After a small celebration Amara was ready to go. She was hopping around and trying to drag her parents to Digon Alley. No waiting could possibly take place right now.

It's not like she had never been to Diagon Alley, when she had been several times. But each time it just cemented in Amara's mind, the fact that she was part of that world and would rise to the top. Her father and mother were fairly well known in the community. Both were Prefects then moved on to be Head-Boy and Head-Girl, both were Aurors-well known ones at that.

A lot of people from their generation had grown up to be Aurors, having fought in the Battle Of Hogwarts. At the time the couple was only in their fourth year, but they stood side by side until the end.

Amara loved her parents, and them being so great only pushed her to be even greater. She had memorized their wands and Patronuses. Her mother, Daisy, had an Acacia wood, Unicorn Hair core, 12 1/4 inch wand with unyielding flexibility. Daisy's Patronus was a cheetah. Her father had an equally amazing Patronus of a Greyhound. His wand was 13 1/3 inch, Spruce wood, Dragon Heartstring core wand that was ever so slightly yielding.

With a sigh Amara's mum shook her head. "Come on Mark, you bring her I'll get her on the way home." Daisy tossed her curls over her shoulder and placed a hand on her hip.

Mark wrapped his arms around Daisy's waist and grinned down at her. "You know, Amara could stay the night at Le-"

"Ew! Daddy no! This isn't the time!" Amara made fake gaging sounds and pushed her parents apart.

Mark chuckled and grabbed his daughter's hand. "Okay Princess, whatever. Off we go!" With a pop and a swirling rush to her stomach, the life of Diagon Alley appeared before her. She never got tired of seeing Witches and Wizards bustling around, going from shop to shop.

Pulling her father along, she went into shop after shop. Books piled up, scales, potion making things, other things she would need. Amara left the best shop for last, however.

When she had gone to get her robes measured, her father took their things back to their house. By the time he was back, she had finished and was bouncing over to the Wand shop. She had told her parents she wanted to go in alone, have this for herself.

They obliged.

The dusty shop was filled with shelves of wand boxes.

It was amazing. Amara was lost as she looked over each shelf, trying to picture that in one of them, was her wand.

"Ah, who do we have here?" An old man, Mr. Ollivander himself, came out from a stack of wands, and looked the blonde girl over. "Lovley right?" He mused, chuckling to himself as he leaned over his tall desk. "I remember your parents when they first came in here." His eyes danced, twinkling with amusement at the girl with a ridged back and gleam in her eyes.

"That's right, I'm Amara." She smiled sweetly.

"Well, Amara-" But the old man was cut off by a racket from the shelf behind him. "What is this?" He said with wide eyes in an awed voice. He took a wand box off the shelf, old and dusty, that had been shaking. It stilled in his hands. "I guess that means you should try this one." He blinked, smiling faintly.

He took the dark wand out of it's casing. The handle was slim, carved with swirls and whirls. Amara thought they looked a bit like snakes, curling up it's prey.

"Vine wood, Phoenix Feather core," He held it between his fingertips while humming. "13 3/4 inches," He tried to arch it, the wand didn't budge. "unyielding flexibility." He whispered more to himself than Amara. "For a Witch with great goals, and with great talent."

Amara's eyes sparkled at the description, almost wanting to hiss to the wand: you're mine!

Ollivander set the wand gently into Amara's awaiting hand. With a swish and flick, silvery sparks floated out. The smell of grapes and apples filling the stuffy shop.

"Ah-ha!" He cried, clapping his hands. "I believe that makes you number three!" He didn't elaborate on what he meant further. Amara was too busy grinning at her wand to ask anyways.

Amara bought her wand, and wondered out to her parents. She explained what happened, going into every small detail. Her father and mother smiled wide. "That's my little girl." He kissed his daughter's forehead.

"You'll be a great witch, Sweetie." Her mother assured, tucking a stray curl behind Amara's ear. "Now, let's go home and celebrate a little more." With a kiss to her daughter's cheek, Daisy whisked them all back to their home.

}------{

Leala's alarm went off, and she groaned, one eye barely open and fingers fumbling for the blocky clock.

She pushed back her covers, black comforter balling up at the end of her bed, and stepped onto her cold, hardwood floor. Her fuzzy socks saved her poor toes from most of the shock, as she padded over to her dresser.

The shirt she had slept in, one of her Uncle Jake's that she had grabbed out of the laundry, was wrinkled and crumbled and fit her like a potato sack, coming down to her mid-thigh. Leala had always been small for her age. She grabbed her things, a shirt and pants, then headed off to the bathroom.

Everyday that her uncle had off she woke up before him to take a shower and get breakfast made. When he did go to work she still woke up before him, just didn't take a shower until he left. Making sure he had hot water and a warm meal to wake up to was her main priority in the mornings.

If she missed a day, over slept or something, she made sure to make him a lunch the next day to make up for it.

He always scolded her for it, right before kissing her temple, thanking her, and walking out the door.

Doing things like that was her way of repaying her uncle. He had taken her in with no questions, no wait period. When her mother died she had only been five years old, so it was a few years before she could start to earn her keep. She felt the need to make it up to him, to let him know she never took his help for granted, that she loved him and would never turn her back on him.

Her shower woke her up, and Leala shoved a black T-shirt and pair of skinny jeans on, before walking to the kitchen. But her uncle was already up.

Making pancakes.

Leala blinked, her uncle always slept until ten when he had the day off. What changed?

