Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter themes or characters…except the ones I made up which are indeed mine.

A/N: Not much to say…PAH-LEASE R&R!

Chapter 6: Wands and Trains

From there the two proceeded to explore Diagon Alley searching for supplies. Cauldrons, hats, gloves, cloaks, and even a small velvet poach to keep Lindy's gold coins

"How would you like an owl?" Mr. Potter asked her as they walked out of the robe shop.

"Uh…I don't know…who I need one?" she asked.

"It would be easier to talk to your family. There are no telephones in Hogwarts," Mr. Potter replied.

"Ok," Lindy said.

"Good, I'll go and look for one and you can get your wand."

She nodded, "Don't buy one without me."

"I'll be waiting, probably for a long time," he answered.

Lindy wasn't quite sure what that meant. She spotted a shop called: "Ollivanders: Making Fine Wands Since 382BC" across the street she walked towards it then quickly hopped backwards at the site of smoke coming out of the windows. At first she thought the building was on fire, but then she heard a cheerful man's voice, "I see you little girl," he said, "Come on in!"

She carefully opened the door and tip-toed inside. The smoke was almost clear. The young man at the counter was laughing at a boy, about Lindy's age with a black soot face holding a long wand. His father and what appeared to be his older brother were laughing along with him. "Nice going, Cole," his brother said in a sweet Irish accent, trying to catch his breathe.

"It's not my fault!" Cole cried, "He gave it to me!" The Irish boy pointed his pale finger at the young man.

"Sorry," the man said still chuckling slightly, "Try this one." He handed him a shorter, brown wand.

"Try a handkerchief first," the father said reaching into his pocket and handing rag to his youngest son. Cole wiped his face and waved the wand in his hand as soon as he did he fell over backwards and landed on his dirty blonde head. They all laughed again and Lindy too smiled. She was still standing at the door away from the merry bunch.

"Looking for a wand, girl?" the man at the counter asked her.

"Yes," she answered.

"What's your name?" he asked, handing the boy a new wand. This time it lit up and a grin spread across Cole's face, "That's the one," the wand seller said, "Mahogany 10 ½ inches, thin and supple."

"Lindy Beiner," she said answering his question.

He smiled mysteriously, "That's short for Glinda, am I right?"

"Yes," she said.

"I know just the one for you," he replied. He walked towards the back and rummaged through boxes of wands, dropping a few a long the way.

The father of the two boys laughed, "Edwin Ollivanders, the poor kid just pretends to know what he's doing. He's taking over for his father, who took over for his grandfather. Rest his soul."

"Got it!" Young Ollivanders called, "No, wait, that's not it…"

"Let's go, dad," pleaded the older boy, "I want to look at the brooms."

"Now Liam, you know very well that you can't have a broom until you're willing to pay for one yourself," his father answered. Lindy was humoured by the fact that witches really did ride around on brooms.

"Ah, Glinda, here you are," Young Ollivanders said handing her a long, black wand, "My grandfather kept a record of every wizard who ever bought a wand here as well as what type they acquired and I believe your father owned one similar to this: ebony and dragon heartstring, semi-powerful, 9 ¾ inches." (A/N: I made this up, Draco's real wand type was never mentioned.)

The two Irish boys had puzzled looks on their faces. Lindy took the wand waved it. Sure enough it glowed a very pretty golden light. Young Ollivanders cheered, "Yes! My first time getting it right on the first try!"

"Hold on, Glinda Beiner, are you here with Harry Potter?" the father asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"You mean Jamie's dad?" the older boy asked, "Is Jamie with him?"

"No," she said not sure if Jamie was a boy or a girl.

"Oh," he said, "Well, tell Mr. Potter to tell Jamie that he owes me a galleon on the England vs. Ireland Quidditch match."

Lindy wasn't sure what Quidditch was (some game with brooms she guessed) but she smiled anyway. Liam smiled back. This was when she noticed how cute he was. He had a really nice smile, dirty blonde hair parted in the middle but his best features were probably his eyes, they were a bright hazel. She figured he was probably a year or two older than she was. And although Lindy had never crushed before she couldn't help but blush.

The door of the wand shop opened, Mr. Potter on the other side, "Lindy, you must come and see this owl," he said sounding excited.

"Harry!" the father exclaimed, "Good to see you again." Lindy noticed the younger boy rolling his eyes.

"Oh, Seamus," he said, "How are you?"

"Great," he answered, "Just shopping with the boys." The Irish man messed up Cole's sandy hair and the annoyed child made a face.

"I took Jamie and Lily Jane last week, I'm here with Lindy now," he said.

"I can see that," the man answered, "Are they looking forward to another year?"

"Jamie is," he answered, "Lily Jane's a little nervous."

"Cole's not, are you son?" the man joked. Cole made another face.

"Hey, Potter, check this out!" Ollivanders cried, "I found young Glinda her wand in record time! The first try I got it!"

