Thanks for the support on the last chapter - I really appreciate it :)

Wednesday, 3rd July 1991

She had been given no food in at least fifteen hours and she had heard no noise from upstairs in all that time. She was scared, it had never happened before. She had a creeping dread that they had left her locked up in the basement with no food or drink, waiting for her to die. There was only one thing to do, she thought, and that was to find a way out.

Using the limited battery on her light, she searched through the items stored in the basement. She found a few lengths of rope, a ton of coal, five rusted jerry cans of diesel and some rusted metal. Cora then looked at the door, trying to find any weaknesses that she could exploit. The most obvious was the material, it was wood so she could burn it to get through. She thought back to her science class, fire needed a fuel source, oxygen and heat. She knew there was plenty of oxygen as she was still alive, she had coal for the fuel, but in the damp basement there was certainly no fire starter.

Her first thought was to scavenge embers from the chimney, but that would require someone to light the fire upstairs, which would mean she would be instantly found out. Then she thought back to a short engineering lecture the entire school had been given. Most of the stuff flew over her head, but one thing stuck with her. A high pressure makes things hot, hot enough to light diesel fuel. It just so happened that she had some.

She piled up the coal around the door, and dragged one of the jerry cans up to it as well, but when she tried to open it she found it was stuck. She soon managed to free it up, and it looked full, so she dripped a bit on top of the coal. It was then that she was struck with the final problem, how could she provide enough pressure to get it to explode.

She picked up a rusted metal girder, grabbed it with both hands and lifted it above her head before smacking it down on the coals. It did nothing except throw up clouds of coal dust on the first try, but upon touching the fuel she felt a small amount of warmth. She hit it again and again, until eventually it got too hard to breath and she retreated to the other side of the room.

A few minutes later the clouds had settled, and she felt ready to try again, and this time it was only a few seconds before there was a load bang and the coals lit. She staggered back with elation, until an inky black smoke began rolling over towards her. She instantly noticed the open jerry can of diesel, and raced over to try and move it away from the flames, but she was too late and was thrown back to the wall from the explosion, landing winded and hurt.

She lay there in pain for almost ten minutes until she got her breath back and stood up, using the wall to guide her back towards the steps. She managed to edge past the roaring fire, holding her breath and feeling the heat blistering her ankles. After dragging herself up, she pushed open the door and fell to the floor, gasping for breath. The smoke that had been chasing her spread out, flowing like water through the windows and out into the sky, forming clouds around her house. The thing that struck her most however, was the sheer number of letters, all bearing her name and the text she had seen earlier. She picked one up and stuffed it into her pocket, and with her heart still racing she stumbled out of the house and into the street.

It was early morning so not many people were out of the house, but she suspected they would be soon. The only life she could see was her neighbour, Arabella Figg, who had been watering her garden but now stared at her in disbelief. Cora had been to her house a few times, usually when Vernon and Petunia had been out celebrating one of Harry's or Dudley's achievements. She had always been nice to her, so even though she was a bit batty, Cora turned to her and started walking over.

"Oh Coraline!" she gasped, "What happened? Do come in. I'll get you a glass of orange juice and you can tell me exactly what's just happened."

Without uttering a word, Cora trailed behind her, coughing all the while.

After bustling around her cubboards for a while, Arabella came out with a phial of an orange liquid, and without questioning what exactly it was, because it certainly didn't look like orange juice, she downed the drink in one big gulp.

It instantly revitalised her, and she immediately felt a burst of energy. Arabella had left the room, and she could hear her scratching away at something before she came back in. "How are you feeling dear, I've just sent word to someone who can pick you up shortly." she told her, with a concerned look on her face. Cora immediately stiffened, the police would be sure to put her behind bars now that she had commuted arson.

It was then that she realised the true magnitude of her actions. She had just commuted a crime, something that most people would serve a life sentence for. It was clear that no one had believed her when Harry and Dudley bad been injured, so they would almost never believe her this time.

Arabella must have seen the look on her face, so she continued, "you have received your letter my dear, haven't you? This will be oh so more complicated if you haven't."

