(Next Chapter :))

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Madam Malkin turned out to be a short, squat yet pleasant looking woman in robes of mauve. She scurried over to the Twins immediately the minute they entered her shop smiling as she asked, "Hogwarts Dears?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, both of us." He motioned to Lucy. Madam Malkin looked pleased. "Good. We have the lot of them here today. There's another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

She hurried them into a second room in the back of the shop where a boy with pale skin, pale hair and a pointed face stood on a low stool while another witch pinned up his robes.

Madam Malkins quickly ushered Harry and Lucy to empty stools on either side of the boy and quickly began measuring Harry while a third witch brought a long black robe for Lucy to try on.

"Hello." said the boy between them as the witch worked on his hem. "Hogwarts too?"

Harry nodded though Lucy had suddenly gone very shy. Boys often made her nervous and Harry wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't because of Dudley and his Gang. Lucy liked to deny such claims.

"Good." The boy smiled back at the mirror. "My father's next door buying my books and I've got my Mother up the street looking at wands." He had a bored sort of drawl to his voice.

"After this, I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully my father into getting me one anyway and smuggle it in somehow." He grinned.

Lucy shivered a little as the witch who was helping her folded her sleeves back over her hands. One look from Harry and she knew, they were both reminded strongly of Dudley. She tried not to look at the boy again though with the mirror it was nearly impossible.

"Hey, have either of you got your own broom?" The boy asked suddenly turning to face Harry and both twins shook their heads. "No." Harry mumbled out while Madam Malkins tried to measure the distance between his ankle and the end of his robe.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

Again they shook their heads no. What's Quidditch? Lucy wondered. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I do. Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" The boy continued to question. Lucy sighed. She hated how stupid this boy was making her and Harry feel and wished he'd stop asking so many questions. Besides what did he mean by what house they would be in anyway?

"Well..no one really knows until they get there, do they?" The boy smirked. "But I know I'll be in Slytherin. My whole family's been! But imagine being sorted into Hufflepuff instead! I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He turned to eye Lucy.

Lucy gave her shoulders a light shake as the witch finished fixing her sleeves and moved down to her hem. She could hear Harry's thinking and knew he would also rather go to Hufflepuff House (whatever that was) if it meant getting away from this boy.

"Mmm..." Harry murmured as Madam Malkins shook out his hems. The boy suddenly turned and shot Lucy with a strange look. "Hey! Are you a mute or something?" He asked.

Lucy started to turn red until she heard him laughing and realized he was making a joke at her.

"She's just shy." Harry narrowed his eyes slightly, not appreciating the boy's laughter. Lucy's never really got along with others boys other than himself and he really didn't appreciate how this boy was making things worse for her.

The boy made to retort at him, when suddenly he spotted something far more amusing to his tastes outside the far window. "I say! Look at that man!" He exclaimed suddenly pointing with his right arm.

Harry and Lucy turned and saw Hagrid sitting on a bench right outside the window grinning and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"Oh, that's Hagrid." said Harry, pleased to finally know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." Lucy smiled discreetly at him from her stool.

"Oh..." The boy quickly lost interest. "I've heard of him. He's sort of a servant there, isn't he?" He asked making Lucy feel a little annoyed.

"He's the gamekeeper." Harry corrected, feeling hot himself. He was liking this boy less and less as the minutes dragged on and he couldn't help but wish that Madam Malkins would finish with them sooner so they could leave and join Hagrid with the ice cream cones.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's sort of..savage. Lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed." The boy laughed after this and Lucy felt her cheeks grow warmer.

"I happen to think he's brilliant." She spat bitterly, speaking up for the first time since entering the robes shop and caught the worried look Harry shot her through the mirror. If the boy started targeting her...

"Do you?" The boy sneered at Lucy. "Well why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

Lucy hung her head and turned away so the boy wouldn't see the tears building up behind her eyes.

"They're dead." Harry answered flatly for her and hoped the boy wouldn't start asking questions about that. He really wasn't in the mood for it anymore.

"Oh, sorry." The boy quickly apologized, not sounding at all sorry. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

Our kind? Lucy was confused, but Harry had had enough. "They were a witch and wizard if that's what you mean." He snapped irritatedly.

The boy looked pleased to hear this. "Good. I really don't think they should let the other sort in at Hogwarts, do you? They're just not the same. They haven't been brought up to know all our ways. Some of them never even heard of Hogwarts until they got their letter! Can you imagine? I think they should just keep it in old wizarding families. Say, what is your surname anyway?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer when Madam Malkins straightened up from the floor. "They we are. You're done my dear. Take these and meet me in the front." She handed him the robes and disappeared back to the main area of the shop.

Lucy looked at Harry fearfully as he hopped off his stool and turned towards the door. Would he leave her alone with the boy?

