I was woken by Hestia's screeches to the sun peaking over the horizon. You know when you wake up slightly too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep, yeah it was around that annoying time. I guess I should see what Hestia wants. Rolling out of the bed, I slipped my feet into my slippers and swung my blanket around my shoulders,making a makeshift cape. I walked over to the fireplace by which Hestia had settled. She was perched on the marble mantel, ruffling her feathers impatiently. Rolling my eyes I extended my hands towards the fireplace and mumbled "Incendio" under my breath, orange and red flames leaping from my hands and into the fireplace. At this, Hestia hopped along the mantel before swooping down to land on the arm of the chair. Collapsing into the chair I thought about today and last night. Last night I dreamt of a world full of colour and magic but it was shrouded in darkness...I wonder if I am making the right decision to go to Hogwarts. Either way this is such an exciting opportunity, one that i cannot waste. I mean, who gets to learn about magic in an old caste...well me but this is different. I'll be learning with other witches and wizards, just like me. I'll be free from my father's oppressive rules and I will be able to practice magic all the time. That's not to say that I won't miss my family, I'll miss them dearly,but this is something that I have to do. I just know it.
The rest of the household would be up soon, hearing the longcase clock ring seven times. Breakfast would be served later but I'm sure I could grab something from the kitchen and skip to go riding. Getting dressed into riding gear (link : cgi/set?id=231377078) I left my room, fire burning and Hestia asleep on the chair. Instead of taking the main staircase I walked to the end of the corridor and open a dark oak door, leading to a private spiral staircase. These stairs take you all the way to the basement level which has an exit on the side of the stables. After making my descent, I come out into the kitchen area where I grab a buttery pastry and a handful of strawberries before rushing out and through the back door. After climbing a few steps, I am in the gardens. Walking through the rows of hedges and flowers, I come to the tiered gardens and more specifically, the bridge over the stream and into the forest. Picking up my pace, I know that I only have an hour or so until someone comes to find me. Running through the trees I eventually reach the stable block. I have a few of my horses here in the more private stables and my other horses are kept over in the larger block. In this block, I have my chestnut gelding Ember, my bay gelding Lancelot and my stallion Conquistador. I also have a winged horse here called Inlustris but today is his day off.
Grabbing the feed bowls for Lancelot, Inlustris and Conquistador, I rush back the their stables, adding an extra carrot or two to each bowl before sliding them into the stables. Ember's tack is outside of his stable, just where I left it the other day. It takes me a few minutes to tack him up but once the girth is tight enough, I swing myself up and onto his back. Taking a better grip on the reigns, I encourage Ember forward with a nudge of my legs and we are walking off through the gate. It takes a few minutes to warm Ember up through the paces but we're soon cantering through the trees, twisting and turning to avoid low branches and the occasional fallen log. We must've been out for close to an hour when we start heading back and I spot my mother leaning against the wall of the stable block, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.
"You had me worried that you had run away and didn't want to go to Diagon Alley today. Your father seems to be under the impression that you won't last at Hogwarts and your lack of appearance at breakfast seemed to only fuel his suspicions." After a pause and a sigh, she continued. "Do you know how hard I had to campaign for this. I have wanted you to go ever since you were a little girl but your father refused. He wants as little to do with the wizarding world as possible. It is only thanks to your grandmother that you are able to go. Now come along and get dressed. I will sort Ember out and meet you back in the enchanted section of the library in half an hour."
