Disclaimer: I own nothing... I thought up Ophelia, but the world she lives in is property of the great JK Rowling!
Thanks for your reviews:
Paprika90 : Hmm, good idea! Neville and his friends are still in their twenties, but maybe some of the older Hogwarts students of their time already have children... :-)
Miss Piratess : Whoohoo! One of my favourite FFN authors reviews me! looks around Yep, really me! I love Neville too! He's the prototype of a nice guy! A bit clumsy, shy and sooooo nice! I've tried to make him a bit more confident now he's a bit older, but I also tried to keep those special characteristics. Neville will have a regular spot in my story, but others will cameo!
Neville James : Double woohoo! It was so wonderful to get your reviews! You are definately one of my favourites too! Love your story! But maybe I should keep that for my reviews? ;-) Time frame, well, as I said, Neville is in his mid-twenties now, lets say 25, enough time to have finished a study, not enough time to have settled already (for most people that is) Ideal for me, so I can go every way I want with them. About the other thing, well yes, Ophelia is a Malfoy deep down inside, so there is a big chance of being a Slytherin!But then again, I believe in Lucius' Malfoys innocence! (Read 'To Save a Malfoy' by Snapeseraphin, you'll understand what I mean!)
A/N:
Warm hugs to every reader! Reviews are very welcome! I'll give you chocolate frogs! winks
Snapeseraphin, you're the BEST beta ever, and have I ever told you I love you? ;-)
People, also read the stories of Miss Piratess and Neville James! Believe me, they have some absolutely GREAT stories!
Wands!
In Ophelia's head numerous thoughts were popping up and asking her attention. "Why am I special? Gold meant magic, so what's gold and green? Am I a witch? What would those girls from her class say if I really would be a witch? Maybe I could turn them into frogs? But I have never done something special, how could I be a witch then? Maybe you need a magic hat like magicians? Why is that teacher looking at me like that? Is that man really sticking his head in the fire?
While Ollivander was trying to contact Dumbledore, Severus Snape was observing Ophelia Bramble. The girl didn't look like her family at all. She was supposed to be a Malfoy, and all the Malfoys he knew had silvery blond hair. Now this girl had raven black hair, only a silver stripe in her hair showed her real nature. She was rather tall for her age, and she had inherited her face from her mother, who was not an exceptional beauty, but nice enough on the eyes. The girl was now looking rather unintelligent with a face that expressed surprise. When he followed her gaze he understood. Ollivander was still talking to Dumbledore with his head sticking into the fire. Seeing that the girl was raised as a Muggle she probably wouldn't understand what he was doing. Severus decided to try and talk to her.
"Miss Bramble, maybe you would care to close your mouth? It's getting rather cold here." Severus said. Ophelia slowly closed her mouth. Severus looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and started speaking.
"Before your jaw is refusing to function again, I'll explain a few things to you Miss Bramble. Mr. Ollivander is now talking to Professor Dumbledore who is the headmaster of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. He's talking through a fire which is a perfectly normal way to communicate for wizards, just like you use a telephone to reach your family. Albus Dumbledore will arrive shortly by that same fire to see if you really are a mage, which we suspect."
Ophelia's face was full of surprise. "A mage? What's a mage?"
Severus sighed "We will have to educate you a bit about wizards I think. A mage is anatural magician or wizard, and in most cases very powerful. Most intelligent vampires avoid them. They're also called a master magician; who prefers that the only tools of their magic be their mind, ability, and spirit." Severus got up and walked towards Ophelia who seemed a bit intimidated by him. "If you will be sorted into my house I will personally take care of your education as a mage, and that's a promise! Merlin knows I need a new challenge after Potter left Hogwarts"
At that moment the fire flashed green and an old wizard with a long white beard stepped out of the fire. "Ah, Ollivander's... What memories have I left here," he said, while dusting off his long colourful robes. Then he looked straight at Ophelia "You must be Miss Bramble? I've heard some nice things about you! But let us start with some questions!"
Dumbledore waved with his wand and 2 fluffy chairs appeared. "Please sit down Miss Bramble. Now, have you ever noticed you have magical powers?"
