Thanks for the reviews! Good guesses on the Houses so far. There's a clue in chapter six as to what they are. As for this chapter, there are hints for things to come, and we find out, partially, what happened to Shiro, as well as other changes to the verse. The wand part was a bit fun, but extremely hard to write- I had a really hard time making up my mind about it, so I hope you like it.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Wands and Legacies.
The shop was fairly old, with an antique desk on the far wall, which was ancient brick with white peeling paint.
Numerous bookshelves filled the room, reminding Nanoha and Fate of the Infinity Library where Yuuno now worked, only lined with purple boxes rather than books.
The air had a musty smell, like that of a used bookstore or a damp basement.
Nanoha and Fate could feel the magic in the air, making them slightly apprehensive. "It's alright Master," Raging Heart told her, "There is no hostile magic here. This is simply a shop for the Wizard equivalent of Devices. However each of these wands bears the Trace application spell."
"So that's how it's done. Analyze it and see if you can keep it from going."
"Alright my Master."
There was no one at the desk, so Harry called tentatively, "Hello?"
There came the sound of something sliding across the floor, and a ladder with an old man came sliding into view. His thick grey hair was curly and wild, and his black robes were rather dirty and wrinkled.
He smiled brightly when he saw the children. "I was wondering when I was going to see you in here, Mr. Potter, Miss. Takamachi," he said as he climbed off of the ladder. He frowned slightly when he saw Fate. "Don't quite know you though."
"Fate Testarosa-Takamachi." Fate said, using the English form of her name, and speaking slowly. Though she had kept Precia's name, Fate still liked the thought of being considered Nanoha's sister.
Olivander actually paused in the middle of removing the tape measure around his neck, clearly surprised because Nanoha and the blonde girl didn't lookalike.
"I am adopted," Fate offered at his perplexed look.
"Indeed?"
When Fate nodded he said, "Alright then. Let's get your wands. Let me see...Mr. Potter first. Wand hand out Mr. Potter."
Harry extended his right hand and Olivander began a battery of measurements, measuring his arm, hand and even each finger.
When he was done Olivander quickly went to a shelf and pulled out a box. He opened it and pulled out a slim black wand. "Juniper and dragon heartstring, 10 inches, quite firm."
Harry took the wand and held it gingerly not quite knowing what to do with it.
"Well give it a wave," Olivander told him,pointing at the brick wall, "Over there.
Harry waved the wand at the wall. There was an explosive report, and paint chips flew off, the bricks cracking under the strain.
"Interesting," Olivander said with a thoughtful look. He took back the wand and put it away. He hurried over to another shelf and selected another.
White oak and unicorn hair, 11 and a half inches, well rounded."
Harry tried the wand with the same, though slightly stronger result: a small hole gouged in the wall, sending up a cloud of dust.
"Interesting..." A faraway look entered his eye. "I wonder..."
Olivander quickly put the wand away and hurried somewhere into the middle of the store.
He came back quickly, holding a slim, tan wand with a brown handle. "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven and a half inches, nice and supple."
Harry took the wand. He didn't have to wave it for a reaction this time. He immediately felt a rush of energy that Nanoha, Fate, and their Devices immediately detected, and a breeze whipped around him as multicolored sparks shot out of the end of the wand.
"Did you feel that," Fate sent to Nanoha.
"Hai, it felt like when Miyuki first tried using Raging Heart." The two girls chuckled at the memory. Miyuki had wanted to be able to use a Raging Heart in case of emergency, so Raging Heart had agreed since Nanoha had not been able to even use Divine Shooter at the time. She'd been shocked to learn that her Barrier Jacket had made her look like a stereotypical ninja with a Japanese katanna... only completely pink.
Olivander's thoughtful voice interrupted their thoughts. "Curious..very curious."
"Excuse me sir," Harry asked slowly, "But what's curious?"
"I remember every wand I've ever sold children," he said informatively, looking at each in turn, "And the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in Mr. Potter's wand, gave another," he held up a slim, bony finger, "Just one other. And contrary to belief, it's the wand that chooses the Wizard children; it's not always clear why. I find it curious that you Mr. Potter," He looked at Harry, "should be destined for this wand...when it's brother, gave you two," he pointed at Harry's forehead and Nanoha's eye, "those scars."
Harry tried to ask who, but he was so startled and frightened at the info that he couldn't get the words out.
"And who owned that wand," came Nanoha's calm voice, shocking both Olivander and Harry. Though they didn't know it, it was the calmness of one who had been in battle for her life many times before.
