Crystal the Half-Ghost Witch

Chapter 8

Crystal helped the old man up, relieved that she hadn't broken anything.

"I must say, Miss Potter, this is the first time someone has hit me like that," he said, rubbing his jaw to ease the soreness.

"Seriously? I would have thought you'd get hit more often if you sneak up on people like that, especially young girls," Crystal sassed back, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "You should really learn not to do that."

"Perhaps you are correct, Miss Potter. Now, you need a wand, do you not?" He stopped rubbing his jaw and gestured to the shelves lined with boxes that Crystal assumed were filled with wands.

Crystal took a closer look around the store. She had been too focused on the magical aura and accidentally hitting Ollivander before, but now she could take a proper look. The shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, each stuffed full of boxes containing wands. The shelves appeared old, possibly as old as the owner himself. The floors creaked and groaned with each step, making her wonder if she might fall through without the aid of her ghost powers.

The store was filled with dust that glinted in the light streaming through the windows, tickling her nose and causing her to sneeze.

"Ah, excuse you," Ollivander said, waving his wand to clear some of the dust but not all of it.

Crystal rubbed her nose. "I'm here for a wand, yes."

Ollivander clapped his hands together and looked gleeful. "Wonderful! Which hand is your wand hand?"

She was confused. "My what? Sir, I was raised by non-magicals. Could you please rephrase that?"

"Apologies, Miss Potter. I meant which is your dominant hand."

"I'm right-handed, but I can use my left hand if needed," she explained, feeling a bit foolish for not understanding earlier.

She jumped when a tape measure floated over and began measuring her all over, even between her nose, which made her very uncomfortable. Just as she was about to say something, Ollivander snapped his fingers, and the tape measure returned to his desk.

"Here, try this one," he said, handing Crystal a wand. She had just picked it up when he snatched it away. "No, not that one. Try this one."

This time, when she held the wand, one of the windows shattered, causing her to jump.

"Ah, wrong one. No worries, I can fix that in a jiffy," Ollivander said, snatching the second wand away. This process continued with him handing her wands and then quickly taking them back until, finally, he mumbled.

"I wonder," Ollivander said, going behind the shelves before returning with yet another box. "Try this wand." He opened the box and held it out. Crystal hesitated before slowly picking up the wand. She felt something, but it was stilted and not fully there.

The wand seemed only partially suited for her, and she told Ollivander this. His face took on a curious look. "From what you're saying, it sounds like the wand will need either an additional wood or core to better match your magical core. Follow me to my workshop, and we'll see what will work best."

He started walking towards the back of the shop. Crystal hesitated to follow him. Was she really going to follow a creepy old man into the back of his store where no one could hear her if something went wrong?

Sure, she had ghost powers, but she needed to learn not to rely on them all the time. Danny had told her stories of his powers being shut off or malfunctioning, and Crystal didn't want to end up in a situation where she couldn't defend herself.

However, she needed a wand that worked for her. Crystal glanced down at the wand still in her hand, sighed, and followed the old man. Hopefully, if anything happened, she could handle him; after all, she had already knocked him down once.