'It's just that I really don't think it'll make a difference. That's all.'

Pax wasn't feeling his best. He was still a little queasy from the Floo powder, and clutching his wand protectively as his father lead him down Diagon Alley. Perceval gave him a concerned, but knowing look. 'Pax, I know you want to keep your grandmother's wand. I promise you, we're not going to get rid of it. Whatever happens, we're keeping it in the family, you know that, don't you?'

'I know... But I...' He trailed off, looking down at the wooden stick that had been his grandmother's before it had been his. Before she had died. He couldn't quite put into words without sounding selfish or childish how important it was to him that he be the one to keep it. Zora Wintergreen was one of the most important people in the world to Pax; he felt like he had a special bond with her even though he'd only grown up with her memory. How could you explain knowing someone you'd barely even met?

Outside the entrance to Ollivander's wand shop, Perceval stopped walking, and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. 'Listen, kiddo, it's okay to be attached to your wand,' he assured him, his voice genuine and understanding. 'We're just here to look, okay? And even if Mr. Ollivander finds you a wand that works better for you than your grandma's, if you still don't want it... You don't have to get a new one. All right? All I want is for you to give it a try.'

Pax looked back at him uncertainly. 'I don't have to get a new one?'

'I'm not going to dictate your priorities for you, Pax, you're old enough to figure out for yourself what's right for you. But you've been having such a hard time with wandwork, I just thought it would be a good idea to see if it might be easier with a wand that's chosen you for itself. But if you end up deciding to keep your old wand and just keep working harder, I'm not going to stop you.'

This mollified Pax somewhat. 'I still don't think a new wand would make things easier.'

A smile twitched at the corner of Perceval's mouth, making his mustache crooked. 'Since when are you such a pessimist?' Pax grinned back a little. 'You go on in, son, I'll be just out here, okay?' Pax realised without having to ask that his dad was giving him space to prove that he trusted Pax to make his own decision. So he nodded, though still nervous, and turned and walked into the shop.

It was empty at the moment. Mr. Ollivander must have gone through to the back room. Pax glanced around at all the boxes of wands, feeling a little daunted. He looked back at his own wand, and waved it about a little, as if trying it out for the first time. Nothing happened. 'Don't worry, wand,' he murmured. 'I'm not going to replace you. I'm not afraid of a little hard wor--'

He cut himself off abruptly as he heard the door swing open again, and spun around to see who had just come in, while trying not to look like someone who had just been talking to his wand.

Noriko's summer had not started off very well.  At first, she had been excited to be home.  By the end of the year, she had to admit that Hogwarts had grown on her a little bit -- it was slightly less scary when one knew their way around most of the hallways and corridors, and Noriko knew she would miss her friends seeing her friends over the summer, especially Pax and Eirene.  But there was something nice about not having to do homework every day.  About getting to sleep in her own bed.  About getting hugged by her parents, and being told that she didn't need to worry about how she had done on exams, and really Noriko, stop sniffling because they were proud of her for making it through the entire school year anyhow!

What she hadn't missed, however, were her siblings.  When she had been away at school, it had been easy to just picture them as the faceless mass, whining and crying but never bothering her too much, now that she didn't have to see them every day.  Now that she was home again, she remembered just how much they irritated her.  Her youngest sister Yumiko, whose nose never stopped running.  Her brother Daichi, who still insisted that he was a dog and took all of his meals under the table. 

Worst of all was Taiki, the next oldest, who had barely waited for Noriko to race off the Hogwarts Express and leap into her father's arms before loudly announcing, with the biggest and most devilishly gleeful grin that Noriko had ever seen, that he would be joining her at Hogwarts in the fall.

"I don't see why we have to get it now," she complained petulantly, dragging her feet as she trailed along behind her mother and her brother.  This wasn't fair.  Why did she have to come along?  She didn't even care about her brother's stupid wand, and she hated shopping.

Her mother shot her a look over her shoulder that normally would have ended the conversation.  "Noriko, we've already discussed this," she said through clenched teeth.  "Stop complaining."

Beside her, positioned so that her mother couldn't see, Taiki stuck his tongue out and then leered awfully at his sister.

Noriko's jaw dropped.  "Mum, he's making faces again," she hissed, hurrying to catch up to her mother's opposite side.  "And I still don't understand why we have to do it now!  We don't even know if he's a wizard yet!" she protested, trying to grab for her mum's hand.  Hand-holding usually meant instant forgiveness.  "He hasn't gotten his letter, he hasn't been to Hogwarts, and for all we know, he's going to be a Squib!"

