The shop was filled with boxes. Aria ducked instinctively upon entering, her green eyes bright with excitement as she stepped carefully around the shelves, which were stuffed to the brim with slender wooden boxes.
"Ah, hello there," said a voice, and an eerie old man stepped out from behind a counter. He peered carefully at the arrivals. "Young Potter, mahogany, eleven inches. And Mr. Black, rosewood with a dragon's heartstring." He paused, looking Aria over; she shivered under his penetrating gaze. "I've never sold a wand to you, young lady; who might you be?"
"She's Aria," James said with a smile. "She's not been to any magical schools, yet she says she's magic. We thought, seeing as how she's never had a wand, you could help us out."
"I see," said the man. He paused thoughtfully, and then smiled. "Well, it can't hurt to give the lady a shot; let's see if we have your wand here, Miss Aria." He walked through the shelving, towards the back; Aria followed tentatively. "It is the wand which chooses the wizard, you know. Or witch, in your case. Here, let's start with some holly. This one's nice and swishy, with a unicorn hair." He turned and handed Aria the box.
Slowly, the dark-haired girl opened the box and took out a long piece of wood. She'd barely had a chance to look at it before the old man had snatched it away from her. She gasped and took a step backward. "No, that one won't do," the man said, replacing it in its box. "Let me see… something shorter, I think." Aria glanced at James and Sirius; they were both grinning broadly at her.
"Here, try this," said the man, handing her another box. "Ash, nine-and-a-half inches."
Aria reached in and managed to brush a finger along the piece before it, too, was snatched away from her. "Well, now, how are we going to know if you take it from me before I even get a chance to try it out?" she demanded angrily.
"Ah, we must have patience, young Aria," the man replied, shaking a finger at her. "We have many wands here; these things take time. But trust me, once your wand chooses you, we will know."
She didn't know what he meant until she found it, a scant two minutes later. She'd been taking and releasing wands by what seemed like dozens, and then suddenly a box fell into her lap and a warmth spread throughout her entire body, like drinking hot cocoa on a winter's evening. "This is the one," she said, and opened the box.
The old man beamed at her. "An eye for the magic, this one," he said reverently. "Go on, try it out."
Aria gently took hold of the wand, and the warmth made her heart sing with joy. With a gentle swish she released a wave of red and blue sparks, snowflakes of magic dancing around her. "It's beautiful," she said softly.
"It's yours," the man replied, grinning in his scary way. He took the box from her and went to the counter, where he rang up the sale. "Five Galleons for your willow wand, dear. Ten inches, phoenix feather core. It's a lovely wand, very magical, indeed."
Aria looked nervously to James, who leapt forward eagerly. "That's on me, Mister Ollivander, sir," he said, placing five odd golden coins on the counter.
"You all have a lovely day, now," Mr. Ollivander said, watching Aria in a way that made her shiver once again.
"That man is watching me," she muttered nervously to the boys as they left the shop.
"Oh, he creeps everyone out," James replied jovially. "He's pretty brilliant, though, don't you think?"
"I think he's a nutter," Sirius replied. "Though he's obviously wondering why he'd never seen you before, Aria."
"Well, it can't be that odd for a person to buy a wand at my age, is it?" Aria asked, staring down at her new possession. She looked up to James. "And thank you very much, by the way, for purchasing this. I'm very sorry I didn't think of it sooner."
"Not to worry," James said, waving her off.
"He's got plenty to spare," Sirius said darkly, giving him a sideways look.
"Padfoot here's been recently cut off from his endless money supply," James informed Aria with a smirk. "You may ignore his jealous remarks."
"Padfoot?" Aria asked curiously.
"Ah, well, a simple nickname. It's a bit of an inside joke; I'll explain later." James appeared flustered, but Aria didn't really think much of it. She was too busy wondering how she was going to get her own wizard money, or how she would even convince anyone she was actually a witch.
She was actually a witch; the words thrilled her. Nothing had ever excited her this much before in her entire life. She was a witch, and she owned a wand, and she was going to be learning magic. It was unreal, in the very best sense. And to think it had all come from a strange girl with bushy hair, distracting her to the point of falling and setting off her time turner.
"How will they let me into your school?" Aria asked, following the boys as they ducked into a magical bookstore. It was filled with other young people, all wandering the extremely tall bookshelves.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something," James replied, fishing in his pockets for something. "Our headmaster is a really good guy; I'm sure if we just explain it to him, he'll let you stay."
"He hasn't kicked us out yet," Sirius added, giving Aria a wink that made her stomach twist briefly. "Padfoot" was a very handsome young man, that was for sure. James wasn't bad looking, either, though Aria noticed that the girls in the shop seemed to be gazing at Sirius as he passed through, completely blaze to their attentions. "Oi, Prongs, the new transfiguration book is this way."
James had apparently found what he'd been looking for, an elegant-looking piece of parchment that had crease marks where it had been folded into thirds. "Oh, right," he said, looking up from it. "It's the only new book we need this term."
"We'd best get Aria a collection, if she'll be starting Hogwarts," Sirius pointed out, hoisting several thick tomes into his arms and handing one to James.
"That's right, mate, but she'll have to start at the beginning, won't she?"
"I suppose so," Aria said darkly. "I'll be taking classes with all the children."
Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "Ickle firsties," he said gleefully.
James grinned. "What fun we have teasing them," he said dreamily.
"I suppose this year'll be different, with old Moony as prefect," Sirius said.
"Moony's one of us, mate; he never stops the fun."
"Who is Moony, and what is a prefect?" Aria asked, annoyed. She felt as though they were talking a mile a minute, and never giving her the chance to catch up. She almost felt as though she would be better off without them, though of course she'd be helpless and lost without their guidance to the wizarding world.
James laughed. "Remus is another friend of ours. Prefects are…. Well, I don't know what you call them in America. Prefects are students chosen to watch over the others in their dorm, make sure everyone's behaving. You know, snotty little brats who like to spoil the fun for others."
Aria gave him a lopsided smirk; she liked his way of thinking.