Astra and Roderick practically ran to Ollivander's the moment Aunt Aces' broom landed. Their aunt had agreed to take them shopping in Diagon Alley for their school supplies early to spend a little quality time with her niece and nephew.

Elliot's broom landed behind them. He fell into step with his mum and watched as his two youngest cousins tumbled into the wand shop. "Was I that excited?" he asked with a laugh.

Aces bumped her son with her shoulder. "Don't be daft, of course you were," she said as they entered the shop. "How could you not be?"

Astra stood on her tiptoes at the counter, not quite tall enough to see over it. "Hello, Mr. Ollivander!" she said with a bright smile. The first time Astra had met Garrick Ollivander was two years ago, when Roderick had gotten his wand, a handsome cedar one with phoenix feather core.

"Hello, Norricks!" the elderly man said with a kind smile. "It's good to see your faces again." He looked to Aces and Elliot. "Hello, Astra, dear." He hobbled around the counter and gave her a hug from the side.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Ollivander," Aces responded, hugging the old man back. She had helped him in his shop for a time, many years ago, running to fetch the wands for all the wide-eyed first years. "It's my niece's turn to go to Hogwarts. Can you believe it?"

Ollivander laughed, making his way once again behind the counter. "Another Astra Norrick to terrorize the halls of Hogwarts, eh?" Astra giggled when he said this. "Well, let's find you a wand then."

Roderick, a smirk on his face, said, "I bet your going to get a unicorn hair wand. It's the easiest."

Elliot lightly smacked the back of his little cousin's head. "Not true. Your dad has a unicorn hair wand and he's an Auror," he said, sounding for all the world like a jaded teenager (though he was twenty-five). Roderick stuck his tongue out at him, rubbing the back of his head.

Ollivander clicked his tongue, pulling out a wand from the shelf. "Unicorn hair wands are the most faithful of all, like this one here," he said, pulling out a wand. "Yew wood, unicorn hair. Give it a wave, Miss Norrick." He carefully handed the wide-eyed girl the wand. She twirled it in a quick, precise motion. Aces recognized it as the motion for the Lumos Charm. She chuckled silently at the perceptiveness of her little niece.

"It didn't do anything..." Astra said, looking disappointed.

"Never fear, we'll find you a wand," Ollivander reassured, placing the current one back in its box. "This is simply meant for someone else."

Astra tilted her head quizzically. Elliot crouched down beside her. "The wand chooses it's wizard," he explained gently. "When you get the right one, you'll know."

The sycamore with dragon core did not want her, and neither did the dogwood with phoenix core. Astra nearly burst into tears when the redwood with phoenix core sent a burst towards Roderick, almost knocking him on the floor.

"Don't worry, Asa," Aces reassured her niece, hugging her close. "Mr. Ollivander will find the right wand." She noticed a twinkle in the old man's eye that indicated he had an idea.

"Astra- the adult one, that is," Ollivander began, "could you run to the back and grab number 349?" Aces' eyes widened.

"349?" she repeated. Ollivander nodded, smiling. Aces quickly made her way around the counter and to the back through a maze of shelves, muttering the number to herself over and over again.

Ollivander turned his kind eyes to the young girl. "Now the wand your aunt is getting is a very special wand. It's quite old, so it has not found its wizard yet," he said in a soft voice. "It is a very rare wand, one that I'm surprised I made so early in my career."

Aces returned with a box that looked slightly different from the rest, faded and dusty. Ollivander took it with a nod of thanks and slowly opened it. The wand was long, almost as long as Astra's arm she thought. "Holly wood and a phoenix feather core. These two materials do not pair very often, but it is a powerful wand indeed when they do." He placed the light-colored one in Astra's hand. Aces, Elliot, and even Roderick watched with intrigue as Astra flicked it in the same motion she'd practiced four times before. The Lumos motion.

And all of a sudden, the girl felt warmth filling her limbs and a tiny glow of light appeared at the tip of her wand. She gasped, a smile filling her features. Aces glanced at Ollivander's satisfied expression. "You thought of that one because of mine, didn't you?" she asked in a hushed tone, bringing out her own wand, made of English Oak and phoenix feather.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Mrs. Lerian," he said as he watched Roderick sweep his little sister into a hug and gawk at the wand she'd got. "It's the wand's choice."

Aces gave Ollivander a look, before hugging the old man and stepping out to join her family. They wandered out of the shop, Astra thanking Ollivander over and over again as they bid him farewell. "Guess what, Astra?" the woman asked the girl, taking out her wand.

"What, Aunt Aces?" she asked, holding up her wand and admiring it.

"Holly is king of the wood from the Summer Solstice to the Winter Solstice. That's what your wand is made of." Astra nodded, her attention focused on her aunt now. "And my wand is made of English Oak. That's the king of the wood for the other half of the year."

"Really?" Astra gasped. She was thrilled to find another connection between her aunt, who was her role model, her namesake, her hero, and herself.

"Yep," Aces said with a smile. "Now let's head to Flourish and Blott's to meet your parents, yeah?"

"Race you there!" Elliot crowed, sprinting ahead. Roderick immediately started after him with Astra following close behind.

Aces cast a glance back at Ollivander's, where she saw another first-year go in. Thank you, Garrick. For all of it.