"All done, Lovey." The witch gently patted Lucy on the back as she handed her finished robes to her. "Go bring those to Madam Malkin up front and she'll ring em up for you, all right Dear?"

Lucy nodded, relief causing her laugh a little as she hopped off the stool and quickly followed her brother to the front of the store, her robes folded carefully in her arms.

"Well I'll see you both at Hogwarts then, I suppose." The boy called after them with a drawl. Harry only paused slightly at the door.

Hagrid noticed that the twins were being strangely quiet as they ate their ice cream cones together in pleasant company under the heat of the London afternoon.

Neither of them were smiling and they didn't even bat an eyelash when a street vendor passed by selling fizzing firecrackers that lit by themselves.

"Well now, what's gotten into yeh two?" He demanded gently as Harry took a big bite from his ice cream. Lucy sighed and shook her head. "Oh nothing..." She continued to stare at the ground and pulled at a strand of her reddish brown hair.

"Nuthin? Come on now, what's eaten ya? Yeh two were so excited about being here before." Hagrid scratched his head.

Harry sighed. "Well..there was this boy in Madam Malkin's actually. He kept saying stuff like people shouldn't be allowed to learn magic if they were born from muggles and-."

"Now hold up! Yeh two are not muggle born! If he knew who yeh two were, I'm bettin my beard he wouldn't uh said all that! Sides some of the best wizards and witches I knew were muggleborn! Just look at yer Mum!"

Lucy chewed on her lip. "But..he made us feel so stupid." She frowned. "I mean, what is Hufflepuff and Quidditch anyway?"

"Hufflepuff is a School House at Hogwarts...and Quidditch is a sport. Wizard's sport. Played in the air with broomsticks." Hagrid explained as he finished the last bite of his ice cream. "Don't worry yeh'll catch on to it soon enough."

"Oh..." Harry nodded his head, still a little confused though. "Well what's the difference between Hufflepuff and Slytherin then? The boy back at the shop said he thinks he'll be in Slytherin House and-."

"Well Slytherin and Hufflepuff are both houses at Hogwarts. Now everyone says that Hufflepuff is full of nuthin but ol duffers, but I say better Hufflepuff than Slytherin. There hasn't been a witch or a wizard in years who hasn't gone bad in Slytherin." Hagrid shook his head.

Lucy swallowed and thought about the boy they met in the robes shop.

"Even You-Know-Who was in Slytherin." Hagrid added as an afterthought though he was frowning darkly as he said this. Harry and Lucy exchanged glances at that.

"Lord Volde-...I mean You-Know-Who was in Slytherin too?" Harry asked earning a eye roll from his sister.

Honestly Harry, it's just a name. She thought in annoyance. Harry just shrugged at her.

"Yup...and he was the worst of them all." Hagrid muttered softly.

Florish and Blotts was where the Potters ended up going to next after they finished thier ice cream cones with Hagrid.

Lucy was in total euphoria the minute they walked in and realized it was a book shop.

Hagrid was constantly having to pull her along through the store as they perused the shelves for the books the Twins would need for the coming school term.

"Dragons and their Uses and Wonders?...The Ins and Outs of Concealment Charms and Bewitchery?...Hagrid, it's like a treasure trove in here!" Lucy squealed as she found a book about Monsters next.

Harry rolled his eyes as Hagrid quickly pulled her away from the Monster Book of Monsters before could try to bite her fingers off.

"Watch it!..Some of those books can be dangerous if mishandled...Harry! What are you doing?" Hagrid quickly turned when he saw the book Harry's interest had caught.

He turned swiftly to snatch it from Harry's grasp just as he was about to turn to the next page.

Lucy just managed to catch the title as Hagrid tossed the book back to the table where Harry had found it.

Curses and Counter Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies With the Latest Revenges!: Hair Loss, Jelly Legs, Tongue Tying and Much Much More!) By Professor Vindictus Viridian

"I...I was just trying to figure out how to curse Dudley." Harry stammered, turning a little pink in the ears while Lucy tried not to laugh.

Hagrid rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not sayin that's not a good idea, but yer not to use magic in the muggle world except in very special circumstances." He reprimanded lightly. Harry hung his head at that.

"Oh..."

"And besides, yeh couldn't work any of those curses yet anyway. Yeh'd need to study more ter get ter that level." Hagrid smiled slightly as he clapped Harry as lightly as he could manage on the back with one of his large hands.

Harry managed a slight tight lipped smile in return as Lucy playfully nudged him in the ribs to make him feel better.

They paid for their books then Hagrid took them to buy parchment and quills in the store next door.

After that was cauldrons of course and Hagrid bought one for each of the twins at the Potage Cauldron's shop. (Pewter of course, as the list suggested though Harry had wanted a gold one.)

