Had this Chapter ready so I figured I'd put it up.
Bit of a warning, I'll be glossing over most of Harry's scenes in this where they have little to no effect on Sunset, so this might come off as a rather short chapter all-around.
Chapter Four: Diagon Alley.
Sunset’s first encounter with the Gringotts carts was much like her last encounter with Celestia, tumultuous, nauseating, yet thankfully short-lived.
At first, she’d been intrigued when Griphook led them out of the glistening marble halls of the bank and into a narrow stone passageway filled with flaming torches, the kind of thing you’d expect to see in an Ogres and Oubliettes role-play session, or the old days of Equestria when Dungeons served a bigger purpose than a place to throw drunken ponies to sober up after a night on the town.
Her intrigue soon gave way to terrified nausea, however, the moment they’d hopped into one of the deceptively innocent looking carts Griphook had whistled up, all pretenses of innocence vanishing as they took off at speeds that would make the most overzealous Wonderbolt green with envy.
At first she’d tried to take her mind off her terror by trying to memorize their route, only to promptly give up and hold on for dear life as the car, clearly of its own volition, as Griphook was simply sitting there with his arms crossed, careened uncontrollably through a maze of twisting passages so convoluted she swore she saw them going the opposite direction out the corner of her eye before she finally shut them to avoid getting sick.
“I never know,” Harry called out over the noise of the cart, seemingly unbothered by the speed “what’s the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?”
“Stalactites are the ones on the ceiling.” Sunset managed to grit out through her teeth, though she was admittedly thankful to the colt for giving her something else to focus on “C for Ceiling, G for Ground.”
Thankfully for Sunset’s stomach, the cart soon began to slow down before coming to a gradual stop “Vault Six Hundred and Eighty-Seven.” Griphook called out as she opened her eyes, only to blink at the sneer on the Goblin’s face “Will the two of you be requiring a moment of privacy?”
Sunset blinked, wondering what the Tartarus the horrible little creature was talking about, only to flush as she realized that at some point during the ride she’d latched onto Harry’s arm and held on for dear life. Harry, likewise, seemed just as flustered as she was, clearly not used to being hugged by random strangers, never mind a pretty mare.
“Sorry!” she exclaimed, releasing his arm and backing off to put some space between them, glaring murderously at Griphook as the Goblin snickered darkly before following him out of the cart towards a small door that he unlocked using the same key Hagrid had given to McGonagall, Sunset raising a hand to shield her face as a cloud of green smoke came billowing out the door, only to blink as Harry gasped beside her.
“Is that…all mine?” Harry breathed, the black-maned colt gaping at the accumulated wealth before him with understandable disbelief. Not that Sunset could blame the colt for his surprise mind you. After all, if her trust fund had contained even half of what currently laid before her, she could’ve lived off that for the rest of her days provided she moved out of Canterlot to avoid the shame of becoming ‘Equinae Non-Grata’.
“Certainly not.” Griphook sniffed imperiously “The Main Potter Vault will not be accessible to you until you reach your majority or are legally declared an adult by your Government.” He held out what appeared to be a bit-bag to the boy “I would suggest carrying Galleons for now, that’s the Golden ones. For future reference there are Seventeen Silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Bronze Knuts to a Sickle.”
‘Wow, Celestia’s accountants would have a field-day with you people.’ Sunset snarked, recalling her history lectures on the formation of Equestria, particularly how the economy had nearly collapsed upon itself due to the three tribes refusing to give up their native currencies until Celestia, sick of all the bickering, pulled rank and forced them to decide on a unified one.
After Harry had shoveled several handfuls of gold into the bag, Griphook resealed the vault, returning the key to the shaken colt as they clambered back into the cart, Sunset stubbornly refusing to close her eyes as they raced back to the surface, refusing to give Griphook the satisfaction of seeing her squirm, even as she swore she saw them going back down into the depths out the corner of her eye.
“If I never see one of those infernal carts again it’ll be too soon.” She swore as she staggered into the main bank again, only to pull up short as she collided with someone “Hey! Watch it!”
“Eh? Oh, allo there Sunset.” Hagrid greeted, the Groundskeeper looking a bit peaky as he peered down at her like the walking mountain he was “Ere, where’s Professor McGonagall?”
