Honest Lunar Raven: Yeah, I've seen that explanation too, and it never made sense. In Bobmin's Power of the Press, though, his power causes problems with both Floo and Portkeys, which leads to a rather humorous international Apparation mishap.

The Dursleys likely would accept a squib into their home, but Jen wasn't a squib. She had accidental magic, it was just less active and she had trouble intentionally connecting with it. I'm glad to serve as a sounding board, especially as your reviews allow me to consider new facets of my story. There's one scene on the train that is directly attributable to you, in fact.

How would a GoF story be interesting with her on the sidelines? That said, the fact that you found over 20 deviation points is extremely impressive. As for her reactions to wands, based on your words I believe you'll enjoy it.

EXpertUS: Minerva always struck me as stoic, so we only see a fraction of the emotion she's actually feeling. She didn't even recognize the razor wire, so she only knows that it will cut. Much like the rest of the Wizarding World, she doesn't consider all the different ways you can cripple/kill people. Jen's wand… you'll see, but realize that no matter what happens, she has two Slytherin aunts to help her blend in.

This is a bit longer than I had planned, so I cut some of the third scene to end it sooner; honestly, I think it's an improvement. It helped that I was not going write another chapter on them shopping. Here, Jen shows once again how different she is, and even makes a friend (maybe)!

Disclaimer: Did Harry ever have clothes that fit him? If not, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.

Chapter 6
Shopping Spree

Ignoring said man's growls, she continued, "As it is a Sunday afternoon, we only have a few short hours before the stores close, so we shall divide the tasks between us. Andromeda, would you be willing to attend to the apothecary and purchase the necessary ingredients?" Andi nodded. "Excellent. Sirius, go to Gringotts and have two money bags filled. You can meet with my sister at the apothecary to give her one and then come to Madam Malkin's where Jen and I will be to pay for the robes. Jen, you will then go with Andromeda to the bookstore before joining Sirius to get a wand." She cut off the girl's protests. "I know you do not need one, but one properly matched to you may, in fact, aid your magic. If nothing else, you will avoid standing out further.

"Everyone knows what they are doing first, any questions? No? Good, let us begin." With those final words, their general set out for the entrance to the alley.

Jen followed her adopted aunt out the backdoor of the dingy pub and into a short alleyway. Taking a moment to examine their new location, she noticed magic was flowing along the surface of the brick wall ahead of them and into a small 'hole'. Moving closer, she realized the hole was actually a tunnel leading to the other side.

Cissy drew her wand and tapped the brick in which the hole was located, and Jen felt the wall in astonishment as it expanded, magic spiraling into it even as the bricks rotated away, forming an archway leading to a cobblestone road. She began speaking again as they walked under the arch. "This is Diagon Alley. We will return again another day to give you an opportunity to explore, but for now we have a deadline. Sirius, Andi, you have your duties." The two nodded and moved toward a large building at one end of the Alley. "Our destination, my dear, is in the other direction." They matched their actions to her words and began walking to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"If you desire clothes other than my sister's old things, we can go to Twilfit and Tattings for more formal wear later; I know we will need to in order to purchase the dress robes your supply list mentioned."

"Why?" Jen asked. "Many of Bella's clothes fit me, so why wouldn't I be able to use one of her dress robes as well?"

"More expensive clothing, like a high-quality dress robe, has numerous spells on it, such as weather sensitive warming and cooling charms, self-cleaning spells, and theft-protection," explained Cissy as she opened the door to Malkin's store. "That last spell synchronizes with the magic of the first person to wear the article, preventing all others from donning it. It is useful for clothing that one does not wish to lose, but it makes passing them on nearly impossible. Ah, Isabel, a pleasure to see you again."

The short, squat witch who was hustling over to them gave an awkward curtsey. "You as well, Madam Malfoy, and who is this?"

Cissy placed her hand on Jen's shoulder, "This is my niece, Jennifer Black. She is in need of a full set of Hogwarts robes; silk, of course."

"Of course. There is another young lady being fitted here as well, right inside." The trio moved into the fitting room, where she took her position on the platform adjacent to the one the other girl was on. A quick peek into her aunt's thoughts revealed her appreciation of the girl's chestnut hair and slim figure.

"Auntie, I am in need of additional footwear; would you be willing to look over the selection here?" she said, but she also sent another message directly to the front of Cissy's mind.

