Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has come this far with me. I appreciate your eyes and words in reading and commenting on my story. It means a lot. Second, I want to dedicate this chapter to my late father. He always believed in me and encouraged me to write. Happy Father's Day Dad 3 I miss you endlessly.

Next order of business! I don't own Harry Potter at all but any new things I make up do belong to this story :) there are a few other things I don't own in this chapter as well. The Tree that Grew Through Iron by McKenzie Austin is not my own but is an amazing book by a very talented author and I highly recommend reading it! The other thing is the name of the wand shop. I based it off of my favorite podcast, Swish and Flick: An all Potter Podcast! The lovely hosts allowed me to use their podcast name and their own names to inspire my characters, the wand shop owners. Thank you, Megan, Katie, Tiffany and Sarah 3 I hope you enjoy reading!

There are some things in life that you can prepare for. There are others you cannot. New friends, love, good fortune, and just as equally loss, friends leaving, bad fortune and inevitably death. If I knew what adventures awaited Star and myself in our years at Hogwarts, maybe I would have better prepared myself. Time Tuner's were only legends now, the last one having been destroyed years ago, and the magic made forbidden. There's no way I could have prepared myself, even if I had one. The adventures would be amazing, life-altering, a little terrifying and a journey we would not soon forget.

"Where next?" I asked, starting to feel the strain of such a long shopping trip. I knew I needed all the things on my school list, but I was already missing Star and couldn't wait until next month. September 1st, my letter had said. That was the day I would be finally going to Hogwarts! I did a little skip of excitement.

"Glad to see you aren't over this trip just yet!" My Aunt Nancy exclaimed. I blushed slightly, but thankfully she was consulting her list and didn't see my guilt.

"Madame Malkin's and Company, come on Nanc, its right there! You labeled all the shops in order, so we could get to them all and not double back, remember?" My Aunt Matti said, and we moved off to the next shop.

Madame Malkin had passed away a few years ago. The shop was now run by her son and daughter. Her son's husband was often seen running around the shop as well. Today, that's who greeted us.

"Hello, dears, how many we help you on this wonderful day?" The man smiled brightly at us as we entered the shop. He was very blonde, with long flowing locks and nicely tanned, not orange but sun-kissed and dazzling. He had on a very sharp, light blue suit. Not wizarding robes, but a muggle suit. Somehow, it suited him very well.

"Hogwarts first year, she needs her uniforms." Matti stated before Nancy could say anything.

"But of course! Come right on back, we've got no one else in. My husband will fit you up, right as rain!"

We walked to the back of the shop. Spools of fabric lined the walls and row upon row of overly long wizard robes presented themselves as we moved to the back of the shop. They hung suspended by nothing as if strings hung the clothing up right. I brushed my hand along one and it slid as if it were on an actual rack and hanger. My mouth dropped open in shock. I couldn't inspect the rows any longer, however, because another man walked out from a back room and beckoned me to a stool. The first man left with a grin and I quickly obeyed and stood where he was pointing. He had short, dark hair and narrow eyes. He threw a rob over my head and started working very quickly. He took all sorts of measurements and sowed faster than anyone I had ever seen with or without magic. He quickly had the hems done and extra's snipped off and was working on white inserts that attached to the hood and insides of the sleeves.

"What are those for?" I asked, trying my very hardest not to fidget. It was difficult, but I didn't want to get accidentally stuck by a pin. The man didn't answer. I furrowed my eyebrows but didn't ask again. When he was done, he helped me pull the robes off again (they fit perfectly!) and walked up to the front with them while I followed. My aunts were still there, they obviously knew the speed at which he could sow. He dropped my robes off at the front desk, whipped out his wand and silently made instant duplicates. I now had four sets of perfectly fitting robes. I was about to ask the man behind the counter the same question I had posed to his husband when the dark-haired man started moving his hands in a rhythmic and artistic sort of way. I soon realized, as patterns and fluidity told a story of its own, he was using sign language. That's why he didn't answer me! He must be deaf, or hard of hearing.

"Ahhh, my husband says you asked him a question. The white inserts will change color when you get sorted into your house! It's a new invention of my sisters making. We just got permission from the Headmaster to use them a few years ago!"

"How did he know what I said?" I asked questioningly.

