Chapter 4: Surprises at Ollivanders

The rest of their time at Gringotts went pretty rapidly once the trials of the Heir rings had been completed. Ragnok had assigned Griphook to take Holly on a tour of her vaults, a great honor for him due to the fact that no one had been inside the Peverell vault for centuries. The cart ride to the vaults was quite fun, with all the speed and dangerous turns. It reminded the kids of roller coaster riding, though not as smooth. It was a short ride to the Potter vaults, as they had been created more recently by comparison to the Peverell Vault. The ride down to the bottom, for that's where vault number 3 was located, passed through the thief's downfall, a magical waterfall that reveals disguises and impersonations. Then, of course, there was the dragon which guarded the vaults at that level. Holly felt a little sad for it when Griphook rang the clangers, some cowbell looking device which signaled to the dragon it was about to be hurt unless it backed away.

Dudley was amazed at the amount of wealth that Holly didn't know she had, which she shared in that sentiment. Of all the things that were in both families' vaults, none were more valuable than the family magic grimoires. Griphook made sure to point them out to Holly, as no one but a family member or an employee of Gringotts could see them for what they were. Sirius confirmed this fact by informing her that the books looked like some sort of children's book or, in the case of the Peverell family grimoire, a dusty old tome who's title had worn off ages ago. Normally, an Heir wouldn't have access to the family grimoire until they were of age, with the only exception being that there was only one living Heir to the family. Sirius had reliably informed Holly that, even though she had the books in her possession, she wouldn't be able to read everything in them right away. The books constantly tested the person's magic who tried to read them and, based on the magic tested, allowed them to read only what they would be deemed worthy to learn. Most members of the family never learned the deep secrets of the family grimoires.

With the visit to the vaults completed, the trio found themselves topside once again. Sirius took a deep breath of the air outside, saying, "Ahh, the free air."

Holly looked at her dogfather curiously, "What do you mean, Uncle Siri?"

"Well," Sirius began, trying to think of the most diplomatic way to say what he was thinking, "Goblins have a way about them. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy immensely working with Ragnok. It is quite fun haggling on prices with him and seeing the skill he has in working with your investments. Some days in there feel like they would charge you for the air you breathe if they could figure out a way to get away with it. Hence, the free air."

Dudley and Holly shared a look between themselves that they've shared many times when dealing with Sirius. It was a look as though Sirius was, once again, off his rocker. Holly laughed a little, saying, "It surely cannot be that bad. You're obviously exaggerating."

Sirius gave his trademark cocky grin, "Think that if you like, Holly. In time you shall see what I am talking about. Now then, what shall we do next? I, myself, think it is of grand importance that we see what wand you will be paired with, as a witch or wizard's wand is the second most important thing about that person."

Holly nodded, "I am curious as well, however, I'd like to see what kind of snake I pair up with as well. I'd like to do that first if you wouldn't mind."

Dudley agreed, "If I'm being honest, that's the only thing I'm interested in on this whole trip. The goblins were definitely cooler than I thought they'd be, and I'm sure all of the rest of the stuff we're going to do is going to be brilliant. I'm with Holly on this one though."

Sirius smiled, "Very well then, it's just as well as I believe Fantastic Familiars is on the way to Ollivander's. Let's be on our way then, we've got much to do today."

The trio set off down the street, the kids still gazing wide eyed at everything in the Alley. They reached Fantastic Familiars in no time at all, the bell ringing on the door as they opened it and walked inside. Dudley's jaw hit the floor as a lovely looking witch sidled up to the till behind the counter, saying, "Welcome to Fantastic Familiars. My name is Sheila, how may I assist you today?"

Sirius put his lady killing charm on maximum, "Oh, I can think of a few things you could assist me with. Unfortunately, I don't believe we have that kind of time today."

Sheila smiled and said, "Dreadfully unfortunate, Lord Black. I've heard from other ladies around the alley that you are quite the good date. As it stands, I am a married witch."

"Your husband is most fortunate to have taken such a beautiful woman away from the rest of us who would wish to get to know you better," Sirius said in mock despair, overdramatically placing his hand over his heart, "I'm afraid I shan't recover from this."

