Chapter 6: A Magic Wand

Harry's excitement built as they walked towards Ollivander's. When Dumbledore pushed open the door, a bell tinkled somewhere inside the shop. They stepped into a hallway (the shop was designed like a house) and waited. A wizened old man descended the stairs coming down from the first floor, and greeted Dumbledore familiarly. "Ah Dumbledore! Welcome! Welcome! New Hogwarts students? Very good. Very good. I always look forward to this" he said.

He showed them into what might have been the living room in a regular house. This room had shelves all along the walls and the shelves were stacked with narrow wooden cases a foot or a foot and a half in length.

Ollivander cleared his throat and Harry fixed his attention on the man. But before Ollivander could start speaking, the shop bell tinkled again. Through the window, Harry saw a young girl about his age step into the shop. A trunk hovering at knee-height to her followed her inside. There was no wand in her hand. Presumably, she had come to purchase one. So, the girl could do magic even without a wand? Harry was impressed. The girl guided the trunk to a corner of the hallway with a slight movement of her fingers and then let it sink to the floor. The trunk landed with a thud that suggested it was rather heavily packed. The girl's eyes took in the hallway and the doors leading off of it. After a slight hesitation, she stepped into the room that Harry and all the others were in, shrugging off her green cloak as she entered.

The girl had waist-length black hair, intense black eyes and pale, unblemished skin. She didn't have dual-colored eyes, so Harry supposed she must have a birthmark on her neck, concealed by the high collar of her neat pale green frock. The girl was not a pretty but she was not bad-looking either Harry thought.

The girl's eyes fell on Dumbledore. "Good afternoon, Professor Dumbledore" she greeted him. "Good afternoon, Irene" he replied. Turning to them he said, "Everyone, this is Irene Cecelia Snape. She was accepted for Hogwarts four days ago. Irene, meet some of your new classmates." They told her their names and shook hands with her. When Harry introduced himself, Irene's eyes widened and then darted up to the lightning scar on his forehead. Then she seemed to realize she was staring. Coloring faintly, she turned away.

Ollivander cleared his throat again and began speaking. "Before we select a wand for each of you, I will give a brief lecture about wands so that you may better understand the most important tool a warlock can ever have. The purchase of a magic wand is an important milestone in the progress of a young warlock, for it marks the point from which you will begin to control, train and hone your magical abilities."

Hermione's hand shot up into the air. Ollivander blinked. Apparently, this did not happen to him when he was giving his lecture. "Yes?" he enquired.

"I've already controlled magic a bit without a wand. I can't always do it but sometimes, it's happened. So, a wand isn't really necessary for control, is it?"

"No, Miss, it is not. However, even most adult wizards can only do small pieces of magic without a wand. And there are other limitations such as being able to cast only one spell at a time. Whereas with a wand you can cast up to seven different spells. At a time"

"I see, sir."

"Moving on, a wand is made up of two parts. A magical core and a magical wooden casing for the core. While numerous core varieties exist, I work with only the four best cores; Unicorn Tailhair, Phoenix Tailfeather, Dragon Heartstring and Thunderbird Bone. Each core had unique properties. Unicorn Tailhair wands may only be used by those who are generally good-natured with no inclination to choose the dark side. That is not to say that they are incorruptible. They are merely, less likely than others to choose dark paths. Phoenix Tailfeather wands are used by warlocks who have a high gift for some kinds of magic and disinterest or disregard for other kinds of magic. Dragon Heartstring, is in some ways the opposite of Phoenix Tailfeather. It is favored by those warlocks who have a gift for a wide range of magic though they will, in the end, have their own specializations. Thunderbird Bone is favored by warlocks who come from strong magical lineages with many inherited gifts."

Ollivander paused here. Everyone was paying rapt attention but it was also difficult to grasp everything at once. Harry wished Ollivander would have spoken a little more slowly.

"Wand woods are also numerous" Ollivander went on, "but I only work with twenty kinds. I have found that launching into an explanation of their individual properties puts my audiences to sleep, so I shall explain to you only the properties of the wand woods that you finally choose. Now for the selection. Who would like to go first?"

