The four, long house tables seemed to stretch forever- colorful banters merged to form a mocking silver and green combination which seemed to be spitting right at him, taunting him, telling him that was where he belonged.
He tried to walk calmly down to the table but students were hissing at him, jeering and pointing.
You belong with us, they said, with so much determination that he couldn't help but believe them.
With shaking hands, he placed the sorting hat on top of his head. Immediately, it spoke in a harsh, above-all voice.
"Albus Severus Potter...you wish to be a Gryffindor, eh?"
'Yes!' he thought frantically. 'Gryffindor...Please, Gryffindor...'
"I see...
Albus' heart skipped a beat.
"SLYTHERIN!"
His blood went cold- his body tensed, and his mouth opened in a sharp gasp. The students around the tables started sneering, yelling, and telling him they had always know he'd belonged there.
Terrified, he didn't move. But then, Albus felt a sick sensation, like a snake crawling around his body- with a jolt, he realized that one was.
He tried to yell out, to move, but he was simply frozen there, helpless, as he saw the snake curling around his body, suspending him there, slowly forcing the air out of his lungs-
Albus sat up in bed, gasping, a hand over his heart, and sweat running down his face. Feeling irritated and terrified, Albus slid his legs of his bed, hiding his face in his hands.
It was another one of those dreams- Slytherin, it was always Slytherin. Albus blamed his brother James for these none-ending nightmares. Being in Slytherin had become what had been taking up his mind ever since his Hogwarts letter arrived. Albus hated how James could lead his way into his nerves that easily- he always seemed to know what scared him most. Albus hopped of his bed and rushed to the bathroom- in a flash, he brushed his teeth, threw on a pair of clothes, and then jumped on his four-poster again, ready to loose himself to thought- it always helped after one of his dream. Thinking things through, making up original ways to proove he didn't belong in the house of the snakes. He knew he should have been going down for breakfast, according to the rattle and sounds from the kitchen, but he felt like he needed to clear his mind up first
Before Albus could attempt to make an effort and stand up again, a small, red-head that looked like a carbon copy of his mother stomped up to his room.
"AL!" Lily yelled, poking her head through his door, looking rather annoyed. "MUM SAYS TO COME DOWN FOR BREAKFAST!"
"All right, all right!" Albus groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I'm here, you know? You don't have to yell."
Lily, the normally sweet girl, huffed, and slammed the door behind her- It unhinged, and flew at Albus. Horrified, he ducked immediately- the door flew over his head, struck the walls of his room, and shattered into tiny pieces. Lily, who was completely oblivious to her show of accidental magic, stomped down the stairs.
"DAD!" Albus heard a voice yell- from the annoyance in it, he guessed it was James'. Albus grudgingly carried himself down the stairs.
His brother James, was sitting at the table, groaning into his bowl of Veerio's Cornflakes. Since Albus' mother and father had vivid red and black hair respectively, James sort of got stuck in between. His hair was a dark caramel brown. His eyes were brown with golden flecks, and he had a spray of freckles across his face. Grandpa and Grandma Weasley, Hagrid, and pretty much everyone who knew him said that James looked exactly like his grandfather, who was also his namesake. Albus took a seat next to his father, who was reading the Daily Prophet. His family greeted him as usual.
"I think Lily wrecked another wall." he stated bluntly. His father put down the Daily Prophet he was reading, sighing. Lily scowled.
"James, don't tease your sister." Ginny said firmly, levitating some scrambled egg onto Albus' plate, and pouring him pumpkin juice. He immediately dug in.
"It's true!" James protested, waving his hands around indignantly.
And indeed it was. Lily was a little too upset that she wasn't going to Hogwarts until two years to come, a reason for which Albus was confused- he certainly hadn't been that upset when James had left for Hogwarts. But Lily was more than upset- she was furious. Since Albus had gotten his letter, she had gone barmy. They had doors flying, windows shattering, house-hold items bursting into flame, and indeed, walls wrecked.
"Two years..." Lily muttered, her eyes twinkling with wetness. "I don't want to wait that long!"
Ginny smiled at her daughter reassuringly, turning her attention away from the bacon for a few moments. "I know...We'll talk about it later, honey. I was the youngest one in the family once, too. Merlin knows how I managed to keep myself in tact when Ron went to Hogwarts."