The children had looked back and forth at this display, much like one would observe a tennis match. Sirius glanced down at the children, grinning, then looked back at Sheila and continued, "Good thing that we're here for business and not pleasure. May I introduce my goddaughter, Holly Potter. We're here to help her find a snake familiar."

Sheila turned her attention to Holly, smiling pleasantly, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance. And you are in luck, we have quite the selection of snake familiars in the store today. Many of them are quite young actually. I was not aware that Hogwarts had allowed snakes on to the approved familiar list."

Sirius jumped in, "We've obtained permission for Holly here to be allowed to have one, due to her special affinity for them. If you know what I mean."

Sheila nodded firmly, "I understand."

Taking a few galleons out of his pocket, Sirius set them on the counter, "We would appreciate your discretion that no one finds out about this purchase."

Sheila grabbed the coins, saying, "I am always discreet about my clients, Lord Black, especially now that I will have the famous Holly Potter to add to that list. It will be a shame that no one will be able to know where she got her familiar from."

Sirius smiled at her, "I assure you, Holly will let her friends know who's shop is the best to go to for products for their familiars in Diagon Alley."

"Excellent," Sheila said as she pocketed the coins. Coming out from behind the counter, she continued, "Let us see what we have in the store today."

Sheila led them further into the store, saying, "we offer many different species of venomous and non-venomous snakes. Snakes are, of course, like humans in that some of them can sense and interact with a magical's magic and others cannot. The ones who have this affinity with magic qualify as familiars. Snake familiars are vastly intelligent when compared to their less magical counterparts. When you form a bond with one, even if they aren't in possession of an ability to communicate like parseltongue, the two of you will be able to understand one another to the extent that you will be able to command it to not hurt others if you so desire. Therefore it makes no difference if the snake is venomous or not as they're equally dangerous in their own rights."

After a few moments, they found themselves in front of many glass cases with snakes either laying about or moving around in them, "these are the types of aquariums we have. Ours are enchanted to be unbreakable, as well as containing the best warming charms, tailor made to each species as they all come from different kinds of environments and, therefore, require differing levels of warmth. We also offer different kinds of props for the aquarium for them to crawl on or be in."

Turning about with a bit of theatrical flourish, Sheila concluded her explanation, "well, have a look about and see which one draws your attention. I'll be right here to answer any questions you may have."

"Thank you ma'am," Holly said as she walked up to the different aquariums. She had found snakes to be quite fascinating ever since her talent to talk to them had been discovered. Holly had taken a lot of time for research in the library on many of the different species of snakes. As she walked through, trying to see if they had the one she had been most intrigued by, Holly stopped in front of several, admiring their beauty and scale patterns. Every so often, she would murmur, "beautiful" or "so pretty".

Finally, there it was. Her eyes were drawn to its light gray body, its coffin shaped head laying on top of the rest of its coiled up body. Holly could see it wasn't very old, at most a year, due to it not being very long, a foot maximum if she were to guess based off of it only being coiled on itself very tightly a couple times. As Holly leaned in to get a closer look, the black mamba raised its head and gazed back at her. Deciding to be polite, Holly spoke, ~Good morning, hatchling.~

~A ssssspeakerr,~ the reptile hissed back, uncoiling and moving closer to the glass, ~what'sss your name, ssspeakerr?~

~My name isss Holly,~ she replied, kneeling down in front of the aquarium, ~do you have a name yet, hatchling?~

The mamba shook its head, a little erratically due to its age, ~hatchling isss waiting for when it bondsss with itsss magical to be given a name.~

~Would you like to be my familiar?~ Holly asked, her nose barely an inch from the glass.

~Hatchling would like to feel Holly'sss magic before hatchling decidesss,~ the snake answered, raising itself up towards the cover of the aquarium.

Holly looked back towards Sheila, "May I hold the snake please? It wants to feel my magic before it decides if it wants to be my familiar."

Sheila was surprised, mostly because she had never been in the presence of someone who could speak parseltongue but also because most witches and wizards never really asked familiars for their opinions on whether or not they wanted to be with said witch or wizard. She started a little when she realized that Holly was waiting for permission, saying, "Yes, of course. You may definitely hold her."

