Harry Potter was hungry. It was a familiar sensation, but he was not pleased by it. His few days of eating consistently had increased his desire to be well-fed. Harry thought it might be rather early in the day and he was certain that it was early enough in the day that he might avoid the detection of his relatives. Certain of his success, Harry pulled out his wand which sent him warm feelings at being used. He focused on unlocking his cupboard and heard the click of it unlocking. He crept out and went to the refrigerator. Some slices of cheese and ham would be nice.

The sensation of magic filled the air and caught the attention of the three men who were waiting in the yard. It was time for them to see who their mystery wandmaker was. Jimmy Kiddell was the youngest and thus the first to reach the window. It wasn't exactly the most polite thing to do but all three of them wanted to be able to see their wandmaker before getting to meet them. After all, what someone does when no one is watching is a test better than a first introduction. He turned to peek in the window when he realized that the others hadn't cast a disillusionment spell.

Jimmy sighed and waved his wand in a recognizable swirl. His spell wasn't good enough to make them invisible but it was good enough that if they stayed still then it would be hard to sight them. Cosme was a bit confused by his actions, uncertain why they were hiding but decided to allow the spell to be cast on him. Ollivander fully agreed with this strategy and nodded in appreciation. Jimmy was surprised by Ollivander's approval. Garrick had been pretty transparent in his lack of respect for Jimmy in the past.

They once again focused on the inside of the house. At the sight of the apprentice, all three had visible reactions. Jimmy's eyebrows went straight up, Garrick pulled away a bit, and Cosme tilted his head. None of them were quite sure what to think about the sight before them.

They saw a young boy who was incredibly thin and slight in stature. He looked so small that Jimmy was convinced that even a slice of bread could be considered a meal.

"So how old do you think he is?" Jimmy was the first to break the silence. "He doesn't look older than 7 years old. It's actually rather impressive that this young child was the one to show potential for wand making." The other two couldn't help but agree with that.

The fact that this young boy was the one that they sought was not under question. All three of them were fully convinced that this boy was the wandmaker they sought. The magic had left its residue on the boy and seemed to be the only magical being in the house. Of course, the fact that it was a boy answered some of Garrick's earlier questions. The boy was carving in the yard because his parents likely didn't care for his whittling, which was concerning in regard to his apprenticeship.

Cosme had opened his mouth to answer Jimmy, but was interrupted by the sight of the boy pulling out a fully created wand!

This time Cosme couldn't hold back his curse of "Sacrebleu!" This was a sentiment that was shared by all three. They knew that he had the potential to create wands and even used some of the wand-making magick but not that he had already created his first wand!

Jimmy couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. An apprentice's first wand was surely an important stepping stone but they all missed his creative process. However, the sight of the wand pulled Garrick further into his intrigue. This boy's potential was far greater than he had thought.

What the three didn't know is that the magick that they used to identify the boy was only activated by the first step of the wandmaker's journey. It never would have been triggered by just potential.

The boy crept into the kitchen and Cosme was filled with apprehension at the sight. His actions plus his appearance were not of a regular young boy. The boy opened something that Cosme didn't recognize and pulled out food. He quickly stuffed it into his mouth and then pulled out his wand. They all leaned forward to see what magic he would do. However, something they had done must have caught the boy's attention because he stopped and turned in their direction. He squinted in their direction and took a couple of steps. They all froze and Jimmy held his breath. Holding his breath didn't make a difference but Jimmy couldn't help it. The boy walked towards the kitchen sink window and stopped about three steps away. It was close enough to see something that once again shocked all three of them.

It was Harry Potter! There wasn't a wizard in Europe who wouldn't recognize the scar on his face. Jimmy's mind was racing at the implications of the boy's reputation and what it would mean for an apprenticeship. Jimmy was willing to do just about anything to get the boy to agree to an apprenticeship. This young boy is credited with ending the war and has already shown signs of being an accomplished wandmaker. Also as a muggle-born, Jimmy couldn't help but want to show his appreciation.

Garrick Ollivander's mind was going in another direction. He was thinking about the boy's parents. His father had a pliable 11" mahogany wand with a dragon heartstring core. His mother had a 10 ¾" willow wand with unicorn hair. Both were powerful in their own right but he would not have thought they would result in a child capable of being a wandmaker. He came to the conclusion that there must be another factor that is in play. Also, if the boy's guardians are the reason that he is whittling in the yard then securing an apprenticeship might be more difficult than he would like.

