The Crystals of Hiraj

Chapter 1- The Letters

Nicholas Parker opened his eyes. Nope, there wasn't a vicious Quintaped over him just about to eat him. Not that there would be, with all the protections on the house. Nicholas got dressed and walked out the door trying not to wake his twin sister, Holly.

The isle of Drear, where his family had lived for six years, was well named. Nicholas shivered as he pulled on his maroon sweater. Every morning a freezing wind would flow across the island, chasing away any birds that had thought it a good place to live. The wind usually brought the owls with their food packages, and it was Nicholas's job to watch for them. He also watched for something more important: the owl bearing their invitations to Hogwarts. It was early August now, and the owl still hadn't come.

The walk from the house to the coast along the protected pathway was long, and Nicholas had nothing to do, so he pulled out the wand his dad had given him for his eleventh birthday. It was made of oak wood that was a little burnt from all the times he had tried to create fire with it, and inside was a piece of a scale from the Chinese Fireball that his dad had to take care of when he was young.

Nicholas took a deep breath and tried once again to do the only spell that had been found to repel Quintapeds, apart from the Patronus Charm.

"Aquacali!" Steam started pouring out of Nicholas's wand. He sighed. He never seemed to get it right. Each and every time he tried the spell, steam came instead of boiling water. It was like when he used the Lumos Charm; his wand caught on fire and the fire spread to his clothes before anybody could put it out. Luckily, the fire didn't hurt him at all, but it was maddening not being able to do the simplest spells. His parents continuously told him he was doing well, that it took months of practice to master your first charms, but he felt weak nonetheless. Holly's Lumos Charm created a small, glowing ball of water, not uncontrollable fire. And she had managed multiple times to complete the Boiling Water Spell. Sure, her water maybe was a little too cold, but it wasn't steam!

Finally, he was at the shore. Nicholas looked out at the sea. No owls. He started turning back disappointedly, when he saw something. It was coming from the Southwest, so it couldn't be a food owl. There was only one other source for an owl at that time of year...

Nicholas ran back to the house shouting,

"The Hogwarts owl is here!"

***

Emily opened her eyes groggily. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 8 o'clock. Still too early for an August morning. She rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep. In the hall outside her bedroom, her older sisters, Elise and Nina, were yelling about something to her oldest sister Rachel. Her other sister, Anna, was, apparently, not up yet or she would have been arguing as well.

It didn't take very long before she heard her mother climbing up the stairs and, two minutes later, the girls had stopped yelling. But now, sleep was forgotten. Emily sighed and got out of bed. It was a typical morning. Her house was never quiet; not with seven kids around. Of course, Peter no longer lived with them. He had finished Hogwarts and was now working in the International Cooperation Office in the Ministry of Magic. He was highly important and had his own flat in London.

As for her sisters, she only saw them when they were on holidays. Rachel and Allison, the eldest, were out of Hogwarts, but Rachel lived in Oxford and Allison in Liverpool. Anna, Elise, and Nina were still in school. This would be Anna's last year at Hogwarts and Emily's first. Emily had gotten her letter only the day before (after days of worrying) and the family had celebrated. Rachel and Allison had flooed in and they had had a small party. Peter, however, could not make it to the party, though he did owl his congratulations.

Emily walked to her desk and picked up the letter. She read it once more to make sure it hadn't just been a dream:

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September first. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first

Yours Sincerely,

Helga Von Struddle.

(Deputy Headmistress)

No, it hadn't been a dream. It was all very real. She placed the letter back on her desk and walked out of her room. Apparently her sisters had been arguing as now the doors to their rooms had been locked shut. Only Anna's door was still ajar. Walking downstairs to breakfast, Emily noticed the source of the fight. It was silly really. Emily picked up Rachel's letter and smoothed it out. It was an acceptance letter to the Salem Institute located in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. It had been the greatest cause for fights among the Potter household. Rachel was pleased to have been accepted. Ecstatic even. But Nina and Elise were appalled that she would accept to leave England to go to America. They claimed that there were perfectly fine universities in England and that they didn't see why she had to "desert her family and deny her roots". Emily suspected that they were just jealous not to be able to visit America. She placed the letter on the kitchen table and grabbed an apple from the refrigerator.

"Mum, tell Elise to keep out of my room!"

"I was NOT in her room! She stole my hairbrush and I was looking for it out in the HALL!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

Elise and Nina stormed into the kitchen looking for their mother.

