Chapter 5 - Wands

When Holly exited Gornok's office she was more determined than ever. If she found a way to make money, then her parents could get more treatments and might get better as a result.

Laying her eyes on the scene outside the office shattered said determination instantly and replaced it with a fit of giggles.

Hagrid was napping, but must have fallen over mid nap because he was spread over all the chairs of the waiting area with his head leaning on their guide goblin who was trying desperately to wake him. When Holly noticed that Hagrid was drooling onto him, she had to laugh even harder.

When she'd finally calmed down enough and wiped the tears of joy from her eyes she tried helping by pulling on Hagrids arm. Only, he was too heavy to even budge so she began poking and prodding and shaking Hagrid awake.

Seeing Hagrid apologise to the goblin profusely after waking up had her giggling again. Said disgruntled goblin seemed to want nothing to do with them anymore and just pushed them towards a door at the end of the hallway.

Holly was gobsmacked when she realised that they had ended up right in the main lobby again. No need for a half hour journey they had been on to Gonroks office.

"Please don't come back, ever." And with that the goblin slammed the door closed behind them. Holly and Hagrid shared a look before grinning and making their way out of Gringotts.

Hagrid was miffed at the reason for her being poor. He'd expected Professor Dumbledore to have helped her parents since apparently they were close during the war.

She tried to appease Hagrid, Dumbledore might not have known about her financial situation. After all, it had been years between the attack and the money running out. And why would anyone inform the headmaster about it anyways?

It was encouraging to see Hagrid so mad on her behalf though. He was lamenting her losing her precious innocence, having to worry about money and not getting to enjoy her youth. Honestly, she didn't mind too much. She had grown up quickly after meeting her parents.

They were halfway back through the alley towards the leaky cauldron when Hagrid stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Why dun' we make a last stop before headin home? 'M sure yeh would like to have a wand."

Holly visibly brightened and gave a nod, so they turned around and started heading for Ollivanders' Wands. Hagrid told her to go ahead inside, he had something to take care of in the meantime. Though he seemed suspiciously happy about something.

Entering Ollivanders she looked around. How the premiere British wand makers shop could be dustier than the Dursley's attic, she had no idea.

Holly rang the bell on the counter and looked around. Besides dust, the only thing in the shop seemed to be rows upon rows of shelves, stacked high with small boxes that probably held the wands.

"Ah, Miss Potter. I was expecting to see you soon."

Startled, Holly turned around. Right in front of her stood the oldest looking person she'd ever seen. With long white hair and an air of mystery that made a shiver run down her spine.

"Hullo, Mr. Ollivander I assume?"

"Indeed, I am. I must say you resemble your parents a great deal. Especially the eyes, such a unique colour," He gave her an almost creepy smile. "It feels like yesterday that your mother stepped through my door, seeking her own wand. Ten and a quarter inches, swishy and made of willow. Fantastic wand for charms work."

Holly had definitely noticed her mother's affinity for charms when reading her notes. Did wands determine a wizard's inclination towards one field of magic over another?

"Do you perhaps also remember my father? I barely know anything about him."

"Ah yes, your father. A little rowdy, but his wand fit him very well. Mahogany, eleven inches and excellent for transfiguration. I dare say if fate had smiled more fondly upon your family, he might have gotten his mastery. The cruciatus, a terrible curse indeed."

Her father had been rowdy? Holly could already imagine it, him with his messy hair starting trouble. And the cruciatus, was that the spell used to hurt her parents? cruciatus, was that the spell used to hurt her parents?

"But enough of that, the acquisition of your first wand should be a joyous one. Now please hold out your wand arm."

Holly held out her right arm and the tape measure that had been lying on the counter started flitting about her, measuring the weirdest things, like the distance from shoulder to earlobe. Mr. Ollivander on the other hand was searching through his shelves, moving some of the boxes to the counter.

The first wand he handed her, beechwood and dragon heartstring, was almost immediately snatched out of her hand again. The same happened with the next wand. When she got to try her first wand, "just swish it" , instead of any magic happening she felt a shock running through her hand and the wand clattered to the floor.

"Hmmm, Unicorn tail hair doesn't seem to agree with you at all. Try this one then, Cedar wood and dragon heartstring."

