CHAPTER 17: TO THE CORE
By the time they finished supply shopping and arrived back home, Myles and Beckett were exhausted. Not that they would ever have complained. They were itching to try their new wands, but their father confiscated them until it was time to leave for Hogwarts. Artemis, of course, got to keep his. The four of them hung around in the kitchen, wondering what to eat with no one to cook for them. The professor held his wand's box open in his hands, staring at the magical instrument pensively.
The boys still remembered the moment they got their wands. First, a slightly bendy 10-inch dogwood wand flew straight into their brother's face. Professor Fowl had to duck in order to avoid getting skewered by it! Then, Beckett felt drawn to a rigid 13-inch English oak wand which simply "felt right". Finally, Myles picked up a nearby pliable 11 ¾ inch sycamore wand out of curiosity, only to have it glow brightly in his hand.
According to the wandmaker, Mr. Ollivander, the three wands' cores came from the tail of the same unicorn.
"How fitting," Mr. Ollivander remarked, "that three brothers are chosen by the only three wands made from that unicorn's hair." His eyes pierced them, like he was trying to read their souls, "You must all have an extraordinary bond with each other."
The way Ollivander talked about wands, it sounded like they were almost sentient.
"Something wrong, Artemis?" their father asked Artemis. The addressee looked up, snapping out of his apparent trance.
"I was thinking about what Mr. Ollivander said of my wand," he explained. Apparently, dogwoods could be mischievous and playful, occasionally refusing to perform non-verbal spells and being a bit noisy. "I was expecting something a little more…"
"Sophisticated?"
"I was going to say 'disciplined'."
"My son," Artemis Senior laughed good-naturedly, "do you like to play by the rules, or are you just as easily bored as that dogwood?"
"I…never thought of it that way," Professor Fowl blinked.
"Does he hafta get acquainted with it, Dad?" Myles asked. He was sitting on the countertop next to the empty sink, while Beckett crouched inside it for no particular reason.
"A wand does bond with its owner the more he uses it," Artemis Senior explained.
"What's your wand like?" Beckett had the same question the others did. All three sons waited expectantly for an answer.
"Eleven-inch pine with dragon heartstring, slightly bendy," he said, "good for non-verbal magic."
"Where is it?" Artemis wondered.
"Can you show it to us?" Myles asked. Artemis glanced sideways at him. They went over proper question forms at age five. "Will you please show it to us?" Myles corrected himself, only pouting slightly. Both twins became more obedient to their brother's instructions over time, but it still bothered Myles whenever he slipped up.
Much to everyone's surprise and delight, their father reached into his jacket and pulled out the very wand he described!
"Now," he smirked a little at the chance to show off, "let's figure out what to have for dinner." With a single wave, he opened the refrigerator. Some juice boxes floated out of it and into the dining room, landing gracefully on the table. One more flick, and the juice boxes became much larger.
"What is this?" a deep, rumbling voice reached the kitchen through the open doorway to the dining hall.
"Oops," Artemis Senior didn't sound very apologetic. "Welcome home, Butler!"
"Let me guess…" the insanely tall Eurasian sounded unimpressed. "The boys are wizards, after all."
"Yeah!" Beckett squeaked without thinking, "And Artemis is gonna be one of our teachers!"
"WHAT?!" he boomed. Artemis the Second winced at Butler's reaction.
WANDS: Do you have any idea how difficult and fascinating this small, yet crucial detail was for me? I looked up the wand woods' meanings according to Rowling, then slowly had to narrow down the options for each character. I also did that for wand cores, flexibility, and length.
MY WAND ACCORDING TO POTTERMORE: Yes, I joined Pottermore just to relate to this story more. I was struggling with wands and what an acceptable combination would be, so I figured being assigned my own wand would help something click. I was right! Anyway, Pottermore says I would have…A beech wand with dragon heartstring core, thirteen inches, quite bendy. Getting that diagnosed helped me feel more comfortable assigning wands to these characters.
ARTEMIS THE SECOND'S WAND: I was about to pair him with a yew wand, because the description of yew wand owners seemed particularly fitting for him. Voldemort had a yew wand, which was also a literary plus and would have helped infuse him deeper in the story. I also considered fir or holly—especially the latter, since it seemed like the type of wand he needed and could have been a nod to Holly Short, his dearest friend, thus also weaving him nicely into the story.
