1. 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮
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Her short brown hair moved slightly as she cracked her apartment window, allowing the outside breeze to come into her apartment. Her tiny hairs flew into her face as she leaned her head further out the window to watch the busy city of London come to life below her. While she sat and gazed out of one of the only windows in the small apartment, her brother paced around trying to be sure that he has everything he needed not wanting to have forgotten anything he may need. She decided that she was not going to help him since he had waited till just yesterday to start packing. Meanwhile, she's been packed since the beginning of summer even though she wasn't sure she'd even get her letter.
The letter had come in July, telling her that her dreams of going to Hogwarts like her older brother would be coming true. She had started showing signs of being magical early on in her life but they were small barely even noticeable. Sometimes when she was angry something would suddenly fall off a shelf or like one time when her mom was cooking a meal she disliked, it somehow came out burnt because the timer just didn't go off. It took a while for her parents to notice she shared the abilities as her brother and when she was nine years old they sat her down to tell her that it was unlikely for muggles to produce more than one wizard child and that their wizard offspring was Kristian, her older brother. Everyone, including herself, was surprised when the letter came, inviting her to Hogwarts.
She cried when she opened the letter, she was so happy that there was no other way to express her emotions but through tears. Every year since her brother started at Hogwarts she had grown more and more jealous. Hearing his stories of the magical school and flying on brooms fascinated her and she wanted nothing more than to live that too. She always thought hearing Kristian's stories would be the closest she ever got to live it out herself.
"Caroline, you could at least help your brother finish packing," said her mom, coming from the kitchen and into the small living room where she still sat staring out the open window.
"Kristian doesn't want my help," said Caroline without even glancing at her mom, "he told me he didn't."
With a long sigh and a shake of her head, she turned back and walked into the kitchen, finishing up the dishes before it was time for them to depart from their lives of pretending to be normal and go to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies for this year. Caroline had never been allowed to go before and would be stuck with her grandparents while they were gone. This year though she had to go, she had to get her own robes, books, and what excited her the most was getting her own wand.
Kristian had finally decided that he was all packed and ready and promised his parents on the way out the door that he'd start packing much earlier for next year. Caroline had a hard time believing her older brother, he was known to wait till the last minute to do much of anything. Even when he does dishes, he waits till its ten at night. The four Moores left their small apartment building and ran into the streets of downtown London, hoping that Diagon Alley wasn't too packed already.
Unlucky for them Diagon Alley was full of wizards being followed close by their families. Caroline could only hope that a few of the young wizards that she passed by would end up being her friend.
Before they could do anything they had to stop at Gringotts, the wizarding bank to convert some of their Muggle money into Wizarding money. Caroline seen Kristian with some of it during his Christmas break during his first year at Hogwarts. To her it just looked liked coins and until Kristian explained the value of each piece, she had no idea their worth.
"Did you know that you was going to be put in Ravenclaw, Kristian?" Caroline asked as their family tried to make their way to the book store.
"Not really," he told his younger sister. "I knew it was a choice for me but so was Hufflepuff."
Caroline nodded as they finally were able to find their way into Flourish and Blotts. It was crammed full of other hopeful wizards looking to find their books for their new classes. Caroline stayed close to her mom, she did not want to get lost in the crowd of other people. Kristian walked on alone, but their dad chased behind him.
"So, tell me the classes again," said her mom, looking through the many shelves of books.
Caroline was in such a trance she almost didn't even hear her mom speaking to her. She had never seen anything like this at all, the closest she had is the old library in her school back home, and that was not much to want to look at.
"Well, for Charms we'll need The Standard Book of Spells, for Transfigurations we need A Beginner's Guide to Transfigurations, Potions requires Magical Drafts and Potions, for History of Magic we have to get A History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts class needs The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, for Herbology I'll need One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and I'll also be needing two others, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Magical Theory."
Caroline and her mom went around the shop finding all of the books. Usually when school shopping Caroline isn't this interested or having much fun, but how can she be down when she's going to learn to be a proper wizard. Something she only thought existed in the movies.
After buying all of her books Caroline and her mom went on to buy her uniform. That, she wasn't overly excited about because she liked wearing what she normally does, but sacrifices have to be made. Besides, she still has the weekends. For the uniform, they had to buy, a black pointed hat that was similar to the witch hats on halloween costumes, they bought a pair of dragon hide gloves, and after spending almost 30 minutes on being fitted her mom also had to buy three plain black work robes and a winter robe.
They also had to purchase a wand cauldron for Potions along with brass scales and glass or crystal phials, they ended up going with the glass because they were cheaper. A telescope set was needed for Astronomy which Caroline was super excited for. Her mom even allowed for Caroline to pick out an animal, they could choose between a cat, owl, or toad.
