Another Year at Hogwarts

The following day I wrote to Snape and told him that Draco and I were back to Malfoy Manor. I told him that Draco was injured, so the two of us probably won’t be returning to Hogwarts any time soon. However, I did suggest that I could always travel back to Hogwarts if I was need. In respond, Snape instructed me to remain at Malfoy Manor for the time being, and that was the end of his letter. As usual, Snape was short and to the point.

Strangely enough and to my surprise, the days I spent at the Malfoy Manor were peaceful. Since Voldemort was gone on his personal mission, many of his Death Eaters were always out terrorizing towns or trying to hunt down Harry, so the manor was usually empty. Thankfully, Bellatrix was always gone with some of the other Death Eaters when news of Harry arose. As for Narcissa, one would think that the little conversation we had the day Draco and I arrived back at the manor would cause some tension between us, but oddly enough, things didn’t change between us very much. She continued tending to her house and Draco. Once in a while, the two of us would strike a conversation here and there, but that was pretty much it.

As for Draco, he mostly remains in his room. Narcissa insists that he stays in bed until he fully recovers, which I believe annoys him since I sometimes see him wondering around the manor. Similar to Narcissa, the two of us would chat once in a while, but most of our conversations were about how he was doing, Hogwarts, or planning our return to Hogwarts.

One evening, I was awaken by the pain cry of someone. I had thought it to be Draco because Lucius wasn’t home, but as I walked out into the hallway with my wand in hand, I could hear the scream coming from downstairs. Slowly, I made my way downstairs and into the drawing room, where the source of the scream seemed to be coming from.

“Who’s there?” someone roared from the dark.

I quickly shied my eyes as someone shined a bright light in my face.

“Lower your wand, Pettigrew!” I ordered as I stared passed the blinding light to the short man with tiny eyes and a pointed nose.

“Ah…Baker,” the man snickered as he lowered his wand slightly, “what brings you down here at this hour of the night?”

“Someone screaming,” I informed as I looked away to the opened passageway in the drawing room floor. “What’s down there?”

“The cellar,” Pettigrew answered while following my gaze. “Well, you can return to bed. I’ll gladly take care of the prisoners.”

“Prisoners?” I questioned. I quickly recalled whom he was referring, and said, “No. You have obviously done enough to take care of these scumbags the last few months. Allow me,” I said.

“But—”

“Don’t try and argue with me,” I cut in. “They awoke me, and for that they’re going to pay.”

“O—of course,” Pettigrew stuttered before disappeared out of the room.

“Lumos,” I cast before descending the stairs into the cellar.

It was a lot colder down here compared to the rest of the house. If it weren’t for the ball of light at the end of my wand, I probably wouldn’t be able to see my hands in front of me.

I then reached the iron doors that led into the cellar, and tried to open it. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked.

“Alohumora,” I said while tapping the door three times. There was then a click and I was able to open the door.

“Who’s there?” someone called from the dark.

“Luna?” I gasped. “Lumos maxima.” I then flicked my wand out in front of me, and the ball of light at the end of my wand went flying forward.

The empty cellar was then flooded with a bright ray of light, which formed me to cover my eyes. But then, the light dimmed down a bit, just enough to reveal the two other people in the room.

“You!” Luna exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. Though she didn’t have her wand with her, the look on her face told me that she was willing to fight me if she had to.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” I informed while lowering my wand. I then looked down at Mr. Ollivanders, who was on the ground beside Luna. “What’s wrong with Mr. Ollivanders?”

“He’s injured,” Luna calmly answered while looking away from me.

“Let me help,” I said as I approached the two of them.

“Why are you helping us?” Luna asked reluctantly. “Aren’t you a Death Eater?”

“No, I’m not,” I said while showing her my left arm, which did not bare the Dark Mark. “Now, let’s see this wound of yours,” I said while gently rolling up Mr. Ollivanders’ right sleeve. I gasped when I saw the endless amounts of scars—old and new—on the elderly man’s arm. One in particular looked semi-new, and blood was slipping through the cracked scab.

“I—I have to heal these,” I said while lifting my wand up.

“You cannot heal all of them,” Mr. Ollivanders quickly objected. “If you do, You-Know-Who or Pettigrew will suspect something. Just—just this bleeding one.”

I nodded before casting a healing spell. The wound on Mr. Ollivanders’ arm healed up, leaving but a long scar, which blending in with all the other small scars on his arm.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you any more than this,” I apologized while looking up sympathetically at Ollivanders.

