"Sorry I'm late, everyone." Remus said as he approached. "When Molly heard I was coming to Diagon Alley she decided she needed to come pick up some supplies. Then the Weasley kids heard about the trip and began begging her to go well… it slowed me down a little."
"No worries, Moony." Sirius replied. "As long as they are ok with Molly I think Mr Longbottom here is eager to get his new wand. To Ollivander's then?"
"Yes!" Neville said excitedly. Harry and Daphne both smiled at their friend's eagerness but understood the reason behind it. Neither of them could imagine ever using a wand other than their own. As the group happily made their way to the wand shop they had no idea that they were being watched, but they were. They would not have recognized the person watching them even if they had known. He was a young Death Eater, one of the first of the new wave of recruits and only a few years out of Hogwarts. Perhaps surprisingly he had not been in Slytherin while there but in Hufflepuff. That fact certainly displeased his family and he was eager to impress them. Perhaps, he thought, this was his chance…
Inside Ollivander's Neville was walking around and inspecting the various wands and other items in the shop. The others, knowing this could be a long process, had decided to sit down while Neville looked for his wand.
"Ah, young Mr Longbottom I presume." said a voice from the shadows. An white haired old man slowly made his way past the huge stacks of wands and approached Neville. "I was expecting you some time ago. What have you been using until now, I wonder?"
"My father's wand, sir." Neville answered, holding out the wand.
"Ah yes, I remember that one well." Ollivander said. "Vine, twelve inches, dragon heartstring. A fine wand, but perhaps not well suited for you. Come lad, let us go meet your wand." Ollivander ushered Neville back to the stacks of wands and began giving him different ones to try out. Some worked better for him than others, but he had yet to find one that really appealed to him. After over thirty minutes of trying Ollivander handed Neville a wand that looked almost exactly like many of the others he had tried, but somehow he knew this one was different. The moment it touched his hand a comforting warmth seemed to spread up his arm and the wand began to vibrate as if begging to be used.
"Cherry, thirteen inches, unicorn hair." Ollivander announced with a knowing smile. "Go ahead, Mr Longbottom." Neville nodded but his gaze never left the wand he now held in his hand. He gave it a quick swish and a fountain of colorful sparks that crackled like fireworks erupted from the end of the wand. A large grin spread over Neville's face as he brought the wand closer to him so he could inspect it. "I do believe you have found your wand."
"Yeah, this is the one! I know it." Neville said happily. The sound of people applauding finally got him to look up and he saw his friends giving him a standing ovation. Neville blushed and gave a small bow before walking over to them.
"Congratulations Neville, I'm glad you finally got your own wand." Harry said. Daphne nodded in agreement and gave Neville a short hug to show she was happy for him too.
"Thanks. And the best part is I can actually use it this summer." Neville said happily.
"This calls for a bit of celebration." Sirius announced. "Come on, ice cream from Florean Fortesque's on me. Even you, Moony."
"You know I never turn down mint chocolate chip." Remus replied thoughtfully. "Fine, I'm in." Neville quickly paid for his wand and the group headed out of the old shop and back into Diagon Alley. The heavy crowds from earlier in the day had died down a bit, but the street was still full of people. Harry had expected there to be fewer people or perhaps a less festive atmosphere because of the on going war but everyone seemed to be doing their best to avoid thinking about that subject.
After ordering their ice cream the group went to sit on the patio in front of the shop to enjoy the warm day. Harry was enjoying the ability to walk around freely and be with friends after his confinement at the Dursley's. They had been eating and taking for a few minutes when Harry noticed the Weasley's walking towards them, evidently through with their shopping. That is when everything started to go wrong.
The first clue that something was amiss was the rapidly dropping temperature. Most of the people in Diagon Alley stopped walking and began to look around, unsure of what was going on. Harry and his friends knew better and immediately reached for their wands. Only Neville wasn't sure what was happening.
"What is it?" Neville asked as he too pulled out his wand.
"Dementors." Sirius answered with a growl. "Lots of them. Wait until you see them to cast your Patronus charms." Everyone else nodded at his advice.
"Keep your guard up." Remus said. "The Death Eaters use the Dementors as a distraction, and then attack behind them." The Weasley's came running up towards the other group with worry evident on their face. Of them, only Molly had her wand out and seemed to know what was happening.
"Is this what I think it is?" Molly asked nervously. Sirius and Remus nodded in confirmation of her fears and a determined look came over her face. "Kids, I want you to keep your heads down! Turn over that table and get behind it. Keep your shield charms up as strong as you can. MOVE!" None of her children had ever seen her act like this, and it was that fact more than anything that spurred them into action. In seconds all four Weasley children were crouched behind an overturned table watching to see what happened next.
"There!" Daphne yelled, turning her wand to point towards the apparition point they had come through earlier in the day. Over the buildings surrounding the entry way dozens of Dementors were gliding down towards the already frightened witches and wizards. The foul creatures caused a panic in the streets as everyone tried to run from them. No one appeared to be able to cast the Patronus charm, which left everything up to Harry and his group.
"Expecto Patronum!" they all yelled as Harry, Daphne, Sirius, Remus, and Molly cast the Patronus charm. Neville, who had been waiting to get his new wand to learn the charm, instead began casting cheering charms on the others in the hope that it would make their task easier. Sirius' Patronus was, unsurprisingly, a big dog like his animagus form but Remus' Patronus was not a version of his werewolf self but a fierce looking eagle that gracefully swooped towards the Dementors and drove them back.
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