It was a lovely day in Diagon Alley, full of wonder everywhere the eye could see - even for someone who was second generation pure thank you very much. There were not only all of the different stores selling the various wizarding necessities that one might need at some point in their life but also the magical food shoppes which smelled enticing as one walked past them, inviting one to enter and eat to their heart's content. Then there were the different people and creatures that gathered in the Alley on any given day, these days though it seemed that more and more parents were shopping with their children, preparing for Hogwarts.

After much pestering of her mother and persuading Wilson to watch Winifred, Wilma had dragged her to Diagon Alley, two buy two of the items left on her school list, her very own wand and some form of animal. She was not sure how she felt about rats yet, and while she liked cats an owl might be the best option. She could never be positive, however, and would have to wait until she reached the menagerie to see. Their first stop today, however, was Ollivander's, for a shiny new wand all her own. This was certainly to be the most exciting part of the morning because once she had a wand, she could learn real magic and be protected from magical aliums as well.

The soft soles of her shoes caused no sounds on the cobblestones as she walked slowly and serenely towards Ollivander's, her inward emotions not showing readily on her face where there sat simply a bemused smile as though she were trying to decipher a puzzle of some sort. Her mother stood close behind her when suddenly she stopped and looked up, the smile now turning into one of great pleasure. "First stop, Ollivander's!" Her soft voice raised about an octave as she expressed her excitement to her mother, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She looked around the room and nodded, she understood, yes. The glory of this moment was not lost on her and she wanted to capture everything, from the dust settled on all of the boxes, to the sheer disorganization of the little shop.

Keegan was supposed to have gone to some place called "Ollivanders" an hour ago to get a wand, but had spent that hour wandering lost around Diagon Alley. Well, Lost is subjective. Keegan didn't know where he was, but he had every intention of wandering around aimlessly anyways. The place was far too interesting to NOT get lost in. All the colors, and the noises... and the magic! Everywhere he looked things were happening that couldn't be explained by any rational means. People were flying, popping out of nowhere and stirring their tea without touching the spoon. Kids his age were everywhere carrying cauldrons, books and brooms, as well as an occasional cage with huge owls peeking out. It was like living in a movie!

Stopping to stare into a junk shop window, where a basket of glass balls filled with fluctuating red fog caught his eye, Keegan jingled the coins in his pocket as he considered going in and seeing what cool things he could add to his pocket collection. Mostly what was in there now was mundane... or rather that weird word... what was it.. ah "Muggle" items like bits of wire, buttons, a corkscrew, a half empty box of matches and a cool looking stone he had found on the river bank. But think of what awesome wizarding things he could add to it! His head filled with the possibilities and nearly popped with excitement when it was quickly deflated by a high pitched and obnoxiously excited voice across the alley. "First stop, Ollivander's!"

Keegan tore his eyes away from the busted Remembralls and looked across the alley as a girl about his age and what he assumed was her mother entered a store. Glancing at the sign, he saw in dismay that it was indeed the wand shop he had been avoiding. A grumpy frown graced his features and he kicked the wall a little in irritation. He HAD to go now... Tulo would probably use some weird mind magic on him if he lied and said that he couldn't find the place. Taking one last look at the treasure in the junk shop, Keegan sighed and trudged across the street, dragging his worn sneakers against the ground with every reluctant step.

Entering the door, Keegan sidled in behind the small brunette and her mother, following the girls stare around the room. He didn't know what she looked so in awe about... all there was was a bunch of dusty little boxes crowded on bookshelves that graced every conceivable wall (and then some). The junk shop was loads more interesting in his opinion. Shaking his head, he suddenly blurted out "So... This is a wand shop? I kinda expected something more... interesting..."

She was caught up in her own thoughts as usual when she heard the boy speak. She turned to face him and cocked her head to the side, shrugging her shoulders delicately. "It is terribly interesting to me." Her voice was soft and a she wore a smile on her face. "I can't wait to start Hogwarts in the fall. Are you going there as well?" Her speaking was slow and methodic, as though every word went through a fine tooth comb in her head before she said it.