Holly turned back to the aquarium, gently lifting the lid and then the snake out of it, ~Sssuch a pretty girl you are~

The black mamba coiled around Holly's bare arm, then slithered up inside of her shirt sleeve. Eventually, she came out of the neck of the shirt and coiled around Holly's neck, ~Massster'sss magic feelsss very good. And massster feelsss very warm asss well.~

~I take it you've decided then?~ Holly asked, rubbing the snake's scales.

~Yesssss, you may be my massster,~ she replied, nuzzling into Holly's neck, ~what will massster call hatchling?~

Holly thought for a moment, running through all the girl names she had come across in her short lifetime, ~How doesss Kira sssound?~

~Kira likesss it,~ she answered, doing a quick lap around Holly's neck, ~Massster hasss good inssstinctsss.~

~I'm glad you like it and I'm glad you want to be my familiar,~ Holly said to Kira. Then turning to Sheila, she said, "Kira has accepted the offer to be my familiar."

"Splendid," Sheila replied, "despite what many people think, Black Mambas are very loyal to their master. They are also very territorial once they are older, so you will need to let Kira know to let people approach you unless you tell her otherwise."

Kira bobbed her head from her position on Holly's neck, ~Kira will behave and only defend massster if massster commandsss.~

Holly chuckled a little, "Kira understands."

Dudley decided to come over and see Holly's new familiar, "Hello Kira, may I pet you?"

While the children fussed over the newest member of their group, Sirius turned to Sheila and said, "Well how much do we owe you? And what would you recommend for a tank?"

Sheila thought for a moment, "To be honest, Lord Black, my own snake familiar likes to be near me at all times. Right now he's in my inner robe pocket, occasionally coming out and coiling about on my person. As much as it would pain me to lose the sale on an extra like the aquarium, they're really not all that necessary when it comes to snake familiars. I would definitely advise getting an inner robe pocket with an extension charm on it. I assure you, however, that if you get a subscription model food package from my shop that I will more than make up for the loss of that sale."

"What all is included in a food package subscription?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

"Weekly shipments of a variety of foods that snakes eat, different kinds of rodents and small birds, based on their age and size. For now it would be rodents, as Kira is very young yet at two months old. She will be at about six feet long in ten months though, as mambas grow rather quickly. All of the feed animals are bred with optimal snake nutrition in mind. The animals are shipped weekly to ensure optimal freshness and are shipped in containers bearing a stasis charm to continue to ensure freshness throughout the week. For the first year, Kira would need two small mice a day for the next four months, increasing to four small mice a day at that point or two medium sized mice for the remaining six months. Once she reaches a year old, Kira will be about six feet long. At that point she is considered fully grown and will require either four medium mice, two large rodents, or two small birds. The small mice run for eight sickles each, medium mice are eleven sickles each, large mice and small birds are 14 sickles each. Of course Kira can continue to grow from that point forward but it will be at a slower rate as she will be more than sufficiently big enough to defend herself from her natural predators," Sheila explained, pausing to catch her breath, "I'm sorry, that was probably a lot."

"Not at all," Sirius replied, smiling pleasantly, "I'm glad you know what you're talking about. So it would be about 26 galleons and 2 sickles per month for the first few months. Then, switching over to medium mice, it would be 36 galleons and 4 sickles per month until Kira is a year old. And finally, switching to large rodents and small birds, it would be 46 galleons and 2 sickles per month."

"Correct," Sheila confirmed with a nod, "Though you would want to bring her in to the shop in between school years so we can evaluate her size and make sure Kira is getting all of the nutrition she needs. Obviously Kira can hunt for rodents and birds on her own when she gets to a big enough size so as to save money but we recommend that you wait until she becomes a year old to do so."

"Fantastic," Sirius said, "Then why don't you ring us up for a supply of food for Kira that will be good for a year, as well as for Kira."

"Very good, Lord Black," Sheila said as she walked towards the front of the shop. The trio followed along, the children still enthralled with Kira. Sheila set to work calculating the year's supply of food and the price for the snake. Finally, the total rang up on the till, "Your total bill then, Lord Black, is 562 galleons and 14 sickles."

Holly's eyebrows shot clear up into her hair, "Uncle Siri, that's more than my yearly allotment."