Caroline ended up falling in love with a red colored pygmy owl because of how short and chubby it was. She usually tended to like things that were out of the ordinary. When her brother came to get an animal when it was his first time going to Hogwarts she had exoected for him to get a toad, but he ended up with a grey cat.
"Looks like we're practically finished," her mother said, looking at the attached list that Hogwarts had sent with her acceptance letter. "Only have to get your wand now."
The last shop they went to was narrow and shabby. It had peeling gold letters over the door reading Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
When they stepped in a tinkling bell rang from somewhere in the shop. It was a tiny and empty place except for a spindly chair that Caroline's mom sat on to wait. Caroline felt strange as though she was in a library; she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just come to her and looked at the thousands of thin boxed piled neatly up to the ceiling. The dush in the shop seemed to tingle with some magic.
"Good afternoon," a soft voice said. Caroline turned around. Her mom also stood from the chair.
An old man stood in front of them. His wide shining eyes lit up the gloomy shop.
"Hello," Caroline said excitedly.
"And who might you be?" asked the old man with a welcoming smile.
"I'm Caroline Moore," said Caroline happily. "I'll be going into my first year at Hogwarts."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Caroline. She wished he might blink just once. His silvery eyes were becoming a bit creepy.
"Ah, sister of Mr. Kristian Moore" said Mr. Ollivander with a smile. "I suppose you'll be needing a wand then. You're brother, he favored a Hawthorn wand. 13 inches in length with a unicorn hair core."
"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Caroline a happy grin. "Well, now-- Miss Moore.Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Well," said Caroline, carefully looking at her arms and hands thinking about what to say. "I do write with my left hand. So, my left, I guess."
"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Caroline from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Moore. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."
It was hard for Caroline to listen to what he was saying because Mr. Ollivander had the tape measure between her nostrils, but it was doing the measuring on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flinging around the shelves, searching through boxes and taking some down.
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Miss Moore. Try this one. Hawthorn and unicorn hair. 11 inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."
Caroline took the wand and feeling as if she was playing make-believe in the schoolyard, but Mr. Ollicander snatched it out of her hands almost at once.
Caroline tried three other wands. One with a dragon heartstring core, one was a Chestnut wood wand, and the other was a 9 inch in size. None of three worked for her. But with as defeated as Caroline felt Mr. Ollivander looked happier as he continued pulling wands from the shelves.
"Much more tricky than your brother, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here--I wonder, now--yes, why no--very amusing combination--Maple and phoenix feather, 10 inches, hard flexibility."
Caroline took the wand. She felt a sudden run through her fingers and all the way through her arm. She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of golden sparks shot from the end like fireworks, it threw sparks at the wall, lighting up the whole room.
Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good."
He put Caroline's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, happily handing it over to Caroline. Caroline's mom stood up from the chair and paid seven gold galleons to Mr. Ollivander, looking at Caroline happily. She really liked Mr. Ollivander.
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The entire way to the train station Caroline's owl that she had decided to name Milo slept in its cage on her lap. They were early to catch the train and it looked like her mom was almost in tears.
"What am I going to do with both of my babies gone?" she cried as she wrapped them both in large bear hugs.
"Mom," whined Kristian trying his best to free himself and when he did he wiped the kiss off his cheek. "I'm not a baby!"
Before he got on the train he hugged their mom once more and said a 'manly' goodbye to their dad. He seen his friends boarding the train he followed quickly behind them.
"Are you ready for this?" Caroline's dad turned to her after Kristian got onto the train. "This is the big times now!"
Caroline nodded excitedly.
"I've been waiting for this since the first year that Kristian got his letter," said Caroline. "I'll be fine!"
She and her dad hugged one another and her mom joined in.
"If you need anything, and I mean anything you write to us," she told her daughter. "I love you, now go get on the train before it leaves without you!"
Caroline waved to both of her parents and boarded the train. She searched for an empty compartment but most of them already seemed full.
"Hello," she heard a soft voice greet.
Caroline turned her head and seen two girls, who seemed to be twins smiling at her.
"You can sit with us if you like," said the one with her hair hanging down her back.
The other girl had her hair in pony-tail and she was wearing a light sweater.
"Oh," said Caroline with a sigh of relief. "Thank you!"
"Are you also a first year?" asked the one with her hair in the pony-tail. "We are."
"Yes," said Caroline, thankful that she had found other first years. "I'm Caroline Moore."
"I'm Parvati Pail," said the one who talked to her first. "This is my twin Padma, we're hoping that we'll be sorted into the same house!"
The Patil twins were very accepting of Caroline and the three of them got along well. They were even joined by a boy named Dean Thomas and another girl Hannah Abbit. She was glad to have made at least a few friends before diving into the world of Hogwarts.
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Caroline's outfit
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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.
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