On August 9th, 2021, the Wand Hall of Fame opened in Diagon Alley.
The process of procuring the wands for display and putting the museum together went more slowly than had been expected. As such, a decision was made that the Wand Hall of Fame would still open as planned on August 9th, 2021 with a limited display of classic wands, but, due to the display being limited, admission would be free to all patrons for at least one year until the Wand Hall of Fame could build and develop itself into a more expansive museum. In fact, the public was warned that only four wands would be presented for display when the Wand Hall of Fame first opened.
A strong common interest in both Wandmaking and Wandlore was something that helped to strongly bond James and Lily as brother and sister in a unique way. James and Lily were both far more interested in wands than anyone else in their circle of family and friends. Of course, both James and Lily were really looking forward to Lily being one of the first students in James's Wandmaking class when the new semester began at Hogwarts.
Now, on opening day for the Wand Hall of Fame, James and Lily were going to the Wand Hall of Fame alone together in what they knew would be a unique and satisfying brother sister experience.
As James had passed his apparition test, he took Lily to the Wand Hall of Fame with him by side along apparition.
The nanosecond James and Lily landed outside the Wand Hall of Fame, they saw a big clear door with an image of a plain long wand painted on it along with the message Always Open painted in white atop the wand. The door had a fine brass handle. Lily pulled the brass handle and held the door for James before trailing in behind him and closing it again. The inside of the door had a warning painted on it dark black letters that read Anti-Theft Charms have been placed on the entirety of the Wand Hall of Fame! You are warned! You may proceed!
Once James and Lily were inside, the atmosphere of the Wand Hall of Fame was clear and distinct.
There was an unmistakable aura of quiet in the Wand Hall of Fame. There was literally nothing in the Wand Hall of Fame that made noise, so the pure quietness of the Wand Hall of Fame was palpable.
The Wand Hall of Fame was semi dimly lit with permanent Lumos spells so as to provide enough light to see without providing more light than needed. This effect was meant to both keep visitors focused on the wands they were there to see and give an experience of losing oneself within the museum.
Along those same lines, the temperature inside was a somewhat cool but not too cold sixty degrees.
The floors and walls were both plain white to prevent them from being anyone's focus. It was all about the wands, which were displayed in clear cases on the walls with accompany notes about what each wand was and who it had belonged to.
As James and Lily took their steps towards the first wand, they both felt happy and content but not too excited. They had both been looking forward to this visit but the environment in the Wand Hall of Fame made it impossible to feel eager or hyper. Visiting the Wand Hall of Fame was something to be quietly and calmly enjoyed.
The very first wand they came across was ten inches, beech, and phoenix feather.
The note accompanying it read:
This ten inch, beech, and phoenix feather wand was the wand of Rowena Ravenclaw. Beech was the perfect wand wood for the founder of Ravenclaw house, as beech wands favor open minded witches and wizards, and Rowena Ravenclaw was the wisest and most open minded witch of her time. Beech wands have been known to resist or even refuse to perform for narrow minded owners but in the hands of a wise and open minded witch or wizard, beech wands are the ideal match. Furthermore, Rowena Ravenclaw is one the few witches or wizards to have been known to have completely tamed a phoenix feather wand so that it would never act of its own accord. Rowena also succeeded at training and personalizing her wand more than any phoenix feather wand ever.
"Wow, " said James softly, "Phoenix feather wands are usually detached and independent. To completely tame and personalize a phoenix feather wand might be the greatest accomplishment in wand history."
"Yeah, Rowena is definitely a candidate to be the GOAT wand owner, " agreed Lily quietly, "It's super cool that the first wand we saw belonged to a founder of Hogwarts!"
"It's awesome, " replied James in a low voice, "I'm guessing we'll see the other founders' wands here too!"
He was right.
As James and Lily moved on to the next display, they observed an eight inch, pear, and unicorn hair wand and the note beside it stated:
This eight inch, pear, and unicorn hair wand belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Pear wands are known to choose warm hearted and generous owners and Helga was easily the kindest witch of her age. Being as pure hearted as she was, there was no other core Helga would have had in her wand other than unicorn hair. Anytime you meet a witch or wizard who possesses a pear and unicorn hair wand, you know you've met a quality person.
"Interesting, " said James thoughtfully, "The founders owned wands that meshed with their traits perfectly."
"I wonder, " said Lily curiously, "If wand-owner pairings tended to be greater matches a long time ago."
"The answer to that is yes, " said James matter of factly, "Wands have evolved to be less picky about who they choose over time. Back in the era when Hogwarts was founded, perfect wand-owner matches were the norm. Most wand-owner matches today are still very good but not as close to perfectly as in more ancient times."
"I see, " said Lily contently, "Helga is someone I'd have wanted to be friends with if I lived in her time."
"You and Helga would've gotten on great, " smiled James, "But let's continue."
The next wand James and Lily came across was twelve inches, snakewood and dragon heartstring. The beside it told that:
This twelve inch, snakewood and basilisk horn wand was owned by Salazar Slytherin. Snakewood wands ALWAYS choose witches and wizards who are very cunning and very ambitious and are clingy to witches and wizards who have an affinity for snakes. If a witch or wizard with an affinity for snakes owns a snakewood wand. It can NEVER be won from him or her except by another witch or wizard with an affinity for snakes. As Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth, it was inevitable that he was destined for a snakewood wand especially since he was cunning and ambitious as well. Salazar Slytherin is the only witch or wizard to have ever owned a basilisk horn wand. Salazar, having a strong affinity with basilisks, made this wand himself for his own use.
"This is wonderful, " said James cheerfully, "I had no idea that basilisk was ever a wand wood!"
"That's what coming to the Wand Hall of Fame is all about, " said Lily happily, "To learn things like this!"
"So true, " agreed James, "It's so cool to learn that a founder of Hogwarts made his own wand with a core never used before or since."
"It's amazing here!" said Lily happily.
"I strongly suspect that snakewood wands are very rare, " said James confidently.
"You're probably right, James, " said Lily glowingly, "I trust your gut feelings on anything wand related. "
"Smart girl, " grinned James, "I hope that the next wand we see is Godric's."
James was pleasantly stunned by what he and Lily saw next.
On display was a fourteen inch, Mahogany and dragon heartstring wand with the informational note explaining:
This fourteen inch, mahogany and dragon heartstring wand was once the property of Godric Gryffindor. Mahogany wands prefer bold witches and wizards while dragon heartstring wands prefer powerful witches and wizards. No witch or wizard in history combined boldness and power quite like Godric Gryffindor. Godric always prided himself on his boldness and power and wasn't shy about telling people about his boldness and power. As such, a Mahogany and dragon heartstring wand was the perfect match for him.
"OMG!" blurted out James in a voice louder than either of them had used since they'd entered, "Hey, Lily, do you realize exactly how similar Godric's wand is to mine?!"
"Yep, " said Lily brightly, "The only difference between his wand and yours is that his is a half inch longer."
"And look at the description, " said James radiantly, "I'm very like Godric. It's so cool to know how very like the founder of Gryffindor house I actually am."
"That includes your pride, " said Lily bluntly,
And then, beyond them were empty cases.
"As new wands are added to Wand Hall of Fame, these cases will fill up, " realized Lily, "It'd be nice if a larger part of our circle could visit the Wand Hall of Fame when it's more fully complete."
"That will happen, " said James confidently, "But I'm glad just the two of made this first visit."
"So I am, " said Lily glowingly, "This was a really nice visit for us to have as a close brother and sister who share a passion for Wandmaking and Wandlore."
And with that. James and Lily just smiled at each other with bright and wide smiles.