Hermione's hand shot up into the air before Harry could even begin to consider if he wanted to go first or not.

"Very well. Step up, miss." Hermione approached Ollivander's counter. Ollivander extended a hand and a wooden case on a shelf in the left wall flew to his hand. He opened it to reveal nine inches of a warm golden colored wood. "Unicorn Tailhair and Acacia, nine and quarter inches. Take it and give it a wave." Hermione complied but nothing happened.

Ollivander passed her another wand. "Dragon Heartstring and Acacia, eleven and a half inches." Hermione gave this wand a wave. A single blue spark shot into the air. "It doesn't feel quite right," said Hermione. "Of course not, it's the right core but the wrong wood" replied Ollivander.

"Here try this one. Dragon Heartstring and Ash." But that did not work either. Ollivander continued to offer wandwood choices to Hermione, all paired with Dragon Heartstring. The fourteenth choice he offered was Poplar wood and this proved to be a match. A dozen sparks shot out of the wand when Hermione waved it.

But her face still had an uncertain look. "No two Dragon Heartstring Cores are the same" said Ollivander, "and the length of the wand is significant as well."

He continued to hand her combinations of Dragon Heartstring and Poplar. Ten minutes of trying later, Hermione found her fit, producing a brilliant jet of golden sparks.

"Dragon Heartstring and Poplar, ten and a quarter inches in length" pronounced Ollivander with a wave of his own wand. A little device on the counter printed out a bill for Hermione and Hermione began counting out Galleons into a cup that that had popped out of the counter.

"What is the property of Poplar?" she asked eagerly as she counted. "Poplar, miss, is suggestive of a highly ethical nature. You may put a toe out of line now and then, mayhap even a foot, but in general you will lean towards the ethical and morally correct choices." Hermione seemed pleased by this answer. She nodded happily.

When she'd finished paying, Dumbledore told Hermione she could do other shopping if she wanted to, but Hermione said she'd like to stay and watch the others. She was curious to know more about wands.

Harry waited for Ollivander to ask who'd like to go next but Ollivander said, "Let's finish the ladies first then." Morag chose a Unicorn Tailfeather and Rowan wand in just five minutes but Irene took longer.

The core that suited her was Thunderbird Bone. "Irene – Irene Cecelia Snape, that is the name Dumbledore mentioned, is it not?" Irene nodded. "Yes, sir"

Cecelia as in Auror Cecelia Snape? Is she your mother?" enquired Ollivander. "Yes, Mr. Ollivander" Irene replied. "Hmm. One of the sacred seventy families of course, but for a Thunderbird Bone core, there must be additional reasons to think you have a strong magical lineage…" He paused and looked expectantly at her.

Irene shifted from foot to foot, obviously discomfited. Hesitantly, she said, "I'm a twinner." She undid her collar button and the button below it to reveal a birthmark on either side of her neck.

"The Shadowcat is the mark of the Snape family, that is well known" said Ollivander, "But the bird on the right side? It is a – a Phoenix? Or something else? I have not seen that birthmark before miss. Which other family do you belong to?"

"I don't know, sir. I'm an orphan, you see, and no one seems to be able to recognize the bird shaped birthmark, so I don't know which other family I belong to."

Harry felt a rush of sympathy for her. No wonder she was alone. At least Harry'd been able to learn something about his family. Maybe Irene would find out one day too.

"Curious. Most curious" remarked Ollivander. He moved onto wand woods. Irene tried eighteen different choices to no avail. Reluctantly, Ollivander handed Irene a creamy-brown colored wand. "Thunderbird Bone and Hawthorn. Twelve and three-quarter inches." Irene took the wand. At once her eyes lit up and a smile curved on her lips. That light in her eyes, and that bright smile transformed her features, making her seem happy and pretty both.

Confidently, Irene twirled the wand in her fingers and rapid jets of multi-colored sparks shot out of the wand tip.

"This one" said Irene firmly.

