Ch 97: Preparing for What's Ahead
Ron opened the door to the dusty shop and held it open for his family and the Potters to enter. He was hit with the familiar blend of musty smells of wood dust, musty boxes and wood varnish as he entered Ollivanders, and it immediately brought to the surface the memory of coming as a young boy watching his older brothers get their wands. He remembered how incredible it was to watch the ancient wizard somehow look into the unique soul of each person and match them perfectly to a handcrafted tool that would enable them to channel the magic within them into the world. He had so looked forward to getting his own when he turned eleven but had been truly devastated when his father had to let him know they couldn't afford a new wand just yet, and he would have to make do with Bill's old wand. Of course he hadn't let his parents know how upset he'd been. He could already see the shame on his father's face as he had to admit to his youngest son that he couldn't give him this rite of passage he would need to truly succeed as a young wizard. It wasn't until he was thirteen that he had been able to get his own wand for the first time and feel the amazing sensation of having his magic channel perfectly through a wand that had chosen him.
They had waited until the week after Harry's birthday to bring Lilly and Hugo to Diagon Alley to get their own wands. They would come back in a few weeks to get the books and other school supplies, but they wanted to come a little early to be able to get the wands without the crush of back to school shoppers. Both Lilly and Hugo were clearly anxious, excited and pretending to be nonchalant about the expedition. Seeing Hugo nervously shift from one foot to the other, Ron reached out to rub his shoulder gently, which caused Hugo to smile and lean back slightly against Ron in the crowded shop. As they had anticipated, the younger family member tending the shop rushed off to get the senior wizard to help the Weasley and Potter families with their monumental purchases.
"Good day, old friends," said the old wizard.
"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," smiled Ron. "I am sorry we disturbed you."
"Oh, nonsense. For you two there is no such thing. I was wondering when we would be seeing your youngest ones coming in for their wands."
"Well, we brought them both in today," smiled Harry. "Lilly and Hugo are both off to Hogwarts this fall, so a visit to see you was most assuredly in order."
"Wonderful, wonderful," said the elder gentleman. "Which one would like to go first?"
They all watched quietly as Mr. Ollivander worked with Lilly to find a red oak wand, 9 ¾ inches long with a phoenix core. Then he turned his attention to Hugo. Ollivander proceeded to pull out wand after wand, but with each had either no reaction or some sort of raucous explosion to show for it.
"Blimey, Hugo. I thought I was the only one that had so much trouble finding my wand," laughed Harry.
"Let me see, young man. You are a very interesting combination of all four of your parents. But, under all of those influences is a creative core, I believe. And very wise old eyes, hmm," Ollivander muttered as he went to the back of the store to try a different wand. After few moments he came back out with a very dusty box and said, "Here. Try this one."
Hugo's eyes were large at his comment, but he swallowed, took a deep breath and grasped the wand. Everyone braced to duck like they had for the last four or five tries. But when Hugo held it, colored sparks came from the end like a soft mist of rainbow colors, causing Hugo to smile.
"I think this it, sir," he said.
"Yes, yes. We found the wand calling you to be sure. Beech wands rarely chose young witches and wizards, so it didn't occur to me to try this one out. But, with everything life has thrown at you, I can see you are clearly mature and wise beyond your years, which clearly this wand has sensed. I have made several wands with hairs from this particular unicorn, and many of them have developed into very creative and artistic individuals. But what also thrills me about this particular match is that the unicorn which gave me the core for this wand also gave me the one used for your late Uncle Collin's wand. Photography, if I remember correctly, was his artistic medium of choice. I will be very interested to learn how your talents evolve and grow over the years to come."
Somehow, Hugo's smile only grew broader at this comment. He was oblivious to the four adults behind him wiping tears from their eyes.
"Alright you lot," said Ginny still blinking furiously. "Let's let the dads pay for everything while we go find a table for all of us at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Can we do a kids' table and a grown up table?" pleaded Al.
"Alright fine," Ginny conceded as she held the door for the five kids. Once Lilly and Hugo had thanked the older wizard, they headed out the door for lunch.
"Thank you so much, sir," said Ron. "I hope you know how much your comments about the unicorn hair matching the one in Collin's wand mean to all of us, but especially to him."
