1 September 1991 - "[He] was really beautiful. He was handsome — this orphan, this foundling, this outcast."

I nodded, handing it over to him.  "Just be careful... you don't wanna wave it about too much or you'll burn down this compartment or something.  I did that with about half a dozen wands before I found this one," I said, chuckling.  "Can I see your plastic one?  I find it fascinating the different cores and whatnot that different wand makers use.  I bet you Americans came up with something brilliant using plastic instead of wood or something..."

He couldn't be serious. Magic wasn't real, it was all about creating the illusion of making something supernatural happen. Even at eleven years old, I knew that much. I didn't want to say anything to him, though, because I couldn't hurt his feelings. He seemed to buy into this so wholeheartedly.

I took his wand and was surprised by its weight. It was much sturdier than the flimsy plastic one I had. Feeling ashamed of how little money I had, resulting in buying the cheapest one, I reluctantly handed it over to him. "I know it isn't the greatest quality or whatever...," I said, trailing off as the tip of his wand started to spark in my hand.

My eyes bulged and I looked at him, wild with anxiety.

"What was that?"

I grinned at him.  "It was magic," I said simply.  How did he not know that?  Did his wand not spark at all when he got it?  How else did he know if he got hte right one or not?  I moved his over in my hands, inspecting it.  Then I realized that he had not been kidding when he said he went to the toy store... "This isn't a real wand.  You're going to want to replace that," I assured him.  I was beginning to wonder if this kid was supposed to be on tis train or not.  I wa not trying to be mean, but I was just starting to understand less and less about him.  "I mean... this isn't going to help you in classes or anything.  And I don't think others will be very nice about it.  They may make fun of you..."  I just wanted him to be prepared.  He was a nice enough kid.

I was at a complete loss. I felt my brows furrow curiously, not sure what he meant. "I hate to say this," I said softly, "but you do realize that magic isn't real, right?" I waited to see his shoulders deflate, defeated and disappointed, which would only make me feel terrible. I extended his wand back to him, slightly afraid that it would in fact burn down the compartment like Nolan feared.

Okay, we clearly were not on the same page here at all.  I took my wand back and handed his back to him.  "Wait... why don't you think magic is real?" I inquired.  Why was he on the train?  He had to have some wizard in him or else he would not be there.  I was genuinely confused.

"Why would it be real?" I countered. "What's going on?"

After his wand had sparked in my hand, I was beginning to feel particularly perturbed. Could there be an explanation to all the weird things that had happened while growing up in the orphanage? My unexplained disappearances, the toys that randomly went missing... My stomach felt very knotted at the thought that this was something I might not be expecting.

This was definitely getting weird.  I ran a hand through my hair.  "Wait... you're being serious right now?" I questioned.  I thought he was just kidding around or something.  "You really don't believe magic is real?"

I stared at this kid rather intently for a few moments. "What are you trying to say?" I asked slowly. "Is it real?" Part of me was just trying to play along, but another, more anxious, part of me was beginning to think there was something to all of this.

I smiled at him and moved to the edge of my seat.  "Oh, it's real," I assured him.  "Don't you do random things that are hard to explain?  At first it scared me... until my mum told me it was natural.  Of course, I had other issues.. I always knew that I was going to be a wizard with magical parents.  But it still freaked me out the first time I used magic," I explained.  I was not entirely sure how to explain all of this to someone who was some sort of Muggle, but I knew that it would be my mission to help him out.  He had the right to know what he was.

I thought about all the strange things at my group home. "Well, sure," I admitted. "I can think of a lot of things that happened, like when I wouldn't let the principal find me." I chuckled, recollecting the look on her face when she walked in and couldn't see me at all. "You should've seen her..."

But that wasn't what we were talking about. I had made things happen that I couldn't explain. Did that mean that I was, like Nolan seemed to be insinuating, magical? It was absurd. Wicked cool, but absurd. And impossible.

I grinned.  "You will have to tell me more about that story later," I said, loving to hear those crazy stories.  But I wanted him to realize that magic was not fake... it was quite real.  "That stuff all happened because you're a wizard.  Like everyone on this train."  I got a little disappointed, though.  "But... that means that you're going to have to find a real wand.  That one definitely won't do."

"No, I suppose it won't," I said, wanting to see some real magic again. Not that I didn't believe him, but I didn't quite believe him. "Can you show me something with your wand?"

Nodding, I held my wand aloft.  "It may not work that great... I haven't been practicing like I probably should have been," i admitted.  I would just try to simply light my wand.  I was not sure if it would work... but it was worth a shot.  "Lumos," I muttered, seeing a light flicker, but faded quickly.  "not the best, but at least it was something..."

I felt my eyes alight with excitement, having no idea that anything like this existed. "I wonder if my principal knew," I whispered. "She had to have known when that man came to see her. What should I do about my things?" 

Nolan was right, my wand - and everything else - was going to need replaced, but I had no idea where to go to find what I'd need.

I leaned back, thinking.  "Well... I'm sure that the school would have some extra supplies... You may have to just worry about getting a wand," I said.  "And if we're in the same Family, then I would think we'd be in the same classes, so you can use my supplies in the classes that we're able to," I offered.