Marcus observed the weather team attempting, though not with as much success it seemed, to calm the storm. One thing did stick out to him and he pointed at the people in the brown coats heading down an alley. “Shouldn’t those Aurors be heading towards the twister to deal with it than moving away from it? I know basic magical theory which says most spells require line of sight. So why would they be going away from the open area?”

04:48, Today: Marcus Cornell rolled 18 using 1d20-1.  Intelligence check.
04:47, Today: Marcus Cornell rolled 16 using 1d20.  Perception .

Bella was in one of those states of curious yet cautious at the same time but when Rus' mum suggested they go to Olivander's, she thought it was a pretty good idea.  "I've played around a bit with my great grandpappa's, mum's, and a couple of my brother's wands but I can hardly wait to get my own," she admitted and looked to her mother who nodded.  "Come children.  We should let the proper authorities handle this," Alamara stated.

Marcus will know they are running into Knockturn Alley.

By the time the brown Aurors went out of sight, there was a large BOOM sound, and the world appeared,for a moment, frozen in time. After that, the remaining wizards flew out from inside the twister into several directions and out of sight, while the twister twisted even more, in seemingly impossible ways and screeched instead of howled, as if it was a living thing.

After that, there was silence, and not a wind was stirring. Rain was still falling, in even larger drops, but the sound of the rain was gone. Then the sounds came back, as if someone would turn the volume back on, and several people were running their ears. "You can move on now,folks," an annoyed voice from the top of the stairs to the bank announced. "We have everything in hand, here!" One of the goblins stood there, with a brown tuxedo and an old cane large than himself. He waved said cane as if wanting to push people away, and it had the desired effect. Only the witch of the weather control team looked as if she wanted to make an inquiry, but obviously thought better of it.

"Thahahaat went out with a screeheechch and a bohoom!" Hugo laughed. "See you all lahahaater!" With that, he ran off down the street.

Kate and her father made their way into the bank to exchange money.  Her father leading the way with Kate following behind him nervously and giving a shy smile back at the others. Hopefully she'd get to see them again later.

Practically bouncing on his feet, Rus clapped his hands despite the rain. He stared down at his hands then to his trainers and suddenly realized it was cold and clammy outside. He looked up at Constance as she approached who made a rather severe tutting sound then waved her wand.

Grinning, the now dry boy waved at his two new acquaintances in the hopes they were two new friends then moved off toward the wand shop. After a moment, he stopped and looked back to Bella and Marcus, "Were you going to come as well?"

Marcus was curious as to why the aurors would turn down that alley, but he would only get in the way if he went. So we turned and nodded to Rus. “Yes. I can’t wait to bond with my wand and get to Hogwarts. I’ve heard it’s a sight to behold.”He goes to join the rest of them to Olivander’s.

At the bank, the goblins tried to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but to anyone paying a little attention, it was clear they were still a little shocked. Twitching ears, frozen smiles and one of them dropping a vault key were clear signs, but the money got exchanged well enough and it didn't take long at all.

The door to Olivander's made an awful screeching sound,although it appeared well oiled. "Apologies," the voice of a young woman came from somewhere among the wand exhibition. "We'll fix the chime soon. Someone thought it funny to hex it and with all the excitement we didn't get around to it yet." It sounded like an automated response of someone having had to say it all day. "I'll be with you once I've sorted the jester wands out someone must have recently smuggled into our selection."

Bella's mother had stayed closer to her, one hand ushering her along while the other still held her wand.  She didn't want her daughter wandering off anywhere else with all the chaos going on, though she did note her daughter looking all around.  They had been here many times so Bella knew her way around and that curiosity of hers might get her in a bit of a mess if she wasn't kept on the main path.

"I've heard a lot about the bonding too, all my brothers in particular.  I was only four when Zachary got his but I remember his hair puffed out like he'd just got out of bed," Bella giggled.  "They all said it's one of the best feelings ever, though, so I'm really looking forward to it too.  Then I'll be going to find a pet.  I was thinking about an owl but seeing Marcus' cat, I was wondering about one of my great grandmother's cats ..."

Once their money was exchanged, Kate and her father came back and headed for Olivander's.  Kate stared at the various wands with interests, supposedly her mom had used something like this, although she couldn't be sure, what would she get? She fidgeted playing with her braid anxiously as she waited to see how everything played out.  Her alure stirred slightly in response to the anticipation, but she slammed down her control over it almost instantly.  It wouldn't do to have that active here in diagon alley.

