Ackmun's School for Magical Misfits

Chapter 4 - do robes work with wings?

I had filled out the form that was sent with the letter. One of the questions which, had asked what your hybrid was... I had to fill in the "Unknown" slot... Also known as the  "my mom's a ho" slot.

Tomorrow is the day I go Diagon Alley, apparently there were multiple places you were able to go, but my mom was most familiar with there, so she said we would just "teleport" to put it simply. I've always known about my mom's wizarding side, and I've met a few of her friends from school, but she didn't like to be very involved with that side of her world. She still had her wand though, tucked in a box under her bed. When I was younger I would sneak into her room just to look at it. Once I had accidentally cast something, broke an old vase, and got in trouble with my mom. I never saw that wand again.

While looking over the list, I found I was able to have a pet. They listed a few kinds of animals that were acceptable, and I decided on an owl. I mean, it would be nice to have a friend who was like me, winged.

What was really on my mind though was the fact that I got to be put in a house. My mom said she was Gryffindor, the house of the brave.

I still don't believe her.

Each house had come with a short description under each, with one main attribute. As far as I could tell, I wasn't any of them.

The winged wolf or "Ptyrolykus" was for the loyal. They were kind, self-sacrificial, and unique. Their colors were red and black. It sounded pretty cool, but I don't think I'm ready to sacrifice myself for someone. Don't get me wrong, I just don't have any one to sacrifice myself for.

The next was purple and silver. The Fox. The description read as "dedicated." They were selfless, ambitious, and competitive. It didn't really ring for me, though.

Blue and gold was the Phoenix, or "the guardian". They were supposedly adventurers, they were outgoing, daring, and faithful. I'm really an introvert though, not much for "exploring."

The last house was bronze and white, the unicorn. The name didn't scare me off much, I mean, I get that a lot of people think of them as all rainbows and sparkles, but those horns are frickin sharp.  Their main attribute was "harmony." It said they were intelligent, fair, and creative. This was the only house that really stuck out to me. I like Art? Art's creative right?

The fact that I felt like I didn't belong in a place for people like me kinda sucks. I mean, what if every one there looks, well, normal?

The one thing, the one aspect of this entire thing that absolutely made me want to scream for joy, was the fact I didn't have to wear my brace. After years of keeping my wings bundled up, they were fragile, and I wondered if they would even work if I tried to fly. But here at Ackmun's, I'd be able to stretch my wings as far as I wanted.

Tomorrow, tomorrow would seal this deal, I would get my stuff and leave to a place I belonged.

When we arrived at Diagon Alley, I felt like I was going to puke. The fact I was nervous as hell didn't help. The whole "teleport" thing my mom explained was so much worse than she made it out to be.

As soon as I recovered, we made our way down the long, crowded streets. My mom, though reluctant, let me keep my wings out. People gave me second glances as I walked by, but these were magic peeps, they saw stuff like this everyday.

Despite the fact that it felt great to have my wings out, it felt even better to have them in the wind. I'd never been outside with my wings out before, as my mother was very strict about that rule. Today though, it was sunny and warm, the end of summer and beginning of fall. The crisp breeze would ruffle my feathers, sending a tingling feeling down my spine.

As we walked I watched myself in the glass windows. My frame looked small compared to my wings. The one thing I noticed though, was the fact that my hair matched nicely with them; dirt brown hair, pale complexion, and wings that went with the earthy-grey color scheme. My eyes were a different matter, they were just a boring grey blue, with black rimed glasses to match.

I practically ran into my mom when she stopped walking.

"This is Olivanders, he's the wand maker" she said staring at the door to the shop "sometimes I miss the magic world, but other times... Not so much. It's safer to live the life of a muggle. But you'll fit in here." She pushed me through the door, she stayed outside.

The room was warm and dry, a thin coat of dust covered most shelves, and shoeboxes littered every square inch of the long fragile boards. A man sat at a desk examining a wand, he looked up at me, then my wings.
"Hello there young man!" He smiled warmly "Are you going to Hogwarts? Or maybe beaux-"

"Ackmun's, the magic misfit school"  I cut him off, I let my eyes fall to the floor.

"Ah, not a lot of students from there come to get their wands from me."

"I guess I'm one of few then."

"Yes, indeed you are" He said "now, let's find your wand"

He walked around the shelves for a bit, pulling out boxes as he went, when he returned he had over ten stacked on top each other. He selected one from the middle and handed it to me. "Give it a whirl" he said, making a flicking motion with his wrist.

Let's just say that's wasn't the wand for me.

Nor was the next, or the next three. The fifth one though, Olivander was pleased with the result. He took the wand from me and sighed.

"I do just love acacia wood. Yours is 13 and 3/4 inch, acacia wood, Phoenix feather core. Beautiful combination if I do say. Don't break it though, wand bonds are strong. This one seems to be your match"

"Thank you" I said, staring at the fragile piece of wood.

The rest of the day went by quite quick, and the streets were filled with last minute shopping families. One of which, a large group of what seemed like two families, almost ran right into us as we walked by.

"Ron I told you that she was a size small, there's no way she's going to fit in those robes!"

"Well how was I supposed to know!"

"BECAUSE I TOLD YOU RIGHT BEFORE YOU WENT INTO THE STORE YOU DIMWIT"

They barely noticed us as they argued. The other family seemed to be reprimanding one of their kids, in which their siblings were quite enjoying the spectacle.

I laughed at the two groups, I couldn't be happier being an only child.

When we left, I had a large stack of books, one cauldron starter kit, three sets of robes (how my wings would work with that I don't know) and what seemed like hundreds of more items. But what I had stacked right on top, was a beautiful owl. Her soft feathers were grey, with a few splashes of black on her beak, wings and feet.

Don't ask me how we got it all home, it was a mess.