Author's note:
As always, it all belongs to JKR. I own nothing.
HPHPHP
Children of the Flame Saga
Book II: Blessed Summer of Horrors
Chapter IVX
Found, Taken and Given
Mr. Ollivander gently placed the unicorn tail hairs in a small box on his worktable. "It is a bit short, but I don't see why I can't complete the fabrication in time for the eleventh."
"We'd also like for the recipients to be fitted for holsters or anything else they might like," Harry said. "Do you think you could bring a selection for them to choose from; cost doesn't matter."
"I shall do my very best to see they are happy," Mr. Potter.
"Thank you," Harry and Ginny said together.
There was a brief silence before Mr. Ollivander clapped his hands together. "Now, you mentioned needing more than the twenty-two wands you've already commissioned. Is it you who will finally be properly fitted to her wand, my dear?"
Ginny reached in her bag and along with the unicorn horn, withdrew the branch the stallion had given her. "I certainly hope so. Though it will again be a commissioned work." Mr. Ollivander just stared at the horn in her hands.
"Sir," Harry prodded him.
He gave a little start, glancing between them both a number of times. "Please understand, but I must ask; this was a gift as well?"
"They had been captured," Ginny said.
"A mated pair," Harry added, "petrified and kept as a statue."
"God in heaven," Mr. Ollivander gasped.
"The mare was pregnant," Ginny went on.
"We freed them the same night Tom and his minions took the ministry," Harry said.
"A few days later the stallion led us to his mate and foal," Ginny said.
"The stallion took you to his mate and foal?" Mr. Ollivander asked in disbelief.
"We were both allowed to touch her," Ginny answered.
Mr. Ollivander stared at her, blinking before managing to focus on Harry. "You, were allowed to touch the foal?"
Harry nodded. "Yes. For about two seconds."
Mr. Ollivander shook his head. "Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable."
"But true," Ginny said. "After they allowed us to meet the foal, the mare gave me her horn."
"The stallion added that branch," Harry said, nodding to it.
"Then he led us back home," Ginny said.
"And gave us the tail hairs."
"There were twenty-two women being held captive in the same place as the unicorns."
"We assume they somehow knew and intended for the hairs to be made into wands for them."
Mr. Ollivander just stared at them before nodding at the horn. "May I?"
Ginny handed it to him. "Please." He took it from her, holding it as if it were a newborn baby, and proceeded to examine it in great detail before carefully handing it back to her. He then picked up the branch the stallion had given them and proceeded to examine it in great detail before setting it down again. Focusing on Harry, he said, "It would seem, Mr. Potter, I was quite correct is believing you would do great things." Neither Harry nor Ginny said anything and he leaned forward slightly. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, what has become of the brother wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
"It no longer exists," Harry answered.
Mr. Ollivander sat back in his chair, carefully studying the two. "Curious indeed," he said.
Harry stared at the man for a few seconds before saying, "Considering what you told me the last time you said that, I'm not sure I want to know what's curious this time."
Mr. Ollivander tipped his head in recognition of Harry's statement before leaning forward slightly. "If you will permit me a short lesson in wand lore?"
"Please," Ginny said.
Mr. Ollivander smiled at her before starting. "Wand cores are very interesting objects. They are obtained in one of three ways. They are either Found, Taken or Given. Now, in theory, the manner in which a core is obtained is not indicative of its potency. The reality, though, is the vast majority of significant wizards and witches of history wielded a wand with a core that was either of the Given or Taken variation.
"Now, following that knowledge, one can safely surmise the vast majority of wand cores are of the Found variation. The next most common is the Taken core. I shall spare you my endlessly going on about the properties of Taken cores and simply tell you that in the case of some animals, like the dragon, or the griffin they work exceedingly well. While others, like the unicorn and phoenix, they are exceedingly poor. This then leads us to the Given core; far and away the most rare. I have been making wands for more than eighty years and with the twenty-two tail hairs you presented me with earlier, in one day, you exceeded, by twice over, the number of Given cores I have seen in all that time. The fact is, because we humans have proven time and time again that we repay these gifts poorly with ill treatment of the world and the creatures we share it with, magical creatures are loath to give a core
He paused and asked, "With me so far?"