Nothing happened when she waved it, or the next. Or the one after that. The stack of already tried wands was slowly growing into a small mountain and she felt more discouraged with every wand that failed to work.

Funnily enough, it was a wand with her namesake wood, Holly, and a dragon heartstring that produced the first bit of magic. It had felt warm, like holding a little candle in her hand and when she waved it, it gave a small sputter and then shot a single red spark out the tip.

But that wasn't good enough for Mr. Ollivander so he handed her another and they continued. Any holly wood wand felt a little warm. From a small candle to a burning matchstick or anything in between, but none did more than spray out a single spark. At least they didn't shock her like the unicorn hair ones.

"I wonder, " and he began rummaging through his shelf again, knocking over stacks of wand boxes in the process, " yes. Try this - highly unusual combination. Phoenix feather and holly, eleven inches and supple."

It felt like holding a warm cuppa and indeed, when she gave it a swish it had the strongest reaction yet. Only, not in the way she nor Ollivander had expected. There was a loud bang and explosion of light and all the shelves were knocked over. Holly was on her arse and when she looked around, it was like a bomb had gone off.

"Haha, what a display. You certainly have an affinity for holly, but the core didn't seem to match." Bewildered, Holly stared at a laughing Ollivander. Had he gone barmy? She'd destroyed his shop and was so close to crying and just giving up.

Mr. Ollivander didn't seem deterred at all and vanished into the back of the shop, returning with another box. It contained a beautiful wand, like two fine roots twisting around each other. Her only complaint would be that it reminded her far too much of her greatest blemish.

While the other holly wands had felt like candles in her hand, this one was like a raging bonfire that she was warming her hands at. But it wasn't only warmth, but a feeling of security and comfort that spread through her arm up to her body. A swish shot out a couple of red and gold sparks and Holly felt she'd found the one.

"Curious… very curious." muttered Ollivander.

"I'm sorry, but what's curious?"

"You see Miss Potter, we Ollivanders use one of three powerful magical substances in all our wands.

Unicorns are creatures of purity and goodness. Their tail hairs are the first of the cores. Any wand you tried with such a core was less than pleased with the air of dark magic surrounding your scar and shocked you as a result.

Dragons are ferocious and easy to anger. Wands with a dragon's heartstring produce powerful magic, but require an equally as powerful wizard to wield them.

And lastly, and the rarest, the phoenix. They are very aloof and almost impossible to tame, so any wand made with one of their feathers will be very picky about who wields them, sometimes even acting on their own, as you noticed with your last try before this one."

He pointed at the wand in her hand.

"Now, can you guess what kind of core your wand has?" Mr. Ollivander was almost giddy with excitement.

Holly knew that unicorns were out, stupid scar always making her life harder. The dragon heartstring wands had shown promise, but with how little output they displayed, she was probably lacking in the power department. So…

"Is it a phoenix feather?" It was the only thing that made sense. Though hadn't Mr. Ollivander said that holly and phoenix feather were an unusual combination when he'd shown her one with the same components earlier?

"I see why you would think that, but no, it's not a phoenix feather. In fact, your wand doesn't have a core at all. It's still a work in progress."

"Huh?" What was that supposed to mean?

"I have had this wand for years, but it rejected any core I tried to bond it with. Perhaps now that it has found a suitable wielder, it will bind to a magical core you will eventually come across."

"How is it possible for a wand not to have a core and what does that mean for me learning magic?" Her eyes were burning with tears threatening to fall and she had trouble swallowing.

"The process of wand-making is far more complex than just putting a magical core in a piece of wood. A wand begins to develop its personality long before the first attempt to bond wood and core is made.

Without a core to amplify your magic, your spells will be weaker, it might even make learning new ones a little harder."

Ollivander smiled at her encouragingly.

"Don't be discouraged, as rare as it is that I sell a coreless wand, once they find their destined partner, they accomplish great things."

Holly sniffed and wiped at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. Why was she always so different? Growing up without parents. Big round glasses to be made fun of for. Nasty scar. Weird things always happening around her (though that was neat, since she was a witch). And now she has to find out that she can barely afford going to magic school and that the curse on her scar is so bad, no normal, finished wand wanted her.

