I crouch down and retrieve the two cloth wrapped wands.
"Would you prefer your Mother's or Father's first?" Dumbledore asks.
"It's going to be unpleasant either way, You carry a wand all day, every day for years. Add to it the fact they are not mere objects, but part of a person, my parents too." I place both wands on the floor in front of me. "I think one experience will be more than enough." I lay my hands on the wands simultaneously and promptly pass out.
Bright lights. The sheet I lay on, whilst washed, has had 13 people die on it. The pillow is brand new. I sit up sharply. A hospital, full of … wizards.
"Harry." I quickly look to my left, Dumbledore is standing there. A friendly face. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a hippogryph just ran over my head." I say without a seconds thought. "Whatever that means." Dumbledore chuckles.
"Young James would often say the same thing when he woke up on a hospital bed." He smiles.
"Speaking of the bed, the sheets hold horrible stories." His eyes widen slightly.
"I hadn't thought it would be an issue, forgive me." He says quickly. I wave him off.
"It's fine. Where are we?"
"After you touched the wands, you fell into a coma like state. I waited for 10 minutes before bringing you here, Saint Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." He says, waving an arm around the room.
"A nice ring to it." I laugh. I looked down at my hospital gown. It's … empty. "This things." I tug at the fabric. "Where did it come from?" It's like a void.
"The Healer conjured it as you arrived."
"Conjured?"
"A branch of magic called transfiguration. It allows the wizard to alter the form of one thing to another. Conjuration is a very complex practice of it. I had thought that you would react badly to a pre-existing gown, but it seems this one has unsettled you just as much."
"It's just a new experience." I say. "It's history starts mere minutes ago. Do we have to stay here?"
"Already forming a dislike to hospitals?" He smiles genially. "I thought it best to not give your name, although I do believe your scar may have gave that away somewhat."
"I suppose so." I idly rub the lightning bolt. "The wands. So many spells have passed through them. They've taken lives and defended them, the wonder and anger behind each one. Learning new spells and watching them unfold before their eyes."
"If I may ask, How much did you learn?"
"It's still processing, but the words are all there along with what the spells do. I can feel the kind of people they were." I smile sadly. "I only wish I'd had the chance to really know them." I shake my head. "Where are my clothes now? It'll be interesting to see where they've travelled without me."
"Just on the side table." He points over my shoulder. My hand touches my t-shirt and my clothes jump onto my body.
"That was unpleasant." I say, making Dumbledore laugh.
"It can be a bit jarring from time to time." He agrees. I lower my feet to the floor and stand up. I look down at my feet, they've given me shoes.
"I never did like shoes." I sit back down on the bed and remove my shoes and socks. "So much to learn through the soles of my feet." I set my bare feet on the floor and wriggle my toes. A huge building with some kind of lattice magical bubble around it. Thousands of lives have come to be and ended inside these halls. Death at every turn as well as life. Families ending and starting. Jokes played on friends, pimples to be removed, hair to be fixed or replaced.
"Harry." I turn to look at Dumbledore, he's frowning slightly.
"It's just a lot to take in." I stand up properly. "A magical building." I look around. "You said you could take me to get the items listed in my letter?"
"Ah, Yes. Diagon Alley. Perhaps some food first? I've been told you had exhausted yourself." My stomach grumbles as I nod. "I've heard that the tuna sandwiches here are worth the trip." He begins to lead me through the hallway.
Lots of moaning and groaning from the current visitors and patients. Animals running and flying around, not something I'd expect to see in a hospital. Wizards.
"Are some of these people?" I duck to avoid a black bird flying at my head.
"Perhaps you could tell me." Dumbledore says mischievously.
"I haven't touched them, that's unfair." I watch as a dog runs away from a man in a white robe. "That person was a man, but a dog too."
"A rare talent that we refer to as an 'Animagus'." He says as we enter the lift. "Between you and I, your father could turn into a stag." He says quietly. "One should register with the Ministry of course, but some slip through the net." He winks. I grin.
"The wands sort of … spoke to me." I say. "Normally I just learn about things, but these seemed …"
"Alive?" He suggests.
"Yeah." I nod. "They told me the story, rather than me just knowing it." I wade through the information. "You really do use them for everything, don't you?"
"Most things do require a wand. Cleaning, cooking sometimes. Certain people enjoy the mundane methods of doing things, others prefer to use magic for even the simplest of tasks. Why do you ask?" He looks down at me.
"Who is Peter Pettigrew?"