Date: August 5, 2021 (Thursday)

''You are not permitted to go to that obscene blood-traitor shop,'' Marcus Kerr warned his daughter, noticing her peering curiously at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes windows across the street. ''They only sell cheap tricks for cloddish simpletons, nothing of real value can be found there. Kerrs do not associate with such inane places. Is that understood?'' he eyes the girl sharply.

''Yes, Father,'' Liana responded obediently, trying to mask her disappointment.

The man nodded. ''I suggest you go look at the wands. Selecting one may take a while,'' he said and strode off towards the majestic snow-white building, leaving the girl alone on the sidewalk. Liana cast another longing gaze at the flashy, colourful fascade of the joke shop before heading to Ollivanders. Her disappointment at not being allowed to check out the Weasley shop was dulled quite a bit by the prospect of buying her very own wand - an item she had desired to possess since before she could remember.

The tiny, cramped shop had multiple rows of shelves completely filled with long narrow wooden boxes Liana knew to contain wands. There must have been thousands upon thousands of them! The place was, however, empty of people, except for the ancient, wizened man standing at the counter. He smiled as Liana entered.

''Well hello there, young witch. What's your name?''

''I'm Liana Kerr,'' the girl answered politely. ''I'm here to buy a wand,'' she added, somewhat unnecessary, and felt herself flushing.

''Ah, Kerr... your father bought his wand here. Took me quite a while to find him a suitable match. Oak and phoenix feather, thirty-five and a half centimeters, great for offensive spells. I trust he takes proper care of it?'' his silvery-grey eyes, weary with old age, made Liana feel a bit uncomfortable. She nodded in response, not really sure exactly how well her father cares for his wand. ''Good, good. I'm afraid I don't know who your mother is. Did she also buy her wand here?''

While clearly meaning to put the girl at ease with friendly chatter, the man only made her feel more uncomfortable with the question. The words her father had often repeated sounded in her head as if he was right there next to her speaking them - Do not let anybody know your mother was a mudblood. I will not have such shame brought on my family name. The girl cast her eyes down, feeling awkward.

''I... I don't know. She died when I was very small,'' she lied. Luckily, that answer was quite enough to make just about anybody stop prodding any further on the subject - just like Father said it would be. Ollivander just bobbed his head sympathetically.

''I am very sorry about that. Well, I guess we better move on to finding you a wand,'' he moved out from behind the counter. ''Which is your wand-hand? Right, I assume?'' he asked, taking out a tape measure. The girl nodded, watching curiously as the man took various measurements, first of her right arm, then, weirdly, the circumference of her head, the space between her eyes, then from her shoulder to the floor... She had no idea what information he was getting from this, but apparently it all made sense to Ollivander, as he was nodding to himself as if he received some vital information.

''Well then, I have some candidates in mind... wait here a bit,'' he said, moving back between the shelves, picking out some boxes here and there. Finally, he came back with six different wands and laid them out neatly on the counter. ''This should do it. Let's try this one first. Cypress and unicorn, twenty five centimeters, hard. Give it a go,,'' he said, handing the wand to Liana. She took it gingerly and gave it a tentative wave. Nothing happened. She looked at it confused, not knowing what she was expecting. ''No, that's not the one. Try this instead. Holly and basilisk horn, thirty and a half centimeters, brittle,'' Liana waved it. And again, absolutely nothing occurred. Crestfallen, she handed the wand back, wondering if indeed she was a weak witch because of her mixed blood. Would no wand want to choose her because she was not magical enough?

''Oh, don't be upset, dear,'' the man spoke, noticing the girl's expression. ''It is not unusual for a witch or wizard to struggle to find a match. I went through a dozen different wands with your own father before he was chosen.''

''But... I didn't even feel anything with those wands. Isn't something supposed to be happening?'' she asked, anxious.

''Some wands are just kinder at rejecting wizards than others, dear. Trust me when I say, it's better for everyone that nothing happens when you wave an unsuitable wand,'' Ollivander assured her, handing the girl another wand. ''I believe this might be the one. Pear and dragon heartstring, twenty seven centimeters, unyielding.''

Liana waved the wand. The shop window exploded into a thousand crystal shards, spraying a passing witch that was just outside the shop. The girl flinched, looking at the broken glass in shock, her heart suddenly pounding. Ollivander, who had breathed in sharply through his teeth at the explosion, took the wand from the girl's fingers with excessive carefulness.

''No, no, apparently I was very much mistaken. This is most definitely not the one,'' he said, picking up all the wands he had selected for Liana, even the three she hadn't tried yet. The girl watched him with wide eyes, scared. Was he not willing to sell a wand to her anymore? Could he just refuse? ''It seems that I miscalculated. I have to choose some new options,'' the man explained, answering the unspoken question in her eyes before he moved back between the shelves. He browsed for a while before he came back with a new selection of long narrow boxes.

The choosing continued. Liana waved more wands than she could count - red oak, lime, pine, rowan, willow, fir, with thestral tail hair, veela hair, kneazle whisker, dittany stalk, rougarou hair, snallygaster heartstring... there were some more explosions as the shop fell victim to some of the more temperamental wands declining Liana's partnership. The girl was losing hope fast. Would no wand want her? Even Ollivander seemed to be growing a bit frustrated. He was forced to go back to choose a different set of wands several more times.

''Cherry and white river monster spine, twenty one point three centimeters, flexible,'' the man recited almost absently, handing the girl another wand while swishing his own to fix her latest mishap - a shattered chandelier. She waved the wand, tensing in case of another hazardous failure. Instead, a light breeze seemed to enter the shop, enveloping Liana as a few bright, harmless sparks flew out of the wand she was holding. The girl clutched her wand, not yet daring to believe that this was the end of her ordeal.

''Ah, yes! Splendid!'' the wandmaker exclaimed gleefully. ''A cherry-wood wand can be quite lethal, and the river monster spine guarantees force and a certain elegance to one's spells. I must say, that is such an intriguing combination. You may perform some spectacular magic with it, in time.''

''I hope that is indeed the case,'' Marcus said, startling Liana who hadn't noticed him entering the shop behind her. ''How much do I owe you for the wand?'' he asked, taking out his pouch that clinked with gold and silver coins freshly taken from the bank.

Liana admired her new wand while her father paid the due Galleons for it. The wand was no longer showing any signs of life, but the girl felt indescribable happiness swelling in her chest. A wand chose her, and it might help her do some amazing magic! She couldn't wait to get to use it. The remaining three weeks until September 1st would be a real torture.