“She said she was going to exchange my money for me.” Sunset explained, glancing up and down the ques only to see no sign of the woman, a hint of panic filling her that she might have been wrong in her assumptions only to be severely crushed not a second later. She was Sunset Shimmer. She NEVER made mistakes.
“Professor McGonagall is currently speaking with the Bank Manager Bogrod.” A Goblin clad in the uniform of the Door Guards proclaimed, earning a gasp from Harry and a wary glare from Sunset due to his appearing behind them without a sound “She has left instructions that you continue with your shopping under the escort of Rubeus Hagrid for the time being.”
“What about my money?” Sunset pressed, only to blink as the Goblin held out the bag used to carry her bits, only to blink at the difference in weight, being significantly heavier “Wait, how much did my Bits come to?”
“That is one of the matters currently being discussed by Professor McGonagall with Bank Manager Bogrod.” The Door Goblin explained flatly, raising a long-fingered hand to silence any further questions “I am not at liberty to discuss any further. If you have any questions, please direct them to Minerva McGonagall once she has concluded her meeting.”
“Don’ let ‘em get to yeh, Sunset.” Hagrid offered consolingly as the Goblin marched off, the Groundskeeper guiding his charges out of the bank before Sunset, who was looking particularly volatile, could do something she’d regret “Goblins might be clever little bastards, but just because they wear clothes now don’t mean they bothered ter learn any manners.”
‘Clearly.’ Sunset snarked internally, simmering angrily as they marched through the crowd to their first destination, a shop advertised as ‘Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions’, apparently the go-to-place for their new school uniforms ‘Seriously, why are these people so obsessed with clothes?’
“Ere, listen you two.” Hagrid called out hesitantly, the Groundskeeper still looking decidedly green around the gills “Would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts.”
“Feeling’s mutual.” Sunset admitted with a grim smile, earning a chuckle from the giant stallion as he ruffled her mane, much to her annoyance, before striding off into the crowd in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron “Well then, shall we?”
“Um…after you?” Harry offered, though whether he was honestly being chivalrous or simply too nervous to take the lead Sunset couldn’t tell, the former Unicorn rolling her eyes as she grabbed him by the hand, missing the way his cheeks reddened in surprise as she practically dragged him into the store with her.
“Hogwarts Dearies?” a squat mare clad in mauve enquired from the back, where she was currently taking the measurements of another young colt with a mane of white hair standing on a footstool “Got the lot here, another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. Just hop up on the stool here and I’ll get you sorted.”
“You go first.” Sunset instructed, her tone brooking no argument as she pushed Harry towards the stool before taking a seat on a nearby chair to both settle her nerves and get her temper under control. Truth be told she would’ve liked nothing more than to have joined Hagrid for that drink, she wasn’t much of a drinker but something to take the edge off would’ve been nice. However, something told her that, even if she could trust the Groundskeeper not to tattle to McGonagall, she wouldn’t have been able to purchase anything stronger than Sweet Apple Cider given the difference in age between her current form and the bar’s patrons.
As her nerves slowly settled, she became dimly aware that Harry had struck up a conversation with the white-maned colt, though judging from his expression it wasn’t one he particularly enjoyed. Before she could attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation, however, a sharp rap at the window alerted her to the return of Hagrid, who was grinning cheerfully at her, holding up a trio of large ice-cream cones to show why he hadn’t entered the store. Not long after, Madam Malkin released Harry, who made no effort to hide his desire to leave, pausing only to glance in concern at Sunset, who ushered him on with a wave before taking her own spot on the footstool next to the white-haired colt, suppressing the urge to shiver at how closely he seemed to resemble a ferret.
“Hello there.” The colt greeted with a smile he probably thought was charming, but only seemed to make him look even more like a rodent than Sunset thought was physically possible “I’m Draco Malfoy, heir of the noble house of Malfoy.”
‘Oh Faust, it’s another Blueblood...’ Sunset groaned internally as the colt continued to ramble on about his father and whatnot, filtering him out thanks to her years of practice of ignoring the most infamous of Celestia’s adopted ‘Nephews’. The brat’s attitude practically screamed ‘self-entitled mama’s boy’, the kind of stuck-up prick who honestly believed ponies should do as he willed simply because he came from ‘the right stock’.
