Chapter 1: The Blue-Eyed Native
"Connor Gabe, to the Head office," called a femininely voice from some speakers in the ceiling of a three-story tall home, resembling a castle. "Connor Gabe, to the Head office."
Outside, at the back off the castle-like building held a small playground filled with swings, slides, and monkey bars. There were also many kinds of different children playing around, hanging upside down, sliding, or swinging as high as they could. But there was one boy who wasn't playing at all.
This certain boy was sitting on a small bench, leaning his head on his hand, watching the other kids play. The boy wore a blue T-shirt and black shorts with tennis shoes, had short black hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes that many people thought were strange on a boy like him. This boy was different and he knew he was different. He knew that he could do things that no other ordinary child can do. He could make all kinds of plants flourish with concentration and with the wave of his hand, and every once in a while, he could see things happen before they happened and could change the outcome.
But he let things play out as he would see because when he tried to change it, he would only make things worse and the other kids would hate him even more than they already did. Why? Because Connor wasn't similar to the others by his race.
Connor Gabe is a Native American. He was the only one of his kind in this Children's Home, in this city of Boston, Massachusetts, and maybe in this side of the country. He didn't know much about where he came from or who he was. All he did know was that he has been in this Children's Home ever since he was a baby and that is was good to keep to yourself, that way no one would mess with him and would be just left alone.
"Hey, Dumbo! They're calling you!" said a voice next to Connor.
Connor turned his head to see the biggest bully of the Home, a boy by the name of Brandon Brutus. He was accompanied by his two henchmen, Johnny and Daniel, two tall boys standing by the heavy set boy who wore a Spiderman shirt that was covered in dirt and what looked like to be a little vanilla pudding.
"What?" Connor said clueless as he sat straight up.
But before Brandon said anything, the intercom went off again. "Connor Gabe to the Head Office, Connor Gabe to the Head Office, please." Connor sighed and jumped off the bench. He didn't do anything bad so why is he being called to the Head Office?
"Maybe they found a family who'll take in the Redskin," Daniel said as Connor walked away, Johnny and Brandon laughing.
"Yeah, like anyone would want a dumb redskin as their son," Brandon said loud enough to Connor to hear, making his friends laughed.
Connor sighed, bowed his head, ignoring the bullies, and walked inside the Children's Home, and made his way to the Head Office. He stopped at the Headmistress's door and knocked on the door.
A muffled 'enter' was heard, and Connor entered the office and wasn't surprised to see the Headmistress behind her huge oval office like desk, but he was surprised to see a beautiful brunette woman wearing a grey dress suit, and sitting in one of the open chairs in front of the headmistress's office.
"Ah, yes, yes, come in, Connor," the Headmistress said, waving Connor in. Connor shut the door and walked over and sat in the second empty chair in office, next to the woman who smiled at him when he looked at her. "Connor, I'd like you to meet Ms. Angelica Hernandez. Ms. Hernandez, this is Connor Gabe."
Connor looked up at Ms. Hernandez shyly yet curiously, and she looked back with a grin. "Good Afternoon, Connor," the older woman greeted.
"Good Afternoon, ma'am," Connor greeted back softly.
"See, he does have manners," the Headmistress spoke, and then turned to Connor. "Connor you're probably wondering why you're here today, am I right?" Connor nodded. "Well, you're here because Ms. Hernandez would like to adopt you."
Connor glanced at Ms. Hernandez then back at the Headmistress. "Why?" he asked.
"I don't think I'm the right person you should be asking that too," the Headmistress replied with a small smile.
Connor turned and looked at Ms. Hernandez. "Why do you want to adopt me?"
"Well, Connor," Ms. Hernandez said, smiling and looking down at Connor. "I've been keeping an eye on you ever since I saw you stick up for a girl in the playground and stood your ground against bullies a couple of weeks ago. I was there when you answered every question correctly in your history lesson and was there to hear your fabulous essay on your favorite U.S. President. I was there when you picked up after everyone else and even yourself. Connor, I want to adopt you because you remind me of myself when I was little. You're smart, sweet and nice; you care about others even though they don't care about you. You try to take care a of others, but it is you who needs to be taken care of because you have no one to take care of you. I want you to be my son, because I believe you are the most wonderful boy in the world. Please, let me be your mother."
Connor continued to stare at the older woman, and then spoke after a few moments of silence. "So, you don't care if I'm a redskin?"