Rus put his hands reflexively over his ears as they entered the shop and then smiled at the disembodied voice as if to reassure it that he was fine. Constance, on the other hand, gave the chime a look which might have inspired medusa. Rus chuckled thinking the chime ought to feel quite intimidated if it knew what was good for it.

He turned as Bella spoke of wands and pets, "All my family says so as well. Though, the only one I was old enough to recall getting her wand was Finny. That's my sister Hydrophinae. Mum says I was in the shop when Celeste and Claire got theirs, but I was just two then. Celeste claims her wand turned my hair bright blue! Sounds cool, yeah? Little baby me with a tuft of blue hair and mum having fits? Anyway, I was five when Finny got her wand. If she wasn't going to Beauxbatons, I thing she'd have known your brother, right? Around the same age anyway. Well, Finny gets her wand and squeaks. Right? Just like a mouse squeaks. Then she goes and burps up pink bubbles. I just about died laughing. Finny's awful serious most the time."

Rus suddenly got a little sullen, "She used a jinx she learned that year to make slugs come out of my nose the next summer. Mum had to threaten to take Finny's wand away before she broke the jinx. Slugs taste awful." Rus was grinning again by the end of the story. Behind him, Constance looked annoyed at the story of the blue hair but mostly sent rather indulgent looks toward Rus before gazing around the shop expectantly. "Hallo. We've a few fine young witches and wizards here to get their first wands. It's not a bad time, is it?"

Rus blinked back at his mother then looked around the shop for a second then fixated back on his new friends, "I've a dodgy old manx cat named Bludger. No tail, of course, but also missing a bit of an ear and some patches of fur and he's got the one funny eye. Mum says he sees just fine, but I got no idea how. Found him when we vacationed on the Isle of Mann three summers ago and he's followed me around ever since. Well, more like he found me. I was being harassed by a raven and he sent it packing. That raven made a sound a lot like a seeker getting hit with a bludger. S'why I call him Bludger. I definitely like cats a lot. Owls are alright though. Better than ravens anyway."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:03, Fri 23 July 2021.

It would seem that there was certainly a jokester running around. He wondered if it was the same one that had drawn the words on the ship window an hour ago. He listened to the other waiting for his turn to obtain his wand.

"Oh, this is just a small disturbance." The young witch shoved the joke shop items into a box and closed the lid with a bang. "It is not only us. Some prankster has been upsetting the alley all week. Now, do you want to look around on your own, or do you need assistance?"

Marcus pondered and expressed his thoughts. “My dad said his wand found him. Maybe I can give it a try?” He held out his hand palm pointed at the shelves of wands. The boy closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. Nothing happened for several minutes as he focused on what wand formed in his mind as the wand and the magic within him sought to connect with each other. There was a rustling way back in the far corner of the inventory. Suddenly, a wand zipped through the air like an arrow to slam into his hand where he wrapped his fingers around it.

The wand was 14” of unyielding aspen wood with a dragon heartstring as the core. Air swirled around him in a small vortex that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Marcus opened his eyes and admired the instrument of power that had chosen him. “That…was…AWESOME!!!”

Bella was standing politely out of everyone's way and not wanting the woman to feel rushed in helping them but she was certainly looking at all the boxes lining the shelves.  Her eyes went wide when Marcus gave something a try, actually holding out his hand and focusing.  Could it possibly work like that?  Her brother had needed an awful lot of help and had given at least ten or more a try before he found his.

"Hmmmm ... I wonder ..." she murmured and with a nod from her mother started to walk along the shelves.  There were areas she could sense the air almost vibrating but nothing really caught her attention.  She continued along, fingers tracing along a few of the boxes until she stopped and looked upward.  Thankfully a ladder was there and she eased her way up it to the very top shelf.

It was like something was calling to her and she gingerly pulled a box from amongst a myriad of others.  Carefully she worked her way back down and after brushing off a bit of dust opened the box, looked at the lovely wand for several seconds, then plucked it from the box.  Immediately she felt warmth rush through her and wind swirled around her, sending her blond hair flying about ... a most pleasant feeling indeed!

Her eyes shimmered with tears, though from the smile on her face they were the happy kind.  "None of the wands at home ever did that!" she breathed and her mother chuckled as she came over and looked a bit closer.  "Because they weren't yours, Sweetling," she said patiently.  "I've only seen a couple of wands made of Acacia before.  A bit on the rare side."

