Renee POV

Chiron was the only one who seemed to know what was going on. As for me, I was trying to think. What was I supposed to do? Just accept this fate, go back to England, and go to….Hogwarts? What kind of name is that, anyway?

"Clara, Renee, you will need to go to Diagon Alley to get your stuff. You can have one other demigod go with you if you wish. You'll need to buy your books, wand, robes, and pets if you want them. Now hurry, I need to owl this letter back to Hogwarts before the day is done. I'll get Malcolm to lend me an Athena owl, you go to Diagon Alley, alright?"

Clara shrugged and I shook my head. "I think, if we want to take another demigod, it should be Annabeth. She's keep us on track and be a real help in the bookstore. And she's strong," Clara said, and I agreed.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You will need Floo Powder to get there, seeing as you're too young to apparate." Chiron said, handing me a green powder. "You may also take it to King's Cross when the time is right."

I shook my head again. I realized that Clarisse would be upset if we didn't include her. I wanted Annabeth more, but since we'd actually been on a quest, I thought we maybe should include her. Gods, I wished we could take two other demigods instead of just one. Hmm, maybe if I could convince Chiron to let us take one each….

"What are you thinking, Wren?" Clara's voice startled me.

"Oh, um just that maybe we should bring Clarisse too, and I'm trying to figure out a way for that to happen."

Clara nodded. "It's a good idea. After all, she does know England as well as we do."

I nodded. "That's it! She knows England, and Annabeth has logic! It's perfect!"

I went to ask Chiron and he agreed that we could take both. "But don't give Annabeth any money to spend in the bookstore," he warned. I laughed. Maybe we could just buy our wands and Annabeth could buy our books.

I really did want to see Diagon Alley. So I went to the Athena cabin and got Annabeth while Clara helped Clarisse get up. Wow, demigods and witches, what a day.


Clara POV

Diagon Alley. I clasped Renee's hand as we shot out from the fire. Clarisse had come first and Annabeth appeared just after us. I looked around.

"First stop, Gringotts Bank," said Annabeth. Chiron had given us $3000 to transfer into wizarding currency. I had no idea how he came up with the money, but he said it should be good for a year or two, if we used it wisely.

The creatures at the bank were strange. We looked at Annabeth to see if she knew what they were, but she just shrugged.

We handed the money to one of the….creatures, and I said, "Hi, we'd like to create an account."

"Whose name would you like that to be under?" The thing had a creaky voice, not unlike an unoiled gate.

I looked at my friends before saying confidently, "Andromeda Jeanne, please."

Clarisse gave me a look like I was crazy, but it felt right, even after our experience on the ship.

"Please hold while I fashion your key. How many keys, by the way?"

"Two please."

The creature went back and fashioned two keys out of gold. Annabeth gasped. "I know what you are! You're a goblin!"

The goblin bowed. "Griphook, at your service." Griphook. What an interesting name. "Right this way," he added.

We descended down a few flights of stairs, and I gulped, realizing we were underground. I hated the underground, I needed to be where I could see the sun and know my father was watching me. In fact, the only one of us who looked okay was Clarisse. Annabeth was shuddering and mumbling about spiders, while Renee had drawn back into a corner as a simple cart came toward us. I looked at them.

"You two can wait out here if you want."

They gave me grateful smiles. I stepped up by Clarisse, and she took my hand, which would have been a nice gesture if she wasn't so strong.

"Renee and Annabeth are going to wait out here."

Griphook nodded, and Clarisse and I clambered after him into the cart. As soon as we got moving, I was glad Renee hadn't gone. I had always known she was squeamish around roller coasters, and this was ten times worse than the ones at Six Flags. Even Clarisse was looking a little green.

Griphook took us to our vault, where he told us the different kinds of coins. Clarisse and I each took twenty galleons, ten sickles, and five knuts apiece. We still had plenty left over for another time. Then we left, going at that heart-wrenching speed back to Renee and Annabeth, where Clarisse gave Renee her coins.

We stepped out onto the street, where there was a crowd gathering around the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts.

"Can we go in now, please?" Annabeth asked, half dragging Renee to the store. Clarisse and I had no choice but to follow her. As we approached the front door, I saw why there had been such a crowd. "Gilderoy Lockhart will be signing books at 2:00 pm today. Come in and you could win a free copy of 'Magical Me!' Renee read. "Looks like he got on the bad side of one of my mom's makeovers."

Annabeth and I giggled, and Clarisse rolled her eyes.

We hurried in as the man was finishing up his first speech. Renee looked at me and gagged as Lockhart beamed with a boy who had round glasses, jet-black hair, and a lightning scar. The boy looked about as thrilled as we felt.

A red-head boy behind us whispered, "Oh gods, isn't he a piece of work?" and his brothers chuckled, but were loudly shushed by his mother.

The boy we had seen with Lockhart was staggering back to the redheaded family under the weight of what looked to be a full collection of Lockhart's books. He tipped the books into a young girl's cauldron, and she turned as red as her hair.

