Chapter 8
Crystal helped the old man up, relieved that she hadn’t broken anything.
"I must say, Miss Potter, this is the first time someone has hit me like that," he said, rubbing his jaw to ease the soreness.
"Seriously? I would have thought you’d get hit more often if you sneak up on people like that, especially young girls," Crystal sassed back, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "You should really learn not to do that."
"Perhaps you are correct, Miss Potter. Now, you need a wand, do you not?" He stopped rubbing his jaw and gestured to the shelves lined with boxes that Crystal assumed were filled with wands.
Crystal took a closer look around the store. She had been too focused on the magical aura and accidentally hitting Ollivander before, but now she could take a proper look. The shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, each stuffed full of boxes containing wands. The shelves appeared old, possibly as old as the owner himself. The floors creaked and groaned with each step, making her wonder if she might fall through without the aid of her ghost powers.
The store was filled with dust that glinted in the light streaming through the windows, tickling her nose and causing her to sneeze.
"Ah, excuse you," Ollivander said, waving his wand to clear some of the dust but not all of it.
Crystal rubbed her nose. "I’m here for a wand, yes."
Ollivander clapped his hands together and looked gleeful. "Wonderful! Which hand is your wand hand?"
She was confused. "My what? Sir, I was raised by non-magicals. Could you please rephrase that?"
"Apologies, Miss Potter. I meant which is your dominant hand."
"I’m right-handed, but I can use my left hand if needed," she explained, feeling a bit foolish for not understanding earlier.
She jumped when a tape measure floated over and began measuring her all over, even between her nose, which made her very uncomfortable. Just as she was about to say something, Ollivander snapped his fingers, and the tape measure returned to his desk.
"Here, try this one," he said, handing Crystal a wand. She had just picked it up when he snatched it away. "No, not that one. Try this one."
This time, when she held the wand, one of the windows shattered, causing her to jump.
"Ah, wrong one. No worries, I can fix that in a jiffy," Ollivander said, snatching the second wand away. This process continued with him handing her wands and then quickly taking them back until, finally, he mumbled.
"I wonder," Ollivander said, going behind the shelves before returning with yet another box. "Try this wand." He opened the box and held it out. Crystal hesitated before slowly picking up the wand. She felt something, but it was stilted and not fully there.
The wand seemed only partially suited for her, and she told Ollivander this. His face took on a curious look. "From what you’re saying, it sounds like the wand will need either an additional wood or core to better match your magical core. Follow me to my workshop, and we’ll see what will work best."
He started walking towards the back of the shop. Crystal hesitated to follow him. Was she really going to follow a creepy old man into the back of his store where no one could hear her if something went wrong?
Sure, she had ghost powers, but she needed to learn not to rely on them all the time. Danny had told her stories of his powers being shut off or malfunctioning, and Crystal didn’t want to end up in a situation where she couldn’t defend herself.
However, she needed a wand that worked for her. Crystal glanced down at the wand still in her hand, sighed, and followed the old man. Hopefully, if anything happened, she could handle him; after all, she had already knocked him down once.
She entered the backroom, which was filled with shelves, but unlike the front of the store, these shelves were lined with bottles and jars of various kinds. There were still boxes around, but not as many as in the front. Crystal also saw several blocks of wood scattered about.
One wall was lined with drawers, each labeled with the names of different trees, suggesting that the drawers contained wood of those types. In the center of the room stood a desk, old and made of oak. It had several scratches, indents, and burn marks, indicating it was well-used.
"Ah, good. You just need to send out a pulse of your magic towards the shelves and pick up whichever jar responds to it," Ollivander said, noticing that Crystal had indeed followed him into the backroom, despite her better judgment.
She frowned. "And how do I do that?"
Ollivander looked surprised, as if he expected her to know despite her upbringing with non-magical people. "Close your eyes and probe for your magical core. It should be centered somewhere in your chest. It’s a big ball of light energy. Once you find it, use it to send out a pulse and pay attention to what responds."
She had a magical core and a ghost core? That would be confusing when talking to others about cores. With ghosts, she could explain having two different kinds, but with magicals, she didn’t want to risk being inspected or labeled a freak.
Also, closing her eyes in the backroom of this bizarre old man was unsettling. If he attacked her, she’d be furious. She shook her head, holding back a sigh, and closed her eyes, tensing as she searched for her magical core.
She found her ghost core easily; it was a large neon green ball of energy, with small tendrils floating out to greet her before flowing back into the ball. Crystal had never ventured beyond her ghost core before, but now she floated past the green ball into the surrounding darkness.
She didn’t know how long she had been floating in the darkness before she saw a speck of light ahead. She quickened her pace and soon reached what she assumed was her magical core. Instead of green, it was a simple white, almost blinding in its brightness. She focused on sending out a pulse of magic and felt something pulse back in response. Just as she was about to open her eyes to find it, she felt something smack into her hands, causing her to jump and open her eyes.
"Remarkable, your magic must have summoned the jar that responded to it best," Ollivander said.
Crystal looked down at the jar, trying to catch her breath from the scare. For a moment, she had truly feared the old man was attacking her and regretted following him.
The jar was transparent, but what interested her was its contents. Inside was something that looked like a bat’s wing but wasn’t quite. It was leathery and bony, thin with a few holes here and there.
She looked up at the old man, curiosity piqued. "What is this? It looks kind of like a bat wing but also not."
Ollivander looked at her, shocked at first, then his expression turned sad and understanding. He gently took the jar from her and said, "It’s a piece of wing from a Thestral, a creature that only those who have seen and accepted death are able to see."
He looked at her sadly once more. "I did not realize that you would be able to see them. I had believed, like most others, that you were too young to truly comprehend what happened to your parents that night. I’m sorry, Ms. Potter."
Crystal didn’t correct his assumption that it was her parents' deaths that allowed her to see the Thestral wing. She wouldn’t be telling anyone that it was most likely her own death, along with witnessing her big brother figure die, that enabled her to see them.
"Now, it should only take a few moments to modify your wand. However, I am curious. Wands of holly are known to be very protective of their owners. Those who wield them are often considered to be on a dangerous or spiritual quest."
"Phoenix feathers are said to be very picky. The phoenix is an immortal bird, undergoing a rebirth every so often."
Ollivander chuckled. "And then you have the wing of a Thestral. I must admit, I have not had the pleasure of using this wand core before. Thestrals are said to be omens of death itself—foolish nonsense if you ask me."
"What I find curious is that you have a wand that seems to balance life, death, and the soul itself. Very curious indeed. You’re destined for great things, Ms. Potter. Great things indeed." He quickly used his wand to help incorporate the Thestral wing into her holly wand before handing it to her.
"Go on now, give it a slight swish and see how it feels now."
Crystal hesitated before doing so and gasped as a surge of power flowed through her. She didn’t realize it, but one of her eyes started glowing sapphire while the other glowed emerald. A strong wind burst through the backroom but, fortunately, didn’t knock anything over.
Crystal left the store with a wand holder for her arm, charmed so only she could remove the wand from inside or take off the holder. It was also spelled to be comfortable and invisible whenever she wanted. She also left with a wand polishing kit to help keep her wand in good condition.
She explored the alley a bit more before heading back to the bank, where she asked Grinlast if he knew of a place with cauldrons that wouldn’t poison anyone drinking a potion made in them, as well as good-quality brass scales.
He assured her he would handle that and have someone pick up her robes the next day and send them to her. He then accompanied her to some goblin guards, who took her back home to explain how things would be from now on to the Dursleys.
She smirked, realizing they would finally see who was truly in charge.