5. Unintended Consequences

Albus Dumbledore was furious! Not only did this Miss White blatantly spurn his invitation, but she had also undone nearly a century of work in burying wandless magic use inside a week's time! He hadn't even heard of her before now, and that had him worried.

Sure, her denial of not being a prodigy was believed for the most part, but he knew better. Her OWL scores, and yes, he had seen them of course, were Outstanding for all the practical courses that mattered. Who cared about History, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, and Divination? He had been making damn sure nothing worthwhile was taught in both courses, mostly because any of their actual uses were banned in Magical Britain.

His own Order was starstruck with the young woman's brilliance, and half of them had already started learning wandless tricks in their own time, just because they could.

The Prophet had revealed he had a hand in burying the practice in any educational capacity, and now people were asking him why he had done it. Like he had to answer to those idiots.

Her statement to the Prophet had also kickstarted a public movement to better protect personal information in the Ministry, something he was completely against. Naturally, the idiot Fudge saw a possible way to garner positive attention and jumped on it, lobbying for better protection amongst the members of the Wizengamot. Albus was livid! He lived for information on others, and this was a disaster in the making. Especially concerning Miss White, these things annoyed him. While Albus, like many others, had seen her impressive exam results, he had been unable to find a place of residence or anything resembling a past, which meant there was no such information to be found. It was problematic, because he couldn't deal with someone he knew so little about. He loathed not knowing.

He wanted to set his Order on finding her, but there was no picture or description available yet, so he was completely stuck. Nor did his Order seem very happy about his orders to report on her location when they learned it, they had taken to her written request to leave her alone too much for that.

There was also the matter of that dratted elf Kreacher, who he couldn't hurt for fear of his unknown Master. Nobody knew who the new Lord Black was, only that the usual suspects weren't it. The only saving grace which kept them using Grimmauld Place was the fact that he had a Fidelius on it. Even if Lord Black somehow found out about the place, he still had to find it.

Lord Black could still summon Kreacher however, and that was an issue. He really wanted to study the locket, but perhaps it was easier to just melt it under Fiendfyre in order to appease the blasted elf's demands of rent. RENT! Albus Dumbledore hated everything about the new Lord Black, but particularly the lack of information. If he had to choose between knowing the location of Miss White or Lord Black, he would certainly choose the latter.

His best spy in Gringotts refused to help him any further though, Bill Weasley said he was caught and forced to swear an oath, rendering the boy quite useless to the cause. It was so hard to get good people these days. If only Severus was still available. Sadly, the man had taken his own life yesterday rather than living it out as a squib, the poor boy.

Albus also didn't know what caused that either, and it frustrated him to no end.

-..-

Lord Voldemort was unamused by the antics of this Miss White for much the same reasons. If for instance, he needed to attack a mudblood home address, then he needed his minions to be able to find that information. This had always been quite easy to arrange, and he did not wish for that to change. Bribes would have to go up in order to achieve his goals anyway, and he didn't just have the money to spare. His followers did, of course, but it was always like pulling teeth. Oh, they capitulated fast once he started threatening them, but Lord Voldemort hated asking, loathed it!

Fudge was the actual person driving the changes however, because it was clear Miss White was completely uninterested in taking any sides. Severus' account of Albus' snit regarding her answer to the Order's invitation had been glorious to watch, after all. Such a shame Snape killed himself, he was a useful servant. If he couldn't find Miss White to punish her, he was going to have to punish Fudge instead. It was a shame, really, because by all accounts, Fudge had always been doing his job for him. Lucius would never have gotten as far without that moron in charge. Then again, Lucius was now bankrupted and drooling from Cruciatus exposure, heirless and with no hope of a full recovery. He would always keep a bit of the shakes because Lord Voldemort didn't reward failure. Whatever influence the platinum blonde ponce once had with the Minister no longer mattered now that he was a confirmed Death Eater.

With the knowledge of his survival out, perhaps killing Fudge wouldn't mess up that many plans after all. They could install a minister of their own, couldn't they? Lucius' replacement in the Ministry would be getting new orders to that effect soon. That reminded him, did he even have such a replacement already? Another thing to think about.

