Chapter Two: Teddy Lupin
Late August, 2009.
Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the dust-caked window, streaking ribbons of faintest gold across the pinched faces of the latest customers to enter Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. Sagging wooden shelves creaked in the summer heat, threatening to bend beneath their burden, and Mr. Ollivander did not blame them. The day had begun well enough. A silvery mist glided along the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, bringing with it a crisp chill that foretold autumn's inevitable arrival. But, as the sun crept higher in the sky, the refreshing fog burned off, leaving only a sweltering heat in its wake.
For the third time in the past hour, Garrick Ollivander plastered upon his face a smile most charming and, if he was honest, most false. Mopping at his glistening forehead with the stained sleeve of his robes, Mr. Ollivander dipped his head, cupping his hand to accept the small tower of galleons stacked in his customer's hand. "Thank you, madam Morgan."
The woman sniffed, her chin lifting as she plopped the coins down on the pockmarked countertop with a pointed clink. "My pleasure." Her smile was as thin and feigned as his own. She produced a handkerchief and wiped at her unblemished, pale hands. "A pleasure, as always, Mr. Ollivander."
Mr. Ollivander's smile tightened further, but he made no remark as he counted the stack of coins before tucking them into a side pocket.
"Can we go now, mummy?" piped up Madam Morgan's raven-haired daughter. "I'm bored." She crossed her arms over her chest, pink mouth twisted into a sour frown.
"Of course, Rowen, dear." Madam Morgan snatched up the long, rectangular box Mr. Ollivander extended to her and presented it to her eldest child, the one who had spoken only moments before.
"Could we go visit the bookstore next, mum? I've been hoping to have a look at Luna Scamander's latest book. It's about-"
"Hold your tongue, Evangeline," snapped Madam Morgan, frowning at her second, much smaller daughter. "Today is devoted to Rowen- not you. She leaves for Hogwarts in less than a week and we've only just begun to shop for her. Don't be selfish."
"Yes, Evie, you mustn't be selfish," Rowen sneered, pinning her younger sister with a glare as she flicked a glossy, black curl over one shoulder.
"Sorry, Ro," mumbled Evangeline. Her large indigo-blue eyes, the exact shade as her sister's, cast downward at her shuffling feet.
"Mummy!" Rowen whined, "it's getting late and I still want to go by Sugarplum's and then to Twilfitf and Tattings for a new cloak. Mummy," Rowen's unusual eyes gleamed, "did you see their display today? The cloak in the window is perfect for me. It's made from the most exquisite white velvet. Oh, and the hem," Rowen was practically purring. "It's lined in the softest-looking dove grey fur- ermine, I think, Anyway, I want it! Let's go already!"
Madam Morgan tucked her handkerchief back into the tiny pocket at her breast. "Quite right, Rowen. Good day, Mr. Ollivander." She was already striding toward the door when it opened, the silver bell above the entrance tinkling cheerily. "Excuse me!" Madam Morgan's blue eyes narrowed scornfully as she stepped aside to admit the newcomers.
"Welcome, welcome!" Mr. Ollivander called without turning. "I'll be with you in a moment." He disappeared behind the partition that divided his shop from his workroom and slid open the loose wall panel hidden amongst the others. With a flick of his wand, Ollivander began the complicated enchantment that protected the safe from unsavory attentions.
"Not a problem," replied a soft, subdued female voice.
"Good day, Madam Black." Madam Morgan's voice was raised, much higher and sickly sweet, dripping with saccharine cordiality and poorly disguised disdain.
"Tonks," the other woman corrected tersely. "My name is Mrs. Tonks. Hello, Elena. How are you? Are these your girls? I believe your eldest is about the same age as my grandson."
"Your grandson?" Madam Morgan clicked her tongue, "ah, the werewolf's boy. Yes, I remember now."
"And an Auror's son, as well," Someone new had spoken: a young boy, by the sound of the voice.
"Teddy!" Mrs. Tonks hissed. "Apologize."
"I won't," the boy, Teddy, retorted flatly.
"Hmph!" Madam Morgan scoffed and Mr. Ollivander could only just discern the brush of her cloak against the wood flooring of his shop. "Come along, girls!" After a moment, the door to his shop slammed, the bell above jingling erratically as it rocked against its mooring. Another, much quieter, pair of feet followed behind hers. The shop's door opened, then was shut softly.
