Chapter 26: 28th July 1991, Sunday: Part 14

George walked out of the Museum of Muggle Curiosities with a wizard battery and a new life lesson to add to his collection. The lesson of the day was that every problem could be fixed as long as you're willing to throw enough money at it. Dominic had proven that mantra with a questionable investment plan hastily written up on a piece of oily parchment. From this day onwards, his foster father will be funding Sheena's research for the next two years in exchange for the majority of shares in her future patents. Even with only a day's worth of experience in the wizarding world, Dominic had planted his feet in the magical commerce industry and become an investment partner.

No matter what his foster father's big plans were, George only cared about the brass box he had just placed inside his leather sack. Because of Dominic's deal with Sheena, George will have access to magic batteries whenever there is a new innovation. This meant he would have almost no problems using muggle devices at Hogwarts. And all it cost him was a bit of sweet talking and sixteen galleons to pay for Sheena's special tapes. Since normal cassettes would apparently be set on fire under magical power, he will only be listening to Bob Marley for the time being.

Regardless of the limited music options, George had gotten what he wanted for next to nothing. He would give his experience with Carkitt Market a solid nine out of ten, it was nearly perfect. The products were of great quality and the prices were to die for. If customers could tolerate the crazy witches running the shops, then this place was leaps and bounds better than its claustrophobic counterpart. It was highly unfortunate that he couldn't buy everything he needed from here, but alas, he had to go back to Diagon Alley.

George and Dominic looked around to find Remus, Amanda and Ellie sitting beside a stone bandstand with a green steeple. They were talking casually among themselves while eating colourful hard-boiled sweets out of pink paper bags. Their trip to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop must have gone well judging by the big chocolate-covered smile on his step-sister's face. Hopefully, the treats will keep her occupied for the rest of the day out. Then again, Ellie high on sugar can be near impossible to control.

"Oh, you two are finally out. We were wondering how much longer you'd be in there", Remus said after noticing George and Dominic's approach.

"Did you like it in the museum, George?", Amanda asked.

"Yep. I made a new friend as well", George cheerfully answered.

"Oh really, that's good...", she then looked up at Dominic, "and what's their name?"

"Sheena Layla and she owns the museum. She had 'potential' so I made her a proposal", Dominic responded.

Both of George's foster parents stared at each other before Amanda said, "she sounds very interesting. You'll have to tell me all about her later."

Ellie then jumped up from the bandstand and presented George with some chocolate. It was a surprising act of kindness from her even if he didn't like sugar, George was more of a savoury than sweet sort of person. He was about to take one as a courtesy, but he hesitated once he recognised the distinct shape of the moulded chocolates. They were all frogs but their arms and legs had been broken off. Surely they tasted the same no matter which part you ate, so why had she left the torsos and heads?

"Ellie, why don't they have any legs?"

She looked down at the frogs before saying, "well, they used to jump around a lot and I didn't want them to escape so I ripped their legs off. Now they don't move at all, I think they died or something. Anyway, do you want one? They taste really good."

George slowly lifted a dismembered frog out of her hands, "thank you, Ellie. That was very... thoughtful of you."

His step-sister then turned back around and continued to eat her chocolate frogs in the shade of the bandstand. George looked down and saw the enchanted frog staring back up at him, those chocolate eyes were begging to end its existence. As a mercy, he summoned a small grape-sized flame and incinerated it within a fraction of a second. It was official, Ellie was a little psychopath in the making. Eating a borderline sentient frog should be hard enough, but to torture a dozen of them until the last drop of magic drained out of them was something else. This might explain why Dominic or Amanda had never given in to Ellie's constant demands to get a pet dog.

Remus swallowed the last bean from his Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and stood up, "now that we are all back together, I think we should get back on track. If we don't go to Diagon Alley now, we'll have to come back tomorrow and I don't fancy another car journey. The drive back is already bad enough, so let's get a move on before it gets too late."

With that being said, the Linwoods decided to leave Carkitt Market and returned to the bustling street of Diagon Alley. And of course, it was even busier than before. It felt like half of England's magical population had to be here. Practically all of the pedestrians were made up of small families shopping for school equipment just like the Linwoods. There were even a few other muggle parents wandering around as well although George didn't recognise any of them. Remus made the brave decision to leave the family behind and scout ahead to find a shop that wasn't chocked full. It took him nearly a minute of pushing through the crowds before he finally reappeared from the horde of people.

He took a moment to catch his breath before saying, "I feel it would be most prudent to prioritise the most essential items that also take the longest time to procure. Ollivander's is empty at the moment, so I think we should start there. What do you think, George? Are you ready to get your wand?"

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As exciting as that offer should be to a muggle-born like himself, George wasn't any normal little boy. Going to Ollivanders was the second most daunting thing he had planned for today. There were few people that George didn't feel capable of hiding his true intentions from, less than half a dozen, but one of them happened to be Garrick Ollivander. His talent for discerning the appropriate wand for any user was always going to be problematic, perhaps a wand could react to George in a way he could never predict. Unfortunately, receiving his wand was unavoidable, so George had to just suck it up and deal with any issues as they come.

