Chapter 9: The First Wand
Annie frowned and looked around, clenching the wand tightly in her hand.
'Is there someone here?', she thought.
After seeing nobody, she scratched her head and thought, 'Did I just hear Hello? But... how is that possible? Unless.. I probably said hello to myself. Great! I'm becoming even more crazy than I already am.'
She lightly smacked her head and told herself, 'Wake up already! Instead of helping me make up a plan on how to get the heck out of this place, you keep deluding me.'
She was ready to tell it to get lost, when…
"What are you, I wonder? How could no wizard decipher me, but a mere girl?"
Annie heard the voice again and said, "Can you please stop playing with me? I've gotten things to figure out."
"It's not your brain that has been deceiving you, girl. You've been deceiving yourself." The voice said.
"Huh? Right! That's why I've gotten a voice talking to me WHILE I'M LYING ON THE GROUND OF SOME WINERY AND DARK WIZARDS ARE PERSECUTING ME!!!"
Now, she was angry. Angry for being here. Angry for having to deal with this. She would've preferred just staying at home and living a normal life. She knew that getting angry was a loss more than it was a gain, but sometimes she just wanted to stay angry purposefully, to hurt herself even more. She felt sorry for herself.
She was trying to get better, but here she was again. Playing the victim.
"What do you want from me?", Annie asked the voice with a tortured sigh.
"What would I want from you?! YOU were the one who called me, girl. I should be asking you that question.", the wand in Annie's hand moved slightly.
Having instantly forgotten her anger, Annie opened her mouth in shock, "But how…"
"You may be a mere girl originally, but you know our world. You know magic. Wizards do not choose their wand. Their wands choose them, just like I chose you. But you… I can sense something different from an occasional wizard. It's like you can freely talk with me, just like how you talk to your friend Newt Scamander."
Annie looked at the wand with surprise, "But how do you know that me and Newt…"
"I know everything magical, girl. Because I'm magic herself. It is possible that you're not only able to talk with me, even though I chose you but every single wand."
Annie sighed again, this time ironically, and said, "I don't know how I'd be able to process this while there are two of Grindelwald's supporters here, determined to take me God knows where. I should try and act as if I'm not seeing anything unusual, like being able to draw fantastic beasts near me, recognize every single potion, its properties and ingredients, or be able to talk to wands.
The next thing that I shall expect is going back in time. That would be awesome, wouldn't it?
Anyway, these random revelations of power appearing whenever they wish are pissing me off. But it doesn't matter."
She felt like she was repeating stuff over and over again like a parrot.
She turned her head slightly, just to see another dark wizard beside the one still standing.
"How can we even be sure that she's still here?", asked the one wizard who just came in.
"Because you fucking idiot!" The other dark wizard pointed at the leader who was lying unconscious on the ground and shouted angrily, "Look what she did to him! She IS here! We need to capture her!"
"Dead or alive?"
"Of course, alive! However...", the first wizard smiled wickedly and murmured, "If we catch her, we might be able to enjoy ourselves a bit!"
Annie clenched her teeth. She was going to kill them…
"Hahaha!", Both of the wizards laughed wickedly and said, "The One Who Brings Change is going to be so pleased of us once we get the girl to him…"
Annie looked down at the wand and asked, "Can you disarm them?"
"I can do anything you want girl, as long as it inspires good. I resisted my previous owner because I could sense his soul was corrupted. The good was so little that it was hidden underneath, it's being blocked. But I can see your soul too. You're hurt, but you're more than a good person. There is a light in you that shines so bright, it's almost blinding."
"I've been told that before.", Annie said. She had the impulse of standing right up on her feet, but they were still in their previous condition.
"Okay, then… can you please attack?"
Instantly, golden light emerged from the wand. It attacked the two wizards, who were caught off guard.
Their wands flew from their hands and flew in the air toward where Annie lay hidden. The two wizards started shouting at each other when another wave of light swept them off their feet and both of them fell unconscious on the ground.
Annie looked back at the wand in amazement and shouted excitedly, "That was awesome! Holy moly!"
"I am just doing what needs to be done!"
Annie stopped waving her hands excitedly in the air, gazed at the wand, and said gratefully, "Thank you very much! You are a very powerful wand! Although next time you should teach me how to say the spells or whatever."
"Not all magic comes from spells, girl. Simply, because it's not magic that is made of spells, but the opposite. Spells have been created to contain both the power of the wand and of the wizard. Without them, the power of the wand is simply unrestrained."
Annie looked at the wand and asked, "So does this mean that I also put my power in defeating the wizards?"
"Yes," The wand replied, "You put your will into me, that's why the light that went out was golden. Just like what I see in your soul."
Tired, Annie closed her eyes, unable to think about what all of this meant.
Suddenly, she heard Newt's voice at the entrance.
"Annie? Annie? ANNIE?!"
"Newt! I am here!", Annie replied happily. She felt relieved hearing his voice.
"Mr. Wand? Can you fix my leg? I want to be able to stand up. I've been sitting on my ass for too long." Annie asked the wand politely.
"Of course!", replied the wand.
A blue light came out of the wand, wrapped itself around her legs, and fixed whatever was meant to be fixed.
Annie felt her legs again and quickly stood up. After thanking the wand, she bolted out of the room and toward the entrance of the winery.
"Annie? Are you okay?", Newt, stood at the entrance asked worriedly, as soon as he laid eyes on her.
His clothes were dusty, his hair scattered as if in a war of terror with itself, and a small wound covering the tip of his left brow, his voice raspy.
'Uff! He looks.. fine! Thank goodness!', Annie thought to herself, a smile covering now her face.
"I'm fine, Newt. And, so are you! No major injuries!" Annie smiled and replied.
Newt sighed in relief and said in a serious expression, "I am sorry for all of this to happen. I knew something like this might happen but I didn't know that it would happen so quickly."
Annie also became serious and Newt continued, "I must inform everybody about this as soon as possible. You are in grave danger. You must be protected at all costs!"
Annie sighed and nodded her head, saying, "Indeed, Newt. It's also my fault. I should've known better than to come here with you."
"Don't blame yourself, Annie! Right now, we just need to get back and discuss it with others!" Newt comforted her while placing his hand on her shoulder.
Letting her smile come back, Annie said,
"You are right. So...come on, Newt. Take me home."
Home, she had finally, called it HOME.