The Art of Wandmaking

Harry smiled and looked at Bellatrix. "You might as well go first."

"Very good, my lord." Nasil said absently as he began to measure Bellatrix in various places. "Which is your wand arm, milady?"

"Left." answered Bellatrix.

Nasil finished his measurements and pulled out a piece of parchment with a lot of numbers written all over it. He studied it for a moment and then pronounced, "I do believe that twelve and a third will suit you."

"Ollivander gave me a twelve inch." Bellatrix said for reference.

"He isn't quite as precise about wand-length as I am." Nasil explained. "He's an excellent wandmaker though. It's just that I'm a wandcrafter instead." He pulled several small blocks of wood from his case and presented them to Bellatrix. "Hold these one at a time and tell me which one gives you the most enjoyable 'feeling.'" He turned his attention to Harry. "While she's doing that, I'll measure you, my lord."

After measuring Harry, referring to the parchment, measuring him again, re-referring to the parchment, and then some extra calculations, Nasil was able to come up with a wand size for Harry. "It'll be a very delicate balance based on your measurements and aura, but I believe that thirteen and a seventh will do nicely."

Bellatrix had finished sampling the wood blocks. She held one up to Nasil. "I like this one the best. It gives me a refreshed feeling."

He took it from her and examined it thoughtfully. "Cherry it shall be then." He moved the stack of blocks over for Harry to sample and then pulled out a handful of plain wands that had no particular type of wood or length. "Sample these, don't wave them or try to do magic with them, they aren't standard wands."

Meanwhile, Harry was getting frustrated. Every single sample of wood felt dead and unresponsive. Finally he gave up. "None of these suit me at all."

"Curious." Nasil whispered excitedly. He gingerly took a small pouch out of the case, opened it, and gingerly placed a small selection of different samples before Harry. "Try these." He left Harry to it and shifted his attention to Bellatrix who had found a 'test wand' she liked. "Phoenix feather! Should have guessed." he said with a smile.

Harry sorted through the special samples until he came to two separate ones he liked a lot. "These two feel great." he stated to Nasil.

Nasil picked them up. "Split personality eh? No wonder measuring you up was so hard."

"What are they?"

"Black Ash and Ivory. They're rarely used for wands, but when they are and suit the owner, they produce spectacular results." Nasil explained. "Fortunately you're purchasing two wands, so having two woods won't be a problem at all. Now try these test wands."

Harry did so and once again, he couldn't find anything that fitted him. He sighed and Bellatrix patted him on the back encouragingly as Nasil tried to ease Harry's concerns. "Don't worry, my lord. I've never found a person I couldn't make a wand for."

"Any special samples?"

"I'm afraid not. The Ice People have always had a large and very broad supply of various materials that can be used for cores though." He pulled a small glass ball out of the case. "Hold this for a moment please."

White and black smoke slowly appeared in the little ball as Harry observed it in his hands. He expected it to mix and become gray, but it never did. After several minutes, the ball filled up completely and Nasil performed a small charm on it. "I can use this to test other samples." he explained to Harry.

With that, the wandcrafter began to pack up and write down their results to refer to later. "When I complete your wands, I'll bring them to you. I suspect that your wands will be particularly special, my lord."

"What do I owe you then?" Harry asked, looking around for Reggins who would undoubtedly have some sort of money order form to sign.

Nasil waved his hand to dismiss the question with a broad grin. "Don't worry about that. Your secretary has already more than compensated me in advance for my service. He'll also take care of the material cost later."

"All right then." Bellatrix said, giving Harry a smile as she did so.

"One last thing, my lord." Nasil said, this time a bit nervously. "Reggins mentioned that you needed to hire a considerable amount of people for your staff, both for political affairs, and managing this castle and my daughters are looking for jobs . . ."

At this point, Reggins appeared from nowhere. "That's correct, my Lord. Here is a list of positions that need to be filled and the qualifications that applicants should meet when you hire them." The ghost then disappeared again.

"By all means, send them over sometime tomorrow." Harry said, glad that he didn't have to go hunting to find people. "I'd be glad to take them on."

"Be sure to tell others that might be interested as well." Bellatrix interjected as she examined the extremely long list over Harry's shoulder.

"I will then. With your permission, I'll Apparate out of here then." Nasil smiled, as he pulled a wand from his robes.

Harry frowned. "You don't need my permission to do anything."

....

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