A Queen Will Rise

Chapter Nine- The Wand

She was curious about wands... We're they all the same? Did everyone use them? Why did people need them? Maybe a store worker could answer her questions.

She found the store rather quickly. As soon as she entered, she stalled. It seemed as if the air around her crackled with magic.

"Good Morning"

Someone said from deeper within the store. If she didn't have good self-control, she would have jumped.

Walking further in, she saw a man with hair as white as snow and pale unfocused eyes.

"Good Morning" answered Calliope, trying to keep her tone calm and her face polite.

"Ah, Miss Potter, I wondered when I would see you" the old man proceeded to talk about her parents wands. She was even told told about the wand that gave her her scar.

So some of her questions were answered, others were not. This man didn't seem the type to hold intellectual conversations so she kept quiet.

During the speech, Callie was given many different wands but each time she touched one, it exploded or practically jumped away from her.

Ollivander, Callie discovered the man was called, seemed practically giddy with those reactions. After twenty wands Callie was ready to give up hope but Ollivander had a thoughtful expression. He disappeared to the back and came back with a very dusty old looking box.

Callie took this wand and she could feel a slight difference between this and the others but something still felt off. She told this to Ollivander and he sighed.

"It appears the core has binded with you but the wood hasn't. If you would like to follow me, it can be solved." he plucked the wand from Callies hand and gestured her to follow. "What we need to do here is see which wood connects with your core. If you give me a few moments to extract the core of this wand then we can proceed"

Callies watched the delicate process with hidden curiosity. Within a few moments a beautiful red and gold feather lay on the table. She was instructed to hold the feather in her left hand and hover over the blocks of wood with her right hand.

She hovered her hand over three different woods before she connected to the fourth one in line.

"Very well. Give me the core and your wand will be ready in two hours."

"Okay, see you in two hours." Callie replied and decided she would get some food since she hasn't eaten yet. She walked to the Leaky Cauldron and asked if she could order lunch. Tom told her to find a seat and touch what she wanted from the menu. He would then bring her her food. She decided on a chicken and bacon baguette with a side salad.

Calliope spent the next two hours reading and eating before she headed back to the wand store.

"Ah Miss Potter, I just finished" he placed a box on the counter and opened it. Callie observed the wand before picking it up. It was completely black with the handle in the shape of a serpent. If she looked close enough she could see the snakes open mouth. Callie was impressed. It was beautiful.

"Yew and Phoenix feather, 12 3/4 inches" Ollivander whispered.

As soon as Callie felt the wand she knew it was perfect for her. Sparks of all colours surrounded her and it felt comfortable. It almost felt addictive.

"Curious... Very curious..."

"I'm sorry but what's curious?"

"I remember every wand I have ever sold Miss Potter. Its curious that you should be destined for this wand, when it's twin gave you that scar"

"What are twin wands?"

"Twin wands are very rare since the wood has to be taken from the same tree and the same time and they have to have a core from the same animal. Brother wands, however, only share the core. This happens more often since unicorns tend to give more than one tail hair at a time and a single dragons heart can make multiple wands. Usually family members end up with brother wands due to similar characteristics. You have the twin wand to the Dark Lord"

"I see" Callie was rather interested to know more but she didn't want to show it. Paying for the wand, Callie left the store. She never noticed the pale eyes, filled with fear, following her. She shrunk her trunk with a tap of her wand and then left the Alley for some muggle shopping.

Calliope bought groceries since she now had an apartment. Just because she legally lived in the orphanage didn't mean she had to spend more time in the presence of the others.

She quite liked the word muggle. It showed the difference between her and them. It showed the vermin their place.

She also bought her own hygiene products because at the orphanage she had to share and she had no desire to do that ever again since she now had money.

Having finished her shopping, she made her way back to the orphanage. At least she had her books to keep her occupied.