She paused for a moment before realizing that she hadn't said her name yet, a surprised expression forming on her face as she blurted it out. "My name is Wilma. What's yours?" She cocked her head to the other side while she waited for him to answer her. She was patient, yes, but only to a point - she was eleven years old after all. When he had answered and all things were sorted, she acted like a little adult. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

She had never had very much contact with boys in her short life, they all thought she was weird and spent the majority of the day teasing her and throwing things at her. Bubblegum was not an easy thing to get out of her hair - even with her mother's magic. Mainly from what she knew of boys, they were mean. That didn't mean she had to be mean back though, did it? She could try she supposed but really it was doubtful that she would succeed at doing so.

She turned away from him for a moment, a soft 'excuse me' said to him as she moved to try and ring the bell. She stretched her arm out, and standing on her tippy toes finally hit it where it had been placed far back on the desk. What a foolish thing to do! Though she supposed that adults usually came with children and her mother could really have done it for her. "Just making sure someone knows we are here! Is this your first day in the Alley?"

Eirene practically skipped all the way down Diagon Alley with her nanny in tow. Or at least, she would skip, if she thought Johanna wouldn’t scold her for scuffing her shoes. She was dressed in a crisp white shirt and rose-colored skirt, with tights and polished dark shoes. She’d braided her hair at least three times until it was nice and neat this morning, not a strand out of place.

When she saw the sign for Ollivander’s she stopped suddenly, eyes wide, to look at Johanna and grin.

“May I go and buy my wand now, please?” Eirene asked excitedly, well aware that Effie had already inherited hers and was ahead of the game. She was quite jealous.

The nanny hesitated and then listed off several instructions that Eirene nodded at each time. Johanna still had many things to do before heading home, so it was alright for Eirene to purchase her wand as long as she stayed in the store until the nanny came back.

Eirene reassured her she would and swung open the door to the wand shop. She looked around for a split second and then rushed towards the window, waving at the nanny as she walked away.

When she turned around again she finally took in the rest of the shop and the people already waiting. Two children and what looked like one of their parents seemed to be having a conversation, but there was no clerk in sight.

She watched the two younger ones for the moment, curious as to who they were. The boy and girl dressed and acted differently so she didn’t think they were related, but then again everyone knew boys were usually stinky and dirty and couldn’t be expected to look presentable. Except for Adley. Eirene wrinkled her nose all the same at the thought of him.

“Hello!” she chirped at them suddenly, not sure if she was interrupting their conversation but unable to resist intruding anyway.

“I’m Eirene, Eirene Antonopoulos,” she announced proudly, holding out a hand for them to shake. She paused a beat for her last name to sink in and continued on. “I’m buying my wand today. I do hope it will be a pretty one- like the ones with all the intricate carvings and light colors. Those must be terribly expensive though,” she breathed, seeing that as a positive thing. She didn’t understand yet that the cost of the wand didn’t prove its worth.

She remembered something the girl had said a moment ago and turned to look at the boy. “Yes, is this your first day here? Really? I’ve been here lots of times. I know where everything is, too- my parents had me memorize the map- so that way, I don’t get lost. And I can help other people find things, even!”

She paused to beam at both of them, and then stood on her tiptoes to see if the clerk was coming yet. Whoever worked here was slacking, big time. Didn’t they know she was here to buy her wand?

She went over to the counter and cleared her throat primly. When that didn’t work she reached over and rang the bell once. Then a few times. After throwing the other children an incredulous look, Eirene turned and called out, “Excuse me!” Ding, ding. “I’m here to buy a wand!” A slight pout formed on her lips as she peered out into the rows of wand boxes, as if looking hard enough would conjure the clerk out of thin air.

"It is terribly interesting to me. I can't wait to start Hogwarts in the fall. Are you going there as well? My name is Wilma. What's yours? It is a pleasure to meet you."

Finally, something Keegan could talk about (himself). His sullen expression lit up as he smiled at her "I'm Keegan Kearney.... and yeah, I was chosen to attend Hogwarts too.. They told me mum that I was magical and gonna be a powerful wizard..." He trailed off a little as she suddenly walked away from him and tried to ring the bell on the counter.