Hmm, he had to admit though, that Miss White's tip about casting only in his aura had greatly improved his staying power when using wandless magic. The sheer range of his aura had always prevented him from noticing this, but now that he knew, he hardly used his wand anymore. It had such a great effect on his minions, after all. Their fear of him could apparently grow greater still. He felt he owed her a small favour for that and decided to let her live in neutrality for as long as that was practical.

Apparently the unforgivables could be done wandlessly, so long as the distance was appropriate. He quite liked being able to do that, as Lucius had found to his detriment.

Unless she actively started to mess up his plans and oppose him, Miss White was free to do as she wished, though he wouldn't be saying anything of the sort to his minions. If they attacked her of their own stupid volition, he was quite curious to hear what happened next.

-..-

Dear Iris,

Blushing is a good indicator, as are repeated light touches, no matter how casual those may seem at the moment. More significant can be the amount of attention they shower you in, or how much they smile when you look at them, compared towards other people. It's the small things, really!

I am very happy to hear from you and agree with you about the unlikeliness of a relationship between us. Those memories you speak of though, I must say, I'm very proud to have convinced a girl that she was a lesbian. Who can say that, right?!

So long as you seem happy about your work and education, you should definitely continue. Wandmakers have always been greatly respected, no matter what country you are in. The fun you seem to have learning it seems to be a good indicator pointing to your suitability. If my vote counts, I say you will make a great one.

Since you were sharing, I should too. I actually have a boyfriend now, he asked me the day after I came back. I told him about you, and he said imagining us kissing made him hard! It's a good thing he didn't seem to mind, because remembering kissing you makes me wet. If you ate a little more, you could be a damn vision, girl. I mean that!

My dream is to become an enchanter, and I think I'm going to get the opportunity, since my family business is all about that. My grades easily qualify, and I'm ready to get to work. It helps that I can just ask my father when I can start, that takes a lot of the stress off my shoulders right away.

I'd love to talk to you some more, but I'm going on a vacation to the other side of the planet first, so I advise you to wait at least three weeks before sending any letters.

Your pen pal,

Clarisse Laval

I was happy for Clarisse, of course I was, but her advice left one thing to be desired.

There was this assumption that I was going to mingle with girls to find out who among them were attracted to me. I realised that wasn't very unreasonable to think, but in my situation as the 'new girl' there was no 'in.' Coupled with the fact that I had absolutely zero ideas about where magical girls hung out in Britain, there was a glaring lack of opportunity.

Which led me to what I felt was an embarrassing talk with Ollivander, my only human confidant.

He looked at me with an obviously amused and slightly sorry expression. "I'm sorry, Iris, but what makes you think a living relic like me knows where the girls your age 'hang out,' as you put it. You must have realised I'm almost a century old these days."

I sighed and nodded, already expecting that answer made it suck less to hear. "Right, right. I suppose that's true. About that, I know almost nothing about you. Do you have any family to speak of?"

"One son, but we haven't been close for years. I'm afraid I was too pushy in my attempts to have him take over the shop. My dream was not his, though, so I only pushed him away. In recent years, I've tried to regain our closeness, with mixed results." Garrick sighed. "Don't worry though, I'm no longer pushing, and we're getting along decently again. I hope to be included in family gatherings when I no longer have to mind the shop. He stopped inviting me when he realised I was always busy."

Oh. "Ah, I hope your relationship gets better soon." Which made me think quickly. "If it helps, I could man the shop a day a week once I learn how to match wands to wizards and witches?"

He smiled gratefully. "That might take a few weeks yet, even with your apparent ease of learning. It is just as hard, if not harder, than making the wands themselves, you see. We'll get started on that tomorrow. For now, why don't you get an ice-cream at Fortescue's, there's always a young lady or two there, no?"

That hit me, how could I have possibly missed that? "Right. Thanks, Garrick. I'm off to do just that. See you tomorrow."

Garrick just smiled knowingly as I left.

The part of me that was Harry felt a bit ashamed of what I was doing. This felt like a hunt, a slow hunt, but a hunt, nonetheless. I was looking for friends and perhaps more, there were no bad intentions, so why did it feel so intensely awkward?

Luck was not on my side because the place was almost empty, which would have made it exceedingly rude to sit at the only table with girls around it. So, I made my way to the counter and got the server's attention. "Can I have a chocolate sundae, please? I've been craving chocolate lately like it's going to run out soon."