Cosme Acajor did not care as much about the boy's parents nor his reputation as the Boy-Who-Lived. He did care about the fact that the boy must be living with people other than his parents. Also, the boy is supposed to be 9 years old, and he is not the 7-year-old that they had thought. He was thin and sneaking food while others were sleeping. All of these were adding up to a very ugly picture. Cosme could not ignore all of these signs regardless of whether the boy becomes his apprentice or not.

The three of them were all wrapped up in thoughts and so failed to notice that the boy was very clearly looking at the three of them. The Disillusionment spell was not good enough to confuse the boy and he was now watching three strange men in his backyard. Two of them were very old with many gray hairs and the last one had a mix of gray and black hair. The one who looked like he was the oldest reminded Harry of a picture of Einstein that he had seen at school. Their hair stuck out in different directions as if shocked with electricity. The other man had a little mustache which Harry thought looked a bit funny but he was dressed far nicer than any person Harry had ever seen. The youngest was the most normal-looking. He was not dressed overly nice nor did he have crazy hair. Either way, all three of them were not supposed to be in his backyard and definitely not staring at Harry Potter as if he was the strangest-looking bug they had ever seen.

Harry noticed that the youngest was looking at his wand and he quickly tucked it in his pocket. Harry knew that he shouldn't talk to strangers especially since he heard Aunt Petunia tell that to his cousin Dudley; however, Harry wanted to know why they were standing in his flower bush. He walked around the counter and moved to open the back sliding doors. His movement brought the three out of their thoughts and they moved to meet Harry closer to the door.

"What are you doing in my flower bush?" Harry decided to go straight to the point.

Jimmy was the only one to look embarrassed at Harry's question. He pulled out his wand and waved in the flower's direction and they sprung right back up as if they weren't squashed at all.

Harry gaped. His mouth was open in an unattractive manner. His hand lingered on the door as if frozen. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows couldn't have gone higher. He was the perfect picture of surprise.

Harry's reaction to Jimmy's actions caused all three to freeze. They all shared one thought: Did Harry Potter not know about magic?

The first one to pull himself from his surprise was Harry. The three adults were still shocked that one of the most famous wizards in Europe didn't know about magic.

"That's amazing! You are just like me!" Harry pulled out his own wand and waved it as if to prove that he was magical.

The sight of the wand reminded them why they were there.

"Yes, Harry Potter. We-" Jimmy was about to continue his speech but Harry couldn't help but interrupt.

"How did you know my name?" Instead of excitement, Harry became suspicious of the three men. Why were they in his backyard? Why did they know his name? What did they want?

Jimmy really didn't know what to say. Clearly, the boy didn't know he was magical so he definitely didn't know about why he was famous or why they knew his name by just looking at him. He looked at both Garrick and Cosme for help.

Cosme kneeled down to bring himself more to the level of Harry. "We are wizards. We have magic and the ability to do things that many think are impossible. The three of us came here because some magick told us that there was someone who lived here with the ability to create wands."

Jimmy was very impressed by this answer. He did not answer the question but he did give information that should distract the boy from his question.

Harry gave a huge smile and exclaimed "Brilliant!" However, something about Cosme's words confused him.

"Wait. The power comes from people? I thought the tools were the ones that were magic?"

Cosme stood and the three exchanged glances. Surely the boy knew that magic came from himself. How could he channel magic if he didn't know it was him?

Garrick spoke up, "the tools?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I found these tools in the shed and I used them to make my wands. I thought that they were the ones that were making it magic."

Cosme spoke up again, "Wands?" He put a strong emphasis on the 's'.

Harry nodded and waved his wand thinking about calling the other wand to him. It shot out of his cupboard without making any sound.

Jimmy wasn't sure how much surprise his heart could take. Would this boy ever stop surprising him?

"Yep! This was the first wand that I made with the tools but it can only make water. My new wand can do just about anything."

"May I?" Garrick Ollivander held out his hand requesting to hold the first wand, the one that Harry said only made water.

Harry thought about it a bit longer than was polite but he still gave the wand to the man he thought looked a bit crazy.

Garrick held the wand up to his eye level. He held it in one hand and used the other hand to test its springiness. It was minorly flexible with a bit of a pine smell. Garrick thought it to be Scots Pine, it was a wood that he had used before but not as often as others. It was a wood that was easy to work with. It had a good grain and was not too hard or stubborn. However, pine wands were usually good at creative spells and new methods. Garrick waved the wand and tried to cast Orchideous.

The other three were staring at Garrick while he was testing the wand. Cosme and Jimmy leaned even closer in interest when they saw that Garrick could not cast the bouquet spell with the wand.

Garrick then waved the wand and said, "Aguamenti". Water then spouted from the wand.

Cosme then held out his hand, "My turn!" He was looking forward to inspecting the wand. Garrick gave it over willingly. Cosme looked closely at the carvings on the wand. It looked like a spiral design almost as if the water was flowing over the wand, or so Cosme thought.

While Cosme looked over the wand, Garrick wanted answers. "What did you use for a core?"

"A what?"

"A core is something magical that is put into the wand. The best cores are phoenix feathers, unicorn hair, or dragon heartstrings."

Harry thought that his world turned upside down after hearing the man's words.

"I never put anything like that in my wand, sir. And are you saying that those are real? I thought unicorns and dragons only existed in stories."

Jimmy was stunned, "Are you saying that this wand is pure wood? Neither of them have a core?" Jimmy was certain that this would be revolutionary to the wizarding world.

Cosme couldn't help but look at this wand in a new light. This was the only wand that he had ever heard of having no core. He pushed some of his magic into the wand. It gave him a cool feeling and a small spray of water spouted from the end.

"Yes, sir. I read a story about a wizard carving himself a staff and it didn't say anything about a core. I didn't know that you were supposed to add anything else."

Garrick thought on Harry's words. He then asked, "May I see the other wand?"

Harry showed hesitation at giving Garrick the first wand but Harry treasured this wand far more.

"Why do you want to see my wand, sir?"

Garrick understood it was natural for a creator to feel protective of what he had made. "This wand only makes water which is not normal for wands. You say that this other can do just about anything. I would like to see how it compares to traditionally made wands...how about I show you mine as well?"

Cosme and Jimmy went a bit wide-eyed at his offer. Most wizards never let anyone else handle their wand. It was a personal thing.

Harry nodded. He was far too curious about their magic to say no. Garrick pulled out his own wand and handed it over to Harry. Their exchange was done at the same time and Jimmy couldn't help but find their hesitation a bit funny.

Jimmy then turned to Cosme, "My turn. I want to see the wand without a core! How brilliant!"

Cosme turned it over easily. He wanted to see what Garrick thought of the second wand.

Garrick immediately felt the magic from this wand. It was full of emotions.

"...it's sentient!" Garrick's exclamation immediately froze Cosme and Jimmy.

"Non! C'est impossible à faire!"

Garrick chuckled at Cosme, "Clearly, it is quite possible. Though I agree, Cosme, it feels quite impossible."

Garrick could tell it was a type of spruce but when he tried to test its pliability, the wand sent a shocking sensation in warning. He handed it to Harry. Harry had looked over Garrick's wand but he wasn't that impressed. It was a bit bendy and much longer than the one Harry had crafted himself. He also wasn't impressed by its simple design. Harry shortly handed Garrick's wand back to its owner.

"This wand does not like me touching it and I don't think it will allow itself to be handled by any other."

Harry held the wand and felt relief at getting it back. Though now he was wondering who's relief he was feeling.

"Um...what do you mean sentient?"

"The wand does not communicate in words, but the feelings that it has are very powerful. It feels very young but I am not surprised that it shocked me. That strong personality is just what I would expect from Spruce."

"That wand is made of Spruce?", Jimmy couldn't help but ask. He was sick of being surprised, though he thought this time his surprise was not as strong.

Garrick nodded at Jimmy's question and Jimmy wasn't sure what to do with this information. He was very impressed by this information but he felt a bit discouraged as well.

It had taken Jimmy years before he could make a Spruce wand. And for Potter to have already made one, Jimmy had to wonder if he would be a capable enough wand-maker to teach him.

Harry looked at his wand and was pleased. He thought that he had felt something from the wand but now he has confirmation that it was real.

"So your wands aren't sentient?", Harry said the word 'sentient' a bit slowly to make sure he didn't trip over it.

"Non. They have opinions and preferences but not thoughts."

Cosme's explanation didn't make much sense to Harry but he nodded anyway.

"Can I get my other wand back?"

Jimmy saw that Harry was looking at him and looked a bit surprised to remember that he was holding a wand that was not his own. This wand that once was a marvel seemed to pale in comparison to a wand that could think on its own. Jimmy handed it over.

Garrick chuckled at Jimmy's face. He looked a bit overwhelmed. Garrick decided that this little wand-maker was far too talented to be the apprentice of Jimmy Kiddell or Cosme Acajor.

Garrick was certain of his decision. Garrick turned to Harry, "I think we got a bit distracted there. Harry, we came to offer you an apprenticeship."