"Mum's not here, numbskulls," Emily yawned. She was not a morning person.

"Fine, doofus," Elise retorted. Elise and Emily were the closest in age and they were often down each other's throats.

"Don't call her a doofus, Elise. And don't call Elise and Nina numbskulls, Emmy," said a voice from the doorway. Mrs. Potter walked into the kitchen and the three girls quieted.

"Why aren't you dressed, girls? We're leaving for Diagon Alley with the Weasleys in ten minutes!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed as she walked over to the kitchen table and looked over the mail.

"Well, you see, Nina stole my hairbrush and I can't get ready" Elise sighed.

"Yeah well, Elise stole my jeans!" Nina added.

"Well Elise and Nina stole my Salem letter!" said Rachel as she walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and ready.

"Well, Rachel snored last night and I barely got any sleep," yelled Allison from upstairs.

"Well they all woke me up!" yelled Anna and Emily at the same time.

Mrs. Potter shook her head in resignation. She should have been used to it by now, but she found it hard to stay impartial with her daughters.

"Ok, I don't care who did what, but I want you all down here dressed, combed, and ready with your teeth brushed in ten minutes! NOW GO!" she exclaimed pointing to the door of the kitchen. All the girls ran out of the kitchen, pushing each other out of the way.

Emily walked back up to her room and pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue spaghetti-strap. She slipped her feet into her yellow flip-flops and made a dash to the bathroom she shared with Elise, Nina, and Anna. Unfortunately, Elise had made it there first so it was another five-minute wait.

Once the bathroom was free, she quickly brushed her teeth and combed her hair and put a swipe of lip gloss on before rushing out, being threatened by Nina (who still hadn't gotten to use the bathroom).

But ten minutes later, everyone was ready and downstairs, ready to floo to the Weasleys.

***

Sasha Elena Malfoy slammed the book shut. She couldn't believe the things her family had done to house-elves! She had just read about how her great-grandfather, Neptune Malfoy, had wrapped his house-elf in dirty socks filled with rocks and then thrown him in the deep lake east of Malfoy Manor. The elf had died, of course. Then she read about her Great-Aunt Cassiopeia had systematically killed all her house-elves when she burnt a hole through her tongue with some acid tea. No wonder everyone had looked at her strangely when she had joined the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare!

Sasha's twin sister Sofia was smiling at her from across the library. Sofia was always smiling at her for something. She had known about their family's torture of house-elves; Sasha was sure of it. Sofia had probably "forgotten" about telling her. She probably wanted to see the look on Sasha's when she found out. Sasha was furious. She wanted to throw something at Sofia. Maybe the horrible book about her family's history. Sasha smiled at the thought. It would be satisfying to see her twin's face as she got knocked out by her favorite night reading.

Unfortunately, that act would just bring Sasha more essays assigned by her mother about the family history. The one she was writing now was punishment for having fed Sofia's obnoxious owl, Hawkbeak, a chocolate frog. The owl had then coughed up the remains of the candy on Sofia while she was busy cleaning his cage. Their mother had discovered Sasha's role in the event and had assigned her the essay.

"SASHA! COME DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" It was her mother, Marie Leski-Malfoy.

"Yes, Mother," said Sasha resignedly. She trudged out of the library, down the hall, and down the stairs to the master bedroom, where her mother waited for her.

"Sasha, we're going to Diagon Alley in half an hour. I want you to make all the beds in the house, then get ready to leave. You better make the beds well, and don't wear any vulgar clothing. Now, get out of my sight!"

"Is father coming?"

"Yes, he is. Now go!"

Sasha walked to the bed and started making it while her mother left to tell Sofia. Too bad their father wasn't here more often. Draco Malfoy didn't exactly appreciate her un-Malfoyness, but he didn't hate her like her mother did. She never did the chores when he was in the house. He believed that no Malfoy could ever be bad enough to do the chores. When her father was home, the house-elf who cooked their meals made the beds and cleaned the house, not Sasha.

Unfortunately, Sasha's father was almost never home. He was head of the Department of Magical Transportation, and almost lived at the Ministry. He worked day and night overseeing his underlings. Sasha suspected that he didn't really need to oversee everything and was only trying to escape his wife.

