Alyssa stood before the door to Ollivanders, taking in the gold script on the top of the shabby, black door that read "Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC". Trips to Diagon Alley with her parents were few and far between, but each time they walked past this store, Alyssa would dream of the day she would finally have a reason to enter it. And today was the day. She had finally received her Hogwarts acceptance letter.

"Go on, pup," Theron said, squeezing her shoulder. "You'll be fine."

With the assurance from her father, Alyssa took a deep breath and pushed open the door. She was greeted with shelves upon shelves of long, flat boxes that covered the store from floor to ceiling. There were so many that she barely had space to browse, and could only shuffle down the narrow corrider.

"Ah, welcome, welcome!" a thin, elderly man greeted from behind a counter at the end of the corridor of wands. "It's been a long time, Mr Trevelyan. I trust your Holly wand is well taken care of."

Behind Alyssa, Theron tilted his head in acknowledgement. "It is, Mr Ollivander. But today is not about me."

Ollivander's eyes drifted down and stopped at the tiny girl standing in front of him. "Oh yes, and you must be young Miss Trevelyan, all ready to start your first year at Hogwarts," he smiled, eyes crinkling kindly.

Alyssa smiled shyly and nodded, hands clasped in front of her nervously.

"Here, why not you try this for a start?" he unboxed a wand from the shelf behind him and presented it to her. "Twelve inches, maple wood with a pheonix feather core. This one tends to prefer gentle beings like yourself. Go on and give it a try."

Alyssa gripped the wand and gave it a swish, but nothing happened. "Not that one..." Ollivander mumbled, poring over another shelf. "How about this? Hawthorn with a dragon heartstrong core, and quite springy."

She swished the wand, but again, nothing happened. After trying three more wands, Alyssa was beginning to think that maybe none of the wands wanted her. But Ollivander didn't seem fazed at having to look for another wand again and again, and her father was still patiently waiting with a carefree smile.

"Here, I have a good feeling about this one. Ten inches, beech wood with a dragon heartstring core," Ollivander said, handing her a wand with a deep brown handle. As soon as Alyssa picked it up in her hand, a warm feeling washed over her. She had a feeling this was the one. Giving it a flick, some silver sparks shot out of the wand and Ollivander gave a gleeful round of applause. "These whippy ones are attracted to the naturally lucky witches and wizards," he said, giving her a wink.

Alyssa smiled, admiring the beautiful woodwork of the wand while her father paid Ollivander for the purchase. Her very own wand at last! She couldn't wait to learn her first spell already.