Feathers and Wands

Harry was familiar by now with the strange sensation of being sucked into a memory. He had figured out how to stop himself from slamming into the ground on entering a memory. He looked around at the place he had landed up in and smiled. He had ended up in Diagon Alley. He looked around for Dumbledore, and spotted him just a few paces ahead.

As Harry jogged a little to keep up with the tall man, he took the opportunity to have a look at Dumbledore. Dumbledore's hair was relatively short, and was not yet silver. He looked to be about middle-aged, Harry guessed.

Suddenly, Dumbledore came to an abrupt halt, and Harry walked straight through another shopper. He shivered, even though he had felt nothing.

Harry didn't even have to look up at the sign above the door of the shop to know that this was Ollivander's wand shop. He hurried in through the door after Dumbledore. Once inside, the closed door shut out the noise of the busy street. Harry stood nearby and watched as Dumbledore rang the little bell on the desk once. Immediately, a small man appeared. Harry instantly recognised the man to be Ollivander himself, albeit a much younger version. In fact, Harry assumed him to be not much older than Harry himself.

"Ah, Albus. Welcome," said Ollivander warmly. He extended his hand, which Dumbledore shook heartily.

"Hello Garrick," said Dumbledore. "How are you keeping these days?"

"Well enough, Albus. Business has been good."

"Excellent. Now, I trust you received my letter informing you about my visit?" said Dumbledore. Harry noticed Ollivander perk up slightly. He could see the man was eager about something.

"Indeed I did."

Dumbledore reached into his royal blue robe and pulled out what seemed to be a roll of red velvet cloth. He placed the cloth gently on the counter and unrolled it carefully. Harry found himself leaning forward eagerly to see what this mysterious cloth contained that would excite Ollivander. What he saw surprised him somewhat.

"There you go, just as promised. Two perfect phoenix feathers. Fawkes gave them both willingly, so the magic within them should be quite strong," announced Dumbledore quietly.

Ollivander's eyes were sparkling, drinking in the sight of the two perfect feathers.

"Thank you Albus. This is quite something. It is very difficult to obtain phoenix feathers, never mind perfect ones given willingly. You are correct in your assumption that the magic will be powerful." Here, Ollivander paused. "How much do you want for them Albus?" asked the smaller wizard carefully.

Dumbledore smiled, the light twinkling in his eyes the way Harry always remembered it. "I ask nothing for it, Garrick."

The young Ollivander's face broke into a wide grin, but then he schooled his features into calm again. "But surely you must want something for it?"

"I only ask that you inform me when the wands you make with these feathers are chosen," said Dumbledore calmly.

Ollivander looked uncomfortable for a moment, seemingly thinking hard about this request.

"Alright," he said eventually. "It is not my norm to do so, but if it is what you wish, I shall inform you when the wands are bought. I think you will need to be informed, because the child who chooses these wands will make a very powerful witch or wizard indeed."

"Precisely." With that, Dumbledore grasped Ollivander's hand in both of his own, turned on his heel and abruptly left.

Harry was about to follow him when the scenery around him suddenly melted away, changing into another similar scene.

They were now in Hogwarts. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk in his office, seemingly planning lessons. There was a fire crackling in the grate, and there was a small wireless playing classical tunes quietly in the background. Harry could see it was night-time outside.

There was nothing particularly interesting happening at that moment, so Harry sat on one of the chairs by the fire, watching Dumbledore.

After a few minutes, there was a soft tap at the window. Both Dumbledore and Harry's heads jerked up to look at the cause of the noise. Dumbledore immediately stood up and let the small brown owl in. Clutched in its beak was a small letter. Dumbledore took the letter and gave the owl a treat. The owl hopped off the windowsill and vanished into the night. Dumbledore sat back down in his chair and opened the letter. He scanned over it quickly and then stood up again, his planning forgotten. Dumbledore poured himself a small tumbler of Firewhiskey and sat by the fire.

"And so it has begun," he said quietly to himself. Harry, infinitely curious, went over to the desk and read the letter.

Dear Albus.

Two years ago, you gave me two perfect phoenix feathers. I created two wands from these. I intentionally used wood that were opposite in qualities: one from yew, and one from holly.

Keeping to the promise I made you when you gave me those feathers, I have to inform you that the first of the pair has chosen its wizard.