"Connor, we do not allow that kind of language here," the Headmistress spoke sternly.
"Redskin?" Ms. Hernandez said, glancing at the Headmistress then back at Connor. "Who calls you that?"
"The other boys," Connor answered, bowing his head.
Ms. Hernandez put her hand on Connor's shoulder, causing him to look up at the woman. "I'm not here to adopt you because of what you look like," she said. "I'm here to adopt you for who you are."
Connor nodded. "Okay," he said, and finally smiled.
"Wonderful," Ms. Hernandez cried, and turned to the Headmistress.
"This is so spectacular," the Headmistress said, opening Connor's files and brought out some Adoption papers. "We'll start the paperwork right now, but the process will take a couple of days." Ms. Hernandez nodded in understanding. The Headmistress then turned to Connor. "And when that's done, you will be able to go to your new home."
Connor smiled to himself, excited that he would be leaving this Children's Home and into a new home where he could be free of the bullies and insults. He would have his own room and a woman that he could call mom. Things couldn't get any better for Connor, but little did Connor know that these changes were only just beginning.
"Alright, date? July 24, 2002," the Headmistress murmured as she began filling out Adoption papers. "Well, what about that?" she said, looking up at the two. "It looks like Connor would be able to leave on his birthday," she informed them. "July 26th, his eleventh birthday."
Connor looked up at Ms. Hernandez who smiled at him and he smiled back.
Half an hour later, Connor was back outside, walking near the small garden of the playground thinking, when something hit him in the head very hard, knocking him to the ground. He looked around in blurred vision to see that it was a soccer ball that had hit him in the head. He looked towards the direction the ball had come from and saw that Brandon and his buddies were walking over to him, laughing.
"Nice catch, Red," Brandon said as the reached Connor who was standing back up to his feet. "So, what did the Headmistress want with you?" the bully asked.
Connor rubbed the part of his head that was throbbing in pain and glared back at Brandon. "None of your business," he answered.
"Oooooo," Daniel and Johnny said, as Brandon sneered and cracked his knuckles.
"Do I have to beat it out of you?" he said, moving closer to the vines of the garden, that Connor noticed.
"Well," he said, discreetly moving his hand down and waving a couple of fingers. If anyone had seen what he was doing, they would have been amazed on how the vines moved over and wrapped themselves around Brandon's and Johnny's ankles. Luckily they didn't feel them because they were wearing long socks. "That is if you can catch me first!" Connor said, and then took off running.
"Get 'em!" Brandon ordered as him, Johnny, and Daniel took off running, but as two of the boys took their first steps, they fell face first into the dirt, shocking Daniel who was a few feet away when he noticed his friends were not following him.
Connor ran inside the home in a fit of giggles, having seen Brandon and Johnny fall on their faces. It was the first time he ever used his magic on a person and it felt a little great, but he knew he shouldn't have. Having read a lot of super hero comics and watched a lot of shows with superheroes has taught him not to use his abilities for selfish purposes. But one time couldn't have been so bad, and besides, he couldn't help it. He was finally leaving and those bullies couldn't do anything about it anymore.
The two days passed and Connor was sitting down on his bed, with his suitcase and backpack filled with all of his clothes and personal items, including the one item and had ever since he was a baby. Connor pulled out the special item from his pack and looked at it. It was a black stoned arrowhead, tied to a piece of string. The people here told him that it was around his neck when they found him on their front steps. It was the first clue to his heritage.
"Connor, are you ready?" said a woman at the door. Connor looked up from his arrowhead and nodded to the woman who walked over him and grabbed his suitcase. "Alright, come on," she said. Connor nodded again, placing the arrowhead around his neck, stood up from his bed, grabbed his back pack and followed the older woman to the den area, where the Headmistress and Ms. Hernandez were waiting.
"Good morning and Happy Birthday, Connor," Ms. Hernandez greeted.
"Good Morning and thank you, Ms. Hernandez," Connor greeted back with a smile.
"Here, I got you something," Ms. Hernandez said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a medium-sized box wrapped in blue paper with stars on it, and handed it to Connor.
"Thank you," Connor replied with a smile, never have gotten a present before. "Thank you very much."
"You're very much welcome," Ms. Hernandez said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll like it. Now, are you ready to head out into the great big world?" she asked. Connor nodded, and Ms. Hernandez tuned to the Headmistress. "Thank you for everything."
