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'Thought'

"Speech"

§ Parsletongue §

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Harry Potter, only my OC(s) and some plot twists...


I've seen a lot of things in my life but walking into a staring match between Ollivander and Riley, was something that even I found difficult to get my head around.

"Umm, hi...?" but my expression changed to one of wonder when I noted the rectangular box resting on the tabletop: Its insides were covered in black velvet, atop which lay a wand, presumably my own.

Dark maroon (almost black) with just a hint of blue if the light hit it at the right angle, to call it beautiful would be an understatement... but I digress. The hilt was plain, bound in what looked like black leather (I think) though I couldn't be sure.

I realized just then that I'd already walked up to the table and as if in a trance, saw my hand reach out towards the - seemingly unassuming - stick of wood.

The closest I can come to describe the feeling is euphoria, only... different. A fountain of blue sparks was expelled from its tip and warmth, like nothing I'd ever experienced before, spread through my entire being.

'Now this... is my wand' basking in the moment, I simply uttered the spell without a second thought "Expecto Patronum!" I intoned, performing the necessary wand movements on muscle memory alone.

A blinding bright light emerged and formed a shield, with my wand at its epi-centre. Sure, it was nowhere near being corporeal, but many times better than what I'd gotten previously with Colin's wand. The simple fact that I'd been able to form a shield of some calibre, from what I knew of the spell, spoke volumes of my magical potential. The thought left me feeling more than a little smug, I must say.

'Hell yeah! Take that Potter!' I would've jumped for joy, had my arms not suddenly turned to lead 'Guess the spell's still a bit too advanced for me…' I inwardly scoffed but now, was confident that I would eventually get it down.

"Young Master!" I felt someone shake my shoulder lightly, and turned to see that it was Riley 'Wow! Since when was she so tall!?' I wondered, for her eyes were almost level with my own!

"Wha–" I started, only to gag as she all but stuffed something into my mouth 'Chocolate...' I realized - noticing only then - that I was no longer on my feet. My back was propped up against something hard, 'The table?!' I grimaced. My legs had probably given way at some point and either Riley or Ollivander (who was holding an unwrapped chocolate-frog box in his hand) had propped me up. I didn't have any recollections of either instance, which lead me to believe that I'd probably blacked out.

'Okay… maybe the Patronus spell is more than a bit too advanced for me, at this point' I sighed ruefully as I, with Riley's help, shakily got back to my feet.

"I must thank you," I involuntarily jumped when Ollivander started suddenly, fighting to hold my balance as he continued "for letting me bear witness to a beautiful display of magic, not to mention an instance which I previously considered, improbable" his gaze fell onto my wand, that I still clutched firmly in my hand "A wand of dual cores..." his eyes briefly drifted towards Riley, who was still fretting over me, before returning to my own.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, too confused with the entire situation. I was glad that I'd finally gotten a wand that would work for me, and happy that I'd made progress towards mastering a spell that I'd previously all but given up on... but had little to no clue what he was going on about otherwise.

"Regardless, you have my sincerest gratitude, and apologies…" he started once more, and I simply let him continue without interrupting "Had your House-elf not turned up as she did, I fear my lapse in judgement would have rendered the core inert, or 'dead' so to speak" at this point he seemed to be talking more to himself "We who study Wandlore know that it is just about the vaguest branch of magic" he clarified, which of course, did anything but.

My thoughts swirling at this point 'The core almost died?! Dual cores!? And just what in fucking name was Riley even doin–' but the answer to that question came to me immediately, however '... Luna' and I managed to calm myself down, somewhat.

"Would you mind elaborating?" I asked, glancing at my wand.

"The Unicorn, whose tail hair currently resides in your wand was upwards of two hundred years old, an impressive specimen indeed... though it seems to have disappeared from the reserve" his pale eyes scrutinizing me once more "Shortly after the hair for your wand was harvested, I am told. Now, while I was in the process of re-forging your wand core I found that your residual magic, mixed with the blood you left behind, had over-saturated it" he extend a hand and even though I didn't want to, I relinquished my wand anyway.

"But try as I might," he continued "it wouldn't accept any of the secondary cores I had with me" he explained, his eyes were now focused completely on the wand as he continued "Your House-elf appeared a little after that, any later and the core would have become indisposed, fortunately, that scenario was avoided"

"... say what now?" I wondered out loud.

"Oh, dual-core wands aren't completely unheard of," he went on with the impromptu lesson "though I admit it has been well over a decade since I last made one, and that was under quite… trying circumstances" his eyes now had a slight far away look to them "A true wand bearing dual cores, especially one such as yours... to my knowledge, hasn't been seen, for well over half a century"

'Okaay… save and analyze the information dump for later' a more pressing issue needed to be addressed first: I still didn't know any of the new wand's specifications "Old–Mr. Ollivander, cou–"

"Eleven and three-fourths of an inch. Acacia, with a dual-core of Unicorn hair interwoven with, what I presumed to be, that of a Demiguise" he said, handing me back my wand "A shard of tanzanite, was the binding agent I was allowed to use to forge the new core, also provided by your House-elf" he stated.