"Indeed," agreed Ollivander, "It is an excellent fit."

He did not seem happy however. "Hawthorn, Miss Snape, is favored by those who often find themselves facing conflicts and dilemmas and difficult choices. To say that you will oft find yourself torn between two peoples, two goals, two sides and so on is not an exaggeration. Hawthorn is very rarely chosen. Yes, very rarely…"

Irene heard Ollivander in silence, her face slowly regaining its calm, composed look. "I see. Thank you for telling me, Mr. Ollivander."

Silently, she moved towards the cup that had popped out of the counter. She drew a coin pouch out of the pocket of her frock. The coin pouch wasn't rich velvet. It was a simple cloth bag and looked rather threadbare. Harry wondered who was paying for Irene if she was an orphan. Clearly, Dumbledore had not given her any scholarship funds like he had for the Muggleborn students or the pouch would have been different. Irene counted out seventy-seven gold Galleons, the most expensive wand so far. With a farewell to Dumbledore, Irene left the shop.

Harry wanted to go next but Michael put up his hand even before Ollivander could ask his question. Harry fidgeted impatiently. Michael took nearly half an hour to choose a Spruce and Dragon Heartstring wand. Spruce was not a picky wood and did not have special properties so his selection wasn't even interesting.

Harry went next, narrowly beating Dean to it. They discovered his wand core on the third try; Phoenix Tailfeather. The wandwood was quickly discovered as well. Harry favored a Holly wand. Ollivander told him that Holly wands were chosen by those who had an inclination to put themselves in danger or whose destiny would lead them to danger often. Unsure how he felt about that, Harry tried to find the right Phoenix core and right wand length but this process took forever. Where Irene's very first Thunderbird Bone and Hawthorn Wand had been the right fit, Harry seemed to have no right fit at all. He tried and tried. The pile of tried wands rose higher and higher on Ollivander's counter.

After an hour and a half, during which Hermione and the others had gotten bored and left the shop, Ollivander exhausted his entire supply of Holly and Phoenix Feather wands.

"Maybe I should try them again" suggested Harry worriedly. What if none of them suited him? Were there other wand shops?

But Ollivander said, "I have one more choice upstairs. I'll fetch it."

He returned a few minutes later he returned with a single case.

"Holly and Phoenix Tailfeather, precisely eleven inches." Harry felt a warmth in his hand as soon as he picked up the wand. A jet of bright golden sparks streaked in every direction when he raised the wand. Harry smiled, instinctively gripping the wand more firmly. It was his.

"A perfect fit" murmured Ollivander.

Harry paid ninety-four gold Galleons for his wand. He was so glad to have found the right fit, that he added another six Galleons as a tip.

Harry wanted to see more of Diagon Alley. He glanced towards Dumbledore but Dumbledore and Ollivander were whispering about something in the corner, their eyes fixed on Harry and his wand. Feeling uncomfortable, Harry left the shop.

Dumbledore had mentioned sweets and games. Harry'd never had money to buy either of them before today and he skipped with excitement all the way to Gambol and Japes Warlock Games and Toys.

The shop window displayed all of the latest merchandise. Harry immediately fell in love with a Fanged Frisbee. It was green in colour with five sets of fangs placed equidistantly around the rim. Once inside, Harry asked to see one of them. He experimentally tossed it up into the air and caught it a few times, avoiding the fangs every time. "You have the most excellent reflexes, young sir" the shop assistant told him. "The Fanged Frisbee is a perfect choice. Shall I set this aside for you?" Harry nodded, pleased with himself. The assistant pulled up a shopping cart, added the frisbee to it and followed Harry as he looked around.

Harry moved deeper into the shop, adding to his purchases as he went. Most of his selections were simple and inexpensive; a pack of Exploding Snap, a Screaming Yo-yo and a Reusable Hangman. But then Harry saw a collapsible, six feet by six feet fortress model, with a host of options for sieging and defending the fortress. There were all kinds of choices from fire-breathing dragons to creeping Poison Ivy. The attackers and defenders were walking, talking, live-action figures with wands. The game had many variations, each played with different sets of rules. Harry checked the price tag. 1200 Galleons, it read.