“Don’t suppose you’re interested in Quidditch?” Draco queried, his tone making it clear he honestly didn’t care and was only asking to keep the conversation going “I can understand if you don’t, it’s hardly a ladylike past-time, no matter what those Hollyhead Harlot fans say otherwise.”
‘And sexist to boot…lucky me…’ Sunset sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation as the boy continued to wax on about some frankly ridiculous sport she couldn’t care less about if she tried and ‘women’s place in it’, or lack thereof ‘Seriously, the only remotely useful thing I’ve learnt from this kid is the terms they use for Mares and Stallions.’
“That’s you Dear.” Madam Malkin finally declared after what seemed like an eternity, allowing Sunset to step off the footstool to pay for her robes “I’ll be finished with you soon young Mister Malfoy, can’t rush with material this expensive.”
“I suppose I’ll see you at Hogwarts then.” Draco sighed, tilting his head to glance at Sunset over his shoulder “By the way, you never told me your name-”
It’s a good thing passing through the Mirror hadn’t turned Sunset into an Earth Pony, otherwise she might have permanently damaged the door considering how hard she slammed it behind her.
One Triple-Chocolate Ice-Cream Cone Later...
“Are you sure you’re alright, Sunset?” Harry enquired as they trailed behind Hagrid, the emerald-eyed colt, boy Sunset mentally corrected, looking on warily as she devoured her ice-cream with a worrisome zeal.
“Fine.” Sunset assured him as she swallowed the last of the cone, releasing a sigh of contentment, as the sweet treat accomplished the Rockhoofean task of calming her down “Just glad to be as far away from that self-entitled prick as possible.”
“Malfoys, Phah!” Hagrid spat, much to the surprise of Harry, who thus far had only ever seen the Groundskeeper angry once, and that had been when Uncle Vernon made the mistake of insulting Albus Dumbledore “Load of bad eggs the lot of ‘em. You steer clear of that lot Harry, they were You-Know-Who’s biggest supporters back in the day, only got outta Azkaban ‘cause they pleaded Imperius.”
“Azkaban?” Sunset repeated, noting with interest how several passersby shivered and glared darkly at her for the mention of the name “What’s that?”
“Wizard Prison.” Hagrid explained, looking decidedly uncomfortable “Horrible place, they only send the worst of the worst there, though some of You-Know-Who’s followers managed ter buy their way out.”
“I don’t actually.” Sunset countered primly, arching an eyebrow at Hagrid as he turned to look at her “I don’t, as a matter of fact, 'know who'. Was he someone important?”
“Was he-?!” Hagrid began, gaping at her in shock, only to blink in recollection “Oh righ’, you came here with Professor McGonagall didn’t yer?” he sighed in relief at Sunset’s nod “Blimey that startled me, then again I suppose it makes sense you wouldn’t know if’n yer a Muggleborn.”
“Someone from non-wizarding parents.” Harry supplied at Sunset’s curious look “My mum was a Muggleborn and I was raised by her sister’s family…” he flinched in remembrance “They…didn’t want me learning about Magic.”
“I see.” Sunset mused, unable to help drawing parallels between Harry’s story and what little she recalled of Cadence’s, though at the very least Harry’s relatives hadn’t abandoned him in the woods “So who exactly are you talking about?”
“Don’ like ter say his name.” Hagrid admitted with a grimace, glancing around warily at the crowds “See, durin’ the war, he put a curse on his name that let him an’ his Death Eaters find whoever said it. Got so bad people still call ‘im ‘You-Know-Who’ even now.”
“Death Eaters?” Sunset pressed, mentally filling that little tidbit of information away for later, as that sounded like a useful little spell to learn if she ever made it back to Equestria.
“You-Know-Who’s followers.” Hagrid explained, sounding decidedly more confident now that he wasn’t talking about the wizard himself “Bunch of bigots and murderers tha’ bought into his ‘Pureblood Supremacy’ bollocks, as if blood purity has anythin’ ter do with magical ability.” He clapped a hand on Harry’s shoulder “I mean jus’ look at Harry here! Not even a year old an’ he defeated You-Know-Who, an ‘im only a Half-blood!”
