It was a bright, beautiful summer day, and Diagon Alley was bustling with activity. Feeling a little uncertain, Luna pressed closer to Menie, who was purposefully heading toward a small, inconspicuous looking shop nestled in a tiny side alley. The floorboards creaked and groaned beneath their feet as they entered the store. It was a shop that, besides a vast amount of antique-looking clutter, also sold wands. The atmosphere had something cozy about it something that urged the customer to pause and observe - a moment of silence in the hectic flow of the alley that never truly seemed to rest.

  Curiously, Luna let her fingers glide gently over a few old-fashioned dresses, the kind that were favored by witches in those days. Only a few people could be seen dressed in Muggle clothing quite different from her own time.A woman who still appeared very young stepped out from the back of the premises, which seemed to be private quarters, and greeted them with a soft smile on her lips.

  "How may I help you, dies?"

  Her voice was as gentle as her entire appearance. She wore her hair in an eborate updo, complemented by a floor-length dress in warm earth tones.Menie beckoned Luna over with a gesture. 'We are looking for a new wand for my little sister here; she seems to have lost hers.'

  "Oh!", The woman paused for a moment. "Did she acquire her first wand here with us, if I may ask?"

  "Well, we travelled a lot with our parents, and she received her first wand somewhere along the way. But please, don't ask exactly where. It was far too many years ago."

  With a nod, the shop owner returned to the back, only to reappear a moment ter den with several long boxes.The colorful, ornate little boxes ccked softly as they nded on the sales counter, which was decorated with wood carvings.

  "There! I think that should be enough for a start." She rummaged through the small pile for a moment before pulling out a purple box and opening it carefully. With an encouraging gesture, she held out a finely carved wand made of light wood to Luna.

  "Try it!"

  Hesitating slightly, Luna reached for the wand and took it cautiously from the saleswoman's hand. A strange tingling sensation suddenly shot through her hand something that spread through her entire body like a powerful wave rising from the sea. As quickly as the feeling had washed over her, it ebbed away again.

  With mouths agape, both the shop owner and Menie stared at her with more than surprised eyes.

  "How unusual!", the young woman whispered softly to herself. "Never have my eyes, or those of my father, beheld someone for whom the very first wand was a perfect match, as if it had always been a part of them."

  And it was true. Luna remembered vividly the day she had received her very first wand at Ollivanders. All those attempts to find the right one, and how long it had taken all the shattered vases. Shelves that had flown across the entire shop, finally smashing the window gss. She had been afraid she would never find a wand that belonged to her like a fish to water. Then, finally, the moment had come, and a golden rain of a thousand sparks had descended upon her head. Everyone was relieved when she could finally call a long and elegant wand, made of light birch wood with a core of Thestral hair, her own. Yet, what was even more unusual about this current wand extraordinary, even was the power that had surged through every fiber of her body. It was an indescribable feeling as if she had absorbed life itself. She had never known anything like it.

  "What are the components of the wand?", Menie’s question pulled her from her thoughts.

  "Well," the shop owner began, leaning slightly over the counter and eyeing Luna curiously. "The wood is Pine. It is said that wands made of this material favor loners whose nature and spirit are independent of others. The core and this is truly strange is Vee hair. Wands with such material have a will of their own. That is why quite a few makers choose to forgo Vee hair entirely in the crafting of wands."

  Thoughtfully, she stroked her chin, as if she had an imaginary beard there. It looked comical and brought a faint grin to Luna's lips.

  "Pine wood, which is excellently suited for independent free spirits, plus the Vee hair, which grants the wand an equally stubborn will... a very interesting mixture. The fact that it chose you specifically must mean something. And I am certain that between the two of you...", she finished with a nodding gesture toward Luna and her wand.

  "That things between the two of you are going to get quite exciting," she finished her sentence with a meaningful smirk.

  "I’d like to invite you dies for some tea and pastries, if that is agreeable?", she said, looking questioningly at Menie.

  "We’d love to, if it isn’t too much trouble?"

  With a soft ugh, the saleswoman turned away and headed back into the private quarters of the shop. "Not at all. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked in the first pce!", she called back as she went.

  Luna had turned her attention back to the antique curiosities the shop held, dreamily stroking the various objects that caught her eye every now and then.With an affectionate gaze, Menie watched the girl who had stormed into her life like a fast approaching summer thunderstorm. So sudden, and yet so strangely familiar...

  "Do you take your tea with milk and sugar?", the shop owner’s words brought her back.

  "With milk and sugar, please," she confirmed in response to the young woman’s questioning look.

  "Luna!", Menie called across the small shop.

  "Luna!", Again, no answer. Luna had stopped by the dresses once more, lost deep in thought as she examined them one by one.

  With a sigh, Menie turned back to the young witch. "Well, it looks like we’ll have to enjoy our tea without my sister," which was met with a ugh from the saleswoman before the two of them became immersed in conversation.

  Time flew by, and evening slowly descended, bathing the small shop in a reddish-gold light.

  "By Merlin! How time flies!", excimed the shopkeeper, whose name was Selene.

