Lady Violetta enjoyed students who had questions and loved to answering then.
"No, River. At this time everyone will get a basic educational wand to learn how to use the wands. Next semester, you will have a second wand to use and that wand will pick you. It is a very interesting process to see the wands choose who they will assist. Those wands will be of different woods and fillings. They are also sentient. 
Now the pets will be chosen not just by yourself but the pet will need a say in the matter as well. Pets are of the magical sort but there will be canines, felines, avian and reptilian. There will several examples of each species in the groups and each group has more than one type of .... Let me tell you what is in the feline group as an example. The felines are Firecats and Shadowcats. There is a Gold Lion which is very difficult to raise. Each one of these has special needs so you must choose not only on the type of creature that you prefer but also how much time you want to give to the pet. Some pets can be left alone more easily than others and some like the Gold Lion needs a lot of attention." she explianed patiently.