Harry sat on the wing chair in his study regarding his injured wand hand with a mixture irritation and chagrin.

The hour was late, but Ginny had insisted that they call in some kind of help. It was clear that none of the healing spells she knew would work. She was worried enough that rather than send an owl, she'd sent a Patronus. She was putting the children to bed now, after assuring them that Harry hadn't done any permanent damage to himself.

He contemplated taking himself to Saint Mungo's but, quite apart from the fact that he didn't want to explain what he had been doing for security purposes, he really was more than a trifle embarrassed at the accident.

"Bloody thing." he muttered darkly. The pain potion Ginny had given him had reduced the pain to a dull roar, fortunately.

The front door opened and shut. Someone spoke softly to Kreacher. Harry realized he didn't know who Ginny had sent for.

Harry heard footsteps up the stairs and a soft knock at the study door.

"Come in." he gritted.

The door opened slowly and the face of Luna Lovegood peeped around the door, looking concerned, "Harry?" she said slowly, "Ginny said you'd had a wand accident?"

She looked like she'd come directly from her workshop. Rather than robes, she wore a pair of jeans and an old oversized "Weird Sisters" t-shirt. a leather apron with pockets bulging with tools hung from her waist. Her silver blond hair was caught up in a ponytail on top of her head.

In answer, he held his blistered hand out to her, gritting his teeth against the still considerable pain. Too swollen for him to close his fingers, it seemed that the skin of the palm was beginning to wetly slough off in white and grey patches.

Her blond eyebrows shot up, "Oh, my. Did your wand do that? Did it explode?" She came into his study, walking carefully around the parchments and books that were stacked around the room.

Harry shook his head, "No. Not my wand." he said, "Professor Snape's. Bloody thing was booby trapped."

As always, Luna seemed to take that information in stride. Without missing a beat, Luna knelt down on the floor in front of him. Holding his wrist, she examined the palm closely. She turned it over to look at the back and turned it palm up again. She held her fingers close to, but not touching the skin of his palm. She let go of his wrist and looked around.

"Can I see the wand?" asked Luna, looking around. Harry nodded at his desk.

She picked it up, delicately. She gave it a little wave. Sullen grey smoke issued from the end in a thin stream.

"It wasn't booby trapped." she said gently, "It just really didn't like you. What are you doing with Professor Snape's wand?" As she asked him this she pulled out her own wand and tapped his wrist, then waved the wand across his palm a couple of times.

"Trying to get into his bloody journals." Harry jerked his chin at the stacks of parchment. What Luna was doing dampened the pain more completely, but the skin was still raw, "I think I have the password, but it got so hot I thought itwas going to explode."

Luna nodded as though that made sense to her "I've got something for wand bites back at the shop. Could Kreacher go fetch it?" she asked.

Kreacher was apparently listening, "Yes, Miss Luna." he croaked from the doorway, "Just tell Kreacher where to find it and what it looks like."

"It's in the workshop, on the wall, in a case marked with a red healer's symbol. You can't miss it. There's a bottle marked 'wand bites'"

"This happen often then?" asked Harry, more to distract himself than anything else.

"Oh, yes." She said, "You see it with stolen wands that haven't been won from their masters. It happens with heirloom wands sometimes, too. Sometimes a new wand will do it,just because. This is the worst one I've ever seen, though." she said interestedly, "You must have made it really angry."

"Yeah, well, I had that effect on Snape too. Like wizard, like wand." replied Harry irritably.

Luna smiled at him, maddeningly, "Maybe you should let someone else try. Someone without so much history with the wand's master."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe Minerva or Flitwik might agree to try."

"So?" Ginny said, leaning on the frame of the open doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, "Will he live? Or do we have to have it off at the elbow?" her light words were belied by the tense set of her shoulders

Luna smiled at Ginny, "Just a wand bite. Not much works on them, but the specific remedy. Otherwise, it takes weeks to heal."

Ginny came in and and sat on the setee, shifting one of the parchment stacks to the floor so Luna could sit down next to her, "Thank you, for coming. I was worried." she said, with a relieved smile, "And naturally, he didn't want to see a healer." Ginny glared at Harry.

"Gin..." sighed Harry, "I'm fine. Really."

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him, "I thought we'd talked about that word." she said a little sharply.

Perhaps to head off witnessing a spat (although it wouldn't be the first time), Luna asked, "So, why do you want to get into Professor Snape's journals?"

Before Harry and Ginny could answer, Kreacher returned.

"Thank you, Kreacher." said Luna taking the potion. She knelt back down in front of Harry, "Let me see your hand."

He extended it again. She dripped a viscous golden liquid from the bottle. The drops spread out immediatley, forming a yellow, shining coating over his palm and fingers. It sank into the skin after a few seconds. All the white and grey patches seemed to dry up to flakes. Luna tapped his hand with her wand and his skin was restored to it's normal color, his fingers to their normal size, "Careful you don't pick up anything hot with that hand for a few days. The skin's tender."

"Thanks, Luna." said Harry, gratefully.

"So, why did you want to get into Snape's journals?" asked Luna again.

Harry glanced at Ginny who gave him a little nod. She went and closed the study door. Sat back down again.

"Well, you know our foster son, Tim?" asked Harry, "He's been having problems." Harry went on to explain the whole thing in detail to Luna, who propped her head up on her hands, with her elbows on her knees , listening intently.