"W-What do I owe you for the wand?"

"Usually a wand is 7 galleons," Holly almost burst into tears at that. She couldn't afford her wand. "But yours being coreless I can give it to you for two."

At least that wasn't so bad, Holly thought. Calming down a tad, she counted out the coins for Mr. Ollivander, apologised again for the mess she'd made with that one wand (though most of it had been fixed with a simple wave of his own wand), thanked him for his time and left.

Waiting outside for her, with the silliest grin, was Hagrid. He was clearly hiding something behind his back, utterly failing at keeping a secret.

"Found yehself a good wand?"

Not wanting to tell him about the wand missing a core, she just nodded, opened the box she was still holding in her hands and showed her wand off to Hagrid.

"Would yeh look at that. Pretty wand for a pretty lil lady," he really knew how to cheer someone up.

"But as important as wands are, I believe the experience of having a familiar is just as important for a growing witch. So I got yeh this," Hagrid revealed a cage he'd been hiding. "Happy birthday, Holly!"

Sitting in the cage was a small ball of white feathers with the occasional black spots. Hagrid, the big lovable dork that he was, had gotten her an owl. An owl that was staring at her with intelligent amber eyes.

"She's still a young'un, but she can already hunt her own food if you let her out to hunt or she can deliver your mail. Dead useful owls are. Normally they don't sell'em this young, but she was very adamant 'bout wantin to come along".

Stepping closer, Holly reached a finger through the cage to give her new owl a scratch to the head. Said owl gave a delightful flutter of wings and gently nibbled on Holly's finger.

She practically crashed into Hagrid, trying and failing to reach her arms around him in an attempt at a hug. And this time Holly couldn't stop her tears, tears of happiness.

Hagrid was so flustered he asked if the owl wasn't to her liking and they could exchange her for another one. But Holly just shook her head into his large coat and sobbed out a, " no, no. She's perfect Hagrid. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Holly didn't know what was up with her today, her mood seemed to be swinging crazily.

After a good cry with Hagrid patting her head consolingly and Holly had finally calmed down, they began making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. They'd done everything they came here to do and it was getting late.

Holly was carrying her new owl, who seemed to be happy about getting scritches and attention while they walked and gave Holly the occasional gentle bite in return. She really needed to figure out a good name for her owl.

Through the gate and then through the pub they went, stopping by Hagrid's motorcycle. As it was, there was barely enough space in the sidecar for Holly with the cage in her lap.

She held the cage up to her face and gently asked. "Do you want to fly yourself or come along for the ride?" The unimpressed stare she got in return was all the answer she needed.

Opening the cage for her little bird to hop out and onto hand, then along her arm until she was sitting proudly on Holly's shoulder was the cutest thing Holly had ever seen.

"Do you think you'll be able to follow us from the sky?"

Holly got a wing to the back of her head as reply and then her owl took off into the sky. Hagrid could only chuckle and comment how they were best friends already.

On Holly's request, Hagrid had dropped her off at the corner of Privet Drive and after a heartfelt goodbye taken off again. No need to announce her return with a "suspect looking person" to the whole neighbourhood. At least, that'd be the words used by most of the housewives around here, aunt Petunia included.

Not to mention her relatives wouldn't be happy at all about housing one of those "ruddy, dirty birds" that wizards use to communicate. Holly was hoping to sneak inside, hide the cage and pray that they didn't find out about her owl too quickly. It was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission with uncle Vernon after all.

Of course her hopes were dashed instantly when there came a shrill "Oi! What are you doing with that giant cage?" from behind her. Holly groaned internally, why did Dudley have to show up at the worst times?

"None of your business!" She napped. Yes, something was definitely wrong with her today. She was usually much more level-headed.

"Mum and dad aren't gonna like it when I tell'em!" Dudley was practically screeching.

"Well, you better not tell them then." Holly set down the cage and crossed her arms over her chest.

He just huffed, "And why would I do that?"

"Because otherwise I'll tell aunt Petunia how much you swear with your friends and why you like hanging around the grocery store so much." Really, stealing from a small locally run store was in extremely poor taste. "In fact, when they eventually find out I have an owl, you'll be backing me up. Or you'll be going down with me."

