And which school?" the clerk pressed, his fingers subtly edging toward the telephone under the counter.
Snape's mind raced. He quickly grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the counter while slipping his wand down from his sleeve.
"My chemistry teacher's name is Heisenberg," he said casually, handing over the blank paper as he spoke. "Here, this should clear things up. My purchase is reasonable and perfectly legitimate."
As the clerk lowered his head to look at the paper, Snape swiftly waved his wand and silently cast a Confundus Charm.
The clerk's eyes went slightly unfocused, then steadied. He stared at the paper for a few moments, then nodded.
"Everything seems perfectly in order," he said calmly, handing the paper back. "I'll get what you need."
Ten minutes later, the clerk returned with a large cardboard box filled with glassware.
Snape took it, reinforced it carefully with a charm, and slid it into his small bag.
"Thank you very much," said Snape. "How much?"
The dazed clerk muttered the price, absentmindedly accepting the pounds Sterling Snape handed over.
Even long after Snape had left the store, he stood there blankly staring at the notes in his hand, unable to recall what had just happened.
As Snape passed a fish and chip shop, a well-kept black car parked by the curb caught his eye.
A moment earlier, it had been empty. But now, inside sat two very familiar figures, Petunia Evans and the burly young man Snape had seen in Cokeworth, Vernon Dursley, two people who could not have been more ordinary than the street itself.
"What are they doing here?" Snape's curiosity got the better of him. He looked around to make sure no Muggles were watching, then stepped into the corner and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Silently, he approached the car.
The scene inside was clearly visible: Vernon was happily waving a sausage, while Petunia looked preoccupied and anxious.
"Petunia, that 'The Spy Who Loved Me' film was pretty good, wasn't it?" Vernon said cheerfully.
"Yes, dear," Petunia replied, but her eyes were fixed anxiously on something outside the window. Snape noticed the nearly untouched fish and chips on the small tray before her.
"That underwater city was amazing," Vernon continued enthusiastically. "Of course, if you ask me, I'd never want to get mixed up in anything so strange. I just want us to stay nice and ordinary..."
Hearing Vernon's declaration, Petunia seemed to make up her mind and interrupted him.
"Vernon, there's something I must tell you. I hope you won't be angry after you hear it."
"What is it, dear?" Vernon's tone softened. "Why would I be angry with you?"
Petunia looked touched. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Vernon," she took a deep breath, "last time in Cokeworth, you met my sister."
"Yes, I did," Vernon said, frowning slightly. "What about her?"
"My sister, Lily... she..." Petunia's voice was almost inaudible. "She's a witch. She's studying at a school where they teach them magic."
"A witch? Magic?" Vernon's voice rose two pitches in shock. "You mean, those words mean exactly what I think they mean?"
Petunia gave a small nod.
"Ah... dear," Vernon stammered. "How can she be a witch? Are you serious?"
"I didn't mean to hide it from you..." Petunia's eyes were brimming with tears. "I was just afraid that if you found out, you'd leave me..."
Snape held his breath, waiting to see Vernon's reaction. How would he respond to this revelation for the first time?
To his surprise, Vernon was silent for only a few seconds. Then he awkwardly reached out and wiped the tears from Petunia's cheek.
"I'd never blame or leave you just because your sister's a freak," he said after a pause, searching for words. "You'll always be my... my little Nini."
Petunia threw herself into his arms so suddenly that Vernon nearly hit the steering wheel. The sausage fell onto the car seat, but he didn't care, he simply patted her back gently, whispering words of comfort.
After a while, Petunia finally calmed down. She wiped her tears. "Thank you, dear."
"My pleasure," said Vernon cheerfully.
Watching the two of them, Snape felt that even under the Disillusionment Charm, he must have been glowing.
He took a few steps back, dispelled the spell in the car's blind spot, then deliberately acted as if he had just spotted them and approached the car.
"Petunia, Mr. Dursley, what a coincidence," Snape said in his most neutral tone. "How have you been?"
Vernon visibly tensed at the sight of Snape. He turned to Petunia and whispered, "He's your sister's friend, right? The one we met last time, is he also...?"
"A wizard," Petunia answered softly, watching Snape warily. Then, louder, she asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at school."
"Just out for a stroll. I happened to see you and thought I'd say hello," Snape said, shrugging casually while studying Vernon's reaction. He looked confused and curious, like a man confronted with some unknown beast.