Sunset blinked, turning to regard the blushing youth with a mixture of shock and intrigue, mentally re-evaluating her opinion of the boy. While it wasn’t uncommon for Unicorn foals to experience magical surges from time to time, very rarely did this result in them being able to inconvenience a full-grown Unicorn.
As one of those rare examples herself, even Sunset had to admit she’d never experienced a surge capable of overpowering someone so powerful people refused to speak his name even a decade after his defeat “And this Malfoy…he’s one of those Death Eaters then?”
“His father was, though he claims he was Imperius’d the entire time, lying snake.” Hagrid admitted with a scowl “He ain’t the only one neither; most of the Death Eaters not rottin’ in Azkaban managed to weasel their way out by claimin’ Imperius or sellin’ out the die-hard fanatics.” He scoffed “’Course, the fact most of ‘em were ‘Purebloods’ with more Galleons than sense probably helped.”
‘So pretty much the like the old Unicorn Supremacist Faction.’ Sunset mused as they resumed their trek towards their next destination, recalling one of the darker periods of Equestria’s history from her lessons with Celestia. While most of the Pony Tribes had unanimously accepted Celestia’s appointment as ruler, that didn’t mean there weren’t a few bumps here and there.
The Unicorns in particular, having been relieved of their ‘sacred duty’ of lowering the sun and moon, found themselves seemingly without purpose in this new society, a fact some of the more vindictive Pegasi and Earth Ponies were all too willing to point out after years of being looked down upon by the snobbish nobles.
While things had never devolved into outright war between the tribes due to Celestia putting her hoof down and the joint desire to avoid another Endless Winter, there were still many Unicorns that maintained the old mentality of being the ‘Master Race’, if for no other reason than that was the way they had been raised.
‘I guess bigots are universal, regardless of species.’ Sunset sighed in exasperation as they entered a shop called ‘Flourish and Blotts’, unable to help scoffing internally at the irony that one of the few things this new world shared with her home just so happened to be one of the darker periods in its history.
One Shopping Spree Later...
Thankfully, by the time they finally left Flourish and Blotts, weighed down with bags containing all their First Year Books, plus a few supplemental tomes Sunset had insisted on purchasing in order to educate herself, and Harry after she’d explained the idea, about the Magical World, the former Unicorn was in a decidedly better mood, walking along behind Hagrid, her nose buried in ‘The Laws and Ordinances of Magical Britain’ while Harry flicked through ‘Curses and Countercurses’.
At first Hagrid had protested against Harry picking up such a dangerous tome, until Sunset pointed out the sense in having it by reminding the Groundskeeper that, given the high probability of the children of freed Death Eaters attending Hogwarts, some of them likely older and more experienced, it only made sense for Harry to learn how to defend himself as soon as possible.
In the end, despite his attempts at protest, the Groundskeeper had relented, but only after extracting a promise from both of them not to use any of the curses within the Book unless absolutely necessary.
“Tha’ goes double for usin’ magic in front of Muggles.” He’d pressed sternly “The Ministry aren’t too harsh when it comes ter accidental magic, but it’s not uncommon for students ter get expelled on their first offense. If tha’ happens they’ll snap yer wand an…” he shivered, looking decidedly haunted for a second as he gripped his umbrella handle “look, just don’t use magic around Muggles, alrigh’?”
Speaking of wands, they were currently making their way towards a shop called ‘Ollivander’s’, supposedly the only place in Diagon Alley where wands could be purchased if Hagrid was to be believed. Aside from their prior visit to the cauldron store and Apothecary, where she'd nearly had a heart-attack at the sight of Unicorn Horns for sale, Sunset had to admit that this was the one shop she’d been looking forward to visiting the most, even more-so than Flourish and Blotts, for while she had marveled at the sheer number of magical tomes available, most of them would doubtlessly be found in Hogwarts’ Library and she always preferred a more practical approach to her studies than simply memorizing spells out of old tomes, something that would be quite impossible without a wand.
It had been a harrowing experience for her, waking up to find herself unable to call upon her magic. For Unicorns, Magic was as much a part of them as wings on Pegasi or the Earth beneath an Earth Pony's hooves. There was never a moment they couldn’t feel it's presence, even when they weren’t actively using it.
