A/N: This is the second chapter of my OC story. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. In this chapter, we will be introduced to the second main character. As said before there will be three overall.
AU note: Penny Haywood will be born around the same time as Nicholas Bishop or Harry Potter, meaning that she will go to school at the same time as them.
I hope you will continue to enjoy the story and please do leave a review. It motivates greatly to continue writing when you get some form of assurance that people actually read what you write.
Chapter Two
A Very Peculiar Wand.
London, July 23, 1991,
Penny Haywood and her younger sister Beatrice were currently sitting in the living room of their parent's London flat. Penny was focused on a book concerning her favourite subject. Potions, reading about the effects of a Bezoar and the traits of different metals used on cauldrons.
She had finally gotten her Hogwarts acceptance letter, a few weeks back on her birthday, and practically dragged her mother, a Muggle-born witch in her early thirties, to the Diagon Alley, to buy all the things she needed for her upcoming first term.
They had just spent the Holidays in the Countryside, where her muggle friend Scarlett lived. She liked spending time with her, just as much as she enjoyed spending time with her little sister. Though now that she was accepted to Hogwarts, she was going the see her sister much lesser then she had been used to now.
This, of course, made her quite sad, though she swore herself, and her sister, that she would write her a letter every week or so.
Penny was already looking forward to meeting new friends within the century-old halls of the magical school. She had never a real problem meeting new people. She was rather outgoing. Not to an annoying degree, to a pleasant one. On her old muggle elementary school, which she had visited before, she was among the most popular students. But in contrast to her peers in popularity, she was friendly to everyone. No matter how popular, old or strange the person was she talked to. She had always been nice to them. Not that she herself would say it like that. She always got strange looks from the other kids, asking her why she was hanging out with the 'wired' kids instead of them.
Penny didn't like that very much. In fact, she didn't like it so much, that she and another rather popular girl, a brown-haired girl called Louisiana, got into quite a large fight, in which Penny defended her friends while calling the other girl out for being 'mean and insufferable'.
This made Penny even more popular among the other children in school, and soon she was friends with everyone.
London, July 21, 1991,
During Penny's visit in the Diagon Alley with her sister Beatrice and her mother, to buy the items on the 'required!' list, which was attached to the letter McGonagall sent her, she meets a few students already. One, in particular, stayed on her mind though. A young, but a rather tall wizard with brown hair and piercing green eyes. Though while his appearance alone wasn't something, a person would easily forget, his company was the rather salient thing about him.
No one lesser than Professor Albus Dumbledore himself escorted the young boy around the busy shopping street and went with him into the different shops buying his school supply.
Penny couldn't help herself and dragged her mother and sister along with her to introduce herself to her new headmaster and the mysterious boy he accompanied.
She followed them into the large and somewhat dark shop with the name 'OLIVANDERS: MAKERS of FINEST WANDS since 382 B.C.'
After his original scepticism and blank refusal of following the old man to the Diagon Alley, Nicholas quickly changed his mind upon hearing what his new headmaster had to say. Dumbledore talked with him about his mother. He told him that she was not only a Witch, but he also revealed that she had fought alongside him and few other wizarding families against a Dark Lord, whom the Headmaster called Voldemort.
Awaking Nicholas' thirst for knowledge, he asked the headmaster for evidence.
With a smile, Dumbledore produced a wand and a creature Nicholas recognized from his Book. The same one Dumbledore gave him a few years ago.
His eyes lightened up with interest as he exclaimed "A Bowtruckle?" examining the small plant-like creature from head to toe "So.. they really exist?" mumbling the rhetorical question to himself. Slowly extending his finger towards the creature. "Yes Mr Bishop, they really do exist" answered the headmaster with a kind tone in his voice, still making the young Bishop cringe away from the creature as he remembered the Headmasters presence. His eyes quickly shot up to the blue eyes of the old man in front of him.
The half-moon spectacles had slid down directly onto his nose tip while examining the youngest bishop and new student sitting directly before him. As he met the eyes of the boy, he felt a sudden wave flowing against his mental defences.
