"I want to make wands when I grow up, every time I was in Diagon Alley I would beg my Mom to let me stay in Ollivander's shop to watch him work. Thankfully Mr. Ollivander was more than happy to let me. He's getting pretty up there in years, so I hope that maybe I can convince him to let me take over his shop when I'm older." Tracey says, eyes twinkling.
"Davis's doesn't sound very magical though." Daphne says, elbowing her friend lightly.
"I'd keep the name, Ollivander's has such a history I'd hate to change it. Besides, I'd probably only get to work with his Son or Grandson, rather than take it over myself, but it'd still be incredibly exciting." Tracey says, clasping her hands together. She brings her fingers to a point together and points them at Neville. "Now you! We're marching to Professor McGonagall right now to talk to your grandma about getting you your own wand. There's no need to stunt your potential when you can just as easily honor your father by becoming a great wizard."
"I guess you're right Tracey. How about you, Harry, and Hannah come with me? Some extra voices might help." Neville says, looking at his father's wand. "I wish it would work for me though, It'd be nice to have something of dad's so close."
"Your dad was an auror Nevvy, didn't he have a wand holster?" Hannah says, looking to Neville.
"Yeah, it's still attached to his auror's uniform in the closet." Neville says, looking at her.
"Why not use that? It's something he had with him all the time, and using it won't stunt your potential. The only reason you couldn't would be if your wand wouldn't fit in it." Hannah says.
"That's a good idea. I guess I'll ask Gran about that too." Neville says, resolving himself.
"Alright. Let's go see McGonagall. She's probably in her office right now." Harry says, checking the clock on the wall.
The quartet, spearheaded by Neville, walk to the Transfiguration Professor's Office, before knocking on the door.
"Yes, Who is it? Oh, Hello Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter, Ms. Abbot, Ms. Davis. What can I help you with?" Professor McGonagall says, as she opens the door to her office.
"Sorry to bother you Professor McGonagall, but while we were practicing the Red Sparks charm, and I had been having difficulties summoning powerful enough sparks. Tracey here figured out that it was because my wand wasn't well suited for me, since it's my dad's wand. I was hoping that you would contact my Gran for me, so we could talk about me getting my own." Neville says, explaining his situation.
"I see, well that would certainly be an issue, and would explain why you were having troubles, could you demonstrate for me so I can see for myself?" Professor McGonagall asks, wiping her glasses.
"Yes, I can ma'am. I'll just try and shoot some down the hallway. Vermillious!" Neville encants, a singular red spark shooting out of his wand, falling to the ground a couple feet in front of him. "Tracey, can I borrow your wand again?" Neville asks, and Tracey hands hers over. "Vermillious!" Neville casts again, this time summoning more sparks that go quite a bit further. "I made the power as close to the same as I could."
"Well, you've certainly convinced me. Why Augusta didn't get you your own wand in the first place is somewhat beyond me. Come, we'll try and floo call her now." Professor McGonagall says, guiding Neville inside. "You three wait out here."
A few minutes later, a smiling Neville emerges from the door. "We're going tomorrow. By this time tomorrow I'll have my own wand!" Neville says excitedly.
"That's great Nevvy!" Hannah says, crashing into the boy and giving him a hug, sending both of them to the ground.
"Ms. Abbot! I understand you are excited but that is no way to behave. Get off of the poor boy." Professor McGonagall says, trying to put on a stern face, but the smile never leaves her eyes.
The group laughs and makes their way back to the Sphinx Club room, reinvigorated to do even better. Something they knew helped a friend, who knows what else they could do?
Neville's improvement with his new wand was near instant. He's gone from being the weakest spellcaster among the Sphinx Club to being the second strongest, with only Harry being superior. This was doing wonders for his confidence though, causing a mild increase in grades even in the theoretical side of things. This shows through most in Potions class however, where Neville, for the first time, received an Exceeds Expectations for a Potion, as even the ever critical Severus Snape was unable to find a flaw in his potion.
By the end of October, the Sphinx club find themselves with incredibly firm grasps on every topic they are expected to cover in class up to the start of the new year, which both Professor Flitwick and McGonagall heap praise onto the dectet for.
The morning of Halloween, the Sphinx Club meets just outside the Great Hall for a quick meeting.
"Happy Halloween guys!" Lavender says, looking at the gathered group of friends.
"Happy Halloween Lavender." The group choruses, faces are mostly pretty happy, although Harry appears a bit glum.
"Okay, I had an idea. Since it's Halloween, we should meet in the Club room and tell scary stories and eat candy. I don't know how, but the Weasley twins have this massive stockpile of candy they're selling from. I think it'll be fun!" Lavender says, giving a small twirl after telling her idea.
"It does sound like fun, but all of that candy is bad for your teeth." Hermione says, touching her hand to her mouth.
"Okay, we'll limit the candy a bit, but still! Fun! Stories! Friendship! All that junk!" Lavender says, somewhat exasperated.
"It does sound like fun, we should do it." Harry says, murmurs from the group agree with him.