Wand-Materials, or

The Wild-Rose Briar is Sweet In the Spring

Chapter 15

"So, my dear, you're interested in wand woods," said Professor Sprout when they met in her greenhouses on the second day of classes for Lucia's first private tutoring session.

"Er—I think so," Lucia answered. "Especially holly, which is what my wand is, but also I want to know about hawthorn. Are there certain woods that help evil—you know, Dark Magic—more than good?"

Fluffy-looking Professor Sprout blinked at her. "Why do you ask that, dear?"

Oh dear. I don't think that came out right. "Well—Young Ollivander told me that the Malfoys usually use certain kinds of wood, none of which worked for me, and I was wondering if—you know—evil people are attracted to certain kinds of wood. And if maybe we shouldn't use those kinds for wands."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, my dear. It's not so clear-cut—this plant is good, that one is bad—just as it isn't with people. The thistles that tear your clothes are good to eat, and the poisonous root of foxglove is a self-protecting mechanism. Your own holly—did you know that it is poisonous but it protects from danger?"

"Yes, I did know that," Lucia murmured.

Professor Sprout gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Perhaps in the same way not every person who has done evil has fully given himself over to evil, Miss Bonnefoy. Now, let's go take a look at my favorite holly and hawthorn trees, since they interest you so. Did you know hawthorn is related to the rose? It's also very good for heart problems, including a broken heart, and it's said to bring hope. It's a bit mysterious though. It can present as one thing while often really being something entirely different.…"

"Erm…Miss Bonnefoy," Professor Hagrid said, meeting her outside his strange little house. He looked as uncertain as he felt. He was a great war hero, and huge besides, so she didn't quite see why he should be uncertain around her, though after classes yesterday evening, Astoria had hinted that Draco had given him trouble all during his years here, so maybe that was it. She couldn't help it that in her black Hogwarts robes she looked so much like her half-brother.

"He—well, I'm supposed ter teach yeh about the core materials for makin' wands," he finally said uncomfortably, looming far above her. "Not that I know anything about muckin' about with wands. Not me. Mine was broke. They let me have a new one, but it's not as good as—well." He coughed. "But I do know things about magical creatures, mind, so I can tell yeh all about the materials—jest not the wand bit." He gave her a hard look, and she tried to nod as if she understood completely, which she didn't. "This curriculum they sent me isn't goin' ter do at all, yeh know. 'The properties of unicorn hair—' Each lesson'd take one hour, and then you'd be done after three hours with no real learnin', except a lot of information yeh could just get from a bloomin' book." He looked disgusted. "There isn't no use separatin' the materials from the creature, you see what I mean? Unicorn hair isn't unicorn hair without it came from a unicorn, see?"

"I think so," Lucia said slowly. "To really understand the properties of unicorn hair, you have to understand unicorns."

He gave her a surprised look. "That's righ'. Yeh sound like yeh have some intelligence."

"So they tell me."

"Unlike some others I know," he muttered. "Well, come on then. Yeh got good shoes?"

"Yes." She hurried after him across the lawn. "Professor, where are we going?"

"Forbidden Forest, o'course. Where else'r yeh goin' ter see unicorns around here?"

"See unicorns, sir?"

"O'course. Yeh didn' think yeh were goin' ter read about 'em in a book, did yeh?"

"I never considered seeing unicorns before, is all." It was such a combination of the ridiculous (no one at home would ever believe it!) and the sublime (unicorns!).

She hurried after Professor Hagrid into the dark edges of the Forbidden Forest. He went quickly and easily, for such a huge man, knowing where he was going and not faltering. Lucia tripped over fallen branches and bushes behind him.

"Are yeh scared?"

"Of what?" she asked blankly.

"The Forbidden Forest."

"Should I be?"

"It can be dangerous, when yeh don' know what you're doing. Most students is scared of it. Yer bro—" He stopped short.

"My brother was afraid of it." Suddenly she remembered his journal entry. He'd been terrified. "He grew up with stories about it. I didn't. Anyway, he saw something worth being scared of. What's here to be afraid of now?"

"Oh, jest trees an' spiders an' centaurs an' unicorns. If yeh know how ter deal with 'em, you'll be fine."

"What's to be scared of about unicorns?"

He gave her a look as if taking back his estimation of her intelligence. "How 'bout the big horn on their heads? They're not soft an' fluffy an' cuddly like Muggles like ter think about 'em, yeh know. They're very dangerous. It's the most beautiful ones as is the most dangerous. That's 'cos with them yeh never expect it. Yeh think yeh can walk righ' up an' pat 'em on the nose and steal a bit o' hair. That's stupid thinking that'll get yeh gored by a beautiful an' very sharp horn."

"Then how do you get unicorn hair?"

"Clever chaps like that Ollivander learn ter follow 'em and collect hair that catches on bushes. I have loads of it I got like that. Or sometimes they set traps an' catch 'em an' pull or cut the hair. It works better if it hasn't been sittin' aroun' in the air fer days, though moonlight's good for it. But I heard tell of people earnin' their trust an' bein' allowed ter pluck it by the unicorns themselves. Never managed it meself," he said regretfully. "But even then they're dangerous. Skittish, an' always ready to imagine a slight. Proud, too, but scared of folks."

That sounds familiar. She couldn't quite see Draco as a unicorn, not with the connotation of beauty and grace about them, but they did sound like they weren't quite as noble as Muggle tales would have you believe. And he did have unicorn hair in his hawthorn wand.

She followed Professor Hagrid deeper into the Forest.

Sitting in a corner of the Slytherin common room that evening, Lucia tried to link together all the different things she'd learned. How did hawthorn being related to roses and unicorns being dangerous affect the way their parts worked together in a single wand? She was sure it did, in some way, but there was still so much to learn.

A body dropped into the comfortable chair opposite her, and after a moment she shot to her feet. "I'm sorry, Professor! I didn't see you!"

"It's alright, Lucia," Professor Sinistra said, amusedly.

Lucia sat back down. "I'm not usually this absent-minded. It's just everything's so new and different. And interesting."

"I'm glad you find it interesting. And hope you'll find my class one of the interesting parts." Her dark eyes crinkled up in amusement.

"Well, I like astronomy…" Lucia offered, somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't mind me. I'm just being awkward. Tell me about your two tutoring sessions today. Was it alright with Hagrid?"

"Yes…He didn't like Draco, did he?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Draco was unrelentingly difficult in his classes. But he's a sweet man and won't blame you. It's a very unusual course of study you've started upon. Do you know how dangerous it can be?"

"Young Ollivander told me a little. I didn't know I was interested in it, even if I did make my own wand. They just told me I was doing these special tutoring sessions. But the lessons with Professor Hagrid and Professor Sprout today were so interesting. I think I really am interested in it. I was just sitting here trying to figure out all the pieces of how one goes together."

Professor Sinistra smiled her serene smile. "On your own time? I'd say that makes you interested. But I want you to know what you're getting into. It needs a very deft hand at magic, an instinctive understanding of everything involved, and an instinct for people, too. It's immensely complicated." She smiled at Lucia's curious look. "I studied wand-making too, but in the end I chose astronomy. I loved it better. You'll have time to choose what direction you're going."

"That's good, because I want to be a professor here someday, and I've never heard of a wand maker being a professor. I don't know which I'd choose."

"You may not have to choose between them. The criteria for professorship isn't your profession but the skills and experience you have had. With the wide variety of skills wand-making requires, there would be any number of things you can teach."

"Really?"

"Certainly. Don't be afraid to be…" She gave a kind of smirk. "Ambitious. After all, that's what Slytherin is all about, isn't it?"

"Within reason," Lucia smiled.