"The girl is nervous, I believe it's your presence. She will have information more current than your or Sirius's memories and likely less biased than Draco's griping."

Cissy was surprised by the exchange, but swiftly restored her expression to one of entitlement. "Yes, if it will prevent you from spending two additional hours as you did the last time we went shopping."

"Very well, but I expect a summary when we return home" was the message Jen picked up.

"Auntie," she whined, "it was only one time!"

Cissy smirked as she departed. "One time more than I wanted to suffer through, as well."

Jen huffed, then turned her attention to the girl. "I'm sorry about her. She forgets that she acts exactly the same way when she wants something."

"Oh, don't worry, I understand. My cousin is the same way," laughed the girl, before offering her hand. "I'm Tracey Davis."

"Jen Black." They shook, then withdrew to their platforms. "Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I am, fourth year Slytherin. What about you, I haven't seen you before."

"I was privately tutored. It was best that I did not attend until my circumstances," she moved some of the hair concealing her blindfold, "would no longer be a hindrance."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant no offense," mumbled Tracey.

She laughed. "None taken, though I suppose you could still make it up to me." Tracey pursed her lips in worry, so Jen quickly reassured her, "Nothing onerous, but I do have questions you would be able to answer."

A cursory scan picked up Tracey's relief, so she continued. "I have heard tales about the four Houses and their founders, but what are they like today?"

"Sniveling cowards, reckless fools, isolated bookworms, and arrogant brats," Tracey said angrily. "There are some decent individuals in each House, I suppose, but overall, it is a good summary. The Hufflepuffs are quick to rally around an injured party, but only if that person is also a badger and whoever caused the situation is long gone. Gryffindors portray themselves as noble heroes, but they share the same prejudices as everyone else. It doesn't help their egos that there have been several dangerous situations in the school that were resolved by their Golden Boy, Danny Potter. Ravenclaws spend all their time in the library or their tower, and aside from a few rare exceptions, they have little to do with anyone else in the school. They don't even get along with each other; from what I hear, friendships can end over something as stupid as who received more points in class!

"As for Slytherins, they are closest to Ravenclaws in how they act. But in the Snake Pit, it isn't what you know, but who you know that matters. Alliances form and break apart every day based on who has the most influence at the moment. Of course, most of that influence is based on who throws around the most money. They are also the worst in believing that blood purity crap."

"I take it you don't," Jen pushed gently, following the stream of memories in Tracey's mind, many of which showed her being bullied by her housemates.

Tracey growled out, "No, I don't. My father was a Pureblood and a near-squib who married a muggleborn. I'm fourteen and can out-duel and out-think any member of my family, but because I'm a 'disgusting half-blood', they treat me like I'm some blight on their history. I thought Hogwarts would be better, but when the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin due to my ambition to show up all my family for their attitudes, it was exactly the same as home. The only person who voluntarily talks to me without insulting me is Daphne Greengrass, and that is only because her family has a lot of history with mine, and I'm the heiress. If it weren't for her family forcing her to, she wouldn't stick around."

Jen frowned. Andi and Cissy had remembered their time in Slytherin more fondly, but as the Black Sisters, they would have been at the top of the social hierarchy; Tracey was at the bottom of the pile. Something the girl said stuck out, though: prestige was determined by the power of an individual's connections. Sirius had spent the six months he was in mandatory bed rest drafting arguments and proposals for the Wizengamot, and had, amazingly, completely recouped in that time the political power the house of Black had lost over the preceding dozen years. As his goddaughter, she would be a powerful connection, one that Tracey could use to advance herself in Slytherin, likely not to the highest position, but certainly at least in the middle, a huge improvement over where she was now.

"You say that Greengrass spends time with you solely due to familial obligations, but do you consider her just a reluctant ally, or do you think she wants to be a friend?"

"Ally," Tracey said without hesitation. "She has made her distaste for my parentage and personality extremely clear over the past few years. Why do you ask?"

"I will be entering Hogwarts three years late; everyone has already formed stable friendships or, at least, mutually beneficial relationships. If I want to integrate into that environment, I need information; who's doing what where and why."

Tracey interjected, "Blackmail, you mean."

"Only if necessary; I would much prefer having people enjoy my company rather than tolerate it. One lesson I learned early and well, 'respect is more profitable than fear'. It helps that I do not want to rule Hogwarts's social scene, simply have a comfortable place. What does the Davis family do, exactly?"

