let me down slowly - wilbur soot

chapter 36- wand ceremony

"you! back there!" the man shouts happily. "with the slytherin shirt and dark hair!"

aubrey looks around, then realizes he's talking about her.

"oh, you mean me, don't you?" she asks while pointing at her chest.

"yes! you, my dear! come forward!"

i give aubrey's arm a reassuring squeeze and tommy and tubbo shove her forward. she stands in the center of the room, with all eyes on her.

"what's your name, young lady?" the man asks.

"aubrey," she replies.

"aubrey! that's a lovely name. have you ever had a wand before?"

"no."

i snort at aubrey's short answers. she couldn't be more unenthusiastic if she tried.

"try smiling!" tommy shouts at her. aubrey flashes him a glare as she turns around, laughing slightly.

"please ignore him," she begs the man. the wand maker smiles.

"not to worry, not to worry." he walks behind his counter and looks at a few wands. the man rifles through a few wands before pulling out a box.

"this one might work," he says. "unicorn hair core, sycamore wood, 11 inches."

he opens the box and hands it to aubrey, and the second it touches her hand a lot of explosion sounds can be heard. of course they're all fake, but it sounds so real that it's terrifying.

"not that one!" the old man frantically snatches the wand out of her hand and aubrey gives a nervous giggle.

"sorry..." she mutters.

"it's not your fault, dear. the wand simply didn't choose you." he turns back to his tall wall of wands and pulls out another one.

"try this out. dragon heartstring core, vine wood, 12.5 inches."

he hands aubrey the wand and everything is silent for a moment. is that her wand?

"try a spell," the man prompts. he turns off the lights. "try the lumos spell to turn on the lights."

"lumos," aubrey says. a loud shattering glass sound floods the building, and many people cover their ears.

"not quite!" he takes the wand back and scratches the back of his head.

"sorry again," aubrey says awkwardly.

"there's no need to apologize. this is all a part of the process. isn't it magical?" aubrey looks around and smiles.

"yeah. it is."

the man looks extra hard for the next wand, and pulls out another wand.

"i feel really good about this one," he says. "phoenix feather core, hazel wood, 12.5 inches. phoenix cores are the rarest core type, fit for people that have strong initiatives and are strong-willed. the hazel wood is fit for sensitive people who have been through a lot, but they've never lost hope. their owner knows how to manage their feelings. i'm not sure why, but i have a grasping feeling that this fits you well..."

the man hands aubrey the wand and gives her a small wink. her eyes grow wide as she holds the wood in her hand.

a faint aura spreads around her. a warm glow basks in the room, and suddenly the tense atmosphere feels a lot lighter.

i think the wand finally chose the wizard.

"wonderful! wonderful!" the old man claps. "look everyone, we've found aubrey's wand!"

the room bursts into applause and tommy, tubbo, and i all cheer. aubrey turns to us with a big smile, a pink glow faint in her cheeks. she walks back to us and we all admire her new wand.

"you're so lucky!" tubbo beams. "that was super cool!"

"wasn't it?" aubrey agrees. "it was also super nerve-wracking, though. after the first two wands failed i thought all hope was lost."

"third time's a charm, right?" i ask. aubrey nods.

with that, the four of us entered the bigger room to go back to the center of the wand shop, and tommy, tubbo, and i all bought our own wands. without the fancy wand ceremony, of course.

(A/N i promise the man that was giving aubrey the wand wasn't supposed to be a creep nor was he trying anything HAHA, in my head he was a nice old man with a wife and grandchildren back home. just so we're clear. he's not a weirdo LOL but thank you so much for reading! if you liked this chapter, it would mean a lot if you could vote, comment, share, and add this to your reading lists! it's christmas break now so you can expect the uploading schedule to be a lot more consistent and smooth [then again... knowing me and my inconsistency... don't quote me on that kljfhadsfjkkahdsc] i love you guys to the moon and back and i hope you have a fantastic day! <3)