There were a number of ways for a wizard to get their first wand. They could get them from an approved wand shop like Ollivanders, inherit one from a family member (though many acknowledged that this was not a good idea), or they could get one that was sold illegally. However, since there were enough shops to buy wands, a little fact escaped the attention of the average witch or wizard. And that was that there were actually very very very few wand makers still around. To have the ability to feel their tools, channel the right magic, and be able to find the right wand for the right person was incredibly rare and difficult. There were a few individuals born every 100 years who had a few of those requirements but almost none who had all three. Therefore when Harry Potter at the small age of nine years old created his first wand, he caught the attention of some individuals that he normally wouldn't have. He was the first person in Europe in nearly 100 years to show the potential for wand-making and the fact that he initiated his training by himself was even more intriguing.

The first one to notice was Garrick Ollivander. To the standard magical at Hogwarts, he was known as THE wand maker. Nearly every witch or wizard in Hogwarts had one of his creations. Ollivander didn't have any children and thus he had been keeping an eye out for anyone to take up his craft. The wand maker was making use of magicks that were foreign to most and even a bit unknown to Ollivander himself. The Ollivander family had always kept an eye out for potential wizards to take under their wings but had yet to actually train anyone outside their family. Of course, Ollivander didn't really have a choice since he knew he was not the young lad he once was. He knew he soon had to choose an apprentice. Unfortunately for Ollivander, Harry also caught the attention of his competition. The other wand makers weren't nearly as known and revered but that didn't mean that they were any less capable.

Some of the others who took notice of Harry Potter's potential were Cosme Acajor, Mykew Gregorovitch, and Jimmy Kiddell. They were the only other wand makers in all of Europe. The levels of success between them were quite varied and the only true competitor in terms of success to Ollivander was Gregorovitch. Gregorovitch had claimed to be retired and surely enough, he hadn't made a new wand to sell in years but he still manned his shop and still experimented with wand making magick. And teaching an apprentice is not the same as continuing his work.

Of course, just because they took notice of Harry doesn't mean they will choose to apprentice him. They would first have to investigate and test him for potential. So they all started to take the steps to prepare. They all acknowledged that the other wand makers were probably aware of the boy but they wouldn't waste the opportunity to set out and see if they could get themselves an apprentice. Unfortunately, the magick that they had used to identify another potential wand maker was an old magick. The secret magick had been around for a millennium; however, time had worn down their understanding of the magick. None of the wand makers knew who they were looking for nor his age; they only knew that there was an individual with the potential and desire to be a wand maker.

Jimmy Kiddell set aside the tools that he thought would be helpful to test the potential apprentice. He had a small kit filled with wood, tools, and various cores. It was very small and quickly put together. Jimmy had been dealing with Ollivander as competition for so long and he was determined to be the first one to reach the potential. He knew that if he couldn't get his hands on an apprentice, he would be out of business and out of a legacy. His shop was the newest wand shop in the world! Therefore, his reputation was the least known out of all of them. Ollivander's wand shop was the wand shop that generations had gone to and thus few were willing to test out his shop, Wonderful Wands.

The third one to get the notification was Cosme Acajor. He was a French wand maker and thus he hesitated to go to Britain. The French Wizards were prideful and considered themselves far above their prejudiced neighbors. Though Cosme pushed aside his pride and decided that he would investigate himself. His shop, Baguettes Magiques de Cosme Acajor, was not often closed and Beauxbatons was restarting soon so Cosme knew that he had very little time to see the prospective apprentice. He himself only packed four woods and no cores. They were neatly packed in triangle boxes and then put into his bag.

The last one to prepare was Mykew Gregorovitch. He had no patience for British wizards and although he respected Ollivander at a professional level, he did not really like him. He retired from wand-making and spent his days leisurely studying wand-making. Gregorovitch had a secret and he greedily hid his true studies. He felt that he had sold enough wands and since his reputation rivaled Ollivander, he was satisfied. To bring in an apprentice was an interesting idea, but he was not sure that he wanted to share his wand-making skills, especially with a British wizard. He packed 10 of his wands. If he was to test an apprentice then he would do so with wands that he already made.