"He reads lips, it is a very useful skill. He also appreciates you not shouting at him again and again while waiting for an answer, which happens more often than you would think."

"That's so rude! Why would people do that?" I exclaimed, shocked to even think people would act in such a way.

The man with the dark hair had been watching me while I spoke and started signing to me. I watched with fascination but didn't understand much of what he was trying to communicate. His facial expressions were the easiest to read but he looked proud, yet stoic.

"He says, 'People don't always use their brains that much, they just assume I am like everyone else and can hear. While I can speak, I choose not to for the most part in hopes that more people will learn to communicate with me in my way.'"

As he translated his husband's words into something I could understand, the blonde man's face almost brightened from beneath his skin. He spoke with a loving tone, so radiant I felt I almost needed to look away. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"You really love him, don't you, sir?" The words spilled from my mouth before I could stop them. I heard my Aunt suck in a breath and I knew she was going to chastise me, but the man replied before she could speak.

"You have a very good eye, my dear. Yes, I love Kenta with all of my heart. They could fix his hearing, you know. Up at Saint Mungo's? He refuses! The sly devil, he wants wizards to be more understanding of disabilities and things of that sort! I love him for his big heart and his sacrifices and his fighting spirit."

I smiled at the man. His words had made me hopeful, for the future. Would I find someone like that? Would I be able to love someone like that in return? I hoped so.

"That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing with me." I smiled at them both. Then an idea struck me. Turning to the man of little words, I asked him if I could have a word with his husband. He nodded and moved off to sort through some fabrics off in the corner.

"Can you teach me something in sign language? I want to thank him for my robes." I asked with determination. I was moved by Kenta's words. His husband smiled broadly and taught me to say "thank you for your work" in sign language. He had me practice a few times and corrected me, tucking my elbows in when they stuck out too far. When I had it perfected, he swept me towards Kenta with a wave of his arms.

I approached him and tapped on his shoulder lightly. He turned, and I looked him in the face, as his husband had instructed me to, and signed the phrase. His face immediately lit up and he smiled brilliantly. He signed back to me, and then hugged me. I knew what he was saying, he was thanking me for my efforts. As he pulled away, a few tears shown, unshed, on his lashes. Still smiling broadly, he patted me on the head clumsily and turned back to his work.

"You really ARE a Hufflepuff!" My Aunt Matti said and hugged me.

"That was beautiful, Lucy-pop!" My Aunt Nancy agreed, using the old nickname she had called me when I was a small child. It made me smile at the memory attached to it.

I had gotten the silly name one night during winter, close to Christmas when I was four. My mother, exhausted from her long day of entertaining me, teaching and cooking (my father always fed me when he got home, it was our time together) had put me to bed a little early. I hadn't been tired apparently because when my parents found me, I was outside playing in the snow, my bedroom window wide open. I hadn't been out there long enough to cause any damage, but I had only been wearing light pajamas. A natural wood fire warmed our home during the winter and we didn't need to bundle up at night. When my mother had told my Aunt's during Christmas that year, distressed that I may hurt myself by performing crazy magic, they laughed and said magical children were tougher than muggle children and that I would be fine.

She didn't turn into a popsicle, Beccs! Hah! Can you imagine, Nanc, a Lucy-popsicle? A Lucy-pop!

My Aunt's had both enjoyed the little joke so much, they kept calling me that for several years after. It was a term of endearment now and they only used it sparingly, much to my relief. They had enjoyed the joke so much, they didn't realize the further distancing of my mother that year. I didn't either until I looked back that is. Wizarding children usually have a better memory than Muggle children, so I recalled the look on her face when my Aunt's had come up to hug me after laughing merrily. Her face had darkened, and she quickly stiffened her back and didn't speak much for the rest of the night, unless spoken to.

The tinkling of the bell above the door shook me out of my reverie and I turned in time to wave goodbye to the two men. We moved onto Twinkle's Telescopes for my astronomy classes next year. Aunt Matti had the foresight to have the items delivered to my home, instead of having more things to carry. After that, we stopped at Scribbulus Writing Implements and Aunt Nancy bought me a Golden Magpie feather quill. She said it was for luck, even though I wouldn't need it.

