"Perhaps you are destined for ash! Not lightly swayed from beliefs or purposes, stubborn and courageous, but never crass or arrogant. Or aspen, wand of revolutionaries. Or walnut, for inventors and innovators!" Ollivander's eyes flashed behind his glassed as he looked the green-skinned child up and down. In all his years, she was far from the strangest thing he'd ever seen—she was but a green human, after all, and the world held beasts far more fantastic than that—but she was still rather odd… But Ollivander did not discriminate. If she needed a wand, she was in the right place. He caught her sharp, brown eyes searching the shelves inquisitively. With a mischievous smile, he waggled a wrinkled finger.
"The wand chooses the witch, Ms. Elphaba," he said sagely. "You are free to wander, but bear in mind, it is not which one you think looks best, rather, which one connects best to the magic within…" He tapped his chest, and the green-skinned girl echoed him, subdued.
"The magic within…" She glided past him towards the rows of boxes and wands. As she passed them by, one in particular began to rattle. She paused and opened the lid.
"Ah! Cypress!" Ollivander sounded pleased. "Perhaps you find yourself among the brave, the bold and the self-sacrificing: those who were unafraid to confront the shadows in their own and others' natures."
The girl flicked the wand, and a small stream of emerald sparks emanated from the tip. Her face and eyes lit up, and not just because of the sparks, but when she turned to look at Ollivander again, he was wincing.
"Ah." It was not terrible, but as the wandmaker, he knew immediately that she could yield far better results. The lackluster ones were not indicative of anything against her, simply that she and that particular wand were not a match.
She wandered the shelves a couple more minutes before feeling something radiating from another one of the boxes, lower down on the shelves than the first one. It wasn't quite like heat or wind, but some type of energy was emitting from the box.
"Ebony!" Ollivander was quick to say. "Happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider."
Despite herself, Elphaba smirked. Would she say she was comfortable with her status? It was more like the only choice she had in the matter was how quickly she accepted it. But all the rest seemed somewhat accurate… In fact…
Had the girl been thinking more of the wandmaker than the wands themselves, she might've noticed that all the wands he'd suggested so far would've matched well with someone intelligent and independent. This, of course, was no coincidence. The man had sold wands for years, after all. He could sense, even if he did not know for certain.
Dingalingaling…! The tiny gold bell dangling above the old door tinkled as the wood creaked open. Ollivander turned away from Elphaba to attend to the newest patron. Elphaba, meanwhile, ignored them both to continue exploring the wands. The new customer was another incoming Hogwarts student, though her skin was pale like Ollivander rather than green like Elphaba. She had short, golden curls and beautiful sapphire eyes and a blindingly pink dress. While Elphaba had a detached aura about her, the other girl was very present, and somewhat entitled.
"I'm Galinda Arduenna-Upland of the Upper Upland! I want an elm wand!" She'd heard her dearest, darlingest momsie and popsicle talk about them before. She wasn't sure if either of them actually owned one, but those proud of their pureblood heritage admired elm, so that's what she wanted. "Or silver lime!" she added. That one, she knew, worked best for Seers and those skilled at… "Legilimency". She wasn't quite sure what that word meant, but she knew Seers could see things from the "Beyond" like spirits and minds, and were thusly, very powerful and revered.
Ollivander's lips twitched, the corners of his mouth crinkling. The child was bratty and mouthy, yes, but he knew he was lucky to say that he was able to find it amusing. Or perhaps he knew that all witches and wizard who approached wands in this way eventually got humbled.
"The wand chooses the witch, Ms. Galinda" he said, echoing his words to Elphaba earlier. Unlike Elphaba, though, this other little girl wasn't as patient with his ramblings. She waved him on, nodding only to get him to hurry up and fetch her a wand. With an unreadable smile, he complied. He did not mean to insult or deny her, she simply lacked the subtlety and discipline that paired well with the wands she wanted. That did not mean she would never be a match for these wands, just not right now…
Ah, as expected. Ollivander kept his face neutral while Galinda's fell as the wand sputtered out a few pink ribbons. But the results were so lackluster that even she couldn't try to spin them in a positive light. Ollivander shook his head sympathetically.
"Please, feel free to explore the rest of the shelves." He gestured behind himself benevolently. The wands would be her teachers and her guides. He didn't need say or do a thing. Galinda, meanwhile, lit up with interest at the prospect of exploring the wands, and off she went.
I sense hornbeam, perhaps, for her single-minded and narrow-minded focus, Ollivander's lips twitched again. Curious… That level of obsession was something I likewise sensed within the other one, the green one, but… hers was a different type of obsession… And the pink one… The longer I look at her… No, she still has an awfully long way to go, but she reminds me of someone… Cedar… You long to be the star, but you're also very shrewd and understand that there is equal value in standing behind powerful friends, just as much as standing beside or before them…
Galinda, meanwhile, scanned the shelves diligently. Hmmm, maybe I should try poplar! Because it sounds like popular! But similar to the elm wand, the poplar wand did little. On and on both girls explored, until it all came to a head, the girl in the pink dress colliding with the green-skinned girl. "Ouch!" she complained, reeling back, shaking her golden curls indignantly.
