First Year Journal - Angelica Josephine
written by Angelica Josephine
A journal of some of my letters home and magical thoughts.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
4
Reads
506
AUG - What Happened in Diagon Alley
Chapter 2
________________________ ~ * ~ ________~*~________ ~ * ~ ________________________
Aug 27 - Wand Day
Today's wand trip was just me and mum - dad had a couple meetings - and it was even more momentous than I could have expected! We went to Ollivander's, of course. Mum says that's where she went, where grandmom went, and probably many generations back, too.
As Ollivander measured me and asked a few questions, I noticed mum turned her back to take a long slender box from her bag. "Take a look at these, but don't touch. Let me just see about a few more" Ollivander said. As I looked over the three new wands on the counter, my mum pulled Ollivander aside and showed him what was in her box. "Oh, dear" he said "that DOES need some help. Is this recent damage?" Seeing that I had heard and was no idiot, mom showed me. "It was your grandmom's wand. Her father broke it when she died. Aunt G found it years ago and has been keeping it, and I was hoping..." Without thinking, I reached out to touch the cedar wood. I felt a strange "zing" and vibration. "It's beautiful" I said, quickly withdrawing my hand. Ollivander and mum stared at me. "Not unheard of" said Ollivander. He swept the three boxes off the counter, and guided my mum to put hers there, in the middle. "Touch the wand again, my dear" he said.
"It hummed" my mother muttered in shock. I reached out and placed my finger tips on the handle. I felt the same electricity vibration, but this time I heard a faint hum, too. "Stop" Ollivander said, and he looked around himself in bewilderment. "She needs to know" he said. He rifled through two stacks of parchment, then picked one from the center of the pile and brought it to the counter and placed it in front of my mum. "Here, my dear. Place your hand here. If you wish to fix what is broken, you must tell what you know. She is your daughter, and the namesake of your mother. It never does any good to keep family secrets. Trust. Love." Ollivander stepped back, and my mum put her palm on the paper and looked at me. I looked back down at the parchment, where words were appearing, and after about 20 seconds, she withdrew and handed the paper to me to read.
It was short, but told me what I needed to know. What my grandmom was protecting. How she died. Why her father was angry. Why he hid the wand, and why my Aunt M and mum were hoping to restore one of their mother's possessions. "I never imagined there was still life in it" my mum said. She took a deep breath and looked between Ollivander and me. "It doesn't do us any good in a box. Let's see what happens."
I hadn't had any magical training at all, but somehow Ollivander knew just what to say to help me focus energy and willpower into the wand. A bit of alignment and several complicated charms by Ollivander, and the wand straightened out, good and sturdy, and the wood was repaired. Turns out it wasn't broken completely, it chose to be wielded once again, and by me! So, I use the mended cedar wand of my grandmother Josephine. It chose me, and I'm glad. I hope I will be as bold and brave as she was.
________________________ ~ * ~ ________~*~________ ~ * ~ ________________________
Aug 30 - last purchases
Today mum, dad, and I went to Diagon Alley to purchase the last two items for my school year ... a cauldron and a telescope (I'm going to use uncle M's brass scales, and Aunt G's glass phials).
We bought pretty much the standard student telescopes - they all come with basic charms for keeping everything attached, un-scratched, and in focus. Some higher-end telescopes also come with filters and auto-star-finding charms. Sometimes I think the wizarding community is a bit lazy - can they not turn a knob to focus or use their fingers to change filters?!
But when I got back to Aunt and Uncles, and dad asked if I wanted to unpack my telescope and try it out, we both found out how awesome a focusing charm can be. Then when we went inside, I found that mom had whipped up an awesome velvet green carrying bag/case for me! I love the soft feel of the material over the metal scope, and the look of the silver fasteners on each end of the shoulder strap. Soooo awesome - I can't wait for my astronomy class!
Oh, yeah. We also got a cauldron. The medium sizes were on sale cheapest... so i get to lug around a heavy pot this year. Unless i can find someone who wants to trade with me.