To suddenly lose the ability to call upon her magic was akin to losing one of her senses, hell she knew of several Unicorns who would willingly lose a limb or two so long as they could retain their magic. With this in mind, you can probably imagine the relief she felt upon witnessing Dumbledore’s casual shattering of her long-held notions of the limitations of Magic.
While she would readily admit that her desire to master this world’s Magic played a huge part in her desire to enroll at Hogwarts, it paled in comparison to her desire to simply have access to her Magic again. That being said, after having set her hopes so high, she really should have expected her first opinion of Ollivanders to be…decidedly less than impressive.
'This is it?' she wondered, unable to help grimacing at the sight of the narrow, shabby looking shop that somehow managed to make the rest of Diagon Alley look positively progressive by comparison. The peeling gold letters over the door proclaimed the store had been in business since 382 BC, and while she couldn’t tell how long that might be at the moment due to lack of information, she had the distinct impression the dust on the windows certainly gave the impression that it had been around almost as long as Celestia herself, if not longer.
‘Never judge a book by its cover…’ she recited mentally as she followed Harry and Hagrid into the store, having learnt that lesson the hard way in Flourish and Blotts, when she’d reached for an unassuming tome covered in fur, only to rear back as it tried to bite her fingers off.
The inside of Ollivanders was, in all honesty, only marginally better than the exterior, if only by the grace that you couldn’t compare it to all the other shops lining the street. Setting aside the rows of shelves containing boxes of what she assumed were wands, the only other item of furniture she could see was a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait.
“Maybe he’s gone out to lunch?” Harry pondered, earning a scoff of amusement from Sunset for his naivete, as even in Equestria no self-respecting proprietor would leave their store unattended with the door unlocked, no matter how confident they were of their neighbours’ moral caliber or the strength of their anti-theft spells, something she was more than certain this Ollivander had invested in, considering how the very dust and silence in the shop seemed to tingle with some secret magic, the somber air reminding her far too much of the forbidden section of the Canterlot Library where she had confronted Celestia, so much so in fact that she half expected the Princess to appear behind her at any moment.
“Good afternoon.” A soft voice greeted from behind, Sunset’s eyes widening in alarm as she and Harry whipped around to face the source and Hagrid leapt to his feet with a crunch, the three of them gaping in shock at the old man gazing down at them from atop a rolling ladder that had not been there a moment ago.
“Ah yes,” he mused softly, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop as he stared at Harry, or more accurately, the lightning bolt scar resting beneath the boy’s mane “Yes, yes. I thought I’d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter.”
‘Huh, guess he really is a big deal around here.’ Sunset mused, having glanced over an article detailing Harry’s claim to fame in Modern Magical History while at Flourish and Blotts, hoping to see just how on earth the hapless boy had managed to garner himself a level of celebrity on par with her former mentor, to the point everyone knew what he looked like simply from word of mouth ‘That’s going to get annoying real fast.’
While Sunset wasn’t the modest type, one of the few things she and Celestia agreed with was that fame was a double-edged sword. Yes, the right amount of notoriety could open doors otherwise inaccessible to lesser folk, but at the same time you were constantly watching over your shoulder for the paparazzi, would-be rivals and people looking to ride on your coat-tails.
Most ponies had to work to get to that level of fame however. Even Sunset, for all her Magical ability, had never been truly able to distance herself from the moniker of ‘Celestia’s Student’, and here Harry was with people writing children’s novels about his many ‘adventures’, despite having had no idea of his fame, or that magic existed at all, until earlier this morning.
“You have your mother’s eyes.” Ollivander noted as if commenting on the weather as he drew closer to Harry, seemingly ignoring Sunset for the moment “It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for Charm-work. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for Transfiguration.” He smiled knowingly “Well, I say your father favored it, it’s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.”
‘Wait, what?’ Sunset wondered, her eyes narrowing in confusion as she glanced between the storekeeper and the rows of boxes lining the walls warily. While examples of self-aware magical items were few and far between, both Starswirl and Celestia had encountered enough to warrant leaving instructions to any fledgling unicorn to treat them with the utmost caution. After all, as powerful as they might be, there was no telling what kind of cost they could demand from their user, especially if the power they granted was dark in nature.
