chapter 6
02 09 1987
Kinsley woke while the sky was still dark and dressed in running leggings and a sports bra. She grabbed her school clothes, and her bag as well, not wanting to return to the dorm after her run. Kinsley used a shrinking spell that Filius Flitwick had taught her a couple of years ago to fit all of the clothes inside her bag and shrunk the bag down to be tied up with a ribbon in her hair so that she wouldn’t lose it.
Kinsley had gone to Ollivanders for a wand when she was only seven, after sitting in on so many lessons that she was just begging to try at least one of the spells. She knew lots of people thought that magic outside of school was illegal for underage witches and wizards, but since Kinsley lived at Hogwarts, which was both her school and incredibly clouded with magic, the Ministry couldn’t sense it was her magic and not someone elses.
Ollivander looked curiously at the little brunette who’d just entered his shop. She danced in, looking around wide-eyed at the cosy interior, before grinning at the old man and stating she was looking for a wand.
Ollivander was immediately concerned for a number of reasons,
- The girl looked no older than eight and wasn’t accompanied by any parents whatsoever
- She had no familiar features as most other children did, but she was too young and familiar with magic to be muggle-born
- She had a spark in her eye which he knew meant trouble
“Just how old are you, dearie?” Ollivander asked kindly.
“Does it matter how old I am as long as I don’t do any underage magic?” Kins asked in return.
Olivander laughed.
“That's a good point, actually. What’s your name? I don’t recognise you, and I pride myself in knowing everyone who enters this store.”
“Kinsley McGonagall. You might know my mum? Minerva?”
Olivander perked up. “Minerva McGonagall? I remember her! 9½ inches long, fir wood, dragon heartstring core. Well suited to Transfiguration, eh?”
“That’s right! Now, I’ve heard you’re the best of the best in wand making, and I was wandering by and thought I should get in before someone snatches up my perfect match.” Kinsley figured a little flattery would go a long way.
“Oh no no no, that’s not how it works at all. You see, the wand chooses the wizard, or in your case, the witch. There is a perfect wand for you, and it is somewhere in my store, and all we have to do is find it.”
All worry Ollivander had had about Kinsley's age was gone, as he now started a mission to find the girl in front of him the perfect wand.
“Try this one,” he said, holding out a green box from the top of the pyramid of boxes on the front desk.
“How often do you get the first one right?” K insley asked as she pulled a long, thin wand from the box.
“Not often at all, my dear, but they serve as a benchmark for my next selection. That one there is a 13-inch apple wood wand with unicorn hair core. Supple. Give it a wave.”
Nothing happened. At all.
“Disappointing, but not overly unexpected. Unicorn hair is a reliable wand core, but it’s not as powerful or strong as other kinds. I figured you might not be suited to it, but I had to make sure.”
Ollivander took the wand and box back and reached into the shelf behind him, pulling out a blue box and placing it in Kinsley’s hand.
“This one is ash and dragon heartstring, 10 inches. Go ahead, wave it around.”
bang! A flower vase exploded and all of the glass shards flew everywhere. One of the pieces flew straight into Kinsley’s cheek, and she felt the telltale pinch of pain and subsequent blood start to drip down her face. Ollivander watched in shock as the bloody cut closed up into a pink, puckered line, and then faded back into Kinsley's tan, freckley skin before his eyes.
“You’re a natural healer?” He asked, baffled. “T-those are exceptionally rare.”
“Err, yes, I am, but I'd appreciate your subtlety because I haven’t exactly made it common knowledge yet.”
“Of course, my dear, of course. I won’t tell a soul.”
“Thank you, Mr Ollivander.” Kinsley smiled.
“Of course. Now, try this wand. Hawthorn and phoenix feather, springy and 11 inches.”
Kinsley waved it.
“Ouch!” She yelled and dropped the wand. “It burned me!”
Ollivander tutted. “This may be a little harder than I anticipated.”
He handed her wand after wand after wand, all to no avail.
“Cherry and dragon heartstring.” A window broke.
“Yew and dragon heartstring.” The light flicked out and submerged the store into darkness.
“Blackthorn and phoenix feather.” The fire that erupted from the wand almost burnt off Ollivanders hair.