"Yes," Ginny said.
"Yep," Harry added.
"Good. Let us very quickly return to the Found core, the most significant thing to know is that the animal the core came from must have been alive when the core was left. If I were to happen upon a dead unicorn, I might as well have come upon a dead mouse; nothing at all about the creature is useful to me as a wand maker. Extrapolating this knowledge forward, what does that tell you about a wand made of a Found unicorn horn?"
"There isn't one," Ginny answered. "Because they keep their horn for their whole life."
"Precisely," Mr. Ollivander said. "Which leads us to the possibility of a Taken horn."
"But you said cores Taken from unicorns perform rather poorly," Harry protested.
"They do indeed," Mr. Ollivander agreed. "It is a great crime to accost a unicorn in any way and doing so affects the manner in which the potential core behaves. I have only ever come in contact with Taken unicorn hairs a few times and knew so instantly. They … are not friendly."
"Not friendly?" Harry asked.
"No," Mr. Ollivander said with finality. "And that should tell you something about a wand made with a core of Taken unicorn horn, shouldn't it?"
"Not friendly?" Ginny asked.
"Evil," Mr. Ollivander said but backtracked immediately. "No, perhaps vengeful would be a better word."
"But there have been wands made from Taken horns?" Harry asked.
"Three," Mr. Ollivander answered. "And in each case, while the sorcerer did great things with the wand, they were also terrible."
"And yet another sense of déjà vu," Harry observed unhappily.
"Yes, I would imagine," Mr. Ollivander agreed. "I cannot say if He-Who-Must-not-Be-Named has fashioned himself a different wand, but given what you have learned of brother wands already, I'm certain you see that he might feel the need to do so." Harry simply scowled at the floor.
"Might I ask who the three sorcerers were?" Ginny asked.
"One, was wielded by Morgaine La Faye; another by the Jadis, The White Witch and the third … by Salazar Slytherin when he was struck down by Godric Gryffindor."
Harry's head snapped up. "What happened to that wand?" he demanded.
"None of the three wands survived the battle that saw their masters destroyed."
"You're certain of this;" Ginny asked, "that those three wands did exist and were destroyed?"
He smiled. "Quite."
"I wish I could just trust that," Harry said.
"Mr. Potter, the Blacks, Malfoys, Potters, Weasleys, along with a dozen others are all considered ancient houses of the wizarding world. Yet they are all younger than Hogwarts; which came into existence well more than a thousand years after my ancestor made and sold his first wand in what would eventually become London. During all that time we Ollivanders have been two things, wand makers and historians. I am quite positive of my facts.
"I'm not aware of any historical references authored by you or your ancestors," Ginny said.
"That would be because the collection is private."
Harry frowned. "You know what that translates as, to me?" Mr. Ollivander quirked an eye at him. "Unsubstantiated," Harry said.
Mr. Ollivander dipped his head. "Perhaps. But for our purposes all that matters is that a wand core of unicorn horn Taken by force, is dangerous. I should not like to even be in the same room, much less actually wield, such a wand."
"And what of a Given horn?" Ginny asked.
Mr. Ollivander's countenance shifted entirely, becoming conspiratorial in the blink of an eye. "It is curious that you two have been given this gift when the only other individuals equally honored were Pernelle and Nicholas Flamel and Agatha and Anders Longbottom."
Harry glanced at Ginny. Obviously he knew of the Flamels. And thanks to Dumbledore he and Ginny knew that Agatha and Anders were furthest traceable ancestors of the Longbottom family. That, and they happened to have been Soul-bonded. "Told you he creeps me out," he said. "And what does he mean we've been given this? She gave the horn to you."
"I haven't a clue," Ginny said. "But I'm pretty sure he believes we're Soul-bonded."