"Just making sure someone knows we are here! Is this your first day in the Alley?"

"Yer too titchy... Let an someun else get it..." He said as he started over to her, prepared to be that 'someun' if her mother didn't get the hint. Before he could do anything about it though, a girl that had been standing off to the side for a moment butted her way in and started blathering like a plonker*.

“Hello! I’m Eirene, Eirene Antonopoulos, I’m buying my wand today. I do hope it will be a pretty one- like the ones with all the intricate carvings and light colors. Those must be terribly expensive though,”

Keegan felt the urge to roll his eyes and went with it, rolling them slowly and superbly as she blabbered on, apparently oblivious. He even sighed heavily to signal that she was boring him to death. It sort of worked, or so he thought, until she switched the subject onto him.

“Yes, is this your first day here? Really? I’ve been here lots of times. I know where everything is, too- my parents had me memorize the map- so that way, I don’t get lost. And I can help other people find things, even!”

"I don't need your help..." Keegan started, sneering at her. He didn't appreciate some little rossie* acting like she was better then him, especially without knowing who he was or what he was capable of. He felt his fists curl into a ball and it took all he had to remind himself that she was a girl and that he couldn't smack her one. Lucky for her, she moved out of his arms reach and begin to bang on the bell impatiently.

“Excuse me!” Ding, ding. “I’m here to buy a wand!”

Keegan stared flatly at the girl, an incredulous look on his face. It was the first time he had met a girl who talked faster and louder then he did. Incredibly, he didn't appreciate it in the slightest. In fact, as the girl banged on the bell and hollered out orders like she was some sort of princess, Keegan found himself glowering hatefully, muttering under his breath "Feckin' scanger*... She seriously needs to pry her undy-grundy* out of her bum...."

---

* Irish Slang:
Plonker = Idiot
Rossie = Brat
Scanger = stupid girl
undy-grundy = wedgie

If it weren't for the fact that she was being accompanied by an adult, Mairead would have sworn she was reliving the previous day.  If Mairead wasn't mistaken, it seemed even the weather  was the same - though the weather had become oddly overshadowed by the events of the previous day.  Opie had ventured on to the bookstore and Mairead was soon left to her own devices. 

Mairead followed her path from the day before back to the ironically mundane storefront of the wand shop.  With slightly mixed feelings, she could see trio of kids in the store and she hesitated a moment.  She didn't care what those people had said in the shop the day before.  She couldn't care less what that horrid girl and that woman thought.  The feeling of lashing out at that other girl - You-fandia or something or other - had been immensely satisfying.  Mairead regretted not having been able to get a few more strikes in.  But, later that evening, as she'd been trying to drift off to sleep, a slight unease had settled.  For the first time since her mother had left, loneliness set in and Mairead missed home. 

She hesitated a moment, watching the kids inside the shop, half tempted to head over to the joke shop again.  The tall red-headed man in there was funny and seemed strangely tolerant of her awkwardness.  But, she needed a wand.  She wanted her wand.  The next time she saw that girl, Mairead needed to have her wand.

Mairead took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.  She didn't care.  She didn't care.  If any of these kids said anything, she'd sock them, too.  Mairead tugged open the door and stepped inside the wandshop again and turned towards the counter.  She glanced at the boy who was glaring at a girl by the counter who was banging on the bell on the counter.  Determined to keep to herself and avoid trouble, she tried to ignore the other's proceedings but couldn't help overhear the boy's mutterings.  She understood it without any problem.  She grinned and chuckled but fell silent as the storekeeper stepped out from the back.

"Oh, you again.  I don't want any trouble today," the woman said as she scanned the gathering of kids, her eyes lingering on Mairead a moment.  "So.  Who was first?"

“What is titchy?” She cocked her head and looked at him questioningly. She had certainly never heard the term before. Hopefully it wasn’t anything bad. If it was an insult it was clearly a new one. She hoped it wasn’t, though she would have to make note of it if it was. That way the next time anyone called her that she would know that it was an insult. Though maybe she was jumping the gun and it was not an insult.