I loved the quill. It was a small, golden feather with a silver circle on the right side of the feather. It sparkled and glimmered in the light outside of the shop. I held it out in front of me, but something in the background caught my attention. It was a tall, white, slightly crooked building. It had columns and a huge marble statue of a dragon. It signified the end of many years of dragon cruelty that had happened deep in the caverns below Gringott's Bank. Rubeus Hagrid had spearheaded the hunt to have the malnourished dragons excavated from the bowls of underground life. They had erected the statue in honor of him after he died. His son, the new gamekeeper (whose mother was the old headmistress of Beauxbatons and lived with him on the grounds of Hogwarts) had requested the statue and it was granted. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Luna Scamander, and Neville Longbottom and his wife, Hannah, had all been present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. As I pulled the feather down to look closer at the building, I noticed my grandmother standing between me and the bank, in the middle of the street. She was smiling at me. I burst into a huge grin and sprinted for her.

"Grandma Patty!" I squealed as I gently threw my arms around her. She was quite old, and I was always afraid I was going to break her if I hugged too hard. She hugged me harder back, much stronger than I always expected. I loved my grandmother. She was my very first connection to the wizarding world. Her shop, Flourish and Blott's was probably one of the most famous shops in all of Diagon Alley. With towering bookshelves and rows and rows of any kind of book imaginable, it was my favorite shop in the whole place. I loved books and I loved to read. My grandmother had given me my very first book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"How are you, my dear? Have you finished that book I sent you?" My grandmother asked in her sweet voice, still holding on tight to me. She told me that long hugs were meant to close the distance between loved ones, it made up for the time spent apart.

"Yes, Grandma! The Tree that Grew Through Iron was really interesting! Is McKenzie Austin writing another? I need more!" I exclaimed. Grandma always sent me interesting books to read. Sometimes educational, sometimes fiction stories and sometimes history stories. Whatever she sent me, they were always books that I loved. My Grandma knew what peaked my interest and made sure to nurture my love of reading. She didn't discriminate against Muggle or Wizard writers either. McKenzie Austin happened to be a muggle writer and a tattoo artist! I read the little blurb on the back of her book. I wondered when she got time to sleep!

"Yes dear, but you might have to wait! Can you be patient? What's my old saying?"

"If a string is in a knot, patience can untie it. Patience can do many things, have you ever tried it?" I recited the little poem my grandmother had been telling me since I was a little girl. She smiled approvingly at me as my grandfather walked up to us.

"Pawpaw! Hey!" I said and hugged him too. My grandfather wasn't a man of many words. He barely spoke, preferring to watch and observe.

"Hi, sweet girl." That was all. He really was a man of simple words, but his smile told the whole story. He loved his family more than anything. He was also absolutely in love with my grandma. They had been young sweethearts, met at Hogwarts in their first year. The most that grandpa talked was when he was talking about his wife. I always hoped to find someone who loved me as much as my grandpa loved my grandma.

As my Aunt's walked up to us, giving their greetings to their parents, I started off towards the bookshop.

"Hang on dear, we have your books all ready for you. The only thing you should do is drop off your stuff inside the door and I'll lock up! We are going for ice cream!"

"Wow, really? What about Aunt Nancy's crazy timetable and list?!" I asked, knowing she had been on a mission to get the shopping done on time… OR maybe it was to get to grandma on time!

"You really rushed her? I thought I told you not to rush!" Grandma lightly chided her daughter. Nancy looked a little sheepish and smiled but said nothing. Grandma rolled her eyes.

"Well, go put your stuff down my dear. Check just inside the door too, we have something for you!"

I raced off to do as my Grandma had instructed. I opened the door and breathed in the familiar scent of paper and ink. The shelves were tall and full, as they had been for as long as I could remember. So many different books lay on the shelves. Some were huge and heavy, others tiny and delicate. Some were so new they were still shiny, others were so old they looked as though a gust of wind would disintegrate the very pages. I let the door shut behind me and some of the light from the street outside was blocked out. I set my bags down and looked around for the thing my Grandma had been talking about. I recognized it immediately.