Sasha finished making the beds and went to her room to get ready to leave. She pulled on her robes and sat on her bed, brushing her hair. Her eyes strayed to the letter sitting on the bedside table. She picked it up and read it one more time:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September first. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first

Yours Sincerely,

Helga Von Struddle.

(Deputy Headmistress)

The Hogwarts letter had only come yesterday, and already Sasha was yearning to go there. At Hogwarts she would be away from her mother, and she could avoid Sophia. Sasha hoped she wouldn't be in the same house as her twin. Living in the same room as her and others sharing her views would be a nightmare. Sophia was obviously going to be in Slytherin, so Sasha considered the other houses. Hufflepuff was out of the question, and her family would only hate her more if she were in Gryffindor. She wasn't brave enough, anyway. Ravenclaw...Ravenclaw sounded good. She could fit in in Ravenclaw.

"SASHA! We're leaving now!"

She sighed and trudged towards the fireplace.

***

"Jeffrey Michael Weasley, you get your behind out of bed and down here this instant!" Jeffrey heard his mother yelling as he fell off his broom. The Quidditch Cup would have been his! If only his mother had left him a few more minutes of sleep.

"Mmmgh," replied Jeffrey as he threw the covers above his head and shoved his pillow over his ears. He was just drifting back to sleep when his mattress started shaking. Thinking it was an earthquake or an explosion of some sort, he quickly got out of his quilted burrow and sat up. As a matter of fact, it was an explosion. Well, sort of. He categorized his youngest sister, Kayla Isabelle Weasley as explosive. Short for her five years, she bounced around the house like a blond haired supernova, destroying the peace and quiet and pulverizing sleep. Jeffrey strongly believed that this was her sole mission in life. And right now, she was taking out her excess energy on his bed.

"Kayla! Geroff my bed!" Jeffrey grumbled. He threw his pillow at her and missed horrendously. She was already out the door by the time he had reached for his weapon of choice.

"Jeffrey Weasley, have you finally decided to grace us with your presence?" his mother said sarcastically, as she leaned against the frame of his door. She walked in and started straightening up the papers on his desk and picking up his clothes off the floor.

"Jeff, we have to be ready in fifteen minutes. The Potters are coming over so we can all buy your school supplies together," she said as she stacked up his Quidditch magazines in a pile by his desk.

"In other words, get out of bed!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his bedsheets and forced him out of bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm up! No need to shout," Jeffrey muttered as he walked to his closet and picked out a pair of cargo pants and a blue shirt. Blue was one of the only colors that didn't clash with his red hair. He was the only Weasley child to have inherited his father's hair. Kayla and Taylor, his nine-year-old sister, both had blond hair, though Taylor's was slightly strawberry-blond.

Jeffrey motioned for his mother to leave the room as he changed. A minute later, he was running down the steps to breakfast. Once he arrived in the kitchen, he sat down at the table between his father and Taylor.

"Hey, sport," his father said, looking up from the Quidditch results in The Daily Prophet.

"Hey, Dad. Hey Taylor," he said, as he piled some toast into his plate. Taylor looked up from her book.

"Jeffrey, how many times will I have to remind you? Call me Taylor Jane! No one uses only their first name anymore. But, I respect you choice to use simply your first name. You may soon realize, though, that no one does that anymore and that you will be labeled as "lame" at school," she turned back to her book. Taylor Jane Weasley was, without a doubt, the most like their mother: worried about what was labeled as cool and what wasn't. Always dressed imaticulately, Taylor was the most popular nine year old on their block. This popularity status, however, never fazed her. She regarded it as a "silly, psychopathic game of follow the leader". Much more mature than her nine years, she often lectured Jeffrey on everything.

Jeffrey shrugged at her remark. "Whatever, TJ. Hey Kay, hand me some jam," he held out his hand and Kayla handed it to him.

"Jeff, you really won't have time eat all that. We have to be ready and in the living room in five minutes!" His mother pointed out, looking at the stack of food on his breakfast plate.

"Watch me," Jeffrey grinned as he engulfed all six pieces of toast at once. Taylor looked disgustedly away, Kayla laughed, his father looked proud, and his mother shook her head at her husband.

"Honestly, Ron, what have you been teaching our son?!" she glared the now-empty plate in front of Jeffrey.

"Now, Lavender, really, what if it was an emergency and he had to inhale his food? Now he's prepared for...umm... when the...umm...for...when he has to leave quickly for class in the morning at Hogwarts," he said, trying to find an excuse for his influence on his son.