She couldn’t help but wonder though if the boy might find her odd for not knowing what it meant. Would she have to explain to him that she had no friends? Maybe then he wouldn’t want to be her friend either and he would be like all the other boys, mean and nasty to her. He hadn’t answered yet when another girl came bounding into the shop and Wilma’s eyes opened wide, moving closer to her mother as the girl spoke.

She was so... Energetic and talkative. Wilma could almost feel herself fading into the background as this other girl just bounced around and spoke and spoke and spoke. When she was finally quiet, which seemed to take forever, especially with her ringing of the bell and her calling out that she was there to buy her wand. “Hello.” She looked at the girl with her curious blue eyes. “I’m Wilma.”

The clerk finally came forward just as another girl about their age came in. Wilma didn’t really like large crowds and in the small shop this just seemed to be getting more and more crowded. What if they all turned on her at once? She was not sure what she would do then. She waved at the new girl that came in though before turning to the clerk.

“I was,” she said quietly. “But someone else can go first if they want.” The last thing she wanted was to get in the way of that other girl. She would probably be very good at being mean. Though Wilma was sure that all she really needed would be a good hug.

Trouble? Who was going to cause trouble? Certainly not her. Eirene followed the clerk’s gaze until she saw another girl standing by the door. She only glanced at her, however, because the next thing she heard made her head swing around so fast she got dizzy!

“So. Who was first?”

Finally! It was with great, great difficulty that Eirene remembered her manners. What she really wanted to do was jump up and say ME! But that reaction wouldn’t be honest or polite, and if her nanny found out she was sure to get a lecture. So for a few moments, a myriad of conflicting emotions flitted across her face as she glanced at the other children with envy, and then took a few steps away from the counter as if it caused her physical pain.

Wilma, the nice girl who didn’t glare at people for no reason (unlike the dirty boy who muttered things she didn’t understand), told the clerk quietly that she’d been first but someone else could go if they wanted to.

Eirene stared at her. So kind! She would never be able to do something like that.

“They were first,” she admitted reluctantly, mouth twisting. “You were in line, weren’t you?” She asked the boy coolly, continuing on before he had a chance to answer. “But I’m next, after them!” Eirene informed the woman, turning again to widen her eyes at the new girl just in case she dared to even think about contradicting her.

Eirene twirled one of her braids around her finger and finally shut her mouth for a few minutes. She went back to observing the children and noticed the hostile look on the boy’s face. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly in confusion before she figured it out. He must look grumpy because he had to wait so very long to get his wand. It was taking absolutely forever -more than two minutes! -with Wilma, which Eirene hadn’t expected. Her eyes strayed back to the newcomer, the girl who dressed a bit like Keegan. Actually, she dressed like a boy in general, which Eirene thought was funny. She resisted the urge to giggle at her, smug and secure in the fact that her own clothes were of much better quality and looked somewhat feminine too.  She glanced at the girl’s shoes- oh Merlin, there was dirt on them!

After glancing at Keegan again, she sidled on over next to Mairead, whose expression was more pleasant. It took her a moment to speak, for once, because she felt a bit shy being in a strange place with no parents and no Effie around. Once she did open her mouth, though, all shyness evaporated.

“Hi,” she said, looking at her with open curiosity and a bit of condescension. “I’m Eirene Antonopoulos.” She paused for half a second. “Is it true? Did you really cause trouble already?” Her voice sounded excited and slightly horrified at the same time.

"Oh, you again.  I don't want any trouble today,"

Keegan glanced over as the shopkeeper entered, curious to whom, exactly, she was accusing of making trouble. Whenever he heard that statement, his hackles immediately rose and he froze, half expecting the Razz to come busting in the store at any given moment. But when he saw that her eyes were focused on another girl who had entered (Bloody hell this place was full of them!) instead of him, he relaxed.

"So.  Who was first?"