Lindy smirked, she didn't much like being called Glinda, and she really didn't like the fact that he found her wand on account of her father.

"That's mighty impressive, Edwin," Mr. Potter said, "Come along, Lindy, you must see this." All five of them headed out of the shop. The two boys and their father headed the opposite direction.

"See you later, Harry," the father called.

"So what is this owl?" Lindy asked as they walked across the stone street.

"You have to see for yourself," he answered.

Eeylops Owl Emporium was just diagonally across the street from Ollivanders. Lindy saw many types of owls in the window. They were brown, white, grey, big, small, tall and short. The creature Mr. Potter was staring at practically caught her eye.

"Oh!" Lindy exclaimed, "Is that the one?" the girl was staring at a puffy, small, orange owl with a pale beak and friendly but fierce looking eyes.

"Yes," Mr. Potter answered, "They're very rare in Britain. Would you like to see it?"

She nodded. The two went inside and the owl turned its head almost all the way around to look at them. "It's okay to touch him," Mr. Potter said. Lindy had never been one to scare easily, especially from animals so she stuck out her hand and petted the bird's chin.

"What type is he?" she asked, "Does he have a name?"

"I believe he's an Eastern Screech Owl," Mr. Potter said, "And he's not fully grown yet so no, he doesn't have a name. You'll have to give him one, if you want to keep him that is."

Lindy had never owned a pet before. Both her father and Mary Lynn were allergic to cats and dogs and her mother said other animals were a waste of money. So of course, Lindy agreed to keep the friendly creature. She decided to name him Volax because she knew "vol" had to do with flying and that was also the name of her favourite primary school teacher that kind of looked like an owl.

After she bought her owl and everything needed to care for it (food, a cage, etc.) she and Mr. Potter caught a train back to Mulberry. There her mum was waiting near the platform. Her eyes were all red and puffy as if she had been crying. Lindy turned around to see Mr. Potter slip away and turned back to her mother.

"Hi," the woman said, "How was your day?"

"Good," Lindy said trying not to sound to cheerful, "I got an owl, so I can talk with you over the school year."

"I can see that," she said.

"I also learned more about my parents," Lindy said quietly, "I mean my birth…people."

Her mother didn't say anything the two just walked out of the train station to the mini-van. As soon as they were inside Mrs. Beiner asked, "So, what did you learn?"

"About my parents?"

Mrs. Beiner nodded.

"Oh, well, Mum…as it turns out my father was a terrible person. He was a dark wizard that worked for a mad man…"

"Is that so?" Her voice sounded disbelieving.

"Yes!" she cried, "He committed suicide and what's worse I don't even know who my mother is…" Lindy began to sob.

Mrs. Beiner pulled over and put her arms around her daughter, "I just want you to know that through all of this your father and I are here for you and if there is ever a time when you want to come home from this school don't hesitate to hop on a train."

Lindy nodded, "You know I was wrong…I do know who my mother is…she's right next to me."

Mrs. Beiner squeezed Lindy harder and wept with her. Lindy was certain that while she was away if there was one thing she was going to miss it would be her.

The next week Lindy woke up and packed her things for school. This is it, she thought, this is how my life changes forever. "Lindy, hurry up!" her mother's voice called from downstairs.

The girl dragged her heavy trunks down the hall along with Volax and a few books that were too thick to fit inside her bags.

"Let me get those for you," her father said coming out of his bedroom picking up her heaviest trunk.

"Thanks," Lindy said smiling.

For breakfast Mum made Lindy her favourite: blueberry pancakes and apple juice. "This will be our last meal together for awhile," Mrs. Beiner said.

"I'll see you Christmas," Lindy assured her.

"You mean you won't be too caught up in witchcraft to forget your dear old family?" Stephen asked coming down the hall. Lindy didn't expect him to acknowledge her even again. The two hadn't really spoken in almost a month. She thought for sure he would make a wise crack like, "Don't let your broom hit you on the way out."

"Of course not," she answered.

"Mr. Potter told me that you would need a cart to carry everything," Mr. Beiner said, "So I got you one, it's at the door."

"Oh, and Mary Lynn called and told me to wish you and safe trip, she's going to write to you as soon as she can," Mrs. Beiner added.

Lindy took one last bite of her pancake and a sip of her juice and said, "Thanks, is it time to go?"

"If you want to meet that woman, yes," Mrs. Beiner said. Mr. Potter had told Lindy to meet up with his wife and kids to help her on the platform, although Lindy was sure she could manage herself.

"Hey, sweetheart," her father said once she began heading to the door with her mum, "Give me a hug and write as soon as you get there, okay?"

Lindy through her arms around the dark haired man, "I will," she said.

"Hey, Blondie," Stephen said, "What about me?"

She hadn't hugged her brother in years but none the less embraced him. The two men followed them out to the car and Lindy waved from the window.

Lindy's mother followed her into the train station. "I think this is as far as I should go," she said after the fifth platform, "Let me give you your ticket Mr. Potter sent." She reached into her pocketbook and Lindy took the stub from her hand.