Lily stayed silent after that, but still looked annoyed.
"You had only one year to wait, and Uncle Bill and Charlie could visit anytime." James chimed in. Ginny gave him a glare that silenced him, clearly telling him that he wasn't helping.
"But she was hugely overshadowed." Harry said patiently, having picked up his Prophet again. "Imagine seeing all six of your brothers going to Hogwarts before you got the chance to." Albus could tell that was true, from his mother's expression. It was something he prided himself on- detecting lies, that was. And reading body language. It came as a sort of natural skill to him.
Lily seemed to be weighting the odds in her mind and thinking about it, and she must have decided her mother had had it worse because she didn't argue again. James, however, didn't feel like eating in silence.
"When are we off to Diagon Alley?" he groaned, playing around with his food.
"Just after breakfast." Harry said cheerfully. "We'll get dressed and floo to the Leaky Cauldron- no, James, before you can ask, we can't stop at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes again- remember what happened the last time we were there after we managed to get you your books on the list?"
"That was only one shelf!" James demanded. "Besides, I didn't mean to blow the Cackling Crackers up- I was aiming for the Pygmy Puffs, an I was only trying to see if the Fireless Fireworks really did work well." James said defensively, frowning into his bowl of cereal.
"What have you got against Pygmy Puffs!" Lily screeched."They're tiny, and innocent, and they didn't do anything to you!"
"That's why he picks on them." Albus pointed out, to which James' protest went ignored. "It's just like that Hippogriff Uncle Charlie brought last summer, remember?"
"Yes," Ginny sighed, turning off the stove. "I remember that all too well. And James, I swear, if you harass one more magical creature-"
"Yeah, yeah." James groaned. "You'll snap my broom in two and throw it in a pit of Feindfyre."
He had memorized all his mother's threats by heart.
-O-
"Ready?" Ginny asked nervously, dusting James' suit, much to his annoyance, trying to flatten Albus' hair simply out of habit (which was no use at all) and making sure Lily had her coat on right.
"I'll go first!" James said at once. He grabbed the pouch of floo powder out of his father's hand, threw some into the flames, and yelled, "Diagon Alley!"
The flaes took a green hue, crackling, and welcoming James as he practically hopped in. Albus had no idea at all why his brother enjoyed flooing- he hated it, and the diziness it brought along was not welcome, either. However, out of fear of ending up in the wrong place and no one noticing it, Albus went second.
"Diagon Alley!" Albus bellowed as the flames licking the fireplace turned green. Smoke issued to his face and he coughed slightly before running at the fireplace, his elbows firmly on his sides.
The world was a blur of colors, like that muggle roller coaster he was once foreced to ride with his Aunt Hermione...his environment swung and twisted about, reality itself was flying past him in mere seconds- Albus fell onto the polished, wooden floor of the Leaky Cauldron.
Blinking, he brought his eyes up, only to be met with a snickering James and a genuinely concerned looking Hannah Longbottom, busily polishing a glass.
"Hello, Albus." she said, offering him her hand. Albus took it gratefully, and stood up. "Are you quite all right? I know you don't like to floo."
"Fine, thanks." Albus said, throwing James, who was still snorting, a dirty look. "Is Neville here?" he asked hopefully.
"No, sorry." Hannah sighed, setting the glass down on the counter by the fireplace. "He's been called to a meeting by Headmistress McGonagall- some update on security or something."
"Oh, that's fine." Albus said, trying not to sound disappointed. Neville Longbottom, who was also Albus' godfather, had promised to join them on a sort of family-shopping program. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were bringing Rose and Hugo for Hogwarts shopping that day, too, and Neville had promptly agreed to accompany the Weasley and Potter family to Diagon Alley with his son, Augustus (who was a fourth year- an year above James). Somehow, presence of family always made Albus more at ease.
Three more figures hastily tumbled out of the floo- Ginny, quickly followed by Harry, who was carrying Lily tightly as she clutched to his sides.
"Hello, Hannah!" Ginny said pleasantly.
"Hello." Harry greeted her, smiling, as he set Lily down. She ran to give Hannah a tight hug.
The senior Potters looked around, acknowledging Neville's absence, too. "Is Neville here?" Harry asked slowly, as if expecting the answer.
