The Old Wand from the New World

Once upon a time, there was an evil wizard, who spent his life in search of power and immortality. He was twisted, evil and completely without mercy, caring for nobody but himself. As he rose to power, he gained followers and servants the like, and as peoples fear of him increased, so did his number of lackeys. The threat of him reached such levels that it became taboo to speak the evil wizards name, and he became widely known as "He-who-must-not-be-named" or simply "You-know-who" and indeed, everyone knew who. He who spread terror and darkness across the skies, and made people shiver at the mention of his name. It was dark times.

A movement was founded by a group of people, all willing to give their lives to fight the evil lord, and although the dark wizard was powerful, a prophecy was spoken. A prophecy that spoke of a child, born at the end of July, that would come to be the dark lord's downfall. Furious and frightened, the evil one sat out to find the child before he would grow powerful enough to defeat him, and when he found the family, he did not hesitate to murder them all.

The child's father told his wife to take their boy and run while he held off the dark lord, and even though he bravely stood his ground, he proved a minor challenge to the evil wizard, and he fell down fighting. As the evil wizard stepped over the father's body and made his way into the nursery, his way was blocked by the boy's mother who refused to step aside, and no threat of torture and pain would move her. The dark lord laughed and slew her where she stood without hesitation before he turned to the crib. Nothing could stand in his way but as he raised his wand, something happened.

His curse rebounded and the boy survived. The dark lord vanished and was reduced to a dormant spirit, stripped of his former power, while the boy became famous. Known to many as "The boy who lived", he grew up with nothing but a scar, shaped as a lightning bolt, on his forehead to show for that terrible night. The boys name, was Harry Potter.

Eleven years later, the boy was accepted into the wizarding school of Hogwarts and began his training as a young wizard. Three years on, the dark lord was resurrected by his old servant and began his journey to return to power. Harry had just barely escaped with his life, something that a fellow student that was with Harry at the time, sadly, hadn't.

This led to, what was later called, the great wizarding war in Harry's seventh year, where he and his two best friends travelled far and wide in search of several artifacts in which the dark lord had stored pieces of his soul and life force in hopes of living longer. In the late spring of 1998, the last artifact was destroyed and Harry had, in one final duel with the evil one, overpowered him and then watched the soulless creature wither away into nothing.

Peace would rule for years to come, but the cost had been great and many lives had been lost on both sides. The great Albus Dumbledore had died a year prior to the battle of Hogwarts and the battle itself had claimed more. The auror Nymphadora Tonks and her husband Reamus Lupin, dark arts expert, werewolf and acclaimed genius, had both died and left their infant son, Edward, orphaned.

Edward however, or "Ted" as he would grow up to be called, had plenty of family left to raise him. Harry himself had been appointed godfather for him, while his grandmother had been chosen as guardian and so, Teddy grew up as the first child of the new wizarding world. Some eleven years later, he too received his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

It was the last day of August, and Teddy was staying at his godfather's house at Grimuald Place in London. He was skinny, but strong. He had a slim face, with turqoise hair and his eyes where dark brown. In the morning, he was supposed to get to Kings Cross station to board the school train and start his own first year in wizard training. He was staying in his godfather's son James room where he was laying in bed a few minutes past midnight, and the excitement made it utterly impossible to sleep. Teddy was spending his time, fantasizing about what school would be like. Which house he would end up in and what classes he would be good at. Learning to fly a broomstick and how to use spells. The clock on James dresser now showed twenty minutes past midnight.

"Today is the day," he thought. "Today is finally the day."

On the floor of the room stood his trunk. Full of the things that he had gotten with his grandmother last week in Diagon Ally. Books of different kinds, robes, a cauldron, quill, ink and, of course, his brand new wand.

Teddy had not been sure if he had liked Mr Ollivander in the wand shop or not. He had certainly been impressive, but just as scary and intimidating. Ted and his grandmother Andromeda had entered the shop and thought it deserted. They had walked up to the counter to find a box. The boxes lid was resting beside it and inside laid a wand of light brown color, and a note attached to it.

Good afternoon, Edward and Andromeda.