It was fourteen inches long and slightly bendy, the wood a lighter shade and polished.  The handle was slightly thicker than the rest and etched along the length was a leafy vine.  "It's beautiful," Bella said, her voice barely above a whisper.  For the first time she truly felt connected to the magical world, like she was exactly where she belonged.  She went to stand by Marcus.  "I can hardly wait to start classes," she said with a happy grin.

Kate wandered through the shop grasping different wands and finding none of them quite fit her.  After a bit though she came upon a dusty old wand case in the back which she picked up and opened,  The wand looked neglected and ignored for years, maybe a century even, she delicately wiped away the dust and picked it up to examine with interest.  It felt warm to her touch like it had an inner glow within her, it felt...right in her hands.  Taking it up front she presented it to the witch, who said it was "Willow, 12 inches, Phoenix feather core", Kate paid for it and held it close to her enjoying the feeling of her wand against her skin.

Giving up her perch on the rooftop as the show outside starts to fade Sara comes to the wand shop a little bit later than some of the other first year students, and begins her own search of the place.  She stops several times to retrieve a wand box from a shelf and listen to it as if she can hear something from it.  Without opening the box she puts them back quickly, perhaps as many as two dozen.  After a few minutes of this search she finally opens one box and upon opening it a pulse of sound so low pitched it is more felt than heard by everyone in the shop draws far more attention to her than she seems to be interested in.

Extracting a 14” wand of Unbending Holly with a Phoenix Feather core she none the less seems satisfied with the success of her efforts, and takes it with her up to the forming line to pay for the wands as this is in part still a shop, not just a sorting facility.

Having briefly met up with her mother, Pandora lurched into Ollivander's weighed down by a heavy book bag. She jumped as the door screeched, and dropped her bag.

"Does it have to do that?" she complained.

She idly picked up a loose wand, only for it to turn into a rubber chicken. She glared at the joke wand as if that was a personal insult, and carefully put it down again. Then she fought her impatience, and waited her turn. She smiled at the others, remembering them from the Leaky Cauldron, and after a moment's hesitation introduced herself.

"Pandora Black."

There. It was over with. She always worried about introductions, given her family name.

Rus was standing near enough the door looking nervous. the others had set off into the shop by themselves to root around for wands in the stacks and stacks of the things. Given what he knew of wands, that seemed really dangerous. He stood, fidgeting, next to the door and waited for a bit.

First the boy, the Bella, then Kate, and even a girl that came in after all of them combined. He began to suspect the offer of assistance was hollow. He was just opening his mouth to shout into the back when the door opened again and yet another girl walked in. There were a lot of girls around lately. Her name caused his chin to drop just a bit, "Black? But..." He looked at his mother. She had given him an extensive, if informal, education of the pureblood families. The Blacks ranked the highest but were also all dead or no longer pure. He glanced at Constance to see her glaring with her shortish arms folded angrily under her chest. Swallowing his emotions, Rus composed himself, "Hello, Miss. Trimeresurus Slughorn. Please, call me Rus. I've been queuing for a bit but no one seems to want to help."

He turned his head to crane and look for the origin of the voice again, "Hello the shop! Can anyone offer some assistance then?"

Jay and his guardian were done with their shopping and he put his wand in his backpack. Returning to the Leaky Cauldron he and Uncle Tommy were enjoying some cheeseburgers and french fries as they continued to have their heart to heart talk about the coming school year. Tommy was worried about his adoptive son. He knew that the boy was stronger and braver than he thought but Jay was now beginning a new journey and the boy was naturally nervous and uncertain. He never ever took to change all that well. Still as he watched his 'son' somehow he knew that the boy was going to be all right.

You looking forward to attending Hogwarts?, he asked the boy and the boy responded with a shrug. No matter how much he changed he was never one to carry a conversation. Reaching over and putting a comforting hand on the boys shoulder he said, Hey you are going to be fine. Just remember what I told you. Chin up, stay focused, be brave. I have to go and check up on things. You gonna be okay here?

Jay nodded and Tommy left.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" An older man with a load of wands in wooden boxes came from the back of the shop. "So,here are the real wands. If I catch the clown who did that...ah!" Olivander's face brightened as he saw Trimeresurus. "A Slughorn if I've ever seen one! come come,Slughorns always find special wands!"

Rus perked up at the appearance of someone that might be the proprietor. The comment about his family mystified him though. He didn't look all that much like his father or his siblings really. "Really? How can one tell? And I don't recall any of my siblings' wands being overly special."

Still, Rus was moving as he spoke and approached the old man.

"He looked around the shop... But isn't every wand special in its own way? How do we start?" He smiled apologetically at those waiting on him or in queue to pay for wands. You only got your first wand once and he wanted it done properly.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:41, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

"Good morning, Rus. They look busy."

