Meanwhile, back at Abbot Manor, Heather said, "Harry and Amy, I want to start teaching you two wand care. Susan and Hannah, please sit patiently while I teach Harry and Amy proper wand care."

"Okay, " replied Susan and Hannah.

"What are we learning about wand care first?" chorused Harry and Amy.

"Harry and Amy, " requested Heather, "Would you two please put your wands in a back pocket?"

Harry's and Amy's faces both showed confusion, but they did as they were told.

"Your back pocket is a very dangerous place to keep your wand, " said Heather matter of factly.

"That makes sense, " said Harry wisely, "Much more likely to be stolen there."

"And what if it ignited, " added Amy, "if that were to happen, you'd do much worse damage to your person if the wand was in your back pocket than if it was anywhere else. "

"You're both right, " smiled Heather, "And that's where wand tape comes in. Susan and Hannah, could you two please put your wands in your back pockets just for a few seconds?"

As Susan and Hannah put their wands in their back pockets, a horrible high pitched screeching occurred, and Susan and Hannah returned their wands to their front pockets immediately.

Knowing what was to come, Harry and Amy placed their wands on the table and took out their wand tape.

"Even if you know better than to put your wand in your back pocket, " explained Heather, "It's inevitable that there will be times when you do so absentmindedly. If a wand has wand tape on it, the screeching alarm will go off if the wand is placed somewhere unsafe. This alarm is deliberately made to sound unpleasant so that witches and wizards will move their wands right away once they hear it."

"It has to be that way, " said Susan smartly, "If the noise was pleasant, people wouldn't necessarily move their wands to a safer place when hearing it."

"And if it were a "whatever" sound people might take a "whatever" attitude towards it, " added Hannah.

"So, " guessed Amy, "You're going to teach me and Harry how to apply wand tape to our wands?"

"Yes, " smiled Heather.

"Does wand tape ever have to be reapplied?" inquired Harry.

"Yes, " answered Heather, "But you never have to remove it. Just apply a fresh coat at least once a month anytime you notice the alarm sounds weaker than usual."

"So?" asked Amy determinedly, "How do you apply wand tape to a wand?"

"It's actually quite simple, "said Heather matter of factly, "You just wrap the tape around your wand. As you do so, the tape will meld into the wand and you won't see or feel it at all. It simply becomes part of the wand's very essence."

Harry and Amy wrapped their wand tape around their wands and watched in amazement as the tape seemed to sink into the wands and disappear.

When they had completed the job, Harry and Amy tested the results by placing the wands back in their back pockets.

The screeching alarm they had heard from Susan's and Hannah's wands a few minutes and a few nanoseconds before now emitted from Harry's and Amy's wands and they returned their wands to the their front pockets as fast as their hands would allow.

"Very good, Harry and Amy, " beamed Heather, "Good job on thinking to test the results out after applying the wand tape. Now, let's get your wands polished."

"So, what do we use to put the polish on?" asked Harry.

"Nothing," answered, Heather, "You may be thinking of the muggle world where rags and cloths are often used to apply cleaning agents. But wand polish a decidedly magical substance. You spray wand polish onto your wand directly from the can and the wand will absorb it, resulting in the cleaning and shining of the wand. The only thing you have to watch out for is not to overdo it. Overdosing on wand polish can cause a wand's wood finish to come off. Thus, wands should be polished a maximum of once a week and only a light coat of wand polish should be applied each time. Be light and gentle with the nozzle that sprays the polish."

Harry and Amy each took out their cans of wand polish and each sprayed the polish on their wands starting at the tip. As Heather had instructed, Harry and Amy did so gently.

Once their wands, which had previously been noticeably fifthly when compared with Susan's and Hannah's, were polished, they suddenly were as clean and shiny as they had been when they had first bought them from Olivander's.

"Wow, " said Harry happily, "I love how my wand looks now. I knew it wasn't as clean as Susan's or Hannah's, but I had no appreciation for just how truly fifthly it actually was."

"Yeah, the wand polish did its job, " added Amy simply.

"Very good, " beamed Heather, "Now we just need to show you how to hold your wands properly."

But to Heather's delight, Harry and Amy, despite having held their wands in any number of which ways up to that point, promptly demonstrated the proper way of holding their wands with their hands on the bottom to avoid fingerprint buildup.

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Heather, "That is perfect! Clearly you two were paying attention to what I told you earlier. It's nice to be teaching students who actually want to learn."

"You're a fantastic teacher, " Heather, " said Harry warmly.

"The last element of wand care is your wand holsters, but since it's just approaching lunchtime, I don't want you putting your wands in your wand holsters just yet. But, before you go to bed tonight, I want you to place your wands in your wand holsters. These will prevent the buildup of dust on your wands while you are asleep. For now, just return your wands to your front pockets, " finished Heather.

Harry and Amy returned their wands to their front pockets feeling the satisfaction of a successful lesson.