"Noriko," her mother said shortly.  They had reached the front door to Ollivander's.  There was another man waiting outside.  Noriko's mother glanced at him, and then pushed the door open, leading both her children into the shop.  "If you don't stop whining, you're not going to get to see any of your friends for the entire summer.  And your brother isn't a Squib --"

"You don't know that," Noriko muttered, glowering back at Taiki.

"Noriko!"  Her mum had stopped short, giving her an exasperated look.  "Here, just go sit on the side and wait, won't you?" she asked tiredly.  "I'm through hearing it.  Good afternoon, dear," she said to the small figure who was already inside the shop, and then redirected her attention toward the back room, obviously intending to get this painful experience over and done with as quickly as possible.  "Mr Ollivander?" she called.

'Oh, g-good afternoon,' Pax stammered, instinctively folding his hands behind his back, hiding his wand. Who wanted to have to explain that they were looking for a new wand, not because the old one was broken, but because they were so terrible at casting spells? But, momentary panic subsiding, he caught sight of Noriko, and his face split into a wide grin.

'Oh! Hi Noriko!' he greeted her happily. Then, remembering his manners, he added to the woman, presumably Noriko's mother, 'I'm Pax, I know Noriko from school.' He spared a smile for the boy as well, one of Noriko's brothers, he guessed.

At that moment, Mr. Ollivander, evidently having heard Mrs. Wakahisa, emerged from the back room. 'Yes? Ah, good afternoon. What can I do for you today?' But the way he produced a measuring tape from his inside pocket indicated he already knew. After all, why else would anyone be in a wand shop? His gaze passed over Pax, who got the feeling Mr. Ollivander could tell he was hiding a wand behind his back.

'You can go first,' Pax said quickly to Mrs. Wakahisa. It wasn't just courtesy; Pax was still reluctant to try out any other wands. He felt a brief surge of guilt for making his father wait, but really, he rationalised, it could take him forever to find a wand to choose him anyway. If there even existed a wand that would choose him. 'Is it for you or your brother?' he asked Noriko quietly, wondering if Noriko had ever had as much trouble getting her wand to work properly.

Noriko, who had been looking as if she were on the verge of a record-breaking pout, immediately straightened at the sound of her name.  She whirled around, her face lighting up as she caught sight of the Hufflepuff boy who had become one of her school friends.

"Pax!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to him.  Somewhere behind her, she was dimly aware that her mother had given a sigh and then turned to speak with Mr Ollivander.  Suddenly, Noriko didn't care anymore.  Taiki could be as horrible as he liked; he could even come to Hogwarts and be sorted into Gryffindor, for all that his big sister cared.  She had friends at school.  There was no way that her horrible little brother could match that.

"How are you?  Did you get home all right?  Have you talked to Eirene?"  The words tumbled out of Noriko's mouth all at once as she reached her friend's side.  It hadn't even been a week since they'd last seen each other, but the absence of summer already seemed like it would stretch on for an eternity.  "Mum said maybe we could have a sleepover, and then I wouldn't have to wait until September to see you both!  Except --" her face dropped, "-- you're a boy." Which meant he was automatically disqualified from sleepovers.  But Pax was her friend, and Noriko didn't want to let that stop him. "But maybe we can do something else?"

The question about the wand was enough to remind her that she had been upset. Noriko gave a loud sigh, which would have qualified as a huff if she'd seen anyone else doing it.  "It's for my brother," she said, giving Pax a long-suffering look.  Across the room, Taiki and her mum were deep in conversation with Mr Ollivander, who was nodding along in obvious agreement.

Making a face, Noriko looked back to her friend.  "He hasn't even gotten his Hogwarts letter yet, but Mum says she doesn't want to wait in line if we come get his wand when we're buying school supplies," she said sourly.  "I still think he's an S-word, but I'm not supposed to call him that because it's rude.  Why are you here?" she asked curiously, momentarily forgetting her animosity as she regarded the boy.  "Do you have a brother or sister who's coming to Hogwarts, too?"

Pax was still grinning when Noriko came over, asking questions almost faster than he could answer them. One would think they hadn't seen each other in ages as opposed to just the other week, but the change between seeing one's best friends almost every day to being miles and miles apart was a pretty startling one. Pax nodded and shook his head respectively to all the various questions and comments, looking hopeful at the idea of getting to do something with Noriko and Eirene over the summer, even if it wasn't a sleepover. Pax had had sleepovers with his primary school friends before, but they had all been boys. The thought of getting to stay up late with his Hogwarts friends though, talking and playing games and what not, was a nice one, regardless of the fact that he was a boy and his friends were girls, but he supposed their parents might not see it the same way.