Next was the Apothecary's and there Hagrid bought them flasks, weighing scales and some other beginner's potions' ingredients and tools that fascinated the Twins enough to distract them from the horrible smell reeking around the place.

"...And now we need...a wand." Harry read off his list when they were leaving the Apothecary. Lucy wrinkled her nose to get rid of the odors and glanced down at her own list.

"A wand?..Well yeh'll want Ollivanders! Ain't no better place for em!..Oh yeah and I need to get yeh two a birthday present." Hagrid tacked on more to himself than to the Twins.

Harry felt himself go red and Lucy was already looking down at the floor. "Hagrid, you don't have to-."

"Ah know I don't have to. Tell yeh what? I'll get yeh two yer animals. Not a Toad though, those went out of fashion years ago. And I don't like cats, they make me sneeze."

Lucy frowned at that.

"I'll get yeh an owl! All the kids want em! They're smart and dead useful too for carrying yer mail and stuff." Harry looked excited while Lucy still looked disappointed.

"Um Hagrid, I-."

"No no! No need to thank me! Run along now! I'll meet yeh two at Ollivanders!" Hagrid quickly shoo-ed them away while he turned to head towards the Eeylops Owl Emporium, Lucy and Harry saw on their way out from the Parchments' Store.

Lucy felt Harry grab her hand as they approached the store marked Ollivanders: Maker of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

"You wanted a cat, didn't you?" He gave her a sympathetic look.

Lucy sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'd be perfectly happy with an owl...Maybe Hagrid will get me one of those Elf Owls. They're cute." She reasoned.

Harry gave her an unconvinced look as they entered the shop which although was shabby at first look, really was just as interesting as any of other shops the Twins had perused during the day.

A long faded wood counter seperated the front of the shop from the back, the latter of which was filed with shelves upon shelves cluttered and stacked with various sized boxes all the way up to the ceiling.

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and knew Lucy felt it too when she grabbed his arm and dug her nails into his wrist.

You feel that?...She thought to him looking around at the wands that were on display.

Even the dust that settled around the different areas of the shop seemed to eradiate a certain sense of magic and wonderment.

Harry nodded his head. I can feel it.

"Good afternoon." A soft voice suddenly broke through their reverie. Harry and Lucy jumped and turned to see a spindly old man with wild grey hair and light eyes approaching through the middle of the shelves.

"Uh..Hello." Harry greeted the man awkwardly while Lucy's grip on him tightened. He tried vainly to loosen her grip though he didn't blame Lucy at all for being nervous.

The man's eyes were white, practically pupil-less and no matter how long Harry stared at him, he didn't blink an eyelash.

"Well hello! I thought I'd be seeing the two of you soon. It seems only yesterday your own Mother and Father were in here looking for their first wands."

The man smiled as he opened a door neither Harry nor Lucy had realized was attached to the counter before and approached the Twins, his gaze never moving from them.

He first looked at Lucy. "Ah..you both have your Mother's eyes." The man's smile widened as he looked over at Harry next. "I remember it well. Ten and a quarter inch long made from willow with a hair of a unicorn."

He smiled as he turned to retrieve something from the counter.

"Your Father on the other hand favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches and pliable. A little more power and excellent for Transfiguration. Well I say your Father favored it. It's really the wand who chooses the wizard after all."

Harry and Lucy exchanged another a look right before the man bent over them again. This time so close that Harry could almost see himself reflected in his eyes. Lucy shivered.

"And thats!..." He traced a bony old finger over the marks on the Twins' foreheads. He frowned then as he pulled away and straightened up.

"I am sorry to say I sold the wand that did it. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand. Yes! Powerful wand...if I had only known what that wand would go out to do..." He frowned.

Lucy frowned at that too though she could feel her scar tingling a bit after Ollivander touched it.

"You couldn't possibly have known." She said softly, speaking up to him for the first time.

The man seemed to smile at that. "Ah Well...and there's no point fretting about it now either, is there?...Come along then Potters! Which is your wand arm?" He asked opening a tape measure he had previously taken from the counter.

"Er..." Harry exchanged a look with his sister. "My sister and I are right handed." He stammered out.

The man nodded his head. "Very well then. Hold out your arm. You first Mr. Potter. That's it." He stretched out the tape measure from the tip of Harry's middle finger to the top of his shoulder, from his wrist to his elbow then from his shoulder to floor.

He quickly did the same with Lucy then went back behind the shelves presumably to search for wands that might suit them according to the measurements he took.

"Um..." Harry crossed his eyes downwards at his nose as the tape measure which was now moving on its own without the shopkeeper's notice, measured the distance between his nostrils.

Lucy pressed her lips together and dug her nails into the folds of her poor clothes in an attempt to stifle her giggles.

"That will do!" The man snapped suddenly authoritatively without turning his back from the shelves. The tape measure dropped almost instantly to the floor.

