Strange Wand

The surname was Granger, the profession was dentist, and the daughter attended Hogwarts as a second-year student...

Jon was no fool. Naturally, he could guess who the daughter was.

But since he had already decided to keep his distance from The Golden Trio, Jon voluntarily gave up the chance to get acquainted with her in advance.

Whether it was Miss Watson or that Black girl, what did either of them have to do with him? Until he had gained a certain degree of control over magic, he had better keep his head down!

After leaving Eric and Doctor Granger, Jon found himself standing before a short, shabby shop.

The gold lettering on the sign above the door had peeled away, but it still read: "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC."

As he entered the shop, Jon found that it was not very spacious. He sat down in a reclining chair in the middle of the store and looked up to see what appeared to be thousands of long, narrow boxes clearly visible on the ceiling.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice.

"Hello!" Jon hurriedly stood up and saw the small, thin old man who had suddenly appeared behind him. "Are you Mr. Ollivander?"

"Yes, yes, I knew I would be seeing you soon, Jon Hart. There was never any doubt about it." The little old man spoke with an air of mystery. "You look almost exactly like your father. When he came here to buy his first wand, it feels as though it was yester—"

Ollivander suddenly froze.

Jon froze as well.

He said timidly, "Mr. Ollivander, if I remember correctly, my father wasn't a wizard!"

"Er... was that so..." Ollivander stammered. Then he swiftly pulled a piece of parchment from his robes, glanced at it, and quickly put it away again.

In that instant, Jon caught a sideways glimpse of the parchment. It seemed to contain a list of names, followed by the names of relatives and their wands...

"It seems I was mistaken—oh no, I remembered incorrectly..." Ollivander gave two awkward dry coughs. "Ahem, ahem. Mr. Hart, which hand do you use best?"

"Oh, I'm used to using my right hand."

Perhaps because of that awkward scene, Ollivander remained almost completely silent while taking his measurements.

He said nothing about wands choosing wizards, nor anything like remembering every wand he had ever sold.

"Mr. Hart, try this one. Ebony and Serpent nerve, nine inches long." Having finished the measurements very quickly, he pulled one of the boxes from the ceiling and took out the wand inside.

Jon picked up the somewhat short wand, but nothing happened.

So the odds of succeeding on the first try weren't very high.

"Perhaps you could try this one. Maple Wood, Phoenix feather, eleven inches long."

About an hour later.

Jon's arm felt a little sore, as if he could barely lift it anymore.

He had been trying the wands Ollivander handed him at a pace of nearly one every ten seconds. More than a thousand boxes were piled around him and Ollivander like mountains.

More importantly, there seemed to be very few boxes left on the ceiling.

"Such a picky customer. How marvelous—and how difficult..." Ollivander looked positively excited.

"This one... Ebony and Unicorn Hair, eight and a half inches long. An extraordinary combination!"

Ollivander eagerly handed over the wand. Jon gave it a wave, but there was still no reaction.

For a moment, Jon even wondered whether Professor McGonagall had made a mistake—whether he was not a wizard at all... Otherwise, how could he have spent an entire hour without finding a suitable wand?

"Even more difficult than I imagined!" Ollivander seemed to sink into thought. Then, as though struck by sudden realization, he said, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Hart!"

Then he vanished in an instant.

Jon was finally able to sit back down and rest his arm.

Three minutes later, Ollivander reappeared with a dust-covered box in his hands.

"You can try this one, Mr. Hart..." He carefully opened the box and took out a wand that looked rather strange.

Jon accepted it. It was very smooth, completely unlike the other wands to the touch. And despite the scorching weather, it radiated a faint chill.

Before he could do anything, there was a whoosh. A red flash shot out, and golden sparks burst from the tip of the wand like fireworks, dancing spots of light spilling across the walls...

"Oh, excellent! Wonderful!" Ollivander practically cried out.

"Oh?" Jon's eyes immediately lit up. Could it be that, like the protagonist's wand, his wand had an extraordinary origin?

Perhaps it was a sibling wand to that of some powerful wizard?

One unicorn had two hairs—one was made into Dumbledore's wand, and the other into this one?

Forget it. Dumbledore was a damn queer—kind of gross. Newt Scamander would be pretty good, though. Nick Flamel would work too...

Just as Jon's imagination was running wild, Ollivander's next words sentenced his hopes to death:

"Actually, this wand was not made by me!"

"Huh?" Jon's mouth fell open.

"It was made by a wandmaker from China. Wizards in China are accustomed to calling wandmakers 'wandmaking masters'!"

"It was about twenty years ago. That Chinese wandmaking master had found a way to flee to London... I met him, and we exchanged our knowledge of wandmaking for a time..."

"Fleeing to London?" Jon suddenly noticed something.

However, Ollivander apparently had no intention of discussing the history of magic in China. Instead, he rummaged through a paper box and pulled out a strip of cloth that had clearly been there for many years.

"Found it... made of Green Bamboo, thirteen inches, containing Iron-Eating Beast hair." Ollivander read from the cloth strip. "No wonder it's so smooth. It's made of Green Bamboo."

"Iron-Eating Beast?" The name sounded familiar to Jon.

"A Magical Creature that lives in China. I believe Newt Scamander should have recorded it... It's somewhat bear-like in size, with black-and-white fur. Iron-Eating Beasts possess powerful Beguiling Magic, allowing them to easily charm wizards and Muggles—especially women—into petting them and providing them with food..."

Ollivander said casually, "Iron-Eating Beast hair is a commonly used magical essence for Chinese wandmakers. They believe Iron-Eating Beasts possess magic stronger and purer than Unicorns, though I reserve my judgment on that!"

He had already placed Jon's wand into a U-shaped case and wrapped it in brown paper.

"The price is eight Galleons, Mr. Hart."