Chapter 4: 2-2

"Are you really sure?" Harry asked, looking back repeatedly. Maria gave him a reassuring smile and told him of course she was.

They were at Eeylops Owl Emporium. Hagrid had decided to buy them a birthday present—a special owl to serve as a familiar. Harry had been given the right to choose the bird, while Maria held the right to name it.

Eventually, Harry emerged from the shop with a beautiful, snowy-white owl of noble bearing.

Ah—

I instinctively bit my lip.

In the end, 'I' still chose her. No matter the world, no matter the personality, the only non-human partner for Harry Potter is her.

"Hedwig!"

I unceremoniously opened the brand-new cage hanging from Harry’s hand, pulled the white fluff into my arms, and buried my nose in her soft feathers.

I had missed you. On that day, you fell while trying to protect 'me.' You, who could no longer fly.

Only now did I realize just how warm you really were.

"...That’s a great name, Maria. I’m glad you like her. I like it too. Hedwig—somehow, it doesn’t sound like a name I’m hearing for the first time."

Harry smiled and pulled both me and Hedwig into a hug. Enveloped by a body heat that made me want to cry, I found myself thinking—just for a moment—that I wouldn't mind Harry winning the 'who is the older sibling' argument.

"Thank you, Harry... I’ve wanted to meet her for a long time."

"I see. Then I'm sure Hedwig wanted to meet you, too. The moment I saw her, I thought, 'It has to be her!' It felt like Hedwig was calling out to me, don't you think?"

"Haha, maybe. Hedwig is very smart, after all."

While Harry and I exchanged playful words in a tone as private as a shared secret, Hedwig stayed in our arms. She didn't try to escape; she simply watched us with quiet eyes. Then, as if laughing, she let out a single, soft Hoo.

"T-to see ye both so happy... yes... yes... Hedwig must be right glad, too," Hagrid snuffled.

"Why are you crying, Hagrid?"

"No, no, it’s just... what a happy owl, eh?"

Harry watched with an exasperated look as the giant, hairy man began to blubber. Seeing that, my own sentimentality and tears beat a hasty retreat. Well, I thought, that is the 'Hagrid Magic' for you.

"Right then, let’s pull ourselves together. Next is wands. When it comes to a wizard’s wand, there’s nowhere but Ollivanders. Gotta get ye both the best wands there are."

Finishing his crying spell, Hagrid blew his nose with a loud thwack into a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth. He picked up Hedwig’s cage and started walking toward their next destination. Hedwig, fully enjoying her freedom outside the cage, swiveled her head around. After a moment's hesitation, she gave my ear a playful nip before settling gracefully onto Harry’s shoulder.

I see— I felt a tiny pang of loneliness, but it was far outweighed by joy.

Just as Harry had chosen Hedwig, Hedwig had chosen Harry once again.

"Right, here we are."

The shop Hagrid pointed to was quite shabby. The door looked like it might fall off if Hagrid pushed too hard, and the gold lettering on the sign was peeling away pitifully.

The giant didn't seem to mind, pushing the door open. Creeeeak—clunk. Ah, it actually tilted. I hoped someone kind would come by later and cast a Reparo on it.

"I wondered when I’d be seeing you, Mr. Harry Potter. And..."

"I'm Maria Potter."

"Yes, of course. The twin, Miss Maria Potter. I can see it in your eyes. It seems like only yesterday that your parents were here buying their first wands."

An old man appeared from the gloom like a ghost—Mr. Ollivander. He peered intently at Harry and me, one by one. His eyes lingered with sudden heat on a specific spot—Harry’s scar.

"—The wand that gave you that scar came from this shop, too. Well now, I expect you've both come for wands? Let us start with Mr. Harry Potter. Which is your wand arm?"

"Er, well, I'm right-handed. Maria is, too."

"Hmm. Hold out your arm. That’s it."

Ollivander moved with surprising agility for an old man, flitting around Harry and applying a measuring tape to various points. He even measured the distance between his nostrils. I wondered if that information was truly necessary.

"Try this one, Mr. Potter. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Eleven inches. Nice and flexible. Go on, take it. —No, not that one. Try this. Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. —No, no. Ebony and unicorn hair— No, definitely not!"

That one—no, this one— Ollivander snatched wands back as quickly as he handed them over, looking almost irritable. However, his face was actually trembling with ecstasy and excitement. ...Yeah, I’m still a little uncomfortable around this guy. No wonder he’s a favorite of Luna’s.

Finally, after a brief period of chaos, that wand was handed to the flustered Harry.

"Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. —Bravo!!"

Sparks erupted from the tip of the wand like fireworks, met by the old man's cheers and applause. Hagrid, who had been watching from my side, clapped his hands with all his might. Watching him (since his palms were larger than anyone else's), I was reminded of one of those toy monkeys that frantically clash cymbals together.

"Extraordinary... how curious... ah, how very curious..."

"What’s curious, sir?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. And it so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave just one other feather—just one. It is curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother—why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry gasped, staring wide-eyed at the wand in his hand.

"The wand chooses the wizard, remember. Now then, Miss Maria Potter, it is your turn. Arm out, please."

I swapped places with a stunned Harry. After being wrapped in the measuring tape—though I managed to avoid the nostril measurement—I began the same process of trial and error. Again... and again... and again...

"...Um, Mr. Ollivander?"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm. Strange. This is very peculiar. Could it be? No, no... but... hmmm."

Even as the old man muttered, the speed at which wands were swapped in my hand didn't slow down. Eventually, I wasn't even gripping them; I was just holding out my palm for Ollivander to rest the wands on. We had long since passed the time it took for Harry.

"Surely not. Could it be? Such a thing? Hah... what difficult customers these siblings are."

