Avalyn Gwyneth Prince, a very small, very young girl that lived with her Grandfather in a shop called "Ollivanders". On the ground floor of the shop were ceiling-high shelves stacked with rows upon rows of boxed wands. Magical and unique were every single one of them, and all handcrafted by Mr Ollivander himself. On the first floor of the tall building was a workshop of sorts, intermingled with what looked to be a living room and kitchen, branches of different trees and bushes lay astray across almost every surface available, some small and short while others were so large they were left to lay on the floor. And on the top floor were two bedrooms, one was scarcely coloured but decorated with a number of photographs framed carefully on the walls, most contained a fleeting moment in time of the small girl, while the rest encased different landscapes incorporating an assortment of trees. The other bedroom was messy with scattered books and clothes, but not a toy in sight, a small shelf above the unmade bed held the most prized books that were neatly placed in alphabetical order. Needless to say this was the room which Avalyn spent her nights, but during the day she was often found on the shop floor and, as Mr Ollivander liked to call it, played as his assistant fetching specific wands amongst the clutter of boxes for a customer. When not helping her grandfather, Avalyn was wandering the street of Diagon Alley enjoying her conversations with the other shop owners who had all come to adore the young girl, and other times she would be spending time with the only friend she had her age, Draco Malfoy, a proud (and somewhat obnoxious) pure-blood wizard. The two had known each other from a time before Avalyn began living with her grandfather, as their mothers had been close friends since their time at Hogwarts. But one night Avalyn woke to the sound of a violent ruckus and upon investigating found no sign of her parents except for blood splatters and a destroyed kitchen. After this, Narissa Malfoy had offered immediately to take in Avalyn as her own, but Mr Ollivander thought it better that she stay with family while the search for her parents was conducted.
Five years on, and no closer to the discovery of her parents, eleven year old Avalyn was sitting upon a stool next to her grandfather behind his counter in the shop, business had been rather slow as it was the beginning of the summer term, and there seemed to be no need for wands at that moment. Avalyn swung her feet merrily as she read a worn out book titled "Quidditch Through the Ages". Mr Ollivander looked away from his copy of "Roslin's Wand Weekly" to peer at his granddaughter.
"Reading that again are we? Vee-Vee my dear, you must know that word for word by now." He chuckled lightly, Avalyn tore her eyes from her book and gave him a cheerful smile.
"Sure I do, but it's still interesting." She replied before returning her attention to the broken-in book. Mr Ollivander continued to glaze at his granddaughter for a few more moments before his mind began to wander towards his missing daughter and how similar the two looked, their umber brown hair and black eyes that seemed to bore deeply into anyone that they may rest upon, and thinking about this made Mr Ollivander mood turn quite sorrowful.
"Grampy?" Avalyn asked with an unsure voice, Mr Ollivander suddenly remembered Avalyn's strange trait. "Grampy, you're sad. What's the matter?" She too appeared to have a sorrowful expression on her face as she looked up to her grandfather, he sighed before stroking Avalyn's hair.
"I never can hide my feelings from you can I?" He chuckled quietly, still leaving Avalyn to wear worried frown. "It's nothing, my dear, just an old man's memories." He ceased to caress her hair and returned to his book. Avalyn let out a dissatisfied sigh which was quickly muffled by the sound of hooting from outside the window. The morning post was being delivered as a large number of owls flew past towards their intended destinations, from within the flurry of wings a young tawny owl veered away and toward the Ollivanders open door. In it glided, circling above them for a few moments before landing upon the top of the counter in front of Avalyn. It hooted merrily at her as if happy to deliver to them. Avalyn put her book to one side and took from the owl a copy of "The Daily Prophet" and a sealed envelope addressed to her. Mr Ollivander placed a Knut in the small pouch tied to the owl's leg before it hooted again and took off out of sight. She handed the Prophet to Mr Ollivander and scanned her envelope which was addressed "Avalyn Prince, Ollivanders, Diagon Alley, London". She turned it over to see a wax seal with what she recognised as the crest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A surge of excitement rushed through her as she jumped to her feet.
