Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That privilege solely belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 2 The Wand's Choice

Four Years Later…

"Moony, wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Vesper Black shoved at her sleeping godfather's form. The impatient ten (almost eleven) year old couldn't stand to wait a minute longer. Today was the day when she finally got to go to Diagon Alley and it was already 10 o'clock!

"Alright, alright, I'm up," said Remus, sitting up. "And I thought I told you not to call me that."

Vesper ignored him. "Hurry up and get dressed," she called as she skipped into her room. A worn piece of paper (parchment, Remus had corrected) lay on her night table. Vesper grabbed at it, and scanned the list of everything she would need for Hogwarts. The list had been memorized long ago, but she still liked reading it: cauldron, spell books, a wand! A small sigh escaped her as she imagined what each store would look like.

They had been close to only being figments of her imagination. When her letter first came, Remus had been adamant that she stay behind while he got most of her supplies. After a fit of accidental magic, he finally relented and told her his reasoning. She had never been told much about her parents; just that her mother had died when Vesper was a baby, and nothing about her father. Remus explained that her father (Sirius, she learned his name was), had once been his friend during his time at school. Later on a few years after they had graduated and she was born, he had taken a turn for the worse. While Remus didn't tell her exactly what her father had done, she learned that he was taken to a place called Azkaban, the wizarding prison.

"His name – your name – is well known among those who live in the wizarding world," Remus had said. "Even your looks will give away who you really are; you look so much like him. People will hold it against you, unfortunately, through no fault of your own. They will stare at you, whisper behind your back; do you think you can handle it?

She had of course said yes. No one was going to stop her from getting her school supplies. She wasn't going to hide just because people didn't like who her father was.

A small knock sounded on her door. Vesper turned to see a dressed Remus waiting in her doorway.

"Well?" he said. "Are we going or not?"

A wide grin broke out of her face. Grabbing the parchment tightly, she ran down the stairs and halted in front of the fireplace. She hesitated slightly; she had seen Remus use the Floo before, but she had never used it herself.

"Go on," Remus said from behind her.

Vesper grabbed a handful of the green powder. Nervously, she stepped into the fireplace. She cleared her throat and called, "Diagon Alley!"

Her vision turned green as she began to spin. She managed to see small snippets of various rooms, before the soot started to burn at her eyes.

Suddenly, she was pushed from the whirling world of green flame and thrust through another fireplace. Vesper managed to throw her arms out to catch her fall. As she was getting to her feet, Remus emerged casually strolling out of the emerald flames.

"Thanks for the warning," she muttered, brushing the dirt and soot from her clothes. Taking a quick look around, Vesper saw that they were in a dimly lit pub. She didn't get to register much else before Remus took her arm and guided her to an alley entrance.

"Watch," he said. He pulled his wand from his pocket, and tapped a series of bricks on the wall. Suddenly, the bricks began to shift and pull away from the wall forming an archway. Vesper's face lit up, and she had to consciously close her gapping mouth. Before her was a brightly colored street filled with different people and animals.

Realizing she was wasting her precious time in the enchanting scene, Vesper starting tugging on Remus' sleeve, dragging him behind her. "Where can we go first?"

The mid afternoon sun shined brightly in the sky. Vesper thought the day had gone rather well so far. There was some whispering and staring, but it seemed that most people weren't able to tell who she was. With that all that was left to do was purchase her wand.

Vesper hesitated when they got to the wand shop. Even on such a bright afternoon, the sun didn't seem to reach the shop; no sunlight passed through the front windows, and there was no other light in the store. It almost looked like the shop was closed, but the small sign on the door said otherwise. Putting aside her doubts, Vesper walked into the store.

Only the glow of a few flickering candles gave light to the room. It was quiet, her steps across the wooden floor the only sound.

"Hello," Vesper called out. "Is anyone here?"

When she got no answer, she turned to Remus, and said, "Maybe he's out-"

She jumped when a voice close behind her suddenly sounded.

"Ahh, Remus Lupin. Rowan, thirteen and a half inches, unicorn hair. Particularly good for healing charms."

"Mr Ollivander," said Remus, giving a slight nod of the head. "Vesper, this is Mr Ollivander."

Vesper turned. Mr Ollivander was a very tall, very old looking man. His hair was white and wispy, sticking up in nearly every direction. A look of madness seemed to glint in his eyes. Vesper was struck with the image of a muggle mad scientist. "Pleased to meet you."

"Vesper Black," he said, his voice raspy. "Hmm…yes…yes…hold out your dominate arm."

And so it began. Ollivander proceeded to measure nearly every inch of her body. Vesper wondered what the size of her foot had to do with her wand, but Ollivander seemed to know what he was doing.

Finally wands started to be pulled.

"Hazel, eleven and a half inches, dragon heartstring. A little temperamental," Ollivander said as he handed her the wand. "Give it wave to try it out."

Vesper felt rather silly just waving the wand, but she did as instructed.