"Fine, come on then. But I'll be getting your dessert for the next month and don't you dare tell mum!" Dudley had never relinquished to her so easily. Holly was hlad to have kept that piece of blackmail for such an important matter.

Naturally they were caught red handed, trying to sneak in when Dudley tripped on the stairs. Thankfully he actually supported her pleading to let her keep her owl. It took a lot of begging, for Vernon and Petunia to agree. Her owl had to stay out of sight and out of mind or …

The implied threat was enough for Holly to quickly agree. When she walked past Dudley, she mouthed a quiet thank you and headed up to her room to open the window for her owl to fly in.

After dinner Holly retired to her room for an early night and to maybe choose a name.

Holly woke the next morning to Hedwig sitting on her head looking down at her. She'd named her after Saint Hedwig of Andechs, patron saint of orphans the previous night before going to sleep. It felt fitting in a way, even if her parents were technically still alive.

Getting up slowly, as to not disturb Hedwig, Holly pulled out the bag of owl treats Hagrid had gotten her along with the cage, to feed her. Holly was absolutely knackered from the day before and even had a stomach ache annoyingly enough.

She pushed through the tiredness, since she wanted to visit her parents today and tell them all about her day in Diagon Alley. With the men of the house still asleep Holly shared a small breakfast with her aunt, where she stole a strip of bacon that Hedwig gobbled up greedily when Holly offered it to her later in her room.

Then she was off, taking the bus and underground to London. It had become routine for her to travel to St. Mungos alone after aunt Petunia complained about always having to drive her. The public transport passes that she got out of it were a godsend for her freedom, allowing her to visit whenever and even going on small trips around the area.

Holly would make even more use of them now that she knew where Diagon Alley was. She wanted to explore more and hopefully find a library where you could just borrow books. Hagrid had only shown her around the main street unfortunately.

The trip to St. Mungos was uneventful, but her stomach was still cramping. Holly hoped she didn't get sick. Or worse yet, infect her parents or other patients with something.

While telling her parents about the previous day, she became weirdly emotional. What she would have given to have them there with her. She laughed, cried and showed off her acquisitions.

When Holly was packing up, pushing the chair she'd been sitting on back to the table and noticed the smear of blood on the seat, she panicked. There was blood leaking through her shorts! Finally finding a nurse to alert them about her injury, she was too embarrassed about where the blood was coming from to talk much, so she just pointed at her crotch instead.

The nurse took her to a small room with a couch and some bunk beds, likely the breakroom for healers, sat her down in a chair and told her to calm down. Holly was fidgeting in her seat, trying not to get blood everywhere.

"I assume this is your first blood?"

"My what?" Holly was confused.

"Your first blood - what do the muggles call it, period was it? Your first period"

Holly wanted to slap herself, that made so much sense. Her mood swings, how easily she cried and the stomach cramps. They'd talked about it a little in school before, but aunt Petunia refused to, since she was still too young apparently. She'd throw a fit when Holly told her later.

The nurse vanished the blood on her shorts with a small wave of her wand

"This conversation usually involves the magical guardian of a girl, but in your situation it'll just be us. Now, you can take care of your bloods the muggle way, though I really don't recommend it. This," she said pointing at the vial in her hand, "is a nifty little contraception potion. It'll prevent the bleeding and dampen the worst of the mood swings."

Holly stared at the nurse with stars in her eyes, nifty potion indeed, it blew all the methods she knew of dealing with her period out of the water.

"How often do I have to take it?" Holly gave the nurse a big smile that was happily returned.

"I see you made a decision. You'll need to get it once a year. It's available at most apothecaries for free since Minister Bagnold was in charge. Since it is a contraceptive you'll have to plan ahead if you want to have children, but I guess that's not a concern for you just yet."

Holly violently shook her head, which the nurse just chuckled at. She also accompanied her to her parents room to take care of the mess Holly had made on the chair there.

When the nurse had left and Holly had packed up, she gave her parents a bitter smile.

"Well, at least you could be there for one of the milestones of having a growing daughter."

With those departing words, Holly headed back home.