Chapter 3
With the professor's heavy words resounding in her head, Harper was directed by McGonagall to an odd shop whose sign read "Ollivander's: Maker of fine wands since 382 BC". In the window display, there was a single open box with a purple cushion and wand inside. The inside of the shop had nothing but shelf after shelf packed with boxes like the one on display and a plain cushioned chair sitting in the middle of the floor space. She could literally feel some kind of strange energy buzzing in dusty air around her and assumed that was what magic felt like. Her nerves returned due to being alone, but her curiosity soon over-powered, causing her investigate the nearest shelf of boxes.
Suddenly, a dry, ancient voice came from behind the nearest shelf and its short, white-haired owner followed shortly after, "Ah, first year at Hogwarts I presume?"
Harper nodded. The old man with wide, moon-like eyes smiled and grabbed a small tape measure from his desk. As he walked towards her, he dropped the tape measure that strangely, did not fall to the floor. Instead, it floated mysteriously over and started to measure her, from head to toe, ear to ear and shoulder to fingertip as the man spoke:
"Good, good. I see you came with professor McGonagall. I always wondered when you would show up. Your parents were both very accomplished wizards and I expect nothing less from their only child." Ollivander said with a wink.
Harper blushed. The strange old man disappeared into the forest of shelves while the tape measure measured the circumference of her head. The store was eerily quiet with the only sounds being the rustle of the tape measure and the moving of boxes.
Finally, Ollivander returned with an open box and said, "English oak, 11 ¾ inches, dragon heartstring, rather unyielding," and handed her the wand.
Harper just stared at the piece of wood in her hand, then at the old man with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, go on. Give it a wave," it sounded as though he repeated this phrase many times a day.
Harper complied, expecting some sparks or a flame or something. But nothing happened. Ollivander swiftly took the wand, put it back in its box and hurried back to the shelves. The tape measure was measuring from the base of her skull to her pelvis when Ollivander, returning with another box, and tapped strange measuring rope causing it to fall to the floor in a heap.
"Try this one out. Rosewood, 11 inches, phoenix feather, pleasantly springy."
Harper picked it out of its box and gave it a wide swish expecting nothing to happen however, the moment she brought her hand down, an entire row of boxes on the shelf in front of her explosively leapt off the shelf. Harper stared wide-eyed at the mess and gently placed the wand back in its box.
Harper nervously chuckled a bit, "Uhh, whoops... umm… Here, I'll help you clean that up."
Ollivander smiled, "No, no my dear. It is no worry. That happens all the time. We just need to find you the right wand and I think I now know just the one."
This time, the old man happily hummed as he searched around one of the furthest shelves of the shop. He dug around for quite a while before returning. In his hand he held a box but this time he didn't open it. He gave Harper a quizzical look then wiped the thick layer of dust off the box.
"I wonder…" he chortled a bit to himself and gently took the lid off the box, "Let's try this out shall we? Hazel wood, 12½ inches, unicorn hair, reasonably pliant."
Harper picked the wand out of its box, but this one felt warm in her hands. The handle seemed to fit her grip perfectly and she could feel that same strange energy buzzing in the shop concentrated in her hand. She gave it a swish, much smaller and smoother this time hoping to not cause any more damage. To her amazement, a small, white flower bud poked out the tip and rapidly grew in size. Both Harper and Ollivander stared wide-eyed at the obviously unusual spectacle. When the slender white bud was about seven inches tall, the petals fell back to create a beautiful satin-white magnolia blossom that glowed with soft light and then broke off from the wand and fell, spinning, to the floor. She recognized the blossom as magnolia grandilflora, her favorite flower though she had only ever seen pictures. Looking back up to the old man's face, she thought she saw a tear well up in the corner of one eye. He straightened himself and looked at the girl who stood in his shop with disbelief.
"That was some of the most beautiful magic I have ever seen performed by a first-time wand holder. Only one other person has ever accomplished such a feat in this shop and she has long since passed away. Of course, she had the same peculiar type of wand that you now possess," he adjusted his spectacles, "You see, when hazel wood and unicorn hair are combined, something odd happens. The wand becomes so loyal to its original master that it not only refuses to work for anyone else, but when the master dies, so does the one has ever been able to explain why. Very few people in history have ever come to master one, but when they did, they performed the most beautiful magic and you seem to be no exception." He chuckled again, "Masters for these wands are so rare that I almost never made a second one. The unicorn whose hair resides in that wand just so happens to originate from the Forbidden Forest. She was a peculiar thing who put up no fight to my taking a hair from her and in fact walked right up to me. I knew that her hair needed to be in something special and here it is."
Harper picked up the blossom, "Why would… I've never even seen magic before, so why…" she trailed off.
"The wand chooses its master Miss. Costello. Wand-lore is a very complex and mysterious area of magic and even I cannot explain how each wand makes its decision but one thing is always clear. There is always a purpose for each wand. Now, whether that purpose is good or bad, great or small, is up the wizard or witch who controls it."
