Forbidden || Draco Malfoy

3. You Are Special

YOU ARE SPECIAL, I CAN TELL

I wake up, put on the uniform Dumbledore gave me, comb my hair and put on my make-up. I'm ready to go to that town Hermione likes so much. I already knew about Hogsmeade because my sister used to tell me about the shops. She told me that some red-headed twins loved Zonko's shop; that Ron loves Honeydukes, a magical candy shop; that there is a small wand shop, a quill and parchment shop; and also about a bar with a very warm atmosphere perfect to drink 'butterbeer', I can't wait to try it, Herms loves it.

Just like when I arrived at Hogwarts, as I grab the Headmaster's arm we start twisting and turning and appear in the bright street of a pretty flower-filled village. Dumbledore tells me to explore on my own, as he has some school business to attend to, and leaves me to wander the colourful streets alone.

First, I enter a shop whose sign read 'Ollivander's'. Inside, there is a young, dark-haired wizard with a sleepy face on the other side of the counter. I approach him and greet him.

-Good morning, I'd like to buy, er? -I feel like a fool for not having stopped to look at what they were selling here. I look around and see what their product is-, a wand.

The shop assistant smiles comprehensively at me and speaks.

-Good morning, you're in Ollivander's wand shop, I'm Geralt Ollivander, let me see which wand will choose you -he recites with a fake smile.

-Are they making you say it? -I ask, holding back my laughter.

-My grandfather, he has a shop in Diagon Alley -he says as he climbs up a ladder to grab a pair of wands from a high shelf-, and he wants me to take care of this one, but he worries too much, but it's all under control -he rolls his eyes, and just as he says that, the wands fall off. He jumps and runs down the ladder- They're fine, nothing has happened -it seems he is telling that more to himself than to me.

He places them on the counter and uncovers the first one. It's a light wood, with some sort of runes marked on the handle and the rest of it smooth. He tells me to try it and I do. I wave the wand and the ladder disappears, causing the sound of an explosion along with some small red fireworks and a little fire.

-Not this one -he says. He puts it back in its box and leaves it in the corner of the counter. He hands me the next one. It's white, with a metal handle and a dragon drawn on it. The handle is cold when I try it. A little smoke comes out of the wand but nothing happens.

-Neither this one -he says. He bends down to look under the counter for another wand when he suddenly jumps up-. Oh. Could it be...? -He runs to the back of the shop, and after a few minutes returns with a gold and silver box in his hands-. Here, this is it, I can feel it.

What about the other two? I want to joke, but my jaw drops when he uncovers the box and shows me the wand. It's beautiful. The handle is metal-made, thinning out until it meets the ivy-like woven wood, twisting around it. And the rest of the wand is not far from that beauty, the body is made of three small intertwined ivy branches.

He holds it out to me, and as I take it, a breeze swirls around me, I feel something different, something... strange and yet, magical? inside me. Geralt nods.

-Indeed -he says with a smile-. Dragonheart fibre core, a powerful wand, you'll be able to cast the most striking incantations. They also tend to learn spells faster than other types, and always establish a strong connection with the wielder at the time, though they can cause more accidents... -he cuts himself off-. Sorry, I just love this subject.

-I know how you feel -I say with a sympathetic smile-. Tell me anything you want, I'm new at this -I joke, and he nods and continues to explain my new wand.

-Ivy wood, very rare, the only wands like this are made in this shop, because in order to channel magic well, this wood has to be refined, purified and treated. It is so rare to find wizards with such wands that the main qualities associated with ivy are not known for certain, but my studies have shown me that they tend to belong to wizards and witches with a strong character, but at the same time full of doubts, also that they tend to be a little difficult to master, but it is a very powerful wood if the technique to turn it into a wand is well applied -he says, and then adds with a small laugh-. You are special, I can tell.

I laugh, that's impossible. Or not, the letter said I had unusual magic.

-And finally. Eleven inches, not very flexible, I'd almost say stiff. A special wand, no doubt. And I don't doubt the owner isn't a special witch either -he hands me the wand and I pay him-. Good day to you.

As I'm about to leave, she stops me.

-Wait, could you help me with my ivy study? It would just be answering a few questions for me each year, if you want, you can take advantage of the Hogsmeade trips -Geralt says with a big, bright smile.

I can tell he is passionate about wands, as I suppose his grandfather is, as he still sells and studies wands. I would love to know more about it and be able to talk with him about it, and I also hope I don't feel out of place when the course starts, everyone will be so familiar with this magical world... and I'll be the new one who doesn't know anything about it. I hate that feeling, I hope I'm wrong.

-Sure -I reply, and say goodbye to him.

After getting my wand, I pull out a list from my pocket and go to get the rest of my things. It's a good thing Hermione wrote in brackets next to each item the shops where they are sold, otherwise I'd be lost. Shame on me if that ever happened!

"Where were you?" the headmaster would say.

I would reply, playing with my hands and wiggling my feet with embarrassment and nerves.

"I, er, got... lost" I'd say, wanting the earth to swallow me up.

"What a silly girl, ¡gettting lost here! If it's smaller than a flajanasdv" he would reply quietly, to himself, though I would hear it, saying some strange word that I wouldn't understand and would make me feel even sillier and out of place. And then...

Stop it! Stop thinking about it, Eleanor Jane Granger, or don't you love yourself at all? People get lost, full stop. And if he thinks you're a fool for that, so much the worse for him, but you don't give a damn.

I don't give a damn!

Who wants a mother when she has herself to scold her? Although I agree with myself, everyone gets lost, it's perfectly normal. And as for feeling out of place at Hogwarts, maybe it doesn't matter, maybe they're understanding and I won't have that feeling. Or maybe not, and there will be someone who reminds me that 'ths is not my place', like in those American teenage movies mom and I use to watch during summer, when Hermione and dad are busy, her reading and studying - even when she is in summer vacation, I do not understand her love for homework - and dad fixing things around the house or cooking the meals. And, also, I shouldn't care, because I'm not going to miss out on meeting them, they're probably horrible people, they'll be the ones who will miss out on meeting me.

More cheerful and without so many insecurities, I go back to the square where Dumbledore had left me, and there he was, waiting for me to leave back to the castle. I grabb his arm and we head back to Hogwarts.

I just hope I either never travel like this again, or I learn how to do it without getting dizzy and almost vomiting, because it's horrible.

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