The headmaster was taken by surprise, as he didn't expect to feel such a sensation in the presence of an untaught wizard in the art of Legilimency or Occlumency. Quickly mastering the boy and fixing him with an intense stare while he went through the mind of the young Bishop.
While not knowing that the headmaster was capable of 'reading his mind', he only noticed that the old man had suddenly fixated him with a stare that made the young man's blood freeze and his head hurt. The room got darker and colder. The ancient wizard suddenly had a very dangerous aura around him, he felt immensely uncomfortable and small. Nicholas knew that this was a wizard, he wouldn't want to get on the bad side of.
Just as quick as all this came it vanished again, and the headmaster began to kindly smile again.
Dumbledore had learned what he needed to learn. The young wizard before him suddenly shone in a completely different light in his eyes. He got a natural knack for the mental arts. A gift he probably got from his mother, along with her remarkable green eyes. The headmaster remembered the young woman quite clearly.
She and Lily Evans were close friends, both of them possessed a natural kindness and enjoyed the highest popularity among their peers. Though while Lily was a natural in Potions and a prodigy in Charms, Amelia Nye was a just as remarkable student. She and Lily had constantly the same grades in Charms, and while Lily was a far better potion brewer, Amelia outclassed her peers, including Lily, in Transfiguration.
He missed the two kind pupils at Hogwarts. It wasn't the same without them. He even remembered them booth getting a similar amount of O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s. Remarkable witches indeed.
Nicholas examined the long beautiful stick in his hands quite carefully. Dumbledore claimed that this elegant piece of wood was his mother's old wand. He explained that he had found it after she went missing and took the liberty of keeping it, so it wouldn't be broken or resold by a different wandmaker, as it often enough happened during the last wizarding war.
Even after Nicholas pressed for a solid fifteen minutes for Dumbledore to reveal what happened to his mother, the Headmaster still denied his pleas and told him that he would get the answer in due time. Same as last time, a few years ago, as he asked the same question.
Seeing that the old man wouldn't budge so easily. Nicholas dropped the subject and asked him where exactly this Diagon Alley was, which he talked about.
Dumbledore gently guided the young Bishop out of his apartment and only said with the faintest smirk on his lips "I will show you", the same words he used on this day twenty years ago, to a red-headed eleven-year-old witch, who would turn out to become the mother of the green-eyed boy beside him.
As he and the Headmaster entered the mysterious looking shop, the first thing Nicholas noticed where the large shelves filled with slim but long boxes.
His gaze roamed around the shop, feeling a little uneasy. As soon as he had entered the room, he felt as if he was shut off from the rest of the world, losing track of time and place. The only light sources where few candles that were placed upon some of the shelves and the small chandelier which was hanging directly above him. A little lamp, which was placed on the large table in the middle of the room, shone upon a book filled with nearly unreadable writing. Nicholas could only decipher some of the words. There was something about the hair of a unicorn and wood of an elder tree.
There was a loud ring behind him and he turned to see a group of three women enter the shop.
The first one was about as old as he himself. She had blue eyes, pale white skin and long golden blonde hair with two thick braids over her shoulders, and a braid on her left side that formed a ponytail, giving her a half up.
He met her eyes directly and instantly could feel a mixture of joy and anticipation. But there was something more. A deep inner warmth that he couldn't place into any form of emotion, not one was usually picking up when he read people. An interesting mixture. A form of trust and surprise, neither one really fitted to this particular emotion, but they were there. At the same time. A form of… maybe interest, no… curiosity! That was it.
Next to the beautiful blond was a younger girl. She was the near carbon copy of her older self. The only noticeable difference besides the age was her hairstyle, which was fitted into a bob with a side fringe. Nicholas suspected that she was the first girls younger sister. She was probably a few years younger than he himself.
Lastly there was the tallest witch and presumably mother of the other two. She had, just like her daughters, blond hair, but hers was bound into a simple ponytail and fell straight down her back.
She had a kind expression on her face. A nearly motherly look, that would give anyone a deep warmth and sense of joy and trust. A combination of emotions you would only find in the arms of your parents. Simply put. Love. Motherly love. Something Nicholas had been missing for many years, the reason why he was so reserved and protective of his feelings and trust.
