Samara the Witch
Chapter Two
A month didn't sound long, but the wait seemed to last forever to Samara. She was sitting in her room at the inn called the Leaky Couldron now. She didn't know what time it was, as she didn't have a clock or a watch, but it was dark outside, so it must have been night time. It was nice not to be in her barn. She didn't like the barn, even now the horses were gone. It reminded her of how things were, how they had been. The room she was in now was on the upper level of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore hadn't come to get her himself, but had sent the gamekeeper Hagrid. Samara quite liked him, despite being slightly intimidated by him at first. It had taken a long time to get to England, and Hagrid had said he was surprised that Samara hadn't fallen to sleep. And she didn't sleep now either. She never slept.
"Here we go, the world is spinning. When it stops, it's just beginning." Samara had always liked singing, and still did, but she paused now. Even after three years, singing that song reminded her of the well, and of how she had been a little too close to death. "Sun comes up, we laugh and we cry. Sun goes down, and then we all die."
A few hours later, the sun began to rise. Samara was growing bored. She should have taken something with her. Not that she had much, other than the Tv, and she couldn't take that here. She walked out of the room, downstairs, despite not being very hungry yet. She was desperate to go and get her school things. She knew that most children her age weren't too fond of school, but this was a magic school, so maybe it would be better. Besides, anything must be better than the barn. She had never liked the barn.
"You're awake?"
It was Hagrid. He was sitting at one of the tables, sipping from a drink and reading a newspaper. Samara walked over and sat next to him.
"I never sleep," she said, never one for lying.
"You never sleep? That's, well… odd," he said.
"When can we go and get my school things?" Samara asked, ignoring his comment.
"Uh… right now, I guess," Hagrid said. They both got up from the table and walked out of the Leaky Cauldron. Samara could barely contain her excitment and she watched in fascination as Hagrid tapped the bricks with his wand. As soon as the wall slid away, Samara tore down the street.
"Hey!" Hagrid yelled, hurrying after her. "Slow down!"
Samara ran into a shop and stopped, gasping for breath, leaning against a wall for support. She didn't get to run much, and her body wasn't used to it. She glanced behind her. Hagrid was following quickly, but she was slightly faster. She wasn't sure why. She was barely over five feet tall and he was… she wasn't sure, but he was clearly well over twice her height. She looked around the shop she was in now. There were long, thin boxes everywhere, stacked so high on the shelves they looked like they might fall... This must be the wand shop. Ollivander's.
Hagrid finally walked into the shop, panting.
"This shops called Ollivander's, right?" Samara asked him without turning.
"Yep. Ollivander's. Best seller of wands there is," Hagrid replied. "I guess it's a good shop to go to first."
Samara had only looked away for a second, but when she looked back, there was an old man standing in front of her.
"Come to get your wand?"
Samara nodded, not saying a word. After a while of being measured by a tape measure that seemed to move of its own accord, Ollivander went to fetch a box.
"Here you go. Maple. Dragon heartstring. Nine and a half inches."
Samara took the wand and held it in her hand, staring at it intently, as though not entirely sure what to do with it.
"Give it a wave, then!" Ollivander commanded.
Samara glanced briefly up at him from beneath the curtain of her hair and waved the wand. A jug of water nearby somehow ignited. Ollivander snatched the wand away and hurried to stifle the flames. He gave her another box. This one didn't seem to work either. It took three more tries until Ollivander fetched her another box, slightly longer. Before he even took off the lid, Samara heard it calling to her in her mind. This would be hers. She could feel it.
"Try this one. Birch. Pheonix feather. Ten and a half inches."
Samara gave the wand a small wave. Sparks – red and blue – shot out of the tip. "Does it work?" She asked, not sure what that meant.
"Yes. This one is yours," Ollivander said.
Samara got out some of that wizard money – gold galleons – and passed it to him. She walked back to Hagrid and they left the shop.
"Where're we going next?" Hagrid asked her.
"The bookshop," Samara said.
Hours later, the sun was setting. They had just arrived back at The Leaky Caukldron. Samara, exhausted, collapsed onto her bed as soon as they got back, before eating dinner. She had no intention of sleeping at all. Just resting for a while. She'd done more walking today than she could ever remember doing. So instead of sleeping, as a normal girl would do, Samara just lay back on the bed and thought.
She was nervous about going to Hogwarts. What if nobody there liked her? What if she hurt them, like she hurt Mommy? Or worse…? But she was also excited. She was finally going to learn how to control her powers, after all. Samara's abilities had given her nothing but sorrow, but she knew if she could control them, they could be a great asset. She focused her mind on one of her new school books on the floor, willing it to come to her. As it landed in her hands, she smiled. If she could already do magic without a wand, what would she be able to do with one?