"Uh no, sorry sir" Ophelia said. "No harm done!" Dumbledore said. "I'll just do my little test. Please stand up!" And he performed a little jiggly wiggly motion with his wand, golden, silver and green sparks came from his wand. The sparks surrounded Ophelia and started to whirl around her. A zooming sound occurred, the sparks whirled faster and faster and the sound became high pitched. Ophelia felt her feet lift from the floor and her arms automatically stretched next to her body. Suddenly the high pitched sound changed into a high kind of music. It sounded like a thousand little birds singing their beautiful song. Ophelia closed her eyes and let it all happen.
Maria looked at Ophelia in awe. Her little girl was glittering all over. Sparks formed all kinds of animals; she saw a rabbit, a sea horse, a hummingbird, and a cat, which looked strangely familiar. Suddenly a thought struck to her. No, it couldn't be, could it? She turned to the man in the long dark robes. "Sir? Could it be Ophelia? I mean, the cat, could it be Ophelia?" Severus Snape frowned "I'm afraid I don't understand you Mrs. Bramble. Could what cat be Ophelia?" Maria looked again at the cat which now sat on Ophelia's shoulder, fishing with its paw to get flying sparks. "Well, Ophelia always had a cat around, but we never actually saw them together. But when we couldn't find her, we always found the cat, sleeping in her room, or sitting on her windowsill. This cat is the same, they have the same markings"
"It is highly unlikely for her to be an Animagus, a natural one even! It costs people years to learn to turn into an animal, and even then some don't manage to complete it. But then again, this is an extra-ordinary girl, who knows what she's capable of, even when she doesn't know she does it." Severus Snape said, more to himself than to Maria.
The sparkles began to fade and they all could see Ophelia, now sitting in the fluffy chair again, eyes closed.
Professor Dumbledore was humming happily to himself while he was writing something down. Maria and Peter rushed to the girl. "Are you all right?"
Ophelia opened her eyes "Mummy! Did you hear the music? Have you seen the animals? I've dreamt about all of them before! I knew them!"
Peter and Maria turned to Dumbledore who smiled brightly at them. "You have a daughter to be proud of! Not only has she been doing very advanced magic ever since she has been born, she also managed to hide this from the Muggle world, and even her parents! She has the capability to turn into several animals although she seems to prefer the form of a cat. She does this without noticing, mostly when she is asleep or very relaxed. Just now I put a spell on her, which caused her to be relaxed and her animals showed themselves under the spell. They are a second nature to her, just like; well going to the toilet is for us. This all comes forth from her being a mage, which means she is probably a very powerful witch, but will need extra attention to learn to use her abilities.
Bottom line is: she's a witch, and we will welcome her at Hogwarts if you will allow her to come!"
Peter and Maria looked at each other. Maria spoke first "Do you think we should?" Her face did not show her own thoughts about it. Peter shook his head. "I don't know yet. It's such a strange world. I noticed it again when we entered Diagon Alley, I don't belong here." Now Maria's face changed. "You might not belong here... But Ophelia does, I feel it in my heart. I want her to have a choice! She can always choose to return to our world! And it's not like we won't see her again. Is it, professor? Maria turned to Dumbledore who smiled. "Even wizards and witches need holidays, so yes, Ophelia could come home every holiday, just like at Muggle schools.'
"I still have doubts" Peter said "I've seen the fear, my parents were so afraid... And they were not alone, everyone was afraid; this whole world was filled with fear and mistrust. Who can ensure me this doesn't happen again? How can I know my girl is safe? I won't know if something like this happens again, I'm as good as a Muggle; I live in the Muggle world! Every time something strange happens, if people go missing, I will think it has started again! And how should I contact her then?"
"I understand you concern, Mr. Bramble" Dumbledore said. "And it is justified of course. We can never ensure you something like this won't happen again. But then again, the same will go for the Muggle world. You will never know if she is safe, not at Hogwarts, but not at any Muggle school either. You might consider buying an owl for Ophelia so you can keep in touch with her, that is, if you decide to let her come to us. Of course that is entirely your decision."