Cora sighed, "the one to the school? They'll never let me in now, come to think of it, how do you know about it?"

She waved her hand dismissively and simply said, "I have connections, and don't worry about the house, I'm sure they won't be difficult to convince. In fact, they should be here around now. "

At this there was a loud pop from outside followed by a knock on the door, and she prepared herself for her first interaction with the people that had given her that spark of hope. She knew she looked horrible and streaked with smoke, but she attempted to maintain an indifferent look, her green eyes piercing.

Arabella opened the door, and it swung open to reveal a tall, middle aged man with greasy black hair and wearing a large black cloak. His nose was large, and his smile was set in the same grim line as hers. From just inside, Arabella called her over, "Coraline, come and meet Professor Snape, he will be one of your teachers in the next school year."

Snape fixed his eyes on her, and they maintained eye contact for a few seconds before he startled her by stating a single word, "Potter."

Cora nodded her head as if it was a question, but still remained silent. Her first impression was one of cool authority, and while he looked largely angry, she felt that it was not immediately directed at her.

Snape's eyes darkened slightly, and Arabella, seemingly having sensed the tension, quickly intervened. "Professor, I expect you will take her to Tom's, correct?"

He nodded, and stopped looking at her for a second as he turned to Arabella, "Indeed. As the firstborn, Miss Potter here will first be taken on a tour of her family vault and that of her vassal, the Blacks. Then I will show her around Diagon alley, and we will buy school supplies along with everything she will need for the coming weeks. If we may, Arabella, we will travel there now by means of floo."

He seemed to turn up his nose at that, and suddenly she felt slightly intimidated by the man. Arabella had said that he was a professor, so he couldn't be evil, could he? Still, Cora held her head high as she followed him into the living room following Arabella's admission, leaving behind a trail of soot on the carpet as she went.

He stood in front of the fire and turned to her for a second, "when this fire flashes green, it is safe to walk through. You must clearly state the words 'The Leaky Cauldron' any stutter and you may be sent somewhere completely different. You don't stutter, Potter, do you?"

"No," she replied quietly

"I am your professor, you will address me with sir, do you understand?" he said sharply

"Yes… sir" Cora replied, fighting to keep down an argument. He hadn't proven himself worthy of respect yet, but she supposed that she had to make a good first impression. She still had no idea what was going on, but was slightly in shock by this point, so she didn't question anything.

Snape leant down to pick up a pinch of powder from an ornate jar next to the fireplace and scattered it above the fire. It flared up violently and hissed, before calming back down to its original shape, albeit green. Without hesitation, Snape stepped into the flames, and they crept up his legs as he said "The Leaky Cauldron. " Once they had covered his head, there was a bright flash of green light and the fire returned to its normal color and shape. Strangely, the professor had disappeared, so she followed his lead and with shaky hands, pinched the powder and threw it into the fire. She stepped in cautiously, as she was still feeling the burns she had received in the explosion, but she shouldered the pain and clearly said the words.

There was a flash of light and suddenly the soft peach carpet of Arabella's room had been replaced with cold, dark ebony floorboards. Cora gasped as she realized she was standing in roaring yellow flames and stepped out quickly, tripping slightly on the grate. Snape was standing nearby, brushing off dust from his cloak so she looked around and gasped.

She was in a bar, and sitting on benches and stools was a vast assortment of people wearing cloaks. Some of them were posh like Snape, but others were the kind of disreputable people Vernon would've scoffed at. Their cloaks were all different colors, from deep blacks to royal purple, the only consistent factor was that none of them were wearing normal clothes.

They had started turning their heads towards her, and she realized that she looked a complete mess with burnt clothes and a soot covered face. She shuffled self consciously, before holding her head up high. It was better to leave a good impression that contrasted the state she was in. Otherwise, she would be perceived as poor and uncaring of her appearance, and that just wouldn't do.

Snape had walked up to the bar and was talking tersely to the barkeep, an old posh looking man she assumed was Tom. He waved at her and she strode over, her eyes glinting like steel.

