Chapter - 5.3

"What do you mean you did not want to? Is this how you treat your customers? Sneaking up on them when they are not looking," Nicole expressed her disappointment, "You should give me a big fat discount on the wands. Only then we will be even," Nicole said to the old man while dusting her clothes.

"..."

"Now, don't just stand there, old man. Show us the best wands you have or are we supposed to look on our own?" Nicole looked at the dumbfounded old man and said. She has the upper hand, and she is going to make full use of it.

"Oh, yes... Yes! I will show them to you right away. So which is your wand hand?" Mr Ollivander asked while holding a measuring tape in his hand.

"Right, I suppose. For both of us," Nicole replied, unsure. She did not understand what he was asking.

"Splendid... Splendid. Now, please hold out your arm for me. The right one, please," The old man measured Nicole with great caution. From shoulder to finger. Then from the wrist to the elbow. Shoulder to the floor, knee to the armpit and round her head. But the measuring tape, as if programmed to do so, was moving on its own. The old man was only concerned with writing down the values.

As he measured Nicole, the old man spoke, "Every Olivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss...?"

"Nicole Ashbridge," Nicole replied.

"Like I was saying, Miss Nicole. Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and even the heartstrings of dragons." The old man said, boasting.

"No two Ollivander wands are the same. Just as no two unicorns or dragons are quite the same. And, of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand," The old man was done measuring, and he stood straight, thinking about the wands.

His chain of thoughts was broken when he heard Nicole scream.

"Will you make it stop, you perverted old man?" Nicole screamed at the top of her voice, jumping around the shop.

As Mr Olivander turned towards Nicole, he saw that the measuring tape was now coiling around Nicole's chest on its own. Flushed red with shame, Mr Ollivander gave his wand a swirl and fled inside to look for the wands. The measuring tape too, like a snake, followed behind him, floating and dancing in the air.

"You better give me a decent discount, old man, or you will see the worst of me," Nicole shouted from behind.

Alex looked at Nicole with a complicated gaze.

"What?" sensing Alex's gaze on herself, she asked.

"You have no regard for their seniority or the kind of legend they are, do you," Alex asked with a deep tone, "Don't tell me, even after seeing the name of the shop, you don't know who he is."

"This time, it's not my fault," Nicole said, throwing her arms, "Didn't you see what the old man did to me just now?" This time it was Nicole's turn to glare at Alex. There was no way it was her fault this time.

"Let's leave Mr Ollivander for now. Then what about Professor McGonagall?. I am sure you must have read about her in the books I gave you," When Alex thought about it, he had to admit that this time, it was not her fault. So he talked about the way Nicole behaved in front of Professor McGonagall.

But Nicole did not reply to her brother. She was angry with him for ignoring the point that she was just harassed by the perverted old man and his measuring tape. Instead, he was digging up old bones.

Alex, on seeing the displeasure on Nicole's face, wanted to talk about it, but before he could, Mr Ollivander came back with a bunch of boxes.

"Let's look at the wands for the young miss first," opening a box, Mr Ollivander handed a wand over to Nicole.

As he gave the wand to Nicole, Mr Ollivander explained about the wand, "Cedar and Phoenix feather. Ten and a half inches. Quite whippy, in the right hands, give it a wave," Mr Ollivander asked.

But as soon as Nicole waved her wand, the light bulb of the lamp sitting on the table burst, scaring Nicole.

"No... Not good," But Mr Ollivander did not even pay attention to it. For him, it was a usual day-to-day thing.

"It's all about trial and error. I have never got it right in the first go," Mr Ollivander explained and forwarded another wand towards Nicole, "How about this one? Rowan and unicorn hair, eleven inches. Nice and flexible,"

"... Give it a whirl," Mr Ollivander asked again.

And it was really different this time. As soon as Nicole waved the wand, sparkles appeared in the shop, illuminating it.

"Bravo," Mr Ollivander's happiness had no bounds, and he could not stop himself from clapping. But soon, he had a look of doubt on his face, "How unexpected. All the owners of the wand made of rowan are pure-hearted and innocent. But..." There was a slight pause before Mr Ollivander continued, " Oh well, let it be. Let me tell you more about the wand." Mr Ollivander could care less about Nicole's heart.

"... The wand made of rowan wood is more protective than any other. In my experience, rowan renders all manner of defensive charms especially strong, and difficult to break. It is also a commonly stated fact that no dark witch or wizard has ever owned a rowan wand. And I cannot recall a single instance where one of my own rowan wands has gone on to do evil in the world," Mr Ollivander proudly proclaimed.