With that I dismounted and relinquished the reigns to my mother before darting home, through the gardens and up the stairs. I used the same route that I had used to leave to get back up to my room, where I found the fire dwindling and Hestia asleep in the chair. I removed my helmet and boots by the fire before moving to my bathroom to go about washing my face and styling my hair in an updo that was neither too formal nor too informal. My blonde hair was swept up into french milkmaid braids and pinned in place. I hanged out of my riding wear and into some clothes for visiting Diagon Alley. I had no clue as to what wizards and witches wore but I hoped that I didn't stick out like a sore thumb amongst the crowds. You see, the only wizards and witches that I know are my family on my father's side and the trained witches and wizards on my mother's side. When mama's father died three years ago, the vast majority of the family fortune was passed onto mama, not one of her siblings nor a male heir. This is because he wanted the money to go to me. I was to inherit it all seeing as the continuation of the pureblood Spencer name was to go through me. Both of my aunts had married halfbloods and my uncle had married a muggle, leaving myself and my brothers as the only pureblood heirs of the Spencer name. My brothers were to take the throne before me and so my grandfather wished for me to marry a wizard, hence my desire to go to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons. I wanted to experience the life that I had missed out on because of my parents public lifestyle and I didn't want to be married off to a complete stranger.
I managed to pick put an outfit that I deemed suitable for shopping and something that would fit in both the muggle world and hopefully the wizarding world (link: descendant_trip_to_diagon_alley/set?id=231282102) . Once dressed, I grabbed my handbag and walked downstairs to the library. Upon reaching the enchanted section, I found my mother stood near a fireplace, waiting for me. In her hands was an ornate jar, silver with a snake coiling around it with emeralds for eyes. Beautiful but I had no clue as to what it contained, making me nervous...perhaps she had decided to play a prank on me for earlier or perhaps it was a spider, I'm not a fan of spiders with long spindly legs.
"This, my dear, is floo powder. When thrown into a fire burning in a fireplace, Floo powder turns the previously normal flames into harmless, emerald green flames that rise higher than before. One must toss a handful of powder into a fireplace connected to the Floo Network, walk into the flames, and state the desired destination loudly and clearly to ensure arrival in the proper location. This is how we shall be travelling to Diagon Alley so that we can avoid the muggle media. You need to say Do you understand or do I need to go over things again?"
I nodded, understanding the theory and stepping over to grab a handful from the snake jar before walking to the amber flames. I looked back at my mother nervously, I'd never done this before and she made it seem so easy. I tossed the greenish grey powder into the flames, watching with wide eyes as they turned emerald and rose to fill the fireplace. I turned my head sharply towards my mother, nearly giving myself whiplash. My mother had a small smile and glossy eyes that shone in the green light. Turning back around, I gingerly placed a foot inside the flames and upon finding that they did not hurt me at all, stepped into the middle of the fire.
"Now say Borgin and Burkes nice and clearly and you will appear in a store, I will follow just after you don't worry."
Taking a deep breath to calm myself I relaxed and tried to speak as clearly as possible.
"Borgin and Burkes"
With that, I was whisked off in a roar of green flames. The feeling was strange, like flying and freefalling at once. I remember reading that you had to remain calm and keep your arms close to your side to avoid injury but it is very difficult to not panic or flail around when you feel like you're falling. And just as quickly as it had started, I was stood in a stone fireplace looking put into a shop full of odd items. I stepped out of the fireplace to take a closer look at a glass case of little trinkets and what looked to be bones. How peculiar. The fireplace behind me suddenly roared and my mother appeared with a wis of green fire around her. She stepped out looking incredibly graceful and poised, like a princess. She walked over to the counter that was covered in a thin layer of dust, merely glancing over at me and the case that had caught my interest before signalling with her right hand that she wanted me to join her.
As I stood on her right, an old and grey man came to welcome us.
"Good Day Borgin. It has been quite a while has it not? You do still have the amulet that I asked you to keep, don't you?"
My mother said this with a pointed look to this Borgin character. I'd rarely seen her act like this but I understood why she was doing so. This man gave off a vibe of untrustworthiness and I got the feeling that if he could, he would attempt to swindle us out of all of our money. With that being said, he bowed his head and scurried off to return less than a minute later with a black velvet box. He placed it into my mother's awaiting hands, nervously, almost as if he was truly scared of her. Once it was securely in my mother's hands she turned on her heel and strode out of the store throwing a casual "A pleasure as always" behind her as she led me out of the store and into a dimly lit alleyway. It may have been just before lunchtime but this alley had houses and building so lopsided that they seemed to converge in the middle and block out the vast majority of the sunlight.
