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*Jacen walked in with his large family behind him. Just like always when ever the huge family goes anywhere they go everywhere. Jacen walked over to the old wands of famous witches and wizards while his parents stood in line.

Some of the wands had cool curves and designs while others looked just like any other wand. He smiled and took it all in with his bright blue eyes.*

*Hearing a little Scuse me Jacen spun around and saw a girl trying to get by. The shop wasn't large and his family was everywhere. Making sure the girl was talking to him he moved away from the display case.*

"I'm sorry for... them *He pointed to his family*, did you want to see the famous wands too?"

Oh! It spoke! One of the sheeple!

Only joking. Bernadette didn't entirely despise everyone. She shrugged at his apology, smiling a little, and scooted forward to see the so-called FAMOUS wands.

"Ummmmmm," Bernie squinted a little at the display, having absolutely no idea who anyone listed there was. But how to phrase that to this supposed wizard and his large magical family so they didn't think she was a...a.... a regular human person?

She crossed arms to appear unimpressed. "Yeah." Shrug. "So, what makes them famous?" she tittered, "they in the Daily Mail or somethin'?" Ha ha ha tabloid wands! What a lark???!??

*Her comments made his mouth drop open in shock. Was this girl serious?! Maybe she was someone’s muggle sibling. Or a muggle made their way into the ally. But how did they make their way in it so far before being discovered? Shaking his head to clear it a little Jacen turned back to the wands.*

“Some of the greatest witches and wizards have owned these wands. Wars have started and ended with the spells cast from these. The names on any of them are hard to forget.”

*Then she mentioned the mail? Why would they be in the mail? These wands are too famous for normal postage be it wizard or muggle mail.*
“Daily Mail? These don’t get sent in daily postage?”

Oh no, this boy was a REAL wizard, then. One that didn't even understand her Daily Mail reference...? Either that, or he was some kind of history buff, with such a serious answer. Look at him, though, gaping at her. Bernadette had to think quickly to cover up her blunder.

"Well obviously, I was k i d d i n g," Bernie rolled her eyes at him, "I just mean... like, is there a theme to this collection, besides 'famous'?" She had adopted a scoffing tone, like she knew exactly who Bellatrix Lestrange or Remus Lupin were. "When you go into a museum," wizards had those, right? "You see these highly curated displays, like Earrings from the Elizabethan Era. So I was joking, like, what's the theme here? I don't know all these people off the top of my head."

Not everyone was a walking IMDB page, ok. She really needed to crack open some of her textbooks though. The bookstore would definitely be next, if she made it out of this conversation without appearing too ignorant.

*Quirking up his eyebrow he looked at her a little confused. Theme? Ummm... wands. Wands are the theme! Before he could say this she was talking about muggle museums and muggle history. That was when it hit him and a look of realization crossed his face.*

“Are you a muggle born witch? There is nothing wrong if you are or aren’t, it would make a lot of sense.”
*He said with a kind smile. She must be a first year like him. He held out his hand to greet her.*
“I’m Jacen, Jacen Youngblood.”

Okay, how did he get that just from her simple question?! There were two ways this could go, and Bernie wasn't sure she liked just TELLING HIM the truth.

She pursed her lips some while she decided. "I......." She looked around, up, down, at the boxes, at the family.... well there was no exit in sight. "I am." Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. "Bernadette Getty." She shook his hand firmly and quickly, not yet smiling herself. "What gave me away?" And, more importantly, WHOSE WANDS WERE THESE??? She still thought the display should have a theme.

*He chuckled a little at her admission but before he could answer her question was jumped on by his three year old twin brothers. The two liked to use him as a jungle gym. That was something he would not miss.*

“Ow, you evil... mum!”

*A beautiful blonde haired woman came up with two older boys and an two older girls. Grabbing the ears of the little boys they climbed off of Jacen and soon followed their mother out of the shop. Turning a little red Jacen looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.*

“I’m sorry about... them. Ummm and what gave you away w-was the talk about muggle history. Every witch or wizard knows about these people who held these wands but would have no idea what a museum is. I only know because my little brother Edmund love muggle history and for his birthday we went to the London museum.”

