Chapter 508: Ollivanders
Chapter 508: Ollivanders
Felix stayed at the 'Future World' company for the entire night. Early the next morning, he arrived at a small, dilapidated shop on the south side of Diagon Alley. The gold paint on the sign had chipped away, but the shop was famous in Diagon Alley because its name was Ollivanders.
As the sign proclaimed—making fine wands since 382 B.C.—the long history, excellent and consistent quality, made Ollivanders the go-to place for most British wizards to purchase wands. Notably, it was the only wand shop that had a partnership with Hogwarts, offering discounts to all new students entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
For many, the first wand was often a lifelong companion. This made the owner of the wand shop, Mr. Ollivander, highly respected in the wizarding world, receiving special respect wherever he went.
Today, the owner of the wand shop welcomed Felix.
"Thirteen inches, ebony, with a dragon heartstring core, a very strong combination—of course, I'm referring to the wand's character—suitable for all types of offensive magic and Transfiguration. It’s one of the most versatile wands. It was a masterpiece from my younger days, and I’ve always hoped someone would buy it."
Mr. Ollivander's pale eyes seemed to glow in the dark.
"As it turns out, my judgment was correct, and the wand's owner has shone brightly." He said, "What would you like to buy? A wand maintenance case? It includes fine velvet cloth and beeswax, guaranteed to keep your wand looking impressive—"
He sized up Felix, trying to guess where Felix had hidden his wand.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Ollivander, that wand was destroyed", Felix said.
"Destroyed?" Mr. Ollivander repeated, his large pale eyes blinking in disbelief. "You mean damaged? If it's just a minor issue, you can bring it to me for repairs—"
"No, not that", Felix said, "It was completely destroyed, not a single piece left."
The old man fell silent, blending into the dim shop, with only his nearly colorless eyes flickering.
"Is that so", he said softly, "I hope it served its purpose."
"What do you mean?" Felix asked, surprised.
"I read the newspaper, Mr. Heap. The final task of the Triwizard Tournament—" Mr. Ollivander suppressed his voice, "You fought the Dark Lord? The wand was destroyed during that battle?"
"Yes, it protected me until the very end", Felix said.
Mr. Ollivander became even more agitated, "Indeed, I always hoped to make amends. It all feels like yesterday... the one who must not be named came to purchase a wand, and I served him, surprised by the wand he chose—yew with a phoenix feather core, very powerful... I praised it highly."
"He must have been thrilled", Felix said expressionlessly, as if he were looking at a fraud. "You said similar things to me back then, and you just repeated them."
"Cough, cough! You are different. I only saw pure joy and a love for magic in your eyes! I could tell... but the one who must not be named was different. When I told him he was born extraordinary, he tried hard to hide his excitement", Mr. Ollivander's eyes gleamed slyly. "I have said such things to many people, like a beautiful blessing. Customers are always happy to hear it... and I wasn't lying. The wand chooses the wizard, and the wand aids the wizard; no one can predict a person's future achievements."
"Besides, he did achieve great things, though they were evil."
He fell into a reverie, then snapped back to reality, "Well—Mr. Heap, what is the purpose of your visit?"
"Buy a new wand."
"Ah, a new wand! Of course." The old man said matter-of-factly, turning to walk toward the shelves. "However, it might take quite a while. Adult wizards are always more complicated when choosing a wand, with many more factors to consider."
"Mr. Ollivanders—" Felix tried to interrupt.
"…You must know Sirius Black? He tried every wand on an entire wall of inventory…"
"Wait, Mr. Ollivanders. If possible, I would like an old wand." Felix hurriedly said.
Mr. Ollivanders turned around, his eyes gleaming with a peculiar light.
"An old wand?" he murmured, as if asking a question and talking to himself at the same time.
"Exactly, I hope to have a wand made according to the standards of olden times, with the core material provided by me, creating a personalized wand." Felix said. Rather than chasing elusive legends, he preferred to have a wand that perfectly matched him.
"Truly unexpected." Mr. Ollivanders hesitated, "I rarely take on such jobs. Custom wands—always seem a bit unstable, time-consuming, and labor-intensive."
"But you can certainly do it. When this idea first came to my mind, I thought of no one else but you." Felix said slowly, "You know what I mean, over two thousand years of ancient tradition, the wand-making family combined with a genius mind…"
"You've come to the right person, young man." Mr. Ollivanders said happily, "In the craft of wand-making, the Ollivanders family is the best in all of Britain!" He added in a whisper, "And possibly the best in all of Europe."
"So you'll do it?" Felix asked.
"I'm willing to try—" Mr. Ollivanders said cheerfully, "It would be my honor, Mr. Heap, recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class." He bowed slightly, and when he straightened up, he pointed to the cluttered desk, where a Daily Prophet was tucked under a thick book.