"Perhaps your time of the month is coming dear." The lady behind the counter winked as she turned to scoop the ice-cream.

Oh… Holy fucking shit! How could I have possibly forgotten that? For that matter, why hadn't I had one yet? Should I visit a healer? No matter how I felt about it personally, I was a woman now, and there was a possibility that I would want children later, so I really needed to get over myself and get used to it. Yes, I needed to visit a healer, and quickly. Perhaps a goblin healer, though, they would keep my secrets.

"Why so pale?" One of the girls at the table asked. She looked familiar, but I didn't know her name.

I decided it was better not to lie, because I really didn't have lies ready for this kind of situation. "She reminded me of my period, and I realised I skipped it last month, so I was feeling scared." The girl's expression turned soft and so did those of her friends, except one, who looked gleeful for some reason. I quickly tried to correct any misconceptions. "Except I'm a virgin, and I don't even like boys."

"Oh..." She muttered. "You should visit a healer then, there's always a chance someone obliviated you. I hope I haven't ruined your day with my theory, but you'd better check."

"Dear, here's your ice-cream." I was rescued from having to answer that for half a minute when I took the ice-cream and paid for it.

"Come sit with us, girl." One of the girls said. "Yeah," the first agreed.

So I did, stupidly grateful for the invite. "Hi, I'm Iris White, it's nice to meet you all."

I could see her eyes widen and it clicked, this was Lily Moon from Slytherin, and her friend was someone a year older, also from that house. I didn't know the other two, but they probably ran in the same circles.

"Lily Moon." She managed. "These are Beatrice Graham, Patricia Bole, and Violet Towler. All of us are Slytherin or Slytherin alumni."

"Ah, I'm home-schooled myself." I frowned. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've always heard that Hogwarts provided shoddy teaching in several important subjects, and the rivalry between your house and Gryffindor couldn't have helped either. What is your take on that?"

Patricia snorted. "Well, you aren't wrong, Miss White. History, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Muggle Studies aren't worth the hours on the timetable. The rest was good enough. What about your tutors then, did they provide better in those areas?"

I grinned. "History is something I taught myself via books, because my tutor attended Binns' lessons the same as you did. Potions and Defense my tutor taught me, and he did rather well if I'm to judge. I got my OWL results this week, and I've got an E in Potions and O's in the other three you named."

"You only got them this week?" Lily asked, appalled. "Your words in the Prophet were right! it's insane that the paper learned of your grades before you did."

That made me smile at her in honest appreciation, and to my great surprise, she blushed a bit. Interesting! Though I didn't have to be attractions per se, as she obviously recognised my name from the paper.

"Ah, you are that Iris then." Violet smiled. "Staying neutral, I assume?"

I nodded. "More than you know. Both sides are supposed to respect that, but I know how things work. I really hope they won't force me to oppose either side because they're pushing too hard. That wouldn't make me pick sides either, I'd just flee."

"I know that you mean," Patricia sighed sadly. "The last war got two of my uncles killed, and my parents want nothing to do with any of it this time around. I'm fleeing with them if it comes to that, though not everyone in my family agrees with that."

Thinking back to Hogwarts, I remembered a male Bole who seemed to be perfect Death Eater material, so yes, I expected she might still lose some family members before it was all said and done. A cousin, perhaps.

"The Towlers are in much the same position," Violet shared, "except we can't flee, too many business interests in Britain, you see."

Beatrice scowled. "I'm a half-blood, and my mother is a muggleborn. The first sign things go wrong, and we're out of here. My father will probably stay here to mind the business, but as a pureblood, he'll likely be fine."

Then it was Lily Moon's turn. "We're famously neutral, and I assume we'll get through on that, depending on who wins. Should the Dark Lord win, well, we'll have to grovel, won't we?"

That got my hackles up, and I scowled. "It's ridiculous isn't it, that the side that says to favour purebloods still makes them grovel? So many purebloods died in the last war, how anyone can still choose to believe in that lunatic given the statistics is beyond me."

"The statistics?" Violet queried intently.

"Why, yes, the statistics." I looked at her. "Look how many families died out or got almost wiped out in the last war. If this one goes the same way, there won't be any purebloods left in Britain by the time they're done. I'm not pulling this out of thin air either, do some research and you'll find that at least a quarter of the magical deaths were pure-blooded, which is a far greater fraction than the pureblood part of the population these days. Now, I'm not a believer in pureblood superiority, it's a bunch of crock, but the stupidity inherent in following such a madman gets me so mad when I think about it!"