Ignoring the shop clerk, since he hadn't been the first in line, Keegan studied the newcomer out of the corner of his eye. She didn't look like the other girls. Her hair wasn't perfectly in place, her clothes weren't frilly and pastel and there was enough dirt on her boots to show that she could at least get a little dirty. All this, along with the shopkeepers words regarding her 'trouble making' peaked Keegan's interest. Troublemaker eh? Now that was the kind of girl he could stand, more so then Miss Priss and Space Case over there.

“They were first, You were in line, weren’t you? But I’m next, after them!”

"Yeah we were..." Keegan bit out nastily, making it very clear that Eirene wasn't about to cut in front of him. "You go first." He ordered, pushing Wilma forward towards the counter before turning back to the new girl and her new appendage named Eirene, who was already bothering her.

“Hi, I’m Eirene Antonopoulos. Is it true? Did you really cause trouble already?”

" 'ey, Lay off 'er will ya..." Keegan snapped at the freckled girl, irritated by her grilling of the new girl "... it's none of ya business..." Turning to the new girl, he offered a bit of advice "Watch yerself, shes bloody loopers. A bit thick in the skull..." He clarified, figuring that Eirene would catch his drift. If she didn't, ah well, it only proved his point. Holding out his hand, he gave her a lopsided smile and said gruffly "Name's Keegan..."

Mairead looked up at the woman behind the counter and nodded, trying to look remorseful.  The look of shame didn't last long; as soon as the store clerk turned to the group of kids to find out who was first, a smug grin took the place of the frown.  She wanted her wand so she didn't want the shopkeeper to kick her our but she wasn't going to deny it.  She was frequently revisiting the memory of that girl lying on her back with a look of horror on her face with considerable fondness. 

The girl there with someone that appeared to be her mother spoke up first.  When she offered to let the others go first Mairead shook her head.   "Naw.  It's alright.  Ye were here first.  I got to see someone different for me wand."  The girl seemed strange in an interesting way.  Though she seemed like one of those strange, flighty girls, she didn't seem, on first impressions, to be like the girl from the previous day.  She was, therefore, an improvement.

The other girl, though, seemed more suspicious.  From the stuck-up way the girl tried to place them in order to get their wands to the far too carefully constructed outfit, it seemed easy to peg the girl as one of those rich school kids.  Despite not knowing any of the kids in the shop, she couldn't help grinning slightly when the boy spoke up, putting the pretentious girl in her place.

"Alright.  Alright, we don't need a repeat of yesterday's fight."  The store clerk looked pointedly at Mairead.  "Whoever's first come on up," the woman said, pulling out a measuring tape and beckoning the first girl forward.  "Let's take your measurements." 

The girl, Eirene, approached Mairead and looked at her with an expression that, while not as openly hostile as the girl from the day before, still seemed to be critical.  Mairead opened her mouth to speak but, before she could, the boy snapped at Eirene.  A touch of color brushed across Mairead's cheeks but she smiled smugly at the girl.  Back home, her best friend Jarlath, or Tito as he preferred to be called, could always be counted on to stand up for her in such a way. 

Glancing towards him, Mairead said.  "It's alright, I can handle meself."  It wasn't meant as a reprimand and there was no trace of offense in her voice.  It was more a simple statement; her reassuring this young man that she wasn't defenseless.  Without answering Eirene's question, Mairead looked back at her.  "What kind of name is Anton... whatever?" 

Mairead turned towards the boy.  Already in the first few moments, Mairead had pegged the boy as a potential kindred spirit.  She eyed the extended hand curiously (shaking hands two days in a row?) and gave it a firm shake.  "Mairead.  Yer going to Hogwarts?  Are ye a mudblood?"  She asked the question firmly and pointedly with just a trace of pride.  If that girl yesterday hated mudbloods so much (whatever they were), Mairead was determined to love them.

With arms full of things she'd already managed to help her new (unofficial) adoptee purchase, Matilda tilted her head toward the window of Ollivander's. She was beaming. She'd only once set foot in the wand shop; she had little need for it, being of the squib persuasion. But she'd enthusiastically promised to help her curly-mopped little friend find his own wand (and everything else on the list that Hogwarts hadn't yet sent him), and so here she was, for the first time in nineteen years. And, hey, at the very least, it would allow Tilly to make friends with the clerk. If he was friendly.

