Disclaimer: Harry Potter is © of J.K. Rowling, I do not own it in any way (but I wish I owned Remy, Sev, and Siri!)
Chapter Twelve
"La, la, la, la, ladiladila!" sang Stella chirpily as she skipped throughout the store, occasionally stopping to pause and gape at a particularly cool object displayed in a shop window. She was supposed to meet Remus now, but Stella wanted to take a good look around the Alley. Strolling down the paved cobblestone streets, Stella glanced at voodoo dolls, protective charms, silver cauldrons, owl cages, and even basilisk venom as she wound her way through the various arrays of peddlers's carts and booths.
The tiny pixielike girl with blue hair, a frog, and a weird cat drew many curious looks from passengerby, and even more irritated looks when she began singing "This is The Song That Never Ends", "The Duck Song", and "I Know A Song That Gets On Everybody's Nerves". Yes, perhaps it had been a bad idea for Arthur to introduce Muggle Youtube to the girl. She was addicted to their music, even more than she was to the Weird Sisters.
"Oh! Look, Froggie! A new broom!" Stella shouted, drawing several more amused yet annoyed looks as she shoved several shoppers out of the way to press her nose against the glass and admire the dark, sleek Nimbus 2000, the lastest, fastest racing broom, newly released, she was told by an excitable squeaky-voiced child called Colin Creevey, whom would be starting Hogwarts next year and who seemed to be particularly fond of his Muggle camera. He hopped about like a little rabbit, clicking madly, the camera flashing every few seconds.
"Isn't magic great?" he asked happily, waving several developed, moving photos in the air. "My friend told me how to make this potion to make pictures move!"
Stella beamed and began chatting about him excitedly about the Wizarding World, soon forgetting all about meeting Remus, Fred and George soon joining, in their hands tricks and jokes from the local joke shop. As Stella licked the Blood Pop happily, she suddenly noticed an angry-looking figure stomp over, face furious. Oops. Stella ducked her head as Remus Lupin made his way over, amber eyes unusually dark. Fred and George, blue eyes fearful, suddenly slipped away as they noticed the unusually-serious looking werewolf walk even closer. Stella gulped as she was suddenly lifted by the collar of her robes and carried by her scruff to a less busy stop on the street, just outside a dimly lit, seedy-looking bar.
"Where were you?" Remus hissed in anger. "I was waiting for an hour, I was worried sick! I nearly called the Aurors over, I'd thought you'd been kidnapped! How are I supposed to leave you by yourself if you can't even remember the time?"
Stella bowed her tiny head in shame. "I'm sorry, Remmy," she replied sadly, blue eyes cast on the ground. Remus's eyes softened. She acted so much like Sapphire, even when she was sad. He could see the woman as if she was standing right in front of him, her sparkling eyes shining even as she crept through the hallway, seemingly alone, to meet an old friend, Severus Snape, in secret. Her friend Lily and the Marauders had never approved of her secret meetings with the lonesome Potions genius, the red-headed beauty had ordered Sirius and Remus to follow her under their Invisibility Cloak every night. That night had been the night of one of their most heated fights, Severus had ended up kissing Sapphire and Sirius, fuming mad, had immediately leaped out from the cloak and cursed him. Sapphire, shocked, had accused him of following her, but Sirius, not wanting to get in trouble with the one girl who constantly rejected him, had thrown Remus under the bus, only to realize too late that Sapphire now was going to kill both of them. However, Remus had managed to convince the then-sixteen year old that Snape was a known member of the rising Death Eaters and that it hadn't been safe to meet with him, and that she could have been killed. She'd become immediately meek and from then on followed her friends' orders submissively, never questioning again until she began to look skinny and underfed. Sirius discovered she'd been starving herself, and apologized for their over-protective nature, and the two found a close companionship in each other that night, finally ending in a kiss in which a shocked, invisible Remus had been unfortunate enough to witness. He smiled sadly. If only he'd followed James's advice and got the courage to ask Sapphire out before Sirius Black, the womanizing, reckless, badboy criminal mass murderer had won her heart. If only...
"Daddy?" Remus blinked, only to find those blue eyes haunting him in his dreams for the last few years staring up at him in concern. Shaking his head to clear it, he glanced at Stella.
"Sorry, darling. Come on, let's go get your wand." And, taking her hand, Remus led the dark haired child down the paved cobblestone toward Ollivanders, where the two, father and daughter, would have an encounter with a strange, silver-eyed man that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Ollivanders was the last shop on the street. Narrow, small, and shabby, it was the sort of place Stella would have skipped over in favor of the candy shop a few stores away without a glance. Beautiful, peeling golden letters on the door read :Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC, and a single, dusty hazel wand lay on display in the misted window.
As Remus pushed open the door, the faint tinkle of a bell sounded, and they were immediately engulfed in dim candlelight and gloom of the tiny shop. Towering shelves all around held nothing but thousands of long, narrow boxes, each different in shape, size, and color. Stella shivered. It felt as if the very air and dust she breathed in was full of electrifyingly brilliant magic.
