The afternoon in Diagon Alley had taken a toll on Ophelia, who usually never walked this much at home. By the time Mrs. Northwell had declared that they were almost done with the list, she'd exhausted herself completely and then some. In the beginning, the just thought of all things magical had excited her beyond measure, but now, even the thought of going to one more store made her feet ache.

"Just one more," Mrs. Northwell assured her, leading her to another storefront. "I promise, you'll like this one."

Ophelia doubted it. The entire experience had been thrilling, starting with Gringotts Wizarding Bank to collect money, but she was more than ready to go home. She'd been awed and amazed enough times and she was worried that the element of wonder would wear off before she even got to Hogwarts.

They entered the store and Ophelia immediately was overwhelmed by the amount of boxes in the one-room store. They were a little smaller than shoeboxes, and she couldn't imagine what was inside of each one. Her urge to tidy everything up, organize, and catalog it all was hard to resist, and she tried not to look at the odd-looking rows and columns.

A man appeared from out of the piles of boxes, a smile on his face. "Ah, Miss Northwell. I've been expecting you."

Ophelia's eyes widened. She had no idea who this man was, yet he knew her somehow. She looked for her mother, but Mrs. Northwell had cleverly slipped out of the store, leaving her alone with the little bag of galleons, sickles, and knuts. She was by herself, then.

The man reached out to a box and plucked it from its place on the shelf. He opened it carefully, revealing a long wooden stick. A wand! It had a handle and was wavy in some places, and straight in others. He told her to wave it and Ophelia did so, confused.

Absolutely nothing happened and Ophelia worried that she'd done something wrong. Maybe she wasn't really a witch. Maybe her mother had gotten it wrong. But then, the man, who'd introduced himself as Mr. Ollivander, plucked the carved stick from her hands and placed it back in the box. "Definitely not!"

He took another wand and placed it in her hands, giving Ophelia the same instructions as before. This time, when she waved the wand cautiously, a few of the boxes started to shudder as if she was somehow moving them with this piece of magic.

"No, no, no! This won't do." Mr. Ollivander took the wand and looked curiously at the shelves and piles of unmarked boxes, his brow furrowed in thought. Then, his eyes lighted up and the smile was back on his face.

"24,7 cm cherry wood and snallygaster heartstring." He explained, giving it to her gently. He winked and something about the long, lightly decorated piece of wood made Ophelia believe that this would finally be the one.

Taking a deep breath, she flicked her wrist. Ophelia shut her eyes as a beam of light erupted from the wand. Once again, the wizarding world that she hadn't ever been exposed to had amazed her. "This is the one." Ophelia heard Mr. Ollivander murmur softly.

After she'd paid and tucked the packed wand box tightly under her arm for protection, Ophelia walked out of the store and met Mrs. Northwell peeking through the window.

"You were right." She said with a laugh. "I did enjoy that one."