"Not to worry, Holly," Sirius said, his charming grin still on his face, "I've got more than enough and I am happy to get this for you as your birthday gift this year. A familiar is important for a witch or wizard to have. I would be lost without my dear owl, to be quite frank. Besides, it would be a waste for us to not use the permission we've been given to get you a snake familiar."

Holly smiled brilliantly at her godfather, "Thank you very much, Uncle Siri."

Sirius smiled back at her, "For you, love, I would buy the world if it was on sale."

Sirius took out a medium size bag from his pocket and placed his hand on the bag, thinking of the amount owed. Opening the bag, a storm of coins began to float out of the bag and stack themselves on the counter. Once they were done arranging themselves, there were eleven stacks of fifty gold coins, a small stack of twelve gold coins, and a small stack of fourteen silver coins. Sirius smiled, saying, "I believe it's all there if you'd like to double check."

"I've no need," Sheila said as she began to clear the coins from the counter into the till, "the till counts it for me and it appears we are good to go. Let me get you a receipt and a complimentary food box to get you til your first shipment arrives on monday."

They waited patiently as she tapped her wand to a piece of parchment, the details of the sale writing themselves in. She then tapped that parchment and another parchment with her wand to duplicate the writing. Handing the second parchment to Holly, Sheila said, "I thank you very much for shopping with us at Fantastic Familiars today. You will be receiving an owl order catalog with your first food shipment which has all of our products on display should you decide you need a little something extra to care for Kira. I hope the two of you will become very good partners. Please don't hesitate to write or stop in if you have any questions regarding her care."

Holly took the receipt from her, then handed it to Sirius for safekeeping as she hadn't brought anything to put things in with her today, "I most certainly will. And I will definitely tell my friends about you if they have any animals other than owls to care for. Thank you very much, Mrs. Sheila."

"Have a great rest of your day, Miss Potter," Sheila called as the group left the shop, Kira still wrapped around Holly's neck.

Kira raised her head, ~Itsss bright out here.~

Sirius noticed that people were starting to stare, mostly because Holly was wearing a snake like a necklace, "Holly, love, I can put Kira in my pocket if she doesn't mind if you don't want to draw attention to yourself."

Holly looked around, noticing what Sirius had seen as well, "Is it really that bad that I have a snake on me?"

"Well," Sirius started, looking around. Noticing an alley nearby, he motioned for the group to go into it a couple paces, "Understand, love, you are a public figure whether you want to be or not. Most witches and wizards affiliate snakes with Dark Magicals. Now, I don't personally care. However, someone will eventually figure out that you are you, despite your hair color being different than people know it to be and that you have your hair styled in a way that covers your scar. It's because you are with me that people will figure out that you are you. If you don't mind people knowing that you have a snake familiar, then we will forget that I said anything and go about our day."

Holly thought for a while. She then turned to Dudley, "What do you think Duds?"

"I mean," Dudley started, "I don't really understand magical people very much. I know not many girls walk around with snakes on them in the regular world though. It does seem like it would be weird to do so but if you want to do it or think you should, then you should do it."

She considered his words, as well as Sirius'. Holly grabbed onto Kira and gently pulled her off her neck, allowing her to coil up in both of her palms, ~What sssay you about all of thisss, Kira.~

~Kira wantsss to be where massster isss,~ she replied, ~ssstupid magicalsss can look all they wantsss.~

After a few more moments of considering everyone else's opinions, Holly thought about what she wanted. She was very excited to have her own familiar, that much was apparent to anyone who had eyes. She also knew that this was really her first public outing but Holly was never really one to do things for the sake of appearances, aside from appearing as normal as possible for the sake of her Aunt and Uncle. But she was among the magicals right now. Holly should be able to embrace all that entails. If there was anywhere she should be able to do things that weren't normal, it should be amongst the magicals.

Sirius and Dudley watched as Holly spun the wheels in her mind. They both knew that, while she considered heavily what others say about her, at the end of the day she was the one who decided what she did when it came to the things she had a say about. When Holly nodded her head and looked up with a resolute look in her electric green eyes, Sirius already knew that she was going to say, "I think I'll keep Kira on me. So what if I have a snake familiar and people think that snakes are only associated with Dark Wizards. I will prove that one can have a snake and not be a dark witch."