"Well there Severus, it looks like you've found yourself a double" the barkeep laughed, a sound that trailed off when he saw Snape's face. "Right then, " he said quickly, "A room for one. That'll be twenty galleons and three sickles a night."

Snape handed Tom a few gold coins then said, "I will pay for the first night, then Potter will pay for the rest."

Apparently satisfied, he handed the key over to Cora, who interjected quickly, "excuse me, but I don't have any money."

"Yes you do," replied Snape flatly, "now, with me. And what did I tell you about addressing me?"

After she nodded with consent, still slightly confused about what money she had, along with what a "galleon" and a "sickle" was. She pocketed the key, which had a nice leather strap with the room number on, and followed Snape outside.

They entered a small walled courtyard where there was nothing except a few weeds and a trash can. Feeling slightly bewildered, Cora touched Snape's shoulder, and he turned to look at her with an expression of impatience. Thrown off slightly, she started, "uh, about this," she gestured around her, "where am I? What is a galleon or a sickle, how in hell did I manage to teleport here and why did the letter of invitation say that Hogwarts was a school of witchcraft and wizardry?" she saw Snape tense and added a hasty"sir…"

Snape sighed, "You really haven't been told?" Upon receiving no response he continued, "to answer your first question, you are in The Leaky Cauldron, the pub that is home to the entrance to Diagon Alley. A galleon is the main coin we use here, it is roughly equal to five pounds of your money. A sickle is fifty pence and a knut is just one pence. As for how we got here, you are correct, hell, but you will likely only learn about that in sixth-year. Speaking of that, next year you will be traveling to Hogwarts, a school where young witches and wizards like yourself come together to learn the cutting edge of magic. It will allow you to express yourself fully in an environment built to support you, and help you to become as successful as possible.

"I'm a witch? I can do magic? She replied, dumbfounded.

"Still caught up in that are you?" he drawled, "what did you think you did in that playground. From what I heard it was rather impressive."

She just stared at him, speechless, until he turned back to look at an archway filled in with bricks. He pulled a long thin stick out of a pocket in his robes, it was black and heavily varnished, the handle smooth from years of use. He pointed it at a brick before tapping it, and what followed Cora would recount as being one of the most mesmerizing moments of her life.

The brick wiggled then seemed to float out of the wall. Then it hovered, slightly out of place. There was a ripple effect as other bricks copied it, all floating out of the wall and past Cora, hovering in the air all around them. She looked back in front of her and she saw that an archway had appeared, one that had not been there before and was just big enough for them to fit through.

Snape was already walking through it and as soon as his cloak swished out of the way, a bright ray of sunlight illuminated the gloomy courtyard, and a bustling open street greeted her. She walked through it as if in a daze and left the overcast sky behind as the wall closed behind her, as if telling her that a new era of her life had begun. She was already looking more healthy and even had a sort of half smile upon her face, something that hadn't graced her features in many years.

There were groups of people milling about, some talking animatedly and some just lounging on the benches in the sun. One of the things that struck her was just how different the place was to everything outside, where shops may have sold coffee, books or kitchen appliances, she could see cauldrons outside of one store, and an advert detailing all the types. She saw pewter cauldrons, brass ones, even some that were self stirring! There were also other shops, one that sold telescopes, one that sold strange silver instruments and one that even sold potion supplies, some of the more disgusting ones being assorted slugs, maggots and eyeballs. Looking past them, there was also a shop that sold robes, a book store and a pet shop. There were a cluster of children gathered around one window, where a sleek looking broom was displayed. It was oiled, and had some beautiful engraved gold runes covering the length.

She spotted Snape again, and he was walking past all of those towards a square, the most prominent feature being a huge white marble building, decorated intricately with statues and carvings from the top to the bottom. She gasped in wonder before quickly hurrying over to join him. He walked in and immediately a huge gold atrium greeted her. Intriguingly, the outside seemed to be smaller than the inside. There were several balconies wrapping around the roof many stories above, and it seemed to go until a haze obscured the top.

