Chapter Text
The woman and her daughter were taking an awfully long time. Scorpius thought.
The measuring tape presented to him on his arrival had long since been whisked away for taking unnecessary measurements. He was sitting in the fragile looking wicker chairs. They were comfortable, in an odd sort of way, but it didn't detract from the boy's thought of 'they must be a hundred years old.' The white haired man who owned the store (looking as fragile as his chairs) had gestured for Scorpius to sit and wait.
Ollivander's wand shop was the only place in Diagon Alley in which his father had not accompanied him. Draco confessed something about bad blood, before disappearing into a shop down the street.
Scorpius was telling himself not to be nervous, when the red headed girl let out a squeal and shot sparks from her new wand.
"Ah, yes." Ollivander sighed. "I should have guessed, Pear. You seem like a very persistent young woman." Gently, he took the wand and examined it. "Unicorn, 11 inches." he tested its bend. "Surprisingly flexible. Pear is usually categorized as unyielding. Ah well. It should fit you wonderfully, my dear." He carefully placed the wand back in its black box and rang it up.
"Alright Rose, let's go down to the Menagerie and you can find Lily." The woman told her daughter. The young girl grinned and nodded.
"Mr. Malfoy." Ollivander called. His eyes were blank and his tone professional. "You're heading to Hogwarts, I presume?"
"Yes, sir." Scorpius nodded. He tucked his hands behind his back as the old man looked him over.
"And you're here to find a wand," Ollivander stated, turning to the walls of wand boxes behind him. "This should be interesting." he murmured and Scorpius got the feeling he was already off in his own little world. Scorpius stood while Ollivander mumbled and snapped his fingers. The ladder shot into his waiting hand, gently allowing the wizard to pull it where he wanted. "Let us try this one." he said, pulling a short box from the wall. "Hawthorn. Eight and three fourths inches. Unicorn Hair. Stiff." He offered the wand to Scorpius.
In Scorpius's hand, the wand drooped. Well, it fizzled until Ollivander snatched it from his hands. "Well, your father… But no matter. " he put the wand back in its box in the wall, before gazing around the room. "Hmm. We'll try this one." he reached for a box high on the shelf, and for a moment, Scorpius was worried for the elder gentleman's safety. The ladder, perhaps sensing its owner's precarious footing, leaned to a slightly better position. Ollivander patted it fondly as he climbed down.
"This, perhaps?" Scorpius gently held the wand. "Elm, Dragon Heartstrings, 10 and one half inches." he shook his head. "Give it a wave," Scorpius did, softly before the wand shot out an outraged spark and Ollivander snatched it away again. "Hmm." He said, studying the wand. "Apparently not."
The wand maker gave Scorpius a considering look. He reached for a box just beside his nose and handed the wand inside to the boy. "Black Walnut, 12 and an eighth inches. Unicorn." Scorpius waited for the brief nod from the man before swinging it gently. The wand sputtered and a sickly green color spat from the end. "Ah Hah!" Ollivander said. "So you're going to be tricky, are you?" He grinned, and Scorpius could see why his cousin Lyra had called him a mad man.
"I'm sorry, sir." Scorpius said quietly, "I don't mean to cause trouble." Ollivander shushed him and scurried into one of the further shelves.
"Not to worry, my boy. The wand chooses the Wizard, and I will find you your perfect match yet." The man shuffled back and handed him the next wand. "You'd do fine with a Black Walnut, but we're not looking for fine, are we? This is Acacia, nine inches, Dragon Heartstrings, Swishy." He nodded and Scorpius swished. Nothing at all happened.
"Mr. Ollivander, have you ever had someone not find the wand they matched?" Scorpius asked slightly panicked as he set the unresponsive wand on the counter.
"A few times. One wizard had just given up and gone to that half-wit's in Spain. Not a proper wand maker, that one." Ollivander sniffed. "I will find you the perfect wand. It may just take time." The elder man ran spindle fingers over a stack of boxes. "My apprentice has been sick with the Black Cat Flu. Terrible thing. Not to worry though, he visited his family in Croydon and picked it up there, not here in London."
He eyed Scorpius, before huffing. "Let me try…" And he was off to the back again.
"This is Rowan. Phoenix Feather. Eleven and one half. Hard." Ollivander looked at the boy. "Try this."
Scorpius held his hand out to the wand and gasped when a bright gold light fountained gently from the tip.
"Curious. I suppose that’s quite right, however." Scorpius gave the old man an odd look, but Ollivander shrugged it off. "Come, young Malfoy. I have the total amount here."
Scorpius paid and headed out the door. Opening it, brought him eye to eye with a face nearly as well known to him as his own.
Albus Potter blushed and looked at the ground. "Excuse me." He mumbled before sliding past Scorpius into Ollivander's shop. Scorpius stared after him until a slow coughing sound roused him from his thoughts.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harry Potter said, eyeing the young blonde boy. Scorpius nodded
"Mr. Potter, Sir." He stammered out. "Excuse me." He inched past the man who held the door for him. "Thank you." Scorpius breathed.
"Scorpius!" His father called. "Are you done?" Scorpius glanced back at the Boy-Who-Lived, who gave him a short nod of parting before disappearing into the shop.
"Yes, Father." he said back, and ran to his father's side.
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