Harry had enough in his pouch. But he'd already spent a good bit on school requirements. If he bought this plus all the others games, he'd selected… he'd have maybe seven hundred Galleons left afterward. Would that be enough for a year? He wasn't sure.

"Very nice, isn't it?" a drawling voice asked from behind him. Harry turned around and found himself facing a boy who was three or four inches taller than him, with pale hair, grey eyes and a pointed chin. A low-necked shirt clearly showed a dragon shaped birthmark on the right side of his neck.

"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy" said the boy, his hand extended. His eyes were on the birthmark peeking out of Harry's t-shirt. "You've got a birthmark. Not Muggle-blood then. Which are you? Half-blood or Pure-blood?" he queried.

Dumbledore's explanation about magic markers flashed up into Harry's mind. "You're asking if I have Muggle ancestors and connections to the ancient warlock families or just the second?"

Draco Malfoy nodded his head. "Obviously, what else would I mean by Half-blood or Pure-blood?"

"Feeling a small dislike for the boy, Harry replied, "I'm a Halfblood."

"Oh" said Draco Malfoy, his lip curling slightly. That solidified Harry's dislike.

"So, are you buying one of these?" asked Malfoy waving to the collapsible castle. "I think I'm going to get one. Father won't mind, it's my birthday in a week after all."

He snapped his fingers at an assistant who was a few feet behind him, numerous boxes stacked and waiting on a cart behind her. "Add one of these to my purchases and then bill everything" Malfoy ordered. The assistant nodded and gave a wave of her wand. A carboard box with gold lettering on it that read 'Warlock Wars: Siege Warfare Deluxe Set' rose into the air and landed on top of the other boxes in the cart.

"I'll take one of them too," said Harry impulsively.

Harry's assistant added one to Harry's cart. The woman helping Malfoy added one to his and asked, "anything else for you, sir?"

Malfoy slowly turned on the spot, taking a last look at all the items of display. Nothing else seemed to catch his eye. "See you around then" said Malfoy said to Harry.

Glad that the other boy was leaving, Harry nodded. The mention of a collection of birthday gifts had strongly reminded Harry of Dudley and he had no desire to be friendly with a spoilt brat like that.

Harry knew he couldn't spend any more of the gold in his bag that day. He wondered if there was time to retrieve more gold from Gringotts. But he had a feeling that neither Hagrid nor Dumbledore would approve of that. Dumbledore had told Hagrid that Harry should take only two thousand Galleons out after all and Hagrid had already let Harry take more.

'There's always next time' he told himself. Avoiding the bigger games that were bound to be expensive, Harry walked around looking at the smaller toys. But fifteen minutes later, nothing else had caught his fancy so he headed to the billing section.

There, he found Draco Malfoy having an argument with Irene and Hermione. Malfoy's assistant was nowhere in sight, his cart was next him though. Looking back, Harry saw that his own assistant had left to help another customer.

Harry listened closely, trying to figure out what the argument was about. Apparently, Malfoy and Hermione had both tried to grab the last packet of 'Bewitched Balloons' displayed in front of the billing counter, priced at two Galleons a pack.

"I hope" Malfoy was drawling to the woman at the billing counter, "that a Pureblood customer who is about to make purchases worth several thousand Galleons will be served ahead of a lowlyodd-eyeswhose total purchases" – his lip curled at the pair of small boxes in Hermione's hand – "cannot exceed ten Galleons."

Hermione colored at Malfoy's words but she did not back down. "Your store sign clearly says 'first come first serve' and it was I who picked up the packet, not him. Therefore, I should be the one buying the balloons, not him. It's only fair."

The woman at the billing counter seemed torn about what to do. She certainly could not cost the store the few thousand Galleons Malfoy was about to spend. On the other hand, what Malfoy was asking was unfair and the way he was asking it was beyond unfair.

