Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone recognisable in this fanfiction. It belongs to Jk Rowling.
Larissa wrinkled her nose as Mr Dumbledore led her and her mother to the door of a small dingy pub, which had a sign spelling out 'The Leaky Cauldron'. This is an incredibly unsanitary place she thought as Mr Dumbledore held the door open for her. She entered and nearly gagged at the mixture of sweat and alcohol.
The bartender who was cleaning glasses looked up. "Professor Dumbledore! How nice to see you. The usual?" Mr Dumbledore- no, Professor Dumbledore waved him aside, that irritating smile in place. "Not today Tom, I'm escorting a Muggleborn to purchase her school supplies". Tom the Bartender nodded, but Larissa could see the disappointment in his eyes as Dumbledore led her and her mother out the back to a brick wall.
"Watch closely" he instructed as he pulled his... Wand out with a flourish. "Middle, left 3, right 4, up 1" Larissa made sure to memorise the bricks that were tapped, and before she knew it, they were moving apart, and revealed a bustling lane with stores everywhere and funny people dressed in... Were those robes? Larissa shook her head and stared in awe at the sight before her. "Welcome" Dumbledore said, and Larissa was sure that if she listened hard enough, she'd hear his eyes twinkling, "to Diagon Alley" he finished.
It was only as they exited the large marble building with those little funny creatures (Goblins she recalled Dumbledore telling her) she fully realised what was happening. She was a witch. She was part of a world full of goblins, magic, and god knows what else. Larissa had always known she would always be something great... But not this great. She was part of a superior race.
Larissa was still thinking about what she could achieve when she was in Madam Malkins Robes For All Occasions, and was pulled out of her daydreaming by a snotty voice. "Off to Hogwarts as well I suppose?" Larissa turned her attention to the dark haired male next to her. "Of course, and you are?" Was her reply. The boy smirked and stuck out his hand, "Orion Black, heir to The Most Ancient And Noble House of Black, who are you?" Larissa took his hand and he brushed his lips lightly against her skin. "Larissa Cane" she said.
Orions smirk became a sneer as he whipped back his hand and rubbed it against his robes. "Don't do that you'll misplace the pins" the seamstress scolded. Orion ignored her as he stared at Larissa. "Mudblood" he spat vehemently. Larissa understood it was an insult, because the seamstress looked up alarmed, "None of that language please" she said exasperatingly. Again Orion ignored her as though she was not worthy enough to lick his boots.
Larissa smiled sweetly. It always ticked off people when she smiled instead of being angry. "I really do prefer the term 'muggleborn'" she said. The seamstress working on her pulled out all of the pins, wrote down the measurements, and some folded robes came zooming from the back room. The seamstress told her she could go as they had already been payed for.
Larissa thanked her and stepped off the stool, before walking to the shop door before turning around. "Oh and Orion?" Orion glared at her as though he couldn't believe she had just uttered his name. "I may be Muggleborn, but that doesn't mean I won't kick your arse when I get the chance" she hissed, before smiling and whipping her hair over her shoulder as she exited. Orion could only stare.
Larissa felt empowered as they purchased her textbooks, and even better when she was allowed to buy some extras for light reading. She found a fascinating book on a mind art called "Occlumeny: A Guide to Protecting Your Mind" and another on extra magics, including Animagus transformations, and Elemental control. She also decided to purchase a book on Wizarding Customs, to try and avoid incidents like the one at the Robes store, and Hogwarts: A History. Dumbledore had seemed a bit intrigued at her choice of extra reading, but let it slide, believing her to be another curious Muggleborn, who wanted to find out everything she could about this strange and new world.
"Ravenclaw material I daresay" he chuckled as she hugged them to her chest as they weaved in and out if the crowd as they were going to make their last stop For a wand.
"What's Ravenclaw?" Her mother interjected, curious about this new word. Dumbledore explained;
"At Hogwarts there are four houses; Gryffindor House which favours bravery and chivalry, Ravenclaw House which favours the studious and intelligent, Hufflepuff House which favours loyalty and hard work, and Slytherin House which favours cunning and ambition. The Gryffindor colours are Red and Gold, and their emblem is a lion. Hufflepuffs is black and yellow with a badger emblem, Ravenclaw is blue and bronze with an Eagle, and Slytherin is Emerald and Silver. Their emblem is a Snake. On their arrival to Hogwarts, first years are sorted into one of the houses."
