The bell above the door gave a quiet chime as Felix stepped into Ollivanders.
The noise of Diagon Alley seemed to fade behind him almost immediately, replaced by the dusty stillness of a shop that appeared to contain far more history than its modest exterior suggested.
Tall shelves covered nearly every wall, with narrow boxes stacked almost to the ceiling.
Felix looked around with open curiosity, wondering how anyone could possibly keep track of all the wands hidden among them.
A thin man emerged from somewhere toward the back of the shop.
His pale eyes settled first on Soren, then Starla, and finally Felix.
He studied the three Falkers for a moment before recognition appeared on his face.
“Well, this is an interesting visit.”
Starla smiled politely.
“It’s been some time, Mr. Ollivander.”
“Indeed it has.” Ollivander’s attention returned to her.
“Mrs. Falker, if I remember correctly, your wand was twelve inches, cedar, with a unicorn hair core. Quite responsive, particularly when used for defensive magic.”
Starla’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“You remember that?”
“Wandmakers remember their wands.”
His gaze shifted toward Soren.
“And Mr. Falker. Eleven and a half inches, black walnut, dragon heartstring.”
Soren gave a slight nod.
“A rather demanding wand,” Ollivander continued.
“It suited you.”
Felix looked between his parents with growing interest.
Ollivander had remembered their wands after all these years as though they had been purchased only yesterday.
The wandmaker’s attention eventually returned to him.
“And now we have the son.”
Felix nodded.
“Felix Falker.”
“Yes. I suspected as much.” Ollivander studied him for another moment before turning toward the shelves.
“Then let us see what you are suited for.”
Felix followed him deeper into the shop.
The first wand Ollivander selected was made of ash and contained a unicorn hair core.
Felix held it carefully and waited for something to happen, but the wand remained completely still in his hand.
Ollivander took it back without concern and immediately reached for another.
The second was made of cherry wood and responded with little more than a faint flicker, while the third produced a brief shower of sparks before going quiet.
They continued.
Felix tried wand after wand, and the process became surprisingly difficult.
Some reacted weakly, others seemed to reject him entirely, and a few produced strange effects that Ollivander quickly decided were not quite right.
One wand made several nearby boxes wobble dangerously on their shelves before Ollivander calmly took it from Felix.
“I was starting to like that one,” Felix admitted.
“It disagreed,” Ollivander replied.
Felix laughed.
Another wand followed, then another.
Felix began to wonder whether he would ever find one that felt right.
Ollivander, however, remained patient, carefully observing Felix’s movements and reactions each time he handed him another wand.
Eventually, the wandmaker disappeared toward the back of the shop and remained there for considerably longer than before.
When he returned, he was carrying a narrow black box that looked older than the others.
He placed it carefully on the counter and opened the lid.
Inside lay a dark wand with an understated appearance.
Its surface was almost completely black, although faint variations in the wood could be seen beneath the polished finish.
Ollivander lifted it from the box and examined it for another moment before offering it to Felix.
“Ten and three-quarter inches,” he said.
“Slightly yielding. Blackthorn.”
Felix carefully wrapped his fingers around the handle.
“The core is Thunderbird talon,” Ollivander added.
Felix looked at him.
“Thunderbird?”
“An unusual core. Not one I use frequently.”
Felix looked back at the wand.
Something about it felt different.
He tightened his grip.
The moment his fingers settled around the wand, the atmosphere inside the shop changed.
A pulse of magic moved outward from him, rattling the nearest boxes against their shelves as a sudden dark-green light filled the room.
The wand seemed to become almost weightless in his hand, as though it had been waiting for him.
The magic surrounding Felix intensified.
Dark-green flames erupted around him without causing any harm, curling upward in twisting streams before gathering behind him and taking the unmistakable shape of an enormous dragon.
Its scales were deep emerald-green, almost black where the light failed to reach them, while dark-green flames coiled around its body and traced the edges of its massive form.
Its eyes burned with the same vibrant green as Felix’s own.
The spectral creature lowered its head behind him, surrounding him like a guardian formed from the magic of the wand and the fire of the Falker crest.
Felix remained completely still, his fingers tightening slightly around the wand as he stared ahead, unable to tear his eyes away from the manifestation.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Ollivander’s normally composed expression had given way to genuine astonishment.
His eyes remained fixed on the dragon, studying every detail as though he were trying to understand something he had never encountered before.
Starla looked equally shocked.
She had seen Felix perform magic before, but nothing like this.
Her attention moved between her son and the enormous spectral dragon behind him, and for perhaps the first time since entering the shop, she seemed completely lost for words.
Soren’s reaction was quieter.
His expression remained controlled, but his eyes flashed as he recognized the unmistakable connection between the manifestation and the Falker crest.
The dark-green flames, the dragon, and the way the magic had surrounded Felix were too precise to dismiss as an ordinary wand reaction.
It was a manifestation.
More importantly, it was a manifestation connected to Felix himself and the magic of his family.
Soren understood that the significance could be considerable, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
Whatever this meant, Felix would eventually need to understand it for himself.
The dragon remained for several moments before the flames slowly began to withdraw.
Its enormous form dissolved into twisting streams of green fire that curled back toward Felix, fading until only the ordinary light of Ollivanders’ shop remained.
Felix looked down at the wand in his hand.
The strange sense of familiarity was still there, subtle but unmistakable, as though the wand had somehow settled naturally into his grip.
“It chose me,” Felix said.
Ollivander nodded slowly.
“Yes. I believe it did.”
Starla stepped closer, still visibly surprised by what she had witnessed.
“I’ve never seen a wand do anything like that.”
“Neither have I,” Ollivander admitted.
He carefully examined the wand while Felix continued holding it.
“Blackthorn is an interesting wood. It can be stubborn, but it often responds exceptionally well to witches and wizards who possess determination and resilience. Thunderbird talon is considerably less predictable, however. It tends to produce wands that are highly responsive to movement and instinct.”
Felix looked down at the wand again.
Ollivander’s expression became thoughtful.
“This wand is particularly suited to combat.”
Felix’s eyes immediately brightened.
“Combat?”
“Combat, movement, and speed,” Ollivander explained.
“It responds quickly and seems to favor decisive casting rather than hesitant movement. I suspect it will become increasingly responsive as your technique develops. A duelist who learns to work with this wand rather than against it could become exceptionally quick.”
Felix smiled.
Soren noticed the expression immediately, and so did Starla.
Neither looked particularly surprised.
Felix gave the wand a small experimental movement, and a faint green spark danced from its tip before disappearing into the air.
“I think we’re going to get along.”
Ollivander gave a quiet chuckle.
“I suspect you will.”
Felix looked once more at the place where the dragon had appeared.
He could still feel something lingering in the wand, something subtle that he could not yet explain.
It did not feel foreign in his hand.
If anything, it felt strangely familiar, almost as though some part of him had recognized it before he had even understood what he was holding.
Soren watched his son carefully.
He knew that the wand Felix held was going to become more than a simple magical tool.
The manifestation had made that clear enough, but there would be plenty of time to understand its meaning later.
For now, Felix had a wand.
And he could hardly wait to see what it could do.