New chapter is live.
Settle in, take your time, and let’s see what waits in the dark 🖤
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When the group stepped inside, a faint chiming came from somewhere behind the shop.
The front room was very small.
Apart from several long benches, there was almost nothing in it.
Callan led them to sit and wait in silence while the Evans family stared in amazement at the thousands of narrow boxes stacked almost to the ceiling.
Snape, meanwhile, still did not look fully recovered.
Even so, sitting so close to Lily brought a faint flush back to his pale face.
“Good afternoon.”
The soft voice startled everyone.
Callan was no exception, and Snape looked as if he might be sick again.
An old man stood before them without a sound.
In the dim shop, his large, pale eyes shone like two bright moons.
“Good afternoon,” Callan said first.
“Ah, good afternoon, child. Children, rather.” Ollivander smiled.
“And adults too, of course.”
Mr.
and Mrs.
Evans quickly returned the greeting.
“Now, then.”
Ollivander lowered his gaze again and, quite naturally, skipped over Petunia.
Her mouth tightened in displeasure, and Lily hurried to comfort her.
“Who will be first, young witches and wizards?”
Callan looked from side to side.
He was in no hurry to buy his wand.
Instead, he gestured to Lily and said, “Ladies first, Mr. Ollivander.”
“Very good. A courteous young gentleman.”
After praising him, Ollivander turned to Lily.
“Now, young lady, which is your wand hand?”
“My right,” Lily said nervously.
“I use my right hand.”
“Right hand. Very good.”
Ollivander drew a long tape measure with silver markings from his pocket.
“Raise your arm, please. Good.”
He began measuring Lily, first from shoulder to fingertip, then from wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally around her head.
Lily trembled through the entire process, as if Ollivander were measuring her for surgery rather than a wand.
“No need to be afraid, young lady,” Ollivander said gently when he noticed.
“A small but necessary procedure, that is all. You come from a Muggle family, I take it?”
Lily pointed at the family behind her and nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Very good.”
Ollivander said it with a smile, though none of them could quite tell what was good about it.
“Every Ollivander wand contains a powerfully magical substance,” he went on, explaining to them as if to himself.
“That is the essence of the wand.
“We use unicorn hair, phoenix feather, and dragon heartstring. Yes, indeed.”
When he saw the astonishment on the Evanses’ faces, he paused briefly before continuing.
“Every Ollivander wand is unique, because no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly alike.
“Of course, if you use a wand that ought to belong to another witch or wizard, you will never obtain quite the same results.”
As the tape measure moved on to the distance between Lily’s nostrils, Callan suddenly asked the old wandmaker, who was gliding among the shelves, “Excuse me, sir, but won’t all these measurements change as we grow older?
“If a wand is chosen this way…”
“The wand chooses the wizard, courteous young gentleman.”
Ollivander returned with an armful of long boxes and explained patiently, “It may appear that the wizard chooses the wand, but in truth, the wand chooses the wizard.
“As for your question, many people do wonder the same thing. But, forgive my impertinence, Ollivander wands are always the best, and that is not without reason.”
“You are Muggle-born as well, I presume?”
“Yes.”
Callan nodded politely.
“That explains it.” Ollivander smiled.
“Young witches and wizards from Muggle families, and their parents as well, often ask such questions.
But wandlore is a deep and difficult art.
“As for the rest…” Ollivander gave a mysterious little wink.
“That is a matter of inherited craft. I hope you will forgive me for not saying more.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Callan thanked him with impeccable politeness despite the evasive answer.
Inwardly, though, he was impressed.
Ollivander had more or less said, Muggles know nothing about magic, so do not insult wands with your ignorance, and somehow made it sound acceptable, even pleasant.
No wonder his family had survived two thousand years as craftsmen.
“Now, let us try this one, Miss Evans.”
Ollivander took out a wand and handed it to Lily.
She was clearly excited, but with one careless movement, a ray of light shot from the tip and blew apart one of the boxes.
“Oh, never mind.
Never mind at all.
“That happens quite often.”
Smiling, Ollivander raised his own wand, aimed it at the damaged box, and murmured, “Reparo.”
In an instant, the box was whole again.
“Now, try this one.”
The process of choosing a wand, or being chosen by one, was always long and oddly entertaining.
In the little shop, Mr.
and Mrs.
Evans kept letting out startled cries.
Fortunately, Lily eventually felt something different in one wand.
“Ten and a quarter inches, willow, phoenix feather.
“Excellent. Truly excellent.”
Ollivander took the wand back, placed it in its box, and wrapped it in brown paper.
Then he explained to the delighted Lily, “Phoenix feather is, without question, the rarest of the core types.
It can produce the greatest range of magic, though that range may take longer to reveal itself.
“But phoenix feathers are always the most selective when choosing an owner, because the phoenix itself is one of the most independent and detached creatures in the world.”
