DISCLAIMER:
I do not own, nor am I affiliated with the Harry Potter/Wizarding World universe. This is purely fan fiction, written for fun. All original and canon characters, events and places are owned by J K Rowling.
The Australian school, places and characters are of my own invention.
Witchery
Chapter 3 – A Magic Wand
At that moment they were approached by a dark-haired couple, the father wearing glasses, who introduced themselves as Arin's parents, Peter and Jenny Rothschild.
"We need to go to the bank to withdraw some money," Jenny told them. "Would you like to join us as you get your muggo money exchanged?"
Dudley and Nadia exchanged a brief glance.
"The money is different?" Dudley asked.
"Oh yes," Peter replied cheerfully, "It's mad. The wizarding world is rather old fashioned, uses coins for everything still. Golden serpents, silver tiddaliks and bronze hoops. 10 tiddaliks in a serpent, 20 hoops in a tiddalik. Completely ridiculous." he chuckled. His wife smiled fondly at him before turning back to the Dursleys.
"We'd be happy to help you, sometimes the first visit to the bank can be quite daunting." Jenny offered. Agreeing tentatively, the Dursley family left the Muggo Relations Office with the Rothschilds. Iris secretly thought that the fact all the Rothschilds looked and were dressed like perfectly normal muggos had a lot to do with it. Iris was grateful to them, anything that encouraged her parents to believe the wizarding world was OK was a good thing as far as she was concerned.
Taj and Iris fell back slightly to walk with Arin.
"So your parents didn't know if you were magical?" Iris asked, "Neither did ours."
"Yeah, I didn't show any magic at all until last year." Arin explained. "Mum thought I might be a muggo like Dad."
"What magic did you do?" Taj asked, all eager curiosity. Arin hesitated a moment, let out a deep breath and then answered.
"I made three boys break out in a rash of painful boils." Arin answered, eyes dark for a moment. "They were hurting a cat and I tried to stop them. They laughed at me and hurt it some more and it just made me so angry."
"Woah." Iris breathed. "Well good for you! Serves them right." she added. "I would have tried to do the same."
"Did you get into trouble?" Taj asked.
"No. It was accidental underage magic after all." Arin shrugged, a half-smile on their face. "The Ministry had to send some Obliviators out to cure the boils and wipe the boys' memories so they wouldn't know what happened. One of them had to be taken to the wizard hospital because his boils kept coming back for a week. Some of them were in a really uncomfortable spot." The three of them laughed.
"What happened to the cat?" Taj wanted to know. He loved animals.
"The Obliviators fixed up any bruises or sore spots, and one of them took it away. I guess to find the owners." Arin replied, then asked; "What accidental magic did you do?"
Iris and Taj regaled Arin with stories of bullies losing their hair, bouncing off cars and the memorable time that Taj accidentally set fire to the Christmas Tree despite being clear across the other side of the room when their Dad jumped out at him unexpectedly whilst wearing a clown mask.
Iris and Taj had lots of questions about Arin's life, which was spent half in the wizarding world and half out of it. Arin answered them happily. They didn't have too much time to chat, however as before long they arrived at the front doors of the bank.
"Gringotts." Dudley said, as a distant memory stirred in his mind. "Isn't that the same as the one in London?"
"Yes," Jenny answered, "This is the Australian branch. Run by goblins."
"Goblins?" Nadia stopped dead, shocked.
"Yes, but it's perfectly safe. Just be polite and there will be no problems." Jenny assured her. With a few more reassuring words, Jenny and Peter coaxed the Dursleys up the steps and through the big bronze doors into the bank. This led to an entrance and a pair of magnificent and ornate silver doors. Iris paused just a moment to quickly read the words inscribed on them;
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.
Iris hastily followed the others, deciding that goblins must be a people not to mess with. This supposition was further borne out when Iris actually saw the goblins. They were smaller in stature to humans, but stocky and swarthy. Long fingers, pointed ears and distinctively stern expressions. The three children hurried to walk closer to the adults.
The main hall of the bank was enormous. Marble floors, tall white walls and four stories up, a magnificent white ceiling from which several chandeliers were hung. Here and there were large potted plants, lush red carpets and gleaming mahogany counters wrapped around the edges of the hall.
They approached the first available counter, the Dursley's hanging back to wait their turn whilst Jenny explained they wished to withdraw some money from their vault. The goblin asked coolly for their key and Jenny produced a small golden key which the goblin took from her and examined briefly. After a few moments, the goblin called one of his colleagues and the second goblin escorted Jenny and Arin through a door off to the side of the huge main hall. Peter remained behind with the Dursleys.
