Chapter 681: Ollivanders
Chapter 681: Ollivanders (Special Chapter for Book Lovers)
While Ryan and the others were listening to the radio and sipping black tea, a Handy robot flew down the stairs. It approached the spot where Ryan and the others were sitting and spoke in its characteristic mechanical voice, "The guest named Ollivanders, who you met yesterday, has woken up. He wishes to see the people who rescued him from that prison."
"Sure, we'll go up now", Liam nodded at the round robot, then waved his wand to turn off the radio and stood up with Hermione, heading upstairs.
They climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked a few steps down the corridor to the left. The brown wooden door of the guest room appeared before them. Liam took a step forward, knocked lightly on the door, and received a weak "Come in!"
Opening the door, they saw a wooden single bed by the window, where Ollivanders was now lying half-reclined against the pillows. The curtains were half-drawn, and with the sunlight, Liam could see that Ollivanders' condition was much worse than it had been in the past. He looked gaunt, with his bones protruding, and his skin was yellow. His large silver eyes were sunken deeply into his sockets, making them appear even larger. His hands, resting on the thin blanket, looked like those of a skeleton.
According to Hermione's examination yesterday, Ollivanders hadn't seen the sun for over a year and had been tortured several times. This was why he looked so terrible now.
Before Ryan and the others entered, Ollivanders had been looking down at the small garden through the window. Now, he turned his head and looked at them with his silver eyes.
"Mr. Ollivander, it's good to see you awake, but I think you should rest more. Your condition isn't good", Liam advised the man lying on the bed.
"My dear children", Ollivanders' voice was weak, "you saved us. I thought we would die there. I can never thank you enough... never thank you enough."
"We are glad to have helped you", Hermione said. "We are willing to do anything that weakens the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters. However, you are still very weak, so you don't need to go out of your way to thank us."
"Ah, of course. I didn't ask you to come here just to thank you. I need to tell you why the Dark Lord captured Mr. Gregorovitch and me. I believe this information could be useful in defeating the Dark Lord."
"That's great news", Leon and Hermione exchanged a glance and said, "When we entered the house where you were being held yesterday, we found some loot that suggested you were making something."
"Yes, we were indeed making something", Ollivanders nodded slowly. "The Dark Lord ordered us to create a wand, a wand powerful enough to defeat Professor Dumbledore."
"Because his wand was completely destroyed", Ollivanders lowered his voice, "so he blamed his previous failures on this. That's why he kidnapped me to make him a powerful wand."
Liam immediately thought of the yew wand belonging to Voldemort that he and Peter Pettigrew had burned on the day of Voldemort's resurrection. It seemed that this was the reason Voldemort had immediately taken Ollivanders after his return.
"Did you manage to create that wand?" Hermione asked. "The powerful wand the Dark Lord requested?"
"Of course not, or I wouldn't be in this state", Ollivanders gave a bitter laugh. "Over the past year, I have experimented with thousands of combinations of wands and cores, even using some treasures from Pureblood families. For example, Titan's Bone, and real Dragon Scale. I swear, I had never seen such things before—"
"I still don’t understand why I can’t create a wand suitable for the Dark Lord." Ollivander sounded desperate. "I’ve tried every wand-making technique, even the oldest ones. The wands I’ve made do indeed resonate with the Dark Lord, but I don’t know why they still fall short of that ancient—"
At this point, Ollivander’s voice trailed off.
"An ancient what, sir?" Seeing that Ollivander seemed lost in thought, Liam interrupted him.
"Where was I? Oh, right, the ancient wand." Ollivander snapped out of his reverie and leaned back against the headboard. "More than a month ago, the Dark Lord took the most powerful wand I had made and left. But when he returned, he was so enraged that he tortured me with the Cruciatus Curse all night—"
"I’m sorry, sir. I think it was because I confronted the Dark Lord to protect Harry Potter", Liam said apologetically. After all, this elderly man had suffered greatly because of his victory.
"Boy, are you telling the truth?" Ollivander’s eyes widened, and he forgot about the topic he had been discussing. "If I heard you correctly, you said you faced the Dark Lord more than a month ago."
"It’s even more than that, Mr. Ollivander", Hermione added. "Not long ago, Liam thwarted the Dark Lord’s scheme in Hogsmeade Village and even forced him to retreat."
"Hermione, you’re exaggerating", Liam said with a smile, shaking his head. "It was Professor Dumbledore who truly drove the Dark Lord back. If I had delayed too long, the Headmaster would have arrived quickly."
"That’s still impressive, boy", Ollivander said. "For someone your age to face the Dark Lord is a miracle. That’s the best news I’ve heard today."
This news visibly excited Ollivander. After several minutes to compose himself, he returned to his earlier topic. "If what you’ve said is true, then after his latest failure, the Dark Lord began inquiring his followers about powerful magical artifacts. A week ago, he captured Mr. Gregorovitch."
Ollivander paused. "Mr. Gregorovitch was captured because the Dark Lord learned that he once possessed the most powerful wand—the Elder Wand, also known as the Wand of Destiny. After torturing him for information on the Elder Wand’s whereabouts, the Dark Lord had him and me locked up together. Since then, he has demanded that we create a wand that can rival the Elder Wand."
"This is the part I don’t understand", Ollivander said, his tone puzzled. "The Elder Wand’s history spans the entire History of Magic. Although there have been interruptions, it always reappears. It has certain recognizable features that those who study wandlore can identify. There are written records, some quite obscure, which I and other wandmakers have studied. These records have a certain degree of authenticity."
"That’s why I know the Elder Wand is made from Thestral tail feather and elder wood", Ollivander’s eyes sparkled. "It’s a powerful combination, but the materials are not the most top-tier. In fact, this combination only emerged after the superior and rare wand materials from powerful magical creatures disappeared over 1500 years ago. I can’t figure out why such a combination is more powerful than the wands I make using ancient, powerful materials."
"I think, besides the materials, the crafting process of any magical artifact is also crucial", Liam mused, recalling the creation of his Rose Madonna. "If I’m not mistaken, the reason you can’t create a wand that rivals the Elder Wand is due to your own limitations."
(End of Chapter)
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