"It's been my pleasure," the Headmistress replied, as the two women shook hands. The headmistress then turned to Connor. "It was a pleasure having you here, Connor. And to be truthfully, I'll be sad to see you go," she said holding out her hand.
Connor smiled and shook her hand. "Thank you for everything. I appreciate you and your staff taking care of me and all."
"That's what we do," the Headmistress said, smiling, a tear falling down her cheek. "Goodbye, Connor."
"Goodbye," Connor replied with a sad smile, and then was led out of the Home by his new parent.
As the two left the Home, Connor watched as the other children were staring at him in awe in shock, surprised that Connor was the one who was actually adopted. Even Brandon and his buddies were dumbstruck that Connor was leaving.
Connor entered Ms. Hernandez's car holding his present and backpack, while his new parent put his suitcase into the truck. She entered the car, turned it on, and began to drive off while Connor turned to the other staring children and waved them off with the biggest triumphant smile he ever had on his face.
Half an hour later, the drive was over, and Ms. Hernandez stopped and parked her car on Commonwealth Avenue. "Here we are," she said, unbuckling her seat belt and opening the trunk with the press of a button.
Connor unbuckled his seat belt and the two exited the car, him being on the sidewalk side, Ms. Hernandez being on the street. Connor grabbed his present and backpack, took a few steps on the sidewalk and looked up to the three story house in front of him. It was a red brick building with three windows on each floor, and another house on both sides, glued to the sides.
"Well, what do you think?" Ms. Hernandez asked, stopping next to Connor, holding his suitcase. "That one there, number 23, is mine. I mean ours, now."
"It's wonderful," Connor replied with a grin.
"Great," Ms. Hernandez said. "Follow me." Connor nodded and began to Ms. Hernandez to house number 23.
Connor then followed Ms. Hernandez into the house, and they first entered the entrance hall. There was a doorway straight ahead, an entryway to the right where two sliding doors closed it up yet it was open, and on the left side was a normal looking set of stairs, with a door underneath it.
Connor walked to the larger doorway first and looked inside, while Ms. Hernandez watched him. Inside was a nice spacious looking living room with your typical living room furniture already in it and to the right was another door. Simon walked to the door and looked inside and saw that it was a dining room connected to the kitchen with a back door probably leading to a back yard or an alley. He then saw the doorway that went back to the hallway and went through it and saw Ms. Hernandez looking over her mail. She looked up and saw Connor had reappeared.
"Would you like to see your room?" she asked. Connor nodded. "Okay, follow me." Connor nodded again and followed Ms. Hernandez up stairs.
The two stopped on the second floor, where Connor saw that there were three doors, one already opened showing that it was a bathroom, the other doors closed and each on the other side of the bathroom.
"This way," Ms. Hernandez said, walking over to the closed door on the right, opened the door and walked inside. Connor then followed her inside. Blue wallpaper surrounded the walls, there was a twin sized bed in the back of the room with a nightstand next to it, and there was a dresser across from it with four drawers, and then there was a desk by the window.
"So, how do you like you're new room?" Ms. Hernandez asked, looking back at Connor who smiled and walked to the center of the room looking around.
"I love it!" he said, dropping his backpack.
"Great," Ms. Hernandez replied with a smile, dropping his suitcase. "So, unpack, while I go fix some lunch. When you finish, come down to the kitchen because we have to speak." Connor nodded and Ms. Hernandez left the room.
Connor then did what he was told, unpacked his clothes and placed them in the drawers, unpacked some of his personal items and put them in his desk, and then slid his suitcase under his bed, and dropped his backpack by his bed. Connor then sat on his bed with the present Ms. Hernandez gave him and opened it.
Inside the box was a Native American item, a dream catcher. Connor smiled as he examined it, seeing nothing else inside. It looked amazing. He placed down the dream catcher when he noticed that there was something else inside the box, which was weird because he thought there was nothing else inside. He picked up what was inside the box. It was a letter, so he turned it over to see it was for him.
Mr. Connor N. Gabe
the Second Room on the Second Floor
Number 23, Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
Connor turned over the letter to see it was unopened.
"Connor, Lunch!" Ms. Hernandez called from the kitchen. Confused, Connor decided to show Ms. Hernandez the letter and ask if she was the one who gave it to him.
Connor exited his room but stopped when he heard a thump from upstairs. He walked up to the stairs up to the third floor and stared up them, wondering what made that sound. He took the first step up.
