July 1st. The busiest day of the year for Diagon Alley, and Frederek could not have been happier that they would be going today. His father, Florin, was a little less enthusiastic. Being a businessman he knew that the prices would be raised and the queues would be huge. But the crowds were what Frederek was looking forward to.

Frederek and his parents left the house in a rush so as to catch the early train to London from their town of Little Norrington. Little Norrington was a quiet place even at the busiest of times so it was quite surprising to see at least 10 families waiting at the station when they had bought their tickets

"Mum. Dad. Do you think they're"

But Frederek's dad had cut him off before he could finish the question.

"You can't ask that question in public, Frederek," said his dad "Firstly it's rude. But most importantly, you face breaking the International Statute of Secrecy"

"It only takes one muggle to overhear you to risk the exposure of our entire world" said his mother.

Feeling abashed, Frederek quietened down and rolled up his sleeves, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the boys from the village put a letter back in his back pocket. And he was sure it had borne the Hogwarts stamp.

The Tendash's got off the train and exited the station, walking through a few windy side roads before The Leaky Cauldron started to gradually appear. Frederek went through the front doors first, greeted by a warm buzz and lots of chatter. Being one of the few entrances to Diagon Alley that muggle-borns could access, this must have been one of the pubs busiest days.

"Hello, Tom" said his father,

"Hullo, Florin" returned the old barman, "what brings you here on a school letter day then?"

His father opened his arms toward Frederek and replied "Frederek's school age now, and he wanted to meet a few wizards of his own age"

"Ah okay, well I'll let you crack on, pop in a bit later will ya, Florin, on'y I've gotta bit of a proposal for ya."

They carried on through the bar, Frederek's dad was always getting approached about proposals but never seemed too interested in sharing what they were. His mum tapped on a large red brick wall with her wand and the entrance to Diagon Alley had opened.

The cacophony of noise on the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley was like music to Frederek's ears. He beamed brightly as his parents ushered him through the stone archway.

"Now, Freds, you have your list, where would you like to go first?" Asked his mum, his dad was waving at people who seemed to know him.

"Ollivander's" replied Frederek. And they walked down the alley towards the wand shop.

Ollivander's was one of the most famous wand shops in the wizarding world. The owner, Garrick Olivander, was now 109 and had been passing his knowledge and skills on to his niece, Jovie Ollivander, for the last 20 years. Jovie had been building up her reputation over this time and was widely known for her study into dual-core wands.

Behind the counter stood both Garrick and his niece, Jovie. They smiled happily and greeted the Tendash's.

"Welcome, to Ollivander's" said Jovie, "all the first years are here today, but we've stocked up so there'll be plenty of choice!"

"Great!" Said Frederek enthusiastically, he was feeling a little nervous, though. "How do I pick one?"

"Well, young man" said Garrick, "there is only one thing a wand is used for: spells! But there are many different types of spells. Let us ask you some questions so we can narrow down what will best suit you."

Frederek's Mum and Dad went to the corner of the shop and took a seat whilst Jovie asked the questions.

"Four questions. One word answers, please" said Jovie. "Ready for the first one?"

"Yes" replied Frederek

"What is your name?" Asked Jovie, very sarcastically.

"Oh sorry, my name is Frederek. I just really want a wand"

Jovie smiled and carried on "not to worry Frederek, okay. Second question. One words answers now. Leather or Shell?"

"Shell." Uttered Frederek. This seemed like a weird question.

"Mountain or Cave?"

"Mountain." What did these questions have to do with wands?

"Ink or Parchment?"

"Ink" said Frederek, utterly bewildered to what these questions could reference.

Jovie and Garrick whispered to each other for a little bit and then came back to where Frederek was standing.

"Okay, you're going to have a choice between two," said Jovie, "I urge you to go with the one that feels 'connected' to the hand. Like an extension of your arm, okay?"

Garrick then pulled out the first one and placed it in to Frederek's right hand.

"This is a single core wand. Ironwood, 10½ inches, Unicorn hair, flexible, very nifty at defensive spells"

The wand looked heavy but felt light, the curves and knots of the wood felt good against Frederek's hand and he was sure he saw a faint glow at the end. He looked up at the Ollivander's.

"That looks like it could be a great wand for you," said Jovie, "we shall try the other as well but I think we already have our winner".

Garrick pulled out the next one.

"Okay, so this is a dual core wand from the Giant Redwood family, 11 inches, Phoenix Feather with Acromantula Fang, rigid."

It connected. The hair on the back of Frederek's neck stood up and the wand vibrated gently in his hand. It felt like a warmth had run through his whole body. This was definitely the wand for him.

"Marvelous!", and "fantastic!" came the cries from his parents. Jovie and Garrick were enthused, too. Frederek was happy he had found a wand so easily, and apparently so well suited to him.

"Can you tell me more about the wand, please?" Asked Frederek.

"Of course, dear" said Jovie, "I got the wood from a fallen Giganteum Sequoiadendron whilst I was travelling in the USA. I didn't intend to pick up this species of wood but there was a rather large crowd of Californian Pixies that seemed particularly attached to it."

Frederek looked at her as if this wasn't really the information he was after.

"I believe the redwoods to be provide wands with a particular affinity for potion making. As for Phoenix and Acromantula cores; these combine to produce a defensive and loyal wand. The rigidity of the wand can mean that it is hard to master, but after what we've just witnessed, I can't see that being much of a problem."

Frederek was very pleased with himself. Frederek's dad paid for the wand and the family left to continue with their day.