Shattered

Two

December 31, 1995

This isn't the first time I've been to Diagon Alley, and it probably won't be the last. It's not even the first time I've been able to buy things, the moment I ask Lucius it's in my hands. But I have my eyes set on something today. "Come on, KK." I see Lucius grip Draco's hand tighter. He knows I hate the nickname, but he can't do anything about it; not here, not with so many wizards already accusing him of vile things. I feel bad for him sometimes.

First, we are going to the wand store. I think it's called Oliver's, but I can't remember from our last visit. It's always been the one place I'm not allowed to go. We walk up to the dark oak storefront of the store. Ollivanders- Makers Of Fine Wands since 382 B.C., the sign reads. Fuck, I really thought I had it. We walk inside.

Despite being my first time in the esteemed wand shop, it's a little less than underwhelming. I notice Draco and Lucius stay back near the door. Probably too nervous to act like they're my parents. Of course, we were getting stares the whole way here. I arrive at the counter just as Ollivander walks out from the back. He doesn't smile at me; in fact, he visibly pales. "You are not welcome here. Go away." Suddenly, a force, like a gust of wind, blows me out of the shop. "We'll catch you!" Two people, standing behind me in an infinite white expanse. I'm getting closer, I can almost make their faces out, and then-

I'm back at the counter. "Did you hear me, young lady?" I shake my head. "Can you repeat that?" The man in front of me chuckles. "And I thought I was hard of hearing!" He hands me a stack of long, thin boxes. "Try these wands. I'm sure one of them will suit you." The first one explodes. Literally. The second, third, and fourth all melt in my hands, and the fifth turns into a book on why I deserve to die. After 10 tries we give up. Ollivander is astonished. "In all my years, I have never seen someone walk out of this store without a wand." Then we try 20 more.

An hour later we walk out of the store, defeated. I have a wand, but it doesn't work very well. Half the time it backfires, and it doesn't fit in my grip. I'm ready to snap it in half 5 minutes after I picked it up and pull out my wand. Luckily, I'm a good actor. "Hey, I'm sorry about the whole wand thing. Can we go to Knockturn Alley?" I tremble my lip, making sure to sound close to crying. We walk over without saying a word. Internally, I feel great.

Time to get a pet. We enter a shady menagerie store. The shopkeeper recognizes Lucius and lets him behind the counter. He looks towards me, waiting for a request. "Can I go look?" He nods and waits outside the counter. Perfect. I enter the back. Here's where the real goodies are. Lining the wall are bats, Ashwinders, Augereys, and exactly what I'm looking for: snakes. One all the way to the left of the wall is white, and looks at me with beautiful purple eyes. Ugh, too exotic. The one to the right of that is green, with black eyes. That's way too on the nose. The final one, tucked away in the corner, is black with grey eyes.

It looks half-starved, but it also looks strong. It's ten times larger than any of the other snakes, and it looks at me with hostile yet respectful eyes. I unlock the cage and with a satisfying click, the snake is freed from its cage. It slithers over to me and nuzzles up to me, climbing onto my shoulder. "I'm sorry I have to do this," I whisper in Parseltongue, and pull out my real wand. First things first. I pull out my new wand and focus on it. Then, I gaze at my real wand and let it morph into my new wand. I snap the new one in half. That felt just as good as I thought it would. I throw it onto the floor and look at the snake next. "Don't worry, you'll still feel like a snake. Just... look a little different."

The snake changes slowly into a cat. It's still black with grey eyes, and it meows curiously. I pick it up and walk out of the back room. Outside, Lucius awaits. The shopkeeper looks at me, astonished. "B- but we don't have any..." His voice fades out as we walk away from the store. Now we are ready to leave, ready to face the stares again on the way out. The way the world treats our family is so unfair. You all are suddenly uninterested in us. The crowd looks away.