Chapter 2

Hours could have passed as I listened to Uncle Harry go on about his years at Hogwarts. Perusal, an in depth explanation about wands soon began to center around his many adventures with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. When I was much younger I can recall my head swimming with images of giant spiders and endless expanses of forest. Even at the age of eleven I still found myself transfixed by his many stories, more so because I would soon be embarking on my own journeys throughout Hogwarts. Lily and Hugo were going to be my Ron and Hermione and the three of us were going to be the new Golden Trio once term started. I suddenly felt a little better about my future as I listened to Uncle Harry enthuse about the past.

We soon stopped in front of a stone town house looking building. It was made of a cream colored brick with large rectangular windows. In each window was a display of different kinds of wands on a red velvet sheet of fabric. On top of the large wooden door a sign read "Ollivander's "in gold cursive writing. Uncle Harry explained that the original owner had died in the war so his distant niece took over the business.

"It's changed a great deal since she took over…" I watched Uncle Harry look at the building with longing. Talking about Hogwarts always seemed to give him such joy it was easy to forget he had lost a great deal in seven years. Lily solemnly walked over and took her father's hand. He shook from his trance and smiled down at her and squeezed her hand before looking back at me and Hugo. "Shall we?"

The inside of the building was grander than its exterior. Hundreds of square holes lined the walls each one with a singular box of varying colors. There were wands on display in every directions and signs reading things like unicorn's horn and hair of Medusa. In the center of the room was a large wooden counter with a smiling woman behind it. She was pale and from what I could tell at the time very tall and lanky with short dusty blonde hair.

"Welcome one and all to Ollivanders! I'm Prudence, how may I assist you this evening?" She said a little cheerer than I was ready for.

"They're getting their first wands." Uncle Harry enthused. There was a long silence as Hugo, Lily, and I watched Prudence's smile get wider. I could have sworn the corners of her mouth were touching the bottoms of her eyes. Before Uncle Harry could let another word out she let out a shrill squeal and tossed herself over the counter dangling her feet above the ground.

"Their first wands! Why this is a joyous occasion! Oh, so many choices, so many possibilities!" She removed herself from the counter and kneeled down in front of us so we were at eye level. Her large green eyes peered at us for a long moment before she spoke.

"What are their names?" She said to Uncle Harry.

"Oh uh Louis, Hugo, and my daughter Lily." He said caught off guard.

"I see I see." She paused for another second to stare at us. I remember thinking the expression on her face reminded me of a house elf I once read about in one of Hugo's books.

Mid survey her eyes stopped and she peered deep into Lily's face. I could tell she wanted nothing more than to tell the woman to bugger off but with her father in the room that wouldn't have been the smartest choice. Almost too fast for me to catch the woman pulled out her wand and gave it quick flick. Instantly 4 boxes came flying from their cubbyholes in the wall in floated at Lily's waist. Lily stood there for a moment examining the boxes, not sure what to do. Hugo gave a slight nudge and she begrudgingly took the top off of a lavender box.

Inside was an all white wand with flower detailing winding its way around the shaft of the wand from base to tip. I could tell by her facial expression that this was not the wand for her and she began to put it back in the box.

"You have to try it out first!" Hugo whispered, obviously irritated.

"Yes! You can never judge a book by its cover young one and the same holds true for a wand." Prudence insisted with a smile. I had to stifle a chuckle as she couldn't have been that much older than us.

"Go on Lily," I urged, "What harm could it do?"

With a large sigh Lily took the wand in her long, freckled fingers and gave it a little flourish. We all waited a moment and nothing happened. With a nod from Prudence, Lily tried again there was no change that we could tell. Frustrated, Lily gave the wand one big flourish and in return the wand gave her a small puff of smoke out of its tip.

"Let's try a different one shall we?" Prudence suggested awkwardly as Lily almost threw the wand back into its box.

XxX

After much time, and a few more temper tantrums on Lily's part we finally left Ollivander's. I watched as Hugo and Lily fussed and inspected their wands thoroughly comparing their features with the others. It was nice to see them so excited but as I held the long black box with my own wand in it the fears that I had about going to Hogwarts soon crept up on me. Uncle Harry must have seen this and tried his best to cheer me up. He concocted this story that he had wanted to get me something extra for my birthday since it had only just been the day before. With protest from Hugo and Lily we made our way to a clothing store that specialized in muggle clothing. I already had a good deal of muggle clothing but I guess this was a more high-end shop than what I would usually go to. As soon as I walked in I instantly knew this was not somewhere I would have the pleasure of visiting again.

The very air seemed to smell expensive as walked through the aisles of clothes. It was a forest of sweaters and slacks with wildflower like accessories and pins resting on knee height glass tables. I could hear Lily squeals of jealous in the background and Hugo reprimanding her in his usual fashion—as adults they never grew out of their constant bickering.

During my decent into the depths of this wool and cashmere forest I came across a jacket that just seemed to be calling me. It was a suede jacket that was the color of caramel and had cream leather detailing. I had never seen anything like it and I found myself staring intently at it. It looked like something exceedingly expensive that Uncle Harry or his friend Draco Malfoy would have worn. Before I knew what had come over me I had it in my grasp and was franticly trying to find a dressing room. I came across a row of curtained rooms and at random I picked the one towards the middle. I shut the curtain behind me and shut the curtain swiftly behind me. When I turned around I didn't find a image myself looking back at me through a mirror but quite the opposite.

There was a slender black boy in front of me with high cheek bones and perfectly shaped almond eyes. It seems strange that someone so young would take notice of such features but when you're half veela you find yourself noticing the more mature features of another person's beauty as they wildly gawk at your own. His skin reminded me of the coffee my father used to drink when I was little; dark, deep and rich. I found myself frozen in place as he peered at me peculiarly. I don't know how much time went by but I heard him say something that was muffled to my ears and he swiftly walked passed me leaving a smell reminiscent of nutmeg and vanilla in this wake. That smell would haunt my subconscious for many years.

XxX

When I returned home my mother, perusal, was busy in the kitchen whipping up something for dinner. She commented on how late it was before I showed her my new jacket that Uncle Harry had bought me. As she admired it my thoughts went back to the boy that I had seen in the shop. I couldn't get his dark piercing eyes out of my head or the deep rich color of his skin. I had never seen anyone like him before and as I went to be that night I found myself going over those brief moments in the dressing room over and over. What did his voice sound like, what was he about to try on? Who was he with, and what was his name? All of these questions reeled around in my head like a swarm of hornets buzzing and beating their small, paper thin wings against the inside of my skull.