Ok, here's the next chap in my longer-chapter story. Hope you like...
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter Two- A New World
The Scouts all put their hands in their pockets, where their power stones were, but Sass put her hand up and stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The stranger replied. "My name is Dedalus Diggle, and it's my job to help new students to Hogwarts find Diagon Alley. We put a charm on it so that if you don't know it's there, you can't see it. You were staring in the right place, so I asked."
"Yes, we are looking for the Leaky Cauldron. Where is it?" Raye stepped forward beside Sass.
He smiled. "You were looking in the right place. See? Right near that crack in the wall." He pointed, and gradually, the outline of a small, grubby-looking pub appeared. It became 3D with a pop that made Sass jump.
"You see it now? Good. Enjoy yourselves." And then, he was gone. They were left in the street, just as if he had never been. Except for that now, all of them could see the Leaky Cauldron.
After a long pause, Emara broke the silence. "Well, do you think we should go in?"
Michelle grimaced. "I think we sort of ought to. I mean, we've come this far." She shrugged.
"Then let's get on with it! Come on! I'm hungry." Serena set off determinedly towards the pub.
They all shrugged, and then followed her across the street, and through the door.
* * * * *
As Sass entered the Leaky Cauldron, she was immediately bombarded with smells, sounds, and the most amazing scene she had ever witnessed. Something in a black cloak and a balaclava was eating a piece of raw meat, and there were all manner of people, all of them with brightly colored cloaks. The noise was amazing! Sass had never heard anything so loud in her life. They quickly made their way to the front of the pub, and they soon caught the attention of the barkeep, most likely because of their clothes. He came over and grinned amicably.
"Hello, ladies. What brings you here? One for Hogwarts?" He raised an eyebrow at Sass.
Emara nodded. "That's the way of it. Do you have accommodations for all of us for the next week or so?"
He grinned toothlessly. "Sure. Right this way, if you'd care to see. By the way, I'm Tom. If you need to get into Diagon Alley, I'm the one you want to ask. Of course, once the little lady here gets her wand, I can just show her how, and then you'll be set, at least until the first. And here they are." He stopped at a door with a brass number nine on it.
"This room has a connecting door with the next one over, number ten. If it suits?" He paused and looked over at them. Emara nodded. "Very well then. Would you like me to send someone over for your things?"
"That would be wonderful." Michelle spoke up. "We were at the Marriott, down on Twelfth Street. Do you need any sort of permission?"
"Just a room key. We are fully responsible for anything we lose, but there are ways of ascertaining whether you are lying if you claim lost property. But you folks don't seem the sort to pull something like that." Michelle and Emara dug their room keys out of their pockets and handed them over. Tom smiled and gestured for them to precede him back down the stairs.
"Now, I'll just get Diagon Alley opened up for you, and your things will be here by supper. Anything else I can do for you?"
"No, that'll be all," Michelle answered as they went down. As they entered the common room, they were again barraged by the sounds. Tom led them to a back door that led to a small alley. Here he turned to Sass.
"Now, the way this works is that you find the brick above the trash can, then go three to the left. You tap the brick, and well," he demonstrated, "it appears."
Sass' eyes opened with shock. The brick wall rearranged itself into an arch, and revealed a whole street full of wizards and witches. She could see some of the stores, and they were incredibly different from any she'd seen before.
Tom smiled. "Well, I've got to be getting back to my station now, so I'll just leave you folks. You get back through by passing under the arch. If you need help finding anything, Florian Fortescue, the owner of that ice cream store over there, will be glad to help. Enjoy yourselves!" And he went back through the door, leaving them to exchange looks, and step through the gate.
* * * * *
By common consensus they went to the ice cream parlor first. None of them had a clue as to where anything was. As they entered, a sudden wave of cool swept over them in sharp contrast to the hot day. Serena's eyes practically popped out of her head at the flavors and kinds of ice cream on display. Sass, however, stepped up to the counter, where an elderly man with a bright smile and twinkling eyes greeted her.
"Hello, young miss. How may I help you?"
She smiled. "Well, I'm starting at Hogwarts this year, and the barkeep at the Leaky Cauldron said that if we needed any help, you were the person to ask."
"Well, then. The first thing you really ought to do is stop at Gringotts, but I think that I should give you all a little orientation first. And a map. Hold on just a moment." He disappeared into the back room, but reappeared quickly, carrying a piece of paper, which he laid out on a table. It had streets and buildings laid out on it, but none of it really made any sense.