"You clearly don't know much about this world, two-eyes" Malfoy sneered at Hermione. "There is a certain pecking order in this world. And poor, low-born you are at the very bottom of it whereas, I, a Malfoy, am near the top."

"Birth and wealth aren't what decides one's place in this society" Irene retorted. "It's ability. Hermione's good enough to get accepted into Hogwarts."

"Well, so am I" Malfoy replied. "And it's well known that there's a Muggle-blood quota at Hogwarts. So, I wouldn't put too much stock intoheracceptance. It's not like she took the Magic Level Assessment and scored high. I was overall rank thirteen." Malfoy eyed the twin birthmarks on Irene's neck. "A Twinner. Shadowcat's for Snape obviously but I don't recognize the bird." He looked askance at Irene. When no explanation about the second birthmark was forthcoming, he said, "So, you took the MLA too. What'd you get? And you look familiar for some reason?"

"I topped the MLA at the national level" Irene replied coolly. "And my face is familiar because it was in the Daily Prophet a fortnight ago. But we're deviating from the point. Even Muggle-born warlocks who get selected to go to Hogwarts are chosen because they have a lot of magic in them. And if you're going to Hogwarts, then you must know that there's a policy against discrimination. Professor Dumbledore escorted Hermione here, and he won't be happy to learn of your behavior. You don't want to start school on the wrong foot, do you?"

Malfoy's retort died on his lips at the mention of Dumbledore. His eyes darted to the shop doors and windows. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen but Malfoy seemed to believe Irene's claim anyway. Perhaps he knew that Dumbledore always escorted the Muggleborn students for their purchases. He hesitated for a brief second before shrugging. "Have the balloons then. There are probably better ones at Herman's Toys and Games anyway."

A happy smile appeared on Hermione's face.

Malfoy's expression soured to see it. "You" – he snapped at the billing lady – "bill my things first."

The billing lady quickly complied. Malfoy paid not with gold but with a parchment on which there was official looking writing. The billing lady seemed happy to take it and even gave Malfoy some gold, probably his change. Was that parchment like paper currency in the Muggle world?

When the billing was finished, Malfoy produced a sleek, brown-colored wand from his robe pocket and muttered something. The boxes floated into the air. With a self-satisfied smile, and a superior look directed at Hermione, Irene and even Harry, Malfoy swaggered out of the shop.

Irene rolled her eyes at Malfoy's back. "It's not that difficult a spell. I could do it even before I got a wand. I bet half the class is able to do it by the end of summer."

"Do those who grew up in the warlock world already know magic then? Do you get lessons before eleven years of age too? And are you supposed to study over the summer once you get a wand?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"We're not taught anything until eleven. But since we grow up knowing that we can do magic, sometimes we learn to control it a little. But I don't think Malfoy can do controlled, wandless magic. That's very rare. I'll bet he got his wand a few days ago and has been practicing this spell since then. People usually try out stuff once they get a wand though parents are supposed to discourage it."

"Oh" said Hermione. "I can do some things on purpose too even without a wand. … But I won't be able to practice anything once I get back to my parent's place… Because they live in the Muggle world and I can't do magic there…" She bit her lip worriedly.

"Don't worry" said Irene soothingly. You can try some things on the school train and you'll catch up quickly enough once school starts. And you can always go through your spell books, learn the theory…"

"Good point" said Hermione, her expression clearing a little.

"Thank you for defending me" Hermione went on. Harry was a little amused that she'd thought to ask questions about lessons first and thank Irene second.

"You're welcome" Irene replied. "I can't stand folk like him, judging people for what they were born with rather than the things one can earn for themselves, like knowledge and skill."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement and opened her mouth to say something.

The billing lady cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry." Irene passed her items to the billing lady and pulled out her coin pouch.

Harry noticed that it was half-empty. If all the coins inside it were gold, the pouch probably had at least five hundred Galleons left in it. And Irene had a packed trunk which indicated she was done with most of her school purchases. If she was an orphan, how was she affording everything? How did she have so much left after her purchases?