"Ah, Mrs and Miss Haywood" beamed the warm voice of the headmaster beside him. "Albus," said Mrs Haywood "good to see you again, my daughter saw you and your young companion..." while saying that she gave Nicholas a long inquisitive stare, before continuing "...and wanted to introduce herself before the start of the semester. You can expect that she will be giving your potions master a run for his money" she babbled on warmly, though the last statement sounded like a challenge. Dumbledore only smiled and again with warmth in his voice joked "Well, I do hope she does come after her mother in more than just potions." Mrs Haywood laughed "Hm… Potions never was my strong suit. I always loved Herbology. That was the only subject I was better at then Evans or Nye."
Nicholas had rarely heard his mothers family name. He only knew it, because every time his mother and his father got into a fight, which to be fair was quite rare, he used to yell her full name instead of using her first name.
Before Dumbledore could answer, they heard a cough from the other side of the room. A polite cough, one you would use to try and gain someone's attention. They turned to see who tried to make himself know.
Nicholas saw a strange looking old man with wild white hair and a brown coat standing in the corner of the room. He had intense blue eyes, and had he not seen the ones on the blond girl next to him, he would have claimed, that they were the most remarkable blue eyes he had seen until then.
The young Haywoods' girl's eyes put even the glinting blue eyes of his Headmaster to shame, an interesting quality.
"There are rarely ever so many people in my shop at once." said the old strange man. Nicholas presumed that the man before of him had to be the wand maker Professor Dumbledore told him about.
"Well, Garrick, school starts soon, so all the new wands get bought and the broken ones get replaced" exclaimed a cheerful Dumbledore. "I guess so..." acknowledged the shop owner nonchalantly, his glance hovering over Dumbledore only for a short amount of time before it shot to Nicholas and the Haywood girl.
"Ah, Mr Bishop and Miss Haywood." beamed the old wand maker "Its your time then I guess" he muttered, before turning on his heels and walking into the space between two shelves disappearing from view, only to reappear on a ladder on a completely different side of the shop and pulling out a small grey box with Iliac embellishments at the corner of the cap. He again disappeared into the shelves and appeared directly behind them, walking out from behind a completely new shelve, holding two boxes. Walking through the group of five people, he placed the two boxes gently on the table in the centre of the room.
He first opened the grey box with the lilac patterns.
Inside the grey box was a beautiful dark brown wand. Though while looking rather simple, it was very slick and had a decorated handle, with complex flower patterns.
He handed the Wand to the Haywood girl while muttering more to himself than her "Dogwood, elven and three-quarter inch, Phoenix feather core and rather sturdy." The blond hesitated, looking at the old wizard with a questioning gaze.
"Just wave it Penny" encouraged the oldest Haywood her daughter and so Penny did. She waved the wand, and the small lamp on the table burst into pieces.
Mr Olivander quickly stepped forward grabbing the wand from Penny again while muttering again "Oh, okay that's quite the clear no!" He went back to the table and placed the wand back into its box and opened the other one right beside it.
The next box was a completely black box, it looked rather new, and held an again rather simple looking wand. "Hazel, twelve and a quarter inch, Dragon heartstring and a bit springy" uttered the old wand maker while holding the stick towards Nicholas with an expectant glare.
Nicholas took a deep breath and took the wand into his own hands. He could feel the cold wood of the wand and soft engravings on the grip. Something deep inside him yelled 'This won't work. What will they do if nothing happens? what will they think if they realize that you are no wizard?. They will be disappointed that you've wasted their time and you will be thrown back into your normal life! You will be no one again! You will have nothing special! You will be nothing special! You will never know what happened to your mother!...'
He took a deep breath again and pushed everything and every voice out of his mind. Then he started to wave the wand into the direction of one of the shelves.
First, nothing happened, he started to fear that Dumbledore might have made a mistake, but then suddenly, about a dozen boxes shot out of the shelve and flew onto the floor.
