
𝟞 - 𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤
To say Diagon Alley was amazing would be an understatement. This place was indescribable. It was rather strange to stare at a brick wall then suddenly watch it open into an archway to a secret cobbled street after you tapped a specific brick. Every shop sold something Ophelia had never seen before - from broomsticks, robes rather than ordinary clothes, shops that sold just different types of papers right to eyeballs which she assumed was for potions; or at least hoped.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley Ophelia." Minnie introduced the bustling street to the awestruck girl.
"It's amazing!"
"I guess it is, I've never really taken the time to appreciate it."
"Where do we go first?" Ophelia decided to bring along her acceptance letter that contained a list of item she will need; even though Minnie insisted it wasn't necessary because she wrote the letters herself and new the list off by heart. Nevertheless, Ophelia didn't want to make one mistake and proved that perfectionism was something she could never lose as a trait.
"First we head to Gringotts, there you can convert your muggle money into wizarding currency. It may also be worthwhile you open up a vault to keep your money safe." Minerva ignored Ophelia reading the letter, deciding to add something unexpected to the day; an attempt to keep pushing Ophelia out of her comfort zone.
Gringotts Bank was an extremely unusual Bank. Ophelia had gotten used to expecting the unexpected, but she wasn't quite prepared to be talking about money with Goblins. Nor learning that her money was to be protected by extreme charms and even a backup dragon. Quite quickly she discovered that Goblins weren't overly friendly and she definitely wouldn't want to upset one of them; so she was rather glad to leave the bank as quickly as she did.
Minnie then directed her over to Flourish and Botts where they purchased all of Ophelia's necessary school books as well as a few extras that Ophelia liked the looks of. Once they paid Ophelia realised just how many books she had bought and was now concerned as to how she would carry them all around for the rest of the day. Soon that question was answered when the shop assistant placed them all in an extremely small bag that they all managed to fit into.
When Ophelia took the bag from the lady she was even more amazed by how light the bag was. Both the shop keeper and Minerva spotted how speechless Ophelia had become causing them both to smile.
"Welcome to the wizarding world, good luck at Hogwarts."
With that sentence the shop keeper had moved on to her next customer whilst Ophelia still stood staring into the bag trying to work out how this happened and where all her books had vanished to. Ophelia only broke out of her trance to look at Minnie to ask how this was possible.
"That is two very useful charms placed on the bag, an undetectable extension charm and feather-light charm." Minerva smiled, enjoying seeing the discovery for Ophelia as well as her simple love for teaching.
"Amazing!"
"Well to cast charms you will need one very important item. I think its time to go find you your wand." Minnie explained and pointed out towards a store just across the street.
The door to the store was tired looking, much like its exterior where the only display was a wand lying on a cushion in an extremely dusty window. A sign above the door read:
"OLLIVANDERS
MAKERS OF FINE WANDS
SINCE 382 B.C."
"Ollivander is one of the worlds best wand makers, all of the Ollivander's have been. Even my wand is from the family business." Minerva pushed the door open and a little bell rang above them.
"Minerva McGonagall, how are you.?" An old man stood from behind the desk, he seemed to stare right at them without blinking.
"I am very well Mr Ollivander, how are you?"
"Absolutely splendid, things are getting busier as the new school year approaches. In fact you came at a very good time, by next week this whole street will be bustling."
"It is exactly why I came now. May I introduce you to Miss Ophelia, she is here to find her wand."
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr Ollivander." Ophelia walked forward and offered her hand out for a handshake; a formality that was drilled into her by the Montgomery's and her talent manager. Ollivander was delayed by his handshake, not expecting a student to offer one, but was delighted to see some old-fashioned greetings being used by the younger generation.
"The pleasure is mine, nothing brings me more joy than matching a wand to their owner. Now what are we waiting for, lets get started." Ollivander clapped his hands together at this and spun himself round to face one of the many shelves lining the store.
Almost instantly Mr Ollivander had taken a wand out and handed it to Ophelia. Ollivander continued to mutter words about it, but Ophelia wasn't taking anything in because she had absolutely no idea what she was meant to be doing. Should she be flicking it, should she say 'abracadabra' - is that even a real spell? Before Ophelia had chance to actually ask a question the wand was taken from her and another one placed in her grip. This time a small explosion occurred and the man quite literally snatched the wand from Ophelia, startling her but Minerva placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to reassure her she was safe.
After at least another 20 wands, knocked over shelves, small fires, a few swear words from Ophelia and some eye rolls towards them words from Minerva - Ophelia was handed a wand that sent warmth through her entire body and a little golden swirl came from the tip.
"It appears this wand has chosen you. Cherry wood; quite a rare material. I find those who pair with cherry wands often get high amounts of respect from others. It is often assumed that cherry wands are simply just pretty things to look at. Whilst there beauty is true, many forget that these wands are extremely powerful and even lethal with almost any core it is paired." Ollivander clearly enjoyed explaining the wands in such depth, and Ophelia had no plans to stop this conversation.