Hannah apologized for her husband's absence again. " Augustus' done his shopping alone today this morning." she heaved a longing sigh, as if that fact annoyed her greatly. "As for Neville...He's in for a staff meeting with McGonagall to update Hogwarts security because...well, you know."
"Ah." Comprehension seemed to dawn on Harry's face. "I see."
"What- what do you see?" James said, snapping his full attention to his father. Harry and Ginny shared a look. Ginny's lips thinned into a line, and Harry closed his eyes for a few seconds, as if thinking through something, then opened them again, sighing.
"Nothing." Albus' dad said firmly. Albus didn't even need his lie-detecting skills to figure out his father wasn't telling the truth.
"It didn't look like it was nothing." James pointed out, and Albus couldn't help but agree as his curiosity piqued. Lily, too, was staring at her parents in wonder.
"James, just let it drop." Ginny said, with an additional amount of irritation.
James folded his arms defiantly. "But-"
"James," Harry said quietly, bending down to stare James in the eyes. His lowered tone was due to the amount of stares they were getting- another reason why Albus liked the Leaky Cauldron was because most of the people who went there were either really respective for privacy and minded their own business, or either some of his dad's old friends, who knew him well enough, and wouldn't bother asking for an autograph from the famous Potter. But when some secret stuff was involved, no one could help but listen in.
"Why don't you go down to Wheezes and get something nice?" Harry whispered- he grimaced, as if he couldn't believed what he had just said. Ginny looked scandalized.
"Oh, all right!" she sighed, fishing out a bag of Galleons and reluctantly handing them to an astonished James.
"Mum!" Lily protested, looking just as shocked as Albus felt. "You can't give him that- he'll try and set the Pygmy Puffs on fire again!" She had said that a little too loudly, for a few laughs echoed through the Leaky Cauldron. From his mother's eye roll and huff of defeat, Albus figured that she knew that perfectly well.
James looked at the bag of Galleons like it was his solace or something. He looked back at his parents again, blinking, as if trying to figure out if it was all a hallucination, wishful thinking.
"Go ahead." Harry muttered, the grimace still on his face. Jame's face broke into a grin- he turned of his feet, and then ran off as fast as he could.
"Don't blow anything up!" Ginny called after her son. But he was gone before she could get the whole sentence out.
"Did we really have to do that?" she asked, turning on Harry.
He shrugged at her. "No other choice, Gin." he turned back to Albus and Lily. "Now, we've got to get along with our shopping- I can't bribe the two of you with Wheezes products, but I trust you'll be a little more restrained about it that James, won't you?"
Albus and Lily nodded frantically, though Albus was still pretty curious- however, that happened all the time. His dad, who was former Head Auror (he had resigned in order to spend more time with his family) usually kept secrets that his kids could barely even sniff out- James, being a natural trouble maker, just couldn't keep his nose out of that stuff. Lily and Albus, on the other hand, had quickly learned that no amount of persuasion would get their father to spill any beans.
They headed out of the Leaky Cauldron, and as soon as they did, their paparazzi free time ended there- people, some with their kids doing shopping, some just going about, kept stopping Albus' dad, shaking his hands, some kids shyly asking for his autograph.
Albus hated it- but he was used to it, anyway. His dad had been getting them since before the day Albus even knew what paparazzi were.
"It was worse the first few years," Harry muttered as he gave a squealing ten-year old her notepad back. She scampered away happily.
"Oh, don't remind me." his wife said. She turned to her children with a tired sigh. "Let's go get you your school robes."
Fifteen minutes, seven autographs, two selfies, and one student ahead of line later, Albus was ready from dressing at Madame Malkin's.
He stood up on the stool in the dress room which was separated by a shiny, white thin wooden wall. It was high enough for him to get his privacy as the magical measuring scales whizzed up and about, taking his size accurately, however slowly, but it was just low enough for him to see who was dressing in the next room.
It was a boy, with dark, but bright blonde hair. He had shining blue eyes, like volts of electricity and streaks of lightning. His messy blond hair fell only a little above his eyes, and he had a thin, complexion. He seemed to have noticed Albus, but didn't talk to him or say hello. It surprised him- Albus half expected whomever he saw to yell something about him being the Boy-Who-Lived's son. He decided he liked this bloke.