"Oooh, to be young and in love," Renee said. I elbowed her.

"Well, you're famous now, Potter." A blonde boy stepped out from behind a bookshelf.

"Stop it, he never asked for any of this!" exclaimed the small redhead girl.

"Oh look, Potter's got himself a girlfriend." If the girl had been red before, she was a tomato now.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Potter coolly. Malfoy? That couldn't be my half brother, could it?

"Now now, Draco, play nice," said a man, probably Draco's father. If he was Narcissa's husband, I couldn't fathom how she would pick him over Apollo. I wanted to do something, but I doubted they had even noticed me yet. "Ah, Arthur. The disgrace of wizards, the blood traitor."

"Lucius. Lovely," the man called Arthur raised his wand. I thought he was probably the father of the readhead family who the boy "Potter" had been with.

Suddenly, a giant of a man was standing in Lucius's place. "Break it up there, break it up," he said, shoving the blonde man aside. The diversion gave him time to slip something in the girl's cauldron, but I might've been the only one who noticed that.

"Arthur," the giant man continued, "You know better than that."

"I know, Hagrid, I know," said the Arthur.

The girl's mother took her arm. "Come on, Ginny, let's go get your wand."

I decided it would be a good time to cut out as well. I looked at my friends, who nodded. We quickly bought our books and followed the redhead women to Ollivander's Wand Shop. "Wow," exclaimed Annabeth. "I wish I was a witch."

The wand shop was a quiet, dark room with boxes on every side. We heard explosions and a hurried voice saying, "No, no, definitely not! Now how about this one."

"Ah yes, this seems to be the one, Ginerva Weasley. Redwood, nine inches, rigid, with a dragon heartstring core."

I saw the girl come out with her new wand. She waved at us. "Are you first years, too?"

We nodded. "I'm Clara, and my friend is Renee. We're….I guess half-bloods." More truth to that than we would let on, of course. "These are our friends, Annabeth and Clarisse. They're just along for the ride."

"I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm the seventh and last in my family to go to Hogwarts. Anyway, see you on the train!" Ginny said brightly.

We waved as Ginny tried out her new wand.

"Ah, new customers. Come in," the shopkeeper said. "First years? Hogwarts?"

Renee and I nodded. "Only these two need wands, we're just along for the ride," Annabeth said.

"Clara, you go first," Renee prompted. I grabbed her hand and nodded.


My wand was actually fairly easy. "Welcome, Miss Bradley." He saw my confusion at his knowing my name. "Ah yes, I know everybody. The wand chooses the wizard, Clarissa, and I must know who the wand has the possibility of choosing. I am one of the only wizards outside of Hogwarts who gets to see the book."

I couldn't follow Ollivander, so I just nodded. He handed me a box. I took out the wand and caused an explosion. Wand after wand, explosion after explosion, with only Ollivander's occasional muttering of "no, not that one, definitely not," until I was presented with a silver box.

I took out the wand and gave it a wave. The lights flickered and the model bird on Ollivander's desk chirped. "I think we have found the wand, Clarissa Bradley. Ah yes, a personal favorite. Yellow palmwood with a unicorn core, bendy, six inches. Perfect."

I paid for the wand, hoping that this really was the wand that chose me. Now, I had to watch Renee go through the same process.


Renee POV

"Ah, yes, Renee Sanderson. I've been expecting you."

Really? How was I "expected," then? This man had never even met me. He continued giving me some overly rehearsed speech on how "the wand chooses the wizard," and mentioned a "book" and "Hogwarts." I had to say I wasn't really paying attention; if it was important, Clara would tell me later. It took a moment to realize the man was intensely staring at me.

"What's that, sir?"

"I said, Miss Sanderson, are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir."

I waited for him to take my measurements, and then he handed me a box. Box after box, really. I was having worse luck than Clara.

Finally, he said, Renee, let's try you on this one, shall we?" I gave it a wave and it finally worked. I was overjoyed.

"Curious, very curious."

"What's curious?"

"Well, Miss Sanderson, your wand is of unicorn tail hair as well. But this unicorn, he only gave three hairs. The other two brother wands went to brothers. Very curious that you of all people would be chosen by the third. Their names were Regulus and Sirius Black. Their family wasn't much, but they both turned out bad to the core, although they seemed like fine students early on. It was their choices that shaped them. As will yours, Renee Sanderson."

I shuddered. That was….ominous.


A/N: So there's your next Clara chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. So, Clara and Renee have met the Weasleys, Harry, Draco, Lockhart, and Hagrid. I know I didn't exactly stick to canon in the bookstore scene, but I wanted it to mostly be what Clara saw.

Just so you know, the chapter title: The Good is Harry and the Weasleys, the Bad is the Malfoys, and the Vain is Lockhart.

Please review! And take my poll about Two Loves of Olympe.