Chapter 27: 28th July 1991, Sunday: Part 15

Ollivander's gaze made its way over to George and it sent a shiver down his back. That creepy man had seen over sixty years of children walking into his shop to acquire their first wand. Some of them would grow up to be good wizards like Remus Lupin, and others would become dark wizards like Tom Riddle. Ollivander had seen it all, and yet George wasn't like any of those other wizards. He wasn't even human anymore, just a monster in sheep's clothing. Those aged sparkling eyes felt like they could see past the mask and gaze upon the true beast within.

Remus placed one arm around George's shoulder and cheerfully said, "this here is Mr Linwood, and he's looking to purchase his first wand. Oh, and he is also a first-generation wizard."

Ollivander appeared to be captivated by Remus's introduction, "another muggle-born, I do love a challenge. It can get awfully boring with pure-bloods making wands all too predictable, the child always takes after the mother or father. Now then, I wonder where I should start."

Ollivander disappeared behind a series of tall shelves before another word could be said. Since George wasn't having a bunch of offensive spells thrown his way, he might have been reading too much into Ollivander's stare. Maybe that intense gaze was nothing more than an overreaction to him being a muggle-born and not a freak of nature. George rested his hand on his chest and could feel his heart beating like a jackhammer, he had really got himself worked up over nothing. He had to use some breathing exercises to calm back down whilst he waited for his wand.

Ollivander returned with a small opened box full of tissue paper, "I think we should start here. English Oak and a Unicorn hair core should act as a good baseline."

The wand was taken out of the box and handed over the desk to George. He was about to receive it, but Remus leaned over and interrupted the exchange.

"I almost forgot to mention, George has a natural affinity towards fire magic. It would be for the best if... you know", Remus spoke quietly while subtly gesturing at George's family.

Ollivander looked at the Linwoods behind Remus and seemed to have come to the same conclusion, "ah, I see. Yes, if that is indeed the case then... I think everyone except George here should leave until the selection process has concluded."

"Why? What's the matter?", Amanda asked.

Ollivander elaborated further, "finding the right wand can be a somewhat unpredictable practice. Considering Mr Linwood's talent for fire, as Mr Lupin so kindly informed me, I believe it would be prudent for your family to vacate the premises until the correct wand is found. It's for your own safety, you understand."

Dominic and Amanda both looked concerned after hearing Ollivander's suggestion, they clearly hadn't considered that there would be any complications. This was yet another topic Remus had 'neglected' to not talk about in the car, it wasn't hard to guess why. A young wizard testing out wands was a bit like taking a child to a firing range, anything could happen. It was a miracle that Ollivander's shop hadn't been burnt down ten times over with each year of new students. Just imagining Seamus's wand testing was enough to justify the whole street being evacuated.

Amanda, clearly alarmed, demanded, "are you saying these wands are dangerous?"

Remus decided to step in, "nothing of the sort, Mrs Linwood. Wizards casting magic with an incompatible wand find that their spells have unpredictable outcomes.

What Mr Ollivander is trying to say is that George may accidentally set fire to something. But, having said that, this is no reason to be concerned.

He is far more likely to set fire to something or someone other than himself, you being in the room just gives Mr Ollivander one more thing he has to worry about other than George's safety."

Remus then checked his watch before suggesting, "it's already two o'clock in the afternoon and we haven't had anything proper to eat. So… how about we leave George here with Mr Ollivander to find his wand, and we nip over to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour across the road? I would personally recommend the chocolate and raspberry flavour with chestnuts."

Amanda and Dominic didn't appear convinced, and Ellie seemed torn between witnessing magic and eating ice cream. However, George was having some new ideas in regards to seeing his patron again. He needed a moment where he could leave his family, ideally without being noticed. The original plan was to separate in the crowd and pretend that he'd gotten lost, but now he had another better option. Ollivander's wand testing might provide him with the opportunity for a reprieve from his family. The window would be tight, but it was totally worth a shot if his foster parents agreed to leave.

"We're not leaving George", Amanda said defiantly.

Those four words put an enormous obstacle in George's plan, motherly love was once again a hindrance. Amanda didn't sound like a bit of gentle persuasion was going to move her. Perhaps Remus was going to need a little support from George to get his foster parents onboard.

George walked up to his foster mother and insisted, "I think Mr Lupin has the right idea. I would never be able to live with myself if I accidentally hurt you or, god forbid, Ellie.

I would feel a lot better if you stayed outside and bought some ice cream whilst you're at it. Ellie can choose on my behalf, it's a massive responsibility, but I have faith in her abilities."

Amanda looked down at George's earnest begging and said, "okay... we'll wait outside, but, I'm not letting you out of my sight. We can get ice cream later."

Then she looked at Ollivander, "I'll be leaving my son in your care. I trust that you'll ensure his safety during these wand tests."

Ollivander bowed his head, "it's been my family's duty to care for our customers for thousands of years. Young Mr Linwood's welfare is in good hands, I assure you."

