Sycamore and the Person at Home

"Fascinating..." Ollivander circled the "unicorn" Su Er had conjured several times. "Layered Transfiguration. This is Dumbledore's distinctive transfiguration technique."

"Mr. Bones, please give me your wand."

After taking Su Er's wand, Ollivander carefully ran his fingers over every inch of it, then held the handle and gave it a gentle shake. A faint crackle came from the tip.

"Oh, I can feel it resisting me," he said.

"Mr. Bones, have you ever studied-I mean, truly understood-this particular material, sycamore?" Ollivander's bright eyes twinkled.

Su Er took back the wand Ollivander handed him and hesitated for a moment before saying,

"I looked through some books after I went home, sir. Sycamore is a genus of trees. About seven species can be called sycamores..."

"You're quite right, Mr. Bones." Ollivander nodded. "Generally speaking, wands made from sycamore have an adventurous spirit. They crave new experiences."

"The owner best suited to one is a curious, energetic 'explorer.' You should have heard the name of one such owner-the famous Newt Scamander."

Su Er nodded and listened attentively, while Hermione still sat on the bench with her back against the wall, looking dazed.

"As you just said, about seven species of tree can be called sycamores. But bear in mind, Mr. Bones, that this classification only appeared in recent years." Ollivander's eyes gleamed. "The wand in your hand, however, is one of my father's early creations. Back then, many extraordinary trees had yet to vanish from human sight."

"The wood used to make your wand was something my father acquired through a trade on a sacred mountain in ancient Egypt when he was young."

"There, it had another name-the Tree of Life. In ancient myths, it grew on the boundary between life and death, symbolizing the very beginning of creation."

Su Er's heart suddenly began to pound. He recalled the place he had entered when he first arrived in this world and again on his first day at school-the Blurry Illusion Realm.

"My father tried everything he could to turn it into a wand." Ollivander sighed. "Unfortunately, it seemed to be unique, incompatible with most of the wand cores popular at the time. Then my father happened to obtain a strand of thestral tail hair and made one final attempt."

"Against all expectations, it worked."

"Life and death are opposites, yet they are intimately connected."

"Giving you this wand was also an experiment on my part. Mostly because I had never met a customer pickier than you."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," Su Er said at once.

Ollivander waved a hand. "Mr. Bones, I tell every wizard who comes here to buy a wand that, in my shop, the wand chooses its owner. It chose you, so I sold it to you."

"Finding an owner for every wand is the reason our Ollivander Family chose to make wands."

"Explore it carefully. Learn to feel it. When the ancients named it the 'Tree of Life,' they did not mean it merely as a symbol."

"I will, sir." Su Er nodded solemnly.

"Now, it's getting late. Put your gift away." Ollivander smiled and nodded.

"Thank you again for your help, Mr. Ollivander." Su Er put the "unicorn" back into the bag Hagrid had given him, tucked his wand inside as well, and bowed once more in thanks.

When he emerged onto the street again, leading a dazed Hermione by the hand, the festive bustle had grown even livelier.

"Didn't you want to buy presents, Hermione?"

"Hermione?"

"Ah... oh..." Still woozy, Hermione rummaged through her pocket, pulled out a note, and handed it to Su Er with a blank look.

A question mark seemed to pop up over Su Er's head...

Well, looking at Hermione smiling goofily at him, Su Er couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead.

Absolutely not. I'm never letting Hermione touch another drop of alcohol!

Though she really is pretty cute like this...

Maybe... oh! No, no! Su Er shook his head to drive out those thoughts that had no business being there, then took the note and unfolded it.

Most of the items were sweets, chocolates, and a few books.

There were also presents for Little Ash the owl and Crookshanks.

He had to admit, girls really were thoughtful.

After buying the final items-Christmas gift packs of dried mouse meat for the two little pets at home-Su Er led Hermione out of the Eeylops Owl Emporium. As they passed the spot where the mulled wine had been sold, the witch wearing antlers was already gone.

"Did you hear? Some Aurors took a witch away just now."

"My younger brother's wife's brother is an Auror. I heard him mention it. Apparently, that witch had been illegally adding homemade hallucinogens and love potion to her wares for days."

"Good grief! Won't that earn her a trip to Azkaban?"

"Shh! Have you lost your mind, mentioning Azkaban here?"

As Su Er led Hermione past the counter of the Leaky Cauldron, he caught snatches of the conversation between two wizards standing nearby...

"Are you heading home?" Hannah spotted them as she passed with an empty drinks tray. Glancing at their joined hands, she gave them a teasing smile.

"What's wrong with Hermione?"

"Nothing. She couldn't resist having some mulled wine earlier, and this happened... I'm holding her hand because I'm worried she'll get lost."

"Hi, Hannah!" Hermione suddenly shot her hand up and called out loudly, wearing a goofy expression.

Caught off guard, Su Er jumped, then helplessly spread his free hand. "As you can see..."

"Heehee." Hannah found it utterly hilarious and doubled over laughing for quite a while.

"We should get going. Merry Christmas, Hannah," Su Er said.

"All right. Merry Christmas to you too. See you at school." Hannah nodded with a grin.

"See you at school."

On the way home, Su Er chose a taxi rather than raising his wand to summon the Knight Bus again.

Hermione yawned as soon as she got into the car, then rested her head on Su Er's shoulder and fell asleep.

The driver drove smoothly. As Su Er watched the buildings flash past the window, he unwittingly drifted off as well.

When he woke, it was Mrs. Granger who had roused him.

He looked at Mrs. Granger's knowing smile.

Yikes... when did Hermione and I end up holding each other?

"Heh... hehehe..." With a dry laugh, Su Er released his arms from around Hermione. His movement woke her too.

"Mmm..." She rubbed her eyes, looking a little bewildered.

Then she slumped straight back into Su Er's arms, and Mrs. Granger's gaze grew even more knowing.

"Uh..." Su Er stiffened and gently patted Hermione. "We're home, Hermione..."

"Your mum is waiting outside."

A little later, Su Er carefully set Hermione's purchases down in the Granger family's living room, then all but fled.

Only after stepping through his own front door did Su Er breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hello, Su Er." An elegant woman wearing a trench coat, her hair swept high atop her head, sat in the living room with a slight smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Amelia, Amelia Bones."

"Your father is my elder brother. You can call me-"

"Aunt."