The non sequitur disoriented Tracey for a moment, but she soon answered, "Shipping, mostly. We and the Mulcibers are the only families that don't have to pay tariffs on imports, but since they are down to two members, both of whom are in Azkaban, the House of Davis will soon have an advantage over all others in that business. Why did you want to know?" she asked as she unconsciously dispelled the light compulsion Jen had placed with her question.

"I can offer you two things. First, a connection with the Black's heiress apparent would drastically increase your social standing. Second, my family has stakes in many business, some of which are in constant need of materials that cannot be raised, grown, or manufactured here in Britain; therefore, the Davis business, which you have implied you will eventually control, will have a wealthy and steady partner. In return, I want you to supply information on the power players of Hogwarts and provide your company."

"My company?"

Jen smiled, "Yes, your company. I, too, have no friends, at least none my age who are also magical. The way I see it, why should we not solve our loneliness problems at the same time?"

Tracey pondered for a minute, during which Jen subtly distorted and partially erased their conversation from Madam Malkin's mind. Finally, the Slytherin smiled back. "Friends?"

"Friends."

Tracey left Madam Malkin's around the same time Sirius and Andi entered, and the four followed shortly after. Though she knew their exchange was a ploy, Cissy had in fact found some boots for the two of them. Having spoken to Andi much less than her sister, Jen found the conversation between them during their walk to Flourish and Blott's slightly stilted, but not exactly uncomfortable.

"Will you need assistance finding your books, or shall we split the list between us?" Andi asked once they had arrived.

Jen's quirked eyebrow should have been answer enough. She began walking toward one side of the store, and called out, "The books for potions, runes, and arithmancy are this way. You can take the others," before searching for her texts.

She would have had much more difficulty had there not been carved signs hanging over the rows announcing which subjects they contained. It was close, but her 'sonar' was developed enough to just make out what the signs said. In fact, her primary difficulty was keeping herself from taking every book that caught her attention. She had found all her required books and was debating the merit of also selecting some supplementary material when someone took advantage of her lack of attention to the surroundings to shove her into the bookcase.

"Who the bloody hell?" she shouted as she pulled herself to her feet. The 'who' in question were two boys who were more concerned with their race to the Quidditch section than in looking where they were going. A woman, possibly their mother, came over and started to apologize.

"I'm so sorry about that, my son forgets his manners more often that I would like. Are you hurt anywhere, my—"

"Jen," she heard Andi say, "I heard your yell, are you – Get away from her, Lily."

"Andromeda," Lily said cautiously, "You're looking well."

"Not half as well as I will when you step away from Jen."

"Jen?" Lily took a second look at her, and the woman's eyes widened once they moved away from the blindfold that had been revealed when Jen fell. "Jenny?"

Jen frowned. "I do not believe we have been introduced, so what gives you the right to address me so informally?" And to call me 'Jenny', she thought. No one calls me that.

"This is Lily Potter," Andi said, then stepped back to watch the fireworks. She and Cissy had discussed Jen a few times over the Floo, and she remembered the stream of invective her sister once repeated that had been voiced when the subject of the Potters came up.

Fortunately, Jen managed to recall where they were, so she swallowed the first retort that came to mind. Instead, she simply said, "I see. It was… well, not a pleasure to meet you," and made to walk off.

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" Lily demanded, and Andi felt her hopes for the conflict rise once more.

Jen turned an unseen glare upon her, ignoring the reappearance of the idiot boys. "It takes a whole lot more than shooting out a kid from between your legs to make you a mother."

"Hey, you can't talk to my mum like that!" Jen's attention was redirected to the children quickly enough for her to step sideways and avoid the clumsy charge of the shorter boy. Lily did not, and she and her son both fell to the ground. When the other boy began to mimic his friend, she surreptitiously used her magic to trip him into same bookcase they had rammed her into.

Jen walked away from the tangled trio and told Andi, "If that is what the Potters are like, thank the Baron I'm a Black!"

Sirius was still laughing over the scene Andi had described as he and his goddaughter made their way into Ollivander's wand shop. He knew he should be more sympathetic, but their debacle was too slapstick for it to not appeal to him.

He saw Jen turn her head and followed suit. Just in time, it turned out, as Ollivander had been standing in the corner, presumably to startle unwary patrons. He had certainly not expected that when he was a boy anticipating his first wand.

"Sirius Black, cedar and unicorn hair, fifteen inches. I'm happy to see you a free man; any wandmaker would have known that a wand such as yours would not belong to a traitor. And who are you, my dear?"

