-Chapter Two-
Wand Shopping
Al opened his eyes, as he had a habit of squeezing them shut every time he travelled by Floo Powder. His mother, Ginny, spoke quickly to her children as they exited the fireplace into the slightly crowded Flourish and Blotts. "I'll get your books, Al, pass me the list… James, come with me. We've got to stop by the owl shop for Thor's treats."
They departed, leaving Al and Lily with their father. "Let's go get your wands, first," said Harry, leading them out of the shop and down the street toward the small, crooked wandshop that had once been Ollivander's.
Ollivander had been even older than Dumbledore at the time Harry first met him; he passed away of natural causes the summer before Al's first year at Hogwarts. Before his death, he sold his shop, all of his books on wand lore and his current wands in stock to Xander Retskope, Al's teacher's older brother.
Xander used peculiar cores for his wands, though he still used the traditional phoenix feather, unicorn tail-hair and dragon heartstring. He was a tall, thin man with bony fingers and dark, tight clothing; he didn't wear robes, since he preferred long-sleeved shirts and Muggle jeans. He had wide, tawny eyes inherited from his mother (which opposed Professor Retskope's violet eyes inherited from their father) and short brown hair. He smelled strongly of cologne.
When he and his brother were children, their parents lived with them in a wandshop somewhere in Southern England. It was here that they were murdered by Lord Voldemort in front of the children. Albus had had the unpleasant honour of watching this memory the year before by accident.
At the end of the same year, Al came into a confrontation with the tower's consciousness, which could do physical things such as pick up objects. It snapped Al's wand in half; the damage was too bad to repair. Xander had tried numerous times over the holidays, but wasn't able to fix it. However, Al didn't care that much; he wasn't allowed to use magic over the holidays anyway. The wand he'd been using for homework, such as minor practice spells (and the one he had on him at the moment) was one he'd borrowed from Xander a few days after breaking his first, so he could finish the school year.
"How's the wand been treating you?" Asked Xander as Al entered the shop after his father but before his sister.
"Fine, but not perfect-- like my old wand did. I still appreciate it, Mr. Retskope." Smiling, Xander turned to Lily. "Ah, a new customer! Your daughter, Harry?" Harry nodded. "Yes, this is Lily. She's here for her first wand. Actually, could we bother you for a double purchase today? I think Al should have himself his own wand for the school year."
Xander nodded. "Oh yes, I agree… I'll have mine back, thank you, Albus. Now, I'll be right back…"
He returned with two long, slim boxes. Opening one, he handed Lily a wand almost identical to her mother's. "Same wood, same core," said Xander brightly. "A little longer, though. Try it out."
Lily held the wand nervously, and flicked it at no place in particular; the front desk of the small, neat shop flipped completely on its side and she dropped the wand, stating her 'fingers were numb'.
"Ah, it's a sign the core doesn't agree with you," Xander said matter-of-factly. "Now. Let's try a different one… Harry, what's the core of James's wand?" "Dragon heartstring."
Xander nodded and murmured to himself. "And Albus's had three unicorn tail hairs, as I recall?" Harry nodded. Xander went to the back of the shop, returning with a shorter, thinner wand. It was a pretty, rose-coloured shade. "Apple wood, with a phoenix tail feather. Very elderly when I procured the feather from its wing; It was about a month ago, I was up North."
Raising the wand and waving it slightly more gently, Lily beamed when red and orange sparks showered her and, amazingly, the desk she'd knocked over her first try set itself back up in neat condition.
"Excellent! And how do you feel?"
"Fine," Lily answered, still smiling. As she pocketed her wand carefully, Harry paid a few galleons and Albus walked over. "Now, young Albus," said Xander, surveying him carefully. "Excuse me."
He disappeared into the back of the store, and returned with a wand similar to Al's old one, but not identical. "Different wood, same core-- same unicorn, even," said Xander, letting Al take the wand and swish it around. "Try out a spell, Al," said Harry. "Something from your homework."
Albus remembered starting enhanced spells; taking small, simple charms and making them stronger and more advanced. "Aguamenti Maximus," he said, pointing his wand at an empty flower pot on the window pane. A jet of water burst out as if his wand were a hose and he was stepping on it; He dropped the wand and allowed Xander to take it back. "Now, we can't have that… One minute, I might just have an idea."
He appeared a moment later, holding a wand without a box. "I finished this yesterday morning," he said, passing it to Albus carefully. "Brand new, swishy, eleven and a half inches exactly. Perfect grip, not too light. I was polishing it before you came in. Made of pine wood-- it even has a scent! But, you won't be smelling it, will you? Here, try it out."
Al could indeed smell the delightful, almost Christmassy scent of pine as he took the wand. The instant it touched his fingers, a warmth and bright golden glow illuminated the wand shop; his hair was ruffled by a warm breeze that seemingly came from the wand. "Whoa," he said, looking from his father to the wandmaker. "This is definitely the one. What's the core made of?"
"Thought you might ask," said Xander proudly. "It's core is made up of four Re'em mane hairs."
Albus had never seen or heard of a Re'em aside from reading about one in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, which he'd borrowed from the author's great-grandsons, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. It was a large, pure-golden oxen who's blood strengthened and provided energy to the drinker. They were near extinct, as native wizards hunted them profusely for use of their shining, golden furs and magical blood.
"We actually spoke to the natives, they told us that their ancestors would kill off Re'em for days on end. So, they told me not to kill it; just take some hairs and leave. Caleb had to stun it, though, which was bloody difficult; thing's the size of two bears."
Albus knew his father thought very highly of Ollivander's wands; however, despite using peculiar wand cores, Xander was an excellent wandmaker, or at least Al thought so. Harry smiled and handed Xander a few more galleons, although Al couldn't count how many. Then, he turned and said, "Come on, guys. We're off to Gringotts next, I've got a surprise."