  By now, Luna had joined the two women; they had been talking about the origins of their names. Cheerful ughter rang out when they discovered that the meaning of Luna’s name was the same as Selene’s: Moon Goddess. Meanwhile, Menie meant 'the dark one' or 'the thoughtful one' which Luna felt suited her long dark hair and brown eyes perfectly.

  The wand had already been paid for in the meantime, as Menie inquired once more about the prices of the dresses. It was not without reason that she had chosen this small, inconspicuous shop. The prices here were affordable, yet the quality remained high.

  "Which dresses shall it be then?", Selene wanted to know.

  "Luna! Pick out two that you particurly liked," Menie said. Of course, the looks with which Luna had repeatedly admired the fine robes had not escaped her, and she needed clothes anyway.

  "I... I may choose two dresses?", Luna whispered in disbelief.

  "Come," Menie said, pulling her toward the robes.

  "And what about you?", Luna breathed. She felt uncomfortable after everything the young witch had already done for her. But Menie simply shook her head. "I have more than enough. Whereas you have nothing at all. So pick whatever your heart desires."

  Slowly and carefully, she brushed the dresses aside one by one, until her gaze lingered just as it had before on a dress made of delicate tulle in the color of aquamarine. It had short, subtly puffed sleeves and a fitted, narrow waist. Like all the dresses, it was floor-length, and small light-blue stones sparkled at the neckline.

  "It... it’s beautiful, and it matches your blue eyes perfectly," Menie said, reaching for the tulle dream and taking it off the rack. She held it up against Luna.

  "And it won’t even need much shortening. You’ll look enchanting. Besides, we have several dances and balls this year, and you can’t go to those in your everyday clothes. And which one is the second dress?"

  "I... I don’t know if it would even suit me," Luna murmured dreamily, as if trying to picture herself in the garment. Then she quickly lifted it from the rack and held it out to Menie, who was quite taken aback.

  "Wine-red!", Menie sounded skeptical too. She found it hard to imagine this girl, who still seemed like half a child, in such a striking color. She held the dress made of velvet with full length sleeves against Luna and was more than surprised at how incredibly well this particur shade suited her ‘sister.’

  An appreciative clicking of the tongue could be heard behind them. "By Merlin and Hecate! Which man do you intend to bind to yourself for eternity with that?", Selene cried out in delight.

  Luna blushed slightly at these words. Never in her entire life had it crossed her mind to think of such things... and yet... dark, old memories surfaced within her. They pierced her with the sharpness of a knife. Neville, the name echoed through her mind. She liked him. And he liked her. Would they ever have become a couple?With all her might, she pushed the rising darkness and those memories of him lying far away across the sea of time back into the infinite depths of her being.

  Menie and Selene were already standing behind the sales counter, where they were apparently negotiating the price."I can’t we can’t possibly accept that," she heard Menie saying.

  "And I insist, my dear!"

  Over the st few hours, they had moved to a first name basis.

  "The neckces are genuine and far too expensive for me," Menie tried to make her new acquaintance understand. But Selene remained persistent.

  "As I mentioned, you can pay for the jewelry in installments every month or even every second month, however you can manage. But with these two dresses, it is simply a must to wear such neckces. Trust me, you won’t regret it," she added with a conspiratorial wink.

  Luna had also stepped up to the counter by now, eyeing the jewelry with curiosity. It was truly exquisite. One of the two neckces was gold, yet kept simple; only a deep red stone, shaped like a droplet, adorned the delicate chain. The other neckce consisted of small, pale pearls, with an equally dainty heart shaped aquamarine gracing the enchanting piece.After some hesitation, Menie agreed. Luna looked at the ground, feeling embarrassed.

  "Do not be troubled. I was happy to do it," the young witch said, gently tilting Luna’s chin so their eyes met. The delicate blue of her own eyes as bright and clear as a small brook flowing through the countryside met the warm brown of a hazelnut, interweaving for a moment in the flow of time.

  "There! The clothes are packed," Selene’s voice brought them back to the here and now.

  There was a heartfelt farewell and a promise to see each other again very soon.And so, they both stepped out into the summer evening that gently kissed the sky. In the winding alleys, life pulsed more than ever. Night would soon awaken, and with it, all sorts of shady figures emerged into the protection of the creeping darkness.For a moment, Luna paused, leaning against one of the house walls that stood crowded together on both sides of the alley.

  "Are you not feeling well?"

  "I don’t know... I can’t... I can’t describe it. Perhaps the day was simply too exhausting for me."

  "Yes. Yes, that must be it. It’s a shame; I would have loved to go for a Butterbeer with you in one of the pubs around here. But it’s better if we Apparate back now." Luna merely nodded.

  A brief moment of stillness, and then Menie linked her arm with Luna’s. A soft crack echoed through the noise of the alley...

  "Finally back," Luna thought, colpsing tiredly onto the soft bed she was allowed to call her own for the time being at least until the new school year began in autumn. Without realizing it, sleep gently carried her away. And when the door opened quietly and a pair of hazel-brown eyes noted with surprise that she was asleep, she was carefully tucked in.The moonlight gently embraced the nd, while Luna indulged in a sweet and quite strange dream.