"Now, you all are here." He tapped a place on the map with a stick (a wand?), and a small red arrow appeared (a wand). He proceeded to explain about what seemed like a hundred of the shops, each time tapping the map with his wand, which caused little labels to appear. As he finished up, he tapped the dot one more time and said "Animatium!" Then he turned to them.
"Now, the way this works is that the dot tells you where you are at all times. As soon as you leave the shop, it will become an arrow, pointing in whichever way you need to go to get to the next place on the course I've laid out for you, which will be listed in the top left-hand corner. Whenever you're done for the day, you," he looked at Sass, "tap the map with your wand an say 'Finem.' Then it will just give you directions back to the Leaky Cauldron, and won't start back on the course until you tap it again and say 'Empez.'
"Oh, and one more thing. We of the wizarding world call non-magic folks muggles. That'll help you to understand people better. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Sass shook her head. "No. Thank you ever so much." She started to turn for the door, but then noticed Serena, who was still plastered to the display. "Actually, I think we'd all like some ice cream before we go. What would you suggest?"
After they were all set up with their ice cream, they left the shop and Sass relinquished the map to Emara, so she could navigate. Sass wanted to look! But as they were leaving, she noticed a rather scruffy boy with black hair and glasses who was sitting outside, looking at a thick textbook and taking notes. She didn't know why he caught her eye, it just sort of happened.
But she soon forgot about it in the whirl of amazing things to see. The eight of them passed all sorts of stores, from a dusty wand shop, to a whole barn full of owls for sale as pets and messengers. At the end of the road she saw a huge white marble building, with small, wrinkled creatures at the front doors.
"What on earth are those?" Mina leaned over and whispered to Amy.
Amy frowned. "I'm not sure. They could be goblins, but mythological- er, /supposedly/ mythological creatures aren't exactly my specialty. But this is where we're supposed to go first, right?" She turned to Emara, who was looking at the map.
Emara nodded. "Yep. Well, that fellow wouldn't have sent us here if they were dangerous. This is the bank where we can get some wizard money, I think. Shall we enter?" She asked, half mocking. Everyone shrugged, so they went up the marble steps.
The creature bowed as they passed through the doors, which were made of bronze. They found themselves confronted by another pair of doors, these ones silver, and guarded by two goblins. Sass walked through, not sure what to expect. But she could never have imagined anything like the actual scene she was confronted with upon entering the main chamber.
Hundreds of the long-eared, long-nosed, goblins sat on stools behind a long, partitioned counter. They measured and weighed everything imaginable - from glowing stones to small, threadlike plants. Countless more doors led off of the hall, and people and goblins were going through them in a steady stream. Sass couldn't have said anything if she'd wanted to. She just goggled at the amazing scene, that seemed to her to simply /be/ magic. Fortunately Michelle wasn't as tongue-tied as her. She just paused for a moment, then stepped up to a free goblin as if she did this sort of thing all the time.
The goblin bowed from his tall chair, and looked them over. "Hello. How may I serve you?"
Michelle inclined her head politely. "We'd like to exchange some - ah, muggle money."
"Very good. Would you also like to start a running account with us?"
Michelle looked to Emara and Sass. "What do you two think? It might be a good idea."
Emara nodded. "I think so."
"Yeah, that way I'll have something to draw on while I'm at whatchacally- Hogwarts."
Michelle turned back to the goblin. "Yes, that would be wonderful."
He opened a drawer below the counter and took out a small device that looked like a cross between a calculator and a printer. He punched about a dozen numbers into it, and then looked back up at them. "You will require a key to actually withdraw money from your account in person. However, if you wish to charge a fee to your account, we will simply need a signed letter from the account holder specifying the person and amount, along with as many other details as you may include. In any case, how many keys do you wish at this time, and under whose name should the account be under?"
"Three keys, please, and can the account be jointly held?"
"Of course." He pushed a button on the device, and it started to whir. Then one, two, three, four keys dropped out of the end that looked like a printer. He pushed three of them across the counter, and took out a large accounting book.
"Now, what names for the account?"
Michelle looked at Emara, and Emara shrugged. Michelle smiled, and said, "Why not? She's mature enough." Then she turned to the goblin.
