No Place Like Home

The Wands

Ashlynn

It had been four days since Ashlynn and Seamus had been to see the wandmaker, and they were beginning to get bored of sitting in the Leaky Cauldron all day. Seamus had all but mastered the nunchucks, practicing as often as he could think of nothing better to do, which was quite often, and had learned to place his strikes with speed, power, and accuracy. As hard as he tried, he still hadn't managed to hit Ashlynn, but that didn't seem to bother him anymore. He could spin the nunchucks almost as fast as a blur, but Ashlynn was always a step ahead. She knew the song.

Ashlynn drew as often as Seamus practiced. She brought a set of colored pencils and a charcoal pencil with her everywhere, just in case, but she had to divide the pages of her sketchbook into quarters so that she wouldn't run out of space.

Seamus whacked himself in the head. "Aaahh!" Ashlynn glanced over.

"I thought you were past hitting yourself in the head."

"Even the best of us mess up sometimes," Seamus grumbled.

"Challenge accepted." Ashlynn held out her hand and the nunchucks shot into them. Seamus wasn't the only one who had been practicing. Ashlynn spun the nunchucks in the same complex patter that Seamus had been doing, then let go of them and let them spin in the air themselves while she turned to spar an imaginary opponent, spinning around to grab the nunchucks again in time to meet another imaginary opponent to her left. She them proceeded to improvise a complex form against multiple attackers from all sides, working together with her nunchucks as an extension of her body. She finished by throwing the nunchucks so that they spun out past Seamus's head, the pulling them back so that they curved around him and landed neatly in her hand. Ashlynn gave a dramatic bow. Seamus raised his eyes skyward.

"Alright, I give up. You're clearly much better at this." Ashlynn handed the nunchucks back.

"Keep practicing. You'll get there." Seamus rubbed his head.

"Not now. Did you know that your nunchucks are made of wood? They hurt."

"Really, I hadn't realized. If you're not going to practice, then at least model for me. 30 second poses. Go."

"Wha - What? Poses? I -" But Ashlynn was already drawing. Her charcoal pencil flew over the page while her eyes stayed on Seamus.

"Switch."

"But - What?"

"Strike a pose, Seamus! Come on, be more creative. There you go." Ashlynn was in the middle of drawing Seamus in an Egyptian style pose when the two aurors, Keys and Ryland, stepped into the room.

"The wandmaker is ready for you."

It turned out that Mr Ollivander had made 3 wands, if you could call them wands, two with dragon heartstring cores, and one with a unicorn hair core, and all in the shape of a heart. Ashlynn looked at them for a long moment, unsure of what to do.

On impulse, she picked up the first one, ebony and dragon, and held it to her ear, listening. The wand sang to her of combat and power, strength in the most delicate of dances. It sang of art, of changing one thing to another, a page to a painting. This was a confident wand, and one that simply did not care what others thought. It did not mind solitude, and was frequently an outsider. She put the wand down. She admired it's confidence and strength, but it did not seem the type of wand to stop and listen.

The second wand, of aspen and unicorn hair, sang to Ashlynn a song of precision and dance. Of charms and dueling, and a fierce loyalty. A revolutionary and confident wand, and one that wanted to be recognized, and known. It was a beautiful wand, and it knew it, too. It listened far too much, and heard far too little. It believed in following the dance, not changing the steps. Once, Ashlynn would have agreed. But now, she placed it slowly back on the table. Which left the third.

A wand of alder wood and dragon core, it was stubborn and unyielding. The wand was hard and stern, but promised strength if she should choose. The wand sang of listening, of waiting and watching, of using one's mind and heart, not just the voice. This wand would stand by her, balance her, and help her. It was capable and strong, but it seemed to like her, though they seemed quite different. The wand appreciated that she had listened first to it, rather than jumping ahead.

Ashlynn looked up to find Mr Ollivander watching her keenly. "You are a listener, then. You will bond deeply with your wand. Most use the wand as a tool; it takes someone special to know the wand as a friend." The wandmaker pulled a string from his pocket, attaching it to the wand through a small hoe she hadn't noticed, and tied it to that it would hang around her neck, just above her heart. "Try it."

Ashlynn reached for her sketchbook, pulling out her charcoal pencil. She closed her eyes and let the music guide her hand. Let the wand pull the music into her, let it flow out onto the paper in ways it hadn't done in nearly a year. So much magic, so much power, coursing through her. This was the thrill of using a power. Even back home, she'd never felt this much power before. incronium was one thing, but a wand. She could do anything she wanted with a wand. She could remake the world. More, more, more, she pushed herself. Further than she'd ever gone before. There was a soft hoot, and Ashlynn opened her eyes to see the owl she had drawn, glancing about from inside the page. Determined to take her magic further than she had dared before, she poured more music through her body and into the drawing until the owl was so realistic that it hopped off of it's branch and flew straight out of the page to land on Ashlynn's shoulder.

Ashlynn turned triumphantly to beam at Seamus. "I did it! It worked!" Seamus forced a smile, but, while she knew he was happy for her, he just couldn't seem to conjure a real one. Ashlynn's face fell. She turned to the wandmaker. "Thank you so much for everything you've done. I can finally go home. I really can't thank you enough." The wandmaker gave a small smile.

"I do expect I shall see you again someday, Miss Scarlett. Until then, I wish you safe travels."

"Thank you." The aurors stepped forward.

"Come, we must inform the minister of your success." They aparrated to the ministry, where the minister was bent over his papers. He looked up as they entered.

"You have succeeded, then?" Ashlynn nodded mutely. "Then I suppose you will be leaving soon. It is time we address the issue of the muggle." Seamus bristled.

"I have a name, you know."

"Please don't obliviate him. Even if he were to tell anyone, no one would believe him."

"Which doesn't even matter because I won't tell anyone."

"Muggles have been allowed to know about the wizarding world in the past. There are muggle parents and spouses. Why should Seamus be any less trustworthy than any of them. If anything, he's more trustworthy than some. You said it yourself: he's a Hufflepuff."

"Miss Scarlett, I do not make these decisions based on school house."

"Please. It will be much cleaner than if I decide to come back and tell him everything again." Ashlynn looked at Seamus. "Because I can come back, you know."

"Threats will get you nowhere, Miss Scarlett. However, I do believe the Mr Gorman is an honest and trustworthy man. We will not obliviate him, but he would do well to remember that the consequences for defying the ministry may be far worse."

"I'm standing right here, you know." Ashlynn stepped on his foot.

"Thank you for your help and your generosity, Minister. We very much appreciate it. If you would allow us to return home so that I may gather my things and prepare to leave, we would be most grateful." The minister nodded.

"Know that if you do anything other than what you say, the Ministry will not approve."

"Of course." The minister cracked a smile.

"I'm glad we could help you. Go home, child."