"In so sorry about my mother." There was a brief pause. "My name's Rowen. I suppose we'll be seeing each other quite soon."
"Will we?" Teddy asked, clearly disinterested.
"I'll see you on the train come September 1st. For Hogwarts, you know," Rowen's voice dropped into a whisper, her words indistinguishable.
"All right." Teddy's reply carried a new lilt to it, as if he were attempting to hold back a laugh. "Yeah, I'll save you a seat then."
"Good. See you, Teddy." Quick feet hastened across the old, creaky floorboards. The door opened once more, then shut with a bang.
"You know better," Mrs. Tonks scolded softly. "You must be polite, even when others do not deserve your respect."
"No one insults my parents in front of me, grandmother. No one. I won't have it." Teddy's voice was firm and cold, very unlike that of many children his age-but very like his godfather.
Andromeda Tonks opened her mouth to respond, but Mr. Ollivsnder chose that moment to turn the corner.
Mr. Ollivander caught her eye as he turned the corner and offered a sympathetic smile. "Apologies for the wait, Mrs. Tonks."
"Not a problem," she repeated, though her face was tight and her fingers strained as she gripped her wand. "Madam Morgan and I were just catching up."
"Ha!" Teddy snorted. "What a witch!"
"Teddy!"
"Oh, dear me, young man. I'm so sorry. Allow me to introduce myself." Tilting his head, the old wandmaker took in the son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks for the first time. "I am Garrick Ollivander, the proprietor of this fine establishment. A pleasure to meet you."
Teddy, who leaned a shoulder against the filthy counter, tipped his chin in greeting. "Cheers, Mr. Ollivander. I'm Teddy Lupin. My godfather says you're the best wandmaker in the world."
Chuckling, Ollivander said "well, I'm flattered. Your godfather is, if I'm not mistaken, the famous Harry Potter."
Teddy broke into a proud grin. "Yeah, that's right, sir." Smile dimming a fraction, Teddy added "he wanted to come along, but my grandmother wanted it to be just the two of us." He shrugged.
"I wanted it to be special," Mrs. Tonks supplied, folding her hands before her. "Just us."
"It would've been just as special with the three of us," Teddy countered.
"Harry agreed with me that you and I should-"
"Whatever," grumbled Teddy. "Can I try out swans now?"
Andromeda Tonks, eyes wide and wounded, cleared her throat. "Of course. Mr. Ollivander, would you mind?"
"Certainly, madam. If you would please extend your wand arm, Mr. Lupin." Ollivander clapped his hands. A yellowing length of measuring tape snapped to attention, flying over to them. "Let us measure," he murmured more to himself than to either of his customers. "Interesting. Ah, I have just the one!" At his commanding gesture, a uniformly rectangular box tipped off of the topmost shelf and whizzed toward Mr. Ollivander's raised hands. "We'll try this one first. It was crafted from the finest hazel wood with a unicorn hair at its core. Go on then!"
Teddy accepted the rather diminutive wand from the older man. With a roll of his wrist, Teddy sent the aged wandmaker flying backward.
Thud!
Mr. Ollivander's back slammed into the shelves. "Oof!"
"Oh, my!" Andromeda Tonks gasped, hurrying over to assist him. "Are you all right, Mr. Ollivander? Can you stand?"
"I'm fine. Completely fine. Not to worry, madam." Ollivander got heavily to his feet, wincing at the pain that throbbed at the back of his skull. Glancing at Teddy, he mused wryly "I don't think we've found your wand, Mr. Lupin."
"I suppose not, sir," Teddy mumbled, his lime green eyes thrown wide. With wary precision, Teddy returned the offending wand to its box and backed away.
"We shall try again. How about this one?" Mr. Ollivander selected another nondescript box from a low shelf and lifted the lid. "Cypress and dragon heartstring, a temperamental beauty, this one. Ten inches exactly. The same wood as your father's wand, you know." He laid the wand into Teddy's outstretched hand.
His eyes darkening with newfound hesitance, Teddy adjusted his grip on the unfamiliar wand. "Where should I aim, Mr. Ollivander?"
"Just there." The old wandmaker indicated a stack of books piled beside the window sill. "Try to levitate them."