She could do nothing more than stand there holding the large blossom cupped in her hands. Its soft, sweet scent soothed her nerves as she thought about what the strange old man meant. She hadn't really thought about people using magic for evil. She supposed it made sense though, humans were humans after all. She thanked and paid the old man then walked out of the store with a heavy feeling. 'If Professor McGonagall could use magic to turn into a cat whenever she wished, what sort of bad things could someone else do with it?' she wondered as the door closed behind her. Her thoughts were wondering around with what might be possible when McGonagall walked up to her, hands empty. 'What...' thought Harper when she saw the large trunk with what she recognized as the Hogwarts crest pull up beside the professor. On its own.
"I believe we are finished here. I already took the liberty of purchasing a trunk for your equipment and exchanging some of your money for muggle currency," She waved for Harper to follow her as she made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron and continued, "You will stay in your room tonight and in the morning, I have some business to attend to here so you may visit other stores in your free time if you wish. In the afternoon, I will return you to Mrs. Hollie as I am sure she misses you dearly."
Harper rolled her eyes and smiled. This was the first joke the professor had made in her presence and she could tell that it would be a rare occurrence. The next day, Harper spent all morning going up and down the alley looking at all the shops. She told herself she would save Eylops owl emporium for last since so she could spend more time thinking about what kind of pet she would get. She went into many stores looking at all the strange wares from flying broomsticks and 'quaffles' in a bright, cheery 'quidditch' store to bins of dragon teeth and dried slugs in a dim-lit potions ingredients shop. Then, she discovered that there were regular clothing stores in the alley and thought that she could do with some new clothes. For the first time in her life, she had the opportunity to shop for brand new clothes yet she only bought a few shirts, a new pair of black converse, two new pairs of jeans, and a thick, black sweater for winter time. She had never had this much money before and decided that she wanted to save as much of it as she could (which made her realize why the professor had not allowed her to buy the things she wanted the day before). By the time she finished searching for the lowest price on clothing, the morning was almost gone yet she still had no idea what kind of pet she wanted. Rushing over to Eyelop's Emporium, she thought about which pet would be most practical. She was looking at a Siamese cat that had two tails when she noticed a large cage with a cloth cover over it. She picked up the corner of the cloth and saw a sad sight. Inside the cage, was large, sickly male barn owl. Its left wing was tightly wrapped in bandages and he slowly turned his head to find the new source of light in his cage. Harper hated seeing injured animals and had just decided that she would purchase this owl when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw the professor shaking her head. When Harper opened her mouth to protest, the hands grip tightened. With a lump in her throat, Harper gave in and followed McGonagall out of the store and back to her room where she silently packed away her new clothes in her trunk with the image of the poor owl constantly in her head. When she finished, the professor hurried her out of the bar and to the train station so that they would not miss the train. Soon after they settled into their seats, Harper decided to finally ask about her parents.
The elder witch's face fell at the mention of the Costellos, "Well, Your mother was a Gryffindor and your father was a Ravenclaw. You may not understand the significance of this, but you will when you get to Hogwarts and learn about the houses. In any case, they were both very wonderful and talented students although your mother was a bit of a handful," the edges of her lips twitched at memories that flashed across her mind.
Harper smiled knowing that her parents were remembered well, "So, what happened to them? I'm assuming that they are… You know…"
The professor looked Harper straight in her eyes and Harper could see the pity she had seen on their first encounter, "Yes, they are dead. They were killed soon after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came into power. He sought them out for their talents and when the both of them refused to join his ranks, he hunted them down. When he couldn't find them, he sent death-eaters out to kill what was left of her family in order to draw the both of them out," a heavy sigh, "Your mother always had a head-strong, fiery passion especially when it came to the ones she loved. Even if it meant putting herself in danger…" a pause, "In the battle, she alone took down an impressive twelve death-eaters but they still lost in the end. Everyone who knew that you were born had assumed that you were killed as well."
Harper turned and looked at the passing scenery out of the train. She was turning the new information over and over again in her head.
"We didn't learn until it was too late that your father placed you in the care of the muggle orphanage to protect you. He knew that the death-eaters would never have looked for you there," The Professor turned to look out the window as well, "Clever young boy he was. He was at the top of the class in his last two years at Hogwarts. Not one for socializing but very kind all the same. You do look very much like him," she smiled slightly then looked down, "Very clever boy… He left your vault key and a note explaining his decision to leave you so that I may find it, but I didn't realize until it was too late. I assumed his death came as a surprise to him and didn't think… in any case, we couldn't pull you out of the world you grew up in at that point," she sighed heavily and met Harper's wide-eyed gaze with a look of sincere apology, "I am truly sorry. If I had paid more attention and been more open-minded, you would have never had to grow up in the muggle world. You could have grown up knowing about your abilities and who your parents were. I suppose you already understand just how cruel muggle children can be to people like us."