Silence followed my statement, until Lily patted my arm. "Your ice-cream is melting, Iris."

I blinked. So it was. "Thanks, Lily." She smiled softly and brushed her hand past mine as she retracted her arm.

Now that was a clear sign, according to Clarisse! I welcomed this surprise with a soft smile of my own. Lily Moon was a fairly pretty brunette, and seemingly a sweet one too. She had never really crossed my radar, and as a Slytherin, that was encouraging. Yes, I wouldn't mind kissing her if given the chance. I noted a slight tinge on her cheeks as I ate a spoonful of chocolate goodness while still looking in her direction.

Neither of us noticed, but Violet and Beatrice shared a glance and rolled their eyes.

Patricia coughed. "Well, ladies, I had fun today, but I'm leaving. Miss White, it was nice to meet you. Do send a letter to Lily sometime, she'll welcome a correspondence with an age-mate, I'm sure." The wink that came after told me what she really meant.

Both Lily and I blushed, and then they started clearing out. Before she left, Lily grabbed my hand and squeezed. "I really wouldn't mind a letter, Iris."

I lifted her hand and kissed it softly, before looking up at her with a smile. "I'll be sure to send one then, Lily."

She ran after her friends who were chuckling, and I waved them off. That had been a suspiciously fortuitous encounter. If my luck held, and I was sure it would, something bad was going to offset this very soon.

"Garrick, I'm going to strengthen the wards again." I said without greeting him, the urgency clear in my tone. He immediately turned serious, "What happened?"

"I just had some amazing luck." I informed him, unable to suppress a slight smile.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Seriously?"

"Well yes! So what if I'm paranoid, this is about protection, some extra power will only help."

With a shrug, he resumed moving. "You are a complicated person, Iris. Care to tell me about your luck?"

I told him as I charged the wards, and he adopted a persistent smirk that lasted until I was done. "The Moon family has always been neutral, and they have been very careful about inbreeding, so good choice, dear. Her brother inherits, so there should be little backlash from her dating a half-blood girl. Do remember though, that she's not your last chance. Take care not to become fixated."

Huh, that was more than I was expecting him to say, so I could only nod as I understood his point. "Sure." It was always surprising to me just how well magical people kept tabs on each other, to the point that Garrick actually knew that Lily had a brother. It boggles my mind, but it was sure handy to have a friend like that around.

-..-

Garrick had spent two days trying and failing to get me to feel connections between the wands in his shop and the potential customers, who were probably already spreading the word that Iris White was apprenticing under Ollivander.

What I did manage was to identify wands by feeling alone. Recognising the different wand woods actually came after that, because the magical differences were easier to find than the visual differences between some wood types. Garrick snorted when I explained that, and said it was mostly experienced the other way around.

I was lucky, and I knew it, my connection to magic was second to very few people, even if I could only suspect that. Luna Lovegood for example, had always struck me as one of those. Dumbledore practically had to be one of those, but again, I couldn't be sure. Garrick said he was more sensitive than Dumbledore, so I might be wrong.

After every workday I added to the wards again, and we now felt safe even in the event of a Death Eater attack.

The magical trees around my home accepted my magic more easily every day, and their presence was slightly stronger, I was sure. Ollivander was against introducing magical creatures to the muggle world and I agreed, so I wouldn't be getting any Bowtruckles for the trees.

Uprooting the trees and relocating them inside my wards could be done to fix that issue if I altered them slightly to keep the critters in, but I was against that. There were no magical trees inside my wards, only outside of them, which made me believe that the wards drained the magic inside. Putting trees inside of that would not help them get more magical.

This was another test to prove if magical trees could be good for wand wood even without the presence of Bowtruckles. It would certainly make it easier to work with the trees. Getting the lice or fairy eggs and offering them to placate those territorial walking sticks was time consuming, after all. Garrick was very enthusiastic to see the results, even if it would likely take years to find out conclusively.

I wrote the start for a letter for Clarisse and put it on my dresser unfinished, to add to until she got back from her vacation to God knows where in a few weeks. My encounter with Lily was already a part of it.

