Pearl Shepard sighed as another stack of wand boxes tumbled to the
floor. Tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder, she began to restack
them, hoping for the best. It was a lovely Saturday in April and it made
Pearl think of her days as a teenager at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. She had been so happy there, until her sixth year. That's when
she had gotten pregnant. And before she had even had a chance to tell her
boyfriend, Tom Riddle, he had left school for unknown reasons. She didn't
see him again that year and dropped out of school after that to look after
her daughter, Bridget.
Pearl had met Ryan Ollivander two years after Bridget was born. Ryan was the wand shop owner's son. He had asked Pearl out several times, but because of her experience with Tom Riddle, Pearl had found it difficult to take part in any human interaction. It wasn't until almost a year later that Pearl accepted Ryan's invitation for a date and had fallen in love with him. Their wedding date was set for late fall and they were now running the wand shop, as Ryan's father had retired. With the exception of the odd falling stack of wand boxes, life was great.
But Pearl couldn't help listening to customers' incessant chatter about the looming Dark Lord. Naturally, everyone feared a man so incredibly frightening. Pearl hadn't heard so many people talk of one wizard so much since the dark wizard, Grindelwald, four years ago. Of course, Pearl knew who the Dark Lord was. She had gone to school with him. He had been one of her closest friends. He was the father of her daughter.
Tom Riddle had always talked of being a great wizard one day. Pearl had always chalked it up to insecurity. Tom's witch mother had died after giving birth to him and his Muggle father had deserted his mother before Tom was even born. Pearl felt sorry for the poor boy, the boy who always did so well in everything. He excelled in all their academic work, as well as their hands-on work. Pearl felt immediately attracted to the handsome young man. But she soon found out how dark he could be when he led her on, then left before she even got a chance to tell him that she was pregnant. She had never heard from him again.
Shaking her head of the memories, Pearl glanced around at the empty shop. It had been open for nearly two hours by this time, yet not one person had come in, even to browse. She knew that if business didn't pick up soon, they would have to close. They were already poorer than they could afford to be. Pearl hated not being able to give Bridget the life she wanted to give her. Every Saturday morning, Bridget would get up early and go with her mother to the wand shop where she would sit quietly and play in the back. Pearl glanced towards the back of the shop, listening to her daughter talk aimlessly to her dolls. Smiling to herself, Pearl realized just how lucky she was to have found a man who was willing to accept her even though she had a daughter already.
A scream outside interrupted her thoughts. Several more howls of terror followed and Pearl yelled for Bridget to stay in the back while she investigated. Hurrying to the front door of the shop, she looked out into the streets. Diagon Alley, usually so vibrant and full of life, was deserted. People were scrambling for the nearest alleyways and were ducking out of sight. Scanning the street quickly, Pearl's eyes came to rest on a hooded figure, it's black cape barely touching the ground. Two other masked figures surrounded the caped man and Pearl recognized this strange procession immediately. It was Tom Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort.
Pearl had met Ryan Ollivander two years after Bridget was born. Ryan was the wand shop owner's son. He had asked Pearl out several times, but because of her experience with Tom Riddle, Pearl had found it difficult to take part in any human interaction. It wasn't until almost a year later that Pearl accepted Ryan's invitation for a date and had fallen in love with him. Their wedding date was set for late fall and they were now running the wand shop, as Ryan's father had retired. With the exception of the odd falling stack of wand boxes, life was great.
But Pearl couldn't help listening to customers' incessant chatter about the looming Dark Lord. Naturally, everyone feared a man so incredibly frightening. Pearl hadn't heard so many people talk of one wizard so much since the dark wizard, Grindelwald, four years ago. Of course, Pearl knew who the Dark Lord was. She had gone to school with him. He had been one of her closest friends. He was the father of her daughter.
Tom Riddle had always talked of being a great wizard one day. Pearl had always chalked it up to insecurity. Tom's witch mother had died after giving birth to him and his Muggle father had deserted his mother before Tom was even born. Pearl felt sorry for the poor boy, the boy who always did so well in everything. He excelled in all their academic work, as well as their hands-on work. Pearl felt immediately attracted to the handsome young man. But she soon found out how dark he could be when he led her on, then left before she even got a chance to tell him that she was pregnant. She had never heard from him again.
Shaking her head of the memories, Pearl glanced around at the empty shop. It had been open for nearly two hours by this time, yet not one person had come in, even to browse. She knew that if business didn't pick up soon, they would have to close. They were already poorer than they could afford to be. Pearl hated not being able to give Bridget the life she wanted to give her. Every Saturday morning, Bridget would get up early and go with her mother to the wand shop where she would sit quietly and play in the back. Pearl glanced towards the back of the shop, listening to her daughter talk aimlessly to her dolls. Smiling to herself, Pearl realized just how lucky she was to have found a man who was willing to accept her even though she had a daughter already.
A scream outside interrupted her thoughts. Several more howls of terror followed and Pearl yelled for Bridget to stay in the back while she investigated. Hurrying to the front door of the shop, she looked out into the streets. Diagon Alley, usually so vibrant and full of life, was deserted. People were scrambling for the nearest alleyways and were ducking out of sight. Scanning the street quickly, Pearl's eyes came to rest on a hooded figure, it's black cape barely touching the ground. Two other masked figures surrounded the caped man and Pearl recognized this strange procession immediately. It was Tom Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort.