8 Learning About Wand Materials

Pain. 

Horrendous pain. 

That's the feeling one felt when a wizard forcefully used Legilimency on them. 

This was exactly what Ian felt. 

"This is a pleasant surprise." Garrick mused. "How did you manage to progress this fast?"

It hadn't been long since he last tested his nephew's progress and while he had easily completed the mind clearance part, he was still hard stuck on the mind shield part. For Ian to progress this much in less than a week, Garrick was taken aback. 

Ian's shield was very easily broken despite him using Merlin's method. But Ian didn't blame Merlin for his failure. Garrick was a well-experienced wizard and he was barely a child that had formed the first layer of the mind shield.

What Ian did was dangerous. Letting anyone inside his mind after he made contact with the 'Book of the Wise' was a big no. However, the spell Merlin designed saved him from having his secrets revealed. 

Not to mention, insanity didn't seem very appealing to Ian.

"Had a bit of a discovery." He said. "Learnt of the mistakes that I was making and that helped in speeding up my progress."

Garrick smiled at the progress of his nephew. His advancement was extraordinary but also needed. They didn't have much time and had to make a move in the wizarding world soon. And for that, Ian had to be as prepared as possible. 

"I still cannot forgive myself for letting you go through such intense training sessions, but you have to remember that the future of the Ollivanders lies on your shoulder."

It was not a wise thing to say to a young boy, but Ian was anything but naive. Garrick was already rolling his dice behind the scene and all Ian had to do for the time being was to train. 

Train in magic, train in arts, train in politics and train in ethics. He was to become someone that was not only magically powerful but also powerful socially and economically. 

There was a lot that Garrick had to teach Ian and one of those things was starting today. 

"Rest for a while, Ian." Garrick said. "Because we are going to learn about wands and the materials required to make them in an hour."

'Finally.' Ian exclaimed in his mind. After all, this was something that he had been waiting for quite a while now.

…

…

Wands are a magician's greatest piece of equipment. It is a quasi-sentient instrument that lets the magic user channel their power and cast various spells. 

Wands make casting spells much easier and make even the weakest spells unimaginably powerful. Each wizard has a near unique wand. Some long, some short, some thick and some thin. Everything about a wand depends on its user. From the materials used in manufacturing its core to the wood used in making its frame —everything depends on the customer. 

Some cores are inherently easier for a specific wizard to use while the same wizard may find it near impossible to use a wand made of a different core.

Wands are such an important and deep part of a wizard's life that countless wizards spend their entire life researching about them and that research, that study of wands was later termed as Wandlore. 

Many wizards and witches spend their entire lifetime studying this unending topic and only a few can be said to have 'near mastered' it. 

In the eastern part of Europe, the one who took over the wand-making industry was Mykew Gregorovitch and the one who ruled the wand industry of the western part of Europe was Garrick Ollivander. 

Both had polar views on wands but neither of them could deny that each made wands that no other wand maker could replicate. 

And this was what Garrick was about to teach Ian. 

"Even if you became a political powerhead, you will still own the wand business of our family, Ian." Garrick reminded. "Do not let it go extinct."

Ian didn't want to stay stuck making wands but neither did he want to let the art of his family's wandmaking making go extinct. 

"I won't." He promised, which made Garrick happy. 

Garrick moved to his study where he kept many books and materials. 

"Now, where do we start?" He wondered as he went through his book. But as his eyes fell on his wand, his face softened. "Oh, silly old me. I know exactly where to start."

"Accio Wand!" He casted a spell, making his wand fly towards him. As the wand landed on his palm, he looked at Ian. "Let's start with the outer part of every wand, the wood."

Ian nodded. "Alright."

"Each and every wood gives a different property to a wand. Some might make the spells stronger, some might make the casting quicker while some might make the consumption of magic lower." He smiled. "Each wood is unique and special."

Garrick pointed towards a picture of an apple tree to be specific. "Let's start with Applewood. Applewood wands are not made in great numbers. They are powerful and best suited to an owner of high aims and ideals, as this wood mixes poorly with Dark magic." He explained and then moved onto another picture. "Ashwood… The ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of a unicorn. Tools, magical and ordinary, made from Ash are especially productive as Ash trees are known to attract energy. Ash people are kind and generous with a gift for seeing what is beautiful in the world and in others. And Ash people should be careful that their romantic hearts do not lead them into danger."

Ian was amazed by the Ashwood more than the Applewood and he wondered if the rest of the woods were just as good as the Ashwood. 

As Garrick moved onto the next page, a grin appeared on his page. "Ah, this one is what I believe will be a perfect match for you."

"Which?" Ian questioned. 

With the same grin, Garrick answered. "Beech. The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years… and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant."

