The Wand Chooses the Wizard Hagrid

"Robes, Check. Books, Check. Potions equipment, check. Broom, check. Pet?" I say as I read over the shopping list for the school year.

"Should you want a pet, we can get one. Good news though, Hogwarts now allows several more kinds of pets. However, they must be non-dangerous." Harry explains, looking down at me as I hold my shopping list. "In other words, absolutely no dragons."

"If that's the case, I know exactly what I want!" I exclaim, now running towards the shop, Magical Menagerie. I remember coming here on several occasions to see what they had for sale, once in a while I'd see something a bit frowned upon. But today was different, today I was picking out a companion for the next 7 years or longer.

As I head inside, I make my way to the arachnids section, examining each one in its enclosure. The smaller spiders are kept in glass boxes, while the larger ones have a platform at the bottom of a metal cage. But of course, I was going to the one that spoke to me best. I found many tarantulas, there was rose haired, Striped, Redknee, and even Zebra. But I soon found the one right for me, the Goliath Birdeater. Known to be the largest tarantula in the world by mass, and only about as poisonous as a wasp.

Harry only just catches up to me as I'm walking to the counter with the Goliath Birdeater as It's nuzzling up to the side of the cage. He takes a moment to take in what he's seeing, and then finally calms down.

"S-sorry about that, a little bit of PTSD from my run in with Aragog. But I should've known you'd go with a spider. Well come on then, let's buy then we've got one last stop." Harry said, stumbling over his words a little. I felt bad, Aragog did give Harry a good scare.

"Well! I never thought we'd sell old Bertha there. She's been getting lonely for the longest time... Tell you what, since she seems to like you, I'll drop the price down. She needs a good companion." The shopkeeper says as he rings up the price on Bertha.

"That'll be 4 Galleons please, and here, the care and maintenance manual comes with her, free of charge." He says, as I hand him the 4 Galleons and he hands me the book.

"Have a nice day, and take care of her!" I hear the shopkeeper yell as we're leaving the store.

"Alright Jasper, we've got one more stop to make. I hope you're ready." Harry says as it takes me a moment to remember that Jasper is my new name.

"Where are we going?" I ask, looking at the shopping list. There doesn't seem to be anywhere left.

"To Ollivanders of course. McGonagall informed me that, while your records are missing, the record of your wand is not. Not only that, your wand was broken!" Harry says, patting the bag at his side. "Don't worry, it'll all be ok."

As we turn the corner, I see the sign for Ollivanders. The old sign creaks at the slightest gust of wind but is welcoming nonetheless. When we reach the door, the cobbled road turns to two wooden steps, perfectly matching in color and grain to the door above them. The door feels almost as intimidating as it is welcoming, with its half-moon window at the top, and old style brass knob at the side.

We entered the store, a chime ringing as we open the door. It looks drastically different than when I brought Harry here his first time. Of course, the place had been ransacked since then. But from what I heard, all the wands found their way back here, in the end. Whether it be a kind soul that found the wand, or of the wands own accord. Every single wand, in one way or another, found its way back into its proper box and placement on the shelves.

We approach the counter and ring the old bell. No sooner had we rang it than dear old Mr. Ollivander came sliding down a long ladder, right to the counter.

"Gobhil, come here! We have a customer" Ollivander says with his warm and welcoming smile.

"This is my son, Gobhil. It's Indian for Sanskrit Scholar. He'll be helping me find a wand for you. So, A new wand I suppose? I've got a special deal on wand polish as well."

"Yes sir," says Harry. "We also have something for you. We knew only you could do it justice." He says, as he pulls a small box out of his bag, and places it on the counter.

"Oh... I see." Ollivander says with a mournful look on his face. He opens the box and pulls out my old wand. The poor thing is snapped and taped together.

"Poor thing, It's a shame they get snapped and not just brought back here. But don't fear, I know it's not your fault Hagrid." Ollivander says with a sigh, and wraps the wand in a red velvet cloth, and places it gently on the counter beside him.

"How did you know it was me, Garrick? I thought the Polyjuice Potion did the job." I say in surprise.

Ollivander looks me over and sighs, "I knew it was you Hagrid because I remember each and every wand I've ever sold. Your secret is safe with me."

"Now, on to business. You needed a new wand, correct? Well, we ought to try a wand that closely matches your old one." He waves to Gobhil, and Gobhil pulls a box out from a shelf. "Oak, 16 inches, and Unicorn Hair for the core. Give it a wave towards that stack of books."

I do as he says, my memories of the first time I got my wand flooding back to me. I wave my wand towards the books, and... Nothing happens? No. The books start to rumble, then jump, then finally they shoot clear to the roof with a slam and fall back onto the table in a mess.

"That was... Interesting." Says Gobhil, pulling out a new box, "Perhaps this one. 14 inches, Cherry, with a Dragon Heartstring Core. This time use it on the light, hanging over the table."

I go to pick up the delicately crafted wand, ready to test my luck. Instead, the wand moves away from me. I try again, and again. Finally, I grab the wand, and it shocks me a small bit and leaps back into the box.

"No, no, definitely not that wand!" He says, wrapping the wand up, placing it back in the box, and gingerly putting it on the shelf.

Hours pass and we still haven't found a wand that doesn't reject me. Garrick looks more and more pale with every wand that rejects me as if he's afraid.

"Gobhil, go upstairs, you've done enough work for today. I'll figure out what to do here." Garrick says, and Gobhil goes back upstairs looking defeated.

"Poor boy, he hasn't been at this job very long and it's stressing him out. Anyway..." He pauses and turns his head as if he hears something. "No, that wouldn't make sense..." He says to himself. "But the pieces are there." He shakes his head as if trying to recollect himself.

