Disclaimer: Harry Potter, its characters, and the Harry Potter Universe belong to JK Rowling. I only lay claim to the situations I am about to put them in for your entertainment. I hope you enjoy my writing but warn you it will sound different than JK Rowling's style.
Chapter 11: Wand Wood Wanted
After a wearying weekend of social mourning, Harry wished for some space. He needed time away and didn't feel like talking to anyone. The way he saw it, a single funeral can take a huge emotional toll on a person, but stretching the time continuum in order to attend more than fifty in three days is enough to take anyone out of commission for a little while.
Once he recovered, Harry spent the rest of the week helping Ginny train for quidditch tryouts when he wasn't at ministry functions. This resulted in Ron playing keeper while George, Harry, and Ginny played chasers for hours on end. Ginny was a little rusty at first, but she worked on the accuracy and timing of her passes and shots. As she improved, she started to add some arc and spin to the quaffle, increasing the blocking difficulty for Ron. By the end of the first week, she was feeling like she hadn't taken a year off from playing quidditch. The training also served as a distraction for the entire group. They worked out their frustrations on the pitch and at the end of each day Hermione was able to join them for dinner. While quidditch was helping to heal their pain, Hermione's presence provided the added advantage of having someone to heal any minor injuries they received while training.
After dinner everyone would go their own way. Often Ron and Hermione would leave together, as would Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ron never really talked about the fact Harry and Ginny were clearly together again, the onetime Harry had tried, the extent of the conversation was a quick "Don't hurt her Harry". Harry wasn't willing to risk his good fortune on a lengthier conversation.
One evening as dinner wrapped up, Harry and Hermione took their leave and returned to Hogwarts. Hermione had to follow up on some material for Madam Pomfrey, while Harry changed into outdoor clothing to meet with Mr. Ollivander. He slowly made his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest as the sun edge closer to the horizon. He caught a glimpse of a small fire as he approached the woods. Suddenly he heard Ollivander call out "Good day, Mr. Potter! This looks to be a perfect night for collecting wand wood, don't you think?"
"I will trust your judgment on the conditions, Sir, but the weather is great. May I ask why you are carrying a torch?" replied Harry.
"Ah yes, we come to it right away, don't we. First, the torch is for light. You have to keep in mind the trickiest part of wand making is this; you have to do it without use of a wand. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you needed a wand to create a wand, it would have never been done. In fact, in most instances a wand proves to be more of distraction and often decreases the effectiveness of wand makers. The further the wand maker's own wand is from him, the better work he can accomplish. Here we find ourselves in a dilemma. You see most patches of magical forests have dark creatures in them. The best way to defend yourself against these creatures is your wand. So what do you do?" inquired Ollivander.
"This question would be better posed to Hermione. Give me a second though. We want the wand far away, yet also immediately available. It appears to be a paradox, but before I answer I need to know if it is the use of a wand that disrupts the process, or is it the wand itself?" asked Harry
"That's a fair question, my boy. Don't sell yourself short. Magic has nothing to do with the issue, the wand itself creates the problem." Ollivander responded.
"Normally I would say that an object cannot be infinitely far away while being available on hand, but I have an idea. I wonder if a carrying bag with a extension charm placed on the inside would work. You would want fairly extensive charm work done to meet the need, but I think it would be possible and would provide an elegant solution to the problem at hand." discussed Harry.
"The simplest answer is often the correct one, Mr. Potter. As part of your training, I brought this one for you." Ollivander said as he handed Harry a small purple bag similar to one used for a child's marbles. "This bag has an undetectable extension charm that makes it nearly bottomless. This bag is where you can place your wand as well as any wand wood or cores that you collect. When we start our search tonight, please place your wand in that bag. We wouldn't want one of the bowtruckles to run off with your wand, would we?" questioned Ollivander.