"Simply stating the facts, Mr. Weasley."
"Well, then thank you for helping us all be aware of the facts," Ron replied. "We are each looking for every opportunity to keep him linked to and connected with his late family. Knowing there is such a similarity with him and Collin is really wonderful."
"And you are right about his creativity, sir," Hermione chimed in. "He is an incredibly talented artist."
"Well, I'm glad to see I wasn't mistaken on this one," he laughed.
The three of then settled up with Mr. Ollivander, who tried to refuse payment completely, but Ron and Harry eventually prevailed. At lunch, the grown-ups sat at a booth while the five children shared a table, pretending to be utterly independent from their parents.
"I can't believe it's less than six weeks 'til they go to school," bemoaned Ron.
"Really?" scoffed Ginny. "Look at them. They want to pretend we don't exist. Aren't you even a little bit looking forward to it?"
"Honestly, I would love it if they came home at least once a month or so," Ron admitted. "Having them on their own during the week is good and all, but I just like them, you know?"
"And, to be fair, you've had the least amount of time with your kids so you aren't as worn down and aggravated as the rest of us," teased Harry trying to get a laugh out of his best mate.
"And, if memory serves, you are actually up there multiple times a week with the auror readiness group, right?" added Ginny.
But Ron only grimaced in return, so Hermione knew they had touched a sensitive nerve instead of being funny.
"Well, we can't stop that train from arriving, so let's focus on the positive, shall we? Have you all thought any more about where we might go on our vacation in September?" she asked.
"Were we in charge of that one, Hermione?" Harry asked sheepishly.
Ginny smacked him upside the head. "You were. But you have been demoted now. I'll be handling this."
"This trip just got substantially more expensive, didn't it," he asked his wife.
"Not as expensive as the couples counseling we would need for the next seven years if we didn't go."
"Right."
"OK, seriously," Hermione cut in. "Let's brainstorm a bit. We've talked about going somewhere we can each have our own places and such, but get together some for dinners or a few activities. Am I presuming this is somewhere warm? Or is weather not important?"
"Warm," the other three said simultaneously.
"Alright. Then next question – do you want to stay in Europe or consider other warm places?"
The table was quiet until Ron said, "I know I clearly have been declared the sap at the table. But, I don't want to be too far away when they've just left. What if they send us an owl and it takes forever to find us off in Hawaii or something? I vote Europe. Preferably close by Europe."
"Well, I vote outside of the UK and Ireland," Ginny said. "We need to at least go as far south as France."
"What about back to Mallorca?" Hermione offered.
They all nodded blandly, but there was no real reaction.
"What about somewhere with great history? Maybe we could stay in some ancient castle and learn about-" she was saying until she was cut off by the horrified stares from her friends. "Well, learning is out, apparently. Then how about Saint Tropez in France? It's gorgeous, on the sea, a cute town with fabulous shopping and great restaurants. Still beautiful but not as crazy as Monaco or anything."
"I love it," said Ginny immediately. "French Riviera it is."
"We don't get a say?" Harry protested.
"No," laughed the wives simultaneously.
"Right then," Harry laughed. "So, now that that's all settled, what else have you two been up to?"
"Well, Ron almost lost to Mrs. Carrington in chess last week."
"Really?" Ginny asked. "You haven't lost a game since you were like eight years old!"
"Seven, actually," Ron laughed. "But, yeah. She is really good. She says she used to play a lot back in the fifties, but then didn't have anyone to really play against. Seems like she had forgotten a lot, but the more we play, the more that comes back."
"She claims she isn't going to die until she beats him," Hermione added.
"Well, looks to me like she is getting closer on both accounts," Ginny observed.
"My theory is that she could beat him, but she is too busy flirting with him and gets distracted."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence, love."
"What? By pointing out that you are ridiculously good looking and charming? Or that an old muggle lady in a care home fancies you?"
Harry and Ginny laughed, while Ron's ears went red. Eventually Hermione took pity on him and kissed his cheek. "Sorry," she apologized. "Maybe I'm just jealous and defending my man."
He laughed, and kissed her. But, Hugo saw them across the room, groaned and made a scene of covering his eyes, causing everyone to laugh.
