Chapter 7: The Wand and the Unwelcome Guests
"Ah... coming to buy a wand at this hour... I suppose your old one must be broken?" The moment she pushed open the door, a raspy voice entered Lyra's ears.
"Oh... Cypress wood, unicorn hair core, ten and a quarter inches long..." As soon as he saw Lupin—or rather, Lupin's wand—the shop's owner, Ollivander, took on a nostalgic expression.
"Well now, Mr. Lupin," he had clearly recognized the visitor by his wand. "What brings you here at this time?"
"To buy a new wand for Miss Lyra Hamilton," Lupin said gently, stepping aside slightly to reveal Lyra, who was hiding behind him.
"Ah... Miss Hamilton..." Ollivander muttered, glancing at Lyra's wand.
"You're not a Hogwarts student, are you?" he concluded instantly.
Then, as Lyra looked on in surprise, he said, "Every Hogwarts student buys their wand from me... and I am not familiar with yours at all."
"Oh, wait... you're from Durmstrang, aren't you?" Ollivander's words made Lupin instinctively exchange a glance with Lyra.
Lyra, however, let out a small cry and shrank back even further.
"Heh heh." Ollivander seemed quite pleased by their surprise. He nodded and explained, "Durmstrang students almost exclusively purchase their wands from Gregorovitch."
"Every one of his works has its own character," he said with a smile. "They are works of art to be admired..."
He muttered to himself, then waved his own wand, pulling one from the mountain of boxes.
"How about this one?"
"Holly wood, unicorn hair core..." He was saying, when he suddenly frowned. "Oh... wait a moment."
"Miss Hamilton has Veela blood, does she not?" It seemed Lyra's movement had allowed him to see her pointed ears and long silver hair under the hood.
"Mm... mm..." Lyra pulled her hood tighter, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, which made Ollivander nod. "In that case... you may have to wait a while for your wand."
"Why?" Lupin asked, a bit curious.
"Because a wizard with Veela blood will find a wand with a Veela hair core much more suitable," Ollivander explained with a smile. "And I do not have that particular core in stock... Therefore, I will need some time to procure it and craft the wand."
"Then... how long will that take?" Lupin thought for a moment and asked on Lyra's behalf.
"Within a week," Ollivander said, flicking his wand to summon a quill and parchment.
"Write your address on this," he said, nodding gently to Lyra. "I will notify you when the wand is complete."
"..." Lyra pressed her lips together, carefully picked up the quill, and wrote down the tavern's location.
"Also, please leave the broken wand," Ollivander continued. "I need to study your old wand, to ensure your new one is an even better fit."
"W... wait..." Lyra, as if thinking of something, asked in a low voice, "This wand... can it... be repaired?"
"Mm... I'm afraid not." Ollivander took the wand and examined it. "The core and the wood are both almost completely destroyed."
"Repairing it would be more trouble than crafting a new one," he said, frowning. "How did you manage to get it into this state?"
"Just ordinary spell-casting would hardly..." He stopped abruptly, then shook his head. "My apologies... I've said too much."
"N-No... it's fine..." Lyra pressed her lips together and carefully shrank back behind Lupin.
This Mr. Ollivander is such a... sharp person... at least, when it comes to wands...
Click.
Jingle.
Just as Lupin and Lyra were preparing to leave, the door to Ollivander's wand shop was pushed open again.
This time, it was a middle-aged man, followed by a girl with dirty-blonde hair and a pair of silvery eyes. She looked a bit dazed, yet her eyes were surprisingly bright and alert.
"Mr. Lupin?" The middle-aged man started upon seeing Lupin, but when his eyes landed on Lyra, his expression turned to one of shock.
"You have a child?" he asked instinctively.
"No... Mr. Lovegood, this is Miss Lyra Hamilton." Lupin quickly shook his head. "My... friend?"
"F... friend?" It wasn't just Mr. Lovegood; even Lyra herself was taken aback.
I'm... friends... with Mr. Lupin?
Lyra felt a subconscious spark of happiness. This seemed to be her very first friend.
"This is Mr. Xenophilius Lovegood," Lupin said, nodding gently toward Lyra. "He's the editor of The Quibbler."
Then, as if remembering something, he lowered his voice. "He's a bit... well... a man of... character."
A man of character?
Lyra actually wanted to say that, compared to this Mr. Lovegood, the girl following him seemed to have even more character.
At some point, she had already wandered over to Ollivander's side and was staring intently at Lyra's broken wand.
"Luna!" Mr. Lovegood noticed Luna's actions. He pressed his lips together and called out softly, "Come and say hello to Mr. Lupin and..."
"Miss Hamilton," Lupin prompted in a timely manner.
"Yes, and Miss Hamilton."
"She's an upperclassman of yours..."
"Ah..." Just as Lyra was about to explain, Luna shook her head gently. "Miss Hamilton is not my upperclassman."
"Er..."
Everyone else in the shop froze.
"She isn't wearing a Hogwarts uniform... and..." Luna paused, her silvery eyes flashing. "She doesn't smell like Hogwarts."
"Smell... like Hogwarts?" Lupin instinctively twitched his nose.
Mr. Lovegood, standing in front of him, had already grabbed his own sleeve and was sniffing it. "The smell of Hogwarts, you say?"
"I think I do, actually..." he muttered, looking at Lyra. "Miss Hamilton, might I have a sniff..."
"Eek!"
Lyra scrambled to hide behind Lupin.
Mr. Lupin, this Mr. Lovegood isn't just 'a man of character,' he's a very strange man!
"Ah... Mr. Lovegood... are you here to purchase a wand?" Thankfully, Ollivander spoke up, interrupting Mr. Lovegood's bizarre behavior.
"Ah, yes, yes." Lovegood turned his head to Ollivander. "To buy a wand for Luna."
"Is Miss Lovegood already eleven?" Lupin asked, a bit curious.
"Mm," Mr. Lovegood nodded. "She turned eleven right when she was supposed to."
"..."
Lyra pressed her lips together... Sometimes, she really didn't understand what this man was talking about...
But wait... if she's eleven... then she'll be starting at Hogwarts this fall... Doesn't that mean she'll be my student?
Lyra instinctively felt even more embarrassed... Being seen like this by a student... isn't this just too humiliating?