Wildfire • D.M

Thirty-seven

    Ding!

The doorbell jingles as alora shut the wooden door behind her. It had been a while since she had been in diagon alley and she hadn't missed the hustle and bustle of the busy streets.

"Hello?" She called our to a seemingly empty store.

"just a minute!" A raspy voice echoed from behind the shelves. A few moments of rustling later, mr.Ollivander came hobbling through the isles.

"Good morning sir." She greeted politely. "I'm in dire need of a new wand."

"Of course, of course dear!" The older man smiled. "May I inspect your previous one first?"

Alora pulled out her old wand, now splintered and hanging by it's last pieces, unravelled it from the cloth and placed it on the table.

"Oh my, this won't do." He grimaced at the pitiful thing.
"It is a rather peculiar type of wand.. Veela hair core, strange design, definitely not one of mine." He commented briskly. It was handed down to her after all.
Mr.ollivander disappeared between the tall shelves once again and fumbled with the stacks of wands before coming back out with a black case in hand.
"This one should do nicely."

Alora slid open the case and pulled out the thin item inside. She twirled it in her fingertips carefully examining the intricate details carved into the side.

"We'll go on. Try it out." He nudged.

With a gentle flick of the wand the book on the table flipped rapidly and lifted briefly in the air before dropping abruptly. Alora swished the wand once more and the messy pile of wands at the bottom of the shelf stacked itself nicely and organised. The wand seemed to enhance her control more than it ever did before.
"Seems like a nice fit for a young witch such as yourself. You've got your mother's spirit." Mr.Ollivader smiled.

"You knew my mother sir?" Alora irked curiously.

"Of course! I remember every face that has come into this store. I recognised you right away, the spitting image of Lera Blackburn, she was such a talented witch."
Alora's eyes widen and her heart beats against her chest.
This was what she was secretly searching for, proof that her parents existed once.

"Do you- know anything more about her? Lera Blackburn.." alora fumbled over her words. Too nervous with anticipation to comprehend.

Mr.Ollivander was quiet for a moment deep in thought as he attempted to unravel the tangled memories.
"Oh yes! She first came into my store with another student, yes, I remember now... her name was Moira Lithia." He sputtered.

Alora smiled at the mention of her adoptive mother.

"Quite the inseparable pair those two.
Lera in particular was a very gifted witch. The first wand I had her try she almost sent all my shelves flying off their bolts. Difficult to forget a meeting like that." He chuckled softly at the memory.
"I'm deeply sorry for your loss. I still remember the night I heard of the attack, we were all heartbroken to lose such talent." He said with weary eyes.

"Attack? ... but my parents died from a house fire, it was an accident." Alora merely muttered.

The old man's brows knitted in discern, his eyes shaking with worry.
"You don't mean to tell me.. that you don't know." His voice wavered.

"What is it sir?" Alora felt an eerie feeling of fear loom over her. Her heart thumping against her chest in slow waves.

Mr.Ollivander drew a deep breath, his icy blue eyes piercing hers.
"Ambrose and Lera blackburn were murdered by he-who-must-not-be-named."