"I hate those cart rides to the vaults." he explained, stepping forward to the counter with Nadia and Dudley. "Just let them know you need to exchange for Nyambi." he nodded toward the waiting goblin. Dudley's face was reddening and his wife hung back a little, her face growing pale as the goblin looked them up and down. Iris read the goblin's nametag. 'Korduc'.
"Er..." Dudley began. "We need, er, money. Exchanged. My daughter is going to the wizard school." he managed to get out. The corner of the goblin's mouth lifted slightly as he recognised the discomfort he was causing the Dursleys.
"Certainly. Please wait here, I will fetch what you need." Korduc turned and scuttled off to a back room out of the hall.
The money exchange went relatively smoothly much to everyone's relief, and Peter suggested they open a family vault to store some wizarding money in, just in case it was needed throughout the year for any reason. This too was a quick process involving a form, a drop of blood from each parent to drip onto a key (which vanished as though the little metal key absorbed it) and a nasty grin from Korduc.
Before long the Dursleys were hurrying out of the bank with their wizarding money in leather pouches. The Rothschilds came sauntering out behind them with their own jingling pouches.
"Alright, uniforms first eh?" Jenny smiled at Nadia and Dudley who were still sucking their pricked fingers, nodding her head to indicate further along the street. The group moved off, Peter and Jenny working to engage the Dursleys in amiable conversation.
They found Ulric's Wizarding Uniforms without any trouble, and stepped inside. Another two families were already waiting, chatting among themselves. They glanced up and smiled when the Dursley's entered, a couple of the adults nodding in recognition to Jenny, whom they seemed to know.
A tiny little wizard, clearly a middle-aged man but barely reaching Iris' shoulder in height scuttled out from behind the screens separating the customer waiting area to the fitting and changing rooms out the back. He was carrying some folded uniforms to a counter and was followed by a tall, slender girl around Iris' age. A moment later, another store worker followed them with more folded robes and two other students trailed behind her, one much older than Iris but clearly still in school and a younger boy who must have been her brother.
"Be with you in a moment." the tiny wizard nodded briefly to the new arrivals, Iris supposed this must be Ulric, the shop owner. Ulric stepped up onto a stool behind the counter and placed the folded uniforms onto a large sheet of plain brown paper. With a flick of his wand, the paper wrapped itself neatly around the stack of fabric. Taj and Iris watched, fascinated and excited by this little display of magical skill.
"Three new sets of Nyambi robes." the tiny wizard announced, "Two without house trim and one set with Uluru trim." The parents of all three students broke off their conversation and approached the counter to pay. After a short exchange, they all left the shop together. Dudley had rather a "'roo in the headlights" look about him as the tiny wizard turned his tired gaze on the newcomers.
"Nyambi too?" he asked.
"Yep," Jenny replied cheerfully, urging Iris and Arin forward. "Year 7's so no house trim please." Iris and Arin followed the tiny wizard behind the screens as Taj began to complain that he wasn't able to get new robes too. Ulric had them step up onto low stools. He and the cheerful young witch who worked with him set to work measuring them for their new robes, having them try on a set and then pinning them up to the right length.
Iris was amazed, the process was so fast! She had half expected they'd need to be measured and place an order which would need to be picked up at a later date. She was surprised then, when with just a few deft wand flicks and some spells muttered under their breaths, Ulric and his assistant had the first set of robes complete in mere minutes. Another few quick spells later and the other robes, cloaks, plain navy ties and undershirts were all floating in the air, stitching themselves together.
Before long, they were both ushered back out into the front of the shop, followed by Ulric and his assistant. Another flick of the wand and their purchases were also magically wrapped and ready to go. Bemused, Dudley paid for Iris' robes and handing them to her to carry, they left the shop. Taj immediately spotted a group of boys and one girl standing clustered around the display window of a shop opposite, exclaiming in loud excitement and unable to contain himself, dashed over to see what all the fuss was about.
"Taj!" Nadia called him, exasperated, "We've still got a lot to do. Come back!" Taj ignored her, and as the crowd of other kids parted and moved on down the street, they saw what had drawn his attention. A polished and very streamlined-looking broomstick hung in the window of the shop, floating by itself. A sign on the window read; "Just in! Quicksilver MkII!"
"Come on, kiddo." Jenny called to him, "Plenty of time to see that later." she turned to the Dursleys as Taj reluctantly dragged himself away from the shiny broomstick, "Don't be surprised if he tries out for the Quidditch team when he goes to Nyambi, a lot of the kids do. It's a good sport for the kids to get into."
Peter snorted and rolled his eyes at her.
"A good sport." he scoffed, "Just a good sport? Says she who played for Australia." he grinned, teasing his wife, "Won the World Cup three years running if I'm not mistaken?" Jenny waved him away laughing. This exchange had Taj asking what Quidditch was, and could the broomstick really fly like the one they saw above the street earlier that morning.