"We do not speak his name," Olivander said with a mix of fear and awe, "But," he continued, his tone misterious, having lost all its cheery tone, "one thing I am sure of, is that you Mr. Potter," he looked at Harry again, "are destined for great things. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible!" he started all three children with his shout, "Yes...but great," he finished, much more calmly.
There was silence for a moment, and then he suddenly went back to his cheery self. "Well now," he said, clapping his hands loudly, making the three children jump, "Miss. Nanoha."
Nanoha, her training allowing her to openly switch moves quickly extended her left hand and submitted to the measurements.
"That thing about Harry's wand is very interesting," she sent to Fate.
"It certainly is," Fate agreed as Olivander went for a wand.
"Yes," Nanoha continued, "And I know what happened: the Wizard that gave us the our scars killed our parents and tried to kill us."
"Are you sure?"
"Hai, Olivander didn't say as much, but Papa was killed the night I got my scar, which is the exact same as Harry's. Scotland Yard said that they found me in a pile of rubble with a baby boy, which, I'm guessing, was Harry, along with the bodies of Papa and another man and a woman, who were never identified. The man that gave us the scar was there, plus dead bodies? Hardly a coincidence."
"It certainly seems that way," Fate agreed after thinking about it, "Though if that's the case I wonder why you two survived."
"Same here," Nanoaha said. She stopped to concentrate on Olivander as he came back, bearing an ugly greyish white wand.
"Yew and dragon heartstring, 10 inches, quite firm."
Nanoha took the wand...and the wall shattered in a blinding flash of pink light.
The light faded, the group blinking and rubbing their eyes.
"Nanoha," Fate asked her injured friend worriedly, having recovered much quick than the others, "Are you alright right?'
"Hai," Nanoha replied, though her voice sounded somewhat tired. "Thank Kami-sama that the Wizard spells don't take as much power,"
"I've never had a reaction like that before," Olivander said, eying the six inch wide, three inch deep crater that was in the wall as he took the wand back from Nanoha. "It was almost like..."
He headed for the rear of the store.
"Are you sure your alright," Fate asked, this time speaking in Japanese since Harry was there, "That explosion didn't strain your Linker Core?"
"I'm fine," Nanoha insisted.
"Sir," Bardiche interrupted, "Scans indicate Lady Nanoha did not suffer any further damage to her Linker Core."
Fate nodded slowly, convinced by her Device.
Just then Olivander came back, bearing a pink and white wooden box bound in red gold and locked with a heavy red gold padlock.
Harry, Fate, and Nanoha looked at each other nervously. Any wand that need to be locked up did not bode well.
Olivander laid the box on the desk and unlocked the box. He drew out what had to be the most beautiful wand they'd seen, and reminded the two mages of Raging Heart.
The main shaft of the wand was a bright neon pink, matching the color of Nanoha's magic, with the handle a pale cream color, with a ruby encrusted band of white gold separating the two parts.
"I think it's definitely yours," Fate said.
"Pink ivory and dragon heartstring, eight and two thirds inches, nice, but unyielding."
Nanoha gingerly took the wand. Instantly a breeze whipped around her, making her auburn pigtails flutter on end, and a rush of energy went through her. Feeling it try to shape itself into a magic circle, she quickly forced it through the Wizard wand to avoid revealing herself. Multicolored sparks, though with a majority of pink, shot out the end of the wand.
The effect left her feeling tired, like after a hard workout. Nanoha was used to it though and managed to keep herself from showing her fatigue. "Wow," she thought to Fate, "It was like when I first activated Raging Heart."
"Interesting," Olivander said, "Pink Ivory with a dragon heartstring core is one of the most powerful combinations in wandlore, only matched by Cheery."
Nanoha nodded.
"That makes sense," Fate replied.
"Now," Olivander said, interrupted their thoughts, "Miss. Fate."
Fate extended her hand and succumbed to the measurements, but her mind wasn't on them. "Are you alright," she sent, having noticed that Nanoha was even more tired than before, "You seem more tired than usual."
"Hai," Nanoha replied, "It just drained me of all my strength for the day."
"Are you sure? Maybe you should go back to the room and rest."
"I'm fine," Nanoha insisted, as Olivander came back, "We'll be done once we're through here, and I can handle that."
"Sir, my scans support Lady Nanoha's statement. I suggest that you begin to pay attention to Mister Olivander."
"Alright Bardiche," Fate said as Olivander handed her a wand. Fate's wand took forever to find, each dud destroying the wall more and more.
Olivander seemed to ignore the destruction that Fate was causing, seeming to regard finding her a wand as a challenge rather than a need before the shop was destroyed. After trying almost a two hundred wands, his expression turned thoughtful. "This is interesting. If I'm right..." He once more went into the back of the store, returning with a black and white, brass bound box with a heavy gold padlock.