"You do understand," Mr. Ollivander said, "that if He does not already know, it is only arrogance that makes it so."
"Sorry?" Harry and Ginny asked.
"Soul-bonds are powerful magic, Lord Potter. Harry blinked at the change in address. A number of devices have been created to detect and register that kind of magic. He holds our former Ministry, to think he could not have possession of such a device is to be naive." Harry and Ginny glowered at him. "I assure you, I am not in possession of such a device. I am merely observant."
Harry glanced at Ginny. "Your call."
"It would hardly seem to matter at this point."
"If you truly wish to keep your ability secret, you would do better to not look at each other when speaking as you now are." Ginny scowled at him before passing her hand over her eyes. Harry did the same, revealing they each had eyes of brown and green. "One might ask," Mr. Ollivander observed, "why either of you have need of a wand at all."
"One finds there are fewer limits to what magic they can perform with a wand as opposed to without, Ginny answered.
"One also finds it best to keep the true extent of their abilities obscured," Harry said.
"Indeed," Mr. Ollivander agreed. He focused on Ginny and said, "Lady Potter, it would be the greatest honor of my career if you were to allow me to fashion wands for you and your husband from the core you have been gifted."
"You can make two wands from the horn?" Ginny asked.
He nodded. "There are two veins within the horn. One carried blood to it, the other away. Those veins will form the cores of your wands."
She glanced at Harry. "Well?"
"How long will it take?" Harry asked.
"Do you wish these, or your other commissions first?"
"Can you finish them all for the eleventh?" Ginny asked.
"Merlin, no!" Mr. Ollivander cried. "The others are straight forward. I already have a number of shafts prepared that should work well with the cores you provided. But these, I must take great care to not damage the veins within the horn while extracting them. There is also the need to fashion shafts for the cores from the branch the stallion provided. I should think two weeks at least for the pair; most likely three."
"Oh," Ginny said, clearly disappointed. She looked at Harry.
"Tonks and Kingsley both carry spare wands," he said. "And all things considered, I was planning on leaving here with two wands for me and one for you, so I say we each get our spare wand today, have him make our other commissions first so we have them for the eleventh, then make our wands."
Ginny nodded slowly. "Can you have them done before we go back to school?"
Mr. Ollivander nodded. "I shall work on nothing else to ensure that your deadline is met, my lady."
Ginny smiled at him. "Very well then, Mr. Ollivander, you're hired."
"Excellent!" he said.
"Can you tell us anything about the branch?" Harry asked. "It must be pretty significant to how the wand will function for the stallion to have provided it."
Mr. Ollivander took a deep breath. "You would be correct, Lord Potter. It is clearly evident there is a specific intent behind these gifts. I have little doubt that any attempt to use a different wood than provided in the creation of shafts for these cores would result in abysmal failures. Having said that, for the time being, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. The wood the stallion provided you with is not one with which I am familiar. I do give you my word I will do my best to determine its origins and inform you as soon as I have an answer."
"Can you make the shafts without knowing the wood?" Harry asked.
Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Lord Potter, I was making wands before your grandfather bought his first. Knowledge, instinct, and the wood itself, I am certain, will guide me to the appropriate conclusion."
Harry and Ginny exchanged another look. "It seems we shall have to trust in your expertise then," Ginny said.
Mr. Ollivander smiled at her. "And I thank you greatly for that trust." He clapped his hands. "Now, if you will just follow me, we shall place your items in a secure location and then we shall see about finding the both of you wands."
Some three hours later even Mr. Ollivander was becoming frustrated. "I wonder," he muttered to himself.
"Oh no," Harry groaned.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"Last time he said that I wound up with the brother wand to Tom's."
"But that wand worked wonderfully for you … Come to think of it, that one time in the DA where Hermione disarmed me and I grabbed yours from your pocket to stun her, it worked brilliantly for me too."
Harry smirked. "I suppose saying something about my wand always responding well to you would be inappropriate?"
Ginny snorted. "Just as long as it's only me your wand is responding to."