Snape just continued walking, leaving no time for Cora to gawk before talking to a short, wrinkled man at the front counter. He was wearing a crisp white suit and a small black tie around his neck. After a quick exchange Snape beckoned over to her, so she walked forwards and greeted the goblin.

"Do you have your key?" it enquired, and she replied with a slow shake of her head. It tutted loudly before proceeding, "No matter, your magical signature should suffice" with a flourish, it drew out an embossed sword almost as long as it was. It was studded with jewels, a ruby and sapphire forming a sort of yin yang symbol. It was engraved with runes just like the broom she had seen earlier, but with a darker steel instead of gold. She started back, jerking away from the weapon, but Snape pushed her back forwards.

When the cold metal touched her, she was surprised to feel no pain, only that strange warm sensation she had felt that day in the park. It only took a second before the goblin pulled away, stashing the sword back wherever it had come from and motioning for her to follow it. It strode towards a pair of large oak doors, studded with a bright steel. It swung open to reveal something not unlike the atrium. There was a gold tiled flooring with occasional stone pillars and marble walls. The corridor was lit up with small gold lanterns and every hundred meters or so, there was an opening where a slightly smaller offshoot passage came off. They were filled with a jumble of metal vaults, some the size of her head, and some as big as her whole body.

The goblin just kept walking however, and she felt the corridor getting smaller and smaller as they progressed. Eventually they got to a corner, and upon turning they found themselves in front of what looked like a mineshaft. There were torches made of a stick, rag and oil flickering on the wall, a wide track on the floor, and waiting for them was a solid steel minecart waiting to take them down.

She turned to Snape, wanting to ask him a question, "How is there this much space underneath London, it would have been found already! Speaking of which, how is the bank so much larger inside than outside?"

Snape answered her with a sigh, "It is a phenomenon known as wizard space, a complex charm that allows wizards and other magical creatures to become smaller and enter a new dimension contained inside of an object. Different materials work better for this, marble and leather both able to stretch up to twenty times their original size, " apparently satisfied with his explanation, Cora turned away, just as Snape spoke again to the goblin," Griphook, we shall go to her own vaults first, then have a look around the Black vault as their dying family has become the Potter's vassal, and she has a responsibility to make sure that everything is in order."

They climbed into the minecart, and just as they were about to set off, Cora noticed an inscription on the sloped roof in front of her.

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

She shivered at the subtle threat, and Snape nodded at her. You'd have to be mad to try and steal from here, Gringotts is the best place to hide anything in the world, or at least it's lower levels are. We'll be traveling there shortly for the black family, but first your vault is on a much less secure floor."

At that the goblin pulled a lever, and the mine art began to slowly roll down the shaft. At first it was largely comfortable, but the minecart just kept picking up speed. Soon she could hear the wind whistling around her, and other than the occasional lantern above a connecting passageway, it was pitch black. Eventually the goblin threw back the lever again, and a shower of sparks erupted from the wheels along with a loud screech that forced Cora to cover her ears. As the cart skidded to a halt, lanterns on all sides lit with a whoosh, and she climbed shakily out.

Griphook leapt out with confidence, and pulled a small gold key from a chain around his neck, with which he strutted down along a connecting passage. Here the rock walls were a lot tighter, but soon enough they reached a flat slab of rock. The goblin pushed the key towards it and the rock shimmered slightly, before fading away.

Instantly she gasped, before her were piles of gold as tall as she was, tables strewn with jewelry and various portraits. The space was far larger than the tunnel she had just passed through, and the goblin reported the amount to her, "An estimated total of twenty million galleons, excluding possible rare enchantments on items but including the property deeds. One manor here in England, the cottage at Godric's Hollow, a villa in Barbados and a terraced house in France.

She stood there shocked, did that mean she was rich? Did she really have a manor and a villa in Barbados? If so then why had she been living in number four privet drive her whole life! The goblin gave her a leather pouch and left to wait outside with Snape, but Cora stepped further in, weaving past the piles of gold and trinkets. There was an alcove in the wall made of crumbling stone and looking inside, she saw a statue that looked remarkably like Harry. She stepped closer to examine it, and she saw that on its hand was a gaudy silver and gold ring, with the Potter crest. She looked even closer, startled at the likeness, but suddenly noticed that it's eyes were hollow and rested inside the sockets were tiny stone snakes.