Larissa thought about what Dumbledore had said. "Why is Ravenclaws house emblem an Eagle and not a Raven?" She wondered out loud. Dumbledore shrugged "Ravenclaw believed the strongest power was knowledge. Perhaps she thought an Eagle was more powerful than a Raven, and decided to use an eagle to symbolise knowledge?" He smiled "Only she shall know" They turned another corner.
"What House were you sorted into yourself sir?" Larissa asked genuinely curious. Dumbledore smiled "While I could have been in any of the four, I was chosen for Gryffindor. I didn't really mind of course, after all, all houses are interlocked somehow" Larissa cocked her head, a sign for Dumbledore to continue, and to her delight he did.
"To be ambitious requires hard work to fulfil that ambition" Dumbledore explained "just like how knowledge and cunning are often used together, to bribe or as blackmail. Sometimes it requires great amounts of bravery to stay loyal, bribe influential people, or to even explore new knowledge" he finished.
Larissa narrowed her eyes "but sir, that's only how Gryffindor and Slytherin relate to the houses" Dumbledore winked at her "if you think about it hard enough, it will come together. Like a jigsaw." he suddenly stopped outside a small dusty store. In the window, a single wand lay inside its case. Over the door there was a hanging board that said 'Ollivanders'.
Larissa entered the store first, excitement bubbling within her. She was getting a wand. She looked around at the cluttered cases. Where was the shop keeper? Larissa turned to look questionably at her mother was was looking faintly disappointed and at Dumbledore who was looking quite amused . Why were his lips twitching?
"Hello" a misty voice said from behind her. Larissa nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around to find herself facing a man with graying hair, and eyes that looked like they were seeing straight through her.
He turned his attention to Dumbledore "Albus Dumbledore, Hawthorn and Phoenix feather, very chaotic and risky combination if I do remember correctly" he said and Dumbledore nodded, "correct as always Garrick."
Larissa shivered as magical tape measurers began to measure everything from the length of her arm to the width of her nose. "Enough" the man (who she presumed to be Ollivander) said sharply, and the tape dropped limply to the ground. "Hmm" Ollivander said scrutinising her. Before turning around and pulling a number of boxes out. He pulled out a wand which was black and bent. Before Larissa could even wave it, Ollivander had snatched it out of her hand, mumbling to himself. This happened for the next half hour, Ollivander reaching for his parchment and quill every time a wand rejected her. Larissa finally realised why he was doing it. Compare and contrast.
Finally the old wandmaker straightened, and walked out from behind the counter, to the window where the single wand lay in its box. Very carefully, as though he were handling a priceless artefact, he picked it up and carried it over the the counter. With thin trembling fingers, he picked up the wand within.
It was thin, and two different shades of white, half of the beautifully crafted wand was Bone white, and the other half a creamy colour. Ollivander held it delicately and held it out to her. Larissa could very nearly literally feel Dumbledores eyes burning into the back of her skull. It almost felt as if her mother wasn't in the room.
She took the wand in her hand. Unlike the others, this one felt right. Larissa waved it. The first thing that happened was the tip lit up and she felt a warmth spread throughout her body. Then the untidily stacked boxes rearranged themselves, and the counter seemed to clean itself. There was silence. "Was that good?" Larissa asked nervously.
Ollivander just stood there, "yes it's good, usually it's just a few sparks, but this is good!" Larissa felt relieved. Ollivander spoke as he delicately placed the wand into the lined box, "11 inches, Infusion of Elder and Yew, with an exotic core of Boomslang Venom, inflexible." He explained, " Elder is rumoured to have been the wood of the most powerful wood in existence but when elder wands backfire, they often kill the wielder." He peered at her and Larissa gulped.
"Yew on the other hand, is powerful but tends to favour dark magic as well as transfiguration. Boomslang venom, adds power to hexes and jinxes and is powerful with transfiguration" He held out the box, and Larissa went to grab it, but Ollivander held back, "This is an extremely powerful and dangerous wand Miss Cane" he warned "In the wrong hands, it can cause destruction, and could possibly be our downfall" he leant back and said in a louder, clearer voice "that will be 7 Galleons."
Larissa was usually composed, but after finding out she was a witch, and that her wand could possibly destroy a lot of things, and having to put up with Dumbledores scrutinising eyes and her mothers confusion, she felt she was entitled to being allowed to just flop onto her bed, face first and sleep.
A/N: The wand properties are Pottermore official people!