“Take good care of it, young lady.”
Lily thanked him happily, then asked, “And the willow, Mr. Ollivander?”
“Ah. Willow.” The expression on Ollivander’s face became strangely unreadable.
“Willow often chooses witches and wizards with great potential, rather than those who merely think well of themselves. It suits those with high ambitions.”
“However…”
At that point, Ollivander’s gaze drifted aside, as if he could not decide whether to look at Snape or Callan.
Callan chose that moment to glance meaningfully toward Snape.
Ollivander understood at once and looked at the dark-haired boy.
“The owner of a willow wand, however hard they try to hide it, often carries a deep and usually unwarranted insecurity.”
Under Ollivander’s gaze, Snape froze.
So did Lily.
“Well, then.”
Ollivander did not go on.
He merely smiled and asked, “Who is next?”
“Let him go first.”
Callan deferred again and pushed Snape forward.
Snape was still thinking about what Ollivander had just said.
Before he could react, the tape measure had already begun working around him.
“Callan.”
While Ollivander searched for a wand suitable for Snape, Lily slipped closer and whispered, “What were you doing just now?”
“What?”
Callan pretended not to understand.
“Do not play innocent. I saw you signal Mr. Ollivander.”
Callan blinked and muttered under his breath, “Well, you did not choose me anyway…”
“Callan!”
Lily smacked him angrily.
“We agreed not to bring that up again.”
“Bring what up?”
The tape measure had just fallen away from Snape.
He looked back and forth between them suspiciously, especially at Callan.
“Nothing to do with you.”
Before Callan could speak, Lily answered with a red face and shot him a warning look.
That nearly broke Snape’s heart, though Ollivander rescued him in time by drawing his attention back to the wands.
The next round was noisy as well, but Snape seemed absent-minded until the wand that had chosen him finally woke him from his thoughts.
“Very good. Splendid.”
Ollivander praised him in the same tone as before.
Callan suspected he said that to every young witch and wizard who came through the door.
“Eleven and a quarter inches, cypress, dragon heartstring. Very good.”
As he packed the wand away, Ollivander explained patiently, “Generally speaking, dragon heartstring produces the most powerful wands and the most flamboyant magic.
“However, such wands also change allegiance rather easily, and they are often the quickest to turn toward Dark magic, though they do not incline that way of their own accord.”
Callan chose the right moment to ask, “So whether it becomes Dark magic or not, the final choice still belongs to the wizard, does it not?”
Snape slowly raised his head, and Ollivander smiled.
“Yes. Precisely.”
Snape lowered his head again.
No one knew what he was thinking.
“As for cypress…”
Ollivander suddenly looked proud.
“Cypress wands have always been associated with courage. My ancestor, Geraint Ollivander, once said that he was proud whenever he found the right owner for a cypress wand, because he knew that the owner…”
Ollivander set the box gently in Snape’s hands.
“…would die a heroic death.”
“I hope you grow into a truly brave man, child.”
Snape was utterly stunned.
“Well,” Ollivander said, leaving the matter there and turning to Callan with clear anticipation.
“It seems you are next, courteous young gentleman.”
Callan nodded and stepped forward.
As he passed Snape, he murmured in the boy’s ear, “You heard him, didn’t you? The choice has always been in your hands, Snape.”
Snape’s expression darkened.
He and Callan had not discussed Dark magic for some time.
He had not expected Callan to bring it up now.
But Callan no longer looked at him.
He stood obediently in place and let the tape measure swing around him.
Soon he too reached the stage of trying wands.
As with the others, there were a few small frights.
At last, after he had tried more wands than he could count, a strange sensation rose through him, as if his arm had suddenly extended by several inches.
“Very good. Perfect.”
Ollivander gave the now familiar praise, then took the wand from Callan and examined it closely.
“Eleven and a quarter inches. Unicorn hair and ash. Very good.”
He began to explain.
“Unicorn hair generally produces the most stable magic, and it is difficult to turn such a wand toward Dark magic.”
At that, Snape immediately looked up at Callan.
Ollivander paid no attention.
“A wand with unicorn hair may not be the most powerful, but it makes the most faithful wand. In combination with ash, that quality becomes even more pronounced. This is a truly loyal wand.”
Lily looked puzzled.
“Only loyal? That sounds…” She pointed at herself and Snape.
“It does not sound as strong as ours.”
“No,” Callan said softly before Ollivander could answer.
“It is not like that.”
He could no longer wait.
He took the wand from Ollivander’s hand and held it carefully, savoring the strange familiarity as his fingers traced along the wood.
His eyes burned brighter than they ever had before.
“Loyalty,” Callan said under his breath.
“That is enough.”
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Want to keep going?
I hope this chapter gave you another reason to stay with the story.
There’s still plenty ahead, and things are only starting to unfold.