The Half Blood Princess

Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

The following morning, Cassandra was up as usual before the kids and thus began preparing breakfast for everyone, as if on queue the front door opened "Mhmm breakfast smells good, Cass" Remus chuckled as he slipped his shoes off in the hallway before joining her in the kitchen. "Can you go and get the girls up for me? I'm going to go on a head and dish up while you do" Cassandra requested as she turned to face him, empty frying pan in hand. "With pleasure" Remus mock bowed as he headed upstairs, leaving Cassandra to tend to breakfast. Quietly, Remus snuck up the stairs and into Talia's room first, laid out an outfit for her then woke her up before diving out and proceeding to wake up Isabelle. After breakfast, Talia and Remus set off to Diagon Alley, where they made their way through each of the appropriate shops together leaving Ollivanders' Wand Shop to last. When the pair entered Ollivander's they were greeted by an older man, who was slightly shorter than Remus. "Ah, Remus Lupin! How lovely to see you after all these years. I still remember your wand, ten and a quarter inches, Cypress wood and Unicorn Hair core if I remember correctly" Mr Ollivander rattled on until he caught sight of Talia standing beside him. "Mr Ollivander, I'd like to introduce you to my niece and Sirius Black's daughter, Talia Black" Remus smiled as he pushed her toward the older man. "Really? Hmm she must be at least eleven years old" Mr Ollivander all but whispered to himself. "Yes, sir. We're here to get her things for her first year at Hogwarts and this is our last stop" Remus chuckled as he watched the old man rummage around in his boxes. "Your father's wand was made of reed, fifteen inches in length and with a phoenix feather core. I wonder if yours would be similar" Mr Ollivander spoke, as he turned his attention to Talia. "My uncle tells me that the wand picks the Witch or Wizard is that right Mr Ollivander?" Talia questioned as she watched Mr Ollivander pull out wand after wand before handing her one that he thought would be suitable. "Try this one, Miss Black" Mr Ollivander suggested as he handed her the wand. Talia felt the wand vibrate in her hands before it shot down to the ground "Oh!" Talia squeaked out in surprise. "Hmm, not that one then. Try this one instead" Mr Ollivander suggested as Remus handed him back the want that Talia dropped. This time around Talia felt something different, almost as if she had received an electric shock. "Ow!" Talia huffed as she quickly placed the wand back onto Mr Ollivander's desk before she dropped it. "I see. That's unusual, unusual indeed. I haven't seen wands reject someone quite like that. I guess we'll just have to dig a little deeper" Mr Ollivander hummed to himself as he went into the back of the shop. "Huh, I've never seen Mr Ollivander this perplexed before" Remus hummed as he turned to Talia, a concerned look on his face. "Well I just hope he finds one before Mum starts dinner, I'm getting hungry" Talia mumbled almost pouting. "Don't worry, Mr Ollivander is very good at his job" Remus chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "Here we go Miss Black try this one. 15 inches, Willow with a phoenix feather core" Mr Ollivander nodded, handing her the wand. Talia handled the wand and felt a slight warmth but the wand shot out of her hand before she could get a good grip on it. "Woah!" Talia shrieked as she ducked as the wand shot around the room. "That one really didn't like you, huh?" Mr Ollivander shrugged, catching the wand mid air and placing it back into its box. "This is hopeless Mr Ollivander! None of the wands you have picked, have taken a liking to me" Talia whined throwing a miniature temper tantrum. "By all means Miss Black, step back here and search for a wand yourself" Mr Ollivander challenged, stepping aside so she could do just that. Once behind Mr Ollivander's desk, Talia closed her eyes and held out her hand as she walked along the walls that were filled from wall to ceiling of wands, lifting her hand ever so slightly so that she could sense the ones at the very top. For what seemed like an eternity, her hand lay empty, sighing in defeat Talia was about to walk out of Mr Ollivander's store until she reached the last shelf and a wand shot straight into her hand. "Woah" Talia whispered in awe. "I have never in all my years known a wand to do that" Mr Ollivander mumbled aloud. "I see" Remus hummed as he watched patiently. Talia gave the wand a swift flick causing sparks to fly out the end. "Yes, yes! Why didn't I see it sooner?! Sixteen inches, Oak, with Phoenix feather core and a lion's head carved at the end." Mr Ollivander exclaimed relieved that they were finally able to find Talia a wand. "How does it feel Talia?" Remus questioned as he watched her as she stared intently at the wand. "It feels-. It feels as though something has been woken inside of me but I'm not sure what" Talia answered truthfully as she rolled the wand around in her hand. "Well, if you just hand it back to me, Miss Black, I'll wrap it in a box for you and you can take it home then to Hogwarts with you" Mr Ollivander smiled as held out his hand to retrieve the wand. On the walk back to Grimmauld Place, Remus noticed that Talia was uncharacteristically quiet. "Is everything alright, Ladybug?" Remus questioned as he waited for her to catch up. "Yeah, just tired that's all Uncle Remmy" Talia smiled as she walked towards him and stopped by his side. "I get it, I was overwhelmed the first time I prepared to go to Hogwarts but just remember you're not alone. Your mum and I have been there before so we know how you feel." Remus reminded her as he wrapped her in a hug.