By this point Ollivander, if indeed this was the man and not some creepy shop-assistant or brain-addled relative, was practically nose-to-nose with Harry, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable as the man touched a long white finger to his scar “I’m sorry to say I sold the wand that did it,” he admitted softly, confirming his identity “Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…well, if I’d known what that wand was going out into the world to do…” He shook his head with a sigh before turning to regard Sunset with his moon-like eyes “And who might you be?”
“Sunset Shimmer.” She returned with a wry smile “Sorry I’m not as famous as golden boy over there, but don’t worry, you’ll be hearing about me soon enough.”
“Ah, confidence, an admirable quality in a Witch.” Ollivander noted, smiling enigmatically at Sunset’s wince at the term “Ah, a Muggleborn it would seem, rest assured my child, the term does not hold the stigma in our world as it does with Muggles, though if it is any comfort, many a modern Witch prefer to be addressed as Sorceress.”
‘That’s not really much better…’ Sunset noted wryly, as most of the Equestrian Sorceresses she’d read of tended to wind up on the wrong end of the law, as evidenced by the extensive adventures of Starswirl and his apprentice, Clover the Clever, to say nothing of Princess Celestia’s own encounters ‘Then again, what the hay do I care what they call me, so long as I can achieve my destiny.’
“Rubeus!” Ollivander exclaimed, turning to regard the Keeper of the Keys, who to Sunset’s surprise was trying, and failing spectacularly, to make himself look small and unnoticeable “Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again. . . . Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn’t it?”
“It was, Sir, yes Sir.” Hagrid admitted, looking decidedly shamefaced as he held his pink umbrella against his side in a way that he probably hoped was subtle.
“Good wand, that one.” Ollivander mused fondly, only to turn decidedly stern “But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?”
“Er-yes, they did, yes,” Hagrid confirmed, shuffling his feet awkwardly like a foal caught doing something they shouldn’t “I’ve still got the pieces, though.” he added brightly.
“But you don’t use them?” Ollivander demanded sharply, his unnerving moon-like eyes peering into Hagrid’s black beetles piercingly for a moment before turning back to Harry “Well then Mister Potter, tell me, which is your Wand Arm?”
What followed next was an…interesting few minutes. After Hagrid had excused himself, citing he had to ‘Pick up somethin’, Ollivander, or rather his enchanted measuring tape, had proceeded to measure their ‘wand arms’ (along with the space between their nostrils and, for some bizarre reason, Sunset’s torso) while the odd little man shuffled into the back, returning bearing several boxes from his collection, explaining the basics of his craft with the air of long practice and repetition.
“Okay, I could understand the Phoenix Feather and maybe the Dragon Heartstrings…” Sunset noted, shuddering slightly at the last one “But what’s so magical about Unicorn Hair? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the horn?”
“I suppose from a Muggle perspective it does seem rather silly.” Ollivander noted with a strange, enigmatic smile in the face of Sunset’s scowl “Unicorns, Miss Shimmer, are some of the most magical creatures in this world. Indeed, I challenge you to name one part of a Unicorn’s body that doesn’t have some sort of magical property, be it their horn, their hair, or even their blood.”
“Blood?” Sunset repeated, her own freezing in her veins, her eyes widening in terror as she backed away from the moon-eyed wand-maker warily “You people kill unicorns for their blood?!”
“Great heavens, no!” Ollivander assured her, his enigmatic mask breaking for the first time as he regarded her with a look so stern Sunset swore she was standing before Celestia “While I won’t deny certain unscrupulous Wizards may have done so in the past, it is against Wizarding Law to harm a Unicorn in any shape or form. What few ingredients that can be harvested from them, such as horns or tail hairs, are done so naturally when they shed. To draw their blood for any reason is a death sentence, only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime.”
“Glad to hear it…” Sunset stammered, internally relieved by the revelation “The blood must be pretty powerful then, if they had to pass a law against harvesting it.”
“Oh undoubtedly.” Ollivander confirmed lowly “While I am unfamiliar as to its use in potions, it is said the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, though you will be forced to live a cursed life the moment it touches your lips.”