Riley was practically hiding behind me now, but the old wandmaker seemed to be ignoring her "A very, unusual combination... heavily oriented towards Transfiguration, Charms and the subtler forms of magic, yet capable of being as destructive as any other, should the need arise."

He gave me his signature gaze that simultaneously looked right through me, while also unnerving me "Wands made of Acacia are less common in these times, and though I am not one to group them as such, I cannot accurately refute the logic of those that do."

By now I was seriously beginning to think that the years spent alone in the shop, were beginning to get to the old man "Some consider Blackthorn to be a Warrior's wand, while others state that Willow favours Travellers, there have been many disagreements of course" he seemed to be in full-on rant mode, so I quietly gestured for Riley to head back to the castle. Something told me I wouldn't be returning just yet, and she was only too happy to comply.

I then focused my attention back onto his words "–rimarily regarding the shady nature of Yew and Elder but given their history unsurprising to say the least–" he continued on for a good few minutes before, finally "–Acacia wands, on the other hand, were usually found… in the hands of an Assassin" at which point I felt like I was being dissected by his gaze.

Needless to say, by the time I left, I had more questions than answers, but I was a happy customer nonetheless. Ollivander had given me an old wand holster, which had been 'lying around gathering dust' to quote him. It was nothing fancy, basically just a simple leather brace that had an open slot, starting from the wrist-end of the bracer.

The slot somehow turned out to be the exact dimensions of my wand's hilt, even the colour of the leather seemed to match perfectly. Yeah, it was a little too coincidental by my books and bounded leather grips weren't all that common in this age, so I straight up confronted the old man about it.

He readily admitted that it was his way of 'showing his gratitude' and outright declared that the grip would only come off if either I (or my wand) was no more. I wasn't exactly bummed, since I quite liked how it looked but anyway, back to the holster… the other end of the slot had a circular cavity that effectively acted as a sheath and the entire thing was no doubt, under one of those spatial expansion charms. I'd basically have to hollow out my hand, if otherwise.

The cavity was fitted with several layers of the cleaning fur, and a flap on the side would allow me to add the special polishing potion that Ollivander used that had to be replenished (I promptly signed up for a mail-order) even three months or so.

However, the icing on the cake was when I found out that the grip and the brace were enchanted (neither could be summoned away) such that should I lose or drop my wand, it would return to the bracer automatically after a minute or two - unless someone else had won it over, unlikely given its nature - I tried to argue, and pay him for it but he steadfastly refused.

"The more modern holsters come with a self-cleaning charm, the wielder can withdraw one's wand with but a flick of their wrist" what he failed to mention was that they were expensive as hell and were usually only made available to Aurors, Ministry officials and those in the up-and-up.

He even added by saying that "Some are also enchanted to be neigh weightless…" and went on to counter me at every turn until I ultimately had to relent.

'And here I was, thinking that I was a stubborn mule' I grumbled as I walked to one of the more secluded streets leading away from the Alley. Just as I was about to call for Riley once more, my gaze fell onto the shop a little way to my left, and I stopped.

'I still have over an hour left until dinner' I glanced at my new watch to confirm the fact: I'd briefly ventured into the mundane world - having made a currency exchange at the bank - after my lunch, to get it. I grinned as I palmed the butterbeer cap(s) I'd accidentally pocketed, '... it shouldn't take that long' I mused inwardly and began walking towards the shop's doorway.

I'd gravely misjudged the situation, of course, but I'll leave that for another time. I did, however, manage to make it back in time.


I hadn't seen Luna all through dinner. I'd initially figured that she was probably out doing whatever she had to do in order to keep the Wrackspurts out, and had decided on giving her some privacy. I started getting worried though, when - even after all the Hogsmeade goers had returned - there was no sign of her. So I quickly made it back to my dorm and, once I'd closed my bed's curtains, I had Riley take me to her.

A point I would like to clarify, the movies got the Forbidden Forest down perfectly in terms of eeriness and whatnot, but they didn't quite get across how bone-fucking-freezing the place was!

Luckily for me though, I was too busy trying not to crap my pants to take much notice. See, staring into the white eyes of a Thestral - mere centimetres away from your own - would do that to a person 'Please tell me I'm not gonna become your din–' but our impromptu staring contest came to an end just then, for the towering beast suddenly leaned in… and bonked me with its sharp beak.

"Ouch! Hey!" it kinda felt similar to when my old man would rap me on the head with his knuckles, not very painful but definitely not pleasant, to remind me not to do - whatever it was I did to gain his disapproval - again in the future.