"Excuse me..."

My confused voice didn't reach him at all. By the time the pile of tested wands on the chair looked to be over a hundred, it happened.

"I give up."

"What?"

He had surrendered.

You've got to be kidding. Was I really going to enter Hogwarts without a wand? Sure, back when Harry was an Auror, he could do non-verbal spells and wandless magic, but for a first-year student to have no wand? That wasn't just 'standing out'—that was a disaster.

"Do none of them fit me...?"

My voice trembled with genuine shock. Harry reached out and squeezed my hand. Oh, Harry, what do I do? I don't even know if I can go to school now.

"No," Ollivander said, shaking his head. His face suddenly looked much older. "They all fit. That is why I cannot choose."

"—?"

They all fit?

"Meaning...?"

"A wizard can use almost any wand to some degree. However, they can never achieve the same results as they would with their own destined wand. But you—I suspect you could achieve those results with any of them. Therefore, I cannot choose. Because to you, they are all the same!"

"Don't talk rubbish!" Hagrid’s voice roared through the shop. The sheer volume caused several wand boxes to tumble from the shelves. "I've never heard o' such a thing—even Dumbledore wouldn't—"

"Oh, I know! That is why I am clutching my head! Look! I've never seen anything like this!"

Faced with a sudden argument between two denizens of the wizarding world, Harry and I could only stand there in total confusion.

Even so, seeing Harry step forward to shield me with his small back—even though they weren't actually fighting—I, the girl without a wand, clenched my empty hand into a fist.

"Hedwig."

Hedwig, who had been guarding the pile of textbooks and luggage, spread her wings at the sound of my voice. I let the loyal owl perch on my arm and smiled calmly at my non-human friend.

"Hedwig, I’ll leave it to you."

Hoo. The owl gave a loud cry.

"I'll take this one."

"What?"

"Eh?"

While the adults stood there with their mouths agape, I waved a wand. It was one of the boxes that had fallen during Hagrid's shouting—the one the "wise bird of the forest" had chosen specifically for this nameless girl.

Snap. Lights of red, pale silver, and green burst from the tip. They swirled in a circle in the middle of the room before falling like dust.

Everyone saw it. The boy, the girl, and the people who knew the wonders of magic. There was no doubt that, in this moment, she had been blessed by the world.

"If the wand won't choose me, I'll just choose the wand. It's as simple as that."

So, please stop this ugly arguing. Don't make Harry summon any more of that pitiful courage for me.

"What kind of wand is this?"

"Ah... that is Cypress and Thestral tail hair, eleven inches. Not very flexible, but powerful. —But, why that one... that's..."

"I see. Yes, it feels good in my hand, and I like the design. I’ve taken a liking to it. So, I’ll take this one."

"No, Maria, that's not the point..."

"It is the point. That's all the 'point' there needs to be."

I waved the wand again and stroked the wood affectionately. My hazel eyes met theirs, sparking with a strong will.

"——"

In those eyes, Hagrid thought he saw a flash of James Potter, the man who would give his life for what he believed in.

"...I see. You are choosing, then? You choose for yourself? That wand?"

"Yes."

"I see..." Ollivander sighed, sinking into the only chair that wasn't covered in wand boxes, looking utterly exhausted.

"Um, how much do I owe you?"

"No... no charge. Just pay for Mr. Harry's. I won't take money for that wand. I never intended to sell it anyway. It wasn't for sale."

"But, that's not right—"

"Think of it as a gift. Let's leave it at that. I stopped using Thestral hair as a core a long time ago."

"I see... well, thank you very much."

Still puzzled by Ollivander’s drained appearance, we pressed seven Galleons into his hand and finally left the shop. Ollivander, watching our retreating backs, whispered in a voice like an old man on his deathbed.

"How... I had hidden that wand... why... why her... why...?"

The time after getting our wands became somewhat awkward for us. Hagrid, in particular, was acting strange.

After picking up our uniforms from Madam Malkin's, we sat down to eat hamburgers while waiting for the train.

"...Er, Maria?"

The hamburger in Hagrid’s hand looked like a dollhouse miniature, and he finished it in a single bite (even though it was the largest size!). Looking restless, he began scraping a smudge of ketchup off the wrapper with his finger.

"Well, anyway... don't ye worry about it."

"I'm not."

"R-right. Good. ...It just means ye're special, too. Right? Isn't that it?"

"I told you, I'm not worried."

"Right, right."

Special as in a 'special case' of a failing student? I swallowed that thought along with my last bite of burger. This man always worried about the wrong things and ended up annoying people—I couldn't even feel depressed properly with him around. Honestly.

"—Hagrid!"

"O-oh!"

I raised my voice to be heard over the bell announcing the train's arrival, directed at the giant man who was surprisingly good at making himself look small.

"I had fun today! It felt like the first time I ever got to go out and play with a friend!"

"Maria..."

I drew courage from the warmth of the hand holding mine. Harry’s green eyes encouraged me.

"So, thank you. ...That’s all I wanted to say."

"Ah... right! Oh, that's nothin'! Here, the tickets—yer tickets for the Hogwarts Express. September first, King's Cross Station. Don't be late, you two. —I'll be waitin' at Hogwarts."

We took the two tickets from him and nodded firmly. We shoved our heavy luggage into the train and slid open the window of our compartment.

"See you at Hogwarts!"

Expectation, a little anxiety, and a tiny bit of loneliness filled our chests. Even after the massive figure of Hagrid shrank into a tiny dot in the distance, we kept waving out the window to our first wizard friend.

"Look, Harry. This ticket has a ketchup fingerprint on the back."

"That’s so Hagrid."

"Isn't it? Hehe."

"Pfft, haha."

"[Hahahaha!]"