Karen had never imagined her parents being magical, nor them ever caring enough for her to leave a vault of money as a contingency in case they never lived to see her grow up. Now she had a future and money. A chance to make something more of herself. Grabbing up handfuls of the coins not really paying attention to the value, Karen put handfuls into her pockets.
"Miss Richards we really should be going", Dumbledore insisted. Pulling a small cloth bag out of his pockets he extended the hand holding it to Karen. "This may work better than your pockets", he said a knowing twinkle in his eye.
Following the list of required utensils Karen wandered Diagon Alley with Dumbledore from shop to shop having to be dragged from each one her mouth agape in wonder. Karen had never imagined so many strange but fascinating things could exist in her life. Magical animals that could talk or do tricks, quills that would write for you or correct spelling errors, sweets that exploded in your mouth or made you sound like or even turn into a certain creature. There were even broomsticks that really flew like in the movies. Her eyes as round as saucers Dumbledore pulled Karen into the last store on their list. Looking up at the sign as the entered Karen caught the name Olivander's before going beneath the sign and loosing sight of it.
Standing in front of the counter Dumbledore spoke to the elderly man standing there, whom Karen could only assume was Mr. Olivander himself.
"So your looking for your first wand Miss Richards?" the elderly gentleman glanced her way. Shying back half a step Karen looked at him.
"Yes I think so sir", he eyes sweeping the rows upon rows of thousands of tiny rectangular boxes, all in line, all stacked neatly, almost as if it were a library not a shop.
"Well let's see, dragon's heart string I think, ebony wood. Yes a lovely mix. Strong and rigid", Mr. Olivander pulled a small black box from among many and opened it. Presenting a long, thin, jet black rod Karen grasped it softly in her long, slender fingers.
Dumbledore waved his wand as an example and nodded towards Karen smiling, a twinkle in his eye. Waving the wand in her fist Karen watched in horror as glass objects shattered, boxes flew off shelves around the room, papers blew off tables as if an invisible wind had lifted them and the store was an entire mess in a mere second. Startled at the damage she had caused Karen looked around. Tears swam in her vision, she had failed. Mr. Olivander just nodded and harrumphed going to the shelves again.
"Now Phoenix tail feather, holly. Try this one dear and don't worry it usually takes a few wands before we find the right one. Oh and don't mind the mess", Mr. Olivander smiled kindly and handed Karen another wand. Softly tilting it afraid to see the damage this one caused Karen flicked it quickly hoping that the faster it was waved the less damage might occur. Her hopes were in vain the damage was just as worse as before. The damage was not as noticeable though because the previous breakages were still lying around.
Mr. Olivander spent the next few hours running around the store picking up wands. Each one failing he kept trying various woods and magical items together, nothing seemed to be working. Karen was extremely distressed. She had ruined his store; she hadn't found a wand that was for her, one that didn't devastate everything in sight at least. Gasping for air after the last attempt stress finally getting to her she reached for her bag her hands clenching tightly. Dropping the wand onto the ground, her mouth opening and shutting like a fish as she gasped desperately for air. Desperately scrounging in her bag she grasped her asthma puffer and frantically inhaled as much of the medication it exhaled. Slowing her breathing Karen looked around and took a deep breath. Glancing at Mr. Olivander and Dumbledore she smiled and nodded.
"I have bad asthma. If I get stressed I have attacks. It's nothing serious. Don't look at me like that", Karen wheezed out in between breaths.
Mr. Olivander slowly recovering looked at Dumbledore. Dumbledore himself still seemed a little shocked himself. Anyone would be having seen an 11 year old girl struggling for her life to get air.
"I'm going to have to make an original for you my dear", Mr. Olivander's eyes sparkled with the thought and the probable challenge.
"I'm so sorry I wasted your time. Both of you", Karen's head drooped. She looked at her shoes squirming her feet as she impatiently waited for Dumbledore to start to leave. Unfortunately for Karen Dumbledore did no such thing. Instead he sat down with Mr. Olivander and started looking at charts on types of wands, lengths and magical materials. Mr. Olivander started noting down various ideas from each chart. Karen watching twitched even more nervously. What if they couldn't find a wand for her? What if she wasn't what they thought she was? She could feel her chest tightening with the thought of being a failure. She told herself to breathe slowly and to calm down. That if someone as powerful and respected as Dumbledore thought she was magical she must be.
Finally getting up Dumbledore and Mr. Olivander smiled at one another and shook hands.
"I'll have it ready for you in one month", Mr. Olivander waved as Dumbledore and Karen walked out the door.
"You are an extraordinary child", Dumbledore smiled as he led Karen back down Diagon Alley towards The Leaky Cauldron.
"Why is that?" Karen asked never really having received such an elaborate compliment before.
"Mr. Olivander told me he never had as much trouble finding a wand for a student or indeed any magical individual as he did you".
"Oh", was all Karen said looking at her toes feeling once again upset to have been such trouble to people who seemed only to want to help her.
The walk back to the orphanage was painfully quiet. Karen constantly replaying all the trouble she had been today and Dumbledore striding confidently towards their destination.
Handing her another envelope Dumbledore looked at her hands and noticed they were shaking.
"Are you cold?" Dumbledore looked at her his face a picture of concern.
"No sir, I mean Professor Dumbledore. I'm just… well I'm a little scared", Karen's eyes wavered between the ground and his eyes.
"Well I can tell you I was scared myself when I was to be sent to Hogwarts, but I was also excited. About my name though, you can call me sir, I just thought perhaps it might be a good change for you to call someone other than by their title", Dumbledore smiled at her. His face was so peaceful it was impossible not to trust him.
"This is your ticket for the Hogwarts Express. It leaves London at 11am sharp. Be on time because if you aren't through the barrier it will close," Dumbledore looked very serious at this point as thought to emphasize the importance of this fact. "The barrier is in between platform nine and ten. The wall is just a magical hologram. You can walk straight through to the Hogwarts station," Dumbledore's hand came to rest softly on Karen's shoulder and she let out a soft sigh, a feeling of peace rushing through her almost as if his hand seemed to be the origin of this emotion.
Walking through the doorway back into the orphanage Karen could hardly believe what had happened that day. After watching Dumbledore dissipate into thin air Karen no longer doubted anything about magic. She had found out about her parents and had money. That they had loved her enough to assure she would be cared for. Her heart was heavy with concern but warm with new found love. Who would have thought even the memory of your parents caring for you could make you feel so loved.