As we walked away from the dark and dusty store, the street seemed to get lighter and lighter as the pathway widened. When we turned the corner, I could see an exit to a much larger street, busy and bustling with wizards and witches flitting around in long robes and muggle attire. Stepping into the heavy flow of people, I was jostled around a bit as I attempted to take in my surroundings before being pulled to the side by a hand on my shoulder. Once out of the way, I turned to see my mother looking at me with a slightly worried expression on her face. Once she checked me over to ensure that I was okay, she led me off down a row of brightly coloured and once again, wonky buildings. It was amazing, all the different colours and artefacts that were being sold, we even passed a store full of broomsticks. Turning the corner as per the instruction of the hand on my shoulder, we came across a large and marvelous, white leaning building labelled 'GRINGOTTS BANK'.
"It's said that the vaults are guarded by dragons, you know. Now then, let us hurry and get some money from the family account to purchase your supplies."
With that, we walked into a long, shining room that was lit by some spectacular chandeliers. The room was dripping in opulence, gold and shining marble. The floor had an intricate design laid into the beautiful colours. We walked straight down the middle, my mother's firm hand placed on my shoulder keeping me moving even as I wanted to stop and stare and take it all in. Upon reaching the end, a small and old creature with long pointed ears peered down at us from its perch behind the black desk. It took me a few seconds to recognise the characteristics and match the dots, it was a goblin. In fact, all of the creatures working behind the desks were goblins.
"Name." It said in the driest and most condescending tone. It had a raspy quality about it, clearly very old and very done with its job.
"Diana Spencer. I am here with my daughter to access our family vault. Number 284."
It dawned upon me that we wouldn't be able to purchase anything with muggle money as that wasn't the currency of the wizarding world. Instead it was Galleons and Sickles and Knuts. There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. We had come here to withdraw money for my school supplies. I had zoned out, finally being able to take a look around the bank, it was only once my mother's hand on my shoulder applied some pressure did I realise that the goblin was leading us around the back to head down to our vault. The trip itself was exhilarating, it felt like flying with all the twists and turns, like a ride at a fun fair. When we finally came to a stop, I was giddy with adrenaline and was ready to go again. Once the goblin opened the vault door, I saw piles upon piles of golden Galleons. But money was not the only thing in the vault. There were crates of fine clothes and jewels, many artefacts that belonged to my ancestor Salazar Slytherin and crown like statement pieces. I had known that my family was wealthy but I hadn't realised to what extent. You see, my grandfather was a well-known auror who had trained to be a healer. He reached the top of his field, developing intricate potions and spells for healing that are used by only the most advanced healers today. He was recruited when Grindelwald attacked a hospital that he was working at during the time in which he was able to successfully disarm him, only for the Ministry to lose him later. All of these great deeds led to an amassing fortune, all of which was going to belong to me. There were even some keys in a small gold box. When I asked mama about these she merely said that they were keys to other vaults and our estates and property. I took a brown leather pouch out of my bag and filled it with handfuls of the wizard currency, luckily this pouch was a gift from my grandfather and was enchanted to be both weightless and expandable, meaning I was probably carrying a small fortune around with me but it weighed less than a feather. Put of the corner of my eye, I noticed my mother lift the lid of an understated black box. I had seen it earlier but chosen to walk past it in favour of looking around and in some of the more ornate cases. I watched as she removed a small box, one so small it would easily fit into the palm of my hand, and then pocketed it, placing the amulet that we had got from the odd store earlier. With that she headed back to the cart that would take us up to the surface again.