As Noriko explained that the wand was for her brother, Pax raised his eyebrows a little, not entirely following all that she said at first. 'An S-word? Oh-h! You mean a sq-' He cut himself off though. He'd never been taught that 'squib' was a rude thing to say about someone, because he'd always been told there was nothing wrong with being one. All the same though, he didn't want to offend Noriko or her family.

'I, um, I--' Pax found his face warming up a little at the prospect of explaining to Noriko why he was here. She's your friend, he had to remind himself. She won't laugh at you or anything. 'Well I... I do have a little sister who'll come to Hogwarts, but um... She's only four, so, so, that's not for a while yet. Um.'

He glanced over at where Mr Ollivander stood with Mrs Wakahisa and her son, and lowered his voice a little. 'My dad wants me to see if a new wand would work better than this one,' he said, producing his own wand from behind his back. 'Y'know, 'cause I'm rubbish at wandwork? This wand was my grandma's, and Dad thinks that maybe it's not working properly because it's not right for me. I mean, I don't think that. I said I'd try and all, but I think it's just that I'm not very good at magic.' He chuckled a little, but it was more nervous laughter than his usual laugh. 'Actually, for ages before I got my Hogwarts letter, I thought I was a s-- um, not a wizard.'

Casting a sidelong look at Noriko's brother, Pax wondered vaguely why exactly Noriko thought he was a squib. Had he not shown any signs of magic yet? 'Mum always said I was a late bloomer. Maybe your brother is too?' Although if being a late bloomer also meant struggling with spellwork for the entirety of first year, Pax wasn't sure he'd wish that on anyone.

Noriko's eyes widened as she listened to Pax's hushed explanation.  Could you do that?  She hadn't ever heard of anyone changing wands before.  Her mum and dad had had theirs for as long as she could remember, although her mum had warned her to take good care of hers so that it wouldn't break.  But she hadn't ever pictured the consequences as being so simple that she'd have to go pick out a replacement; she had always assumed that a broken wand meant that she'd be doomed to life as a self-hating Muggle.

"So you're getting another wand?"  Noriko's hand snaked into her pocket to clutch at her own.  The idea that something so precious could be replaced seemed somehow wrong to her, now that she thought about it.  She and her wand had been through so much together, and it had only been a year.  She stroked the cool wood with her thumb, thought a silent promise at it that no matter how bad things got or how many exams she failed, she would never, ever replace it.

"But you're not rubbish at wandwork!" she exclaimed loyally.  "I mean, you're as good as I am!  And almost like Eirene --"  Noriko shut down on that train of thought immediately.  The Ravenclaw girl was her best friend, but Eirene's natural ease at rattling off facts or perfectly casting complicated magic (that did not involve her bum) sometimes made her feel a bit sore.

"Do you really think that getting another wand would help?" she asked Pax doubtfully.  "And no, Taiki's shown signs of magic."  She cast an unhappy look in her brother's direction.  The measuring tapes had come out and were flashing all around him.  "He turned my hair blue last summer, and Mum said he set the dining room table on fire twice.  But just because he can do magic doesn't mean he belongs at Hogwarts," she added scornfully.  That really cut to the heart of what was upsetting her.  "The only reason he wants to come at all is so he can ruin everything."

Pax felt his fingers clutch protectively around his wand as Noriko asked if he was really getting another one. He shook his head, looking unhappy at the prospect. 'I'm not replacing my wand. Dad's not going to make me or anything,' he added, partially to remind and reassure himself about that fact, 'he just wants me to try. Because this wand didn't choose me and all.' But the way that Pax held the wand to his chest with both hands made it clear that regardless of whether or not the wand had chosen him, he had certainly chosen it.

'And I am pretty bad at wandwork, but...' Pax offered Noriko that lopsided grin of his. 'Thanks. For, um... y'know. Saying I'm not.' Noriko was biased in his favour of course, but the sentiment was still nice to hear. Besides, Noriko wasn't a complete natural at spells, so she could sympathise with his difficulties. He forgot sometimes that he wasn't the only one that struggled in class. Not keen to dwell on his magical deficiencies, though, Pax cast back to what Noriko had said about her brother.

'Y'know, I'm sure Taiki isn't going to spoil things for you if he comes to Hogwarts,' he said quietly, glancing over at where Taiki was being measured. 'I mean, he'll have classes and homework and stuff to worry about, and he'll make his own friends, and...' He pulled his face into a concerned little frown. The way Noriko spoke about her brother made it sound like she didn't like him very much, and Pax felt quite sorry for that, because despite the fact that he and Poppy annoyed each other sometimes, his sister pretty much meant the world to him; he couldn't imagine not being friends with her. When Pax had done the maths and realised that he wouldn't be at Hogwarts when Poppy was, he'd been rather sad about it. 'D'you two really not get along?' he asked worriedly.

