Abraxas Crabbe worked hard to stifle a yawn. He did not wish to appear disinterested in the day's errand—after all, the reason he was so sleepy was that he had scarcely slept the night before for excitement!

He didn't think Uncle Orlando noticed, though, as he skipped along the cobbles of the High Street and all but charged through the front door of the wand shop. To tell the truth, Rex had begun to wonder if this day would ever come; though he had, after weeks of anxiety, received his Hogwarts letter, it had looked still as though the fog would never look. When he had woken up on the morning of the second, the young wizard had scarcely believed his eyes!

"Good morning," he called out, his tone a mixture of cheerfulness and apprehension. For all that Abraxas was incredibly excited, he was not altogether certain what to expect!