The Potters weren't the only ones ecstatic about the downfall of Marietta Edgecombe.

Hermione Granger was so elated to hear of Marietta Edgecombe's fate that she sent Hugo and Rose large slabs of Honeydukes highest quality chocolate.

Normally, Hermione, taking a cue from her demist parents, did not permit Hugo or Rose to eat chocolate or sweets outside of Easter, Halloween, and Hogsmeade weekends, although she knew she couldn't stop them from accepting chocolates and sweets from their friends at Hogwarts.

Unlike some parents, Hermione realized that most true parental authority she had vanished when her kids were at Hogwarts.

However, Rose wasn't much into sweets to begin with. Hugo. on the other hand, had a little more of sweet tooth and sometimes helped himself to candy out of James's candy jar when visiting Potter Manor, a practice both Lily and James himself had encouraged,

But Hermione, Rose, and Hugo all agreed with Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily, that the demise of Marietta Edgecombe was a moment well worth celebrating with chocolate.

George and Angelina sent Fred and Roxanne sugar quills to celebrate with and Parvati had sent Pamela a box of licorice wands to celebrate with.

Meanwhile, two nights later, James was back in the History of Magic classroom and Olivander was finally ready to show him how wands were made.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," said Olivander with sparks in his eyes as James settled into his seat.

"So?" asked James excitedly, "Are you finally going to explain how wands are actually made tonight?"

"Yes, but first, we need to talk about Transfiguration. Transfiguration is a very valuable skill for a Wandmaker to possess. You see, when Wandmakers get their orders of wood in, they can either use the wood as it came off the tree(s) or.

"They can use Transfiguration to transform one type of wood to another!" said James eagerly.

"Yes," said Olivander matter of factly, "And that's not all. You see, you can also use Transfiguration to transform one type of wood to many types of wood. That is a very complex piece of Transfiguration and should only be attempted by experts. However, one can still use simple Transfiguration many times to produce different types of wood after the initial order of wood is cut into strips."

"Is this cutting done by hand or by magic?" asked James.

"While precision in measurements is unimportant in Wandmaking, this cutting must still be done by magic to ensure clean cuts. A wand must not have any jaggedly parts or it won't work properly." explained Olivander.

"Splitting Charms?' guessed James with a grin.

"Right you are again, Mr. Potter," smiled Olivander, "Splitting Charms are taught to second years at Hogwarts so you should find yourself with a class of competent students with regard to that skill when you start teaching."

"Splitting Charms are easy magic for competent wizards," said James crisply, "But I'm guessing that actually making wands is a challenge."

"Absolutely," confirmed Olivander, "Wandmaking requires a combination of skill, patience. and attentiveness."

James said nothing so Olivander went on, "once you have the wood at the length you wish to make a wand, you will need two pieces of it. Oh, and this is VERY important. You MUST have a smooth and hard surface to work on whilst making wands."

"I'm guessing that if the surface you are working on is soft and irregular, you will not be able to control the position of the pieces you are working on well enough to make high quality wands." surmised James smartly.

"Bravo, Mr. Potter," said Olivander approvingly, quite glad at how well his pupil was figuring things out," The surface must also be free of water or liquid. You start placing a core in the middle of your work surface. You then gently place one of your two wood pieces on top of the core on the side nearest you. Then you perform an Attachment Charm. Attachment Charms are more difficult to perform than Splitting Charms and historically are not taught until fourth year. However, as part of Charms being an accelerated subject at Hogwarts in the New Era of Hogwarts, Attachment Charms will be taught in second year in the spring term. Thus, Students who wish to take Wandmaking can enter it prepared. Now Attachment Charms are usually not permanent, but they can become so with the application of heat."

"OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" cried James suddenly, After the Attachment Charm is performed you place the mixture in an empty cauldron and apply heat just as you would while making potions."

"Wow," said Olivander happily, "You really do get it, don't you Mr. Potter. Yes, you must heat this mixture on high for five full minutes and you must NEVER let this process go unattended because an overheated wand mixture WILL cause a cauldron to explode and can lead to serious injury from said explosion. Furthermore, fire can result. Great caution must be taken during the Wandmaking process."

James suddenly frowned.

"But"?" inquired James uncertainly, "That sounds as though you are making the wand mixture too hot to handle. How are you supposed to get it out of the cauldron to put the second piece of wood on the other side without burning your hand?"

"You must have a pair of tongs to use to pull the one/two finished wand mixture out of the cauldron. After that you repeat the process by setting the half finished mixture on your work surface with the unfinished half facing you. After the second half is finished, you again use your tongs to lift the wand out of the cauldron without hurting your hand," replied Olivander, "At this point, each half will be attached to the core. To fuse the two halves together, magical light must be applied."

"So," said James, now confident in his ability to anticipate what was coming next, "You set the wand down on the surface and apply Lumos Maxima!"

"You're on a roll, Mr. Potter," quipped Olivander in an amused voice, "That's exactly what you do. You need only hold the spell for two0 seconds, and your wand is made, though you MUST NOT FORGET to treat your newly made wand with Cooling Potion before handling."

"So, when I am going to get my first shot at actually make a wand?" James asked Olivander excitedly.

"Next Monday," said Olivander matter of factly.

After James left Olivander's room he again found Lily waiting for him.

"Hey, James," said Lily at once, "I know you won't give me specifics, but I really want to know, have you actually attempted to make a wand yet or have you just learned the process?"

"So far just learned the process," said James, "BUT I WILL GET MY FIRST SHOT AT ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A WAND ON MONDAY!"

"That's awesome, baby bro," said Lily cheerfully, "But may I give you some generic advice?"

"Of course, big sis," answered James respectfully, "I know you have my best interests at heart and you've always given me great advice in the past."

"Don't expect too much of yourself too soon," said Lily cautiously, "There's a reason that a full school year is being allotted for your training. Don't get discouraged if your performance is rubbish the first few tries. Listen to Olivander and keep at it and you'll start to improve. By the end of the year you WILL be a master of Wandmaking but be patient with the process and don't get down on yourself."

"That's great advice big sis," said James gratefully, "I will make sure to keep that in mind moving forward. There's one more thing I want to tell you and that is even if Olivander grants me permission to tell you exactly what I am doing with him or says it is okay for me to do so, I still will not. I still think that even though we are largely in this together and even though you are trustworthy, it would still be best for you to wait for my classes. I just feel that this stuff needs to be learned in a classroom setting and not in a conversational setting."

"Exactly, James, exactly," agreed Lily.

James and Lily hugged and headed off for bed.