Wands, and Final Preparations

Chapter 8 –

From the outside, the last shop looked narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

The tinkling of the bell indicated that Nathan had entered the store. Prof. McGonagall had said that buying a wand is usually considered a private experience and had promptly excused herself, choosing instead to wait for Nathan by the exit of Diagon Alley, where the archway had sealed itself previously.

The shop was as the movie had indicated it to be. It was small, filled with shelves of boxes, layered under thick dust, but it was all neatly arranged on the shelves. The boxes had labels, indicating what Nathan assumed to be wood type, length, and the animal core of the wand within.

A soft tingly sensation on the back of Nathan's head, followed by a murmured "Hello, there." had Nathan, jumping a step or two behind to face the owner of the silky voice. Despite having expected a scare, Nathan couldn't help but feel a little creeped out, by the silvery far-off stare the old man, was laying on him.

"Interesting, very interesting." said the man, who Nathan assumed to be Garrick Ollivander.

"Sorry, but what's interesting." Nathan couldn't help but ask, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach, he silently noticed the parallels between his interaction with this man and the possible future interaction between him and Harry Potter.

"Ah, how rude of me, I am Garrick Ollivander, the proprietor of this fine establishment, and I find it very interesting that the very magic that flows through you, has already made a connection, if I am not wrong, with more than half the wands in this store!"

'Huh!? That doesn't make any sense! Doesn't the wand choose the wizard, or something along those lines?' Nathan crowed internally.

"S-sorry sir, but what does that mean, for me? Will I not get a wand here?" Nathan asked hesitantly.

"I never said that, dear boy. You see, it is usually a wand that chooses a wizard, and it is not always clear why. But, if I were to make a guess, I'd say it's because wands channel the intent of the Wizard and imprint it on his magic, and it takes an exceptionally clear mind, to do so, efficiently without one. For you to have matched so easily with so many wands in my store, could mean that you have a rather clear mind. Great things can be expected from you, uh Mr.?" he trailed off at not having received his name.

"Nathan Frye, sir. So, can I buy any wand from this store?" Nathan queried in response.

"Yes, Mr. Frye, you can buy any of the matched wands from here, but I would recommend that you buy the one that gives off the most welcoming feel, to you." and so he began to bring out some of the wands from deep within the store, for Nathan to feel.

Nathan did notice, however, that these wands were made from woods of trees that were on the older side, and on contemplation, he realized that Ollivander was only matching the amplification of the wood, for his magic. The more amplifying the effect, the better the result the wand should give, for all of them would easily read his intent. And whenever he did touch a wand, he would feel happy, or elated.

Finally, after about fifty such wands, Ollivander's brought out a wand in a box labeled 'Bristlecone pine wood, encasing a Phoenix core, Thirteen inches'

The wand was almost amber in color, with streaks of silver etched spiraling around it, from the handle to the tip. Upon grasping the wand, Nathan felt absolutely elated. The wand emanated a dazzling show of small fireworks, in pink, blue, and orange. And it was then, through a feat of superb mental gymnastics, that he decided, that he would never, use the wand again, lest he becomes addicted to its feeling and use.

It didn't take long for Nathan to finish the purchase, and he decided to purchase a leather wand holster as well, not that he was going to be using it, but to hold it and store it and never use it.

As soon as he would reach home, he would transfigure a stick that was the exact replica of this wand, for him to use, so that he could hide his capabilities of wandless magic.

Hastily paying the required seven-plus-fifteen galleons, Nathan made his way to the final purchase of his day, An owl.

He had just stepped foot into 'Eyelop's Owl Emporium' when he noticed the most beautiful, Spotted Wood Owl, perched in the corner of the store. Making a beeline to the majestic bird, as if in a trance, he missed the calls of "How may I help you, sir?" from the shopkeeper.

It was only when he heard the shopkeeper, chuckling beside him, that he realized what he'd done.

The shopkeeper's face took on a more amused lilt, and he said "That lad, is the Spotted Wood Owl, one of the rarest species of Owl in the continent."

"How much do I need to pay for her sir?" Nathan didn't want to beat around the bush with this purchase.

"She'll cost you, no more than twenty-five galleons, pay two more and I'll throw in a manual for caretaking and the perch, with the cage and its standard treats, it will last you a month. What will you name her?" He queried, knowing that purchase was already a done deal.

Paying the man, his due Nathan took a long look at her and decided "She shall be named, Edna!"

In under fifteen minutes, Nathan had arrived at the now opened archway, where Prof. McGonagall was waiting for him, and she proceed to apparate him back to The Abode, in Norfolk.

oOOOOOOOOOo

It had been a couple of weeks and Nathan had already begun combing through the newly acquired books in his trunk/library.

He had begun identifying the different tastes of magic, that are imparted to the intent behind its use. He'd realized magic meant to produce a constant stream of fire, tasted or felt different, than magic meant to produce water. This simple act of conjuration, can even still be classified to have a similar taste, as compared to magic meant to increase the size of an object or change its shape. This difference in the feel or taste, of magic, is what led to the taxonomical classification of the various prominent branches of magic.