"Three names, please. Michelle Lantuan, Emara Lantuan, and Sasina-" she raised an eyebrow at Sass, who stepped forward.
"Celeborn-Lantuan," she affirmed.
The goblin scratched into the book with a quill pen, the turned it to them. "If you could all please sign here," he pointed to a blank space below his writing. Emara, Michelle, and Sass all signed in turn. Then, he took back the book. "How much do you wish to exchange, and how much would you like to deposit into your account?"
"Fifty pounds in exchange, and two hundred to go into the account." Michelle got out her wallet. "How do I pay you?"
"Just write a check to 'Gringotts.' We can give you the exchange now, and cash it in later." He proffered his quill pen, and Michelle wrote a check for two hundred and fifty pounds. Then the goblin got out two velvetish bags, and gave them to another goblin behind the counter. He also pulled out a few oddly shaped coins.
"This," he said, holding up a gold one, "is a gold Galleon. There are seventeen Sickles," he showed them a silver coin, "to a Galleon, and twenty- nine Knuts to a Sickle." He lifted up the smallest one, which was bronze.
Just then, the other goblin returned. The bags he held were now bulging. He gave them to the goblin at the counter, who pushed them across to Emara and Michelle. "Here is your exchange. Is there anything else we can do for you?"
Just then, the other Scouts, who had been having a whisper conference, stepped up. "Yes," said Serena, "we'd like one yen in exchange. That's about 200 pounds. No account for us though, thanks."
The goblin bowed to her and sent the goblin off for more money. He took Serena's coin and gave it to the other one when it came back, then pushed her bag across the table, too. "Thank you for your business." He bowed once more as they left the bank.
Sass blinked as they went outside into the bright sunlight. She looked to Emara. "So, where to now?"
Emara looked puzzled for a moment before she remembered the map. "Uh, a wand shop called Ollivander's. That way." She pointed to her left.
"Well, let's go then," said Raye, and they turned down the street.
* * * * *
After winding their way through the hot, crowded streets of Diagon Alley, Sass and the Scouts were all glad to enter the cool shade of Ollivander's wand shop. It was a small, dusty place that reminded Sass of the library she'd once been in. Small boxes were stacked to the ceiling on either side of them, and one small antique chair sat in the middle of the floor. Although a bell had rung in the back of the shop upon the group's arrival, no one appeared.
"Hello?" Emara called towards the back. "Is anyone here?"
"Yes, and a good afternoon to you." An old man, as spindly as the chair, stepped out of the gloom. "But I don't think I recall seeing any of you before. New to magic?"
Sass stepped forward. "Yes. I'm going to Hogwarts this year."
"And you are?" he asked.
"Sasina Celeborn-Lantuan."
"Hmm. Strange, very strange. I seem to sense. but he turned to the Dark long ago. And you are different. But you are here for a wand, correct?"
Sass nodded. "Yes." She wasn't sure /how/, exactly, he was going to pick a wand for her, but she stopped pondering it when he pulled a tape measure off of a shelf.
"Are you right or left handed?" he queried.
"Left," Sass replied.
"All right then, hold out your arm. Yes, like that." He measured about every place imaginable, but the strangest thing was that after a few tries, the tape measured on its own. Mr. Ollivander was actually taking boxes down from the shelves, and he was talking to her, as Sass realized with a start.
"- contains a magical core that gives it its power. Here, at Ollivander's, we use unicorn hairs, feathers from a phoenix tail, and dragon heartstrings. This, of course, means that no two wands are ever exactly the same, as there are rarely two wands with a core from the same particular creature. And your wand will always work better for you than for anyone else. Now, you can stop." He pointed at the tape measure, and it dropped to the floor. He put the boxes on the chair, picked one up, and brought it over to Sass. "Very well. Now, take this. Rather unusual, but why not? Rowan wood, thirteen inches, with unicorn hair. Just wave it about, that's right."
Sass lifted the wand slowly. She felt a strange tingling inside her, as though she had just drunk a soda. She swished the wand down, and she felt something slide out of her. And as the wand reached the bottom of its swing, a silvery shadow burst out of it, and for the moment it remained, Sass had a strange feeling of careless happiness, as though nothing could ever hurt her again, and two words sounded in the back of her mind-
/expecto patronum, expecto patronum./
Then the shadow disappeared in a burst of light, leaving everyone in the room staring at the wand.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! It only takes a few seconds, and it makes me so happy.