"Which leads me to your core - a dragon heartstring core. This core is one that has the most magic power allowing it to cast some very exuberant spells. Matched with the cherry wood the owner of the wand needs to have displayed superb self-discipline and mental strength in their life. Yours is a fairly average size, 11.3 inches to be exact. This tells me you are someone who likes to think things through and will do the right thing. Hm, and finally it is of reasonably supple flexibility, this may mean it takes your wand a bit longer to warm up to you but that isn't a bad thing because one it is loyal to you it will have great difficulty performing well for others. This flexibility tells me you are someone patient and kind. This wand really is a real mix of things, very fascinating. I'd say you and this wand are destined for great things together."
"Wow, you know all this about me from this wand?" Ophelia couldn't hide her amazement, replying with such speed.
"Yes I can, wandlore is very impressive if I do say so myself."
"I love it, thank you Sir!"
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After leaving Ollivander's with her very own wand, Ophelia couldn't help but smile. With a smile still on her face she hadn't taken in the fact they were now outside an ice cream shop.
"I think a sweet treat is deserved after our morning, plus it will help us get through the rest of the day. Grab a seat dear, what flavour would you like?" Minnie offered.
"Surprise me!"
Ophelia took a seat on the bench and looked down the street, it wasn't very busy which Ophelia was happy about. She wasn't sure how she would cope with being back in crowds after such a long time away. For starters she was definitely enjoying the quiet life, away from the limelight and the torture of social media. But it seemed she spoke too soon when she heard a: "mum, look, look over there, its Ophelia Montgomery." At this point Minnie had returned with a rather tasty looking orange icecream.
"Pumpkin flavoured. Are you ok?" Minerva had noted the slight tension Ophelia held in her shoulders.
"Yes, just it seems my cover has been-"
"I am so sorry to interrupt you but my daughter spotted you and she is such a big fan. She didn't know you were a witch, we are non magic parents but our eldest daughter is a witch too. Anyway this is Lucy, Lucy don't be shy say hello you wanted to come over."
"It's ok Miss, hi Lucy! How are you?"
The girl, who looked around the age of 9, shuffled her feet about in front of Ophelia before whispering an almost inaudible "fine."
"I think someone is a bit starstruck, Lucy don't be rude." The mother sighed.
"Oh it isn't rude at all, I completely understand. Even I get tongue tied when I'm nervous! Here let me write you a note that you can look at later on."
Minerva watched the exchange go on, she noted how quickly Ophelia had put on a confident act for the girl and how it was almost second nature to her. Ophelia was so kind and patient with the young child. She knew that Ophelia was considered famous in the muggle world but wasn't entirely sure what this meant - but this interaction was enough for her to understand that Ophelia meant a lot to many people. Ophelia gave a hug to the girl before saying goodbye and returning to face Minerva.
"Is there anything you can do to, well, make me look less 'Lia Montgomery' whilst I am here. They were the first to approach but they certainly weren't the only ones who've looked. I just want to carry on today unbothered, that's probably really selfish of me."
"Nonsense, I can imagine it is quite tiring having that happen a lot. Here, lets just change your hair colour temporarily, it will be a quick fix." With a flick of her wand Ophelia's hair began to change to black and with that transformation Minerva saw how Ophelia visibly relaxed too.
"Thank you for that and thank you for the ice cream too, its delicious."
After their ice cream they headed off to a few more shops for necessities such as cauldrons, scales, a broomstick and phials just to name to a few! By 4pm they had reached their last store - Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions.
"Is it ok if I leave you here dear, I have to nip to one more store before we head home. It will save us time if we split up here."
"I'm sure I can manage that!"
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Ophelia waited outside Madam Malkins for Minnie to return, as always the lady wasn't late. In her hand was a large cage covered with a blanket, it peaked Ophelia's interest very quickly and even more when she heard a noise coming from inside.
"Are all your robes sorted dear?"
"Yes all sorted, it now seems very-" A hoot interrupted Ophelia's sentence, redrawing her attention to the mystery cage."Um, Minnie what was that?"
"Your gift." Minnie answered very matter of fact. Like the answer should have been obvious to Ophelia.
"My gift?"
"Yes, your gift is being rather impatient and doesn't like their blanket cover. I wanted to get you something, or rather someone, to join you on your new chapter in life."
She placed the cage on a window ledge and slowly lifted the blanket off. Inside was a gorgeous owl, with deep orange eyes and ears like horns. It stared at Ophelia in the eye before leaning its head towards the cages wire where Ophelia rather naturally began to scratch at its head.
"Hello gorgeous, what is your name?"
"She hasn't got a name yet, that's all down to you. She is a Great Horned Owl, the keeper told me she was the runt of her nest. It was amazing she survived." Minnie watched on as Ophelia didn't once stop fussing the owl.
"She's a fighter."
"Just like you."
Ophelia launched herself into Minnies arms.
"Thank you. Not just for her. For everything. Thank you so much."
"You don't need to thank me. Seeing you happy is enough. Now let's get home and decide on a name for her. Tomorrow we can start on spells."
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Ok I love Minnie with all my heart, like can I adopt Minnie into my family?!!
QOTC: What would your favourite subject be?
My Answer: I get stuck between DADA and Care of Magical Creatures - both I equally love but I probably would pick working with animals over humans any day ha!
Please if you liked this chapter vote, it helps x
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