Ollivander's Sales
Of course we all know about Harry Potter's visit to Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley, but what about everybody else who bought a wand there? What was their wand choosing like? Here's their story.
Chapter One: Lily Evans
Ding, ding! The bell rang out through the many shelves and towers and piles of wands that resided within Ollivanders Wand Shop, alerting its proprietor, Mr. Garrick Ollivander, that someone had stepped through the old, creaky front door and required a wand.
Mr. Ollivander, old and wispy, his silvery hair and eyes seemingly illuminating the dusty old shop, smiled. A wand was about to find its owner.
He swiftly climbed down the ladder he was perched upon, previously counting the amount of oak wands he had just crafted and was setting upon the shelf, and strode behind the front counter, where he was met by a young girl. She looked nervous, and Ollivander could tell she was a Muggle-born. She had beautiful long red hair which was tied in a French braid, brilliant forest-green eyes, and a heart-shaped face that was dotted with constellations of freckles. Two parents stood behind her, both smiling nervously and looking unsure, the father clutching a Muggle camera which he was fiddling with anxiously.
Ollivander smiled broadly. "Good afternoon," he greeted the girl warmly. She did not look up at him. She was fiddling with her skirt as her father fiddled with the camera, determined not to look into those silvery eyes that seemed to stare through a wizard or witch. "Welcome to Ollivanders, Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." the man recited as he did on a daily basis. "What is your name?"
The girl looked up quickly at Ollivander, and quickly looked back down at her feet, like a quick glance at the sun. She murmured something that wasn't comprehensible. "Pardon me?" Mr. Ollivander asked politely. He didn't want this young witch to feel nervous.
The girl's mother cleared her throat and said, "Speak up, dear, and tell the kind sir your name." The girl did not look up, but said quietly but clearly: "Lily Evans."
"Most pleased to meet you, Miss Evans," Mr. Ollivander smiled again and continued. "This is your first wand?—" The girl named Lily nodded—"Then you should know, every wand we make here at Ollivanders are never quite the same. We make our wands out of different, fine-quality woods, each a different width, length, and feel to them. They all contain a magical core. These cores are phoenix tail feathers, dragon heartstrings, and unicorn hairs-" The parents looked mesmerized—"and all reside within the wand."
The girl looked suddenly up at the man, still nervous, but now very interested. "I have to choose one out of all those different wands?" she asked incredulously.
Mr. Ollivander smiled, "I'm sorry, I forgot," he chuckled to himself, "the wand chooses the wizard, or, in your case, the witch." She looked at him.
"Well, you'll know when the wand chooses you. Now, we have a little session to find out what wand is right for you." He pulled forth the silvery measuring tape from his coat pocket.
"Which hand do you write with?" he asked her. "My right," Lily answered.
"Good, now, if you'll hold out your right arm, to the side, yes, thank-you, like that." He began measuring her arm, as the numbers he recorded in his mind spun and began choosing the wand options. He stepped away from the girl, but the silver measuring tape hovered in midair and proceeded to measure Lily's arm length, the length around her head, and the lengths of her cuticles. Mr. Ollivander climbed the ladder next to his desk about eight feet up, and then stopped at the box of the wand he wanted. He smiled as he pulled the dusty rouge-red box out of its place and climbed down the ladder to the girl. He grabbed the measuring tape and placed in his pocket. He blew the fine coat of dust of the box and opened it. He pulled out a rather long and sharp looking wand out.
"Pine, fourteen and three-fourths long, phoenix tail feather core, brittle. Good for defensive magic." He told Lily as he pulled out the wand. "Here, if you'd take this," he said, handing her the wand. Lily held it awkwardly, like holding a cricket bat upside-down.
Mr. Ollivander went "hmmm". That wasn't a good sign that it was her wand if it did not feel comfortably in her hand.
"Now, if you'd give this wand a wave…" He said, and Lily looked at him strangely. "No, go on, give that a wave." He urged her. Lily sighed and gave the wand a swish through the air, but nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander smiled again, but in a way like a parent smiles when a child does something embarrassing. "That's not your wand, but we'll find it." He said happily. He liked going through the wand process. It was brilliant to see the look on a young witch or wizard's face when they finally found their wand. He took the pine wand from Lily, placed it in the red box, and pushed it aside on the desk.
Mr. Ollivander walked down the aisle behind his desk, pacing up and down it several times, before finding the box he wanted. He walked back to the counter with a box with a purple leather cover. He opened it, pulled back two dusty curtains, and pulled out and a short, reddish-brown wand with a twisted handle and flat tip. "Cherry, nine and one half inches long, dragon heartstring core, flexible. Definitely a wand for dueling."
He handed Lily the wand.
She gave the wand a twirl in the air. Her face, which gave the expression that she wasn't expecting anything, was shocked when there was a worse reaction. There was a flash of gold and white light, a loud crack, and the ladder behind Ollivander fell to the ground in separate pieces. It didn't look like it had been battered; it looked like someone decided to unscrew it and take it apart like after the separate pieces were crafted and carved. Mr. Ollivander looked at Lily and she looked at him, and gave him and weak smile, at which he laughed. Lily's parents, however…
"Lily! Apologize to Mr. Ollivander—" Lily's mother began, but she was interrupted.
"No, no, it's quite alright!" he told Mrs. Evans. He opened his jacket and pulled out his twelve and three quarter inches long hornbeam wand. He pointed it at the ladder pieces on the floor and gave it a swish. "Reparo!" In a colorful burst of pinkish light, the ladder re-assembled, lying on the floor as good as new. Mr. Ollivander gave his wand another twirl, "Erecto!" he said, and the ladder rose off the floor and replaced itself back in its regular spot.