"Wait here... I must check on something." Garrick says and takes my broken wand with him. From the counter I can see his head to the back of the store, and through a shelf of wands. In all my years, I've never seen him go THROUGH a shelf. We wait, for a few minutes, I start to feel anxious.

Mr. Ollivander now returns with a wand box. However, it's different from all the rest, the box is old and cracked, but is held shut with chains and a large lock with no keyhole. He walks over to the fireplace and places the box in it. Next, he places the red velvet cloth, holding my wand on top of it, and lights the fire. We watch the flames surround the box, and my wand, whipping over both. The cloth catches fire and begins to burn blue, wisps of magic begin to float around in the fire. I watch as my old wand turns to ash, and the wisps of magic surround the box and disappear.

I had never seen anything like that in my life, what I just watched almost made me cry. Now Ollivander reaches in with a glove, and pulls out the box with chains on it, and sets it on the counter. I feel no heat coming off of it, almost like the flames never touched it.

"I never thought the day would come, that this wand would see the light of day again," Garrick says, giving the box a blow, and the chains turn to dust and scatter. He then opens the box and pulls out a black cloth completely wrapped around a wand.

"This wand was the first wand in recorded history. The magic stored up made it dangerous to be stored normally. Elderwood, 12 inches, and Lethifold Essence core." He says, slowly unwrapping the wand.

As he unwraps the cloth from the wand, the cloth turns to smoke and dissipates. The wand is that of my dreams, white and cracked the handle twisting and turning to the base, with a design etched into the bottom, and the tip came to a rounded point. It almost seemed to whisper as I laid eyes on it, making my spine chill.

"This wand must be treated with the most delicate of care. It must be treated as if it were another person and given respect as such. It can be your greatest ally, or your greatest enemy, depending on how you treat it. I dare not think of what would happen if anyone attempted to break it."

He places the wand in front of me on the counter and gestures me to pick it up. As I do so, the cracks in the wand immediately disappear, and I feel my blood run cold. A small light emanates from the tip of the wand, as all the other lights in the room become brighter than ever, then return to normal.

"I see... It's decided then, the wand has chosen you, Rubeus Hagrid. Or rather, Jasper now." Garrick says, with a pale expression, but calm. "I can't possibly charge you for this wand... However, if anything happens to this wand that it does not approve of, you'll pay whatever price it chooses." He explains, placing a bag on the table, with a clank. "Here is enough wand polish for the entire year, and a special holster for it. The holster straps onto your forearm, and has a locking cap on it. Next time I see you will be next year at the same time. I hope you treat the wand well."

"I promise you, I'll treat this wand as my life depended on it," I said, giving Garrick a nod. The holster is made of treated leather and has steel buckles on it, once I buckle it onto my arm, open end facing my hand, it seems to form fit itself to my arm the rest of the way. I gently slide the wand into the holster and lock the cap onto it. We then head back to the Leaky Cauldron for the night.

(Back at the Leaky Cauldron)

"Well, it's been a long and truly... Interesting, day." Harry says, clearly concerned. "I hope that wand does not bring you any trouble. But it's late now, we should both head to bed. You need to catch the train tomorrow."

I can't help but give Harry a hug, I'm still in disbelief that this is happening. I'm going back to Hogwarts, and this time, it'll be different. This time I'll graduate, be on the Quidditch team, and really make the absolute best of it.

"Thank you, Harry," I say as I'm giving him a hug. "This means more to me than you will ever understand." He gives me a hug back, awkwardly but warmly.

"Don't worry about it, you truly deserve this." Harry says, "Now let's head upstairs, and get to bed. I'll wake you up at 7:30 am, we have to catch the train at 11 AM tomorrow."

We head upstairs and go to our separate rooms. I take my Polyjuice Potion for the night, then put my trunk of school supplies over at the foot of the bed, and Bertha in her cage at my bedside table. I open the care and maintenance book, It says that they require a large tank and a well-developed habitat. There's also a note in here, from the shop owner.

"To whomever purchases Bertha, please note that she is in her midlife. She will not attack creatures larger than it and will avoid humans it is unfamiliar with. If shown aggression, she will flee back to her cage, and if cornered she will attempt to bite. Should she feel threatened by you for any reason, leave her alone for about an hour, then attempt contact again. The best approach with her is to lay your hand open, palm up, and ground level with her, approximately 6-10 inches away. At night you may leave the cage door open and she will hunt on her own, she will eat any bugs she comes across. Domesticated mice and rats often make friends with her, as she tends to go for more wild prey. She will always return to her cage by morning, so do not worry about losing her. Thank you, and I hope you and Bertha get along well. Sincerely, Damien Harrow, Owner of Magical Menagerie."

Once I finished reading the note, I promptly opened Bertha's cage door and laid my hand open outside the door. She walked up to my hand and touched it with her foot a few times, she then stepped onto my hand and laid down. Her black skin reflected the moonlight from the window, as I stroked her back with my other hand. She seemed at home.

I then lowered Bertha onto the room floor and watched her as she scuttled off under the closet door and out of sight. I'll see if the note wasn't lying in the morning. I then turned over in bed and fell asleep faster than anticipated. It had been a long day, and the next few days will only get better.

Once I fell asleep, I dreamed of the wand again. This time, I was dreaming I was in a duel. I was standing in a courtyard of Hogwarts, I cast a spell to block an incoming attack, and then levitated a few rocks and tossed them back at my opponent. The wand felt warm in my hand, and with every successful attack, only felt warmer and more comfortable. I heard it whisper...

"This body suits you well..."