"Ow." The other girl sounded only mildly surprised and inconvenienced as she, too, stepped back, a wand clutched in her hand.
"Eeew! You're green!" Galinda shrieked and recoiled again.
"No? Really?" Elphaba looked at her hands mockingly, as if she'd only just discovered it herself.
"I wonder…" Without thinking, Galinda pointed her wand at Elphaba.
"Wait—!" The green-skinned girl reached out, but it was too late. She knew what the other girl was trying to do—degreenify her—or at least, that was what Galinda thought. But here she was, trying to change strangers with powers she didn't have. Instead of degreenifying Elphaba, she succeeded only in blasting the other girl against a shelf of wands.
"Young lady!" Ollivander finally heard the commotion, but by the time he reached the back of the store, Elphaba had gotten back to her feet and grabbed a wand to point at Galinda.
"Hey, wait!" Galinda yelped and pointed her wand at Elphaba in response. Ollivander reached out again, but by then, the spells and sparks were flying. Any time one girl was disarmed, it wasn't difficult to grab another wand and continue the duel. At one point, their eyes locked on the same wand, then one another, then the wand…
"No!" Elphaba lunged for it while Galinda lunged for Elphaba. They each snatched up a red wand, perhaps subconsciously assuming the color equated to power. Despite himself, Ollivander's brain quickly identified the wand wood.
The green one has red oak, for those with quick reflexes. The pink one has redwood, for the opportunistic. It mirrored their fighting styles, whether they realized it or not. Elphaba was the first to lunge for the wands. But Galinda was the first to even look at them. And then perhaps recognizing that she wasn't fast enough to beat Elphaba, she was trying a different strategy to win…
"Hey!" Elphaba thrashed helplessly as Galinda clung to her. "Give me my leg!" Galinda complied and let go with one hand, but only so she could swing her redwood wand at Elphaba with reckless abandon. More sparks flews, and the two continued to duel until they were disarmed again. By then, though, Ollivander was watching with interest. This time, the two girls each had chestnut wands—for those who were skilled tamers of magical beasts, those who possessed great gifts in Herbology, and those who were natural fliers—but the cores were different.
Elphaba has unicorn tail hair. Interesting. Her first. All the others have been phoenix and dragon. And nearly in equal measure! That is also uncommon. Phoenix is the rarest core of all. Ah, but chestnut with unicorn indicates someone deeply concerned with justice. Meanwhile, it is Galinda who has the dragon heartstring. For her, she has oscillated between dragon and unicorn. A chestnut-dragon wand might find its best match with someone overfond of luxury and material things, and less scrupulous about how the luxury was obtained…
At one point, Elphaba's flurry of red and gold sparks coalesced into something that almost looked like a lion cub. It proceeded to try to headbutt Galinda, but it missed and crashed into a shelf of wands. After recovering from the impact, it began to chew on one of the fallen wands.
Galinda gasped. "That is mahogany!" Her wand hissed, then a jet of water lunged at Elphaba like a striking snake. Instinctively, she batted it away, and in doing so, she sent herself and Galinda both reeling back. More boxes and wands clattered from shelves to the floors, and Ollivander finally called a stop to their little duel, not because of the property damage, but because of the energy in the room…
Wait! Wait! Wait! I think they've found it…! By Galinda's hand, a reed wand rolled. Dragon heartstring, 10 inches, springy… Reed is best suited to those who are bold, and eloquent speakers, and protective friends. If this is how fiercely she fights… He could foresee she would be greatly admired by those who considered her a friend. Whether that would be blessing or curse, that much he could not foretell.
And the wand that seemed to have selected Elphaba was beech, phoenix tail feather, and a much larger 15 inches, and far more inflexible. Heh, yes, I see it, the wand of those wise beyond their years… She certainly has that look in her eye, doesn't she…?
Ollivander knew his eyes held that same, knowing spark. The girls were still glaring at one another, intermittently apologizing for the mess they made of his shop, but although he didn't say it out loud, he wasn't too concerned.
That's what wands are for. Mine will assist me in rectifying the mess in no time. As one of the most renowned wandmakers, Ollivander was far more intrigued by what two of his wands just decided to do. The wand chooses the witch, after all…
AN: Long time no write! But I randomly realized this is a basic Harry Potter thing I never wrote about before despite it being so basic! Wands! LOL! Also not me (yes me) writing this with the Harry Potter wiki wand wood page open, LOL! Also, tbh, Gelphie could have Drarry wands because the woods (holly and hawthorn) fit both of them too.
My wand: Core: Dragon. Wood: Pine or Hawthorn. 12in, supple.
Elphaba: Core: Phoenix. Wood: Beech. 15in, inflexible.
Galinda: Core: Dragon or Unicorn. Wood: Reed. 10in, springy.