Harry took the time to attach the pouch to his belt and then stowed his wand. Ollivander continued with his dialogue, "As I mentioned, wand making cannot be done with a wand. That means you have to have a fair supply of magic and good control of it to be successful. The first step is being able to sense your own magic. This requires a good deal of introspection that I will leave you to master over the summer. Once you can sense your magic, you will need to work on controlling it. Most of the time wizards do this, they push their magic outwards towards the environment. This is the easiest way to exercise moving your magic due to the lack of specific control. To gauge if you are successful, you will notice that other magical beings will feel this change. In the old days, this was used to size up opponents and vie for dominance without fighting. This practice is no longer common because some wizards got wise and decided to hide the true extent of their power. As a result, few wizards know or practice the ability to date. Once you get this skill, your focus will need to shift from pushing your magic out of you, to relocating your magic to your dominant hand. To start the process of collecting wand wood, first approach the tree with your hand out flat and then concentrate your magic in your hand. As the tree reacts to your magical signature, move this magic foci from your hand up your forearm to the length of the wand you are trying to create. This is a slow process and you must do it carefully. Any sudden changes, including changes in the direction of the magical pull, risk breaking the wood you are extracting rendering the wood useless. The standard length of a wand is ten to fifteen inches, which is the typical length of a wand maker's forearm. The elbow junction causes a great deal of strife for many wand makers, you see. Once the desired length has been pulled from the tree, wrap your magic around the wand wood and sever its connection to the tree. Once this happens, you have retrieved one wand's worth of wood. Any questions?"
"I understand the concept, but it seems to be something that is easier said than done. Also, I feel like we skipped a step, how do you even know which trees to approach?" asked Harry.
"That is what I am going to show you tonight. In your bag you will find a cage with a bowtruckle in it. His cage has been spelled to be self cleaning as well as provide a consistent supply of wood for him to eat and water to drink. He has also been charmed to glow in the dark, much to his dismay. This allows him to be found more easily if it is dark out, hence we meet at dusk. In the future he will be your source of information on which trees to approach. Tonight, we will use mine as we search for wand wood. As we enter the forest, I will hold him in my hands. You will find bowtruckles to be animated creatures, this is their normal behavior. What you may or may not be aware of is the fact that trees that provide wand quality wood, are like a drug to them. When you are approaching a tree that will provide you with wand wood, they appear like a teenage male who has seen his first Veela. They stop fidgeting and stare for a moment and may openly drool. It's when this happens that you have to be prepared to let the bowtruckle go. Their initial landing point on a tree is where you want to approach with your magic. During this process you do not need to worry about your bowtruckle, he will not leave the current tree. When you are done, use a summoning spell to retrieve him and place him in his cage for a few minutes. This is important, because he will be upset with you since you removed him from the tree and will likely throw a fit similar to a small child. The good thing is that their memories only last two minutes, so you can walk a short distance and start looking for more wood. Does that answer your question?"
"I believe so, but is there anything more to process? Does it matter if the tree is birch, ash, or pine for instance?" asked Harry.
"Walk with me and we can go into the finer details of wandlore. Much of it is speculation and most of it is pointless when making wands for the general population." said Ollivander as he started to walk into the forest. He handed Harry the torch and removed his bowtruckle. As they continued walking, Ollivander continued his train of thought, "In my line of business, I need to provide wands for all sorts of people with varying interests. Ultimately the wand chooses the wizard, but you can try to craft a wand by design. This is an imperfect undertaking and you are not guaranteed the results you hope to achieve or that the wand will accept its new owner. If you are trying to customize a wand, you can focus on a type of wood, but it is not a perfect science. For instance, it is said that pine tends to do better for wizards interested in magical herbology or potions, while willow wands help wizards excel in potions or healing. If I try to gather wood to make a wand to improve skill in potions, either pine or ash wood may increase this ability, but both could also fail so which do you pick? I can provide you with a general reference, but it is more like data that shows trends rather than unquestionable facts. There are two schools of thought on the topic, one is that the wood enhances the wizards ability in these areas, but the other equally likely theory is that these wands select the wizard for their innate ability towards skills." Ollivander grew silent as he watched his bowtruckle. He made sure to grab Harry's attention and then nodded toward the creature. Harry could see that the little guy had stopped moving and was staring at a nearby tree with his mouth open. As Ollivander let him go, Harry would have likened the experience to the coyote running after the road runner in cartoons. The bowtruckle's legs were sprinting before he hit the ground. It ran to the tree with its arm outstretched. Harry noted what appeared to the first point of contact between the creature and the tree.