Apparently, my stink eye wasn't appreciated, for down came the beak once more, triggering a few more muttered curses on my part. The Thestral snorted majestically at that, turned around and after walking (or was it trotting?) to the base of a nearby tree, plonked itself down.

It then proceeded to ignore me completely.

'Okaaay…' I noted that I was in some sort of clearing (the same one in the movies I think) and that there were quite a few Thestrals around me. I suddenly felt a tug on my sleeve, "Young Master, Miss Luna bes over there…" Riley told me in a low voice and I saw that she was pointing to a cave that was right at the edge of the clearing which (if not for me standing at my exact position) was completely hidden from view, perfectly camouflaged by the shade of the overlying tree cover.

I slowly made my way towards the cave, wary of the other Thestrals around it, but like the first guy (I'm assuming it's a guy) they simply paid me no heed. By now I was quite close to the cave, I found that it wasn't that deep... in fact, I could practically see right into it now, which caused my footsteps to stall.

There was another full-grown Thestral in there, sizewise I'd say it was a bit smaller than the one that had lovingly 'tapped' me on my head (so I'm assuming it's a female) and leaning with her back against it was Luna, a gentle smile on her face as she stroked the baby Thestral whose head was on her lap in turn.

It was arguably the most beautiful sight I'd had the good fortune to lay my eyes on…

I was so absorbed in the scene that I failed to realize that my legs had moved on their own accord, it was only when felt Mommy Thestral's breath on my hair that I froze 'Riley I hope you know how to fix a cracked skull!' I would learn only later that a House-elf instinctively knew when their - for lack of a better word - 'Owner' was in danger. How quickly they would react to the fact, on the other hand, depended upon the strength of the bond they shared.

A stronger bond begot a faster reaction, a fragile one, however (like Dobby with the Malfoys) would give the elf some leeway so to speak, they could essentially choose to ignore the compulsion to go to their 'Owner's' - until and unless they were directly summoned, of course - aid.

In simple words, Riley had my back... I just didn't know it yet, not that I blamed her since it was my own lapse in judgement, that had potentially landed me at the receiving end of Mommy Thestral's ire. Contrary to my expectations though, the Thestral gently nuzzled against my head almost as if she was comforting me, and gave me a series of grunts... none of which I understood, unfortunately.

Luckily I had a translator... I think.

"She's glad that you're back," Luna explained, her voice barely above a whisper "and says that the Leader was just merely warning you, not to stray too far from the herd" I was kneeling right next to her at this point, stroking the baby slumbering peacefully on her lap... my hand stilled.

"Wha–?" but Luna had turned towards my silent House-elf.

"Did he ask you to save me a slice Riley?" she asked, to which the latter nodded "Thank you!" with her signature bright smile she leaned forwards and gave me a swift peck on the lips.

My eyes widened, 'Wait… did she jus–'

"You should give him a name" she started, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red "Choose wisely though, he might come to resent you if it's something overly ridiculous" her tone turned warning, as she finished by dropping a figurative bombshell by saying "He's practically your brother after all, since he gave the hair that's now in your wand" the baby Thestral nuzzled into my palm just then, seemingly letting out a grunt in agreement.

My eyes widened all the more, I'd barely come to terms with the fact that I (Colin) had just passed the milestone of getting my (his) first kiss - yes, it was altogether abrupt and short but it definitely counted - that her following words registered.

I was pretty sure my eyes would've popped out of their sockets at this point, were it possible 'I'm supposed to be th–? Wait, brother!? But Ollivander said-' I took in a deep breath, and fought to keep myself from acting out vocally.

"Lun–" I started, but a tangential conversation already seemed to be underway between Riley and her.

"–n't worry Riley, you'll have your hands more than full, in a few years" she assured, giving her a very Luna-like smile before turning back to me "Just between the two of us, I'd say at least one..." she mused, while I sputtered about like a loon at her implications.

"Thank yous Miss Luna! I bes looking forwards to it!" came Riley's enthusiastic - but somehow still not above a whisper - response.

'The fuck!?' I started, 'Girl, you're barely twelve! And you don't even have the excuse of housing someone older!' I mentally chided. My attempts to get my head around everything were ultimately for nought, and I eventually gave it up as a bad job.

Ah, Mr. Migraine. It's been too long! How have you been? Will you be staying for long? Oh! Indefinitely? Good to know, good to know… please, feel free to make yourself at home!

On the outside as opposed to my internal monologue - given all the years of accumulated knowledge, combined with my proficiency in the ways of the English language - I replied with the most eloquent "Huh...?!"


And this, is where I end the chapter...

As always, reviews and/or suggestions are welcome and appreciated, as is constructive criticism, though any and all flames will be ignored.

Until next time...

BerserkSpectre out