Chapter 1.1 - School Shopping
"Ow." I protested. Flinching as I was pricked, once again with a small dressmaking needle. The witch who haphazardly flourished her wand above my head and down around my shoulders was old, very old. Thin strands of ashen hair were twisted into a low bun at the base of her head and her hands possessed a tremor so pronounced, I suspected it had been there her whole life.
"Ollivanders after this, darling." My mother remarked, ticking off various tasks from her list. "After that, I expect we should be done."
"But couldn't we just…?" She looked up from the parchment in her hand and my question was curtailed, without the need for an answer to be voiced
"First years are not allowed their own brooms, Nina." She repeated. It was the same answer I'd received all day. But I'd already seen the Nimbus 2000 in the window of 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. Other wizards and witches of my own age with their noses pressed against the glass. I sighed in defeat as my reverie of rule breaking at Hogwarts were whisked away.
My attention was diverted to the pedestal next to me as the bell jingled, announcing the arrival of another customer to Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions. A boy stepped up next to me, white-blond hair slicked back - drawing further emphasis to his sharp and pronounced features. He briefly examined his own reflection in the mirror before turning to me, I offered a slight smile - his eyes flickering down to my mouth before his eyebrows furrowed and he turned away.
"That's you done then, dear." The old witch sighed before charming the pins of out my arsenic robes. Plain from head to foot, they were yet to be adorned with the house that I would find myself in by tomorrow night. As I stepped back down to the shop floor and pulled my coat over my shoulders, Mother folded her list back into her purse, paid the witch for her services and ushered me from the shop.
"Now we just need to find your brother and father," she commented as she kept the brown string-tied package clutched close to her chest. Eventually, we found my father outside the apothecary. He was piling small jars and vials into the arms of my brother who rolled his eyes through the new glasses he'd had to start wearing over the summer and I stifled a giggle. We'd always been incredibly close as siblings, the small age gap and shared love of Quidditch meaning we always had something to talk or argue about.
"Did you get everything?" My mother questioned. My father nodded in response but it was clear she didn't believe him. If we hadn't of left shopping for supplies to the last minute, I know she'd had preferred it if she had done it all by herself. To say my mother was a bit of a control freak would be a mild understatement.
"Are you sure? The books?" He nodded and sighed.
"Alec picked them up whilst I got her cauldron." My mother retrieved the list from her purse and ran a manicured nail down the list for what must have been the hundredth time that day.
"Ok, I got her gloves, hat, cloak and robes."
"I also got her telescope, crystal phials, and the scales. Is that everything?"
"No! My wand!" I was suddenly brimming with excitement as I spotted the windows to Ollivanders. I had taken off and entered the shop before my parents had the chance to follow.
There were boxes piled floor to ceiling, varying in colours but every one was the same size. Dust clung to some of them and cobwebs to others. The old man at the counter had looked up the moment I'd stepped in and waited patiently for my eyes to locate him amongst the wands. My parents and brother quickly stepped in after me and settled the other things they'd brought for my first year at school on the window ledge.
"Ah, Miss Rosier? Is it that time already?" I nodded as he looked to my parents. "Finally off to Hogwarts alongside your brother."
"Remind me, Miss Selwyn, what wand chose you again?" My mother pulled her wand from her purse, smiling proudly at its delicate features and white colour.
"Ah yes, Aspen wood. Phoenix feather if I remember correctly?" My mother nodded.
"It's served me well." She replied as he handed it back and repeated the action with my father.
"Beech." Ollivander smiled as he ran his old fingers along the groves of my father's wand. "For those wise beyond their years and full of understanding." My father cleared his throat and I couldn't help but notice him tilt his chin upward slightly. Ollivander handed the wand back and leant over his desk to me. He examined my face closely before retreating to the back of his shop, returning moments later with a purple box in hand. He removed a wand of English Oak and my hand clasped around the handle, it felt cold to the touch and made my palm itch but I waved it none the less. My brother laughed aloud as we heard a scream from down the street outside. I quickly placed the wand back on the desk as Alec poked his head out of the shop door to witness the unintended carnage I had caused. Ollivander sighed and returned to the back of the shop, returning this time with two boxes, one grey and one green. He opened the grey one first and handed it down to me.
"Yew." He said simply and I waved it again. My mother jumped as two of the floorboards ripped themselves up from under her feet and combusted into thousands of tiny splinters.
"No, I didn't think so but I like to check anyway. Here." He took the wand away and handed me the third one. As soon as I touched it, warmth spread throughout my hand and arm and I felt instantly attached to intricately carved wand in my hand. I waved it slightly and several silver wisps emerged from the end and floated around the air, dancing to their own silent song.
"Yes. Yes, I think that is the one for you, young Miss." I reluctantly handed the wand back as he wrapped it in its green box and tied it shut with black ribbon.
"A questing wand, it is always seeking out the next great adventure. It will become dangerous if left to the mundane activities that occupy so many of our lives."
"Sounds like you're destined for Gryffindor in that case, Moonshine." Alec smirked. I grimaced and looked up at my Father in silent protest. As close as Alec and I were, my Dad and I were the true partners in crime. He was my best friend.
"Leave your sister alone, if I remember correctly, weren't you almost a hatstall? Wasn't it almost Hufflepuff? We all know how much yellow doesn't suit you." A rose tint appeared on my brother's cheeks as my mother hushed them both, paid Ollivander and we left the shop.
"That's definitely everything now." My father said. "I want to go home and have some well deserved dinner. It's an early morning start tomorrow after all. The train will leave at exactly at 11am."