"Jen Black, Mr. Ollivander. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She dropped into a swift curtsey.

"And yours as well, Miss Black, or is it Miss Potter?" He chuckled at her surprise. "It will take some time before your past is hidden from one such as I. I remember your parents' wands well. Your father favored a mahogany and heartstring wand, eleven inches, while your mother was well matched with a 10¾ inch willow wand with phoenix feather core. And your brother…

"Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches. Powerful, a brother wand to that of He-Who-Must—"

"Mr. Ollivander," Jen interrupted, "while this is certainly interesting, my aunts are waiting for us. Perhaps we could move along with our original purpose?"

Ollivander huffed irritably and pulled forth a small box. "If you are so sure. Try this one first, beech and dragon heartstring, nine inches, flexible."

Sirius was not expecting much. Even if the first wand was a perfect match, he doubted there would be more than a few sparks; he could therefore be excused for being shocked when the wand in Jen's hand let out a loud crack and burst into flame.

Ollivander stared at the ashes of his creation with sorrow, while Jen's dubious expression held a hint of panic. The old man finally turned a glare in his goddaughter's direction. "Why don't we use another method, one that will allow me to preserve my stock, hmm?" His rebuke floating in the air, he retreated into the back of his dingy shop.

"Siri, what the hell just happened?"

He shrugged. He wasn't a wandsmith, so how was he to know? Besides that, his mind was otherwise engaged determining just when Jen decided he qualified for a nickname like his cousins.

The store's owner eventually did make a reappearance, carrying three boards and a fist-sized emerald. He set the boards up beside himself and explained, "This is an older method of determining wands, one used before wandcrafters made general wands to match to new wielders. The boards contain either wood, cores, or special non-organic additives, generally jewels. If you would hold this stone, Miss Black, we will soon know what the dimensions of your wand will be."

She held it, and the gem soon began to glow with an rosy light. Silver runes similar to hieroglyphs flew from the emerald to hover above it at the same time as numerous golden lines shot out, only to curve back around and connect with varying places on Jen's arms, head, and chest.

"In Merlin's name," Ollivander breathed, reading the runes and following the lines. "I have never seen a reaction like this before in all my years; your magic acts as if your own body is a focus…"

"I see. Does that mean that you have no wand to suit me?" She sounded quite happy that was the case, but when Sirius thought about it, he really shouldn't be surprised. She had hidden it well in front of McGonagall, but he saw the disdain she held towards the use of incantations, which all wand-using magicals needed. And earlier, hadn't she made it clear that she did not want a wand, no matter what benefits it would bring? If he had the same freedom with his magic that she had displayed over the past week, he would refuse to be shackled to a piece of wood, too.

"I am sorry, Miss Black, but it appears that I do not. The only way that I could form one for you… would be to use parts of your own body."

She shuddered, "No, we shall not be doing that. Have a nice day, Mr. Ollivander." The required protocol satisfied, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door.

Well, I guess we'll be going, then.

The next month was quiet, with the family becoming closer than they had been in living memory. There were laughs, shouts, and even a few tears, but eventually it was time for Jen to go to Hogwarts and take the school by storm.

I'm going to make a quick clarification. Jen and Cissy are not having a telepathic conversation; Cissy's response is at the front of her mind, which she unshielded to make it easier for Jen to find. Because of the way she interacts with magic, Jen is the only person who can direct information into someone else's head without a Horcrux-induced mental connection.

I've seen several stories where Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis are each other's only friend; generally, these stories have Harry paired with one or both of the two girls and so they can't be Pureblood supremacists. I decided to turn this on its head, with their "friendship" being purely business. In Slytherin, treachery is the only rule and influence the only currency, so anyone pushed to the edges is going to be a people-watcher; they never know when the secrets they learn will be needed for their own protection or advancement. Therefore, Tracey is a useful source of information for a girl entering Hogwarts after everyone has had three years to form their own cliques.

Be honest, when reading this chapter, who thought Jen was going to get an Elder wand replica, gem-capped staff, or anything involving components derived from magical creatures chosen at random from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? My theory is that wands act as amplifiers, which she doesn't need, and form connections with their wielder's magical core, which she doesn't have. I'll admit, my original notes had her getting an obscure focus, but the wandless magic became such a fundamental aspect of her character that I eventually scrapped it.

Silently Watches out.