The first of August opened peacefully enough as Narcissa stirred awake. After a restless night full of a hooded figure coming down from above to chase her off a cliff, it was a relief to wake up safe in her Uncle's house.

NARCISSA BLACK!

Narcissa's eyes shot wide open to see a hooded figure crouching over her.

I HAVE WATCHED YOUR ACTIONS WITH MUCH DISPLEASURE! I AM HERE TO EXTRACT MY RECKONING FOR YOUR SINS!

Narcissa screamed for her sisters. The Hooded Figure laughed in response.

YOUR SISTERS CAN'T HEAR YOU! NOTHING ELSE EXISTS IN THIS WORLD EXCEPT FOR YOU AND ME! YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE! THERE IS ONLY-

-The Hooded figure whipped off its hood at this, revealing a horrifying black and white face that resembled a skull.

-DEATH!

Death reached for Narcissa in order to take her soul only to receive a hard pillow to the face, knocking the spectre off the bed only to bump it onto the floor. Death let out a strangely girlish scream at this and Narcissa knew exactly who "Death" was.

"That wasn't funny, Bella!" Narcissa cried. "You could have given me a heart attack! Where did you get that cloak, anyway?"

"Uncle Alphard's costume chest," Bellatrix groaned, rubbing her sore heinie regretfully. "Sorry 'bout that, couldn't resist."

Bellatrix shot an evil grin at her little sister, emphasizing the black and white face paint she had used to make herself best resemble the grim reaper she had seen in Uncle Alphard's edition of The Tales of Beedle The Bard. She was no Andromeda when it came to art, but it had done its job well enough in the span of five minutes.

Narcissa shuddered at Bellatrix's horrifying grin, sticking out her tongue back at her in response. Why had she been cursed with such adventurous sisters? To Narcissa, adventures were considered a burden to be avoided, and as such only chose to embark on them when dragged along by Bellatrix and Andromeda. She'd much rather be curled up near a roaring fireplace, sipping tea and reading about the things her older sisters wanted her to do. Why bother risking one's own neck when so many wonderful books existed so as to simulate the actual experience?

"Hurry up, short stuff," Bellatrix ordered, wiping the paint off her face with a handkerchief as she did. "Me and Andi have already been up for a couple of hours, and Uncle Alphard said if you're still in bed by ten we're leaving without you."

"He did not say that!" Narcissa whined.

"Not in so many words," Bellatrix shrugged. "C'mon, Cissy, I've waited my whole life for this day, and you are SO not about to screw this up for me!"

And with that Bellatrix turned on her heel, wagging her index finger reproachfully behind her. Grumbling about what she would have done to Bellatrix were she the oldest, Narcissa dressed herself and joined her Sisters downstairs for Breakfast.

Alphard was just showing Andromeda how to perfectly flip a pancake as Narcissa sat down at the dining room table across from Bellatrix, only to be joined by a half-cooked glob of batter the next moment.

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that, guys!" Andromeda groaned behind her back. "Sorry about the mess, Uncle Alphard."

Alphard chuckled genially. "Don't worry, my dear, it's only your first time. No harm done. When I was your age, I actually hit my poor nursemaid in the face with one of those babies! It just takes a little practice, that's all."

He shot his niece a wink that she returned in interest, relieved she wasn't in trouble.

After the projectile batter had been cleaned up by a House-Elf, dishes put away, and The Three Sisters' tummies were all full of pancake, Alphard looked at his watch and announced that now was the time for him and his nieces to depart for their trip to Diagon Alley.

Striding over to the fireplace, Alphard threw in some Floo Powder and one by one The Three Sisters all stepped into the fire, cried out "Diagon Alley!" and were all whisked away by the emerald flames once more, only to crawl out into a dingy pub full of grown-up Witches and Wizards from all over the country.

Bellatrix's excitement over finally procuring a wand was quickly diminished as Andromeda shot out of the fireplace, knocking her sister into a large man who slopped his beer all over the front of Bellatrix's favorite robes. Choosing to employ a couple of her Father's favorite swear words at the Wizard, Bellatrix brushed the ash off her robes in a huff as Andromeda apologized over and over again.

"Ah no, I'm so sorry Bella, I thought I'd just take it at a run and now I've gone and ruined your-"

"Shut up, it's fine, quit whining, you sound just like Cissy-"

"Hey!" Narcissa protested, who had just exited the fireplace as well.

"Sorry, Cissy, but let's be honest, even though our dear sister tends to exaggerate, Bella wouldn't have said it if it wasn't a little bit true," Andromeda pointed out.

