So this is a short, chapter, but we're getting there.
We do not own Harry Potter. Serena is my character, Ashley is Emerald's
Chapter 3: Breakthrough by Britt Nicole
The man - Serena hadn't even bothered remembering his name - hummed in thought as Serena looked at the light brown, almost sand colored, wand which she held stiffly in her hand. Another dud, she thought disheartedly. The wand felt odd, uncomfortable.
"No, no," the man stated, taking the wand gently from her hand and returning it to its place. "Seems phoenix feather won't do." Serena watched him silently as he pulled out another light colored wand, this one with a slightly pink tint to it.
In her hands, it felt better than the others, but still not right. She couldn't suppress the sigh.
"We'll definitely go with the Dragon Heartstring but Cherry's just not right." He took the wand out of her hand before she could respond and replaced it with another. "No, that's not right either. Let's try this one."
Serena watched helplessly as the pile of rejects began to mound. Was it really so terrible to work with her? She didn't ask for much, did she? A loyal but strong wand, nothing too fancy. That's not too difficult, right?
Pulled out of her thoughts, Serena blinked in surprise as a warm tingle began at her fingertips and traveled up her arm and reached her heart. Her heart rate picked up dramatically at the feeling. Her fingers tightened around the wand that had been placed in her hand as it sent off little green and blue sparks of approval.
Mine. She could almost feel the wand's commanding voice. The white wood was beautiful and smooth. Vine-like embroidery decorated the handle before sinking into thin, spiraling grooves down the wand. She could feel an intoxicating power radiating off of it, so exhilarating that she almost lost control over her own emotions. Taking a breath to rebuild the chains she had created for her emotions, she slowly exhaled, forcing the wand's control back. She was the owner, not the owned.
Mine. She decided as well. She looked up at the smiling Wandmaker.
"Ah curious indeed. I haven't seen such a perfect match in a long time. It warms my heart." He strolled to the register. "Yew - quite a rare wood for a wand, I must say- with a Dragon Heartstring core, 11 inch, unyielding. It's quite an interesting combination. Treat it well."
Serena nodded silently as she handed the man the money, her grip on her new wand never loosening. Yew… isn't that-
"Take care, Ms. Krova. Remember that just because a wand is similar in material does not mean that the owners are similar." He smiled warmly at her.
Voldemort's wand wood… A wood well known for its Dark Arts prowess.
Diagon Alley was packed, causing both Hagrid and Ashley to repeatedly bump shoulders with other shoppers. Initially, Ashley had a continuous mumbled apology at the tip of her tongue as she traveled with Hagrid to gather school supplies. However, she soon learned that pleasantries were hardly needed, as the other occupants of Diagon Alley just hurried along, never even glancing at the small girl. Not even the friendly half-giant that strolled along with Ashley seemed to receive a second glance.
Hagrid rambled, mostly on magical creatures. A polite nod was all that was needed to keep him talking about his passion, and Ashley didn't mind the impromptu crash course. The stop of the steady flow of Hagrid's voice caused her to glance up in curiosity. His face was a light shade of red as he glanced down at her sheepishly.
"I was rambling. Sorry 'bout that. Now, what's left on that list o' yers?"
"Um, the wand, and an animal if I want one." Glancing up at Hagrid, she hesitated before voice a concern. "Is it really okay to take money from the headmaster?"
Hagrid slapped his hand down on Ashley's shoulder, the force of it causing her to stumble forward. "'e does what 'e wants, that Dumbledore. Always helpin' those who need it."
A nod from Ashley closed the conversation, and Hagrid ushered her towards another shop. The shoppers in the alley crowded around Hagrid and Ashley, causing Ashley to be pushed against a shop door. Ashley fell flat on her back inside the shop when the door swung open. Green eyes met brown as a girl looked down in boredom, her blonde locks tumbling around her in waves. Staring up at the girl, Ashley feels her face flush. Wait, I know her.
The girl's expression slowly changed into recognition. "The wingless griffin," the girl said in disbelief, though somehow still in a bored tone.
Groaning, Ashley closed her eyes, and laid her head down on the cool wood floor. Just how small is the wizarding world, anyways?
Serena eyed the girl on the floor with confusion. Why is a muggle here? She nearly joined the girl on the floor in surprise when she saw a large shadow fall over them both.
