The convincing
process went well, because obviously the parents have got no choice. Well, not
truly in that aspect, because Dad thought if things were as serious as
Mcgonagall had said, then the whole family could move out of European, and Mum
agreed.

But eventually
they were persuaded by Virginia, who said that Daddy’s investment had just
started. Moving out of Europe almost means giving it all up, which is not only
bad for themselves but also for their cooperate investor, Uncle James. Also,
her parents have a lot of friends around this place. If they left, how should
they explain their reason to these friends?

Well, these
surely aren’t the reasons that truly persuaded Dad. What functioned at last was
the point that Virginia is now defined as a witch, so if sudden bursts of
magical power, such as Mcgonagall said, truly happened, then surely someone
will get hurt, if not worse. So the parents were persuaded at last. Dad glanced
the tea cup at the table and sighed a long, soft breath.

This day, the
whole family slept late and no one actually fell into sleep. Daddy got up
several times and went to watch her seemingly asleep daughter, and didn’t know
how he should react to everything happening around him. When he returned after
another visit, Mum consoled him tenderly, “Well, think about it in a good way.
Our daughter is always so mysteries and fantastic. She knows what she is doing.
Magic? Even if she turns into a superwomen, she is still our daughter, forever.”

“Oh yes, right,
right…,” Dad sighed and hugged his wife, “Of course I know. I’m just worried
about her; she still so young….”

“She will take
care of herself. I know she will.” Mum sounds on the edge of tear, and she
hugged back her husband. Her shoulders shaking a little bit in the air.

Virginia walked
with her bare feet and leaned over the door of her parents’ room, listening to
all these. She burst into quiet tears, whose meaning is also a mystery to
Virginia.

Yes, the tear
is proud. Virginia is proud that she has such wonderful parents. And it is also
sad, for she is leaving them for quite a long period of time. And the tear was
also out of shame, because she thought if she has no so-called magical powers,
then the whole family can just live happily everyday, not facing the coming
goodbye, and the parents won’t need to worry about her safety when she is alone
at Hogwarts. And then the tear is firm. She promises quietly but firmly that
she will look after herself, for her parents and herself, to go through this
hard period safely and avoid any possible harm.

She went back
to her bad and shut her eyes again.

A week later,
when Mcgonagall went back to visit them, the whole family was quiescent. After
hearing about the decision of the family, she knodded slightly and proposed to
accompany Virginia to purchase her school stuffs. She promised to be back
before dinner and asked the parents not to worry.

But Mum was
still a little nervous. When they went away, she sat silently on the sofa and
seemed out of her mind. Dad consoled her gently beside and waited, but he wasn’t
that relieved as well.

Just as
Virginia had pictured in her mind, Professor Mcgonagall didn’t take her the way
that half-giant Hagrid took Harry Potter, finding the bar first and going to
the Diagon Alley through the wall. Instead, she took her outside the house and
apparated with her together.

They reappeared
in a small room. Virginia didn’t notice its features at first, for she felt
sick after apparation. Then Mcgonagall said beside her, “Due to the special
condition now, we cannot purchase things in a normal way. I’ve already
purchased necessary things for you, including new textbooks. All you need to do
now is to choose a wand. This I cannot help you. This is Mr. Ollivanders, who
just inherited her father’s work. He will help you choose the most suitable
wand.

At this time
Virginia noticed how quirky the room she landed in is. It is rather small and
composed of thousands of small boxes, all arranged in a special manner.

She store
several surreptitous glances of Mr. Ollivanders, who looks old and distressed.
He wears a pair of glasses and looked at Virginia kindly and said, “Good
morning, Ms. Winchester.”

“Good morning,
Mr. Ollivanders.” Virginia replied politely.

“Right. Now let’s
get to it directly. Which hand do you usually use?” He took out an ancient,
strange ruler and asked.

  “I’m
right-handed.” Virginia replied. She allowed Mr. Ollivanders to take careful
and accurate measurements. She noticed that he used no notebooks to write down
the measurements. He remembered them all in his mind.

  “Every
wand here is distinctive and has no replica,” he introduced, “Everyone has a
core, where magical power comes from. We use the hair of a unicorn, the tail
feather of a phoenix, or the heartstring of a dragon in making our wands. Of
course, there are also exceptions, which are very rare.”

  “The
wand chooses the wizard, Ms. Winchester. Among all these wand only one suits
you best, and it will choose you,” he added.

  Then
he spoke to himself for a while and took out a wand from a box carefully, “Try
this one please, dear. Unicorn hair, seven inches long, easy to bend.”

  Virginia
felt her heart thumping a little, but nothing actually happened.

  “Well,
then try this one, yes, this. Nine inches, heartstring from a Welsh dragon,
long and elegant.”

  But
still this wasn’t the right one. When she picked it up and waved it slightly,
huge circling cyclones happened in this room. Virginia quickly gave it away,
and the wand seemed happy to leave her hand as well.

  “Right,
it’s not this one.” Ollivanders sighed.

  After
many more trials, Virginia stilled hadn’t found her wand. Even Ollivanders
said, “It was the first time I meat such a peculiar custome like you. I have
just recently taken over the work of my father. Oh yes, very picky you are,
uprecedentedly picky.”

  “This
one. Let’s try this one,” said Mr. Ollivanders, who lightly rubbed off the
sweat on his forehead and pushed the box in front of her. She took it up almost
mechanically, but this time something strange happened. It was as though all
her tiredness had suddenlt gone, disappeared into thin air. And the wand tip
begins to glow sligtly. The wand light is not offensive, and makes her
confortable, as though coming from a mother’s eyes, soft, warm, creating a
feeling of happiness and safety.

  “Incredible!”
Mr. Ollivanders seems beyong his control. He exclaimed excitedly, “Oh yes,
gingko wood, eight inches, the core coming from a new-born unicorn. Yes, this
one was very impressive. We seldom use tail hair of new-born or young unicorns.
This is a special exception.” He seemed to have recalled something, “Now this
is your wand, Ms. Winchester. I think it is truly glad that it has chosen you. The
wand chooses the wizard, Ms. Winchester, this is an ancient tale, but always
too true.”

  Professor
Mcgonagall, who is standing beside her, smiled and knodded as well.

  “Thank
you!” Virginia is truly grateful to this old man, and his sweat on the forehead
makes her a little sorry.

  Professor
Mcgonagall helped her pay the money for the wand, six galleons. And now she
realizes that she didn’t bring any money. Oh yes, she hasn’t any money like
this kind, the golden galleons. When she went out, she brought with her Daddy’s
credit card, but Professor Mcgonagall seemed not going to bring her for money
exchange.

  When
she began to think about this, Professor Mcgonagall spoke beside her, “This
took a little longer than I had expected. I think we have to be quick now. Ms.
Winchester, please take my arm.”

  Virginia
followed her by grabbing her arm tightly and inhaled deeply for a moment.
Another apparation didn’t bring her any confortness. She still felt sick, and thought
it fortunate that the wand was in Mcgonagall’s hand, because if it was in
herself’s, then she would have surely thrown it away during the apparation.

  Then
she hears strange noises beside her, noises coming from all kinds of animals.
Well, pets. She seemed to have completely forgotton this matter.

  Ms.
Winchester, please choose your pet. It will be your company for the future
years. And then we shall go to make your school robes.

  When
she came home at night, Virginia sees her parents sitting on the sofa as though
wishing to know what she had done during the day. But she lay down on the sofa
and was too tired to move.

  Staring
at all the things on the floor, she said, “Please, let me sleep for a while,
just a while….” And then she felt asleep instantaneously.