‘Well that takes care of my nightmares for the next century…’ Sunset noted dryly, suppressing the urge to shiver as she forced the grizzly image from her mind even as Ollivander turned back to helping Harry find his wand, a process that seemed to involve handing him one, waiting barely long enough for him to give it a little wave before snatching it out of his hand and replacing it with another, and another, and so-on and so forth until Harry was standing beside a small mound of discarded wands, looking increasingly more annoyed even as Ollivander seemed to grow more chipper with each subsequent failure ‘This better not be a ‘you touch it you buy it’ scheme…’
“Tricky customer, eh?” Ollivander chuckled, stepping away from Harry towards the back room of the little shop “Not to worry, Mr. Potter, we’ll find the perfect match here somewhere…” he trailed off, finger brushing against a particular shelf “I wonder…yes, why not…?” he mused, pulling a box out and returning to the storefront “Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.” He explained, presenting the wand within to Harry “An unusual combination if I do say so myself.”
The moment Harry took the wand from its box, Sunset felt the air in the store shift subtly, her eyes widening in surprise as the boy raised the wand above his head, bringing it swishing down, trailing a stream of red and gold sparks through the air, not unlike a firework. “Oh, bravo!” Ollivander applauded, looking decidedly pleased with himself “Yes, indeed, oh, very good Mr. Potter…” he congratulated, taking the wand off the boy and examining it “Well, well, well…how very curious…”
“Sorry?” Harry wondered, eyeing the man with understandable wariness as he returned the wand to its box and proceeded to wrap both in brown paper “but what’s curious?”
“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Potter.” Ollivander explained calmly, fixing Harry with his pale stare “Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather, just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother…” his eyes flicked to Harry’s brow “why, its brother gave you that scar.”
‘Yeah that’s not ominous…’ Sunset deadpanned, grimacing slightly as Harry eyed the box containing his wand with decidedly more trepidation than he had a moment earlier even as Ollivander turned his attention to her “So should I just pick up the discarded wands or-?”
“No need for that, Miss Shimmer.” Ollivander countered, waving his own wand, which he pulled out of nowhere, and promptly returning its discarded brethren to their respective boxes “Dumbledore has already informed me of your…unique circumstances…” his moon-like eyes sending shivers down Sunset’s spine as he smiled enigmatically “I will be making your wand personally, I merely needed your measurements in order to better fit it to your needs.”
“That’s…great…I guess?” Sunset mused, internally torn between pride that her wand would be a custom job and concern, wondering just what Dumbledore had told the wand-maker “When will it be ready?”
“Oh not long.” Ollivander assured her with an enigmatic smile “I shall have it delivered to you before the first day of term, so you’ll have plenty of time to get yourself settled in.”
“Gee, thanks…” Sunset sighed, internally screaming at the frustration of being so close to reclaiming her magic, even if she could understand his reasons for taking his time. After all, if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing right, and the less uncertain factors between Sunset and her objective, the better “So do I pay now or?”
“Dumbledore has already paid in advance.” Ollivander assured her with a smile that did little to assuage her mounting discomfort, as she knew all-too-well there was no such thing as a free meal “I must confess, I’m looking forward to seeing what you will go on to do with it, Miss Shimmer.”
“You and me both.” Sunset sighed, thanking the man along with Harry as they took their leave of his store, only to pause in the doorway “One last thing…” she called out, earning a quirked brow from the wand maker “You said you remember every wand you’ve sold, right?” she continued at his nod “The one from the same Phoenix as Harry’s…what was the owner’s name?” she held up a hand as he opened his mouth to reply “And I don’t mean whatever he was calling himself when he died…I mean the boy who bought the wand.”
“Ah,” Ollivander mused, and for a moment, Sunset swore she detected a hint of approval in those creepy moon-like eyes “Do you know, Miss Shimmer, that you are the first to ask that question in over Ten Years?” he chuckled at her look of exasperation “Indeed, say what you will about Muggleborns, they tend to have a lot more common sense than other Wizarding folk.”
‘Another thing this place has in common with Equestria…’ Sunset mused, as Earth Ponies, as their name implied, tended to be more down-to-earth than the other tribes. That isn’t to say there weren’t bad apples among them, but for the most part Earth Ponies tended to think things through a lot more, if only because they had less options for getting out of a sticky situation compared to Pegasi or Unicorns “So, his name?”
“Riddle.” Ollivander replied softly, sending an ominous shiver down Sunset’s Spine “Tom Marvolo Riddle.”