Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. If I did, I would not be writing this fanfic. I would be lounging around in Hawaii talking to parrots and eating starfruit.
Chapter Four: Chosen Twice
Edward sighed somewhat disappointedly when the cart stopped. Those rides were so fun. He stepped out a little reluctantly and exited the tunnel system. Picking up his suitcase by the door where he had left it, Edward walked through the main hall and out through the double doors, blinking against the bright evening sunlight. "Alright," he sighed. "Just a few stops, and then I go back to the Leaky Cauldron until tomorrow. And tomorrow the Express leaves." He sighed again. 'Cutting it a little close, aren't we?' he silently admonished himself. The crowd of shoppers had thinned significantly, which he was grateful for. Plus, these people seemed much quieter in general. Maybe it was just the atmosphere, but Edward was glad either way; he liked quiet.
The alchemist easily made his way towards Ollivander's. Opening the door, which was made mostly of framed glass, Edward heard a bell ring. Shutting the door made the bell ring more and tap against the glass. "Hello?" Edward called, dragging out the 'o' sound. He set down his suitcase by the door, stepping further into the darkness of the old wand shop.
"Yes…?" a rather creepy sounding voice replied. The owner of the voice emerged from the shadows, accompanied by the sound of a door opening and closing quietly. He was partly bald, his remaining hair wispy and white. Ollivander's face was lined and weathered, and his moves were slow from age. "Ah, Mr. Elric. Dumbledore," he said breathily, "has told me much about you. Are you here to get your wand a tune-up?" Edward shook his head.
"I'm here for a wand."
"Oh, dear. Has something happened to yours?" Edward shook his head again. He put his hand into his sleeve and drew out his long, dark wand.
"My wand is fine." When Ollivander held out a hand, Edward complied with the unspoken request and placed his wand in the frail hand.
As he examined the wand, Ollivander asked curiously, "Then what could you possibly need a new wand for?"
"Not exactly a new wand, if you get my meaning. Another one." Ollivander looked up at him sharply.
"You wish to have more than one wand? That seems somewhat presumptuous." He went back to studying the wand. "In all my years, I have never seen a wand choose a wizard or witch that another wand has already claimed." Slowly looking back up from the wand, Ollivander asked, "What makes you think another wand will choose you when this one already has?" Holding out the wand to him, Ollivander slightly ruined the effect of his dramatic words by adding, "Beautiful wand. Fourteen inches, ironwood, very unusual, very inflexible, and the core…whoever made this wand was quite the experimenter. I've don't believe I've seen a real ironwood wand before, and I don't think I've ever seen a thestral-hair core used in a functioning wand." Ollivander gave him a serious look. "Why do you want another wand?"
"I'm just worried that something might happen to this one. It never hurts to be careful, and it would be just my luck for something to happen to this when I need it most. Having a spare in reserve might save my life. And if my theory is correct, it could drastically increase my magical power and become an enormous help in my research."
Ollivander looked at him suspiciously. "What exactly do you think you'll be doing, boy? This is ironwood." Ollivander stressed the last word a bit too heavily, as if he were trying to educate an extremely stupid person. "It's the densest wood there is; it's the only wood in the world that sinks in water. It's almost rock hard. If you wanted to, you could bash someone's head in with that," he added, gesturing to the wand in Edward's gloved hand. "I ask you, what do you think is going to happen to it?"
"It's not that I think harm will come to it; there are simply many different scenarios that could result in my not being able to use it. It could sink in water, or fall somewhere, or I could get disarmed. There are thousands of possibilities, and I want to be as prepared as I can for all of them." Edward looked him in the eye, bright gold meeting faded blue. "I don't expect for a wand to accept me, but I don't want to have the possibility one might have hanging over my head when I'm in a bind."
Ollivander nodded his consent, and instructed Edward to take off his gloves. An animated tape measure began to measure Edward, even parts of him he really doubted mattered when it came to choosing wands—such as the circumference of his head. The old wandmaker went prowling through shelves and rows and box after box of wands. He gave several to Edward, only to snatch them away before the blond could even wave them. After what seemed like hours, Ollivander finally gave a triumphant huff and approached Edward with a sleek, black, rectangular box just large enough to hold a wand. Ollivander held it out to him wordlessly.
Nodding, Edward took the box and removed its lid. It was mostly black, with streaks of dark brown concentrated mostly on the handle. It was shorter than Edward's ironwood wand, and he doubted it was a structurally strong—mostly because ironwood was known as the toughest wood there was. He looked up at Ollivander, almost as if asking for permission. The old man nodded slightly, and Edward reached into the box. Grasping the wand gently, he felt a rush of energy enter his body from where his fingers touched the dark wood; it spread through his hand, up his arm, and across his chest. The sensation—both warm and tingling cool—filled his entire body, lifting his hair and clothes in a nonexistent breeze. After several unreal, mind-numbing seconds, the feeling subsided and Edward was left firmly holding the dark wood in his gloved hand.
"Well, give it a wave," Ollivander said somewhat distractedly with an awed expression on his face. Edward raised an eyebrow and moved his wrist downward in a graceful arc, producing a beautiful shower of blue and white sparks. Ollivander waved his own wand in a tired motion, conjuring a simple chair that he sat down on with a tired sigh. "I must say, Mr. Elric, you are truly a rather unusual man." Ollivander brought a wrinkled hand to his forehead and ran it down his lined face. "Not only did that wand accept you, it produced one of the most powerful reactions I've ever seen." Giving Edward a weak smile, he said, "You seem to have some quality that makes you strangely attractive to unusual wands. First that ironwood-thestral-hair wand of yours, now this one." Edward cocked his head to the side in silent question. "Eleven and a half inches, ebony. Ebony is very rare and costly these days, and it is not often used for wand making as it is well known for accepting very few people. The core of that wand is also unusual, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I chose it. It's experimental concentrated basilisk venom."
"Basilisk venom…?" Edward questioned, somewhat uneasily.
"Yes. Incredibly powerful, but requires much skill to handle properly. If you are sufficiently skilled, this beauty could also be as precise as a sphinx-hair wand. That other wand of yours is even more powerful, more durable too, but I'm not sure you could get the same accuracy as this one can produce. I'm unsure of the specific properties of both of these, because they're both so incredibly unique." Standing up, Ollivander went over to the cashier's counter. "Now, normally I'd charge you extra seeing as the materials were so expensive, but this wand has been sitting around for such a long time I was afraid it would never sell. As thanks for taking this little beauty out into the world, I'll charge you standard price."
Edward thanked him, and produced the correct amount of money. He laid it on the counter, and Ollivander boxed and wrapped the wand for him. Placing the package in one of his pockets, Edward retrieved his suitcase by the door and made to leave.
"One last thing, Mr. Elric," Ollivander said, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around with a questioning look on his face. "You have a lot of power in your possession. Use it with good intentions and wise judgment." Edward didn't reply, only nodding and opening the door with the sound of a jingling bell.