Eleven Things You Didn't Know About the Ollivander Family
By Vifetoile
Disclaimer: All of these facts are completely made up by me, and credit goes to me; however, the families they pertain to and the world in which they inhabit all belong to J. K. Rowling. Hail to her!
1. There is a saying among the older pureblood families: "From the arrogance of the MacLaggens, the pride of the Ollivanders, and the vain-glory of the Malfoys, Lord God deliver us."
2. Among the several stories about the origin of the Ollivander family is this: in Ancient Greece, their family line's hard work and skill was noted by Athena, goddess of wisdom and handicrafts. She blessed the family with even more knowledge and allowed them to use her own symbol, the olive tree, for their family crest, and their name. Hence Olliv-ander, the Olive men.
It is said that the Ollivanders (somehow) got their gray eyes from Athena as well.
3. The Ollivanders are, indeed, a proud family, but not nearly so proud as others (the Lestranges and Blacks come to mind); what is more striking is that they rarely seem to care about the opinion of the world in general. Their skill and knowledge in wandlore means they can afford not to care about public opinion.
4. They have been a famous family for wandmaking, eccentric pride, and sponsorship of (and some skill at) the arts. A theater on Dioncore Lane (which is just a sharp left turn and three enchanted paving-stones away from the West End) is named The Ollivander Theater for a reason.
5. The Ollivanders have traditionally been sorted into Ravenclaw, with a few exceptions.
6. Although not exactly vagabonds, they has a certain wanderlust, which has resulted in branches all over the world, from the United States and Canada to South Africa. For example…
In 1841, shortly before Dirk Struan established British control of Hong Kong, young Ulysses Ollivander set sail for China to open up a wand repair and manufacturing center for the British wizards who would be moving there.
He meant to come back after two years. Instead he fell in love with and married a Chinese witch (who herself came from a family of wandmakers). All English wizarding society was shocked. But, as his sister (Ophelia Ollivander) said, "She's from a wandmaking family. Can't go too wrong."
7. To this day the Ollivander shop of Hong Kong is one of the oldest institutions on the island, respected and thriving, with a unique family tradition that combines Eastern and Western philosophies of magic.
8. The traditions of this family are many; for instance, every Christmas without fail they burn a Yule Log on the fire. As well, upon the death of an Ollivander, a tree is planted on their grave of the same wood as their wand.
9. The Ollivander's ancestral home is located in the deep woods of Scotland, and named Hollywyck. However, they also own a house in London, and have since the Great Fire of the same.
10. The coat of arms of the Ollivander family are a play on words: a hand holds a branch of olive with a gold, or 'or,' crescent in the corner: olive-hand-or.
Heraldry needs its puns just like everything else.
11. The motto of the Ollivander family is "Repullulat," or, "It buds afresh."
If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy my fanfiction, 'The Ollivander Children,' which can be found on my profile.