"I sure can't wait to get my wand, Mr Lupin", George answered with a beaming smile to hide his dread.

Remus didn't seem to notice any abnormalities in George's expression as he guided the family to Ollivanders. It took a lot of pushing and shoving before they were standing outside the wand shop that wouldn't look out of place on Knockturn Alley. Unlike all of the other shops, Ollivanders wasn't trying to stand out. The only bit of vibrancy among all of the flaking black paint was the worn golden writing above the arcing window. George guessed that the reputation Ollivanders had as the best wand manufacturer in Europe was all it needed to attract customers.

There was some endorsement above the door claiming that Ollivanders has been making the finest wands for nearly two thousand four hundred years. That meant this family had been crafting wands before the Great Wall Of China had even been built. George reckoned that Garrick Ollivander's great great great, add a hundred, great grandfather must have put a curse on his descendants. What were the odds of every child in a hundred generations wanting to do the exact same job? Whatever the reason for the Ollivanders' dedication to one single craft, George didn't trust it. He couldn't explain it, but George got a bad vibe from this place.

Regardless of what was to come, he put his apprehension to one side and kept his facade looking as curious as possible. On the other hand, Remus looked particularly happy to enter the wand shop. George could imagine that receiving your first wand from Ollivanders was a special memory for most wizards and witches, it's a shame he couldn't share the same positivity. Although, he did feel some nostalgia after walking inside. His memories painted a pretty clear image of this building which perfectly overlapped with his current surroundings.

The Linwoods all entered Ollivanders and the ambient sound of the crowd outside vanished once the door closed behind them. George gazed upon the tall shelves with hundreds of small long boxes neatly stacked on top of each other. Each core had its own uniquely coloured box and the different types of wood were stored in columns in alphabetical order. Ellie, being the curious little devil she was, couldn't help but sneak over to the nearest shelf to the entrance and began to pull out one of the boxes. Fortunately, Ellie was still tethered to Amanda with an unbreakable grip this time. She was swiftly yanked away before she could cause any damage.

Dominic looked around before saying, "if every wizard needs a wand, then why is this place completely empty?"

Remus gladly explained, "that'll be because most wizards will only need one wand their entire life. They might come back here to have their wand refurbished every decade or so, but it'll rarely ever be replaced unless it had been broken beyond repair.

Most wizarding families will buy their children their wands well before they attend Hogwarts, I got mine nearly a year in advance. Only a muggle-born would purchase their wands only a month before term begins."

Remus then walked towards a desk with an open book and a gaslamp illuminating it. He looked left and right, but the shop remained silent and Ollivander was nowhere to be seen. George knew that Ollivander was extremely dedicated to his craft, just like his forefathers, and he would spend countless hours meticulously crafting and organising the vast wand collection he had inherited. It would be an odd day to find Ollivander manning his desk and not pursuing his collection of wands.

To get the old man's attention, Remus loudly cleared his throat and said, "excuse me. We would like to purchase a w…"

Before Remus could finish, an old man standing atop a ladder glided into view. Ollivander was just as George had foreseen. He was wearing a burgundy seventeenth-century suit with puffy white sleeves and a cravat around his neck. He also sported his signature old white hair, which looked like a bird had nested atop his head, and overgrown sideburns. A smile formed on Ollivander's face as he scanned the room and locked eyes with Remus.

"Mr Lupin... It's been just shy of twenty years, but I remember you purchasing your first wand as if it was yesterday. If my memory serves me, ten and a quarter inches, cypress wood and a unicorn hair core. That's a rather demanding wand that requires nobility and valour from its wielder. I do hope you have been taking good care of it."

Remus let out a light chuckle as he pulled out his wand, "the years have been kind to your memory, you are indeed correct. It's a pleasure making your acquaintance once again, Mr Ollivander. I like to think I've taken good care, although, I can't say my wand hasn't seen its fair share of scrapes over the years."

Ollivander dismounted the ladder, unhurriedly walked behind his desk, and held out his hand. Remus appeared to understand what the old man wanted and surrendered his wand willingly. There was no greater evidence of trust between wizards than exchanging one's wand, it effectively put their life in the hands of the other. Personally, George felt Remus was a little too trusting. However, Ollivander didn't take advantage of Remus's vulnerability and instead started to inspect the wand through a magnifying eyepiece.

"A wand will take care of their wizard if their wizard takes care of their wand. I'm happy to say that your wand is perfectly fine. A little varnish fading isn't anything to be concerned about.

Considering the fine state of your wand, I have to assume that you're not here for your interests. Could you be so kind as to introduce me to the young gentleman", Ollivander inquired whilst returning the wand to Remus.

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