At the last minute, however, I settled for a dogwood wand. Dogwoods like to be entertained…and being wielded by Artemis Fowl II was a ticket to mischief and adventure. This is partially because of his present desire for adventure, but also because trouble finds him…or rather, he always gets into trouble. Of course, more than one wand would like this sort of wielder, but I wanted Artemis to have a funnier pairing with his wand, since he was not born with his magic, but instead forced it to awaken inside himself. So, I needed a wand which would actually fly into his face and have a bit of sass, despite its unicorn hair core and neat length.
The core and length are meant to temper the wand's playful nature. It is shorter than his brothers' wands for neater, more sophisticated magic; however, it is not so short that it would indicate insecurity or a small personality, so it also fits his confidence level. Unicorn hair wands are often consistent in performance and faithful to their owners, no matter whether the owner is an accomplished wizard or not. This makes me believe a unicorn hair wand would be more likely to choose Artemis—basically an artificial wizard—than wands with any other core.
His wand's flexibility is a nod to how he is capable of great changes (he went from villain to hero over the course of the series), but those changes are difficult and take time for him (he went from villain to hero over the course of the series).
BECKETT'S WAND: Much like Artemis II, I was about to pair Beckett with a different wand before changing it at the last minute. He was going to have an aspen wand, due to its association with natural duelists (i.e. natural fighters). I figured that was the closest to a canon-based wand pairing I could find, since the main unique character trait explicitly shown in Beckett was physical prowess. Its light color was also a plus, since he appears to be a "white sheep" in the family (as opposed to the usual "black sheep" trope). Ultimately, though, the description of English oak wands and their owners was too fitting for the way I developed Beckett thus far, as well as for the traits which will come into play later. Not only was he strong and courageous from a young age (how many toddlers would straight-up punch the undead without a second's hesitation?), but he also loves his family and would undoubtedly be loyal to Myles as a brother and friend forever.
Merlin, according to Pottermore, was rumored to have used an English oak wand. The pairing with this wand wood, therefore, allows me to set Beckett aside as special without being cliché about it. Hello, bonus meanings!
His wand is somewhat long—thirteen inches—and rigid because he is confidently, unabashedly himself, and that is not likely to change.
MYLES'S WAND: The sycamore wand—highly desirable for its adaptability when paired properly with someone—usually pairs with someone highly curious and lively, with a thirst for adventure. I think this fit Myles quite well, and it is also fun to note that a sycamore wand can combust if it gets too bored.
His wand's length is somewhere between Artemis's and Beckett's, which I also think suits him nicely. His wand is pliable because he seeks change (mainly improvement), but he would still be unlikely to go against who he is or do a 180 any time soon.
ARTEMIS SENIOR'S WAND: It was a choice between elm and pine for this one. Elm was good for sophisticated wizards, and it was the wood for Lucius Malfoy's wand. Sadly, I don't think someone who would choose a red flame paintjob for his prosthetics would be paired with such a wand. Pine likes to be used creatively (red flame leg); is often paired with a unique individual considered intriguing, mysterious, or a loner (unique and shady, but nice at the same time); and its owners are said to be destined for long lives (he survived years of imprisonment by the Russian mafia—this guy should be around for ages). The last trait—his survival of the Russian mafia—would have led me to fir, but he is too capable of change for that wood, in my opinion. The guy seems to have had little trouble going straight and narrow, once he made the decision to do so. Sure, this may be partially due to Angeline and the fact that he went through more than enough to learn his lesson, but I didn't want to choose a wood disparate from the most important action he took in the canon series—officially declaring the Fowl criminal empire ended. Change was arguably the most important theme in the Fowl family's history: each member underwent some change or healing before Myles and Beckett, the new generation, could arise. Therefore, fir was not the ideal wand for any Fowl, in my opinion.
A modestly sized wand (eleven inches) indicates, in his case, a somewhat showy personality but with some degree of sophistication. A wand good for non-verbal spells was a plus for a criminal, and a slightly bendy flexibility matches well with his obstinacy (he was, in all fairness, a stubborn criminal for a long time) tempered with an ability to adapt and eventually change.
I considered a phoenix feather core, as I found a rare core suitable; however, its allegiance is hard-won, and it could act on its own. To put aside such a wand for years may not end the best way. Ultimately, I went with a powerful and flamboyant dragon heartstring core.
BUTLER'S RETURN. Remember how he was on vacation at the Fowls' insistence? Well, he's home now! To be honest, he may not be happy his young charge is charging headfirst into a dangerous, magical situation again.
HE KNOWS ABOUT WIZARDS? Of course.
DID HE ATTEND HOGWARTS? No.