The Madness of the Queen

III.

     Charlie entered Ollivander's wand shop, her wings and tail were hidden away and she was back to wearing her cloak over herself to hide further since she could already sense that others might act the same way as the goblins if they saw her.

The moment she met Ollivander, he seemed immediately aware of who she was despite it. He talked a bit about her family and how famous she herself was. She wasn't really listening to him rambling, but she somehow showed a modicum of interest that he didn't even realize she wasn't listening.

Then, he asked, "what is your wand hand?" Charlie perked up and replied, "oh, I'm ambidextrous." He nodded, and then he started to measure her arms before he did it to her nose. Swiftly, he noted down what was important and went off to go find a wand.

When he was about to give her a wand, she carefully pushed it down in a sign that she declined to use it. Ollivander asked, "are you certain you don't want to try the wand? I'm not always going to be certain, but I find it better to try than to not."

Charlie replied, "sir, I mean no disrespect, but the wand's aura, it tells me all I need to know. If you bring me other wands you think might work, bring them and I'll tell you if you are incorrect or not."

Ollivander paused, his eyes swiftly glazed over and she swiftly jumped onto the desk and gently pressed her hands against his temples, her magic swiftly disarmed the spell that infested in Ollivander's mind.

Charlie apologized, "apologies, sir, I couldn't help but notice that your eyes were glazed over. I couldn't help myself." Ollivander didn't hesitate to express, "no, no my dear lady, you had every right to do such a thing. It's just... be careful when you meet your school's headmaster, he isn't as pleasant as he seems."

Charlie nodded, "I will note that down for future reference sir." She pulled out the notebook and started writing down to never trust the Headmaster of Hogwarts. The cloak moved just enough that Ollivander could see the symbol attached to her shirt.

Ollivander asked, "might I inquire where you got that insignia from?" Charlie looked at it and replied, "oh, I got it off the cloak. It's a unique little piece isn't it?"

Ollivander responded, "my lady, I must tell you that the cloak you're wearing, why it's from Voldemort himself. The same person you had destroyed years ago when you were very young."

Charlie nodded, "that explains why I always had the cloak close by, I must feel some form of guilt." Ollivander explained, "there are two reasons why you should and shouldn't be feeling that way. Let's just say Voldemort had... unfavorable ideals for the wizarding world, but he truly only wants the best for their kind, even if it's warped."

Charlie gently ran her finger over the counter which she no longer sat on, "is there perhaps any student who you could recommend I could ask for more details?" Ollivander leaned over and whispered, "the Malfoys, they should know that information better than anyone. They have a sister in law who is Voldemort's right hand woman. Find the family with platinum blonde hair and you will get the answers you seek. For now, let's get back onto getting you a wand."

Charlie nodded, letting him with his mind more clearer get to finding her wand. After a couple of minutes, he returned and much less with the wand that had the right aura. She picked it up, feeling it in her hand, 11" blackthorn with a thunderbird feather core.

She replied, "this is the one, thank you sir, I'd like to pay now." Ollivander blurted, "on the contrary my lady, it would be absolutely wrong for me to make you pay. Consider the fact you freed me from Dumbledore's control as payment."

Charlie just shook her head, muttering to herself, "this day just gets weirder and weirder." She left Ollivander's wand shop to get school robes, watching curiously for any sign of platinum blond hair.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find them in time before she had entered Madam Malkin's. It was there where she froze in surprise when she happened to see a boy with the hair. She decided to just get measured and given her robes when the boy started to strike up a conversation with her.

He asked, "you're going to Hogwarts?" Charlie replied, "yeah, why else would I be getting measured?"

He asked, "did you hear? Apparently the gamekeeper at Hogwarts for Quidditch is a half-breed."

Charlie questioned, "you're calling them a half-breed, when you yourself are also one? Very weird."

His face turned slightly red and he blurted, "I'm not one of them!"

Charlie explained, "they're a half blood, but your creature inheritance makes you similar in every single way, you're a halfling." He asked, "what is this creature inheritance thing you speak about?"

Charlie replied, "maybe ask your parents to take you to Gringotts and get an inheritance test, you'll understand then." The boy shook his head, "okay whatever, what's your name? Mine's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Charlie replied, "Charlie. Charlie Peverell." Draco replied, "is that from a foreign country?" Charlie smiled, "oh, no it's very uncommon last name. It's the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell."

Draco nodded just as Charlie's measurements were finished and she got down from the stool. She nodded to Draco, "once I'm done with my list, can I meet your parents? I have some questions and someone told me that if I found them, they'll give me the answers I need."

Draco nodded, "of course, I can tell my mom about this and perhaps she can convince my father to let you ask the questions you need."

Charlie nodded, "I'll be nearby Gringotts whenever they come, but once it's dark, I'll be gone." Draco nodded and she left, to continue her shopping. Once she had what all she needed and a little bit of some dark magic books from Knockturn Alley, she had walked to Gringotts and stood there.

Inevitably, the Malfoys moved towards Charlie. Narcissa Malfoy replied, "you are Charlie Peverell, right?" Charlie nodded, Lucius bluntly told her, "what do you want to know?"

She could taste the hostility in the air from Lucius, certainly he knows that she had some sort of connection. Charlie told him, "I would suggest we talk in a shop in Knockturn Alley to have privacy."

Lucius did not look pleased, but they followed through until they reached a shop for privacy. Charlie apologized, "sorry for the sudden change in locations, I figured talking about Voldemort should be a private matter."

Lucius held his cane tightly, "why exactly do you want to question us?" Charlie attached the Dark Mark back onto her cloak, "because this cloak belongs to him, and I've had it ever since I was a baby. Now, my question is rather simple, what exactly does he seek to achieve?"

Narcissa replied, "it was really complicated to understand what exactly the Dark Lord wanted. With the fact that he was driven insane by his soul being torn apart, it really just... didn't make sense. Perhaps if the powers of death could grant him a whole soul, he'd be understood."

Charlie nodded, "I could perhaps do that, but once I delve deeply into the dark arts, I can mend his soul back together."

Lucius lost all the tension in his body and told her, "perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. I apologize for my defensive behavior, I assumed we would've been enemies. I will be willing to talk more about this with you, but we must go now."

Charlie nodded and watched them leave before she swiftly disappeared into the Otherworld.

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