At first, listening to Mr Ollivander, Nicole was getting angry, 'What do you mean by unexpected. Are you saying I don't have a pure heart?'

She was about to strike down Mr Ollivander with her fist of justice when suddenly he started praising the wizards who owned a rowan wand. This made her feel elated, and Mr Ollivander unknowingly avoided a crisis.

"Now that the young miss is all set and ready, let's look for a wand for you, Mr...?" turning towards Alex, Mr Ollivander said.

"Ashbridge, Alexender Ashbridge," Alex replied respectfully.

"Right, Mr Ashbridge, if you please," Mr Ollivander gestured for Alex to come closer.

And the same process was repeated, but the measuring tape did nothing funny with Alex. This did annoy Nicole a bit, who was ready for a nice show. After measuring Alex, Mr Ollivander went back deep inside the shop and, soon, came back with another batch of wands.

"Here, try this, Mr Ashbridge. Fir and kelpie hair, Eleven and quarter inches, very pliable," Mr Ollivander said, giving a wand to Alex.

With the wand in his hand, Alex stared at it for a while before tightening his grip around it. Alex has been using a wand for some time now. He had no idea where his master got that from, but he was told never to use it in front of anyone. Because of that, Alex had to buy a new wand. So as soon as he got the wand, Alex injected a bit of his magic into it. He was about to give it a wave, but something unexpected happened.

"Crack!" A crackling sound was heard, and Alex could see a splinter pricking his thumb.

"Oh, my," Mr Ollivander took the wand from Alex, "Now, this is a rare sight." Mr Ollivander said as he examined the wand.

"I am sorry, sir," Alexander took a step forward, "I will buy the wand. You don't have to worry." Alex offered. But Nicole, who was standing behind him, made faces, 'Why are you in such a rush? Even he has not asked for anything yet.' She thought.

"No... No... It's alright. The core is still intact. It's the wood that has a crack," But Mr Ollivander, much to Nicole's relief, refused Alex's offer, "I think I need a stronger wood to sustain your magic."

"How about this one? Blackthorn and dragon heartstring, Twelve inches. Strong but stiff," putting the wand back into its box, Mr Ollivander took out another wand from one of the boxes and gave it to Alex.

This time, Alex was much more careful. Just as he slowly waved the wand, Mr Ollivander tried to stop him, but before he could do that, the papers placed on the counter caught fire.

"Well, this won't do as well," disappointed that none of the wands was a perfect fit for the young man, he put the wand back in the box.

After that, Alex tried several wands only to be rejected by Mr Ollivander, and the shop was far from being called a mess.

"Well, I suppose the wands I make are not suitable for you, Mr Ashbridge. I can only apologise to you," at last, Mr Ollivander gave up.

"It's alright, but can you tell me where can I find one for me?" even Alex was a bit disheartened by the outcome.

"I can tell you the names and even write down the addresses for you so that you can find them," Mr Ollivander replied, dispirited. He grabbed a worn-out notebook from one of his drawers, and with his shaky hands, wrote down a couple of addresses.

Taking the page from Mr Ollivander, Alex said, "We will take our leave now, Mr Ollivander. How much for my sister's wand?" Taking out coins from his pocket, he asked.

"Take the wand as a gift from this old man, for all the inconvenience I caused the young lady".

"This..." Alex wanted to refuse. Not only did they make a mess of his shop, he even splintered one of his wands.

But Nicole was suddenly all smiles hearing Mr Ollivander. And before his brother could mess it up, she intervened, "You are good, old man," Nicole said, giving Mr Ollivander a thumbs up.

Now that they have talked it out, it wouldn't be nice of Alex to stick to it. "Well, good day, Mr Ollivander," Alex greeted him for the last time and turned around to walk out of the shop.

But just as the siblings reached the door, suddenly Mr Ollivander remembered something and shouted.

"Wait, Mr Ashbridge, I may have something for you," the old man did not wait for Alex or Nicole to say something, and he ran inside the store, leaving the puzzled siblings behind.

After about five minutes, Mr Ollivander came back with an old box covered in inches of dust.

Placing the box on the counter, Mr Ollivander blew air to remove the dust and started cleaning the box with his bare hands.

He did not spend much time cleaning the box and soon opened the box. From the box, Mr Ollivander carefully took out a wand and gave it to Alex.

"Try this, Mr Ashbridge."

* * * * *

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