"Follow me, Mr. Potter, and watch closely." My. Ollivander approached the tree with his hand outstretched like it was handing him some coins. His eyes were closed and he was clearly concentrating. Suddenly Harry felt a shift in magic. He watched as the tree seemed to extend a branch from the trunk towards the wand maker. The piece of wood slowly inched closer to man's elbow. Suddenly, Ollivander's eyes open in a flash and the piece of wood fell the fraction of an inch, into his hand. "That, Mr. Potter, is how you collect wand wood. Accio Simon!" Harry watched as a seriously mad bowtruckle fell into Ollivander's hands, and was immediately placed into his cage.
"May I ask why you named your bowtruckle Simon, Sir?"inquired Harry.
"Ah yes, well I found that you need to be careful if you try to summon 'bowtruckle' when hunting for wand wood. After two occasions of five or more bowtruckles flying at me, I decided mine needed a name. As far as Simon goes, it comes from a child's game. When searching for wand wood I find I am limited to what Simon says." explain Ollivander.
"I see. I suppose I should name mine as well then. I will name him Shel. Do I need to get his approval, or will calling him that be enough to differentiate him from other bowtruckles?" Harry said in follow up.
"It can take a few weeks, the more times you talk to him with that name, the sooner your magic will recognized your bowtruckle as Shel. It is a unique name, may I ask after its derivation?" Ollivander inquired.
"Your comment about the children's game got me thinking about my childhood. It was very different from most children's, but I did have time at school to pick out library books. Shel is the first name of one of the muggle authors. It seemed appropriate since the book talks about a tree making sacrifices to make the little boy in the book happy." explained Harry.
"Indeed it is. So, where were we in our conversation? That's right, factors impacting wand wood. The type of wood is just one factor in the equation. Some wand makers swear that timing of collection compared to the celestial bodies can impact the magical properties are well. One theory is that if Mars is prominent in the night sky, the wand is more likely made for a combat oriented wizard. I have found varying results, but if you would like, you can try to assess the impact for yourself. Some swear by the light of a full moon, others by the power of the summer and winter solstices." stated Ollivander skeptically. They continued talking about general theories as they collected an additional four pieces of wand wood throughout the night. "Now, Mr. Potter, your test is simple. You have the summer to pull five pieces of usable wand wood for the school year. If you are not successful, I can teach philosophies about wands, but we will not go into all of the intricacies of wand making. Is that understood?" Ollivander clarified as they left the forest.
"Yes sir. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me this evening. I will let you know when I have collected them all. I hope you have a good night."
"You as well Mr. Potter. I wish to warn you not be overconfident in this endeavor. Many before you have failed, it is not a sign of weakness, but I applaud your enthusiasm. Have a good evening." admonished Mr. Ollivander.
Harry found himself alone on the school grounds. He decided to proceed to the lake to start trying to feel his magic. He stood there concentrating on the water, and watching small waves lap up on the shore. He slowly started to nod off, and in the process was startled to say he thought he could almost feel the waves. It was an odd thought and it fully woke him up. In this process he lost the feeling, and wasn't actually sure that the feeling was ever there at all. He sat near the lake for nearly an hour more before giving up and returning to Headquarters.
Harry was undressing for the night when he remembered the marble sack. He summoned his wand and bowtruckle's cage from the pouch. He wanted to start talking to Shel, in order to get the name to stick. This mostly consisted of an introduction, that Shel didn't acknowledge, and a quick good night. As Harry turned off the lights, he realized a small problem, he would need to cover Shel's cage. The faint glow was bothering him, so he summoned a blanket to put over the cage and then drifted off to sleep.