Wand

"Follow me," Garrick, who seemed eager to continue the conversation, put the picture into his pocket and turned around. Then he walked behind a pile of wand boxes that seemed to hide the back of the room from those not behind the counter, disappearing from Ted's view.

Disappointed that the old man stopped talking about his mom, Ted stood there for only a second before he went behind the counter. Looking to his side, he now saw a long hall, impossibly large in comparison to the shop from the outside.

The hall was surprisingly long, and at its end, Ted could see a small room, Garrick standing at its entrance, waiting. The old man reached there surprisingly fast; the hall was over 25 meters long, and Garrick had reached his current location in less than the 5 seconds it took Ted to reach the counter.

Walking towards Garrick, Ted looked around, scanning briefly the long boxes that emitted tons of magic. This was another weird thing he could do. Ever since the first time he walked into Ollivanders, Ted could see the magic around him.

At first, he thought it was something normal, like everyone who could use magic could see it. But soon, he came to realize that this topic never came up in any book he had ever seen. Out of curiosity, he asked Raynold about the feeling of magic, though surprisingly he only said it was surreal, like something intangible that could only be used but not felt and seen.

This piqued Ted's curiosity, and eventually, after a day in 'Flourish and Blotts Bookseller,' he had come to realize that all the wizards who spoke of the subject said the same. It was also the same for his danger sense; such a thing seemed to be unheard of.

Reaching the end of the long corridor, Ted entered a small circular room, maybe half the size of his bedroom, though the walls seemed to stretch far above, before becoming one with a cold, seemingly real, starry night sky that decorated the ceiling.

It was different from the rest of the shop; here, instead of random piles and stacks of boxes, there were mahogany shelves that surrounded the room. They were separated into twelve sections on every row. Narrow boxes of various colors were organized neatly on the shelves. Before each section was a sign written on a piece of parchment.

There were Elder, Pear, Pine, Fir, Lime, and many more; each section, even some of the empty ones above, seemed to have a sign marking it.

"Magnificent, is it not? This was your mother's workshop, created by the best of dwarfs and enchanted by your mother herself. She really did love that ceiling in Hogwarts, though this one is much smaller. It is even better than the one I remember." Garrick's aged voice spoke; he was currently standing at the center of the room, his back towards Ted.

"Come here, young man, have a look." He gestured with his hand signaling Ted to join him.

Walking forward, Ted stood next to Garrick. There, in front of him, stood a small circular table, so small that he couldn't even see it with Garrick standing before it. On the table, encased by an egg-shaped glass container, laying on a gray cushion, was a single wand.

It was a simple wand, medium in length. It was ink black in color with a spiraling design and had a silver handle decorated by the inscription what looked like a tree in Japanese style. Looking at it, Ted couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. The wand contained more magic than anything else he had ever seen, including the wards of Gringotts.

"Her finest creation, 10.5 inches in length, solid, made of the branch of a cherry tree over a thousand years old, harvested at its full bloom during the night of a lunar eclipse," Garrick said with dreamy eyes, as if imagining the magical material.

"The core was donated by a fully grown, male thestral, a very powerful one at that, said it could even turn invisible in the face of those who have already seen death. The best wand I have ever seen." Ted only listened with wonder; by now, he had already gained a lot of magical knowledge, and the items Garrick described were the rarest among rare.

"Back then, just before she got married, she left it here, saying something about I'll know when its owner came. I already knew the moment I saw you back then... Elara's gift for wands was the best I have seen, but she had another talent, far rarer..." Garrick seemed to once again sink into his own thoughts, as he looked at the wand.

"What was it? Sir." He asked eagerly, looking at Garrick intently; he wanted to know everything he could of his mother.

"No need for that. Just call me Ollivander, or Garrick. Elara's talents in magic were only above average, but when it came to learning, she seemed to see no limits. Her gift was amongst the rarest of them all; it was the gift of prophecy, the ability to peek willingly into the future." He said, his hand now laying on the edges of the glass container, picking it up carefully.

"Wait, is that actually possible?" Ted revealed a rare expression of confusion. "In most of the books I read, they all claim it to be either fakes or the visions of crazy people."

"Oh, of course, it's real. Any word against it is just a word of spite and envy." Garrick only revealed a mysterious smile as he picked the wand with the tips of his fingers, making it send out a small blast, hitting the nearby shelf. "Very dangerous this one, extremely loyal. It seems I awoke it from its sleep."

"Sleep?" Ted looked at the man, doubtful.

"Yes, sleep." Garrick answered shortly while presenting the wand to Ted. "Wands are alive in a manner; they wouldn't work for ones they deem unworthy. And one this powerful is like a living being; it's already half-sentient and might even become fully so in the future."

Ted, looking at the man full of skepticism, said, "What do you mean alive?"

"Everybody can create a wand with a little effort, but not everybody can become a wand craftsman. To make a truly great wand, one needs to know how to see, speak, and listen so that when he combines the materials, they actually match.

Imagine you have all the materials in the world; even if you had those very materials, how would you know what goes with what? For example, if I took this very same hair of thestral and tried to match it with any other wood, the room would explode.

One can't just keep on guessing until something works. There are infinite combinations with infinite results, many of which would kill you on the spot. There are many ways to create a good wand, by logic, by force, by time, but then there is the path known as the best one, the path of listening.

It is the reason that Ollivanders was always considered the best, attracting the attention of wand makers all around the world. This path, while vague and unpredictable, needs the special talent of hearing the materials. Or seeing..." Garrick said, revealing a toothy smile. Ted at that moment understood what the man meant, thinking of his ability that others didn't seem to have. A talent for seeing magic.

"So it's an inherent ability..." Looking at Garrick, Ted sighed at his waste of time, finally understanding why he never found a mention in the books, of course he wouldn't, it was a family secret...

Hesitating for only a moment more, Ted took hold of the presented weapon, his right hand gripped the handle gently, similarly to how one might hold a knife.

The moment he took the wand into his hand, he felt the magic inside him boiling; it was like a dam that held it all in one place was suddenly removed. Within a moment, he could feel it spreading, starting from his stomach, it moved to his chest and abdomen, then to his throat and neck, finally spreading into his limbs and head.

It was a warm sensation, like he was suddenly embraced by a warm hug that covered his whole body. Closing his eyes, he could sense the power circulating before it finally all circulated towards his heart.

Like a black hole, all the energy that originated in his stomach and spread throughout was drawn back towards one spot, before condensing into his heart, spreading warmth that he hadn't felt in years.

And as fast as it came, so did it suddenly disappear. Leaving behind only the illusory silhouette of a woman, riding on the back of a winged horse that lingered in Ted's mind; he could swear he heard it say, "Happy birthday, son," right before it disappeared as well.

Taking in a deep breath, Ted's hand clutched the wand rigidly; opening his eyes, something that hasn't happened since he was six years old, happened once more—he was crying.

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BTW- if you want you can try the How I Met Your Mother fic I'm writing:

HIMYM:Barney Stinson... But with a vampire system?!