Lily's letter was already on the way by way of Hedwig, and it went like this.

Dear Lily Moon,

This is Iris White, and I'm writing to fulfill my promise to write. I very much enjoyed meeting with you and your friends at Fortescue's, even if the reason for my invitation wasn't so enjoyable. I know I don't have to share this, but writing it down made me feel better, so...

I visited the Healer who announced that somehow, I was not producing the hormones that make my cycle happen. A quick casting of a specialised spell to induce ovulation solved that immediately, though it might be that I need it cast another few times before it continues naturally. My 'condition' is apparently rare, but it isn't bad. There were no signs of obliviation to be found, and I'm still a virgin, which was very good to hear, as you can imagine. I really owe you for keeping me from panicking that day.

Now that the serious stuff is over, let me start by saying that I'd very much like to make a friend in you, and I'm hoping to start with a regular correspondence. You'll be going to Hogwarts when September starts, and I'm going back to work, so that seems like a good option. If we both decide we like the idea, there's always your visits to Hogsmeade.

To share something about myself, you should know that I'm basically apprenticing under Garrick Ollivander next to learning for my NEWTs. Not sure if I want to take over his shop full-time after that, but it is something he's encouraging me to think about. Apparently, I have all the talents needed to excel in that business, wandless magic being one of them. He actually told me how to manage it when I had never even really tried. I quite like it so far, but the thought of sitting in that dusty shop all day doesn't agree with me. If, IF I take over some day, the shop will be much cleaner and more organised, at the very least.

What about you? Do you have any plans for the future? Disregarding the current political issues, of course. I would enjoy learning about you, no matter how inane the subject matter. If you only feel comfortable sharing your favourite colour or foods, that's fine with me as well.

Sincerely,

Iris White

My body hadn't been producing those hormones because I had started puberty well before being changed into a woman, so the kickstart had been necessary. It was a hard decision, because it would give me monthly periods, but leaving it for later could potentially make it harder if not impossible to fix, not to mention it would have also delayed my menopause commensurately.

It had been a scary decision to make, because I had barely understood what they were talking about. In the end, I went with the recommendation and took the last step to become a woman, this time voluntarily. A few brochures and one short booklet on the subject told me where to shop for potions to alleviate the issues that came with my periods, potions to prevent pregnancy and diseases, and more. Culture shock would be an appropriate way to explain it. I likened it to seeing Diagon Alley for the first time, and realised that I had to act differently here, dress differently, know different things.

This was all part of being a woman, and that thought kept the edge of my rising hysteria long enough for me to get back home. There I laughed out loud when I realised how fucked up this all was. I shouldn't be an idiot about this, if Hermione could live with it, so could I. She certainly never gave any indication that she was struggling with her womanly issues, so perhaps magic made it easier to ignore.

Winky waited patiently until I was done laughing, and then she made me pick between different styles and colours of furniture for the Black Apartment. I sheepishly picked what I thought would look nice and wrote the letter to Lily.

Now I was studying again, and the weather permitted me to do it on the patio. While the wand-based classes were coming along easily, especially transfiguration and defence, my theoretical runes and arithmancy work was getting harder by the day. The future applications kept me plenty interested though, so I pushed on gamely.

-..-

Life continued on that way for two weeks, and I had struck up a tentative friendship with Lily via Hedwig. The latest letter had me smiling, she wanted to meet, and I had just sent my invite for the day after tomorrow, for ten in the morning. I told her I would temporarily add her to the wards for the day, so if she wanted anyone else to join, she had to ask beforehand.

I slept, dreaming of snogging a brunette, and took a cold shower before reporting for work.

"Morning Garrick!" I greeted him chipperly, to which he grinned. "Good to see you are so enthusiastic, today will be another day of practising with blocks of wood and trying to help customers with me alongside you. I expect at least ten perfectly weighing wand blanks when we close up again. You know how to do that with smooth wands, now try adding in some artwork."

My smile slipped only a little bit, which had him chuckle knowingly, before handing me a stack of equally sized square wooden sticks. "Have fun, I'll be in the back until I feel the wards announce a customer.

That left me behind the counter, which now permanently held a delicate set of scales for me to practise with. Truth be told, I was almost certain I had figured out the trick behind equal weight transfiguration, so I felt free to focus on the art immediately as I pictured what I wanted.