He took a deep breath and relaxed again, they hadn't made a mistake. But then realisation set in and he noticed what he had done.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to throw the boxes on the ground." Olivander just made a step forward and took the wand again from his hands before he insisted "Oh, no problem Mr Bishop, things like that happen when the perfect wand has to be found. No harm done." after that, he waved with the wand in his hand and summoned the boxes that had fallen onto the ground back into their respective shelves.
"Now let me see..." he muttered, again more to himself then to the wizards in his shop, before trailing off while vanishing behind a nearby shelve.
A solid five minutes after he reappeared from the back of the store with four new boxes. He placed them down next to other ones he brought before. "Now..." the wand maker began "… Miss Haywood..." he grabbed the furthest one to the right "… this one..." he took the wand out of the emerald green box, a light wooded and elegant looking wand "… might be the right one for you." Olivander turned around and handed her the elegant wand with a pendant smile.
Penny mustered the elegant looking light wand while the wand maker started to explain the combination of wand craftsmanship "Silver Lime wood, thirteen and a half inch, Unicorn hair core and very whippy." Penny looked inquisitively on the fine work of the handle.
Nicholas, who had been paying just as much attention to the wand in Penny's had as she herself, suddenly heard a voice in his head saying 'that wand won't fit! It's not made for her! There is another!' over and over again, getting louder and louder. Just as she was about to wave the wand, Nicholas was forced by willpower beyond his own to yell it out loud.
Penny stopped and looked over to the brown haired boy. His before so sagely green shimmering eyes were now tinted grey.
"Well, Mr Bishop..." Olivander said while looking just as perplexed at the young Englishman as the rest of the Haywoods "… which wand would you give Miss Haywood?" before gently removing the elegant wand from her hands.
Nicholas gaze shot across the room, to a dusty brown box across the room.
'Yes!' he heard a different voice call out. 'That one is made for her' voices in his head grew louder. Nicholas started to walk across the room, while muttering to himself "that one" and took a few steps up the ladder next to the shelve. He grabbed the old dusty box and read the ingredients of the wand. "English Oak, elven and three-quarter inch, Unicorn hair core and quite sturdy" he whispered to himself before blowing the dust of the soft velvet cover of the box.
The old wand maker viewed what was happening with great interest. Something like that has never happened before, it looked like the wands were speaking to the young boy. No, not the wands, the magic within them.
The youngest Bishop returned with the box and placed it gently on the table, opening it and grabbing the English oak wand out of its box. It was a beautiful wand. It had a simple round grip which got thinner from the bottom up. Just above the grip, the wood turned elegantly half around itself, as if it was made out of metal, and then continued on with fine engraved leave patterns, which looked like they where growing from the handle upwards, like ivy, engulfing nearly the entire lower part of the wand, besides the grip, ending only inches before the tip of the English Oak wand. The tip of the wand was round like every normal wand.
The old wand maker was amazed. This wand was a few centuries old, he couldn't remember crafting such a remarkable piece of wood. A beautiful piece of wand work.
Penny examined the beautiful work craftsmanship the wand displayed. This put the elegant Silver Lime wand to shame. She extended her arm to take the wand into her own hands.
The first thing she noticed was that the wand was warm. It was a pleasant warmth. The grip snuggled perfectly into her hand. Something was telling her that this wasn't just a normal wand.
She waved the tip just slightly and suddenly, she was engulfed with the pleasant warmth of the piece of wood, golden sparks shot out of the tip of the unique looking wand.
Penny didn't even notice the glances of the other Haywoods on her. Nor did she notice that the headmaster was staring at her intently.
Dumbledore mustered the girl with an inquisitive glint in his eyes, before looking over to the Bishop boy, who was staring at the Haywood girl in awe. Lastly, he looked up at the wandmaker himself, who was taking in the experience with a genuine interest.
He had never seen a wand speak to someone before. Or at least not so obvious.
Olivander's glance shot to the bishop boy.
He remembered the wand he sold his mother on this day twenty years ago just as clearly as the sells he made just yesterday.
He could remember every single wand he created and every single wand he sold.