Sirius smiled. This had been something that he had hoped she would decide concerning this issue, as he knew that Holly having a snake familiar would be something that would cause her issues if she let it once she got to Hogwarts. It was good to know that she would carve her own path, and not for the sake of appearance.

"Very well then," Sirius said, turning back to the alley, "Let's continue our day, we've still got a lot of things to get done. Book purchases, potion supplies, all of your Hogwarts clothing, maybe a special outfit to wear on your days off if you like, trunk for school, writing supplies. Oh, and your wand of course. What do you want to do next?"

"Maybe we can go to the clothing store and get all of my Hogwarts clothes, as well as one of those robes and some normal clothes with the extension charm pockets on the inside for Kira," Holly said. Noticing the look Sirius was giving her, she added, "Just because I'm going to keep Kira on me at all times doesn't mean I'm looking to be confronted about it at all times. That will get annoying really quickly."

Sirius barked with laughter as they turned down the alley towards Twilfit and Tattings, "Of course, my dear, wouldn't want all the normie norms wetting themselves at the sight of Kira all of the time of course."

The next few hours flew by as they took care of the more mundane items on the list. They purchased all of the necessary uniform items at Twilfit and Tattings, with the undetectable extension charm pockets on the inside of the school robes. Sirius also had Holly get some normal wear that would be acceptable in 'muggle settings' as he called it, also with undetectable extension charm pockets on the inside of the blouses and shirts. Those were ready right away but the rest of the Hogwarts uniform things would be delivered sometime next week. Sirius had also slipped some coins to the lady doing the fittings for her discretion regarding Kira.

Getting the trunk was easy, the only hiccup was that Sirius had insisted on getting one that was almost like a home away from home. He had stated that it was for if Holly wanted some alone time, in case her fame got too much to handle. The only thing about it that Holly enjoyed was all the bookshelf space. Which was just as well as the next stop they made was Flourish and Blotts. They got all of the books on the list for First Years, as well as some that weren't. Again, at Sirius' insistence. Holly almost got the impression that he was preparing her for some apocalypse that he had worked up in his head because of the type of work he got into as an Auror. She just went along with it and, in the case of the extra books, wasn't too upset with having more options for reading material when it came to spells, as she didn't know any yet.

The more shops they went to, the more and more grateful Holly was at the type of trunk Sirius had picked out for her. They went to the cauldron store where they purchased the requisite pewter cauldron that was prescribed. Then Sirius went all 'Prepper' on her again and bought a copper and gold cauldron as well. Fortunately, in the trunk of course, there was a small potions lab, so she had space to store the extra cauldrons. It was then that Holly became grateful for the featherlite charm that was on the trunk because it still weighed the same as when they picked it up from the trunk store. Their trip to Slug & Jiggers went surprisingly quick, as Sirius only bought the standard first year potions kit. And some stirring rods. And a few extra ingredients. Okay, so 'Prepper Sirius' had made an appearance here as well. Fortunately there were very good stasis charms on the cupboards in the potions lab inside the trunk.

The easiest store to get through, surprisingly, was Scribbulus Writing Instruments. Ink, quills, and some sheaves of parchment and they were out of there. Sirius did relent when Holly had insisted on some metal quills that were like fountain pens but firmly reminded her that for exams she had to use a normal quill and therefore should be familiar with how they write as well.

Then, at last, they had arrived at Ollivanders. Holly looked at the door with anticipation. Kira was tasting the air with excitement as well, as she could sense the amount of magic potential within. "Whelp," Sirius began, clapping his hands together, "This is the big one folks. The most important item a magical will ever own. Let's head on in."

Sirius opened the door and entered the shop, holding the door open for the children as they followed behind. The shop was dimly lit and rather dusty, if Holly was being honest. There were hundreds upon hundreds of small, long and thin boxes on shelves that lined the walls, as well as rows upon rows of shelves as she looked further into the store. There was no one manning the counter it seemed.

"Well, let's see if 'ole Ollie can work his magic," Sirius said as he sidled up to the counter, his hand headed towards the bell.

"I assure you, Lord Sirius Black, I can indeed work my magic," an aged man said as he appeared in their midst, seemingly out of nowhere, "thirteen inches, blackthorn and dragon heartstring, snappy."

