The Wandmaker

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from Harry Potter. If you don't recognise it, I don't own it.

1.

Milly

"Nervous, Milly?"

Eleven-year-old Milly Costello looked at the shop looming in front of her. "No." She could see faded lettering above the door: Mrs. Leireag's.

She was nervous, but not about getting her first – and hopefully only – wand. Milly was the youngest of three sisters. The eldest, Rachel, had developed a talent for creating magical pictures and the second sister, Susanna, was the top student in her year. She was close to being the top student in her house and considering she was a Ravenclaw, that was saying something.

So where did that leave Milly?

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Milly's mother asked.

"I…yes, please."

"I'm sorry we couldn't go to Ollivander's." The Fearainn wandmaker wasn't as well-known as Ollivander or Gregorovitch, but she'd never had an unsatisfied customer.

"It's all right," Milly said. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, holding the door open for her mother.

The walls were lined with small, slim boxes; Milly saw each box was a different colour, with black boxes closest to the door and very pale grey at the opposite end. On the small wooden counter was a pot of white flowers. A shadow stood behind the counter; after a moment, a woman in a dusty-green robe stepped forward, smiling.

"Mrs. Costello, how nice to see you again! And this is your youngest?"

"This is Emilia," Teresa Costello said, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Milly, this is Sylvatica Leireag."

Mrs. Leireag motioned towards a young man standing in the back of the shop. "This is my apprentice. Do you mind if he watches, Emilia?"

Milly shook her head. "How will I know when I've found the right wand?"

"You won't find it. It finds you." Mrs. Leireag took a box from the myriad on the walls and placed it on the counter in front of Milly. Tentatively, Milly opened the box and picked up the wand.

She felt nothing.

"Don't worry," Mrs. Leireag said soothingly. "It's rare to find your wand quickly." She took another box, pushing the other one to the far end of the counter.

Milly tried several wands but none of them seemed to match her. After the thirteenth try, the apprentice spoke, startling everyone in the shop.

"Fruit."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Leireag asked. "That doesn't leave her with a lot of options."

The apprentice nodded. "Definitely a fruit tree wand for this one."

Milly watched as Mrs. Leireag gathered as many wands as she could and placed them on the table in front of her: cherry, apple and pear. They had a variety of cores.

She had at least six unsuccessful tries before her hand landed on a box containing an apple wand with a unicorn hair. She opened the box and picked up the wand. The moment it was in her hand, she felt her arm tingle and the next moment the flowers on the counter changed from white to a beautiful, brilliant blue.

Her face broke into a delighted smile.

"I remember the unicorn I took the hair from," Mrs. Leireag said with a smile. "A very gentle, very sweet little mare…take good care of that wand, won't you?"

"I will," Milly promised.