For Kita and the Summers boooys <3
 

Today was THE day. Her WAND day. Possibly the most IMPORTANT day ever, right? She'd had to wait AGES for her eleventh birthday to arrive, but now that it had, Cecelia was going to make the most of ALL the cool new things she got to do and see and explore. Letting go of Sammy's hand, the blonde went ahead and claimed a spot by the display shelves, bouncing on the balls of her feet while she took a REALLY good look at her surroundings.

It was super dated in here, but in the BEST way. Vintage, you know? Just like her granddads were. She wished they were here. She doubted THEY would cry, something she was sure her mum was going to do. She'd been uncharacteristically quiet ALL morning and Cece had the impression that it was because she was trying VERY hard not to be dramatic about this EPIC moment in her life. She guessed that was just a parent thing, though. The whole being dramatic about your baby NOT being a baby anymore. 'Least she still had Samuel to worry about. She was officially passing the torch of being annoyed by it to him, though something told her that her little brother wouldn't mind it much at ALL.

"...What if no wand chooses me?" She wasn't AFRAID or anything, obviously, but it COULD happen, couldn't it? She looked from her mum to her dad, blue eyes imploring them to reassure her.


Her baby was getting a wand. Her baby. How was she old enough to do that? How was she old enough to leave them and go off to school all on her own? It felt like just yesterday that she'd been chasing Cecelia around the living room as she toddled after the dogs and now here they were, her little girl standing on her own and ready to enter the wizarding world properly for the first time.

Where had the time gone?

Feeling her eyes mist up, Ella looked away and discreetly wiped at them, trying to get herself under control. Merlin forbid she was an uncool mom in front of her daughter's potential classmates. Cecelia would never let her live that down. Deep breaths, Ella. You got this.

"You'll find the right wand here, Cece. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but it'll happen. I know it." She stepped up behind her daughter and smoothed her hair, following her gaze. She'd had similar fears when she'd come here for the first time, but everything had worked out. "Right Al?" Glancing at her husband, she gestured to their oldest with a nod of her head. If anyone could put Cecelia's worries to rest, it was him.

"C'mere Sam, let's check out these old wands. They're pretty cool." Ella lead her son away, giving Alec and Cecelia a moment.

Heavens, the boy --- Jacen --- had suddenly become playground fodder for two little spawn that appeared from the wild! Eyes widening, Bernie took a cautious step back lest they make a leap for her too. Her younger sister was WAAAAAAY better behaved than that. She was also probably three years older than these boys.

She had to giggle a little though when he called for his mum. "Sibs," she clucked sympathetically. Oh. So... wizards didn't have museums? How dull. Where did they go for school trips then? "Are your whole family wizards?!" Bernie craned her neck to try to see where they had went. "Do the little ones do magic too?" They knew what Muggles were! What an advantage!

Sammy was jealous but happy for Cece but JEALOUS. She was getting her very own WAND today! It was a big big BIG deal and he wasn't missing it for anything in the whole wide world. Blue eyes found her and he started wondering how she was feeling. Nervous? Before putting on a show-nervous? Or scared? Or EXCITED? HE would be excited if this was him.

Entering the store, his eyes widened to the size of galleons and he let out a very small "W O W!" under his breath. It was OLD, yeah, older than his grandads for sure, but look at all the wands! When was he getting his? He wanted that one and that one and- oh, that one had a pretty handle, didn't it?

Sam hardly noticed when Cece let go of his hand OR when she started talking to Mum and Dad but he did notice when Mum came to lead him away. His hand found her hand and he held onto it tightly, almost rushing her along to the nearest wand on a HUGE display that belonged to someone who was probably super old.

