Chapter 4: Muggle, Witch, or Other
As soon as it became clear that Bella had caused the spell to rebound, the atmosphere completely changed. Neville couldn't stop smirking, McGonagall was in a frenzy, and oddly enough, the whole of Hogwarts seemed to welcome her with open arms.
She'd been ushered from the Headmistress' Office to a spacious, comfortable commons area of sorts with food and an amazing soda that tasted like a mixture of butterscotch, root beer, and possibly something stronger.
Madam Pomfrey and a handful of witches and wizards she didn't know kept bustling in and out, asking her if she was comfortable. One in particular, an aged wizard with a multifaceted magnifying glass kept peering at Bella with rapt fascination.
"Curious. Very curious."
Neville sat next to her on the couch, appraising the growing crowd with dissatisfaction.
"You know why they're all here?" He leaned close to her ear and whispered, causing shivers to run down her shoulder. "McGonagall reckons you're not a muggle after all. They're all saying only a very powerful witch could have blocked a spell like that without a wand."
She sat quietly for a moment, filing away the vocabulary. "Do you think I'm a muggle?"
He turned to face her, gazing straight into her eyes with a depth that almost frightened her. "I don't think it matters."
The old man with the odd lenses must have been eavesdropping, because he joined in the conversation without so much as an introduction.
"On the contrary, Mister Longbottom. It matters very much if she is a muggle...or if she's a witch...or perhaps, something more."
Bella shuddered, morbidly curious what he could possibly mean.
"Bella, this is Garrick Ollivander. He's a wandmaker and one of the finest wizards I've ever known."
Mr. Ollivander made no gesture toward Neville. He simply pulled a tape measure from the pocket of his robes and continued speaking.
"The wizarding world can be full of light and wonder," he leaned in toward her face, "but it can also be full of great darkness."
"Okay...?" She was genuinely spooked by this Ollivander guy.
"Unless I am very much mistaken, you removed a skillful wizard's memory with nothing more than your mind whilst being held by a full body-bind curse. Take care, Bella Swan. It may yet be that you are a muggle, but there is great power in you. Wield it wisely." He stood, nodding to Neville and heading toward the door. Then he called back to the pair just as his hand reached the handle. "I should like to test a few wands on you – for...curiosity's sake. You may stop by any time." Then Mr. Ollivander returned the tape measure to his robes and exited the room.
"Wow, he seemed...interesting." Bella sat back, ignoring the other onlookers for the time being. "What did he mean, I can stop by any time?"
"Ollivander has a wand shop in Diagon Alley."
"Diagon-alley?" Bella snorted. "I'm trying, Neville, I swear, but some of these names..."
"Just wait, it gets better – or worse, you know, depending on how you look at it."
She laughed, glad to have someone she could joke around with.
"So do you think I should test out wands?"
His expression became thoughtful for a moment. "What do you have to lose?"
"With my luck, everything," she half-joked.
She thought of Charlie and her mom in Florida. How long would it be until they began to worry? How long would it be until they began to look for her? Bella knew they'd never even get close; they were just like everyone else, minds running on FM and leaving their thoughts open to the Edwards and Polonius Burkes and other mind-invading supernatural beings of the world.
But was there really so much left to lose? She'd lost the Cullens. She'd lost Jake. Was it really so hard to give up the rest?
Yes it was. But Bella knew she was going to do it anyway.
"You're going to show me how to get there, right?" she smiled for good measure.
"Of course I am. Now come on, let me show a few spells you might see, so you aren't shrieking at every shop along the way."
They laughed, and she followed her friend away from the growing mob of strangers. There was no turning back now.