________________________ ~ * ~ ________~*~________ ~ * ~ ________________________
Aug 27 - Wand Day
Today's wand trip was just me and mum - dad had a couple meetings - and it was even more momentous than I could have expected! We went to Ollivander's, of course. Mum says that's where she went, where grandmom went, and probably many generations back, too.
As Ollivander measured me and asked a few questions, I noticed mum turned her back to take a long slender box from her bag. "Take a look at these, but don't touch. Let me just see about a few more" Ollivander said. As I looked over the three new wands on the counter, my mum pulled Ollivander aside and showed him what was in her box. "Oh, dear" he said "that DOES need some help. Is this recent damage?" Seeing that I had heard and was no idiot, mom showed me. "It was your grandmom's wand. Her father broke it when she died. Aunt G found it years ago and has been keeping it, and I was hoping..." Without thinking, I reached out to touch the cedar wood. I felt a strange "zing" and vibration. "It's beautiful" I said, quickly withdrawing my hand. Ollivander and mum stared at me. "Not unheard of" said Ollivander. He swept the three boxes off the counter, and guided my mum to put hers there, in the middle. "Touch the wand again, my dear" he said.
"It hummed" my mother muttered in shock. I reached out and placed my finger tips on the handle. I felt the same electricity vibration, but this time I heard a faint hum, too. "Stop" Ollivander said, and he looked around himself in bewilderment. "She needs to know" he said. He rifled through two stacks of parchment, then picked one from the center of the pile and brought it to the counter and placed it in front of my mum. "Here, my dear. Place your hand here. If you wish to fix what is broken, you must tell what you know. She is your daughter, and the namesake of your mother. It never does any good to keep family secrets. Trust. Love." Ollivander stepped back, and my mum put her palm on the paper and looked at me. I looked back down at the parchment, where words were appearing, and after about 20 seconds, she withdrew and handed the paper to me to read.
It was short, but told me what I needed to know. What my grandmom was protecting. How she died. Why her father was angry. Why he hid the wand, and why my Aunt M and mum were hoping to restore one of their mother's possessions. "I never imagined there was still life in it" my mum said. She took a deep breath and looked between Ollivander and me. "It doesn't do us any good in a box. Let's see what happens."
I hadn't had any magical training at all, but somehow Ollivander knew just what to say to help me focus energy and willpower into the wand. A bit of alignment and several complicated charms by Ollivander, and the wand straightened out, good and sturdy, and the wood was repaired. Turns out it wasn't broken completely, it chose to be wielded once again, and by me! So, I use the mended cedar wand of my grandmother Josephine. It chose me, and I'm glad. I hope I will be as bold and brave as she was.
________________________ ~ * ~ ________~*~________ ~ * ~ ________________________
Aug 30 - last purchases
Today mum, dad, and I went to Diagon Alley to purchase the last two items for my school year ... a cauldron and a telescope (I'm going to use uncle M's brass scales, and Aunt G's glass phials).
We bought pretty much the standard student telescopes - they all come with basic charms for keeping everything attached, un-scratched, and in focus. Some higher-end telescopes also come with filters and auto-star-finding charms. Sometimes I think the wizarding community is a bit lazy - can they not turn a knob to focus or use their fingers to change filters?!
But when I got back to Aunt and Uncles, and dad asked if I wanted to unpack my telescope and try it out, we both found out how awesome a focusing charm can be. Then when we went inside, I found that mom had whipped up an awesome velvet green carrying bag/case for me! I love the soft feel of the material over the metal scope, and the look of the silver fasteners on each end of the shoulder strap. Soooo awesome - I can't wait for my astronomy class!
Oh, yeah. We also got a cauldron. The medium sizes were on sale cheapest... so i get to lug around a heavy pot this year. Unless i can find someone who wants to trade with me.
________________________ ~ * ~ ________~*~________ ~ * ~ ________________________
