The young wizards whose wands had already been checked were chatting quietly in their seats, their conversation naturally gravitating toward wands.
If not for this wand inspection, many of them would probably still have assumed that every wand in the world used the same few woods and cores.
But now they all lifted their heads, craning their necks like groundhogs to look over.
The finest work of his lifetime? What did that mean? Didn't everyone's wand cost seven Galleons?
The Hogwarts youngsters reacted even faster. They simply stayed where they were.
Zhang Xiao's wand had always been the stuff of legend.
No one knew exactly what the story was. All they knew was that Peeves was terrified of it-and, most importantly, it was incredibly expensive!
Dumbledore was also watching intently. As the master of the Elder Wand, no one understood better than he did just how much powerful support a wand could provide.
Zhang Xiao paused, then drew his wand from his waist and handed it over.
"It is still so beautiful... exquisite... one of a kind..."
Holding his breath, Ollivander took the wand in both hands, his eyes filled with fascination.
Several bright blue sparks spat from the tip of the Thunderstruck Wood Wand, which rather surprised Zhang Xiao.
Didn't he know his own wand's temperament? It wouldn't even let anyone touch it. Malfoy and the others had certainly been curious about it before.
In short, it shocked anyone who touched it except Zhang Xiao, and it refused to be examined, too. The last time it had been inspected at the Ministry of Magic, it had blown up their machine.
Now it merely spat out a few token sparks. Perhaps, because Ollivander was its maker, the wand was making an exception for him.
"Hmm... maintenance-I almost forgot. You have