Nothing happened.

"Hmm," said Ollivander. He was already pulling another box. "Perhaps this one: Laurel, eleven and three quarter inches, phoenix tail feather."

He handed her the wand, but as soon as she tried to grab it –

"Ow!" she cried. "It shocked me or something."

"Yes, definitely not the one," muttered Ollivander. "Try this one."

And so it went. Vesper felt that she had tried nearly every wand in the store. The sun had set long ago and dinner had been thoroughly missed. Both she and Remus were exhausted, and even Ollivander seemed to be slowing down. Vesper felt rather bad for him; some wands were like the first where nothing happened, most were like the second with a strong negative reaction towards her, and a few…well, Ollivander had quickly learned to stop giving her unicorn hair cores if he wanted to keep his shop intact.

The wandmaker had been gone for several minutes now. He had said something about a back room, but Vesper couldn't imagine that any wand would work at this point.

Maybe I'm not meant to have a wand, she thought. Maybe there's been a mistake.

Like he could read her mind, Remus pulled her into a reassuring hug. "These things take time," he said. "You're just so special that it's taking a little longer. We'll find your wand, don't you worry."

"Here we are, Miss Black."

Ollivander had finally returned, cradling what seemed to be a very worn box.

"Normally, I would never suggest this wand to a customer," he said. "It is not one of my own creation. I came across it many years ago in a trade. It was strictly for a collector's own amusement, however maybe it will call to you."

He handed her the wand. Her body was immediately flooded with an overwhelming sensation of complete warmth, but at the same time a chill ran down her spine. A few golden sparks erupted from the tip.

"As I suspected," Ollivander said. "This wand is made of Larch wood, eleven and a quarter inch, Basilisk scale."

Remus tensed visibly. "Basilisk scale as a core?"

Ollivander nodded. "While I use cores that are the least temperamental, other wand crafters use a greater variety of cores," he explained. "Larch wood is known for exposing hidden talents. Perhaps the original creator was hoping to produce an ability similar to a Parselmouth if he combined the wood with Basilisk scale."

"What's a Parselmouth?" Vesper asked.

"It is the ability for a wizard to understand and communicate with snakes," said Ollivander. "It's a genetic ability; one is born with it. It cannot be learned." He paused. "The intention of the wand could have been to either awaken a dormant Parselmouth gene, or to possibly alter the possessor's genetics to make them a Parselmouth.

"Theory aside," he said, his tone much lighter than it was a few moments ago, "these are just speculations. The wand was definitely made centuries ago. Muggle genetics were unheard of at the times, so I would say there's nothing to worry about, Miss Black, Mr. Lupin. Now, I think nine galleons would be fair."

When the wand was paid for, Remus held the shop door open for her.

"It's late and we should be heading home," he said.

"Just a moment," said Vesper. "I want to thank Mr. Ollivander."

"Well, don't take too long. I'll be waiting right outside."

The door closed with a snap. Gingerly fingering the box that held the suspicious wand, she began, "I really do want to thank you for helping me today, Mr. Ollivander."

He gave a mock bow. "Of course, of course. Now, what is the question you are anxious to ask?"

She briefly considered how he knew, but decided against it; her time was short, after all. So instead she asked her initial question. "Do you know who made this wand?"

"It's a curious thing," he said, smiling slightly. "Ever since I acquired it, I have been asking it the same question. Unfortunately, it is not willing to share its secrets. But, rumor has it that it was made by none other than Salazar Slytherin."

Vesper nearly flung the box away from her. Salazar Slytherin, made her wand? She could feel a headache coming on. But it was just a rumor; no one really knew for sure…

She swallowed, and said, "Thank you for telling me. I'll leave you to your business." She walked as quickly as she could to the door, wanting nothing more than to go home and get some sleep. She was so tired.

Remus and Vesper walked in silence. It was late, and the once busy street was quiet and desolate. Most of the stores seemed to be closed, and there was only a few people still wandering the streets. Even the Leaky Cauldron seemed to be settling down for the night. Automatically, Vesper reached for the Floo powder and was soon consumed in a whirlwind of emerald flames.

She stumbled out of the fireplace, catching herself with the sofa. Her head was pounding, and her stomach still hadn't settled from the Floo.

"Vesper?"

She raised her eyes to her godfather. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

Instead of replying, Remus walked over to where Vesper was supporting herself on the sofa. He brushed her hair back off her face and laid his hand against her forehead.

"You're burning up," he said worriedly, "and you're white as a sheet."

"The room won't stop spinning," she murmured before everything suddenly faded into black, and Vesper knew no more.

AN-Well there's chapter two. I liked it when I wrote but I'm worried that it sounds too Mary Sue-ish. Thoughts?

Anyway, thank you so much everyone for all the reviews, favs, and story alerts! I love you all!

Also, the next update might be a day late. I'll be away on a retreat Friday and I'm not sure what time I'll get home…

Don't forget to review!

Love Lora