"Good afternoon, child," murmured a soft voice, and Stella nearly toppled over in shock. She turned quickly to find a man standing before them, pale, silvery eyes gleaming in the dim light like the full moon. Remus instinctively took a step back. Mr. Ollivander had always made him nervous. This tiny movement, however, caused the thin wandmaker's pale eyes to dart over to him and widen. "Ah! Remus Lupin, eh? I remember you, my dear boy! Oak, twelve inches, good for Defense, wasn't it?" Olllivander asked eagerly, bounding over with suprising agility for such an old man and shaking a startled werewolf's hand enthusiastically. "What brings you here so soon, Mr. Lupin? A wand for your daughter, ah," Ollivander suddenly stared, very still, at Stella. She twitched nervously under his scrutiny. "You," he murmured. "You look exactly like Sapphire Lunaris did when she bought her wand. Nine inches, willow, slender and good for charms, I remember. But your hair," he continued, moving closer to the girl to look at her even more closely. "You must be Sirius Black's daughter," he said, softly, gently, with not a hint of accusation or anger in his voice, only awe and respect.
"You wouldn't tell, would you?" Remus asked quickly. "I mean, Albus Dumbledore, he says-" He was cut off by Ollivander, who smiled.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lupin, I know enough by now to know that whatever Albus Dumbledore has to say is completely confidential. I just think it's quite fascinating that I've met two children of such similar circumstances today."
"Two?" voiced Remus cautiously. Ollivander smiled again, the faint curve of his thin lips sending a chill up Stella's back.
"Why yes, Mr. Lupin," he replied. "I met Harry Potter."
Remus's mouth fell open in surprise, but Mr. Ollivander ignored him as he turned to Stella excitedly and began to measure her. He was so gentle and caring in his work that Stella found the courage to look up at him, only to gape at the fact that the measuring tape was doing its job on its own and that Ollivander had long gone in a trip to search for a wand. Finally he came back, holding a box and smiling as though he'd won the lottery.
" Your wand arm, Miss Black?" he asked politely. Stella held out her left arm, feeling slightly embarrassed. Ollivander smiled. "Ah, finally, a child without a right wand arm. I was beginning to think I was the only left-wanded wizard around." With a slight chuckle, Ollivander snapped his fingers and let the measuring tape crumple to the floor. "I'm sure you'll like this wand, Mr. Lupin. Made from the same unicorn hair as Ms. Lunaris. Nine inches, flexible, and made of the finest willow. Give it a try, eh?" he asked. Stella waved the wand, only to flinch as a window exploded. Oops. Ollivander seemed delighted, however. Snatching the wand back, he presented her with another.
"Oak, eight and a quarter inches, with a core of phoenix feather." Five wand boxes fell off the shelf. Muttering something about the stars and moon, Mr. Ollivander flourished another wand proudly.
"How about this one, eh? Ten inches, ash, with a core of dragon's heartstrings." A candle nearly scorched Remus. Nabbing the wand and grinning foolishly, Ollivander flitted back through the shelves. After awhile, he returned, covered from head to toe in dust and holding in his hands a dusty grey box.
"Odd, very odd," he murmured to himself, peering inside the box through sharp eyes. "But why not? Miss Black, perhaps this'll suit you?" After going through nearly twenty wands by now, Stella accepted the wand wearily, only to find a burst of warming energy shoot up her arm. As she gave the wand an experimental flick, the broken window repaired instantly. Ollivander was bouncing, eyes sparkling with delight as he clapped. "Bravo, child, bravo! Not many customers display such a fine taste as you, my dear. And such an incredible display, but, after all, it suits your wand, I daresay." He seemed to be mumbling to himself again, but Remus couldn't help but question him.
"What exactly do you mean, sir?" he asked. Ollivander beamed at him.
"Ah, I congratulate you in seeing such a miracle occur. No one's ever tried that wand out, its been here since the beginning of this shop, in fact. It's actually rather plain, really, hazel and birch, seven and a quarter inches, good for Defense as well. But its core is what's really extraordinary. It's made of a substance we Ollivanders have made a wand out of only once, it's a very picky core, you see. Very tricky to get the right match, but for some strange reason, it chose little Miss Black here right away." Ollivander mused.
"But what's the core?" Remus persisted. Ollivander smiled.
"Didn't I already say?" Remus shook his head. "No? I suppose I can tell you then." Ollivander leaned closer. "It's made of Kneazle hair."
Remus's face regained some color, though he looked suspiciously nervous. "Would you like to explain how such an odd wand became instantly attached to little Miss Stella here?" Ollivander asked. Remus did not reply. Ollivander smiled sadly. "I understand. Some things are better left alone, though I wish you the best of luck, my dear Miss Black," he said, and with a firm shake of her hand, and without asking for any payment, he slipped into the shadows and disappeared. As Remus and Stella left, he drew closer to the door once more and smiled.
"You'll need all the luck you can, my dear Miss Black, if you are to face what is to come, little werechild." Ollivander whispered, remembering the odd ice blue eyes and silvery gray fur of the strange ghost-cat accompanying Stella Black.
AN: Creepy, huh? To SweetieCherrie, I fixed up most of Stella's sentences, thank you for the review, I'll think about your suggestion.
-The Last Gypsy Princess has logged off