"Hello." Albus said slowly. The boy looked like a first year, and it would be good to make friends while he could. The blond boy turned to him, surprised at being addressed.
"Um, hi." he said sheepishly, smiling slightly. "Uh, Hogwarts?" He said it reluctantly, as if he wasn't sure what reaction that would attract from Albus.
"Yes." Albus said, smiling back. The boy sighed in relief. "It's my first year- yours too?" The boy nodded, growing slightly less uncomfortable.
"I'm Albus Potter- nice to meet you."
The boy must have been a Muggle-Born, because he didn't recognize Albus by his last-name (which he was grateful for).
"I'm Rick Johanson. Nice to meet you, too." Rick turned to Albus with a new light in his eyes. "Er...it's my first time in Hogwarts, see. How's it like?"
"I figured." Albus said, cocking his head to the side curiously. "Are you a Muggle-born?"
The discomfort rushed back into Rick's eyes in an instant. He turned back to his own stall. "Urm...you could say that."
Not wanting to have his new acquaintance think he was prejudiced about family blood-lines, Albus rushed into a description of all he knew about Hogwarts- how huge the castle with seven floor and several towers, was, the lake, the Giant Squid, the Sorting Hat, the houses, and last of all, the classes.
"What house do you think you'll be sorted in?" Rick asked curiously. He looked at ease again, which Albus was thankful for.
"Well, my entire family, for the past seven generations, has been sorted into Gryffindor- the house of the brave, you know? Like, all of them- the Prewetts, the Weasley, and the Potters, us. So..."
"You think you'll be there, too?"
"Well, yes. At least, I'm hoping."
A pause. "Where will I be sorted?"
Albus scratched his head uncertainly as the measuring tape flew out of the way. It hissed at him with its long, yellow tongue, and went back to measuring.
"I don't know...The Sorting Hat will, though. It'll put you where you belong. Me, too, I suppose."
"And maybe we'll be sorted into the same house?"
Albus smiled. "Yeah, maybe. But it wouldn't matter if we're sorted differently- we can still talk, you know?"
He only barely heard Rick mutter, "I know..." before the measuring scales, tapes, and rulers hit the floor- Rick looked at them in amazement.
"You're all fitted!" Madame Malkin called. "Come down, dear!"
Albus hopped off the stool, waved at Rick, and then ran down to greet his parents.
"Done, now?" Ginny asked, as she payed for his robes. A young witch with a badge that said 'Lirra' collected the money cheerfully and handed Ginny her change. Harry tried to clear his children out before anymore crazy paparazzi found them, when he came face to face wtih someone. That someone, Albus knew. And he knew Albus, too.
"Harry," Nico whispered.
"Nico." Harry and Ginny said in surprise. Conversation immediately exploded between them. The old friends shared hugs, hand shakes, greetings, and frantic talks. Nico thumped Albus on the back, and Lily, all her anger and disappointment forgotten, jumped onto Nico, latching onto him from dear life. Laughter followed the tiny group.
"Oh, it's been long." Nico smiled.
"Oh, yes it has." Ginny laughed. "About four weeks, I believe."
Nico grinned up at her mischievously. "That's a lot of time in my book. How are you, Princess Andromeda?" he asked Lily. She giggled- it was that thing they always had. Nico said Lily was just as beautiful and head-strong as Andromeda, wife of Perseus the old Greek hero that he had told them about it myths. Just at that moment, James ran in, pockets bulging with Weasley products, soot on his face, and a wide grin- the grin only widened when he saw Nico.
"NICO!" he yelled jubilantly. The kids who were being fitted into school-robes looked at the group of them, startled.
James ran up to Nico- the latter placed Lily down to give James a complicated hand shake that included several fist-bumps and finger-linking, ending with a single high-five. Nico, beside perhaps Albus' Uncle George, was the only adult James had any real respect for.
"So, what are you doing here in Diagon Alley?" Ginny asked him conversationally. Nico shrugged. He had long, neck-length black hair with matching eyes, a fairly pale complexion, and wore all black, expect maybe his slightly lighter aviator jacket which he always had on every time Albus saw him. He didn't know much about Nico, expect that he had helped in the Second War years ago- he looked really young- in his early thirties, in fact, but Albus' dad had said Nico had a tendency to look younger than his age, albeit being only an year younger than Harry himself. Albus liked Nico well enough- he was cool, calm, and had a strong aura that made anyone, even people who barely knew him, trust him for no particular reason.