Sirius snapped his right arm forward, his wand leaping into his hand from his arm holster, showing the wand in question, "Right you are Mr. Ollivander. Your memory is as good as ever."

"And you're just as cheeky as I remember, Lord Black," Ollivander replied, smiling as he shook Sirius' hand after the wand was stowed. Turning his attention to Holly, he continued, "and this must be Holly Potter. I was wondering when you'd be stopping by."

The elder wandmaker puttered about the shop, grabbing a box here and there, "It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands. Your father favored the eleven inch, mahogany and dragon heartstring wand which chose him while your mother had a ten and a quarter, willow and unicorn hair which had chosen her."

After a few minutes of waiting, Mr. Ollivander emerged with a mountain of boxes, "I know it seems like a lot of wands, Miss Potter, but it is as I say, the wand chooses the wizard. It's not always clear why. Many of my fellow wandmakers and I have pondered over these mysteries for generations and we're no closer to figuring out the mystery of this one law of wandlore that appears to be absolute. So, let's get started."

"10 inches, maple and unicorn hair," Ollivander said as he opened a box on the top of the pile he had brought up to try, handing the wand to Holly. The handle had barely even brushed her hand before he snatched it away from her, "No, that's not the one. Alright then, let's go with this one, twelve and a half inches, rosewood and dragon heartstring."

He had handed her the wand, then took it away almost instantly again. Wand after wand went like this, differing lengths, woods, and cores. A pile was getting taller and taller on a chair that was in the reception area of the shop as wand after wand was tried. It went on in this manner for the next half hour, with Ollivander's smile getting bigger as each wand rejected Holly, with utterances of "Curious" and "Not to worry, this happens more often than you think."

Ollivander had puttered around some more, searching for a certain wand as he was beginning to think that it would only be that wand which would choose Miss Potter. Finally, he found the wand, muttering, "I wonder…"

Coming out from the shelves, which looked as though they had been substantially emptied in the effort of finding Holly's wand, Ollivander opened the box and withdrew the wand which he was sure would be the one, "Here we are, Miss Potter. Eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather. If this one is not the wand, I'm not sure what we shall do for you."

Ollivander gently handed the wand to Holly, who closed her fingers around the handle. Out of all the wands which had been tried, this one had shown the most reaction so far. A couple of sparks flew feebly out of the tip but that was all. Ollivander looked at the wand curiously, almost in shock. Slowly, he took the wand out of Holly's hand, "I don't understand, I have tried every combination I could think of being suited for you. At this point, all I would be doing is trying different lengths on previous wands which had rejected you. I'm very remiss to admit, I think it's the wand cores which aren't agreeing with you."

"What do you mean, Mr. Ollivander," Sirius asked, shocked, "Surely you don't mean we need to go to Wands by Gregorovitch."

"Well," Ollivander began tepidly, "I could sell you the holly and phoenix feather wand, as it did have the best reaction to Holly's magic out of all the wands we tried but that's not saying much as the other wands did not react at all. It is true that this wand hasn't reacted to any witch or wizard with which I tried it before, so if it will be suited to anyone at all it would be Miss Potter here. However, it may take a long time for Holly to prove herself to this wand before it will fully bond with her. It may be that there is another wand out there which has laid a larger claim on Holly's magic than this wand. A wand made with a combination of woods that I work with and cores that I do not. A wand made by Gregorovitch.

"Normally, I wouldn't recommend anyone to my competitor," Ollivander continued, almost looking defeated, "but this isn't a normal situation is it? After all, Miss Potter, the phoenix, who's tailfeather resides in the holly wand gave only one other feather. The reason I thought the holly wand would accept you is because its brother wand gave you that scar and you defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Therefore, I believe you are destined for greatness, Miss Holly. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did many great things. Terrible? Yes… but great. It is due to this greatness that I believe you to be destined for that you must be properly equipped. You may take the holly wand, which did react though not as it should have if it was the wand you were supposed to have, and you may do good things. But will it be the best wand for you? I cannot deny you the right to be matched to your wand. You have found a potential wand in the holly and phoenix feather wand but I believe the wand you are destined for lies in Gregorovitch's shop in Carkitt."