"Muuuuuum? Why can't I get a wand as well? Why do I have to wait THREE years?" THREE. It was a LIFETIME away!


Ella might have been trying to be as discreet as possible but Alec did happen to notice the way she wiped at her eyes. He didn't blame her, really. They knew this day was coming, the day when their oldest would go to get her own wand and go off to Hogwarts just like they had done all those years ago. But nothing could have prepared them for this moment right here.

Instead of saying anything, he simply leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. She was emotional. He was emotional. But it was going to be okay.

Cece was going to be okay.

A small smile crossed his face at the blonde girl's question. It was a worry everyone had, right? He did. Ella was the wise one who had an answer for her but he was the one who was left alone to console her. So, he gave his wife a nod as she moved away with Sammy, before reaching up to ruffle his hair. Calm. Calm.

"Hey, Cece?" he started, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Take a look at all those wands over there, look at how taaaaaall those shelves are." At this, Alec pointed at the shelves past the area where the wand fitting was taking place. "There must be hundreds of wands there, right? Maybe even thousands! And between aaaaaaall of those, your wand has to be in there somewhere." It was about the numbers.

"And that wand is going to choose you." He gave her the best excited grin he could muster. She had nothing to worry about.

"Sadly, those are the rules. Even mature eight year olds like you have to be patient, as hard as that is." Ella offered Sammy a smile and a gentle nudge, hoping to cheer him up some. "And when your wand does choose you, I pinky promise we'll all be here to see, just like we are for Cece." She offered her pale yellow polished pinky to her son and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to reciprocate.

The whole hand on the shoulder move was one Cecelia was pretty sure her dad had learned from his dad, who did the same thing when he was trying to pass down some old person knowledge to her. Would SHE do that when she had kids, she wondered? PROBABLY. Apparently it ran in the family. It was nice, as far as gestures went, she decided. Made Cecelia turn her full attention to her dad, following his hand with her gaze and taking in the crazy amount of boxes filling the shelves. He was right, there were thousands. Had to be. Enough to wand THOUSANDS of witches and wizards, INCLUDING her. "I 'reckon they have to make new ones all the time, different sizes and cores and wand wood combinations. Otherwise there wouldn't be a wand for the thousandth-and-one kid and that wouldn't be right." She suddenly felt very sure that her dad HAD to be right. Ollivanders had been in business FOREVER, so they HAD to be able to match witches and wizards, as many as they could. It just HAD to be true.

Standing up a little taller, Cecelia offered her dad a little grin. "Bet my wand will be powerful. Bet it'll be really cool looking, too." She wondered if she would be able to get a holster today. Mum seemed like she could be talked into it. Speaking of..."Mum, Sammy, c'mere. I think I'm ready." And by think, she meant KNOW. She KNEW she was.

*Jacen couldn’t help but frown at the word Sibs. She said it like she knew what it was like. He had so many siblings his home should be called a village. Looking around he saw that at least his dad, Edmund, and Ella were still in the shop and a moment later his eldest sister Octavia walked in. She looked at him and gave him a wink and then went over to their dad. His older sister was cool. He wanted to be like her. Yep everyone was a witch or wizard in his family.*

“Don’t get me wrong, wizards have museums too, just not like the ones muggles do. And yeah everyone in my family is a witch or wizard. Even the little twins, they were recently caught inflating toads in the back yard and having them bounce off our sisters bedroom window.”


*He over heard a man talking to his daughter about the wands. Truth be told Jacen was a little worried about a wand not choosing him too. Even though he had showed signs of magic it still worried him. Then he heard the girl say her wand would be powerful. He smirked a little at this then said.