"I've been taking care of my charge- poor chap. Been Muggle-raised, you know? Doesn't know a thing about magic. Actually, Neville was supposed to take him, but he's at that Staff-Meeting."
"And about staff meetings," Harry said, his voice laced with amusement. "aren't you going to be teaching this year?"
James' mouth dropped open, and Albus' with it. "What subject are you taking?"
"Practical Defense and Combat Techniques. But only for this year. That post was empty, and no one would take it...they offered me either this one, or Survival Sensory, but someone else took that." Nico answered, grinning. Harry and Ginny shared amused laughter.
"Isn't Practical Defense an option for third-years?" Albus asked curiously.
"Yeah, I've taken it!" James said, puffing out his chest proudly. "Nico's going to be teaching us this year- this is going to be so cool!"
Nico gave James a look of question. "You don't start offence combat until fifth-year, you know? It's only defense for you guys." James looked slightly put out after that.
The adults went back to their boring talks- the conversation switched from Quidditch ("Brazil is going the crush Puddlemore this year!") to daily life, to jobs, until Albus finally toned out.
He saw, to his delight, Rick walking out of the changing section, holding a bag with robes in it. He took one look at Albus and his family, and then another at Nico, and he mirrored Albus' curiosity, though not his shock.
As soon as Nico saw Rick, however, he waved to him, smiling. Rick hesitantly made his way to Nico, who dug out a bag of Galleons and handed it to Lirra (whom Albus noticed tried to look like she wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation).
"Hi!" Albus said.
"Hello, again." Rick said, still looking confused.
Harry and Ginny looked at Rick questioningly, then at Nico. "Ah..I take it this is your charge?" Harry asked Nico. He nodded.
"Harry, Ginny, James, and Lily- this is P-"
"Rick." Rick said immediately.
"...er, right, Rick Johanson. Albus, I see you've already met him. Rick- these are my friends, Harry and Ginny Potter, and their children."
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. And, erm...Albus' siblings" Rick said pleasantly. Harry and Ginny greeted him. Lily waved shyly, and Albus noticed, without comprehending why, her cheeks turning pink. James nodded at him- as if to say, if he was hanging out with Nico, then he was allowed to be cool.
"Now-we'd best go get Rick his pet, then maybe stop at Wheezes, huh?" Nico asked, taking the bag of robes from Rick.
"Of course." Harry said. "Nice seeing you, Nico."
"You too, Harry." Nico returned. "Ron, Hermione, and kids are at Flourish and Blotts, by the way. They're waiting for you."
And with that, Nico left with Rick at his ankles, following quickly.
"That bloke was weird." James commented later, as they were walking to Flourish and Blotts. "The one with Nico..."
"Who, Rick?" Albus said, eyebrows shooting upwards. "Why?"
James shrugged. "I dunno...It's just, since when did Muggle-borns..or Muggle-raised's...whatever, since when did they have to have someone with them- don't their parents take them?"
"Your father went with Hagrid." Ginny said.
"Yes, but that's a different case- I don't much imagine Great Uncle Vernon taking him for shopping, do you?"
Albus' Great Uncle Vernon really did seem to hate magic for some reason. Albus didn't know why- his Great Aunt Petunia seemed tolerant of it, and his Uncle Dudley and his kids were accepting. All that he knew was that his father didn't like talking about it, and Albus didn't fancy seeing his father upset.
"You'll just have to ask him that." Harry pointed out. "Just don't hit a sore spot, all right?" he said, eyeing James cautiously.
James feigned a hurt expression- he threw his hands in the air, rolling his eyes. "I'm off to see Aaron and Fred." he demanded as he ran toward Eelyop's Owl Emporium without waiting for response. His parents sighed in unison- Lily just looked worried.
"What's he going there for!" Lily demanded shrilly. "He better not be using Uncle George's products on any more animals!"
"Don't worry, Lils." Ginny said, her eyes blazing. "As long as he has a broom I can snap, that won't be happening."