The Evans looked gob smacked, but Lily looked very entertained.
Mr. Ollivander smiled as he put his wand back into his jacket. "Not your wand," he said. He took it, put it back in its box, and pushed it to the side of the counter.
Ollivander grinned, and he once again walked briskly down the aisle behind him, to a stack of wand boxes towards the back of the shop, where selected a yellow, clunky box and ambled back to the desk. He looked at Lily as he opened the box and pulled out…
"Birch, thirteen inches long, phoenix tail feather core, rigid, unyielding. Another good wand for dueling…" He handed Lily the wand, which was fragile-looking and pointed. In anybody else's mind, they would have thought this was the wand for young Lily, but Mr. Ollivander could tell that this wasn't the wand for her. Birch was not known for being a docile wand.
"Good." Mr. Ollivander said, but he knew this wasn't her wand. Eh, give it a try anyways, he thought. You never know. This could be her wand. "Lily, could you please give the wand a wave?" She nodded.
Lily held the wand high above her head like a knight holds his sword in battle. When she gave it a wave, catastrophe occurred.
A long line of blue, gold and orange flame danced from the tip of the birch wand, and landed right on the counter between Lily and Ollivander. Fire erupted on it like a bonfire. The Evans screamed. Lily looked extremely startled (of course, she had just started a fire).
Mr. Ollivander withdrew his hornbeam wand from his jacket and pointed it at the heart of the flames. "Aguamenti!" he bellowed, and a stream of pure water shot from the tip of his wand, and extinguished the fire with a final hssss!
Lily dropped the birch wand on the counter in front of her and Mr. Ollivander chuckled.
"Not your wand." He chortled. Lily gave him a weak and embarrassed smile. Lily's parents looked angry, afraid, and unaware if they should yell at their daughter from starting a fire with magic, or say "Well done!" Mr. Ollivander sighed.
Then a smile appeared on his face, as the gears began to turn inside the man's head. "I know…" he murmured. He crossed the room, and went over to a small cabinet across from Lily's parents.
He delved inside it, and grinned as he found what he was looking for. A small, sky-blue box was inside there. He pulled it out. He walked back to the counter, and opened the box. He pulled out a short, light-colored, smooth wand. "Willow, ten and one quarter inches long, unicorn mane hair core, swishy. Good for charms." He told her as he handed her the wand.
There was an immediate reaction. The air grew warm, and breeze blew around the room, with a pleasant effect on their faces. Golden sparks like suns fell from the tip of Lily's wand, lighting the room fantastically, making it seem like they were watching the sun set.
"That," he said, "Is your wand. The wand has chosen the witch."
Lily grinned widely. "This is my wand?" she asked him excitedly.
"Well, at least you didn't make anything explode with this one!" Mr. Evans joked.
Mr. Ollivander gave a smile politely at the joke the man evidently thought was hilarious. Mr. Ollivander thought that a wand choosing was a serious but joyful as Christmastime, or a wedding.
"Yes Lily, this is your own wand. It is ten and one quarter inches long, contains the core of a unicorn mane hair (which is much more difficult to get than a tail hair, mind you), and is excellent for charms."
"Charms…?" Lily asked the man, clearly puzzled.
"Oh, charms, as we call it in the wizarding world, is the type of magic where you make things happen that help with everyday life. It is like a Muggle's…err…Swiss army knife?" He directed this at Lily's father, who nodded, to let Ollivander know he was correct.
"Yes. It makes things levitate, come closer to you, disappear, and make things appear out of thin air, like how you accidentally made the fire break out, and then I made a stream of water put the fire out."
"Wow…" Lily said, looking excited.
"Now, Lily, hold up your wand, so we can take a picture." Lily's father told Lily, holding up the Muggle camera. Lily rolled her eyes. "Daddy…" she started.
"Oh, come now, Lily dear, just one picture. Please?" he pleaded her, looking at her from over the camera, with what appeared to be an attempt of a begging face.
"Fine," Lily sighed exasperatedly. She put on her best photograph smile and held the wand up above her head like a baton. Mr. Evans smiled as he went back behind his camera, focused through the lens and…flash…snapped the photo. Lily's arm went slack and her smile disappeared into a furrowed brow. "Are we done, Daddy?" she asked curtly.
Her father sighed, obviously disappointed. "I suppose…"
"Good!" Lily said, a smile returning to her face. Then she looked back up at Ollivander, who was smiling broadly behind the counter. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander, sir. How much is this wand?" she asked.
"Seven Galleons miss." Ollivander replied.
Mrs. Evans withdrew a velvet draw-string bag from her purse and opened it. As she reached inside it, she looked at Mr. Ollivander for help.
"The large golden ones," he told her.
Lily's mother got out the Galleons. Mr. Ollivander held out his arm and opened his hand, and Mrs. Evans dropped the coinage into his palm.
"…Five, six, seven." Mr. Ollivander counted, "Thank you, madam." He said, and opened a drawer and dropped the Galleons into it, and closed it again. "And thank you again for selecting Ollivanders." He handed the blue wand box to Lily.
"Alright Lily, if you'll hand me the box…" Mr. Evans started, but Lily interrupted. "No, I want to carry my wand. Please, Daddy, I won't lose it!" she begged him.
"…Alright…"
He watched the family walk back out the door into sunny, loud Diagon Alley, and laugh and talk. He enjoyed helping young witches and wizards find their first wands. Now, he thought, back to those oak wands…