"Grampy! It's here! My letter is here!" She cried holding up the letter as if it were a trophy. Mr Ollivander couldn't help but share her excitement, he got up and stood with Avalyn as she carefully peeled away the wax and pulled out two letters. The first informed her of her acceptance to Hogwarts while the other was a list of all the materials she needed to start her first year. Avalyn seemed to dance around the shop in joy much to the amusement of her grandfather.
"Well then, Vee-Vee, it looks as though you'll be needing a wand." At his words Avalyn stopped still in her tracks, she looked at him in awe before an enormous smile flooded across her face.
"Really?! Right now? Can we look for a wand now?" She asked joyfully, Mr Ollivander laughed.
"Of course, my dear! What better time than now, in fact, I believe that I may have a few which may suit you very well." He hurried off amongst the rows of shelves in search for the supposed wands leaving Avalyn to shift from one foot to the other in anticipation. She waited only a few short minutes before Mr Ollivander returned with three different boxes, each holding three very different wands. He lay them down on the counter and began with the left hand side box, picking out the surprisingly long dark coloured wand he held it up and examined it.
"Sixteen and a half inches, walnut wood with a dragon heartstring core." His voice was a little more that a whisper as he spoke, then upon handing the wand to Avalyn, who had handled many wands during her time at the shop, hesitated before lightly grasping the thick end of it. Her hair seemed to stand on end as she felt static pulse through her hand and with a short flick of her wrist a repulsed gag of sparks flew from its end. She quickly placed it back into it's box.
"I don't think it liked me very much." She muttered taking a step back.
"Not to worry, my dear, that wand was merely not for you. But perhaps, this," Mr Ollivander removed the middle wand from its box and held it high in the light, it was shorter than the previous and had a light brown shade to it "Twelve inches, sycamore wood with a unicorn hair core?" Gently taking hold of the second wand Avalyn felt the same static feeling as before but it was stronger, and with a flick of her wrist she realised that that wand was perhaps even worse than the first. A screaming jet of a black shadow-like smoke burst from the wand and bounced off the walls, scattering boxes across the floor before finally disappearing into the air. Hastily, Avalyn returned the wand to its box again.
"Ah, not a match after all. Nevermind, my dear. That just leaves, this one," Mr Ollivander held the last wand to reveal a thin dark brown wand with a discoloured pattern "Fifthteen inches, oak wood, making this little one quite firm, and a Sphinx claw for a core. Quite unusual, I must say but maybe the unusual is best fitted for you, my dear." He muttered as he handed over the wand, Avalyn expected to feel the same static rush through her hand, but was greeted with a warm glow instead. As she held the wand the warmth seemed to grow inside of her, and with a more adventurous wave of the wand she muttered
"Herbivicus!" towards a potted plant in the window. To her amazement a bright emerald-green jet of light linked the wand and plant, and before her eyes the plant slowly began to grow larger and bloom a number of flowers. She gazed in awe at the magic she was performing, though as simple as it was. Mr Ollivander clapped repeatedly in joy as he too watched his plant grow before turning back to Avalyn.
"Yes! Yes! Excellent, Vee-Vee! My dear, that wand is chosen you as it's keeper!" He exclaimed as Avalyn ceased the charm and gazed at the slowly disappearing stream of green. She then stared down to the wand in her hands which was still glowing warmly against her skin. She was happy with this wand, it seemed to be happy with her as well.
"Grampy, that was the first spell I've ever cast... I've read about so many charms, hexes and jinxes and the theory behind them, but actually casting one? Do all of them feel like that? Feel... Warm?" She was still staring at her wand when she spoke but looked up as she felt her grandfather's cheer begin to fade.