Harry walked up to the billing counter and joined the line behind Hermione. Neither girl noticed. Their attention was fixed on each other. A moment later, Hermione asked Irene the same question that Harry wanted answered.

"You mentioned you were an orphan. So, do you get a scholarship Irene? If you don't mind me asking…"

"I was eligible to get one from the school, but I chose to use my savings. Warlocks usually have to be thirteen or fourteen to get internships but a select few are allowed to work from age ten onwards if they show a talent. Nobody at that age can do magic for hours on end but work involving non-spell-based work is allowed. I work part-time in a Brewery. That's a store that makes and sells magical Potions. Storeowner's a skinflint; he only pays a Galleon an hour even though I do really good work. Takes advantage of my age and situation. But I've been working every weekend for a year. And since summer holidays started, I've worked on weekdays too. So, I've more than enough."

"Summer holidays?" asked Hermione. "So, you went to a primary school until now? Can't be Hogwarts. Hogwarts is only a secondary school, isn't it? So, where'd you go? What do you learn there?"

"Hogwarts is only a secondary school, yes. As for primary school - we call it that too – I went to the Sky School here in the Sky District. Primary school students learn reading, writing, math, some history and geography and also foreign languages. At least two but you can opt to learn more. Travel is easy for warlocks and people often go abroad to work or on tours. In our world, knowing many languages is a mark of a good education. I speak four languages already and we'll have the option to learn more from third year onwards at Hogwarts. What's your Muggle school like?"

"Nearly the same," said Hermione. "But languages aren't so important." She chewed on her lip for a moment. "Well, I speak French reasonably well and I'm learning Spanish. So, that's not too bad, is it? I could ask my parents to hire a tutor for me for the rest of summer. Add another language."

"That's a good idea. And you should get some introductory books in Flourish and Blotts. Learn a bit more about our world."

"Oh, I already have" replied Hermione brightly. "I got about twenty of them."

"Oh" said Irene, her eyebrows going up a little. Evidently, twenty books seemed like a lot even to a topper student like Irene. To Harry, it seemed crazy. There was one month left until they started Hogwarts. How could Hermione possibly continue Spanish, start to learn another language and read twenty books? She had to be the nerdiest nerd in the whole world.

The billing lady cleared her throat again. Irene checked a screen that was displaying the bill amount and then handed over seven Galleons, four Sickles and twelve Knuts, taking a brown paper bag from the billing lady.

Hermione stepped up the counter, handing over her items, still chatting with Irene. "Brewing Potions must be very interesting work" she said enthusiastically. "Potions is one of the subjects we'll be studying, isn't it? I saw it on the booklist. Do you know a lot already?" Her voice was back to anxious.

"Yes, it is one of the subjects we'll study. And I know a quite a bit already, I'm rather good at Potions, if I do say so myself. But I'll have to start all the others subjects right from scratch. Don't worry too much about having to catch up. You seem studious. I bet you'll learn quickly."

"I suppose I am. Everyone at my Muggle school calls me a nerd and I have an excellent memory…"

Hermione absent-mindedly passed a handful of Galleons to the billing lady and got three Galleons and four Sickles back. She didn't even check to see if she'd gotten back the right amount. She was focused on Irene.

"That Malfoy boy, he paid with a piece of parchment? Is that like paper currency?"

Irene gave Hermione a confused look. "Don't know what you mean by paper currency" Irene replied. "What Malfoy paid with is a Bill of Right. Gringotts issues them. Instead of carrying around large bags and cases of gold, you can make a withdrawal in the form of a Bill of Right. The goblins will take the corresponding amount of gold out of the withdrawer's vault and the Bill of Right can be spent anywhere. It's as good as gold and a deal easier to carry around. Everyone who makes large transactions uses them."

"Are there many denominations?" asked Hermione as both girls stepped towards the exit.

"There are four denominations. One thousand, two thousand, five thousand and ten thousand" Irene replied. Her eyes went to her trunk which she'd placed on a rack next to the door.

Hermione, who'd pulled the exit door open, stopped and fixed her eyes on Irene. Harry looked closely as well, straining his senses, determined not to miss anything.