So, while the feeling imparted by an act of conjuration of fire, is different from the act of conjuration of water, the feeling of the act of conjuration of any element is completely different than spatial magic.

He'd begun practicing basic transfiguration, conjuration of the various basic spiritual elements, (fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning) he had attempted very specific magical effects too, for he could easily make the flowers in The Abode's Garden and walkway, dance to a tune, or make those same flowers take a walk around the garden itself.

This breakthrough was possible through reading the very basic set of books in his school curriculum. Admittedly, it wasn't the first-year course, but rather the third-year course. Still, Nathan felt giddy with the prospects, now that he'd broken the crescendo he'd sequestered into.

His mum was also extremely delighted with the various magical effects that he'd been able to attempt at home. He'd realized that the ministry traces wands, not magic, for magic itself has no differentiating features. He had also been able to establish a subscription to the magical newspaper The Daily Prophet, which was filled with news about the Laws and Happenings of the wizengamot. Though Nathan could see the whitewashing, the paper was filled with, the bias in favor of the Ministry itself.

He'd also finally gotten around to acquiring a non-Magical international Newspaper, in the form of the Daily Mirror, for previously The Abode was limited to local news.

Upon casual reading of both Histories, magical and non-magical, he had come to a very disturbing conclusion.

The magical and non-magical worlds were very finely separated. Grindelwald had never interacted with Hydra, he had directly taken control of Hitler, and through him, he had attempted to take control of the world. Nathan shuddered when he thought of what Grindelwald and Johann Schmidtt could have accomplished together. Hydra is seemingly a complete non-entity in the wizarding world, they either don't know that the magical world exists, or something else is at play here.

Captain America is a major figure in non-magical history, he had taken the Valkyrie and crashed it in the Atlantic back in 1945, and his heroic sacrifice has been immortalized in history. Nathan was not an avid reader of Comics in his previous life, his knowledge of the Marvel Universe is limited to the marvel cinematic universe, and that too is hazy at best. Last he remembered, was a purple grape from space had wiped out half of all life in the universe, with just a snap of his fingers. A cold shiver went up to Nathan's spine, for he realized that the alien responsible for that could very well exist in this reality too, not regarding other hidden threats the comic universe could've hidden for Nathan.

'Baby steps, Nathan, baby steps' he consoled himself, for he'd need it to properly be ready to face the challenges bound to face in the future.

oOOOOOOOOOOo

"Ceasefire established on the frontlines of the Iraq-Iran war, as of 20th August.. Treaties to be discussed at the next diplomatic UN meeting."

Nathan was reading the Sunday non-magical newspaper while sipping his tea.

"Johnny McTiernan's "Die Hard" opens in cinemas and subsequently becomes the then-highest grossing film of all time." Read another headline, Nathan glanced at the clock, it read the time to be nine thirty-five in the morning, he continued reading, while silently musing, about when his mum would be ready for their road trip to London.

"War Hero, Margaret Carter to be awarded the Nobel Prize for her efforts in bringing about the downfall of Hydra, and successfully integrating displaced German scientists in American industry, while advancing Humanity into a new era of technological development alongside partnership with Howard Stark. She has been lauded as the most influential woman of this century." He once again glanced at the hallway that led to his mum's bedroom, his fingers fidgeting with the last piece of biscuit on his plate.

"Anton Vanko was found embezzling and selling state secrets from Stark Industries, sentenced to jail for fifteen years followed by immediate deportation to Russia. Howard Stark was unavailable for comment, sources say the relationship between billionaires Hank Pym and Howard Stark has further deteriorated due to the same reason."

Nathan had to wonder, what else this universe was hiding from him, just on earth for these were just a few names he remembered about the Marvel Universe that coincided with the Movie verse from his previous life, he cursed at himself, once again for not spending more time reading comics, it would have been helpful in establishing a good information source for this life. 'But as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty.' He finished internally.

His musings were interrupted when he heard the closing of a door, down the hall, and he knew that his mum was ready to leave for London. They had planned to travel to London, a day early as London was more than a hundred miles away from Norfolk and the Hogwarts Express departs from Platform nine and three-quarters. Problem was, neither he nor his mum could apparate like Prof. McGonagall, so they would have to travel there the old fashion way, by car or by bus.

They were traveling in his grandfather's old 1963 Aston Martin DB MkII, which he'd polished the previous. The metallic grey, chrome barred car shined almost as good as new and was definitely going to turn heads, when it drove down the streets of London.

"Nathan, are you ready? Have you packed your trunk? Have you checked that everything is there with you? What about Edna, is she in her cage?" she started rattling off as soon as she was in the lounge.

Rolling his eyes, yet smiling fondly at his mum, Nathan replied "Yes mum, I've checked everything and I've placed the trunk in my pocket, and Edna is already in the back seat of the car in her cage, mum! I am ready!"

"Good then, let me check the stove again, and we'll be off to London"

"Alright mum, I'll wear my shoes and wait for you outside!"

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