"Connor!"
But he stopped. Not wanting to keep Ms. Hernandez waiting, Connor ran down the stairs, thinking about investigating the strange thumping sound later. He entered the kitchen a minute later, just as Ms. Hernandez was pouring him some juice.
"Hope you like fish sticks," Ms. Hernandez said, turning away and putting away the juice. Connor walked over to the table and took his seat where a plate sat with some fish sticks and broccoli sat.
"Yeah, they're okay," Connor answered, holding the letter in his lap. "Ms. Hernandez?"
Ms. Hernandez turned to Connor. "Yes?"
"What's this?" Connor asked, holding up the letter.
"Oh, I see they've sent it to you," Ms. Hernandez said, taking a seat across from Connor who was confused even more. "You see, Connor. There was another reason I adopted you. Now, why don't you open the letter and read it."
Simon nodded, opened the letter, and began to read it:
Salem's Witches and Wizards Institute of Magic
Head Principal: Zachariah Morgan Preston Osborn (Order of Honor, First Class)
Dear Mr. Simon N. Gabe,
We hereby inform you that you have been accepted to Salem's Witches and Wizards Institute of Magic. You will find an enclosed list of all of your equipment and supplies. The start of term begins on the 1st of September. We will await your owl by no later than July 31. Any Owls after the intended date must be concluded with an excusal note from parent or guardian.
Arianna A. Ashton
Vice Principal
Salem's Witches and Wizards Institute of Magic
First-year students will require:
clothes that follow the proper dress-code, and a set of dress clothes for special dinners, including the first day dinner, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc.
pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
If the student is interested in playing sports, then they should bring their own broom and athletic clothing
They may also bring an Owl, Cat, Trained Dog, Toad, or a Phoenix.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Year 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
American Magical History
by Walter Rold
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
Transfiguration for Beginners
by Edward Charles
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
American Beasts and Their Locations
by Clark Lewis
Defensive Magics Against the Dark Forces
by George Washington
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
"I don't understand," Connor said, looking up from the letter and up to Ms. Hernandez.
"Connor, have you ever been able to make things happen?" Ms. Hernandez asked. "Things you couldn't explain when you have been afraid or angry? Or things you can do that no other kid can do?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
Connor nodded, thinking about his abilities and the other strange thing that happened. "I can sometimes see things happen before they happen," he said.
"And how many times does that happen?" Ms. Hernandez asked, her curiosity peaking.
"Not a lot," Connor answered. "And I can make plants grow and stuff. And one time when I was afraid, I broke Brandon's game. I didn't mean too, it just happened."
"Interesting," Ms. Hernandez said.
"Do you know why I can do these things, Ms. Hernandez?" Connor asked, placing the letter down on the table.
"It's because you, Connor, are a Wizard," Ms. Hernandez spoke, smiling widely. Connor stared back blankly.
"A wizard? But there's no such thing?" Connor said, as Ms. Hernandez continued to smile.
"Would you like to see real magic then?" she asked. Connor nodded and watched as Ms. Hernandez stood up and pulled out a brown stick as long as her forearm. "This is called a wand, Connor. Now, watch and be amazed," She said and waved her wand. Simon watched in awe as his fish sticks began to float up and fly around the room. She then waved her wand again and watched as the dishes began to wash themselves.
"Wow," Connor breathed out, and then everything stopped at once with the flick of Ms. Hernandez's wand. "Wow, how did you do that?" Connor asked.
"Magic and practice," Ms. Hernandez answered as she sat down. "Lots and lots of practice, here at this school," she added, tapping Connor's letter with her wand.
"Connor, we can do these things, because we have these things called magical cores," Ms. Hernandez explained. "But not all of us have them, only half of the people in the world have magical cores. They are the Witches and Wizard while the non-magical people here are called Muggles."
"Muggles," Connor repeated.
Ms. Hernandez nodded. "I knew you were different from the day I laid eyes on you. I knew you were special, I could tell you had the magical potential," Ms. Hernandez explained, "Of course, you didn't know that you did, but now you do. This school, Salem's Institute of Magic will help control your magic and it will teach you that magic has no limits."
"So, there's more than what I can already do?" Connor said, eager to learn more. Ms. Hernandez nodded. Connor smiled and looked back at the letter. "So, where do I get all these things? And how do I pay for them? I don't have money."