"Are you sure, Mum?" she asked.

"Yah," her mother answered, "To tell you the truth I'm still not very comfortable with this whole idea, you'll be fine."

Lindy threw her arms around her and whispered, "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, sweetie," she whispered back. Tears flooded both hers and Lindy's eyes. The girl walked backwards a few steps and waved. Then she turned around and began heading towards the next platform.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was going so she looked at her ticket. A puzzled expression came across her face. It read 9 ¾. Lindy hadn't taken many trips on trains but she was pretty sure none of the platforms had fractions. Now she realized why she needed Mrs. Potter's help.

She began to walk down past six and seven. Near platform eight Lindy spotted a red-haired woman in a green cloak. She had four children with her. The young witch wondered if that was Mrs. Potter. The older boy and girl were pushing carts much like hers. The younger girl, who looked to be about seven, was holding on to her mother's hand and the little boy was complaining about something.

"Excuse me!" Lindy called out. She figured that even if this woman wasn't Mrs. Potter she could still be of help since she was obviously a witch.

The mother turned around and stopped walking. "Oh, Lindy!" she exclaimed, "Is that you?"

The girl nodded. "I'm sorry," the red-haired witch said happily ignoring her son's whining, "We were just searching for you. I don't know why I thought you were on the other end of the station."

Lindy smiled and walked towards her. "I'm Ginny Potter," she said, "And this is Jamie the older boy, Lily Jane the older girl, Evan the younger boy, and Holly the little girl. How are you?"

"Fine," she answered, "But a bit overwhelmed."

"That's normal," Mrs. Potter said, "It's Lily Jane's first year too, she's overwhelmed and she's known she was a witch her whole life."

Lindy smiled at the older boy and girl. The girl, Lily Jane, smiled back and waved. The boy, Jamie, continued to look serious and turned around to walk towards platforms nine and ten. Lindy already didn't like him as much as the rest of his family.

"Well, come along kids," Mrs. Potter said, "It's almost eleven." Lindy followed them and stopped in front of nine and ten. She wondered if you had to do some kind of trick to see nine and three quarters.

"Mrs. Potter," Lindy said remembering her manners, "Exactly how do we get to 9 ¾?"

Mrs. Potter smiled again. "Well, it's actually quite simple. All you have to do is run straight through platforms nine and ten. Just make sure no Muggles spot you."

"That's it?" she asked. Lindy had figured it would be much more complicated than that.

"Jamie will go first so you can see how it's done," Mrs. Potter said, "Go ahead, good luck, write to me, have fun, watch out for your sister." She said to her oldest son.

Jamie hugged his mother and nodded. Lindy couldn't help notice how much he looked like his father without the glasses and zigzag scar. Lindy guessed he was probably not much older than her and Lily Jane. (The same age as Liam from the wand shop)

Jamie looked around and after he was sure no Muggles were watching he ran straight towards the wall. Lindy almost yelled, "watch out!" but before she did Jamie was gone. He had really ran right through the wall!

"Wow," Lindy said in awe.

"Pretty wicked, huh?" Lily Jane said. Lindy smiled at her again. Lily Jane had dark red, wavy hair, bright green eyes (like her father) and small square glasses. She also appeared to be younger than eleven for she was tiny like both her parents and also quite skinny.

"Alright you two," said Mrs. Potter, "Do just what he did, don't be afraid."

"Muuuum!" Evan whined again, "Can we please go with them? Luke's in there!"

"I told you Evan," Mrs. Potter yelled, "I have to go to a meeting and you have to go to grandma's!"

"But…" he tried again.

"Evan Sirius!" his mother screamed back, "You're nine years old stop acting half your age!" Lindy noticed a lot of Muggles had stopped and stared.

Most people probably would've guessed that Evan was younger than nine. According to Lindy he was even smaller for his age than Lily Jane. Evan's hair was reddish-brown and messy like Jamie's. He also had round glasses much like his father. Lindy could tell this boy knew how to pitch a fit and most likely did it quite often.

The littlest one, Holly, looked like a miniature version or her mother. Her curly red hair was tied in two pig-tails and she had thousands of freckles and bright brown eyes. "I wanna go to grandma's!" she complained stomping her little feet.

"Just go on, you two," their mother said drowning them out, "And quickly."

Lindy automatically motioned to Lily Jane to go first. The girl got the motion, ran towards the wall, and disappeared behind it.

"Go on," Mrs. Potter said forcing a smile.

Lindy breathed heavily and started to run. She closed her eyes before she got close and before she knew it the girl heard people talking, a whistle, and someone yelling, "All aboard to Hogwarts!"

A/N: I seriously began to get teary eyed while writing that part w/ Lindy and her mother…but anyway, remember the answers to your questions will come in time! R&R! Oh, and I also had this chapter available sooner but my cable went out and I couldn't use the internet…sorry.