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Amanda stared at Ollivander ominously for a few painfully long seconds before she relented and turned to leave. George interpreted that unnerving glare as a polite way of threatening the old man into keeping his word. God knew what she would do if Ollivander let George get hurt. For now, she begrudgingly complied and left the shop with Dominic, Ellie and Remus in tow. As far as George was concerned, it didn't make a difference since his family was still watching on through the window. It was starting to look like he was going to have to find another opportunity to escape.

He turned back to Ollivander with barely hidden disappointment, "so... where were we? Something to do with unicorn hair?"

"Oh, cheer up boy. You'll soon be reunited with your family in no time", Ollivander comforted.

"Yeah, that's the problem", was what George wanted to say.

Ollivander handed the wand to George, "here you are. Nothing need be said, just give it a w... wait, where have they gone?"

George saw that Ollivander was looking past him, so he turned around and saw that his family had vanished. Even Remus had disappeared without a trace. Where on Earth had they gone? They'd only been outside for less than half a minute, what could have made them abandon him so quickly? Hold on a second, that wasn't what he should be thinking at a time like this. George had to wake up and smell the roses, this was fantastic no matter what the reason was. He was alone and needed to make the most of it. Therefore, he had to rap up this wand-testing nonsense as soon as possible.

George's expression changed to one of indifference as he turned to Ollivander and immediately placed the wand back into its box.

"Is there a problem, Mr Linwood?", Ollivander asked with a perplexed look on his face.

George responded quickly and precisely, "dragon heartstring core, vinewood, and twelve inches or longer."

Ollivander only appeared to sink further into confusion, "excuse me?"

George's facade started to crumble away as his patience took a skydive. There wasn't enough time to pretend anymore, his family could be back any second.

He repeated in a much more impatient tone, "I believe that a wand twelve inches or longer made from vinewood with a dragon heartstring core would be suitable for my needs."

Without asking any further questions, a bewildered Ollivander went behind one of the many shelves and pulled out another box. George's foot frantically tapped the ground, and his fingers began to loudly drum along the desk while he waited. Now that he'd committed to meeting his patron, seconds started to feel like hours.

Just as Ollivander was in the process of walking back and opening the new box, he hesitantly said, "the wand chooses the wizard, and never the other way round. I'm afraid..."

George leaned over the desk and snatch the wand straight out of the box before Ollivander could even react. All that 'the wand chooses the wizard' rubbish means nothing when you have already held a bunch of wands before. His patron might have never let him use a wand, but he had certainly tested a lot on him for research purposes. The wand hummed the moment George grasped it tightly and powerful winds swirled around the room, blowing Ollivander's hair back. George could instantly feel a strong connection to the wand as if it was an extension of his body.  It kind of felt like he had been reunited with a lost limb.

He pocketed the wand with the same neutral expression and inquired, "I believe that will be seven galleons?"

There was a time and a place to be admiring his new wand, but now George had to leave as soon as possible. Since the question had been rhetorical, he placed the seven gold coins down before he had even received an answer. Ollivander nodded whilst not knowing what to say, this must have been a first for him. This weird behaviour might come back to bite George one day, but that was a problem for future him to deal with. If all goes well, he won't need to ever talk to Ollivander ever again.

George could faintly hear Ollivander saying, "how curious", just as he was running out of the shop.

The meeting point was at a building down Knockturn Alley, which so happened to be on the opposite side of the street. Due to the wall of parents blocking his view, George essentially had to guess which direction to start pushing through. Since time was against him, George didn't plan on showing any courtesy to the wizards and witches around him. He was a strong believer in the logic of 'sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt'. Therefore, he didn't have any reservations about forcing his body through the crowds like a battering ram whilst ignoring all the complaints being thrown his way.

Once George had trampled his way through a group of loitering children, he arrived on the other side of the street. He had gotten lucky enough to have arrived outside a shop called 'Scribbulus Writing Implements'. Just like he remembered, there was a brick archway labelled with a small sign saying 'Knockturn Alley' only a few yards away. Even whilst knowing the dangers associated with this side street, George didn't hesitate to start running into the darkness. He didn't feel particularly worried about running into some unsavoury wizards or witches since the shop he was looking for should be close to the entrance.

It only took him a few seconds of running to come across a derelict-looking building with an unusual name, 'Msaw Ætare'. The 'shop' was almost as uninviting as the Leaky Cauldron, the walls were painted grey and the windows were so dusty they were almost opaque. There was only a small lantern in the window illuminating empty shelves covered in cobwebs. Unless they were selling live spiders, there wasn't much to attract customers. The reason why this shop was so unappealing was because its a cover for an information broker. They traded in all types of secrets, ranging from adultery scandals with the pure-bloods to contacts for the muggle slave trade in Europe. George's patron used to talk about this place very fondly when he was performing his more mundane experiments.

George was about to push the front door open, but a purple blotchy hand reached out and blocked his path.

"I don't think you're allowed in there, sunshine. You better run back the way you came before something bad happens to ya."

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