"No, apparently not." Mr. Ollivander said. He set the box with the tail hairs they had brought back on the shelf. "I should have known better. Never mind his mate had already given a core intended for the both of you, he intended those for others."
"Did you even notice what he did with them to know they wouldn't work?" Harry asked. "Because I'm pretty sure he didn't get within five feet of either of us with them."
"No, I didn't. Honestly, I'm beginning to think he's as mental as Trelawney."
"How would you know she's mental? You've never taken a class with her."
"Harry, I've been to every class you've been in."
"Right. Sorry."
"No. No. No. No, and NO!" Mr. Ollivander said. He set another half dozen unopened boxes on the counter, braced his hands on it and glowered at the two of them.
"What?" they asked defensively.
He straightened suddenly, holding his hand with finger pointed up. "Try summoning the appropriate wand to you," he said eagerly.
"Erm," Harry and Ginny said together.
"You've both demonstrated skill at wandless magic, just picture, intently, how you want the wand to behave for you and try summoning it."
Harry glanced at Ginny who just shrugged. "You first," she said.
"Of course," he muttered. He closed his eyes, and but for a wand that would work for him like his old one had, pushed all other thoughts from his mind. When he felt he was ready, he held out his hand and firmly spoke, "Accio wand!" For a good ten seconds nothing seemed to happen but then from way in the back of the shop there came the sound of an avalanche of falling boxes. A second later a wand smacked into his palm, flooding it with a warmth and wonder he'd not felt since Narcissa had snapped his phoenix and holy wand at King's Cross.
Mr. Ollivander completely ignored the mess made by the summoning of the wand. "Curious," he said.
"Repeats himself a lot, doesn't he," Ginny said.
"And you my lady," Mr. Ollivander urged. As Harry had, Ginny took a few moments to center her mind on what she wanted before attempting to summon it. After a few moments, from the same area of the shop, another pile of boxes crashed down. "Well go on then," Mr. Ollivander said when Ginny's hand had closed around the wand. She gave it a wave and shot a stream of water into Harry's face.
"OI!" he shouted, trying to fend it off while she laughed.
She stopped spraying him and chortled. "It works brilliantly." A second later she was on the floor howling with laughter from the tickling charm Harry had hit her with.
He cast a drying charm on himself and turned to Mr. Ollivander. "I think these'll work."
"Haaarrrrry!" Ginny gasped.
He ignored her. "So what's it made out of?" Mr. Ollivander raised an eye at him. "She started it," Harry said defensively. "Let her figure out how to get out of it."
"If you say so," Mr. Ollivander said dubiously.
"F–fi–f," Ginny gasped trying to end the charm.
Harry examined the new wand curiously. It was quite smooth, much more so than his old wand had been, and black, black as coal.
"H–H–Ha–Harry," Ginny gasped between giggles.
He took pity on her and ended the charm. She collapsed on her back, her breath coming in great gulps. Harry plucked her new wand from her unresisting hand. The same comforting warmth flooded his hand from it as well. "Are they the same?" he asked.
"Veela feather and ebony," Mr. Ollivander answered. "An experiment of a long dead ancestor of mine. I'm afraid I'd worked quite hard to forget about them, apparently with some success."
Harry considered the wands for a second. "I'm guessing they were Taken cores?" He held a hand down to Ginny as she pushed herself up. "Alright, Love?"
She took his hand and pulled herself up where she pointedly straightened her jumper before glowering at him. "You are so going to pay for that."
He smirked at her. "Do tell, Ginevra."
"They were indeed taken cores," Mr. Ollivander said.
Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Seriously pushing your luck. Potter"
"You started it."
"He told me to give it a go!"
"My ancestor was quite pleased to have gotten hold of the cores. Sad to say that pleasure was short lived as he soon found that cores Taken from a Veela are most … uncooperative. At the expense of sounding like a broken record, I am quite curious as to why, after well more than a thousand years, they have chosen the two of you."
Harry's and Ginny's mouths dropped open. "They're over a thousand years old?" Harry eventually managed.