All of them sat in silence for a while, processing the admission by the prestigious wandmaker. Sirius was the most stunned of them all, shocked that a man who has equipped many a powerful wizard and witch in Great Britain with the wands they've wielded. His own wand worked wonders for him. He couldn't fathom life without it, couldn't even conceive of having made it through all of the hairy situations he'd gotten himself into as an auror and as a magical liaison to MI6 without that extension of his magic. Then, it dawned on him. His wand was perfectly attuned to him, it had chosen him. He had remembered the amount of sparks which had shot from his wand when he had held it the very first time. It was like a fountain of popping fire, much more brilliant that what had come out of the holly wand when Holly had held it. However, while the wand hadn't fully committed to Holly, there was some value in it. It could be a backup wand.

Sirius had shaken himself out of his stupor, saying, "Not to worry, Mr. Ollivander. We shall take the holly wand anyways. It could be that there is no wand at Gregorovitch's shop that would be suited for Holly anyways. It wouldn't hurt to have this one in reserve, even if Holly would for some reason have to prove herself to it to fully gain its allegiance. I believe the going rate for wands is still seven galleons?"

Ollivander seemed to have regained some of his composure and stood a little straighter, "Of course, Lord Black, it has been seven galleons since before my father became a wandmaker."

Sticking his hand into his money sack, Sirius withdrew the seven galleons and handed them to the aged wandmaker, who seemed to be pleased that he had been able to sell a wand to Miss Potter after all, "Maybe I am incorrect and it is just a matter of Miss Potter needing to prove herself to the wand. But it is as I said also, if she doesn't match with the wand who has truly chosen her, then Miss Potter will not do the things she is destined to do. I am not too proud to admit that there are moments when wizards and witches come into my door and do not find the wand that reacts to them as it should. Each of those times I have swallowed my pride, knowing the importance, and directed them to my competitor. I encourage you to do the same."

Sirius nodded, understanding, "We thank you for your time and your experience here today Mr. Ollivander. I know it cannot be easy to admit these sorts of things. I bid you a good day."

"And to you the same, Lord Black," Ollivander replied. He then took hold of Holly's left hand, noticing the Potter heir ring, and said, "Heir Potter, the winds of destiny carry us to where we are meant to go. Such is usually the language of Seers and those who pursue the art of Divination. We wandmakers are also well acquainted with how those winds blow. When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named walked through those doors, I did not know him as such. He looked just like any other young wizard coming to get their first wand and yet, I knew that day he too would be destined for greatness. I see that same greatness in your magic. Go to Gregorovitch, be sure that your wand is not there. May the winds of destiny carry you to your destination."

Holly was stunned. As Ollivander released her hand, she stammered out, "Th-thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

"Now go," Ollivander said. As the trio opened the door, he continued, "your destiny awaits."

As the door closed behind them, the three stood on the street, Kira silently tasting the air of the alley for her spot on Holly's neck. They walked in silence, Sirius leading them towards Carkitt Market. Said market was actually a street that shot off from Diagon Alley that also had many stores along it. As they turned onto the street, Sirius broke the silence, "I've never seen someone not pair with a wand from Ollivanders before. I've heard rumors of it happening before but I never thought I would experience it."

Holly stopped in the middle of the street, looking down, "Does that mean I've done something wrong? Am I getting a bad wand?"

Sirius abruptly turned about, kneeling down and taking Holly's face into his hands, "Not at all, love, not at all. As much as 'ole Ollie is loath to admit, Gregorovitch's wands are on par, quality wise, with his own. Mr. Ollivander is a proud wandmaker, and rightfully so. Ninety percent of the wands in Great Britain are Ollivander wands. Every once in a while, there is a magical who needs a quality wand with a different combination of magical core. Gregorovitch is very experimental in the types of wands he creates but they by no means are of lesser quality. The fact that Ollivander would even suggest you go to his shop shows that even he knows that Gregorovitch is as good of a wandmaker. You have done nothing wrong. Everyone was just amazed by the situation. Now, let's not dwell on this any further. This is quite exciting actually, not everyone gets to obtain two wands on their shopping trip for their first year."

Dudley jumped in, trying to lift Holly's spirits, "Yeah, Hols, it just goes to show that you're a special witch."

Holly smiled, "Thanks Duds."