"All spells are different, all will feel different when you cast them. But what you should know is that there are some spells, curses that will feel awful. They will make you hate the very words you utter as you cast them. But there are times where such discomfort cannot be avoided." He paused for a moment before sitting back down on his stool. "It is true the world is much safer now than it has been in the past, but you will live a long life which may see dark times as darkness is something that sadly cannot be outrun." Avalyn stared at Mr Ollivander all the while clutching a patch of her robes above her heart, it seemed to ache the same way her grandfather's ached as he thought back to memories long forgotten. That strange trait, to feel every emotion that another person felt, at times Avalyn believed it to be more of a curse than a gift. The silence between then was shortly interrupted as a second owl zoomed through the doorway and and landed with more grave than the first. It held another letter addressed to Avalyn, this time the writing seemed unfriendly as it was scratched roughly onto the envelope. With a word, Avalyn removed the letter and watched as the owl flew away without a sound. She turned the envelope over to examine the wax seal and saw that it was from the Ministry of Magic. Her heart quickly sank, was this one of those letters they sent to underaged wizards who illegally use magic outside of school? But Avalyn was not yet in school, surly they would not charge her for misuse of magic when she wasn't even enrolled at Hogwarts. But upon opening he letter she realised that this was not a disappointed warning. This letter was from the Auror's Department. Avalyn began to read aloud for her grandfather to hear.
"To Miss Avalyn Gwyneth Prince, it is with great sorrow that we regret to inform you that the body of your mother, Gwendolyn Gail Prince, was found in the early hours of this morning..." Avalyn could do nothing but stare over the words as though waiting for them to change. Suddenly she heard Mr Ollivander slump to the floor, his knees had buckled beneath him. Avalyn rushed to his side to help him to his feet but found that the feelings of grief within her were so strong that she herself struggled to stand. Instead she sat beside him and could do nothing as silent tears fell across the old man's face. Avalyn had never before felt anything so painful, she had accepted long ago that her parents were dead but the sorrow she felt was nothing compared to that from her grandfather, it hit her unmercifully and repeatedly. After sitting beside each other with tears rolling down both their faces for what seemed to he hours, Mr Ollivander finally lent across to hold Avalyn in his arms.
"It seems, my dear, that you are all I have left in this world." He whispered into her hair, upon those words Avalyn's own pain struck her unforgivingly. How could such a joyous day be forgotten so quickly? She felt the silent sobs of Mr Ollivander leave his chest as she looked back to her letter and read on in her mind. ...and there is evidence of your father, Cecil Galloway Prince's death as well, leading us to pronounce him deceased... Avalyn couldn't go on, nothing had ever felt this painful before, the raw grief and pain that washed over her, that drowned her. All that she would remember of that day was suffering.
Almost a month had passed since receiving that letter, an increasingly busy month it had become as children all over the country had received their letters to Hogwarts and were racing down Diagon Alley buying their supplies ready for their first year. With each customer that walked into his shop, Mr Ollivander gave a courteous smile and remained helpful as ever to his customers providing them with the perfect wand, but Avalyn could feel the constant pang of sorrow drifting through the shop, although it lessened on busier days as he was preoccupied. However, his pain was becoming almost unbearable for Avalyn and she guiltily began wishing for the day she would leave for the Hogwarts Express to come sooner so that she would get away and start to feel normal again. Then one summer day, Mr Ollivander waved goodbye to another satisfied young child leaving the shop empty for a brief moment in which his mind wandered back to his daughter as he walked behind one of the large shelves, but soon after entered a young boy with the largest man Avalyn had ever seen, the boy wore an oversized shirt that seemed to engulf him somewhat. Avalyn was standing on the other side of the counter and so they must have assumed her to be a student buying a wand as they did not ask for assistance. She kept quite all the while fixing her eyes on the two of them. Something about that boy was familiar but she could not place what.
"Good afternoon." Said her grandfathers soft voice as he reemerged from behind the shelves causing the two to jump. Mr Ollivander and the boy stared at each other in equal curiosity.
"Hello." He said awkwardly.