She was just reaching for the door when a family of four were out of it. Greeting them with a grin, Uncle Ron came out, holding Hugo over his shoulders. Aunt Hermione held her children's books, while Rose, Albus' Favorited cousin and best-friend, had about half a dozen out- of list books clutched to her chest tightly.
"Harry!" Ron greeted first as Ginny advanced on his Aunt Hermione.
"Good seeing you, Ron." Harry smiled as Ginny and Hermione engaged themselves in conversation. Hugo was yelling to Lily from on top of Ron's shoulders until he realized this and put him down. Albus immediately walked to Rose.
"Hi!" he said brightly.
"Hi." she echoed excitedly. "Have you been to Ollivander's yet? We're going there next."
"No," Albus admitted, though he felt excitement bubble up inside him- getting his wand was the most thing he looked forward to. "We could go together, right? D'you mind waiting for us?"
"Oh, there won't be any need." Rose said, grinning. "We've seen Nico with his charge a few minutes ago...Rick, he said his name was."
"Oh, I know." Albus said. "I've talked to him- nice bloke. But what about Nico?"
"Well, he told us that he told you we were here, and dad's told Mr. Blott to set another pile of first and third year books for Harry Potter's son, and he did. So all Uncle Harry has to do, really, is walk in, pay, and we can go to Ollivander's together!"
Albus felt a pang of annoyance. Of course. They would do anything for the famous Harry Potter.
"Dad!" Albus said to his father. "Can I go with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and Rose to get my wand while you and mum get our books?" he asked.
Harry turned form his conversation with Ron to nod at Albus. "Take Lily with you, though." Rose beamed at him.
"It won't take a second." she assured. "He'll be there before it's even your turn."
Rose was right. Ollivanders was as crowded as it had ever been. People stormed in- some taking a short time, some a long one. All, however, came out of the shop, beaming, holding their new wands proudly. Albus was beginning to grow scared that perhaps, a wand wouldn't choose his after all- though of course he didn't voice these fears to Rose, who was positively beaming. Rose was semi-right about his parent's being there- a few turns before Rose and Albus, Ginny joined them, but Albus' dad was no where to be seen.
"Where's Uncle Harry?" Hugo asked, finally.
"He's...been called. Auror matters." Albus could see that his mother was extremely annoyed at this, and Albus knew exactly how she was feeling- it was more than a little annoying to think that his own father barely even had time for family shopping.
"Where's James, then?" Lily asked. "He didn't hurt any owls, did he? Why are he and his friends there anyway?"
"Most likely to get on your nerves without him even being there." Albus suggested. Rose snickered beside him.
"Albus, don't concern your sister."
"What! But I didn't do anything!"
His Uncle Ron laughed. "He's right, Ginny. Lay off him-I say, you might accidentally fire another Bat-Bogey hex if you're not to careful."
"Oh, Ron." Ginny exclaimed, sighing. "That was almost twenty two years ago! I was a fifth year for Merlin's sake."
Ginny and Ron started bickering, while Hermione was trying to talk Lily out of sulking- finally, it was Albus and Rose's turn.
"Naykst!" said the man working there, calling them into the shop. Ginny and Hermione gave their children encouraging looks while Ron advised: "Oi, don't blow up the store. We'll be watching from the windows- make for a more dramatic choice."
Rose and Albus laughed nervously as they trudged into the store- Ollivander's shop was just like it had been two years ago, when Albus had come to get James' wand with his parents. He was extremely jealous back then, but now, he was giddy with excitement. He could tell my Rose's awkward shuffling that she was jittery, too.
Boxes of wands that looked as though they had never been touched- shelves of different qualities and quantities- the dust itself seemed magical in that store.
"Ollivander's is the best wand shop in England," he faintly recalled his father saying, once.
The man who ran the store while old Mr. Ollivander was out discovering new theories and upgrading Wandology was a fairly young man- he had a black, dramatically curled mustache, and a certain glint in his warm brown eyes. He did not wear robes- he was a simple red-cat with matching black pants and combat boots. His head was a sleek, stylish but thick mop of black, and he looked delighted to see them there.
"Ah, yowng Monsieur Potter and Mademoiselle Weasley!" he said gleefully with a thick french accent.