"That looks like the one Nanoha's came in," Harry observed, exchanging glances with the two mages.
"So they should," Olivander replied. He unlocked the box, and drew out a wand that reminded the two mages of Bardiche. The main shaft was jet black, teh handle greyish white, bisected by a yellow gold band encrusted with sapphires. "Ebony and dragon heartstring, ten inches, dark, yet light."
"That last part describes you to a T," Nanoha teased.
Fate sent her a mock glare and grasped the wand. Immediately she felt the rush of magic as she connected with the wand, the magical breeze whipping her long blonde tresses into a frenzy. Like Nanoha, Fate focused the magic into the Wizard wand and multicolored sparks laced with yellow lightning burst out of her wand, but this time with an audible crackle.
Olivander looked back and forth between the two mages. "Curious."
Nanoha, Fate and Harry exchanged glances.
"Now what," Nanoha asked.
"Like I said, I remember every wand I've ever sold. Just as Harry's core has a brother, your cores come from the same dragon, a dragon named Starlight."
"How appropriate," Fate commented dryly as Olivander continued.
"Starlight was born during a great dragon war many centuries ago. Starlight's shire died defending her against another. Because he was nowhere near strong enough to defeat the rogue outright, Starlight's shire used the last of his power and strength to send the villainous dragon into suspended animation.
Starlight dedicated herself to preparing against the day when the rogue dragon would return, growing in such power and skill, that she took an oath not to use that power unless her opponent crossed the line. When the rogue dragon returned, the Dragon Council refused to acknowledge his return. Angry, she helped lead a guerrilla army against the rogue dragon, inspiring all who met her. After meeting the dragon in minor battles, but never fighting him to avoid hurting him, Starlight eventually challenged the Dragon to single combat, hoping that she could defeat him without her full power. However, it was not to be for he did the one thing a dragon, or a Wizard for that matter, never does. Freed from her oath for the contest, she used the entirety of her power at her disposal to completely entomb the dragon for eternity.
The thing I find curious though, is that before Starlight died, she gave a string of her father's heart to the wandmakers. That wand," he looked at Nanoha, "belonged to your father, Shiro."
Nanoha and Fate glanced, at each other, then at each other's wands.
"But we both have the daughter's heart," Nanoha stated, "What does that mean?"
"I do not know," Olivander admitted, "But those wands have caused quite a problem over the centuries, particularly yours Miss. Nanoha. You see, Pink Ivory and Black and White Ebony, like cherry, are very strong willed wands, and when coupled with a core like dragon heartstring...Pherhaps..." He looked hard at Fate as if trying to see something. His eyebrows rose. "Curious."
Before Nanoha and Fate could say anything, there was a knock at the window. All three children turned to see a beaming Hagrid holding a cage containing a white and black speckled snowy owl. " 'Sppy brthday 'arry!" Hagrid cried happily.
The story of the cores was forgotten, Fate and Nanoha may be mature, but they were still children, and no child could resist fawning over a beautiful animal.
After oo-ing and Ah-ing over it, the three paid for the wands, Nanoha and Fate tried to question Olivander further, but to no avail.
"Man," Fate complained as they exited the shop, "Trying to get information out of these people is like pulling teeth."
Nanoha silently agreed with her.
"Now," Hagrid said, " 'ow abou' somtin' ta eat?"
"You up to it?" Fate sent, still worried a bit.
"Hai," Nanoha sent, her annoyed tone telling Fate that she was fine, "Maybe we can get him to talk about what happened."
The two mages nodded, and thirty minutes later found them in a booth in the pub, plates of half eaten food in front of them. Nanoha wondered at how to bring the subject of You-Know-Who up, but, oddly, Harry beat her to it.
"Hagrid, what happened to our parents?"
Hagrid hesitated, then leaned in. "No', I don't think I should be tellin' yer dis, but it's been on me mind, an' ya deserve ta know. Da point is kids, not alll Wizards are goo; som a dem go bad. 'bout ten years ago, one went 'bout as far as ya can go. 'is name is V...v..."
He tried hard, but the name was obviously hard for him to say.
"Maybe you could write it down, Hagrid-san," Fate suggested.
"Na I can't spelit," Hagrid said shaking his head in annoyance. He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Voldemort."
Before anyone could repeat the name he continued, "Voldemort began to gather followers. Anyone stood up to him, ended up dead. Harry's parents, having been friends with your father Naner'a, offered ta be dey're bodyguard when dey went inta hidin, though for wha', I don't kna, but for some reason, brought ya inta it Nanerha.
