Ella had never been to Diagon Alley before, surprisingly. Most witches and wizards her age would have already begged their parents to take them to visit the famous Weasley's Wizard Wheezes or to gawk at the latest broom models at Quality Quidditch Supplies.

It was a crisp, cool fall August morning with golden and auburn colored leaves littering the cobblestone walkways of the alley. The hustle and bustle of the rather uncrowded streets made for a soothing experience for Ella as she strode down the cobblestone pathway with her mother.
She wore a light blue turtle neck sweater along with long black denims that conformed neatly to her petite frame, with the whole ensemble completed by a pair of light tan boots. Her hair was tied into a tousled, messy bun so as to prevent the soft breeze from blowing her curly hair in a disarray.

Her mother sported a long unbuttoned black peacoat that extended down to her calf which layered fashionably over her equally dark navy blue sheath dress, complete with black stockings and rather fancy looking black heel pumps. The woman's bronze colored hair was fashioned into a long braided ponytail. The only visible jewelry she wore were a pair of emerald and crystal earrings as well as a gold chain pendant suspending a small emerald ornament with a snake poised in a striking position engraved within the jewel if one were to look at it closely.

It was fairly early in August as most of the students who would be attending Hogwarts this year would likely make their purchases for school supplies closer to start of term on the first of September. Though there were some early birds such as themselves this morning as one such group of potential first years were seen walking by, gossiping in excitement of the upcoming school year. As they briskly made their way around the corner towards the South Side of Diagon Alley. Ella couldn't help but feel a weird sense of dread looming up within her. What if none of the wands responded to her? What if she was not really a witch and all those years of mishaps and occurrences were just a farce? That would be so embarrassing...

All of her thoughts however, were recollected as they approached the rather narrow and shabby looking shop at the very end of the street. They both stood briefly, gazing upon the gold letters imprinted above the door of the shop that read : Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C..

Ann, her mother, turned towards her.

"Here we are. I'm going to stop by Gringotts for some transfers and errands. You go on ahead without me. I'll meet you back at the Leaky Cauldron." She said hastily as she nodded at her daughter.

Ella glanced up at her briefly, then turned her attention back towards the entrance to the wand shop, taking a deep breath.

"Sure thing." She quipped, as she exhaled her anxiety and inner thoughts.

Ann turned swiftly and began to leave, but stopped herself short as she remembered something.

"Oh. Take this. Should cover the costs, and don't worry about the books and supplies: I'll order it and have it all delivered to us at the manor." She handed over a few galleons she took out from her inner coat pockets to Ella.

As she took the money, her mother curtly nodded.

"Okay. See you in a bit."

And with that she was off, striding back up the street at an almost jogging pace.

Left there to her own devices. Ella walked up to the entrance of the renowned wand shop and turned the knob handle.

Immediately upon entering, the musty smell of old parchment and dusty boxes wafted through her nose, causing her to hold back an involuntary sneeze as she made her way forward slowly. Inside the shop was quiet as no other customers appear to be shopping for wands this morning. A few meters away from the front door was a small front desk illuminated by a small dusty lamp.

As she approached the desk, she noticed a magical quill writing down what appears to be wand orders in bulk on a large docket of parchment. Taking notice of the rapid and neat cursive writing, Ella ponders whether or not this might be one of her father's Thought- Taking Quills he manufactured, but before she could take a closer look to confirm her theory, she was interrupted by a slight shuffle to her right as an elderly man with frazzled gray hair made his way behind the desk.

There was a awkward silence as the two stared at each other from opposite sides of the desk.

"Ahem....yes?" The old man asked, seemingly confused why a young witch was standing there.

Ella, equally confused, stammered out a reply. "O-Oh! I uh, I am here for...for my wand?" She prompted, emphasizing the word "wand" in her response.

Mr. Ollivander tilted his head towards her slightly, blinking, then suddenly twitched as if something had struck his thoughts. The magical quill immediately stopped writing and softly tilted over to rest on its side on the bed of parchment scattered across the desk.

"My dear...I do apologize. It has been a rather hectic day for orders, with the new term approaching." He mumbled, wiping a shaking hand over the brow of his forehead.

"Well, if you'd like...I can come back later?" Ella offered, partly wishing to excuse herself from having to face the inevitable.

Ollivander quickly waved her off. "No no no, a young witch's wand will lead her to a great many things. Both in Hogwarts and out in the Wizarding World!" He declared as he made his way towards one of the rolling shelf ladders and began climbing up the rungs.

He rolled the ladder over to a few sections of the shelfs, taking out a few boxes and then putting them back, all while mumbling things that Ella wasn't able to coherently make out. He then reached down and pulled a light beige colored box from a shelf next to his legs.

Apparently satisfied with the selection, he waddled his way down the ladder as he approached the young witch, unboxing it and taking out a rather new and clean looking grey wand.

"After all, it is the wand that chooses the witch, Miss Pixley. Here try this. Thirty one centimers. Unicorn hair. Acacia wood. Fairly sturdy. Excellent for non verbal incantations." He handed the wand over to her.

Ella took the wand, but not before inquiring out of curiosity. "Wait, how do you-?" She started before Ollivander waved her off impatiently.

"Just give it a good swish why don't you? We don't have all day for formalities, young one!" He said, chastising her nonchalantly.

Ella shrugged and with a slight flick of the wrist she waved the wand slightly. Immediately a spark of lightning shot out from the tip, narrowly missing Mr. Ollivander's face and burning a rather sizeable hole into one of the shelves, searing some of the wand boxes in the process. Quickly, the wandmaker waved his own wand, extinguishing the ensuing flame effortlessly.

"Oh good lord...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to." She started before the wand was yanked out of her hands.

"No matter, no matter!" Ollivander quipped cheerfully, as he shuffled off down one of the aisles. Placing the previous wand back in its box.

"Wands are fickle things yes, but I am sure we will find one that suits you. Ah!" He stood on his toes as he struggled to reach for a dark blue colored box and managed to eventually wrap his long digits around the sides and pull it down from the one of the top shelves.

Placing the wand box at the desk, he pulled open the cover and took out a old, light colored, and rather dusty looking wand.

"Twenty six point nine centimeters. Pine wood and Thunderbird tail feather- oh quite rare these days in England." He marveled as he examined the wand in his hand and he continued. "Pliable, very efficient for spells, ideal for perceptive wizards who follow their instincts."

He handed over the wand.

As soon as her hand wrapped around the bottom handle of the wand, Ella felt a warmth spreading up her arms and throughout her whole body. With sudden confidence, she twirled her wand as a swirl of silver sparkles traced the air from the tip of the wand.

She smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief. She felt as if a long lost part of herself was finally recovered.

Like greeting an old friend.

Ollivander stood there beaming at the outcome. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We expect great things from you and your generation, Miss Pixley. Do take care of yourself now." He whispered, giving her a wink before shuffling back behind the desk.

After paying for her wand, and allowing Ollivander to continue his inventory check. Ella pushed open the front door, squinting at the late morning sunlight. A young black haired wizard about her age walked past her by the door through the shop, followed shortly by his parents as they smiled at her muttering their thanks while she held the door open for them.

Cradling the box that carried her new wand, she strode forward, feeling a bit more eager now to explore the rest of Diagon Alley.