"Stop giggling!" Harry nudged Lucy as she started to go red in the face. "Ah! Here we are! Try this one Mr. Potter! Beechwood and Dragonheart string. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just give it a wave." The wandkeeper instructed as he handed a delicate looking piece of wood to Harry.

Harry looked at Lucy who had finished laughing by now and (feeling rather foolish) gave the wand a wave. Right away the stack of wands, the Wandkeeper had set aside for the Potters to try on the counter blew into a disorderly heap on the floor.

"Apparently not." The shopkeeper seemed hardly phased as if this were a normal occurance in his shop.

It probably is normal. Lucy thought to Harry who didn't bother to answer her on account of his surprise at what the wand did.

Ollivander quickly snatched the wand back from Harry and handed it to Lucy, yielding the same resuts except Lucy managed to knock down a whole shelf of wand boxes on her left.

"No no! Definitely not!" Ollivander snatched the wand back from Lucy and put it back in its box. Moving quickly to unwrap another one as he righted the mess with his own wand.

"Here we are! Maple and Phoenix feather. Seven inches! Quite whippy. Try!" The wandmaker enthusiastically shoved the wand into Harry's hand.

Harry gave it only a slight wave this time, but display case behind him shattered when he did so.

Ollivander picked up his wand again and repaired the damage as he grabbed the other wand back from Harry, this time without bothering to let Lucy try it.

"Here here! Ebony and unicorn hair! Eight and a half inches. Springy! Go on now try it out!" He put the new wand in Lucy's hand first this time.

Lucy gave it a twirl. Harry screamed as something exploded when she did leaving a burnt mark on the counter.

"Oh I'm sorry I-." Lucy started to apologize when Ollivander grabbed the wand in her hand roughly.

"No no!...Never fear, a match there will soon appear. Let me see! Let me see!" He hurried back amongst the shelves pulling more wands from the shelves.

Maybe it was just Lucy and maybe it wasn't, but Ollivander seemed to get happier with everyone wand he pulled.

Soon the pile of tried wands grew into a weighty stack with no luck yet as to finding the perfect match for Harry and Lucy.

Lucy looked like she was about to get overwhelmed by all the wand mishaps when suddenly, Mr. Ollivander caught a strange glint in his eyes.

"Well I wonder now...yes why not?...unusual combination. Perhaps they might..." Mr. Ollivander returned to the shelves and this time returned with only two wand boxes. Both of which were colored black. One with a red ribbon tied around it and the other a blue.

Mr. Ollivander untied the red ribbon first. "Here now, try this one on Mr. Potter. Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches. Nice and supple." He handed the wand carefully to Harry.

Harry carefully grasped the wand. Enjoying the feel of the wood between his fingers, he smiled. Slowly, he gave it a wave.

There was a whoosh. Then the breeze picked up till it was blowing Harry's hair straight upwards while casting a reddish glow on his face.

Lucy's jaw fell open.

"Curious indeed..." Mr. Ollivander nodded already unwrapping the other wand. "Yes I wonder...Miss Potter try this. Ten and half inches. White Oak and Phoenix feather. Very swishy." He handed the wand to Lucy.

Lucy took it and repositioned her grip. Slowly, just like her brother she gave the wand a wave.

"Curiouser and Curiouser!...Very curious indeed." Mr. Ollivander continued to muse when Lucy's wand gave off the same effect as Harry's.

Harry looked up from his wand. "Sorry, but what's curious?" He asked as Lucy slowly lowered her wand.

Ollivander raised an eyebrow. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. And it just so happens that the Phoenix whose tail feathers reside in yours and your sister's wands gave only one other feather. It's curious that you two should be destined for these wands, when their brother...why their brother gave you those scars." He pointed at the Twins' foreheads again.

A chill ran down Lucy's spine as she reached up to touch her scar. Harry had gone very pale at this point.

"And...who owned that wand, Mr. Ollivander Sir?" he asked trying not to stammer or drop the wand he was holding as he spoke.

"We do not speak his name. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did a great many things in his life time. Terrible yes...but great." Ollivander nodded staring at the Twins again.

"Yes I should think we should expect a great many things from you, Potters. Very curious indeed." He said again as he finished wrapping up the wands for them and rang them up.

When Harry and Lucy went out to find Hagrid clutching their new wands. They couldn't help thinking about what Mr. Ollivander had said.

It was chilling, they had to admit, to know that their wands were akin to the one that killed their parents. The wand that tried to kill them...

"Hey Harry!...Lucy! Over here!..Happy Birthday!" Hagrid called to them from a bench where he was sitting.

On his right was a cage, bearing a beautiful white snowy owl and next to it was a brown wicker basket with a small red blanket draped over the top.

Lucy gasped when a little white kitten poked its furry little head up over the top of the basket and mewed as it looked out upon the busy London City with wide blue eyes.

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