Then Vernon did something that completely stunned Snape.
He leaned out the window and said, "Mr. Snape, care to join us for dinner?"
"What? Dinner? Me? You two?" Snape stammered, a rare occurrence for him. He glanced at Petunia and saw her equally wide-eyed in astonishment.
"Yes," Vernon said, squeezing Petunia's hand reassuringly. "There's a nice restaurant nearby. Do you have time?"
"Uh... sure," Snape said, scratching his head in confusion.
"Then get in," Vernon said.
Feeling oddly flattered, Snape opened the car door and climbed in. He even began to wonder if Vernon had somehow been replaced by someone else.
As he sat in the back seat of Vernon's car, Snape felt as though he had stepped into an entirely foreign world.
The interior smelled of leather and cologne. The radio was playing an old song from forty or fifty years ago, Nick Lucas's Tiptoe Through the Tulips.
Through the car window, Snape saw London's sky turning pink, streaked with threads of gold, it looked astonishingly beautiful.
The restaurant Vernon chose was far more upscale than Snape had expected. Crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow from above, and the white tablecloths gleamed under polished silver cutlery. Vernon was clearly a regular; the waiter led them straight to a quiet corner.
"Fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, Yorkshire pudding..." Vernon ordered skillfully, then looked up at Snape. "Mr. Snape, is there anything you'd like?"
"Stargazy pie?" Snape asked tentatively. He had never actually seen the famous dish in person.
At the name, Vernon gave Snape a meaningful look. But he simply nodded and told the waiter, "One more Stargazy pie."
Soon, the waiter brought over a bottle of sparkling wine and poured them each half a glass.
Once the waiter left, Vernon took a large sip and then looked directly at Snape. "Petunia just told me, you're a..."
"A wizard?" Snape finished for him. "What about it, Mr. Dursley?"
"So, what's special about you?" Vernon's tone suddenly hardened. The muscles on his thick, hairy forearm tensed as he protectively placed a hand in front of Petunia. "I mean, how do you prove it?"
Snape's lips curved faintly. "Watch your glass."
He placed his hand under the table, let the tip of his wand peek from his sleeve, and under the table's edge silently cast a Refilling Charm at Vernon's half-empty glass.
The glass immediately refilled, bubbles rising merrily through the golden liquid.
Vernon's jaw nearly dropped. He rubbed his eyes, staring between the glass and Snape, then lifted it tremblingly and sniffed, the rich aroma of wine filled his nose.
"Don't drink it!" Petunia stopped him just as he was about to take a sip, snatching the glass away and setting it back down. "Who knows what's in it now?"
"It's fine, Miss Evans," Snape said calmly. He lifted his own glass, took a deep swallow, then refilled it with magic and drank again. "See? Harmless."
"Petunia," Vernon said, his expression shifting from shock to a sort of fascinated awe, "I used to think your sister was just a regular freak, but-"
Petunia pressed her lips together, looking at him with a mix of worry and sorrow.
"It's all right, Petunia," Vernon said, turning to her and taking her hand. "I'd never blame or avoid you just because your sister's not an ordinary freak."
Once again, Petunia threw her arms around him and cried even harder than before.
Watching the two of them, Snape found the wine had lost its flavor, the food its appeal. He suddenly felt terribly out of place.
He stared down at his glass, thinking about Vernon's strange behavior. Why was tonight's reaction so unlike the disgust and hatred the uncle he knew would later show toward magic?
At that moment, the waiter brought their dishes, and Snape cleared his throat softly.
Vernon and Petunia sheepishly let go of each other. The three began their meal in an odd, awkward silence.
"Mr. Snape," Vernon said after a while, shifting his bulky frame to break the quiet. He pulled out a twenty-pound note with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait on it. "Can you make this... multiply?"
"..."
Snape immediately understood the reason behind Vernon's friendliness.
"Unfortunately," he said, shaking his head, "that's illegal."
"Ah, so you have laws too." Vernon looked both disappointed and slightly relieved. "I suppose that makes sense, otherwise, your lot would have taken over the world long ago..."
"Well then, thank you for dinner, Mr. Dursley," said Snape. "And I happen to know a joke about a Japanese golfer, I'm sure you'll find it quite amusing..."