I held it in one hand while stroking a finger over it with my other, as I focused on transfiguring my mental image perfectly. The change to smooth stick was done in one quick pass, and now I was going to use the inside part that would be scooped out anyway to add the art. This trick basically required me to keep in mind three separate things at once, the equal weight, the outside shape, and the inside shape. It was a mathematical equation, basically, except visual instead of conceptual. My magic took the wood from the future hollow core and made it emerge on the outside in an image of tiny ivy leaves, something I knew quite well from the Dursley's garden.

The weight was perfect, even if the balance wasn't quite right, but I was sure that hollowing out the core would fix that.

The next was shaped after rose petals, and I was just finishing the final touches when the first customer arrived. It was an Auror, going by the red robes. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"Is Ollivander about?" He asked. "I'd rather an experienced hand, my wand broke, and I urgently need a new one fitted."

He was right, that required Ollivander. "He's already on his way, sir, would you mind me sitting in? I need the experience." Not to mention, I could actually feel his magic react with two wands on the shelf two yards next to him. This was a strongly magical man, his aura reached quite far to get such a response.

He gave a short nod, and I stood to gather the wands I felt. "These two, I suspect, Garrick." I told the wandmaker who came in right after I stood.

Garrick gave me a sharp look before he smiled. "You finally understood something then?" I nodded, to which he laughed. "Sooner than I expected too. Took me years, it did." Then he turned to the Auror. "Good morning, Proudfoot. I'm sorry about your old wand, I know it served you well all these years. You heard my apprentice, and I concur. If you would please try those two first, we'll see if they won't match."

Proudfoot took the wand I offered and smiled. "You're close, it greets me with warmth, but I don't think this one is perfect."

The second wand was offered and got a similar response. Garrick turned to me. "How would you find another wand, Iris?"

I perked up and looked at Proudfoot. "Would you please walk past all the shelves sir; I'll take the ones who react to your magic the strongest."

After giving me a significant look, the Auror did what I asked, and I gathered another three wands, one of which I strongly felt would be the correct one. "This one reacted strongest."

Blue and Yellow sparks spun from the wand as I saw the dust pause in the air. "That's the one then." Garrick agreed with a grin. "Still have your holster, Proudfoot? Good, that's twenty-one galleons, if you would."

With one last significant look, he left the shop after paying and saying his goodbyes.

I answered the unasked question when Garrick raised his eyebrow. "His magic reached the shelves and the wands reacted. He was strong, which made it easier, so I'm going to have to try a lot harder to match wands to eleven-year-old kids."

He nodded with a proud grin. "Exactly right. Though I am guessing the reaction needs to take place in your own aura for you to notice, which gives you a strong advantage over myself and most other wand makers. You basically cover the room, dear."

"Then I'll have to take people past the shelves a lot, depending on their aura sizes. Kids? Those will be difficult." I mused. "Is this why you try to scare kids when they enter your shop?"

He shrugged with an unapologetic grin. "Hey, if it works? It's more instinctual to flare your aura before you've worked with a wand, so I often get lucky, especially those who get closer to the counter before my jump scare hits them."

I laughed. "Should have known. I don't think I'll be able to scare them as well as you do, so I guess it's good I have something to compensate for my inexperience."

"It is," he agreed easily. "I will let you take the initiative more in the future, you're clearly ready." Then he glanced at my work with the fake wands. "Nicely done, dear. For future reference, you might want to keep things a little less girly. Young boys often don't want a flowery wand, even when it matches them perfectly."

"What about custom wands, can that be done?" I countered.

He shrugged. "It's not possible for every wandmaker, but for you, I'd say so. You'd need to feel the reaction of the cores and the woods separately, which you should be able to do, though it is much harder."

"Something to think about in the future then." I decided.

"As you say, dear."

Two more wands were sold that day, one of them a late first-year student, and I matched them both myself with Garrick just watching on the side lines. It was a muggle-born, and I purposefully startled him by shoving a Patronus in his face. It worked, and since I had cleared it with the mother beforehand, there were no hard feelings.

Then trouble came. A trio of rough looking wizards came in with their wands raised. I didn't need to hear their next words to understand they were bad news, I was right. The leader of the bunch stepped forward and smirked. "'Ello dearie, where's old Ollivander at, eh? We're 'ere to extend an invitation from our Lord."