"They were betrayed. No one survived when he went to the house tha' night...No one, but you two."
Harry blinked. "He tried to kill us?"
Hagrid nodded. "Those ain't ordinary cuts ya got der," he said, pointing at Harry's and Nanoha's scars, "a mark like dat only comes froma curse, and an evil curse at dat."
Nanoha, used to hearing about people after her, asked, "What happened to him?"
"Well," Hagrid said wit a shrug, "Some say 'e died; codswallop if ya ask me. I recon 'e's out thar still, too tired ta carry on. But somtin' 'bout ya two stopped him sat night...and dat's why yer famous. yer da Two-dat-Lived."
Nanoha nodded, processing this information. "Hagrid-san, do yo mind if Fate and I went to our rooms? It is late, and we are not yet used to the time difference."
The half giant shook his head. No problem. I'd bes' be off two. Dumbledore'll be wanting ta see..." he padded his side worriedly, where Nanoha and Fate could sense the Logia. " 'e'll be wantin' ta see me. Goodnight."
"Good night." The two mages stood, grabbing their duffles. Naoha paused for a moment, and then said to Harry, "I'm please to meet you once again Harry-kun, though I wish that it was under different circumstances. I am sorry about your parents."
"I'm sorry about your father," Harry said, "but at least you have you mother. My uncle's family..."
He trailed off.
Nanoha didn't press him. Instead she said, "Incase you need anything, anything at all, just let us know."
Harry nodded, her violet orbs and certain tone saying that he could trust her.
"Goodnight then." Nanoaha and Fate turned and walked away.
As they walked up the stairs, Fate switched to Japanese. "Are we going up there for the reason I think we are?"
Nanoha nodded. "This has gone beyond us. It's time we bring the TSAB into this."
"So this Wizard murdered your father and some boy's parents, and now someone's carelessly moving some kind of Lost Logia?" Lindy asked.
"That's right," Nanoha replied, having just finished filling the teal haired woman and her own mother in. She and Fate were sitting on the four poster bed in the center of the room, Using Bardiche to open a line with the Arthra, an Raging Heart to open a line to Momoko's mundane laptop, which was less draining for Nanoha, after Fate had cast an Anti-sound Barrier.
"It's a good thing we were in the neighborhood. As much as I don't like the fact you waited until now to tell us, I understand. I'll try to get authorization for us to be attached to this. For now just observe, keep your poweres, other than the Wizard spells a secret, and try to find and seal the Logia." She paused, and then looked at Momoko adding, "If it's alright with your mother that is."
Momoko hesitated. Although outwardly calm, inside she was fuming. If it wasn't for the fact that Nanoha had said that she had Wizard versions of her spells she'd never agree. As it stood though, she had looked through the spell equations that Raging Heart had sent her, and saw that though Nanoha could not use anything above the Divine Shooter, with possible exception of Divine Buster- a big 'if'- none of the Wizard spells could break through her shield. Besides, being in danger was Nanoha's job description; it wasn't like she wasn't used to it. "If anything happens, just use your shield," she said reluctantly.
Nanoha gave her a big smile. "Arigato Momma."
"Now that that's out of the way, is there anything you'd like to ask me Fate?"
The cloned mage nodded. "How is Mother?"
After Fate had nearly died protecting her from her own robot at the Garden of Time, Precia had had a major change of heart. She once again became the woman from Fate's memories of Alicea. The love of her birth mother had gone a long way to repairing their relationship. Precia, having been denied custody of Fate, was serving her sentence of service at the hospital with Arf keeping her company. She was actually working with Hayate to repair the magical damage to her legs.
"She is doing fine Fate, as is Hayate. She does miss you though."
"I miss her too," Fate said, moister in her eyes. Nanoha squeezed her hand in comfort. "Video letters are nothing like when we are together."
"She did say that she has a surprise for your birthday this summer. Something special."
Fate smiled. Her Mother, herself and Alicia shared the same birthday, though Alicia was still in a comma and thus couldn't celebrate it with them; the look on the doctors; faces when they realised that Alicia had not died but was in a comma had been a sight to see. "I look forward to it."
"I'll make sure to tell her, " Lindy said with a smile. "Sayanora."
"Sayanora."
Momoko and Lindy signed off, Momoko after telling Nanoha once again not to use attack magic.
"What do you think the surprise is?" Fate asked as she and Nanoha climbed beneath the covers.
"I don't know," Nanoha told her sister, "but I'm sure it's a good one." She gave Fate a sisterly peck on the check. "Good night."
"Goodnight."
The two mages were soon in slumber.
See ya next time!