"Don't worry about that Connor, because it would be my pleasure to pay for them. As I said, I am going to take care of you."
The next day, Connor and Ms. Hernandez left their house at Noon. Ms. Hernandez drove for about 10 minutes and then stopped and parked at a parking garage.
"Are we here?" Connor asked, shutting his door.
"Not quite," Ms. Hernandez replied, shutting her door. "We're about a couple blocks away." Connor nodded and followed Ms. Hernandez for 10 more minutes and a couple blocks down, to a quaint two-story book store. "Almost there," Ms. Hernandez said, opening the door. Simon entered first and then stopped after walking a few feet in and saw an old stern-looking woman sitting behind a counter reading a book. She had looked up when Ms. Hernandez entered.
"Good afternoon, Angie," the old woman greeted with a warm smile.
"Good Afternoon, Irma," Ms. Hernandez greeted back with the same smile.
"And who do we have here?" Irma said, looking down at Connor.
"This is Connor, my adopted son," Angie answered, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder.
"Ah, well Congratulations," Irma spoke, "Now, to what do I owe the Pleasure of your visit?"
"Connor has just been accepted to Salem's Institute," Angie answered, "And we're here to get his supplies for school."
"Oh, how wonderful," Irma said with another warm smile. "Well, go on, then." She said, waving towards a door behind her.
"Thank you," Angie said, smiling. "Come on, Connor." Connor nodded and followed Angie, through the door where there were some stairs going downwards. He then followed Angie down the stairs and stopped at a blue door. "Well, here we are," Angie said and opened the door for Connor who walked in, looking in awe. "Welcome, Connor, to the Mall of Magics."
"Whoa," Connor breathed out, walking farther into the Mall, Angie following him with a knowing smile.
Connor looked around. Many people, children, witches, and wizards were bustling around, carrying bags full of items, and shopping. He turned his head in every direction as they began walking up and down the walkways, trying to look at everything at once: the stores and the items outside them.
"Where are we going to first?" Connor asked, walking next to Angie.
"Well, I thought we should go to the bank first," Angie spoke, digging through her handbag. Connor nodded and followed his guardian.
A minute later, they were entering a bank. Connor stopped and looked up at the sign and saw it was called Oz Wizarding Bank. He looked ahead to see that Angie had already walked in, then ran after her, but stopped when he almost ran into a person, but it wasn't a person. It was something else. It was a head smaller of Connor, with pointy ears and nose, pointy teeth, wrinkly face, with long fingers, white hair, square glasses and grey eyes.
Connor stood there, staring wide eyed at the thing that stared back.
"Are you going to stand there, or are you going to move?" It said in a low voice.
"Um, hi," Connor spoke quietly.
"Hello," the thing said dignifiedly. "Now, would you please excuse me, I have a meeting to go to," it finished, the moved around Connor, and walked away; Connor watching it.
"Connor!" called Angie from a teller's counter. Connor turned away from the thing and quickly walked up to his guardian. He stopped behind Angie, and then noticed that the teller wasn't a person either. It was another one of those things with the wrinkly face and pointy teeth. Connor then looked all around the bank, and saw more of those things as tellers and some other things walking around holding files or books, and they were all pretty short.
Connor grabbed onto Angie's blouse and shook it. "Yes?" Angie said, passing something to the teller monster and then looked down to Connor.
"What are they?" Connor whispered loud enough for Angie to hear, and pointing at the monsters.
Angie smiled knowingly. "They're Goblins, Connor," she told him. "They're pretty smart and clever, but not too friendly to us witches and wizards." Connor nodded, and looked at another child who was with both his parents, while Angie turned back to the Goblin teller to receive her money.
"Alright, Connor," Angie said, turning to him and placing the money in her purse. "Let's start with your books." Connor nodded, and the two exited the bank and back into the mall.
"So, are we going back up to the bookstore?" Connor asked, following next to Angie.
"Oh, no," Angie said. "That's just a regular bookstore, and we want to go to a magical bookstore."
"A magical bookstore?" Connor repeated.
"Yes, and this one to be exact," Angie said, stopping. Connor stopped too and looked ahead to see another bookstore, called Narnia's and Bubble's Magic Books. "Come on," Angie said, entering the bookstore with Connor in tow.
Connor looked around once entering the bookstore. It wasn't an ordinary bookstore. Its shelves went all the way up to the ceiling, and the books were as small as Connor's hands and as big as his body.