Upon drawing close they untangled themselves and poked out of their resting places. One looked like a cobra, and the other like a python.

Who daresss disssrupt the sssacred resssting place of the great Drossskvyen leirsmiðr, father of our family and ssson of the ancient and noble houssse of black.

She looked on in shock as they spoke, their words seeming to twist the air unnaturally. Thinking back to the time she had talked to the snake at the zoo, she reasoned that it would be best to approach this with confidence.

My name isss Coraline Potter, I have come to collect what isss rightfully mine

One of our family. A ssspeaker too. That isss rare. No potter hasss bothered to ssspeak to usss in nigh on two centuriesss

My mother and father are dead and have been for a decade. The only Pottersss left are myssself and my brother.

We have sssensssed a change in our magiksss recently. That isss likely it. Dormant we resssted until a mere few weeksss ago. A lack of energy.

She nodded absentmindedly, none of the other parts of the vault looked so old. There were a few portraits from the edwardian era, but this statue was partially cracked, it must have been almost as old as the house itself.

She bid the snakes goodbye, promising to visit them soon, and returned to the vault door after putting a few galleons into the pouch, finding that she could put a lot more money in than she should have been able to. Snape was standing there looking concerned. "We have heard news, we won't have time to visit the black vault and will instead retrieve a package from this floor. You must not speak of this endeavor to anyone, and we shall arrange a time for you to audit the Black vault during term. Am I clear?"

She nodded her assent, resolving to ponder the snakes another time. They continued down the tunnel back the way they had come, but just before they got to the main shaft they took a sharp left, heading even further into the twisted caves underneath Gringotts. After walking for around fifteen minutes with only the dim light of Griphook's lantern, they finally came upon another door. Upon using a sapphire key this time, the door again shimmered into non-existence, revealing a much smaller room.

It was box shaped rather than the natural cavern hers had been, and all along the walls were strips of runes, pulsating with a strange silvery blue light. There was a pedestal in the centre, and there were lines of runes connecting the walls to it. The thing that was centre stage however, was the strange opalescent crystal on the pedestal. It looked like a cut diamond, the size that you could comfortably hold in your hand. Instead of reflecting the light like a normal gem, it seemed to create its own, casting a beautiful starscape all throughout the room. It was mostly silver, but occasionally there were swathes of red and blue light flickering in and out of existence for brief milliseconds.

Snape quickly pushed his way in front of her and strode across to the stone. He brought out a brown paper bag and quickly stuffed the stone inside, dropping the room in darkness once more. A groaning sound shuddered throughout the cavern and tunnel, so Snape quickly marched out and gestured for Cora to follow him. She did silently and only looked back once just to see the once beautiful room crumble in on itself, twisting and warping until the plain rock wall that had once acted as a guard for its contents now acted to protect the outside from the inside.

It was a short but exhilarating ride up to the main atrium, and instead of having to walk down the varble corridor they were instead deposited directly onto the second floor. They made their way back down to the ground floor and finally stepped out into the light.

Snape immediately set off saying, "First we must go to Madame Malkin's. She will fit some new robes for you while I search for some elusive position making supplies"

It was close by, and when she looked through the windows she saw a boy with spiky blonde hair complaining to his mother while a squat woman dressed In all mauve robes bustled around him with various fabrics and pins. "That's Draco Malfoy, another first year at Hogwarts. Why don't you go and say hello, you could even end up as friends, " he spat the last word like it was difficult to say, and left without a second glance.

The bell tinkled as she walked in, and who she assumed to be Madame Malkin walked up. She lifted her head high as she did in all first encounters, and sat down in the chair next to Malfoy as Madame Malkin said she would go and find some more material.

"Hello," he said, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," Cora said in a clipped tone.

"My father's next door buying…" He looked at her for the first time and cut off mid sentence, "say, you look like you've been through a fire!"