"There you are Lee-Lee." Her uncle grinned at her over his shoulder. He had bowls covering the counter, different colored batter in each one. "How did you sleep?" He asked, as if he was always like this.

"Jake?" Leala's face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you doing up?" Jake's smile shrunk. "You're supposed to still be sleeping, you get up early enough days." Leala started to scold him, like he was the child in the house, not her.

"Honey, I wanted to surprise you, I guess I miss judged when you usually get up on my off days." He smiled even brighter, showing off the dimples he shared with Leala herself. "Today, we are going to hang out. Go to Diagon Alley, get all your things, watch movies, order take out. All of it."

Leala leaned against the threshold, confusion scrunching her face. "And you had to waste your day to sleep in because of it? You could have had this day to yourself." Her uncle worked so much, he barely got time off, why was he doing this?

"Because I love you, and you're about to go off to school. For a whole nine months." His lips clamped together and he turned his eyes back to the stove.

Leala smiled faintly.

Of course. Her uncle was a big softy, and of course he would want to spend time together.

Leala walked over and wrapped her arms around her uncle's waist. She stood on her toes and kissed his scruffy cheek, before going over and getting plates out. Wordlessly, the two worked together to assemble their breakfast.

After eating a stack of rainbow pancakes, something special to her and her uncle, she cleaned up and started to get ready. "I'll be right back, I have to tell them I can't walk the dogs today."

"Alright, be careful Lee-Lee." He called from his room.

Leala went around to her usual doors, knocking and explaining. When she got to the old lady's door, she knocked and waited.

"Ah, hello dear. You're early?" She questioned, holding her dog in her arms and petting him.

"I'm sorry, I came by to tell you I can't walk them for today. But tomorrow I plan to be out for longer to make up for it." Leala smiled. "One more thing, I'm going to school in a couple weeks. So I won't be able to walk him until the summer when I get home." She smiled sadly. "But I'm planning to see if I can't find someone to do it. They'll be the same rate as I would be, maybe less if I can convice them for less." Her hands turned over and over as she tried to explain.

The others had all said they would miss her and hoped she got along well.

But the old lady smiled wide. "Leala, Darling, you are one of a kind." She huged Leala tight, and parted with a see you soon.

Leala opened her apartment door and called out, "I'm back!" Stumbling steps echoed as her uncle fumbled down the hall putting his jacket on. His light blue sweater, black jeans, brown shoes, and brown zip-up, went well together. Leala's own clothes only consisted of her purple hoodie, a black shirt with white stripes, and dark blue skinny jeans. Her hightops she wore everyday were a faded purple.

"Let's go!" He ushered his neice out the door, down the stairs, and into a taxi. "Most can just Apparate to Diagon, but seeing as I'm a squib, we can't really do that." He let out a nervous chuckle.

"It's fine Jake. It just means that we get more time to talk." Leala smiled. And talk they did, about everything and anything.

When Jake tapped the bricks behind the dingy bar and inn, Leala smiled wide. The whole place was magical, the answer to the question she had been asking for years.

Jake led her to the bank. Leala opened a vault, transferring her shoebox of money to the wizarding type. After she was done she and Jake went around buying what she needed. Carting it around as the boxes and bags doubled then tripled.

When she was getting her robes sized Jake went over her list again. "I think the only thing left is to get you a wand. And if you want an owl or cat, or toad." He grinned at her. "I'll buy the animal, It's the only way you get to bring it into the apartment." Leala scowled at him but started smiling when he winked.

Jake and Leala walked into the wand shop, having left their things outside the window.

Leala took in the shop in wonder, Jake in a bit of uneasy awe. He had never gotten a wand, being a squib. He never felt bad about it, the only time was when he had found out his sister had died, thinking that if he had magic maybe he could have stopped it. But looking down at Leala, he knew even if he didn't have magic, she loved him.

That's all he needed.

"Honey, I'm going to wait outside. This is your time, and experience." He kissed the top of her head then left.

Out of the stacks of wands came a thin old man. His messy grey hair stuck up at all sorts of angles. His back was hunched, but his eyes glittered with life. "Welcome to Ollivander's, makers of fine wands since 382 B.C." He scanned Leala over, clicking his tongue in concentration. "I see." He murmured.

"Wand waving arm?" He asked, floating a tape measure over. Leala stuck out her left hand. "An Edison correct?"

"Yeah." Leala's voice was awe struck and soft, but the old man seemed to hear her.

Mr. Ollivander nodded along. "I remember your mother, Mercy. You look almost exactly like her. Even have one of her eyes. The blue one." His tone wasn't mean or cruel, like most when they mentioned her eyes. "Her hair too, the green eye must be from whoever your father was."

Leala let the tape measure do as it willed. But the old man said "Enough" and the thing fell limp to the floor. He came back with three different boxes. Handing the wands to her one at a time and almost immediately snatching them back.

Finally after several different boxes, Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Here you go." He handed it to her, and she waved it around. The smell of cookies and coffee overpowered the dust as white sparks flew from the tip. "How strange these things are . . ." He mumbled.

"What's strange?" Leala asked, holding the light colored wand, whose handle was carved like flower petals.

"That, my dear, is the same type of wand your mother was chosen by." He smiled down at Leala, whose eyes were tearing up. "Adler wood, Phoenix Feather core, 14 inches, unyielding flexibility." His eyes were soft, kind, as they watched Leala wipe her face with the sleeve of her hoodie.

"Thank you." She said, treating the wand as if it was made of glass.

"No thank you, I expect great things from you, Miss Edison."