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter Two- A New World
The Scouts all put their hands in their pockets, where their power stones were, but Sass put her hand up and stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The stranger replied. "My name is Dedalus Diggle, and it's my job to help new students to Hogwarts find Diagon Alley. We put a charm on it so that if you don't know it's there, you can't see it. You were staring in the right place, so I asked."
"Yes, we are looking for the Leaky Cauldron. Where is it?" Raye stepped forward beside Sass.
He smiled. "You were looking in the right place. See? Right near that crack in the wall." He pointed, and gradually, the outline of a small, grubby-looking pub appeared. It became 3D with a pop that made Sass jump.
"You see it now? Good. Enjoy yourselves." And then, he was gone. They were left in the street, just as if he had never been. Except for that now, all of them could see the Leaky Cauldron.
After a long pause, Emara broke the silence. "Well, do you think we should go in?"
Michelle grimaced. "I think we sort of ought to. I mean, we've come this far." She shrugged.
"Then let's get on with it! Come on! I'm hungry." Serena set off determinedly towards the pub.
They all shrugged, and then followed her across the street, and through the door.
* * * * *
As Sass entered the Leaky Cauldron, she was immediately bombarded with smells, sounds, and the most amazing scene she had ever witnessed. Something in a black cloak and a balaclava was eating a piece of raw meat, and there were all manner of people, all of them with brightly colored cloaks. The noise was amazing! Sass had never heard anything so loud in her life. They quickly made their way to the front of the pub, and they soon caught the attention of the barkeep, most likely because of their clothes. He came over and grinned amicably.
"Hello, ladies. What brings you here? One for Hogwarts?" He raised an eyebrow at Sass.
Emara nodded. "That's the way of it. Do you have accommodations for all of us for the next week or so?"
He grinned toothlessly. "Sure. Right this way, if you'd care to see. By the way, I'm Tom. If you need to get into Diagon Alley, I'm the one you want to ask. Of course, once the little lady here gets her wand, I can just show her how, and then you'll be set, at least until the first. And here they are." He stopped at a door with a brass number nine on it.
"This room has a connecting door with the next one over, number ten. If it suits?" He paused and looked over at them. Emara nodded. "Very well then. Would you like me to send someone over for your things?"
"That would be wonderful." Michelle spoke up. "We were at the Marriott, down on Twelfth Street. Do you need any sort of permission?"
"Just a room key. We are fully responsible for anything we lose, but there are ways of ascertaining whether you are lying if you claim lost property. But you folks don't seem the sort to pull something like that." Michelle and Emara dug their room keys out of their pockets and handed them over. Tom smiled and gestured for them to precede him back down the stairs.
"Now, I'll just get Diagon Alley opened up for you, and your things will be here by supper. Anything else I can do for you?"
"No, that'll be all," Michelle answered as they went down. As they entered the common room, they were again barraged by the sounds. Tom led them to a back door that led to a small alley. Here he turned to Sass.
"Now, the way this works is that you find the brick above the trash can, then go three to the left. You tap the brick, and well," he demonstrated, "it appears."
Sass' eyes opened with shock. The brick wall rearranged itself into an arch, and revealed a whole street full of wizards and witches. She could see some of the stores, and they were incredibly different from any she'd seen before.
Tom smiled. "Well, I've got to be getting back to my station now, so I'll just leave you folks. You get back through by passing under the arch. If you need help finding anything, Florian Fortescue, the owner of that ice cream store over there, will be glad to help. Enjoy yourselves!" And he went back through the door, leaving them to exchange looks, and step through the gate.
* * * * *
By common consensus they went to the ice cream parlor first. None of them had a clue as to where anything was. As they entered, a sudden wave of cool swept over them in sharp contrast to the hot day. Serena's eyes practically popped out of her head at the flavors and kinds of ice cream on display. Sass, however, stepped up to the counter, where an elderly man with a bright smile and twinkling eyes greeted her.
"Hello, young miss. How may I help you?"
She smiled. "Well, I'm starting at Hogwarts this year, and the barkeep at the Leaky Cauldron said that if we needed any help, you were the person to ask."
"Well, then. The first thing you really ought to do is stop at Gringotts, but I think that I should give you all a little orientation first. And a map. Hold on just a moment." He disappeared into the back room, but reappeared quickly, carrying a piece of paper, which he laid out on a table. It had streets and buildings laid out on it, but none of it really made any sense.