"There we are," Sirius smiled as well, standing up, "now let's get on with it. After this we can go to Florean Fortescue's for ice cream and then head back to number four."

Before long, the group found themselves in front of Wands by Gregorovitch. Sirius took a deep breath, then released it, saying, "Brace yourselves, this is going to be an experience kids."

Sirius opened the door, allowing Holly and Dudley to go ahead of him. Once inside, the group looked around. It was quite different from Ollivanders, not a speck of dust to be found and the shop was brightly lit. An attractive witch, dressed in a sharp pantsuit, was standing behind the sales desk and, once again, Dudley's mouth was open like a codfish. "Close your mouth, Dudley, we are not a codfish," the witch chided.

"I beg your pardon, Miss…." Sirius began.

"Poppins, Lord Black," the woman answered, nodding smartly.

"Miss Poppins," Sirius continued, squinting slightly, "How is it that you knew his name, or mine for that matter?"

The woman smirked, "One would have to live under a rock to not know who you are, Lord Black. As for Mr. Dursley, cousin to one Holly Potter, I had foreseen this day coming to pass. Heir Potter would fail to find a wand that would properly bond with her at Ollivander's, the four of you would waltz in that door at this time, he would see me, dressed as I am, and would react thusly."

~Oh, I like thisss female~ Kira hissed.

"And I think you are a lovely snake," Ms. Poppins replied, turning her attention to Holly, "Now, we all know why you are here. Let's skip the formalities and get down to business. You are in need of a wand and, as it so happens, that wand is indeed inside this shop."

The woman pulled a long, slender box out from under the counter, continuing, "In fact, it is right here. As I said before, I had foreseen this day and informed Mr. Gregorovitch of the exact specifications of the wand that the chosen one had need of."

The group stood in stunned silence. The woman paused, looking them over, then said, "This, of course, is your first meeting with a True Seer. Now then, shall we open the box and confirm that this is indeed your wand?"

Kira's tongue flicking against Holly's cheek seemed to do the trick in drawing her out of the stupor that she was in, "Y-yes, of course."

"Step forward then," Ms. Poppins commanded in a firm voice as she opened the box and took out the wand, holding it out handle first to Holly, "In my vision, I saw that you required a wand of strength, one that would be very attuned to your special affinity for snakes, a wand that would empower you to be the heroine that this world shall need, a wand that will enable you to stand toe to toe with the titans of the magical world. As such, this wand is twelve and a half inches long, made of yew wood and infused with a basilisk venom core. Now then, Heir Potter, take hold of your destiny."

Holly held out her hand apprehensively, slowly reaching towards the lightly colored wand. As Holly took hold of it, slowly grasping the the spiral stained black handle, Ms. Poppins let go quickly and stepped to the side just as fast. When Holly's fingers gripped firm on the handle, a fierce wind whipped around her as a veritable geyser of sparks flew from the tip of the wand. After ten seconds of such a magnificent display, all at once it stopped and everything was calm. Sirius was staring, awestruck. Dudley almost seemed to have stars in his eyes, and not just because of the amount of sparks that Holly had just produced. Holly, herself, almost seemed to be in a daze.

~Can you hear it, massster?~ Kira asked, ~the wand, it speaks.~

Holly could, in fact, hear the faint hisses, ~you have been chosen~

Ms. Poppins smiled brilliantly, "Excellent, Heir Potter, just as I had foreseen. And you, yourself, heard the confirmation that this is indeed your wand."

Author's Note: And there we have it. Not the entirety of the rest of the Diagon Alley trip but 99% of it seems pretty good to me. I'm sure some of you wanted to know how the ice cream shop trip went but you'll have to tune in next time to Dragonball Z, lol.

We have had our first review! Shoutout to Mystery56 as being the first reviewer. Thanks also to Gryffindorforever4242 for being the second. I hope to get more from the rest of y'all but I want to have earned it too so please only review if you feel I deserve it.

For those of you who may know to whom I was referencing as the shop attendant for Gregorovitch, hats off to you. For the rest of you, I'm afraid I'm going to have to spoil the reference as I will need to disclaimer it. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out within the next two weeks. Until next time, thanks to all of you who have given your time to my story.

Disclaimer: Obviously don't own Harry Potter. Mary Poppins is the property of Disney.