She grunted tiredly before replying, "Probably because I have, my aunt and uncle are savages you see, they locked me in a basement and I had to blow up the door to escape"

"They didn't use a flame impervious locking charm?" he said, slightly bewildered.

"They don't know about magic, " she replied shortly.

"And here I was thinking you were raised right, you're a muggleborn?"

"My parents died when I was one, my brother and I are the only ones who survived. I was tortured and kept away from magic until only this morning, when I found out I am the heir to the Potter family, of which the ancient and noble house of Black is a vassal"

Malfoy stared at her intrigued, "well then, you must be filthy rich, perhaps even as much as my father! The Potters and Blacks are also both ancient and noble, much like my house. It must be a powerful union."

So he's both rich and powerful, she thought, perhaps he could be a valuable ally.

Suddenly she heard shouting outside, and a rough voice yelled out to silence it" All righ' all righ' we're shor' on time. Clear off, all of yeh. "

It seemed to be a giant who was talking, at least three heads higher than a normal man, and a huge brown beard that stretched across his entire face. There was a crowd outside, and they all seemed to be wanting to talk to someone with him. She caught a glimpse of spiky black hair and muttered "No, no, it's impossible. He can't be following me."

"What is it?" Malfoy inquired

"It's him. It's my brother."

She felt a crushing wave of anger, that familiar resentment that she had been able to leave behind for the day came back with a vengeance. He couldn't just come along and spoil the one thing she'd got that he hadn't. Her hopes and dreams of getting rid of him she thought had been answered but had only been temporary.

Suddenly he burst through the door, that arrogant sneer on his face again. It turned into a grimace when he saw her, but it wasn't much better. "You," he snarled, "you're supposed to be dead."

The waves of anger threatened to drown her as they had once before at the park, but this time she was determined to control the urges unlike last time. She fought her resentment down and formed a cool anger instead. That was good. That was something she could use. "Leave. You have one chance. I beat you last time, and won't hesitate to do so again."

"You got lucky, and managed to call upon some accidental magic. Do you know how rare that is at our age? It will not, can not happen again."

"Well perhaps this time, it won't be so accidental" Cora said coldly, taking a step towards him "Where are all your cronies at now, huh? Where's Dudley? Henry? John? Do you really have the guts to take me on yourself?"

"I don't need guts to take on such a weak bitch." He responded in the same dangerous tone, "You're pitiful" he took another step towards her, "an unwanted child," another step, "You weren't meant to happen," another step, "You're an accident" he took one last step towards her, and they were facing off now, mere meters away from each other. Harry jerked, faking a punch and laughing when Cora flinched.

That was it. She had been abused so many times before but this was enough. He was publicly humiliating her in front of people that she cared about impressing. He was ruining her clean slate with his perfect charisma towards others, but his perfect malevolence towards her. She felt the same sensation she had felt only two times before, and caught it. She focused on it, understood what it was, and what she could use it to do. This was magic. Raw magic. Destruction. But she could use it.

An aura of cold burst out around her, colors became subdued and sounds became muffled. Time seemed to slow down but her thoughts were still racing. Harry was going in for a punch, but he wasn't faking it this time. She could see his eyes focused on her left shoulder so she cleanly twisted to the side, and his fist flew right by her. She used his momentum and placed a hand on his back, letting the magic be focused through her hand and flow through her fingers. The magic tingled, but she could feel it work. Harry's back arched in pain and she could feel things start to return to normal. She could feel the heat now, racing through her hand and into Harry's back, thrusting him across the room with a bang.

Harry crashed into the opposite wall and fell to the ground with a thud. She just stood there, waiting for the rush of fatigue that always followed magic, this time though, it wasn't so bad that she collapsed, but she still had to lean up against the wall in exhaustion.

She slowly became aware of everyone in the shop staring at her, Madame Malkin had dropped the pins she had been holding, Malfoy was sitting open mouthed with shock and everyone was completely silent.