Felix pulled the newspaper out from under the book. It featured a photo from yesterday's knighting ceremony. There were five people in the photo: Felix and Mrs. Bones stood on the sides, smiling faintly. In the middle, Harry kept smoothing his hair, trying to make it lie flat; Ron looked serious but turned away to kiss the medal secretly in the next moment; Hermione beamed, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns on the medal.
The headline of the newspaper article read, "The Heroes Who Defeated the Dark Lord."
"Do you have any suggestions for the core material?" Mr. Ollivanders asked.
"Of course." Felix lifted his head from the newspaper. One of his hairs began to grow rapidly, reaching about a dozen inches, then snapped off at the root and floated toward the astonished old man.
"Surprisingly, it's hair…"
Mr. Ollivanders caught the hair, and with his other hand, he took a pair of glasses from a box and put them on. He then examined the hair closely, "Remarkable… an incredibly powerful magical substance, truly astonishing… May I ask, do you have any human-like creature ancestry in your family?"
"I don't think so." Felix said, his face darkening.
Mr. Ollivanders clicked his tongue, clearly skeptical. "It's not a big deal, really. Although such a mix might be frowned upon by society, the offspring can sometimes have enviable talents, like the charms professor at Hogwarts, whom you surely know… and the young lady from Beauxbatons I met last year, who has Veela blood… of course, I suspect the Headmaster of Beauxbatons as well…" He closed his mouth, his expression serious, and stared intently at Felix's hair.
"What is it?" Felix asked.
After a long moment, Mr. Ollivanders looked up in surprise, "I can't find any traces of non-human lineage. This suggests that if you had any Halfblood ancestors, it must have been many generations ago, so it's negligible…" He carefully placed the hair in a brown box, "I plan to use ebony for the wand's body, keeping the same size, and make it as close as possible to your first wand—how does that sound?"
"No problem", Felix said, satisfied. At this stage, the wand still served a significant purpose for him, as he couldn't completely abandon the modern magic spell system. Moreover, he believed this system had many merits.
At that moment, the sound of tinkling bells came from behind the door.
Someone had entered—long, pale blond hair, a pale pointed face, and cold gray eyes. It was Lucius Malfoy.
Mr. Ollivanders closed the box containing Felix's hair without a word and slipped it into a cabinet.
"Welcome, Mr. Malfoy", he said politely.
Lucius was taken aback for a few seconds, his light eyes bulging slightly in surprise. Then, he propped himself up with his cane, and his expression returned to its usual coldness—meanwhile, the stars in Felix's eyes slowly dimmed.
The prophecy orb...
Felix recalled the information Lucius had revealed in the Mind Chamber. Apart from complaining about living in constant fear, Lucius had mentioned something important. During the chaos at the Ministry of Magic the previous morning, an Unspeakable under the Imperius Curse had entered the Department of Mysteries' Hall of Prophecy, attempting to retrieve a prophecy orb concerning Voldemort's fate, but was injured by a protective spell.
Broderick Bode—Felix recognized the name.
It was about a month ago that he had met Bode in the Hall of Prophecy at the Department of Mysteries. To avoid being interrupted while studying temporal energy, Felix had regretfully knocked Bode unconscious. Feeling partly responsible for Bode's misfortune, Felix planned to anonymously send him a protective charm as a token of his goodwill.
...
"Nice to see you, Mr. Heap", Lucius said, his tone polite but distant. He then turned to Mr. Ollivanders. "I'm here to purchase a new wand. Unfortunately, my original wand was destroyed in an accident."
Mr. Ollivanders looked at Felix and Lucius with a peculiar expression. It was quite rare to encounter two cases of destroyed wands in a single day.
"Then I'll take my leave, Mr. Ollivanders", Felix said, a thought crossing his mind. He slowly turned around.
"Oh, by the way—" he added, his words laced with meaning. "I heard that the Dark Lord, who hides in the shadows, also lost his wand and had to snatch one from a servant—" Mr. Ollivanders immediately glanced at Lucius, whose pale face turned red.
"Ridiculous!" Lucius shouted.
"However, this is only a temporary solution, Mr. Ollivanders. Be cautious; his Death Eaters might try to kidnap you", Felix said, then walked straight to the door.
He said this to warn Mr. Ollivanders to be careful. From the old man's silent gesture of picking up his wand, Felix knew his message had been received.
As for Lucius, Felix didn't need to worry. When Lucius reported back to Voldemort, Voldemort would likely find it reasonable. Additionally, Felix had taken the opportunity to highlight the conflict between them, deepening Lucius's cover as a spy.
Felix opened the door—
"Wait, Mr. Heap", Mr. Ollivanders suddenly called out. Felix turned around, looking at him with confusion. Meanwhile, Lucius stood silently in the corner, his face a mix of anger and fear.
Not bad acting, Lucius. Felix praised him inwardly.
"Actually... may I ask you a question?" Mr. Ollivanders inquired after receiving a nod. "Why did you refer to the wand you wanted as an 'old wand'?"
Old wand?
"Isn't it fun to name a new wand after something from a fairy tale?" Felix replied with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
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