Before Narcissa could come up with a rebuttal, Alphard popped out of the fireplace and drained the beer out of his niece's robes with a simple wave of his wand.

"Now, now, girls, there's no need to fret. We have a full day ahead of us, so onward!"

The innkeeper, a busy-looking hunchback waved merrily at Alphard and The Three Sisters as he cleaned glasses from the bar.

"Alfie! Great to see you. Can I offer you and your nieces a drink?"

"Okay, I'll take a dry gillywater with the slightest hint of firewhiskey and a lemon twist-"

"Ah, perhaps once you've gotten a little older, Andi." Alphard grinned at the innkeeper, returning the wave as he and his nieces exited the pub. "See you on game night, Tom."

"Right," Alphard asked, stopping at the brick wall in the back alleyway of The Leaky Cauldron. "Which one of you girls can tell me how we get into Diagon Alley from here?"

Narcissa's hand shot straight up.

"Cissy?"

"If I remember correctly, you tap on the places where the bricks are missing," Narcissa ventured.

"Very good! Can you girls do me a favor point them out to me?"

"Surely you've been here enough times to know the way by yourself?" Andromeda asked.

"Well, you know, memory fading and all…" Alphard murmured evasively, tapping his wand on the areas where the girls pointed and starting over again when they got it wrong. Once the sequence was complete, the bricks themselves seemed to retract back into the walls as Diagon Alley was revealed to The Three Sisters for the very first time.

Even though they had spent their entire lives in The Wizarding World, The Three Sisters couldn't help but be wowed by the splendor in front of them. There were Witches and Wizards of all shapes and sizes bustling to and fro, colorful shops that sold everything from potion ingredients to robes to books to magical creatures from all over Britain. But although Bellatrix was keen on checking out the rest of the stores eventually, she knew what she had come for.

"Let's get me a wand toot-sweet!" She cried, darting her head around for the legendary Ollivanders'.

"I promise it'll be the first thing we get, my dear, but I'm afraid first we've got to get some money at Gringotts first," Alphard explained.

Bellatrix gave a labored sigh and followed her Uncle and sisters to Gringotts, vowing to learn The Summoning Charm as soon as she could so delays like this wouldn't be a problem in the future.

"Say, Uncle Alphard, I just realized something," Andromeda piped up. "How come when we went through The Floo Network it automatically knew where we wanted to go to in Diagon Alley? Couldn't we have just said "The Leaky Cauldron!" and saved ourselves from a really big margin of error?"

Alphard scratched his chin and thought long and hard about this query.

"Hmmm. You know, I've never asked about that before. I suppose all the shops would not be very fond of people using their fireplace without buying at least one item. All I know is that one of my House-Elves handled the process of The Leaky Cauldron's grate to be exclusively reserved for us. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine, my dear. Ah, there we are!"

The four Blacks were now staring up at the massive bank that looked as though it was entirely made up of white marble with bronze doors that easily towered over most of the shops in Diagon Alley. As they climbed up the steps, Narcissa pulled at the tails of Alphard's robes and pointed at a tan creature with sharp teeth, pointed ears, and long fingers that ended in claws who was wearing a sports coat and muttering about the state of the economy to himself.

"Uncle Alphard, is that a Goblin?"

"Yes, my dear, they are far better at handling money than Wizards."

"They look really creepy!" Narcissa shivered.

"Yeah, but they have a great personality so it evens out, really." Andromeda chuckled to herself. "Though from what I've heard Father say, they're not really the forgiving type, so perhaps it'd be best if you don't let them hear you say that, I'd reckon."

"They're a head shorter than I am. I could take them." Bellatrix snorted, eyeing a Goblin who was examining a ruby as though sizing him up.

"When did I say anything about fighting?" Andromeda sighed.

"Just gotta be ready to fight, that's all." Bellatrix said simply, curling her fingers into a fist. "Someone steps up to The Black Family better be ready for a black eye."

"Fair enough."

Aside from Bellatrix referring to the Goblin at the front desk as "shrimpy," Andromeda requesting for the speeding mine cart that escorted them to "do a barrell roll," and Narcissa throwing up her breakfast on the way back from Vault 1315, the rest of the Gringotts trip was fairly uneventful.

As soon as they exited the massive marble doors, Bellatrix sped off in search of Ollivander's, far outstripping her family by a good few blocks, who jogged after her with the air of running a marathon.

"Who can - *phew* - tell me - *gasp* - what the ratio of Wizarding money is?" Alphard gasped. "Cissy, Andi, any theories?"