Despite her casual manner, Pandora scowled when Ollivander fawned over Rus rather than her. Evidently a Slughorn was worth more than a Black. She would have to change that.

Anyway, she didn't really need Ollivander. She'd read up on wand lore, and knew what her wand would be.

"Aspen, phoenix feather, 10", solid," she said to the young witch, as if asking for a style of shoe.

But when she gave the offered wand an experimental flick, nothing happened. Suddenly, a tape measure was buzzing around her like an enraged butterfly.

"Not aspen. Applewood? No, try blackthorn. Blackthorn, yes. You've got a warrior's spirit."

I think my father's got a bottle of that.

The witch yanked the wand out of her hand.

"Not phoenix feather, then. How about unicorn hair?"

Pandora tried the next wand. It wasn't right, but it felt... better.

"Too short. Try this one... no, still too short. Try this instead."

Suddenly, the latest wand felt alive in her hand. A quick flick, and coloured lights flew out the end.

"Blackthorn, unicorn hair, 13 inches, and solid."

Pandora stared at her new wand. It wasn't what she expected at all, but it already felt like an old friend.

"Th-thank you," she stammered, as she paid.

At least she'd been right about the 'solid'.

Once everyone had found and paid for their wands, he shrugged his shoulders. “Well shall we all head back to the Leaky Cauldron until it’s time to go board the train or what?”

Rus' jaw hit the floor in a nearly literal way when the Black girl jumped the line and demanded her wand. Instinctively, he glanced back at his mother to see a black cloud cross her face. Rudeness was something Constance had no time for. Rus suspected it was more about people knowing their proper places. Whatever the case, he smiled at her then waited while the girl went through the rigmarole of a wand selecting her, "It isn't the witch that selects the wand, but the wand that selects the wizard. They often know things about us even we don't know. Supposed to be the same with the sorting hat."

Once she was done, he stepped up and was ushered to a stool. He obediently stood still and accepted the self-measuring tape measure's assault. He was used to it having been custom fit for robes and such most of his life.

A minute or so into the automatic probe, the old man brought a box to him and opened it. Rus reached in to take the wand but snatched his hand back when a sensation like static electricity leaped into his finger, "Ahhh, that's interesting. Same wood as his sister."

"My sister? Which one?" He had four of them after all. But the man was off into his stacks again. Rus pouted a bit and huffed even as the man returned with another box. This time, Rus was able to take the wand up, but a foul smell began to fill the room causing the man to snatch it back, "Ahh, not unicorn's hair then. Perhaps a bit long as well. Tell me, how do you feel about giants?"

"Giants? Never met one, really." He glanced back and saw the look on Constance's face and stood up straighter, "A-awful brutes!" The man eyed him for a second the darted back into the precarious stacks of boxes.

A few moments later, the man returned with a strange box. A dark burnt orange color with red trim. The man opened the box a bit slowly like it might fall to pieces, "A bit old this one. Never found the right home. Been on that shelf nearly two decades. A core from an Chinese Fireball, twelve and a half inches long, reasonably supple, but the wood is a bit rare."

Rus looked at the wand and saw something strange indeed. instead of the straight sleek wand the others had, his twisted and double back on itself once. The wood was pretty, a rich brown color, and the handle had a carving of a dragon's head. "The handle and wand were carved to resemble the dragon that gave the core. A rather spirited female with a penchant for mangoes. Try it."

Rus picked the wand up and immediately felt a whooshing sensation run up his arm. A shower of golden sparks erupted from the tip and he found himself grinning at his mother who scowled back a moment but then smiled happily in the face of her son's joy. Putting it back in the box, he moved to the counter to pay with the others.

"Trimeresurus Aspis Slughorn! Manners!" The whip-like crack of his full nme in the air had his shoulders hunched up around his ears to protect them and he turned slowly to stare a moment like a startled deer. He swallowed slowly then looked to the elderly man again and bobbed his head, "Thank you, sir. I'll do my best to bring honor to the wand."

He then scampered to pay his mother trailing tolerantly behind and smiling apologetically at the proprietor as she handed over the coin. Rus was already moving to the others to show off his new companion, I can't wait to start practicing magic, yeah?" He almost swished the wand but stopped and smiled at the others.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:42, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

"Hmm..."

Pandora waved her new wand a couple of times. She didn't actually know any spells, but wanted to get the feel of it.

That ended when a jet of water shot out the end and hit her in the face.

"Ugh!"