“There was only one powerful wand the rest are just normal. It’s the witch or wizard that make it powerful. I’m sure that the perfect wand for you will pick you.”
*Jacen said with a warm smile as he held out his hand to her.*

“Hi, I’m Jacen Youngblood and this is Bernadette.”
*He then motioned to the other girl next to him. It was odd but Jacen was a very friendly kid. Maybe it was because he had 7 brothers and sisters and people were always around. Yeah that had to be it.*

Kita & Ashcan... you don't have to wait for me XD
 

*Woah, this girl can be a bit hyper. Her excitement was a bit much but then again he would act like that if he didn’t know about magic and found out it was real all the sudden right? Ehhh maybe, it was hard to picture. Turning back to her he looked a little confused at her comments about how the twins did it.*
“I don’t know how they did it. It was their magic showing I guess. None of them exploded-... well they kinda did but they just shrunk back to normal toads...”

*Matty noticed the line for wands getting small again and decided he might head over there to get in line but then the girl he had been talking to said she was going. Maybe he had annoyed or freaked her out a bit. He figured that he would hang back a minute more and try to find his brother Edmund.*

“Yeah sure, it was nice meeting you too.”

You guys <3
 

'Those are the rules.'

Sammy pouted. She was right. Mum was always right, even when she was telling him not to do something because it MIGHT burn the food. And it did. And he couldn't argue with her because she was RIGHT. So he just nodded at her and didn't say anything.

But then she was talking about pinky promises and he looked up at her again. Pinky promises were serious business. And she LOOKED very serious too. And even if he pretended to be tired of it, just like he pretended to be tired of Cece's stories, he actually really really liked them.

So, he sighed and pretended to roll his eyes but wrapped his pinky around his Mum's much bigger one. "And it's going to be the best day EVER and then I'll go to Hogwarts with Cece TOO!" And Cece would still tell him stories, just like he was sure she would tell him stories about Hogwarts soon, and it would be the best of stories.

Oh, that was Cece! "Mum, let's go, we're going to miss it!" He moved his hand to hold onto hers again and started rushing back to where Cece and Dad were standing, this time with a BUNCH of new people (only two). He gave them a confused look, especially at the boy (Jacen) who was yap yap yappering on about wands and then the girl (Bernadette) who just? left?

Shrugging, he looked at the boy, instead. "Hi, are you one of Cece's friend? I'm Sammy."


Cece's response was enough to bring a smile onto Alec's face. She was clever, very clever for her age, something he was going to thank Ella for because it clearly came from her. "You know, you're right. I bet they do. And I bet they know this well before they even get to the last ten so they never run out."

See? Smart kid.

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as soon as she mentioned that he wand was probably right. She could be right, she could be wrong, he didn't know. But one thing he did know was that she was determined and strong and fierce. Again, all from Ella.

Before he could say anything, there was a young boy and girl who started speaking to Cece about wands. He ruffled his hair slightly while an amused look crossed his face but he didn't say anything. Not directly to the young boy and girl. They were clearly here to be friends with Cece, not him. So, he turned to Ells, instead, and started motioning her over. "I think it's time!"

And did she see that Cece was making more friends? Did she?

Friends <33
 

The pouting was adorable, did he know? Ella and Alec were in for some real trouble when Samuel realized just how adorable it was, and she feared the day he mastered puppy dog eyes because she would be utterly powerless then.

"And then you'll go to Hogwarts, too," She agreed, giving their pinkies a shake and her son a smile. She was choosing not to acknowledge the fact that in a few short years they'd have no kids at home with them, unsure what she'd even do with herself when that happened. It was not the sort of thought she was going to entertain right now, she was emotional enough as it was.

Speaking of emotions...

LOOK AT HER BABY GIRL MAKING FRIENDS!

Ella let herself be tugged, gaze shifting from her children to her husband, a smile playing on her lips. This was so surreal. "How are we old enough to have a kid going off to School, Al?" She slipped her other hand into her husband's and leaned against him, watching her children with a look of pride.