Even though she knew the answer, Narcissa's stomach was still feeling a little queasy after the Gringotts cart ride and was afraid that if she opened her mouth it would all come out again, so she simply shrugged her shoulders and shot Andromeda a pleading expression.

"Lemme think for a 'mo - right, twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and, uh, seventeen Sickles to a Galleon?" Andromeda proposed.

"Very good, Andi," Alphard grinned behind him. "Very good indeed. Ah, Bellatrix, you just missed it!"

Muttering a curse word she would never had said were her parents there, Bellatrix turned on her heel and rejoined her family, who were all milling about the front of Ollivander's, holding the stitches in their respective chests and attempting to catch their breath.

The reputation of Ollivander's did not match its appearance, for the building itself was narrow and beaten-down with fading paint all over. Bellatrix pushed the door open with a little tinkling of the bell, only to be greeted by an eccentric-looking old man with billowing, poofy hair that matched his attire.

"Ah, I had wondered when you would come in for your Wand, Bellatrix Black," Mr. Ollivander said softly as though in a library, emerging from behind one of the many shelves with a peculiar smile on his face. Bellatrix wrinkled her nose in response.

This pedo is in charge of making Wands for children?

"Hullo, Garrick," Alphard panted, gripping Bellatrix's shoulder for support, followed closely by Andromeda and Narcissa. "Long time no see."

"Ah, you've brought little Andromeda and Narcissa as well!" Ollivander said, casting his gaze upon them now. "Three sisters, three destinies. I sense great things from these girls, Alphard, you should be very proud."

"How does he know our names?" Narcissa asked nervously, staying close to Alphard.

"Tabloids." Ollivander responded simply. "Makes for a more invigorating lunch in between Wand-Making and family time. I don't believe a word about what they're saying about you, Alphard, I assure you."

"Thanks," Alphard said, hoping against hope that Ollivander wouldn't go on to discuss exactly what the tabloids were saying about him in particular.

"Now, let's just take your measurements and we can begin the process." Ollivander said, drawing his own wand from a holster on his belt and caused a long tape measure with silver markings to independently soar all around Bellatrix, measuring everything from her knee to her armpit.

Patience was certainly not Bellatrix's strong point, but she consented to the measurements swearing to herself that perhaps Mykew Gregorovitch might be a better Wand-Making option for her children than this old codger when their time came. While the measurements were being made, Ollivander was darting in between the shelves in search of a wand for her to try out.

"Say, Mr. Ollivander," Andromeda blurted out from the stool she, Alphard, and Narcissa had chosen to sit at during the process. "I've always been curious about something. Your wand gets snapped if you do Magic in front of a Muggle, right? Than how come criminals who have done worse can be given their Wands back when they get out of jail?"

"Well, Miss Black, laws regarding Wand ownership relies on a multitude of factors including the severity of the crime in question and the individual idiosyncrasies of the country's legal system," Ollivander called out from behind a massive shelf.

"As for the last part of your question, replacement Wands can also be bought on the black market that are virtually identical in core, size, and variety of wood that the criminal in question received as a child. Of course, sticking with the original Wand that chose them usually produces the best results. In addition, licensed Wand-Makers such as myself really take the time to make sure each and every Wand made is of the highest quality, devil is in the details and all that. Ah, perhaps this one made of Elder will do well, Miss Black?"

And Ollivander emerged, rummaging a Wand from a fancy orange box with a silver O on it and using the wand to summon the measuring tape back into his pocket before handing it over to Bellatrix. She eagerly thrust it at the lamp on Mr. Ollivander's desk as if expecting it to explode, but nothing happened. Smiling as he did, Mr. Ollivander rushed back into the countless shelves and retrieved another Wand from the shelves at random, chuckling to himself as he did.

"Ah, expecting to wield The Elder Wand on your first try?" He guessed. "I'm afraid The Tale of The Three Brothers is little more than exaggerated rumors. Besides, Elder tends to be a far more tempermental wood than any of the others, I'm afraid. Don't make many wands from them for that reason, but you never know who just might have an affinity for it...perhaps this one would be more to your liking?"

But try as she did, this new one worked no better than the last, causing a pile to form and Bellatrix's temper to steadily rise upon each dud. However, upon the fourteenth attempt, Bellatrix finally struck gold. Gripping the wand in her fingers, she immediately felt as though she had finally woken up from a dream. Gripping it tightly in her fist, her curly raven hair and robes suddenly blew all about behind her as pulses not unlike red lightning darted all about from the wand-tip, causing the very air itself to shake with her power.