The day was growing hotter so Peter offered to take Dudley and Taj to the ice-cream parlour in the square round the corner from Gringotts and give him the lowdown on Quidditch whilst Jenny continued to help Nadia and Iris navigate Rocky Road for the remainder of their purchases. Iris could tell that her father was reluctant to split the family, but Taj was now begging for ice-cream so he agreed. He kissed his wife's cheek and squeezed Iris' shoulder gently.
"See you soon." he said before following Peter down the street, soon lost to sight, weaving among the crowd.
The shopping trip went much too fast. Although they had a lot to purchase, it seemed time had sped up to triple the pace, every shopping incursion was finished long before Iris wanted it to. She was having far too much fun, and trying to see everything she could all at once. The people in the street, the shops and their displays, interesting and odd smells coming from the apothecary, the sounds of unusual animals from the magical beasts shop, the eye-watering clash of colours and packed windows of the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes joke shop (one of a popular chain of such stores around the world, Arin told her), the fascinating characters they met.
Before she knew it, they had bought everything she would need for her new school year at Nyambi. All except for her magic wand. This is what Iris had been looking forward to the most, a magic wand of her very own. They found the wand shop without any trouble, tucked in between a wizarding jewellery store and a shop selling enchanted home-wear and haberdashery. 'Rosier Wands' read the sign over the door.
The entered the bright, tidy shop to find they were the only people in there. The shelves behind the counter were jam-packed with small, slender boxes that were stacked with pinpoint precision from floor to ceiling, the boxes carefully colour-coded. There wasn't a speck of dust to be found and even the windows were spotless and gleaming.
"Hello, Madam Rosier." Jenny greeted the old severe looking witch behind the counter.
"Oh. Young Jennifer Adams isn't it?" the witch replied, her sharp eyes recognising Jenny at once. Iris thought she had a faint trace of an accent. "Whitegum wand, yes? 11 and a half inches, Bunyip hair core?" Jenny smiled and nodded. "Yes. Jennifer Rothschild now, I'm married. This, " she said, placing a hand proudly on Arin's shoulder, "Is my child Arin."
"Ah, off to Nyambi?" Madam Rosier came out from behind the counter, steel grey eyes on Arin. "Halfblood? No wizarding Rothschild's that I know of."
"That isn't relevant." Jenny replied, coolly.
The witch looked both children up and down, ignoring Jenny.
"And you're muggle-born I daresay." she said to Iris in a resigned tone of voice. Iris and Arin exchanged glances.
Iris noticed the wandmaker was as neat as her shop. Iron grey hair parted severely down the middle, wrapped into a bun without a single wisp out of place. Her slender framed golden spectacles hung on a fine gold chain around her neck and her inky black robes were clean and well pressed.
"I have been a wandmaker for fifty years," she announced, "I remember every wand I've ever made and you won't find better than a Rosier wand. Best wands in the southern hemisphere." she told them matter-of-factly. "The Europeans do love their Ollivander and Gregorovitch wands. Well, now Gregorovitch is dead their quality has gone to the kneazles. " she said sniffily,
"But I trained under Gerbold Ollivander himself, and I daresay Garrick detests having me as his competition. He was so relieved when I left the shop after finishing my apprenticeship and came down here to work for my predecessor."
With a snap of her fingers, a measuring tape flew across the room into her hand and she began measuring Arin's arm, firing questions at the pair of them as she did.
"Wand arm?" she demanded.
"Er, I'm right handed..." Arin replied, uncertain.
"And you?" she glared at Iris.
"Left handed." she replied hastily.
"Dates of birth? Moon phase on your first birthday? Are you a maker or a mender?" the witch listened to their answers but fired her next question almost before they finished speaking. Arin's measuring had been completed, now Iris found the measuring tape measuring the circumference of her head all by itself.
"Enough." the witch said, and the measuring tape fluttered to the floor. Madam Rosier marched back around her counter and over to the floor-to-ceiling shelving at the back. She seemed to know exactly which ones she was looking for, selecting several slender boxes from different shelves until she returned with an armful.
"The halfblood first." she said expertly flipping the lid off one box and grasping the wand, holding it out to Arin, "Here, child. Try this one."
Arin had barely grasped the handle Madam Rosier murmured "Non." to herself and whisked it out of their hand, and thrust another toward them. This time Arin managed a half-wave before that one, too was snatched from their grasp. This continued for several more wands as Madam Rosier muttered in French to herself each time she swapped a wand over.
The eighth wand however, she allowed Arin to really wave and as the tip of the wand swept through the air, a stream of brightly coloured bubbles erupted from it, dancing softly through the room.
