1 : IMPERIO

PROLOGUE III

Word Count: 3770

The school year 1982-83 had ended with Charlotte completing the reading of second year books, of almost all the subjects, and 1983-84, with her reading till fourth. It was summer before the school started again, and Charlotte was already four years old. Snape had promised her to buy her wand, and she was over-excited. Snape thought it would be better if they got her wand two days before going back to school, so Charlotte wouldn't end up blowing up the house.

"Ahh Mr. Snape" said a voice as the father daughter duo set foot in the shop. Ollivander's wand shop, which was located in the Diagon Alley. "And who might this be?" he asked looking towards Charlotte, who smiled up at the old wizard brightly.

"Hello Mister Ollivander, I am Charlotte Crawford, and I need a wand." The old wizard raised an eyebrow and turned from the girl to Snape, who gave a nod confirming her words.

"I wasn't expecting you for a few years I must say." He said, and walked in between the shelf filled with boxes.

He first handed her a straight black wand, and she took it, staring at it. Ollivander told her to give it a wave, and she blew up a small hole in the desk. Ollivander shook his head, and walked back inside, and Snape mended the desk. The old wizard came back with a dark brown wand, and handed it to her. Charlotte observed it carefully. It was brown, and had a small bead like thing just below the centre, and straps carved on the handle. It was a little crooked in the front, but Charlotte could feel something radiating through it.

"I like this one." She said, as the wand pulsed in her hand, and gave her a little jolt of energy.

"Ahh, I thought so." said Ollivander observing. "Beech wood, with dragon heartstring core, 11 and half inches, with brittle flexibility"

"How did you know?" Charlotte asked looking up, and saw the man smiling at her.

"It just so happens that you buy a wand at this age, the beech wood fits the description. And your magic comes from a dark family, the core fits that description. I did not know this wand would choose you Miss Crawford; the wand chooses the wizard." Charlotte stared at him a little scared. She thought he was possessed, and a little mad, but didn't say anything.

"Thank you, Mister Ollivander."

She said, and placed it back on the counter. Ollivander packed it, and Snape placed the galleons on the counter and the two walked out.

Charlotte was a little shaken by the wand buying experience. She sat on the living room couch looking at the new wand, as Snape sat reading the Daily Prophet.

"Dad, what did Mister Ollivander mean, when he said I come from a dark family?" Snape looked up from the paper, and towards her. Charlotte waited for the answer, as Snape stared at her, trying to come up with something that would satisfy her, but not give a lot away.

"You see angel –" he said, leaning forward. "There are light families and there are dark families, and there are neutral families." Charlotte nodded. "We are able to perform magic, because we have magical blood, and a magical core, alright?" Charlotte nodded again. She had no idea where this conversation was going, but she said nothing.

"So every individual witch and wizard has either a dark, neutral and light core, and our magical core can decide what kind of wand you might fit for." Charlotte nodded, and Snape looked pleased at his own answer.

"But if everyone has a different core; then what does it have anything to my family being dark? In what sense was my family dark?"

"Politically."

"But what does politics have anything to do with wand core?" Snape sighed, a little disappointed that he couldn't outsmart a four-year-old.

"In old wizarding families –" Snape said slowly. "The core gets passed on from generation to generation, but that's not always the case." With that understood, Charlotte nodded, with a smile, satisfied by the answer, at least for now.