“Well.” Said Ollivander, as he added the twentieth wand to the growing pile of no-go’s. “I may have to dig a little deeper into my collection.”
Ollivander strolled out to the back of his store and returned with a wooden box. He opened it, and Kinsley saw several boxes inside, all purple.
“This box contains the last wands I have that my father made. He liked to experiment with different cores, and everything in here is out of range of my perfect three. However, he put a lot of thought and effort into these wands, and they must be suited to someone.”
Kinsley’s heart rate increased - she would be getting a unique wand? A Gervaise Ollivander wand?
“Hmmm. Troll whisker and yew? Pass. Dittany stalk and acacia? I don’t think so. Thestral hair and holly? Yes. Give this a go.”
Kinsley waved the orangey wand and blasted a hole in the roof of the shop.
“Never mind, dear. Easy fix.” Ollivander comforted her, as he waved his wand and repaired the hole.
“I’m never going to find a wand,” Kinsley stated, bordering on tears. “None of them want me.”
She felt as though she was about to collapse onto the dusty floor and start crying a river, because how could none of the wands work at all?
“Nonsense. They all know there is a perfect wand for you, and that you will find it.” Ollivander reassured her, before browsing back through his box. “Fairy wing, too weak. Coral, too simple. Erumpent horn, erratic. Oh. Oooooh.” Ollivander sounded excited, and Kinsley perked up. “Thunderbird feather. Aspen. Ten inches, unyielding. Try this.” His hand was practically quivering as he gave it to her, and the moment it touched her palm Kinsley felt the hum of magic coursing through her veins. She felt connected to the wand, drawn to it, supported by it. Encouraged by Ollivanders growing smile, Kinsley waved the wand and laughed when finally gold sparks shot out and encircled her. They danced around her head for a few seconds before dissipating, and both Kinsley and Ollivander beamed at each other in delight.
“Thank you so much, Mr Ollivander. It’s perfect.”
“Of course it is, dearie. Though I am a bit put out that the wand is my father's creation and not my own…”
“Aahhh, keep your chin up. We both know you’ve revolutionised wand-making, and there must be a reason you don’t mess about with thunderbird feathers.”
“They are quite hard to collect, if I’m honest. And there’s just not enough demand to merit supply. Thunderbird feathers make for extremely powerful wands, but they’re often unpredictable and chaotic - like their owners.”
“I can deal with chaotic.” Kinsley nodded. “How much do I owe you?”
“Seven galleons, dear.”
Kinsley plopped the seven gold coins on the desk.
“It’s much appreciated, Mr Ollivander. Thank you heaps.”
“It’s no problem. I find that I quite enjoyed it, dear. Feel free to pop in any time.”
“Oh, I will. See you soon, Mr Ollivander.”
“Call me Garrick. Or Rick, if you prefer.”
“See you soon, Rick.”
Kinsley wandered out of the shop and onto the Diagon Alley street, searching for her Mum. She’d originally been tasked with picking up their new robes from Madam Malkins, but after quickly completing that Kinsley could not resist getting a wand. Her Mum didn’t have to know, did she?
Minerva, however, was very watchful and picked up the fact that Kinsley had a wand within the week. After lots of arguments between mother, godmother, godfather, and Kinsley, she was allowed to keep the wand under the proviso that she wouldn’t practice magic unless someone was keeping an eye on her. Kinsley didn’t always abide by this rule, but she was sneaky enough to only perform magic when she knew she couldn’t get caught.
Kinsley set off down the Gryffindor Tower stairs and through the castle, out to the grounds. She pushed herself to complete her run as fast as she could and ended up shaving twenty seconds off her record. After a quick shower and change of clothes, Kinsley asked Goldy to take her running clothes back up to the dormitory, and then she headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was just seven, so Kinsley wasn’t expecting many people to be awake, but she was pleasantly surprised when she saw that Oliver was at the Gryffindor table already, and Bodie had apparently ditched the blue and bronze to join him.
“Morning, boys.” Kinsley slid in opposite the pair.
“Morning, Kins.” They chimed back.
Kinsley grabbed a piece of freshly buttered toast from Bodie's plate and took a big bite, raising an eyebrow and daring him to say something about it.
“Oi. That’s mine.” He said half-heartedly, reaching for another piece to butter.