There was a loud jingle that broke the silence, and she turned towards the door. Snape stormed in, clad in his black cloak and a vicious scowl on his face. "I leave you alone for two minutes." he snorted condescendingly. "you had better hope there was a good reason for your actions, Potter."

Cora was too tired to speak, and didn't complain when Snape grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her out of the shop. The rest of the visit passed quickly: she went to Flourish and Blotts to get some writing utensils and parchment, along with all of the books on the extensive list that had come with the letter and the magical menagerie to get a black cat, one that Cora immediately named Omen, as well as back to Madame Malkin's to collect her robes and a battered leather trunk.

Eventually they arrived in front of an old looking store with a wooden front, and a large sign engraved with dark black letters reading "Ollivanders". Through the window Cora saw hundreds and hundreds of Black boxes lined up on shelves, with a few sticks like Snape's laid out on the counter.

Snape turned to her, "This is one of the most important stages of your wizarding journey, your choosing of your wand. After it is completed, you will no longer be allowed to perform magic outside of Hogwarts or the guide of a trained professional. This means that incidents like the one you had earlier with your brother will not be permitted. You will be let off just this once on account of your emotions, however this is your first and last warning. You will not receive another. Your wand will be instrumental to your progress as a witch. Although many other magical creatures use varied devices to focus their magic, wizarding folk have long since perfected the art of wandlore which allows spells to become drastically more powerful. It also tames the wild and unpredictable nature of pure magic, and allows you to command it with only your words."

With that Cora walked into the shop, and a stout old man looked up from behind the counter, "my, my. Another Hogwarts student, hmm?" he inquired, and after receiving a nod to the affirmative, he took a long look at her before striding off down one of the isles. Within seconds he was back, and after removing the wand from its case he handed it to her, the smooth handle pointed towards Cora' chest.

"Just wave it around, dear" he encouraged, so she hesitantly took the wand and lazily waved it in the air. Nothing seemed to happen and before long Ollivander plucked it from her hand, muttering quietly under his breath.

"Perhaps this one," he said while handing her another one. This time it jerked when she waved it, shooting red sparks across the room as it flung itself out of her hand.

"Not to worry," he said, handing her a third. This one also felt wrong to Cora, it was black and slightly spiky, and felt incredibly uncomfortable in her hands. She waved it around and instantly a heavy, black pall emitted from the wand, making her cough as it entered her lungs. With a wave of his wand the smog was gone, and after her hacking coughs subsided, he took the wand from her hand again.

"Not that one then, I suppose," he said in a slightly strained voice. Cora winced, afraid she was taking a long time, especially as Snape tapped his wrist absentmindedly.

He handed her another wand, and this time it was made of a dark gray wood, with a thin handle and an average length. It had a gold ring near the top of the handle, and the tip was covered in gold runes where she hadn't seen any on the other wands. "please be careful with this one," he asked anxiously, so she took the wand and graped it firmly.

She instantly felt a connection, the same warm sensation she had experienced when using magic before seemed to flow from her chest through her arm, then down to her fingers. It pooled there for a second, before it slipped through into the wand. The runes lit up in a blinding flash, and when she looked back to it they seemed to be shifting, forming a new pattern that looked to be endless.

Ollivander looked on with a curious expression, "eleven inch ash-stained ebony with an intertwined crow's feather and dragon's heartstring, " he paused for a moment, "intriguing."

"What?" she asked impatiently, "What does it mean?"

"I suspect you will find out in your own time," he said simply, "and I don't believe it is my place to tell you."

Without another word, she paid for the wand and then stuffed it in her pocket, ready to just go back to the inn and sleep. It had been a rather stressful day and after all the strange things she had experienced, she doubted anything could shock her anymore. That was why she didn't start upon spotting Harry on the opposite side of the street, not wanting to start a fight and instead hurrying quickly back to the Leaky Cauldron with Snape a few steps in front of her. She bid him goodbye before heading up the creaky old stairs in the corner and finding her room, not even bothering to unpack or undress and instead just jumping on the bed, letting her body sink into the soft mattress until it felt like she was laying in a cloud.

Next Chapter: Sunday, 26th November 2023