"Indeed."
Harry frowned at the two wands in his hand, contemplating them as he fingered them. Ginny took hers from him, turning it over in her hand a number of times. "It almost feels angry," she said.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. He turned to Mr. Ollivander. "You must have a theory. Why do you think they would choose us?"
"Over the time my family has been making wands, we have learned much. One fact, is that only creatures that respect battle, creatures like the dragon, chimera, sphinx, and the like can provide good cores of the Taken variation. Creatures like the unicorn and phoenix or veela, however, want nothing more than to be left in peace. There will never be a wand made of a Taken veela hair because the creature would assume its bird form to defend itself. It is only ever violent when provoked."
"The feather taken from such an encounter is resentful. It wishes freedom and vengeance on the person who violated it. I'm afraid the wands you hold punished my ancestor severely for his actions."
"Punished?" Harry asked.
"While testing the wands a simple incendio blew up mightily. His hands were severely burned; such that those were the last two wands he ever fabricated."
Harry and Ginny both set the wands down and backed away from them. "Seems to me I would destroy them after something like that," Ginny said.
Mr. Ollivander also backed away from the wands. "Ah, but you see, that is where you would have made an error even more grave."
"How so?"
"My ancestor understood what he had done was wrong. He became overzealous in his quest to create something new and paid a dear price for it. But he also understood that he owed a debt to the wands he had created. A debt that could only be paid when the persons the wands would work for presented themselves. Put in the most simple of terms, the wands have chosen the two of you because you are to be their champions. I am curious as to why they feel this."
Harry turned to Ginny. "It's gotta be Fleur," he said.
"Don't forget about Gabrielle," she reminded him. "You rescued her during the tournament."
"I thought as much," Mr. Ollivander said. "You have been a friend to the veela. "He nodded at the wands. "Go on, they won't harm you."
"How do you know?" Harry asked.
"Since 382 B.C. Lord Potter," he said significantly. "I would stake my life on it." Harry and Ginny still hesitated. "Of course I cannot force you to take them. But within my shop, I promise, you will find no better wand for either of you. In fact, I venture no wand anywhere in the world will be better suited to you."
Harry sighed deeply. "All I wanted was a nice simple wand, instead I get a feather with a dragon complex. Is it really too much to ask to just once, have something be simple?"
Ginny cautiously reached for her wand but more than plucking it up with her fingers it seemed to leap into her palm. "Well," she said, "I have to admit, the only time a wand ever felt this good in my hand, it was your old phoenix and holly one." She reached for Harry's, finding it responded to her just as well.
"One word of caution," Mr. Ollivander said.
Ginny gave him a look that clearly conveyed the question, "Seriously?"
"It is possible the wands view you not so much as masters, but as allies of convenience. If you were to ever purposely harm a veela, do not be surprised if they were to turn on you."
"Wonderful," Ginny muttered. She offered Harry his.
"Couldn't we just grab something else?"
"You would suggest?" she asked.
"I don't know … Maybe something that won't randomly decide it doesn't like us any longer and try to kill us?"
"It's only ever going to do that if we do something to hurt a veela. Are you really concerned you're going to?"
"No."
"Then take the wand and let's get out of here. It's getting late and I was hoping we might be able to get some lunch before heading home."
Harry sighed and took the wand from her. "Nothing like walking around with a pissed off wand in your pocket," he muttered.
HPHPHP
Author's note:
Conclusion: Think about that, Hogwarts was founded in the 900s AD. Ollivander's family was making wands nearly 1500 years before Hogwarts comes into existence. They could very well have made and sold Merlin his wand(s) Can you imagine the family history? I'm not sure there is any true family history that could be traced as accurately as JKR seems to indicate this one could be. There is also no doubt Mr. Ollivander is a bit strange. It would fit right in for the family to be observers of some kind.
As always, thank you to all my readers. And a special thank you to those who have reviewed. I do appreciate hearing from you.
Sorcerer's Muse