"I have been axpecting you...Oui, oui. Come here, Mademoiselle." Rose nervously walked up to the french man. He pulled out something from an old box in the corner that looked oddly like those muggle weighting-scale thingies that told someone who much they weighted. He tapped the thing with his long wand, and trop it's back end, a long, silvery mist-like line materialized from the wands tip, as the man dragged his wand until the silver, translucent vapor was almost taller than him.
"Hm...S'il vous plait, Mademoiselle Weasley, step up on the Khineteec meshur-ur." he ordered
Rose obeyed nervously, standing on the khineteec meshur-ur thing. As soon as she did, the silvery vapor swung into action- it moved left and right like and upside down pendulum, then, and without any warning, it twisted, loosing it's straight composure, and twirled itself around Rose, binding her in translucent mist. Rose nearly shrieked, but Albus had seen James on that thing before, so he was considerably less panicked- the silver stings, however let go of Rose- they unbinded her, much to her relief, and the fell to the floor- silver, but as solid as ever. Relieved, Rose stepped down from the meshur-ur thing, as the man picked up the silver strings and looked at it with wide eyes, inspecting every last inch of it.
"Ah, how very, very, odd, Mademoiselle." he muttered. With a wave of his wand, the string vaporized and dispersed again. Without thinking much of it, the man open a huge box with 'C2' marked on it. He pulled out a long, dark wand, and handed it to Rose, who took it with shaking hands.
"Mahoghany, treize- thirteen eenches, phoenix tail feather core, elemental power- lightning. Good from charms work." he said.
Rose excitedly waved her wand, but nothing happened. She waved it again. The man swiftly took the wand out of her hand and threw it casually back in the box before picking out another one- he did not seem the least bit bothered by the failure of the first attempt. Rose tried three more wands before finally finding hers-
"Banyan, ten and de half eenches, unicorn mane hair core, elemental power- water. Very swishy."
Just touching that wand, Albus could tell that Rose was feeling something special- she looked at the man with wonder in her eyes.
"This is the one," she whispered. "It's the one Mister..."
"Pierre, Madmoiselle." he said, looking smug. "You have high brain power and special ways of theenking, Madmoiselle Weasley. Banyan, is a tree so strong eets roots can be seen. Combined with unicorn mane and elemental water, you always have a very peaceful and organized mind."
Rose blushed.
"Now, Monsieur Potter. Step up to the Khineteec meshur-ur." Albus had a feeling that wasn't really the thing's name, but just what the man's accent made it sound like. He obliged either way, feeling slightly nervous.
The vapor swung around like a pendulum again, and then, wrapped itself round Albus- it was then that he realized it wasn't actually making any contact with his skin, but simply giving the impression- either way, he felt cold- as if he was walking out in January without a coat. The feeling quickly re-treated, however, when the wisp of silver solidified and fell onto the floor.
Albus went to stand next to Rose again (who was trying to wave her wand around without anyone realizing) feeling giddy- what if no wand choose him? What if there simply wasn't one that would accept him?
Before he even had time to fuss about it anymore, Pierre had his eyes wide as he checked the string, and Albus vaguely wondered what he was seeing.
"Ah, I never thought I would find someone who fit these qualities, Monseiur Potter...But it seems, you have a very combative combination, in-deed." He waved his wand again, and the string of silver smoked up and blended into the air again. Casually, he walked to a shelf, and slowly, as if afraid it would explode, he pulled it down to the floor. The box read 'KS-16'.
Even slower, he opened the box and gingerly took out a wand- Albus was uncomfortably with how warily Pierre was handling the wands- was there something wrong with them? Albus didn't want to go to school with a wand that didn't work well.
Like a king handing his Musketeer a sword, Pierre held out the wand to Albus. "Co-co-ah. Neuf and de half eenches, Devil Snare core, elemental power- ice."
Albus reached for the wand, but before he could even touch, Pierre pulled it away, throwing it in the box labelled 'KS-16', muttering 'Non, non..." He pulled another wand- this one was stark white.
"Ash," he said holding it even more gingerly. Even Rose stopped playing with he wand to look at the wand curiously.
"Fore-teen eenches, Phoenix feather core, elemental power- dirt." When Albus held that wand, about five boxes fell to the floor with a thud- opening up and scattering wands in every direction. Rose jumped and held on to his arm. Pierre didn't seem bothered.