"May I add a couple of little facts for you Mr. Bramble?" said Snape while looking at him directly. "If you decide not to place her at Hogwarts, her memory of today will have to be erased. That means she won't know of her magical abilities until you decide to tell her why all these strange things keep happening to her. What will she say at age eighteen if she discovers she has all the magical abilities and she doesn't know how to use them? Will it be safe if she starts trying things herself?"
Suddenly the atmosphere seemed to change, it seemed like the air got heavy and some boxes started to rattle. Neville, who had been silent up until now gave a little yelp. Then his face changed and a look of determination came on his face. "Protectus!" He shouted and pointed his wand at Ophelia. Instantly everything stopped and Ophelia was catched in some sort of red bubble.
"What did you do to her!' Peter roared and he tried to lift up Neville by his robe, which was rather difficult since Neville was quite a bit taller than Peter.
"This is just what we were talking about Mr. Bramble, now, if you would please let go of Mr. Longbottom? I will explain." Severus Snape said. Peter stepped back, still glaring at Neville. "Now Neville, I think it's safe to lift up the spell now, she seems to have cooled down a bit" Snape said. Neville muttered something and waved vaguely with his wand at her. The bubble popped and Ophelia was free again. Snape turned to her and said: "You can have your turn, I promise, but first I'll have to tell your father what happened just now." Ophelia nodded and Snape turned to Peter.
"This was exactly what you can expect in the future. Maybe you even have experienced something like this before at home when Ophelia was extremely frustrated about something. This was magic. She does not have any control over it and I think that Mr. Ollivanders shop would not have lasted if Mr. Longbottom would not have laid a protective shield around your daughter. This shield absorbed all the magic she was sending out and if one had been attacking her it would also have protected her from magical threats." Severus Snape drew a deep breath "This situation will occur more and more when she is growing up. Being a teenager is hard for anyone, and if she will not learn to control herself she will be a threat to herself. She could easily set things on fire and not be able to save herself. And she could unwillingly hurt others with her powers." Severus sighed, looked at the floor and then back to Peter. "Do you understand now why I think it would be better if she would come to Hogwarts? Miss Bramble, you had something to say also, I believe?"
Pheli, who had been listening to Severus Snape quietly, walked directly up to her parents. "I want to go to this school. I have always known I was different, even if it was deep down inside. I also want to learn to control this, I love you too much, and I never want to hurt you, even if I don't hurt you on purpose. These people know how to help me. Do you remember when we were picking schools? When we came across that school for talented musicians you said you would have let me go there if I wanted to. To me, this is the same! I have a talent and I want to use it!"
Peter sighed and sat down. He stared into nothing for a moment or two and then sighed again. He looked at Ophelia and said: "Okay, if you really want this I can't stop you. And your mother is right, you should have the right to choose. But I still think the wizarding world is a far more dangerous world than our Muggle world, and I hate to be the one to allow you to plunge into it headfirst. Only if you promise me to be very, very careful I can... "
"Daddy, I promise!" Ophelia said while a radiant smile was spreading over her face. Dumbledore smiled too "Here's a list of things you need for school, you still have some time left before the shops close. May I suggest an owl too? Muggle postmen don't know how to find Hogwarts! "
"And may I have the honour of selling you one of my own wands?" Neville said to Ophelia "Í have been working on some for people who have a strong bond with nature. I'd love to try some out on you!"
"Eeuhm, what do wands cost here?" Maria asked Neville. "For her only 3 galleons Mrs. Bramble!" -"Galleons? What's that? We only have pounds!"
"Well" said Mr. Ollivander "You'll have to change it then... Gringotts is just down the street, that big white building. Maybe the little Miss can stay here and try some wands while you go and change?"
"Ah, Severus, let us go with them for a bit and then go into the Leaky Cauldron, I fancy a butterbeer!" Dumbledore said. Severus Snape looked as if he didn't like the idea, but he nodded nevertheless. "We'll see you at school then Miss Bramble, goodbye."