"Ah yes," Mr Ollivander said, "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." He paused and let his glaze wander beyond Harry to his granddaughter who had made an audible gasp before hurrying back behind the counter and peered on tiptoe over the top. Avalyn wanted to see for herself, the fabled "Boy who Lived". Mr Ollivander felt a flicker of a smile trace his lips before turning back to Harry. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." Harry watched warily as Mr Ollivander moved from behind the counter towards him, getting so close that the two were nose to nose, "Your father on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it - it's really the want that chooses the wizard, of course." Harry could see that from behind the counter, Avalyn was nodding along in agreement but she quickly ceased when spotted. He then realised that Mr Ollivander was carefully tracing the lightning bolt scar on his forehead with his long, white finger. "And that's where... I'm sorry to say that I sold the wand that did it." He said softly, Avalyn could feel her grandfather regret mutter through her chest, but it wasn't as strong as the mix of emotions she was getting from Harry Potter. Anxious upon entering the shop. Curious at the mention of his parents, and disturbed somewhat by Mr Ollivander. He continued, "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... Well, if I knew what that wand was going out into the world to do..." He shook his head stepped back, and then to Avalyn's surprise, he finally noticed the very large man standing behind Harry. "Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid, how nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" The man grinned and answered back.
"It was, sir, yes,"
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled." Mr ollivander's voice became stern leaving Hagrid to look sheepish under his hard gaze.
"Er - yes, they did, yes. I've still got the pieces though." He added brightly.
"But you don't use them?" Mr Ollivander said sharply.
"Oh, no, sir!" Hagrid replied, but Avalyn felt his guilt from where she stood as he grasped his pink umbrella. But from then, Mr Ollivander left the conversation, he began his usual method of measuring his customer and soon left the tape measure to finish his work as it floated the length between Harry's shoulder and knee. Mr Ollivander had left him to flitter around the shelves and taking down a large number of boxes. Avalyn scurried over to help by taking hold of some of the towering boxes and placing them on the counter in front of Harry. She said nothing but stole another glance at the boy, her curiosity getting the better of her as she stared at his forehead. She felt another flicker of anxiety from Harry as Mr Ollivander plucked the first wand from its box.
"Don't be nervous." She whispered to him as he took hold of the wand. Harry felt somewhat reassured.
"Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Go on now, give it a wave." But upon doing so Mr Ollivander quickly snatched it back almost at once before replacing it with a different one, only to do the same again... And again.. And again... The counter before them was growing a pile of tried wands, but the more wands which Mr Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become, a challenge set before him was something that he had always enjoyed.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find you the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry took the wand and upon it's touch could feel the same warmth as Avalyn did when first hold her wand. And with a swish of the wand red and gold sparks streamed from the end leaving a trail similar to fireworks. Avalyn couldn't help but clap along with her grandfather and Hagrid. "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good! Well, well, well... How curious... How very curious..." Mr Ollivander mumbled as he took the wand, replacing it in its box and began to package it in brown paper.
"I'm sorry, but what's curious?" Harry finally asked. Mr Ollivander looked up and fixed Harry a pale stare.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar." Harry swallowed. Avalyn shivered at the thought. "Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter... After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great." Harry too shivered and thought that he didn't much like Mr Ollivander. Without another word Harry paid for his wand and was bowed out by Mr Ollivander and Avalyn, who couldn't help but call out "See you in September!" Harry seemed surprised by her sudden outburst but nodded in return before leaving the shop.
The day was drawing to and end, and Mr Ollivander had hung his "closed" sign up in his window before returning to the mess of many tried wands that lay upon his counter, Avalyn was restocking the shelves with boxes. Then suddenly she heard the bell above the door ring hauntingly through the quiet shop.
"I'm sorry, my dear man, but I'm afraid we're - Severus, what brings you here?" In the doorway stood a tall hook nosed man with black greasy hair, his robes were grey and seemed to carry the smell of cauldron smoke. He walked into the shop towards Mr Ollivander.
"Pardon my intrusion so late in the day, Garrick. But... I have come to discuss Cecil and Gwendolyn's will with you." Severus Snape said slowly, his eyes were as black as Avalyn's.
"Uncle Sev?" Avalyn called as she came out from behind a nearby shelf. "What're you doing here?" She asked curiously. But her question was partly answered as she felt the familiar stab of grief hit her once again. She looked to her grandfather to see he was paler than usual.
"Good afternoon, Avalyn. You're looking well." Snape said with his stern face forcing a courteous smile. All Avalyn could do was nod. Mr Ollivander, however, seemed less inviting than usual.