Noriko shrugged, ducking out of the way as a wand box launched itself off a shelf and went flying through the air.  She gave a sigh as she cast a look after it, watching as it zoomed into Mr Ollivander's hand.  If he were testing wands, then receiving final proof that Taiki wasn't a squib seemed inevitable.  She'd have to hold out hope that none of them managed to work.

"Get along?  No, Taiki's awful," she mumbled, kicking at the floor.  Normally, even the question would have triggered a long list of her brother's offenses, but now even making her case seemed pointless.  For the first time since the Sorting Hat had shouted 'SLYTHERIN!', the sense of uniqueness and belonging that Hogwarts had brought her seemed to be crashing to an end.  Knowing how stubborn Taiki was, she was sure he'd refuse to be sorted into horrible Gryffindor like he probably should be.

"He's mean.  He picks on me.  He --"  Noriko broke off, giving Pax a dejected look.  "It's going to be awful, having him at Hogwarts."  She gave a loud, long-suffering sigh.  "I already know it.  I like things fine the way they are," she added plaintively, shooting her brother an unhappy look.  "Why does he have to go making it all change?  I hate when things are different."

Pax gave Noriko a sympathetic frown. 'I know what you mean, I don't always like it when things change either...' Without realising he was doing it, he held his wand close again. It didn't always work when he wanted it to, but he'd had it for about a year now and he knew that he didn't want anything to replace it. And then there were other changes, like how he saw less of his friends from primary school since he went to Hogwarts and they went to a muggle secondary school. Or how Olivia Foley, whom he'd never known, suddenly hadn't been allowed to go to Hogwarts anymore because the new headmistress didn't think it was safe for werewolves to attend.

Watching Taiki try out a wand, Pax had trouble imagining him as a terror Noriko described him as, but that didn't matter as much to him as how his friend felt about it all. It was at times like these that Pax wished he was better at cheering people up. He could have bet Mary Beth would have been able to say something helpful. 'But um, y'know...' He could at least try to focus on the positive, couldn't he? 'I mean, things being different, that's not always bad, right? I mean I know sometimes it is, but...'

He floundered a little, painfully aware he was treading dangerously close to meaningless platitudes. 'I mean, um, going to Hogwarts, that was a change for you-- and me-- and, it was a really good one, wouldn't you say?' Pax gave an attempt at an encouraging smile. ' 'Cause if I hadn't gone I never would've met you or Eirene, and you're like two of the best friends I've got! And y'know,' he added, a little more confident now, 'as your friends, it's our duty to make sure your little brother doesn't bother you. We'll, like, I dunno, put a Disillusionment Charm on you if we see him coming or something. I'll bet Eirene can figure out how to cast one.' In the back of his mind, Pax was quietly hoping that going to school together might help Noriko and her brother to get along better, but in a rare moment of tact, he realised now wasn't the time to say so.

In spite of herself, Noriko let out a giggle.  She snuck a devious look at her brother, who had sent Mr Ollivander's robe on fire with his most recent test attempt, and then inched closer so that she could whisper to Pax.  "Do you think Eirene could blow up his bum?"

The thought of Taiki drifting near the ceiling, frantically pleading for someone to deflate him, almost made up for the inglorious Defense lesson that Noriko had suffered through the previous year.  She covered her mouth with both hands to hide her laughter.

"Thanks, Pax," she said, smiling back at him.  "If you and Eirene are there, I guess maybe it won't be too bad having Taiki at school.  Look," she said, nudging her friend.  Across the room, Mr Ollivander was calmly putting out the inflagration with a steady stream of water from his own wand.  He patted Taiki on the head, and then began to search for the appropriate box.  "I think they're almost done.  Are you going to try out a new wand?"

Pax chuckled despite himself, covering his mouth with his hand like Noriko did. Apart from anything else, it was good to know that Noriko could look back on the bum-inflating incident without being utterly mortified. Glancing at Taiki, he wondered if the younger Wakahisa was a little more resilient than his sister in that regard. Hopefully they wouldn't have to find out; as amusing as the image was, Pax didn't really want any spells to backfire next school year.

Noriko's mention of Taiki's wand-trying session ending brought Pax back to the reason he was in Ollivander's, and he swallowed nervously. 'Um. I s'pose so,' he said. Almost on cue, Mr. Ollivander glanced expectantly over to him, and Pax shuffled forwards, still twisting his wand in his hands. He glanced back at Noriko. 'Are... I suppose you all are in a hurry to go?' he asked meekly, wanting to ask Noriko to stay with him but feeling too self-conscious to do so.

