~ Continued from previous chapter ~

Draco went through exactly nine different wands before he found the perfect match — hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches, reasonably springy. A stream of silver fireworks had shot out of the end when he'd waved it, which apparently meant that it was a perfect match.

Now, it was my turn.

After the tape measure had done its thing, Ollivander handed me a wand.

"Try this one, Miss Malfoy. Acacia and unicorn hair, nine and a half inches, nice and swishy."

I took it, but before I could even wave it, it flew out of my hand. Ollivander had to duck to avoid being hit by it.

"Definitely not." He put it away, then opened another box and handed me that wand instead. "Pine and dragon heartstring, thirteen inches, brittle."

I managed to wave this one, but it was quickly taken from me and replaced by another.

"Here — walnut and phoenix feather, seven inches, fairly supple. Try—"

I tried, but this one, too, was quickly snatched from me and replaced by yet another.

"Cherry and dragon heartstring, eleven and a quarter inches, surprisingly springy."

This one quite spectacularly exploded a hole in the ceiling, and was hurriedly taken back. It was replaced by another, and another, and another — the pile of tried wands was getting taller and taller — but Ollivander kept pulling more from the shelves for me to try.

"No, no — perhaps this one — dogwood and unicorn hair, eight inches, unbending."

This one was also tried and discarded. Ollivander frowned thoughtfully, then stopped in his tracks.

"I wonder," he said softly, as he carefully pulled out another box. I noticed his hand was trembling slightly as he gave me the wand.

The effects were instantaneous. A gold glow surrounded me, and I felt my feet leave the floor as I hovered in the air. Then, there was a bright flash of light; the glow dimmed to nothing, and my feet found solid ground once more.

"Why did she get such a cool thing? I only got some silver sparks!" Draco said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Because, Mr Malfoy, that wand is very special," Ollivander said, in a shaking voice. "Larch wood, with a golden phoenix feather core, twelve and a half inches, slightly yielding."

"Golden phoenix?" I asked, not sure that I'd heard right.

Ollivander nodded.

"The golden phoenix is exceptionally rare — only one is known to exist. It has lived in this shop for far longer than anyone can remember, and bonds to the true owner of the single wand that contains its tail feather. Your wand, Miss Malfoy."

All the time he was speaking, he'd been moving closer and closer, his silvery eyes fixed on my odd ones. Now, he was mere inches away from me.

"The wand chooses the witch, Miss Malfoy," he said softly. "It is not always clear why. But it is clear that there is something special about you. Something that makes you unique from all others. Something powerful."

"That's crazy," Draco said, pulling me away from Ollivander when he saw how the close proximity was scaring me. "If Dora had a unique power, she would know about it already."

For a long time, Ollivander said nothing. Then, after putting the wand back into its box and handing me that instead, he said, "There is one — ah — condition that comes with this wand."

"Which is what?" Draco demanded, going into protective mode as he sensed danger in the wandmaker's words.

"As I said before, the golden phoenix bonds to the true owner of the wand. Therefore, its purchase also includes the purchase of the golden phoenix." His silvery eyes seemed to pierce my very soul, and I took an instinctive step towards Draco.

"May I see it?" I asked quietly.

Ollivander nodded.

"His name is Aureli," he said. "Call him in your head, and he will come."

Aureli! I shouted in my mind.

There was a blinding flash of light, and the golden phoenix appeared.

He settled on my arm, and I felt a sudden warmth and weightlessness flow through my body. A smile appeared on my face.

Draco sighed when he saw my smile, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop me getting the wand and the golden phoenix. Sure, he technically could, but I knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it. He so very rarely saw me with a genuine smile now, so when he did, he tried to make it last for as long as possible.

"How much?" he asked, opening the satchel.

"Eight Galleons for yours, Mr Malfoy, and twenty Galleons for Miss Malfoy's," Ollivander said.

Draco handed him the money, and we left the shop, with our wands in their boxes and Aureli hidden in a covered birdcage. As the door closed behind us, we looked at each other and silently agreed not to tell Father just how much more than Draco's my wand had cost.

"Ice cream?" I said, nodding my head towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

"Sure!"

We went into the shop and ordered three scoops of Butterbeer ice cream each, then settled ourselves at a table in the window. I put Aureli's birdcage on the floor, making sure the cover didn't come off.

"I don't get why you get such a cool wand," Draco said. "Mine's just a boring, straight stick, and yours has colours and patterns and a really cool handle! And that core!"

"What can I say, I guess I'm just better than you," I said jokingly.

"Hey!" Draco said, doing his 'I look genuinely insulted but I'm actually just joking' act. "How could you?! I'm amazing!"

"Yeah, well I'm more amazing!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

This exchange continued for a long time, until we'd eaten all of our ice cream and left the shop — I suspect to the relief of the other people in there, who had been forced to listen to our fake argument about who was the most amazing. In case you were wondering, I won.

"Flourish and Blotts next?" I asked, knowing Draco would enjoy looking at the different books just as much as I would.

"Naturally," Draco replied.

The bookshop was one of my favourite places in Diagon Alley, and it was one of Draco's favourites too. But while he liked to look through the books about potions and alchemy, I much preferred heading to the small second-hand section, which usually had a few books containing annotations made by their previous owners.

Today, I found three annotated books of interest — Hogwarts: A History by Professor Garius Tomkins, Gadding With Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart, and The Healer's Helpmate by H. Pollingtonious. A quick glance through each book told me that the annotations in Gadding With Ghouls would be the most amusing of the three, but that I really ought to read the ones in The Healer's Helpmate first.

After getting the money from Draco, I went to the counter and bought the books. To make sure Father didn't see them and have a 'talk' with me for spending money on tatty second-hand books, I wedged them into the base of Aureli's cage, which was hollow underneath.

Draco ended up buying seven different books — four about potions, one about alchemy, and two about Quidditch. Then, with contented smiles on both of our faces, we stepped out onto the busy street once more.

"Having fun?" Draco asked me, as we started towards Sugarplum's Sweet Shop.

"The most I've had in a long time," I answered happily.

"Happy birthday, Dora."

I smiled more, looking down at the box that held my wand, and the covered birdcage that contained my new golden phoenix, then back up at my brother.

"Happy birthday, Dray."

***
Word count: 1297