A/N: Welcome to another random idea that was found spinning through the void that is my head. This story focuses on Ollivander before he became the greatest wand maker of the century.
I'm taking some liberties with who is what age because I couldn't find out what years some of the characters went to school, but other than that I'll try to stick as close to cannon as I can.
Not sure if I'll continue it at this point though. That all depends on who reads and reviews. The way I do my stories are To Be Continued on Review Basis Only. That means that if you wish for the story to continue, you MUST LEAVE A REVIEW! Favoriting or following are not good enough because I know some people that will fav and follow every story they read or even click on.
So without Further To-do, Here's my newest revelation, The Wand Chooses the Wizard!
Chapter 1: Explosive Failure
"Come along Garry."
Following just behind his mother was the rather unremarkable 10 year old, Gerrick Olivander, Garry for short. He was forced to double-time his steps to keep pace with his anxious mother as they headed on their way to yet another wand shop.
"I am certain we shall find a wand for you here. Nothing to fear."
Garry rolled his eyes. He had long since given up on finding a wand that didn't backfire with every spell he used. How many wands had he gone through already? 18?...19? It was hard to keep track. Of course his mom knew which wands he'd broken. She had the list in her pocket.
I wonder if I could set fire to it in her pocket… Jokingly, Garry put his first and second fingers to his head and squinted hard at the left pocket of his mother's dress, as if he were trying to send a telepathic signal. Of course he never expected it to work, so he wasn't too disappointed when they reached the shop and his mom pulled out an un-charred list.
The small bell over the door rang as they entered.
"Be with you in a moment!" Came a call from the back.
Garry's mother turned and wagged a finger at him. "Now no being picky this time. The wand will work if you want it to. Now you wait here while I talk with Percivil." She patted him on the head then left her son standing there feeling like an idiot.
The man called Percivil emerged from the back room after only a minute. He wiped the dust off his hands with an even dustier towl, then smiled up at his customers; then he realized who he was looking at. "Agatha dear. My goodness this is a surprise. How's old Gervaise doing?"
"My husband is well. He would have come himself today but what with all the new orders from Hogwarts students; he's so busy he won't be leaving the shop for a week."
Percivil nodded, "Oh yes, I can certainly understand that. Been rather hectic here as well." He folded up the towel and laid it on the counter. "So my dear, what can I do for you today?"
Agatha Ollivander smiled slightly as she pulled out the list. "Actually I'm looking for a wand for my son." She handed the list of wands over.
Percivil looked at the list then looked past Agatha at young Garry, then back at the list. He let out a low whistle. "The lad certainly has been busy. What did you say happened to all these?"
Agatha shook her head, "I didn't." She paused slightly biting her lip. "There have been a few… complications." She chose to be subtle, however her son did not.
"They backfired. Blew up in my hand. Every last one of 'em"
"Garry!" His mother hissed him into silence. In a way she was right to want to keep quiet about things. While it was not unusual for a custom made wand to backfire for the first spell or two, blowing up usually only occurred when the wand was in the hands of a muggle or a squib. Being from a long succession of pure blooded wizards (excluding his mom of course), a squib in the family would not be good news.
Percivil smiled kindly, "Now, now, Agatha. All hope is not lost. We'll find something here that the boy can use." With that he shuffled off to find whatever wands he had which were not made of a combination of materials on the list. "Here we are," Percivil said returning a few minutes later; in his hands were a mountain of long thin boxes, each with its own individual wand. "See how you like this one. Nine and a half inches, Willow branch, with an Acromantual fang as the core. The compliancy of the willow branch counters the fang bringing it to a nice balance, it…" He never got to finish his lecture.
Garry had attempted a simple Lumos charm. The flash of light it let out was so bright that it was similar to a muggle's Flash Bomb. It went off with a concussive BOOM, sending bits of willow shrapnel blasting in all directions.
Garry flexed his hand for what seemed like the hundredth time, checking that there were no cuts or other damage from the explosions. There never was any, but it couldn't hurt to check.
Agatha Ollivander swore under her breath, while Percivil tried to recover from the shock of one of his best made wands being blown to smithereens from a harmless light spell.
"Ah… Perhaps," he nervously reached over and took a new box, "This one. Yes, this one is a very versatile piec…" Again he never finished his explination. This time the wand decided to blow up like a balloon before rocketing out of Gary's hand and sputtering through the air.
While his mother and Percivil tried to capture the flying wand, Garry turned and stormed out of the shop. He stood in the street silently fuming.
"Hey that was pretty cool. What spell was that?"
Garry looked up to see a boy not much older than himself. The boy had brown hair and dark eyes that seemed to sparkle in a way that said this boy knows something you don't. He stood looking expectantly. Garry shrugged.
"It wasn't a spell. That wand just didn't like me."
The boy laughed. "How can a wand not like you? A wand isn't alive. It can't like or dislike something." Garry shrugged, unsure what to say. Undiscouraged, the boy continued talking. "I picked out my wand myself. Took a couple weeks to gather the materials I wanted but things turned out great. Mi Ma and Dad are downright proud. I'll be headed off to Hogwarts in less than a week. Just in the area picking up a few last minute supplies. Small stuff yah know?" Garry nodded, still unsure how to react to this overly friendly boy.
The kid talked for some time before his name was called out by someone in the crowd. He and Garry looked to see another boy headed their way.
"Hey there Albus!" the boy waved to his friend.
"Sheesh Nicolas. Where've you been. I've been wandring all over Diagon Alley looking for you. You're dad's not too happy about you wandering off like that." Albus looked over at Gary for the first time. "Who's this?"
The boy named Nicolas opened his mouth, only to close it again. "Huh… I guess I never did get your name." Garry saw Albus roll his eyes. Nicolas smiled, "The name's Nicolas Flamel, but call me Nick." He held out his hand.
Garry felt himself relax a bit now that he finally had a name for the mystery boy. He extended his own hand and the two of them shook. "I'm Gerrick Ollivander. Garry though. Only my dad calls me Gerrick."
Nick nodded. "Nice to meet ya Garry. This here is Albus Dumbledore. Don't ask him for his full name cause we'll be here all day." Albus scoffed.
"It's not that long."
"Not that long? What was it again? Albus Percival Worlock…"
"Wulfric."
"Whatever, either way it's too long to remember." Nick leaned in to whisper to Garry, "You know honestly I've tried to get him to shorten it to Al but the bugger won't have it."
Albus rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. I'm headed back to the inn. You're parents are waiting for us and I'm not going to get in trouble because of you." He turned and walked off down the street.
Nicolas made a face then followed after him. Turning back over his shoulder as he walked away, he waved at Garry. "Was nice meeting you! Hope you find your wand that likes you!" and he was gone in the crowd.
Garry scratched his head. He had almost managed to completely forget about his wand problems. Mom won't be happy if I'm gone too long. With a heavy sigh, Garry turned back to the shop.