“I didn’t think you’d be an early riser?” Oliver asked, curious. “If I’d had to bet on anyone l, I would’ve said Penelope would be up at the crack of dawn.
“I go running almost every morning while it’s still kinda dark,” Kinsley said once she’d finished chewing.
“Really? Why?” Bodie asked, baffled.
“Gotta keep fit if I want a chance of making the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.”
Oliver nodded at her in respect. “I agree. I used to practice all the time at home, but it’s harder here when first years can’t bring their own brooms.”
“There’s a shed near the pitch where the older years keep theirs. It’s easy to nick from if you get desperate one day.” Kinsley smirked.
“How could you possibly know that already?” Bodie asked.
“I grew up at this castle. My Head of House is also my mum.”
“Professor McGonagall is your mum?”
Oliver raised his eyebrow.
“Yep. Well, adoptive, but that’s beside the point.”
“I had no idea!” He exclaimed.
“It’s no secret. I suppose you just haven’t had reason to find out, yet.”
“That’s fair enough. Now, what position are you going for, because I gotta warn you that if it’s the same as me we can’t be friends anymore.”
“Chaser. Now let me guess… You want to be a beater?”
“A Keeper, actually. Hey, that’s good! We can train together.”
“That’s right! Are you gonna try out, Bodie?” Kinsley asked.
“I’ll be gunning for Chaser,” Bodie replied. “We can all train.”
The trio chatted happily as one by one, their friends joined them. Once Penelope, Percy, and Indie had all arrived (in that order), Professor McGonagall came around and handed the lions their timetables.
“We’ve got Charms and Defense together. Potions and History of Magic with the snakes. Transfiguration and Herbogy with the Puffs. Flying and Astronomy all together” Oliver noted to the group.
“That’s good. You lot can teach me to fly, since somehow you’re all awesome at it and I’ve never even seen a flying broom.” Penelope grinned.
“I’m not really a fan of it,” Percy admitted. “I’d rather keep my feet on the ground.
“I’m a fan.” Spoke Indie, Kinsley, Oliver, and Bodie all at once.
“We know.” Percy and Penelope rolled their eyes and then smiled at each other in sync.
Professor Flitwick dropped off the timetables to Penelope, Indie, and Bodie, and then told them that they had better get a move on to lessons.
The lions and the claws waved goodbye to each other and split off. Kinsley, Percy, and Oliver all headed to Potions first (Percy groaned when he heard, having heard stories about one Professor Snape, while Kinsley grinned).
The trio were the first to enter the dungeon, and then promptly realised that there were two to a cauldron, and one person would be left over.
“You two go together, and I’ll go make a snake friend.” Kinsley decided.
“Are you sure? We don’t want to ditch you.” Percy asked.
“Someone’s gotta get ditched. It’s fine, don’t even worry.” And Kinsley sat herself down in one of the chairs towards the back, flicking Sev a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes at her in return.
Kinsley kept an eye on the door, watching for someone to enter who she thought would make a decent potions partner. Brinley and Emmerson were first, and they completely ignored the smile Kinsley sent them. Bitches . Another pair of girls, Slytherin this time, entered, and they sat at the caldron on the other side of her which meant that they weren’t all that bad. They both smiled back at her, which was yet another success. The other two Gryffindor boys rolled in and sat down next to Percy and Oliver, while another snake girl pair who looked decidedly ruder entered and sat in a far back corner. Finally, the last group, three Slytherin boys, walked into the class, and without much discussion two of them took the seats behind Kinsley and one slid in next to her.
“Now that everyone’s here, we can begin. My name is Professor Snape, and I’ll be your Potions Master for this year.”
Professor Snape took the attention of the class as he rattled on about safety and the curriculum, but Kinsley had heard it before and the boy beside her didn’t seem too interested either.
“I’m Kinsley.” She tested the waters, whispering quietly.
He kept his eyes on Professor Snape, but she thought she saw the corners of his mouth flick up.
“Tatum Nott. Pleasure.”
“What did you do to get the short straw?” She asked, wondering if he was going to be alright.
“Who said I did?” Was his whispered response.
Kinsley raised an eyebrow and made to respond, but was rudely interrupted.
“Care to share with the class, Miss McGonagall?” Professor Snape spoke up. “Whatever you’re saying must be really important if you’d speak while I’m speaking.”