I'm in the back, finishing a project so please, won't you
go ahead and try this one in the meantime. Help yourself
to tea from the kettle in my office while you wait.

There are cups in the cupboard.

Yours truly – G. Ollivander

"He's always been a bit off, that one." said Andromeda. "But I suppose it's just as well you try the wand. This could take a while if I remember it right."

Teddy shrugged and went for the box while his grandmother reached into Ollivanders tiny office for the kettle. When he picked up the wand and waved it about, there was a loud crash and his grandmother screamed loudly. The kettle in her hand had exploded. They stood in silence for a moment before they heard a voice.

"Well, that one certainly won't do. I suggest you put it down immediately."

Teddy turned on the spot and looked at a man of bushy, silver white hair and brightly glowing grey eyes. He quickly put the wand down on the counter.

"Your kettle! Sir! I'm so sorry," he began, but Ollivander interrupted.

"Not to worry my boy! Not to worry. If you knew how many times I have had that thing repaired, you'd believe me when I say that I have grown rather fond of the sound of it breaking."

The old man walked around the counter while giving, what seemed to be his own wand, a good wave above his head and Teddy then watched how all the scattered pieces of the kettle flew up and reattached themselves to the handle that was still tightly clutched in his grandmother's hand.

"As for the tea..." Ollivander began again. "Andromeda dear, could you make us a new pot while we get to work?"

Then followed a good three quarters of an hour of testing, waving and then repairing things that broke because of it. All while Teddy's grandmother finished two cups of tea before she fell asleep in a chair and started to snore loudly.

"What in the world... No, not that one either! No, no, no!" was things that Mr Ollivander muttered to himself as he handed Ted the one wand after the next. Eventually he said,

"My boy, I'm running out of ideas here!" He went over to one of his many shelves and browsed through the boxes for a good while, before he picked a box from a high shelf that was covered in dust and seemed to have been up there for quite a while. He gave it a good blow, before he opened it in the cloud of dust that had formed around him.

"Try, this one," he said and handed Teddy a beautiful, shiny black wand. Ted grabbed it by its curved handle and felt a surge of adrenaline through his head, like he had just been struck by lightning.

"How do you feel my boy?" Ollivander asked. Teddy thought for a bit and answered.

"Great. Real great!"

"I'd say. I believe your hair has even changed its color." Teddy looked at his reflection in the shop windows and noticed it had turned into a greenish kind of yellow. An ability that he had inherited from his mother who had been a metamorphmagus, and could change her entire appearance at will.

"Metamorphmagi! It was a while since I met one. Your mother, I believe." said Ollivander while Teddy screwed up his face and forced his hair to change back into his favorite turquoise.

"Yeah. But It's just my hair. I can't do anything else yet. Granny sais the ability hasn't matured enough." Teddy answered. "Instead it just changes by itself sometimes." Ollivander smiled.

"Well, well! You have taken after your mother, I see." he said, sounding intrigued. "Just as good, I suppose. You clearly have your fathers blood in you as well."

"Clearly?" Ted asked, wondering what the old shop-keeper meant.

"My boy! That wand you have in your hand has been lying on my shelf since I opened, and I have had it even longer. It was one of my early projects that was a bit, daring, if you will." Andromeda gave a noisy snore from her chair, and Ted was listening to Ollivander with great interest.

"I was playing around with alternative materials for the wand core, and I managed to find one that made a perfectly fine wand. It just didn't seem to suit anybody, and so I never sold it and it has been lying on the shelf ever since. I usually don't even take it out anymore, but I thought about your heritage and, well, it seems I was right!"

"My heritage? I don't understand, Sir. What is the wand made of?" Teddy asked.

"Moonstone, my boy! It seems rather fitting that you should have it."

His grandmother, who had woken up, beamed at Ted and payed the seven galleons for the wand before they thanked Mr Ollivander heartily and left his store.

Ted had liked Mr Ollivander, he thought where he laid in bed, and he was very happy with his new wand. After recapping the day at Diagon Alley, the clock had gone well past one in the morning, and he finally fell asleep.