"My dad raves about this place," she mused aloud, seeming to recall something from a long time ago. Everybody raved about the place. Ollivander's was the best. You didn't need to be a wizard, or even an English compatriot, to know that. "I came here with him when I was five, to get wand polish. It was just before we started to figure out... oh well." She shrugged and pushed her back into the door, still smiling at the boy as she turned the handle and backed inside.

It seemed that Fyedka wasn't the only future first year in Ollivander's today. Even Tilly blinked with surprise as she saw the line of children forming. Maybe there was a sale; or maybe they'd all been called upon by the Accidental Reversal Squad for blowing up various possessions and or loved ones. Tilly looked passed them to the towering shelves full of boxes, and wondered for just a brief moment what it would have been like.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" She asked the boy, whose tiny glasses were still tugging at her heart. It was sappy and unnecessary, but she couldn't help it. "The future class of-- mmm, no, I think the centuries will have started over by then."

They had been absolutely everywhere at this point. Fyedka had tasted a Butterbeer float, had seen the shop filled with Owls of various shapes and sizes, looked in on several books that might explain, what up to this point his father had called his 'condition', and yet still there appeared to be more for him to see. To gaze upon the shop from the outside, Fyedka thought little of it.

However the way Tilly praised it, he figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. It couldn't be any worse then the smell of the apothecary as they had passed it, with it's foul rotten egg odor mixed with earthen scents. This at least looked to be buzzing with life, and he liked that.

Stepping into the shop after his tour-guide/mentor he pushed up his glasses, a habit he seemed to do at every turn, to see a handful of students milling about. "So this is the wand shop," he stated knowing full well now that a wand was apparently very important to a wizard or witch. Hopefully with the amount of books he purchased he would have a chance to read up and become better acquainted with the whole mess. Otherwise this really was almost too much for him to take in all at once.

Standing beside her, Fyedka looked up at Tilly "These would be my classmates then?" His eyes glanced over person to person, not making a snap judgment but appraising them individually. They were all different from him, and he wondered how many of them were, 'oh blast what did Tilly call it? Ah yes, Muggleborn' like he assumed he was.

Taking cues from the other children making a line, he followed suit. Peering back at Tilly who held most of his new belongings as he made his way towards the already forming, babbling group. Really he had no idea what to expect, but he figured if he listened in, even just a little he could catch a gist of the procedure. With that he could get in, get out, and get back to walking the peculiar alley with his new friend.

She gulped slightly as she was ordered to move first and then pushed in that direction. It was a fairly rapid movement and she nearly fell right onto the clerk. She wanted to turn around and hide in her mother’s skirts for a bit, but that would just make a horrible impression on her future classmates. They were all just so loud, like Wilfred her brother. She shuddered to think and then jumped slightly as a tape measure began to zip around her limbs.

Before long she was trying out wands, hoping that no one was watching as wand after wand failed. How embarrassing would it be to try every wand in the store before being told that none of them worked! None of them was right, none of them was hers and clearly they were mistaken and she was a squib. She gulped quietly, noting as the minutes ticked by on the clock. Five full minutes had gone by surely.

She took another wand out of it’s box. “Rosewood with phoenix feather. Nine and a half inches.” She wondered at the description and waved it warily, a small but excited squeak came out of her mouth as a few flowers drifted lazily from the wand and onto the floor before disappearing. She held the wand out in front of her with both hands, staring at it in surprise and shock. It was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined. She had found it. Her mother dutifully paid and Wilma was pleased to have her own wand.

When her mother tried to take her out of the store, Wilma was not having it, however. “Please mum, just go run your errands and I will wait here. I promise.” She was convinced easily, pleased to see her daughter at least attempting to associate with her future classmates and went off just as another pair entered the shop. Wilma slipped her new purchase into her bag and looked around at everyone there, introducing herself to the newcomers. “I’m Wilma.” She smiled briefly at the new girl, the woman and the boy.