Kingsley started to laugh but quickly turned it into a cough. He’d never called her ‘Miss McGonagall’ before.
“Ever so sorry, Sir. I really should be paying attention, otherwise, I might blow up my cauldron out of stupidity. Please continue.”
Professor Snape stared her down for one more second before restarting his talk. Kinsley zoned out but didn’t try to restart the conversation with Tatum.
“Today, you’ll be learning how to prepare some specific potion ingredients.” Kinsley tuned back in to Professor Snape. “Number one is skinning salamanders. Number two is grinding pearls to dust. Number three is powdering asphodel roots. Go and gather those ingredients from the potions cupboard, and then I'll demonstrate.”
Kinsley wandlessly summoned the ingredients straight to her table, still having to whisper the incantation under her breath. It was one of the first spells she’d taught herself, and she’d grown so used to it over the years that she didn’t need a wand any longer. She summoned enough for Tatum as well and wordlessly placed his half on his side of the desk.
“Did you just summon that?” He asked, his face carefully blank but his eyes betraying his curiosity. Eyes were truly a window to the soul, and even Slytherins couldn’t conceal their emotions that much. Yet.
“I might’ve,” Kinsley said, already cutting the head and tail off of her salamander.
“C'mon, the quicker you do the salamander the better. Otherwise, it’ll start to smell and then I’ll have to smell it.”
“How do you know what to do? He hasn’t demonstrated yet?” Tatum wasn’t even hiding his curiosity now.
“It’s simple. Head and tail off. Knife under scales on one side. Knife under scales on the other. Cut it in half.”
“I’m waiting for Professor Snape. No offense, but I don’t trust your advice.”
“Eyes up here.” Professor Snape called. “To skin a salamander, it’s simple. Head and tail off. Knife under scales on one side. Knife under scales on the other. Cut it in half.”
Kinsley smirked while looking down at her fish, and then raised an eyebrow at Tatum. He did as she and Professor Snape said for the salamander, and then to her surprise asked, “Ok, how are you supposed to grind the pearls then, McGonagall?”
Kinsley laughed under her breath, and she and Tatum spent the lesson making light conversation while speeding ahead of the rest of the class. They finished quite early, showed their ingredients to Professor Snape, and were dismissed.
“Huh. Thanks, McGonagall. Maybe I didn’t pull the short straw after all.” Tatum said on their way out. Kinsley waved at Oliver and Percy and then walked out of the door while laughing at their put-out faces.
“You definitely didn’t, Nott. You’re gonna pray to have me as your potions partner for your whole entire time at Hogwarts.”
“Cocky, much?” Tatum asked, but she just shrugged and walked off.
The rest of the day progressed similarly, through Charms where she sat with Bodie and wowed him with her perfect ‘Wingardium Leviosa’, and through History of Magic where she was sat with Tatum yet again and spent the whole time teaching him accio. He finally summoned a quill off of Brinley’s desk, and the big smile on his face made Kinsley laugh.
The next day, after a slow and steady run and a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, the lions had Herbology. Kinsley told Oliver and Percy to sit together again, and she went over to a small Puff girl sitting alone.
“Hiya. I’m Kinsley. Mind if I sit?”
The girl looked at her wide-eyed but nodded politely and smiled sweetly.
“Go for it. I’m Claudia.”
Claudia had beautiful, long black hair, and Kinsley was jealous of her effortless-looking ponytail. Kinsleys own curly brown locks were tossed up in a messy bun, with tendrils escaping every which way.
Claudia and Kinsley got on quite well through the Herbology lesson, talking about friends (Claudia had made one, but she was a Ravenclaw and so wasn’t in the lesson) and about families (Claudia was a muggle-born, older sister to one Justin Finch-Fletchley who she was sure was also magical).
They said goodbye at the end of the lesson and went their separate ways, promising to sit together in all Gryffindor/Hufflepuff lessons, and so Kinsley had a desk mate for every lesson.
Kinsleys week repeated much the same, until Friday when she got to the breakfast table and sat down buzzing with immense energy. Onlookers would think she was on her fourth cup of coffee at 7am or was hopped up on drugs, but Oliver Wood knew the truth. “Flying, first up!” He said excitedly.