"Now, you all are here." He tapped a place on the map with a stick (a wand?), and a small red arrow appeared (a wand). He proceeded to explain about what seemed like a hundred of the shops, each time tapping the map with his wand, which caused little labels to appear. As he finished up, he tapped the dot one more time and said "Animatium!" Then he turned to them.
"Now, the way this works is that the dot tells you where you are at all times. As soon as you leave the shop, it will become an arrow, pointing in whichever way you need to go to get to the next place on the course I've laid out for you, which will be listed in the top left-hand corner. Whenever you're done for the day, you," he looked at Sass, "tap the map with your wand an say 'Finem.' Then it will just give you directions back to the Leaky Cauldron, and won't start back on the course until you tap it again and say 'Empez.'
"Oh, and one more thing. We of the wizarding world call non-magic folks muggles. That'll help you to understand people better. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Sass shook her head. "No. Thank you ever so much." She started to turn for the door, but then noticed Serena, who was still plastered to the display. "Actually, I think we'd all like some ice cream before we go. What would you suggest?"
After they were all set up with their ice cream, they left the shop and Sass relinquished the map to Emara, so she could navigate. Sass wanted to look! But as they were leaving, she noticed a rather scruffy boy with black hair and glasses who was sitting outside, looking at a thick textbook and taking notes. She didn't know why he caught her eye, it just sort of happened.
But she soon forgot about it in the whirl of amazing things to see. The eight of them passed all sorts of stores, from a dusty wand shop, to a whole barn full of owls for sale as pets and messengers. At the end of the road she saw a huge white marble building, with small, wrinkled creatures at the front doors.
"What on earth are those?" Mina leaned over and whispered to Amy.
Amy frowned. "I'm not sure. They could be goblins, but mythological- er, /supposedly/ mythological creatures aren't exactly my specialty. But this is where we're supposed to go first, right?" She turned to Emara, who was looking at the map.
Emara nodded. "Yep. Well, that fellow wouldn't have sent us here if they were dangerous. This is the bank where we can get some wizard money, I think. Shall we enter?" She asked, half mocking. Everyone shrugged, so they went up the marble steps.
The creature bowed as they passed through the doors, which were made of bronze. They found themselves confronted by another pair of doors, these ones silver, and guarded by two goblins. Sass walked through, not sure what to expect. But she could never have imagined anything like the actual scene she was confronted with upon entering the main chamber.
Hundreds of the long-eared, long-nosed, goblins sat on stools behind a long, partitioned counter. They measured and weighed everything imaginable - from glowing stones to small, threadlike plants. Countless more doors led off of the hall, and people and goblins were going through them in a steady stream. Sass couldn't have said anything if she'd wanted to. She just goggled at the amazing scene, that seemed to her to simply /be/ magic. Fortunately Michelle wasn't as tongue-tied as her. She just paused for a moment, then stepped up to a free goblin as if she did this sort of thing all the time.
The goblin bowed from his tall chair, and looked them over. "Hello. How may I serve you?"
Michelle inclined her head politely. "We'd like to exchange some - ah, muggle money."
"Very good. Would you also like to start a running account with us?"
Michelle looked to Emara and Sass. "What do you two think? It might be a good idea."
Emara nodded. "I think so."
"Yeah, that way I'll have something to draw on while I'm at whatchacally- Hogwarts."
Michelle turned back to the goblin. "Yes, that would be wonderful."
He opened a drawer below the counter and took out a small device that looked like a cross between a calculator and a printer. He punched about a dozen numbers into it, and then looked back up at them. "You will require a key to actually withdraw money from your account in person. However, if you wish to charge a fee to your account, we will simply need a signed letter from the account holder specifying the person and amount, along with as many other details as you may include. In any case, how many keys do you wish at this time, and under whose name should the account be under?"
"Three keys, please, and can the account be jointly held?"
"Of course." He pushed a button on the device, and it started to whir. Then one, two, three, four keys dropped out of the end that looked like a printer. He pushed three of them across the counter, and took out a large accounting book.
"Now, what names for the account?"
Michelle looked at Emara, and Emara shrugged. Michelle smiled, and said, "Why not? She's mature enough." Then she turned to the goblin.
