Chapter Two: Ollivanders

After receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, the following months flew by for Remus. He had heard every story of his parents years at Hogwarts many times over; every thought he had was about what his school years would be like: Which house would he be in? What type of friends would he have? Which classes would he enjoy most? Even the usual dread of his monthly transformations were shadowed by his excitement for September 1st.

With one week remaining until September 1st he visited Diagon Alley: a cobblestoned Street with many shops selling the widest variety of items Remus had ever seen. After what felt like a lifetime, Remus had finally bought his writing quills, parchments and Ink (from Scribbulus Writing Instruments), potion ingredients (from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary), as well as school books (from 2nd hand books), and school robes (from 2nd hand robes) - as Remus couldn't afford to buy these things new. There was only one final shop to visit: Ollivanders.

Looking at the door to Ollivanders, Remus read the aged sign with peeling gold letters, hung over the door, it read:

'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'.

The shop was extremely narrow and shabby, he thought, there were thousands of boxes stacked up to the ceiling, covered in a thin layer of dust, Remus knew -as his parents had told him- that every single wand in the shop was waiting for a Witch or Wizard who was perfectly suited to it.

"Ah, this wand is perfect! 11 Inches, Mahogany, pliable, Perfect for transfiguration! This wand seems to have chosen you", said the man -whom Remus assumed must be Mr Ollivander.

He was addressing a tall dark haired boy with hair that looked quite windswept, the boy grinned as his parents, or possibly his grandparents, payed for his wand. He glanced at Remus briefly, but before Remus could say anything, he left the shop.

Remus suddenly panicked, 'what if', he thought, 'what if he was not really a wizard and none of the wands were suited to him? What if he arrived at school, with no wand, and was laughed at before immediately being sent home?'.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Hello, Sir, I… I came to buy a wand…", Remus said bashfully, staring at his shoes as he felt his face burn.

"Well, let's begin with this one", said Ollivander, handing a box to Remus. Remus opened the box and removed the wand, he waved it around, expecting something spectacular, but there was… nothing.

"Hmmm", Ollivander handed Remus many wands, and nothing happened. He was beginning to doubt if he would ever find the one, 'they must have tested half of the shop by now...'. Then, Ollivander seemed to vanish, he had crawled under the counter, revealing a dusty, somewhat battered box. He handed the box to Remus.

"This is the one, I am certain of it", proclaimed Ollivander in a somewhat startling manner.

Remus made a statement to himself, assured of its certainty, 'if this is not the one I will accept that there must be no wand suited to me, as I feared…'.

BANG! A large amount of light flew out of the wand, throwing Remus back by a significant amount. It was the one! He had finally found the wand that was perfectly suited to him! He could not believe it.

"11 and one quarter inches, unicorn hair, cypress, very pliable. Of course, this would be the one for you. Unicorn hair makes the most faithful wands, destined for those who would be hardest to turn to the dark arts, a wand most suited to someone loyal and pure at heart. It will serve you well in the future, I am sure of it".

"Thank you very much, sir! I will prove myself worthy of such a brilliant wand", said Remus, visibly elated by the beautiful nature of his wand.

As he left Ollivanders, Remus felt the giddiness return; in 7 days time he would be boarding the Hogwarts express and going to school!