What a good day to have decided to come in to Ollivander’s! “What are your names?” She was being awfully curious today and more talkative than she normally might be around new people but she was so excited! Of course excitement just made her want to hug people but she didn’t think it would be appropriate - yet.

Angry boy rudely made his point by snapping at her and pushing Wilma towards the counter. Eirene gave him a severe frown, mimicking her mother’s when she was displeased, and turned her attention to the tomboy in the store. Or at least, she tried to, but once again was interrupted by Mr. Grumpy. He told her to “lay off”, which she assumed to mean he wanted her to be quiet.

“I was just asking a-“

Unfortunately, he ignored her and then- horror of all horrors- called her crazy and stupid to the new girl. Appalled, Eirene opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She really wanted to list all the awards and high marks she’d received throughout her schooling to prove that she was definitely not loopy, but the two other children continued talking and she lost her train of thought. Crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air, Eirene pretended she couldn’t care less about what some dirty boy who spoke strangely thought of her. She tried to focus her attention on Wilma, who had just been handed a rosewood wand. She watched her raise her arm, flick her wrist, and then stare in shock as flowers fell from it.

“Oh! Good job!” Eirene said loudly, clapping her hands together. An instant later she felt jealous and wanted desperately to practice with the wands too, but she had to wait her turn. Eirene narrowed her eyes at Keegan and was about to inform him that he was next (as much as she hated it), when the new girl asked her what kind of name was Antonopoulos.

Eirene stared at her in surprise, offended that she didn’t know. Then she drew herself up proudly and said, “It’s only one of the oldest wizarding names from Greece.” She smiled smugly. “My grandparents still live there. My parents and I have been on vacation there about a thousand times…”

She would have gone on, but was distracted when several things seemed to happen at once. Wilma’s mother paid for the girl’s wand and left, a young woman and a boy stepped into the store, and Mairead said a bad word. A very bad word indeed.

Eirene gasped dramatically and clasped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

“You just said- you’re not supposed to… Merlin!” She looked around at everyone in the store but she and Keegan seemed to be the only ones who’d heard it, and Keegan didn’t look like he cared.

“You’re supposed to say muggle-born,” she declared stiffly. “Saying that- that other word could get you into trouble. Isn’t that right?” Eirene glanced around the store for support, eyes landing on the young woman who had just arrived. Didn’t anyone know anything around here? At least she knew better than to say politically incorrect things that would make her parents upset. Eirene didn’t understand exactly what the word mudblood meant, or why it was bad, only that she shouldn’t say it.

"Mairead.  Yer going to Hogwarts?  Are ye a mudblood?"

"Wuzzat?" He said quickly, a puzzled expression crossing his face. He hadn't been told, as of yet, what a mudblood was. It certainly didn't sound all that nice, but the girl asked so earnestly that he didn't think she meant it in a derogatory way. Apparently, however, Eirene thought differently. Before Mai could explain, Eirene's shrill voice filled the silence with a grand scale hissy fit.

“You just said- you’re not supposed to… Merlin! You’re supposed to say muggle-born, Saying that- that other word could get you into trouble. Isn’t that right?”

As Eirene looked around for assistance with her little rant, Keegan glanced sideways at Mai and offered her a little conspiratorial smile. He figured that, judging by what he knew about her already, that she was thinking the same thing as he was. An evil grin crossed his face as he started to chant at Eirene in a voice low enough for just her and mai to hear, sticking his hands out and wiggling his fingers mockingly at her as he did so "Mudblood. Mudblood. Mudblood. Mudblood..."

Not satisfied with just that, Keegan paused long enough to stick a finger in his mouth, soak it up with spit real good, and then proceeded to stick it in Eirenes ear, shouting so that the whole store heard "Ha! Now you have mudblood cooties!" There was a clatter and a gasp as the shopkeeper dropped a wand she was holding in horror at his words. Only fueled by the looks he was receiving, Keegan glanced around and eyed the new comer. "YOU!" He called out, pointing at the bespectacled boy "YOU THERE? YOU A MUDBLOOD TOO?"