A strong hand lifted the fallen girl up from the ground as the giant looked at her in concern. The girl gave him a small smile.
"Sorry 'bout just bargin' in on top of ye'!" the giant's voice echoed in the small shop as he gave an apology to Serena.
Eying the man warily, Serena nodded in greeting. "It's quite all right. If you would excuse me." She gestured toward the door he was blocking. With a blush, he quickly moved aside for the young girl. She glided past the duo into the busy alley, still confused about the muggle but wishing to leave quickly.
Ashley found herself watching the girl weave in and out of the crowd of shoppers with ease, until she disappeared from her eyesight.
Serena, on the other hand, could feel the other girl's eyes on her back but forced herself to keep moving until she was out of sight. She glanced back the way she had come before sighing. "What's next on my list?" she murmured to herself, continuing her shopping. Shopping that her parents had sent her on her own without a care in the world.
Hagrid cleared his throat, snapping Ashley back to the task at narrow boxes aligned every inch of wall space the shop had, from floor to ceiling. There was a small stack of boxes to one side where someone must have been browsing. This must be the wand shop. Oh! What's its name again?
"Welcome to Ollivanders." Startled, Ashley jumped out of her skin. Running into the girl had put her a bit on edge. An older gentleman stepped forward, so thin it seemed as though he was nothing but skin and bones. However, Ashley was captivated by the shopkeeper's wide silver-blue eyes.
A gesture from Mr. Ollivander urged Ashley to move toward the table, where the pile of tried wands still lay. "Now, which is your wand hand?"
"I'm right handed."
Mr. Ollivander nodded, and grabbed his tape measure from the desk. "Hold out your arm, straight out." The tape measure began to work on its own, and jotted down the results.
Ashley's attention was focused solely on the tape measure's quick movements, annoyance bubbling inside of her when it wrapped around her head. At the sound of Mr. Ollivander clearing his throat, her head snapped up to meet his eyes. She attempted to focus on his steady flow of speech, despite the small nuisance of being measured.
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. Those are unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same, just as no two creatures are quite the same. And of course, you will never get the same results on a spell if you use another wizard's wand." These obviously rehearsed lines sounded familiar to Ashley, as if she had heard, or perhaps read, them before. Perhaps Mr. Ollivander gave this talk with everyone, including Harry Potter.
"Now, let's see." Mr. Ollivander sorted through multiple wands, before choosing one. "Dogwood, 11 inches, dragon heartstring core," he stated as he delicately placed it in her awaiting hand. "Just give it a swish."
Ashley glanced down at the dark wood of the wand and gave it a tentative wave. "It's gorgeous, but am I supposed to feel something?" She glanced up at the shopkeeper in slight concern.
"Calm down, miss. The wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around." With a little hesitancy, she nodded.
Mr. Ollivander handed her another wand. "Maple, 10 inches, unicorn core." Once again, there was nothing. It was as if she held a normal twig from home. A discouraged sigh came from Ashley. Doubt began to creep up on her, a deep worry darkening her mood. What if I'm not really magical?
"Hmmm. Curious." Mr. Ollivander hummed, eyeing the girl. He glanced down at the pile of tried wands on the table, and rummaged through them. "Now, where is it? Ah, here. Try this, Willow, eleven and three quarters, phoenix feather core, slightly springy."
Ashley gingerly accepted the wand from Mr. Ollivander's hand and immediately felt the difference. A warmth grew from her fingertips to her chest, a calming presence. A look of wonder overtook Ashley's face as she stared at the wand. Its wood was whittled to be thin and slim, a vine like design twisting from the hilt down to about halfway down, leaving the point bare of decoration. Ashley's wand gave off sparks as she swished it in confidence. She glanced up at Mr. Ollivander and grinned. He gave a considerate look.
"There is a proverb in my family: 'He who has furthest to travel will go fastest with the willow.' Paired with the feather of a phoenix, it is indeed interesting. The core may resist you at first, but persevere." What do you mean, it may resist me?
Ashley never asked her unspoken question, however, when another student entered the shop. Mr. Ollivander gave a slight nod to her. "Treat it well."
What do you think? Were Hagrid and Ollivander in character?