"I am sorry, Severus, but could you make hast in what you came to do?" Snape returned his gaze to Mr Ollivander and pulled a sheet of folded parchment from an inner pocket of his traveling cloak. Carefully, he unfolded it and began to read out loud.
"To our one and only child, Avalyn Gwyneth Prince, we leave the entirety of our wealth, and vast collection of novels, textbooks and encyclopaedias. To Garrick Ollivander, a wonderful father and gifted wand maker, we leave our property and enchanted woodland - in the event of Garrick Ollivander's death, said property will be passed down to Avalyn Gwyneth Prince, however the enchanted woodland will be made into a Nature reserve for Magical creatures. And finally, if by the time of our deaths, Avalyn is under-aged, she will be in the custody of Severus Snape, her named Godfather, until the time she becomes of age." Snape finished and folded away the parchment leaving the two of them lost for works.
"In your... custody? Avalyn is to live with you from now on? Is that right, Severus?" Mr Ollivander's voice sounded fragile, but Snape shook his head.
"In light of the fact that you have looked after Avalyn for the last five years, I am prepared to hand custody to you. However, before his disappearance, my cousin, Cecil, made it quite clear to me that in the event of his death, I was to take in Avalyn and act as both a guardian and private mentor. You must already be aware of Avalyn's... unique, ability. It was Cecil's understanding that such an ability would only become stronger with age and so he left me the task of helping her learn to control it."
"Control? Control what? All I do is feel the emotions of other people. There's nothing dangerous or scary about that, is there?" Avalyn suddenly spoke. Snape found himself being pierced by eyes that were almost identical to his own, but not as old and they had seen much less.
"Such an ability can result in... desensitisation of your own emotions, it can leave you apathetic, like a shell of nothing that lives off the emotions of others in order to feel something similar to what they once had." Snape replied in a softer tone that almost sounded sympathetic. "Or," he continued, "under my tutelage, you will learn to block this ability out of your mind, leaving you as average as anyone else."
"Could you not teach her the basics and let her learn for herself from there? Avalyn is quite competent, even now and such a young age." Asked Mr Ollivander, it almost sounded as through her were trying to bargain with Snape, except he was losing.
"Such mentoring takes longer than a few lessons, Garrick. Merely preparing her for her time at Hogwarts would mean lessons every remaining day we have. Then, from there I would still have to see her a few times a week to keep her up to scratch... I wish not to take her away from you Garrick, but to fulfil my cousin's last will and testament, once Avalyn has mastered her ability, she may return to you, and if she is as competent as you say, that may be sooner than we think." Snape concluded, leaving Avalyn to gawk at him in disbelief, Mr Ollivander was muttering under his breath as if discussing the options with himself. Avalyn took the opportunity to talk.
"I wouldn't be able to come back for even a single day?"
"Once you teaching begins, your ability will begin to become unstable, one day without suppressing it may lead to it engulfing you at a quicker rate." Avalyn frowned but looked up at her grandfather to see that he appeared quite stern, but not towards Snape. Mr Ollivander looked down at Avalyn.
"Believe, my dear, that leaving with Severus is the best option - do not argue with me - for you to become nothing more than a shell of what you once were, that would render me heartbroken." He looked away and back towards Snape. "When would you like her?" Avalyn began to protest, but was quickly silenced again by Mr Ollivander. "No more, Avalyn! You are going with Severus." Avalyn has nothing against her Godfather, she had always found him to be somewhat creepy but overall tolerable and sometimes enjoyable to be around. She remembered his home was filled to the seam with books of all sorts, she had always liked that about his house at Spinner's End.
"You may leave with me by latest next Wednesday. Any later and I fear we may not have enough time to complete her basic teaching." Mr Ollivander gave a curt nod.
"Thank you, Severus. We shall see you next Wednesday then." He finished which Snape took as his cue to depart.
"Until then, Garrick." Snape began to turn towards the door before giving Avalyn a quite glance over his shoulder. With a click of the door, Snape had left them in an oh so familiar silence which Avalyn was beginning to hate.