After approximately forty wands, each giving a disastrous reaction (mini-blizzards, waves of fire, and upturned boxes) and each held more cautiously than the ones before it, Albus was starting to loose hope. He closed his eyes, fearing the worst. Rose was the only one beside him as their parents ahd opted to simply watch out the windows, for some reason.
Pierre was sounding deadly serious as he said the next words. "Monsieur Potter...ah, this is very cue-ree-us. I have only one wand that should sap-o-sed-lee match you. But be warned- it is a pro-to-type. It may not be ready yet."
"Let him try it." Rose said, clearly not wanting to upset Albus. Pierre shrugged, and pulled one last wand out of the group.
His hand emerged with a long, pale looking wand. He held it so lightly he may as well have been planning to drop it, but his grip tightened as he held it out to Albus.
"Acacia...Phoenix ash core. Twelve and a quar-tar eenches, Elemental power...undetermined. Although we theenk it is eithar fire, lightning, or electric-ity."
His hands shaking, Albus took the wand- and at once, his hear started flying as a gust of wind blew at his face, making him take a breath in not shock, but amazement. Colorful blue, red, green, and yellow sparks flew from the tips of his wand, only fueling his excitement.
Rose squealed with delight and ran to hug him. Pierre looked very solemn. At that moment- three blabbering adults walked inside- Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked in.
"Oh, Al, you were holding up the line forever!" Ginny said. Lily paced as she and Hugo followed at their parents' heals. She looked at her mother. "Mum, will I take this much time when I come to get my wand?"
"Let's hope not- Al's caused quite a commotion out there." Ginny said conversationally, as Albus grinned sheepishly. "How much, Pierre?" she asked.
"Oh, non, non!" Pierre said quickly, waved his hands around like a mime actor. "I can not accept anything for this very special wand...Even with the Khineetec Meshur-ur, it was hard finding his match...and a very cu-ree-us match it is, too."
"Really?" Hermione said, sounding genuinely surprised. "I thought Kinetic Measures were supposed to narrow down the range of options hugely."
"In-deed." Pierre nodded. "Mias avec Monsieur Potter here...it is a very different case. Acacia- the only tree known to ex-eest in the Sahara desert- Monsieur Ollivander has risked many to own a small amount of it's wood-Phoenix ash-"
"Phoenix ash?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Don't you mean feather?"
"Non, non, Madame!" Pierre said hurriedly. "The very ash from which the Phoenix is re-born. I do not qwe-ree how Monsieur Ollivander has gained this, but it is very rare. Have vous not noticed? Acacia- a tree which had survived great loss of water in the hottest spot of the world, and Phoenix ash, which is the essence of fire itself. We are, however, very doubting of it's elemental mag-ic- it is related with fire, that we know. Fire, lightning, and, or electricity. This is a wand of a survivor- a fighter. An adap-tar. But those who have those skills usually need to survive."
"Three Elements?" Ron asked raising his eyebrows. He threw his hands up in the air in mock-exasperation. "Never asked when a Potter's involved."
"Is it strange to have three elements?" Albus asked his Aunt.
"It's...unique." Hermione answered. "Powerful wands usually have two elements to the maximum, but three? I believe your wand's simply a case of confusion between elements- modern wandlore has quite strange theories nowadays. You can know your precise element after getting a little familiar with your wand, though, so don't worry."
"Anyway, Pierre- we're not going ot of here before you let us pay. Let us pay for Rose, at least."
Pierre shrugged, defeated. "If you inseest, Monseiur Weasley."
Albus left Ollivanders with many thought revolving around his head.
Hope you like this chapter- I jsut honestly couldn't resist publishing it...Sorry. So, if anyone guess Rick's really first name? It's not Richard...Though you'll have a pretty good idea if you watch Sponge-bob :P. And which house should Albus be sorted into? I already decided, but I like to take a look on the public opinion-
1) Slytherin
2) Gryffindor
3) Ravenclaw
4) Hufflepuff.
Thanks!
And I've added a few subjects to Hogwarts- Survival Sensory, Practical Defense, and finally, Wizardring Laws and Philosophies.
~Ambs.