Once we left the bank, my mother led me to a robe shop in which she handed the assistant a list and left me whilst she bought my books from Flourish and Blotts, my supplies from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment and a cauldron from Potage's Cauldron Shop. By the time she was done, my robes were ready to go. Mama had bought me several sets of schoolwear and more casual robes, including a few robes for the seasons and weathers and a feminine take on the classical dress robes. She told me all about the many functions of Hogwarts and how one could never underestimate the wardrobe for the year. It was nearing half past one by the time we moved onto Ollivanders.
The store was dusty, but not like the first store that we went to. No, here the dust settled on a few rows of boxes, containing wands according to mama. She told me that I would have to practice a few times with the wand to get used to the feeling rather than practising wandless magic, apparently wandless magic was rare and was something to keep concealed and a secret, lest people think that I belonged to the dark wizards.
"Ahh Lady Spencer, it has been a while. How is the wand my father crafted for you holding up?" said an old man with white hair. He had a smile plastered to his face and his eyes showed a genuine delight at seeing my mother, a curiosity as to why she would return and a merry glint. This must be Ollivander.
"14 inches, hawthorn wood with a Veela hair. Your fathers craftsmanship works wonders even to this day. I am here with my daughter, Victoria, to see about getting her first wand."
At this, his attention diverted to look at me, inspecting me almost with his eyes. I bowed my head in recognition of a master of his trade and a welcome, causing his eyes to glint with mirth.
"Lady Windsor, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have no doubt that you will be just as difficult as your mother when it comes to pairing you with a wand. Do not worry yourself about the process. Remember, the wand chooses the wizard."
Nodding in understanding, I stepped forward to accept the first wand that he brought to the desk.
"14 inches, holly, dragon heartstring"
I picked up the dark wand and gave it a small swish, causing an entire shelving unit of wands to collapse. At this, Ollivander took on a more serious look and set about finding more wands for me to try. This process lasted for at least ten minutes before Ollivander asked me to stop for a moment as he went and checked upstairs. During this short break, I looked around at the destruction that I had made. There were wand boxes all over the floor and parts of the units had collapsed. My mother, upon seeing this, pulled out a pale tan wand, one that I had never seen before, and set about fixing the store. By the time she was finished, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.
"Now this wand is special, and incredibly old. It has power, that isn't under any doubt but it has et to choose a wizard. It's a long shot but one that I am willing to take at this point. 13 inches, rowan wood, phoenix feather core."
The wand itself was dark, with a twisting design that lead to a dragon's head at the end from which the wand was held. It wasn't as sleek as any of the other wands that I had tested, clearly being made a long time ago by a different creator.
"It was forged in the fire of the phoenix that gave it's feather for the wand and tempered in its tears. It is incredibly powerful, capable of great magic. The designer was a close friend of Merlin's I do believe. These few wands that are still around from that time are indeed strong. It is well known that Merlin could converse with dragons, hence the design. Well go on then, give it a try."
Picking the wand up with extreme care, I lifted it and pointed it in the direction of a set of candles. With a small flick of my wrist, an amber spark leapt out of the wand's tip and flew around the room, splitting into three and growing to form three tiny dragons. Each dragon flew for a second or two longer before finding their mark upon the wicks of the candles. I felt light, and free. There was a fire set alight within, almost as if this wand had sparked something inside of me.
Ollivander's face lit up with joy. He had found a match for the final wand from Merlin's generation, the olde times.
"It seems the wand has chosen well. I am certain that we can expect great things from you my dear. Now, unfortunately; seeing as this wand is a collectible to some, it comes at a higher price. 25 Galleons even. I look forward to watching your future Miss Windsor."
Taking the money that my mother had placed on the counter, he disappeared back into his store. I had a wand! And not just any wand from the sounds of things. Turning to my mother with a smile upon my face, she held the box for the wand and placed the wand inside before putting it with the rest of my supplies in her charmed bag. Just before we left the store, my mother stopped me, offered me her arm and said the one thing that I was craving the most. "Lunch?"