"Oh, wonderful!" Jenny clapped her hands once in delight and Arin's face lit up with joy.
"Yes, that's the one. The wand chooses the witch or wizard." Madam Rosier nodded in affirmation. "This is Rosegum with a phoenix feather core. Lightly flexible, adaptable and excellent for charm work. Congratulations." she took Arin's wand and wrapped it easily and deftly with her wand, handing it back before turning to Iris.
"Now, you." she said, opening a new box and handing Iris a wand. Similarly to Arin, the wand was twitched out of her hand almost immediately and replaced with another, then another and then yet another. Two or three she managed to actually wave but nothing happened. Undaunted, Madam Rosier went back to her shelves and selected another half dozen before returning them to the counter.
Iris was beginning to lose hope, and her heart plummeted when Arin and Jenny exchanged a worried look after the thirteenth wand was removed from her grasp and another shoved into her hand. Was something wrong? Was she not magical enough to attend Nyambi after all?
Something was different this time, though. Iris felt a warmth flood her fingers at once and her palm that was in contact with the polished handle tingled. She waved the wand and tongues of blue and white flame flared briefly where the tip swished through the air. Iris almost dropped the wand in surprise. Madam Rosier also looked startled. The old witch gazed into Iris's face with more intensity for a moment, really paying attention to her for the first time.
"That's the wand for you." she said, "The wand chooses the witch or wizard and this one has chosen you, oh my word yes." she took the wand back to wrap it. "This is one of my experimental wands," she told them, "Thirteen inches, jarrah which is a very hard wood, very rigid and inflexible. Strong though, unbreakable. With a dragon-tongue core. Dragon-tongue has never been used before in wandmaking, usually it's a heartstring from a dragon. This tongue in particular came from a Catalonian Fireball, they say it was the last of its kind. This will be a strong wand, good for duelling I'd say."
"And to a muggleborn." Iris heard the old woman drop her voice to mutter disgustedly under her breath. Iris felt heat flush her face. She decided she certainly did not like Madam Rosier all. She also didn't like the way she said "Muggleborn" as though it were a dirty word. She decided she'd be glad when they could leave.
"Experimental?" Nadia asked, "Are you sure it's safe?" she looked worried.
"Oh yes, the wand has chosen her." Madam Rosier said, matter-of-factly. "No harm will ever come to her by using that wand I assure you. Could be a different story for anyone else who tries to cast with it, mind." she warned. The two adults hurried to pay for the wands, exchanging very few words with the horrid old wandmaker.
As they turned to leave, a severe looking woman dressed all in black with dark hair was entering the shop followed by an older woman, perhaps her own mother and a young girl who was clearly coming to buy her first wand as well. The dark-haired witch barely spared a glance in Jenny's direction and the young girl raised an eyebrow when Iris offered her a friendly smile. She did not smile in return.
"Ah, Valerie." the older witch of the three trilled warmly, sweeping toward Madam Rosier, completely ignoring Iris and the others. She clasped Madam Rosier's hands like an old friend might, bestowing a light kiss on each cheek.
"Beatrice." Madam Rosier greeted the newcomer warmly, smiling for the first time since Iris had met her as she greeted her newest customers. "Is young Kendra of an age to get her first wand already?"
"She is," the younger woman replied, "Mama insisted we come to you, of course."
"Gretel," Madam Rosier repeated the cheek-kissing greeting. "So lovely to see you."
The young witch, Kendra, glared at Arin and Iris with distinct disdain, her clear blue eyes taking in their muggo clothing pointedly. She turned her back on them without a word when Madam Rosier spoke to her and Jenny indicated with a jerk of her head they'd better leave. Iris was perfectly happy to follow the adults out of the shop, their departure completely unheeded by Madam Rosier who seemed a lot happier to serve the newcomers than she had been to serve them.
"What was that all about?" Nadia asked, clearly affronted as they made their way back up Rocky Road toward Gringotts and the square.
"Some wizarding families consider themselves superior to others." Jenny explained quickly, "They're what they call 'Pureblood'. They have only wizards and witches in their ancestry, they never marry muggos or halfbloods. Those... ladies... are old Beatrice Black, her daughter Gretal Gaunt and granddaughter Kendra. It's ridiculous really, it has absolutely nothing to do with how magical somebody is or isn't. Best steer clear of that type, they're not very pleasant."
"Pureblood or not, their manners need work." Nadia sniffed.
Before long, they had found Peter, Dudley (who was looking distinctly put-upon) and Taj who was carrying a birdcage very carefully that contained a small brown owl.
"Look, Mum!" Taj cried as soon as he saw her, "Dad got us a family owl! It carries the post!"
"Oh, good grief!" Nadia muttered under her breath, but Iris was sure she was the only one who heard it.