Pheli watched her parents leave together with the two professors and at the same time Mr. Ollivander said to Neville that he would go to the back again, since he wasn't needed here anymore.
Now it was only her and that Neville guy. She didn't trust him anymore after he had put her in that bubble, but then again, he looked all right... And she wasn't hurt after all. She decided he got another chance, after all her parents were coming back in a few minutes!
"Now, let's go back to the store, there I have some wands for you." Neville said picking up some boxes here and there.
"How do you know when a wand is good for me?" Pheli asked him "I don't know how to do magic, so I can't do spells, can I?"
Neville laughed "Well, actually you can... You just need the right wand for you. But selecting the right wand will be the tricky part, you know. It's not you who chooses the wand, but the wand chooses you! You will know instantly when you are chosen, and it will be visible as well. From that instant you'll know how to use the magic, because you feel it. At least that's how it was with me. Until I chose my first wand I had only used instinctive magic, but the moment I got my wand I felt it in my body. It still took a lot of practising before I learned to control it of course, but that was because I just felt better with plants and herbs... "
They were back in the store now and Neville started to collect boxes from shelves and piling them up on the table.
"Practising? I think I will need more than that. "Pheli said while looking doubtful "I never even knew I could do magic. Every time I turned into an animal I thought I was dreaming. Even that thing just now, when you put that spell over me, I didn't know I was doing magic. Now I know it was me doing it, and that explains why my classmates never knew of those earthquakes. My parents just thought we lived on one of those cracks in the earth!"
Neville started laughing freely now "Did they actually think that? Your father should have known better! But then again, how often do a Squib and a Muggle get a witch for a daughter? By the way, you shouldn't worry about not knowing any magic. In my year there was a boy who lived in a Muggle home until he started Hogwarts, he didn't know anything, and he turned out just fine... He's also a good friend of mine, Harry Potter! You will learn enough about him in the coming few years, since he is the one who defeated Voldemort!"
Ophelia looked blankly at Neville.
"O well" Neville said "You'll understand soon enough! Let's start with the wands."
He handed her a knobbly wand, the wood was almost black and felt heavy in her hands. "What am I supposed to do with it?" She asked. Neville took the wand back "You'll know when you get the one for you!" The following wand was red and Neville told her it was made of cherrywood and had a core of Manticorehair. She didn't notice any changes with this one either. They did fifteen wands like this and Pheli started to get a bit tired. And where were her parents? They should have been back by now!
Neville handed her the following wand. "This is one of the first wands I made. I thought I was making it for myself, because the wood attracted me so much. This is rosewood that has been through a fire, but instead of getting back to its normal colour it remained black, shiny black. The core exists of a hair of a sphinx and the wand is treated in a bath of special herbs. Careful now!" He said while handing it to her. And the moment her right hand closed on the wand she knew. A power flowed through her and she waved the wand. A shower of white sparks left the tip of the wand and a smell of lilies surrounded them. This was her wand!
Neville sighed "I knew I would have to say goodbye to it sometime." He started to pick up the remaining boxes and promptly tripped over one on the ground so the boxes flew everywhere. Pheli instantly felt guilty. "If you rather want to keep this one I'll find another one. Surely between all these wands there are other wands that fit me?" She put the wand back on the table.
"In theory yes, but that will not work as long as this wand works. Only when this wand, which has bonded itself with you, has been broken, another one will bond with you. And I don't want it back, each wand is unique as every person is unique, and I see it as a compliment that I could make a wand that fits you! "
"What do you mean by that?" Pheli looked at Neville curiously. "Well" he answered "You are the first witch who has such strong mental powers at such a young age, and it was not very certain you could even work with a wand… "
Ophelia wanted to ask why it was not certain she could work with a wand, but at that moment her parents returned to the store. She noticed her father looked tired, and her mother was looking inquiringly at her.
"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Bramble, I trust it did all work out? The Goblins changed your money? " Neville asked. "No they didn't!" Peter answered "But here are the three galleons. Could you wrap it please?"
"Daddy, why didn't they change the money?"
"Pheli, there was no need for that" Peter answered "Because you already seem to have an account at Gringotts!"
