The Weasley Twins
A Weasley.
Of course, why didn't I think of that? It's practically written across their foreheads. Their red hair and pale complexions, the freckles that are splashed across their faces. It was so obvious.
"Huh...I really should have caught that." I state smiling slightly while holding my head.
"What's that supposed to mean?" They question in synch.
"My uncle, he works with your father, I've met him on a couple of occasions, he's very kind. My uncle doesn't like him very much," I state. "Which means he talks about him a lot, and your family..."
"And who would your uncle be?" Fred asks.
"Lucius Malfoy." I tell them.
"Ah, so you're one of those Pureblood supremacy types." Fred states looking at me with a newfound judgment in his eyes, "what a shame." Shaking his head in disappointment.
I stare at him in surprise, the warmth he held in his eyes only moments ago, was now gone. I open my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a woman calling for them from the book store, Mrs. Weasley, I would assume.
"Well, it wasn't so nice to meet you, miss Asteria Black. I hope we don't see you around." He states firmly, before nudging his twin and walking towards his mother, a scowl now cemented on his face. George stares at me a moment longer, eyes flooded with curiosity,
"Sorry about him...he...well I don't know, he's never acted that way before...he's usually more open to an explanation than that." He says staring after his brother as he walks towards their mother.
"It's okay..."I say softly, looking down at my feet, "I can't say I'm surprised, my uncle isn't exactly quiet about his beliefs, and it's no secret what role he played in the war..."
He nods before sighing loudly, "well either way I'm sorry. I guess I'll see you around Asteria."
"Bye George." I mutter as I begin back on my journey into Ollivander's.
Awesome... just when I think I could be making friends, my uncle screws up any chance I have at creating my own path. I keep grumbling under my breath, as I enter the shop. The jingle of a bell can be heard throughout the shop. I hear light rummaging of boxes and the shuffling of feet, a few moments later an older man comes around the corner.
"Ahhh a young Miss Black." He says a soft smile on his face, "I was wondering would I would be seeing you."
"Oh...really? Why?" I questioned him curiously.
His blue eyes sparkled mysteriously, "I remember the day your father came to buy his first wand. Black walnut, unicorn hair core, 9 1/2 inches, flexible." He stated as if reading it out of a book, "he was a terribly quiet young boy, of course, how could he not be with a mother and father like Walburga and Orion Black, dreadful people, however, his brother as I recall was rather mischievous in his early years, such a shame he was lured into He Who Must Not Be Named..."
"I suppose so...though I never knew my father, uncle, or grandfather, they all passed or were locked away before I could speak, my grandmother I suppose was rather dreadful..." I trail off looking at the old man with confusion, and mild disinterest.
"I'm sure you of all people know how dreadful she could be, she did have two incredible children, however, each in their own way. Your father was always very aware of what he would be forced to do, and it wasn't until he had you did he truly start to question whether or not that's what he truly wanted. He knew that if he stayed on his pre-laid path, it would become yours as well, and that wasn't what he wanted for you."
I stared at him in confusion, how did he know any of this? He was just a wandmaker, as far as I knew he had no significance to my father's life.
"I know what you must be thinking, how do I know this." He looks at me knowingly, "well before his death, your father came to me, you were in the care of your uncle Sirius, he explained the entire situation to me. He left a letter for me to give to you, knowing you would one day come into my shop, just as he did." He explained to me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why would he leave me a letter with you? Why not my grandmother, or my aunt, or I don't know...Dumbledore?" I ask irritated.
"He knew your grandmother, much like your aunt would if your uncle found out, would throw it away out of fear he would change your mind about the path they have so charitably laid before you. As for Dumbledore, he feared that by the time you got to Hogwarts the Malfoy's would have dug their claws in too deep. That you would not trust Dumbledore, as he is against you know who. So, he settled on me. Someone he knew you would come into contact with at least once. Someone who, to everyone else's knowledge, had no communication with your father."
His explanation made sense, after 5 years of listening to my uncle degrade my father's memory, and 6 years of my grandmother's verbal abuse, in an attempt to scare me out of following his path, there isn't a doubt in my mind that they would have discarded a letter left to me from him. As for Dumbledore, he's completely right, my uncle has always spoken out against Dumbledore and his efforts against the Dark Lord's cause.
"May I have the letter?" I ask nervously, the answers to all of my questions could be inside, "I think my aunt may be coming in soon, I've taken longer than I intended..."
He smiles softly and opens a drawer behind his desk, pulling out an envelope, handing it over to me.
"Here you are, my dear." I smile at him softly taking the envelope and sliding it into my small bag, which had an extension charm on it, a present from my aunt for my last birthday.