"Hello, there," greeted a bookstore clerk, wearing brown robes. "How may I help you?"
"Ah, yes," Angie said, pulling out Connor's list of books. "We need these books, here," she finished, handing the clerk the list.
"Ah, I see," the clerk said, looking at the list and then down at Simon. "Going to Salem, are we?" he asked, and Connor nodded. "Okay, let me see. Wait here, or take a seat, and I'll go get these books." Angie nodded and led Simon over to the waiting chairs provided while the clerk went to find the books.
Connor looked to his right to a small table and saw a magazine, but the picture on the front was moving. It was a man in some kind of uniform riding on what looked like to be a broomstick. He was flying in the air, holding onto a ball of some kind.
"What's he doing?" Connor asked, picking up the magazine to show Angie.
Angie glanced at the magazine. "He's flying on a broomstick, playing Quidditch," she answered. Seconds later, the clerk came back holding onto the 8 books on Connor's booklist. Connor and Angie stood to their feet
"Alright, here we go," the clerk said, handing Connor all the books that went over his head, but for some reason, the books weren't even that heavy. "Now, that will be 12 galleons and 13 sickles." Angie nodded and handed the clerk the money. "Thank you, and thank you for shopping at Narnia's and Bubble's, have a nice day, and have a great year at Salem's," the clerk said, and then left the two to alone.
"Angie, are you still there?" Connor said from behind the stack of books.
"Yes, I'm here," Angie said, then turned and noticed that Simon couldn't see over the stack of books. "Oh, Connor, I'm sorry," she said, "Give me those, I'll put them in my bag." Angie began taking the books on by one and stuffed them into her handbag. Connor watched in confusion as Angie put every text book in her bag, wondering out they all fit inside and how the bag wasn't even bulging.
After placing the last book in her bag, she looked up at Connor who had a puzzled look on his face. "Oh, it's a Undetectable Extension Charm. It undetectably makes things bigger on the inside only," she explained to Connor who nodded. "Okay, now, let's go get you your dress suit, since its closer."
Connor nodded again, and Angie thanked the bookstore clerk, and led Connor out of the bookstore and to a few shops over to a fancy clothing store called Wizard's Wearhouse.
"Here we are," Angie spoke, leading in Connor, who was looking around curiously, seeing many different kinds of suits with different varieties, colors, and sizes.
A man wearing a white dress shirt, black tie, black vest, black slacks, and black shoes, with a measuring tape around his neck, walking up to Angie and Connor. "Good afternoon," the Tailor said. "How may I help you?"
"Yes," Angie said, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder. "Connor here needs a nice suit for the upcoming school year."
"Ah, yes," the Tailor said with a smile, and looked down at Simon. "Starting at Salem's, I see. Well, come with me and tell me what you like," he said, holding out an arm.
Connor looked at Angie. "What do I get?" he asked her.
"Just find something you like," Angie said with a smile. Connor nodded and followed the tailor to the measuring area, with a small stool and a few mirrors.
"Step on the stool, please," the Tailor said politely, and Connor stood on the stool, quietly. "Now, what are you particularly looking for?"
Connor shrugged. He didn't know what to get. He never had to wear a suit before, so he didn't know what he liked.
"Oh, I see," the tailor said, smiling. "This will be your very first suit, won't it?" Connor nodded. "Okay, let's see here. What's your favorite color?"
"Red," Connor answered.
"Ooooh, no," Tailor said, hand under his chin. "That's not that good of a suit color and it would clash with your skin and eyes. Let's see. We'll go with a black suit, is that okay?"
Connor nodded.
The tailor smiled. "Okay," he said, and began to measure Connor's arms, legs, waist, and chest. "Okay, I'll be right back." Connor nodded and watched the man leave, and then turned to look into the mirror at himself and then noticed another boy behind him being fitted by another tailor who was a women.
The boy was taller than him and looked a year or two older, brown, curly hairs that looked to be wet, hazel eyes, light skin, and was already wearing his slacks and dress shirt. Another man came over holding onto a blue jacket.
"What are you, an idiot?" the boy spoke. "That's navy, not a dark blue. Go get me what I ask for, and do it right. I don't want to have to get my father down here." Connor watched as the boy growled at the man like that, sneering at him as he left.
"Alright, Connor," the tailor returned, holding onto a white dress shirt and black slacks. "Go into the dressing room and try these on, see how the fit," he said handing Simon the clothes. "Now, what size shoe are you?"