It never got old, hearing people tell you that you were right. Cecelia KNEW she was anyway, but it was REALLY nice hearing her dad say so. Meant he was paying attention to all the cool stuff she'd been learning and figuring out on her own. She'd have even MORE smarts to share with him when school started, and she was really looking forward to telling him ALL about life at school. She hoped he'd look as proud of her then as he did right now because it made her smile REAL BIG and feel REAL LOVED. "I feel a bit better now. Thanks." She gave her dad's shirt a tug and was about to say more when she was interrupted by a boy and girl she hadn't seen before.

"Well yeah, I hope so. That's what they say will happen, anyway." Cecelia eyed the boy's hand for a moment and then gave it a side-five instead of a high one, since his hand wasn't in the right position for such things. "'M Cecelia Summers and yeah, that's my little brother. We only just met though, Sammy." She supposed they could be friends, maybe, eventually. "Hi....and bye." The girl called Bernadette had the right idea and Cecelia watched her go, envious that she'd be getting a wand first now.

"I think we should go get measured before more kids pass us in the queue," She said to the boy called Jacen, an excited twinkle in her eye. "Mum, dad, Sammy, next time you see me, I'll have a WAND!" She was ready to GO.

*Jacen was a little confused by the side five but smiled any way. Turning to the little boy he nodded a hello to him as well.*
"Hello, it is nice to meet you Sammy. I've got a brother and sister your age."

*Just then a tall man with a dark hooded look walked up to the group. In a gravely Welsh accent he greeted everyone then put a hand on Jacen's shoulder.*
"There you are, I should have known that you would wander off and start talking. He talks when he is nervous."
*Jacen turned beat red at his fathers last comment and looked away. Looking at the group assembled Ryhdian nodded.*
"A pleasure to meet all of you. Lets go young man, it's almost your turn."

They only just met? Sammy was confused. "Soooo..... you're not friends?" Was he not meant to ask? He didn't know. He always asked. He always said anything that came to his brain so Cece's answer was only confusing him.

He gave her a bit of a shrug as a way of saying 'oops' and then looked at the other guy. The Jacen guy. "Oh, cool, are they here too?" Tiptoeing, he looked around the boy to see if he could spot anyone who was near him and then anyone who looked like him but his eyes only landed on a man. A taaaaaaaall man who looked a little bit scary.

Shying away, Sammy went to stand right beside his mum and hold onto her other hand, the one that wasn't holding onto his dad's. AND they could have a good view of when Cece got her wand and cast spells and made things happen.

"Good luck, Cece!" Thumbs up!


Little did Cece know that she would have to do something pretty terrible for him not to smile at her proudly. So get used to it, Cece.

Seeing an older man approach the group, he continued smiling, moreso at him. "That's fine, I don't think the kids minded too much." He wasn't complaining, it was probably good for them to make friends now. Have a familiar face before Hogwarts happened.

It was weird to see Cece being so decisive but Alec wasn't about to intrude. Instead, he gave Ella's hand a small squeeze when she came to stand beside him. How were they old enough? "I have no idea. It feels like it was just yesterday when Cece was being born......" Pause. "And then when she saw Sammy for the first time after he was born. And now......"

She was getting a wand! "Good luck, you two!" he echoed, before lowering his voice again, "She says that her wand is going to be very powerful. I wonder where she gets that fierceness from....." His voice trailed off as he glanced down at his blonde wife, one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face.

Ram didn't rush with his customer because that wasn't his style, and he knew Zinnia wouldn't expect him to either since this was his livelihood. He took payment and sent the customer on their way with a smile and then, given the store was otherwise empty, headed over to the display shelves, pausing for just a second to take in her professional get up. The colour was nice on her. Instead of saying anything along those lines though, Ramiel just smiled as he came up next to her, nudging her gently with his shoulder.

"A bit of light reading then, Zinnia?"

"Ira would have me discourage your casual reading and your loitering, no profit in it." Ram said, glancing at the book selection, "but he won't have me stock anything that doesn't meet his standards, so it might be a while before something new is available." unless he wrote something that was up to Ira's standards himself.

"I think I can make a bit of time for you though, so, uh, that is to say, pick away."