Facing Mr. Weasley's teasing, Ollivander merely smiled politely, saying nothing.
Though they weren't exactly following the standard procedure, he didn't mind too much. After all, he had explained things so many times before—one more time wouldn't hurt.
"So, you're here today to buy Mr. Weasley his new wand?" Ollivander asked, looking toward the youngest boy in the group.
There were many children in the Weasley family, and they frequented his shop nearly every year. In a way, they were practically long-time customers.
"No, not exactly," Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "Actually, we're buying Charlie a new wand. He's about to start working at the Dragon Reserve."
Ollivander was momentarily stunned. His eyes scanned over the group, eventually settling on the youngest child's hand—more precisely, the wand in it.
The wand was tattered and broken, its outer layer peeling off, and one end flickered faintly with white light.
Merlin's beard—that was unicorn hair!
Ollivander took a deep breath. In all his years, he had rarely seen a wand in such a state—so thoroughly battered right after graduation. It looked more worn than wands used for twenty or thirty years. Clearly, it had never been maintained and had not been cherished by its owner.
His expression soured, and even his tone grew noticeably colder.
"Ah, yes, I can see that dealing with dragons requires a proper new wand," he said sharply, placing heavy emphasis on the words "new wand."
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley clearly understood the reason behind Ollivander's displeasure. Their faces turned a little red, though they pretended not to notice.
Charlie was heading to work with dragons, and owning a top-quality wand from Ollivander's was an essential requirement.
Fortunately, Ollivander didn't press the issue further. He merely cast them a lukewarm glance.
"However, I must remind you: since this Mr. Weasley is not a first-year student, there's no discount on the wand purchase."
"We understand," Mrs. Weasley nodded repeatedly.
Ollivander gave a short nod and said no more.
"How about I take care of this one?" said Robert, stepping forward. Seeing Ollivander's reluctance to deal with Charlie, he volunteered. "Let me help this customer choose his new wand."
Under normal circumstances, Ollivander would never have agreed. Robert was only eleven years old—hardly qualified to pick out wands for others.
But this time, Ollivander paused for just a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Then I'll leave it to you, dear," said Mrs. Weasley with visible relief.
She knew Robert. Unlike most families who only visited the shop once every decade or so, the Weasleys came regularly.
They had met Robert when Percy bought his wand, and again when the twins got theirs. Today marked the third time, so while they weren't exactly close, they weren't strangers either.
Robert glanced at Charlie, then looked at Ron. A stream of data appeared in his mind's eye.
[Willow, unicorn tail hair, fourteen inches]
[Status: Damaged]
[Property: Magic Weakened (Damaged wands reduce spell power. Replacement recommended)]
A standard wand with no unique properties—nothing of reference value.
"I heard you're going to the Dragon Reserve?" Robert asked.
"Yes, I'm leaving in a few days," Charlie replied with a nod.
"How about oak?" Robert mused aloud. "Oak symbolizes strength and favors tenacious, unyielding wizards—seems like a fitting match for someone dealing with dragons."
"As for the core, unicorn hair suits the Weasley family well. There's no need to consider alternatives."
Robert turned to the length. "About ten inches should be fine," he added, glancing again at the broken fourteen-inch wand. "A shorter wand allows quicker draws, more practical in combat."
He didn't know exactly what Charlie thought of his analysis, but Ollivander's eyes were shining more and more brightly with each word.
Before Robert even finished speaking, Ollivander had already retrieved a wand from behind the counter.
Oak, unicorn hair, ten and one-third inches—just as Robert had envisioned.
Ollivander handed the wand to Charlie with anticipation.
"Don't just stand there—try it!" he urged.
"Huh? Oh!" Charlie responded, startled. He instinctively waved the wand.
A cluster of orchids blossomed instantly from its tip.
"Perfect!" Ollivander couldn't help exclaiming.
Even with his most critical eye, he couldn't find a single flaw. The wand was a perfect match for Charlie—better than his previous one, in fact.
Of course, there was one more thing Ollivander had to say: the wand had chosen Charlie, even though he had clearly mistreated his old one.
"Great. I really like it," Charlie said, unable to put the wand down.
Mrs. Weasley blinked in disbelief.
Wait, that was it?
She was a long-time customer and had never seen a wand purchase go so smoothly. No measurements, no trial combinations—just a few glances, and it was done?
And Charlie was genuinely satisfied, tucking the wand into his jacket pocket right away.
Seeing that, Mrs. Weasley didn't ask any more questions. She paid seventeen galleons with a reluctant sigh.
That was the real cost of a wand.
Honestly, the seven galleons charged to first-years wasn't much.
Take Charlie's new wand, for instance: just the unicorn tail hair cost nine galleons, and the specially treated oak added another galleon.
Thankfully, the Ministry of Magic subsidized first-year students with five galleons each, preventing the shop from losing money.
Ollivander's Wand Shop had been crafting wands since 382 BC and all but monopolized the industry in England. Yet in reality, it wasn't a highly profitable business.
Most wizards only ever purchased a single wand in their lives.
Over the next several days, Robert remained at the shop to help out.
During that time, he met Hermione, who came in accompanied by Professor McGonagall to purchase her wand.
[Vine wood, dragon heartstring, ten and three-quarter inches]
[Status: Perfect]
[Property: None]
A solid, unremarkable wand—much like most new ones. Ninety percent of wands started this way.
Over time, wands changed in subtle ways depending on their user.
Just like Professor McGonagall's wand.
[Fir wood, dragon heartstring, nine and a half inches]
[Status: Good]
[Properties:]
Transformation Mastery: Spell cost reduced by 50% during Transfiguration (McGonagall only)
Transformation Casting Speed +30% (McGonagall only)
Insight: Increased chance of breaking opponent's Transfiguration (McGonagall only)
Three properties, all related to Transfiguration—and all uniquely tied to Minerva McGonagall.
This was an example of the wizard influencing the wand. Anyone else using that wand would still retain some properties, but with greatly diminished effects.
Soon, the last day of July arrived.
Early in the morning, Robert waited anxiously in the shop.
He was expecting a special customer.
But the morning came and went with no sign of the visitor.
Robert waited patiently.
Then, just after lunch, the shop door creaked open again.
A crisp chime rang out as a thin, nervous boy stepped in, looking like a tiny bird.
Beside him stood a towering man, easily eleven feet tall.