It was a trunk, about the size of a large book. A large, silky, purple ribbon was wrapped around it. On the outside, there was a small apparatus, that had little tabs on it with words written on them. I realized they were the names of books and their authors. As I turned the tabs, I noticed all my spell books were on the list, as well as all my favorite leisure reading books. There were some books on the list that I'd never heard of. At least twenty or so. I kept flipping through the thing, which looked like a metal Rolodex set into the outside of the case, just right of the lock. There was a key on top with the shape of a heart on one end. The other end had an intricate set of teeth, several sticking out at random angles. It almost looked like an arrow with a heart for the tip. I had gotten to the end of the book list and now there were just several blank metal slates, for more books I assumed. I turned the metal spinner back to one of the new books that weren't one of my textbooks and opened the trunk with the key, pulling the ribbon off gently. As I did, the ribbon warmed in my hand for a second. I thought I imagined it. When I opened the case, the book that corresponded with the plaque on the spinner appeared. No other book was in the case, but there were bookmarks and a small notebook and a few Muggle pens in little pockets on the inside of the lid. I closed the case and spun the spinner randomly back, landing on The Improved Standard Book of Spells, Grade One by Minerva McGonagall. I opened the case again and this time, the spellbook presented itself to me! Oh, my gosh. My Grandma Patty had just given me the best gift in the whole wide world. I felt tears beginning to form. I couldn't imagine a better gift. A personal, portable bookshelf! As I set my shopping down, I took the little case with me. I wanted to look through the new books she had given me.

I exited the shop, beaming, to find my Grandparents talking to my Aunt's several feet away. They looked concerned and were speaking in low whispers. I knew what it was about. My mother. She hadn't spoken to her parents in nearly ten years. If it weren't for the owls and my Aunt's, my mother would have kept me away from my grandmother. I had no idea why; my Grandma Patty was the sweetest woman on the face of the earth. She helped anyone she could and tended to the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. No one really understood WHY my mother acted the way she did. Not really. Not even me.

I was lost in my thoughts for the rest of the trip. I remember going to FF Fancy Ice Creamery and Sweets, where I got sherbet lemon frozen ice and ate in silence. The next thing I knew we were at Swish & Flickery Wand Shop. It was run by four women and had replaced the esteemed Ollivanders Wand Shop after the Second Wizarding War. Megan and her wife Katie were new wandmakers from America that had met Sarah while traveling to Ireland. Katie was kind of shy and had short awesomely spiked hair. Megan had a kind face and was fiercely protective of Katie. Sarah told funny jokes and spoke in silly voices.

Sarah had been doing field research when she met Megan and Katie. They were in the same business and quickly became business partners and friends. When Tiffany (a kind-hearted woman with long, straight brown hair) married Sarah's brother, three became four and the rest is history! They combined all their knowledge of wand cores and woods and started the largest wand core supply in the entire world. They have items shipped from friends around the globe. Their sign, flourished in purple and white with a wand and sparks, boasted of the large variety of wand cores and woods. They soon became as famous as the late Garrick Ollivander himself, getting customers who couldn't find a suitable wand from anyone else.

Some wand cores included the original Ollivander wand cores but also contained such things like Wampus Hair, Fairy wings, Jackalope Antler, Griffin feather and hair, Demiguise hair, Thunderbird feather, Kelpie hair and much more. Not to mention more wand woods than one could count.

When I finally found my wand (it chose me by shooting jets of multicolored water from the end) I had a Cherry Wood wand with Wampus Cat hair core. Twelve and three-quarter inches, slightly springy, Katie had said with a smile, handing me my wand. It felt like home in my hand. I found myself twirling it between my fingers later in the day and was warned to stop by my Aunt's when silver sparks flew from the ends.

The rest of the trip went by in a blur and suddenly I found myself sitting on my bed in my room. It was the same room I had been in my whole life, changing over time as I grew up. There were a few things that didn't change; the cross stitch of my birth info that hung on my wall. My mother had made that by hand, lovingly. That was years ago now. The same old rocking chair in the corner held a giant stuffed bear, looking as if magic itself was the only thing holding the stitches together. He was missing an eye, the left one. I had lost it to a Niffler on my Grandparents farm. His arm had been torn off more times than I could count! I used to drag him around behind me when I was a toddler (causing it to catch on rocks and stones and tables and toys, hence the ripped and repaired arms) but now he just sits in his chair. I tried to wash him once. I was so nervous he would fall apart that I decided to stop the washer halfway through filling and pull him out. I had flooded the house. Somehow, nothing was damaged. My Aunts popped over and cleaned up the mess for me before my parents came home.

