Ollivander's Memoirs

James Potter

"Hello?" a voice called Mr. Ollivander out of the back of his shop. He was so focused on repairing a damaged wand—a well valued, inherited, family wand—that he did not even here the door open.

"Good, morning," he greeted his customers. Standing inside the shop were Mr. and Mrs. Potter and a young boy with a thin stature, glasses, which gave greater appearance to his hazel eyes, and messy black hair. Mr. Ollivander was unclear whether this boy was the Potters' son, grandson, or other relative. He never recalled selling a wand to any other children of the Potters, but, though it was doubtful, there were other wand makers to whom the Potter could have gone. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were on the fine line between being old for parents and young for grandparents so this young boy could have been either a son or grandchild.

"Good morning Mr. Ollivander," said Mrs. Potter happily. "This is our son, James," she placed a hand on James's back. He smiled.

"Good morning, sir," he said.

"Good morning," Mr. Ollivander smiled. "And you must be here to buy your first wand?"

"Yes, Sir," he answered happily. Mr. Potter beamed. Mr. Ollivander nodded his head and turned to the stacks of wand boxes behind him. When thinking of the Potters, he could not help, but smile. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were loving, caring and would do anything for their son. It was lovely to see such happy families, when he had so often come in contact with others who were not so lucky. He immediately thought of Sirius Black, who had just come in the shop to purchase his wand a few days earlier, who was clearly less loved by his parents than his younger brother. "Ah, that's right," he thought to himself, "Sirius will be in James's year." He wondered how they would get along, being from such different backgrounds, if they ever came in contact at all, for her was certain Mr. Potter would be in Gryffindor, like his father, and Sirius probably was given no other choice than to be in Slytherin.

Stacked one on top of the other were two wands, a mahogany and a chestnut, which he thought would be excellent for James's use. He brought both of them out onto the counter to get a closer look at them in the light. James's eyes widened with excitement as he caught a glimpse of the wand boxes. "These two I think will work particularly well," stated Mr. Ollivander, opening each box carefully and placing each wand on the counter. "I just want to get a closer look as to which will be best." James stared at the wands, subconsciously ruffling his already messy hair as he waited.

"James, dear, leave your hair alone," Mrs. Potter gently smacked his hand off of his head. "His hair is so untidy," she explained, "I've tried everything to keep it down," she patted the back of James's head where his hair stubbornly stuck up, "but, I just can't fix it."

"Not that he'd want it fixed," Mr. Potter gave James a few pats on the back. James smirked looking at his father.

Mr. Ollivander finished choosing the wand. He lifted up the mahogany handing it over to James. "Mahogany, dragon heartstring core, eleven inches," stated Mr. Ollivander. James was in awe as he gripped the wand in his hand.

"Wicked!" he exclaimed, which automatically caused Mr. Ollivander to think of Sirius again.

"That is a rather nice one," Mr. Potter stated, clearly happy with the choice. "Like, it son?"

"Yeah," stated James, still eyeing it.

"Excellent for Transfiguration, very pliable," Mr. Ollivander added.

"Mr. Ollivander's giving you a leg up," laughed Mr. Potter.

"I'll need all the help I can get," replied James.

"Oh, nonsense, dear you're very intelligent," Mrs. Potter, "When you're paying attention."

"And not solely concerned about Quidditch," Mr. Potter added, "although that's important too. Our boy tends to pay more attention to the Prophet's Quidditch column more than any books," he explained to Mr. Ollivander.

"They tend to be more interesting," James defended himself.

"He's quite talented on a broom, but I know we would prefer he were equally or even more talented with the books," said Mr. Potter.

"Are you planning on playing Quidditch at school?" asked Mr. Ollivander.

"I hope so," answered James. "I'll probably wait a few years to try out though."

"Ah a good plan," replied Mr. Ollivander, "get the handle of all that school work before committing to that. Now, are we definite about this wand?" James looked towards his parents for their approval. Mrs. Potter smiled. Mr. Potter nodded.

"Yes," James answered definitely. He handed the wand back to Mr. Ollivander who placed it in its box. As this took place, Mrs. Potter began to tear up a little. Mr. Ollivander took notice and look at her sympathetically. Noticing Mr. Ollivander, Mrs. Potter explained, "Oh I know school will be such an exciting time for him, but I'm still sad to see him go. I won't know what to do with myself."

"I'll write all the time," James reassured her.

"Oh you most definitely will," she laughed wiping her eyes.

"And I'll be home for the holidays."

"Probably bringing droves of friends along with him," Mr. Potter placed an arm around Mrs. Potter, which seemed to brighten her up a bit.

Mr. Ollivander returned the wand box to James who paid him. Mrs. Potter sighed, "We've gotten the books, the cauldron, and the wand. Do we need anything else?"

"How about a broom?" James suggested.

"Nice try, son," Mr. Potter smiled. "First years aren't allowed brooms."

"Maybe for Christmas, or when you make the Quidditch team," he added to James's delight.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Ollivander," Mr. Potter said.

"Yes, oh and a pleasant season, if we don't see you," added Mrs. Potter.

"Thank you for my wand, sir," James said.

"You are most welcome," answered Mr. Ollivander. "I hope it serves you well."

"I'll remember Transfiguration," said James before exiting the shop with his parents. Mr. Ollivander chuckled. Many different wands were good for many different purposes—charms, potions, defense, but that didn't necessarily mean that the witch or wizard would be exceptionally gifted at the subject. Witches and wizards were generally born with talents in certain subjects, although having a good wand didn't hurt. He wondered if James Potter would be any good at Transfiguration.