That did interest Ian but he didn't want to rush at asking for a wand without being sure. 

After all, it's the wand that chooses its owner.

"Ah, Cedar. Whenever I meet one who carries a cedar wand, I find strength of character and unusual loyalty. My father, Gervaise Ollivander, always used to say, 'you will never fool the cedar carrier,' and I agree, the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception." Garrick summarised and moved onto the next wood. "Cypress wands are associated with nobility. The great medieval wandmaker, Geraint Ollivander, wrote that he was always honoured to match a cypress wand, for he knew he was meeting a witch or wizard who would die a heroic death."

"Ebony. This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration."

Transfiguration interested Ian and hence he made sure to remember about Ebony.

"Hmm… English oak is a wand for good times and bad, this is a friend as loyal as the wizard who deserves it. Wands of English oak demand partners of strength, courage and fidelity." 

A good wood but not exciting enough.

As Garrick moved onto the next wood type, his face soured. "The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time."

This was interesting. 

'But is it worth the risk?' Ian wondered.

"The wandmaker Gregorovitch wrote that hawthorn makes a strange, contradictory wand, as full of paradoxes as the tree that gave it birth, whose leaves and blossoms heal, and yet whose cut branches smell of death.'"

"Hawthorn." Ian mumbled. "A rare and interesting wood indeed."

"Oh, it is." Ollivander smiled. "For it is the only wand that Gregorovitch and I ever agreed upon."

"Agreed on?" Ian questioned. 

"That it is not a very smart choice of a wood." Garrick smiled before moving onto another wood type. "Silverlime, this unusual and highly attractive wand wood was greatly in vogue in the nineteenth century. Demand outstripped supply, and unscrupulous wandmakers dyed substandard woods in an effort to fool purchasers into believing that they had purchased silver lime."

"Yew wands are among the rarer kinds, and their ideal matches are likewise unusual, and occasionally notorious. The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death."

It took over two hours for Garrick to go over all the wand woods and for Ian to process all the information. 

But while it was a lot of information, Ian couldn't deny that it was a very interesting topic.

"That might have been a lot for you to take in but knowing the woodwork is an important part of a wandmaker's life."

Ian nodded at Garrick's comment. 

"Now moving onto the cores… usually I used three of the supreme cores but there are countless others." He said. "But for now, let's start with the three supreme ones." He looked at Ian and asked. "Do you know what they are?"

"Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring and Phoenix Feather." 

Garrick ruffled Ian's hair at the answer. "Indeed. So let's start with unicorn hair."

"Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts." Garrick had a calm smile. "They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may 'die' and need replacing."

"Aren't those some major disadvantages?" Ian enquired and Garrick laughed. 

"They are. However, every core has its advantages and disadvantages. Some severe while others… not so much." Garrick explained. "Now, Dragon Heartstring."

"As a rule, Dragon Heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental."

This was interesting but just as risky. If the user lost, the opponent might snatch the wand right off their hands.

"As for the Phoenix feather… This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won."

Ian nodded and continued to listen intently. 

"Now there are many more types that I don't use often or some like Veela's hair that I never use." He frowned. "Veela's hair makes quite the temperamental wands."

"What about others?" Ian questioned. 

"The three I mentioned above are most stable as early in my career, as I have watched my wandmaker father wrestling with substandard wand core materials such as kelpie hair…" Garrick revealed. "It took me ages to master these three superior cores, which is why I rarely use any other type."

He sighed. "Now there are other wandmakers that use some interesting materials but barely any of them have good results. One of those rare cases that ended up creating a strong wand was with the usage of Thunderbird tail as a core… The tail feather of the Thunderbird was used as a wand core by the American wandmaker Shikoba Wolfe. Wolfe's wands were powerful but difficult to master, and were good for transfiguration work."

Ian smiled at knowing that there might be a core that could best the three superior ones. And in a way, he wanted to look for such a core.

"Then there is the White River Monster core… This wand core was used by Thiago Quintana. White River Monster spines produce spells of force and elegance." Garrick continued. "Another good one is the horned serpent's horn. This wand core was used by Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry founder Isolt Sayre. The wands made from this core were exceptionally powerful. They were also sensitive to Parseltongue and warned its owner of danger by emitting a low musical tone."

Garrick went through countless more but was barely of any interest to Ian, until he reached the final core type. 

"The last one for today is Basilisk horn… Only one wand is known to have used this core. It was made by Salazar Slytherin for a wand of his own making."

Now this was another one of those interesting ones, especially since it was used by Salazar.

But he wasn't going to rush, he was going to research as much as he could before deciding on a wand. 

After all, his future depended on it. 

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[A/N: The item descriptions are from the wiki, so don't quote me on this LOL.]