Brows furrowed in concentration, Teddy flicked his wrist in a swift, circular motion.
Vibrant blue flames sprang to violent life atop the stack. Lavender smoke crawled up the walls, cooling in the room by more than a few degrees. Ice crystals danced in the air.
"Oh, Teddy!" Huffing, Andromeda Tonks retrieved her wand from the sleeve of her dark blue cloak and deftly extinguished the peculiar blaze her grandson had conjured.
"Blimey!" Teddy broke into a grin and reclaimed his place against the counter. "That was wicked. Did you see, grandmother? Did you see what I made?"
Dryly, Mrs. Tonks answered with a restrained "Indeed, I did, Teddy."
"I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to continue to hold onto that wand." Mr. Ollivander plucked the instrument from Teddy's reluctant clutches and returned it to the shelf from whence it came.
"A Shame," Teddy sighed dramatically, turning a cheeky grin on his grandmother, who rolled her eyes, though she failed to conceal the fond smile she wore.
For the next hour and half, Teddy tested his luck with more than half a dozen wands of varying lengths, cores, and woods- none of which Mr. Ollivander deemed suitable. "You will know it when you find it, Mr. Lupin', the expert wandmaker repeated again and again. But as the day wore on and Teddy's shoulders dropped farther and farther, Mr. Ollivander started to question his own surety.
The lopsided clock that rested against the partition dividing his shop bonged, chiming six o'clock,
Andromeda Tonks cleared her throat for a second time. "One more wand, Teddy." When her grandson would've protested, Andromeda lifted a quelling hand, forestalling his balking. "No, Teddy, listen to me. It's nearly time for supper and we've only just started your school shopping. You may try one more wand and then that's it for today."
"But grandmother, please!" Teddy complained.
"Please do not argue with me." She rubbed the balls of her hands against her closed eyes. "One more. Now hurry up, please." She had the grace to flash Mr. Ollivander an apologetic, strained smile. "We'll return tomorrow."
"Fine," Teddy grumbled.
Andromeda Tonks placed a gentle hand upon her grandson's shoulder. "I promise you this: we will find you a wand, Teddy. That is, unless," her voice grew soft, tentative, as if any jarring noise would awaken a slumbering beast, "you've changed your mind about using your mother's-"
"No!" Teddy managed to say between gritted teeth. "No, thank you. I want a wand of my own." As if unaware he was doing so, Teddy lifted a hand and ran his fingertips along the thick clump of bubblegum pink that stood out against the sedate dark blond.
"Oh, Teddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Andromeda placed a trembling hand atop his hand, the fingers of which were still tangled in the violent pink strands.
"It's nothing." Teddy slid his hand from beneath hers and twisted on his heels to face Mr. Ollivsnder. Cat-footed and nimble as he was, Teddy placed himself more than a foot out of his grandmother's reach.
Andromeda Tonks swallowed and lowered her gaze, saying nothing as her only grandchild grasped the wand Mr. Ollivander lifted from the depths of another uniform box.
"I admit that I am finding you quite difficult to place," Ollivsnder knit his grey brows. "But never fear: I will find your match, young Lupin. Not unlike your father, I gather you'll be chosen by a wand with rather-uh, unique traits. Your mother, the spirited Nymphadora Tonks, was sorted out in a trice. But I spent nearly an entire morning with your father. We discovered his wand in the end, though it took quite a few trials. Nearly flooded my store at one point," Mr. Ollivander chuckled, nodding at the bedraggled wooden stool tucked uselessly beside the counter. "But enough out of me, go ahead and give it a wave, if you please."
"My father had trouble finding his wand, too?" Teddy peered up at Mr. Ollivander as if the old man possessed the missing key to an unopened box of treasures for which Teddy had searched his entire life.
"Indeed." Mr. Ollivander's smile was weak, but not forced. "He became quite frustrated halfway through the ordeal, though he tried his best to remain calm and collected. The poor fellow was understandably nervous."
"Harry says I'm like him- that I have," he glanced at his tight-lipped grandmother before continuing, "his-his heart."
Ollivander nodded, "I can see that, my boy. I distinguish Mr. Potter's influence on you as well. A potent combination."
"It's getting late," Andromeda Tonks interrupted, her eyes fixed on the shop door.