Mrs Nye's wand back then was a twelve and a half inch Holly wand with a unicorn hair core and just as the wand in Miss Haywood's hand, it was quite sturdy.
The wandmaker turned to the table and looked at the other three wands he brought and opened the box of a Hornbeam wand. He garbed it out of its box and turned towards the young Bishop.
"Now, Mr Bishop, try this wand, it's Hornbeam wood, ten and three-quarter inches with a dragon heartstring core and is rather whippy." he extended his arm and held out the piece of wood for the young Bishop the take.
Nicholas shook himself from his trance, while he was staring at Penny during her bonding with her new wand, he lost himself in thoughts.
He got nudged slightly by the headmaster slightly behind him as he didn't respond to the wandmaker. Quickly noticing the wand directly before him, he grabbed onto it.
A cold wave shot through his arm, and a hundred voices in his head yelled loudly 'NO!' he let go of the grip instantly, shocked by the running sensation of cold.
'That wand won't fit! It's not made for him! There is another!' The young Bishop only shook his head.
The headmaster frowned slightly, he had never seen such a strong reaction to the wrong wand before.
The wandmaker smiled brightly, this only confirmed his suspicions. The boy could hear the magic in the wands. "Which one is the one for you Mr Bishop?" asked the smiling old man.
For the second time, the young bishop looked around the shop looking for the right box. His gaze flew over the shelves, until, after minutes of searching, his gaze locked onto a dark blue box at the top of one of the shelves in the very back of the store.
The youngest Bishop set of the retrieve the slim box.
Penny fixed the brown haired boy with an attentive glare. She was immensely interested in that ability of his. She wanted to know more about it.
She saw how he climbed up a ladder in the back of the store. His gaze fixated on a dark blue box. It looked like it was clothed in velvet like the one he got her, there was just as much dust on that box as there had been on the one that was now laying before her on the table.
She expected the wand to be probably just as old as hers, judging by the dust alone.
Her mother stepped up and placed ten galleons on the table next to Olivander before saying her goodbyes to booth the wand maker and the headmaster.
She tried to grab Penny to pull her outside while whispering "come, Penny, we have more things to get before we have to return home."
Penny just shook her head and muttered that she would like to stay a bit longer, to see what kind of wand Nicholas got. "… I also haven't thanked him for finding the right wand for me yet!" she finished her argument.
The mother just sighed and uttered that she would be waiting outside for her to finish, then turned to leave the wandmakers shop with her youngest daughter in tow.
The young Bishop returned with the blue box in his hands. He, again, placed it gently upon the table among its comrades, before taking the wand out of its etui.
The young Englishman read the engraved description of the wands contents out loud. "Cedarwood, thirteen and a quarter inches, White River Monster Spine Core..." the young wizard looked up as he heard the surprised gasp from the young Haywood girl.
She didn't know much about wand lore herself, but she knew one thing. Olivander only used three cores. Phoenix Feather, Unicorn Hair and Dragon Heartstrings. White River Monster Spine was no core the old Olivander used. His family had used Kelpie Hair before they started to use these three core components.
"… and rigid flexibility" Nicholas ended his reading. He noticed the wandmakers thought full gaze, which was fixated on the wand alone. Something in him told him to take the wand and use it. To wave it and try it out no matter what the wand maker though.
The voices in his head sang in heavenly harmony 'YES! That wand will fit! It's made for him! There is no other!' So Nicholas raised the wand and snapped with his wrist. Instantly he felt a rush of warmth throughout his body. The wand looked just as unique as the one Penny wielded.
The grip of the Cedarwood wand was entwined with a detailed wooden version of a Hungarian Horntail. Nicholas knew this dragon, as it was described in the book he got from Dumbledore. The head of the Dragon was directly over the end of the beautiful grip and looked straight upwards. He had his mouth open and the staff came out of its mouth. Just like Penny's wand, just over the mouth, the wand made half a turn, like a Fusilli pasta before expanding irregularly upwards like a flame shot out of the mouth of a dragon should only to return to the normal circular form and width about halfway till the tip of the wand. On the bottom of the wand was the tip of the dragons tail which curled itself a spiral to the end of the wand.