"RONALD! Stop teaching our son such..." Lavender Weasley was cut off as a loud crash resounded in their living room and a voice echoed through the house.

"We're here!" yelled Emily Potter from the doorway of the kitchen.

***

Holly pulled out the letter and read it hurriedly:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Holly Parker,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment

Term begins on September first. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first.

Yours Sincerely,

Helga Von Struddle.

(Deputy Headmistress)

She quickly turned the page to her list of equipment and read it excitedly.

Equipment List:

Uniform

All first students will require:

Four sets of plain black robes

A pointed black hat

Dragon-hide gloves

A black cloak

Please label all clothes with the student's names.

Books:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

he Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment:

1 wand

1 cauldron (size 2, pewter)

1 set glass phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may bring one pet (cat, rat, owl, or toad)

First-year students may not bring their own broomsticks!

"Are you ready yet?" called her dad from downstairs.

"Coming!" She hurried down into the living room. Waiting for her were Nicholas, her father, her mother, and her little sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was five years old, and her greatest dream was to work for the Daily Prophet. She too wanted to get of the island, and make friends.

"Oops, I forgot my wand! I'll meet you in the kitchen!" Holly ran up the stairs and grabbed her wand. It was eleven inches long, and was made of wood from a mangrove tree with a single mermaid hair inside. Holly knew the mermaid who had given a hair for her wand well; she lived with her clan near the island. The hair had been given to seal a pact between her clan and the Parkers, representing the Ministry of Magic. In return, three of Holly's hairs had been given as a string for a guitar that Marine, the mermaid, carried around.

Holly grabbed her portable Bubblehead charm, and ran down the stairs, which now led to the entrance hall. She sprinted to the protected part of the coast, put on her bubble, and dove into the freezing water. Swimming quickly to keep warm, she headed towards Marine's cave.

Marine was floating in her cave, singing a song about the sea and playing an accompaniment on her three-stringed guitar. When she saw Holly she got up with a start and asked,

"What's the matter Holly?"

"I'm leaving to Diagon Alley today, and we're staying there until Nicholas and I leave for Hogwarts. I came to say goodbye."

"Well, good bye then."

"Good-bye, Marine. I'll miss you." The two friends hugged.

"You'll be fine at Hogwarts. Always remember our link through the hairs we traded. Always remember that."

"I will, Marine." Holly swam back to shore, leaving her friend waving behind her.

"What took you so long?" exclaimed Nicholas when she finally got to the kitchen. "We've been waiting for you three hours!"

"We've been waiting for her ever since she was born," said Mrs. Parker softly.

Holly smiled at her mother before glaring at her brother.

"I had to say goodbye to Marine. Now that I'm here, let's go!"

"Nicholas, you go first. I'll come after you. Next goes Angela with Elizabeth. Holly, you can go last, Okay?" Everyone nodded. Mr. Parker handed Nicholas the Floo powder bowl. He took a handful of the multicolored powder and threw it into the fire, which turned bright green. He stepped in and shouted "Diagon Alley" before disappearing into the flames.

One by one, the Parkers left through the fireplace.

They first headed towards the tall, white Gringotts building. Holly and Nicholas were looking everywhere, trying to absorb the sights around them. They rarely went to Diagon Alley, and the last time they had gone was for their eight birthday, three years ago. Everywhere there were signs advertising various goods, from cauldrons to unbreakable teacups to dragon hides and more. Old witches were haggling over dragon liver, and young wizards were trying out new racing brooms. When they finally got to Gringotts, they felt as if they had seen enough to last a lifetime.

The Parkers got some Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts out of the bank and set out to buy their Hogwarts supplies.

First things were their books. They stopped at Flourish and Blotts to buy all their course books. Their mom insisted on buying only one copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as those were mostly reference books and they could use it at the same time. Instead, they bought Hogwarts, A History.

"It's always useful to know about Hogwarts. It might at least help you find your way around if you know what can happen."

Then they headed to Madam Malkin's robe shop. Holly and Nicholas got their Hogwarts uniform while their parents got new sets of robes. They went through the rest of the list pretty quickly. The twins got an owl as a late birthday present. Their birthdays had been two weeks earlier, on the 22nd and 23rd of July. Their other birthday presents had been their wands.

