Ineffable | Remus Lupin

III

"Merlin!"

The doorbell chimed as Ingrid pushed open the door and stepped inside. The wand shop was a rather crowded, dark room and there was no sign of the shopkeeper other than his desperate cries from somewhere behind the shelves - out of view.

"What on earth is going on? Who is that? Who's just come in?" He called.

Ingrid tentatively looked behind her and then turned back to face the shop, "Um... I'm Ingrid Temple." She introduced herself a little awkwardly.

"Ingrid Temple?" The man poked his head into view, wild grey hair flying about his face, "Temple, you say? Surely not."
"Yes?"

"You're in need of a wand?" He asked, flattening down his hair and stepped up behind the counter holding a long box.
"Yes... Sir?" Ingrid remained stood by the door.

"Ollivander." The man briefly introduced himself, "I believe this wand has already chosen you so this should be quick."

Ingrid raised her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"
"The moment you entered the room this wand had a right old fit in the back and clearly it was trying to get your attention." Ollivander held out the box.

"It's chosen me?" She questioned skeptically.

"The wand chooses the wizard. Surely you know this?" Ollivander opened the lid to the bow to reveal a long, slender, dark wand.
"No. I don't know this." Ingrid frowned, stepping forward slowly to eye up the wand.

"Well, pick it up and give it a wave. I've never seen a wand react so strongly to someone just entering before. Clearly it's been waiting a while." Ollivander smiled warmly.

"I am four years late to the party." Ingrid replied coldly, lifting the wand up and turning it over in her hand, "So you want me to wave this thing?"
"Yes."

Ingrid shook her head and sighed to herself before holding out the wand and flicking it, causing vibrant blue sparks to erupt from the up of the wand and shower the room in light.

"Marvellous! I've never seen anything like it!" Ollivander clapped his hands in delight, "Vine wood wands do tend to be quite extravagant."
"Oh I'm sure they do." Ingrid responded sarcastically.

"They sense a deepness of character. I sense you're going to be full of surprises." Ollivander nodded confidently.

The doorbell chimed again as another figure stepped into the room. Ingrid turned around to see the same witch she had come to Diagon Alley with. The only problem was, Ingrid couldn't remember the woman's name for the life of her.

"Ah, Professor McGonagall. It's been a while." Ollivander greeted.
"Indeed it has." McGonagall replied curtly, keeping her gaze fixed on Ingrid.

McGonagall reminded Ingrid quite a lot of Mrs Pennicoat. The two women carried very similar auras around with them and did almost appear as if they were literally above everyone else.

"Miss Temple, I believe there are just your textbooks to gather up for the year now." McGonagall reminded her.

"Sure thing." Ingrid forced a small smile onto her face.
Shopping was not Ingrid's idea of fun, let alone school shopping.

"Come along then." McGonagall gestured to Ingrid to leave the shop.

"I'm not some pet." Ingrid muttered under her breath, allowing her light hair to fall over her face as she brushed past McGonagall and pushed her way through the door and out into the busy street.

Being so close to people, particularly completely strangers, made Ingrid feel practically nauseous. Human contact was deemed completely uncomfortable by Ingrid as she actively went out of her way to avoid the matter. This was a close second to how bad being around other people in general was. It wasn't just contact but sitting together and chatting was something that did strike a little fear into Ingrid's heart. Social interactions made Ingrid incredibly nervous, almost like she was completely open to being hurt.

"Miss Temple!"

Ingrid snapped her head around to see McGonagall looking down at her with eyes full of concern. "I almost had to shout to get your attention. We're going in here." She led the way into the bookstore.

Inside was far quieter than outside. Somehow, it was like Ingrid was hearing twice as much sound as was actually being created.

"Now run along and gather the books on your list. Be careful to get them all." McGonagall handed over the sheet of parchment and nodded once.

Professor McGonagall was not a particularly warm character, not that Ingrid cared too much. Perhaps having such a distant guide was a good thing - she wouldn't be bothered or pestered too much. Yet when you're thrust into a world full of magic and strangers and mystery, even the most introverted of people would like a little help.

Ingrid stared up at the ceiling, marvelling at the bookshelves stacked with hundreds of not thousands of stories of adventures and heroism and tragedy and mystery. It was like a million worlds were all combined into one small shop.
She rounded the corner, keeping her eyes glued to the floor when she ran head first into someone.

"Woah! Watch it there!"

Ingrid frowned down at the small mouse boy that was continuing to shout at her as he gathered up his books from the floor. "You should mind where you're going!" He continued to complain.

"I was going to help pick those up but you can forget it." Ingrid huffed, folding her arms as she continued to watch the young boy.

"Thanks for nothing then." He grumbled.
"No, thank you." Ingrid replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Pete, what's taking so long? We want to... want to leave..." Another boy appeared now with darker brown hair, first looking over at the apparent 'Pete' before his eyes fell on Ingrid. He stood about a foot taller than Peter and opened his mouth to speak but, at first, didn't say anything at all.

Ingrid looked over at the new arrival, making the connection that the two boys were most likely not related.

"Did Peter hit you with his books? I mean we've told him time and time again to watch where he goes and-did he apologise?" The boy rambled slightly, blushing a similar shade to that of the scarlet book he was holding.

His eyes. They were as dark as Ingrid's were light. Awkwardly, the boy ran a hand through his hair as he waited for Ingrid to respond.

"Sorry, what?" She frowned, unable to hear over the loud sounds of the younger boy. Although, he wasn't talking.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and you are?" He held out his hand.

"Ingrid Temple." She greeted, glancing down at his extended hand. It wasn't that Ingrid was being rude, she just really didn't want to shake his hand - or anyone's for that matter. Ingrid tucked her hands into her pockets in the hope of sending a clear message.

Remus figured this out after a moment and lowered his hand before putting his arm around his bother's shoulders.
"This is Peter. Sorry about him, bit of a mess really." Remus shrugged slightly.

"Moony, James sent you to hurry Peter up, not make him take longer!" Another boy appeared now, this time with wild, shaggy black hair.

Ingrid was beginning to wonder whether it was the magic that was just causing these boys to sprout out of nowhere.

"Wow, look who we've got here... You are?" The third boy smirked, stepping in front of his friends.
"This is Ingrid, and you are leaving." Remus, pouted, tugging his friend backwards.

"I'm Sirius, it's simply fantastic to meet you." Sirius grinned proudly.

"Guys!" A loud voice sounded from out of sight.
All three boys instantly looked at each other, eyes wide, before they all dashed off without another word. Ingrid was about to resume to her hunt for books before Remus poked his head around the bookshelf again.

"You don't attend Hogwarts do you? Anyway, hope to see you again." He added quickly before vanishing again.

Maybe before, Ingrid would have resumed the rest of her day without another thought of the boy. Yet she found herself confused. Even as she arrived back in her bed late that evening he was on her mind. She had uttered a total of four words to Remus and had worn a scowl on her face the entire time yet he smiled and greeted her like a friend.

Ingrid Temple didn't want friends, but maybe if she had to be friends with anyone he wouldn't be too bad.
After all, he had hoped to see her again.