This was it.

As Alphard and her sisters applauded vigorously to Bellatrix's back, they didn't see the twisted expression that was now on her face as she gripped her new power source in her hand, the one that would earn her freedom from her family and the ability to change the world around her as she saw fit.

However, as Mr. Ollivander was facing Bellatrix, he saw everything and under the pretense of handing her the box for her new wand whispered in half-horror and half-awe; "I think it very likely we can expect most extraordinary things from you, Miss Black. Most extraordinary, indeed."

Although creeped out by what Ollivander had said, Bellatrix couldn't help but take a curious glance at what the label on the box said regarding her wand's properties.

12 & ¾ Inches. Walnut. Dragon Heartstring. Unyielding.

...

After Alphard payed seven Galleons for Bellatrix's new wand, the rest of the day was spent buying the rest of Bellatrix's school supplies, which included but were not limited to the proper textbooks, black robes with the Hogwarts crest on it, a pointed hat, protective gloves, a winter cloak, a golden cauldron, a set of crystal phials, a telescope, brass scales, and a great horned owl for purposes of sending mail and companionship.

In addition to school supplies, Alphard announced after buying all of Bellatrix's school supplies that he wished to spoil his nieces a little for all the hard work they had done for him, and asked what they wished for. While The Three Sisters had never exactly been in the situation where they were denied a toy or other desirable object by their parents before (the members of The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black deserved only the best, after all), something about Alphard offering to spoil them made the gifts even more exciting.

"A bitchin' new dress for The Pure-Blood Ball this year!"

"A broom! I just saw the newest model in the Quality Quidditch Supplies window, and, like, I'm in love already."

"Butterbeer! Also, I'd like a copy of 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi as well. You never can be too careful…"

After a few more minutes of shopping, Alphard and The Three Sisters finally came back to The Leaky Cauldron to have their very first Butterbeers, chatting about their afternoon and admiring the gifts given to them by Alphard with great interest. Narcissa was just reading the description of what exactly a Venomous Tentacula and how to avoid them when they all heard a loud, booming voice address them all;

"MERLIN'S BEARD, IF IT ISN'T MY DEAR OLD FRIEND ALPHARD BLACK!"

At this all four of the Blacks turned to see a large, walrus-like man with gingery-blonde hair, gooseberry eyes, and a rather large mustache wearing lime-green robes and a purple waistcoat, followed closely by a few House-Elves who were carrying his bags.

"Ol' Sluggy!" Alphard choked mid-drink. "What are you doing in Diagon Alley on this fine day?"

"Ironically enough, purchasing some flesh-eating slug repellent as well as some Potion supplies for the new term," the man called "Ol' Sluggy" replied, indicating the bags with a wave of his hand. "Doesn't hurt to be prepared, you know. But these must be your nieces! Hello my dears, my name is-"

"Professor Horace Eugene Flaccus Slughorn, current Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry," finished Narcissa. "We saw you at Uncle Alphard's dinner party, but you had to go early because of your heartburn."

"This one's a real smartie, I can tell!" chuckled Professor Slughorn, beaming at Narcissa as though he was her uncle. "I don't like to brag, but I have a talent for picking out the best of the bunch, and I've yet to come across a member of The Black Family who hasn't disappointed me yet. Practically taught your whole family, including Alphard over here! The stories I could tell..."

"Alphard has already told me everything about you three, of course." Horace intoned. "Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa Black - best nieces anyone could ask for in the whole world! I'll tell you right now, if you're half the delight your Mother and Father were to teach, than I think I am in for a very treat over the next ten years, indeed."

The Three Sisters exchanged shocked looks at one another at this. And they had thought their Father was an opportunistic glory-hound…

"Oh, and Bellatrix," Professor Slughorn continued, oblivious to The Three Sister's looks of confusion, "I was so sorry to hear about your brother. Beside myself for days! When you get to Hogwarts, my office will always be there if you ever want to talk about it or anything else that is going on in your life," he finished kindly, patting her hands sympathetically. "After all, as The Head of Slytherin it is my duty-"

"What are you talking about? I don't have a brother," Bellatrix said, tilting her head to the side and fixing Professor Slughorn with a quizzical expression. "I think I'd remember something like that."

At this Professor Slughorn coughed and bid The Three Sisters adieu, leaving The Three Sisters all looking puzzled and Alphard deliberately looking away from his nieces as he asked Tom The Bartender for the check.

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