Irene flicked her hand at her trunk. Immediately, Harry felt something ebb out of Irene and flow towards the trunk. He did not see or smell or hear anything. It was like he'd acquired a sixth sense, one meant for sensing magic. The trunk floated towards Irene. She turned her palm so that it faced the ground and then flared out her fingers, extending them as far they would go, then dropped her hand to her side. The trunk fixed itself at knee-height to her. When she followed Hermione out of the door, the trunk moved with her. Harry felt magic continue to ebb out of her in a minor trickle. He heard Hermione say that it was a very useful trick to know. Then they passed out of sight and earshot.

Harry did not know the spell to float objects. By the time he'd carried his large shopping bag to the benches where Hagrid was waiting, he was hot and sweaty. Hermione who'd had only a small bag to carry, had reached well before him. Irene was nowhere in sight though.

Hagrid had a surprise for Harry. He was holding a large cage containing a snowy white owl with beautiful Amber eyes. He took Harry a little away from the main group.

"I got yeh a birthday present. Picked her out meself since yeh don't know much about the different kinds o' owls. Owls are dead useful pets. They carry yer mail and everythin'. Yeh like her don' yeh? I could always exchange, get yeh somethin' else—"

But Harry quickly interrupted him. "I like her, Hagrid. She's—" His throat closed up a little. No one had ever gotten him a present before. No one had cared enough to. "She's great. Thank you so much."

"Alright then. She's the intelligent kind. Can understand little bits o' human speech. And she's trained ter befriend the first ter feed her with their hands" – Hagrid pulled out a box of owl treats – "here, give her some o' this." Harry fed the owl and at once it ruffled its feathers, spread its wings, and with three flaps, settled itself on his arm. Harry stroked the owl's beak, feeling fondness rising up inside of him.

"Yeh can feed her with the owl treats or let her hunt fer herself. She'll always come back ter yeh, so don' worry 'bout that."

"She's wonderful" said Harry, turning his forearm this way and that, admiring her from different angles. Hedwig flapped a little to keep her balance on Harry's arm but didn't protest. She seemed to enjoy being admired.

Hagrid said, "Listen, don' tell the others, I got yeh a present, all right? You're the kid o' two o' my friends but it can't look like I'm playin' favorites."

Harry nodded his understanding and they rejoined the group.

Dumbledore had arrived. He announced that it was time to leave. The same slightly disappointed look crossed every young face in the group. To go from the magically wonderful Diagon Alley to the dull Muggle world was not an exciting prospect. 'It's only for a little while' Harry told himself. 'Then I'll be off to Hogwarts.'

Dumbledore dropped off Harry first, handing him a train ticket drawn from his robe pocket. He said something else, but Harry, who was busy examining the scarlet and gold ticket, missed it.

'Sunday, September 1stthe ticket said. So, term would begin on a Monday. There was precisely a month to go. Harry knew he could stand being the Dursleys now that he knew he'd be off to Hogwarts soon. And he could threaten Dudley with some of those Jinxes in his new book 'Jinxes and How to Use Them' even if he didn't know how to work any of them yet and wasn't allowed to do magic in the Muggle world. Dudley wouldn't know he wasn't allowed. Oh, the possibilities…

Harry took his eyes off the ticket and looked up. Dumbledore had finished speaking and was looking at Harry expectantly. "Er—Thank you for everything, Professor Dumbledore. Good evening."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Good evening, Harry."

In the blink of an eye, Dumbledore left, taking the rest of the group with him, leaving Harry standing in a secluded corner of the park on Wisteria Walk with a heavy trunk and a bird cage next to him. The trunk had no wheels. Harry supposed people who could use magic and float objects did not need trunks with wheels. Sighing, and making up his mind to learn the levitation spell first thing when he got to Hogwarts, Harry picked up the cage in one hand and began dragging the trunk behind him with the other, heading for Privet Drive.

Author's Note: The new character, Irene, will be playing an important role in the series. What do you think of her? Do review and let me know.