Once the business of packing up Taiki's wand and accepting the coins for it was taken care of, Mr. Ollivander, looking none the worse for being slightly singed, turned to Pax. 'Ah yes, hello there. I don't believe I've seen you before, young man.' His eyes fell on the stick of wood Pax was clutching to his chest. 'That's definitely one of mine, though. Is there a problem with it?'

Pax glanced around the shop, to the boxes of wands, to the floor, to anywhere except Mr. Ollivander's face. 'No, not really... It's more of a problem with me, Mr. Ollivander. See, um... I'm just not very good at wandwork, and my dad thinks maybe--'

Mr. Ollivander gently cut him off with a wave of the hand. 'May I?' He held out his hand for the wand, and Pax reluctantly gave it to him. After some examination, Mr. Ollivander nodded thoughtfully. 'Yes, I remember this wand. Larch, phoenix tail feather, supple... Originally belonged to a Miss Hadley, yes?'

Pax looked confused for a second, then his face cleared and he nodded. 'That was my grandma's maiden name.'

'A very determined young lady,' said Mr. Ollivander with a slight smile. 'With a very determined wand to match. Wands with a strong-willed owner tend to be strong-willed themselves, and a bit more of a challenge to win over when they're passed down.'

Pax's face lit up, and he whirled round to Noriko. 'Didja hear that?' he chirped happily. 'My wand's not wrong for me, it's just strong-willed!' He forgot to be embarrassed about his lack of success with wandwork, forgot to let Mr. Ollivander finish speaking, he was too busy being relieved at the thought that maybe his grandmother's wand was going to be the right one for him after all.

Pax's joy at getting to keep his wand overrode the tragedy of Taiki proving not to be an S-word.  Noriko broke into a grin, beaming at him as he spun to face her again.

"That's great!" she exclaimed happily.  "You'll just have to be strong-willed too!"  Which couldn't really be that hard -- after all, Noriko thought, everyone said that people like Mairead were strong-willed, and she was certain that her friend would measure up as good as any Gryffindor.

"Noriko!"  Finally freed from his mother's stern admonitions on her expectations for acceptable wand use, Taiki had evidently been turned loose with care of his wand box.  He rushed over to his older sister and her friend, clutching the box in both hands and grinning from ear to ear. "Look!  It's alder, and it's got unicorn hair -- just like yours!" he babbled excitedly, starting to pry at the lid.  "And I can use it to cast fire and everything!"

Mrs Wakahisa, coming up behind them, cleared her throat loudly, which immediately made her son freeze.  "Remember what I said, Taiki," she chided, giving him a stern look.  "If we catch you using it before you get to Hogwarts, you'll lose your wand privileges. You must be Pax," she told the boy with a smile.  "Noriko's already told us quite a bit about you.  It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Noriko, whose face had fallen at her brother's excitement, immediately brightened again.  "Mum, could Pax come to lunch with us?" she asked, tugging at her mother's sleeve.  "Oh!  Is your mum or dad here?" she asked Pax uncertainly.  "Do you think they would mind?  Maybe we could all go out together!"

Pax smiled his most polite smile at Mrs. Wakahisa, looking a little pleased that Noriko had mentioned him. 'Pleasure to meet you too,' he chirped back, bobbing his head.

As Noriko turned to her mother, Pax glanced back at Mr. Ollivander, self-consciousness overtaking him a little once more. 'Mr. Ollivander?' he said quietly. 'That is right, isn't it? My wand's not wrong for me?'

The wandmaker smiled kindly. 'I've always said that the wand chooses the wizard, but you know, the reverse also holds true. If you have your heart set on your grandmother's wand, replacing it won't do a great deal of good. You'll earn its loyalty eventually.'

Satisfied that he had a good explanation to present to his father as to why he hadn't tried out any new wands, he bounced happily back to the Wakahisas, his face lighting up at the prospect of going out to lunch together. 'Oh, that'd be great! I mean, I mean, it'd be lovely, if it wouldn't be an imposition. My dad's waiting just outside, I'll bet he'd love to meet you all.' Mindful of manners again, Pax held the door open to let Noriko and her mother and brother out of the shop first, then, after calling out a thank you to Mr. Ollivander, he followed them, and called his dad over.

Pax would still have trouble making spells work, but he hadn't had to replace his wand, and even if Noriko's brother bothered her at Hogwarts, he and Eirene would be there to help. And in the meantime, they all got to have lunch together. Pax was smiling broadly as he introduced his father to Noriko and her family. Today had turned out pretty well, he decided.

End