"So, Minerva thinks his journal is keyed to his wand?" asked Luna, when he had finished.

Harry nodded.

"No wonder it bit you." Luna smiled, "Didn't you tell me once that you got into terrible trouble, poking around Snape's office?"

Harry laughed a little, "Never thought about it."

"Wands are funny about things like that. " replied Luna.

There was a soft little tap at the door.

Ginny jumped up, opening the door. Tim stood there in his pajamas and carrying his teddy, "Auntie Ginny?" he said softly, "I wondered where everyone had gone. Kreacher said you were in here."

"Can't sleep?" asked Ginny, gently.

Tim shook his head.

"Well, come in here, with us. I'll get Kreacher to get you some milk, all right?" she drew him into the room.

"Hello, Tim," said Luna, softly, "Remember me? We met the day Lily got her wand."

"Hello." Tim whispered. He sat up next to Ginny on the settee, while Ginny asked Kreacher for a glass of milk.

"So how's Mr. Ollivander?" Harry asked Luna, feeling like he couldn't keep talking about Snape's journal with Tim in the room.

"Oh, you know, about the same." Luna said sadly, "He's been drifting away a bit more every day. Some days I can get sense out of him. Today he wasn't sure who I was, just that I was someone he was fond of."

"Oh, that's hard," said Ginny, sympathetically.

Luna nodded, "But he likes where he is and I can visit him every day." she said, more happily, "And he still remembers every wand he ever made. I'll have to ask him what Professor Snape's is."

Tim sat drinking his milk, looking puzzled.

"Tim?" asked Harry, "You all right?"

He nodded, but looked around the room, "Is there a radio on?" he asked.

The adults glanced at each other, "No." said Harry, "Why?"

"I hear music." Tim stopped and considered, "No, it's more like just a humming, but it's a nice humming. Like somebody singing in the next room."

Harry couldn't hear anything and evidentially neither did Ginny. Harry hoped it wasn't some sign of Tim's possible deterioration that the healer's kept telling them to watch for.

Luna looked up with a little smile playing on her lips, "Is it in the room with us?" she asked.

"I...think so." said Tim slowly.

Luna smiled more widely at the mystified and concerned Potters. She stood up from the settee and picked up Snape's wand from its' place on Harry's desk, "Is it this?" she said bringing it over.

Tim nodded, "It's humming."

Before Harry could stop her, she extended the wand to Tim who took the handle, "Give it a wave." she said.

"Luna!" both Ginny and Harry said together, visions of Tim's hand being blasted off playing through Harry's mind.

Golden sparks trailed behind the wand and Tim's face was transfigured by a delighted smile, "It feels warm!" he said.

Harry and Ginny stared at each other, open mouthed.

"It likes you." said Luna serenely, "The wand chooses the wizard."

"But...he's too young to have a wand." objected Ginny, automatically.

"Mm-hm. You'll have to put it up for him, until he's ready to go to school." Nodded Luna happily, "It happens a couple times every summer at the shop. Someone comes into the shop and their younger brother or sister get one as well, because the wand is flinging itself off the shelf, not wanting to wait."

Tim stared hard at Luna, looking as if he thought he was misunderstanding her. Harry knew the feeling, "But, are you saying, the wand chose Tim?" he asked to be clear.

"Oh, yes." said Luna, firmly, "A wand like that won't accept anyone else, now."

"Oh." said Harry bemused.

"Won't Minerva want it back, though?" Ginny asked Harry.

Harry shook his head, "She said that it wasn't considered a school relic or anything...Snape had left it to anyone who could make it work for them. Minerva thought it was because he'd come from a poor family himself. She thought maybe he wanted to leave it for a promising Potions student who hadn't been able to obtain a good wand."

"But...isn't it strange that Snape's wand should just happen to choose Tim?" Ginny asked Luna, looking deeply unsettled.

"Not really. We've been here talking for the last hour about the lifework of the wand's last master. Specifically a potion to help Tim. If Tim was at all compatible with the wand, it wouldn't hesitate to choose him. Wands want to be useful."

"Oh."

"Do you mean...I can keep it?" asked Tim, as if he hardly dared hope.

"I-I suppose," said Ginny at a loss,"We'll...we'll put it up on the mantle piece with Lily's for now."

"Oh!" Tim couldn't seem to say anything, but like when they'd taken flowers to his grandmother's grave, his eyes said it all.

"Luna, do you think Tim could help me?" Harry asked, suddenly.

"I think so, if you really do have the right password." she replied, "It won't hurt to try. The wand won't hurt Tim."

Harry pulled out one of the plain books of cookery. This was the one that had made Snape's (now Tim's) wand bite him, "Tim, would you tap this book with your wand and say 'Lily"."

Tim looked at Harry quizzically, but he followed Harry's instructions.

The plain brown book lit briefly with a white light. When the light when away, the cover was blank green leather. Harry opened it and saw the cramped script had turned to more notes and potion recipes, rather than cooking.

Ginny, leaning over Harry's shoulder gave a little whoop of joy.

"Excellent!" cried Harry, jubilantly.

"Did I do that?" asked Tim astonished.

"You did," grinned Harry.

The boy grinned back at Harry.