Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Rewritten

Chapter 6: A Magic Wand

Harry's excitement built as they walked towards Ollivander's. When Dumbledore pushed open the door, a bell tinkled somewhere inside the shop. They stepped into a hallway (the shop was designed like a house) and waited. A wizened old man descended the stairs coming down from the first floor, and greeted Dumbledore familiarly. "Ah Dumbledore! Welcome! Welcome! New Hogwarts students? Very good. Very good. I always look forward to this" he said.

He showed them into what might have been the living room in a regular house. This room had shelves all along the walls and the shelves were stacked with narrow wooden cases a foot or a foot and a half in length.

Ollivander cleared his throat and Harry fixed his attention on the man. But before Ollivander could start speaking, the shop bell tinkled again. Through the window, Harry saw a young girl about his age step into the shop. A trunk hovering at knee-height to her followed her inside. There was no wand in her hand. Presumably, she had come to purchase one. So, the girl could do magic even without a wand? Harry was impressed. The girl guided the trunk to a corner of the hallway with a slight movement of her fingers and then let it sink to the floor. The trunk landed with a thud that suggested it was rather heavily packed. The girl's eyes took in the hallway and the doors leading off of it. After a slight hesitation, she stepped into the room that Harry and all the others were in, shrugging off her green cloak as she entered.

The girl had waist-length black hair, intense black eyes and pale, unblemished skin. She didn't have dual-colored eyes, so Harry supposed she must have a birthmark on her neck, concealed by the high collar of her neat pale green frock. The girl was not a pretty but she was not bad-looking either Harry thought.

The girl's eyes fell on Dumbledore. "Good afternoon, Professor Dumbledore" she greeted him. "Good afternoon, Irene" he replied. Turning to them he said, "Everyone, this is Irene Cecelia Snape. She was accepted for Hogwarts four days ago. Irene, meet some of your new classmates." They told her their names and shook hands with her. When Harry introduced himself, Irene's eyes widened and then darted up to the lightning scar on his forehead. Then she seemed to realize she was staring. Coloring faintly, she turned away.

Ollivander cleared his throat again and began speaking. "Before we select a wand for each of you, I will give a brief lecture about wands so that you may better understand the most important tool a warlock can ever have. The purchase of a magic wand is an important milestone in the progress of a young warlock, for it marks the point from which you will begin to control, train and hone your magical abilities."

Hermione's hand shot up into the air. Ollivander blinked. Apparently, this did not happen to him when he was giving his lecture. "Yes?" he enquired.

"I've already controlled magic a bit without a wand. I can't always do it but sometimes, it's happened. So, a wand isn't really necessary for control, is it?"

"No, Miss, it is not. However, even most adult wizards can only do small pieces of magic without a wand. And there are other limitations such as being able to cast only one spell at a time. Whereas with a wand you can cast up to seven different spells. At a time"

"I see, sir."

"Moving on, a wand is made up of two parts. A magical core and a magical wooden casing for the core. While numerous core varieties exist, I work with only the four best cores; Unicorn Tailhair, Phoenix Tailfeather, Dragon Heartstring and Thunderbird Bone. Each core had unique properties. Unicorn Tailhair wands may only be used by those who are generally good-natured with no inclination to choose the dark side. That is not to say that they are incorruptible. They are merely, less likely than others to choose dark paths. Phoenix Tailfeather wands are used by warlocks who have a high gift for some kinds of magic and disinterest or disregard for other kinds of magic. Dragon Heartstring, is in some ways the opposite of Phoenix Tailfeather. It is favored by those warlocks who have a gift for a wide range of magic though they will, in the end, have their own specializations. Thunderbird Bone is favored by warlocks who come from strong magical lineages with many inherited gifts."