Antonio continued to walk down Dragon Alley before he arrived in front of an old looking shop. Although the shop appeared sturdy enough, a feeling of 'ancientness' emanated from it.
The board outside read: OLLIVANDER'S MAKERS OF FINE WANDS since 382 B.C.
At a leisurely pace and with a neutral, calm expression, Antonio stepped inside the shop.
It was empty and seemed to be devoid of both customers and the owner.
Antonio knew very well of Garrick Ollivander's- the old wandmaker, with his habit of startling the customers with his sudden and dramatic appearance.
With a half smirk on his face, Antonio tilted his head and looked in a certain direction. The old wandmaker, who was just about to make his abrupt appearance, was surprised by Antonio's gaze.
For a Hogwarts going child or an average wizard, it was almost impossible to see through Ollivander's little trick.
The old geezer was not a very powerful wizard, but even so he had a few tricks up his sleeve. The ability to create powerful illusions was one of them. But for the new Antonio, it was as easy as breathing to see through the trick. His perception had also risen tremendously with his magical power.
Ollivander overcame his shock and arrived in front of Antonio.
"Lord Olario," he greeted with a small bow of his head. Antonio returned the gesture.
"You are a changed… changed wizard, Lord Olario," Ollivander added as his dark, deep, ghostly eyes lingered on Antonio for a few minutes as of trying to gaze beneath Antonio and reveal all his secrets.
He stood almost too close as his eyes roamed over Antonio's entire body.
"You have become powerful, Lord Olario," he added after few moments as he stepped back. "An average eye might not be able to tell, but for someone whose entire life has been spent identifying objects with powerful magic… I can feel the magical power pulsating inside you."
Antonio merely smiled in response.
"I understand that you can guess the reason for my visit here," said Antonio.
Ollivander nodded as he moved back inside the shop.
"Rosewood with a core of dragon heartstring… nine and a quarter-inches long," said Ollivander as if recalling a memory. He was describing about Antonio's wand.
"An average wand for an average wizard," he added. "But now that wand cannot handle the powerful and ferocious magic dwelling inside you."
"You need something else… something powerful," he declared and Antonio nodded with a smile. The old man really knew his business.
Ollivander moved behind his counter, his eyes searching for a suitable wand.
"Not a lot of people come to my shop twice," the old wandmaker continued. "Among those who do make a second trip, a majority come because they have their wands broken due to some accident or some unfortunate circumstance."
"A rare few in my entire lifetime have come because their magic had changed," Ollivander added. "A rare few… And I can recall every one of them on my fingers."
"Even so, the new changes in their magic are not very far from their original one… the new wand they get is almost similar to their original one," he said.
"Not in my life have I seen someone go through such a huge change," said Ollivander as he pulled a wand from a wooden box.
"Yew wood with unicorn hair as its core… ten and a half inches long," he said as he handed the wand to Antonio.
Antonio took the wand with a sense of curiosity. He firmly held it and channelled a small amount of magic into the wand. A small firework erupted from it.
The wand was quickly snatched away from Antonio as Ollivander muttered, "Not suited. Not powerful enough to handle your magic."
For the next half hour, wand after wand was placed in Antonio's hand, but none were suitable. Most of the wands lacked the capacity to handle Antonio's powerful magic.
Even Ollivander, who prided himself as the best wandmaker in the world, wore a frown on his face.
"Lord Olario," he sighed, "it seems that the chances of you getting a suitable wand today are slim."
He walked deep into the shop and returned with an extremely old-looking box in his hands.
"This is a unique wand with a unique story of its own," said Garrick.
"If this suits you, then I will narrate its tale to you. And if not… then I can only try to build a custom wand for you…"
Antonio's interest was piqued. Was this not the protagonist trope? An old weapon… an old wand waiting for the destined man to claim it.
With renewed anticipation, Antonio approached the box and opened it.
Inside lay a crude-looking stick. The wooden stick or the wand was completely straight, as if it lacked any flexibility. It seemed longer than any wand he had ever seen.
It also lacked the lustre and polished appearance of Ollivander's wands. Overall, it had a crude workmanship.
With slow, deliberate movements, Antonio picked up the wand and felt its wood settle in his palm.
He then raised his hand and pointed it slightly forward. For the first few moments, Antonio felt nothing as he channelled his magic into the wand.
Ollivander's eyes fluttered with disappointment.
Antonio was about to place the wand back in the box with a disappointed face when he felt his magic being sucked by the wand.
Instantly, a blue pulse of light erupted from the wand, blinding both men present in the shop.
In the next moment, a black stream of light emerged from the wand.
When Garrick and Antonio reopened their eyes, shock was plastered over their faces.
Floating in front of them was a blackish, ghost-like creature with the outline of a bird.
The bird's eyes were eerily red in colour and had an ominous glow to it. The presence of the bird in the room was heavy- a feeling of dread and suffocation spread throughout.
Garrick's breathing turned shallow, while Antonio, though in better condition than Garrick, also found himself struggling.
Antonio stopped channelling his magic into the wand. The bird then slowly dissipated, and a sense of normalcy returned to the room.
Antonio had a happy almost excited expression on his face while Garrick appeared shocked, surprised and most importantly curios.
#
#
#
[Checkout my P@treon at p@treon.com/theimaginarywriter for advanced chapetrs. Replace @ with a.]
[Add the story to your collection and send some power stones. Rate, Review and comment your thoughts about the book.]