Harper couldn't stand seeing the professor look so sad without the air of power and severity she had possessed only moments ago. So she grabbed one of the woman's delicate hands in both of hers and met the elderly witches gaze with soft kindness and a small smile.
"There is no need to apologize. I am here now and that is what matters. Yes, the other kids were terrible, but I think it makes me a stronger person in the end. Besides," she lightly chuckled, "If I had grown up around magic, then it wouldn't be such an adventure to me now," she felt very odd consoling the woman whom she found rather intimidating and would soon be her teacher.
Professor McGonagall was amazed by the wisdom in the young girl's words. Harper could see in her eyes that she hadn't expected her to accept the apology and was lost for words. Harper gently released her hand and turned to continue looking out the window with a smile on her face. After a few moments, the professor did the same. The rest of the trip was silent but Harpers thought were swimming through what she had just been told. Her mixed emotions confused her as she was normally very in control of them, but she eventually decided that while her mother's decision was not the wisest, she died trying to avenge her family and that her father's decision to leave her was for her own protection. Content with her decision, she spent the rest of the trip wondering and imagining what her new life as a witch would be like.
By the time the two witches reached St. Augustine's Orphanage, Harper's arm was tired from dragging her rather heavy trunk and Professor McGonagall was back to her serious, authoritative self. At the door, McGonagall handed Harper a train ticket, reminded her to be punctual, said goodbye and quickly left the girl standing on the concrete steps. Harper walked through the door and lugged her trunk up the creaky stairs to her room where all the girls were already in their beds. None of them did more than glance at her and sneer. Harper silently took pride in dashing their hopes that she wasn't returning. When she had left, Harper herself didn't know whether or not she would be coming back so she took many of her things with her and even returned her library book. Her bed was exactly as she had left it when she flopped down on it and thought about where she would be going at the end of the month. Even as she took her shower and got ready for bed, she kept trying to imagine what Hogwarts would be like.
Harper had never been excited to go back to school before, but that August, she could hardly contain her excitement. She walked dogs and traipsed the streets during the day as she always had but would read out of her new textbooks every evening. She loved the smell of the new paper and the beauty of the ink dancing across the pages. Occasionally, she would bring her wand down to the river at sunset and examine the beautiful pattern of the handle while trying to explain everything she had seen in Diagon Alley to Brutus who patiently listened to her ramblings. When she couldn't sleep at night, she would whisper the wonders she had seen to Loki, the ferret who started to visit more often since her return from London.
…
Finally, on the first of September, she woke up with the sun and got a train to Kings Cross Station. Pushing her trunk on a trolley, she traversed the crowded train station in search of the platform stated on the ticket. She realized she had been naive in thinking that the platforms would be labeled differently than the station back home because platform nine and three quarters did not exist. She was debating whether or not she should approach the attendant and ask where the platform was when she saw a girl with extremely curly, dark brown hair and the exact same Hogwarts trunk as her own walk by. Harper decided to quietly shadow her to see if she figure out how to find the mysterious platform. The girl was with a woman who looked exactly like her but a little taller with straight hair who Harper assumed was the girl's mother. The woman leaned put her hand on her daughter's shoulder and pointed to a brick column between platforms nine and ten. The girl nodded and the woman started to briskly walk. Straight through the column. Harper couldn't believe her eyes when the woman disappeared into the brick. She then realized that she would have to ask somebody for help and the girl with the curly hair was as good as any other.
She started to jog, "Hey! Hey wait!" the girl turned before she could start towards the wall and Harper stopped beside her, "Uhhh, hi. So umm, how would I do… that," She pointed to brick column.
The girl looked at Harper wide-eyed for a moment then noticed her trunk, "Uhhh well, you just walk straight into it… theoretically. My mum said its best to go a bit faster since this is my first time," Harper joined her in a nervous, awkward chuckle.
After a moment of awkward silence, the girl turned back towards the column, took a deep breath and started in a slow jog towards it. She disappeared into the wall just as her mother did before. Then, it was Harper's turn to take a deep breath and start towards the wall. Still expecting to smack straight into the brick, she was amazed when she passed through with nothing but an odd crackling across her skin. On the other side was a completely different platform filled with oddly dressed people like the ones in Diagon Alley. Waiting for her were the girl and her mother, smiling at her. Harper was honestly not expecting either of them to wait for her and it made her feel good to know that they thought about her.
"First year at Hogwarts too dear?" the mother asked.
"Uhh, yes," Harper looked down blushing furiously.
"Well, where are your parents? Do you need help looking for them?"
"Well… They are uhhh… gone. I'm here by myself."
The woman seemed to immediately understand, "Oh I'm sorry dear. Do you have any friends around to sit with on the train?"
Harper shook her head.
"Well," she jokingly put her hand on the side of her mouth and lowered her voice, "Tayler here doesn't have many friends either so I'm sure she'd love to sit with you."
Tayler looked down, her hair making a frizzy curtain in front of her face. Harper looked down too and the woman laughed. It was then that Harper realized maybe she would finally be able to make friends here in this crazy magical world.