"I hope you're not planning on using those." I glanced at their wands. "Don't you feel the wards?"

He glanced at his wand and his confidence faltered. "We won't 'ave to if 'e cooperates."

Garrick arrived at that point, and I could feel him grab the wards somehow, which made the air start to fill with mine and Garrick's magic from the wardstone. "I suppose it's join or die, gentlemen?"

The leader nodded and his henchmen laughed cruelly. "Aye, and we're prepared to burn the place down if your answer isn't to our liking."

Garrick sighed. "Acacia, thirteen inches with a heartstring of a Ukrainian Ironbelly. If you use that in my shop, I'm sorry to say I won't be selling you a replacement, Mister Urquehart. The same goes for your friends. My answer, of course, is 'no thank you.'"

The newly named Urquehart scowled, but his wand rose to point at them. "Cast, boys!" However, unlike his 'boys', he didn't cast, waiting to see what the response would be first. That was smart of him, really, but still a dick move.

I was surprised to see and feel their wands explode as the magic was unable to leave the wood. Both men's right hands also received a nasty burn and some minor puncture wounds from wood chips flying back into their faces. Their surprised screams surely attracted attention, and Urquehart seemed to understand that. With one last murderous glare, he pulled the two men back and laughed harshly. "You'll get yours, Ollivander! And so will that bitch of yours. We're lea-"

That was enough for me, and I cast a few wandless stunners, dropping them like flies. My own magic in the air from the wards made it so much easier, that I wasn't even all that tired. I grinned at Garrick and took my wand from my holster. "I'll secure them, can you call the DMLE?"

He sighed and nodded. "Why, oh why, must Tom be so stupid to break my neutrality? Thank you dear, I don't know what I would have done without you. I honestly hadn't been expecting this at all, not so soon, at least."

The Auror's took them away with their compliments and we both recharged the wards once more. "Well, that was an exciting day for multiple reasons. Have fun on your date tomorrow, Iris." He waggled his eyebrows.

I didn't bother denying it and grinned. "I will. Warn your family, perhaps Tom will try something even more underhanded next."

His smile disappeared and he gave me a weary nod. "I think I'll close the shop on Saturdays from now on too. School starts on Monday, so I'm expecting fewer customers already, enough to make the decision easy. The shop will be on lockdown all weekend, no one gets in or out."

"Good."

-..-

Lord Voldemort was angry at the moronic actions of three of his followers. He had not been planning an attack on Ollivander, and it wouldn't have pleased him even if it had worked. Now that it had failed so spectacularly, he wanted to hurt those idiots.

Two of them were entirely new, from outside of Britain, and he didn't really feel their loss, but Urquehart should have known better. This was Ollivander, and as the only fully legal wand-maker of Britain able to sell to school children, the attack would be seen as a declaration of war, instead of the folly of three moronic followers.

He wasn't remotely ready for that, because most of his best were still entombed in Azkaban prison. Those three would surely be headed there soon as well, and he was seriously contemplating letting them rot when he took back his followers. Such idiocy should not be rewarded.

On the other hand, word had come back to him that a combination of Ollivander's wards blowing up two of their wands and Iris White's wandless stunners had taken his followers down. That was interesting on multiple levels. Nobody would expect wards of that calibre this early in the war, so why had Ollivander? Perhaps it was Miss White's presence that was to blame for that, and he honestly couldn't blame her if it was.

She was a delectable piece on a board where all the players wanted her, but she didn't want to play herself. Putting protections in place like she had to be doing was only logical. Her wandless stunners told him she was likely in the upper tenth of the population when it came to magical strength, something he had already suspected. He laughed softly when he imagined what he would do in her place. Certainly not try to become a wand maker, the famously neutral parties in most wars.

Oh, well, she had chosen her side, and it was neither his nor Dumbledore's. He sincerely doubted that she cared for the Ministry, but for now, she would follow their rules as their pet wandmaker's apprentice. That was all fine with him.

Perhaps he should say something to that extent to his followers, to tell them they were to stay away from the pair of wand makers. Yes, that seemed like the thing to do. He really didn't want to prod the Ministry into a proactive approach this early in the game, and his followers were clearly not accustomed to thinking for themselves.