The wand made of yew, 13 ½ inches in length, was chosen today by a boy by the name of Tom Riddle. Albus, I don't usually make assumptions of young wizards or witches, but I have to warn you, I could feel the darkness within him. I have no doubts that he will be a powerful wizard, but he needs to be watched.

I hope you are well.

Dutifully yours,

Garrick Ollivander

Harry knew that Ollivander, as young as he might have been at the time, was absolutely correct in his assumptions. Harry had seen what the young Tom Riddle was like, having visited another memory with Dumbledore in his sixth year. Despite it all being a memory, Dumbledore's worry made Harry feel tense.

Just then, the scenery around him changed yet again.

This time, when the world stopped swirling around Harry, things were very different. When Harry looked around them, he noticed they were now in the Headmaster's office. It was exactly how Harry had remembered it being during all those occasions visiting the Headmaster.

This time, Harry didn't immediately see Dumbledore. He wandered around the room, looking at some of the various instruments that had always fascinated him. He saw the Sorting Hat perched on a shelf, quiet and still, the way hats are normally meant to be.

Harry turned when he heard a noise behind him. There, next to a high-backed sofa, was Fawkes on a perch. Harry moved around the sofa to find Dumbledore. The headmaster looked quite a lot older than the previous two occasions. His hair was no longer the short auburn colour it had been, but long and sliver, and his beard was draped over his knee.

Again, there was a soft tapping at the window. Dumbledore got up and opened the window for the large grey owl. It had a note tied to its leg. The owl stuck out its leg impatiently, and flew off the moment the note had been untied, not even waiting for a treat.

Dumbledore just chuckled at the rude owl. He sat back down on the sofa and opened the letter. This time, Harry read over his shoulder.

Dear Albus

I have excellent news. I am sure that you recall the two phoenix feathers you gave me about fifty-five years ago, one of which was chosen by You-Know-Who. Well, this morning, the second wand, this one made with holly, was chosen. Albus, it was chosen by none other than the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.

I think that we can expect great things in this boy's future. He seems like an intelligent and inquisitive young man. Unlike You-Know-Who, I can sense this boy's heart is filled with love to give. He still retains much of the naiveté and innocence of youth.

What puzzles me, Albus, is that Mister Potter seems to know very little about the magical world, and even his own past. I assume it is because he was brought up with Muggles.

I can see that this young man will bring a change to the magical world. This is good news indeed.

Dutifully yours,

Garrick Ollivander

Harry felt his heart warming at the enthusiasm that was almost tangible in the letter.

Dumbledore sat back and smiled, stroking Fawkes' head contentedly. "My dear companion, I do believe there is a brighter future ahead for us all. I have faith that Harry Potter will do great things."

The large bird hooted softly in reply.

The world around Harry started to melt away again, and he felt the familiar tug that was pulling him out of the memory.

Harry blinked at the sudden brightness of daylight in the Headmistress' office. Harry carefully extracted the memory from the pensieve and returned it to its phial. The letter that accompanied the memory was sitting on the desk. Harry opened it and read.

Harry

I hope this was the first memory you viewed. I do apologise for the lack of information pertaining to me in this memory, but I wanted you to know the events surrounding the creation of yours and Tom Riddle's wands. It was something that had always fascinated me, as I know it has you.

I had heard of Garrick Ollivander's new ideas about wands choosing wizards, instead of wizards presenting the core of their choice and a wand being made for them. Ollivander was looking for wand cores and had contacted various people about it. He knew I had a phoenix, and so requested one or two feathers in return for compensation. I was curious about this new idea, so I asked Fawkes to willingly give two feathers, which he did.

When Ollivander contacted me the first time, I had already met the young Tom Riddle. I too had seen the darkness within the boy, but neither of us knew just how deep this darkness ran. Neither of us knew that this boy would soon become one of the most powerful and evil wizards in a long time.

By the time you had received your wand, both Ollivander and I had given up hope that the second wand would be chosen, at least not within either of our lifetimes. But then your wand chose you, and only Ollivander and I knew of the significance of this. As it turns out, we have so far been correct about your great ability. I hope you manage to find a way to use it for the good of the Wizarding and Muggle world.

A.D.

A/N: Please read and review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this so far.

If you have an idea about a possible memory you would like explored, PM me. I cant guarantee that it will become part of this story though, but I'd love to hear your ideas. :)