"4," Connor answered. The tailor nodded and walked away, while Connor stepped off the stool and into the dressing room where he changed his clothes. A minute later, Simon stepped out of the dressing room, the clothes fitting perfectly, and noticed there was a pair of black shoes sitting on the stool.
Connor walked over the shoes, put them on, feeling they were perfect, and stepped back onto the stool and looked into the mirror. He looked pretty good so far.
"What are you trying to do?! Poison me?!" growled the boy from the other end of the store. Connor turned around. The other boy had just thrown down a glass of water, spitting it out. "That's not Tasmanian Rainwater! Give me what I asked for!"
"But young master Wayne, we don't have that here," said the woman tailor.
"Well, then you should go find some somewhere else then," Wayne growled at the woman who nodded and left.
"Ah, yes, you are looking good."
Connor turned to see that his tailor had returned holding a black jacket, a dark red vest and a black tie. "I found something you might like," the tailor said, showing Connor the clothes he had. "Not only that these clothes are black, but the other side of this side is red, the inside of the Jacket is red, and the vest, was red, the inside black." Connor smiled, liking his new clothes.
"They're great," he said, grabbing the vest.
"Good," the tailor said as Connor put on the vest. "Let's put the tie on before you button that up." Connor nodded, and the Tailor put the tie around his neck and tied it in a matter of seconds. "There you go," he said, straightening the tie. "Now, button that up and let's put on the jacket.
Connor buttoned of his new vest and then put on his jacket.
"Now, what do you think?" the tailor asked. Connor looked into the mirror and smile.
"I look great," He said, smiling.
"I agree," Angie spoke as she appeared out of nowhere, smiling at Connor. "You look very handsome, Connor."
"Th -"
"I'll say," said a voice. The three heads turned to see the other boy leaning on a shelf, looking at Connor. "Are you seriously going to wear that in public? It's cheap and ugly."
"Hey!" Angie and the Tailor cried.
"It's okay," Connor said, calmly, stepping off the stool. "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Doesn't mean that it matters."
"Oh, my opinion matters," Wayne said smugly, leaning off the shelves. "It matters a lot." He added, moving closer to Connor. "And If I were you, I'd watch what you say, or things might trail off to get a little..." he trailed off, looking at Angie, then back to Connor. "...teary."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Connor asked, clueless. Wayne laughed, and then walked off, not answering Connor's question. Connor turned to Angie. "What did he mean?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure," Angie answered with an apologetic smile. "Come on, let's change into your regular clothes and continue our shopping." Connor nodded and headed to the dressing rooms to change back to his regular clothes.
Minutes later, Angie and Connor exited the Wizard's Wearhouse, Connor's new suit in Angie's bag. They stopped at the pet shop and bought Simon an Owl, so they could switch letters, something Angie had to explain to Connor. They even stopped at a Sporting goods store where Connor was given his own broomstick, the Nimbus Twenty-Ten. Their next store was a big shop called The Magician's Kitchen, where Angie found Connor's Pewter cauldron, brass scales, telescope, and his basic potion ingredients, all fitting inside Angie's bag which Connor was still curious about.
"It's not heavy, is it?" Connor asked as the two were heading to their next store, pointing to the bag.
"No, not really," Angie answered. "It has a lightweight charm added to it. Okay, here we are." Simon looked up at the sign that said The Wand Shop over a giant brown wand. "Here," Angie said, digging through her bag, and then pulled out a small pouch of coins and handed them to Simon. "Go inside and get your wand, I have to go run a quick errand."
"What are you going to do?" Connor asked.
"Oh, just a work thing," she answered. "Don't worry; I'll be as quick as I can."
"And if i finish before you?"
"Just sit on that bench over there and wait for me, okay?" Angie said. Simon nodded. "Okay, now go get your wand. I'll be right back." Connor nodded and walked into the Wand Shop, while Angie left somewhere else.
Connor looked around the small shop. It was full of wands on shelves that went up to the ceiling. There was a section of different hairs, strings, and feathers in a glass case, but the place was empty, no one there.
"Hello?" Connor called, and then jumped when a person stood up from behind the counter. It was a bald man, with grey eyes, grey eyebrows, skinny, and wore strange clothes, like he was from England in the 1800's.
"Yes?" the man said in a British accent, smiling. "What can I do for you, young man?"