The next two weeks were spent relaxing at the Leaky Cauldron, visiting Diagon Alley, or running into old friends. The Parkers had seen little of their friends since they had been assigned to studying Quintapeds on the Island. Holly and Nicholas met Matthew Helenst, a rather boisterous boy who was the son of their mother's best friend at school. Holly remembered a shyer girl named Abigail Bahlyn, who was the daughter of another one of their mother's friends from school. They found Nicholas's old best friend, a quiet boy named Rowan Archer, whose father invited them to come with them to Ollivander's to buy a wand.

"You have to see Ollivander's at least once in your lifetime," was his explanation.

Mrs. Parker and Elizabeth left them to buy some ice cream while they marched off to Ollivander's.

The shop was dimly lighted, and hundreds of wand boxes lined the walls. A small table sat in the center of the room, and it was covered with more wand boxes. Out of the darkness in the back of the room came a smooth voice,

"Good Morning. Welcome to Ollivander's."

A tall, but old man with pale eyes and long fingers came out of the darkness, following the voice towards them.

"You must be Rowan Archer. I remember when your father came to buy his wand. Dragon heartstring, mahogany. Very stiff, Wasn't it?" Mr. Archer nodded. "That was before the wand reform, when people realized that three or four types of cores didn't the fit variety of wizards.

"And you, Mr. Parker. Ten inches, unicorn hair, cherry. Swishy. Good for Charms." Mr. Ollivander moved closer to them and examined Holly and Nicholas.

"Your mother had a very good wand. Phoenix feather, oak. Just right for enchantments.

"Your father brought you here three years ago and got wands for you. Oak, dragon scale, eleven inches. Mermaid hair, mangrove wood, eleven inches. Those specially-made wands were made for great things, Miss and Mr. Parker. You hold great power within you."

Suddenly Mr. Ollivander stopped his scrutinizing inspection of them and turned towards Rowan.

"Now Mr. Archer, let's try and see if we can get you a wand. Try this one: Willow, griffin feather, 13 inches"

Rowan had barely grabbed it before it got taken away.

"Pine, Sea Serpent Scale, Flexible"

"Birch, Augurey feather. Elastic"

Rowan had tried at least twelve wands before the right match had been found.

"Rowan wood, centaur hair, 9 and a half inches."

As Rowan waved the wand, brown and green sparks shot out of his wand.

"Very good! But how arcane..."

"What's arcane?" Rowan asked slowly.

"Few people named after a tree like you are actually get a wand made with that kind of wood. Very peculiar."

Rowan paid for his wand (5 Galleons and 11 Sickles) and they all left.

Holly went to bed wondering about what Mr. Ollivander had said about her wand. What made it good for great things? Was it the pact sealed within it? And did she really have great power? She went to sleep that night dreaming about having power over the weather and making England warm.

"We're here!" Emily yelled from the doorway of the kitchen. The Weasley family looked like it had just been hit by a tornado (though that word has been banned from the Weasley household ever since the Tornadoes beat the Cannons at the All-England Cup in 1999). Mrs. Weasley seemed to have been hit by a Silencing Spell mid-sentence. Mr. Weasley had obviously been on the receiving end of one of Aunt Lavender's lectures. Jeffrey was cracking up with Kayla. Taylor was reading while drinking a glass of orange juice. Emily smiled. This was the Weasley family at its best.

"Um, hi!" Emily said as she walked into the kitchen. By then, Anna and Elise had both arrived. They were brushing off the soot from their clothes and hair.

"Hey Emmy," said Jeffrey as he took a large drink from his juice.

"Hi Jeff. Hey Kay, hey TJ. Morning Aunt Lav. Hi Uncle Ron!" she said nodding to each in turn. The Potter sisters hugged everyone. Nina had just arrived and told them that Parvati would be right over.

"Hey girls. Come here and sit down. Would you care for some toast or something?" Lavender asked Emily as she ushered her to a chair. Emily shook her head and thanked her.

"I've already eaten, thanks," she said as her sisters followed suit. Emily grabbed a chair and sat between Jeff and Taylor.

"Whatcha reading Teej?" she asked, trying to make conversation while Jeff was too busy with his juice to talk. Taylor glared at her. Taylor was always changing, so you could never really know if you had offended her.

"Emily, it's Taylor Jane! And if you MUST know, I'm reading this," she exclaimed as she showed her the cover of her book. Famous Witches in Perilous Situations.