“It’s enough,” Mr. Ollivanders said with a weak smile. His eyes then diverted to my wand, and a curious look crossed his face. “My, my…never thought that I would see that wand again… This was the finest wand I had ever made…took me well over three years to make it. Ten inches…cherry wood and the core…” he paused for a moment, “…Thestral tail hair.” A sad smile fell onto Mr. Ollivanders’ face as he said, “A wand made of fairly rare and powerful materials… This wand belonged to Scarlet Angel.”

“You knew Scarlet?” I questioned.

“Yes,” he smiled. “Like many other children, she came to my shop when she was only eleven years old. I was out, you see, and she managed to find her way to my workshop in the back of the store in her search for me. There she happened to stumbled upon that wand you have in your hands…” Mr. Ollivanders said as he eyed the wand. “When I discovered her in the back with the newly made wand I had dedicated over three years old my life to…well, I knew immediately that she was something special… This young child of only eleven was chosen by one of the most powerful wands in the entire world,” smiled Mr. Ollivanders. “I would imagine that her wand be buried with her…” Ollivanders then looked up from the wand and to me.

“However did you come upon her wand?”

“Severus Snape,” I said. “He…was a close friend of Scarlet and was with her when she passed… He gave it to me.”

Mr. Ollivanders nodded. “Well, you must be a fairly powerful witch to be able to control that wand. Wands with Thestral tail hair…well, there is only one other wands with that core…”

“The Elder Wand,” I said.

“Yes.”

“My father mentioned that wand before,” Luna said. “The Elder Wand…it’s from the legend of the Deathly Hallows, correct?”

While Luna and Mr. Ollivanders discussed the Deathly Hallows, I lost myself in my thoughts. I had always wondered why using magic came so easily to me. How I was able to defeat some of the most powerful and skilled witches or wizard without any kind of formal training. But now I knew. Everything I had accomplished thus far with the wand was because of the rare and powerful materials used to compose Scarlet’s wand.

Does that mean…Scarlet’s wand can possibly be as strong as the Elder Wand? I wondered to myself. If that’s the case…did Voldemort know? Was that why he wanted Scarlet on his side so badly? But if he knows that Scarlet’s wand shared the same core as the Elder Wand, why would he go after the Elder Wand and not Scarlet’s wand?

“You look troubled,” I heard Luna say.

I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and rose to my feet. “It’s—it’s nothing. Anyways, I should probably get going. But before I go, let’s make this place a little bit more comfortable for the two of you.”

Just as I said, I did all I could to make the cellar a little bit for livable for Luna and Mr. Ollivanders. Because there wasn’t much of anything in the cellar, there wasn’t very much I could do without making it look suspicious. I replaced the dirty water and replenished the empty bowl of food for Luna and Ollivanders. I also cast a spell on some boxes I managed to find so that Luna and Mr. Ollivanders would have a comfortable place to rest. I also conjured some bandages and hid them under the boxes so that the two would have something to bind their wounds with.

“Well, I should probably go now,” I said with a heavy sigh. I then pointed my wand at Luna and was ready to cast the memory charm on her. But suddenly, I stunned her.

“What are you doing?” Ollivanders gasped.

“I have something to ask you before I leave…and Luna can’t hear about it. You-Know-Who…” I began, “…he, he doesn’t know about Scarlet’s wand, does he? He doesn’t know that her wand has the same core as the Elder Wand. You never told him about it.”

“No…I never did. He never asked about it, either,” Ollivanders replied. “All You-Know-Who wants is the legendary Elder Wand. He does not know that the Elder Wand has a sister…and neither will I after this conversation is over.”

“Wha—what do you mean?” I questioned.

“You know what I’m asking you to do,” Ollivanders responded. “I have been stuck in this place for over a year now… I have been tortured and threatened by You-Know-Who for countless hours. He is currently looking for the Elder Wand, and if he cannot find it, he may have to settle for another powerful wand.”

“You mean this one?” I said while looking down at the wand in my hand.

“Yes,” Mr. Ollivanders nodded. “Though that wand isn’t as powerful as the Elder Wand…its power is still enormous compared to other wands I had made. Though I wish you no harm, miss… If he tortures me again… If he threatens my life…” Mr. Ollivanders quietly began to sob as he looked down shamefully as his shaking hands. “I value my life… And as much as I don’t want others to get hurt—”

“You don’t have to say anymore,” I interrupted. “I…I understand.”

I then raised my wand up to Luna and quickly cast the memory charm on her. I then turned it to Mr. Ollivanders and wiped his memory of my being here, along with his knowledge of his most power creation: the Elder Wand’s twin.