The first wand maker to arrive was strangely Jimmy Kiddell. He packed fewer items and moved quicker than the others. He looked around Privet Drive with nervous energy. Out of all of the places to find a budding wand maker, he had not expected this normal neighborhood. The generic houses already seemed to affect his creative energy and he wanted nothing more than to leave. He cast a Disillusionment spell and began his investigation. He arrived early in the morning so there were few people in the streets and fewer who saw him arrive. Having cast the spell, none of the residents could now see him. He felt the most magic emanating from 4 Privet Drive so he walked to the house. He could feel that someone practiced magic but when he peeked into the house, he saw no magic items nor did he feel any wards around the house. As he approached the door, he realized that the most magic residue was actually from the back of the house, not the house itself. He moved to go to the back when he heard the crack of apparition. He turned around and saw Garrick Ollivander.

Garrick Ollivander was not surprised to see Jimmy Kiddell but he was not pleased by it. He gave a short nod to acknowledge Jimmy and moved to join him.

"Greetings, Ollivander. I assume that you are here for the same reason that I am." Jimmy was trying to be nice and cordial but Ollivander could not care less. Ollivander ignored Jimmy's words and felt the magic in the air. He came to the same conclusion as Jimmy and moved to enter the backyard. Jimmy sighed and followed after him.

The backyard was clearly the source of the power. Jimmy Kiddell was not as experienced as Ollivander but he was younger and so he was the first one to sight the wood shavings hidden in the garden. Someone had been whittling in that area. He knelt down and grabbed a small chunk of shavings. Yes, someone had definitely crafted a wand here, not in the house. He looked around but couldn't see anything else.

Ollivander had taken notice of what Jimmy had in the house and felt incredibly puzzled. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of wizard would whittle in the garden. Of course, his thoughts were interrupted by yet another wand maker arriving. This time it was Cosme Acajor. He was decked out in elegant robes made of silk and his bag was clearly made from the most expensive of leathers with his own shop name embroidered on the lip of the bag. Cosme apparated directly into the yard and as he looked around he immediately scowled. Third! He was the third to arrive.

This time Ollivander nodded in acknowledgement to Cosme Acajor's arrival. Jimmy scowled at that but greeted Cosme in a friendly tone, "Ah Cosme! Good to see you again. If we get Gregorovitch here then we'll be having a regular wand maker convention!"

Jimmy regretted those words because before he could say anything else, Gregorovitch arrived with a crack. Jimmy did not like Mykew but fortunately, Cosme didn't like him either. Both Cosme and Jimmy shared an annoyed look.

"We were just talking about you. Greetings Gregorovitch."

Gregorovitch ignored Jimmy and nodded at Ollivander. This time Ollivander walked to Gregorovitch.

"Greetings, Mykew. This is a most unusual occasion. I don't think we've ever had a meeting with all of us outside of a convention."

Gregorovitch was taking in his surroundings and then nodded at Ollivander's words.

"No, we have not. This is also a most unusual location. Our potential wand maker lives here? Do any of you know who he is or who lives here?"

They all shook their heads but Jimmy was the only one to talk, "No, the only name I found was Dursley. That's definitely not a wizarding name."

Jimmy was secretly pleased by that since he was the only muggle-born wand maker alive at the moment. In contrast, Gregorovitch grimaced. Muggle-borns were too much work to teach. He shook his head.

"Nein. I will not do it." His denial was followed by a rude and quick apparition.

Jimmy and Cosme smiled. Now there was less competition and no unpleasant company.

Ollivander frowned. Gregorovitch was not usually a quitter so for him to leave so easily was not usual. He dismissed the thought, after all, it benefitted him.

Jimmy waved his wand and created 3 iron chairs well suited to the outdoors.

"Well, it seems our elusive wand maker apprentice is not yet awake so let's rest and we'll meet them together." Cosme nodded and sat down. He was no longer in his youth and was quite tired from his travels. Ollivander also sat. He was even older than Cosme but he had traveled the least to get there.

They sat in comfortable silence and watched the house. They all wondered what their potential apprentice was like and who would get the privilege of training them. The house was rather plain and unremarkable but they all had the feeling that the apprentice would not be like that at all.