"Sorry, Taylor Jane. It looks like a pretty good book. So, Jeff, didcha get your letter? Doesn't Hogwarts sound just fabulous?" Emily said turning to her best friend.

"Yeah, I got it yesterday. It sounds better than our old school, but it's still full of classes and there's homework..." he said, making a face. BOOM! A crash shook the house.

"Sorry I'm late everyone!" said Emily's mum as she hugged Aunt Lavender, her best friend. "By the way, Ron, Harry can't come. He's caught up at work. They're still tracking down that Riddle girl..." she trailed off and glanced the kids's way. She smiled and stopped talking.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be going either. I've also got to head off to the office. While you ladies take the kids shopping, some of us have to work," he said jokingly. Uncle Ron was the manager of the Chudley Cannons, the Weasley/Potter's favorite team (of course). They had actually been doing loads better since he started working with them. They had made it to the All-Europe Cup Finals and made it tenth at the World Cup. Uncle Ron worked loads, but he loved it.

"All right. Well, we better get going then, or we won't have any time!" Aunt Lav said, checking her watch.

They all stood and walked over to the large fireplace ornating the Weasley living room. Aunt Lav went first with Kayla (who was still too young to be flooing alone), then Anna, Elise, and Nina. Taylor Jane went with mum. Jeff turned to Emily and said, "Ladies first, Emmy." Jeff hated flooing. She gave him her best smirk and walked into the flames. "DIAGON ALLEY!"

Emily was greeted by a ray of blinding sunlight seeping through the open window of the Leaky Cauldron. She shielded my eyes and walked outside, waving to Tom, the now very aged owner of the pub. Everyone was waiting for her outside of Flourish and Blotts. Only her mum was missing and Elise informed her that she was having a cup of coffee with her good friend Lynn Spencer. Madison and Lindsay, the two youngest Spencer girls, would come with them while the soon-to-be students shopped. Madison and Emily were the same age and had grown to be friends. Not best friends, like Jeff and Emily were, but on decent terms. As for Lindsay, she was a year younger than Emily, and was a class A brat in her humble opinion. She was very glad Taylor was there to keep her occupied and far away from her. If anyone could take Lindsay, it was Taylor.

The day went by without a hitch. They spent the morning buying our books, quills, and potion supplies. It was obvious to see that school was around the corner; the streets, not to mention the stores, were jam-packed. They had a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and a Fortescue ice cream for dessert.

After they had all exited the ice-cream parlor, they separated into three groups. Anna, Elise, Rachel, and Allison would take the three littler girls (Kayla, Taylor, and Lindsay) for some dress robe shopping (for Emily's sisters of course. They were always off at parties and balls.) while Maddie, Jeff, and Emily went to get our wands. Their mums had decided to go off to Kilia's, the biggest store on Diagon Alley. The little trio walked over to Ollivander's and had to wait in line behind two blond-haired kids and a brown haired one who looked about their age. When they left, the three friends entered and voted Maddie to go first. She approached the wizened old man behind the counter who promptly exclaimed,

"Ms. Spencer, welcome. Eleven years old already. Why, I remember you being in here as just a baby when your older sister was buying her wand. Palm, centaur hair, nine inches. Your mother, however, I don't remember..."

"My mother bought her wand in Salem, Massachusetts. She's American, you see," Madison explained.

"I see... Well, let's not dwell in the past. How about you Miss Spencer? Let's try this one," Mr. Ollivander said, holding out a wand to her. It was snatched out of her hands immediately and replaced with another and another until about ten wands had been tried.

"This one, Miss Spencer. Now, wave it..." She did. Mauve sparks flew out and singed Mr. Ollivander's remaining hair. Emily almost broke three ribs to keep from laughing. The shop owner huffed and hurriedly put it out.

"Well, I do believe this is yours, Miss. Ebony, Chimera tooth, 11 inches. Very fine wand, yes indeed."

Emily went next and only tried out two before finding the right one: Redwood, Diricawl Feather, 13 in.

As for Jeff, he took longer than Maddie and Emily put together. He tried out about twenty, and Emily thought that even Mr. Ollivander was starting to get discouraged. By the end, though, he found a 14 inch wand made of Hickory and Niffler hair. They thanked Mr. Ollivander and left the shop.

They made their way back to the other two groups, said their goodbyes, and all three families went their separate ways, promising to owl each other before the beginning of school.