Upon hearing the core of the wand, the old wand maker knew by whose hand the wand was made. Thiago Quintana. An American wizard who created wands during the early eighteenth century.
His wands were known to possess a unique appearance and the spells cast with cores he used were as forceful as they were elegant. The wandmaker had forgotten about the old wand. A relic of the first wizarding war. He couldn't even remember, how he came into possession of it.
The slight frown on his face disappeared though as he noticed how the magic of the wand and the magic of the young wizard connected. For the second time this day, he was able to experience a very unique bonding.
As the magic settled around the young boy Mr Olivander cleared his throat to gain booth the young wizards' attention.
"Well Mr Bishop, I have to say. In my very long life, this must have probably been the most exciting and interesting day I had the pleasure to witness." the old wand maker smiled slightly "… and I do have to say, I rather didn't expect such extreme results. Though based upon the wood of the wands you hold in your hands..." he pointed at the two unique works of true craftsmanship, "… I can see, that you booth are people one can trust." fixing Nicholas with his old blue eyes "Mr Bishop, My father always used to say, 'you will never fool the cedar carrier,' I would go further than my father, however, in saying that I have never yet met the owner of a cedar-wand whom I would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them." Olivander smiled again. After a short second, he fixed his glare upon Penny and looked down on her wand "and while I am neither sure how this wand came into my possession, as I am unsure of the reason that one..." he pointed at Nicholas wand "… came into my shop. I can say one thing for certain, Miss Haywood. A wand made out of English oak is A wand for good times and bad, this is a friend as loyal as the wizard who deserves it. Wands of English oak demand partners of strength, courage and fidelity. Even the great Merlin himself wielded a wand made out of English oak. At least that is what I have heard, and there is no real proof to this statement." He suddenly went silent and fixated the wand with an intense glare, before continuing "should this have been the case though Miss Haywood, there is no reason not to believe that the wand of such a great magician and sorcerer wouldn't still be around..." he trailed off again. Still completely focused on Penny's wand. "… I beg of you Miss Haywood, take great care of your wand and so should you Mr Bishop. This is the Wizarding world, after all, stranger things have happened." Mr Olivander finished, his glare never left the oak wand in the hands of the young Haywood.
"There is no need for money Mr Bishop, Miss Haywood. This encounter was payment enough for me."
The wandmaker took the Galleons that Mrs Haywood placed on the counter for her daughters' wand and pressed it into her hands. "Please Miss Haywood… I can't say this enough. Please take good care of this wand, no matter the costs!"
As sudden as he appeared at the beginning of their encounter, he was gone again. Gone into the confusing depths of his shop.
Dumbledore escorted his two students out of the poorly lit wand shop and onto the busy streets of the Diagon Alley. The two young wizards were stunned into silence.
The headmaster excused himself and returned to the wand shop, after asking the young Bishop boy to stay and wait for him to return.
The Haywoods said their farewell to the young man and turned to leave. Only then, Nicholas noticed, that he hadn't been able to talk to the older of the two sisters. During their farewell, she gave him a brilliant smile and a tight hug, as thanks for finding her wand. She then grabbed her younger sister, 'Bea' she called her, and with her mother in tow, they walked off to the potions supply shop.
Though before she was gone, she turned around one last time and called out into his direction, "See you at platform nine and three quarters..." Then she was gone and he was alone waiting for his headmaster to return, so he could get the rest of his supplies.
A/N: So now that you read my second chapter, please do leave a review, as said, in the beginning, it motivates greatly If you get feedback.
I read a lot about wand lore to make wands fitting for the characters, If you were to check on Pottermore and The Harry Potter Wiki on the traits of the wands of the two people, you would find a fitting description of their planned personality for this story.
If you do this here are the two wands again:
PH: English Oak Wood; 11 3/4 inch; Unicorn Tail Hair Core; Sturdy flexibility
NB: Cedar Wood; 13 1/4 inch; White River Monster Spine Core; rigid flexibility