I started packing things in my trunk. I had a month left but I knew I would pack and repack my trunk at least three times. I was worried I would forget something. That night, when mother called me down for dinner, I was disappointed. She hadn't made my favorite dinner, she had made hers.

"But I thought you liked TBMGC (Tomato Basil Mozzarella Grilled Cheese) and my homemade tomato soup?" My mother asked, sounding slightly insulted.

"Yea mom, but it was my favorite when I was nine. My new favorite is Clearswamp Frog Legs, I thought you knew that."

"Oh, yes that's right. Well, you can have that for your birthday; eat up now, before it gets cold!" She said dismissively and turned away to serve my father.

My birthday, I realized a short time later, would fall while I was attending Hogwarts. She must have known that… Or had she forgotten when my birthday was too? Did she say that just to hurt me?

"Hunny, how was your trip to diagonally?" My father asked, distracting me from my rushing thoughts.

I smiled at him. He never pronounced Wizarding things correctly, and sometimes I think he was doing it on purpose.

"It's Diagon Ally, dad; and it was great! I made a new friend already! Her name is Star and guess what! She can do what I can do! Its called a Metamorphmagus or something like that! Apparently, it's very rare! There are only four people in the world who can do that!" I gushed enthusiastically to my father. I didn't see my mothers back stiffen as she stood at the sink, rinsing a plate.

"WOW! That's incredible, Lucy!"

"I got my wand too, that was amazing! Cherry wood and Wampus hair dad! I looked it up, a Wampus Cat is native to Appalachia! It's a strong and powerful cat kinda like a cougar! Grandma gave me this really amazing gift too, it's a magical case that—"

"Ready for dessert, Andy?" My mother interrupted my talk, picking up her husband's empty plate and carrying it away.

"I made the most delicious rhubarb pie! It has sugar and rhubarb and strawberries and a flaky crust! You may have some when you are done eating, Lucy."

It was as if she was oblivious to my joy over the trip. I couldn't understand. I just nodded and ate mechanically. It tasted like ash in my dry mouth. I asked for a small piece of pie and then excused myself from the table. I went straight up to my room and fell into bed. As I closed my eyes for the night, I wished the next month would go by in a flash.

I did not get my wish. It seemed like the month lasted an eternity. I spent most of my time out of the house, at the local park. I got very tan. The August sun was hot this year and seemed to not let up much until the first weekend before September. The temperature dipped below the nineties. I wore long skirts and tank tops that weekend, which was the most I'd worn all summer with the heat. I had dark freckles on my face, and my hair would have lightened had I not had full control over its pigment. In any case, I turned it a purply silver which contrasted very nicely with my freckles, the weekend before September 1st. I lengthened it very long, past my waist. I kept my side swept bangs that cover my forehead though and my green eyes. I wanted Star to be able to recognize me.

The day before September 1st was a quiet one. We ate breakfast as a family and my dad took me fishing one last time. We sat on the lake that was only a few miles away from home. It wasn't a particularly large lake but it was oddly shaped and had many little hideaways. While we fished, my dad told me stories. He told me about the time that he got stuck on a lake when a storm was coming in. He and his fishing companion needed to paddle extremely fast to shore to avoid being caught in the storm.

I felt a sudden pang in my chest. I was going to miss my dad so much while away. I turned and studied his face, committing it to memory. I felt another pang as I imagined, sometime in the future, having to say a more permanent goodbye. I shook the thoughts away. What an awful thing to think about.

"Dad, will you write to me when I go to school?" I asked, trying to keep my voice normal. My throat still felt stuck together by the recently banished thoughts.

"Of course, hunny. I will write you every day if you want!"

"Not every day! Just like once a week or so. Keep me updated on life at home. I'll tell you all the cool things I'm learning and all the people I'll meet."

That day with my dad was one I would remember for a long time. When hardships came at Hogwarts, he was who I would remember in the tough days. His advice would be what I needed most. If I had known, what was to be, I would have relished just five more minutes with him on that lake. My dad was always there for me, no matter what. I loved him with all of my heart, and he loved me in return. That was one of the best gifts in life, unconditional love from a parent. It's what held me together when things went wrong.