Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 57 - Don't trust the peace

After paying for his new wand, Ominis left Ollivanders Wand Shop with a completely renewed sense of joy. He almost felt reborn, like a new person. He finally felt whole again and didn't want to let go of his new wand. 

He deliberately opted out of buying a matching handle because he wanted direct skin contact with the smooth wood of his new wand. The sounds and smells that reached him after leaving Mr. Ollivander's shop seemed to be much more intense than on the way there. He smelled peppermint tea from a café he knew was quite a distance away. He smelled fresh cotton candy, apparently bought from Honeydukes by some children. He heard the wind rustling through the tall grass at the edge of the village and the bubbling of water flowing in the nearby river. And if he concentrated, he could even recognize some classmates' voices somewhere nearby, engaging in conversation.

With a confident smile on his face, Ominis now raised his new cherry wood wand in front of him and attempted to elicit his orientation spell from it, which had become absolute routine over the years with his old wand. He didn't expect great success on the first try, but somehow he felt like his new wand was making the utmost effort to allow him to work this unfamiliar spell without much effort of his own.

Look for Phina.
He repeated this thought like a mantra in his head, and after a while, he indeed felt a slight pressure in his palm, apparently guiding him in a certain direction. After just a few steps, Ominis felt so confident that he dared to walk a bit faster. It was truly astonishing how harmonious the cooperation with his new wand felt. As if it had truly been waiting for him on that shelf for years. To finally lead him into a better future.

But first, he wanted to at least try if it could lead him to Phina. He felt the warm sun rays on his skin as he walked through Hogsmeade with a completely new sense of life. It was almost eerie how much his mood had improved. The day felt like a completely different one, from a completely different life. Ominis couldn't imagine anything ruining this day for him. And when he finally heard Phina's laughter, it simply made the moment perfect.

He headed straight towards her voice, coming from near the large tree in the marketplace of Hogsmeade. He heard the wind rustling through its countless leaves, and from behind it, a gust of the sweet smell from Honeydukes came in his direction.

"Oh, look, Phina. There's Ominis!" he then heard Poppy's voice as he got closer. Phina's laughter ceased, but he felt it had simply given way to a silent smile, which he returned, hoping he had roughly found her direction.

"You have a new wand!" she exclaimed excitedly, rushing over to him. Poppy and the two other girls from Hufflepuff, whom Ominis immediately recognized by the sound of their shuffling steps as Evangeline Bardsley and Lenora Everleigh, also came over to him. Ominis confidently offered his new wand to Phina. He didn't like the idea of giving it to someone else, but he knew she would handle it carefully.

"Feel free to have a look if you'd like," he said proudly, and Phina could immediately tell from his demeanor that something had changed.
He looked so completely different compared to before, when they had arrived in Hogsmeade and he had been totally nervous and withdrawn. She gently took the reddish-brown, slightly glossy wand from him and inspected it from all angles as she slowly turned it in her hands. 

It looked incredibly elegant, and Phina thought it suited Ominis very well. Just as he now stood before them, he seemed incredibly noble and majestic. His shoulders were no longer slouched, and his features seemed chiseled by the late summer sun. He was simply beautiful, although Phina briefly pondered if there was a better word to describe his appearance, because "beautiful" didn't quite suffice for her.

"You're... I mean... the wand is truly beautiful," she suddenly stuttered, feeling her heart drop into her stomach for a moment. Oh God, that had been close. And incredibly embarrassing. Poppy chuckled softly at Phina's clumsiness, while thankfully Evangeline and Lenora had gone over to the newsstand to catch up on the latest world events. Fortunately, Ominis was, as always, the gentleman Phina knew him to be, because apart from his slightly crooked smile, he didn't flinch.