"Three names, please. Michelle Lantuan, Emara Lantuan, and Sasina-" she raised an eyebrow at Sass, who stepped forward.
"Celeborn-Lantuan," she affirmed.
The goblin scratched into the book with a quill pen, the turned it to them. "If you could all please sign here," he pointed to a blank space below his writing. Emara, Michelle, and Sass all signed in turn. Then, he took back the book. "How much do you wish to exchange, and how much would you like to deposit into your account?"
"Fifty pounds in exchange, and two hundred to go into the account." Michelle got out her wallet. "How do I pay you?"
"Just write a check to 'Gringotts.' We can give you the exchange now, and cash it in later." He proffered his quill pen, and Michelle wrote a check for two hundred and fifty pounds. Then the goblin got out two velvetish bags, and gave them to another goblin behind the counter. He also pulled out a few oddly shaped coins.
"This," he said, holding up a gold one, "is a gold Galleon. There are seventeen Sickles," he showed them a silver coin, "to a Galleon, and twenty- nine Knuts to a Sickle." He lifted up the smallest one, which was bronze.
Just then, the other goblin returned. The bags he held were now bulging. He gave them to the goblin at the counter, who pushed them across to Emara and Michelle. "Here is your exchange. Is there anything else we can do for you?"
Just then, the other Scouts, who had been having a whisper conference, stepped up. "Yes," said Serena, "we'd like one yen in exchange. That's about 200 pounds. No account for us though, thanks."
The goblin bowed to her and sent the goblin off for more money. He took Serena's coin and gave it to the other one when it came back, then pushed her bag across the table, too. "Thank you for your business." He bowed once more as they left the bank.
Sass blinked as they went outside into the bright sunlight. She looked to Emara. "So, where to now?"
Emara looked puzzled for a moment before she remembered the map. "Uh, a wand shop called Ollivander's. That way." She pointed to her left.
"Well, let's go then," said Raye, and they turned down the street.
* * * * *
After winding their way through the hot, crowded streets of Diagon Alley, Sass and the Scouts were all glad to enter the cool shade of Ollivander's wand shop. It was a small, dusty place that reminded Sass of the library she'd once been in. Small boxes were stacked to the ceiling on either side of them, and one small antique chair sat in the middle of the floor. Although a bell had rung in the back of the shop upon the group's arrival, no one appeared.
"Hello?" Emara called towards the back. "Is anyone here?"
"Yes, and a good afternoon to you." An old man, as spindly as the chair, stepped out of the gloom. "But I don't think I recall seeing any of you before. New to magic?"
Sass stepped forward. "Yes. I'm going to Hogwarts this year."
"And you are?" he asked.
"Sasina Celeborn-Lantuan."
"Hmm. Strange, very strange. I seem to sense. but he turned to the Dark long ago. And you are different. But you are here for a wand, correct?"
Sass nodded. "Yes." She wasn't sure /how/, exactly, he was going to pick a wand for her, but she stopped pondering it when he pulled a tape measure off of a shelf.
"Are you right or left handed?" he queried.
"Left," Sass replied.
"All right then, hold out your arm. Yes, like that." He measured about every place imaginable, but the strangest thing was that after a few tries, the tape measured on its own. Mr. Ollivander was actually taking boxes down from the shelves, and he was talking to her, as Sass realized with a start.
"- contains a magical core that gives it its power. Here, at Ollivander's, we use unicorn hairs, feathers from a phoenix tail, and dragon heartstrings. This, of course, means that no two wands are ever exactly the same, as there are rarely two wands with a core from the same particular creature. And your wand will always work better for you than for anyone else. Now, you can stop." He pointed at the tape measure, and it dropped to the floor. He put the boxes on the chair, picked one up, and brought it over to Sass. "Very well. Now, take this. Rather unusual, but why not? Rowan wood, thirteen inches, with unicorn hair. Just wave it about, that's right."
Sass lifted the wand slowly. She felt a strange tingling inside her, as though she had just drunk a soda. She swished the wand down, and she felt something slide out of her. And as the wand reached the bottom of its swing, a silvery shadow burst out of it, and for the moment it remained, Sass had a strange feeling of careless happiness, as though nothing could ever hurt her again, and two words sounded in the back of her mind-
/expecto patronum, expecto patronum./
Then the shadow disappeared in a burst of light, leaving everyone in the room staring at the wand.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! It only takes a few seconds, and it makes me so happy.