"Grandpa! What did I say about the British accent," said a girly voice, from an open door behind the counter.
The old man rolled his eyes. "But I have to do the act for the young kids," he said in a normal American accent. "It makes it more magical."
And then, a short girl appeared at the door. She had flowing blond hair in a ponytail, green eyes, pretty face, and wore a blue sundress. "Well, at least it's not as scary as your uniform."
"Now, what's wrong with my clothes?" the old man said. "They look great."
"Excuse me," Connor spoke up, before the girl could speak. "But, may I get my wand, please?"
"Oh, sorry," the old man said, turning to Connor. "Yes, let's get you your wand," he said, moving from around the corner. Connor looked behind the counter to see that the girl had left, then back to the old man. "I'm Lawrence Cooper, the Wand maker, but you can call me Larry."
"Hi, sir," Connor greeted. "I'm Connor."
"No need for the sir, Connor," Larry said with a smile. Connor nodded, "Now, Which is your wand arm?" the wand maker asked, then saw the confused look on Connor's face. "Which arm do you use the most?"
Connor instinctively held up his right arm. "Right." he answered. Larry nodded.
"All right, hold out your right arm," Larry said and pulled out a measuring tape from his pocket, starting to take measurements of strange areas on Connor's body, from his knee to armpit and around his head.
"Each wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Connor." Larry spoke up, walking away from Connor who was shocked that the tape kept measuring him on its own. "We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons, there's the occasional Thestral hair or Centaur hair, but those are very hard to get.
"No two wands are ever the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And, of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand. You see, Connor, The wand chooses the wizard." Connor stared at the man curiously, interested in what the elder was saying.
Larry gave a 'that's enough' and the measuring tape fell.
"Let's try this one," Larry handed Connor a wand, "Hawthorn and unicorn hair. Nine inches. Give it a wave now."
Connor curiously waved the wand around and nothing happened. "Is it supposed to do that?" he asked
"No," Larry answered with a smile and snatched the wand from Connor and shoved another in his hand.
"Birch, phoenix tail feather, ten inches."
Again, Connor waved the wand, just to have it replaced again.
"Hazel and unicorn hair. Ten inches."
Connor tried again, and again, but the every wand was snatched from his hand. Connor waved the next wand, again to be snatched away but not before a small book rip apart making Simon jump up in surprise. Larry's granddaughter exiting the room she was in to see what the noise was.
"You are a very stubborn customer, aren't you?" Larry stated, picking up another wand, "I've never really seen this before. Well, let's try this one," he said, handing Connor a new wand.
As soon as the wand was in Connor's hand, he knew it was different. It sent a warm sensation up his arm and when he gave it a determined wave, it set off a shower of fiery blue and red sparks. Connor started grinning widely and knew that this was going to be his wand.
"Well, I'll be damned," Larry said as he scratched his bald head.
"What is it, grandpa?" His granddaughter asked, leaning over the counter. Connor glancing at her then back at Larry.
"I didn't think that wand was actually gonna work," Larry said.
"What do you mean?" Connor asked, looking at the wand. "Is it not a real wand?"
"No, it is a real wand," Larry assured. "It's just, every kid I did hand this wand to, the wand rejected them. I must of handed this wand to a thousand different children, but now, it seemed to have chosen you."
"What kind of wand is it?" Larry's granddaughter asked.
"It's Holly and Thestral Tail-Hair, 11 and half inches," Larry answered, as he took the wand from Connor. "Thestral Tail-Hair is a tricky substance to use to create a wand with. Only wizards that mastered death can control it, but you're only a boy. Why would the wand choose a boy who probably hasn't even seen a thestral or even death?"
"You're not mad, are you?" Connor asked, watching Larry examine the wand.
"No, more like curious, and astonishment," Larry said, turning to Connor and giving back the wand. "There is something inside you, something here..." Larry pointed at Connor's chest. "Something that only you can see, which is probably why this wand chose you. As if it was your destiny."
"And what is my destiny?" Connor asked, looking up at Larry.
"That is something that I cannot answer for you, young Connor," Larry replied, moving back behind the counter, while Connor looked at his wand with new curiosity.
A/n: I'm just full of different HP stories aren't I? Okay, this is going to be a whole lot different since this is America and not Britain, a whole lot of new things are coming, just wait and read. Review, and ask questions. And if you have an idea that you'd think i can use, tell me. Hope you enjoy!