"Ah, so it is. Mr. Lupin, if you would," Mr. Ollivander gestured to the wand still clutched in Teddy's hand.
Face set in deep, determined lines, Teddy sucked in a loud breath as he tapped the tip of the wand against the crumbling wooden seat of the inutile stool. Color rose high in his face, warming his cheeks as he exhaled. The tiny, dingy shop exploded with light, a blinding flash of brightest cerulean. Teddy jumped back, though he managed to keep a firm grip on the wand in his hand. Where once cowered a dilapidated, water-damaged stool, now was something altogether quite intriguing and almost comical: a stool of lime green, the varnish of its smooth seat gleaming in the dying light of the sun, bore little resemblance to the one Teddy's father had destroyed decades earlier.
"Well, now, what a grand display, my boy!" Mr. Ollivander lowered the hand that shielded his eyes and approached Teddy. His eyes focused solely on what Teddy still held in his hand. "A dynamic wand for a dynamic young wizard. It seems Mr. Lupin has found his wand at last. Though both you and your wand appear to be quite changeable and spontaneous, your principles and resolve shall unite you, I believe. This wand, ten and a half inches of Hornbeam and Phoenix feather, is as unique as you are- just as I predicted, I might add." Beaming, Mr. Ollivander nodded for Teddy to return his wand to its box-a silent request with which the boy complied, however reluctantly. "The Phoenix feather ought to render it difficult to personalize; however, the hornbeam ought to counter that little hiccup." Rubbing his hands together in ecstatic pleasure, the wandmaker continued "a wand of Hornbeam is not at all suited to the indecisive, nor to those bereft of profound ambition. Instead, such a wand seeks in its master the keen yearning to realize a deeply ensconced vision. I take it you have such a vision, young Lupin?"
Teddy set his small shoulders. His eyes, which were glowing the red-gold of a crackling fire- or, just maybe, the tawny, feral gaze of a wolf- did not drift from Mr. Ollivander's face as he spoke. "I want to honor my family's legacy. Their sacrifices. I want to make my parents proud."
Brows lifting at the boy's nerve and bravado, Mr. Ollivander simply murmured "ah. I hope you do, my boy. I sincerely hope you do."
"Here you are, sir." The welcome sound of jingling coins followed Andromeda's polite words.
Mr. Ollivander's gaze lifted to Teddy's grandmother, who pressed a neat column of galleons into his lined and calloused palm. "I thank you, Mrs. Tonks." He proceeded to discreetly count his payment, then tuck it into a side pocket.
"Time to go, Teddy. Say good evening to Mr. Ollivander." Andromeda Tonks lifted the hem of her dark blue cloak and strode to the shop's door.
"Good evening, sir."
Mr. Ollivsnder waved him off. "And good evening to you, Teddy."
Andromeda Tonks beckoned to her grandson. "Come along. Let's go find you something to eat, shall we?"
Teddy made to do as he was bid, but turned back at this last moment. His eyes, now light green, stopped on the old wandmaker. "And thank you- for telling me about my parents. No one really likes to talk about them much."
"Is that so?"
"Harry's told me a few stories, but he always gets that look."
"A look, my boy? What sort of look?"
"A distant sort of look, like he isn't really there with me, even as he sits right beside me. And the things he's told me about them- well, I'll never really be able to understand them- who they were, at least, not completely. I'll never know them unless it's through the eyes of someone else. Sometimes, i don't feel like they belong to me- or that I ever belonged to them." Teddy shrugged, as if none of it mattered, but Mr. Ollivsnder knew better.
"You are Nymphadora and Remus' son through and through, Teddy Lupin. Never doubt that" was all the weary shop proprietor could manage before the boy with the pink streak in his blond hair darted through the door and into the night, his white-faced grandmother quick on his heels.
Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It details, as you probably gathered, Mr. Ollivander's experience with matching Teddy Lupin to his wand. Dif you enjoy my interpretation of the pairing of Teddy's wand wood and core? I try my best not to pull straight from the Pottermore explanations. I aim to reiterate what JK Rowling implies, rather than what she has clearly written in regards to wand cores and woods.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts regarding my portrayal of Teddy, his grandmother, and Ollivander
What do you think Rowen Morgan whispered to Teddy?
Please leave comments for me to read. I can't improve my craft without your criticism and/or praise.
Thank you for reading.
Until next time!