44. Stupefy
Age 15, December (Part 1)
Tiberius had dutifully climbed up into the attic at his mother’s request to go find the Christmas decorations. Wishing that he could just use magic to locate the box, Tiberius peered in the dimly lit storage area. Boxes. Everywhere. Unlabeled.
Sighing, Tiberius slid a particularly dusty looking box over, vaguely recalling the verbal directions his mother had given to the box’s potential location. Blowing the dust from the top, Tiberius coughed. Opening the top, it was clear that it was not Christmas directions, but before he could close it, something in the box caught his eye.
Picking up a ratty old stuffed lion in a Hogwarts sweater, Tiberius felt a pang of recognition that he couldn’t place. Digging in further, in a mess of papers and photos, there was one bright blue envelope, Tiberius’ name written in gold. Tiberius squinted, wishing for just a single lumos charm, and dug his hand further into the box, his fingers brushing something wooden and rounded.
A wand.
Pulling it from the box, Tiberius sat back on his heels and turned it over in his hands. It could only be…
It was as if he had taken ten stunners right to the chest.