Fantasy & Magic: Stories & Contest Entries

5 Stranded

Piper Isner, squib student at Southern Institute of Magic (SIM) home division, sat on a stone, cold, hungry, and thirsty.

Her phone had two percent power and no bars. Mina Maxley, Potions Professor, brought the students here to search for magical plants. Maxley loathed squibs, even one with the talent for magical plants that Piper had.

Piper, abandoned by the other students, collected enough plants to get a C. Maxley had given her a sixth-year list, not one for her fourth year. She got back just as the bus left. Maxley glanced out the rear window, then turned away. The bus disappeared.

Piper looked for a Portbox, used to send messages magically, like a Portkey did for people. She found one, and said, "Please send a message." Nothing. She tapped the Portbox.

'Diagon Alley.' She stood on a cobblestone street, with wizards everywhere. She had five dollars in her backpack. These wizards were parents preparing their children for Hogwarts. Someone could help her, but she'd look around first. She used a Portkey.

At Ollivander's, a poster of a wizard read, 'Wanted for Wand Theft, Huburt Hubly.' She looked at broken wands. She longed for her own, even a broken one. She selected three broken pieces and knew they belonged with her.

"How much?" she asked a snide young woman.

"Two pounds."

"I've only got $5.00. Can I trade magical plants for the pieces?"

"No, cash only."

"Hold on," said Ollivander. "Let me see the plants." He gave her the pieces and £100 pounds for the plants, scarce in Britain.

I'd better find the police and get home. Piper wiggled the broken pieces together as she left. The wand tingled, then sealed, a knack she had. Her mismatched wand had a cedar tip and rowan base, joined by a laurel girdle. It felt right in her hand.

She walked down the Alley, and heard, "Stop! Thief!" A policeman and two wizards were chasing Hubly. His wand flashed as it shoved people aside.

Piper threw her backpack at his feet. He fell hard and looked up at her. "I'll break your wand!" He pointed his wand at her and declared, "Accio wand!" A lightning bolt flew from her wand and blasted Hubly. He shrieked in pain.

The policeman arrested him and took him to jail. The lady wizard said, "He stole my wand, but you saved it. Thank you." The two wizards listened as she explained how she came to be there.

"Please, can you help me get home?"

"Of course. You'll be needed to testify, young witch."

"I'm a squib, not a witch."

The woman shook her head. "You're a very rare witch. The kind that only appears when they find the right wand." She examined Piper's patchwork wand, impressed. "The laurel wood shocked Hubly when he tried to steal it."

"Please, I'm a squib. My family. They're wizards, but I'm not."

The man spoke, "Hermione knows a witch when she sees one. We'll take care of you until we get this sorted out. By the way, I'm Harry Potter, and she's the Minister of Magic."