"Now," he states "how about we find you that wand." He suggests lightly with a smile on his face. I nod, and he shuffles off to the backroom bringing out several boxes, muttering to himself, he opens the first box, handing me the wand from inside.
" Acacia wood, dragon heartstring core, 9 inches."
I take the wand from him and stare at it in mild confusion.
"Well, go on, give it a wave."
I nodded taking a deep breath as I wave the wand gently, causing the vase of flowers to fall of the desk, and shatter on the floor. Mr. Ollivander gently takes the wand from me.
"No. No. Definitely not." He mutters before pulling out a mother wand, "Ash, unicorn core, 10 inches." He states firmly, handing it over.
I take it gently waving it again, causing the boxes on the shelves to fly directly at us, I squeak and drop to the floor in an attempt to dodge them, as they flew past my head. When the catering stops I slowly rise from the floor and placed the wand gently in front of him. This continues wand after wand until he reaches for the last box.
"Applewood, Phoenix feather core, 11 1/2 inches, surprisingly swishy."
I take the wand from him gingerly and hold my breath as I gently wave it, praying to Merlin I don't send anything else flying, but that's not the case. I feel a warmth spread through me, as small sparks emit from the tip of my wand, looking like tiny stars. I look up at the man in front of me, watching as his smile grows.
"Hmm very interesting. Very interesting indeed..." he trails, watching me curiously, "I think we can expect great things from you, Miss Black."
"How do you know?" I question, doubtful that my future would be anything spectacular.
He smiles mischievously, "I cannot tell you. That is something you must discover on your own. Just know that a wizard or witch's wand is often a reflection of them. That's why the wand chooses its owner, not the other way around." He states firmly, leaving no room for argument, "However if you are curious about the meaning of your wand, I'm sure there is a book or two on wand making in the Hogwarts library. I will write you a note, they will be found in the restricted section, you must, however, have Dumbledore sign it to remove it from the library."
I nod softly as he quickly scribbles a note for me on a spare piece of parchment. As he does that I look back down at my wand, it is a light wood, the base that my hand is wrapped around, is hollow, with what looks like three pillars spiraling up towards the rest of the wand, which was smooth with what looks like white runes engraved and painted, it was simple, yet beautiful, so different than any of the wands that surrounded me growing up, all dark in color, black or dark brown, with the occasional silver detailing. I wonder why mine looks so different... there's a warmth to the wand, instead of the usual darkness. My thoughts are interrupted by a knocking on the door, I spin around to see my aunt looking in at me. I smile softly, and wave my hand, gesturing she can come in. The bell above the door jingles at her entrance, she steps into the shop cautiously, looking around.
"Well, you certainly made a mess in here didn't you?" She laughs while saying this, "I assume you went through quite a few wands before finding yours?" She asks.
"You could say that..." I say as Mr. Ollivander spins around, my note in hand.
"Here you are my dear, just have Dumbledore sign it when you're ready for that book." He states, passing me the note over the counter, as I put it into my bag, he looks over my head and acknowledges my aunt, "Ah, Mrs.Malfoy. good to see you again. How is your wand treating you? Ebony wood, unicorn hair, 9 inches?" He asks her making small talk.
My aunt looks between the two of us, eyebrows furrowed curiously. "Hello Mr.Ollivander, my wand is treating me just fine, works just as splendidly as it did when I first bought it."
"Good to hear." He smiles, "Now Miss Black that will be 7 Galleons."
I hand him my wand to place back into the box, while I pull out the gold galleons my aunt gave me before we split up, handing them to him as he slides my boxed wand to me.
"Thank you, Miss Black, I look forward to seeing the great things you achieve in your life. I hope you find the answers you seek." He states smiling kindly and nodding at me.
"Thank you, Mr.Ollivander," I say while I smile at him, holding the box containing my wand tightly. I spin on my heel and face my aunt, smiling up at her as we exit the wand shop, I glance over my shoulder to see Mr.Ollivander staring at me as he waves his wand, sending everything back to where it was before I entered his store, prepared for the next child so come through and cause a disaster.
"What was that note he handed you?" She questioned me as we walked side by side.
"A note to get a couple of books about wand-making from the restricted section in the Hogwarts Library. I need to have Dumbledore sign it though." I state.
"Why do you need books about wand-making?" She questions confused.
"He told me that we should expect great things from me. When I asked what he meant, he said that he couldn't tell me, that I needed to figure it out for myself, and that if I wanted to know I should look in some books at Hogwarts." I state.
"Hmm, well at least he confirmed what I already knew. You are going to do great things.' She said winking at me, "Now. Why don't we finish up your school shopping and then get some ice cream? Yeah?"
"Okay!" I say as we continue down the alleyway.
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